SKYLINE HEARTS

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"I call dibs on Ace's apartment."

"I'll take his car."

I chuckled at Chris and Wolf. Ace hadn't left for Sweden yet, and they were already dividing his assets, calling dibs on his car, apartment, and whatnot. We were all at Wolf's penthouse, spending the last fifteen hours before Ace's graduation ceremony. Chris thought it might be the last time we would all be under the same roof so he suggested we make the best of our time together. It was still surreal how we went from two trios to a team of six. Watching them interact and banter non-stop reassured me nothing would change between us.

"Why do you get to have his car?" Chris argued, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Why do you get his apartment?" Wolf retorted nonchalantly.

"Why are we discussing this?" Ace laughed. "I'm still here."

"You won't be here after fifteen hours," Harry responded with a chuckle. "So, we got the car and the apartment. I get the books."

Chris and Wolf shared a confused look before glancing at Harry.

"Why do you get the books?" They asked in unison.

Harry shrugged. "Why not? I read stuff. I can take Ace's books. I'll guard them with my life."

"Yeah, nerd. We got that," Wolf said. "But as per the rules, only Chris and I get to have Ace's stuff."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "What rules?"

"Let me explain," Ace interjected. "The rule states that only an S-Ranker can keep other S-Ranker's things in the event of leaving. In this case, Chris and Wolf keep my stuff."

"Alright." Harry nodded in understanding. I watched as the gears in his head slowly shifted. "If I asked you for your books, would you let me have them?"

All eyes were on Ace.

He took a moment to let the words sink in before saying, "Yes. You can have my textbooks. I'm taking my novels with me."

"Oh." Disappointment flashed in Harry's eyes. "That's okay. Not a problem."

My gaze shifted to each of the four individuals. I could see the question written on their faces, yet no one voiced it. When my gaze landed on Wolf, his gaze met mine with a silent question. I nodded subtly, silently wishing Harry 'good luck.'

"So, Harry," Wolf began, preparing himself to tease the overachiever. "Why did you want Ace's books again?"

Chris joined in. "Yeah, more specifically, his novels. Since when are you into romance?"

Harry scoffed. "Me? Nope. I didn't ask for his novels. I appreciate his willingness to let me keep his textbooks. What would I do with his novels?"

"Why are you disappointed then, brother?" Skylar snickered, clearly enjoying Harry's flustered expression. Even Ace and I were trying to hold back on the laughter.

Harry scoffed again in an attempt to hide his flustered expression but failing miserably.

"I'm not disappointed."

"You're disappointed and flustered," I pointed out to which Harry shot me a warning glare. I shrugged while chuckling.

After teasing him relentlessly for a few more minutes and forcing him to hide his face with a pillow, Ace—being the oldest one—interjected and saved him from further embarrassment. Harry sighed and shot him a grateful look. Ace nodded with a smile.

"Oh, come on, Ace," Chris pouted. "We were just getting started."

Ace chuckled, shaking his head. "I know, I know. But we're not gathered here today to tease Harry."