When lunch-time came along, Rachel and I got our lunch-boxes from our lockers and began heading for the club-room. All that morning, I had paid more attention than usual to our classes as flashbacks of last night's incident tried to distract me. Now, I was blankly walking along the halls, like an automaton on some pre-programmed course. After a few moments, Rachel gently put a hand on my arm and nudged me to the side of the hall. She fixed me with a look of concern as we stopped.

“You okay? You're like, really spaced out,” she asked me.

I took a deep breath, and then told her what had happened. A look of alarm came to her face, only to fade into a look of relief as she heard how quickly her brother had reacted to save us both from what could have been a serious collision. She laid her head on my chest, then wrapped me in a tight hug, which I returned.

“I'm glad you're okay. Both of you.” Rachel told me.

“Same,” I said.

A moment of silence passed.

“You good for lunch? I mean, with the others and stuff,” she then asked me.

“Yeah; yeah, I think so,” I replied.

“Okay,” Rachel smiled as she let go, and we resumed our walk. “Thank goodness for Joshy's reflexes, though.” she remarked.

“Right?” I agreed.

We were the last to arrive this time, finding the others in their usual spots around the table in the middle of the room. As the two of us settled in, I heard Ellie say something teasing about us, but I wasn't quite sure what I heard. Rachel quipped back to her in like manner, and the older girl began cackling.

“Oh! While we're here! We have our work-visitation this Saturday!” Andrea then announced, snapping us to attention.

“Hm? This Saturday, huh?” Ellie said.

“Yep!” the other girl nodded.

“My shift won't start until late afternoon that day; maybe we could time our visit to be like a couple hours before...”

“It's set up for one in the afternoon already.” Andrea told her with a wry grin, and Ellie shrugged.

“Not important! I can mess around for a couple hours until it's time!” she beamed.

“That... should work for us,” Rachel slowly nodded.

Eh? Did we have a play-related obligation that Saturday...? I suddenly wondered.

“Did some of the other actors want to do something that day?” Andrea asked her.

“In the morning,” Rachel answered. “Oops! I forgot to tell you that,” she smiled at me.

“Ahh...” I returned uncertainly.

“Some of the gang wants to get together at the park again around eight.” she said.

“Gotcha,” I nodded back.

“That time works for me as well,” Anhe said.

“Good!” Andrea smiled back. “Mary?”

“You're asking me ahead of your boyfriend?” Mary grinned back. “I should be good to go that day.”

“I already knew he could make it,” Andrea shrugged. Thomas affected a grin as she said this, giving a nod. “On to other things!” she then said.

“Hmm? There's more?” Ellie asked through a mouthful of her lunch.

“Elisabeth Drew,” Andrea sighed, shaking her head as she stifled a grin. “Anyway--we have our summer vacation granted to us, courtesy of the Liang family!” she announced, and we clapped as Anhe blushed, smiling back at us.

“I am happy that we could do this for all of you, and for the older girls, too!” Anhe told us.

“We're glad you became a part of our little group!” Andrea replied, getting up to go and sit in the chair with the younger girl, giving her a hug. Anhe hugged her back, the smile on her face growing brighter.

“Def!” Ellie said with a broad smile.

“For sure!” Rachel agreed.

“We're getting our itinerary in a couple of weeks; let's all make sure we have our IIDPs sorted out for the big adventure ahead!” Andrea then said as she let go of Anhe and settled into the chair with her.

“Right!” Thomas nodded back.

I've probably mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again: IIDP is the acronym for International Identification and Passport, commonly pronounced “ee-dip” by most people. I was pretty sure I had gotten mine taken care of at Rachel's instigation... just as I was equally sure she would make certain that I had in the next few days.

“Let's run by the downtown offices after our work-visitation to do that,” Rachel suggested a moment later, as if reading my mind.

“Nice idea!” Ellie said. “Though I'm sure our college girls have theirs ready for certain.”

“Oh I'd bet on it,” Mary agreed, and then a buzzing sound caught her attention. “My phone? Ah! It's from Chrissy!”

“Speaking of which!” Thomas quipped with a grin.

“Right?” Andrea smirked as she got back up to return to her usual seat with him.

“We've been invited to a dinner at a restaurant near where she works, around six-thirty tonight,” Mary then told us.

“Sweet! I'm in!” Ellie said at once.

“I... can probably go, if it is not her bar!” Anhe grinned.

“I'll definitely go myself,” Mary nodded as she replied to the message she had gotten.

“Same!” Andrea agreed. “Which leaves you three.” she added, turning to Thomas and then to us.

“Hmm...” I sighed in agreement. We had been getting out of rehearsals around six-ish on some nights, and seven-thirty to eight on other nights. The latter was becoming more common.

“Oh, don't worry,” Mary said with a soft grin as she read the reply to her own message. “We'll make sure to get you there; can't have our guild-leader missing this meeting.”

“Eh...?” I wondered with a hint of suspicion.

“You'll see.” she winked back at me.

Oh boy. What am I in for now?

“So, Seanny, how's real life?” Ellie then asked, diverting my attention.

“'S-Seanny'?” I returned bemusedly as Rachel nearly choked on something from laughter. I gently patted her on the back as she recovered herself with some coughing, taking a drink moments later to alleviate herself as she turned to me with a smile.

“That good, huh?” the blonde girl grinned.

“It's only been a day, and I'm not gonna wither away by the end of the week.” I said with a shrug.

“The others were pretty surprised that the two of you are taking a week off after all of the all-nighters we've spent in Panarena the past couple of months,” Andrea recalled.

“I can imagine,” I grinned.

The past couple months, huh? And we've been living in accelerated time every night... all together, mentally speaking, we're about a year or so older than we ought to be, right? Or is there something off with my math, as usual...?

“It's probably a good idea to take at least that much time off,” Thomas said. “It is, in the end, just a game... though I'm far from the person who should be saying that,” he added with a wry grin.

“It's so much more for other people, even if it is just a dream,” his girlfriend remarked. “And I'm sure Mandy could give us some insights into the psychology of people who spend most of their time there... or maybe we could intellectually dissect this little specimen next to Rachel,” she said with a mischievous grin.

“Uhh...” I returned blankly, unsure of how to reply.

“Isn't she already going to do that at some point?” Mary wondered.

“I think she did say something like that when we first met her,” Rachel nodded back.

“Right, exactly!” the other agreed.

“Ahh... so... uh, six... thirty, right?” I quickly stammered out.

“Yep!” Mary replied.

“I think she'll let us go by then,” Rachel said. “We're probably going to do another run like we did last night.”

“Probably,” I agreed.

“Oh, Tommy, isn't one of your shifts tonight? I thought I saw it on the calendar last time I was there,” Ellie remarked.

“Hm? Ah, rats--you're right! And I'll have to get going right after rehearsals,” Thomas said with disappointment.

“We'll make it up to you.” Andrea smiled, patting his arm.

“Thanks,” he smiled back after a moment.

***

After lunch was over, afternoon classes neatly breezed by before releasing us to head for rehearsals that afternoon. There were no guests this time, distinguished or otherwise--well, the principal was there, but he was only checking in on us from what we could tell. When we had gotten through the first couple of numbers and scenes, he gave us two thumbs up and headed out with a proud smile.

“He's really into it this year, huh?” Matthew whispered to Herby while we were backstage.

“Right?” the other boy nodded in agreement.

“Of course he is; now shush!” Maggie gently elbowed them both.

“Sheesh, Mags!” Matt quipped back.

“Quiet back there!” Miss Andrews called. “Resume scene, kiddos.” she said to Allie, Marcus, and Rachel, who were on-stage at the moment, along with Billy Smith and Daniel Hart, who were playing guardsmen for Nottingham Castle.

“Rest assured, dearest daughter, you shall as always be given the prize of the golden arrow! Have I not placed the best of my archers, Thomas of Barnesdale, into the contest? And shall he, beholden to me as he is, deny the prize to my own daughter?”

“No, no I suppose not,” came the reply. “But--ah, father, suppose, suppose for but a moment that there is one better than he; will such a person be of a mind to do the same?”

“It is, after all, my contest! Surely no one would deny the tradition of giving you the prize!” the proud sheriff replied to his daughter, her handmaiden giving a sly grin to the fourth-wall.

“Oh, father!” the rapturous response came from Genevive-Allie.

“Yes, yes, my dearest; now go and prepare yourself! The tourney is but a few hours away, and we all of us must look our best -- see to my daughter, maid!” ordered the Sheriff-Marcus.

“At once, my Lord Sheriff!” said Marion-Rachel. When Marcus had gone off stage with the guards, Allie turned to Rachel.

“And have you a thought on the tourney, Dear Marion?”

“None that would interest my Lady at all, I assure you,” the answer came.

“Oh come! We are both women here; leave aside the thoughts of men for a moment and give to me an honest answer! Who do you see winning this archery tournament?”

“Well, if my Lady will oblige me -- there is a certain young man I knew, one Robin of Locksley; if he should enter the tournament, I fear the sheriff's archers will all have entered for naught!”

“A bold claim, that! But I did ask it of you in confidence, and will not deny you your answer. Now come! Let us not keep father waiting!”

“Of course, my Lady.” the reply came, and the two of them headed off the stage in the other direction.

“If he should enter the tournament!” Matthew grinned broadly, ruffling my hair.

“Cut it out,” I gently shrugged him off.

“Boys!” Miss Andrews called over to us.

“If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended--” he started, but she cut him off at once.

“Don't 'Shakespeare' me, kiddo, or you'll find the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune coming your way! Now focus!” our teacher clapped back at once, receiving a well-deserved laugh in reply from all of us, loudest of all from Matthew himself. The rehearsal resumed, and everything went swimmingly right up to the climactic fight scene.

At the part where Joanna was meant to lunge at me, I suddenly had one of the flashbacks I had been experiencing in the morning, and as soon as she lunged I panicked and hunched down onto the stage, dropping my sword.

“Whoa--!” Joanna exclaimed in surprise as she went off-balance for a brief moment, recovering herself masterfully. “Hey! We've done this a hundred times now, what gi--holy cats, are you okay?” she said to me, kneeling down next to me as Rachel came over as well.

“Just... need a minute...” I said quietly.

“Sean? Are we having problems?” Miss Andrews asked me.

Oh snap. I hope this doesn't continue. If I do this on a performance night it's curtains, literally, I thought to myself.

“S-sorry, had a cramp; it's gone now,” I said as I stood back up. Rachel gave me a sad look, and even Joanna seemed suspicious, but our teacher was none the wiser.

“All right; pick it up from the top then!” she said to us, and we restarted the scene, which I got through that time.

When we had finished our run-through, we found that we did have a few watchers in the audience, including Ellie and Andrea, who offered Rachel, myself, and Anhe a ride to the restaurant we were going to. We went to get our stuff after accepting, Joanna giving me a close look as Rachel and I headed out the door. She put a hand on my shoulder, and I looked over in surprise.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I don't know what happened back there,” she said to me as quietly as she could, “But it wasn't a cramp. Are you sure you're okay?”

I hesitated in answering the question, which seemed to be enough of a reply for her. She subtly nodded, patting my shoulder.

“Well, you're with friends. If you want to talk about it, we're all ears.” Joanna smiled kindly. “Take care of him!” she said to Rachel, who nodded back.

“Always.” my girlfriend replied as Joanna went to her brother's car. “Even Jo's worried about you now.” she remarked as we continued to Ellie's car.

“Yeah,” I said with a wry smile. “It almost makes everything in Panarena really feel like just a dream,” I added.

“A good dream, I hope?” she smiled back.

“Definitely.” I replied, and she squeezed my hand tightly.

“Get in already!” Ellie called from a few meters away, and we dashed the rest of the distance to her car, getting in and buckling up quickly as she took off for our next destination.

“Mary's ahead of us already; I think Mandy picked her up.” Ellie said as we made our way through the city.

“Her dad didn't drop her off?” Andrea wondered.

“Hrrmm... I think she was saying something about some meeting he had to go to tonight.” the other girl replied. “Not that it matters to any of us, I'm sure.”

“My grandfather sometimes talks about meetings like that; I think even the mayor of the city is going to it tonight,” Anhe told us.

“Heh...? Fancy stuff, huh?” Ellie remarked.

“I suppose!” the younger girl nodded.

“What's this place we're going to again?” I then asked.

“Something Chrissy and Mandy found near their apartment, close to the place Chrissy works. And of course they've taken Sabrina a couple times,” Andrea replied.

“I thought I heard about it a couple times from one of my cousins,” Ellie said. “Isn't it almost like some sort of cosplay-restaurant?”

“Was it that one? I thought the name was familiar, but I wasn't sure,” Andrea said in reply as we came to a red light.

“Boo!” Ellie groaned. “But yeah, I think that's the one we're going to. I guess we'll see Sabrina's limo, too, so there's a clue...”

“That doesn't quite answer the question...” I remarked with an insincere grin.

“Right?” Rachel agreed.

“Don't worry! It'll all explain itself.” Ellie said to us.

“Th-that is even less of an answer,” Anhe said with a bemused look.

We arrived at our destination about five minutes after that. It was a tropically-themed cafe and restaurant, a glowing sign on the building identifying it as “The Bahama Grill”. Sabrina's driver was near the entrance, where he pointed out the table that awaited us before retiring to his own with a bow. Once there, we found the other four girls, along with a woman who looked even more business-oriented than my own mother on her most serious days. She had a plain suit on, which almost reminded me of the monochromatic way that Sabrina and Christina would dress.

Waaaiiit a second...

“Hi gang!” Mandy smiled as we all sat down. “So...” she began, looking over at the twins to take up the introduction.

“Everyone, this is our mother, Aubrey Jennings.” Christina announced, and Sabrina nodded.

“Good to meet you all,” Mrs. Jennings said to us. “And I must say, thank you for the friendship you've shown to Sabrina and Christina.” she added with a gentle nod to her two daughters.

“We're glad to be friends with them!” Andrea smiled back at once, the older woman nodding to her.

“Def!” Ellie beamed. “Hmm? Wait a sec, if you're their mom... then that means--!” she let out a gasp, suddenly realizing along with the rest of us why Mary had been smiling at lunch earlier.

“If you're referring to the fact that I am the CEO of the company that produces, runs, and maintains Panarena Fantasy Online, then yes, that's what it means.” the reply came.

“Whoa,” Ellie said, practically bedazzled for a couple moments.

“Then I guess we should be thanking you,” Andrea said as a server came around to take our drink orders. When this was done, our conversation resumed.

“I'm glad you all enjoy this little world the company has produced.” she said to us with an easy smile.

Little?! Lady, you created a virtual realm whose size rivals that of freaking Canada! Not even the hugest games from fifty years ago could do that, and even things that were more along the lines of social-grids were only a fraction of its size!

“My daughter Sabrina has told me that you're all in a certain guild together, but neither she nor this one will tell me the name,” she continued, placing a hand on Christina's head for a brief moment.

“Ahh... well, some gamers... like to be anonymous.” I said in answer, subtly noticing everyone who was in the know either biting their lips or quietly grinning at each other as Mrs. Jennings nodded back to me.

“I see... well, I suppose I could just pull up the logs and records to see for myself... but, as you say, I am not unaware of the gamer's tendency to prefer anonymity. So long as you are all enjoying yourselves, that's all we really want at our company.” she said.

“It's amazing there,” Rachel smiled.

“I'm sure it is,” the older woman smiled back. “I'm glad I listened to certain people on the board who convinced me that it would be better to utilize this technology for entertainment purposes first, so that more practical uses might have better funding on down the road.”

What a gamble, I thought to myself, but I guess it paid off.

“You mean like all those articles and stuff on how Dream Machines are being used to train people like medical professionals or military personnel?” Ellie asked.

“Exactly.” Mrs. Jennings said to her. “There are certain things that no virtual experience can replicate: exercise and dietary regimens, for example. But most other things can be replicated there; practical experience, for example. And the time-acceleration feature brings that opportunity to its fullest.”

“How did you manage that feature anyway?” Mandy asked her.

“I assure you I am nowhere near qualified to answer that,” the older woman said with a more genuine smile.

I suddenly had recollections of our visit to the game's headquarters several weeks ago on hearing that question; once again, the magnitude of effort that was put in to actualizing this game we cherished struck home.

“But I'm sure the general idea behind it is already trickling into university lectures on the subject by now.” Mrs. Jennings then said.

“I'm sure I'll get an earful of it in the next year or two.” Christina shrugged.

“If you're bent on space exploration and engineering, I don't doubt it.” her mother replied. “On a more enjoyable note, I happen to know that a couple of the games slated to come out in the next year or two will be set in outer space, one more realistic and one more fantastical.

“That does sound interesting!” Mandy smiled. Our drinks were brought out to us at that moment, and after the brief interruption we resumed talking.

“Well, Christina, you introduced me; might I have some names for these intriguing and thoughtful young people?” Mrs. Jennings then said.

“Ah! Sorry,” the sheepish reply came. “On Mandy's left is Ellie; next to her is Andrea; then Rachel, Sean, and Anhe. Huh... Thomas isn't here tonight... did he have work?” Christina wondered.

“He did.” Andrea nodded.

“One short, are we?” the older woman remarked. “Is he a member of your guild as well?”

“Not quite, but he might as well be,” Ellie shrugged.

“Interesting.” the other nodded. “Oh yes; Sabrina mentioned that she was inviting me to a musical taking place at Doctor Robertson's school a couple weeks from now,” she then said, her other daughter giving Rachel and me a soft smile.

“Oh nice!” Ellie grinned. “That means some of us get to pay you back a little bit for the entertainment you've given us,” she said.

“Well, perhaps a little bit, yes,” the older woman allowed with a soft smile. “Now, don't tell me...” she continued, gazing at each of us intently and finally settling on me. “I suspect you're the one playing Robin Hood, and I'd wager this little darling beside you is your primary co-star.”

“In more ways than one,” Mary quipped with a smile.

“Ah-heh,” I had to grin back.

“It's true, though,” Rachel said with a smile of her own.

“I thought as much. The posters do tend to exaggerate a tiny bit, but once the both of you are in costume and such I suspect there won't be much of a difference.” Mrs. Jennings remarked.

“P-posters?” I wondered.

“You didn't see them? The ones all over our school?” Rachel softly elbowed me.

“Nope,” I shook my head.

“Hahh... so oblivious.” Ellie sighed.

“He's... not quick, sometimes, is he?” Sabrina commented, and the others laughed. Even her mother cracked a smile at the words.

“Well, good luck to you all; I happen to know that a certain someone is not wishing you the best, whatever may be coming out of his mouth. I trust you and the rest of your cast-mates are more than prepared to put him to shame.” Mrs. Jennings said to us.

“I'd like to think so,” I replied.

“Me too,” Rachel agreed, and the older woman nodded back to us.

“Good.” she returned, sipping on her wine. “I'm surprised I haven't heard about any sort of incidents surrounding the play or the school recently, though; not that I'd want to hear about any, but all things considered, that man is hardly a decent man when he makes up his mind about what he wants or doesn't want.” she remarked casually.

Oh, I bet I can think of some incidents that are related...

“Speaking of incidents, there was some guy arrested just this afternoon, wasn't there?” Mandy then said. “Something about reckless driving.”

“Oh yeah, I saw the newsflash at the campus community center,” Christina nodded. “They arrested him near a doughnut and coffee shop, though the actual incident happened last night around... around your house, Sean, if I'm remembering the districts right,” she said as she looked over at me.

“Right in his neighborhood, huh? Did you hear anything about it?” Mandy asked me.

“Kinda.” I shrugged, and Rachel quietly sighed.

“Not enough for your radar, huh?” our friend smiled.

“Ehh...”

“Ughh.” Rachel sighed more audibly. “He had front row seats to the whole thing. Literally.” she then said with a grin of exasperation. “They caught the guy, though?”

“Yep, they nailed him.” Christina nodded. “Wait a second--!” she then blinked, looking at me with shock.

Here we go again, I thought to myself with an inward sigh.

“Don't brush it off. You were literally spazzing out in rehearsals.” Rachel said to me with a grumpy frown.

“That was you he almost hit?” Mandy exclaimed, then shook her head. “Boy, you're enough to make me swear! First that street attack and now this?” she said. I saw Mrs. Jennings' eyes narrow as she listened to the conversation.

“I'm fine, now,” I said.

“That's not the point,” Mary said sadly.

“Hmm.” Mrs. Jennings remarked with a nod. “You have quite the little family here, young man. I do remember that other incident from the news a couple of weeks ago. The 'street-ninja', I believe they dubbed him.” she said.

“That one's still at large...” Christina sighed.

“Indeed.” her mother nodded.

“Mother... do you think, it's because, of that man?” Sabrina asked.

“Ah! Let me not say such things as might be carried away by little birds,” came the reply.

“Of course not,” her daughter agreed.

“But, supposing a moment that there was a certain kind of interference being made on behalf of a certain individual, an individual holding goals contrary to a certain group of people... well, I suppose that I would quietly interfere with his goals, at the least.” the older woman said.

“Mother?” Sabrina wondered.

“Young man, hold up your phone,” Mrs. Jennings said to me as she brought out her own.

“Eh? Sure,” I said, holding it up. A notification then came to my screen. “Gyeck!?”

“Accept it. And then, Sabrina, take him to this address.” she instructed.

“I see,” Sabrina nodded as I pressed the accept button with a very flustered look on my face.

“That should see you through until the performances are over, correct?” my new benefactor said to me as if it was something perfectly ordinary to her.

“Y-yes, ma'am. I... don't know how to say thank you... for this,” I returned.

“Ah, no need for that. This is my way of thanking you. I may not know what exactly has been going on in this fantasy world I'm responsible for, but I can clearly see that my daughters have reconciled because of someone in that game... and I would wager my entire fortune that someone is you.” she said to me with an honest smile.

“W-well... maybe,” I replied bashfully.

“Don't be modest now.” Christina smirked.

“Is it time, for that word?” her twin grinned over at her.

“Ehh??”

“I think so!” Christina beamed back as their mother looked at them curiously. A moment later, the rest of the table chorused the word together.

“Adorkable!!” the girls all said as one, and I sighed as they broke into giggles, Mrs. Jennings shaking her head with amusement.

“Quite the little family indeed,” she remarked.

Well, I can't argue with that, I had to admit.

***

The rest of the evening passed with more lightweight conversations, with our esteemed guest seeming to enjoy it as much as we did. She excused herself around seven-thirty, wishing us luck for the play and telling us that, after spending some time with us, she was eagerly looking forward to the performance.

“Or even performances, perchance,” she added with a gracious smile as her own driver came to get her.

As for the rest of us, we carried on until eight-thirty, at which time we all decided it was time to head home. Well, more or less. Sabrina “kidnapped” myself and Rachel after we said our goodbyes to everyone else, and then she took us to the address her mother had mentioned.

“Wh-where are we going?” I wondered.

“To a certain hotel,” Sabrina smiled. “How much, did she send you?” she asked. I told her the amount, and she nodded. “She's, more perceptive, than you think. That's enough for both of you to stay, for three weeks.”

“Both!?” Rachel wondered.

“We'll, stop by your house, and Sean's. I'll, explain it, to your parents,” she said to me.

“S-sure,” I agreed.

About an hour later, Rachel and I were unpacking our things at a certain hotel which was not very far away from our school. What's that? Oh, my dad was cool with it. Which means that one way or another my mother will end up being fine with it also. He had thanked Sabrina immensely, our reserved and soft-spoken friend accepting his thanks with a gracious smile. She had then dropped us off here, and given us both a hug before heading home herself.

Well this is different, I thought to myself as we settled in to get our homework done.

“Now I don't have to worry myself to death over you.” Rachel quipped as she leaned on me.

“True,” I smiled.

I could probably say about a dozen things in reply to that, some more snarky or quirky than others; but none of them feel like they would be right for this moment. Right now... right now, I'm just happy to be with you.

When we had gotten through every last piece of our homework, we went over some of our lines together, and then decided to call it a night. Rachel decided to take a bath first, heading in to the bathroom we hadn't quite explored yet. A moment later I heard a gasp of awe.

“Sean! Come here!” she called.

“Hmm?” I returned as I headed over to where she was, feeling a bit dumbstruck myself when I saw what had given her a surprise. There was a large, pristine hot tub and shower in the middle of the room. “Hehh...?” I wondered blankly.

“Oh we can't not use this.” she said.

“W-well of course not; it's like, the only place to shower or bathe,” I replied with a faint grin.

“Hm? You don't wanna--oh!!” Rachel then blushed crimson, and then so did I upon realizing what she had been thinking. “I... I wouldn't mind...” she said softly.

“I... I know,” I replied. “B-but, I mean...”

“Y-yeah...” she agreed. We stood there for a moment just gazing at each other; I could almost hear our hearts thumping in our chests.

“Ahh... I'll... I'll let you go first,” I said, turning around to head out.

Rachel spun me back around, pulling me into a kiss. I can't say no to this, at least, I thought to myself as our lips touched. She kissed me twice over, and then smiled.

“Okay. Now you can go.” she said to me.

“Okay,” I smiled back, heading out for real this time and shutting the door behind me.

I headed over to where the bedroom was, putting on some casual clothes and then flopping down upon the bed. Around fifteen minutes later, Rachel exited the shower, putting on one of her oversized sweatshirts.

“You taking one tonight?” she asked me.

“Tomorrow morning,” I said.

“Gotcha.” I heard her say, and then I felt the bed moving a bit. She put her arms around my waist as she lay down next to me, and I turned to face her.

“We should probably--”

“Cuddle up and go to sleep?” she said to me with that bewitching smile of hers.

“Y-yeah, exactly,” I said with a laugh. She kissed me, and held me close.

“Good night,” she whispered.

“Good night,” I whispered back, and with that we fell asleep almost instantly.