Okay, so maybe the thought of seeing Inari wasn't enough to keep Lance warm all the way back to the car. His fingers were numb as he fumbled with his keys to get his car unlocked. Once he was inside, he turned it on so that he could have the heat running while he checked his phone. The notifications were pretty dry except for Mark asking him where he was and if he wanted to play League tonight. He answered with:

‘I was out getting dinner

with a friend. Yes, I'll be

on at 12.’

He then switched to his text messages with the mystery number and stared at them for a few minutes, trying to read between the few lines that there were for any hint of who this guy was. He texted:

‘Why are you helping me?’

He then put his car into drive and went home, some rock music playing quietly on the radio.

Earlier, while Lance and Inari were at the supermarket

Louis and Sarah sat together at an outdoor cafe. Both were pale, with long red hair, and hazel eyes. Sarah wore hers in a high ponytail, and Louis wore his down, falling to just past his scapulae. Sarah kept her sunglasses on, and Louis feigned eye contact. Sarah put on a good show of a chattering, carefree girl, chattering on about the plot holes and theories she had for the latest series she'd been watching. Meanwhile, Louis stared at the scene going on in the deflection of her sunglasses, munching on popcorn for dramatic symbolism.

They'd set it up perfectly, sending Ms. Fleming an official looking text about a 50% sale off on scarves from a store that sold her favorite styles of clothing. That had been Louis's idea.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ms. Fleming apologized, having bumped into a lady in a pantsuit.

The lady looked to be in a rush, holding what had been a full cup of blackberry smoothie. Now she scowled at Ms. Flemming.

"I'll buy you another one!" Flemming insisted.

"No way!" Sarah interrupted her monologue, genuinely surprised. "Diana bumped into her, but Flemming insisted on paying?!"

"Shh." Louis insisted.

Diana scoffed. "I don't need your money. By the looks of it, you couldn't even afford to buy me another shirt, anyway." She sneered, looking down at Flemming through her glasses. She pointed to a tiny stain on the collar of her shirt - a literal drop in comparison to the rest of the smoothie that stained Flemming's clothes.

"Cooold!" Sarah breathed. "Nice script, bro." She whispered.

Louis nodded, munching more popcorn. She could talk all she wanted if she was quiet - the traffic noise would cover her whispers.

"I meant the drink." Flemming replied apologetically. "If you'd just give me a moment I could..." She trailed off as the anger in Diana's expression intensified. Her eyes welled up as Diana roughly pushed past her, continuing to hurry on her way.

I'm so sorry, dear. Your day won't be too bad, though. Diana thought as she pretended to rush off. She was happy for the cash and lovely, elegant outfit Louis had given her in return for following this script and asking no questions. If anything, she was rushing home to wash that tiny stain right out!

"Homemade soaps and bath bombs." Sarah said, looking from Fleming's expression to her Bohemian clothing as she rushed off, visibly remembering the sale.

"Dream catchers and loose tea leaves." Louis insisted with the click of his tongue, signaling for the waiter to pay their bill of two strawberry milkshakes for Sarah.

"Long baths!" Sarah argued.

"Sweeter dreams." Louis replied knowingly.

Sarah went silent for a few moments, visibly putting together an argument in her head. "Lonely people take long baths!"

"And some people prefer to dream, more than sulking alone." Louis replied, his tone insinuating the argument had ended.

"...Fine. Door to door salesman, failing business." That way, if you're wrong, I can come back with a better idea.

"Fair." He shared her thoughts, agreeing it was a good idea to give herself two chances at this.

Sarah stood as well, and they left the scene, making preparations for the next stage of their plan.

As soon as Ms. Fleming reached the store with the 'sale', a man was ripping off a large, round '50% Off!' sign. "They sold out as soon as I got here!" He bellowed. He turned to Ms. Fleming a second later, his eyes panning all over the smoothie stains. "Oh, honey!" He immediately donned a sympathetic expression. "By the looks of it, you've already had a rough day! Come on-" He put his hands around her shoulders "-let's get you out of those clothes, and get us a little pick-me-up. What's your type? Latte? Cappuccino? Chai tea?"

Ms. Flemming smiled, softly at first. "Chai soy latte, organic coffee beans."

"Mmm, gotta watch out for those animals, huh?" He smiled, feigning admiration. "I know just the place! Come on, we'll go shop somewhere else afterwards! You know what really cheers me up? Making someone else's day. Would a shopping spree brighten your day, sunshine?"

"That's not really necessary." Flemming laughed in embarrassment, not wanting the man to spend money on her.

"What's the matter? You don't think you deserve it?"

Flemming hesitated, then shook her head.

"Alright, then. That stuff comes from the inside. But at least let me get you a backup shirt, and one scarf! That's what we came here for, right? That way, this trip wouldn't have been a total waste of time!"

"I don't think it's a waste...at all." Flemming replied, smiling widely. If anything, she was grateful for this cheerful man's company.

Earlier, while Inari and Lance were at the restaurant

Ms. Flemming got home, gently placing her shopping bag on her couch. She immediately turned the heating on, and tossed her empty coffee cup in the trash bin. Just as she was giving her cat the customary scratch-behind-the-ears greeting she always meowed for when she returned home, there was a knock at her door.

Sarah wore a black and white knee-length collared dress, black and white polka dot tights, fake horn-rimmed glasses, and a pair of worn Mary-Janes. In her right hand, she carried with her ten dream catchers, each one with a different color theme ranging from psychedelic to Earthy mixes of shades. In her left hand, she carried an eco-friendly bag containing one-pound bags of various loose-leaf teas. "Yesterday was a full moon, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was." Flemming replied, both surprised Sarah had noticed, and surprised to see her here. "It was so beautiful." Her face held the distant wonder of someone reminiscing. "I sat on the balcony for most of the night, drinking tea."

Damn you, Louis. You were right on one end. "You're the first customer who said 'yes'!" Sarah exclaimed with a cheerful smile. "I feel like we were the only people in the city who noticed the moon yesterday! Do you ever get that feeling?"

"Of course!" Flemming replied happily, all too happy to tell anyone who would listen. "Sometimes, my cat talks to me! Hold on!" She slammed the door in Sarah's face. A second later, Sarah heard her say "Oh, sorry, dear!"

Sarah chuckled softly, having dodged the door which might've broken her nose.

Ms. Flemming opened the door again a few seconds later, holding her cat underneath his arms, right underneath her chin. "Come on, Anna! Don't be shy!" Silence from Anna. A few seconds later, Flemming insisted "Come on, Anna, talk to Sarah! She's a nice girl!...Oh, I won't put you down until you at least speak a full sentence!"

Sarah waited with a patient, kind smile.

What felt like a few minutes later, Anna meowed.

"Did you understand that?" Flemming asked, eagerly surveying Sarah's expressions as she set Anna down. Anna lazily walked back inside, and lied down to rest on the couch beside Flemming's bag.

"Aww, no. I guess I can only understand my own cat." Sarah invented, biting her lip in 'disappointment'.

"What sorts of things does your cat say?!" Flemming pressed, a radiance in her eyes.

"I'd love to tell you about it, but I'm freezing my butt off out here!" Sarah laughed softly. "I should leave. I've taken up a bunch of your time already, and you've probably let a ton of heat out!"

"Oh, no!" Flemming insisted. "I just got back, actually. My apartment's still cold. Uh-but please, come inside! Well, are you busy?"

"Nah." Sarah sighed in slight 'disappointment'. "No one's buying my stuff, anyway."

"Oh? What are you selling?" Flemming looked down, just now noticing Sarah's 'wares'. "Oooh, I see some lovely dreamcatchers! Oh-is that the reason!-"

"-Yes! That is why I asked about the moon!" Sarah chuckled, happy Flemming had noticed. If she hadn't made the connection, Sarah would've eventually segued back to it. "They work best the night-"

"-after the full moon!" Flemming exclaimed, delighted a dreamcatcher seller finally knew the facts.

"-after the full moon," Sarah said, managing to make such nonsense sound factual. "so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for my buyers to see their magic for themselves as soon as possible. Asking about the moon was...supposed to be my sales pitch. But, no one got it, and when someone finally did, I still failed. I digressed to cat talk...how unprofessional! God, I'm such a space case! This is why I don't have friends."

"Oh, I have friends, and they're always making fun of me for that. I completely understand where you're coming from." Flemming replied gently.

"You sound just like my cat." Sarah smiled softly, with an expression that bordered on tearing up.

"Ohhhh!" Flemming enveloped Sarah in a brief hug, then held her at arm's length, meeting her eyes with a heartfelt expression. "The moon was a great sales pitch. Just because most of your customers didn't appreciate it, doesn't mean it was bad! You just need to find another sales pitch to better suit your buyers! I'm sure, if you come up with something else, tomorrow will be a better day!"

"You think so?" Sarah sniffed quietly, a slight crease in her brows.

"I know so." Flemming replied, handing Sarah a tissue. "Now, let's see...Of all your dreamcatchers, let's see which one speaks to me the most." She made to reach for one, and her task was made easier by Sarah handing the entire bunch to her in exchange for the tissue.

This is going so well. She's so sensitive to others' feelings. Ya pegged her right on, bro! Sarah thought, shoving the used tissue in her pocket.

"This one." Flemming handed the bunch back to Sarah, keeping one light brown and olive green dreamcatcher with blue feathers and beads.

Sarah went on about things their cats had said to them for a while longer, then offered to make them both some of her tea.

"Oh, I just love loose tea leaves! My favorite part is using the leaves at the bottom of the cup for some fortune telling! I took a course in tea-leaf reading, you know, and I'd love to brighten your day with some good news! I know it'll be good news." Flemming assured.

"I hope you get some good news, too!" Sarah replied.

"Oooh, I prefer not to read my own leaves! If something bad is inevitably coming, well...ignorance is bliss!"

Damn. Right again, bro. How do you do it? Sarah wondered, nodding to Flemming as if she understood. If I had the choice to know if something bad was coming or not, I'd rather know and try my best to prevent it, or at least do my best with the time I had left. Jeez, lady, grow a brain. Freakin' space case.

Eventually, Flemming left her cup unattended, and Sarah slipped the sedative in. While Flemming was asleep, Sarah used the fire escape to enter Lance's apartment next door via window. She eventually found his computer, and plugged her USB in. She looked around, wearing gloves and making sure not to move anything. She took a few pictures of whatever was lying around in the open, then turned back to see her virus had fully installed itself. Now, she'd be able to remotely hack in and see everything he was doing. She could also use his computer to impersonate him, but that may raise suspicion, so she'd only use it to spy on him.

With all traces removed, and everything the way she'd found it, she made her way back to Flemming's apartment.

Flemming was still asleep, with her cat curled up on her lap.

Bzzt bzzt.

Sarah checked her phone, reading Louis's text:

Bluebird's heading to the nest, I think!

Sarah replied with a 'thumb's up' emoji, then moved to hang the dream catcher up by the window so that it caught the sunbeams. She left Flemming a bag of the tea they'd enjoyed, then glanced at her own cup. Flemming had prophesied, just before falling unconscious, that Sarah had 'well earned rewards' in her future.

Yeah, Sarah thought, gathering the rest of her things and making her way down the steps of the fire escape. that DLC Louis promised me for helping him out. Ah, the things I do for DLC. Mmmm.

Meanwhile

Lance pulled into his parking spot by his apartment. He had heard a text message come through while driving, but when he read it, he elected to ignore it until he returned home. He gathered all his stuff and went up to his apartment. He threw it all on the couch and sat down. He stared at his phone for a few minutes.

‘Do you have any questions about Inari?

I can answer them all for you.’

I didn't ask about Inari, you intrusive little fuck, he thought. I asked about you. Who is this bozo anyways? How did he even know I was interested in Inari? Inari trusts me, I won't have some stalker come and ruin things for me.

He angrily punched out and sent the message:

‘Get fucked.’

Meanwhile

Louis received Lance's text, smirking. He typed as he spoke. "Aww, don't be like that. Do you really think you can do it on your own? You're dealing with the Ice Prince." He laughed softly, hitting send.

From there, every hour on the hour, ending at 1 a.m., he sent Lance the same message:

‘Do you have any questions about the Ice Prince?

I can answer them all for you.’

No matter what Louis got in return, he would keep sending the same message. And if he got blocked, well then, he would buy another burner phone, and keep bothering him. "It's funny you think you can do this all on your own." He laughed.

Meanwhile

Lance then set his phone on the coffee table and worked on some homework while Beetlejuice played on his TV. He finished before the movie was over, so he made his pasta salad while it finished.

After that he showered and shaved. Yes, he shaved at nighttime. He wasn't sure when or how he had gotten into that habit but he had been doing it for years now.

Finally, he entered a room where an expensive PC system was set up. He logged into League. Mark, Daniel, and Sam were all online and waiting for him.

He had been trying to ignore Louis’ annoying messages all night. Putting on the headset, he thought about how nice it would be to have a distraction from them.

"Where you been," Daniel asked over the headset.

"Out." Lance replied.

"He was out with a friend," Mark added. "But who? Come on Lance, you don't have any other actual friends besides the three of us."

"I was with Inari."

"Who?" Mark asked.

"Inari- uh, you know. The guy you asked me to invite to the party."

"Ohhh, so you already have him wrapped around your finger? You dog. Did you kiss him?"

There were snickers heard from Daniel and Samara.

"What? No- no I didn't kiss him. Listen, I don't want to do this bet anymore."

There was silence for a moment, then Mark finally said, "Why not?"

"Because it's mean. Inari is actually really nice and I don't want to trick him into going out with me just for your amusement."

"Okay, listen, listen, don't call off the bet. How about this - If you're so worried about tricking him, then let's change things up. Instead of getting him to go to the party with you, he has to ask you out to the party. That way there will be no doubt that he likes you when you go together."

Lance hesitated, listening to Daniel and Sam's encouragements and agreements to the bet.

"Do it dude, don't be a pussy!"

"Mark, what happens if he fails?"

"Right, right," Mark chimed back in. "If you fail, you have to take that pig, Martha, to the party. And. . . if you succeed, I will take her."

Lance bit his lip. "I don't know. . ." At least that way, someone will be taking Martha. She won't be left out.

"Fine," Mark said, sounding annoyed, "If you don't take Inari. . . I will."

"He would never say yes to you."

"I have my connections, I'm sure I could get him to come for some reason or another. Even against his will."

"Why am I even friends with you?" Lance growled. "Don't touch him."

"Is that a ‘yes’?"

"Fine! Fine! It's a bet. I'll get Inari to ask me out to the party. You better be prepared to take Martha, though."

Laughter from his three friends was all Lance heard before he logged out of the game, without even playing anything, and shut off his computer.

1 a.m.

Louis sent the final message, then headed over to Sarah's room. "How's it going?" He asked.

"Fine." Sarah rolled her eyes and powered down her laptop. "They had this stupid conversation about upping the stakes. You'll probably want to hear it, though. Point is, he'll keep going after Fox."

"Thank you."Louis replied gratefully.

Sarah headed over to her PS4, sitting neatly on the tv console across from her bed. "I don't want to wait until morning." She said, powering it on. "You might rush off again."

"Alright." Louis laughed softly. This time, he'd purchase FF7 Remake Intergrade, and a few Genshin characters.

As he logged in and made the purchase, Sarah stretched in a bunch of different positions. She'd been sitting at her computer for quite a while. "I don't know why he's even friends with them. I feel kinda bad Fox is gonna end up hating him over this, but at the same time I don't really care. It's like...he brought this on himself for being friends with people like that. I'd also rather play video games than spend any more time thinking about those idiots..." She finished stretching, and headed to the kitchen to get some gaming snacks: dark chocolate covered pretzels and gummy strawberries. She usually brought a pair of chopsticks or a spoon as well, so she didn't get her controller dirty. "Mmm. Today was a long day." She said to herself, opening up the cabinet.

"That it was." Louis agreed, eyes on the tv screen. He made sure to stand while he completed the purchase, so he didn't get comfortable there. He didn't want to be convinced into watching Sarah play through the FF7 Remake's DLC content - tempting, but he needed rest for tomorrow. Shame we don't share the same functions that allow her to live easily on five hours of sleep and a coffee.

Meanwhile

Inari slept peacefully in his bed, having made a lovely early dinner of hot pot, and stored leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow's breakfast, and lunch at school. He had a dream a man with a blue clock for a face kept bothering him about 'time running out' in an Alice-and-Wonderland-esque world.