Invitation (11.1)

"—If we're all working towards the same thing, it'll be much easier to make sure we don't fuck this up like we did the last Rowlock Manor sneak-in," Xander said thoughtfully.

Val was holding back a smile, "That was a little bit of a mess, I have to admit. But you have the right idea. With the White Lotus having so much control everywhere, and I mean everywhere, they cannot have Wings in their possession. From what we can tell, it's the key to everything."

"So, what's the plan? What's happening at the ball that we have to be so careful about?" Nia asked, crossing her arms and leaning on the table.

"Well, let me get to it!" Val said cheerfully, snapping their fingers, "There is supposed to be a White Lotus meeting during the ball. We need to find a way to somehow infiltrate it. We've got a few members already going undercover, but we thought you'd like to join in."

Lumina, Mina, Kaedan, and Xander all looked at each other.

"The four of us are going," Kaedan said simply and held up his hand, "And no complaining from the rest of you. I don't want to hear it. The last time we all tried to go in, it was a disaster and most of us came out injured. First reason, we're the oldest. Second reason, almost all of us have dealt with Julian on separate occasions and seeing that Mirabella showed up when Veronica tried to hurt Risále, I'm guessing she's in on it as well?"

"More than that," Lumina muttered, "She's part of the White Lotus."

Val nodded, "Lumina is right, Veronica is a part of the scientific branch of the White Lotus, specifically centered in Sector 2. She's done enough to warrant being killed on sight," There was a chill to Val's voice as they talked about Veronica, "However, you should take Leon. The Wings will probably be most helpful to him and besides, he will want to see his sister."

Xander put a hand on his shoulder, "Alright, Leon can come. However, you five," He was looking at Risále, Fenix, Owen, Val, and Nia, "You five need to stay here."

"But—" Fenix began to say but Lumina cut him off.

"Risále definitely can't come. Veronica literally tried to kill her last night, and she will definitely be at the ball. Fenix, I know you want to see your sister but I promise, we'll make sure she comes back with us to at least see you—"

"Actually, I think Bella wanted to ask if she could stay here. I don't think she wants to leave her brother again," Val interrupted, "Besides, shouldn't I be there? You know, for diplomatic reasons?"

Mina stared at them, "No offense, but we're not putting a kid right in the line of the White Lotus if we can avoid it. Besides, someone has to stay back to take care of Hyunwoo and if we're splitting up, then it's safer to split into two large groups."

Val thought about it, "Well, if you're taking Leon, it should be fine. Bella should remember him."

Xander looked almost sad, "Bella as well? How many people got dragged into this?" He asked and Val shook her head.

"It's all of us here, including Hyunwoo, and then Bella, Chaewon, and Elliot. I'm pretty sure that's all of us, at least that's what Hyunwoo told me," Val said.

"Hyunwoo's right," Leon said from the doorway, "The fourteen of us are everyone who has been having weird visions and pains. Everyone that matters, at least, the rest are…Probably White Lotus members, I won't lie. This is—I can't explain entirely why but it's actually good for me. It's dangerous, but it also gives me a lot more hope than I've had in a long time," He let out a sigh of relief.

"Leon, how are you even functioning? Please go to sleep or something—Actually, it's 1 AM, all of us should sleep. Especially if we're going to the ball," Mina said.

"You think I'm functioning? I spent so long blaming myself for leaving Hyunwoo that I forgot we never actually technically broke up."

"Leon, you're just an idiot when it comes to stuff like this. Come on, you need some sleep," Risále said, and she grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the room.

"Okay, Risá, okay," He laughed, and oh, Risále was sure that her heart shouldn't be beating that fast. But looking at him, eyes tired but bright and filled with life, as if a missing part of him had returned. 

He really was beautiful when was happy. And it was Hyunwoo who made him like this.

"So, you two are back together?" Risále asked, and she was frustrated at herself for the twinge of jealousy she felt as she asked.

"We technically never broke up but yeah, I'm just...It's been a while since I've called him my boyfriend. I feel like I'm a teenager again," Leon said softly.

"You're only nineteen."

"You know what I mean! But don't worm your way out of this one, no one else might have noticed but I did," Leon looked at her sneakily and Risále's heart jumped into her throat, "I saw how you looked at Bella."

Oh. That was a whole different story.

"What—What do you mean?" Risále asked, laughing nervously as she looked around, "I didn't look at her in any way!"

Leon leaned in, poking her cheek, "You can't lie to me, you thought she was pretty hot, didn't you?" He said in a sing-songy voice, "I don't blame you, it seems like she has a tendency for picking up admirers."

"Huh?"

He whispered to her, "I'm pretty sure Hyunwoo likes her, I want to meet her to see if she's good enough for my boyfriend," He grinned.

"Wait, what—Oh. Oh!" Risále finally realized what he was saying. More like what he was implying, "You don't mind?"

Leon shrugged, "As long as he's happy, I don't care. He wants to be with me, which makes me happy, but if he wants to be with another person, too, why not? He deserves to have that if he wants it."

"That's...Actually a really nice way of looking at it. Have you thought about whether you'd like to be in a relationship with another person as well?" She asked nonchalantly. Leon stopped and she realized they were outside her room. Leon hadn't responded and she quickly came back to her senses, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to or you don't know!"

Leon hummed, "If I had strong feelings for someone, then I think I would. Hyunwoo has already said he'd support me if I took another partner, so I don't think there's anything stopping me there."

Risále's heart sped up, So that means I still have a chance?

Wait, what?

"Risá, you're terrible, you know that?" Leon asked and Risále snapped back to attention, trying to disperse her thoughts but now that she really thought about it, she had definitely had moments where she had thought it would be nice to date Leon.

"Huh?"

"You've literally seen her like once and you're already whipped."

Risále crossed her arms, "Okay, well, to be fair, she is a very gorgeous woman and this is my second time seeing her—"

"You're not denying it," He teased and Risále groaned, "But you know I support you, right? Go for it!" 

Risále raised an eyebrow, "I would have thought you would want me to not go after her if Hyunwoo likes her?"

Leon grinned, "Hm, would you find it interesting if I said that she might not mind having another person flirting with her?"

Risále could feel the smile stretch across her face, "I would find that very interesting," She said and Leon laughed, "You should get some rest, you have to go tomorrow."

Leon looked hesitant before nodding, as though he was thinking about something. Then he leaned down and pressed his lips to her cheek. When he pulled away, Risále stood completely still in shock, "Good night, Risá," He said softly. 

As he walked away, Risále couldn't help but smile. Even with his hair down, she could still see the tips of his ears burning red. He's so cute, God, I love him.

Her eyes widened.

Fuck.