Erica POV:
"What did Ben say?"
A jumble of emotions piled up, but I tried to pump them down. I thought about Ben's last words again, which caused me to tear up, and I got mad at myself for tearing up. When I looked up at Zoe and the others again. They were looking at me funny, and I realized that I was gritting my teeth while I was tearing up. I glared at Zoe, then walked out of the door. The crowd of people parted, and I made my way to class for the first time in a week.
TiMe SkIp
"Miss Hale, are you listening?" the Idiot's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, "Were you paying attention?"
"Yessir," I mumbled.
"Then you should know what event is coming up?" he raised an eyebrow.
Shoot.
"Well Miss Hale, you should know that the winter dance is coming up," the Idiot rambled on, "All students are required to come."
Great. Because that's just what I needed. More human contact.
I got back to my dorm and collapsed on my bed. I had decided to skip lunch, since I had spent most of the week out, and most of the boys were trying to ask me to the dance. I went into my food supply and pulled out a salad. Before I ate, I asked Ben how he was doing, like always, and if he meant what he had said, like always. I ate in silence.
"Erica?" Zoe's faint, "Can you help me with something?"
I set my salad down on my bed and got up to open the door for Zoe. When I opened the door, I could tell she was depressed. She wore a sad expression, which was unusual for Zoe.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked.
"I asked Mike out to the dance and he said 'no'." She sat down on my bed and started to sniffle.
I decided to tell Zoe the truth, just to make her feel better.
"Ben said he loved me," I told her, trying not to let emotions through, "as a sister."
Suddenly, Mike appeared at the doorway. He looked at Zoe, who shrugged at him. He shrugged back.
"That worked too well," he half-laughed, "You really broke that time."
Zoe looked at him and smiled, then looked back at me. Something wasn't right here...
"You set me up," I realized.
"Pretty much," She gave me a sympathetic look, "But all setups aside, that must have been really difficult to hear from Ben."
"So are you going with Mike?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
It worked. Zoe and Mike exchanged a look. I could tell I had made them forget about what I had said.
"Well, um, Zoe," Mike looked uncomfortable, "Do you want to go with me?"
Zoe smiled and nodded. Mike looked like a million pounds had been lifted off his shoulders. I looked like I was laughing. Mike and Zoe exchanged yet another look, and then looked at me. I just sighed again, knowing I wasn't going to like what they were going to say next.
"C'mon Erica," Zoe walked towards the door, "We're going to find you a date."
Meanwhile...
Ben POV
I felt my heartbeat again. I felt air come through my lungs. I felt... alive. I looked around. I was in a room with nothing else inside of it except a cauldron full of lava. It looked as if a scroll had been thrown inside it. I could also faintly see a silhouette of someone.
"Agent Ripley," a voice said, "welcome back."
Aw, crap.
