It's ridiculously outrageous how a single event can turn your whole life upside down. How taking one impulsive turn in a certain situation can shove the events down a completely different road that would've otherwise been unreachable.

Four agonizingly-long days had gone by without hearing a single word from Noah, Elliot or Xavier.

Ariel had worked her best to keep my mind off of how horrible things had gone down in our last meeting by putting together a new distracting activity each day, but every time I found my thoughts wandering off to where the troubles lay, I had to remind myself that I earned Noah's cold-shoulder but also that he will forgive me someday, and that I was the one who told Xavier to walk away, so I had no right to mope around now and should just accept the fact that it didn't work out with him. Justifying the outcomes seemed like the only way to keep my sanity intact.

The mixed emotions clouding over my mind were driving me nuts, and I let out a loud breath, my hands coming up to rub the exhaustion out of my eyes, which was the result of my current battle with insomnia.

I was seated on my living-room couch with the TV playing on a high volume, a failed attempt to distract me from my running thoughts. Ariel was in the kitchen putting together the dinner she offered to make; and I was beyond thankful that she chose to stick around for the sake of my sanity.

A minute later she stalked into the room with two bowls in each hand, a pair of wooden chopsticks poking out from each. "I made fried rice!" Just a second after her exclamation the delicious aroma wafted through to my senses and I began to salivate - too excited for a taste of her legendary Shrimp Fried Rice.

"Oh my," I reached out for my bowl and took a second to appreciate the masterpiece. "Thank you so much, Ariel. You know just how to make me feel better," I chuckled and she grinned widely.

"Dig in!" She exclaimed.

After only five minutes spent listening to the soft clicks of our chopsticks digging into the bowls and the faint chatter of the characters playing on TV, we were interrupted by a slight knock on the door. Ariel and I both froze in our actions, not sure we had heard correctly. We stared at each other, our jaws now frozen but our cheeks puffed, unable to chew on the food in our mouths because we were fighting so hard to listen for the sound again. A louder knock came a second later, and my eyes widened as they traveled from the door to Ariel's shocked face.

She quickly began chewing on her food and swallowed before hissing at me, "go get it!"

I shook my head in defiance. "No! Who do you think it is?" No one had knocked on our door in days, and I was too afraid to find out which of the two people whom I'd disappointed immensely in our last meeting had given in first.

"I don't know, idiot! Go get it, now!" Ariel was whisper-yelling at this point and to be completely honest, her defiant no-backing-down glare had me gulping in fear and I reluctantly set my bowl of fried rice down on the table before taking a stand. I rubbed my clammy palms over the black sweatpants I hadn't changed out of in the past three days and inhaled deeply.

This time, an even louder knock sounded on the door and it was much more urgent. I huffed and stalked over to the front door, my hand hesitantly reaching out for the handle and yanking it open.

My heart took a leap right out of my chest when I found myself staring directly into sparkling jade orbs. Noah stood on the other side with his knuckles raised up ready to knock on the door again, only this time he would've hit my nose instead. I took a step backward, trying to see him in better light, and that's when I noticed the odd look settled on his features. He had a slight frown on his face that creased the skin between his thick eyebrows. My heart broke just considering the mere thought that I might be the reason behind the pain swarming behind his eyes. I hated myself to an indescribable amount because of the pain I had unintentionally caused my best friend - someone I consider my own blood.

"I'm so sorry," my voice broke. For days I had imagined that this would be the first thing I'd tell him in our next meeting - to immediately express how guilt-ridden I am and truly apologetic for hurting him and misusing his trust in me.

Noah glanced into my eyes for a millisecond before turning his gaze back to the floor. He nodded slightly. "I know," he whispered.

"Do you forgive me?" I managed to croak out, my throat restricting as I fought back some tears.

"I do, Nora." This time he looked up at me and held my gaze, "but, don't lie to me agai-"

I started shaking my head manically before he even had the chance to finish his sentence. "I won't. Never again, I promise."

Noah sighed, the crease between his eyebrows gradually relaxing. He shifted on his foot, and I realized I forgot to invite him in. I moved to the side to offer space to walk in and motioned with my hand inside my apartment. He accepted the offer and took a step forward.

Another movement followed behind him and my gaze shifted to the dimly lit hallway to finally notice that he wasn't alone. Two more built figures copied his motion and moved forward with him, entering my house and into the brightness of my apartment. As the fluorescent shone down on their features, my eyes widened in both confusion and disbelief.

Ariel gasped from behind me, coming to stand beside me by the open door. "What in the world brought you all together?"

I was still tongue-tied by the image displayed in front of me.

"We've spent the last three days studying the dangers you've gotten yourself involved with," Elliot announced grumpily as he side-stepped his way towards my living room. "Nora, you might need to close that door and have a seat."

"What dangers, Elliot? What the heck is going on?" Ariel demanded.

A warm hand reached out and placed itself on top of mine - the one still gripping onto my front door. The burning sparks ignited under my skin and I instantly pulled my hand away. "Nora, take a seat, please." Xavier politely instructed as he pushed my front door closed and waited for me to move.

I was beyond confused, my mind a jumble of mess and unable to think on its own, so all I could do was follow their instructions. I moved my feet towards the living room and sat across from Elliot and Noah.

"What is going on?" I whispered. I studied their postures and found Noah fiddling with his thumbs while avoiding eye contact, and Elliot looking too stiff and uncomfortable in his position. My eyes moved to Xavier standing tall to our right, his hands inside his dress-pants pockets, and looking alarmingly relaxed.

"Xavier let us in on everything that's happening, and we had been studying the accuracy of his claims for the past three days," Elliot began to explain.

"What is happening?" Ariel asked. "I can't be the only one left out, someone please explain!"

I nodded my head. "I don't even know what's going on."

Elliot sighed and rubbed his hands together. "An infamous group of men has been trying to get to Xavier lately," he explained. "And we're now on their radar."

I gawked at him in disbelief. "What do you have to do with anything?!" Sure, I might've gone out on one date with Xavier, but they can't be seriously hunting down my friends because of that single occasion. Unless they're so desperate to catch Xavier that they're willing to hurt innocent bystanders in the process - which frankly scared me way worse than the idea of myself being hunted down by those men.

"We've been associated with Xavier, we're considered companions, and that's enough reason for them to try and use us to lure Xavier out." My heart began thrumming faster against my rib-cage, and I could feel the blood flowing faster towards my brain and making me feel lightheaded for a minute too long. I stared at the ground in shock, trying to compose myself and find a solution to our conflict.

"How do you know they're after us?" Ariel voiced out quietly.

Elliot sighed, rubbing his hands over his jeans. "We were quietly watching you guys over the past four days," he began to explain. "The same three men have been keeping tabs on your whereabouts, but they never intruded - probably waiting for the right order before going in."

Ariel gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. My blood suddenly ran cold.

"And why are you so calm about this? Why aren't you freaking out?!" Ariel shrieked out my exact thoughts. Elliot seemed awfully calm considering the danger I had unintentionally put everyone in, and it was beginning to frighten me.

"Because we have a way out," Xavier spoke up from his position to our right. Ariel and I turned our attention to him, and I frowned in disapproval. I didn't know what their solution was, but thinking of how all three of them had joined and thought of an answer together was frightening enough.

"And what would that be?" Ariel asked, returning her attention to Elliot. He was clearly avoiding our gaze, which stressed me out further. Noah was still sitting silently, fiddling with his thumbs and very clearly fighting a battle of his own in the privacy of his mind. I would've paid however much needed to have a single glimpse of the war raging on in there.

"Well?" I demanded, growing frustrated. "How do you suggest we prolong our inevitable doom?"

I could feel the couch Ariel and I shared moving slightly as she bounced her legs up and down in agitation, her nerves in overdrive; but I didn't blame her. I was fighting so hard to keep a steady composure myself.

"We're moving to Indiana for the time being," Noah finally spoke up.

My jaw dropped in utter disbelief.

"What?!" Ariel exclaimed.

"It's the only way to ensure our safety until the conflict is resolved," Elliot explained.

"You're kidding me, right?" I couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle, which did not impress Elliot one bit. He frowned at me in disapproval.

"We're perfectly serious, Nora."

They can't be! I shook my head in refusal. Were they seriously asking us to move away? I was hyperventilating by that point. My head was shaking uncontrollably, continuously moving from left to right. If they all agreed to the plan and chose to leave I would have no one left here with me, and I couldn't bring myself to move away and leave everything that I know behind. How dare they even consider such a proposition!

"No no no. No," I mumbled.

"Nora, we have no other solution," Elliot narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not moving away!" I exclaimed.

"It won't be forever," Noah spoke up. "Just until Xavier deals with whatever problem is going on."

My head suddenly stopped moving.

I jumped up from my seat promptly, my eyes moving to where Xavier stood so calmly with his arms crossed out over his chest. His eyes fell on my crazed ones, and they softened as he studied my posture. I strode over to him furiously, my index finger coming up to poke him in the chest roughly. "You! You tricked them into agreeing to this, didn't you?!" I yelled angrily.

His arms loosened and fell to his sides, but he didn't move a step from where he stood. "It's the only solution we have, Nora."

The rage was boiling through my veins, and my head was beginning to heat up. "You caused all of this, fix it on your own!" I poked him again.

"That's precisely what I am trying to do. But I can only get that work done back home and I need you beside me where I can ensure your safety."

I scoffed and turned to Elliot. "What about Bella? What about your families? You'll leave everyone behind and just move away?"

Elliot stood up from his seat, his jaw clenching. "Bella's coming with us, too. And it's only until the issue is resolved, then we'll move back. What better idea do you have? This is not anything you've experienced before, Nora. We're dealing with some of the worst and most dangerous men out there."

My eyes were beginning to sting. How did I get us all into this mess? If I had just declined Xavier's offer to have lunch, if I just hadn't gone down to that coffee shop that one morning, none of this would've happened. I glanced at Ariel, who was still sitting on the couch and staring at the floor. She was nervously chewing on the inside of her cheeks as she silently thought over what was just proposed.

"Ariel?" I called out.

She inhaled sharply and looked up at me, her frightened eyes meeting my begging ones. I silently begged her to fight alongside me, to refuse their suggestion and ask for any other solution. This can't be it.

"I don't know how to deal with any of this," she whispered. I could feel another painful crack tearing through my heart for being part of the reason why she has to face this trouble.

"Pack up," Elliot announced as he started to move away from the living-room. He stopped at the front door and glanced over his shoulder at me, "our flight is tomorrow morning at nine."

My throat constricted. I couldn't believe they were serious, that we were actually moving away from my town and we were leaving everything behind. God only knows how long it will take for everything to be fixed. What if it lasts longer than a month? What will happen to my job? We were supposed to get back to work in a few days, and I was moving away with no previous statement. My breathing was coming out rapidly and I felt the room shrinking in on me.

Someone called out to me, but the voice was too faint to recognize. I forced my feet to move away from the living-room. A hand reached out and gently wrapped around my arm, but I shrugged it - and the sparks - off roughly. I dragged myself heavily towards the hallway as black spots began to infiltrate my vision. I hardly managed to recognize my bedroom door, and I walked in then slammed the door shut so roughly that the sound ringed through my ears and snapped me out of the attack that was slowly taking over my senses.