Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 28: ...As Sneaking In is Terrifying

When Mia pulled "Sneak into a place" out of the mason jar she obviously started to freak out. "Why did you even write that down? I didn't peg you as someone who would want to commit a felony."

"I honestly have no idea why I wrote that one down. I guess I was just thinking about all those shows where the cool teens break in somewhere and find a clue that inevitably leads them to solve a crime. We can scrape this one, I don't want to go to prison," she fretted.

"No way. You wrote it down, therefore we're doing it. I need to arrange a few things so we won't break in until Spring break next week. But we can practice." He held a hand out. Hesitantly, Mia took it, wondering what trouble he would get her into. "Do you have any bobby pins or an old credit card? We might need those."

Nathan obviously didn't tell her where they were going. For some reason, he took great delight in surprising her even though she hated the kinds of surprises that could land her in a load of trouble. Mia recognized the route, having taken it before. "What are we doing at Evan's apartment?"

"You are going to break into his apartment as practice," he disclosed as he parked the car.

"What? What happens if we get caught?" she asked in a panic.

"Don't worry about it, most of his neighbors love me. Besides, you can just show them your ring and tell them you forgot the key," Nathan joked.

Outside of apartment 313, Mia took a deep breath and kneeled so she was eye level with the key. She had watched a few Youtube tutorials on how to break in with a bobby pin during the car ride and was putting those skills to the test. The first pin accidentally bent so she had to use a new one. Frustrated it was taking longer than the videos had said, she tried the old credit card trick. Thankfully, it worked so Nathan entered the apartment and locked the door so she could try again with a new pin. By the time she had successfully unlocked it with the bobby pin, she couldn't stop laughing, finally finding the light in the situation. Here she was, breaking into her "fiance's" apartment with her fake boyfriend just so she could actually break into someplace later. Life had taken a strange turn since she became friends with Nathan.

Evan was at work so Nathan grabbed a bag of chips while Mia grabbed one of the popsicles from the freezer. Pulling silly faces, they sent him a selfie, making sure his living room was visible in the background. Nathan had sent it and immediately a string of texts followed, ranging from "is that my food?" to "why are you even there?" to "tell wifey I'm only mad at you, not her" leading to more laughter before they decided to leave. Nathan locked up and sent texts to Evan letting him know why they were there. Then the two were off to enjoy milkshakes at Jo's. Telling themselves it was a well-deserved treat was a happy white lie.

The days leading up to Spring break were agonizingly slow. Teachers assigned way too much homework and the thought of breaking in getting closer was causing an anxious feeling to slither its way into Mia's veins, like a snake searching for its next meal. It was finally Spring break and Nathan had sent her a thread of text messages that caused the worry to grow even more. Not only did he tell her to pack overnight clothes, but also see if she could find an excuse if she didn't come home in time before her curfew. So she called Hazel. "What's up, babe?" Hazel greeted, the sound of a movie distantly playing around her.

"Hi. Are you with Violet?"

"Yeah. We're watching one of her favorite movies and then one of mine."

"Aw that's so cute," she crooned. Then she remembered why she had called her in the first place. "Would you be willing to say I'm sleeping over even though I'm actually not?"

"Um, why? You've never asked me to cover for you before," the tone of worry touched Mia.

"Nathan and I are going to-"