POV Timothy
Being a middle brother in the Fernandez family basically meant you were background noise.
You were the blurry kid in the Christmas photo where everyone was looking at Juliet.
You were the "oh right, and the other two" when people listed the brothers.
So when Elijah announced he was taking Juliet to some fancy, boring-as-watching-paint-dry gala, I was fully prepared for another night of getting cooked by 12-year-olds on GTA 7 Online. Enzo had other plans.
"We should go," he'd said, his eyes doing that creepy shiny thing they do when he has a Bad Idea.
"To the old-people party? Why? So we can watch Elijah glare at rich guys and Jules try to eat a flower arrangement?"
"No! For the vibes! The snacks will be insane! Tiny burgers. Shrimps on sticks. Unlimited dessert table. We can just... blend."
The idea of an unlimited dessert table did things to my 13-year-old soul. But the idea of Elijah's face if he caught us did other, more terrifying things.
Our plan was, in a word, mid. We waited until Viktor was doing a final sweep of the garage and tried to sneak into the boot of the second newly bought Range Rover.
We lasted about forty-five seconds before Viktor opened it, shining a flashlight on us like we were raccoons in a dumpster.
"Out."
"Please, Viktor! We'll be good! We just want to see the cars!" Enzo begged, doing his very perfected 'puppy dog eyes' move.
It worked on Tia Rosa. It did not work on a man built like a brick wall with a soul to match.
We were dragged by our collars like misbehaving kittens to where Elijah was finishing adjusting his cufflinks in the grand entrance.
Juliet spun in her dress, giggling at her own reflection.
Elijah looked at us. He didn't even look mad. He just looked... tired. Like we were a problem he couldn't wait to solve.
"Please, Elijah, we'll be so good, we just wanna see the cars," Enzo begged, doing his best pleading eyes.
"And the... architecture," I added, which was probably the dumbest thing I've ever said.
He stared at us for a long, silent moment. The clock ticked. Juliet whispered, "Pwease, Ijah? I want my boys."
He closed his eyes, sighed the sigh of a man carrying the weight of the world and two idiot brothers.
"You will sit in the front with Viktor. You will not touch anything. When we arrive, you will stay in the car. You will not get out. If you do, I will know ," his voice dropped to that quiet, final tone that made my stomach feel like it was full of ice ,"And you 'll be dead. Not grounded. Not in trouble. Dead. Understood?"
We nodded so fast I got whiplash. Enzo looked thrilled. I felt like I might throw up.
The drive was silent except for the tinny, happy beats of Gracie's Corner from Juliet's tablet. She was hypnotized, kicking her little feet in their shiny shoes.
In the dark of the backseat, with the city lights sliding by, Enzo leaned over and whispered, "Remember when we thought girls had cooties?"
I smirked in the dark. "Yeah. Simpler times."
The car didn't stay above ground for long. Viktor took a sharp turn into a lowkey, unmarked entrance that looked like a service road.
A laser scanned the license plate, a heavy steel door slid open with a hiss, and we plunged down into the Underground.
It wasn't a road. It was a sci-fi movie. A smooth, brightly lit tunnel wide enough for three cars, with gleaming white tiles and a ceiling dotted with red security cameras that followed the car as we passed.
Massive support beams and what looked like blast doors lined the walls. It was silent, dry and felt about a million miles away from the real world.
This was how the 0.001% traveled. No traffic. No potholes. Just pure, untouchable speed.
It was the kind of secure that screamed, The people who use this have enemies.
It was kinda cool, actually.
We popped back up into a private parking garage beneath a glittering skyscraper. Elijah got out, straightened his cuffs, and took Juliet's hand. She waved her small hand at us through the tinted window.
"Remember," Elijah said, his voice low and final through the glass. "You breathe wrong, and it's your last breath."
Then he was gone, swallowed by the crowd of sparkling gowns and black tuxedos.
For the first twenty minutes, we were angels. We played l-Spy. We criticized the outfits of people walking past. We debated whether the valet guys were secretly assassins.
Then, the lemonade I'd chugged before leaving made its presence known
Enzo started fidgeting.
"Tim, I gotta pee so bad."
"You should've gone before we left."
"I didn't have to go then! I have to go now! It's emergency status!"
"Pee in a bottle." l suggested.
"Viktor, can I please pee in a bottle?"
"No," Viktor grunted from the front, not turning around.
He began squirming , doing the potty dance "I'm gonna explode! Can't I just go in the gardens?"
Viktor's voice was flat. "No. Gardens have more cameras than the tunnel. You'd be on fifty screens before your zipper was down."
That left one option. We had to go inside. And not let Elijah see us.
This was, obviously, a terrible plan. My heart was a drum solo as I pushed the car door open.
The cool night air hit us. We were out. In the forbidden zone.
We scuttled like rats along the edge of the building, away from the grand entrance, towards the service alley.
My dress shoes clicked awkwardly on the pavement. We saw a delivery entrance, a stern-looking woman with a clipboard guarding it.
"Please," Enzo whimpered, doing the leg-crossed dance of true desperation. "We're with the Fernandez party. My brother... I really need the bathroom."
The woman looked us up and down. We were wearing nice clothes, but we looked like scared kids, not guests. She was about to say no.
Then, from behind her, another woman in a staff suit appeared.
She was older, with kind eyes. She took one look at Enzo's pale, pleading face and sighed. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Barbara, they're children. Let them use the staff loo in the back. Quickly, before you burst, love."
She ushered us through a maze of fluorescent-lit corridors that smelled of lemon cleaner and steamed food.
It was the backstage of glamour, all concrete and pipes. She pointed to a door. "In and out. Then straight back to your car."
Enzo vanished inside with a sob of relief.
I leaned against the cool wall, trying to calm my racing heart. We'd done it. We'd broken the rule and survived. Now we just had to get back.
That's when I decided to be stupid.
I took two steps down the corridor, peeking around a corner towards where I could hear the muffled sounds of the orchestra and chatter. Just a peek. To see the "architecture."
I turned the corner too fast.
And I slammed right into someone.
Not a waiter. Not a staff member.
A girl.
She stumbled back, a gasp escaping her. She was about my age, maybe a year older. She had dark hair swept up in a complicated, shiny style, and she wore a deep blue dress that looked like the night sky.
For a second, we just stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"I'm so sorry!" I blurted, my face instantly on fire. "I didn't— I wasn't looking—"
"It's okay," she said, her voice quiet but steady.
She had a small, knowing smile, like she found my panic amusing. "Are you lost? This is the staff area."
"I... yeah. My brother. Bathroom." I was speaking in dumb-broken phrases. My brain had fully blue-screened. She was... the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. Not in a gross way. In a way that made my stomach feel like I'd just jumped off a high dive.
"Name's Cassandra. But everyone calls me Cassie," she said, extending a hand.
I shook it. Felt a dumb zap up my shoulder. A stupid, dazed smile was on my face.
"And your name...?" she asked.
I snapped out of it, feeling like a total idiot. "Timothy. I mean Tim. Call me Tim."
She let go of my hand. "Right. Tim." Her smile was kinda amused.
My mind began racing for any rizz line that wouldn't make me look lame. "So, you cool?"
She stared. "Uhh, yeah, I think so?"
Oh my gosh. What in the freaking zombie apocalypse was wrong with me?
"Are you also escaping the gala because everything is boring as the color green?" she asked.
"Yeah. Green is so lame," I said, mustering a cool-guy smirk. Even though green was my favorite color and my whole gaming setup 's theme.
She smiled. "I like you. You're funny."
Okay. Was that a compliment or an insult?
"You like funny guys?" I asked, looking at her.
She nodded. "My ex-boyfriend wasn't so funny."
l let out a half awkward laugh ,cringing hard inside.
"Well, 'Tim,' try not to cause any international comedic incidents before my dad's speech, okay?" She winked. Actually winked. Then she walked off, her dress swishing.
I stood there like an idiot until Enzo yanked my arm. "Bro, you're red. Let's go!"
We found a quieter hallway with a big window looking into a side garden. And that's where we saw them.
Jules, in her pink puffball dress, was holding hands with two other girls. One was Charlie, the girl from the park, in a sparkly blue dress, talking a mile a minute.
The other was Olivia, in a simple dark green dress, just watching everything with those big, serious eyes. They were running in a little circle, giggling.
Then Jules spotted us at the window. Her face lit up. Before we could duck, she was dragging her friends over, pushing open a glass door.
"Timmy! Enzo! You comed!" she yelled, triumphant.
Charlie bounced on her toes. "Hi! You're Juliet's big brother! I'm Charlie! This is my sister Cassie!"
My heart did that weird flip again. Cassie.
The girl from the hallway. She was Charlie's sister. She stood behind Charlie, a small, knowing smile on her face as she looked at me. I wanted the marble floor to swallow me.
Cassie stepped forward. "So these are my baby sister 's new friend 's the mysterious brothers. The funny and cute one. And the little one." She pointed at Enzo.
Wait ,did she just call me cute?
My heart leapt up to the sky doing the rat dance.
But Enzo frowned. He hated being called little especially by a girl. "l 'm not little," he huffed ,crossing his arms.
Before I could form a sentence that wasn't a grunt, Charlie, the tiny social butterfly, took over. She started chattering about the paintings, the food, how Olivia didn't like the loud music.
Olivia just stood slightly behind Charlie, her eyes scanning the small crowd of adults nearby.
A few serious-looking bodyguards—ours and theirs—stood at a polite distance, watching our little group.
It was almost... normal. Weird, but normal.
That's when the waiter came.
He was carrying a tray of empty glasses.
He wore the same uniform as the others, but with a sleek black half-mask covering his nose and mouth, like for some theme. He weaved through the crowd towards our general area.
As he passed our little group, his shoe seemed to catch on the carpet. He knelt down, as if to adjust it or pick something up. He placed his tray on the floor.
There was a soft, almost gentle PUFF sound, like someone releasing air from a cushion.
A cloud of sweet-smelling, pearly gray gas exploded from under his tray, engulfing all six of us in seconds.
It didn't hurt. It just smelled like too much candy. I heard Charlie gasp, then cough. I saw Cassie's wide, confused green eyes lock with mine before they fluttered shut. I felt Enzo slump against me.
My own limbs turned to heavy water. The world tilted, the lights smearing into streaks of gold and white.
The last thing I saw was Olivia, her dark eyes already closed, as the gray smoke swallowed everything.
Then, nothing.