''Babe, we're landing,'' a voice says, making me shoot my head up in confusion but I eventually understand what's going on when I see how Billie grins at me.

''How the fuck did you manage to fall asleep on this loud ass plane? You just passed out before we were in the air, bro,'' she says with a chuckle, making me giggle tiredly.

''Well, I was really tired,'' I say before yawning.

''Was?'' She asks with a chuckle.

''I still am,'' I admit as the plane hits the ground with a shake.

We are in Chicago now. I tense a bit when I think about why we are here and I try to push the worry away but it's haunting me.

''Are you okay?'' Billie asks, putting a hand on my knee as the passengers walk by us to get out of the aircraft.

''I'm so fucking nervous,'' I admit with a chuckle, looking at the seat in front of me. Billie rubs my thigh a bit before pulling me into a hug, holding me tight. She doesn't say anything, she just holds me and I actually calm down a bit. After a while, she pulls away, kissing my cheek before standing up. I follow her and get my bag from the small space in the ceiling. We're the last ones to leave the plane, so there's no need to hurry. When we are ready to leave, Billie grabs my hand and leads me out of the narrow veichle.

When Billie walks away to get our bags, I see the perfect opportunity to call Charles and tell him that we have arrived. With shaking fingers, I deal his number before pressing the green button. ''Call''. The monotone signal makes me even more stressed, but after a while it stops and Charles husky voice can be heard on the other end of the line.

''Hey, uhm... we are here,'' I say, trying not to sound nervous.

''Oh, already? I can pick you up at the airport if that's okay?'' He says, sounding confident.

''Yeah, and I forgot to tell you that I have my girl- my friend with me,'' I say, biting my lip when he turns quiet for a while.

''That's fine, I'm on my way now.''

''Okay, see you!'' I say.

''Bye!''

''Bye!'' I say into the phone before hanging up. I can't decide if that call was creepy or not. Did I have to embarrass myself by saying bye like five times? Okay, let's not think about that now.

After a while, Billie returns with two suitcases behind her, struggling to carry them both. She stops next to me, wiping the sweat away from her forehead.

''So, now?'' Billie asks, leaning against the handle of her suitcase.

''He will pick us up soon,'' I say, looking at the wall. I have a bad feeling about this. What if he does something to me and Billie? Then it's all my fault for doing this. Billie probably sees that something isn't right, because she wraps an arm around my shoulder before sitting down next to me.

''Hey,'' she says, rubbing her thumb against my shoulder.

''This doesn't feel right. What if he wants to hurt us?'' I ask, making her lean her head against my shoulder.

''It's going to be okay. I will punch in his skull if he touches you, okay? I'm really strong bro, have you seen my biceps?'' She asks with a grin, starting to pull up her sleeve.

''Billie, stop!'' I say with a laugh, trying to pull it down again but she stands up, punching in the air while I bury my face in my hands in embarrassment.

''It's gonna be okay,'' she says before grabbing my hand, making me stand up again.

We walk through the airport and I actually find myself calming down a bit when Billie comforts me. To be honest, I'm not sure if I would make it if she wasn't here but I won't tell her that. We decide to wait outside of the building, looking for Charles.

After a while, a black, old-fashioned car stops next to the sideway, making me tense. Billie squeezes my shoulder to calm me down but I can tell that she's nervous too.

It feels like slow motion when Charles exits the car through the door, looking around before his gaze lands on us. He is wearing a white T-shirt with a black leather jacket over it. His jeans are light blue and they look like they're at least as old as himself. As he approaches us, I take a deep breath and try to calm down. Everything is about the first impression. Don't fuck this up.

When Charles reaches us, he immediately shakes my hand, smiling at me.

"Nice to meet you, Ember," he says with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, too."

He then turns around to Billie and I can finally look at him without having eye contact. He look exactly like the pictures, but somehow more nice in real life. The brown eyes reminds me of my mom and the rest of his face, too. It makes me a bit emotional to be here and see him, but I try not to show it. At least not right now.

"Let's go home. We have a lot to talk about," Charles says, walking over to his car. Me and Billie follow him quietly and I can tell that the blue eyed-girl is nervous, too. Charles opens the doors for us and I get comfortable in the red leather seat. The car smells like cigarettes and smoke, but I try not to care about that now. Suddenly, the engine starts and Charles starts driving.

After some time, the car stops by a small, red house that I recognize from the pictures me and Julia looked at. With shaking hands, I open the car door and wait for the others. Charles then leads us to a green painted door, opening it.

"Welcome!" He says, holding the door up for us.

My eyes wide open as I walk through the door. What the fuck is this place?