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"Tim?" I gasp, my eyes bulging out of my skull.
It's him--from the curly hair and dark brown eyes to the twisted smile. Accept, he's wearing a white mask and a handsome red outfit. He looks like the red queen, accept a tall pretty boy with a short, white cloak draped over his shoulders.
He chuckled, "Hello, Daniel. I'm surprised you made it in. You seemed so clueless at the salon."
My jaw set and Phil stepped in front of me, "You talked to him?" He asks Tim.
"Oh, he came to me, sweetie," Tim said, "He walked into my salon and I recognized him immediately. I gave him a haircut and even did his nails."
"Cerise," Phil pleaded with his eyes, "Please don't hurt him."
Tim is Cerise. Cerise is Tim. The plot twist makes my stomach churn and I feel sick. I liked Tim. I told him about how I was feeling and had him do my nails. But the whole time he was the one person in the world I was dreading the most.
I think about how the letters I got were written by a left handed person. Tim painted with his left hand. I think about that time he called me dear. Cerise had called me that in the letter. I think about how he called me Daniel in the shop when I never told him my name. I think about his own nail polish color, the beautiful pinkish red. Cerise. The hints were all there, just too subtle.
"You know," Cerise says, ignoring Phil and looking straight at me, "You are too smart. Any normal person would've turned in the clothes I left them to the police. And that photo taken by the fan? They would've overlooked the woman completely. But you, you somehow found Phil's mask and made a connection."
"I saw the string." I say bitterly.
Cerise laughed, "Oh don't sell yourself short, Daniel. Do you really think that after finding the letters that any old chap would go on a mission to find who was missing? No, they probably wouldn't, because they'd assume they were cheating. But you just couldn't think that of Phil, could you? And not only that, but to find your way here, and somehow get in with no knowledge of the Order? That's some smart thinking."
I don't want to feel prideful. I want to escape. I want to take Phil and just run from whatever we were in right now. "It wasn't very hard," I admit, "Elyiòn was written on Phil's mask. I went there and got here."
"You met Quen?" Phil asked. I nod and before Phil could say anything else Cerise interrupted, "Hold up. Are you telling me you just waltzed in there and Quen told you where Phil was?"
"Well, no," I explain, "I said Phil was an old friend and told them my host was Peculium Stranger."
Cerise froze, "And how did you know that that would work?"
"The invitation to the ball Phil had hidden."
Phil looks over at me admirably, but not a word left his mouth. Cerise pursed his lips, "I should kill you."
"Cerise." Phil says sternly, "Don't you dare."
"You don't love him, Blue." Cerise argues, "And you wouldn't want to let her down, would you?"
"I do love him, more than I ever loved you!" Phil said, stepping close to him so that they're basically toe to toe, glaring angrily at each other. Phil's a little taller than him, but they're basically the same height.
