“I—I,” Alister couldn't find the right words which formed a lump in his throat keeping him silenced. He nearly fell at the sudden closeness by Drake but manage to catch himself. His legs were numb and his face burned a bright red as he listened to Drake talked. Once he was done, Alister stood still unmoving, his hands clenching on the straps of his messenger bag as if they would save him. He couldn't bring himself to respond or even look up. 

“Thank you for your kind words. Wow, what did you do to Alister?” Leo said stepping out of the kitchen with a decorative box in hand. Not a second later, Alister threw his sword striking the wall behind Leo, nearly missing his head. 

“Okay okay, I’ll stop,” Leo said fearing for our life. He then walked over to Alister handing him the box and a small note. 

“Some snacks for the road, on the house of course. Now be safe you two,” Leo said. He then turned to clear the table before disappearing back into the kitchen with a devious smile on his face. 

The paper read, “about time you got a boyfriend.” Alister immediately tore the paper into tiny pieces and stuffed it into his bag. He cursed Leo under his breath before walking over to Drake. “So—um I cracked the code on the video and found a way into the compound. I was thinking we could check it out before making any plans….is that okay with you?” Alister said meekly. He still kept from making eye contact and stared at his fidgeting hands. 
[hr]
As they walked through the forest, Valeria picked random flowers forming various bouquets and crowns. “So where exactly are we going?” Valeria asked.