I don't exactly remember how I managed to stay upright till the point Jon found me.

Because he did. Somehow. He found me and he saved me from bleeding out to death.

Which was absurd because it had just been a mild concussion. I didn't understand why my head was bleeding in the first place.

Thank God for Jon, though. He saved me.

And I don't remember the next bits either.

All I remembered was waking up with a head that felt like it was filled with wool. So light and numb. I almost even thought I'd died at that point. But then I somehow recognised the infirmary walls and the equipment and Jade too, and everything came back to me.

"Ow," I murmured slowly, trying to blink open my eyes and not fall back asleep at the same time.

"Hey." That was Jade's face looming above me. I think. "Feeling better?"

I blinked and blinked and my eyelids drooped. And I fell back asleep.

I dreamed of Jamie. I dreamed of a house. A small little cottage. And my parents were there because I remembered my dad's dimples and my mum's green eyes. And we all looked so happy. My mum kissed my forehead and Dad was making these really ugly looking pancakes. But it was fine because they were happy and I was laughing too.

And then there was Jamie and he was there too. I wasn't afraid of him. He wasn't Ice Phantom. Everything was perfect.

So perfect that it left my heart aching. Even after I woke up. Maybe because I wanted to know what it felt like. Being so happy.

This time, however, when I gained back consciousness, Jade wasn't there.

I felt a whole lot better than I did the first time I woke up. My head still felt light and numb, but I wasn't drowsy enough to be unable to sit up.

So I did sit up. And looked around the room. I wasn't in the infirmary. I was in my bedroom. Not my apartment, but the room that used to be mine at the Agency headquarters.

I brought up my hands to my face and rubbed, yawning. I saw a piece of paper folded and placed on the nightstand right as I managed to put on my glasses. I picked it up and read it.

It was from Jon.

hey kid, I hope you feel better soon. Call me, or don't call me. Text me maybe, yeah? I need to tell you some--

A loud thud from outside made me jump a little. Slowly and cautiously, I folded back the paper and slid it beneath my pillow. Then I got up and headed for the closed door. On my way there I came across a mirror and nearly did a double-take.

I looked horrible. And probably high on something. I wonder what kind of drugs Jade had given me.

Pushing open the door, I stepped outside in the hallway and looked around. It was quiet and empty, somewhere near noon.

I didn't know where my phone was or what time it was even. Had I missed any classes? Was Penny worried?

Inhaling deeply, I pushed my glasses up my nose and trudged along in my sock-clad feet, hoping to spot anyone familiar.

And I did spot someone familiar. Orias, rummaging through his stack of files hastily and in a rush.

"Hey," I spoke up, my voice coming out raspy and soft.

He looked up and I saw his eyes widening in surprise, just a little, before narrowing.

"You're awake."

I tried a polite smile. "Um...yes. What's...what's going on?"

He shook his head and went back to his files. "Nothing. Just looking for something."

"Want any help?"

"No, no." He frowned at me. "Sit down, will you? You look ready to pass out."

I suppose he was right. I realised that when I sat down on one of the chairs lining his desk. It felt like a relief to sit down and not having to carry my own weight anymore.

"What time is it?" I asked him in a whisper.

He didn't respond, just pushed the small digital clock on his desk towards me. Noon. One minute past noon.

And...now, two.

"Where's everyone?" I broke the silence once again. "It's all empty outside."

"You'd know stuff, Seven, if you weren't foolish enough to get knocked in the head." He murmured, rifling through some papers now.

I licked my lips. "I...I'm sorry. It just happened. I didn't think..."

I trailed off when he looked up at me, fixing me with his stare.

"Do you know what day it is today?" He asked me.

I didn't. I shook my head.

"Friday." He told me.

My eyes went wide and I gripped the sides of my seat. "What? But...it was just Tuesday! No, I know for a fact it was Tuesday. I didn't even--"

"You've been resting for days." He raised his brows, totally not happy with me. I wasn't happy with this all either.

"How is that even possible?"

Penny, I thought. God, she'd be so worried by now. I'd missed so many classes.

"You tell me." He said. "How did you get so injured? You were bleeding, Dahlia. Badly, may I add. And Jade couldn't stitch it up."

I felt a bit sick. "W-Why?"

He was still looking at me. "It wouldn't stop bleeding."

I tried to stifle the urge to check the back of my head. "But...stitching it up would've--"

"It kept bleeding even after the stitches." His files were long forgotten now. His piercing attention was all on me. "How did it happen?"

I blinked and blinked and softly leaned back in my seat. It was a bit dizzying when I thought about it. About Jamie.

"How did you manage to stop the bleeding?" I asked him in a whisper.

He shrugged. "For now. Bandaged it up. Who the fuck knows, Seven. You could've gotten a serious head injury, did you know that?"

I am aware, I wanted to say. Slowly giving in to the urge, I lifted my hand and touched the back of my head. The spot felt a bit sticky, but it wasn't blood. Thank fuck.

"It was an accident," I told him. And it was so obvious that I was lying to him. I wasn't even looking him in the eye. Of course, I was lying.

"It was Ice Phantom." He told me and I stiffened.

"What?" I whispered.

"I know who did it, Dahlia." He interlaced his hands and propped his chin on them, gaze on me. "What I don't get is why you just lied."

"I didn't...how do you know it was him?"

"Because I know he can do that," Orias said. "Cause injuries that no one can heal. He's the only one I know who can do that."

I was surprised. "How come I didn't know that?" And I've known him for years. Every nitty-gritty trick of his. I didn't know this.

He fixed me with a stare so unnerving that I shifted a little in my seat. "You don't know him, Dahlia."

I don't. I really don't.

"He's an abomination." I flinched a little at that. "A monster. You know that."

I hated it. I hated it because this wasn't right. Jamie didn't deserve to be called that. Ice Phantom maybe, but not Jamie. I hated it because that's exactly what I had called him. Monster.

"I don't...think it was his choice that he got those powers."

Orias frowned at me. "What are you trying to say?"

"That we shouldn't. Maybe we shouldn't call him that." I knew damn well that I was in deep shit when I said that. God, I already was. So deep in shit that I probably might never get myself out of it.

"You're saying that he isn't a monster."

"I...I mean, it's not--"

"He kills people just for the fun of it, Seven." Orias seemed mad now. I straightened up a little. "Destroys them. Did you know he killed the only family he ever had?"

I froze in shock.

"Killed them. Killed his aunt. Froze her to death. You know nothing about him--"

"He didn't kill his aunt," I whispered, cutting him off. "He...he loved her."

The only person who accepted him. The only family he had. Jamie couldn't have killed her.

Orias was looking at me strangely now. Almost a little intrigued. I realised that I didn't like it. Not one bit.

"I suppose I've been looking in all the wrong places, haven't I?" He finally broke the tense silence between us and started arranging the stack of his files again.

"What...what do you mean?"

"You've been lying, Seven."

"I haven't." I shook my head, my eyes wide in alarm. "Why would I lie to you?"

He ignored it like it didn't matter. Maybe it didn't because I was still kind of lying to him.

"I've sent a few men to take him in." He told me, not bothering to spare me a single glance this time.

"You've what?" My voice rose up a notch. "Why would you--What is going on? Why would you want to kidnap Ice Phantom?"

I'd been unconscious for a few days and things seemed a hell lot dizzying than they should've been.

"To put an end to this." He said. "Everyone's looking up to us, Seven. To stop him from burning this city to ashes. Ruins. No one wants to see that."

I was stunned to my very core.

"It's about time we do something." He clenched his jaw. "Something that I know I can't trust you to do."

But he didn't do anything, I wanted to say. Hasn't done anything other than just those petty little threats.

I was suddenly very aware of bile rising up my throat. Maybe because of what he was saying about Ice Phantom. Jamie. Or maybe because of the fact that Orias suddenly didn't trust me anymore.

Everything was new and dizzying and awful. Everything was changing.

"I'm gonna throw up." I stood up hastily, a hand over my mouth as I ran back to my room and the bathroom.

Barely making it to the toilet, I bent over and heaved.

It hurt. So much was changing. I didn't know where I stood anymore.