The ceiling above me seemed serene, the silence of my room pressing down as I lay on the bed. My thoughts replayed the events of the day like a never-ending movie.

    Nebula. The Infinity Realm. Her brother. Her father. Everything seemed like fragments of a fever dream.

    My mind wandered back to the fight with Nebula. The way her piercing blue eyes held a mixture of power and disdain, her aura crackling like lightning as we exchanged blows. She was relentless, her hairs bending physics itself, but I had held my ground. Then, as if fate decided to twist the knife, I''d been sucked into the Infinity Realm—a dimension of infinite realm made through imagination and shifting realities.

    There, her brother had awaited me. Tall, muscular, imposing, and radiating an aura of raw malice, he had charged at me without hesitation. Every blow he delivered was heavy.

    The fight was pushing me to my limits as I had reserved amount of energy. Thanks to blessings of shadows, I wrapped it up quickly or else god knows what could''ve happen if I had ran our of energy in front of her brother.

    Nebula''s constant expression of mix of pride and amusement.

    "You''re more interesting than I thought," she had said, her voice sultry yet dangerous.

    But the most terrifying moment had come when her father entered the scene. His presence alone had been suffocating, his gaze sharp enough to pierce through my very soul. I had felt my aura draining just standing before him, my knees trembling under his weighty stare.

    That man—no, that being—was something else entirely.@@@@

    And yet, somehow, I had ended up back in Nebula''s chambers, her mischievous smirk making my heart pound. I had lost track of how things had escalated, but one after another we were just making out. she had been teasing me, and the next we were on her bed, her lips crashing against mine as the stars above us seemed to swirl in rhythm with our heated breaths.

    Now, staring at the ceiling, I couldn''t help but blush at the memory. "I really need to stop getting myself into these situations," I muttered to myself.

    A sudden recollection hit me—the conversation with Alpha in the washroom. Her words echoed in my mind.

    "Time works differently in the Infinity Realm," she had explained when I''d asked why it was still evening here. "A day there could be mere minutes in our world."

    I sighed, rubbing my temples. "This is way too much to process."

    And then there was the Queen... her penetrating gaze as she''d stared at me earlier. A chill crept up my spine at the thought. Did she suspect something?

    "Sighhh," I exhaled deeply, turning onto my side. "It was a tiring day." Closing my eyes, I let exhaustion take over and drifted into a restless sleep.

    ---

    Natasha, walking beside me, adjusted her glasses and smiled softly. "But I enjoyed my time with you all." Her gaze lingered on me for a moment, a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

    Maya chimed in, her tone light. "It was... unique for me too. I was awake entire night because of so much excitement." She glanced at me briefly, hiding a smile behind her hand.

    Claire noticed the exchange and smirked. "Are you guys hiding something from me? Huh?"

    "Nothing at all," I replied quickly, the others nodding in agreement.

    "Come on," she pressed, but her teasing tone made it clear she wasn''t serious.

    As we continued walking, Maya suddenly perked up. "You know, this was kind of boring. Let''s do something fun together. We don''t know when we''ll get a chance like this to hang out again."

    I raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

    Maya grinned mischievously. "Let''s go to your place, Austin."

    I blinked. "My place?"

    "Yeah," she said matter-of-factly. "You live alone, right? We can dance, party, and not worry about disturbing anyone."

    The others seemed to light up at the idea.

    "She''s got a point," Claire said, her excitement bubbling. "None of us can do that at home with our parents around."

    "Yeah! Let''s go to Austin''s house!" Natasha said.

    I sighed, realizing there was no escaping this. "Fine," I said, laughing lightly. "But don''t make a mess, okay?"

    Zayn shook his head, chuckling. "I''ll pass. I''ve got to study for my entrance exams."

    "No worries," I replied. "Next time, maybe."

    And with that, I found myself heading home with Maya, Natasha, and Claire in tow, their excited chatter filling the air as the sun dipped below the horizon.

    "We will party entire night!!!" Claire punched the air in excitement.