Julian felt he was getting distracted and needed to focus on his main plan, which was having another chance with Yvette. He snapped back to reality and saw that his two colleagues were anything but happy with the way they were being treated, but they couldn't say anything. They were lower in rank than Julian, so they knew better than to say anything out of turn. Julian sighed and decided to wait until Yvette's party began to leave, since she arrived alone, he would find her by her car afterward. 

     Estelle danced and corrected Cane simultaneously. But her attention was placed on a somewhat familiar man who talked to Yvette when she walked in. She wanted to say that she recognized him from a marketing company that she had close ties to, but wasn't sure. She saw how he kept staring at her way and then at Yvette. She never liked any of the men in that company; they all dressed the same and tried to act like they were smarter than they were. 

     She remembered one of them trying to impress her by saying they had connections with A-list celebrities, and she could meet them.  But, overall, she wondered if that man knew Yvette or was planning something, but since Yvette was with Damien, she felt more at ease.

     Cane was getting tired. He only liked dancing with Yvette, and the song was getting on his last nerve. But these two were doing him a favor by leading Yvette closer to him. Damien was probably making him seem like a better person than he was, and Estelle was feeding him information about what she liked, but with more depth and details. 

     As they danced, Estelle told him that Yvette was fixated on flowers right now, especially a type called Asphodelus. She loved purple hues, especially if they came in pastel, and she was trying to find new hobbies to fill her time. Cane didn't really know what to do with this information, but kept it in mind for future reference. As they continued dancing, Cane found that annoying guy, Julian, just staring at him. It creeped him out just looking at him. It was like he was trying to dissect him. 

      As the duo kept on dancing, Damien felt it was time to up the ante and put on a show. Damien then decided to join the dance floor with Yvette. Yvette was hesitant at first, but saw how much fun Estelle was having, so she gleefully took Damien's hand. 

     He asked her if it was alright to get a little aggressive since Yvette did have a bit of a skill to her. She agreed, but wanted to be mindful of her hand. Damien led her to the dance floor and began to lead. Yvette remembered the last dance they learned and felt he was trying to do something similar. 

     They started slow and began to speed up to match the tempo of the new song. The duo then made their way to Estelle and Cane. Estelle noticed them in the corner of her eyes, thus she faced them. Damien and Estelle gave each other a look and immediately knew what to do.

      Estelle instructed Cane to do a back-to-back spin, and at the same time, Damien instructed Yvette to do the same. Estelle and Damien aligned their dance partners accordingly as they tried to listen to the tempo of the song so the transition would look seamless. Then simultaneously, the quartet spun, and when they stopped, they swapped partners. 

     The plan was for Yvette and Cane to be paired; however, Cane went in the wrong direction and ended up partnered with Damien. "You're an idiot, you always spin right, who the hell spins left? I told you in class to fix that habit," Damien whispered. 

     "Shut up, you think I can't see that I messed up, I'm literally looking right at you, just hurry up and do it again", Cane angrily whispered back. Damien rolled his eyes and saw Estelle laughing as she danced with Yvette, but her attention was caught again; she nodded at Damien. 

     They coordinated their spin, executed the move, and finally, they were with their respective partners. The crowd that looked on clapped at the little display. Yvette was bright red as she continued dancing, but laughed without a care as the song blared. Cane looked on at his partner, her laugh, her smile, her movements. He was right, dancing was more fun if it was with her. 

     The evening came and went, and the group decided to go their separate ways. Damien and Estelle were going back to the studio, and Cane walked Yvette to her car. The night was cold as they walked side by side, but neither made the move to reach out. She tried to saunter, but she felt awkward doing that. 

     As they stood next to her car, Cane saw this as a good opportunity for a gift, "Oh, I got you something. I wanted to give it to you when we were at the park, but, you know", he rummaged in his coat pocket, but couldn't find it. He soon realized he had left it in his car. "Wait here, let me go get it", he scurried away as he left Yvette surprised. 

      Yvette stood in place, but not even a minute had passed, and Yvette saw Julian walking towards her. It only took one look for her to immediately find her keys, open her car, and start the engine, but he had already made it to her window.

     Julian acted fast and opened the door before she could lock it. He reached for the steering wheel and grabbed her keys, turning off the car and throwing them into the bushes. He roughly grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out. 

     Yvette was confused and scared, but couldn't fight back completely due to the soreness in her body. The situation seemed bleak as she didn't know where he was dragging her, but the further she was from her car, the darker her vision became. 

     Julian saw her hyperventilating but kept trying to drag her to a more isolated place where he knew the restaurant cameras wouldn't see him. "Stop struggling. You are the one who is making this more difficult than it has to be. I'm only asking for one night, if we enjoy it, we can continue, if not, then so be it, but at least with me you can stop playing nice", he said sternly.

     Yvette became enraged as he said this. She glared and finally, she was able to scream out, "Why is it so bad!? I try not to bother anyone, I try so hard to keep to myself, but it's never enough for any of you. Why do you all keep bothering me!!! Even dead, why does everyone involved with Silas keep haunting me?!!", Yvette cried out as the force caused her to open her stitches. Julian was confused as he heard the word dead.

     Then, as the moon hid behind the clouds, she was dragged into the attached untouched woodlands. Once more, she kicked and tugged until she suddenly came loose, falling onto the ground. She quickly stood, trying to feel something in the darkness, but being deprived of light, she couldn't calm down. 

     She then heard a gurgling sound and a loud thump, her head turning towards the sound. She needed to get out and fast, but she couldn't tell left from right. She quickly pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight.  She frantically lit every corner until she landed on a familiar face. 

     Yvette's face softened as tears trailed down her cheeks, relief in her voice as she called out his name, "Cane". Everything that was not him disappeared in her eyes as the moon only illuminated him. He hid something in his pocket with his right hand as he cleaned blood off his cheek with his left.   

    It felt like an eternity as they just stopped and stared at each other. Cane stepped closer to Yvette, thinking she would become more hysterical, but she smiled as she stood in place.

      She lowered her phone, the flash turning off, her expression more relaxed as she got closer. Her face now illuminated by the moon emerging from behind the clouds, he saw her starry-eyed expression. 

     Slowly, he brought her closer as he embraced her. She wiped the rest of the blood from his cheek and caressed his face. Nothing in the world felt like it mattered anymore except for each other as they leaned closer and closer. Their eyes closed, feeling their breaths were within reach until finally a connection was made. Her lips were a bit rough but sweet, and his were soft and minty. A euphoric feeling began to engulf them as they held each other until the darkness covered them again.