Somewhere down the hallway, West kept walking, unaware of the assistant scrambling behind her like a man trying to stop a hurricane with paperwork.
He only knew one thing:
He’d come here for fun and somehow ended up catching bodies, making someone catch feelings for him and catching the attention of someone who looked like trouble wearing designer perfume.
And West hated trouble...
...
...
Night fell quietly over Aria and Ross’s apartment, but the quiet felt heavy rather than peaceful.
Ross had noticed it the moment he came home earlier than usual.
Normally, when he showed up late reeking faintly of smoke and metal, Aria would be waiting. Sometimes annoyed, sometimes pretending not to care, but always... responsive with either a kiss, a touch or a word that said you’re here now.
Tonight?
Nothing.
She was curled on the couch with her phone in hand and legs tucked beneath her. The TV was playing something she wasn’t watching.
When Ross dropped his jacket and stepped close, leaning in to brush her hair back, she subtly shifted away under the excuse of adjusting her position.
He frowned.
"Hey," he murmured, trying again later when the lights dimmed. He slid an arm around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You’re quiet tonight."
"I’m just tired," Aria replied softly and smoothly removed herself from his grasp.
Ross kissed the side of her neck but she stiffened.
He pulled back with a look of confusion flickering across his face. "Did I do something?"
"No," she said quickly. Too quickly. "It’s not you."
He tried again later, this time more deliberate, grazing his fingers against her thigh as they lay in bed.
Aria turned onto her side.
"I’m really tired, Ross."
He stared at the ceiling after that with hands clasped behind his head as his frustration slowly simmered into doubt.
This wasn’t normal but it also wasn’t the first time it was happening... since the ruins incident, he noticed she had been quite distant with him.
’Is it because I didn’t go in to save her brother on time? Women are quite irrational beings... there was literally nothing that could be done...’ he sighed internally and then rolled onto his side, watching her back.
"You haven’t even kissed me today."
She didn’t respond.
Her phone buzzed faintly beneath the covers.
Aria’s heart jumped.
Ross noticed.
She turned slightly, shielding the screen, pretending it was nothing. But Ross had already seen the name light up briefly before she muted it.
--------
~ West ~
"Yeah, I’m out with Dad on an unexpected trip. Be back tomorrow. Sorry we couldn’t meet this weekend, he literally dragged me impromptu to go have fun. I think he’s scared that I almost died..."
--------
’Damn it... so its true... she really is giving me attitude because of that.’
Ross lay there with his eyes wide open long after Aria’s breathing slowed into sleep.
’She usually would be all over my body by now... I gotta do something about this. Maybe I’ll ask West for help,’ he thought.
---
Meanwhile, miles away, West slept like a rock.
He didn’t dream.
When he woke the next morning, sunlight was already slicing through the blinds, warm and insistent.
His father was already dressed.
Mark stood by the door tying his shoes with a briefcase in hand.
"I’m heading out to work today," Mark said. "My superiors agreed to a meeting today. We’re going to discuss my schedule—about me being more present."
West rubbed his eyes. "That’s... good, right?"
Mark smiled. "It is. Don’t worry about me. Focus on school. Oh yeah I gotta drop you off."
"I’m definitely going to be late to school today," West mummered while getting up to pack.
Although he nodded at his father’s interest in being more present, internally, he wasn’t entirely thrilled. More present sounded like less privacy.
---
During lunch break at school, Nina plopped down beside him with a dramatic sigh.
"I was gonna bring my art over this weekend," she complained. "But you vanished."
West winced. "Sorry. Got dragged out of the city."
"Where?" another girl leaned in.
"...A resort... Misthaven..." West admitted.
Their faces immediately lit up in disbelief.
"No way."
"The one near Red Valor?"
"Bro, that place is crazy expensive."
Nina’s eyes sparkled. "Did you see the floating gardens?"
"Did you ride the glass subs?"
West shrugged. "Didn’t have time for everything."
Someone else chimed in, lowering their voice like it was a secret. "You didn’t go to Eternal Ruins, did you?"
West’s smile froze for half a second.
"No," he said quickly. "Didn’t even enter Red Valor City."
His mind flickered involuntarily to Zu Li’s amused eyes, the way everything had gone wrong all day.
"I heard," another student said, "that Class 3 might be going on an excursion there soon."
That got everyone talking.
West leaned back with a neutral expression.
But internally, he was alert.
’An excursion... to Red Valor...’
---
At the end of the day, West packed up and headed out, only to find himself walking alongside someone familiar.
Mira Han.
She matched his pace naturally with hands clasped behind her back as her eyes flicked to him shyly.
"Headed this way too?" West asked.
She nodded. "Yeah."
They walked in comfortable silence for a bit before conversation bloomed naturally.
She carefully asked about his time in the ruins but he deflected most of the questions with humor.
She laughed, soft and genuinely and West found himself speaking a lot more buttery and smoothly than normal...
He could tell that this was due to the effects of Silver Tongue. It made him sound as though he was flirting most of the times even when he was just trying to make casual conversation.
"You still single?" West asked casually.
Mira shot him a look. "You really like that topic."
"I’m just concerned," he said solemnly. "It’s a serious medical condition."
She huffed. "Oh? What’s it called?"
"Chronic Singleness Syndrome."
She smacked his arm. "You’re awful."
He grinned. "And yet you can’t seem to get away from me, can you?"
She couldn’t help but smile shyly as her face turned a shade of pink.
Unfortunately, no cuck points popped up for obvious reasons.
As they reached the corner where they’d split paths, Mira paused.
"Hey," she said softly. "I’m glad you’re okay."
West met her eyes. "Me too."
She stopped mid-stride, crossed her arms, and pouted so hard West was half-convinced she’d practiced in a mirror.
"This isn’t the way you usually go," her eyes narrowed suspiciously behind her glasses. "Where are you headed?"
West didn’t even slow down. "A secret."
Her jaw dropped. "A secret?"
"Yes," he said calmly. "A classified, top-tier, life-changing secret."
She hurried to keep up. "You can’t just say that and expect me not to ask questions."
He glanced sideways. "Watch me."
"You’re horrible," she declared. "Absolutely horrible."
"And yet," he said with a grin, "you’re still following."
She huffed. "Only because you’ll probably trip and die if I don’t supervise."
West chuckled, then stopped walking.
Mira nearly bumped into him.
"This is where we part ways," he said gently.
She blinked, then looked around.
The surroundings had subtly transformed. The neat residential streets had given way to cracked concrete, rusted fences, and skeletal remains of old factories. Broken signage hung at odd angles. Windows were either shattered or boarded up. Nature had begun reclaiming the place.
Vines could be spotted crawling along steel beams as weeds pushed through asphalt.
It was an abandoned industrial site.