Mio Sole

14 [Aurora]

**June 20th, 11am**

   Stefan and Sebastian are again seated on either side of me as Aleksandr and Niklaus jump in the car. I lean forward to get a look at the bag Aleksandr brought in the car with him—presumably their 'preparations'—only to be met with a shake of his head as he moves it just out of my line of sight.

   "Alright," Sebastian says as he manages to connect his phone to the car's bluetooth. "Now, I know this is undeniably the best playlist you've ever heard in your lives, but try to keep your dicks in your pants, fellas."

   I hold back a laugh at the glare Aleksandr sends to Sebastian over his shoulder. Sebastian only hits shuffle on his playlist, and Another One Bites the Dust starts playing softly in the silent anticipation of the car.

   I do laugh at that. "David Bowie? How old are you?"

   Sebastian gasps in dramatic disbelief. "Take that back. That's utter blasphemy. I will hear no such talk of the King himself. And I'm only a year older than you."

   "Your music taste says otherwise," I say, reaching for his phone and tapping the skip button. Bohemian Rhapsody plays next, and I laugh again. "Are you sure you aren't 70?"

   "Okay, I'm officially taking offense." Before I can reply, Niklaus pulls up to Alaric's apartment. Alaric is already leaning against the front of the building, holding a plastic-wrapped outfit and a box of shoes.

   I reach over Sebastian's lap to open his door and make sure to put every ounce of my body weight right onto a certain area as I get out, resulting in a pained groan as I shut the truck door. I would have slammed it, but Niklaus did nothing wrong, and I don't want to destroy his truck if he doesn't deserve it.

   I make my way towards Alaric, and he hold the bag out to me with a raised eyebrow. "Do I wanna know where they're taking you?"

   I shrug. "That's a good question for them. They won't tell me anything."

   I open the door behind him and slip through. I smile at Sara—the receptionist—as I make my way around the corner to the small bathroom. I change quickly into the brown-and-black plaid skirt Alaric picked out, paired with a thin black shirt—that looks suspiciously similar to Aleksandr's—and the black fishnet tights. Alaric also chose black combat boots with a chunky heel no taller than 3 or 4 inches—shorter than my usual heels, but tall enough to still add a hit on height.

   I change in record time before making my way back out of the building, leaving the bag and box in the bathroom for Alaric to grab on his way upstairs. Alaric turns to me from where he was glaring daggers through the windshield of Niklaus' truck. I say a quick goodbye before making my way over and opening my door again.

   Sebastian not-so-subtly places a hand over her groin to prevent me from doing any further damage, and I send him a taunting smirk as I climb back into the middle seat. I'm squashed firmly in between the two large men, and one wrong move would probably end up with an elbow smashed into my face. "Is this casual enough?" I ask Aleksandr.

   "No, but I suppose it's the best we'll get," he says. He casts one look down at my combat boots and rolls his eyes. "You'd be safer walking without shoes."

   I shrug, plastering on a grin. He shakes his head and turns back towards the windshield, but I catch a hint of his own small smile.

   The 2 hour drive is silent other than Sebastian's torturous playlist. I'm just beginning to think we got lost when Niklaus pulls into a tiny parking lot just off the road. The guys get out of the car, and I follow hesitantly. Looking around, I see no buildings in sight. I turn to Niklaus in confusion.