In one swift motion, Bennett was tossed inside the cage Cyrus was previously held captive in.

"I'm surprised Mr Sullivan repaired the bars so quickly," I remarked absentmindedly. "What lie did you come up with to explain what happened?"

"I just said there was an accident with the machinery. He took the cost for repairs out of my paycheck and said no more." Nick looked down to smile at me. "Which is fine because I didn't really care about the money anyway."

As Bennett went to angrily chew on the bars, Cyrus quickly poked him in the eye forcefully. "You know this is pointless, right?" Cyrus said in a bored voice. "You don't have the energy for fighting back."

Bennett clicked his tongue in response. "I'll regain my energy eventually. All I need to do is rest and then I'll be out of here." He then proceeded to shift his gaze towards me. His face darkened when he realised that Nick was still holding me in his arms.

"If you stay with me, Vicky, I'll make sure my people will spare you." Bennett's grip on the bars tightened as he looked Nick directly in the eyes. "I'll even give this scum a five-second head start before I rip his guts out."

I shuddered at the thought of Bennett's savagery. "There has to be a way to call this off." I pleaded while looking at Cyrus earnestly.

Cyrus mulled it over in his head before he took me from Nick's grasp. "That metal slab we previously found buried in the snow... I think that might have been the shuttle I came in. Hence why it felt so familiar to me."

A shuttle? That might be helpful, surely, we could make contact once more that way. "There's probably another receiver, right?" I whispered under my breath. "Then we shouldn't waste any more time!"

As the three of us left Nick's house, we were suddenly intercepted by two angry figures.

"VANA? WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN THESE PAST FEW DAYS?" An angry Ms McCollin demanded as she came storming towards us with Mr Sullivan by her side.

Fuck. I forgot about her...

As Cyrus turned to face the adults, the two were taken aback by my half-naked appearance. "Oh my..." Mr Sullivan said in embarrassment as he tried to shield his eyes.

I don't know if there's a point in trying to lie anymore. Whether she believes my ridiculous reason or not is up to her. She can do what she wants with what I am about to tell her.

"Well, you see, the world is about to end as we know it. And that's because we're about to be invaded by aliens." I said with a straight face.

Ms McCollin's eyes went wide. Looking back at Mr Sullivan she gave him a worried expression before holding his hand. "I... don't believe you." Ms McCollin lied.

As Nick clutched his head in pain, I ushered for Cyrus to put me down. It may hurt to stand, but I don't feel like being carried around anymore.

"G-Go bring your nonsense elsewhere!" Ms McCollin said as her hold on Mr Sullivan's arm tightened. "We will discuss what to do with you later."

"There's not going to be a later," I said sadly. Ms McCollin looked at me in astonishment before slowly nodding along.

I suppose her being a secret conspiracy theorist works out in my favour. Most people would simply brush off what I said as a joke. But I bet a part of her really meant what she said back then about aliens wanting to invade this town.

As Ms McCollin and Mr Sullivan walked away hand in hand, Cyrus grabbed mine as he tried to drag me away. "C'mon, let's go!"

"W-Wait a second!" I protested. Cyrus looked at me in confusion. "Could you go on ahead? I just need a minute with Nick first."

Cyrus looked at me and then at Nick. He ended up caving in as his shoulders sunk in defeat. "Fine but come find me straight away when you're done."

As we watched Cyrus fade away into the distance, I took a step towards Nick but ended up clumsily falling into his arms instead. "S-Sorry! It seems like it still hurts to walk..."

Nick helped me stand upright while maintaining his grip on my waist to steady my balance. As I looked into his eyes, sadness slowly crept up over me.

"I saw you clutching your head. That means you got a headache, right?" I said while taking a deep breath.

Nick shoved his hands into his pockets awkwardly before speaking up. "They're in love which means... mission accomplished."

Ah, and here comes the worst part. "So, this is the part where we say goodbye, right?" I said in a voice full of dejection.

Nick started to kick the snow lazily. "I'm afraid so. I'd like to say goodbye to Jordan and Ethan before I move onto the next world."

Wanting to be optimistic, I piped up cheerily. "Want me to go with you? It might be hard to say goodbye on–"

"No, it's fine." Nick scratched the back of his neck before giving me another one of his signature awkward smiles.

"You seem to have the tendency to make guys go crazy over you. I think it's for the best that you don't interact with them. I'd hate to see them turn into something they're not..."

That's fair. I'd probably feel the same if I were in his shoes. It's best to have our last memories of them be positive rather than negative.

As we stood there in silence, we both nodded to one another. "Hopefully, I'll see you in the next world," I said.

Nick stared at me intently before breaking his gaze from mine. "Yeah. See you then..."

As Nick turned to walk away, I felt a pain in my heart. Are we doomed to repeat this endless cycle of goodbyes forever? I don't know if I can bear it anymore...

Just as Nick was walking, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "I can't do this."

My head perked up in confusion. What does he mean by that?

Nick ended up turning around to storm towards me, filled with motivation. "If I don't do this now then I know I'll be filled with regret."

"Do what?" I asked absentmindedly.

Rather than answer me with words, Nick swiftly pulled me into his arms as he kissed me deeply. It felt like sparks were flying and I was levitating at that very moment. This felt... right. I didn't know a kiss could be so magnetic.

"Was that too forward?" Nick said blushingly as he scratched his cheek. I shook my head as I giggled in response to him acting dorky.

"You better come find me in the next world!" I said playfully as I punched Nick in the shoulder. "I don't want our first kiss to be our last."

Nick smiled to himself as he touched his lips while backing away slowly. "It's a promise then."