HARMLESS FIRE

𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆

Blakely groaned as the alarm she forgot to turn off blared through the quiet room. She blindly reached for her phone, shutting it off before rolling onto her back. She was exhausted. The last very few days had been a whirlwind of stress, fire, and whatever the hell had been going on in Eden.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off the lingering sleep before finally sitting up. Xinmei was still curled up on the other side of the bed, her hair a mess against the pillow.

Blakely stretched her arms over her head before sliding out of bed, heading straight for the bathroom. A long, hot shower was exactly what she needed. Yes, it's summer, and a hot morning but the tiredness she felt at the moment wasn't something a cold water would solve.

As the steam filled the bathroom, she exhaled and walked into the shower.

\---

By the time she stepped out, wrapped in a towel, Xinmei was already awake, sitting up with her phone in hand.

"I'm calling Tiffany to bring you a spare toothbrush," Blakely said, drying her hair with another towel.

Xinmei hummed in response, still half-asleep as she squinted at her screen.

Blakely grabbed her phone pressed the button my the bed and said, "Bring an extra toothbrush to my room,"

Letting go of the button, she tossed the hair towel onto the vanity before going through her closet. She pulled out a fresh set of clothes for herself and dragged a small suitcase out of her closet, "You can find something here to wear. They are all new"

Xinmei stretched lazily. "You're the best."

"Yeah, I know,"

\---

While waiting for Tiffany, Xinmei dialed Lucy, putting her on speaker. The moment Lucy picked up, her voice came through loud and clear, already halfway through a sentence.

"—been calling you! What the hell, I heard about the fire!"

Xinmei sighed. "Yeah, long story. We're fine, though. No need to freak out."

Lucy let out a dramatic sigh. "You could've at least texted me. I had to find out from someone else. Thought you were dead or something."

"Wow, thanks for the concern," Xinmei said dryly. "Anyway, you should come pick up your car. We can grab breakfast after, and we'll eat while I tell you everything that happened. I'll share my location"

She agreed, still grumbling about being left in the dark before hanging up.

Immediately after Xinmei shared her location, there was a knock at the door.

Tiffany stepped in with the toothbrush, giving both of them a polite nod before asking, "Good morning Miss Blakely, Good morning Miss Addams. Will you be having breakfast up here or with everyone?"

"We're going out, we'll find something to thing" Blakely replied, taking the toothbrush and handing it to Xinmei.

Tiffany nodded in understanding before excusing herself.

\---

After brushing her teeth and freshening up properly, Blakely pushed the suitcase of some of the newer clothes she had yet to wear to her.

Xinmei pulled on the outfit, adjusting the fit as she looked around the room. Her gaze landed on the mirror above the vanity, where several pictures were clipped to the edges, a mix of random Polaroids and printed photos. Some of them stuck to the wall nearby, mostly concert shots, photocards, and fan merch.

She walked over, inspecting them closely, then turned to Blakely, who was seated at the vanity, brushing through her hair and applying a little makeup at the same time.

"I didn’t know you were into K-pop," Xinmei said, tilting her head.

She glanced at her through the mirror. "I don’t talk about it much."

Xinmei's eyes landed on one of the pictures, her fingers hovering over it. "Wait… I think I’ve heard about them before. What's their name again?"

"Stray Kids," She answered without hesitation.

Xinmei nodded slowly. "Yeah, I keep seeing their name everywhere. They’re like… crazy popular, right?"

"Obviously."

Xinmei’s gaze flicked to one of the photocards taped to the mirror, and her eyes widened slightly. She pointed at it, then turned back to Blakely.

"Okay, damn. If hot was a man. And cute. And hot. And cute—"

Blakely sighed. "Yeah, that’s the Wolf effect."

Xinmei blinked at her. "Wolf effect?"

Blakely simply nodded.

She looked back at the picture, then back at Blakely. "That is a human. Not a wolf, or am I seeing wrong."

Blakely hummed, finishing up with her mascara. "No, we call him the wolf because he’s like one. It’s a thing."

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "So this is… what? Your bias?"

Blakely immediately turned to her with a glare. "That usually never happens. I’m OT8 for life."

Xinmei raised her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Fighter. Don’t bite me."

Shaking her head, Blakely grabbed her lip gloss.

Xinmei sat down on the bed, still looking through the photos, before laughing to herself. "You know, I never would've guessed you were one of those fans."

"One of what fans?" She shot her sudden friend a look.

"You know," Xinmei grinned. "The *‘scream at concerts, collect photocards, and cry over dance practice and debut videos’* kind."

She turned back to the mirror. "You’re making a lot of assumptions."

Xinmei smirked. "Am I wrong?"

She didn't respond.

"That’s what I thought."

\----

Blakely leaned against the vanity, scrolling absentmindedly through her phone, waiting for the right moment. Timing was everything in this house. If she left too early, she risked running into her mother or any of the family who will most likely give her a questionnaire form in pdf to fill about the fire.

By now, her mother was most likely upstairs, checking her weight in the mirror after breakfast and thinking of ways to lose it. Frankie’s mother was probably trying to help the maids with the dishes like she always did, and her father was definitely buried in the morning newspaper, uninterested in anything else going on around him.

Her stepfather was probably already out for the day. That just left Frankie and Blanche, but they weren’t her concern.

She glanced at Xinmei, who was lounging on the bed, flipping through something on her phone.

"Alright," Blakely muttered, grabbing her car keys from the nightstand and purse "We’re good to go."

Xinmei snapped her phone shut and grabbed her bag, along with Lucy’s car key.

They moved quietly down the hallway, careful not to draw attention, and slipped outside.

As soon as they stepped onto the driveway, Xinmei’s phone pinged. She pulled it out and checked the message.

"It’s Lucy," she said. "She’s already here."

Perfect timing.

The estate gates swung open, and Lucy walked in briskly, her gaze immediately scanning the driveway until she spotted them. Without hesitation, she ran toward Xinmei, throwing her arms around her in a tight hug.

"Thank God you’re safe," Lucy murmured, squeezing her tightly. "I was so worried."

Xinmei chuckled, hugging her back. "I’m fine, Lu. Seriously."

She finally pulled away and turned to Blakely, giving her a small wave.

Blakely, who was already halfway into her car, waved back lazily.

"Drive with her," Blakely suggested, glancing at Xinmei. "You two can catch up later. I don’t want to be here a second longer than I have to."

Xinmei and Lucy exchanged a look before Xinmei nodded, tossing the car keys to Lucy.

"Okay," Lucy said, stepping toward her car and Xinmei'm followed, sliding into the passenger's seat. "We're right behind you"

Blakely fully got into her car, shutting the door.

Lucy climbed into her own car, adjusting the seatbelt before starting the engine.

Within seconds, they were driving out of the estate, leaving behind the looming gates and everything that came with it.

\----

𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐅𝐄

The café had a modern and cozy feel, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows that gave an open view of the bustling street outside. The interior was warm, filled with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sweet pastries.

Blakely, Xinmei, and Lucy managed to get a comfortable table for three near the window. It was one of one of her favorite places, the sunlight poured in just right, making everything feel a little more alive.

A waiter came over, notepad in hand, and they placed their orders. "Good day Ladies, may I take your orders please?"

"I’ll have the croque madame and a caramel macchiato," Lucy said, handing her menu back.

"Chocolate chip pancakes and an iced vanilla latte," Blakely added.

"And for you, ma’am?" The waiter turned to Xinmei.

Xinmei tapped her chin, thinking for a second before nodding. "Avocado toast, scrambled eggs, and a mango smoothie."

The waiter scribbled down their orders with a quick nod before leaving. "Will be right back with them.”

As soon as he disappeared behind the counter, Xinmei gasped softly, eyes widening. "Crap. I forgot to ask for honey on my toast."

Lucy and Blakely glanced at her.

"I’ll be back in a sec," Xinmei said, pushing her chair back. "I’ll go tell the waiter before he hands the order to the kitchen."

Blakely hummed in acknowledgment while Lucy nodded, already distracted by her phone.

Xinmei ran her way toward the counter, leaving the both of them sitting in comfortable silence.

Blakely rested her chin on her hand, eyes wandering toward the glass windows, watching cars pass by on the busy street as she rubbed her fingers together.

Lucy, took her eyes off her phone, and suddenly cleared her throat. "Oh, right."

She glanced at her, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Was it really a fire?" Lucy asked

She blinked. "What?"

"Eden, I mean. The castle. People were saying it caught fire, you guys said it was on fire but I passed by on my way to your place, and from what the little I could see, it looked… untouched?"

Blakely straightened in her seat, suddenly more alert. She turned fully toward Lucy. "What do you mean?"

Lucy shrugged, putting her phone down. "I don’t know. I heard some stuff this morning—people talking about how the place was a wreck. But if that were true, wouldn’t there be some kind of visible damage?" She tilted her head. "I mean, if a fire was bad enough to make all of you evacuate in the middle of the night, shouldn’t the castle at least have some burn marks or something? It was clearly fine form the little I could see"

"Uh…what?"