“Where are we going?!” I demanded, trying to free my hand from Finn’s grip, to no avail. With him being considerably taller than me, I was struggling to keep up with him as he ran across the food court and further down the mall. Why was he in such a hurry?!

  He smiled at me. “You said there were things you wanted to buy.”

  “I never said that! I thought that!” I shouted.

  “Same thing.” His grip on my hand only tightened.

  “I-I can buy stuff later," I mumbled, looking away. I couldn't help but feel he had somehow taken my passing thought as a desperate need. "We really shouldn’t keep the others waiting—”

  “They’ll be fine, Ella.” His gaze on me softened. “Rosalie and Maverick have more patience than you think. Zephyr has his book, and Aidan has his game. They’ll be fine if we sneak away for an hour or so.”

  “An hour?!” I gawked.

  “That’s how long this will take, right?”

  I paused, trying to recall everything I had thought of. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

  We entered the department store and immediately got looks from two girls around my age. They couldn’t stop staring at Finn and whispering to each other. He winked at them and they blushed. Showoff.

  There were similar stares around the store. Several guys did double-takes, and one had a similar reaction to the girls at the front. If this is the type of reaction they’re having with Finn, I wonder what reaction Maverick evoked?

  “What? You think Maverick is hotter?” Finn asked.

  “W-what?! No!” I shouted.

  “Oh, so you think I’m hotter.” He smirked at me.

  “No! I— Ugh! Matt is the hottest!” I sputtered out, cheeks warmer than my hands were minutes ago when I was looking for Maverick.

  He chuckled quietly as he led me to some dresses. I sighed in relief when he finally let go of my hand. He sat on one of the displays next to the mannequins, and my thoughts immediately convinced him this was not okay. Instead, he stood there watching me. I couldn’t tell which was worse.

  I tried to quickly pick something out so I wouldn’t keep him waiting, but he reassured me I could take as long as I wanted. He didn’t look remotely impatient either. In fact, after a while, he began picking things out for me.

  “What about this one?” He held up a yellow sleeveless gown that was designed to hug the body.

  “Where would I even wear that?” I asked.

  “Wherever you want!”

  “It’s way too fancy.”

  “You’d look nice in it.”

  I thought about it for a moment. I was never the type of person to wear overly tight clothes. Rose was, but I wasn’t nearly confident enough for that. I shook my head, and he placed the dress back, nodding his head understandingly.

  I pulled a pink dress off the rack with slightly puffed sleeves. I walked over to a mirror, holding it up to me, trying to imagine what I’d look like in it.

  “It’s pretty.” Finn walked up beside me. “Want to try it on?”

  “Oh, I don’t want to make you wait any longer—”

  “Ella, you worry too much.” He patted me on the head, making me blush. “Take your time. There’s no telling when you’ll get to do this again if Maverick’s our designated driver. Have some fun.” He smiled earnestly at me.

  My thoughts immediately went back to the food court and everyone waiting on us.

  “Elaina, you need to calm down.” He frowned at me this time. “They’re your friends. They’re not some strangers pulled here against their will.”

  “Maverick and Rosalie…” I trailed off.

  “Rosalie is quite competitive when it comes to board games; I imagine she’s entertained. Maverick’s good at finding ways to entertain himself as well, especially at other people’s expense.” He offered a lopsided grin, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. If Maverick was the only person I was pissing off, I could live with that.

  I grabbed the dress as well as another one I found on my way, and headed to the fitting room.

  An overwhelming scent of chrysanthemums — the flowers my aunt would send my mom every year on her birthday — stopped me in my tracks. I turned around and caught sight of something long and white, and an auburn braid.

  She wears an eyepatch and a cloak that conceals everything but her long braid.

  My hands froze over the hangers, forming a connection between wood and skin that I couldn’t break. I quickly ducked into a corner.

  Was that… The leader of the Magus of Historia?! What is she doing here?! No, Ella. It’s probably just a coincidence. Or at the very least, I need to believe it’s a coincidence so I can calm down. I can’t let anyone see my hands like this!

  “Ella?! What’s wrong?” Finn ran over to me, heat emitting from his hands as he took mine in them, melting the ice. My thoughts caught him up on the situation. “She won’t hurt you, Ella. She can’t. Sylvis is watching over us, I just know it. And if she tries to get close to you, I’ll protect you.”

  My eyes glanced over his shoulder to see people whispering and pointing at us. I hoped they hadn’t seen my hands. Most of them had smiles, convincing me they hadn’t seen, but others looked scornful.

  “They’re jealous,” Finn explained.

  “Of?” I asked, confused — my thoughts still racing from earlier.

  He paused as if trying to find the words. “You.”

  “M-me?!” I sputtered.

  His expression became unreadable for a moment before he went back to his gentle smile. “Want to try those on again?”

  I nodded and was about to continue my journey to the fitting room when he grabbed my wrist. “And Ella, you can call me if anything happens.”

  “I know,” I replied quietly, smiling back at him. He nodded his head and released my hand.

  I sighed, allowing the exhale to return my racing heart back to its normal rate as I finally reached the fitting room.

  “How did you get a guy like him?” A lady slightly older than me, standing by the fitting room asked. She wore a tight black minidress. Her long, brunette, curly hair covered the plunging back.

  “O-oh, we’re not together,” I explained.

  “Not to—” She covered her mouth, making some sort of disapproving grunt. “Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

  I blinked. “No. No I haven’t,” I replied, wondering if she had simply imagined it. Jealousy could cause you to see things that weren’t actually there, right?

  “You have the hottest guy in the world fawning over you, and you don’t even realize it! Not to mention, he’s a gentleman. Do yourself a favor and make your move before it’s too late.” She waved me off before stepping back into her fitting room.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  The attendant walked over to me and opened one of the rooms.

  She didn’t know what she was talking about. I had Matt, after all. Though thinking about it, the two weren’t that different. Both were very kind and patient. I could totally see Matt helping pick out dresses just as Finn had. And if I had told him about my freezing hands…if I had shown him, I’m sure he would’ve tried to warm them up too. Though probably with less success.

  I really did have a wonderful guy waiting for me back home. One that I had probably worried sick… I missed him, I really did.

  Finn was the objectively more handsome one, though. An otherworldly being was hard competition, I imagined.

  I tried the first dress on, the pink one. The sleeves were a little poofier than I’d like, but the shape was flattering without being too tight. It was nice, but I wasn’t entirely sold. Not having anyone else to run it by, I decided to ask Finn for his opinion.

  He stood there silently; his eyes gazing over me up and down, yet I still couldn’t read his expression enough to tell what he thought.

  “What do you think?” I asked, getting slightly impatient.

  “I-it’s nice,” he answered, scratching the back of his head and averting his gaze.

  “That’s it?” I crossed my arms and pouted.

  He sighed before turning back to me. “You’re beautiful, Ella. You caught me off guard, that’s all.” He paused, and I blushed. “No, I don’t think the sleeves are overdone, and yes, the dress is very flattering on you. Pink is your best color. It draws out the color of your eyes.”

  I looked away, unable to maintain eye contact with him. Why was he being so nice?

  “What, I can’t compliment you?” He crossed his arms. “Oh! I almost forgot.” He turned around and ran over to a cart, pushing it back to me. It had three purses sitting on the top portion: brown, gray, and white. “I thought this purse looked similar to your old one, and this one was similar to Rose’s.” He motioned to the first two. “This last one I just thought would match your wardrobe.”

  “You pay that much attention to what I wear?” I asked, feeling slightly self-conscious. I could barely even remember Carol’s aesthetic, yet he seemed to have mine memorized!

  “I’m a mindreader, Ella.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

  Still. I hadn’t expected him to grab the purses for me, or to put so much time and effort into picking them out. Part of me was so touched that I couldn’t help but go with the suggestion he made.

  “Y-you don’t have to make your decision on my account!” His cheeks tinged with rose as he glanced away.

  I giggled. “You’re right, though. It goes with my wardrobe far more than gray would. And I wouldn’t want an exact replica of my last purse.”

  “Shall I put the other two back then?”

  I nodded my head, and he nodded back in acknowledgement.

  While he was doing that, I tried on the other dress, a purple dress with spaghetti straps. This one was an easy one that I didn’t have to rely on Finn for.

  I left the fitting room carrying both over my elbow. “Not gonna show me that one?” He teased.

  “I’ll save it as a surprise.” I winked at him, causing his expression to morph into a few different ones before settling on a sheepish smile.

  “Want to get started on jewelry?” he asked, his smile kind and inviting.

  I nodded, and we headed off in that direction. I was grateful that his hands were preoccupied with pushing the cart, so I wouldn’t be forced to hold his hand.

  “Don’t like holding my hand?” He glanced at me. “I know for a fact it’s not sweaty.”

  I chuckled. “We get a lot of weird stares that way.”

  “We get weird stares regardless.” He paused. “And for the record, they’re not all staring at me.”

  Electricity buzzed through my hands for half a second, and I could’ve sworn an employee took notice.

  “W-why would they be staring at me?” I asked.

  There was a long silence, and a look of confusion. I could tell he was thinking about his answer rather than ignoring me. “You thought about how Maverick and I attract attention because we’re from another world, right? That’s only half of it. People with magic are thought to appear far more beautiful than those without it,” he explained quietly to not attract the attention of those around us. “Not to mention you’re not of this world either. It’s only natural you would garner the same attention as us.”

  I tried to think back to my days at school. It certainly didn’t seem like I was receiving that kind of attention.

  “Your magic hadn’t awakened then,” he explained. “You haven’t gotten a single pimple since your hands started freezing over, have you?”

  Come to think of it, I hadn’t. Would I eventually look as airbrushed as the others?

  “That’s a crude way of putting it.” He winced.

  We arrived at the jewelry section, and I was immediately drawn to the earrings. I had the bracelet Marge had given me, after all. Necklaces would be next.

  I held up two sets of earrings, one gold seashells and the other rose gold flowers. I saw a hand reach above me to pull off sapphire studs.

  “Blue has never really been my color,” I replied.

  “Not for you. For me.”

  I glanced up at his ears and remembered his ears were, in fact, pierced. He was wearing gold dangling earrings that had a similar shape to a spade. Come to think of it, Maverick also wore earrings.

  I glanced up to where he had pulled the earrings from, noticing a pair of diamond studs. I pulled them off the rack. “Want to match?” I smiled, holding them up to him.

  “Do you?” He smiled back.

  I nodded and watched again as his smile morphed into several positions before returning. He scratched the back of his head, and I could’ve sworn his cheeks were turning pink again.

  “It’s pretty normal for friends to match.” I crossed my arms, hoping he hadn’t somehow gotten the wrong idea.

  “Right.” He glanced away from me, his expression unreadable.

  I felt slightly guilty. I hadn’t meant to mislead him—I’d thought I was being obvious enough. Had the lady in the fitting room actually had a point…? This was getting ridiculous.

  We checked everything out, earning more stares in the process, and headed back to the food court. I hoped we hadn’t kept everyone waiting too long…

  “You kept us waiting.” Maverick crossed his arms, looking both bored and annoyed. Everyone else was more or less in the same spot they were before. This time, Zephyr had put his book down and was fully invested in the game.

  “We seem to have figured out the rules finally,” Rosalie explained. “I’m not sure why Finn told Aidan you lose a turn when you roll doubles.”

  “Is that not what it says?” Finn reached over Aidan’s shoulder to grab the pamphlet of rules.

  “You get to roll again.” Rosalie grabbed the pamphlet from him, swatting the top of his head with it.

  “Y-you’re back?” Aidan turned to me. His gaze went from my ears to Finn’s ears. How had he noticed so fast?! “Y-you’re matching…” he muttered.

  “Yeah,” I answered awkwardly. What else was I supposed to say?

  “Time to start packing up.” Maverick flicked his wrist, and the pieces levitated into the air as the board closed itself. The pieces, cards, rules, and board all flew into the box at record speed.

  “Maverick!” Rosalie shouted through gritted teeth.

  “Sorry. Force of habit.” Maverick shrugged.

  “I was about to win!” She snapped.

  “You’re not concerned about who may have seen that…?” I asked.

  “Goddess, no. Nobody was looking.” If you say so…

  We left the mall—Finn carrying my bags while Aidan carried his games and…my games… Hey, I needed to keep my hands free so I could efficiently direct people out of the mall!

  Upon exiting the mall, the cutest Shiba Inu ever was running around by the door. Alone.

  “Awwwww!” My voice cracked. “Who’s the cutest wutest little doggy ever?!” I ran to the dog, who immediately flopped on its back and let me pet its stomach.

  “He seems to be a he.” Zephyr crouched down next to me.

  I noticed he had a collar on. Taking a closer look, the tag read: Dimitri. Huh, there wasn’t any contact information on the other side. There wasn’t a rabies tag either, so for all I knew, this dog would give me rabies if he bit me.

  But I didn’t care! I would gladly accept his rabies! His owner clearly didn’t care about him enough to list their contact information!

  “Can we keep him until we find his owner?” I pleaded.

  “No,” Maverick answered pointedly.

  “I’ll take care of him!”

  “No.”

  “I’ll buy him food and toys and a leash and—”

  “With my money?”

  “No, with Sylvis’ money. Duh.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?!” I whined. How could I convince him that this dog was necessary?!

  “We don’t need a dog, Elaina.”

  “Agreed. They smell.” Not you, too, Rosalie!

  “I-it is really cute, though… Whatever it is…” Aidan poked his tummy, causing him to growl. Strange, he hadn’t minded when I’d done it. He must just love me more! It's proof that we’re meant to be together!

  “I don’t see why we can’t have a pet. It won’t be that much more work,” Finn argued. Finally! A voice of reason!

  “And what will we do with it when we return to Meridia?” Maverick asked, crossing his arms.

  “Him,” I corrected. “We’ll bring him with us! Duh! Assuming his owner doesn’t come back for him, which he probably won’t— I mean, will. See? It’s just temporary! We’re just looking out for the little guy until his real owner comes back for him!” I tried to convince him. And myself. Not so much myself.

  “If this is only temporary, what’s the harm?” Zephyr asked.

  Maverick looked between the four of us, then at Rosalie who shrugged. “Fine. But I want nothing to do with the mutt.”

  “Yay! We have a dog!” I hugged the dog a little too tightly, causing him to yelp.