“The thing I wanted to discuss with you…” Damien started, but Noelle didn’t pay the man any mind, since her attention was solely focused on the black cat in the room. The cat was licking its paw and looking up at Noelle.

Without thinking much about it, Noelle got up from her chair and wandered over to the cat. She knelt in front of it and gently picked it up in her arms.

“Felix, is that you? If it is, then why are you at the Brimwick Estate?” Noelle quietly whispered to the cat as it cutely rubbed its face against her arm and purred.

“What are you doing with Charcoal?” Damien asked in a tone that, for once, didn't seem cold. He tilted his head to the side and looked over at her with curiosity in his eyes.

“Oh, uh, it's just your cat. It reminds me of the cat I got recently,” Noelle said before placing Charcoal back on the ground. She gave the cat a gentle head rub, and it rewarded her with a soft purr.

Damien let out a small sigh. “So, you got something else that is going to distract you,” he said, frowning and crossing his arms.

“I can have a cat if I want to! Also, hurry up and tell me the other thing you wanted to discuss so I can leave already,” Noelle said, turning her head sharply toward him.

“It’s just that,” Damien said calmly for once as he reached forward to pick up the small spoon he had for his tea and stirred it.

“It’s just what?” Noelle asked as she walked back over to the table with a confused look on her face.

“You don’t like being the Gatekeeper, do you?” Damien said before he took hold of the cup’s handle and proceeded to take a sip of the tea.

“It isn’t my most favorite thing in the world if that’s what you’re asking,” Noelle said. Her green eyes wandered over to hold the gaze of Damien’s brown eyes as if she were trying to figure out what he was currently thinking.

“That wasn’t what I was asking you, entirely. I already know you dislike your job as the Gatekeeper and want to live a normal life," Damien said calmly.

"So, why don’t you just give up your title and powers to the Brimwick family? Then you can live the life you always wanted,” Damien said. A small grin made its way to his lips when he saw her blood start to boil.

“You can’t be serious!” Noelle yelled as she slammed her hand on the table. The vibration caused the teacup there to spill all of the orange tea that was inside of it all over the table.

“You don’t take your job seriously, and you don’t even want the job. You’re not even good at your job. So, why are you getting so upset over it?” Damien asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

“That’s all you Brimwicks want, isn’t it?” Noelle said with a rage burning in her eyes. “Well, too bad for you because I’m never giving it up. So you’re wasting your time!”

"Also, if that’s all you wanted to tell me, I’m leaving now,” Noelle continued. She walked out of the room and stormed by Camila, who was still reading her manga book.

Camila let out a small sigh. She got up and discarded the book on the chair’s cushion before walking over to the room where Damien was.

“You’re not very good at flirting, are you? You should really up your game,” Camila said as she rested her body against the doorway. She looked at the tea spilled all over the table and the annoyed expression on her brother’s face.

—--

On Noelle's way back to her shared dorm room, she was lost in her own thoughts. Even if Damien was right about her wish for a normal life, she knew how important the role of the Gatekeeper was. If she were to pass on the title and powers of the Gatekeeper, the Brimwick family would be the last people she would choose for it.

But who was Noelle lying to? On more than one occasion, she had imagined what it would be like if she hadn’t been chosen for the Gatekeeper. Then, she would lament on the fact that her life would never be normal regardless of how much she wanted it.

“Juliana, I had such a terrible day,” Noelle whined in an exaggerated tone as she opened the door to the dorm room. She frowned when she saw Juliana stuff a piece of candy from her desk into her mouth.

“Was that my last piece of candy!” Noelle yelled, walking over to her cousin.

“Uh, maybe. But it's your fault for not coming back sooner,” Juliana whined as she swallowed the last piece of candy and pouted at Noelle.

“But, wait, why are you having a bad day? Was it your college course?” Juliana asked.

“I didn’t go to class, because Damien Brimwick wanted to speak with me, and he’s quite the handful. He ruined my entire day---“ Noelle started before Juliana interrupted her.

“Wait, you talked to Damien?” Juliana asked with a bright smile. Her eyes practically glittered with joy. Juliana seemed to completely miss all the points about Damien being a jerk that Noelle had just mentioned.

“Why are you so happy to hear about Damien? Please don’t tell me you actually like that man,” Noelle said, grimacing as she looked over at her cousin.

“Well, how could I not? He is absolutely handsome, don’t you think, Noelle?” Juliana said as she clasped her hands together.

There was no way that Noelle would ever fall for Damien Brimwick. Sure, he was handsome, but he spoiled it with his rude attitude.

“Damien is alright. You do know he isn’t exactly friendly toward the Celestica family,” Noelle said, as she couldn’t think of a better answer to give her cousin.

“What do you mean he’s alright? He’s so good-looking. Wait, He's unfriendly?” Juliana asked, completely clueless about Damien’s rude nature toward anyone in the Celestica family.

But Noelle figured that Juliana wasn’t aware of Damien’s rude personality because Juliana never actually talked to him. Juliana just merely thought he was nice based on his looks.

Noelle let out a small sigh. "Never mind the last part," she said, since her cousin wouldn't get it even if she explained just how rude Damien could be.

“But that reminds me. When I woke up, Lucky wasn’t here,” Juliana mentioned after she snapped out of her state of crushing all over Damien.

Noelle's eyes widened in shock. Her mind had been so completely occupied by Damien that she had forgotten that Felix still wasn’t back yet. He had left her with many unanswered questions.

“Is that so? I just hope he’s okay,” Noelle stated, a hint of concern lacing her tone.

“Oh, I’m sure he will be. After all, he has a nice comfy bed. But he sure seemed to prefer cuddling with you on your bed now that I think about it," Juliana said.

"You also gave him a bunch of treats and a nice collar. I highly doubt that cat would even remotely forget about you. I’m sure he’ll be back soon. He probably just happened to see a mouse and chased after it,” Juliana said with a smile, before noticing a small blush start to form on Noelle’s cheeks.

“Is something the matter?” she asked curiously, which caused Noelle to shake her head quickly.

Juliana just had to remind Noelle of how much she was cuddling Lucky, who was, in fact, Felix. That flirt probably enjoyed every minute of it.

“It's nothing. I just remembered I forgot to get something at the gate,” Noelle said innocently as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Wait, really?! But you just got back. Well, if you really must. But hurry back, and could you also bring some more candy?” Juliana said. Toward the end of her sentence, she used the cutest voice she could muster.

“Alright, fine. You win. I’ll bring some more candy. I’ll also do my best to come back quickly,” Noelle stated with a bright smile on her lips before she left the dorm room. She then headed toward the gate.

Maybe Noelle was insane for heading back to the gate, but an idea had popped into her mind while she was talking to Juliana. Once Noelle arrived at the gate, she wasted no time opening the entrance door before walking inside. She then closed the door behind her.

If Noelle thought about it long enough, what she was about to do seemed crazy. She opened up the other door and walked outside.

She walked over to the same giant, gray door that led to the spirit world. As she reached for the doorknob, she hesitated briefly before opening the door to reveal the same watery portal as before.

Noelle had to be crazy to actually want to break again the rule of not entering the spirit world. But she thought that, since Felix wasn’t back yet, she would just go to him.

With a deep breath, she entered the portal. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the same breathtaking pink sky and the same vibrantly colored flowers that decorated the path.

Even if she was crazy, at least she would find Felix. Maybe he could shed some light on some of her questions.