“What are you doing here?” Emily was walking out of the cafeteria with a bottle of soda in her hand when she spotted August walking towards her. “And why are you smiling?” She added before he could reply her initial question. “This is weird.” “Miss Stark-“ “I told you to call me just Emily,” she corrected him. “Hearing Miss Stark from Giovanni is more than enough. I don’t need you calling me that too.” “Alright then, Emily,” he nodded, his smile still on his face. “You must be wondering why I’m here.” She indeed was. Giovanni was meant to come pick her up himself so they could go to the zoo so of course it was strange to see him in his place. “Well, Giovanni is busy,” he said, Emily immediately blinking. He was busy? So busy he was going to cancel their date?! “So, he asked me to pick you up on his behalf.” “Oh,” Emily heaved a light sigh in relief but almost immediately, got worried again. “Wait, what?! So you’ll be going on the date with me instead of him?!” “What? No!” Augu

Emily pulled the zipper of her backpack and fastened it, immediately grabbing it as she prepared to step out of the house. It was finally time for her to leave for the camp. She wasn’t exactly pleased or thrilled but had no choice- afterall her grade was on the line and Giovanni had willingly sacrificed enough to make sure she didn’t miss her opportunity. With a groan, she slammed the front door and made her way made her way out of the house. She had no idea what to expect from the camp, the only information given to her being one to gather at the faculty to meet the professor in charge. Tyler had sent his well wishes to her but they didn’t include him keeping her company. According to him, he’d have loved to at least escort her to school and be with her before taking off but he had somewhere important to be, leaving her with no choice but to go alone. With the bus station in sight, she had only taken a couple of steps away from the house when she immediately spotted a familiar c

Two entire days had gone by and it was finally the last day of the camp. And three days since Giovanni and Emily last texted each other. Her phone buzzed again, a light sigh escaping her lips. She could already tell who it was. It was Tyler, the only person that had been texting her ever since she got to camp. Tyler: You’re leaving today, right? Tyler: Do you want me to come pick you up? She smiled at his thoughtfulness, immediately remembering how Giovanni asked August to drive her on her first day. Emily: No, you don’t have to. Emily: We’re just going to take the bus together anyways. Emily: so there’s no point to it. Emily: I’ll just see you tomorrow later when I get home. “Who are you texting?” Emily immediately recognized the voice behind her as Jane’s. They had spent the past few days together and overtime, she had gotten used to hearing her voice at the most random moments. “Is it your boyfriend?” She asked, walking up to Emily with her luggage behind her. “You seem

Without even a second thought, Giovanni slammed his laptop shut and rose to his feet, ready to make the decision that was going to change the course of his entire evening. He couldn’t ignore Emily. The fear and worry in her voice. It was one he had absolutely never heard before yet sounded so desperate and scary in a way. Three days had passed since he last spoke to her, purposely giving her time to work on school related stuffs at the camp. Though he wasn’t sure when she was going to return home, all he was expecting was a text from her announcing her arrival not a call like that. “Giovanni?” August walked into his offic, staring at him in confusion as he packed his things and prepared to leave for the day. “Are you getting off work already?” “Yes,” he barely spared him a glance as he replied. “I have somewhere to be.” “What? Where?” August’s confusion was still very evident. “All of a sudden? What’s going on? It’s unlike you to leave work before closing hours.” “Miss Stark,”

Giovanni’s day started at the usual time, exactly 6am. But what was unusual was him making breakfast at past 7am with no intention to head out yet. Breakfast for two at that.Glancing at the wall clock as he walked into the dining to set the table, he noticed it was almost 7:30am. Normally, it was time for him to head out for the day but instead he was home wondering if it was too early or the perfect time to head over to the guest room to wake Emily up. He clicked his tongue as he sat on one of the empty chairs at the dining. It was probably still early. Yesterday had been eventful so he figured she probably was still going to be sleeping in- she needed the extra rest. He folded his arms and remained in his seat until it was exactly 8am. Then he got up, finished setting the table then made his way to the guest room to gently place a knock on the door. No response. He knocked again, still getting no response in return. A hint of worry flickered in his eyes as he knocked again, th