Chapter 23: Two Together
The air seemed to freeze.
Edward could feel every fiber of the carpet against his back, Alan could feel the firm warmth of the man's chest beneath her, and Maria, trapped in the mirror, could feel her heart being squeezed by an invisible fist.
Three people, three perspectives, forming a bizarre tableau—frozen yet crackling with tension.
Edward broke the silence.
He didn't even rush to push Alan off, simply staying flat on his back, tilting his chin toward Maria in the mirror, flashing a smile that could only be described as innocent.
"Hey, Maria," his voice was as casual as if they'd bumped into each other at Starbucks, "your sister gave me a ride home through the express lane. Pretty convenient."
The absurd explanation nearly made Alan laugh out loud.
Her arms, braced against Edward's chest, tensed as she lifted herself off him, smoothly straightening her rumpled clothes with practiced grace, as if the person who'd just been awkwardly sprawled on top of him was someone else entirely.
She turned around, casually facing her sister in the mirror, a hint of smug victory in her eyes. "What, did I startle you?"
Maria's lips moved, but no words came out.
She stared at the "sister" who looked identical to her yet radiated a completely different energy, then at the boy lying on the floor acting like nothing had happened—a tidal wave of hurt and confusion drowning her ability to think.
The reflection flickered violently, like a TV with bad reception, and then Maria's face vanished, the mirror returning to its smooth clarity, reflecting only the room and Alan standing before it.
"See? That's just how she is," Alan said to the mirror, as if talking to herself, though clearly addressing Edward too. "Always running away."
Edward sat up from the floor, brushing himself off. "Give her time. Sisters fight—it's normal."
"We're not fighting."
Alan walked toward him step by step, leaning down slightly, her hands braced on either side of him, trapping him between herself and the bed—only this time, keeping a calculated distance between them.
In her dark pupils, countless mirror reflections seemed to swirl. "We're two completely different people. Which one do you like better?"
The question carried undisguised challenge.
Edward looked up at her, at that face so close—Maria's face, yet not Maria's at all—breathing in that unique scent, cold and sweet mixed together.
He smiled, extended one finger, and gently pressed it against Alan's forehead, pushing her back slightly.
"I like you both together."
Alan froze for a moment, then caught the double meaning in his words, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks.
She straightened up, letting out a soft scoff to cover her momentary fluster.
"Smooth talker."
She tossed out the words, turned, and walked toward the full-length mirror, her body transforming into a streak of light, merging into the mirror's surface without hesitation, and vanishing.
The room held only Edward now.
He rubbed his nose, sensing the lingering scent in the air and the subtle awkwardness hanging there, and couldn't help but chuckle.
This is gonna get messy...
The next morning, Edward walked into the bathroom feeling refreshed.
Last night's wild adventure in the Mirror World, and the preview of the drama to come, felt to him like watching an intense 4D movie—after a solid night's sleep, he was energized, even looking forward to what came next.
He stripped off his clothes, turned on the shower, and warm water cascaded from overhead, washing away the night's exhaustion.
The bathroom quickly filled with thick steam, fogging up everything around him.
Just as Edward was humming along to some half-remembered pop song while lathering shampoo into his hair, a clear figure appeared without warning on the steamed-up mirror in front of him.
It was Alan.
She stood there, completely at ease "standing" inside the mirror, arms crossed over her chest, watching Edward scrub his hair with obvious amusement, her gaze boldly roaming over his bare upper body.
Edward's movements stopped.
Head covered in white foam, he stared expressionlessly at Alan in the mirror.
"Hey," Alan broke the silence first, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "Nice abs. More impressive than I expected."
Edward closed his eyes, letting the warm water rinse the foam from his hair, then reached out and wiped the mirror, trying to erase the annoying image.
However, once the steam was cleared away, Alan's face became even sharper.
"Listen, Your Majesty the Mirror Queen," Edward leaned against the cold tiles, his tone edged with exasperation, "don't you have anything better to do? Like patrolling your mirror kingdom, or checking which gym's locker room needs cleaning?"
"My kingdom is secure, and my subjects worship me."
Alan twirled in the mirror, as if modeling a new outfit. "I can appear in any mirror now. Pretty cool, right?"
"Yeah, real cool."
Edward grabbed a towel and wiped his face. "But have you considered that what you're doing is legally breaking and entering? In a bathroom, no less, which gives me plenty of grounds to sue you for harassment."
"You could try," Alan shrugged indifferently. "Good luck finding a judge who'll hear a case of a human suing a mirror ghost."
She had him there.
Edward sighed, giving up on arguing with her. "So why'd you trek all the way here this morning to check out my post-shower look?"
"No reason, just came to give you a heads up."
Alan's smile faded slightly, taking on a more serious edge. "Today it's Maria. We agreed to take turns. She needs to face reality, and I... need to take a break."
Edward raised an eyebrow, understanding immediately.
It probably wasn't that Alan needed rest, but that Maria was on the verge of a total meltdown because of her wildly uninhibited sister.
"Also," Alan's gaze settled on Edward's face, her eyes holding something complex, "thanks, Connor."
With that, her figure, like ink dissolving in water, quickly faded from the mirror and disappeared.
The bathroom held only Edward and the sound of rushing water...
Arriving at school, everything seemed to reset to square one.
In the hallway, Edward spotted the familiar figure right away.
The girl clutched her textbooks, head down, her slightly long bangs hiding her eyes, radiating a "please don't approach me" vibe.
It was Maria.
Edward walked up, slowing his pace, greeting her in the gentlest voice he could manage: "Morning, Maria."
The girl's body visibly tensed. She looked up, saw it was Edward, her eyes darting away as a blush spread across her cheeks—clearly replaying yesterday's awkward scene in her bedroom.
"G-good morning, Connor."
Her voice was barely audible.
Just then, Frank, Jennifer, and Nettie walked over too.
"Hey! Did you guys hear about the Riverside Mall incident?!"
Jennifer eagerly launched into the hottest topic of the day.
Frank pushed up his glasses and cut in, "Of course, it was all over the news. Official story is it was a fire caused by old wiring in the third-floor food court, but something's off about it."
"What's off?" Nettie asked nervously.
"Too many red flags."
Frank launched into analysis mode. "First, the fire's intensity. According to witnesses, the flames basically engulfed the entire third floor instantly, which doesn't match normal fire spread patterns. Second, the damage. The report said that aside from the third floor being torched, the other floors were almost completely untouched—barely any smoke damage, which makes even less sense. Most importantly, zero casualties. Everyone was 'conveniently' evacuated."
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Whatever, my dad already banned me from going there. Shirley from the cheer squad told me her cousin's a firefighter and said the scene didn't look like any fire he'd ever seen."
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