You are on your way to your best friend's house, Alaire Zabini. You have been friends since you were not even old enough to talk, and you'd constantly come around her house uninvited. Her parents were practically your second parents, and everything about the house was familiar, except for one thing.

Alaire's older brother, Blaise. You'd seen him leaning on the counter of the kitchen, brushing past you in the hallway near Alaire's room, and giving you a nod when you walked through the door, but other than that, the boy was a mystery.

Right now, you are on your way to Alaire's house. You would've texted her, but your phone broke recently, so you decided to go to her house to see if she was there. You knocked on the door and you heard a rumbly, unfamiliar voice call: "Coming."

You expected Alaire's father, who was rarely in the house to be there, but instead, the rugged and mysterious face of Blaise Zabini stared back at you.