"Kael, it's time to wake up."

I heard a voice pull me from sleep. My body tensed for a moment—out of instinct, my hand twitched toward my bedside, reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. But then, reality settled in.

I blinked my eyes open and saw my sister standing over me, her makeup done and her hair styled to perfection.

"Oh hey… what’s up?" I mumbled groggily, still shaking off the lingering tension.

"What do you mean, ‘what’s up’?! We’re going shopping, idiot!" she said, hands on her hips.

I shot up in bed. Crap! I completely forgot. I scrambled out of bed and opened my closet.

"Alright, give me a sec to change."

"Hurry up, I don't have all day," she teased. "Move it, slowpoke."

I grabbed a shirt and a pair of jeans from my closet. Surprisingly, they weren’t bad. Did Kael actually have good taste? I threw on my clothes in a rush, nearly tripping over myself while pulling up my pants.

"Okay, let’s… go," I panted, still catching my breath.

She stifled a laugh. "You’re a mess." Then, her excitement took over, and she squealed. "Let’s go!"

We drove to a massive mall, the kind that looked like it went on forever. People swarmed the entrance, their voices merging into an overwhelming hum of conversations, laughter, and shuffling feet. There were shops, food courts, a daycare, and even random kiosks selling overpriced accessories.

"First stop—Freddy Brown’s!" my sister declared, dragging me into a clothing store.

She immediately grabbed a black shirt and held it up. It had a stylized logo that read: "Vens: Off the Rails."

"I don’t know if this is your style, but trust me—she’ll fall head over heels for you in this."

I smirked, taking the shirt. "Alright, whatever you think is best."

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She squealed again and ran off, grabbing more clothes. I took a moment to browse, running my fingers over different fabrics, keychains, and hats. It was… nice.

When was the last time I did this?

The thought made my hands freeze over a rack of jackets. Back in my world, I never went out. I stayed in my room, waiting. Waiting for something to change, for something to finally reach out and save me.

I swallowed and shook my head. Not now. I’m not in that world anymore.

Pushing the thought away, I followed my sister to another store, then another. We spent hundreds of dollars on clothes for both of us. I didn’t mind, though. She was genuinely happy. Her pink lips curled into an excited smile, her eyes lit up as she held up new outfits, and her hair swayed every time she turned her head. She was enjoying herself.

And… I was too.

We stopped at the food court and got soft pretzels with nacho cheese. My sister took a big bite, practically melting in her chair.

"This… is so… good!" she mumbled with her mouth full.

I chuckled. "Yeah, tell me about it."

She swallowed and leaned forward. "So… do you feel confident now?"

I raised a brow. "Huh?"

She smiled knowingly. "I didn’t just bring you here because I wanted to. I did it for you. I know you needed this too."

I blinked. My chest tightened, and my vision blurred slightly. She actually cared. No one had cared like this in a long, long time.

Then, a voice slithered into my mind.

"Remember, Kael… this world isn’t yours. It never was."

Pride.

I stiffened. My hands curled into fists under the table. Again, I felt that instinctual twitch—like I needed to reach for something. A weapon. But there was nothing. Because this wasn’t a battlefield.

"Hey, you okay?" my sister asked, concern flickering in her eyes.

I forced a smile. "Yeah, don’t worry about me. I’m fine."

She stared for a moment before sighing. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

That was the problem. I couldn’t. I wanted to tell her everything—the truth about who I was, how this wasn’t my life, how I wasn’t even her real brother. But if I did, it would ruin everything.

I forced my best smile. "I swear I’m fine. I’m having fun, and you should too."

She gave me a long look before nodding. "Okay!" she said, grinning again.

We spent the next couple of hours shopping before she finally drove me home.

"Alright, Kael—don’t mess up with Rebecca. If you do, I will personally make you redo it with me supervising."

I really didn’t want that, so I quickly said, "Got it. I won’t mess up."

She beamed. "Good. I had fun today! We should do this again. You know what? You should meet my friends! They’re amazing—they’ll love you!"

A pang of guilt hit me. There probably wouldn’t be a next time. But I still played along.

"Yeah, definitely. I had fun too."

She grinned, blasted music in her car, and sped off.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the street. That was the best time I’d had in… I didn’t even know how long.

But I couldn’t get comfortable. Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day.

And I still had a lot to do.