"Remind me again why you're having a literary agency event at a museum?" Lexa asked as she rifled through her makeup bag. It had been a week since I'd told Enigma about myself, and I'd only seen him a couple of times. We did pretend as though nothing had happened, or at least I did since I still didn't know if he'd felt the same way. He certainly hadn't come so close to me again.

I shrugged in response to Lexa. "Because it's a cultural hub of the city? It's a networking event with Tristan's marketing firm and Ewan will be the museum's host so at least I won't be sticking to Grace like glue the whole time."

She tapped my nose with the handle of her makeup brush. "Don't move your shoulders like that unless you want a random streak across your face. Man, this friend group really has a stranglehold on arts and media, don't we?"

I grinned guiltily up at her. "Sorry, I'll keep still. Thanks again for making me pretty! And yes, yes we do. Birds of a feather, right?"

"I think we both know you're already pretty, goober. I'm just adding decoration, which, you're right, I am damn good at." She grinned back as she inspected her handiwork. She'd also brought me over an amazing dress to wear since this was a black tie event and fashion was her livelihood.

"Well, I only seek out the best, of course," I said loftily.

"Okay, let's see you in the dress, my beauty. I think you'll need help getting it done up at the back."

She was right; it was high in the back sheer fabric covered in a delicate lace pattern, with a hidden zipper. It was also a bit hard to move freely in, but it definitely looked great on.

Lexa clapped her hands in delight. "Yup, that's the good stuff, my friend."

"I would hug you tightly but I don't think I can..." I laughed. "How on earth am I going to get myself out of this later?"

"Well, dahling, never fear because I have that all sorted already. What you're going to do is bring a change of clothes in a bag and tuck it away somewhere, maybe behind the front desk. Then when the night is finished you can get Grace to help you change in the bathrooms and voila, you go home in comfy clothes! It pays to hire a professional, you know." She looked triumphant.

"Ah, beauty and brains!" I exclaimed reverently.

"Well, you're lucky I'm not making you wear a sign advertising me to those marketing sharks." She looked thoughtful, "although ... do you have a sandwich board kicking around anywhere?"

"Shockingly, I do not. How about I just rave about you to anyone who'll listen?"

"Okay but don't be weird about it, I don't want to scare them away," she peered at me suspiciously.

"I am extremely offended that you would ever think I could be weird," I huffed with faux outrage.

"I would never," she said sarcastically.

"Seriously, though, you should talk to Tris if you want to work on a marketing campaign for your firm. He'd definitely mix something up for you."

Lexa gave me a sly look. "He'd definitely do it for you, sure."

I glared at her. "He'd do it for you too, don't be silly. It's not like that anymore, as if it ever was."

Shaking her head, she chuckled. "What a dumbass teenager he was."

That made me smile. "Amen, sister. But it was probably for the best. Now we get to be friends without any awkwardness." Then I thought about his recent attempts to shmooze with me. "Well, only a little awkwardness."

Lexa laughed. "I guess he's still kind of a dumbass. Now, Belle, you're ready for the ball and your chariot awaits."

"I think you're mixing up references there, but nevermind; you're right, Grace will be here any minute now. I'd better get my change of clothes."

Ten minutes later, I'd packed myself into the 'chariot,' otherwise known as Grace's car, and we headed off to the museum.

"You know, for some reason I feel like I've been here recently," I mused jokingly as we walked up the steps.

"Oh boy, let's hope there isn't a repeat of last time," she groaned.

"They'd have to be pretty dumb," I said acidly.

"Well, they are Villains..." she caught my eye and we both giggled.

"You look absolutely smashing, by the way," I raved as we came into the main entrance hall. She was wearing a glorious red dress that played against the green and gold of her eyes, with her curly dark hair piled delicately on her head.

Grace grinned. "Thanks, Kens. Stu thought so too."

"That man worships the ground you walk on so obviously he's got good sense in all things," I smiled back warmly as I tucked my change of clothes back discreetly behind the empty front desk.

"And you look smokin' too, my babe friend. You ready to do this?" She offered me her arm.

I linked elbows with her and we waltzed our way into the party. I'd like to say all heads turned as we walked in, but of course this was real life and we got a few appreciative glances in total.

One came from Jackson, who had been standing nearby. "Kenna, Grace! You both look wonderful," he smiled.

"You're very dapper yourself," Grace said in a friendly way.

I had to agree. He was wearing a classic black suit that made the amber of his eyes stand out, and his dark hair was pushed back off of his face. I kept my mouth shut, though, remembering our last conversation where I'd rejected his offer of a date.

"Can I get you something to drink?" He asked us, gesturing to a refreshments table along the wall of the hall.

"Something non-alcoholic; I'm driving," Grace requested.

"A small glass of wine, thank you, Jackson," I let myself smile at him.

His eyes held mine for a moment, before he nodded. "Coming right up."

When he was far out of earshot, Grace said quietly, "that dude is definitely into you, Kenna."

I sighed. "Well, he asked me out to dinner last week, but I really don't think it's very professional if I say yes."

Her eyes widened, then she looked thoughtful. "I didn't realise he'd worked up the courage for that yet. And you're scared, aren't you?"

She knew me too well. "A little. In general. I just don't know if it feels right. I don't really know much about him, you know? He does look good in a suit though..."

Grace laughed. "He does. You'll figure it out, Kens. At some point you have to trust something, and know that not everyone is going to turn out like Greg did. And if it's not Jackson, that's fine too."

I gave her an affectionate look. "Thanks, my love. But you must be sworn into secrecy about this! You can tell Stu but nobody else, okay?"

"Obviously," she said.

A hand on my shoulder made me whirl to the side.

"Hey ladies! Glad to see you here tonight," Tristan grinned, as he looked me over. "You look ravishing," he added in typical Tristan fashion.

"Thank you, Tris, as do you," I laughed. He had always known how to dress to impress. His suit was navy blue which complimented his auburn hair and the iciness of his eyes.

He kept his hand on my shoulder and leaned on it a little. "So I'm very excited by the idea that we might become good business friends, Grace. You are, obviously, my favourite literary agent."

She was wise to his charms. "I think I'm the only one you know."

"You're the only one I know well," he grinned again, unabashed, "but I've been getting to know some of the others, and trust me, you'll always be my favourite."

At that moment, Jackson reappeared, drinks in hand. "Sorry, there was a bit of a line," he said. His eyes flicked to Tristan leaning against me as he passed me my wine.

"Thank you, Jackson. This is an old friend, Tristan, who I think you met here a couple of weeks ago at the exhibit opening. He's with the marketing firm, basically their top shark." I elbowed Tris a little.

"So flattering, thank you, Kenna," he laughed. "Nice to meet you again, Jackson." He moved the hand off of my shoulder to shake hands.

"Right, I remember. Pleasure," said Jackson.

Suddenly, the group ahead of us parted and I spotted Ewan across the room. I refrained from hollering at him but luckily he looked my way a moment later and I waved enthusiastically.

He managed to pick his way through the crowd to get to us. "Hello everyone. Welcome back to the museum, and thank you for coming tonight," he said in his formal host voice, but with a cheeky look.

"Ewan, you remember Jackson?" I did the only introduction necessary.

"Of course," he smiled, shaking Jackson's hand.

"It's great to see that you've got the exhibit up and running again," Jackson said pleasantly. "That must have been a lot of work."

"Well, I'm doing what I love," Ewan demurred.

"It looks amazing in here tonight too, Ewan," I added warmly.

"We've got a great events staff so I can't really take the credit," he said almost shyly.

"I hear you're going to give us a behind the scenes tour later." Tristan slung an arm around Ewan's shoulders. I noticed Jackson was still watching him quietly. I wasn't sure what I hoped he was thinking.

"If you behave yourself," Ewan said, laughing.

"Why are you only telling me that?" Tris sounded wounded.

"For obvious reasons. Though I'm keeping an eye on Kenna, too." He glanced at me mischievously.

"Uh oh, he's onto me," I whispered loudly to Grace. Jackson caught my eye and smiled.

"She only looks angelic," Grace said conspiratorially to Ewan.

"It's the dress; Lexa knows how to disguise me," I joked.

"It is angelic," Tristan offered.

"Okay, Cassanova," I pushed him, still wondering exactly what his game was.

"Does anyone want to see the amulet exhibit since it's been refurbished?" Ewan asked, ignoring Tristan. 'Refurbished' was a good euphemism for it.

"I walked by it. Looks good, man, but I think I'll stay and have a chat with the agents here, like we're supposed to do," Tristan answered, effectively trapping Jackson and Grace.

I, however, was only there to be a client face of the agency and could do whatever I wanted. "Pick me!" I enthused, waving my hand a little, as much as my arms could raise up. "Yes please!"

"Nobody?" Ewan asked, his eyes sparkling. "Nobody wants to?"

I swatted his arm. "Not if you keep this up. Come on then, Curator." I prodded him to move him along, then called over my shoulder, "I'll see you guys in a bit. Enjoy talking shop!" Jackson met my eyes once more before I turned back to follow Ewan.

Once we were out of range from them, I said playfully, "how'd you know I needed to get away from Tristan?"

He glanced at me. "Doesn't everyone?" A little smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Only when he's being unctuous," I frowned.

Ewan burst into laughter. "Only you could use a word like that naturally, Kenna."

I smiled self-consciously. "It's a good word, isn't it? I didn't think this is the place for it or I would've asked you to slap him upside the head again."

He shrugged with a bit of a wicked grin. "I would've done it." We walked in silence for a moment, and then he said, "you do look really nice tonight, by the way."

"Thanks, so do you. Lexa dressed me, actually." He really did look good in a burgundy suit which set off his multi-coloured eyes and brought out the gold in his brown hair and his overall warmth.

"Really? She dressed me too!" He exclaimed.

"Did she?" I asked, surprised.

"No." He grinned. "I muddled through on my own somehow."

"Okay, well you had it a lot easier. She had to zip me into this thing!" I laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he laughed too.

Just then, the familiar feeling of tugging energy knocked into my core, and I had to close my eyes for a moment to push it away.

"Are you alright, Kenna?" I opened my eyes to find Ewan looking concerned.

"I'm fine, thanks. Just a bit of a headache. The wine's probably not helping," I joked, realising it'd probably looked pretty strange.

"Do you need to sit down or anything?" His eyebrows knitted together worriedly.

"No, Ewan, it's really okay, thank you. I want you to show me the amulet!" I steeled myself, though I noticed that we were a lot closer to the case than the last time I'd felt the pull. I wondered if it had something to do with the new security precautions; I still couldn't properly see the display because of the people in the way.

"Alright, close your eyes. It's pretty cool now." I looked at him sceptically for a moment before complying. He grabbed my hand and began guiding me forward. I let him pull me along until we came to a stop and he quickly dropped my hand. "You can open them now."

I gasped when I did as I was told. The amulet was still there, encased in glass, but now it was positively radiant as it hovered delicately in what looked like a beam of light. It refracted prismatic rainbows over the white bottom of the case. It was as if it'd been trapped in a tractor beam and the sun's ray at the same time. I turned to Ewan, wide-eyed. "Wow, that just looks amazing."

He looked immensely pleased with himself. "It's a little more technologically advanced than the last house. And it happens to showcase it even better." He leaned in a little and added in a low voice, "nobody is going to be screaming it out of that."

"Yeah, let's hope," I agreed. "This is fantastic, Ewan. You guys really know what you're doing. Are you really going to give us a behind the scenes tour?"

"In about fifteen minutes, actually." He looked a little nervous. "I'm not usually a tour guide, so I've never done something quite like this."

"Don't worry, I'll be in the crowd as your number one fan. Want me to softball you some questions too? How about: 'Ewan Hamilton, how did you become Sapphire City's favourite museum curator?'" I squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"Thanks, Kens," he smiled bashfully.

"I can't wait. But first, I think I'd like some water. Want to go over to the drinks table?"

"Actually, I have to go talk to a few people and get all the final bits sorted for the tour. But, I'll see you in about ten or fifteen?" He checked his watch as he spoke.

"Oh, sure," I nodded. "See you then." I had sort of forgotten that Ewan wouldn't be able to just hang out with us all night, besides the tour, although it was nice to think that his talents were being appreciated.

Jackson found me again at the drinks table as I was getting water. He brandished a full glass of wine. "Hey, Kenna. After all of that 'talking shop' as you said, I thought I could use another drink."

I laughed. "I promise, Tristan is really good at what he does. He mostly backs up his talk with results."

He fiddled for a moment with the rim of his glass. "Um, I'm sorry if this is an inappropriate question, but are you two seeing each other, or anything?"

I wasn't entirely surprised that Tristan's antics had led to this. My teenage self would have been giddy at the thought. "No, Jackson. Tristan and I have been friends forever but we are not dating. I would have told you when you asked me to dinner if that were the case." I felt a little wary bringing that back up, but I did want him to know that.

Thankfully, he didn't press it. "Sorry," he smiled guiltily at me. "I just wondered, seeing you together."

"It's fine, I get it. Tristan's just very affectionate. And, as I said, he only mostly backs up his talk. On another note, though, can I ask you something?" I really knew almost nothing about him.

"I think I owe you that, yeah," he said.

"What's your story? What were you doing before this? I know you said before that you are pretty new to the city," the questions tumbled out of my mouth as curiosity got the better of me.

"Oh, is that it?" He teased.

"Sorry," I laughed, "I just realised that I never asked you much about yourself."

"That's okay, it's not very interesting, really. Um, where to start? I'll give you the brief version, to spare you boredom. I grew up pretty far from here, in a city called Darwood. My parents are wealthy and travel a lot for business. I have a brother named Tom who's in finance. This is going to sound so cliche but basically, I started at law school because I felt like that was what I was supposed to do but I hated it and I dropped out when I got interested in the literary world. My parents, predictably, were not happy at all and did not support me, so I came out here. I still don't speak to them that often, but it is what it is. Hopefully they'll understand one day that I'm serious about this." Those amber eyes were vulnerable as he looked at me.

I found myself caught staring back for a moment before I shook myself away. "I'm sorry, that must be really tough to not have the support you need. I think you're doing really well here, for what it's worth."

"Thanks, Kenna," he smiled. "It's kind of nice to talk about it, actually. What about your family? I've met your brother but I'm not sure what he does. Do you have any other siblings?"

"No, just Seb and I. We're only a year apart so we must have given my parents a run for their money growing up and scared them off of having any more," I laughed. "Seb's a professional athlete - competitive swimming. My dad, ironically, is a lawyer, and my mum is a neuroscientist who researches Super genetics and their effects on the brain."

Jackson whistled low. "Wow, that's an impressive family! I remember you saying that you aren't interested in Supers yourself; is that from oversaturation growing up, or what?" He said it jokingly but he wasn't too far off in a sense.

"Something like that," I smiled back as if I were joking too.

"Jackson, Kenna!" Grace showed up beside us with Tristan close behind. "They're gathering people up now because the tour is starting soon. You guys ready to make our way over there?"

"Ooh, yay, let's go!" I clapped, and linked my arm with hers. Jackson followed us with a small smile on his face. In a reverse of what happened before, I saw Tristan sneak a glance between Jackson and me, and a little frown knitted his eyebrows. It was all so subtly dramatic, really. I suppressed an urge to roll my eyes at both of them, though I supposed I wasn't on the highest moral ground myself, as a pair of swirling gold eyes flashed through my mind.

I had to break this night at the museum into two parts too, and even so this one's a longun' I know! Hope you enjoy a little Jackson and Kenna time, sorry that this ended up being a wee bit filler but the next promises drama afresh and perhaps I'll post it earlier than I was planning to!

As always, please do leave feedback if you're so inclined! There's nothing more exciting than hearing from those of you who are enjoying this ol' Super yarn!