“Gabriel sighed and leaned back in the throne. "Are we going to be dramatic now? Maybe I should call for some wine of my own and we can wallow and aimlessly fight through our miserable drunkenness.”

“Nate called out, “Team Meeting!” and pointed a finger in the air.When he had everyone’s attention, Nate cleared his throat. “There are a few Team Awesome things we need to discuss.”Tristan leaned over to Gabriel. “What’s Team Awesome?”“It’s our team name,” Heather smiled.“We’re not a team,” Gabriel said.“We are a team,” Nate corrected. “We’re Team Awesome and I’m team captain.” He looked at Tristan. “You can call me Captain. Or Captain America, if you’d like. I’m even willing to settle for Captain Jack.”Tristan crossed his arms. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”Heather’s eyes lit up. “Ooh! Can we choose code names? Can I be Catwoman?”“We’re not choosing code names.” Gabriel looked incredibly annoyed and Tristan almost smiled.”

“And your plan is what?" Nate said as he and Scarlet followed after him. "You're just going to drive around until you see a sign that says Raven's Secret Hostage Lair?"Tristan wasn't sure what he was going to do, but hanging out in an alley all night certainly wasn't going to bring Gabriel back any faster. "What's the alternative? Go back home, east some Lucky Charms and get some sleep? I don't think so.""Why are you hating on my cereal?”

“Does this mean I get to be part of the team?” She clapped her hands again.“Yes,” Nate said.“No,” Gabriel said at the same time.“Duuuude,” Nate said to Gabriel between his teeth. “I really want to talk to this Mr. Brooks guy.”“Fine.” Gabriel sighed. “Let her help. I don’t care. But if you die,” Gabriel pointed at Heather, “or get cursed or something, that’s your fault.”Heather nodded merrily, still clapping. “Yay, I’m part of the team.”“We’re not a team,” Gabriel said through gritted teeth.Heather ignored him and looked at Nate. “I think we need a team name.”“Ooh! Good idea.” Nate pointed a finger into the air. “How about Team Awesome?”Heather wrinkled her nose. “Too vague. Team Super Secret Fountain Seekers?”“Too specific.” Nate shook his head. “Team Ash Guy Hunters?”“Ashman.” Heather shook her head. “Too hard to say.”Nate scoffed. “And ‘Super Secret Fountain Seekers’ is easy to say?”Gabriel huffed and started walking toward the door. “You guys can stay here and pick a name and a Team Captain or whatever, but I’m going to find Mr. Brooks.” He opened the door to leave, night falling on the forest around them.Heather said, “Mr. Brooks doesn’t open his door when it’s dark outside.” She shrugged. “So we’re going to have to wait until tomorrow after school.”Frustrated, Gabriel closed the cabin door on the setting sun. “Tomorrow then.”“Perfect.” Nate nodded, shifting his eyes from Scarlet, to Gabriel, and then to Heather.A moment passed.“I call dibs on Team Captain,” Nate said.Gabriel rolled his eyes.”

“Gabriel nodded. “Sometimes love makes hard decisions for the sake of what needs protecting.” “But love should fight.” He nodded slowly. “Yes, love should fight. But there is a difference between a valiant fight and a selfish fight. And love is not selfish.” She turned to look at him across the grass. “For someone who is cursed to be without love you are quite wise on matters of the heart.” Sorrow filled her eyes. “I’m sorry for your curse.” He shrugged. “It could be worse. I could be cursed to an eternity of pain or a life without chocolate.”

“You know what I need to do?""Buy earrings?""I need to fully embed myself in Gabriel's life. I need to get to know the real Gabriel Archer.""You need to buy new earrings," Heather said.Scarlet ignored Heather and went on."No more excuses. The time has come. Today, I am going over to Gabriel's house after school.""Good for you. Now let's talk about shoes." Heather put her magazine down. "They suck.”

“Calm down, Braveheart." Gabriel searched through the weapons. "I'm trying to find something not quite as fatal as...a scythe? Really?"Gabriel held the wicked half-moon blade up and looked at Tristan. "What are you, the Grim Reaper?""Yes. Yes, Gabriel. I'm the Grim Reaper. You caught me. I drive around in my car full of weapons collecting souls.”