It was Day 4, and half of the week had already passed by.

Obviously Conner and Bree couldn't spend all their time together, because Conner had a lot of things to deal with, including his characters' antics.

So when they had lunch, the teens made use of their time to talk about the upcoming events.

"How's school?" Conner asked Bree, deliberately using his spoon to push the vegetables on his plate away.

Charlotte clucked her tongue. "Eat your greens, Conner!" she yelled, making half of the table chuckle and laugh. Conner turned red, and it was especially mortifying that his own characters were making fun of him.

Bree sighed; just thinking about school dampened her mood. "The rumours and gossips are crazy and most of them are about you and me. The Book Huggers seem to be the only ones that can link our runaway from the school trip with Alex's disappearance."

"So... what are the other rumours about?" Conner asked cautiously. He already had a bad feeling about them.

"Well, about our love lives and our relationship." Bree waved a hand dismissively. "That's what happens when a boy and a girl run away. Some even think we eloped."

Conner's eyes widened and he choked. Bree patted his back, knowing how shocking it must be for him.

Conner wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "What is wrong with people?" he burst out when he stopped choking.

Bree looked so done with the rumours she had heard. "Beats me. That's what we get when we're the number one ship in our year."

"Wait. Why are we called a ship?" Conner asked, not recalling the term. "I don't understand."

Bree looked at Conner's confused face, pitying him yet envying his innocence. "Ship is short for relationship. Ship is a term you use when you want two people to get together." She explained drily, not wanting to get too into the topic of 'shipping'.

"Oh." Conner dropped his fork on his plate with a clatter. "I see." It felt really weird that the school would want him and Bree to be together. "It's funny how they try to create fictional love, out of something that may not exist."

"That sounds deep." Bree remarked thoughtfully. "I've never thought about it like that before."

"So how about the people? You know, my friends?" Conner asked, wanting to change the awkward topic.

"They're concerned about you. They keep asking me questions, but I only said you and your sister were fine. One blond kid in particular seemed annoyed with me for no reason, but he didn't stop asking me questions." Actually Bree knew the names of everyone in Conner's circle of friends, but she didn't want to appear like the stalker that she was.

Yup, Bree Campbell was a stalker. She knew a lot of things about her crush, from where he lived to where his mother worked. Her outstanding observation skills had gotten her into quite the trouble when the Masked Man held her hostage, forcing her to spill the beans.

"That's Fred, right?" Conner remembered the name of his best friend since kindergarten. In many ways, Fred was like Conner, as they were both extroverted and could talk with people comfortably. But Fred was somewhat of a womanizer, always trying to flirt, and was very sporty.

"That's his name." Bree confirmed.

"I wonder why he doesn't like you." Conner was puzzled and a bit bothered. He could see no reason to dislike Bree, since she was basically a goddess in his eyes. He also felt a bit troubled, because he knew from movies that if your best friend didn't like your crush, some nasty drama would happen.

"Maybe he's jealous." Bree said thoughtfully, laying out different ideas.

"I get it." Conner suddenly said, understanding glowing in his eyes. "We have been best bros since we were kids, and naturally we trusted each other. Fred probably feels a bit vexed that I disappeared without explanation, and took it out on you, since you were the last one to see me before I left this world."

"Imagine their faces when you come back to school." Bree laughed.

"It'll be like as if I rose from the dead." Conner chuckled at the mental image of his surprised friends. He stretched out his hands as if he were a ghost. "I'm baaaaack!" Conner made his voice deeper and his face was animated, mouth moving into different shapes.

"Wow, you two sure have a lot to talk about." Charlotte remarked as she collected the dishes around them. They realized they were one of the few that were still eating.

The two stopped chatting abruptly when Charlotte reminded them that they weren't alone, similar to when a teacher walks into a previously noisy classroom. Bree hurriedly scooped the last few spoonfuls of food into her mouth. Conner took a drink of water, to make it seem like he was busy doing something too.

"Well... we haven't seen each other in a year." Conner explained to his mother, hoping she wouldn't talk about their (romantic?) relationship, because if she did Conner might just die from embarrassment.

Charlotte shrugged. "That makes sense," she said, and to Conner's relief she went away.

As Charlotte placed the dishes down on the counter in the kitchen, Alex suddenly appeared in a flash of light, nearly giving the mother a heart attack.

"Alex!" Charlotte said, shock quickly turning into concern. "I thought I told you to be here half an hour ago?"

Alex laughed sheepishly. "Sorry Mom, there were a few problems back there."

Charlotte stared at her daughter sternly, and handed her her lunch. "Don't make me worry about you."

"Thanks Mom," Alex said as she took her lunch. Hearing laughter outside, Alex turned to see Conner and Bree laughing about something.

"They get along, don't they?" Charlotte asked softly when she saw that Alex was staring.

Alex knew Conner really liked Bree, and she liked him back too. Alex was happy for them, but all the same she didn't want Conner to get heartbroken. Bree was so going to get it if she did that.

"I'm going," Alex announced, and gave her mom a quick hug, before vanishing in a bright flash.

At night time, the gang pulled out mattresses and blankets to sleep underneath the stars on the deck of the Dolly Llama. Since it was already fall, the weather was cool, and the skies were clear. The city around them was dark and completely devoid of any light, so they could see the stars.

In fact, Conner was starting to get a bit creeped out by the infinite darkness surrounding them. To distract his imagination from horror stories and things that may lurk in the dark, he started a conversation about stargazing with Froggy.

Goldilocks couldn't sleep for two reasons. One was because of the baby, and the second was because of the amount of coffee she drank.

"This energy drink is amazing!" Goldilocks said for at least the seventh time that night. "Sometimes I wonder if it's a magic potion brewed by witches. I won't be surprised if that's the truth."

"I'm glad that you got addicted to caffeine after you had your baby," Bree commented.

Alex sat down on the wooden boards next to them. "Even though I cleaned it all up, it feels a bit unsettling to sleep on a place where multiple battles had occurred, and blood had been spilt."

"Red and Froggy got married on top of a witch's blasted remains." Bree replied. "I can't think of anything that could top that."

"It's a pity I missed that." Alex sighed, remembering her cursed self. "I would love to go to their wedding."

"Maybe they would have a ceremony later, to exchange rings." Bree said.

Jack and Goldilocks got up and went over to where Red and Froggy were, to chat with them, leaving the girls alone.

"So," Alex began. "I want to talk with you about Conner."

Bree nodded, knowing it was inevitable, just like Conner's protectiveness of his sister when he realized she had a boyfriend.

"...To make it short and simple, I think you two get along great... but if you hurt Conner I will kill you." Alex warned, blue eyes narrowed.

"Your threat is legitimate." Bree laughed softly when she remembered the destruction Alex had caused when she was cursed.

There was a short but awkward silence between the two girls. Alex tried to think of some way to break the ice.

"Even though Conner is friendly and open to everyone, he's actually emotionally sensitive inside. Especially when he likes you so much. So," Alex crossed her arms, staring sternly at her brother's potential girlfriend. "I'll say it again. Do. Not. Hurt. Him."

"Yeah, got it." Bree replied, a bit amused by Alex, but she could hear the seriousness in her voice. "I won't. And if I do, and you hit me, I think I would deserve it."

"Well now that's cleared up." Alex said brightly, stretching her body slightly and got up. Bree followed suit and they went to where the others were.

Red had somehow fished out a stargazing handbook, but she was naming all the stars wrongly. Froggy was gently educating her about the proper star names and their origins. Conner was trying to attract Hero's attention, but the baby squirmed and looked away from him.

"He doesn't like you. Maybe your face scared him," Jack teased.

"Hey, that was uncalled for. " Conner protested.

"Your face is uncalled for." Goldilocks joined her husband in teasing Conner.

Conner was about to give a snarky comeback, but saw Hero yawning. "I think he's tired, so let's be quiet and go to sleep too."

As the others prepared to sleep, Conner saw Alex and Bree standing next to each other, chatting. I wonder what they're talking about...

Conner shrugged and ignored it, choosing to lay out his blanket, getting ready for the next day, when he would finally muster the courage to do something...