BEFORE THE ECLIPSE

The dart struck the board with a satisfying thud as Irene smirked at the result. The guys moved a little closer and couldn't believe their eyes.

"Well, that was pathetic", Alex's mocking voice broke the silence. Felix turned to Irene teasingly bending a few inches to lean close to her.

"I guess the princess should stick to painting her nails not to embarrass herself", Felix piped in with his usual grin. Maintaining her cool and not resorting to punching him in the nose, her lips slowly parted into a cocky smile as she told him dead in the eye

"This pretty princess wouldn't want her subjects to be instantly dejected as they wallow in the void of their self pity. So I've laid down a golden opportunity to defeat me before I go up again."

She pulled Felix's shirt closer, their faces inches apart

"Do you understand or you still need me to spell it out for you", with a smirk of confidence she said in a low voice as she slowly let go of his collar

"It's okay to be a little bit slow"

Irene then joyfully strutted, hip swaying to the side of the desk, gesturing the guys to come for their turn. The haughty side of Irene had finally taken over as they'd seen. Jason and Alex were in utter shock as they'd never met this version that exudes this burst of confidence. Even Felix was certain that something felt different. Don't allow them to walk all over you three times in a row, you rise up and stomp them to the ground till they are buried to the depths of the earth. Her smile widened as the thought resurfaced once again.

"You may try again", the owner reminded them.

"Okay, so who goes first?", Jason asked glancing at both of them. Alex shrugged while Felix, without another word, snatched a red dart aimed with impressive dexterity and launched it allowing nature to handle the rest. Striking the board on the sixth red line, just two lines from the bullseye. He immediately smirked as he locked eyes with Irene. His smirk screamed a condescending "that's how it's done", however got an oddly enthusiastic smile from Irene. Behind that smile was a girl waiting patiently to wipe that smirk off that face. Unbeknownst to any of them, they had challenged an agent with years of hard training. Compared to the mark's man shooting aim, if anything, this was less than child's play. Jason grabbed a dart far away tossing it playfully. To their surprise, It hit the space between the sixth line and the seventh surpassing Felix's previous position. He shot Jason a brief side eye, but Jason smirked running his hand through his soft silky hair partially unable to believe his eyes as well.

"Tutor, your turn", Her expectant gaze smoothly moved from a pokerface Alex to the last dart on the frame. She noticed that he wasn't quite talkative today. He got a hold of the dart, stealing a glance at Irene. Her lips curled into a small smile as his pokerface slowly faded into a smirk. The light thud on the board made the rest climb over heads to see the result. The devious look on her face couldn't be hidden, as she saw that Alex had made it at the near edge of the bullseye.

"Alright then", Irene broke the silence lightly pushing Alex and Felix from her way to the shooting position.

"It's a shame that we raised the bar so high for you to reach", Felix exclaimed as he looked like he had more to say. Irene picked a dart, its cool metal balancing perfectly between her fingers. She aimed precisely at the bullseye, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the target. They had their chance, when she missed the bullseye by a landslide on the first try. Tolerating Felix audible taunts and Alex's not so silent shaming in hope for them that they would actually win before this.

"If you make this shot, you'll get to do anything you want for a day, as long as we're around", Felix challenged unaware of the dangerous deal he just proposed. With her eyes still fixed on her aim, she shrugged, casually mouthing an "Okay"

"Strike!"

In the split second of agreeing, the dart riding the wave of the air pierced through the center, pinning it a little too perfectly at the bullseye. A rush of instant satisfaction surged through her as she slowly turned, savoring this priceless moment. A wicked half smile plastered on her face, though her expression remained quite enigmatic, difficult to decipher her next thoughts. Their mouths hung agape before darkening with the shadow of regret, the two blazing a silent reprimand at Felix for making that ill-fated bet. Together assuming they could forget the bet as if nothing happened, fate really had its own plans

"If you make this shot, you'll get to do anything you want for a day, as long as we're around"

Their ears collectively perked up as they listened once again to Felix's proposal to make the bet. Irene had surreptitiously recorded Felix as he made the bet which sealed their fate. Another gloomy cloud lingered over their heads, faces darkened to hide their embarrassment and the fear of what would happen next. Her lips parted, a single word enough to activate a flight or fight response in them, echoed softly. In this case, their fight took the back seat for the flight response to handle the wheels.

"Run"

With that they took off instantly, darting through the park searching for people to divert her attention. Unfortunately for them, the park wasn't crowded with people at this time. They sprinted all over the place trying to get away from Irene who was dangerously hot on their heels.

A little while later, Irene was lost in thoughts plopped on the swing occasionally making small swing movements. In her hand was the empty blazing sapphire water gun she was rewarded with. The faint sound of footsteps approaching brought her back. She raised her gaze to meet Alex alone. Confused her gaze travelled behind him expecting to see a pair of guys trailing closely.

"The rest aren't back yet?", she raised a brow trying her best to stifle a laugh that threatened to escape. Alex scoffed at her question, he already caught on to the subtle taunting.

"Well we were all chased down by a relentless manic girl spraying us with a water gun for her amusement".

Her chuckle couldn't be contained any longer.

"That's what y'all get for being so.... You know how you guys are. And by the way, why aren't you with them.

"Don't you have a shirt to dry?", Irene pointed at his shirt which she noticed to have some slightly drenched parts.

"Jacket. My Jacket took the fall for my shirt", he uttered without another thought his gaze keenly following the strangers walking in the distance. The sweet scent of cotton candy wafted through the air as a colorful cart wheeled its way to their front. The kind seller smiled warmly at them, her eyes twinkling with friendliness.

"Awwn Don't you guys look so good together ", She pointed out in a cute high pitch voice almost squealing. Hands clasped together with a look of admiration at the supposed young couple in front of her. Before Irene and Alex could share the look of awkward confusion, the seller held out a finger as if to cut off any resisting words. She reached forward gently grabbing their hands, her demeanor straight and serious

"You two remind me of my younger years".

Just how old was this woman?, the question lingered in Irene's puzzled mind. While Alex couldn't be less bothered

"Your sparkle radiates bright for yourselves not for any other. Don't let the world seize that"

Then with a small smile and a loving gaze, she squeezed their hands lightly

"You should be in control of your own sparkle. You decide whether to dim down for the world or illuminate brighter than the largest star"

As if on cue Alex and Irene exchanged a brief glance, then back at the strange woman. An awkward nod was the response they managed.

"Great!", She turned back to rummage through her cart returning with two pasty pink cotton candies.

"This is on the house!", She announced shoving it frantically into their hands, then soon strangely departed into thin air without another word. Mentally perplexed but remained silent, Irene dug into her cotton candy swaying slowly on the swing.

"Nice trade. Sell our attention, get two cotton candies free", Alex commented earning a little chuckle from Irene.

"Is this a good time to ask why I was brought here?!", She fixed her gaze on him aware that she wasn't about to get a direct answer out of him. She rolled her eyes at her question as she struggled to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Unexpectedly, he caught onto her gaze with his usual poker face and that irking sly smirk.

"Just because..", He shrugged casually taking another bite as Irene briefly pursed her lips at his answer scoffing

"I've known you for a week now and to be honest, I can't say I'm surprised", Irene retorted.

"When you live with someone, you learn to read their silences, their gestures, and their tone. You become fluent in the language of their emotions.", she finally uttered the adamant thought looming to be pacified. He raised a brow, his gaze straight and forward still locked on the distance of the few people and the briskly swaying of the piece wrappers. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Irene, slowly trailing her ethereal gaze to the sky. The gradual docile exchange between the bright afternoon sky to the warm eve of the night was seemingly a surreal allure for sight.

"However you don't conform to that phrase. Your annoyance and unpredictability is amusing, then again, slightly gets under my skin"

"Never let them know you more than you", he said his gaze reaching back to the ground, expression relaxing. Irene demeanor softened also into a half smile that subtly faded upon one realization. Admittedly, if Alex was the identity of the paranom, he would be too adept at concealing it. As much as Irene wanted to rule out Alex as one of her suspects, she wouldn't let her blind folly have its way. She was aware the Paranom would try everything to stay in the shadows before the eclipse, even if it meant befriending her. A ping pierced through the air, disrupting the palpable silence of the pair. Alex whipped out his phone his expression expectant. He sprang out of the swing as his gaze flowed through the text. Meanwhile an eager Irene gracefully swinging like an elated child had her lingering gaze on the newly towering Alex. One glance at the curious Irene, he flashed the message right in her face. Steadily her gaze travelled from one word to the next, sighing at the message. She released her grip on the swing rest lazily squirming out of the swing. Soon enough Alex and Irene met up with the duo at the rollercoaster ride. Her eyes sparkled with pride upon sensing Felix's dissatisfaction as he tried not to roll his eyes. Sometimes, it's absolutely refreshing to see proud brats in their special place. The thought made Irene without any hesitation in addition to flashing him teasing smirks. Alex and Jason silently watched the unspoken conversation between them. With the absence of words, the silence passed volumes. As the family before them, got checked into the ride, Alex with his usual resting poker face handed her a ticket

""Biology lesson 101"

"How many rides can we take right just before we pass out?", Alex uttered to her

Felix and Jason shared another face of confusion before getting checked in. With a dismissive shake of her head that conveyed her frustration, she scowled at his pointless "lessons". Fists clenched tightly, she forced a smile trying to grab the ticket as nicely as possible. She couldn't wait for this whirlwind to finally come to a close. Luckily for Irene, time drifted away quickly and in a short while, the late evening sky in all its glamour had laid the sun to rest. As the evening drew to a close, the group made their way out of the park gate, exhausted but fulfilled. Irene with an unexpected smile plastered on her face loudly cleared her throat grabbing their attention

"Well, I guess today wasn't as bad as I expected it to be", Irene stretched out her tired arms not minding whose face they met

"That's good, right?", Jason glanced at her, his head cocked to the side to confirm. A slow relieved nod from Irene did just quite that.

"I guess... you were pretty cool back there at the darts game", Those words like a stab to his ego, managed to get out. He leaned, combing through his hair shyly flashing a small smile. She briefly smiled back before it faded into an annoyed look as she gave Alex a side eye.

"I'll take that look as one of gratitude. You're welcome by the way", Alex gently patted her shoulder with a cheeky smile. Irene couldn't help but roll her eyes at him even though her smile slightly widened. Soon enough, with their relentless attempt to walk Irene home, the group parted obeying the bet they had earlier agreed upon. The guys especially Jason encouraged Irene to get home before dark fell. Irene's heart skipped a beat as a familiar voice echoed from behind

"They seem nice... So who are they?"

Jolted to the core, she spun around so quickly enough to give her whiplash. Even at the dusk of eve, the face and voice of the figure that slyly crept up to her couldn't be hidden. "Aiden!"

She cried out, shoving her elbow into his gut, as she caught her breath. There he was with that evil cackle stumbling to put himself together. With a side glare that wanted to burn his very existence into oblivion, "Do that one more time and I'll body slam you like a criminal". Alex seemed to have gotten wind of the threat, pursing his lips to stop him from laughing. Defeated hands thrown in the air, he willingly complied.

"So those guys back there that had you grinning", he smiled retracing their steps with his finger

"Who were they?"

Still in the process of racking her head around how he got here, she hesitated, rolling her eyes with a dismissive headshake.

"People from my mission", She replied

"Hmm... You guys looked a little bit cozy together. I think 'friends' is the appropriate term here", he said with a pleased smirk. Suddenly a gust of wind blew quite violently past them making Irene aware of her surroundings. Night was nigh and before them.

"Frie--

Irene held out her index finger cutting Aiden off

"You can continue your quirky display when we leave this place.", Irene announced glancing around as a result of her sudden aroused suspicions. "Alright. Remember they were your words not mine", he grinned as if Irene just signed a deal with the devil. They turned to go, just covering a few steps before a bone-chilling scream pierced through the cold air.