The bell rang signaling the end of csses for the day. Xavier was unhappy because, while everyone heard the bell to freedom, all that he heard was the bell that meant he would have to come back tomorrow.

  It would be easy enough to take a week off and his grades wouldn’t suffer, but – aside from requiring the grounding in Secur matters - The Eternal knew he had to capitalize on this week.

  This was the week Edward was missing from school, and if the plot remained intact, the mind-reading vampire would make his return in two to three days’ time.

  Bel would probably be drawn to Edward again, and Xavier merely wanted to keep some of her attention on himself, including him in the events that are to come in a seamless manner.

  “No rest for the wicked…” Xavier mumbled as he made his way out of the css.

  ???

  CARVER’S CAFé

  Jessie and Ange sat on one side.

  Mike and Eric sat on the other side.

  Bel, and the new face that remained unknown to her – Brittney – sat at both ends of the table.

  Even without anyone saying anything, Bel and Brittney could recognize that they were being treated as people to be protected at all costs.

  For Brittney, it was at Jessie’s insistence.

  For Bel, it was at Xavier’s insistence, though he wasn’t there as yet.

  The seven friends occupied the rgest table in Carver’s Café, and surprisingly, they sat in the centermost location. Bel felt uncomfortable being at the center – she preferred to stick to her and Charlie’s usual corners.

  Jessica was the one to select the table, and of course, as someone who loved attention, she picked the most conspicuous location.

  Ange sent Bel a comforting wink as if telling the shy girl to give up all hopes of ever being inconspicuous again.

  Jessie and Brittney were in a world of their own, drinking water from the same cup in such a btant way that even a na?ve Bel could figure out what was going on.

  Surprisingly, Bel found that she had no problem with it, even though she grew up with a semi-traditional mindset.

  Mike would occasionally brush Bel’s hand, and Eric would become chattier when he was sure that she was listening. By now, she had gotten used to their subtle antics.

  But as long as it remained mostly subtle, Bel had no problems. After all, she didn’t have experience rejecting boys so any confessions may be met with actual reluctant acceptance.

  Though, Bel did figure out the perfect strategy to discourage confessions – just mention Xavier’s name in a sentence, and Mike and Eric defted and retreated on instinct.

  “All I am saying…” Mike and Eric were concluding their test argument. “There is not a better pce to eat than Carver’s Café – not in Forks anyway.”

  “What about Mary’s Shack?” Eric argued.

  “You heard it…” Mike shrugged. “It’s called a shack for a reason… besides, she does only pizzas.”

  “Trust me when I say…” Ange’s voice brought a sense of calm. “The best pce to eat in all of Forks is Xavier’s kitchen. He cooks everything, and some really old dishes too.”

  “Really?” Jessica was finally interested in a topic.

  “Really…” Jessie was the person to agree. “Eating at Xavier’s pce is like experiencing cultures from all over the world. He can tell you where dishes originated, how they were made, and what the variations are today. Once, he gave us wine that he squashed with his own feet.”

  “Feet wine?” Brittney scrunched her nose.

  “Don’t knock it till you try it,” Ange defended. “Then again, I am his girlfriend so is it that weird that I drank his feet wine?”

  “Yup…” Bel nodded.

  “Still very weird,” Jessica agreed. “I would drink it too, though.”

  “That’s because you’re all weird people, and I love you guys for it,” Eric announced.

  AAAWWWEEEEE

  Hugs traveled around the table; though, Bel suspected that Eric only said those words because she was the nearest person to him – hence, she was unable to avoid a very uncomfortable five-second hug.

  “You guys ready to order yet?” Cora inquired. “Or should I come back after another round of hugs…”

  “All out of hugs for today,” Bel quickly replied.

  “Sad…” Eric stated.

  “Chicken fingers and fries…” Mike ordered.

  “Triple stacked beef burger with lots of cheese, and a three-piece quesadil,” Jessie ordered enough for herself and Brittney.

  “Three triple-stacked beef and chicken burgers,” Ange voiced. “A medium pizza, and two sads… oh, don’t forget two rge cups of cherry lime fizzle…”

  “Are you pregnant?” Jessica asked the question everyone was thinking.

  “No, she’s not…” Cora was the one to answer. “I think out of that entire order, only the sad and cherry lime fizzle are for her. Usually, Xavier comes to eat everything else.”

  “And you, dear?” Cora continued.

  “A cheeseburger – as small as possible…” Bel ordered.

  Cora nodded and departed the table to sort the orders, and everyone tried to forget the question that Jessica had asked earlier. Now that it was on their minds, it was hard to get rid of.

  Ange rolled her eyes. “I am not pregnant, guys…” She was frustrated and found the situation funny. “You really think Xavier is fit to be a father?”

  “Hell no!” Jessica grumbled as if such a thing was truly a loss.

  “Where is Xavier, by the way?” Bel tried to sound cool about it, and she succeeded for the most part. “I have been texting him to meet us here, but so far… there’s been no reply.”

  “Oh, sorry…” Jessie withdrew a phone from her pocket and passed it to Ange. “You know how he is…”

  Seeing Bel’s confusion, Ange expined. “Xavier isn’t really a phone guy, so he just leaves it with Jessie or me. We are usually the ones to get to him if something happens.”

  “Then, how will he know we are here?” Mike inquired.

  Everybody turned to Mike – when has he been so concerned with Xavier joining them for anything?

  Usually, Eric and Mike repelled Xavier like two ends of a magnet.

  “He promised to come and check out my car…” Mike expined.

  ‘Logical’ – was the thought going through everyone’s heads.

  “Hehe…” Jessie chuckled. “How will Xavier find us? Ha… trust me, you don’t want that answer…”

  “Why not?” Bel was curious.

  “Because…” Jessie gestured to Ange, wanting to see if the girl had figured it out as yet.

  “You mean?” Ange was hesitant. “That’s true?”

  “This is Xavier we’re talking about… you know him better than anyone,” Jessie rolled her eyes.

  “What are we talking about?” Brittney had also grown curious.

  “Well… Jessie kinda told me once that Xavier keeps tabs on me,” Ange didn’t know how to feel. “Sometimes, I would turn around and his car is there. I do feel like he follows me but I always thought that was an illusion…”

  “Not an illusion,” Jessica opened her mouth, causing all eyes to drift in her direction.

  “What?” She excimed. “All I am saying is that Xavier tends to follow Ange around without her knowing – I honestly think it’s a bit cute…”

  “Definitely, not…”

  “Yup.”

  “Double yup!”

  “He really does that?” Bel was a bit weirded out as well.

  “He does,” Jessica confirmed. “I have seen him doing it a couple of times, especially when they were broken up, and—”

  “And you know that because you followed him?” Jessie shifted the statement, a funny light dancing in her eyes. “I mean… I saw you too…”

  Jessica choked on the water she was drinking.

  Bel’s eyes widened.

  Mike and Eric feigned surprise, though, it wasn’t really surprising given her constant chats about this mystery guy she spends time with.

  “Okay… okay!” Ange interrupted and decided to steer the conversation to safer, more familiar, grounds. “Xavier will find us when he is ready – he has a knack for always being in the right pce at the right time…”

  A sense of normality returned with the casual conversations, and when the food arrived a couple of minutes ter, the conversation became less but more meaningful.

  “So, I heard you been looking for somewhere to work?” Mike turned to Bel.

  “Yeah…”

  “My parents own a sporting goods store,” He offered. “Maybe, you can check it out, see if it's for you. They’re hiring.”

  “I don’t think I need to check it out to know sports isn’t for me,” Bel awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. “But thanks, and as long as they don’t ask me to throw anything, I will be fine.”

  “No, she won’t…”

  A voice interrupted the ongoing conversation.

  Xavier made his appearance and slipped into Ange’s seat, raising the girl and situating her perfectly on his p in one smooth movement.

  Jacob, and Tyler – who had come with Xavier – drifted to the nearest table, and turn their chairs to keep up with the ongoing conversation.

  “If you want to hire Bel, you’ll have to get rid of everything sharp, round, and trip-pable…” Xavier shrugged and took a fry from Ange’s pte. “But that’s basically everything…”

  “Mean much?” Bel smiled and raised her fist.

  Xavier's and Bel's fists bumped, and though it was their first time doing it, it somehow felt more natural than when Jacob and Xavier's fist bumped.

  “I thought you’d take a while more,” Ange pnted a kiss on Xavier’s cheek. “Your food was beginning to get cold.”

  “Doesn’t matter…” He whispered into her ear. “I mainly come here for dessert…”

  The Eternal bit into Ange’s arm, causing her to gasp and everyone at the table was forced to turn their heads away as if they had witnessed nothing.

  Well, everyone except Jessie - she gave a rather perverted-sounding ugh until Brittney pinched her legs.

  Xavier wolfed down pte after pte of food, striking Mike and Eric with amazement – they were the only two who hadn’t seen him eat before.

  The Eternal waited until Jacob and Tyler had also finished their sandwiches before deciding it was time to depart.

  “So…” Xavier brushed a napkin across his lips. “Jacob and Tyler are here – they’re gonna come with me to check out your car and see if it’s worth our time.”

  “Man…” Mike hopped from his seat, eager to leave. “I swear, you’re gonna love her.”

  Ange tugged Xavier’s arm and didn’t relent until he pnted a kiss on her cheek for the fifteenth time. By now, her cheeks were faintly greased with the oils from the lunch.

  “The hummer keys,” Xavier offered.

  “I am staying at home tonight,” Ange refused. “Remember, I have to talk to my parents about the thing…”

  “Why?”

  “Well…” Ange shot an awkward gnce at Jessica. “I told my parents I was staying at Jessica, but I forgot to tell her so when they called…”

  There was no need to finish the story.

  Though the look of guilt on Jessica’s face told the rest of the story – she had, out of jealousy, reported the exact situation to Ange’s parents, ensuring Ange would have to stay home for a while.

  Xavier still slipped the hummer key into Ange’s hands. “Just keep a window open for me…” He ordered. “I don’t feel like sleeping without you these days.”

  AWWWWW

  Jessica and Brittney couldn’t help but purr, while Bel simply rubbed her lips with a dumb look on her face.

  As Xavier departed with Jacob, Mike, and Tyler in tow, he tried not to notice the look Bel was giving him – as if she was expecting a simir goodbye to the one he had granted Ange.

  Worse of all, Bel wasn’t even aware she was currently making an entitled expression.

  “Oh, wait…” Xavier paused. “Jessie, want to make some cash?”

  Jessie was startled at first, examined Xavier wearily, and when she was sure it wasn’t a joke, she slowly nodded her head with Brittney’s encouragement.

  “Yeah…”

  “Good… we’re checking out some cars,” Xavier ordered. “Come and make some hotel money so you can stop staining my Bugatti seats.”

  Everyone in the café chuckled – Brittney blushed.

  ???

  MIKE’S HOUSE

  The garage door opened slowly, almost as if extending a grand reveal, but it was far from it.

  “What do you think?” Mike inquired.

  “It’s a Citroen…” Jacob muttered, cringing in disgust a bit. “That’s all I can tell from just looking at it…”

  The four men and one girl, arguably five men, entered Mike’s garage, carefully avoiding the dustier areas as they did.

  “It’s a Citroen C8 MPV Model,” Xavier voiced.

  “Is that good?” Mike questioned.

  “Pop the hood and we’ll tell you…” Tyler announced.

  Mike rushed to get the keys and popped the engine, allowing Jessie, Xavier, Tyler, and Jacob to take a look inside.

  “About 6,000…” Jacob stated.

  “No… no, I need more,” Mike sighed in defeat.

  “Rex…” Xavier fiddled with the engine a bit, using the tools passed by Jessie. “It’s worth about 6000 right now, but when we’re finished with it, it could be worth more.”

  “But I thought—”

  “You thought right…” Xavier interrupted. “I was gonna buy it from you, refurbish it, and resell it, but we can refurbish it and sell it and you take a percentage of whatever we get…”

  Jacob was surprised that Xavier would offer such a deal.

  “And how much would that be?” Mike thought seriously. “Is it better than just selling it to you?”

  “Selling it to us would mean 6000 in your hand right now, but—” Jacob dusted a bit of dirt from the car. “Giving the car to us to be refurbished means you get about 30% of whatever we make when the car is fixed. If we sell it for 20,000, then you still get about 6,000…”

  “Doesn’t sound like much of a deal,” Mike frowned.

  “Best you’re gonna get,” Xavier said with finality. “But I can see you’ll take the money so give Jessie your bank account information.”

  Mike did just that, unwilling to wait until the car had been refurbished before seeing a cent.

  A few minutes passed before Mike’s phone chimed, confirming the money had been transferred. As for where the money came from – it was a joint account owned by Jacob and Xavier.

  It was their investment of 1,000 that started the business, and now, their joint account had nearly 50,000 in it. Tyler’s job in the retionship was simply to find the necessary parts and materials.

  Still, he got paid more than enough.

  “Thanks… thank, you so much…” Mike shook each of their hands. “And there is one more car I would like to run by you.”

  “Really?” Xavier was doubtful.

  Their haul could already be considered good since Mike’s car after refurbishing could be worth twice as much – that was a major profit for Jacob and Xavier.

  “I remember that old one your gramps used to drive before he passed,” Jessie mumbled.

  “That’s the one,” Mike agreed.

  He gestured to another part of the garage where a car remained covered in white sheets. Xavier and Jacob were already not impressed, but the moment the sheets were removed, they barely managed to stop their faces from breaking out into wide smiles.

  “FUCK!” Jacob couldn’t help but spout the first obscenity of his fourteen-year-old existence.

  Jessie quickly moved between Mike and Jacob, not allowing the basketball pyer to see the disbelief on Jacob’s face. She instantly recognized the car because it was in a book in Xavier’s library.

  A 1954 Volkswagen 1200 Deluxe valued at 60,000 at minimum.