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The day ended up flying by pretty fast. It felt good talking to Melissa and Callie without holding back any secrets. Just letting everything flow was nice. I said goodbye to them after school before going to find Kevin.

"If Ashton tries anything funny, just kick him where the sun doesn't shine," Melissa cautioned.

I met up with Kevin and Ashton in the parking lot. I was tempted to knock the smirk off Ashton's face that kept getting bigger and bigger.

We were walking towards the cars when a loud voice shouted, "Ashton, wait!"

I knew that voice. Great, it would be so nice running into her here.

Nicole showed up with her two sidekicks, Ramona and Alexis. Thing 1 and Thing 2 as Callie called them. Nicole gave me an openly dirty look before sashaying over to Ashton.

"Are you leaving already?" she asked knotting her hands around his neck.

"Yeah."

"I wish I could come with you, but I have practice now."

"Unfortunate."

"I can always come over later tonight though," she said, trailing a finger down his shirt.

I looked away, and Kevin realized that I must be feeling uncomfortable and decided to walk me over to his car.

"Hey, Kevin," she called with a wave before we could get very far.

Kevin rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. She gave me a cold once over and then laughed. She redirected her attention to Ashton and gave him a deep kiss. My heart felt like it broke into pieces and shattered to the floor.

"C'mon," Kevin whispered and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, turning me away.

I tore my eyes away from the scene in front of me and walked with Kevin towards his car. He opened the door for me and I got in numbly.

"Liz..."

I shook my head and forced a dazed smile. "I'm okay. She is his girlfriend."

"Yes, but you're his soulmate," he said angrily. He looked back at them through his mirror and his face was disgusted and angry.

I forced another smile. "That doesn't mean anything. Besides, she's really pretty."

Kevin leaned over and ruffled my hair, "And you're drop dead gorgeous. Now tell me how your day went."

He drove off and I breathed a sigh of relief and started talking.

Kevin took extra care to drive at a compromised speed that was neither too fast for me nor too slow for him. He kept glancing at me, ruffling my hair and making lame jokes until I ended up laughing at one of them.

We ended up reaching the palace grounds after Ashton, which wasn't that surprising since he probably defied all traffic laws with his fast driving. I wondered if the need for speed was an Origen thing.

He was slouching on his car, twisting his ring and looking bothered. He walked towards us after we exited the car. He seemed to say something to Kevin using telepathy, and although Kevin still didn't seem pleased with him, he nodded. I didn't bother to inquire what that was about.

Ashton and Nicole were together, it was weird if I let it bother me like this. I was just upset that Ashton played with my feelings yesterday as if they were his toys. I tried to remove the negative thoughts out of my head and focused on the positives.

I would see Brooke today and spend the evening with her. That was enough to make me feel better. I put on a smile and entered the house.

In the living room, Ashton's parents were talking and at the same time trying to comfort a crying Brooke.

Ashton seemed to immediately recovered his senses. He rushed over to them, shooting a distrustful glare in the king's direction.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Brooke has a toothache and a headache," Mrs. DeLorentes explained as she rocked Brooke back and forth. "Unfortunately, she will not be able to play today. I will be calling the royal physician to come see her."

At this, Brooke erupted into another series of wailing.

I walked closer and smiled at her. "Hi, Brooke," I spoke softly. She quieted down a bit and looked at me with tears streaming down her face.

"I kept my promise to come and play with you today, see? I want you to get better soon, and so does Kevin and your mom and dad and brother."

Brooke sniffed "I'm scared to go the doctor," she sobbed.

"It's okay to be scared," I told her, "But the doctor is your friend, they're going to make you feel all better again."

She didn't look so sure.

"Am I scary?" I asked, giving her a smile.

Brooke shook her head.

"I'm going to be a doctor, and help everyone to feel better again," I said. "And when you get better, I'll come back to play with you whenever you like."

Brooke looked up at me with bright eyes and offered me a brave smiled. "Okay, Elizabeth."

"You're the bravest princess I know," I smiled, lightly brushing her hair. This calmed her down considerably.

"I'm ready to go now," she told her parents bravely.

Mrs. DeLorentes thanked me gratefully and the king told me he was sure I'd make a fine doctor. We waved goodbye to Brooke as they left to take her to the royal physician.

I let out a breath, and looked at Kevin and Ashton. "I guess I should go then."

"Liz, you were amazing with her," Kevin grinned. "It's hard to believe that you're an only child. You handled that well."

"Thank you," Ashton said. His eyes were earnest.

"Wow, Ashton thanking me? The world must be coming to an end," I laughed. "You don't have to thank me for something like this. I hope Brooke feels better soon."

Before Ashton could respond, he glanced at the door. In a few seconds the guy whose name I think was Jackson came in. He looked somewhat surprised to see me, but smiled.

"Hello, Elizabeth."

"Hi. Jackson, right?"

"Right," he smiled. "Ashton, we need to discuss some matters concerning the new laws. You too Kevin."

Ashton looked like he had something else to say to me, but then sighed. "Elizabeth, you can entertain yourself here," he said. "Or you can have a look around. Just don't go too far and don't talk to anyone."

I nodded.

Jackson looked at me. "I'm sorry for taking them away so suddenly."

"That's okay," I smiled. "I came here to see Brooke anyways."

He nodded at me and then made his way up the stairs with the guys.

"If you need anything, just call," Kevin said.

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After staying indoors for twenty minutes, I was getting bored, so I decided to explore the grounds. I made sure that I had my phone with me and then set out on an adventure. Or as adventurous as walking on a straight path could be.

I wondered where the other guys like Raúl and Beau were. They lived near here, but they probably had billions of houses around the globe too.

My mind drifted to Micah, it would be nice if I could see him now. I wondered if the time when he looked so uncomfortable in the cafeteria was because Ashton talked to him telepathically and told him to leave or something.

"Don't move," a voice came from my left.

I paused and looked over; there was nothing but trees and bushes. Maybe I had imagined it.

"Stop moving or I won't be able to hit it right," the voice said, more irately this time.

I walked over, it sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Do you want to die?" they asked a lot angrier this time.

Well, I wasn't going to let anyone die without trying to help. I carefully parted the trees and stepped into the closure. Jun looked up at me confused, and then I could almost see the light bulb flashing over his head.

"Elizabeth!" he said excitedly and bounded over to me, giving me a big hug.

"Hi, Jun," I smiled.

Then I eyed the bow and arrows in his hand. Was he really trying to kill someone out here? I glanced around and came face to face with a very anxious and uncomfortable looking Micah with an apple on his head.

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