"How would you like to join us ____?" Arthur purred.

As the words left his mouth Gilbert, Antonio and Francis looked terrified.

Francis slammed his hands down on the table and barked "she will not!" in Arthur's face.

Arthur continued to act smug not even flinching at Francis's out roar.

"But you would ask her eventually, no?" He said, arching a grow. Gilbert looked pissed as hell and Sadik was more noticeably holding him back.

Gilbert escaped his grip and ducked past everyone to stand in front of me. Antonio left my side to face Arthur and Gilbert embraced me.

He was shaking.

Why?

I hugged him back and patted his back.

Something was going on and it was blatantly suspicious but it wasn't for me to interfere with, clearly, my new friends were in favor of keeping me far away from their business.

Their supposed investment company.

Investment in what.

"We could use an intern at the North Dakota location." He said, tapping his fingers on the table.

He looked into my eyes. His were devilish but alluring. He and his British accent and fancy attire wasn't even the most alluring one.

In the back was a sleepy looking man, the Greek One, Heracles. His hair looked tangled but it was silky smooth and chin length. He was on the paler side and his eyes were like magnets drawing me in.

I didn't want to be alone with that man.

I didn't feel any danger.

But somehow I feel I'd lose control of an impulse I've never felt.

Gilbert looked me in the eye, inches apart from me, still acting like a shield and snapped me out of my daze.

"Does she even seem like the kind of person we want?" Joan asked Arthur.

Arthur nodded and looked me up and down.

He noticed a scar on my upper arm. "Where is that scar from, may I ask."

I was kind of fed up at this point so instead, I snapped back "no you may not."

Elizabetta covered her mouth to hide a laugh and Joan looked surprised and amused.

The Danish man, Mathias was hollering in laughter.

"Ahahahahaha, man Arthur she doesn't take your bull." The Turkish man laughed.

Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis looked equally surprised as they were entertained.

"Pardon?"

"I think you heard me just fine."

"What's the sudden change in attitude?" He said, annoyance in his voice and evident on his face.

"My friends don't like your questions and I think it's rude you're persisting to interrogate me on matters that don't involve you especially scars from my past," I said as authoritatively as I could, standing with my back as straight as a board.

His eye twitched and his smile turned into one of annoyance.

Gilbert smirked at him and he almost lost it, he tensed up, balled his fists but quickly hid this and pretended to calm down, straightening his suit and sighing. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at me with curiosity.

"I don't doubt we'll meet again," he started, "I think your three friends will eventually let you invest in our business." his eyes flicked to the three men standing around me.

"We should finish our discussion. We don't have use of her yet." He huffed.

Use of me.

What the hell man.

If I didn't think you might knife me I'd slap you. But at least he wasn't looking so smug anymore.

Only dumb blondes in the movies ignore this weird crap but I don't feel as though my life is in danger, not with Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio. But these three are equally as
weird as the rest just in their own special disturbing ways I'll never really understand.

Yesterday had ended as strangely and quickly as it had begun. Francis had ushered me back upstairs and after they left as I was drifting off to sleep I could feel the bed sink on either side if me and felt them lying next to me.

Maybe a little creepy, yes. But I understand they were only worried. They really cared about me and I'm not even sure exactly why.

We just met, we're so different, what am I to them.

Why am I anything at all to them?

In the same way, Bella Swan ignored the fact Edward would watch her sleep I also drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up yesterday's memory was a bit of a blur.

I ate breakfast and they didn't approach the subject of last night.

Francis was reading the newspaper with his reading glasses like an old man. Antonio was engrossed in a book not paying attention to his cereal and Gilbert was stuffing his face letting milk slip out of his mouth as he played a game on his phone with the other hand.

I ate Frosted Flakes like a starving animal and Francis glanced up from his newspaper for a brief moment.

We locked eyes and I covered my stuffed mouth trying not to let milk spill out in the same way Gilbert was.

"You two are so alike," Antonio commented looking between Gilbert and me.

Gilbert and I locked eyes and tried not to snort out milk at how ridiculous we looked.

"Great minds think alike I've always been told." I chuckled.

Gilbert nodded enthusiastically.

"What could both of you possibly think of similarly?"

"I don't know, sex?"

"No-no, that's not it, I can assure you." I blurted out quickly and Gilbert laughed while Francis gave an amused smile and Antonio rubbed circles on my back.

I sunk into the loving touch of Antonio and sighed peacefully.

"So- about that weird Arthur guy-"

Gilbert did a spit take with his cereal.

"You-you remember him?" He asked like I was that forgetful.

"Mein Gott, my memory isn't that bad." I scolded.

Gilbert wiped the milk off his mouth with his hoodie sleeve and Francis removed his glasses quickly while Antonio's rubbing stopped abruptly.

"Ye-yes we had just hoped..." Francis trailed off in confusion.

"It's kind of a blur but he was even more suspicious than you guys." I nonchalantly hummed.

They recovered from their shock.

"How bad do you think my memory is?"

"It was just pretty late is all and you were exhausted," Antonio recalled.

"Not late enough to forget Mr stick up his ass."

Francis laughed louder than I'd ever heard and took a minute to recover wiping away actual tears from his eyes.

It wasn't that funny, I'd thought. But oh well I liked getting a positive reaction to my wit.

Antonio patted Francis on the back.

"If-if he could hear you-" he gasped in-between laughs.

"Does he hate him?" I asked Gilbert and he and Antonio nodded.

"With a raging passion incomparable to even the fires of hell," Antonio said with a blank stare.

"My god, that bad?"

"You have no idea, Chica."

"Then why'd you let him into your house?"

"Kind of had to, he's a big deal in our work."

"Right, your investment..." I trailed off suspicion in my tone evident.

"Yeah, you'll get to see what we're building some day." Francis smiled and Gilbert looked a little nervous.

"Where will this building be?"

"We were gonna have it in North Dakota but Qatar has the least natural disasters and seemed like a safer option." Francis elaborated.

"Cool, I've been to Qatar, a nice place for the most part. Did get knives but it was okay." I said so casually you wouldn't have realized the last part of what I said had you not been paying attention.

They gave me wide-eyed expressions but honestly, they should be used to it by now, I was gone like a week and I came back with a stab wound.

"Don't worry, it wasn't deep, I dodged it mostly." I tried to calm them but they looked curiously at each other.

"What's the worst wound you've ever gotten?" Gilbert hesitated to ask.

"Well there was that time with the train-" I said slowly thinking about it, counting off accidents on my finger.

"My god woman how the hell are you alive?" Gilbert was flabbergasted.

"Oh it wasn't that serious, the weight of the train sealed the wound up actually so I didn't really bleed that much."

"The hell, Frau."

"Oh you'll get used to these stories, I find them amusing."

"We find them deeply concerning." Antonio sighed.

"You and most people but they make for interesting conversation."

"Not with a doctor I can only imagine." Francis chimed in.

"Yeah man, you should see their faces when I do so much as list my meds."

"Yeah what are all of them for if not too personal to ask?"

"Oh geez, what am I not taking crap for?" I was deep in thoughts again counting off my fingers.

"Okay so there's mood, attention, sleep, energy, supplements, anxiety, panic attacks, trauma-"

I think it went on a good few minutes, and their faces only grew more concerned.

"Maybe we'll invite you to our company sooner than we thought, it might help your mental health." Francis shook his head.

"Nah man it's all good."

"It doesn't sound good, I think you're trying to oaky this off and ignore the real issue." Antonio imparted.

"Which would be?"

"Your attract so much trouble you're dangerously used to it." Gilbert interrupted.

"It's not that dangerous when you know how to handle it."

"Enlighten me."

"Archery could be dangerous if not done properly but a skilled archer is safe and a pro. The ocean is dangerous if you don't know how to swim, but if you do then you'll stay above the water where it's safest."

"Then let me use the ocean as an example. You might keep your head above water, you might stay safe, feel safe but beneath you are sharks swimming around waiting for their chance." Francis warned.

"That happened to me once you just have to hit them in the eyes-"

"Not the fucking point-" he growled.

"Don't forget the dolphins then, they're known to save people from the sharks and that's what cops and firefighters and doctors are for."

Francis sat down in defeat.

"I just want you to be careful." He said and held my hand in his with a concerned look in his eyes. He no longer met my gaze.

All I wanted was to discuss last night but it seemed each time I spoke I brought up something that concerned them deeply.

"Well I got shot once," Gilbert announced to break the silence.

We all looked at him confused and slightly agitated.

"What?" I asked.

"Yup, I don't know how you could be so casual about it shrapnel hurt like hell." He joked.

"Gilbert, shrapnel is from grenades," I reminded him.

"I never said I got shot with a bullet." He said and there was a brief moment of confused silence.

"How the what are you alive?" I asked in disbelief.

"Get our point?" Francis asked.

"I'm amused I don't see how you can't be," I told him, he facepalmed gently and Francis hid an amused grin.

"Because we know we'll be fine but we don't know that about you." Gilbert chided.

"I know I'll be fine," I assured.

"You're right."Francis agreed for once.

We looked at him.

"Because we'd sooner die than let harm come to you."