She observed quietly...every move he made, she caught it.

She was sure he hadn't noticed her. At least, that's what she told herself.

Getting here wasn't even hard.

That handsome Korean driver? Yeah, thanks to him and his fast speed, they caught up with his bike on the road. After that, they just followed him discreetly.

Now here she was, in some fancy nightclub.

She smirked a little.

Also in a expensive VIP room.

Okay, he must be filthy rich.

Just her type. Rich guy, check. Definitely boyfriend material.

She looked away, eyes dropping to the drinks in front of her. Her throat went dry immediately.

She stared at the cognac bottles.

Why did I even order this? She thought.

She bit her lip, unsure how to start drinking.

Her eyes flicked back to Tavian. Still focused, eyes glued to the laptop, not even bothering to look up.

Such a weirdo.

Only God knows what he's doing on that thing.

He should be drinking, dancing... or at least watching people who are.

You're not doing anything either, girly, her inner voice shot back.

She rolled her eyes at herself.

Her gaze dropped to the three cognac bottles. She reached for the middle one, twisted the cap off tight, and set it down with a little clink.

She grabbed a glass cup and poured slowly, watching the brown liquid rise close to the rim of the glass.

She set the bottle down and took a small sip. The heat hit her throat instantly, and her face twisted up.

Damn. That's strong.

Then she raised the glass again, this time throwing it back in one go.

A quiet gasp left her lips as it burned all the way down.

Not for the weak, she thought, setting the glass down.

She leaned back and resumed her watch.

______________

Nyssa yawned again. Her eyes flicking to her phone screen, checking and calculating the time.

51 minutes.

That's how long she'd been sitting here.

All this just to figure out what this guy's deal was?

She must be crazy!

Then finally, she saw Tavian close his laptop and slide it into a black backpack. A moment later, he stood, slung the bag over one shoulder, and walked out of the room.

Several girls glanced his way and watched him go.

Nyssa was one of them.

She watched until he vanished out of sight, then stood quickly and followed.

As she walked fast, the room tilted slightly.

Her head felt light. 

What's going on with me...? She wondered.

UNIT 9

Heath sat on a stool in front of the piano positioned at the center of the music room.

His phone lay across the keys, but he wasn't paying attention to it.

He flipped through a black jotter, scanning pages of written words.

"He wrote new lyrics" he mumbled under his breath.

"You really think he doesn't know you snoop through his stuff when he's out?"

A voice broke through from behind.

Heath turned, eyebrows lifting when he saw Rainnie step in.

"Pretty sure I locked that door" he said quietly.

"You didn't" she said simply

"What are you doing here?"

She walked toward him with a small smile.

"Came to see you" she replied casually.

He didn't blink and just stared.

She sighed at his silence.

"Okay - for real. I came to see you" she said, giving a playful pout.

"And Fred?"

"He's asleep"

"Then go join him" He looked away as he said it, voice flat.

Rainnie laughed under her breath, stepping closer to the piano. She tapped a key, then another.

Her eyes shifted to his face.

"You ever gonna stop hating me?"

He didn't answer.

"You've never looked at me with soft eyes. Not once. You must really hate me"

He smirked.

Soft eyes? Like I owe her that? No chance, he thought.

"Is there a law that says 'love everyone, hate no one'?" Heath asked, dropping the jotter on the piano keys with a soft thud.

Rainnie shrugged.

"No law like that. I just wish you'd look at me like a woman sometimes"

He turned to her, still smirking.

"Why wouldn't I? You're a woman, aren't you? Or are you secretly a man?"

She let out an awkward laugh, shaking her head.

Damn this guy, she thought.

He grabbed his phone, ignoring her reaction.

"You followed Zara on IG" she said, watching him closely. 

"That's gonna be a hot topic at school. Didn't know you were into her. I mean, she is pretty"

He looked up, eyebrows drawn together.

"Zara? Who's that?"

She blinked, clearly thrown off.

"You're kidding, right? Don't tell me that was an accidental follow"

Instead of replying to that, he said,

"When did we start having these conversations?" he asked as he tilted his head.

Rainnie cleared her throat, suddenly quiet.

He rolled his eyes, stood up, and walked over to the bed in the room.

She followed his movement with her gaze, not missing the way his broad back flexed with every step.

He dropped onto the bed, got comfortable, and shut his eyes.

"Close the door when you're done" he mumbled, still holding his phone.

Rainnie crossed her arms and sat on the piano stool.

"Nope. I'll just watch you from here"

A loud sigh escaped him.

In Freddie's Room, He wasn't sleeping. He was lying in bed, scrolling through his phone.

Naked, with only a duvet covering his lower half - and yeah, his v-line was very much on display.

He was liking videos of a green-haired girl with a nose ring — his big sister, basically the female version of him. They looked exactly alike. Same face, same everything.

"Do I really have to like every one of her damn videos?" he muttered, thinking of his big sister's earlier message:

'Hey, idiot kiddy. Like the 5 new videos I just posted on IG and comment on the best one'

He hissed.

Once he was done, he backed out of her page and returned to his feed, scrolling videos.

He was about to scroll past a random video then froze, swiping back.

It was a video of Nyssa in a bikini... Inside a pool.

She was lip-syncing a song.

She looked insanely hot. Especially her cleavage, half of her boobs were out.

Fred watched the video, expression unreadable.

"That girl from the party" he murmured.

He stared at her username, which was 'Nysserly'

He locked his phone and tossed it on the bed.

He yawned, stretched lazily.

"Shit. I need sleep" he muttered.

***

Back In The Nightclub 

In the part of the building that housed the VIP rooms, Nyssa leaned against a corner wall in the hallway, eyes locked on a specific door. The one he entered.

She had been staring at it for a while now.

She couldn't follow him in, obviously. But she could watch from here - from a safe distance.

A drunk giggle escaped her lips.

Yep. She was drunk.

Not like she'd admit it, though.

She hiccupped, holding onto the wall to steady herself.

"Hey, Nysserly" a voice called from behind.

She turned slowly, eyes landing on a guy.

He looked... alright.

Not ugly, not fine. Not basic either. Just... good.

"Hi" she muttered, blinking.

He stepped closer and reached for her hair.

She backed away fast, squinting at him.

"You good, sir?" she asked, frowning a little.

"Relax, just trying to get something out of your hair" the guy said, smiling as he stepped back.

"I follow you on IG. Saw you earlier in the VIP room and recognized you right away"

Nyssa hiccupped. Her cheeks went warm and red.

Wait... am I drunk? she wondered, blinking slowly as his face started blurring in front of her.

"Hey" he said again, but his voice sounded distant now. It was echoing.

His phone rang in his hand.

He glanced at the screen. 

"Give me a sec" he said, turning away and stepping a few feet down the hallway to take the call.

Nyssa blinked again, her gaze drifting right back to the door she'd been staring at.

Just like that, Her feet moved before her brain could stop them.

Step by step, she walked toward it, a little too slow, a little too shaky.

**

Inside the bathroom, Tavian lay in the warm bathwater, gentle ripples surrounding him.

Slowly, he lifted his head and sat upright, brushing his damp hair back from his face. Droplets slid down his jaw as his tongue traced his bottom lip.

Eyes fixed on the tiled wall, he wasn't really looking at it...just remembering something.

A slow, knowing smirk formed on his lips.

He didn't let it disappear immediately. He let it stay.

Minutes later, The bathroom door creaked open suddenly.

He didn't move.

Later, soft, uneven footsteps padded into the room- then stopped.

Then came the small drunken voice.

"Ph'one murd'rer..."