The trip back to Forks was rather boring and monotonous. To entertain himself somehow, Emmett pulled out a handheld game console and started playing, which annoyed Alex quite a bit — after all, he couldn’t join the game because he was driving.

Emmett didn’t miss a chance to tease his brother about it, and a couple of times Alex seriously thought about tossing him out of the Impala at full speed so he’d finally understand that annoying the driver was a bad idea.

The Impala sped down the long highway, and Alex occasionally glanced at his phone, checking if they would make it in time for lunch at school. His thoughts gradually drifted home.

He wondered what Lucina, Alice, and Samantha were up to. Surely Alice and Lucina were already in class, and Samantha was probably buried in books again — studying everything related to the world of the Supernatural. Now it was part of her life, and she had to understand it better.

Shifting his gaze to the back seat, Alex noticed a dozen angelic blades lying there and paused for a second, wondering what to do with them now and how they could be used.

Meanwhile, at Forks High School, during physics class, Lucina, Alice, and Bella sat at the same desk.

Lucina, as usual, wasn’t paying attention to the teacher — buried in her tablet, she was reading materials on yet another case of mysterious teenage disappearances in the woods. Alice, influenced by Alex and Lucina, had also stopped paying attention to the lesson — now she was drawing on her graphics tablet, which Alex had recently given her.

Bella, on the other hand, tried to be a model student. She took notes, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Bright Falls. Images of recent events flashed in her mind — frightening yet captivating. Despite the fear, Bella felt drawn to that world — a strange attraction to the supernatural. Sometimes she would just freeze, forgetting to write.

The physics teacher had long stopped paying attention to Alice and Lucina. They weren’t troublesome students — on the contrary, both were far smarter than most of the staff. There were even debates in the teachers’ lounge: why should such gifted teens like Alex and Lucina attend a regular school?

When the teachers raised this issue with the principal, he just shrugged and gave no explanation. Since then, rumors circulated that the principal had simply been paid to remain silent.

The bell interrupted the lesson. Alice turned off her tablet, Lucina reluctantly set hers aside, and they waited for Bella, who was putting away her notebooks. Stepping into the hallway, the girls headed to Rosalie’s locker.

Alice, always full of energy, barely noticing Rosalie, immediately ran up and hugged her tightly — as if they hadn’t seen each other for years, forgetting that they had just watched the broadcast from the shores of Cauldron Lake together last night.

Rosalie smiled and returned the hug. Lucina and Bella joined them.

Bella, as usual, began scanning the crowd for Edward. Over the past few days, their relationship had grown even stronger, and now she tried to spend every free minute with him. Seeing this, Rosalie just shook her head — Edward also looked lost whenever Bella wasn’t nearby.

After lingering at the locker for a moment, the girls headed to the cafeteria, where Edward, Jane, and Jasper were already supposed to be waiting.

On the way, they chatted animatedly — mostly, of course, Alice. Once again, she kept recalling how amazing Alex looked when he sang on stage.

Lucina and Rosalie just exchanged glances. Alice had repeated this so many times since last night that they had long lost count.

Rosalie, however, mentally admitted to herself how hot Emmett looked during the fight with the Taken — especially at the moment when his shirt tore, revealing a perfect body.

Lucina, lazily smiling, had already downloaded a recording of Alex’s performance — now she could watch it every day if she wanted.

Bella, on the other hand, was more concerned with something else — how everything had ended in Bright Falls. She hadn’t finished watching the broadcast: it had gotten too late, and her eyes had closed on their own.

“I wonder when they’ll come back?” Bella murmured, walking down the school hallway.

“Soon, I think,” Lucina replied, glancing at her watch. “Alex just had to wrap up his last matters in Bright Falls. Judging by the time, they’re probably already on their way home.”

“And what else did he have to do there?” Rosalie asked. “The broadcast ended when he went into the lake. Watching everyone just sitting on the beach waiting didn’t appeal to me — we left for home. What did we miss?”

“He needed to take care of your favorite writer,” Alice said with a smile. “But knowing Alex, he probably already handed Alan Wake over to the FBC. So don’t be surprised if we get some visitors soon.”

She bounced along the hallway, and the others couldn’t help but smile.

Lucina nodded in agreement, fully trusting Alice’s words. She knew Alex too well to doubt him — all his plans, no matter how crazy they seemed, always worked. And the fact that he decided to place Wake under FBC supervision was surely part of his design as well.

Arriving at the cafeteria, Alice went in first, followed by the others. Bella immediately headed to her school friends, deciding to play the role of the “social student”… or at least that’s how she felt. Alice, Lucina, and Rosalie approached the table where Edward, Jane, and Jasper were already calmly eating. A moment later, Bella joined them and sat next to Edward.

Being as caring as always, Edward immediately placed a plate of breakfast in front of Bella, specially prepared by Esme. Bella, embarrassed, thanked him and lowered her head, beginning to eat. The Cullen family chatted animatedly about various topics — until suddenly everyone turned their heads toward the entrance.

Alice jumped to her feet instantly — and everyone knew who had appeared.

At the cafeteria doorway stood Alex and Emmett, dressed in sharp black suits and long coats. Alex’s new look hit like a bombshell. Teenage girls literally held their breath. They were used to seeing him in more casual and relaxed outfits, but now — slicked-back hair, cold gleam in his eyes, a black suit emphasizing his figure… This was a completely different Alex, and young hearts raced faster.

Some were even afraid to blink, trying to memorize every detail.

Alex himself paid no attention to the admiring gazes and walked toward Alice and Lucina with a light, confident smile. That smile alone was enough to draw a collective sigh from half the cafeteria.

Walking past the tables under dozens of curious eyes, Alex and Emmett reached their friends. Emmett immediately sat next to Rosalie, hugged her, and whispered softly that he had brought something worthwhile for her. Alex took a seat between Alice and Lucina. Alice immediately wrapped her arm around him and pressed her cheek to his shoulder, while Lucina simply leaned closer, restrained but cozy.

“Yo. How’s it going? Still going to school, and by the way, we saved an entire town. Where’s our party?” Alex asked cheerfully.

“Yeah, exactly. We saved everyone, by the way,” Emmett confirmed seriously, nodding.

“The most you’re going to get right now is a few hugs and maybe a kiss on the cheek. It all depends on the souvenirs you brought,” Rosalie said lazily, giving him an assessing look.

“Then look closely, Rosie. First, this is a book signed by Alan Wake himself. And that’s not all, my dear. I also have Detective Casey’s badge, which he personally signed for me,” Emmett said with a grin, placing the book and badge on the table.

“I’ve already seen the badge. You bragged you wouldn’t give it to me. But now that you have Alan Wake’s autograph — I guess the month on the couch is canceled,” Rosalie said calmly, opening the first page of the book.

“Hey, wait, Rosie. There’s a signature on the badge too — from Alex Casey himself. I had to persuade him, but I managed it,” Emmett said, showing the signature on the badge.

Rosalie raised her eyebrows in surprise, took the badge, and upon seeing the signature, smiled. Unable to resist, she quickly kissed Emmett on the lips and stashed the souvenirs in her bag. Emmett grinned, realizing that the couch was no longer a threat.

All eyes immediately turned to Alex. Strangely, he was busy stealing food from Alice and Lucina’s lunch boxes. Only when he noticed everyone staring at him did he blink in surprise.

“What?” he asked, finishing a piece of meat.

“What did you bring from Bright Falls?” Lucina asked with a slight smirk, wiping sauce from his lips. “I know your hands — they grab anything that’s poorly placed.”

“Ah, that… one second, I’ll be quick. The bag’s still in the car,” Alex said, getting up from the table.

He left the cafeteria under the watchful eyes of his friends. Everyone knew perfectly well that there was no bag in the car — he just intended to get the needed items from his inventory.

A few minutes later, he returned carrying a sports bag and sat back at the table. Spreading aside the food containers, Alex placed the bag on the table. Everyone leaned forward, eager to see what he had brought from Bright Falls.

When the zipper clicked open, the first thing everyone saw was an old desk lamp clicker. Nobody understood why Alex had even brought such a thing. Lucina looked deeper, noticed a silver gleam, and slightly moving other items, saw the blade — the very angelic one she recognized immediately.

“To start with,” Alex said, taking two books out of the bag, “these are Departure and Return. The only copies of their kind. No others exist. After the Dark Place disappeared and Alan freed himself from its influence, all found manuscript pages turned into blank sheets of paper.”

“Are these the books everything started from?” Lucina asked, curiously opening the first one while Alice flipped through the second.

“Basically, yes. Alan wrote much more, but these two are the most significant,” Alex shrugged. “I’m not taking out the angelic blade — it is, after all, school, and as you understand, weapons and school are incompatible things.”

“Wait… angels exist?” Bella asked in surprise, her eyes wide.

“Yeah,” Alex replied dryly. “Just don’t think they’re cute. They’re bastards. They were planning a biblical apocalypse just because ‘it’s written that way.'”

“Apocalypse…?” Bella paled, clutching the edge of the table.

“Yeah. Happened. Someone already canceled it,” Alice waved her hand nonchalantly.

“Just don’t think about it, Bella,” Lucina said softly, closing Departure. “So much has happened over the past few years that you could really start having nightmares. Just live on and don’t stress your mind.”

Bella froze, like a statue, unable to process what she had just heard. Edward shot Alex and Alice a deadly glare—for dumping such information on Bella without any warning. Alex merely shrugged indifferently and began pulling souvenirs out of his bag, while Alice completely ignored the annoyed look and, engrossed, opened Departure and delved into reading.

Alex leaned toward Lucina and whispered, “I didn’t just get external access to the FBC databases, I also got into their internal system.”

Her eyes immediately lit up. Alex knew how much she loved tinkering with things like this—even back in Night City. And he wasn’t wrong: Lucina grabbed him by the cheeks, kissed him firmly, then deftly pulled his phone from his pocket and connected it to her tablet.

Now she would definitely have something to do in the evening. Reading police and FBI reports had already bored her—they were all the same: mysterious deaths, “animal” attacks in the city center, disappearances of groups of people. But the internal FBC database—that was a whole new level of entertainment.

Meanwhile, Alice kept her eyes on the clicker lying on the table.

“And why did you even bring this trinket?” she asked, reaching for it.

Before she could press anything, Alex deftly snatched the clicker from her hands.

“Did you decide to incinerate your family?” he asked dryly.

“It’s just a trinket!” Alice pouted. “It only worked in Wake’s story and nowhere else.”

“Not anymore,” Alex replied, poking her in the nose. “Now this clicker has become a real artifact. It can dispel darkness.”

“And how exactly did it become an artifact?” Jasper asked, nodding toward the clicker.

“When I saved Alan,” Alex explained calmly, “I didn’t want his last bastion of light to be consumed by the Red City. So I absorbed the remainder of his hope into this clicker. That’s how it became an artifact… or, as the FBC would call it, an ‘anomaly.'”

“And how powerful is it now?” Jane asked, tilting her head slightly. “It was said that this clicker could help Scratch bring the book into reality before.”

“No idea,” Alex admitted. “Although… we could send GIR, MIMI, and Stitch to Italy. Let them pay the Volturi a visit and test just how powerful the clicker really is.”

“Just don’t forget to record it,” Rosalie said with a grin. “I want to see those bastards turn to ash.”

Alex just shook his head. He had no reason to go to the Volturi or send GIR, MIMI, and Stitch there… yet.

When the bell rang, Alex and Emmett exchanged glances and decided that since they had skipped school for several days in a row, they could skip this one too. They just wanted to hang out with the others. But Rosalie clearly had a different opinion—without a word, she grabbed Emmett by the ear and dragged him to class. Alice and Lucina exchanged a glance, then grabbed Alex under the arms and, despite his lazy resistance, led him to the classroom, deciding that today he would sit through the rest of the lessons.

Alex and Emmett exchanged tired looks, thinking the same thing: next time, they’d come to school only after the last bell.

Once dragged into the classroom, Alex took a seat at the very back and immediately dropped his head onto the desk. He hadn’t slept a minute over the past three days in Bright Falls. And although he didn’t really need sleep, he still liked it.

The history lesson dragged on painfully. The teacher’s voice was so monotone it worked better than any sleeping pill. Alice sat nearby, drawing something on her graphics tablet, completely absorbed in the process, while Lucina read files from the FBC database, engrossed in studying descriptions of anomalous objects. Alex fell asleep instantly, as if someone had switched off the light.

He only woke when Alice persistently rubbed his cheek, trying to wake him.

“All done?” he asked, yawning and stretching.

“Not yet. That was just the history lesson,” Lucina replied, putting her tablet back in her backpack.

“Ah, I see, too bad,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes. “Maybe we should go outside?”

Alice and Lucina didn’t object—a bit of fresh air before the next lesson wouldn’t hurt. In the hallway, they met the rest of the Cullens and Bella, and Alex suggested the whole group go outside together. That’s how they all ended up on the school stadium.

While the others chatted about various trivial things, Alex sat with his head down, fighting sleep, lazily smoking. Alice, sitting next to him, occasionally stroked his head, which only made him more drowsy. She watched with a smile as Alex nodded off, struggling not to fall asleep completely.

The conversation gradually shifted to the topic of the school dance. Alex initially wanted to ignore it, but if Alice decided to go, he would be there by her side. As for Alice herself, she hadn’t yet decided whether it was more interesting to dress up and attend the dance or to have a little adventure somewhere outside of Forks. This didn’t stop the girls from animatedly discussing which dresses they would wear.

Alex, tired and sleepy, nodded along without really paying attention. The girls naturally took this as agreement. To his surprise, he realized that after school they would all be going dress shopping.

Finally, the last class of the day arrived—art.

Alex sat watching Alice draw him—sitting on a dark New York street under the dim light of a streetlamp, a cigarette in his fingers. The teacher, long accustomed to Alice only drawing Alex, simply sighed tiredly and went on to check the work of other students.

“I haven’t painted in these tones for a long time,” Alice said, adding the finishing touches. “Usually my paintings are bright, but here almost everything is gray.”

“I wonder,” Alex said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, “what would have happened if you had painted something on the shore of Cauldron Lake… before I sorted everything out there. Because on the lake’s shore, creativity… came to life.”

“I’m curious too,” Alice smiled. “Alan Wake managed to insert himself into his own story and become a character in his book. Even his fictional detective, Alex Casey, ended up in the Dark Place. And since all my paintings feature you… that means…”

“That means there would have been total chaos in the Dark Place even before I arrived,” Alex smirked. “Poor Dark Entity. I know myself—my clones would have caused complete madness there. Like in Valhalla, remember? When they were catching monsters in the middle of the city and dragging them to the arena.”

Alice laughed, recalling that episode.

“Yeah, I saw it in my visions. It was really funny.”

Alex chuckled, remembering the chaos his clones had caused in Valhalla. They didn’t just catch monsters—they even pulled out several creatures locked in cages as especially dangerous. A real circus of madness.

The conversation with Alice continued in the same vein. They discussed how Alice’s paintings could affect the Dark Place, coming up with increasingly absurd and amusing theories—just to pass the time until the end of class.

When the bell rang, Alice carefully took her painting. She had no intention of leaving it at school—such things belonged at home, in her personal collection.

In the hallway, they ran into Lucina and Bella. Alice immediately started talking about her discussion with Alex during art class. Lucina, hearing the topic, perked up—she too became curious about how Alice’s paintings might interact with the Dark Place. Bella, of course, didn’t have much experience with the mystical, but she found it interesting to listen.

“Perhaps,” Lucina suggested, “Alice’s paintings could become one of the Folds. Or, for example, the characters from the paintings could come to life and become part of the Dark Place.”

Alice nodded thoughtfully, imagining her living paintings wandering the gloomy streets she had painted herself.

As they stepped outside, the conversation continued, with Lucina and Alice not forgetting to accuse Alex of “ruining” the Dark Place by not letting them test their theories.

Alex only responded with a blank stare and a yawn.

The others were already waiting in the parking lot. Alex suggested that they first stop by home—to change clothes and pick up Samantha so they could all spend some time together. Emmett didn’t mind either: both of them were still wearing their agent outfits.

After saying goodbye to their friends, Alex, Alice, and Lucina got into the Impala and headed home.

Once they arrived, Alex parked the car and immediately let two Zashiki-warashi—Ichiko and Niko—out of the trunk. Let them guard the house now.

Opening the door, Alex froze on the threshold at the amusing sight inside. GIR, MIMI, and Stitch were literally clinging to Samantha—one sitting on her lap, another beside her, the third on the back of the couch. All three were eagerly playing a video game, while Samantha read a book, turning pages intently.

But the real highlight of the scene was Claptrap—he’d put a bowtie on his body, held a tray of coffee above his head, and was acting as both a waiter and a little table at the same time.

Alex laughed. Alice and Lucina, peeking inside, couldn’t help but smile as well.

Approaching closer, Alex bent down and kissed Samantha on the top of her head. Then, snapping his fingers, he magically changed his clothes. Alice and Lucina chuckled as they went upstairs to change themselves.

Alex sat down next to Samantha and gently moved GIR aside to make room. The little robot immediately protested, swatting Alex on the knee with its paws.

“There you are back,” Samantha said softly, leaning against his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Ichiko and Niko were happily flying around the house, inspecting their new “security post.” Their appearance instantly caught the attention of GIR, MIMI, and Stitch, and the trio squealed as they chased the flying dolls.

The dolls laughed, weaving between the furniture, while the noisy trio bumped into walls and couches trying to catch them.

Alex and Samantha watched the chaos, barely holding back their laughter.

“I think you should change, Sammy,” Alex said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Why? Are we going somewhere?” she asked, turning to him.

“Something like that. We’re going to hang out in Port Angeles. Like normal teenagers,” he replied with a slight smile.

Samantha raised an eyebrow skeptically but nodded and went upstairs.

Alex stayed alone in the living room, watching GIR, MIMI, and Stitch chase Ichiko and Niko around the house. He just sighed—silently hoping that when they returned, at least the walls of the house would still be standing.

On the bright side, he thought, cleaning up wouldn’t be his problem anymore. If Ichiko and Niko kept an eye on order, maybe there wouldn’t be a pile of empty pizza boxes and milkshake cups on the floor anymore.

After a while, the girls came downstairs—already changed into their everyday clothes.

They nearly collided with GIR, MIMI, and Stitch, who were screaming and chasing the laughing dolls. Lucina barely dodged and gave Alex a look that clearly said: what is even happening here?

Alex smirked and calmly explained who the flying “dolls” were and why they were there. Lucina just nodded, smiling in satisfaction: at least cleaning the house would no longer be her problem.

Once the girls were ready, Alex got up from the couch, stretched, and headed for the exit, casting a quick glance at the house—quietly hoping it would still be standing when they returned.

Alex, Lucina, Alice, and Samantha stepped outside just as Edward arrived to pick up Bella. Almost immediately after, Rosalie’s car pulled up, the others peeking out. Samantha waved happily to everyone, her smile genuine and warm.

Once in the Impala, Alex started the engine, and the car rumbled onto the road, heading toward Port Angeles. Alice settled in the front passenger seat, while Lucina and Samantha took their places in the back.

The road stretched between the pine trees, and the sunlight, filtering through the leaves, softly glided across the windshield.

Samantha was the first to break the silence:”Why did everyone decide to go to Port Angeles?”

Alice turned to her with a smile.”Simple. We’re going to try on dresses for the school dance.”

Understanding this, Samantha nodded and, after a moment, began talking about her own prom, which she had missed because of the whole situation with Hannah and Beth.

While the girls chatted, Alex put on a soft, warm melody—perfect for a drive along the highway.

“Sammy, do you want to go to the school dance?” Alice asked, glancing back over her shoulder.

“I don’t know,” Samantha replied, gazing thoughtfully out the window. “On one hand, it could be fun… on the other, I’d probably rather spend time somewhere else.”

“For example?” Lucina asked with a sly smile. “Just remember, our guy can send us anywhere. To the edge of the galaxy, or even for a walk on the sun, if we ask.” She playfully poked Alex in the shoulder.

“I’d rather go—” Alex began calmly, but didn’t get to finish.

“No,” Lucina immediately cut him off.

“Hey, I wasn’t even done!” Alex protested, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

“No need,” Lucina snorted. “I already know what you’d say. Another ‘cursed place,’ hunting monsters, ghosts, or some other freak—anything just to avoid the school dance.”

She tugged lightly at the hair on the back of his head, and Alex just smirked.

“Lucina, you forgot to add that he’ll disappear again for a couple of days, then show up with a smile and say—” Alice chimed in, theatrically mimicking Alex’s tone: “‘Oh, what an unexpected adventure! Who would’ve thought!'”

“And he’ll definitely add, ‘I couldn’t leave them… I’m just such a sweet little guy,'” Samantha added, resting her hands on her cheeks and giving him a mock-innocent look.

Alex rolled his eyes and, holding back a smile, muttered,”You three just enjoy mocking me, don’t you?”

“Of course,” the girls chorused, laughter in their voices.

Alex was momentarily speechless, listening to them, and couldn’t help but wonder—am I really that predictable when I go somewhere? As if to confirm his thoughts, the phone on the dashboard suddenly lit up, filling the car with the sounds of dozens of notifications.

Swiping across the screen, Alex saw countless messages from other girls—and each one had a single word: “Yes.”

His eye twitched. At that moment, Lucina, Alice, and Samantha burst into laughter. Listening to their cheerful voices, Alex just shook his head and smiled. All he could promise himself was that in the coming days, he definitely wouldn’t go anywhere… unless something so unusual happened that resisting would be impossible.

Arriving in Port Angeles, Alex found an empty spot, carefully parked the Impala, and got out with the girls to wait for the others.

Soon Rosalie’s car arrived—with Emmett, Jasper, and Jane. Edward and Bella were last to arrive. Before heading to try on dresses, the group decided, as tradition dictated, to stop by their favorite pizzeria, where they went almost every time they visited Port Angeles.

After a hearty lunch, they headed to the dress store. Following their long-established ritual, Alex and Emmett pulled out their portable gaming consoles, Jasper opened a book, and Edward stayed behind with empty hands.

“Want to join us?” Alex offered, pulling another console from the inside pocket of his jacket and handing it to Edward.

“Don’t mind if I do. What’s the game?” Edward asked, taking the device.

“No idea. You just have to kill zombies—that’s about it,” Emmett said with a shrug.

“Alex, you were in a world where a zombie-virus outbreak happened, right?” Jasper asked, lowering his book. “Is there a big difference between game zombies and real ones?”

“Hard to say,” Alex replied, thoughtfully scratching his chin. “For example, in the game, a zombie can’t start mutating on the fly. That’s hard to replicate.”

“And how exactly do they mutate?” Edward asked, turning on the game.

“Well, first you have to remember that there are different types of zombies. The simplest ones are created by the virus. But viruses themselves differ. Over time, any virus begins to mutate, adapting to its environment.”

Alex leaned forward slightly, getting into it:”A simple example—a zombie can suddenly turn into a berserker. It develops a bone-like armor, its muscles become denser, movements faster. Killing such a creature is almost impossible for a normal human. In terms of strength, they’re somewhere close to you… vampires.”

“Creepy,” Emmett remarked without taking his eyes off the screen. “And our kind… could we even turn into zombies?”

“Hm, hard to say without practical data,” Alex said, thoughtfully tapping the screen of the console. “Your blood doesn’t flow, you’re technically dead but still alive. To test it, you’d need to catch a couple of vampires like you and run a series of experiments. The virus would have to reach the bloodstream, get to the brain… lots of factors. Only a parasite might be able to turn you, not a virus.”

“Only a parasite?” Edward repeated, giving him a blank look. “Don’t tell me you actually have one of those.”

Alex chuckled softly.”Kind of. If I remember correctly, there’s one recorded somewhere. But Rekka, White, and Red handle all of that—they run the guild’s research department. So I have no idea what they’re doing right now.”

As expected, the guys quickly got absorbed in their zombie discussion. Alex did most of the talking, describing the creatures he’d encountered and sharing stories from various worlds. Emmett and Jasper listened with interest, while Edward occasionally asked clarifying questions.

Meanwhile, the girls continued browsing dresses—fitting room doors opened and closed one after another. After choosing several especially beautiful options, they decided to show them to the guys for their opinion. But when they stepped out, they were met with a rather strange scene: Alex and Emmett were arguing loudly about what would happen if a zombie bit a vampire.

“Would the vampire turn into a zombie, or the zombie into a vampire?” The debate seemed endless.

Soon Jasper and Edward joined in, each proposing their theories with the air of a scientist uncovering the laws of the universe. The girls just exchanged glances and, not wanting to interfere in this “battle of minds,” quietly continued trying on dresses.

When the debate started going too far—Alex was seriously talking about kidnapping a couple of vampires for experimentation—Lucina emerged from the fitting room. Her appearance instantly cooled the disputants’ ardor. One look was enough for Alex to understand: no experiments, no kidnappings, and no new crazy ideas.

But even after that, the topic didn’t fully die. The guys continued discussing zombies and vampires for the rest of the outing. Their argument finally ended only when they ended up in separate cars—and even then, it took effort from Rosalie and Lucina, who literally had to pull Alex and Emmett apart, as they stubbornly continued debating who was right.

And so ended another day—fun, chaotic, and perfectly typical for their group.

A few days passed, and Friday finally arrived. True to his word, Alex hadn’t gone anywhere all this time, spending his days with the girls—sometimes on walks, sometimes on dates with Lucina, Alice, and Samantha. GIR, MIMI, and Stitch quickly found common ground with the two Zashiki-warashi, Ichiko and Niko. Well, “friendship” was mostly based on the fact that Ichiko and Niko cleaned up all the mess the trio left behind.

Friday morning started quite unusually. Alex woke up to a crunching sound next to him. Opening his eyes, he found Nyx sitting on the couch, lazily munching on chips, seemingly savoring every moment of his confusion.

“Seriously?” Alex managed to say, looking at her with half-open eyes.

Nyx silently handed him the bag of chips.

Deciding not to ask unnecessary questions, Alex got up, washed up, and went downstairs. Naturally, Nyx hadn’t gone anywhere—she was still sitting on the couch in her black tracksuit, with the same look of complete zen and a nearly empty bag of chips.

“Great… the couch is definitely covered in crumbs now,” Alex muttered quietly as he headed for breakfast.

After a light breakfast prepared by Samantha, Alex, Lucina, and Alice set off for school. Outside, Alex yawned lazily and waved at Bella and Edward with his usual gesture—they were heading the same way.

The day passed as usual—boring lessons, routine activities. Alex struggled to stay awake, and by the end of classes, he was openly bored. When the bell rang, he didn’t resist as Alice grabbed his hand—he simply let her drag him to the cafeteria, where the whole group had gathered.

“There’s going to be a thunderstorm tomorrow,” Emmett said excitedly. “Want to throw the ball around?”

“Ball?” Alex repeated, lifting his gaze from his tray. “You mean throw it into the sky and wait for lightning to strike it?”

“Sounds tempting, but no,” Alice laughed, leaning on his shoulder.

“Yeah, it’s been a while since we played,” Jasper added, nodding.

“And what ball are we talking about exactly?” Alex frowned. “My brain’s on vacation today.”

“Baseball,” Edward explained calmly. “We only play during a storm.”

“Oh, the one where you throw the ball and someone hits it?” Lucina clarified, raising an eyebrow.

“Exactly,” Alice smiled. “Normally, we can’t play properly… well, you know why.”

“Sounds fun,” Bella said. “I’d like to watch.”

“Alright, why not,” Alex shrugged. “Nothing else to do anyway.”

“Perfect! Then you’re on my team,” Alice said joyfully, grabbing his hand. “Now I’m definitely going to win!”

“Even Alex participating is cheating,” Rosalie smirked. “You’ll do anything to win.”

Alice just grinned mischievously and stuck her tongue out in response.

Alex shook his head, but a sly glint flashed in his eyes. He knew exactly what would happen tomorrow during the game. The thought made the corners of his lips stretch into a predatory smile. After all, the very vampire who had once hunted Alice would appear—and Alex, as the protective husband, was planning to give him an “unforgettable” introduction.

He thought to himself: First, baseball… then, the fun begins.

To be continued…

(At first I thought, hey, it’s time to show this baseball game. But then I thought, screw it, and the voices in my head were whispering, I need everyday life, no action, just simple school life. Do it. And I did.)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep