The loud clanking of steel pots and pans resonated through the room and teared through my eardrums straight to my brain, and I could feel the pounding against my skull deepening. I groaned as I rolled over the soft cushions of the couch and onto my back, forcing my eyelids apart and blinking against the morning light. I was still in the living-room sprawled out on the couch, with the pillows scattered around the carpeted floor.

With another disgruntled groan, I laid my palms flat against the couch and pushed my heavy body into a sitting position. I was more tired than earlier, as if the disrupted sleep did more damage to my brain than the overall sleep deprivation had.

I dragged my feet lazily towards the source of the noise, the clanking of pots getting louder by each step. I found a swinging door that led to another room and I pushed my way through, finding myself greeted by an amusing scene - Seth positioned behind the kitchen counter with his torso covered by a plain white apron, his hand circling around a bowl as he mixed its contents.

As the door swung shut, his head snapped up and his gaze fell on me. He offered me a wide grin. "Morning, Sunshine," he continued on mixing the mixtures in the bowl as I proppled down on a stool across from him. "Why didn't you take one of the rooms upstairs? There are plenty of beds in this house, you know."

I nodded. "I couldn't find the energy to move away from the couch." My gaze shifted around the kitchen, surveying my surrounding. It was an elegant, light-colored kitchen with marbled counters and silver stools. It was the first time I had visited Seth's parents' house. "Your parents have a gorgeous house, by the way."

He smiled appreciatively as he turned to move towards the stove, fixing a pan over and igniting a faint fire. "Thanks. How did you sleep last night?" Seth glanced over his shoulder at me as he waited for the pan to heat up. "Or should I say, the entirety of yesterday?"

I rolled my eyes. "I barely got four hours of sleep."

He frowned at my reply, the skin on his forehead creasing disapprovingly. "But you were knocked out cold the whole day."

"I was in and out. My body had shut down but I was wide awake." My hands traveled to my eyes and I began to rub them tiredly. Seth frowned some more.

Before he had a chance to comment, the kitchen door was swung open and in walked Ariel and Elliot. They mumbled a greeting and reached out for the stools on each side of me, Ariel sitting down to my right while Elliot took my left's. Seth returned to his pan and began pouring the eggs he mixed earlier with chopped vegetables into the heated pan, making omletes.

"Wow, you look like shit." Ariel commented, inspecting my reddened eyes. I rolled my eyes, not answering back with a petty comback because I knew she was absolutely right.

I pushed myself off the stool and hopped down on wobbly legs. "Well, I'll go freshen up. Let me know when breakfast's ready." I turned towards the door when I suddenly realized I didn't even know where the bathrooms were and stopped in my tracks. As if sensing my confusion, Seth immediately spoke up.

"Find any room on the first floor that isn't occupied and it's yours. Each have their own bathroom."

I nodded and mumbled a thanks, reaching the living room and grabbing the only remaining suitcase from the hallway. I strolled towards the long stairway, carrying my suitcase with both hands until the first floor. I was breathing heavily by the time I reached the top, my body too weak from malnutrition.

I reached out for the first door to my right and lowered the handle, peeking through the darkness. Noah was sprawled out on the king-sized bed positioned in the middle of the spacious room, his arm draped over his eyes and his chest bare. I closed the door shut and reached for the one across from Noah's claimed bedroom. To my luck, it was unoccupied. I set my suitcase down by the king-sized bed, unzipping it and digging through for my toiletries and a fresh pair of clothing. Once I had what I needed, I made my way towards the bathroom.

The insides of the bathroom was absolutely gorgeous, with light wooden counters and a huge glass shower stall. I locked the door behind me and wasted no more second before discarding of my clothes and hopping under the steamy showers. I scrubbed at my skin with whatever little energy I had left within me, and massaged my scalp with my favorite mango-scented shampoo, hoping its relaxing aroma would aid to my pounding headache.

When my stomach began to rumble ferociously I forced my body out of the stall, grabbing the nearest towel and drying off. It smelled like lavender and by the time I dried off the last droplet on my skin, I could tell my body had absorbed its floral scent. I wrapped the towel tightly around my body, the bathroom too foggy that breathing in the presence of the heat became rather challenging. I grabbed my clothes and headed towards the bedroom where I could change freely.

As I pulled my wet hair into a messy bun to allow the back of my neck to cool off, I headed out the bedroom and towards the staircase, hearing the loud chattering of everyone resonate through the house. I reached for the kitchen door and my stomach instantly began to rumble as the smell of bacon hit my senses, as if my body was begging me to consume some protein to fuel my energy. Ariel was hunching over the counter to grab a piece of bacon from the plate in Seth's hands, and he shoo-ed her away, frowning and scolding her for touching the food when it was still so hot. Ariel didn't even flinch, biting onto the flaming bacon strip.

I proppled down on the same stool I claimed earlier, grabbing a plate and filling it up with scrambled eggs and toasted bread slices, smothering warm butter on top and taking a huge bite. Unintentionally, I hummed in satisfaction as I chewed on the crunchy bits of my toast and savored its taste.

Ariel was eyeing me weirdly, her gaze inspecting my face. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"No, she didn't," Seth answered for me, raising his cup of coffee and taking a sip from it.

I glared at him, dropping the last half of my toast on my plate and grabbing a mug to pour coffee in.

"Was it the nightmares again?" Ariel asked, rather automatically. My head snapped to her sharply, eyes widening while my brows furrowed dangerously, silently screaming what the hell, Ariel?!

Elliot raised his head from his plate, glancing between Ariel and I. Before anyone had a chance to comment, the door swung open and Bella and Noah trodged in, mumbling a good morning and immediately reaching for the coffee pot that I had set aside.

Elliot's eyes remained on me.

"You're having them again?"

I shook my head, denying it. "No."

"What is she having?" Noah asked, hoisting himself on the counter across from us, facing us directly. He raised his navy blue mug to his lips and sipped on the coffee, his eyes remaining on Elliot, who was still staring at me.

"Scrambled eggs and toast." I deadpanned as I grabbed my fork again, stuffing my mouth with food so they wouldn't ask me any more questions.

Ariel sighed. "It's not a big deal, Nora. We can get you on the-"

My fork abruptly dropped onto my plate with a loud clank, silencing Ariel. She flinched at the loud noise. "May I eat my breakfast in peace?" I asked rhetorically.

Noah frowned. "I see," he mumbled. My head snapped to him and my glare sent daggers at his head.

"And what is it that you're seeing exactly, Noah?"

Seth whistled, turning around and refilling his cup with black coffee. "Cranky Nory is back."

I scoffed, "what did you just call me?!"

Elliot clapped his hands. "Alright, enough!"

"Girls, I was thinking, how about we go to the city after breakfast and hang about in a coffee shop? Maybe even do a little shopping?" Bella suddenly cut in, her face lighting up brightly as she suggested her plan. When Ariel heard the word shopping, a wide grin spread across her face and she instantly nodded. They both turned to look at me, and I just shrugged.

"I guess we could." I went back to eating my food, the slight rumble in my stomach reminding me that it was not yet satisfied and craved more.

"I'll drop you guys. I have a few errands to run myself." Seth offered.

Around 10 minutes later, once I felt too full to breathe properly, I dropped my spoon on the plate and slumped down in my seat. Ariel was watching me expectantly, and as soon as she read my expression and posture announcing that I was done with my breakfast, she hopped off her seat excitedly.

"Come on, then! Let's get ready!" She yanked me by the hem of my top, leading me off the stool and towards the door. I followed grumpily, dragging my feet behind as she led me up the stairs.

"I've already changed, Ariel."

She stopped to glance at my black fitted sweatpants and grey crop-top, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "That's home-wear, not nearly suitable enough for a stroll in the city," she tsk-ed, reaching out for my hand once again and pulling to guide me up the stairs. I groaned but followed along until we stopped by a door. We walked in and were greeted by a mountain of clothes built on the edge of the unmade bed. How she managed to unpack all those clothes in less than a day was beyond me.

"I think I'll go for this yellow floral dress, what do you say?" She held up a casual, bright knee-length dress, eyeing it then searching through my expression. I nodded.

"It's beautiful."

She smiled appreciatively and turned towards the bathroom, leaving to change - I assumed. I slumped down on her bed, my hands searching between her clothes to notice that she had packed as if she was moving in, rather than only staying for a week.

Ariel re-appeared in the bedroom a couple minutes later, her bright dress on and her strawberry-blonde hair cascading down her bare shoulders in natural waves. "Alright, time to doll you up!"

I cringed at her choice of words, but quickly covered it up with a tight, forced smile that came out looking more like a grimace. Ariel reached for my arm and pulled me towards the door, where we left and headed down to my borrowed bedroom.

After nearly 15 minutes spent searching through my packed clothes, ironing them straight, quickly blow-drying my hair, and applying a decent amount of makeup, Ariel truly had "dolled" me up to near perfection.

I almost looked normal, the only exception being my bloodshot eyes and the permanent grimace on my face.

We reached the ground floor to see Seth and Bella already waiting for us in the living room, watching some cooking show displayed on the wide TV. As our footsteps neared, they noticed our appearance and got up from their seats.

"Ready?" Seth asked, and we nodded.

We left through the front door to his car and hopped in, Ariel claiming shotgun, as if it even mattered anymore. We had matters way more threatening to brood over, and their nonchalant attitude - wanting to go shopping and stroll freely in the city's center - was doubling my feelings of unease.

**

"Let's check this one out!" Ariel exclaimed and without waiting for a reply, vanished into a store to our right. Bella and I gave each other a look, and followed behind her.

Seth dropped us off in the middle of the city and went off to God knows where, and we had already been to at least 7 different shops in the past hour and a half. We'd been to a few branded clothes shops, a couple of shoes shops, and a few smaller antique shops which Bella found intriguing from their window displays.

But Ariel wasn't even nearly satisfied.

The shop we entered was another antique shop, and Ariel stopped at a nearby counter to inspect the displayed necklaces. She reached out for one and began to inspect the shining stones dangling from the bronze chain, her eyes twinkling with astonishment.

The young owner stood behind the counter watching Ariel dubiously, and I reciprocated his looks, eyeing him with just as much doubt.

"What do you think about this piece?" Ariel asked, turning around with the necklace dangling from her finger.

"It's beautiful," Bella commented.

My eyes remained on the owner, as he kept his gaze fixed on Ariel.

Suddenly, they moved to me, and he was so startled by my inspecting gaze that his eyebrows rose and he fixed his posture, shifting on his legs awkwardly.

"Nora?" Ariel called out to me. I snapped my head towards her to see her eyeing me weirdly, then turning to look at the owner. She frowned in confusion.

"Its nice," I mumbled, slowly coming back to my senses.

"Hmm, I don't know if I should get it," Ariel wondered as she placed it against her neck and studied it through the small mirror set on the counter.

"Hey, uhh, I'll run a quick errand down a store on the other side and I'll get back to you, yeah? Just wait for me here, I'll be back in a few." I announced as I walked towards the door. Bella and Ariel both turned to watch me leave, opening their mouths like they were about to protest, but I gave them no chance as I stepped outside the shop and continued down the road towards another one.

The large red sign got bigger as I neared the pharmacy, and when I walked in the bells over the door rang to announce my arrival.

An old, short lady in a white coat appeared through a door behind the counter, and offered me a small smile. I returned the gesture and strolled down the aisles, grabbing random products such as a pack of band-aid, a navy-blue packaged deodorant, and a toothbrush. I walked to the counter and set them down, eyeing the boxes of medicine behind the pharmacist.

When my eyes met hers again, she offered me another kind smile. "Do you need anything else, dear?" Her soft voice questioned. I nodded.

"Umm, yeah. I need some light sleep medication, please." My heart began racing just speaking those words.

The pharmacist nodded, turning around to search through the packages. "Any specific type you're comfortable with?"

I shook my head. "Anything will do."

She eyed me for a second too long, before nodding. She grabbed a box and a plastic bag, bagging up the products I picked and eyeing each skeptically.

My fingers were beginning to twitch, eager to just grab the bag and run out of the store. Until eventually she rounded them up and announced their cost, which I quickly paid for. She gave me back the change and offered a final smile, telling me to have a good day. But I didn't wait for her to finish her sentence as I grabbed the bag and stalked towards the door.

I clutched onto the plastic bag tightly, my jaw clenching. I had gone such a long way to reach a point where I no longer needed to consume medication in order to have some peace. And now I was back to point one.

I clenched my fist so tightly and felt my long nails digging into my palms, leaving an itching ache.

"Everything alright?"

My head snapped up to the source of the voice, and my furrowed brows slowly relaxed. "Yeah." I forced out a smile.

Bella eyed the plastic bag in my hands curiously. "What did you get?"

"Just some necessities. Deodorant, toothbrush." I rolled the bag and shoved it into another paper bag contaning a cute top I had bought earlier from a small local shop. "Did you get the necklace?" I asked Ariel.

She shook her head. "Wasn't completely my style."

"So, where to next?" I asked, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

"We were thinking of going back actually. But Seth hasn't finished yet."

"We can just grab a taxi," I suggested.

"We thought of that," Ariel began, "until a car pulled up and the driver offered to take us back to Seth's."

I frowned, "huh?"

Bella nodded, gesturing behind her to the huge black SUV with dark tinted windows standing to the curb, a man in a neat black suit standing at the head with his hands behind his back. My frown deepened.

"Who is he?"

"He's been sent by Xavier," Bella answered.

"That's bullshit," I scoffed.

Ariel's eyes widened, and Bella's mouth clamped shut. I eyed the man skeptically, seeing him give no reaction even though I was positive he could see my glare even from the distance.

"We're getting a cab. We can't be foolish enough to trust a stranger's words, not at a time like this."

"Nora, it's fine. He's from Xavier's-" Ariel began to speak but I shook my head.

"Just because he says so doesn't make it true," I accidentally snapped a bit too harshly.

Bella raised her hands, "woah.." She glanced over her shoulder at the man then turned to look at me again. "We'll just take a cab."

I immediately turned to search the cars driving down the road, and called out for a passing cab.

"Let me at least tell him we're taking a cab so he can leave, too," Ariel turned to start towards the stranger with the black SUV, but I grabbed her hand tightly to stop her.

"No. We don't need to do that. Let's just go home." I didn't wait for an answer as I guided her towards the cab, opening the back door and waiting for them to climb in first before I spared one last glance at the standing driver, seeing him holding a phone to his ear, and then I climbed in after the girls and asked the cab driver to go off.