With a smile, Ambrose pushed the door open, and they entered. It was a small room with lavish furniture and decor. The floor was carpeted, and the windows bore red curtains over them. Shyed sat at a makeup desk on the far side of the room. As they entered, she spun round to face them, her expression still and harsh.

     "What do you want?" Her tone was flat, yet cold as she cocked her head sideways.

     "I'm sure you can guess." Despite his smile, Ambrose's tone was just as flat as Shyed's. "I'm going and checking on everyone. I figured I'd start with the one who, uh..."

     "Who took the biggest beating, right? Yeah." Her words shot from her lips like venom as she squinted, shifting around on her seat as she focused on her foot. "Sorry I ruined the whole thing, but can we just forget it?"

     "That might be a little hard to do." Ambrose crossed his arms over his chest. "We need to look into this more. And believe it or not, you're a valuable member to our little team of ragtag Somniums. We're friends. I appreciate you saying what you did."

     Her attention paused on him before dropping back to her foot. "It really wasn't like me, was it?"  The sound of distress in her voice caught Hollis's attention. She continued, "It really is more like something Terra would have done, right? She was always sticking up for you."

     Ambrose's voice was gentle and smooth as he spoke. "Oddly enough, you two were pretty close. I don't think it's weird if some of her rubbed off on you. It's not the first time you've defended me." He stepped forward as he finished, "Everyone has their own way of mourning."

     "And me replacing her is my way, huh?" There was a touch of cold in her words as she huddled in on herself, turning away from the two young men. "Tic was right. I'm just some crappy replacement."

     "Nobody said that." Ambrose froze, realizing what he said wasn't true. Though he wanted to help, none of the things he could think of would actually make this situation any better. Hollis realized that Ambrose had hit a wall. He didn't know Shyed at all, not really, so he felt like he had no place in any of this conversation. But watching Ambrose struggle was giving him metaphorical heartburn.

     "Um, Shyed." Hollis winced as he felt his voice crack. Ambrose smiled quick, but it faded as soon as it arrived. Shyed gave no reaction aside from a hasty glance before looking away again. Hollis went on after clearing his throat. "Shyed. I can't say I know you well, or at all...but the fact that you stood up for what you thought was right, there's no reason to be upset about that."

     "Exactly." Though he said this under his breath, he still gave Hollis a rough pat on his shoulder. Seeing this sense of camaraderie, Shyed peeked up, leaning back in her seat, though there was a heavy dread over her face still. "You two are pretty close." Her eyes lowered. "Are you two equals to each other?"

     "'Equals'?" They spoke in unison with a shared amount of surprise.

     "Yes," she went on in her flat voice. "Aren't you ever jealous of each other?"

     Hollis got a sense from the look on her face, the sound of her words, that she was reflecting on Terra. Had she been jealous of her?

     "Jealous?" Ambrose asked in an overly dramatic voice. "Why would I be jealous of him?" He burst out laughing, Hollis's face darkening in embarrassment or rage. It was anyone's guess. He had planned on being honest, but that was out of the question now.

     "Jealous?" The tall youth's voice dropped to a near whisper. "Of course, I get jealous of him. Well, actually, I envy him."

     Shyed dropped her head to the side. "What's the difference?"

     "Well," Ambrose began, "I'm jealous of the people he has in his life...but I envy the way he is. I wish I had a sibling who cared about me. It's something I'd always wanted, and I'm jealous of that. But I envy his attitude. He's always so serious and he isn't driven by emotions like me. I envy that ability to steel yourself. It's not something I've ever been good at."

     Hollis couldn't believe what he was hearing. He hadn't realized Ambrose felt like that, that he truly envied what he had.

     How could anyone envy him? His bland attitude and lack of personality, what was there to envy?

     He felt his face warm up, his hands shake. Was he angry? If so, what for? Or was he...actually happy a little? Happy? Why?

     Before he knew it, Ambrose had wrapped his arm around Hollis's shoulders. His heart leapt to his throat, and he could have sworn he was about to choke it up. That would be perfect...

     "I'm not sure what there is to be jealous of with me, but it's really not unusual for friends to be jealous of each other; for friends to envy one another." He sneered. "We're only human, after all."

     Shyed spoke not a word. Her attention seemed to flip back and forth between them before settling on her foot once again. "Right." Her lip trembled and she promptly turned her face away from view.

     Hollis was feeling increasingly awkward. Peering over to his taller companion, he couldn't get any kind of sign as to what he was feeling. Suddenly, he felt Ambrose pull him back. "Well, Shyed," he said in a pleasant voice, "we'll let you go now. We've interrupted you I suspect and it's still a little soon to be discussing this stuff." Without further hesitation, he pulled Hollis from the room and the two hurried back to the foyer. As if he had been holding his breath, Hollis let out a heavy exhale and slumped.

     Girls crying...I can't handle that...

     "What do you think, guy?"

     Hollis rose a brow as he turned to Ambrose whose posture was strong and his head tilted to the side.

     "What do I think about what?"

     Ambrose sneered, his teeth bared as he shifted his weight. "Are you jealous of me?"

     "What are you talking about? Aren't we over that yet?" Hollis sighed as he pulled himself up to a stand. Ambrose shook his head and waved his finger, his lips still forming that sneer and his eyes twinkling with youth. "Not yet. I gave my honest answer back there. Now it's your turn. Go on. Humiliate yourself before me."

     Does he realize how that sounds? He has to...

     Hollis shook his head back and forth before saying, "Sure. I'm jealous...and envious." He shrugged and his head dropped.

     "Of what?" That sneer remained steadfast in its place. Hollis groaned, his finger pulling at his shirt's collar. "Of...your optimism, I guess... Of all of your friends, I guess. Okay, I said it. I'm done."

     Upon hearing the embarrassment and eagerness in the shorter boy's words, Ambrose began to laugh but a sudden scream from above startled the two. It was a girl's scream that pierced through the floor above and echoed in the foyer around them.

     "Shyed!" Ambrose immediately darted back the way they had come. Hollis, pulling in a breath, gave chase.

     Charging up the stairs and down the hall, they eventually returned to the girl's room, but inside they found what they had feared most.

     On the floor, below the chair she had occupied during their conversation, rested her body. Her neck had been slit and quite nearly separated from the rest of her. Hollis felt his pulse turn ice cold. The severity of the situation had increased tremendously. A foreboding silence clung between them, only to be suddenly broken by Ambrose. "We can't wait any longer. We have to catch him...now!"