An Astronomer's Guide to Falling Angels

Chapter 15

Oda tapped her foot impatiently as she dialed Meredith's number on Arty's phone, her fingers drumming against the screen in agitation. "That techie bastard's been dodging me for months," she muttered, clearly intending to give Meredith a piece of her mind when they eventually picked up. "If they don't answer this time—"

Before Oda could finish her threat, the phone buzzed in her hand, cutting off the dial tone with a sudden incoming call. It was an unknown number. Oda raised an eyebrow, her annoyance briefly replaced by curiosity, and reluctantly handed the phone back to Arty. "This better not be one of those spam calls," Oda warned, but Arty waved her off, more amused than anything.

Arty answered, holding the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

A familiar voice crackled through the line. "Arty, darling."

"James?" Arty asked, surprised. "How did you even get my number?"

There was a sheepish pause on the other end before James responded, a bit awkwardly. "Astor gave it to me. He said it was in case I ever needed to talk or... you know, if things got complicated."

Arty smiled, unable to help herself. Even in his own despair and with everything weighing down on him, Astor was always too kind, always thinking of others. It was one of the many reasons she cared so deeply for him. "Of course he did," she said, her voice softening. "So, what's up?"

"Well," James began, as though the reason for her call was the most obvious thing in the world, "I'm heading over to pick you up."

Arty blinked, glancing at Oda, who was watching her closely with raised eyebrows. "Pick me up? Why would you need to do that?"

James sighed, sounding exasperated, but also slightly amused. "Because we need to go to my tailor, darling. You need a fitting. And after that, some shopping. I won't have you looking like a street urchin at La Mascherata."

Arty snorted, leaning back in her chair. "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

James' voice took on a teasing tone. "So should you. And forget about it, darling, we both know you have no problem playing hooky when it suits you."

Arty chuckled, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smirk. "Touché. Fine. Where are you?"

"Give me your address, and I'll swing by."

Arty hesitated, a little protective about sharing her own home address—especially given the chaos that had unfolded there the night before. "I'm not at home. I'm at a friend's place. I'll send you the address."

James hummed in curiosity but didn't push the subject. "Fine, darling. I'll be there shortly. Make sure you're ready."

The call ended, and Arty sent the address to James before handing the phone back to Oda, who had been watching the entire exchange with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

"Are you and James... friends now?" Oda asked, trying and failing to hide her grin.

Arty rolled her eyes. "God, no. We're just... working together for now."

"Mmhmm." Oda took a sip of her coffee. "And this involves shopping and tailors because...?"

"Because James has decided I need to look the part if I'm going to pull this off."

Oda laughed, a loud, belly-deep sound. "You? In fancy clothes? I cannot wait to see this."

"Shut up," Arty muttered, but there was no heat in her voice. She grabbed her jacket and stood up, glancing at her reflection in the nearby mirror. Her face still bore the faint bruise from the night before, and her hair was a mess. Before she could do anything about it, Oda's phone buzzed, indicating that James had arrived.