CHAPTER EIGHT JUNE 12, 2020   The group first stopped by a quaint cafe named Breakfast Little for some French toast and coffee before making the hour-long drive down to Menlo Park where Facebook Headquarters was located. Seth, Kallie, and another male were waiting for the rest of them at the parking lot and Leon shared a quick hug with his friend after hopping off of the SUV.   “How’s the trip been so far, bro?” Seth asked with a toothy grin. “I’ve been hearing some juicy gossip about you and Nessie.” He wiggled his eyebrows and then puckered up his lips, making obnoxious smooching noises.   Leon lightly socked his friend in the shoulder while nonchalantly saying, “You’ve been hearing nonsense.” He then jerked a thumb towards Kallie, who was greeting the other girls, and lowered his voice to ask, “By the way, how’s she doing now? I noticed she wasn’t feeling great during the drive to San Francisco, but when I asked, she said she wanted to talk to you first. Is everything okay?”   Seth’s gaze darkened as he answered, “She’s feeling much better this morning than she was last night, but I’m still keeping an eye on her. Thanks for worrying though. I know she appreciates it.” His friend smiled wryly and Leon nodded in response.   It wasn’t his business to pry.   Once they were all gathered together, Seth introduced the other male as Brendan Yang, one of his current roommates and another employee at Facebook who worked on front-end user interface design with him. “He also went to USC,” Seth added, causing Lucas to nod. It seemed as though the three of them had shared several classes together throughout the years, since they had all majored in computer science.   Now that Leon had gotten a proper look at Brendan, he recalled seeing him at Seth’s apartment numerous times whenever they had pre-gamed together. He hadn’t really tried getting to know all of Seth’s other friends, especially the ones who hadn’t been in KASA, so the only interactions he remembered having with Brendan were the two of them exchanging short pleasantries with one another and handing soju bottles to each other.   As they made their way out of the parking lot, the crew divided into two smaller groups since Seth was unable to sign in twenty guests on his own, especially as a relatively new employee. Leon ended up in Brendan’s group with Vanessa, Karter, Jason, Estee, Russell, Chanel, Alexander, Ripley, and Jeremy while the others congregated around Seth. Once they were all checked by security and given guest lanyards after signing themselves in on the iPads in the front building, Seth said, “We’ll take different routes to explore the campus, since I don’t think we should clog the area, especially on a work day. Brendan and I do have a meeting at two, but as long as we’re back by then, our project manager is fine with us showing you guys around for most of the day.”   “Wow, your project manager is so chill,” Jeremy observed.   “We worked with her last summer during our internship, so she knows we aren’t slackers,” Seth explained with a wide grin.   “Should we take them to Instagram together or do you wanna split off now?” Brendan asked.   Both Bianca and Chanel instantly perked up and parroted, “Instagram?” with their eyes shining like stars.   “Yeah, Instagram Headquarters is close by, since Facebook bought it back in 2012,” Brendan explained as he smiled back at them. “The lobby has some cool backdrops that a lot of people take pictures with and we can also grab some free snacks.”   Before Seth could answer, Bianca immediately rounded on him and said, “We’re all going together! You can’t separate me and Nellie before we have a proper Instagram photo shoot!”   “Or put us in the same group! I need Bianca to take my pictures there!” Chanel added as she also began crowding Seth.   “Okay, fine, we’ll go as one group,” he conceded while taking several steps back from the overzealous girls. “But I don’t wanna accidentally lose anyone today, so don’t run off,” Seth added with a pointed stare at Bianca and Chanel. The two girls cheered and linked their arms together as they skipped around in a circle.   With Seth and Brendan leading the way, the crew soon arrived at a giant rounded glass building. The girls, especially Chanel and Bianca, squealed when they saw a white statue of the iconic rounded square camera logo in front of the building and they all rushed to it in order to be the first one to take pictures with it. Russell and Seth eventually had to drag them all away from the statue, especially since the extremely large number of people in their group was beginning to draw stares.   “C’mon, there’s better stuff to take pictures with,” Seth promised as he pushed open one of the doors into the building.   The girls gasped when they walked in and they saw the giant colorful panels on the pristine white walls. A carving of the Instagram logo jutted out on the left wall and a square, black leather ottoman seat that was large enough to fit several people was stationed by the wall, near the front desk. To the right were two sleek wooden egg chairs placed next to a low oval-shaped table. The building had a very modern design, fit for a Silicon Valley technology company, and Leon slowly nodded his head in approval as he continued drinking in the details with his eyes while everyone signed in again on the iPads at the front desk.   “Before we go in, remember to keep your voices down,” Seth said, looking pointedly at the girls again. “People are working and even though they’re used to visitors, it’s still early in the morning and I don’t wanna get kicked out. Got it?”   Bianca and Chanel nodded vigorously as they leaned forward, itching to make use of the beautiful backdrops inside. Even from where he was standing in the back, Leon could see an open set painted in a bright pink-orange gradient that was reminiscent of a vibrant sunset with puffy cloud structures installed in the front and a smaller cloud hanging on thin translucent wires from the ceiling.   Seth and Brendan opened the doors, and Bianca and Chanel instantly made a beeline for the backdrops. Estee, Vanessa, Lucy, and Amelie followed close behind while eagerly discussing what kind of poses to make during their photo shoot. Leon continued to linger in the back, in no rush whatsoever to take pictures against the backdrops, and mildly watched as Vanessa posed prettily with Lucy on opposite sides of a giant moon-like sphere that was posted in front of an amethyst purple wall.   Once they were all finished taking pictures, the group quietly walked through the building and up the stairs to the second floor where an open kitchen was. “This is the one of the break rooms,” Brendan said as he gestured around the clean space. “If you want, you can take some snacks or make yourself a cup of coffee,” he added while pointing to a rack that held various bags of potato chips, candy bars, and fruit gummies.   Karter and Alexander hungrily scooped up some snacks while Seth began brewing a pot of dark roast coffee for those needing the extra caffeine boost. Leon leaned against the kitchen counter next to his friend as he observed how the break room was like a paradise island, floating in the sky above all of the desks and offices.   After the fresh coffee was doled out in recyclable paper cups, the group quietly walked down the stairs and made their way to the lobby again. There, they quickly signed out and then exited the building.   “Okay, so once we get back to our building, we’re gonna split off into two groups,” Seth instructed as they walked away from Instagram Headquarters. “I’ll take my group to the Oculus Rift office first, since our session is booked at ten.”   “And I’ll take my group on a short tour around our building before the second session with the Oculus Rift at eleven,” Brendan said.   Seth nodded. “Should we meet at Lightning Bolts Smoke Shack around twelve for lunch?”   “Yeah, I don’t think we’ll be able to find enough space for all of us in Epic Cafe,” Brendan answered.   With their meeting spot decided, they all soon arrived at the building that Seth and Brendan worked in. Half of them followed Seth past the building while the other half followed Brendan inside.   “So first, we have the Facebook Wall that you can sign and write on if you’d like,” Brendan said as he led them to an expansive blackboard wall that was covered in colorful scribbles and messages.   “Ooh, does it matter what we write?” Chanel excitedly asked as she grabbed a thick piece of red chalk and signed her name with a flourish.   “Nah, go ahead and write whatever you want,” Brendan answered while glancing at the others and sweeping his arms towards the wall, indicating that they could join her in adding to the wall of graffiti. “I think they wipe it clean once it gets too full, but it won’t be for a while. Obviously don’t write anything offensive, but anything else is fine.”   “Nice!” Chanel then wrote “I was here!” in gigantic capital letters underneath her signature, effectively taking up most of the available blank space.   Leon followed Vanessa to the side and watched as she carefully wrote her name with a stick of baby blue chalk in a small slot of empty space. She then turned around and noticed that he wasn’t holding any chalk. “You’re not gonna sign it?” the Singaporean girl asked.   “I mean, I don’t really see the point, especially if it’s just gonna disappear in a month or whenever it gets cleaned,” Leon answered with a slight shrug.   “But we can take a picture of our names and make it last forever that way,” she pointed out, beaming brightly as she held out the piece of chalk to him.   “Okay.” Unable to deny such a simple request, especially when it came from Vanessa, Leon took the stick of chalk from her hand and neatly signed his name underneath hers. The Singaporean girl then snapped several pictures of the wall with her phone camera, first capturing their names by themselves and then zooming out to capture the rest of the wall.   Once they all finished writing on the Facebook Wall, Brendan led them up to the second floor where some of the open-plan offices were located. People briefly glanced up, moderately surprised by the size of the group, but then returned their gazes back to their laptops to continue working. As the group weaved around the desks, Leon noticed that some employees had giant number balloons tied to their chairs.   “What are the balloons for?” Jason asked, also intrigued by their presence.   “They’re for people celebrating their Facebook work anniversaries,” Brendan explained. “The numbers represent how many years they’ve worked here.”   “Wow, so many people started working at the same time,” Russell commented as they passed by dozens of balloons.   Brendan chuckled. “Yeah, I think around fifteen thousand people work here in Menlo Park, so every day is someone’s work anniversary.”   They soon reached his and Seth’s desks, which were facing each other. They were white and spacious, and each one held a iMac Pro monitor and a MacBook Air laptop. Seth’s desk also had several post-it notes stuck on top, listing out various dishes with some of them circled and some of them scribbled out.   Noticing Leon reading the notes, Brendan said, “Seth plans our dinners whenever he takes breaks, since I can’t cook and my girlfriend is usually too tired to make food when she gets home from work.”   “You have a girlfriend?” Jeremy asked as he pulled Ripley closer to him.   Wearing a proud grin, Brendan nodded. “We’ve been together since the beginning of sophomore year of college, so it’s been almost three years now.”   “Where does she work?” Estee inquired.   “She’s an auditor for Deloitte,” Brendan answered as they left his and Seth’s desk, carefully making their way to the other end of the extensive office space.   “Oh, she must be really busy then,” Vanessa commented with a sympathetic smile.   “Tell me about it. As soon as she gets home, all she wants to do is sleep. If I’m lucky, we get to watch some Netflix together before bed,” Brendan said with a lopsided smile. He then pointed to an office encased with glass walls. There were two navy blue couches inside and a desk covered in stacks of paper. “That’s Mark Zuckerberg’s office. I guess he’s at a meeting somewhere else on campus, since he’s not in right now.”   “Whoa, have you seen him before?” Jeremy asked, his eyes wide as he stared at the office.   Brendan nodded. “Yeah, a couple of times. It’s no big deal though. He works and has some meetings there. The novelty of seeing him wore off after a while, but it was pretty cool the first few times.”   The group walked past the Facebook founder’s office and then arrived at a cluster of conference rooms.   “I wanted to show these to you guys, since part of our company culture is naming the meeting rooms with funny references and themes. And here is mine and Seth’s personal favorite.” Brendan grinned as he pointed at the yellow sign with EDC emblazoned in black. “It’s not that crazy compared to some of the other names, but Seth and I went to EDC together last summer, so we like to come here and pretend that we’re still having fun there.” He sighed as he checked the iPad in front of the room, stating its availability for the day.   They didn’t stay at the conference rooms for long, since some of them were occupied, and the group gradually migrated to the other end of the vast floor. There were several vending machines lining the wall and Alexander was about to swipe his card, stating how thirsty he was, when Brendan stopped him.   “These machines don’t have drinks. They’re all electronics like chargers, earphones, and keyboards,” Brendan told them as he pointed to each row. “And your card won’t work. Only employees can use these vending machines.”   Alexander eyed the box of AirPods in the top row and said, “I mean, if I’m paying, it shouldn’t matter right?”   “We don’t have to pay for them. That’s why they’re employee-only,” Brendan clarified as he held up his badge. “We use these to scan what we need and the company keeps a digital record to make sure no one abuses this privilege.”   “Aw man, well, if I can’t get new AirPods, where are the drinks?” Alexander asked, tearing himself away from the vending machine after one last longing stare.   “Over here.” Brendan beckoned for them to follow him to a glass refrigerator that was filled with bottles of water and juice on the bottom two shelves and boxed sandwiches on the top two shelves. “These are also free, so go ahead and take one.”   “Dang, dude, is everything here free?” Karter asked as he grabbed a water bottle for himself after Alexander did.   “Pretty much. It’s one of the great perks of working here,” Brendan answered with a wide grin. “It’s also nearing eleven o’clock now,” he stated as he checked his watch, “so let’s head over to the Oculus Rift office for some VR gaming.”   They walked down the stairs to the first floor and exited the building, arriving in the main courtyard. After another five-minute walk, Brendan ushered them into another building and up the stairs to the floor where the Oculus Rift virtual reality gaming demonstrations were held. After checking in with an Oculus employee, Brendan led them to two empty rooms that were connected by an open doorway.   “You’ll each be able to play for about ten minutes. When it isn’t your turn, feel free to jump between rooms. We have this place all to ourselves for the next hour,” Brendan told them as he gestured around the empty space.   Russell, Estee, Alexander, Jason, and Jeremy first split off into the adjacent room. Meanwhile, Ripley was busily scrolling through the game catalogue with Chanel, citing that she’d follow her boyfriend into the other room later. When they reached the vast selection of horror titles, Vanessa let out a nervous squeal as Ripley happily read out each description.   “Ooh, this one seems fun! ‘Armed with a flashlight, you find yourself exploring what appears to be a quiet average looking home in a woodsy neighborhood. Before long, you discover you’re not alone as you unravel the mystery of what’s gone on in this house and struggle to survive the terror that begins to hunt you.’ Let’s play it!” Ripley suggested as she pointed to the cover art of Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul.   “No way! There were way better options earlier,” Vanessa argued, blanching at the thought of being trapped in a creepy house. “Why can’t we play those instead?”   “Because it’s way more fun to virtually experience a haunted house, especially since we’ll never actually do this in real life,” Chanel cheerfully answered. She then snorted as she scrolled back to some of the other available games. “How boring would it be to waste time virtually playing golf when you can do that any time at a country club?”   “Not everyone can afford to go to a country club whenever they want to play golf,” Vanessa reminded Chanel. “And I personally think it’ll be very fun to play golf in virtual reality.”   “Don’t be such a wet blanket, Nessie! We all wanna play Paranormal Activity, right?” Chanel looked around at the others and they nodded.   Leon was the only one who remained still.   “Fine, but I’ll only play if you play it here first, Ripley,” Vanessa staunchly declared. Leon could tell that she was banking on the paranormal investigator wanting to be in the same room as Jeremy, the two best friends now even more inseparable than ever after officially becoming a couple.   “Okay, okay, I’ll play first and tell you everything,” Ripley relented with a sigh, causing the Singaporean girl to groan.   Unable to back out now, Vanessa latched onto Ripley and begged, “Please don’t leave out a single thing.” The Singaporean girl’s brown eyes swirled with desperation.   As Brendan helped Ripley put on the bulky gaming headset, Vanessa perched on the chair in the back of the room, tightly gripping the wooden arms. Leon stood next to her and quietly said, “You don’t have to force yourself to play.”   “But I already promised,” the Singaporean girl weakly replied. “And I’m sure it’ll be fine. How real can virtual reality actually be?”   Ripley soon began to play and the rest of them watched on the flat screen television mounted across the room. The paranormal investigator started outside in pitch-black darkness, armed only with a flashlight that cast dim rays on the brown-red foliage of the trees that loomed over her. Several steps in, a large slate-gray house that was surrounded by a wooden fence came into view and Ripley fearlessly walked up to the entrance.   On the red door, there was a notice from a realtor that read, “Hey, I swung by to return the key. It’s in the usual hiding spot. Let me know when you’re ready to get back on the market. Thanks!”   As she walked around the porch, looking for the door key, Ripley commented, “This actually feels kinda real. I honestly feel like I’m in the game. The sound design is pretty good too.”   Leon heard Vanessa curse under her breath, so he placed a comforting hand on her knee.   After finding the key in one of the terra cotta planters, Ripley unlocked the door and stepped inside. “Whoa, the sound design is really good,” she amended as she shut the door behind her. “The door creaking sounds so real and the floorboards are squeaking underneath me whenever I walk. And there’s a really loud clock ticking somewhere… Oh, there it is.” A tall grandfather clock came into view.   Vanessa whimpered as the view panned around the dimly lit foyer and her hand s over Leon’s, holding it firmly against her knee. Knowing that she needed the extra support, he shuffled closer until his thigh was touching the chair.   “Oh, , this is actually kinda scary,” Ripley said as she suddenly flinched.   “Wait, what happened?” Chanel eagerly asked.   “A door closed really loudly—at least that’s what it sounded like—but I didn’t see any of them move,” the paranormal investigator reported. “The sound of my heartbeat in the game is really loud. And the music box that I checked out earlier also keeps randomly playing, even though I know I closed it earlier.”   Vanessa immediately tensed up and chanted, “Nope, nope, nope, I’m not playing.” Terror was scrawled all over her pale face.   “Too late! You already committed!” Chanel sang as she traipsed over and hooked her arm with the Singaporean girl’s to keep her rooted in place, lest she run away before she could play.   Then Ripley picked up two notes from a dresser in the hallway. The first one read, “I am scared” with a sad face drawn at the bottom. The second one read, “It won’t let me leave and no one will help me. I just want things to be normal again. Granny’s room is locked and there are no vents.”   “Yikes, I hope Granny’s okay,” Karter commented with a laugh. “I wonder what happened to her.”   Ripley continued down the hallway and slowly opened the door at the end. She jumped slightly when something clattered onto the ground, causing Vanessa to jump as well, and then cursed when it turned out to only be a flimsy ragdoll. After briefly looking around the storage room with her flashlight, Ripley turned around and cursed loudly when the left door swung open. “Oh god, I can hear knocking noises coming from somewhere,” the paranormal investigator told them as she cautiously looked around the parlor.   “Oh no, no, no,” Vanessa breathed out. Her knuckles were starting to turn white from how tightly she was gripping the chair.   “The fu…” Ripley trailed off as she sharply turned around.   “What?” the Singaporean girl squeaked.   “There was this loud rattling noise behind me when I left the parlor,” Ripley answered. She then walked into the bathroom and noticed a key hanging in front of a mirror. The moment she grabbed it, the mirror shattered into pieces, causing the paranormal investigator to swear at the top of her lungs.   “No, I don’t wanna play this! Please don’t make me play it!” Vanessa screeched as she tried to tug her arm out of Chanel’s grasp.   “It’s fine, Nessie! Ripley’s just being dramatic. And now you know to avoid the bathroom,” Chanel said, trying to placate the agitated girl.   They all then collectively inhaled when the screen panned to the bathtub, which was stained with messy dark red blotches. “I’m getting outta here,” Ripley muttered as she exited the bathroom and returned to the foyer.   Now the front door was boarded up and the double doors to the living room, where a bright fire was crackling in the fireplace, were slightly open. Just as she approached the double doors, they abruptly slammed shut and a shadowy figure darted across the room. Vanessa screamed while Ripley cursed again.   “Okay, that’s it. I’m done. It’s been ten minutes, right?” the paranormal investigator asked after a bookcase crashed in front of her all of a sudden on the second floor.   “Yeah, your time’s about up now,” Brendan answered as he stepped forward to help her remove the gaming headset.   “You’re up, Nessie!” Ripley cheerfully said as she stepped back to let the Singaporean girl take her spot. “It really isn’t that bad. And like Nellie said, you know what to expect now, so it won’t be as scary.”   Vanessa didn’t look convinced at all by the paranormal investigator’s reassuring words and she gulped loudly as she let Brendan place the gaming headset on her. The game restarted from the beginning, so she appeared outside in the pitch-black darkness like Ripley had. The Singaporean girl gingerly walked forward, soon coming across a deep hole in the ground. As she peered down, a murder of crows suddenly flew out, cawing like alarm systems. “What the , Ripley! You didn’t tell me there was a jump scare here!” Vanessa shrieked as she dropped to the ground, covering her head.   “It wasn’t there when I played!” Ripley immediately protested. “You saw me go through the front yard earlier! Nothing was there!”   Having already seen the younger girl’s playthrough, Vanessa sped through the beginning, taking care to avoid any ominous places like the bathroom, and focusing on solving as many puzzles as she could amidst the occasional rattling noises that caused her to jump and wail in fear.   “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, I’m gonna die,” the Singaporean girl fretted as she walked into a child’s recreation room with an inflatable standing punching bag in the likeness of a clown and a small television screen filled with dizzying static. When she opened another door, presumably to a closet, there was a wide rectangular slot near the bottom of the wall and a pair of legs could be seen walking away. “Oh my god, I’m gonna die,” Vanessa repeated as she hastily slammed the door shut.   “You’re doing great, Nessie!” Chanel cheered from the back.   When Vanessa entered the family room, there was another television screen, this one much larger, filled with static. However, as she drew closer, the static was replaced by a short clip of a round table and a chair abruptly flipping over while a girl scooted away in terror. “Oh my god, that’s gonna be me. I know it is,” the Singaporean girl muttered as she fled the dreary room.   And as soon as she walked out, there was a young girl standing outside the room.   Vanessa let out a shrill cry while the young girl gasped and ran down the hallway. “Oh god, when is this over?!” she wailed, stamping her feet in panic.   “Just a little more, Nessie! You’re almost there!” Chanel called.   The Singaporean girl then walked into a hallway filled with red candles, casting an unsettling orange glow, and there were several static-filled television screens mounted onto the walls. Black symbols were also scrawled on the dirty walls and Vanessa cowered every time she looked at them. “This place has to be haunted by demons. There’s no other explanation,” she whimpered as she crept forward.   Without warning, a large bookcase collapsed in front of her. She yelled and ran in the opposite direction, facing pitch-black, when the young girl from earlier appeared out of nowhere again before darkness filled the screen. And just like Ripley had, Vanessa began swearing like a sailor.   In order to escape from the hallway, she had to pass through a room filled with six more clown punching bags that all bobbed forward, smiling evilly at her. The windows then shattered above her, almost causing Vanessa to topple to the floor.   Leon was thoroughly impressed by how well she was managing her fear. He knew it couldn’t be easy to face such a debilitating phobia so suddenly, but Vanessa was keeping her feet moving in spite of the dangerous unknown that surrounded her at every corner.   With the demonic hallway behind her now, she walked into a bedroom with another television screen that switched from the noisy gray static to a scene of a woman standing over a crib. After several seconds, it flickered back to the gray static, so Vanessa began inspecting the chest of drawers for any clues or extra batteries for her flashlight.   Seeing that there was nothing, she turned towards the bed and was suddenly attacked by a growling, emaciated woman wearing a bloodstained white dress. While Vanessa screamed, the woman suddenly flew up to the ceiling, as if possessed, and her body began to smack wildly against the walls like a pinball before being slammed into the corner of the bedroom by a narrow bookcase. All of the furniture began to shudder and levitate as the room darkened, inky black splotches appearing from the corner and overtaking the white walls.   And then a massive black wraith appeared and shot towards her.   With that, Vanessa immediately ripped off the gaming headset and threw herself onto Leon, sobbing her heart out. He automatically began carding his fingers through her soft hair while using his left hand to soothingly rub circles across her back. Despite how much his shirt was getting soaked with tears, Leon let the terrified girl continue crying into his chest. “Everything’s okay,” he gently murmured. “It’s over now. Nothing will hurt you.”   Brendan looked on sympathetically and gestured to the door as he asked, “Do you two need some time outside?”   “That’d be great,” Leon answered as he began to carefully lead Vanessa out of the room.   “I’ll lead you guys out and then come back, since I can’t leave the rest of you without supervision for long.” Brendan then guided Leon and Vanessa out of the building, stopping at a nearby bench. “Sorry about that. I hope she feels better soon.”   “It’s not your fault,” Leon told him with a shake of his head. “I probably should’ve said something when we were choosing which game to play, especially since I know how much she hates horror. Thanks for being so accommodating though. We really appreciate it.”   Brendan briefly checked his watch before saying, “We’ve got about thirty minutes left until the end of our session. Will you two be okay waiting out here until we’re done? I don’t think the Oculus employees will be too happy if I keep going in and out.”   “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I don’t think she’s in a hurry to go back,” Leon answered with a light chuckle.   “Alright, I’m heading back in then. You can text one of your friends if you need me to come back out for whatever reason,” Brendan said before walking back into the Oculus building.   By now, Vanessa’s sobs had dwindled into watery hiccups as she kept her face buried in his shirt, her thin shoulders shaking every few seconds. Without a word, Leon kept her back in a calm rhythm with his left hand and using his right hand to keep her securely propped up on his lap. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since they left the Oculus building, but the Singaporean girl’s cries eventually subsided and the two of them just sat there, tightly gripping each other.   After a lengthy period of silence, Leon softly asked, “Are you feeling better now?”   She nodded, still keeping her tear-stained cheeks pressed against his chest. He was about to leave it at that when Vanessa whispered in a barely audible voice, “Thank you.”   “You’re welcome,” Leon tenderly murmured back.   And they continued to sit and hold one another in blissful peace.       After Kallie had properly filled him in on all of the details regarding what had happened to her and Karter at Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, Seth made sure his best friend was kept away from the male Hong Konger. Seth stuck to Kallie like glue, constantly glancing at her to make sure her mood didn’t suddenly drop. He relaxed a bit when the whole crew split up and Karter followed Brendan, leaving the two best friends free to comfortably interact with the others. Seth was able to catch up with the rest of his friends as they toured around the campus and after hearing all of their stories, he wished again that he had been able to join them from the start.   If anything, he would have been able to protect Kallie better and prevent Karter from breaking her heart. That was the biggest regret he had right now.   When lunchtime came around and they stood in line for some barbeque at Lightning Bolts Smoke Shake, Seth’s gaze hardened when he saw Karter approaching with the rest of Brendan’s group and he automatically stepped closer to Kallie, snaking his arm around his best friend’s waist so that her line of vision was shielded. After they picked up their plates of beef brisket, macaroni and cheese, and grilled corn, Seth and Kallie sat down in the empty space between Lucas and Lucy.   Seth watched with a fond smile as Kallie easily struck up a conversation with Lucy and Elliot. Just over a week ago, the three of them had been complete strangers. Now, it was as if they had been close friends for years with the way they comfortably bantered with each other. Even though he had already known that they were all bonding well throughout the trip, seeing it with his own two eyes made it all the more real for Seth and he was grateful that this entire vacation hadn’t been a bust for his best friend.   Guilt stirred within him whenever he was reminded of how much Karter had hurt her, simply because he had been the one to introduce the two to each other in freshman year and he had been the one to invite both of them to join Russell’s road trip. Although Karter hadn’t accepted his invitation, choosing only to come when Chanel had badgered him, Kallie had agreed because Seth had asked her to, even though he had known that he wouldn’t be able to join the group for most of the trip. If he hadn’t volunteered her as a driver, his best friend would be safe at home, probably watching anime and recording voice