I thought we got on the wrong train when I heard it announced over the train PA system that this train ride ended in Nice, France. It wasn't until I check the tickets that I realized we had gotten on the right train. 

"Did you know about this?" I looked at Laura with a disapproving look. 

"About what?" she seemed clueless and Thomas laughed. 

"So I guess you knew, didn't you, Tommy?!" I yelled at Thomas. 

"We'll get to Rome soon enough, Lili, why rush it? If we went straight there we'd be stuck on an uncomfortable train all night and then probably be out of commission all day tomorrow anyway." Thomas leaned back against his seat and crossed his arms behind his head. 

"Fine." I conceded. 

"Good." he smirked, "Everyone get comfortable, we arrive in Nice in about 6 and a half hours."

"And Rome by the end of tomorrow." I huffed. We were just pushing it off and pushing it off. I wanted to get there and figure this out already. I had enough of the paranormal for my life time and now I was finally on the brink of severing this connection too, but people were getting in my way. 

The train ride was only six hours long, but it was an uncomfortable six hours while I did my best to show Thomas that his antics of turning this trip into one of leisure and fun were unappreciated, no matter how much fun the guys were excited to have. Because of this, I only really talked to Laura on the train, but even while we were talking nothing much was said because she slept a lot, claiming we were going to have a lot of fun when we arrived in Nice. 

It was almost 10 pm when we arrived and we were picked up right away by a black SUV that Laura called out to the driver of as we left the station. 

"Bonjour, Monsieur!" She greeted him. 

"Bonjour Mademoiselle, vous vous appelez Laura?" he asked. 

"Oui, je m'appelle Laura Andrews." she confirmed. 

"Merveilleux, venez avec moi s'il vous plait!" he smiled and we walked around to the back of the SUV. We loaded our suitcases into the back before piling inside and heading off. 

When we arrived in an airport parking lot, I was confused to say the least. 

"Tommy-" I went to yell at him but Laura cut in. 

"Sorry, Lia, this one was all me." she giggled, "We're going to have a great night, so please just enjoy it and explode on me later if you must."

"Tu plaisantes j'espère? Tu es mort quand on sort de cette voiture et je peux t'atteindre! Attends et vois, Laura!" I yelled and threatened her. 

She yelled back about being sorry, but I didn't want to hear it. For about 10 minutes we continued in rapid and angry French and eventually we didn't both just crossed our arms over our chests, turning away from each other and making mumbled snide comments. 

"So what just?" Colby asked Thomas as the boys started pulling luggage out of the car. 

"Chick fight, just give it a minute, they'll settle down. They always end up fighting like this." He laughed. 

"And they always do it in French?" Corey laughed. 

"No, that's new. I think it has more to do with Lili not wanting you guys to hear them cussing each other out." Thomas pat my head and I elbowed him in the ribs. 

I grabbed my bags and followed Thomas and the boys inside the building and Laura started yelling in French to the girl behind the counter for a helicopter travel company. 

"Katherine Alarie!" Laura hugged the girl. 

"Laura!" she hugged back, "Welcome, welcome, welcome!" 

"Kat, this is Amelia, my best friend from back home in the states, Amelia, this is my classmate from the international school, Kat. She moved away from me!" Laura whined, playfully hitting Kat's arm, "But she can't escape that easy!" 

I laughed "It's nice to meet you, Kat." 

"Likewise!" she smiled, "You all are taking the ACH160 with our pilot Jean-Luc De Brusse. It's ready to go once you are all loaded up and have gotten the safety briefing." 

"Let's go!" Laura marched towards the door beside the counter and out onto the tarmac. Somehow even in stained leggings and a ratty old sweatshirt she looked like a model. Maybe because her top was tucked in at just the right spot on her waistband. Maybe it was the sunglasses or the way her hair fell from a bun and blew in the wind when she pulled out the elastic. Her confidence definitely didn't hurt either. She was just stunning. 

"Welcome!" a younger man, maybe in his late 20s, said in heavily accented English, "You all are the reservation for Laura Andrews?"

"Oui," Laura replied, "Enchante, Monsieur De Brusse. Merci beaucoup pour vos temps" 

"De Rien," he smiled at Laura. She could get any guy wrapped around her finger in an instant with a bat of her eyelashes and a soft and flirty grin. 

Mr. De Brusse helped us load everything onto the helicopter and secure it in the right places. He gave us a quick safety briefing with Kat did the final checks and we boarded the helicopter to head off to wherever Laura was taking us. 

The view of the Riviera was beautiful, but after only a few minutes we started to descend.

"Welcome to Monaco, the agency will bring your luggage to the hotel, have a nice stay!" the pilot said as we were let out on the tarmac, bending low under the wind created by the spinning blades. 

In the office of the small heliport, I just sat there stunned. That was so pointless. We could have just taken the train another hour. 

"Laura..." I looked at her, "Did you really just waste a crap ton of money so we could take a private helicopter for 5 minutes?!"

"No, it was free! Kat gets two free rides a quarter as a bonus for working there. She owed me a favor I thought it would be fun for all of us and save us an hour." she shrugged. 

"Fine, whatever, let's go to the hotel please." I said. 

"Not yet!" Thomas said, "We're in Monte-Carlo! This place at night is awesome! We are going to take some time and have fun, okay?" 

"We're all wearing sweatpants," I frowned, "At the least we should all go change." 

He and Laura and looked at each other with these evil looks in their eyes. I knew this glare. This was a whole thing they planned together before hand. This little escapade was probably the whole reason the two of them had come on this trip. 

"We're all set, Lili, I've got clothes for everyone, right here, all though the slacks and dress shirts may be a little big on your friends." Laura laughed, "But don't worry, we'll be ready to hit the town in no time. Our train doesn't leave until noon tomorrow, so we are free to do whatever we like tonight! 

"And even then, the train ride is 11 hours so we can just stay up all night and sleep tomorrow." Thomas added.

I looked at Sam, Corey, Colby, and Jake. 

"Are you guys okay with this?" I sighed. 

"Heck yeah!" Sam yelled. 

"100%" Colby said. 

Jake gave a thumbs up and Corey just looked very excited. 

We all split up after that, the boys heading off the mens bathroom and Laura and I heading off to the women's bathroom. 

As Laura pulled things out of her bag she made two separate piles, the things she kept in her arms and the things she put in mine. She had brought a little black dress with long sleeves and a scalloped neckline for me, strappy black suede stilettos, and a pearl four piece jewelry set. For herself she had a red long sleeve dress with a bit of a puff in the shoulders, a pair of white patent leather heels and a big pair of dangly golden earrings. 

It was a quick change for sure, with a touch of make up and little bit of hair styling, but in 20 minutes we were ready to meet the boys back in the lobby. 

They were there, all in white dress shirts, some in sports coats, all in dress pants of different colors ranging from black to navy to khaki to grey to beige, and looking a little funny in not exactly the right shoes for those outfits. I guess they all don't have the same size feet like Laura and I. 

I decided that tonight would be a reprieve from the insanity, that I wouldn't let the fear and the demonic get to me for at least tonight. Maybe I would be afraid tomorrow, but for now I was calm, cool, collected, and determined not to ruin everyone's night here in Monaco.