After they left the school and reached the riverbank, they stood staring at the bridge. Bianca was still silent, her arms crossed over her chest, looking away, while Claire, walking beside her, was red-faced and looked incredibly embarrassed. Dean turned to look at the two of them walking behind him.
"What's up with you guys?" Dean asked.
"Nothing," they both answered at the same time.
"Huh... weird," Dean replied.
"Come here," Ruby called.
Ruby and Lily walked down the stairs and along the riverbank to the underpass of the bridge. Dean, Claire, and Bianca started wondering why they were there. "Click." Ruby unlocked the door to an electrical maintenance room, and she and Lily went inside. Dean, Claire, and Bianca looked at each other, frozen in front of the door.
"Why are we here?" Bianca asked, confused.
"I don't know. Weren't we going to Ruby's place?" Claire asked.
"Hmm... let's just go inside first," Dean replied.
The three of them went inside and closed the door. Their eyes widened as they saw Ruby sitting on her mattress and Lily sitting cross-legged in front of her, reading a book. Ruby looked at Dean, Claire, and Bianca, who were frozen by the door.
"Come sit down... this is my place," Ruby said.
"You... you live here?" Claire asked, shocked.
"Yeah. I spent all my money on the school transfer, and I haven't found a job yet, so Lily and I are staying here for now. The rest of my money is just for day-to-day stuff. I'm still looking for work," Ruby said casually.
"I see," Bianca mumbled, looking around.
Lily stood up, walked over to Dean, pulled his hand, and went back to sit down, motioning for him to sit next to her. Dean, still speechless, sat cross-legged next to Lily. Claire and Bianca sat down next to Dean.
"Sorry if it's a mess in here, hehe," Ruby said with a small smile.
"It's fine," Dean finally managed to say.
Claire picked up a book about UFOs, ghosts, haunted places, and other mystery and cult stuff.
"You're really into this kind of stuff, aren't you?" Claire said, reading the book.
"Hehe... yeah. But it's because of my hobbies that I've been able to get by until now," Ruby replied.
"Dean, what do you think?" Bianca whispered in his ear. Of course, Dean knew what she meant.
Dean crossed his arms and looked up at the rough concrete ceiling. After a moment, he looked at Ruby, who was staring at her phone and adjusting her glasses.
"Okay, Ruby and Lily, you're both coming home with me, Claire, and Bianca. I own a cafe, and you can both work there, and I'll pay you. There are also rooms for both of you on the fourth floor... one for each of you. How does that sound?" Dean asked.
Ruby looked up, her face surprised. Lily also craned her neck forward to look at Dean. Claire and Bianca, sitting next to Dean, looked proud, nodding and crossing their arms over their chests.
"Is... is this for real?" Ruby asked, looking at Dean while Lily nodded, her face asking, "Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah, it's real," Dean replied, looking at Claire and Bianca. "You guys are cool with it, right?"
"Of course! Welcome, Ruby and Lily," Claire said.
"Yep, it's gonna be fun all living together," Bianca added.
"Wait, you guys live with Dean?" Ruby asked, looking at Claire and Bianca and pushing her glasses up.
"Yep, we also work at his cafe," Claire said.
"That's right, we can all work together," Bianca added.
Ruby looked at Dean, Claire and Bianca again, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing before. While she was lost in thought, Lily suddenly got close to her face, startling her and making her blush.
Ruby looked away, took off her glasses, and rubbed her eyes. She put her glasses back on and looked at Dean again, her eyes a little teary.
"Okay... I want to move in with all of you, but... I want to work. I don't want to just be given things," Ruby said.
Lily, who was also looking at Dean with a serious expression, nodded enthusiastically, as if to say she felt the same way as Ruby.
"Of course! Like I said before, you'll both be working at my cafe and I'll pay you. Think of the rooms as an employee benefit," Dean said.
"This isn't because you feel sorry for me and Lily, is it? I don't want this if you're just doing it out of pity for our situation," Ruby said, being direct and firm.
"Hmm, no. As a cafe owner, I'm just offering you a job and giving you employee benefits," Dean replied casually.
"Alright, I get it," Ruby said, her eyes getting even tearier. She pushed her glasses up and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Lily put a hand on Ruby's head and stroked her hair with a concerned look on her face. Ruby looked at Dean once again. This time, her feelings were different. She was already attracted to him and admired him after seeing him enter the portal.
Now, her respect for him had grown, and she might have even developed a romantic crush on him because she was starting to see him as a guy, not just a mysterious subject. Then Dean stood up, followed by Claire and Bianca.
"Let's go now," Dean said, looking around. "Since you have a lot of stuff, we'll just go through the nightmare world and pop out on the third floor of the cafe, in our operations room."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's start packing," Claire said, starting to organize Ruby's books.
"Yeah, I'll help too. Might as well stay sweaty and sticky. The shower will feel great later," Bianca said, helping Claire.
"Thank you, everyone," Ruby said, bowing her head. This time, she was really crying tears of relief as Lily hugged her.
Once Ruby calmed down, she helped pack her things, putting all her clothes into a suitcase. Lily also helped without saying a word. When they were done, Dean, carrying a large box, opened a portal and went through it with Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily, who were carrying boxes and a suitcase. A moment later, they came out on the third floor of the cafe. Ruby and Lily's mouths dropped open as they looked around.
"Wow... we... have a place to live, Lily," Ruby said.
Lily nodded enthusiastically in response. After that, Dean, Claire, and Bianca helped Ruby and Lily move into their rooms.
*****
The next day, bright and early in class, after the bell rang, the teacher walked into the classroom with Claire, who was now wearing the same uniform as Bianca. Claire's face was beaming as she looked out at the class, who were stunned by her beauty. Her eyes found Dean and Bianca, who were sitting in the back, as Bianca gave her a small wave.
"Another transfer student in the middle of the year, with only six months until graduation. Please introduce yourself," the teacher said, looking tired.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Claire Anderson. I just transferred today. It's nice to meet you all, and I hope you'll help me out," Claire said cheerfully.
The whole class went silent. The guys couldn't take their eyes off the beautiful Claire, and the girls thought they had new competition besides Bianca. Before the teacher could tell Claire to find an empty seat, Claire was already walking down the aisle and stopped next to Dean's desk.
"Hi," Claire said, greeting Dean.
"Sit down... there's an empty seat at the end, right?" Dean said, pointing to the empty seat.
"No way, I'll sit here," Claire said, sitting right on Dean's lap, which stunned the entire class, including Bianca.
"Hey, Claire, you can't do that. I haven't even sat there yet," Bianca said, trying to pull Claire away.
Dean sighed. As usual, he could feel hostile glares directed at him. But this time, he ignored them and looked out the window.
"So tired," he mumbled to himself, trying to push Claire off his lap.