I sighed and turned side to side in the mirror. For some reason, I was so picky for what I'd wear to my 'date'.
Today, I had changed into a jean skirt that ended right before my knees with a tighter fitting red T-shirt that had a V neckline, showing off a bit of cleavage but not so much to make me uncomfortable. I picked out a pair of earrings and had my hair back in a braid.
I'd put my hair in a hat so that it wasn't as noticeable when my hair changed colors. I pulled out a pair of short brown boots to pair with the ensemble. Then, of course, I had my necklace around my neck. I never took it off.
I shrugged. Looks good to me, who cares what anyone else thinks?
'You care what he thinks.' A voice in my brain thought. I sighed and walked out the door, grabbing my baseball hat on the way out.
I hopped down the stairs, slipping my hair into the baseball cap.
"Who's ready for our field trip?" I called.
"Me me me me!" Sam exclaimed, waving his hand in the air. I laughed.
"You are such a child." Sylvia mumbled.
"We are all children at heart, Sylvia." Dax said, touching his chest.
"Is that your favorite line or something?" Z — I mean... Ry asked.
Dax nodded with a grin plastered on his face. I glanced at the time.
"Where's Quint? We should head out soon."
JJ shrugged. "I'll go check if he's coming. I'll meet you guys at the car."
"Speaking of which, we should probably take a couple different cars. We'll look weird." Sylvia said. I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"Alright. I'll ride with Axel and Sam."
"Then JJ, Dax, and Quint can ride with us." Sylvia replied, sure of herself.
"I guess we'll meet you there." Axel said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Sam wrapped an arm around my shoulders also, making an Ash sandwich.
"You're squishing me!" I moaned as we squeezed through the front door.
"We can't squish you! You're a diamond, virtually impossible to break." Sam said as Axel unlocked the red mustang we were going to ride in.
"You are such a suck up." I laughed, rolling my eyes.
"Well..." Sam trailed off and I turned pink, slapping the back of his head.
"You're disgusting." I grimaced.
"In his own special way. Now get in the car." Axel said, honking the horn from outside the mustang, reaching into the driver's side of the car. I laughed and got in the car.
*******
"About time you guys got here!" I playfully scolded, crossing my arms over my chest and jutting out my hip.
Ry, Sylvia, JJ, Dax and Quint lumbered into the cafeteria of the zoo, where we said we'd meet. I had my hair tucked into my baseball hat, hidden from everyone's view.
"Sorry. Someone decided to sleep in." JJ said, elbowing Quint.
Quint winced and looked away from me. I tried to not look too discouraged. Normally he gives me his usual once-over that always had my cheeks heating up and butterflies flying around my stomach. I thought I didn't like them at first... but I miss it.
"Where do we go first?" Ry asked. I snapped my gaze to him and shrugged.
"I'd honestly like to go see the gorilla exhibit first." I confessed.
"Ooh! I love gorillas! I'll come!" JJ exclaimed.
"Really?" Sylvia asked with a grimace. "Watching a bunch hairy fat things chase each other around?"
I ignored her comment. "Anyone else wanna come? We can meet back here in an hour for lunch?"
"Nope. We'll see you later. Off to the aquarium!" Sam grabbed Axel's hand and they went in the opposite direction we were.
"I'm going to the bird exhibit. Wanna come, babe?" Ry asked.
"Sure. Come on, Quint. You'll see your friends!" Sylvia joked.
Quint moped after them without a glance back at me. I turned and started to walk towards the doors that lead outside.
I felt an arm loop through mine. I looked over to see JJ giving me a knowing look.
"He's an idiot. Just like every other man in the world." JJ said. I leaned my head on her shoulder, thankful that she knew everything I was going through. Well, not everything.
"Hey!" Dax complained. "What about me?!"
"Not you, sweetie. I'm talking about everyone else but you." JJ looked at me and mouthed 'no'.
I bit my lip to keep myself from grinning.
"You're lucky you're my granica, JJ." Dax mumbled from the other side of me.
"I am very lucky." JJ cooed.
"Not as lucky as I am." Dax replied.
"No, I'm more lucky to have a sexy god as a mate."
"Actually, I have a smoking hot—"
I grimaced. "Get a room!"
"Sorry." They mumbled in unison.
I sighed. "It's okay. You're in 'L' word so I can't stop you from doing PDA."
Ash squeezed my shoulders. "You're a lovesick teenager that just so happens to be centuries old. You read romance novels like your life depends on it, and you love watching rom coms. There's nothing wrong with being jealous of other people's romance."
I groaned. "How do you know me so well?!"
"Because you're my sister, idiot."
I laughed as we walked farther down the paved path.
"RAINY!" I heard someone yell. I froze. It can't be.
"Ashy? Are you okay?" JJ asked.
I spun around, frantically searching the crowd for the owner of that voice. It has to be him. It has to be.
I scanned the crowd. People were moving to the sides, yelling curse words as they did. I saw someone running towards me. Not just someone.
"ALEX!" I screamed. I ran towards him, my hat falling off in the process. I could see his smile from miles away. He stopped and opened his arms wide. I jumped into his arms and wrapped mine around his neck. He spun me in a circle. Tears started to flow down my cheeks. "You're alive!"
"I ran here, didn't I?" He asked, his voice muffled by my hair. I laughed as he set me down.
He took my face in his hands and wiped away the tears. I took that time to analyze his every feature, checking for injuries. He still had the same colored hair, same style, same muscle. He had a short beard on his face that was barely visible, but other than that and the grey T-shirt with jeans, he was the exact same guy I remembered.
"You didn't change a bit, did you?" I asked, sniffling.
He shook his head. "Neither did you... although, I'm kinda liking you in that skirt."
I slapped his chest, rolling my eyes. He always flirted with me like this. "I thought you'd grow up a bit."
Alex's grin widened and he released my face. "Not in a million years, Rainy." He winked at me.
"Hey! I thought flirting was our thing!" Dax exclaimed from behind me.
I turned around to see JJ and Dax walking over, JJ holding my hat with a suspicious glare pointed at Alex. I looked back to Alex, who was beyond confused.
"Who's this?" JJ asked.
"I could ask the same about you." Alex replied, crossing is arms over his chest formidably.
I slapped his chest again. "Stop being so big brother-y. I get enough of that from Ry. JJ, Dax, this is Alex. Alex, this is JJ and her granica Dax."
Alex stuck out his hand with his award-winning smile. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Same here." Dax replied, shaking his hand.
"We have heard nothing about you." JJ joked, handing me my hat. I shoved my hair up into it. Alex flicked it up a bit and I fixed it with a slight glare.
Alex shrugged. "I'm not shocked. The time we met was one of the worst times of both our lives. I thought she was dead, so she most likely thought I was dead, too."
"Wait. You met him during the decade?" Dax asked.
Alex laughed. "That's what they're calling it?"
"That's what Z slash Ry started calling it. Everyone else kind of jumped on the train with him."
"I'll have to have a talk with your brother."
"What do you need to talk to me about?" Ry asked from somewhere behind me. I spun around to see Ry and Sylvia coming up to us.
"Z—"
"I told you it's Ry, Ash." Ry ground out, annoyed with me.
I ground my teeth together. "Ry, Sylvia, this is Alex. Alex, this is my brother Ry and his mate Sylvia."
Alex looked down at me, confused. "You told me that your brother's name was Z."
"Well—"
"It's Ry now." Ry's chest puffed out a bit. "Short for Orion."
"Okay, Whatever. You were saying, Ash?"
I shrugged, used to his attentiveness from years of dealing with him. "I'll explain the whole thing later, but right now there are too many prying eyes."
He nodded, accepting the answer.
"How do you know my sister?" Ry asked.
"Oh, I met her during the decade." Alex mocked my brother's name for that time. I rolled my lips into my mouth as JJ laughed openly.
Ry glared and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Where's Quint?" JJ asked. "Wasn't he with you guys?"
"He was here a minute ago..." Sylvia said, looking over her shoulder. "I don't know where he went."
"Right here."
I spun around, my heart skipping a few beats at the sound of Quint's voice. Quint's gaze swept over me, then to Alex. His expression turned suspicious.
"Quint, this is my friend Alex. Alex, Quint." I introduced, gesturing from Alex to Quint and back again.
Neither man said anything, they just eyed each other suspiciously. Men.
"I'm starving. Let's get some lunch, shall we?" Sylvia suggested, trying to cut through the tension filling the air.
"Sounds great, Syl!" I replied, moving to follow her. Alex grabbed my hand and yanked me back so I'd be under his arm. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, wrapping one arm around his torso. "So clingy."
"Not my fault you turned me into a teddy bear." Alex joked, squeezing my shoulders.
I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know teddy bears could talk."
"With Ash, nothing's impossible!" Alex declared, waving his pointer finger in the air.
I laughed and tried to ignore Quint's gaze drilling into my skull. If he wanted to say something to me, he should've said something earlier.
*****
"Do you have anywhere to stay, Alex?" Ry asked as we walked out of the zoo.
"There's a hotel not far from here that I've been staying at." Alex shrugged. "I just took an Uber here."
"You have to come stay with us." JJ said, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.
Alex shook his head. "No, it's alright. I don't want to be a burden."
"You won't be a burden." Sylvia reassured him. "We have plenty of space and Rune hasn't left his cave in goddess knows how long."
My eyes widened at the words coming out of her mouth. Did she just... oh my gosh. I glanced over to JJ to see the same look on her face. I used the sibling bond, that was unearthed when Galileo took out the block.
"Did she just... did she just say that?"
"I think she did..." JJ said. "Is she alright, Ry?"
We watched as Ry kissed Sylvia's forehead. "Doesn't seem to be running a fever."
"That settles it." I sighed. "She's officially fallen under Ry's spell."
JJ tutted, shaking her head. "Sylvia will be missed. Rest in piece."
I blinked and came back to reality to hear Sylvia and Alex talking.
"...bond that allows them to speak to each other. It's a triplet thing." Sylvia said, shrugging.
Alex looked down at me. "You mean... I was lock-" my eyes widened and I elbowed him in the ribs. "Lucky! I meant lucky. I was lucky enough to be stuck with one of Luna's daughters?"
I glared at Alex and he sheepishly grinned back. I was trying NOT to tell them about that part of my life.
"What were you about to say?" Dax asked, his forehead creasing.
Alex stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "What do you mean?"
"You said 'lock'." Ry mumbled, slowly.
"I-I did?" Alex stuttered, his face turning pink.
"Yep. You did."
Alex scrambled for an answer. "Well, you see, lock means something else in another language."
"Which language?" Quint asked, amusement evident in his eyes.
"A language only witches understand."
Ry smirked, catching onto Quint's drift. "I was raised by witches. I probably know the language. Which one is it?"
I rubbed my forehead, silently begging Alex to not dig the hole deeper.
"I'm screwed, aren't I?" He asked in the language we were forced to learn.
"You passed 'screwed' ten minutes ago." I replied in the same language.
"I'm guessing that's the language you were talking about?" Quint asked.
I looked over to Alex with a smirk. "Yeah, Alex. Was that the language you were referring to?"
Alex pushed his tongue against his cheek. "Yes, Ash. That was the language I was referring to."
I grinned at his frustrated expression and he just rolled his eyes, his mouth tilting up slightly at the edges.
Just then, a small grey car with an Uber sticker in the bottom left corner of the windshield pulled up. The car looked to be in decent shape, with very little rusting and no dents. The most noticeable feature was the missing hubcap on the front right wheel.
The car parked and turned off. Then a girl with bobbed dark brown hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes hopped out of the car. She scanned the group. She slammed the door shut and came around the hood to lean against the car, making sure to push her breasts up when she crossed her arms over her torso.
"Hey, Alex! You ready to head out?" The girl asked, giving Quint a lustful look. She gave him a flirty smile and pretended to hide behind a curl that fell into her green eye as a girlish giggle erupted from her plump, red lips.
I ground my teeth together, looking away from the woman as I tried to keep this uncalled for feeling in check. Why was she so damn pretty?!
"Uh. Yeah. I didn't think you were coming for another half an hour, Felisha." Alex gave me a confused look, glancing at the time on his phone. My eyebrows rose. Felisha? Is that her actual name?
JJ pressed her face into Dax's chest as her shoulders bounced. Dax, too, was having troubles keeping his face smooth. Ry and Sylvia couldn't even look in the girl's direction.
"I thought that I'd come early and walk around the zoo a bit, you know how much I love animals."
Alex's forehead creased. "Just this morning you swerved in the road."
"I was about to hit a fox!"
"And you swerved towards it."
The girl's smile faltered. "N-No, I didn't. You must be mistaken, Alex. I'm very pro life. You know how much I care about animals."
Alex glanced over at me. "Yeah. My bad."
Felicia smiled over at Quint again and twirled a hair around her finger. I tried not to roll my eyes.
"So, are you going to introduce me to your lovely friends, Alex?" She eyed Quint again and I bit my tongue, putting my hands behind my back and kneading at my fingers.
"Uh, sure?" He turned to the group, giving me a pleading look. "I don't really know the names very well, but my friend, Ash does."
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and shook me slightly. I forced a small smile on my face. Felicia looked me up and down. She sneered and my smile faded. I pushed a hair behind my ear.
"That's Dax, JJ, Ry, Sylvia, Axel, Sam, and Quint." I introduced, pointing to each person as I said their names.
"It's nice to meet you, Quint." Felicia stepped forward and stuck her hand out, palm down as if she intended for him to kiss it.
"Pleasure." Quint replied, shaking her hand. I struggled to keep my expression calm.
Felicia didn't let that stop her. "So how long have you known my good friend Alex?"
"We just met him today." JJ said.
Felicia's head snapped to JJ. "Thank you for that pleasant answer, but I was asking the handsome one."
"I was born like this."
"This one right here."
"How sweet, but I'm taken."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"That's my middle name."
I tried to cover my laughter with a cough as Axel, Sam, Ry, Dax and Alex answered at the same time. Felicia couldn't hide her annoyance, but she turned her pretty smile back to Quint.
Quint shrugged. "I'd answer to that, but I would be disappointing blue jays everywhere."
My gaze snapped to Quint's face. His lips were curved into a small smirk. Blue jays?!
*****