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"your future needs you.
your past doesn't."

Thalia Lively Castillo

"How do I look?" I ask Riley as I analyze my outfit in the full body mirror. I smoothed out my simple, silky black dress that fell to my feet with a slit on my left leg. Riley made me buy this dress forever ago on one of our random shopping trips, insisting that I would need it some day. I guess she was right.

"Like a fucking goddess. Wow, I'm so lucky to be your best friend, I actually mean that." She looks at me in awe but the roles were reversed when I saw her in her dress. She was wearing a white short dress with slits that showed her abs. She clearly has been going to the gym with Emmett.

"No, I'm lucky to have you. Holy shit, Ry." I gasp as I take in how beautiful my best friend is.

"Okay, okay, we're both hot as shit." She laughs and I nod my head, agreeing. "Well, now or never." She smirks at me then opens the door that would lead us down to all the males that were waiting for us in the main living room.

"The testosterone in this house is making me go insane." I comment as I can already smell their cologne that filled the house. Luckily, I'm obsessed with the scent of men's cologne, not that disgusting axe spray that the boys at school drown themselves in, but the actual nice smelling cologne.

"You're not the only one," she replies as we both slowly go down the stairs since one, I'm not used to heels yet and two, she wants to make some type of entrance. Sighing, I follow her lead. The marble staircase scared me slightly since I can't help but picture myself falling on my face because of these damn heels, that weren't even that high.

The group of men stop talking once we make it to the bottom and walk towards them. I purposefully avoid Nathan's piercing eyes, mainly because I was growing confident and I wanted to tease him as much as I could. I didn't know how long my bravery would last but I'm getting a feeling it won't be long with the way I could feel this stare.

"You look beautiful," Aiden says as he kisses my forehead. "You as well, Riley." He smiles at her making her smile back happily. "And you two, stop staring at her like that before I beat your ass." He turns to Lincoln and Jax who both look away immediately and make their way out the door.

"To the party!" Jax yells excitedly while everyone else follows.

"You look good, weirdo." Carter compliments me as he ruffles up my hair slightly.

"So do you, loser." I shove his hand away from my hair before he ruined my whole look.

"It's time to party, best friend!" Ethan throws his arm over my shoulder as he leads me out of the house. "We're gonna have so much fun— okay not that much fun I take it back since stupid Nate over here forbid me from drinking." He side-eyes Nathan then shakes his head.

"You get too drunk." Nathan states bluntly.

"And you get on my nerves but you don't see me forbidding you from being an asshole." Ethan sulks.

"Fine, drink your life away. But I won't peel your body off the ground when you're too shit-faced to even hold your own weight up." Nathan bites back.

"Pfft, I don't need you. I have Thalia, right?" Ethan looks over at me surely.

"Yep." I answer while looking at Nathan with a 'what are you gonna do about it?' Expression.

"Yeah, as if she could help you. She can't carry your fatass." Austin chimes in, having Nathan's back.

"Are you calling me weak?" I look at Austin incredulously.

"N-no...?" Austin stutters, not trying to create an issue between us but it was too late.

"I think he was calling you weak, attack!" Ethan points his finger at Austin while I chuckle at him. We made it to Nathan and Carter's car that were parked together. 

Emmett, Riley and Carter hopped into Carter's car while Nathan, Ethan, Austin and I entered Nathan's. "Shotgun!" Austin calls but I forcefully drag him away from the front passenger door.

"How's that for weak?" I ask innocently then take the seat in the front next to Nathan.

"Ha, take that idiot." Ethan laughs at Austin who shoves him aggressively. They both slide into the back of the car when Nathan shot them an annoyed look after he tried driving off without them like twice.

"Stop looking so grumpy, it's not cute babe." I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm finding enjoyment in it... whatever "it" is.

"Oh really?" He leans over to my side of the car, so close to my face that I lost all my senses within seconds. "Am I cute now?" And suddenly I feel his hand on my vulnerable thigh was exposed because of the dress design.

"I knew we should've drove with Darren." Austin whispers in the back seat.

"Are you stupid? That man is frightening. Hey, stop with the sexual tension and drive us." Ethan hits Nathan's seat repeatedly.

"Do you wanna die?" Nathan turns around and looks at Ethan seriously.

"No sir." Ethan answers cheekily.

Nathan scoffs then turns around in his seat and starts the engine, looking over at me before driving off. "We aren't done." He says.

The drive was calm... sort of. Ethan and Austin yelled the lyrics to whatever song was on but other than them, I spent majority of the drive admiring the scenery we passed by. Wherever this party was being held was definitely in a beautiful area.

We entered a gated community, surrounded by neatly cut grass, bushes and full gardens. I was in awe to say the least. We continue to drive further into the area, passing by insanely big mansions that had their own gate shielding the houses from the outside world. The beauty of the architecture was hidden behind the gates but I managed to take a few peaks into the stunning houses.

I was so focused on my surroundings that I didn't even feel Nathan rest his hand that wasn't on the steering wheel, on my thigh. My heart warmed at the sight, mainly because I loved how open he was with me now. He expressed his feelings to me and never tried to hide what we have, and that alone melts my heart. I've been never been in a relationship, let alone the fact that I've never even experienced love before— that I know of.

"Are we there yet?" Ethan asked for the millionth time during this trip.

"Yes, get the fuck out." Nathan replies as the car stops, and Ethan didn't have to be told twice as he practically flew out of the car along with Austin.

"Leave Ethan alone, you're too mean." I push Nathan's shoulder lightheartedly.

"So you're telling me you're not tired of hearing his voice? I don't think he's capable of not talking." He deadpans.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go, you bully." I joke and get out of the car before he says anything else.

"I was gonna get the door for you but okay." He sighs while locking the car and walking to me. "Also, who are you calling a bully?" He crosses his arms while he looks down at me.

It was in this moment that I finally looked at him fully. He was wearing what I could only assume was a very expensive black suit. He had a white silky colour shirt under that I knew would be what he'd be wearing the whole night because he hates blazers. He always ends up taking them off. He had on brand new black boots that weirdly enough fitted the occasion since it matched his outfit. His hair was curlier than usual, and looked softer than usual. His cologne entered my sense so gracefully that I actually considered just stealing every clothing item he has so I could forever smell that heaven.

Cologne fetish? I think so.

"Not you," I tried to laugh off the situation nervously. His attractiveness was too overwhelming, I seriously needed my space.

"Are you sure? Cause I think I remember you specifically calling me a bully. I personally think I'm a nice guy." He gets closer, like so close to where I could feel his breath on my face. Normally I'd be grossed out but his breath smells good, obviously because he's the perfect human and whatnot. In my eyes however, he was my definition of perfect. Just like Carter said, everyone has flaws and Nathan has plenty but it doesn't matter because I fell in love with his flaws.

"You play too damn much," I push him away and laugh softly at his way of trying to make me fall for his charm.

"No, you play too much. Did you really think I wouldn't notice the fact that you've been avoiding me on purpose? You tried to get a reaction out of me, didn't you?" He asks calmly.

"What? No, I think you're confusing me with someone else. Are you already mixing me up with your side hoes?" I joke and bit my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing.

He rolls his eyes then grabs my hand. "It's only you. You look beautiful by the way." He scans me up and down then leans in for a kiss which I fall for immediately. I return the kiss softly then move away.

"You look... really hot." I blush but I wasn't lying.

He laughs then kisses my forehead. "Thank you, baby. Now let's go before we're the last ones in." He says and holds my hand all the way to the front door, which made me happy because I leaned on him for support since my heels were already causing me problems. Screw Riley for making me wear them.

There were literal bodyguards at the front door... multiple of them. They were intimidating as fuck. Once they saw Nathan they automatically opened a path for him and I, not paying much attention to me since I was with Nathan. One bodyguard in particular though caught my eye as I passed, he seemed to have a look of recognition as we locked eyes but Nathan already guided me into the damn palace.

"Whoa," I look around speechlessly. "Don't tell me Darren owns this too." I look at Nathan who nodded. "No way? How rich is he? Okay don't answer that." I grip Nathan's hand once I take in how many people were actually here.

"Hey it's okay," Nathan says to me while grilling my hand back. "You don't have to talk to any of them unless they come up to you and if that does happen just smile, nod and walk away. I heard that works." He shrugs.

"What do you do when you don't want to talk to someone?" I ask, actually interested.

"I just tell them I don't want to talk to them." He answers easily. "Let's meet up with everyone else." He changes the topic and keeps me close to him as we walk through patches of people mingling.

"Do you know all these people?" I ask him once we both see Carter and make our way towards him.

"Me? No. Darren? Yes." He answers then approaches a lonely looking Carter. "Where's everyone?" Nathan asks Carter while ordering him and I a drink since Carter was standing next to the mini bar stand.

"Austin's flirting with some girl," he nods to the direction where Austin was indeed talking to a girl. "Ethan is god knows where, hopefully not causing any trouble. Riley and Emmett are over there." I follow his line of vision and see Riley and Emmett talking to each other and laughing together. "Darren and etc are lurking somewhere." Carter finalizes the list carelessly while taking a sip of whatever drink he had.

Nathan handed me a glass and drink a bit from his own while scanning the room. "The Rovelti's are here." Nathan pointed out to Carter.

"Yeah and Keith Hykes." Carter informs Nathan. "I saw him either." He adds.

"Any sign of Victor? James?" Nathan asks and Carter shakes his head.

"Not that I know of," Carter answers. Carter glances down at my confused gaze then let's me in on what I don't know. "This party, gala, whatever, was thrown in honour of Darren returning to the face of the earth. He invited almost every ally and enemy The Code knows. Those are a few of them." He simplifies.

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, as the saying goes." Nathan adds.

"Ah," I say while looking around the room at all of the unfamiliar faces. "Interesting." I comment then turn back to Nathan and Carter who were both eyes locked on someone across the room. I turn to see what they were looking at and see three males walking through the main entrance.

I blink harshly and squeeze my glass when a wave of nausea overcomes me and I knew a distant memory was uncovering itself.

"Roman, stop!" I laugh loudly while trying to escape the hold he had me in on the ground. "We're supposed to be training!" I try to remind him.

"We've been training for hours, let's just skip the rest." He says while hovering over me.

"Darren would kill us, and you know that." I point out. I try to get up but he pins me down on the grass softly.

"What if I gave you a better way to spend your day?" He says then leans in and kisses my collarbone, soon trailing up to my jaw.

"R-roman, we can't." I stutter, mainly because of the shock waves sent through my body from his touch.

"Give me one good reason why we can't, angel." He says against my skin.

Oh, how he made me feel-

"Thalia?" I felt someone shake me by my shoulders. "Thalia?" The person repeated and I blink multiple times, trying to gain my vision properly. I look up to see a concerned Nathan. "Thalia, are you okay? Did you remember something?" He asks softly.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay. And um, yeah but it was kind of blurry. Don't worry about it." I lie. I smile at him and Carter who both seemed to relax from my answer.

I look back towards the door that I saw the men come through but they were already mixed within the crowd by now.

I couldn't help but feel guilty by lying, that was... new. Who the hell is Roman? And how do I tell Nathan this? The only person I knew had the full answers was Darren but of course, he's no where to be seen. As usual.

Now I won't be able to enjoy the rest of the night because I'll have a guilty conscious following me, I hate lying to Nathan. Either way, I can't particularly tell him right now that I remember an ex-lover and that he's at this damn party. The plan for the rest of the night is to avoid that man, and stick by Nathan until I do have the chance to be honest with him.

"The guys are boring, let's go dance." Riley appears in front of me in a blink of an eye and attempts to pull me towards the open area where people were dancing to the music that had started. I looked back at Nathan who nodded at me smiling, letting me know through his gaze to go have fun.

"Slow down, I can't go fast in these shoes." I complain while trying to keep up with Riley. She didn't answer but rather lead me straight to Ethan who was partying with random people until he saw us.

"Ah, best friends, come to join the real party?" He smiles at us and continues to dance smoothly.

"You've been drinking haven't you?" I ask Ethan who looked down at me smirking.

"Eh, a little. Don't tell police officer Nathan." He jokes and I shake my head at him.

For a while, I spent my time with Ethan and Riley who were probably the most fun people to party with. They both carried not only an immense amount of energy, but both had such a positive vibe. For a second, I forgot about my problems and focused on making new memories with the people that matter the most in my life.

The music started fading away which caught everyone's attention as we all looked around and found Darren at the front of the room with all the members standing on his both of his sides.

"I want to first of all, thank you all for coming." He starts off and people start clapping but stop shortly after. "Secondly..." his voice fades away from my focus once I catch a glimpse of that Roman guy I saw earlier, if that's his name. My brain could be playing tricks on me.

I look away from him and start looking for Nathan instead who caught my eyes quickly. I smile at him and he sends me a small smile back reassuringly.

"... enjoy your night." Darren ends his small speech and makes his way across the room but I try to catch him before I lose sight of him.

"Darren, Darren!" I say loud enough to catch his attention but not loud enough for a lot of people to hear me. He turns and searches for who's calling him until he sees me trying to reach him.

"Yes, Thalia?" He asks concerned, as if expecting there was something wrong... and oh boy was there something wrong.

"So, um, I think my brain is malfunctioning or something," I start off and quickly try to make it more serious once I see his face drop at my introduction. "W-who's, uh, Roman?" I say almost inaudibly.

"What? Speak up, darling." He says and I look around to make sure no one else I knew was nearby.

"Who's... um.. Roman. Who's Roman?" I finally ask confidently and he seems very taken back at my question. "I remembered something when um I saw this guy earlier and in the memory I called him Roman. Who is he to me? And to you." I continue going more in depth.

"I don't think right here, right now is the right place for this conversation but uh," he looks around then meets my eyes again. "He was apart of The Code a while ago, he was one of our guards. His main job was being your bodyguard since he was assigned to you by both your brother and father." Bodyguard? Well that explains his muscles from the memory.

"I need more information than that." I say bluntly. "We were very close... in the memory." I say awkwardly.

"That's because you were very close. I don't know specifics, you always kept a lot of shit secret but from what I know, he was in love with you and that didn't end well with Aiden. After your families incident and everything, he left The Code." He summarizes.

"Oh um, okay." I was taken.. very back by this information. "Look, I know you have places to be and people to see but this conversation isn't over, there's a lot more you need to tell me." I demand and he nods amusingly.

"Okay, boss." He says sarcastically. "And don't let whatever you saw in your memory with Roman get to your head right now, the past is the past for a reason, Thalia." He sends me a smile before leaving. I felt a wave of relaxation hit me and I couldn't be more glad than I am right now that I spoke to Darren. He really does know what to say... like always.

I turn around and walk back into the direction I remember seeing Nathan at since I really wanted to spend tonight with him. I, unfortunately, had to hold my dress up slightly so I wouldn't trip on it since it was long. But while I was so focused on holding my dress up and walking properly in my heels, I bump shoulders with someone passing by.

"Oh, sorry." I look back at the person only to meet eyes with the guy I saw next to Roman. His face drops and he can barely speak as he analyzes me.

"Thalia?" He mutters but I'm able to hear him.

"Do I know you?" I ask, since I honestly didn't know who he was exactly. Before he could keep me here any long, I take a page from Nathan's book and literally just walk away from the situation... and quickly.

"Shit, shit, shit," I whisper to myself as I realize Roman's friend is now going to tell Roman he's seen me— and that would end up with me eventually coming face to face with Roman... and that wouldn't end well with Nathan once he finds out.

But Nathan is extremely understanding, so I'm sure everything will be alright... but he's also protective and slightly territorial... fuck.

"Whoa, calm down, Flash." Nathan says as I quickly make my way towards him. "Looks like you're getting better at walking in those