Lei doesn’t want to, but her stomach betrays her, so she calls Lucas asking him to bring her food. Only after four days, she’s already tired of sneaking downstairs to snag a few fruits to last her a few hours. And she’d honestly rather just go down there and swallow her pride along with a few bites of a waffle, but she won’t do that until she exhausts all options. Unfortunately for her, however, Lucas is still an option—an option that arrives within 20 minutes of her call.

“You’re late,” Lei says when she opens her bedroom door. He’s actually early; it’s only 7:00 in the morning, and she didn’t even expect for him to be awake at that hour, but she wants to be angry at something. “And you look terrible.” He looks like his usual self, decked out in expensive clothing and that stupid handsome smile. “I’m embarrassed, and there’s no one around.”

“I’m really sorry,” Lucas starts, still smiling, “and I feel really bad. But you have to understand. Any more infractions, and I’m basically dead to my parents. That’s why I’m so glad you called me. Are we good?”

“Far from it.” Lei scoffs, and she finally gets to wipe his smile off his face. “But,” he starts to smile again, “you’re the only person I can stand right now.” She sighs, not liking their situation. “So, come in, I guess. Did you bring me Halinawi?”

“Yes, princess, I did.” He holds the white paper bag with the Halinawi logo on it.

“Thank god for you.” Lei grabs the bag from him and plops down at one of her couches. Lucas follows her, but he sits too close for her liking, and she shoots him a glare. “What’s up with you?”

“You thought about us, right?”

“No.” Lei rips the wrapper off the burger. “Why would I be thinking of us? You left me in the fire, and I could have died.” She scoffs, once more understanding the gravity of that situation. “Seriously? I could be buried right now, and that’s all you care about?”

“Hey, it’s not like that.” Lucas grabs her free hand and forces her to look at him by squeezing lightly. “You don’t understand. My parents are insane. My mother would send me to the army. My father would cancel my credit card. It’s bad. But in the future, princess, I swear, it won’t happen again.”

“Future?” Lei frowns, setting the burger down on her lap. “What future?”

“It’s taking you a lot longer than I thought,” Lucas confesses, “but one day you’ll like me. Genuinely, honestly have feelings for me.”

“What kind of drugs are you on?” Lei exclaims, baffled at the nonsense pouring out of his mouth. “Lucas, no offense, but I’d rather starve than like you in the romantic sense.” She would really rather have feelings for him than starve. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing there for us.”

“Like I said, one day.”

Fact: Lucas is delusional, but Lucas also always gets what he wants. And this scares Lei. Especially with him being tied to the real-estate scene. Long-term contracts and dedication is what his life is built upon, and that means he has more determination and grit when it comes to getting what he wants.

God forbid that Lucas wants her, but Lei has an itch at the back of her head. This can’t possibly end well. Her palms begin to sweat at the thought of her imminent future. First, it’s simple dating, then the next thing Lei may know, her mother will be signing her soul off to him. Maybe it shouldn’t worry her since love is only a part of marriage and not a necessity or requirement, but it will never sit well with Lei.

“Whatever.” She waves it off with a hand. “Thanks for coming. You’re a good friend.”

Lucas doesn’t say anything, but he stops shaking his leg, and he slumps backwards. He only begins to speak again after Lei finishes her burger.

“So, you didn’t tell me why you needed me at,” he glances at his gold watch, “seven in the morning. Way before breakfast. I hope everything’s fine with you and your family? I didn’t see anything on the news, but did they find out about the fire?”

“Yes, unfortunately because you left me.”

“I told you! It wasn’t my fault. And you survived!”

“That’s your petty excuse?” Lei gasps, astonished at how this boy can be so nonchalant. “Lucas, this is why we can never be together. You’re too insensitive. And you didn’t even come because you care about me. You only came because you want to be my—” A wicked series of ideas form in Lei’s head, and she smirks in response, causing the poor Lucas to frown. “You want to stir up more trouble today?”

“If it involves the chance of you getting hurt, then no,” replies Lucas with no hesitation.

“What?” Lei frowns at him, shocked that a day where Lucas cared about someone’s—hers—wellbeing has come. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“Like you said, you almost died.” Lucas grasps her small hand in his big one. “I can’t let that happen again on my watch. I like you, I really do, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Lei scoffs which causes him to frown. “Lucas, I know you’re not very smart, but you should know the essentials of life—like how I can see you lying.”

He clenches his jaw, but his voice remains calm. “I mean it. The best way for incidents like the one in the library never to happen to again is by making sure you don’t do anything dangerous. Anything that can set you off.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“Yes?”

“For that statement, I could send you the psych ward for how crazy you are!”

“I’m crazy for caring about you?” Lucas pulls Lei’s hands away from her burger. “Listen to me. I do care. I’m sorry I can’t manifest it in an understandable way. I do care. I do. And I’m sorry. But I don’t want to see you hurt again.” He sighs, his breath fanning over her cheeks. “I know I make you upset, but I want to change. I do. Please let me.”

Her heart softens at his words. Maybe, somewhere in the depths of his power-thirsty heart, he does care. Lei looks into the large eyes that stare at her and at the plump lips that happened to be the very first pair that she kissed. Lucas, the one person in the world she loathes more than anything, may not be as terrible as she thinks. He left her in the fire, but he did try to help a little. He didn’t want to leave her on his own will. Maybe…

Without thinking, Lei leans forward and kisses him.

Fact: Lucas is a good kisser. Similarly, fact: Lucas is the only person she’s ever kissed.

Still, he’s good to have on the lips…and everywhere else apparently. If there’s anything defining about Lucas, it’s not his height, eyes, or lips. It’s definitely in how his hands roam.

“Let’s stay in,” Lei whispers into his wet lips after they’ve pulled away. She’s careful to touch his cheeks; she’s afraid that the fire she holds in her chest may combust and hurt him in the process. “We don’t have to do anything.” He cracks that stupid smile, but she likes it nonetheless. “Stop smiling like that. It makes you look ugly.” Lucas instantly purses his lips together, but he still has trouble with hiding his fat grin. “What are you doing?” Lei grabs a pillow and hits him with it. “Stop!”

“Anything,” Lucas can’t stop laughing through his words, “for the princess.”

Lei rolls her eyes and goes back to eating the fries still in the paper bag. As she munches on a handful, she still manages to hear Lucas when he murmurs mine into the crook of her shoulder.

Fact: Lucas may just be the most audacious person Lei has ever known. But also, fact: Lucas doesn’t shoot for things he knows he can’t get.

- - - - -

Boredom hits Lei in the face again when Lucas’s roaming hands have stopped surprising her with how daring they are. Because as fun as it is hearing his low chuckles (somehow mixed with high-pitched bursts of intense laughter) against her giggles, Lei would rather have something happen. But he doesn’t or anything, so she pushes him off and walks to the terrace basked in muted tones of orange and yellow. The sun’s face is dug deep in the earth, and she wants to be the hero that saves it from drowning in the horizon. Unfortunately, all she can do is stand there, leaning against the railing and plotting her next move, because she’s not really “hero” material.

“Lucas,” she calls out, and he appears by her side within a second. “What did you cancel for the sake of meeting me today?”

“Uh, nothing of importance.” He wraps his arms around her and squeezes at the areas of her waist that make her blush. “I was supposed to meet Taeyong, and we were supposed to go out for lunch. And… I was supposed to close a deal with one of my uncles, but he has that in the bag.” Lucas pauses, pressing his chin in Lei’s shoulder. “Nothing interesting, I’m afraid.”

“Not even a little plan for trouble?”

“No.” He sighs. “Please. Even if I had anything in mind, you’re not going to be a part of anything troublesome anymore.”

“You’re boring.” Lei elbows him in the stomach. Not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough so that he moves away. “I want to go downstairs. There’s nothing to do up here with you.” She eyes him and his ruffled haired and clothes. “Now that I think of it, are you even worthy to be with a princess? You look like a mess.”

“That’s because you did that.” Lucas runs a hand through his hair and pouts at her. “And downstairs? I thought we were boycotting the first floor.”

“You’re slow today.” Lei rolls her eyes. She walks back inside her room and into the closet where she picks out a fresh dress and matching sandals. “You can’t keep me occupied forever, Lucas.” Peeking out from the closet, she makes eye contact with him sitting on her bed, leaning backwards. “What are you doing? I’m changing. Turn around.”

“Yes, princess.” Lucas grins and plops facedown on her bed.

Lei huffs, quickly slipping into the dress, taking occasional peeks to see if Lucas has stayed faithful to her keeping her privacy. He stays facedown the entire time, and Lei is pleased with this, so she jumps on the bed—causing him to jump.

“Come on.” She stretches out a hand, and Lucas takes it.

Lei really loves the feeling and sound of her feet against every step of the stair when she runs down them. In her younger years, her mother would reprimand her, and of course Wendy would grab her by the sleeve and tell her that she has to be careful. Now that she’s older, however, she gets none of their concern about walking up and down the stairs. When they installed a glass elevator, she became all the more delighted when she no longer had to worry about bumping into someone.

Lucas and Lei haven’t even reached the bottom stair when Wendy appears from the corridors. She does a double-take at the sight of them, opening to form an O.

“Lucas, what are you doing here? How did you get in?” She glances up at him and down. “Do I need to call the police?” Knowing Wendy, however, Lei knows it’s an empty threat. “I know what you did to Lei, and you could honestly be charged with some degree of murder.”

“Wendy,” Lei reprimands her, “you’re being rude.” She looks over to Lucas to make sure that he isn’t showing signs of retaliating, and much to her relief, he keeps up with a cheerful smile. “Lucas and I made up, and he’s a guest here, so you can’t start calling the police for no reason.”

“But—”

“Wendy,” Lucas says huskily, “come on. You know me. I apologized to Lei, and we’re on better terms. And you of all people should know how I feel about her.”

Lei glances back and forth between the two. Wendy has always made it clear that she actually likes Lucas, so she should let them go out. After all, the two are almost close friends.