“No, I’m surprised he didn’t say goodbye.”“Well, of course he didn’t say goodbye.” Heather put down her mug. “You would have convinced him to stay.”“That’s not true.”“Oh, please.” Heather rolled her eyes. “You would have been like Oh, Tristan, please don’t go. Stay with me so I can crush on you and giggle at everything you say.” Heather nodded. “That’s what it would have been like. In that high-pitched voice and everything.”

“A little heads up would have been nice.Hey Heather, since we're history partners and all, I figured I should tell you I'm a murderer. But I'm hot so it's okay.From now on, Heather was going to do background checks on all her buddies.”

“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.”

“And why is Heather wearing pink? Come on, people."Heather rolled her eyes and disappeared back inside the tent, reappearing a minute later with a dark gray T-shirt on."Better?" She cocked her head at tristan."Yes. You've just extended your life by at least an hour.”

“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.”

“Are you okay? You seem ...soggy.""Soggy?""Yes." Heather nodded. "Like you're a depressed spaghetti noodle or something.”

“The curse had not tainted her, had not made her a tortured soul like Tristan, or a hopeless romantic like Gabriel, or a lonely heart like Nate. Heather still had a chance at being bright.”