Together

The air seemed to freeze.

Edward could clearly feel the soft wool of the carpet against his back. Alan could clearly feel the solid warmth of the man's chest beneath her. And Maria in the mirror could clearly feel the stabbing pain of an invisible hand squeezing her heart.

Three people, three perspectives, forming a strange, motionless scene filled with tension.

Edward was the one who broke the dead silence.

He did not even hurry to push Alan off him. Still lying on his back, he lifted his chin toward Maria in the mirror and gave her an almost innocent smile.

"Hi, Maria," he said calmly, as though they had run into each other on the street. "Your sister took me home by a shortcut. Pretty convenient."

That nonsensical explanation nearly made Alan laugh out loud. She pressed lightly against Edward's chest and rose from him, casually straightening the slightly rumpled hem of her clothes. Her movements were graceful, as if she had not just been the one flusteredly sprawled on top of a man.

She turned around and looked at her younger sister in the mirror with composed ease, a hint of a victor's provocation in her eyes. "What? Did I scare you?"

Maria's lips moved, but she could not utter a single word. She looked at this "sister" who looked exactly like her but gave off an entirely different air, then at the boy lying on the floor, calm as though nothing had happened. A huge wave of grievance and confusion overwhelmed her reason.

The figure in the mirror shook violently, like a television screen with poor reception. Then Maria's face vanished, and the mirror returned to its smooth surface, reflecting only the room and Alan standing before it.

"See? That's what she's like." Alan faced the mirror, seemingly talking to herself, yet also speaking to Edward. "Always running away."

Edward sat up from the floor and dusted himself off. "Give her some time. It's normal for sisters to have disagreements."

"We're not having a disagreement." Alan turned around and walked toward him step by step. She leaned down slightly, bracing both hands at his sides again and trapping him between herself and the bed, though this time there was just the right amount of distance between them. Countless reflections seemed to flow through her pitch-black eyes. "We're two completely different people. Which one do you like better?"

The question was openly aggressive.

Edward looked up at her, at the face so close to his that belonged to Maria yet did not belong to Maria at all, breathing in that unique scent blending chilliness and fragrance.

He smiled, raised a finger, and lightly pressed it against Alan's forehead, pushing her back a little.

"I like both of you at once."

Alan froze for a moment, then understood the double meaning in his words. A faint blush actually rose to her cheeks. She straightened up and gave a soft snort, using it to cover her embarrassment.

"Smooth talker." Leaving those words behind, she turned and walked toward the full-length mirror. Her body became a streak of light and merged into the mirror without hesitation, vanishing from sight.

Edward was once again alone in the room. He touched his nose, sensing the lingering fragrance in the air and the subtle awkwardness of the moment, and could not help laughing.

Things had gotten lively now.

The next day, Edward entered the bathroom feeling refreshed.

To him, last night's thrilling adventure in the Mirror World, followed by that preview of a disaster of a love triangle, had been like watching an exciting 4D movie. After a night's sleep, he was full of energy and even somewhat looking forward to what came next.

He took off his clothes and turned on the shower. Warm water streamed down from above, washing away the night's fatigue. Thick steam quickly filled the bathroom, blurring everything around him.

Just as Edward hummed a tune and rubbed shampoo into his hair, a clear figure suddenly appeared in the mirror before him, which had been completely clouded by steam.

It was Alan.

She stood prettily inside the mirror, arms folded across her chest, watching Edward wash his hair with an amused expression. Her gaze wandered openly over his bare upper body.

Edward stopped moving.

With white foam piled on his head, he stared expressionlessly at Alan in the mirror.

"Hi," Alan said first, breaking the silence with a teasing smile. "Nice body. More impressive than I expected."

Edward closed his eyes and let the warm water rinse away the foam from his hair. Then he reached out and wiped the mirror, trying to erase the irritating image. Yet once the steam was cleared away, Alan's face only became sharper.

"Say, Your Majesty, Queen of Mirrors," Edward said as he leaned against the cold tiles, a trace of helplessness in his tone. "Don't you have anything of your own to do? Like inspecting your mirror kingdom, or checking which barbershop mirrors need cleaning?"

"My kingdom is safe, and my subjects adore me." Alan spun around inside the mirror as though showing off a new outfit. "I can appear in any mirror now. Isn't that fun?"

"Yes, very fun." Edward grabbed a towel and wiped his face. "But have you considered that what you're doing legally counts as unlawful entry? And into a bathroom, no less. That gives me plenty of grounds to sue you for sexual harassment."

"You can try," Alan said with an unconcerned shrug. "Let's see what judge would accept a case where a human sues a Ghost in a mirror."

She had won.

Edward sighed and gave up arguing with her. "So, what exactly did you come here for so early in the morning, other than to inspect my post-shower appearance?"

"Nothing much. I just came to let you know." The smile on Alan's face faded somewhat, replaced by a hint of seriousness. "Today is Maria's turn. We agreed to take turns. She needs to face reality, and I... need to rest."

Edward raised an eyebrow, understanding. It was probably not Alan who needed rest. Maria was likely on the verge of a breakdown from dealing with such an overly uninhibited sister.

"And one more thing." Alan looked at Edward, her expression somewhat complicated. "Thank you, Connor."

With that, her figure faded rapidly across the mirror like ink washed away by water, disappearing completely.

The bathroom was once again left with only Edward and the sound of running water.

When he arrived at school, everything seemed to have returned to square one.

In the hallway, Edward spotted that familiar figure at once. The girl held her books close, head lowered, her slightly long bangs covering her eyes. Her entire body radiated a distant air that said, "Don't come near me."

It was Maria.

Edward walked over, slowing his pace, and greeted her in the gentlest voice he could manage. "Good morning, Maria."

The girl's body visibly stiffened. She raised her head, and when she saw Edward, her eyes darted away. An unnatural flush spread across her cheeks, as though she had remembered that awkward scene in the room yesterday.

"G-good morning, Connor," she said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

At that moment, Frank, Jennifer, and Nitty approached as well.

"Hey! Did you hear about what happened at Mayflower Mall?" Jennifer immediately threw out the hottest topic of the day.

Frank pushed up his glasses and continued, "Of course. It was all over the news.

The official explanation was that aging wiring in a third-floor restaurant caused the fire, but it's very strange."

"What's strange about it?" Nitty asked nervously.

"There are too many suspicious points." Frank began his analysis. "First, the fire itself. According to eyewitness accounts, the blaze engulfed the entire third floor almost instantly. That doesn't match the normal rate at which a fire spreads.

"Second, the damage. The reports said that apart from the third floor being burned down, the other floors were almost completely intact. There were barely even any smoke stains, which makes even less sense. Most importantly, there were no casualties. Everyone was evacuated 'in time.'"

Jennifer curled her lips. "Who cares? My dad has already forbidden me from going there again.

"I heard from Shirley on the cheerleading squad that her cousin is a firefighter. He said the scene didn't look like a fire at all."