Nanami’s Honey

you don’t have an answer for that. something like hatred is starting to bubble up in your sternum, too. matt murdock, of all people, scolding you? matt murdock, who forgets to eat, forgets to sleep unless you and foggy forcibly intervene? matt murdock, equally broke, clawing his way through every day just as you are?

it’s irritating, that’s for sure. the same way it irritated you seeing him at the donation center with his cheeks red from the cold and his scarf wrapped twice around his neck, breathing hard like he’d run there.

“i would’ve been fine.”

“sure. unconscious in a snowbank.”

“please, there’s barely any snow.”

“there’s enough.” another grimace. he rubs his nose, agitated, then exhales and faces you again. “why didn’t you call your boyfriend?”

and there it is.

the question you’ve been dreading at the center of everything like a stone in a peach. it’s always a trump card when matt brings up your boyfriend, the very word seeming so sour, so contemptuous on his tongue. in a way—a shameful, horrible way you don’t like thinking about and admitting to anyone else—it’s the kind of contempt you start to understand when you think about your boyfriend’s apartment, the heated floors, the stocked refrigerator, the effortless forty-dollar dinners. the summers in the hamptons. the snide commentary on the merits of hard work from someone who’s never been hungry a day in his life. 

a world away from donating plasma more than twice a week because textbooks cost money and rent costs money and eating costs money. living costs money. 

“he’s busy,” you say mildly.

“he doesn’t know, does he?”

you can’t bring yourself to look at matt. “no.”

“about any of it? the money stuff?”

how would he look at you then, if he knew? with pity? confusion?

“no, matt. listen, can we just—”

a blaring bus horn cuts you off, rude and indignant as it rumbles through the slush. when the noise fades, you notice the storefronts you’re passing are already studded with tacky valentine’s decor: paper hearts in windows, pink garlands, a sign advertising two-for-one champagne cocktails. valentine’s day eve. you remind yourself you still have the night to recover and look presentable for your date tomorrow: reservations somewhere with white tablecloths and a wine list and a dress with the tag still tucked into the back so you can return it monday.

matt will probably study. foggy will probably eat candy hearts alone and make jokes about it.

“you should eat something,” matt says, stopping short.

“what, now?”

“yeah.” 

“they gave me juice and crackers back at the center.”

“real food.” he angles you gently toward the corner where the cheap thai place glows gold and emerald against the winter night. “come on, it’s my treat.”

“oh, because you’re made of money?”

“i had a good week at the library, a freshman paid me twenty bucks to find some eroti—”

“matt!”

“come on, i’m hungry, too.”

“matt.”

you stop walking. he stops with you, head tilted, waiting. the february wind lifts his dark hair and ruffles it gently. 

“you didn’t have to come, you know.” your voice sounds weak in your own ears, childish and needy. “i just put your name down ‘cause i didn’t have anyone else, and foggy would wig out.”

“i know. i wasn’t going to leave you there.”

“should’ve.”

matt’s breath blooms white under the streetlight. “why wouldn’t i come when you call?” he asks, almost annoyed, as if you’ve said something so trite. “that’s how we are. i’m always going to come. that’s just how it is.”

the cold isn’t so biting anymore, you notice. so needless then to trouble yourself over worrying. scraps and pennies and scrounged-up dollar bills—you and matt understand each other at the cost of nothing.

“fine. thai sounds good.” 

tomorrow, you’ll sit dutifully on that white-tablecloth date, and matt will be somewhere far away from you, and neither place will feel as real as this, standing on a frozen sidewalk with his hand burning through your coat.

“thai it is, then.”

he takes your arm again, properly this time. the cane resumes its rhythm.

The air had grown thick with tension, the only sounds were the shuffling of feet and the soft click of Lloyd shutting his laptop. He hadn’t even looked at you, but you felt the temperature drop to arctic levels.

Now, that same desk is cold against your cheek, your body bent over it as Lloyd takes you from behind. There’s no gentleness, only a raw, merciless rhythm born of pure, unrestrained fury. Your dress is a ruined puddle of silk around your waist, torn in his haste to reclaim what he knew had always been his.

His arm presses firmly against your shoulder blades, pinning you in place, while his other digs into your hip, pulling you back to meet each brutal snap of his hips.

“Thought you were clever, didn’t you?” he grunts, his voice a low growl. “Parading yourself around like a common whore for my men to see.”

A whimper escapes your lips as he angles his hips, hitting a spot deep inside that makes your vision blur. You feel the coil tightening in your belly. “Oh god- fuck- Lloyd, please…”  

“You behave so much better when I have my hands on you.”

He can feel you’re close. He stops suddenly, the loss of friction is a new kind of torture. You push back against him, a desperate plea to continue.

“Nooo please, Lloyd. please let me come. I was so close.” 

A dark chuckle vibrates through his chest. He leans down, his lips brushing your ear. 

“Oh I know, pumpkin. But you don’t get to come until I say so. You wanted my attention? You fucking have it. Now, you’re going to learn what it means to be patient.”

Eddie’s just as stunned, blinking away the possibility of  hallucinating in unison with the brunette. “Was she looking at me?”

Based on looks alone, Steve is certain you’re more Eddie’s type (he’s not known many girls as cool as you talking to archetypal ex-jocks like Steve) but a little friendly banter never hurt anyone. 

He shrugs, arms crossed over his chest in a practiced aloofness he knows Eddie hates. “Don’t think so,” he tsks.

Eddie knows what he’s playing at, and he slaps the handsome boy square in the chest. The lazy grin Steve wears is enough to have his skin crawling, and he tries his best to push the warm feeling rising in his chest down. “Why not?” he scrunches his raven curls faux self-consciously and sniffs, “I’m pretty.”

Yes, yes, you are, Steve thinks lightly. He gestures at himself with a light scoff, sucking air through his teeth with a sorry expression, “Sure, but have you seen me?”

“Have you seen yourself?” Eddie teases back, “‘Sides, she’s coming over anyways, and I think she’s looking at me more than you.”

“What?”

Eddie’s right. You’re strolling towards them, having ditched your fanclub to approach the two men with your head held high. All of Steve’s faux bravado evaporates as you step closer.

 “Hello,” you say, confident like he’d expect you to.

“Hey,” they both reply, Steve eager, albeit shyer than usual and Eddie in his usual jaunty tone, this time with a little more coolness to it.

The leather jacket crinkles as you fold your arms over your chest, a little pinch in your eyebrows as you scan over the two. There’s no bite behind it, no real scrutiny, and Eddie finds himself leaning closer to provide you with a better look. A small smile spreads on your face.

“Pretty.” you murmur finally. Eddie gives a knowing look to Steve that reads, just like I said. Steve rolls his eyes.

“Me or him?” Eddie enquires. He’s not sure what would sting more, if you pointed to Steve and left Eddie void of his best friend and you or if you nodded to him and left Steve all on his lonesome. Fortunately, he’s presented with the best case scenario.

There’s no hesitation when you say, “Both.”

You don’t laugh, and Steve realises you’re serious. 

Oh.

He’s not sure how to navigate this, his gorgeous best friend he’s sure he’s in love with and the prettiest girl he’s ever laid his eyes on staring back at him with expressions doused in expectancy. Eddie’s eyebrows raise at what he interprets as hesitation, though it’s the exact opposite. 

Steve swallows down an eagerness that’s sure to scare you off thickly and says cooly, “Well, can we both buy you a drink?”

You grin, big and wide and Eddie’s expression matches yours as he guides the two of you back over to the bar. Steve’s in deep shit now.

-

Eddie’s not so sure what to call this arrangement.

You’re sprawled out on his bed, your head resting on Steve’s thigh to create a halo of hair on his lap, your chin tucked into your chest as you flick through Eddie’s stack of tapes, throwing the ones that don’t interest you unceremoniously into a pile on the sheets.

“Boring,” you huff, “also boring. This looks good!” Friday the 13th joins the smaller second pile composed of solely horror movies and Steve grimaces. He’s not so sure he’s mentally prepared to watch Jason on Camp Crystal Lake at this time of night. 

“Aliens…Critters…Oh, I like the cover on this one-” you muse to yourself before giggling, “-hey, this one’s a porno!”

“What?” Eddie calls horrified from the kitchen, almost dropping the cold cans of beer on his bedroom floor as his padded feet sprint to the bedroom. Steve’s already peering down to inspect the cover as Eddie snatches the tape from your fingers.

Eddie loves Steve and you.

Steve and you, Steve and you. He repeats the and like it’s his own fucking matra. Steve and you. He’s already in love with Steve, albeit any real boyfriend action Eddie would be more than happy to enact, and Eddie’s more than certain that he’s falling in love with you. The single month after him and Steve watched you down two cosmopolitans has already begun to bleed into Eddie’s favourite memories like the world’s most beautiful stain, and Eddie knows he wants to keep you around much longer.

You’re giggling as he frowns down at the tape cover. Al Pacino glares back at him on the cover of Scarface. You’re fucking around with him, clearly, and Steve’s laughing too.

“Assholes.” he murmurs, going for a tone with real bite and instead landing on something with a little more amused affection. “No beers for either of you.”

“Oh c’mon, man.” Steve pouts, twirling your hair around his finger absentmindedly. 

“Yeah, man,” you parrot Steve, shoulders still shaking with mirth as your socked feet push at Eddie’s thighs instead of dangling off his bed.

Eddie catches your feet, hands wrapped around your ankles as he makes an action of pulling you off the bed. “Especially not for you.” Your heels land back on the floor with a thump as Eddie retreats back into the kitchen.

He’d usually entertain your antics if Steve was on the other end of them, but it’s Eddie instead and he feels a sudden sympathy for the brunette. Eddie returns and drops an apology can in Steve’s lap as you shuffle over to allow him more space.

“What’re we watching?”

Your eyebrows pinch together. “Where’s my beer?”

“In the kitchen where it belongs instead of in your evil hands.” he sniffs, almost as dramatic as Steve with the flu as you sputter, rising into a seated position to stare at him incredulously. 

“Please?”

“Just get her the beer or we’ll never hear the end of it.” Steve chimes, more familiar with your antics than Eddie. Steve prefers to call himself Y/N Educated, but it’s just a nicer way to say that he’s an easy target for you.

Like the fucking minx you are, you stack your hands on Eddie’s shoulder and hook your chin over them to look up at him through your lashes. Eddie tries his best to ignore the feeling of your chest pressed against his bicep. You’re definitely not wearing a bra.

You try again this time. Eddie knows you’re not going for sultry or sexy, but it all has the same effect when you’re murmuring in his ear.

“Can I please get my beer?” you ask sweetly, “Please?”

He caves, because he’s an idiot, but he doesn’t look at the puppy-dog eyes he’s sure you’re giving him, because he’s not that stupid. You hum happily when he relents. 

“‘Kay.” he huffs, “Fine, asshole, I’ll get you your damn beer.”

Your head tilts up to press a loud, smacking kiss onto his cheek, nothing like the gentle greetings he gives the crown of your head. A real spit and lip gloss slick thing that has him cringing. Steve clears his throat. Eddie knows he’s fighting the urge to ask for one of your kisses too.

“Mwah,” you finish off the assault on his cheek happily, stretching out into the space he leaves as he stands up, “Thanks, honey!”

Eddie’s cheeks fucking burn. He gets you two beers and another for Steve because he doesn’t want to miss a second of staring at your faces collecting seconds.

-

“So,” Robin starts, twirling a fly-away string from her bikini bottoms tight around her finger until the tip turns a dark red, “what’s the deal with you and Y/N?”

Nancy turns around on to her stomach, letting the sun hit her back to turn it a light golden as she looks at Steve from the sun bed, cheek smushed against the damp fabric. “And Eddie,” she corrects, “don’t forget about Eddie.”

Steve’s in too deep to even consider lying, instead huffing as he slinks down in his seat, arms crossed around his bare chest. You’re on Jonathan’s shoulders in Steve’s pool, wrestling Dustin as he sits atop Eddie’s, head thrown back as you shove your way to victory. The melting sun doesn’t fare so well with his heated cheeks.

“I don’t know,” he groans, palms pressed into his eyes, “I don’t even know at this point.

“You don’t-” Robin says shrilly, before toning down her voice, “you don’t know?”

“Robin, what am I supposed to say?” Steve hisses, “‘Oh hey, Eddie, I’m actually in love with you, but in a ‘I want to kiss your face’ way, and you too Y/N, actually.” he laughs now, dry and bitter, “‘Yeah, I’m fucking whipped for you too, and so is Eddie and I think you want us both but I don’t even know anymore because-” he breathes in shakily, voice a whisper, “‘because i’m in love with both of you.’”

Steve shoulders heave with the effort of letting out his frustrations, and the silence that falls between him and the two girls has him cringing. He’s open to spout out an apology he doesn’t really mean when Nancy speaks up.

“Steve,” she says, pushing up her sunglasses against her head of curls to get a good look at the boy, “have you ever thought about just dating both?”

Steve blinks. “What?”

“Dating both of them,” Nancy repeats, “Y/N and Eddie.”

He hadn’t thought it was a possibility. Steve had just wrapped his mind around wanting to date Eddie when you came into the picture.

“No,” he responds truthfully, hopefully, “I can do that?”

“Is anyone saying you can’t?”

Steve thinks for a second, though he’s not sure why he does. He’s in love with both of you, he thinks it must be one of the most obvious things in the world.

“No,” he tells himself, “nobody is.”

-

The backyard is eerily quiet when everyone goes home, the only sounds being the soft splashing of the water and Steve crushing empty cans in his hand, shoving them into a big black trash bag behind him. Your eyes follow the moving veins in his hands and the curve of his bicep, revelling in your first instance of ogling a shirtless Steve Harrington. He looks up, smiles at you, and sends a swarm of butterflies flying around your stomach.

Eddie splashes water at you to get your attention. “What’cha looking at?”

You splash him back, laughing at the way he blinks the water out of his long lashes, the droplets falling down over his tatted chest. It looks like the black widow on his chest is weeping, and you giggle. “Nothin’”

Eddie pulls you forward by your bicep, spinning you around to pin you to his chest, his bicep coming around your cheek to curl into your neck in a perfect headlock. His knuckles muss your chlorine soaked hair, forcing a squeal as you kick your feet. He smells strongly of Nancy’s tanning lotion, slathered on thick over his arms to try rid him of his Hellfire t-shirt tan lines.

“You little perv!” he teases, voice thick with affection, “You didn’t strike me as a peeping tom.”

“I’m hardly a peeping tom if he knows I'm staring.” 

“If I were any smarter, I'd guess you had a crush on our boy here.”

You’re not one to deny the obvious as you claw at Eddie’s arm to get him to release you. “I do, stupid-”

The commotion in the previously peaceful backyard must’ve spooked Steve as he stands before you now, hands on his hips as he looks down at the both of you in the pool. “I turn around for three seconds and you two are already trying to kill each other?”

“She’s trying,” Eddie muses, dropping your head with two defensive palms up, "I'm all for love, not war.”

“You guys are stupid.”

Now free from your restraints, you swim up to where Steve’s standing, arms resting on the hot concrete and your chin hooked over them as you stare up at him. It hurts your neck, but he’s handsome at every angle. “You coming back in?”

He shakes the black trash bag and you can hear the clang of aluminum inside. “Let me throw these out first.”

“Throw them later,” you tell him, “come back in, please.”

Steve pretends to think about it, and you already know what his answer will be, but you still smile wide regardless when he relents. “Alright. Back up.”

Before you can move back, Steve’s making a running jump into the pool, tucking his legs into his chest in his perfect swimmer form and sending Eddie diving away with a yelp. You react similarly, hands coming up to shield your face from the spray.

Steve’s brown head of hair breaks the surface, revealing his handsome face when he pushes the locks back to slick down, curling in slightly at the nape of his neck. A little grossly, you think about licking the spot of pool water running down his plump bottom lip. A chemical kiss, Eddie would’ve called it.

“C’mere,” Steve tells you.

You let him pull you in, his big hands coming down to wipe off your streaking mascara from your sunkissed cheeks, his tongue in between his teeth in concentration.

Eddie paddles over, peering over Steve’s shoulder. “A little more to the left, honey.” You flush a little. Eddie calls him honey like it’s second nature.

If Steve notices the petname, he doesn’t show it, following Eddie’s instructions to brush off the sticky black stuff. Breaths mingle, kissing each other. Your lips don’t.

“Scootch over,” Eddie huffs, his hands replacing Steve’s. His ring sat snug around his middle finger is tarnishing slightly. You make a mental note to tell him. After you stop staring at his mouth.

Eddie makes quick work of your face, rubbing in harder but removing all of your smudge make up efficiently. You’re not sure you’ve ever felt as nervous as this before, both of them peering down at you as you try your best to stay still.

“Hi,” you whisper.

“Hey,” they murmur back.

If you really wanted to, which you do, you could tilt your head ever so slightly to press your lips against either of them.

They both share your same sentiment, moving in together in tandem, their heads almost colliding. You wait for the fuse to burn and set off all the fireworks in your stomach, but it dies right before the fire can mix with gunpowder.

“Hey!” Dustin calls, oblivious to your little moment. He’s bent at the waist, rummaging through a pile of you and Eddie’s belongings on one of the lounge chairs. 

Steve and Eddie both curse. You’re grateful that it means you didn’t dream up your almost-kiss.

“Have you seen my house keys?” he calls again, letting Eddie’s black backpack fall to the ground with a clink as he peeks under your tote bag. Eddie pales.

“Henderson, if you broke my pipe I swear I’ll-”

Dustin groans, loud and obnoxious like Steve would and you laugh at the clear similarity. “Oh my God, can you just help me look, please?”

“Alright, Jesus, we’re coming.” Steve yells back, dragging himself up the pool stairs to help the younger boy search. Eddie follows close behind, a hand around your wrist as your bare feet slap against the ground to join the two.

They crowd the seat, peeling open pizza boxes and Eddie’s backpack to find the lost house keys. You watch Dustin rise to his full height, swallowing thickly as he pats down his board shorts, his sunkissed cheeks paling.

“Guys, wait.”

Steve understands it as quickly as you do, gritting his teeth as he drops your bag back down. “Are you serious?”

Eddie, oblivious, keeps searching, even pulling apart the bushes to see if they hold Dustin’s keys. You shuffle from one foot to another.

Steve repeats it again, and Dustin cringes at the rise in his voice. “Are you serious? You had them the whole time?”

That gets Eddie’s attention as he rises slowly to peer down at Dustin, arms crossed over his bare chest. “What’d I just hear?”

Steve scoffs. “He had them the whole damn time.”

“The whole time?”

You watch what you’d describe as two dads scolding their young son. The scrunched up look on Steve’s face is worth your missed kiss.

“I’m sorry, okay?”

“Get out, Henderson.”

“Jeez!” Dustin yelps as Steve guides him towards the door, still clutching his keys in his hand. One of Eddie’s DND figures catches on the light through the gaps in his fingers.

“Out, please.” 

“Can you still bring me to Robin’s tomorrow?”

A beat.

“Okay.” you hear Steve tell him, “can you go now?”

-

You’re pulling out a small collection of guitar picks from in between worn down leather when Eddie returns from the gas station, twirling a small plastic bag around his index finger as he climbs into the driver's seat.

“Hey!” he says happily as you drop the picks into the cupholder, a cigarette stuck to his plump bottom lip as he speaks, “I was looking for those!”

You don’t doubt that. Eddie is notorious for losing his things anywhere and everywhere. Steve’s bedroom is practically Eddie’s personal lost and found. You’re already feeling around for another one when he starts the car.

The cool summer air floods your lungs when he rolls the windows down, pulling out of the gas station parking lot and down the main road. Sweltering heat has forced Eddie out of his usual leather jacket and Hellfire shirt and into soft band tees with the arms cut off.

“Can you light?” he mumbles around the cigarette, leaning in with his eyes focused on the road to allow you to flick open the zippo lighter in his centre console, pressing the cool metal to your hands as the spark illuminates his face.

He settles back against his seat, one hand lazily turning the steering wheel as he drives down the main road to your house. The wind whips his hair into something fierce and beautiful and you’re overcome with the sudden urge to kiss him like you felt in the pool two weeks ago.

You pass Steve’s house, void of Steve himself. He was picking up an extra late night shift at the Family Video and had to bail on your plans to go to the cinema tonight. Eddie rests his wrist on the window to flick the butt onto the street and wave a small, “Bye, Harrington,” as you drive past.

“Bye, Harrington,” you repeat, “You know he’s going to see that and know it’s you, right?”

Eddie grins at you, no sheepishness as he says, “I know. Means he’ll call me later to bitch me out when he gets home.”

It’s mostly silent as Eddie pulls into your driveway, switching off the radio to quieten Led Zeppelin as he puts the van in park. You’re unbuckling your seatbelt when Eddie puts his hand over yours gently. He’s looking at your lips when you turn, you notice.

“You okay?”

“Peachy.” Eddie murmurs, quieter than you’ve ever heard him. His chest is tense with a breath he doesn’t even realise he’s holding in. 

You’re already closing the distance between the two of you when he exhales, pressing your lips to his to breathe in cigarette smoke and vanilla. The bridge of his nose knocks into yours as his eyes shudder closed, almost two months of want building up into the small, satisfied sound Eddie pushes into your mouth. He’s sweet when you kiss, though you expect nothing less from the boy who adjusts the van seat just to your liking before you sit inside. 

Eddie’s greedy and needy as his hand comes to anchor in your hair, his fingers pushing the strands back as he pecks the length of your cupid's bow. You’re certain you’re both thoroughly kiss bitten when Eddie pulls back with a gasp, eyes wide. Your saliva leaves a sheen over his gaping mouth.

“Fuck!” he exclaims, paling further than you thought he could, “We’re so stupid!”

Well. Not exactly the first thing you’d like to hear after you make out with someone. Or the second.

“What?” you ask, slightly embarrassed, though you’re not sure what for, “Eddie?”

His forehead rests on the steering wheel, dark hair forming a curtain around his pretty face. You’re already itching for another kiss, but it’ll have to wait. Eddie’s eerily quiet, meaning that whatever little internal breakdown he’s having is none of his practiced bravado. You shake his half-bare shoulder gently.

“Are you okay?”

Eddie rises like a corpse from the dead, turning to you with a groan. “Harrington’s going to be so mad we kissed without him.”

You laugh a sweet sound as you throw your head back, shoulders shaking as Eddie leans over to you, a hand behind your headrest. “I’m serious! Dead serious. He’s going to get all whiny and mopey when we tell him.” He blinks like he’s just realised what’s transpired and inspects your face with more clarity. “Hey. You kissed me!”

“No, Captain Obvious, I just wanted to put my face real close to yours,” You use your pointer and thumb to emphasise the space between the two of you, “and see what the air in your vicinity tasted like.”

Eddie grins, fat and wide as he closes the space again, his hand coming around to the soft leather of the cushion to cage you to your seat. He pecks an apology kiss to your cheek, and then something more intense to your lips. “Oh, baby,” he laughs, “kissed me so dumb I started worrying about Harrington for a sec.”

You both know Eddie always worries about Steve, but you let the baby ease you out of a teasing remark. There’s a fuzzy feeling lighting up your body and if Eddie kissed you any more, you’re certain you would glow with it, lighting up the dimly lit van. You kiss him again to test it out. No glow, but the smile on Eddie’s face is close enough to it.

“You’re really fucking pretty, you know that?”

Your nose wrinkles in a faux disgust. “Ew,” you tell him, “you got a crush on me or something?”

He kisses you again, this time by the corner of your eye in the free space between your eye and your eyebrow. “Big, fat, juicy, cootie-transferring, disgusting crush. World ending crush. Universe destroying crush.” he murmurs into your cheek.

“Maybe I should stop kissing you, if it means it’ll destroy the world.”

“You don’t want to be stars floating together in the vast galaxy?”

“Not yet.” you reply truthfully. “What’s the plan for Steve?”

“I’ll tell him, and then you go left and I’ll go right and then we’ll kiss him so stupid he forgets about it.” Eddie jokes, though you’ve seen the way Steve short circuits when he sees the soft fat of your thigh revealed by your mini skirt or when Eddie’s play fighting ends up with the two of them a little too close and personal (even if nothing’s too close and personal for Eddie) on your bedroom floor.  There’s a very real and possible chance that you’d send Steve Harrington into shock if you pressed your lips against his.

“Okay,” you murmur, “Kiss me again?”

Eddie obliges. Fireworks spark again. You kiss him again to test if there’s still novelty to it after your 20th one: there is.

-

You almost feel bad the next time you see Steve, your head hung a little lower than it should be when he kisses your cheek, dangerously close to the side of your mouth. You wonder if he can smell Eddie on your lips. 

With all of his Dungeon master bravado, you would’ve thought Eddie could play the part of the innocent best friend a little easier, but he looks just as frowny as you are. He rubs at his shoulder, pale skin a little more tan from days at Steve’s pool as he rummages through the fridge.

Steve’s saying something - an anecdote about work or what his mom told him that morning - but it falls on your deaf ears. His voice swings in and out like a focusing camera, your eyes trailing the curve of his cupid's bow as he speaks. Eddie explained it to you perfectly on the drive to Steve’s house, his big hand on your thigh: once you’ve broken the ice with him, it makes the idea of breaking the ice between platonic and practically a married couple with Steve more plausible. Instead of a wave in the moonlight, it’s something palpable - something to hold in your hands.

Eddie jumps over the back of the couch, sodas tucked into the crook of his arm as you try your best to be interested in the new record Robin played at the WSQK. Eddie gives you a funny look that reads, “cut it out,” but his tongue pokes out to wet his bottom lip when Steve leans in closer to him and you bite back a laugh.

“How was the movie last week?” Steve asks innocently, sucking at the liquid pooled around the top of his can.

Eddie swallows harshly, “Good.”

Now that’s fucking rich coming from Eddie “I have to explain every single plot line in deep detail until you physically stop me” Munson. You want to bite the bullet yourself and just break the ice, but it has to be fair on Eddie to say what he wants too. “Steve,” you say, eerily serious, “we have to tell you something.”

His nose scrunches, eyebrows gathered in the middle of his forehead. “What? No, man, you said you two would watch it with me with no spoilers.”

“It’s not that, Steve.”

“Please. I don’t trust either of you.” he frowns, “‘Cause then I’ll think I'm safe and then Eddie’s going to whisper it in my ear or something.”

“Steve-”

“Seriously, Eds, I know you will.”

Loving Steve Harrington is easy. Telling him that you love him is not.

“Steve!”

Eddie takes a leap of faith, hands damp and cold from condensation cradling Steve’s sunkissed cheeks to pull him close, their chests flushed together. You watch as Steve lets out a surprised yelp, before relaxing, his body melting against Eddie’s. You find yourself craning your neck to get a look.

Steve’s long lashes kiss his cheekbones, his nose rubbing against Eddie;s, his hands raked through his heat-frizzy curls. You pout when Eddie doesn’t let go to let you have a turn but you give him some grief; your kiss with Eddie was 2 months in the making, for Steve it’s been much longer.

You prod the chub at Steve’s waist. “Hello?”

He pulls back, flushed from head to toe, kissed all over with Eddie’s fierce love and not even mad that you’ve poked him. “Hi, honey,” he grins, “You want one too?”

“I guess,” you shrug and Eddie laughs.

Steve kisses you first, to your delight, sweetly at the corner of your mouth and then hot and heavier over your lips. He tastes like Eddie, who tastes like you, who now tastes like Steve. It’s a good kind of taste.

He rubs the pad of his thumb over your cheek, another hand holding the nape of your neck tight and secure, like he’s unsure if he ever wants to let go. You tingle all over with the excitement of being able to pull pretty sounds out of Steve, experimentally biting down on his plump bottom lip to test all your greedy theories. He lets out a groan that curls around you like smoke, and you try the other side for research purposes. 

“You’re a mean kiss,” he smiles against your lips.

“You wanna see mean?” you tease back.

Eddie hooks his chin over Steve’s shoulder, giving it an affectionate scrape with his teeth and then a kiss to sooth the tingle. “What’re we discussing, ladies?” he chimes in.

“Evil, nasty things about you.”

Eddie curls an arm around Steve’s stomach. “Yeah?” You’re the evil, nasty one, baby. Where’s my kiss?”

Steve’s physical affection has made you kind today, and you oblige, kissing Eddie with all the sweetness he deserves. Too sweet that Steve confirms his own suspicions.

“Oh my god,” he murmurs, then louder this time, “Oh my god!”

Why does this always happen when you kiss Eddie?

“What?” Eddie asks, leaving one last peck on your lips to look up Steve, who stares down at you incredulously and then to Eddie.

“You guys kissed before!” he points out, eyebrows raised and hair bobbing as he exclaims, “No fucking way you two kissed before I kissed Eddie, oh my god!”

You give Eddie a grimace to say, “you were right,”

“Are you mad?” you ask cautiously. You’ve done everything under the sun to annoy Steve, and he never makes it past slightly agitated - that’s Eddie’s doing.

“No,” Steve replies, then a little more truthfully, “Maybe.” He purses his lips, “Just a little ‘cause I didn’t get to see it.”

“You saw it just now!”

“I didn’t see it see it. Do it again.”

“You perv!”

“Eddie, you don’t wanna kiss me?”

“I do-”

You lean over Steve to place a sticky kiss on Eddie’s cheek, loud and smacking. The sound makes him recoil and Steve laugh. “You’re a freak,” Eddie yelps, “Get off’a me!”

Steve wrestles you back onto your side of the couch to let Eddie go, peering down at you through his long lashes. Your mouth finds his again, tongue prodding past his pink lips to lick at his own. Eddie finds the column of his neck, pressing kisses into the neglected skin, his hand snaking up to cup your face.

“You thought you were going to kiss me first?” Eddie murmurs, packing extra mirth into his kisses.

You arrived ten minutes after him, cheeks pink from the slightly windy walk from the parking lot.

You clutched a paper bag with two croissants in your arms, because you’d started bringing him breakfast on the mornings you drove in together. You still weren’t sure if that was too much this early in your relationship, too obvious, too girlfriendy.

You’d been doing this dance for a couple of weeks: secret dinners at his place, one overnight you’d both pretended was “just practical” after a late case, his hand on the small of your back when no one was looking, sneaking into his hotel rooms at night.

You liked the secrecy. It felt safe. It felt like something that belonged only to the two of you.

Hotch did too, which made what was coming next so much worse.

“Morning,” you said softly, placing the bag on his desk like it was a bag of narcotics.

He glanced up, the smallest smile tugging at his mouth. “Thank you.”

You were about to answer when JJ appeared in the doorway, arms crossed, grinning like she’d won the lottery.

“Round table in five,” she announced, eyes darting between you and Hotch with the subtlety of a blaring fire alarm. “Unless you two need a few more minutes to… finish breakfast?”

Hotch’s eyebrow went up a fraction. You felt your face catch fire.

“We’re good,” he said, voice perfectly level.

JJ left, but not before you caught the wink she threw over her shoulder.

You exhaled. “They know.”

“They suspect,” Hotch corrected, taking a deliberate bite of croissant. “There’s a difference. All they have right now is their betting pool, and unless we give them something, they'll continue riling each other up.”

“You know, Garcia asked me yesterday if I’d ever been to your apartment. She said she was ‘just curious about decorating tips.’ Penelope Garcia does not care about decorating tips, Aaron. Especially not from you.”

He almost smiled again. Almost. “I handled Garcia.”

“You handled Garcia?”

“I reminded her that invading a coworker’s privacy is a violation of several federal statutes.”

You snorted. “You threatened her with jail.”

“I cited policy,” he said primly, but his eyes were warm.

It should have ended there.

It, however, did not.

Two days later, you were in Kansas, chasing an unsub who liked to pose his victims like famous paintings. The team was exhausted, running on bad motel coffee and pure spite from how smart this unsub was.

You and Hotch had stolen exactly twenty-one minutes alone in the police station’s evidence room: door locked, lights low, his hands in your hair, when the door flew open.

“Found them!” Morgan yelled into his phone, clearly not expecting the scene in front of him. “Evidence room. Yeah. Definitely evidence.”

You jumped back so fast you knocked over a box of fingerprint powder. Hotch didn’t flinch, just straightened his tie and said, in the same tone he used to order SWAT breaches, “Close the door, Morgan.”

Morgan closed the door. From the outside. You could hear Garcia squeal through the phone.

That night, back at the motel, the betting pool tripled.

By the following Monday, it had become a full-blown BAU pastime to profile every single thing either of you did.

Rossi had a whiteboard in his office titled “Operation: Hotch-smile.” It was color-coded by different types of actions and verbal cues. The team kept running in and out of his office to add more to the list of evidence.

Emily kept leaving strategically-timed case files on your desk that required “immediate consultation with the unit chief.” In his office. Alone.

Rossi invited you both to a “small dinner” that somehow included the entire team plus Garcia’s laptop on Skype that one time she was in L.A. for a sci-fi convention, “in case she felt left out.”

And JJ... sweet, treacherous JJ, waited until you were both in the elevator, then hit the emergency stop between floors.

“Okay,” she said, hands on her hips. “We love you. We’re happy for you. But you’re killing us. Just… kiss in front of us one time. One. Then we’ll leave you alone.”

Hotch stared at her like he was about to profile a hostile witness. You wanted the floor to swallow you.

“Jennifer,” he said quietly, “start the elevator.”

She did, pouting the whole way down.

That night, you went to his place, kicked off your shoes, and curled into him on his couch like you had always belonged there.

“They’re never going to stop,” you muttered into his shoulder.

“They will if we give them nothing to work with.”

You tilted your head to look at him. “You really think we can out-stubborn THE Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia?”

He considered this. “No,” he admitted. “But I thought we could try.”

You laughed, soft and helpless at the situation, and kissed him because you couldn’t not. He instantly kissed you back.

The next morning, you walked into the bullpen holding two coffees. Hotch was already at his desk in his office. You put one in front of him, casual as anything, then, before you could overthink it, leaned down and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth, ready for this whole BAU spy operation to be over and done with.

The bullpen went dead silent and made it quite obvious that they had been staring through the windows to Hotch's office.

Morgan dropped his pen. Reid’s jaw actually fell open. Garcia, who had been sneaking in with a tray of celebratory donuts, let out a shriek that could have shattered glass.

Hotch froze for half a second, eyes wide on yours. Then the corner of his mouth curved, the real smile, the one that made your chest hurt, and he murmured, just loud enough for the sound to drift down to the agents, “Thank you for the coffee, sweetheart.”

Garcia started crying. Actually crying.

Morgan pulled out his wallet and slapped a hundred-dollar bill on Reid’s desk. “Told you the fiscal quarter was too conservative.”

Emily whooped. JJ filmed it on her phone. Rossi poured imaginary champagne into imaginary glasses and toasted, “To the end of an era.”

You buried your face in your hands, mortified and laughing at the same time.

Hotch stood up, took your hand, and walked out and addressed the room with the same calm authority he used in front of judges and politicians alike.

“Pool’s closed. Paperwork on my desk by noon, or I assign everyone extra consults for a month.” He paused, looked at you, and softened. “And yes, we're together. Meeting adjourned.”

He tugged you toward the hallway, past your cheering, money-exchanging, ridiculous family.

In the elevator, he pushed you gently against the wall, kissed you properly, no audience, no performance, just the two of you, and said against your lips, “I should have let you do that weeks ago.”

“Told you we couldn’t out-stubborn them.” You grinned.

“Next time,” he said, thumb brushing your cheek, “we don’t even try.”

The doors opened on the parking garage. Somewhere above you, you could already hear Garcia planning the “congratulatory slash engagement-watch” party.

You laced your fingers through his and decided you didn’t care who saw the two of you together anymore.

Merritt, Jack, Henley and I simultaneously express our shock at his revelation.

“What?”

“Holy shit!”

“No way.”

“Wow.”

As we all process this new information Jack asks, “The bank, Tressler and Elkhorn I get, but what about Thaddeus Bradley? Why did you want us to frame him for stealing the money?”

“He was the reason my father did the trick in the first place. In his first show, he revealed the secrets behind all of my father’s tricks. A year later, he tried to stage a comeback - had himself locked in the safe, got dropped to the bottom of the East River and… well, you know the rest,” Dylan replies.

The emotion is thick in my voice as I tell him, “I’m so sorry Dylan. No child should have to witness that, especially when it’s their father.”

“It was pretty tough and it took me a while to work through it, but it got a little better when I put all of my effort into perfecting my plan. Once I eventually finished it, all I had to do was wait until a few remarkable magicians emerged to carry it out for me.”

It’s then when realisation hits me. “It was you. You were the one who gave us our tarot cards.”

“Mmm hmm. I watched you all perform your acts in the days leading up to the meeting and slipped you the cards without you noticing. That trick you did for the little girl in the park was pretty good by the way.”

“Oh my god - I remember that day! I can’t believe you were right there in front of me,” I remark, shaking my head in disbelief.

Henley then goes on to ask, “Why did you choose us specifically? You had your pick of hundreds of magicians, so what was so special about us?”

Dylan answers her by stating, “You were each chosen because of the different qualities that you possess: cunning, manipulation, intelligence, determination and integrity. These were all needed to successfully pull off this plan. As individuals you’re good, but together you had the potential to be great and I was right.”

“Thirty years is a long time to wait for a plan to be put into action,” Danny comments.

“It is, but I’m a fan of playing the long game. Besides, it was worth the wait - the five of you did a great job carrying it out for me.”

We soon arrive at the gate that we came in after our show and after walking through it, Rhodes faces us and says, “This is where we part ways. I gotta head back to headquarters and pretend that I’m pissed at you guys for slipping through my fingers a third time, but I’ll contact you all as soon as I can.”

When he starts to walk away I call out, “Dylan, wait.”

“Thank you for trusting us with something this big and for giving us the chance to prove to the world - and ourselves - that we can do great things and use our talents for something worth while.”

He gives me a small smile then replies, “You’re more than welcome. Thank you all for helping me right some wrongs. Bye guys.”

“See you later man,” Jack says.

After watching him walk away, the four of us begin to head away from the park, with Merritt asking, “So… what do we do now?”

“I don’t know, ” Danny answers.

Jack offers up a suggestion. “I don’t know about you, but I could really use a drink right now. Faking your death is exhausting.”

Now that he mentions it, I could too. But we’re the most famous people in New York right now - hell, maybe even the planet. There’s no bar we could go to without getting recognised. As I try think of a solution, I’m suddenly struck with an idea.

“I know a place.”

******

As the five of us walk into my apartment building Danny says, “Well, that was-“

“Insane? Crazy? Mind-blowing?” I supply.

“That’s an understatement.”

“For the past year I’ve imagined who the person behind all of those plans might be. I’ve probably went through every possibility, but never once did I think it might be a FBI agent, especially Rhodes,” Henley voices.

“At least we now know why he was so good at not catching us,” Merritt notes.

Jack then responds, “Yeah, he fooled us big time. I still can’t believe that we’re in The Eye now.”

“I know right? It’s definitely a ‘pinch me’ moment,” I comment.

“It does feel pretty good,” Danny adds.

Merritt goes on to remark, “I guess having a little bit of faith pays off.”

Once we approach my place, I notice a gift bag hanging from the door handle. “What’s that?” Henley questions.

“I don’t know. Guess there’s only one way to find out,” I reply.

Taking the bag off the handle, I reach into it and pull out a bottle of Dom Pérignon.

Merritt lets out a low whistle. “Damn.”

“Who do you think it’s from?” Jack asks.

“No idea.”

“Guys, look - there’s a card attached to it,” Danny observes.

Taking it off the bottle, I open it to reveal a message inside that reads:

Congratulations on a job well done. Have a drink on me, - D

“It’s from Dylan,” I state.

“No way.” Jack voices incredulously.

Henley laughs then mutters, “He really went all out for us.”

“I guess he did. Now, as much as I love standing out here in the middle of the hallway, how about we head into your place before someone sees us and get this party started?” Merritt suggests.

“Oh, right.”

Searching all of my pockets, I fail to find what I’m looking for. “Shit. I’ve not got my key on me.”

Looking to Jack I ask, “You wouldn’t happen to have your lock picks J?”

He reaches into his pocket, takes them out and within a few seconds my door is open. “Ladies first.”

“Thank you, Mr Wilder,” Henley remarks.

“Hold on. Where can I find the ladies? I don’t see one anywhere,” Merritt jokes.

I playfully hit his chest in retaliation. “Watch it McKinney, or you won’t be getting a drop of this. Why don’t you four get settled in the living room and I’ll get the drinks?”

While they go and do that, I head into the kitchen and come back with five glasses full of champagne. As they go to take a drink, I stop them by saying, “Wait! I think we should all say a toast.”

Merritt groans at my suggestion. “Seriously Y/N?”

“Yes. I thought we could all say something nice about our experience over the past year.”

“That still sounds a little too kumbaya for my liking.”

“Well I think it’s a great idea. It makes it a bit more special,” Danny voices, causing me to smile at him gratefully.

“You know what? I like it too,” Jack adds.

“I agree with them. It’s a good way to finish off our night,” Henley voices.

I attempt to convince him by telling him, “C’mon Merritt, it’s just a couple of words. Pretty please?”

After giving him my best puppy dog eyes, he finally relents. “Fine. But I’m not going first.”

“Alright, I’ll go. To being the most awesome and badass magicians in the world,” Jack comments.

Danny goes next. “To new adventures and second chances,” then takes my hand in his.

“To becoming a great team and even better friends,” Henley says.

We all look expectantly at Merritt. “To finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

I’m the last to go, so I better make it a good one. “To an amazing group of people: my favourite redhead, the man who puts the ‘mental’ in mentalist, my best friend in the entire world and the pain in my ass control freak.”

“Hey!” Danny exclaims.

“I’m only kidding. You know I love you really,” giving him a kiss afterwards.

Merritt pretends to gag and remarks, “Okay, I think that’s enough love birds. Save some of that for the bedroom.”

Pulling away from Danny, I turn to him and deadpan, “Way to ruin the moment McKinney. Anyway, to The Horsemen!”

“The Horsemen,” the four echo, then we clink our glasses together and take a drink.

The rest of the night is full of fun, laughter and good times. Looking around at each of my fellow magicians, I can’t help the soft smile that appears on my face. I’m so lucky that I got to go on this journey with them. That I got to meet and know Merritt, reconnect with Danny and Henley and experience everything with my best friend by my side too. Not only that, but we’ve managed to forge a strong bond with each other that goes beyond friendship - we’re a family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

McKinney sighs before commenting, “I’m here for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. That’s it, then I’m gone.”

“Enough!” I shout, startling them both and making the room go silent as a result.

I then go on to say, “I do not have the patience to deal with you two bickering like a couple of god damn children right now! Danny, I get you’re on edge, but we all are so tone the snarkiness down a notch. Merritt, you can do whatever you want when this is over but until then you stick to the plan, are we clear?”

Looking chastised he responds, “Yes ma’am.”

After glaring at the both of them I walk over to Jack, who’s been quiet during our exchange. In a soft tone I ask, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

I can see that he’s putting on a front so I tell him, “It’s alright to feel nervous J. You’re about to do a pretty big thing. If it makes you feel better, I am too. We’re so close to finishing what we started and I really don’t want anything to go sideways.”

“Me neither. I just don’t want to let you guys down, you know?”

“You won’t Jack. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”

“Thanks Y/N.”

“Oh, I almost forgot - can I get the Elkhorn file?”

After he gives it to me Danny announces, “Guys, they’re here.”

Merritt, Danny, Henley and I each grab a bag full of supplies that we’ll need over the next few hours but before we go, I walk back up to Jack and give him a tight hug. “Whoa Y/N/N, what was that for? You do know that I’m not actually gonna die right? You’ll see me again tonight.”

“I know, but I’m your best friend - I’m allowed to worry about you. Do me a favour and give Rhodes hell for us will you?”

He smirks then answers, “Don’t worry, I will.”

“Take care street rat. See you on the other side.”

With that, the four of us leave the apartment and head down the stairs until we get to a trash chute. Holding it open for me Merritt says, “Ladies first.”

After Henley slides down I mutter, “Here goes nothing,” before doing the same.

My fall is cushioned by a skip full of trash bags, which I quickly get out of before the guys come down too. Once the four of us have made it, we take a route through a different building that brings us out at a point further down the street and far enough away from the apartment building to avoid notice. Luckily we don’t have to wait long until Danny manages to hail a cab that will drive us to the lot where our vehicles for the car chase are.

When we eventually get to them, I head to the decoy car before getting into my own one in order to plant the file beside the creepy looking cadaver that we’re going to pass off as Jack.

Ten minutes later, we’re on the 59th Street Bridge waiting for Jack to arrive. When we see a black car getting pursued by a fleet of law enforcement vehicles, we spring into action, weaving in and out of the lanes in order to stop them from getting anywhere near him. Once Jack makes it in front of the bus that Merritt is driving, the replacement car gets released and I watch in my rear view mirror as it flips over and over again before landing in the middle of the road.

We then park our vehicles down a side alley a short distance away from the warehouse and in order to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, the four of us put on maintenance jumpsuits over our clothes to make it easier for us to get access to the building.

As I walk towards my fellow Horsemen I exclaim, “Holy shit! That was so cool! It was like something out of a movie!”

With a chuckle Merritt replies, “It was pretty awesome.”

“Hopefully Rhodes managed to get the file before it went up in flames,” Henley remarks.

Addressing the three of us Danny says, “All the more reason to get moving and carry out the next stage of the plan. It won’t be long until they figure out what it is and head over here, and we want to be long gone before they do.”

We all manage to sneak into the building without being seen and get to the room where the safe is being kept. After making our way to the middle of it, Danny takes a remote out of his pocket, points it at the ceiling and presses the button. A large mirror the width of the room begins to descend from above us before stopping in the position that we want, making the room appear empty.

Standing there admiring our handiwork I comment, “I wish there was a way to see the faces of those FBI idiots when they get here. For people who are supposed to be smart, they’ll really fall for anything. I mean, we basically showed them what we were going to do with the rabbit trick last night.”

“That’s the thing about federal agents - they think themselves smart, when in reality they’re totally clueless,” Henley muses.

Looking over at me Danny tells me, “Well, you know what I always say: the closer you look-“

“The less you see,” I finish, a smile appearing on my face at the memories it evokes.

“Alright, let’s get the hell out of here and go to Queens,” Merritt states.

The four of us then get rid of our jumpsuits and get into the taxi Danny used for the car chase and drive to 5 Pointz. Once we get there, we start the preparations for our show - setting up and double checking that everything is in place for us to utilise when we need to. All that’s left to do now is record the video.

After pressing record, I sit down next to Danny in front of the camera. “As you’ve probably heard by now, our fellow Horseman Jack died earlier today in a tragic accident,” he starts.

“He was a great performer and magician, but most importantly he was our friend and he will be missed by all of us,” I add.

Merritt continues, “In spite of our loss, we’re here to say that we are not, we cannot quit now. We’ve started something bigger than all of us. We have to finish it.”

Henley then goes on to say, “Remember the name Jack Wilder when you see us live: 5 Pointz, Queens, 7 o’clock.”

“We’re dedicating our third performance to him and we hope that we do him justice.” Danny states, then stops the recording.

Once we’ve edited the footage, I upload the clip to YouTube and tell them, “It’s done. Let’s go out in a blaze of glory and give everyone a show that they will never forget.”

🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨

As soon as it hits seven Danny announces, “It’s time.”

The four of us then walk up to a stand with cameras attached to it that will project our images onto the building outside.

I take a deep breath and say, “Alright, let’s do this - light it up.”

After pressing the button to switch the cameras on, Danny begins to speak. “What is magic? Magic is deception, but deception designed to delight, to entertain, to inspire. It is about belief-“

“Faith-“ Merritt voices.

“And trust.” Henley completes.

McKinney then goes on to explain, “Without those qualities, magic as an art form would no longer exist.”

“But what happens if these qualities are not used for their higher purpose, and instead they’re used to cheat and lie?” I ask.

To that Danny counters, “For personal gain or greed?”

“Well, then it is no longer magic - it’s a crime,” Merritt answers.

“So tonight, for our final act, you’re gonna help us set a few things right.” Henley states.

Once Danny switches the cameras off, he snaps his fingers to trigger the lights outside.

“Show time.” Merritt mutters.

******

We’re all standing in different corners of the lift as it ascends towards the roof. It’s quiet for a while until McKinney breaks it. “Daniel?”

“Yeah?”

“As our, let’s call it, year of living dangerously comes to a close, in a rare moment of vulnerability, I’d like to express a sentiment to you about our relationship.”

I can hear the slight apprehension in Danny’s voice as he says, “Okay.”

“Well, when I first met you, I thought you were kind of a… dick.”

A small smile appears on my face at his words. When he doesn’t elaborate I urge him to continue. “And?”

“No. That’s it.”

In response Daniel deadpans, “That’s very nice, I’m touched.”

Merritt places a hand on his chest. “Yeah, just from the heart.”

“I didn’t tell you where I was touched.”

Henley lets out a loud laugh before saying, “He’s got you there McKinney.”

“What are we going to do when this is over?” She then asks.

“I guess we’re on our own. Our instructions run out after the show,” Danny answers.

I shake my head in response and look at all of them in turn. “No, I refuse to accept that. When we were standing outside that apartment almost a year ago, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen: we were just five magicians trying to get by who were given this extraordinary opportunity to become a part of something special. The past year I’ve spent with you guys has been the best, most insane and fun experience I’ve ever had in my entire life. We may become solo acts again but I refuse to walk away from what we have. Even if there is no Eye and we’ve been completely played, you guys are more than just my friends now - you’re my family, and I still want you to be a part of my life.”

“Whoa. A little too sentimental for me,” Merritt states.

I roll my eyes at him and comment, “Don’t pretend that you don’t feel the same McKinney. I know you care for us in your own special way.”

The lift suddenly comes to a stop, signalling that we’ve reached the roof. As our group step onto the platform, I notice that the FBI have fallen for our trick with the mannequins and are far enough away from us that they won’t be able to catch us before our big escape, which puts my mind at ease slightly.

Facing the large crowd in front of us Henley shouts, “Hello New York! Thank you for the magic, and thank you for being an incredible and dedicated audience. Unfortunately like all good things, it must come to an end.”

It’s Daniel’s turn to speak as he adds, “So we would like to start our show tonight-“

“By saying goodbye.” Merritt finishes.

I then tell the audience, “All we wanted to do was bring the world to a magic show.”

“And thereby bring a little magic back to the world,” Danny says.

We then appear on the runway opposite the platform, with Merritt calling out, “This has been one hell of a ride for all of us, but it’s time for us to disappear.”

“Good night New York, and thank you for believing in us,” Danny yells.

Looking over to me he asks, “You ready?”

I give him a smile and take his hand. “Let’s take our leap of faith.”

The four of us jog towards the end of the runway and ‘disappear’ in a shower of money as we jump over the edge. Merritt, Henley, Danny and I can still hear the crowd’s loud cheering even as we run over the rooftops away from 5 Pointz and towards the nearest subway station.

After we reach Times Square, the various screens around us begin to play news reports and clips from our final performance. They then briefly cut out and show an eye similar to the one that is on our tarot cards.

I gasp at what I’ve just seen. “Did you guys see that?”

“Yeah.”

“Yep.”

“It’s real. It’s really real,” Henley murmurs in awe.

Danny breaks me out of my shocked state by saying, “Come on - let’s get to Central Park.”

Once we arrive at the gate, the first thing that we notice is that they’re chained up. “It’s locked,” I note.

Out of the darkness, Jack approaches us on the other side and remarks, “Weren’t you listening? Nothing’s ever locked,” then proceeds to open the gate for us.

Henley gives him a round of applause. “Well done Mr Wilder! Good work!”

“You’re a big boy now Jack,” Merritt compliments.

I give him a quick hug and tell him, “You did good street rat. Let’s find the tree.”

******

We’ve been walking around Central Park for half an hour and I’m starting to get frustrated. You’d think it would be easy to find a tree with a card in the centre of it but no - every single one we’ve came across looks exactly the same.

Merritt’s clearly going through the same process as me because he comments, “What if all of this was just leading up to us getting mugged in Central Park at 2 a.m?”

Danny responds by telling him, “No, I’m telling you, we’re right where we need to be, we just have to find-“

“That?” Henley says, drawing everyone’s attention to what she’s looking at. There, right in front of her is the thing we’ve all been looking for.

“The Lionel Shrike tree,” Danny voices.

“And the card encased in glass,” I add.

Jack and Merritt join us in front of it, with the latter asking, “What do we do now?”

There’s the million dollar question. As I stand there thinking of an answer, my mind is drawn back to the reason we’re all here in the first place. Almost a year ago, each of us received a card that was the catalyst for a chain of events that would change our lives forever. What if they’re more than that? What if they’re some sort of key that unlocks the final door in our journey to The Eye? there’s only one way to find out.

I take my card out of my pocket and ask my fellow Horsemen, “Do you have your cards with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Right here.”

“Put them on top of mine,” I instruct.

After they follow my request, the five tarots become one singular card, with an Eye appearing at its centre.

“Woah,” Jack whispers.

I then wave it in front of the card encased within the tree, which causes it to glow. All of a sudden, we hear music from behind us and as we all turn to find out where it’s coming from, some lights switch on to reveal a carousel.

As the five of us walk towards it, we see the silhouette of someone standing in front of the ride. Once we get closer, I almost stop in my tracks when I recognise the person before me.

Agent Rhodes.

“Oh my god. I did not see that coming. That’s impossible!” Merritt exclaims.

“No way,” Jack mutters.

Danny chuckles then compliments him. “That was actually pretty good.”

“Thank you,” Rhodes replies.

“When I said ‘always be the smartest guy in the room’-“

“We were in agreement.”

“Okay, right.”

“Henley.”

Looking over at the redhead, I see that she’s been stunned into silence and is clearly too shocked to reply to Rhodes.

With a laugh Danny tells him, “I’ve never seen her speechless.”

“I take that as a huge compliment.”

Turning to face me the agent says, “Y/N. How’s that game of chess going for you?”

His question reminds me of what I told him during my interrogation.

I chuckle before replying, “Seems like you’ve got checkmate, Agent,” which causes him to smirk.

“Hey man, I am so sorry for kicking your ass. Really,” Jack apologises.

“That won’t happen again,” Rhodes responds.

Merritt looks at him and remarks, “Hey listen - for the record, I have always been a 100% believer, and the amount of energy that I have expended trying to keep these infidels on point-“

“Merritt, you’re in.”

Clearly relieved he replies, “God bless.”

After following him into the carousel, Agent Rhodes addresses our group. “The real magic is taking five strong solo acts and making them all work together, and that’s exactly what you did. So welcome - welcome to The Eye.”

We watch as he then steps onto the ride and it’s not long before Merritt, Jack and Henley get on it too, leaving just Danny and I standing there.

Taking his hand in mine I look to him and say, “Together?”

A small smile appears on his face as he answers, “Together.”

With that, we join the other four on the carousel, excited to see what the future holds for us all. I can’t wait to find out what’s in store for us, but I know one thing for sure: it’s going to be magical.

Merritt has an amused expression on his face as he turns to me and asks, “Seriously Y/N? Robin Hood?”

“Well, we are taking money from a super rich old dude and giving it to people who deserve it,” Jack counters.

With a triumphant look in Merritt’s direction I comment, “See? He gets it.”

Henley laughs at our exchange before adding, “I like it. Makes what we’re doing sound way more exciting. Looks like you’re on your own with this Merritt.”

“Come on guys, let’s focus and go over what we need to do,” Danny voices.

I swear, he really doesn’t know how to relax. He’s always switched on and constantly going over things we already know and have prepared for. I can practically see the gears in his head working overtime.

I then go on to tell him, “Alright, let me stop you there control freak. We’ve went over the plan so much that I could practically say it in my sleep and I can’t speak for these three, but seeing you stressed out is stressing me out. Don’t overthink it because that’s when mistakes will happen. Trust that we’ve got this and that everything will work itself out.”

I don’t give him a chance to respond as I continue, “Our show is in two hours, so let’s get ready to rob Tressler of his fortune and give him one hell of a rude awakening.”

“I think you’re enjoying this a little too much,” Merritt remarks.

“Stealing money off a guy who views people as numbers instead of actual human beings? Damn right I am. He deserves everything that’s coming to him.”

He then goes on to say, “Remind me to never piss you off.”

“I’ve got to say Y/N/N, I’m liking this side of you. You’re turning into a total badass,” Jack comments.

Smiling I answer, “I guess getting the chance to right some wrongs is bringing out that side of me.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face once he realises what we’ve done. It’s going to be absolutely priceless,” Henley adds.

“Okay kids, let’s do this thing and send some good karma out into the world,” Merritt declares.

I like the sound of that. Who’d have ever thought that robbing someone would have a positive outcome instead of a negative one? Not me, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to see it actually unfold - it’s definitely going to be one hell of a show.

******

After double checking that everything’s ready for our performance, I make my way to the green room, where I find Jack and Merritt goofing around. Rolling my eyes at their antics I say, “Seriously guys? We’re going on stage in 10. Now’s not the time to act stupid. We need to focus.”

In response to my words Merritt comments, “Careful Y/N, you’re starting to sound like Danny. It’s bad enough having him being a kill joy, we don’t need another one in this group.”

“Hey! I’m not a kill joy. I’m just being pragmatic,” I argue back.

“Aha! There it is again! The scolding, using big words… all you need is the stick up your ass and you’ll basically be the same person.”

His comment earns a loud laugh from Jack. Glaring at him I say, “Something funny Wilder?”

Taking notice of my expression, he sobers up and murmurs, “Nope.”

I then turn towards Merritt and snap, “Watch it McKinney, otherwise The Horsemen will have one less member.”

He puts his hands up in a placating gesture. “Alright Y/N, just having a bit of harmless fun.”

I spot Henley behind them tending to the cute, white rabbit who is going to have a starring role in one of our tricks tonight. “You thought of a name for it yet?” I ask.

“I’ve been going back and forth with a few ideas, but I settled on Fluffy because, well-“

“He’s fluffy?”

She lets out a short laugh before saying, “Pretty much.”

I pet him for a couple of seconds before voicing my thoughts. “I really hope everything goes smoothly tonight. One misstep will be the difference between escaping and spending the foreseeable future in a jail cell.”

Henley places a hand on my shoulder and reassures me. “Everything will be okay Y/N. Between you and Danny, you’ve double, triple and quadruple checked every single detail about the show to ensure that there are no hiccups or surprises.”

“I guess you’re right. Where is our favourite control freak anyway? I want to talk to him about something before the show,” I ask.

She answers by telling me, “I think he’s in one of the dressing rooms.”

“Thanks.”

As I make my way past the guys I hear Merritt call out, “Keep walking, I’m just gonna watch.”

Looking over my shoulder, I playfully glare at him and his laughter follows me as I head down the corridor.

I eventually find Danny in a dressing room sitting in front of a mirror doing elaborate tricks with a deck of cards, clearly lost in his own world. After watching him for a couple of seconds, I knock on the door to announce my presence, the sound snapping him out of his thoughts and bringing him back to the present. Once he puts the cards down, I make my way into the room and say, “Hey Danny, do you have a minute? I wanted to give you something.”

“Sure.”

I then proceed to make a small flower appear out of thin air. “It’s a pink rose, like the one you gave me a couple of years ago. ‘Even the smallest flowers have the toughest roots.’ You said that before you gave it to me.”

The confused look on his face says it all - he doesn’t remember.

Feeling embarrassed, I place the flower in front of him and mutter, “You know what? Forget it, it was a stupid idea.”

I’m halfway to the door when he calls to me, “Wait - did I give it to you half an hour before our first show together?”

I walk back to Danny and answer, “Yeah, you did. I was a nervous wreck and you told me that I’m stronger than I think and that everything will be okay, and it was. I thought I’d give you the flower to say thanks for keeping me grounded in Vegas. You always seem to know what to say to calm me down, it’s like a sixth sense or something.”

“I don’t need anything like that to figure you out. We’ve spent enough time together that I can recognise the signs. Besides, it’s the least I can do. We’re a team, right?”

I let out an over-dramatic gasp. “Would you look at that - Mr ‘I’m the main attraction’ has become a team player. I never thought I’d see the day.”

With a small laugh he responds, “You and me both.”

Standing here looking at Danny, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I told him that I like him. Right before a show probably isn’t the best time to do it, but I don’t know what’ll happen next and I’d rather do it now while I’ve still got the nerve.

After taking a deep breath I say, “Listen Danny, I want to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“Well, the thing is, I-“

Before I get the chance to finish, Merritt ruins the moment by standing at the door and remarking, “There you are! It’s show time you two, we better get going.”

Once he walks away Danny faces me and asks, “What did you want to say?”

Acting as nonchalant as I can I answer, “It’s not important. It can wait until after the show.”

I then turn and make my way out of the room before he notices how disappointed I am. Stupid McKinney and his bad timing.

While the five of us are waiting to go on stage I hear the announcer say, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Savoy management welcomes you to tonight’s special performance. The Horsemen: Act Two.”

“Calling this show Act Two was so unoriginal and boring. We should’ve went for something more exciting and dramatic, like ‘A Magical Reckoning.’ Yeah, that definitely has more of a ring to it,” I voice.

Danny then comments, “It also would’ve given part of the show away. Naming it Act Two adds some mystery to it, plus the audience don’t know what to expect from us after Vegas.”

“Oh. I never thought about it like that.”

Merritt leans over and whispers in my ear, “See what I mean? Total kill joy.”

I fail to stop the snort that comes out of my mouth at his remark.

“What was that?” Danny asks.

“Nothing,” Merritt and I reply in unison.

As the theatre darkens, we take that as our cue to quickly head onto the stage, where we’re each introduced with individual spotlights shining down on the four of us.

“Arthur Tressler presents: Jack Wilder, Henley Reeves, Y/N L/N, Merritt McKinney and Daniel Atlas - The Horsemen.”

Once the cheering and applause from the audience dies down, Danny begins to speak. “What is magic? Our argument, nothing but targeted deception. So I want you to look. Look as closely as possible, because the tricks you are about to see may not seem connected, but we assure you, they are. Is what follows a hundred different tricks, or is it one giant illusion?”

🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨

Danny and Henley are on first so after grabbing the gorgeous white rabbit from its hutch, they both make their way to the front of the stage where a small box is waiting for them.

Henley greets the crowd by saying, “Good evening New Orleans! We’re going to start our show with one of the oldest tricks in the book. Danny if you wouldn’t mind opening up the box and showing everybody that it’s completely empty.”

After he does that she continues by explaining what’s going to happen next. “Now I’m going to take sweet little Fluffy here and put her inside this mystery box.”

Once he closes the lid Danny instructs, “Henley, if you wouldn’t mind saying the magic word.”

“Abracadabra!”

“I will wave this magic wand for no reason,” he continues, proceeding to do so before throwing it off the stage, opening the box and declaring, “then Fluffy has magically vanished before your very eyes!”

Looking over to Danny the redhead states, “We are now going to debunk a few magic myths this evening. We all know that Fluffy is in fact alive and well.”

At her words, he pulls down a part of the box to reveal the rabbit within it. Picking her up Henley says, “And Fluffy has miraculously appeared!”

“As has the mirror which makes the box only appear as though it is empty,” Danny adds, lifting it up and showing the crowd.

Henley finishes off by telling everyone, “That’s all you’re getting from us right now, but we’ll be back with another trick a little later and it’s going to blow you away.”

Jack, Merritt and I are waiting for the two of them when they get backstage, with Jack commenting, “Nice job.”

“Yeah, you know what they say - hare today, gone tomorrow!” Merritt jokes.

I groan and shake my head at his attempt of humour before remarking, “Why don’t you hop onto the stage and hypnotise us some football players?”

“Okay, I’m going.”

******

“Now for our next trick, we’re gonna need twelve courageous volunteers, so who wants to join me?”

Practically every hand shoots up, but McKinney singles out and picks a dozen random people to come up onto the stage to be a part of his mentalist act. After they all stand in a straight line he says, “Alright, I want you all to stand still, close your eyes and clear your mind.”

Merritt then goes on to address the audience. “Now, if you haven’t experienced mass hypnosis, you’re about to.”

Danny, Jack, Henley and I watch from the wings as he proceeds to walk along the line, placing his hand on their shoulders and telling them to sleep, making them become limp one by one.

After passing the last person he speaks to the semi-conscious group. “When you hear the word ‘freeze’ you are all football players, and your job is to tackle, dismantle, crush, tear limb from limb, the quarterback.”

Going along the line again, Merritt touches their shoulders for a second time before standing back from them and adding, ”You will know who the quarterback is. He will be the one saying that word - freeze. Alright, I think it’s time for you all to wake back up,” clicking his fingers to make the volunteers all become conscious again.

“I don’t think there will ever be a time when I’m not impressed by that,” Henley comments.

Danny scoffs. “It’s not that impressive.”

Smirking at him I reply, “You’re just jealous because despite your control freak nature, you can’t actually control people’s actions like he can.”

“What? Me, jealous of Merritt? No way.”

“Mmm hmm. Keep telling yourself that.”

Our attention is drawn back to the stage as McKinney talks to the ‘football players’. “Okay everyone, huddle up and put your hands in the middle. One, two, three: kill the quarterback! Get on back to your seats, I got a feeling I’m gonna be seeing you soon.”

As he makes his way back to us, I turn to Jack and tell him, “It’s your turn now. Knock ‘em dead street rat.”

******

While he shuffles a deck of cards Jack calls out, “There are two pencils out there - hold them up high for me, let me see them.”

“Here!”

“Yeah!”

One is in the stalls and the other is in the upper circle. “Alright, I want you all to count down with me. Three, two one!”

He goes on to flip the deck of cards in the direction of the first one and we watch as the pencil pierces through the centre of a card. Having kept a card for the second one, Jack then looks up towards the circle, throws it at the pencil and as soon as it makes contact with it, it breaks cleanly in two.

The audience show an appreciation for his skill by cheering and applauding his feat.

As soon as he returns backstage I hug him and say, “You did good Jack.”

“Thanks Y/N.”

Facing Danny I tell him, “Okay control freak, it’s time for us to get out there.”

******

“Hello everyone, did you miss me?”

The crowd cheers in response to my question.

“Well, earlier Henley promised you that we’d have a trick that would blow you away and we keep our promises. Why don’t you show them Danny?”

Placing his hands together, he slowly begins to pull them apart and as he does, a bubble begins to form between them. Once he’s stretched it to a big enough size, he lets it float away and the theatre fills with gasps of shock and bewilderment. They clearly think that he’s created it out of thin air, but we know better.

After he makes a few other ones I remark, “That’s pretty cool Danny, but I think you can make them bigger than that.”

“How big are we talking, Y/N?”

“How about one big enough to hold me?” I suggest.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

As he begins the process again, I walk backwards towards the middle of the stage, keeping an eye on the bubble at the same time. When it gets to the right size, I run towards it, jump into the bubble and begin to float upwards, doing flips and twirls as I go.

The audience goes crazy at the sight before them. I mean, how could they not? This is awesome.

When I’m directly above the upper circle, my bubble suddenly bursts, causing me to fall towards the ground. Just when the audience thinks I’m a goner, Danny catches me bridal style, causing me to wrap my arms around his neck for extra support.

The both of us stare into each other’s eyes for a few seconds before the crowd’s applause snap us out of the moment we were having. Gently putting me on the ground, he coughs then mutters, “We should get back.”

“Yeah.”

Making our way back to Jack, Merritt and Henley, I can feel the blush on my cheeks and the butterflies swarming in my stomach. God, it’s like I’m a school girl swooning over her crush. At least the intermission is next - transferring Tressler’s money should offer a pretty good distraction from my thoughts.

🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨

It’s nearing the end of intermission and the five of us watch the laptop screen as Art’s million dollar fortune slowly decreases and moves into the audience’s bank accounts.

“Holy shit,” Jack says under his breath.

To that Merritt states, “My thoughts exactly.”

All that money gone within the space of a couple of minutes. This whole thing has just become very real - there’s truly no turning back now.

I then address the mentalist. “So you know the people you need to pick right? Clement Frannick, Dina Robertson and-“

“Josepha Hickey. I got it.”

A bell rings through the theatre to signify that the show is about to start again.

“You better get out there and set this thing in motion,” I tell him.

We watch as Merritt interacts with the three individuals we singled out, telling them that the number in their bank accounts is wrong. “Clement, you do not have $6,500 in your account. In fact, everybody stand up, put your envelopes to your forehead and focus on your number.”

He then goes on to say, “Oh, this is… oh dear. Just as I feared. This is very strange. You know I hate to say this, but you’re all wrong. Every last one of you is dead wrong about what you think is in your account.”

Turning towards Henley, Jack and Danny I remark, “Alright, time to Robin Hood this shit.”

“Let’s do this,” Jack replies.

As he goes off on his own, the three of us get on the stage, where Danny walks over to Merritt and whispers something in his ear before heading over to us again.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This evening would not be possible if it weren’t for our great benefactor Arthur Tressler. Big applause, big applause!” Merritt says.

“Actually Art, why don’t you come up on stage for the finale?” Danny suggests.

“Come on down Art!” The mentalist calls out.

Once he joins us I ask, “Art, did you fill out your envelope? Well, no need, we’ve done it for you.”

I then call behind me, “Jack, would you bring it out please?”

He then walks on stage with a giant envelope and hands it over to Danny and Henley before running backstage again. After taking it off him, she pulls a large cheque out of it, revealing the vast total of Tressler’s account.

“Now Art, I took a guess. North of 140, am I right? That’s 140 million by the way,” Merritt tells the audience.

Carrying the cheque to the front of the stage with Danny’s help the redhead notes, “I’m sorry Merritt, but how can he be right about his balance and everyone else be wrong?”

McKinney responds to her question by explaining, “I think possibly because he too is wrong. Everybody take out your paper and using the flashlight under your seat, start to warm up that paper - I think your correct balance is starting to appear.”

There are a few seconds of silence as the audience follows Merritt’s instructions. “Don’t worry Art we have a flashlight for you,” he comments.

It’s not long before Jack comes back on stage holding one that’s almost as big as him, eliciting some laughter from the audience. He then proceeds to shine it on the cheque that Danny and Henley are holding, moving it from side to side.

“Wait. This is weird. A second ago it said $144,579,651 but now… now it says $70,000 dollars less,” Danny observes.

Merritt looks into the crowd and asks, “Josepha, can you stand up? What is your new number?”

“$70,562 now in my account!” She shouts.

Pretending to be confused I voice, “Is it possible that Josepha’s balance went up the exact amount that Art’s went down?”

“Hey, check it out. It’s happening again,” Jack remarks.

I make sure I sound shocked as I loudly declare, “Wow, it is - Art’s balance has gone down another 280K!”

“Dina Robertson? What does yours say?”

She responds to Merritt by calling out her new number. “$281,477!”

As the theatre cheers in approval, the cheque and torch get handed over to a stagehand at the side of the stage. Sparing a quick glance at Tressler, he looks pissed. Now it’s time for the big finish.

“We have a confession to make,” I start.

Jack continues by stating, “Y/N’s right. We lied about something.”

“Yes, none of you were chosen at random,” Danny adds.

“All of you have one thing in common.” Merritt tells the crowd.

Henley’s voice is full of emotion as she reveals, “Everyone in this room was a victim of the hard times that hit one of America’s most treasured cities.”

“Some of you lost your houses, your cars-“

“Your businesses-” Jack says.

“Even your loved ones, but all of you were insured by the same company,” Danny finishes.

The five of us then point to Arthur and shout in unison: “Tressler Insurance!”

At our words, the whole room starts to boo at our benefactor.

Merritt exclaims, “You were abandoned!”

“You were loopholed!” I yell.

“Out of your settlements,” Jack adds.

Art turns to Henley with a face like thunder and asks, “This is all for show, correct?”

“‘All’ meaning we’re doing it in front of a paying audience? Then yes, it’s for show,” she replies.

I wish I could feel even a tiny bit of guilt for screwing him over like this, but I can’t. He deserves every jeer and insult that is getting thrown at him.

A member of the audience cries out, “Whoa! I’ve got $82,000 in my bank account! It says it right here on my cellphone! Everybody look at your cellphones right now!”

Beeps and trills can be heard throughout the theatre as people start to get notifications about their bank accounts, with many screaming in delight. I got into magic to make people happy, but this takes it to a whole other level. Seeing all these people get the money they deserve is so damn satisfying and fulfilling.

Turning to Merritt Tressler roars, “Did you do this?”

“How could we Art? We don’t have your password,” Jack answers.

Walking past the insurance magnate Henley says, “We’d need access to information we could never get our hands on.”

“Yes. Security questions like, I don’t know, your mother’s maiden name or the name of your first pet,” Danny remarks.

“Where would we get that information Art? You certainly would never tell us,” Merritt comments.

“Yeah, a man as smart as you wouldn’t disclose that kind of information to just anyone right?” I ask him rhetorically.

The fury is clear on Arthur’s face and as he lunges to attack me, he almost falls because while he’s been focused on us, a manacle has been placed around his ankle, tethering him to the stage. Sucks to be you asshole.

As an afterthought Merritt adds, “Hey, we’re not completely heartless - we left you the jet and the Rolls.”

All of us then jog towards the back of the stage, exchanging a few fist bumps on the way.

“Stop! Nobody move!”

Our attention is drawn to a man making his way towards us, who turns out to be none other than Agent Rhodes. Things are about to get interesting.

Once he gets closer to the stage he shouts, “Freeze!”

Uh oh - looks like the big bad FBI agent forgot what will happen once that magic word is spoken.

It’s not long before we hear someone yell, “Quarterback!”

Wires with handles at the end of them drop behind us and after we each grab one the five of us call out, “We are The Horsemen - goodnight!”

Whilst being pulled up, Rhodes steps onto the stage and before he has a chance to get anywhere near us, he’s tackled by the twelve ‘football players’. When he makes eye contact with me, I smirk and blow him a kiss, which infuriates him even more.

As soon as our feet hit the walkway above the stage, we start to run.

Having researched all of the building’s exits before the show, we run down a nearby fire escape as quickly as we can, wanting to put as much distance between us and the Feds as possible.

After running over a few roofs, we stop briefly to catch our breaths. Danny takes his tracking device out of his pocket and gives it to Jack. “You know what to do with that right?”

“Yeah, plant it on Rhodes while he’s chasing you,” Jack replies.

Satisfied with his answer Danny says, “Alright, time to split up - Henley and Merritt, you two go get us the Elkhorn file while Y/N and I give the FBI the run around. Let’s go!”

Our two groups go in different directions: Jack, Henley and Merritt stay on the rooftops while Danny and I make our way back down to street level. Running through the thick Mardi Gras crowds, I quickly look behind me to see if we’ve been spotted and what do you know, Agent Dray is there.

“Danny, the French chick is tailing us!”

“Keep running!”

He then leads us down an empty street with a huge wall at the end of it.

Realising that the only way out is through, we both take a running jump, grab onto the top and pull ourselves up. Just as I manage to get over to the other side, I notice that Dray has caught up to us and before Danny has a chance to jump down himself, she points her gun at him and shouts, “Freeze!”

The scene in front of me almost makes my heart stop in my chest. Holy shit. She’s not really going to shoot him… is she? Damn it, where are those twelve volunteers when you need them?

Sensing Dray’s hesitation to shoot him, Danny decides to finally jump down and join me. As we reach the end of the street Daniel shouts, “Go!”

“What? I’m not leaving you!” I argue.

“Yes you are. I’ll take care of Rhodes.”

“But-“

“Go Y/N! I’ll see you soon, okay?”

With a nod, I start to run in the direction of the rendezvous point, while Danny runs towards a restaurant of some sort. I hope to god he knows what he’s doing.

When I arrive at the apartment, there’s no sign of Henley, Jack and Merritt, which means they must still be out there trying to get the file. I hope they haven’t run into any trouble. There’s already been one near miss tonight, we don’t need another.

I’ve been pacing back and forth for a couple of minutes when I hear footsteps. The door bursts open and Danny comes through it, clearly breathless from all the running he’s been doing. “Told you I’d shake him off.”

It’s then when I finally let out all of the anger, worry and fear I’ve been feeling as I walk over to him and shove him hard in the chest.

Shocked at my actions Danny yells, “What the hell Y/N?”

“How could you be so stupid? You almost got shot back there!”

“But I didn’t. Besides, the key word is almost - she wasn’t going to do it,” he reasons.

“You didn’t know that for sure! Do you have any idea what that was like to see? Dray was so close to hurting or killing you and that scared the shit out of me!”

“Why? You know I can handle myself.”

Before I have a chance to think it through I scream, “Because I love you, you idiot!”

We both stand in shock at what I just confessed. This was not the way I wanted to tell him, but it’s out there now so I might as well roll with it.

Taking a deep breath, I continue by saying, “That’s what I wanted to tell you before the show tonight. The past year has been a rollercoaster for me: I started out dreading the fact that I’d be working with you because I know how arrogant and obnoxious you can be, and you were for those first few months. But after we managed to sort our issues out, I started to see more of the guy I fell in love with - talking to me about everything and nothing in Paris, calming me down before our show last night and using your control issues to keep the four of us safe instead of using them as an excuse to act self-centred. There are still moments when I want to strangle you, but I love every side of you Daniel. If you don’t feel the same that’s fine. Well, it’s not fine but I-“

I’m suddenly cut off by Danny cupping my face and kissing me. As soon as his lips meet mine, the spark I’ve felt between us up until now has turned into full blown fireworks. The both of us together just feels so right and I allow myself to get lost in the moment.

He eventually pulls away and tells me, “I do. Feel the same way, I mean. Looking back on it now, getting the tarot card was the best thing that could ever happen to me. Not just because it’s given me the chance to be a part of something bigger, but because it lead me back to you. Going on this journey with you has reminded me of what a great team we make: you keep me grounded and call me out whenever I start to turn into a control freak and you help me see things from a different perspective, and that was true for our relationship as well. If the last 12 months has taught me anything, it’s that I’ve missed us and that my feelings for you have never changed or gone away. I was going to wait until our last show was over to tell you all of this, but you beat me to it.”

“I guess I did. You’re one of a kind Daniel Atlas.”

“You’re pretty special too Y/N L/N.”

I then lean in and give him a kiss of my own, which is interrupted a short while later by a cough. Breaking apart, we both turn to the door and see Jack, Henley and Merritt standing there looking at us with grins on their faces. “How long have you guys been standing there?” I ask.

“Only a couple of seconds,” Jack responds.

“Okay boys, the both of you owe me twenty bucks. Time to pay up,” Henley voices while she looks at Jack and Merritt expectantly.

While they begrudgingly hand over their money to her I ask, “What is happening right now?”

“We kind of had a bet going on how long it would take you and Daniel to get together,” Jack answers.

Danny and I react at the same time.

“Excuse me?“

“What the hell Jack?”

He holds up his hands in a placating gesture before adding, “Don’t look at me. It was Merritt’s idea.”

I then hear Danny mutter, “Of course it was.”

I cross my arms and look at the mentalist expectantly. “Well? Care to explain McKinney?”

Merritt sighs before remarking, “Over the past year, the three of us have had front row seats to the arguments filled with sexual tension, the flirting disguised as teasing and the staring at each other longingly when the other wasn’t looking. While the both of you were too busy being wrapped up in one of your yelling matches, we got talking about how long it would be until the two of you would get your heads out your asses and actually get together. I said that it would never happen because you and Danny boy are too damn blind and stubborn to admit that you like each other.”

“I thought you’d get together after our last show,” Jack discloses.

“I said that it would happen during our initiation, which is why I am now forty dollars richer,” Henley smugly declares.

“Alright red, no need to rub it in,” McKinney grumbles.

She chuckles before asking me, “So, what happened between us splitting up at the theatre and ending up here? It must’ve been something if it made you go from zero to a hundred that quickly.”

“Danny almost got shot, so that gave me the push that I needed to do it.”

She, Jack and Merritt look at Danny in shock. Before they have the chance to say anything I add, “Point is we finally- what was it you said McKinney? ‘Got our heads out of our asses’, were finally honest about our feelings and now we are in a better place because of it,” I say, giving Danny a quick kiss afterwards.

As I pull away, Merritt covers Jack’s eyes with one of his hands and playfully scolds us. “Whoa whoa whoa, not in front of the child please! Let’s keep things PG okay? We don’t want to scar him.”

Jack slaps his hand away and retorts, “Shut up.”

I roll my eyes and echo Jack. “Yeah McKinney, shut up.”

“Did you guys get the file?”

In response to Danny’s question, Jack takes something out of his jacket and shows us a file with ‘Elkhorn’ stamped across the front of it.

I compliment them by saying, “Great job guys. Now it’s just a case of heading back to New York and making sure that Rhodes find us.”

“How exactly are we going to do that?” Merritt voices.

“With this,” Daniel answers, holding up the agent’s phone. He then continues, “If he hasn’t already, Rhodes will find out about the phone and the bug soon enough and when he does, he’ll use it to track our location, which will be the apartment on Evans Street.”

“After that it will just be a case of executing the final parts of the plan and doing our last show. We’re on the home stretch now guys, this time tomorrow we’ll have completed our initiation.” I add.

“Maybe we’ll finally find out who’s behind all of it. Who brought us together in the first place,” Jack ruminates.

“Yeah, maybe.”

Danny then goes on to say, “Alright, let’s go over the plan. We-“

I stop him by putting a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, I love you, but there’s no need to go over everything again. We already know what we need to do tomorrow, so how about we all just rest for a while before we head back to New York, okay?”

He looks like he wants to argue with me, but must think better of it because after a heavy sigh he acquiesces. “Okay.”

While I practically drag him over to the sofa I hear Merritt mutter, “He’s so whipped.”

After the both of us sit down, I rest my head on his shoulder and begin to feel the energy slowly drain out of me. Danny must sense my exhaustion because he murmurs, “Go to sleep Y/N.”

“No. We’ll need to leave soon and-“

“Don’t worry, I’ll wake you up before we do. Get some rest.”

“Okay.”

Closing my eyes, I feel Danny wrapping his arm around me. We’re well and truly on the wrong side of the law now, but if one good thing has come out of everything, it’s him. Tomorrow is a big day for the five of us but for now I get to temporarily forget about everything as I slowly drift off to sleep.

As Daniel, Jack and I do as we’re told, Merritt pretends to read and states, “Uno minuto.”

“Let’s go, get ‘em up! Put the book down!”

He finally follows his order and tells them, “Okay, you got me.”

Henley soon appears at the top of the stairs and draws attention to herself by saying, “Oh! I didn’t realise we had visitors. You guys looks very tense. Do you want a coffee or-“

“Hands above your head ma’am and make your way down here slowly.”

After she reaches the main floor, the agents puts us all in handcuffs and begin to lead us out of the room. Before we get too far Henley says, “Wait! Do you guys mind giving us a hand with our bags? I think it’s the least you could do since we can’t do it ourselves.”

A few moments later, we’re being led through the casino towards the exit and as soon as people start to notice our group, they begin to clap and cheer for us, much to the FBI’s chagrin.

“Go Horsemen!”

“You’re awesome!”

“We love you guys!”

Wow, this kind of reaction is insane when we’ve only performed one show. We must have made quite the impression last night, but then again, that was our intention to begin with. The further we walk, the more praise and applause we’re met with and I’ve got to admit, it is going to my head a little bit. Maybe a little notoriety isn’t such a bad thing after all.

******

I’m so freaking bored.

I’ve been sitting in this room for what feels like hours, waiting for someone to come in and question me about last night. I’m in the middle of spinning a chair opposite me with my foot when a man and woman walk into the room. Just by looking at them, I get the impression that they’re completely different people: she seems more relaxed than her counterpart, who looks as if he’s ready to snap at any second.

“Finally! I was about to die of boredom in here. So, what are the names of my interrogators?” I ask.

“Agent Rhodes.”

“Alma Dray. Interpol.”

So the French have sent their own agent to investigate us - I’m flattered.

“Well if you don’t mind me saying Agent Rhodes, you look like you’re having a very bad day. Let me guess: McKinney did the whole mentalism thing on you and dredged up some childhood trauma that you’d rather forget, Henley kept on saying ‘no comment’ to every question you asked, Jack slept through his interrogation and because he’s an obnoxious show off, Daniel probably did some neat little trick like escaping his handcuffs or something.”

As I look between the both of them, their expressions tell me everything I need to know.

“Oh my god. I’m right aren’t I? I should totally talk to Merritt about getting into mentalism.”

Rhodes suddenly slams both his hands on the table, making me jump. “Enough games! I want to know how you robbed a bank 5,000 miles away from a stage in Las Vegas.”

With a sly smirk on my face I remark, “I thought the answer to that was obvious - magic.”

“I swear to god, if you don’t start talking I’ll-“

“What? Arrest me? Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

“Really? What makes you so sure?”

So much for FBI agents being smart. Guess I have to spell it out for him.

“If you arrest me and the others, you’ll make a fool out of yourself and the Bureau because it’ll show that a not so small part of you actually believes that we genuinely used magic to rob that bank in Paris, which would not look too good for you. Us on the other hand, well… we’ll become even more famous than we already are. At the end of the day, it’ll only be you getting dragged through the mud.”

“That’s a pretty bold assumption for someone to make, especially when they’re handcuffed to a table.”

I scoff at his comment before replying, “It’s not an assumption, it’s a fact. Do you honestly think that you and the rest of your little FBI buddies will get the jump on us? Please. You can follow us all you want and even try to anticipate our next move, but you’ll never catch us. Want to know why? It’s because we’re playing the long game, Agent Rhodes. It’s kind of like chess when you think about it: if you want to win, you’ve got to be thinking 5, 6 moves ahead of your opponent and that’s exactly what we’re doing. While you’re worrying about how we pulled off our heist, we already know what we’re going to do next as well as when and where we’re going to do it. See, the closer you think you’re getting to nailing us, the further away you are from doing it. So, unless you’re actually going to charge me for something, I’d really like to go now.”

At that, Agent Rhodes practically jumps up from his seat and stomps towards the door, muttering what sounds like ‘god damn magicians’ under his breath before leaving and slamming the door shut behind him. Wow, over-dramatic much?

The woman from Interpol is a lot calmer than her male colleague and with one last curious look at me, she stands and walks towards the door. Before she leaves I say, “Good luck working with that one, looks like you’re going to need plenty of it.”

I’m sure I’m not imagining the subtle smile that appeared on her face as she shuts the door behind her.

******

Once I’m finally released from custody, I make my way to the foyer where I see my fellow Horsemen waiting for me. “Hey guys! Did you miss me?”

“There’s our girl!” Merritt voices.

After making our way out of the building he then inquires, “How’d you get on with good cop bad cop?”

“I basically told them that they’ll never catch us because we’re smarter than they are. Fair to say Rhodes did not take that too well. Speaking of, what the hell happened in your interviews? By the time they got to me, he was totally pissed off.”

Jack rubs the back of his neck and sheepishly replies, “I kinda fell asleep before they had a chance to question me.”

“I answered ‘no comment’ to all of their questions. They didn’t like that very much,” Henley tells me.

I turn to Merritt, who puts his hands up in a placating gesture before commenting, “Don’t look at me. All I did was point out that he has some serious daddy issues and offered him a cheap therapy session to work them out.”

I shake my head and mutter under my breath, “Yep, that’ll do it.”

Facing Danny I ask, “What about you control freak?”

With a cocky grin he responds, “I gave them both a taste of my charming personality then escaped my handcuffs and used it as a distraction to get this,” taking Rhodes’ cellphone out of his back pocket and showing it to us briefly.

“Well look at you giving Jack a run for his money. You should add pickpocketing to your resumé - good job.”

“Wait a second. Did Y/N L/N just give me a compliment? You guys heard it too right?”

As Merritt, Jack and Henley laugh at his words, I playfully push him away from me and remark, “Shut up you dork. It seems like Rhodes wasn’t familiar with the first rule of magic.”

“What’s the first rule of magic?” Jack asks.

Almost as if we rehearsed it, both Danny and I reply in unison, “Always be the smartest person in the room,” causing us to look at each other and smile.

There’s a car waiting for us outside the gates and after we all pile in, it begins the journey to Arthur’s private jet, where we’ll execute the next stage of our plan before we touch down in New Orleans for our second show. Tressler is going to have a starring role - he just doesn’t know it yet.

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“Allow me to make plain what we’ve all been thinking.”

Merritt’s comment draws me out of my thoughts and back to reality. Looking across at him with a mixture of wariness and curiosity I say, “And what’s that?”

“Well, obviously you have feelings of affection for Daniel-“

“How’d you work that out?”

“C’mon sweetheart, I don’t need to be a mentalist to figure that out. It’s so damn obvious. My advice would be to just screw him already - even Jacky boy would agree with me.”

“That’s exactly what I said to her last night in the penthouse! Not the screwing part, but the whole ‘being obvious about her feelings’ part. Subtlety is not Y/N’s strong suit,” Henley comments.

“I’m surprised Atlas hasn’t caught on yet. Even a blind man could see how much she pines for him.”

“And he for her. But she’s not ready for that conversation yet,” Henley adds.

I’m so thankful that we’re in a separate part of the plane from the others because if Danny had overheard what we are talking about, I would die of embarrassment.

I respond to Merritt by asking, “What if I don’t want to screw him?”

“Well, recognising that you have physical needs not being met and strictly in the vein of helping a sister out, I invite you to think of me as your own personal corkscrew,” he suggests.

In a voice dripping with sarcasm I reply, “How noble of you to volunteer yourself, but I’m good. I don’t do cheap, meaningless sex.”

“Cheap and meaningless maybe, but not time-consuming.”

I chuckle at his remark. “You’re unbelievable McKinney.”

He then goes on to tell me, “I’ll tell you what’s unbelievable - I found out one of the FBI agents has an arrangement with his wife where he gets to wear her clothes once a week.”

Henley chokes on her drink while I exclaim, “No way!”

“Yes way. I didn’t realise that there was a tradition in the FBI of men wearing dresses, but you learn something new every day.”

As I let out a hearty laugh, Danny approaches us and says, “Hey guys, we’ve got a show to prepare for.”

Merritt stands up and gives him an unwavering stare. “Do we now?”

“What? Nope, don’t do that. You’re not doing that thing to me, no,” Danny states.

Henley and I get up from our seats and follow them as they walk towards Arthur. “What thing? I’m just looking,” Merritt comments.

“No you’re not. I’ve been watching you for a year, I know all your little tricks.”

“Is that what they are to you? Tricks?”

“Yes. It’s gimmicks and Barnum statements, it’s reading the eyes, body language-“

“If it’s such an easy thing, why don’t you do Y/N?”

In a suggestive tone Henley says, “Yeah Danny, do Y/N.”

Clearly catching her double meaning, his cheeks turn a faint pink at her question before replying, “No, she’s too easy. I’ll do Jasmine,” which draws our attention to Tressler’s assistant sitting nearby.

Before he has a chance to begin Arthur calls out, “No - do me.”

Bingo.

Our plan to get him to volunteer himself has succeeded. While Arthur thinks this is just going to be a little bit of fun, he’s actually going to unknowingly be the architect of his own downfall.

As Danny goes to stand in front of him, Jack and Jasmine come to join Merritt and I as we wait to see how this plays out.

“So Art, you were a tough kid. You know, kind of a real rapscallion. You had a dog, a real tough dog, a brutish breed, I want to say… Ben the bulldog?”

“Actually, I was a prissy little tot and I had a fluffy white cat called Snuffles.”

Everyone bursts into laughter at Danny’s failure. “Wait, let me try one,” Jack voices.

“Yeah, he could probably do way better than that,” Henley adds.

Danny responds by remarking, “Come on, give me one more shot at it. I know, let’s do family.”

We all quieten down as he attempts to read Tressler again. “You had an uncle on your mother’s side, he had a real kind of… a real masculine name. A salt-of-the-earth, you know, a real stick it to you, like it was some kind of Paul. Paul Thompson? Was it a Paul- okay you know what? I got nothing.”

“Nearly though,” Art says.

“Was I?”

“Yes, my uncle’s name was Cushman Armitage.”

I can’t help but laugh at his answer. What kind of a name is that? It sounds like a character out of a Jane Austen novel.

Danny must be having similar thoughts because he then goes on to say, “Really? Snuffles and Cushman Armitage? That was your childhood?”

“I certainly hope tonight’s show is going to better than this,” Arthur tells us.

I respond by commenting, “Don’t you worry Art, we’ve got something up our sleeve for our big finale that you definitely won’t be forgetting in a hurry.”

The five of us then exchange knowing looks with each other. We now have all the information we need to drain Tressler’s bank account and distribute it to more deserving people during our performance this evening. It’s time for him to answer for his greed and lack of empathy and I can’t wait to see the look on his face once he realises what we’ve done. Arthur’s about to find out the hard way that what goes around comes around and he’s going to get what’s coming to him - Horsemen style.

Merritt playfully rolls his eyes and remarks, “Alright you two, how about we get a move on and head up there?”

It’s not long until we’re upstairs and standing in front of large double doors.

“Here we go,” I mutter, before opening them and revealing what is probably the biggest room I’ve ever seen.

It’s a spacious open plan layout, with the living area to the left and the dining area on the right. There’s a set of stairs to the side that must lead up to the bedrooms and large floor to ceiling windows straight in front of us that overlook the strip.

“Whoa. Look at that view,” I whisper to myself.

“This place is awesome. First the limo and now a penthouse? Tressler really went all out for us huh?” Jack says.

“Totally. But remember we’re only getting the VIP treatment because he doesn’t know about the small matter of us robbing him blind and screwing him over,” Henley replies.

Merritt chimes in by remarking, “Doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy all the perks while we can. I don’t know about you guys, but I am starving right now. I’m going to order some room service - anybody want anything?”

While the four of us decide what to get Danny comments, “Don’t get too comfortable, we’ve still got to rehearse and make sure that everything’s ready for tonight.”

God, he really can’t take a break, can he? “Oh come on control freak, let’s grab some lunch first. Everything will still be there for us to deal with later.”

He lets out a heavy sigh in response to my words. “Fine, but we’re going as soon as we’re done here.”

I give him a mock salute and say, “Sir yes sir. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head upstairs and figure out what bedroom is the biggest and take it for myself.”

With a mischievous smile on his face Jack comments, “Not if I get there first.”

As soon as the words come out of his mouth, we both race up the stairs trying to beat each other to the top, laughing all the way.

******

Well, this is it.

In just under an hour, we are going to make our debut as The Horsemen and hopefully perform one of the most memorable and legendary shows that Las Vegas has ever seen. No pressure or anything.

Once I’ve finished doing my make-up, I look at my reflection in my bedroom’s floor length mirror. For tonight’s performance, I have decided to wear a black, sparkly, cut out dress with a pair of black Louboutin stilettos that I bought in Paris. This outfit makes me feel sexy and confident, which is exactly what I need right now considering that this is going to be the biggest crowd I’ve performed in front of since becoming an illusionist.

“Wow Y/N, you look gorgeous! That dress looks great on you - very chic,” Henley says from her position sitting on the edge of my bed.

“Thanks. Your outfit is great too,” referring to the black blazer mini dress that suits her perfectly.

She gets up and stands next to me in front of the mirror and remarks, “Look at us. Two smoking hot illusionists about to kill it in Vegas. God, the Henley and Y/N from a year ago wouldn’t believe that this is happening right now. Crazy right?”

“Yeah. Crazy.”

With a coy smirk she comments, “You know, Danny isn’t going to be able to tear his eyes off you looking like that. He struggles enough to do it every day anyway but that dress is accentuating all the right things.”

My head snaps in her direction so fast it almost gives me whiplash. “What are you saying Reeves?”

“You know exactly what I’m saying Y/N. I can remember working with you both when you were a couple: the fun back and forths during the shows, the secret smiles and longing looks and let’s not forget the chemistry. You guys were a perfect fit and had a magical connection that was one of a kind.”

“Until it wasn’t.”

She nods to herself before continuing, “True. But I’m a firm believer in fate. Maybe both of you getting tarot cards is the universe’s way of saying to give Danny another chance. I’ve seen how much he’s grown over the past twelve months - he’s less snarky and condescending, been compromising more than he used to and has become less of a dick in general, and I think that’s got a lot to do with you.”

I shake my head in slight disbelief. “What I think is that you’re reading too much into it. He probably just wants to make sure that everything goes right with these shows so he can get inducted into The Eye,” I counter.

“Or maybe Danny still likes you and cares what you think of him? Both can be true at the same time. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you have been acting towards him either: throwing less insults his way in favour of playful teasing, the light blushes that appear on your face whenever he says something nice to you and the not so subtle staring when you think no one is watching.”

“I don’t do that!”

“Sure you do. Ask Jack and Merritt - they’d totally agree with me.”

Looking at an imaginary watch on my wrist I comment, “Oh, would you look at the time! The guys are probably wondering why we’re taking so long. We better get down there.”

Henley gives me an unimpressed look. “Smooth subject change Y/N. You’re lucky that we need to leave for our show, otherwise this conversation would be far from over.”

After I take a deep breath, we leave my room and head towards the stairs, our heels clicking on the floor as we go. Once the both of us reach the top of them I spot the guys in the living area below and almost do a double take at their smart appearances. They look good and Henley tells them as much. “Well don’t you all look sharp.”

As we make our way down to them, Merritt lets out a wolf whistle and goes on to say, “Damn girls, you have to warn a guy before you come down looking like that.”

With a chuckle I reply, “Well every group has to have eye candy and it sure as hell ain’t gonna be you.”

Merritt pretends to be wounded. “Ouch.”

“Besides, we’re in Vegas - if you can’t dress up here, where can you?”

“You’ve certainly done that. Hasn’t she, Danny boy?”

I draw my attention to the man in question and instantly regret it because he is wearing the hell out of that suit. It’s been tailored to perfection and fits him just right. Seeing him dressed like this makes him way more attractive and I can’t help but give him a once over.

He answers Merritt by commenting, “Yeah, you look, um… you look nice.”

I feel a blush appear on my cheeks at his compliment and respond, “Oh, thanks. You uh… you don’t look so bad yourself.”

There’s a couple seconds of silence before Merritt breaks it by saying, “Alright, since we’re all ready how about we get this show on the road?”

As the five of us make our way out of the penthouse, it finally starts to sink in that we’re actually doing this. Despite all of our meticulous preparations for tonight’s performance, I can feel the nerves starting to kick in. None of us have done anything like this before and on such a large scale as well. All I know for certain is that whatever happens - whether it be good or bad - our lives are going to change forever.

******

We’re backstage at the MGM Grand waiting to go on and I’m getting restless. Intrusive thoughts have taken over my brain, making me doubt myself and my abilities. I refuse to let them win though, so I try to reassure myself that everything is going to be okay (the key word here is try).

I notice that Merritt, Jack and Henley are stood off to the side talking and laughing with each other. How can the three of them be so calm right now? I envy them to be honest - I wish I had the ability to stay as relaxed as them.

I then start to twirl the ring on my middle finger. It’s something I do to try and distract myself if I’m feeling nervous about something. Almost as if he’s reading my mind Danny asks, “Are you nervous?”

“What? No! What makes you say that?”

“You always play with your ring when your nervous. You used to do it all the time when we performed together,” he replies.

“Oh. I didn’t realise you paid attention to things like that.”

“When you spend as much time together as we did, you get to learn what people’s tells are and that is one of yours.”

Huh. I guess I’m not as good as hiding my nerves as I thought.

“You don’t need to worry about me Danny. I’m good. Great. Fantastic.”

He then proceeds to give me a look that shows that he doesn’t believe me one bit.

I sigh heavily in resignation. “Alright, fine. I’m seriously freaking out right now. This is the largest audience I’ve performed in front of since I started as a magician and our finale is the biggest and most ambitious thing any of us have ever attempted. I mean, all of our tricks have basically been child’s play up until this point. What if something goes wrong or I mess it up somehow? Oh god, I think I’m going to pass out.”

Danny gently places his hands on my shoulders and says, “Hey. Look at me.”

After making eye contact with him, he continues. “You’ve got this. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that you’re an amazing illusionist and performer. You wouldn’t have received a card if you weren’t, so believe in yourself a bit more because I do. We all do.”

Knowing that he believes in me actually makes me feel better and it’s not long before my nervous energy starts to melt away, being replaced with excitement and adrenaline.

Jack, Henley and Merritt soon make their way over to us, enthusiasm clear on all their faces. It’s pretty infectious and I can’t help the smile that appears on my own.

“Okay guys, it’s almost showtime. You ready to blow some minds out there?” Merritt asks.

With one last look at Danny I reply, “Yeah. Let’s go out there and give them a show that they’ll never forget.”

“That’s the spirit.”

We don’t have long to wait before we’re introduced. “Merritt McKinney. Daniel Atlas. Y/N L/N. Henley Reeves. Jack Wilder. Arthur Tressler and the MGM Grand proudly presents: The Horsemen!”

Here we go. It’s time to show the audience (and the world) that we’re not your run of the mill, average magic act that does the same tricks over and over - we’re so much more than that. If I know one thing for sure, it’s this: they have no idea what they’ve let themselves in for.

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Coming back onto the stage after the intermission, we’re met by loud cheering and applause. Seems like everyone’s loved what they’ve seen so far, but now it’s time to take things up a notch.

The room quiets slightly as Merritt says, “Thank you! Tonight we would like to try something that will, well, set us apart.”

“We’re going to be doing something never before seen on a Las Vegas stage,” I continue.

“Or any stage for that matter,” Jack adds.

As Danny gets to the centre of the stage he announces, “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we are going to rob a bank!”

At that, the audience goes absolutely crazy. Damn - it seems like we’ve got a lot of wannabe criminals in the house tonight.

“That’s a lot of excitement for a crime,” he comments.

Henley then tries to hype everyone up a bit more by remarking, “I’m getting excited, what about you people?”

They shout even louder in response and out of the corner of my eye I notice Merritt and Jack giving each other a high five, which makes me giggle a little bit. What a pair of goofballs.

After making my way towards Danny he says, “Alright settle down. Now who here has a bank they would like us to rob?”

Practically every hand in the room shoots up and they all start calling out to us.

“Me!”

“I do!”

“Pick me!”

“Wow. That is a lot of people with a vendetta, so we’ll choose one at random then,” Danny states.

“Our fellow Horsemen will make sure it’s random,” I add.

Jack, Meritt and Henley then walk to separate sides of the stage and each take a bowl full of balls from the stagehands. These are just for show though, because what the crowd doesn’t know is that we have already selected the seat we want. Each of them has their own individual ball hidden and ready to throw to Danny when he asks for them - we’re just making them think that they’ve decided it by themselves.

“In Jack’s bowl are ping pong balls with section numbers. Jack, can you hand me a section number?”

Jack then tosses it over to him. “Thank you. We are looking at section B, where is section B?”

A small number of the audience draw attention to themselves by cheering and waving their hands. “Okay, it’s going to be one of you guys. Get ready. Merritt, can I get a row please?”

He then throws his ball at Danny. “Thank you Merritt, we are looking at row five. Henley can I please have a random seat number?”

Once he catches hers he says, “Oh, lucky number 13. B-5-13, where are you?”

As a spotlight shines in the general area of the seat I instruct, “Sir, stand up. There you are.”

Here’s the moment of truth. Did our mark fall for our scheme and book a ticket for our show tonight?

His features soon become clearer and just like we hoped he’d be, our oblivious Frenchman is standing there, waiting in anticipation.

“Hi. Could you just confirm for me that this is, in fact, your seat? B-5-13?” Danny asks, holding up the balls to a nearby camera that’s transmitting to the various screens throughout the room.

“Yes.”

“Okay, wonderful.”

After tossing the balls off the stage he enquires, “Could you please tell us your name and the name of your bank?”

“My name is Etienne Forcier and my bank is the Credit Republicain de Paris.”

I make eye contact with Jack and send him a conspiratorial wink and he smirks back at me in return.

“French. Okay, we were hoping for something a little more local, a kind of mom-and-pop credit union with no security, but that’s fine, a promise is a promise. Could you please come up to the stage and we’ll rob your bank. While he does that, there is someone here tonight without whom we would just be five magicians working the circuit, trying to get- well, trying to get here actually. You probably know this man from one of the many, many companies he puts his name on. He is our friend, he is our benefactor, Mr Arthur Tressler. Please stand up Art.”

As he rises from his seat Merritt quips, “The only man here with the Queen’s cell phone number,” which evokes a round of laughter from the audience.

Danny then goes on to say, “Actually, please stay standing Art. I want to say that when we came to Mr Tressler, we promised that as a unit, we could become the biggest name in magic, so we wanted to say thank you.”

“By the way Art, if you take a look at the sign out front, we made sure we put your name on top,” Henley adds.

“If you turn out to be as good as you think you are dear girl, that won’t be necessary much longer,” he comments.

To that I respond, “We haven’t done our final trick yet. Why don’t you watch us and then you can decide for yourself? Ladies and gentlemen, Arthur Tressler!”

Once I’ve finished talking Danny continues, “Now over to the Cardinal of Clairvoyance, Merritt McKinney.”

We then turn around and make our way towards Merritt near the centre of the stage, where hopefully he has hypnotised Forcier into believing that what’s about to happen is 100% real.

“Etienne, what Jack is bringing to the stage now is what we in the magic world like to call a teleportation helmet.”

As Jack walks towards us, he holds it up high for the whole audience to see.

The mentalist then continues to explain, “You will need to wear this as it will allow you to literally fold through space and time to your bank in the… 8th? 9th arrondissement.”

“Yes,” the Frenchman confirms.

“Now, once you are there, we will be able to speak with you through this helmet.”

After Jack places it on his head Meritt jokes, “Oh my god, that’s beautiful. It has the added attraction of being very stylish - it’s about time the French learned from America on that subject.”

Danny turns to Etienne, spreads out a deck of cards face down in his hand and says, “Before you go anywhere could you please pick a card, any card.”

He starts to pull a card out when Danny remarks, “No not that card. That’s an old American joke. You can take that one.”

Forcier then proceeds to take a different one from the deck. “Show it to your friends in section B, but not to us. Now if you could just sign your name there - in English if possible - then put it in your pocket.”

Once he’s done that I loudly announce, “And now for one tiny detail. Care to do the honours Henley?”

She takes out the pocket square from her blazer and throws it in the air, and the whole room watches as it expands and twirls around the centre of the stage until it disappears to reveal our ‘teleportation device’.

After receiving a round of applause from everyone for her trick Merritt goes on to say, “Now Etienne, let’s step into this cockamamie contraption and I’ll step off it. Bonne chance.”

As Danny and Jack pull the cover down around him, Henley picks up the control pad while Merritt adds, “It’s 11:50 pm here in Vegas, that’s 8:50 am in Paris, meaning that your bank opens in less than 10 minutes.”

I begin to count down. “Three… two…”

“One,” Henley finishes, pressing the big red button at the same time.

Two things then happen simultaneously: Etienne suddenly disappears through the hidden trap door which is disguised by both ends of the machine slamming together, giving the audience the impression that he has been squeezed through space and time to his bank in Paris. They have no idea that he’s actually been dropped into our replica vault below the stage.

The crowd erupts into gasps of shock and amazement. I guess it does seem pretty cool when you don’t know how the trick is done. The four of us play along with them, acting surprised at what’s just happened.

Danny shouts, “Etienne?”

When there’s no answer I call out, “Etienne? It wasn’t supposed to happen like that, was it?”

“I liked that little French guy,” Merritt remarks.

Jack asks the question that everyone here must be thinking. “Where did he go?”

The screens around the room suddenly come to life, broadcasting a live feed of our ‘little French guy’.

“There he is! This is Daniel Atlas, can you hear me? Etienne? Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Perfect. What do you see in there?”

The footage switches perspective so that all of us can see what he’s looking at, which is-

“Money. Is this real?” He asks incredulously.

“Yes, looks like three million or so euros worth. Okay, now here’s what we’re going to need you to do: I want you to take the card that you signed out of your pocket and the ticket stub from tonight’s show, then I want you to drop them both right there in the middle of the money.”

We all watch as he follows Danny’s instructions. He the goes on to say, “Now at the side of your helmet, you should feel a button. Don’t press it just yet, that button activates an air duct that connects Paris to Las Vegas. Okay good, now you can press it.”

“Alright now Etienne hold on tight - you might feel a bit of a vacuum,” Jack comments.

Almost as soon as he finishes speaking, the money within the vault starts to get blown about before being sucked out of it completely. The room is completely silent as everyone waits in anticipation to find out what happens next.

Danny breaks it by remarking, “Now wait a second.”

His words draw attention to a rumbling noise that can be heard above our heads. Feigning obliviousness I ask, “What’s that sound?”

All of a sudden, the money begins to rain down on us from above, making the crowd go absolutely crazy. I can’t help laughing as I watch some of them jump out of their seats to try and grab as much of it as possible.

Looking around at my fellow magicians, I notice that they’re reacting in a similar way. We all then make our way to the centre of the stage before Daniel calls out, “Thank you Etienne, thank you everyone!”

The five of us then shout in unison, “We are The Horsemen - good night!” before grabbing each other’s hands and taking a bow.

The audience cheer and clap in awe at the feat we’ve just accomplished. Taking everything in, I know that I’m going to remember this moment forever. The high that I’m feeling right now is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before and I never want to come down from it. The crowd’s reaction has proven that the time and effort we’ve put in to pull this whole thing off has been worth it.

When we get backstage, I can’t contain my excitement any longer and catch them all off guard by giving each of them a hug. When I pull away from Danny, I notice that a slight blush has appeared on his face, which is pretty cute. Looking at them all I exclaim, “Oh my god guys that was amazing! I can’t believe we actually managed to pull it off! Did you see the reaction that we got? I mean, wow.”

“It was pretty awesome,” Jack comments.

“You could say that we bibbity boppity blew their minds,” Merritt adds.

I chuckle at his words before replying, “I guess we did. But then again, no magicians have ever showered their audience with millions of euros. We’re lucky it all worked out for us tonight.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it,” Danny imparts. “The reason everything went well is because we’ve spent the best part of a year planning everything. Besides, nobody else could’ve pulled off that show like we just did because we’re the best at what we do.”

With a smile Jack boasts, “Hell yeah we are.”

Merritt then goes on to say, “Alright kids, how about we head back to the hotel and celebrate in style? I saw some very expensive champagne earlier that’s just begging to be opened.”

“Oooh, count me in! It’s the least we deserve after putting on a show like that,” Henley responds.

With a smile on my face I add, “I like the way you think McKinney. Lead the way.”

🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨

After helping ourselves to a very expensive bottle of Dom Pérignon, Jack, Merritt and Henley get lost in their own conversation while Danny and I make our way to the living area. Once we both sit down on the sofa he asks me, “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good actually, which is surprising considering how stressed I was before everything happened. I mean, you must’ve thought that I was stupid for freaking out as much as I did,” I reply.

“Not really. Our show tonight was unlike anything the five of us have done before - it’s a huge step up from street performances to Vegas.”

“I guess, but you and the guys were cool, calm and collected. I was honestly jealous of you all.”

Danny then goes on to tell me, “Well I can’t speak for Henley, Merritt or Jack, but I was as nervous as you. I was just good at hiding it. You know what they say: fake it until you make it.”

“That’s probably why I constantly lost whenever we played cards. You’ve always had a good poker face,” I playfully reply.

“No, you kept losing because you had plenty of tells. You just have to know what you’re looking for.”

I let out a scoff at his comment. “Oh come on! I wasn’t that obvious.”

“Yes you were Y/N.”

“Really? Then what kind of tells are we talking about Danny?”

With a smirk he answers, “A magician never reveals his secrets.”

I can’t help but chuckle at his words. What a cocky son of a bitch, but I can overlook that pretty easily because he is so damn hot in that suit. He looks cute in those nerdy sweaters he wears all the time, but this outfit right here paired with his unrelenting confidence takes it to a whole different level and makes Danny looks sexy.

Okay, it seems like the champagne is starting to affect my rational thought so before the filter between my brain and mouth becomes non-existent I decide to call it a night. “Alright, I’ve had enough fun for one night so I’m going to bed. We’ve got a big day tomorrow and I want to look my best for our visitors in the morning.”

“I think I’ll join you.”

“You’ll join me huh? Are you propositioning me, Mr Atlas?”

I watch as his cheeks begin to turn pink out of embarrassment. “What? No! You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Sure Danny, whatever you say.”

“Shut up.”

We both get up and make our way towards the stairs. When we’re at the bottom of them Jack notices us and calls out, “Where are you guys going?”

“We’re cutting our celebrations short and heading upstairs to get some sleep before everything goes down tomorrow,” I answer.

Merritt then remarks, “Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Have fun you two and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

As I begin to walk up the stairs, I turn towards him and give him the middle finger in response, causing both him and Jack to laugh at my reaction. Idiots.

Making eye contact with Henley, she raises her glass slightly before sending me a wink. Oh god, not her too.

Once we reach the top floor, the two of us walk towards our rooms and as we get closer to them, I suddenly stumble and lose my balance. Just as I think I’m going to land face down on the ground, I feel Danny’s hands on my waist and then he pulls me towards him, causing me to place both my hands on his chest to steady myself.

My heart is beating so hard right now and if what I’m feeling under my hand is any indication, so is Danny’s. Being in such close proximity to him is giving me flashbacks to Paris: the both of us hiding in the armoured truck, the spark I felt when I grabbed his hand… not unlike what I’m feeling right now actually. Ever since Danny’s placed his hands on me, my body feels like it’s on fire and when I look at his face, I notice that his eyes have turned a deeper shade of blue. They’ve always been my weakness and one of my favourite things about him - I could get lost in them so easily.

I wonder what would happen if I kissed him right now.

Just when I’m working up the courage to do it he steps away from me and puts some distance between us. His voice is hoarse as he says, “Good night Y/N,” before walking away from me and heading into his room.

After entering my own bedroom, I close the door behind me and lean against it. What the hell was that? It was almost as if we were in one of those cheesy rom-com scenes where the main characters stare into each other’s eyes, finally realise that they both like each other and then share an earth-shattering kiss, but maybe I’m reading too much into it.

But what if I’m not? What if, like me, Danny has felt the same spark? Ever since our trip to Paris, something has changed between us: we’ve not been arguing as much, our snarky comments have turned into playful, witty banter and everything just feels easier. Maybe it’s because we’re actually working together now instead of fighting each other at any opportunity.

If I’m being completely honest with myself and no matter how much I try to deny it, I’ve fallen for Danny all over again. Over the past year, he’s slowly and unknowingly managed to worm his way back into my heart and reignite my feelings for him. Of all the times for me to realise it, it has to be in the middle of our initiation to join The Eye.

What I need right now is to get some sleep and wake up with a sharp and clear mind, ready to execute the next step of the plan with the others. If people thought tonight was good, well… we’re just getting started.

After a few seconds of radio silence I hear him telling Henley, “Alright beautiful, he’s heading your way right now.”

Her part of the plan involves ‘accidentally’ bumping into him and dropping a pile of Vegas brochures at his feet, using that as a distraction to get his measurements for a helmet that will be part of one of our tricks in our first show.

I soon hear her voice through the comms. “Alright, I got his measurements. He’s all yours Y/N.”

As soon as she finishes speaking, I see Etienne approaching me. I start to walk towards him, place my cellphone to my ear and pretend to speak into it, making sure I’m loud enough for him to hear me. “I’m going to Vegas in a couple of weeks. I’ve got a ticket to see a group of magicians. The Horsemen, I think? They’re meant to be pretty good. Apparently they know how to put on a show.”

Once I’ve put enough distance between us I mutter, “Operation subliminal messaging is complete on my end. You’re up street rat, get us a credit card.”

“On it,” Jack responds.

It’s not long before he joins Merritt, Danny, Henley and I at the meet up point, credit card in hand. Well, that’s us done everything we can to plant the idea of coming to Vegas in Etienne’s head. All we can do now is hope that he actually decides to come and see our show, otherwise our big finale is going to be a big disappointment.

As we begin to walk away Henley dumps all of the brochures in a nearby bin. I then go on to say, “Alright, since we’ve got a bit of time to kill before our little stealth mission tonight, I think it’s time to have some fun.”

“What do you have in mind?” Danny asks.

Smirking, I proceed to take a black AmEx card out of my wallet and wave it in the air.

“Wait a second - how’d you get that?”

I reply to Merritt’s question by explaining, “I may have mentioned to Art that we needed to get a few extra supplies before the Vegas show, so he gave me this to pay for them.”

“Don’t we have everything for that already?” Jack wonders.

“We do, but Tressler doesn’t know that. I thought that we could indulge in a little retail therapy while we’re here.”

While the three guys groan in unison, Henley lets out an excited squeal before declaring, “Count me in! I’ve always wanted to go on a high end shopping spree. Think of all the possibilities: Chanel, Dior, Versace… oh! You and I could get a few pairs of Louboutins Y/N. I’ve always wanted some.”

“What is it about girls and shopping?” Merritt comments.

Jack’s voice is full of exasperation as he adds, “Seriously Y/N/N? Can’t we do anything else?”

“Come on guys! We’re in one of the fashion capitals of the world! We’re about to perform the greatest shows of our careers in a couple of weeks, don’t you wanna look good doing it? We could splash out on some new outfits - I’m thinking bespoke suits for the three of you while Henley and I go crazy in the boutiques.”

Danny then turns to me and asks, “You’re not going to back down until we say yes, are you?”

“Does that mean you’re going to do it?”

He lets out a heavy sigh before saying, “Fine.”

“Yay! This is going to be so much fun!”

******

A few hours later, I’m lying between Danny and Henley in an armoured truck’s hidden compartment under 3.2 million euros. Not only that, but there was barely enough room for us to fit in here to begin with, so it’s a tight squeeze.

I look over at him and even though it’s pretty dark in here, I can still make out the discomfort on Danny’s face. “Are you okay?” I whisper.

“Yeah, just feeling kind of claustrophobic in here.”

In an attempt to take his mind off it I quietly reply, “I’m not surprised, your ego does take up a lot of extra space.”

My remark causes Henley to let out a barely audible chuckle and Danny gives me a halfhearted glare accompanied with a poorly hidden smile, which makes me grin in return. I reassure him by adding, “Seriously though, we’ve been here a while so it won’t be long until we reach Jack and Merritt.”

As soon as I finish talking, the truck hits a bump in the road and without thinking, I grab his hand. When they meet, I feel something that resembles a little spark, but that can’t be right… can it?

Oh god, this isn’t happening. I am not catching feelings for Daniel again, I refuse to - if only I could convince my racing heart of that.

Glancing over at him, I see that he’s already looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face. Could it be that he felt the spark too?

Not wanting to prolong this moment any longer, I let go of Danny’s hand and look away from him to hide my blush and try to pretend that it never happened.

The three of us lie there in silence until we feel the truck come to a stop, which can only mean one thing. “Show time,” I mutter under my breath.

As soon as Henley see the guard’s feet through the small gap next to her, she stabs his ankle with a needle full of liquid sedative, causing him to become unconscious and fall to the floor with a loud thud.

We all then burst out of our hiding place, causing the packs of money to fall around us. The doors of the truck swing open to reveal Merritt and Jack. Henley greets them by saying, “Hey boys. Let’s do this.”

After they toss us a few empty duffle bags, the three of us begin to fill them up with the euros as quickly as we can. As I’m finishing up my first bag, I turn my head and notice that Jack is looking at me with an amused expression. “What you smiling at street rat?”

“Oh nothing - just watching my best friend with her strict moral code rob over three million euros from a bank. Does this mean that you’ll be my new partner in crime?”

I can’t help the small smile that appears on my face at his words. “Shut up J.”

As he laughs at me, I toss the bag I’ve just filled at him with a little more force than necessary.

It’s not long before we’ve packed all of the money into the duffle bags and put them in the trunk of the SUV we’ve rented. After closing the doors of the secret compartment, we replace the real money with packs of notes made of flash paper - when it’s activated, it leaves no smoke or residue so when we eventually do our trick, the bank will truly believe that we siphoned the money from their vault to Vegas.

“Now for the pièce de résistance. Care to do the honours Danny?” I ask.

He takes out a ticket stub for our show and a card with Etienne’s signature on it (which was perfectly forged by Jack) and drops them both into the middle of the money.

“Done. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

Once we’re all out of the truck, Jack and I close the back doors while Meritt goes and wakes up the driver. I feel a little bad about the guard getting drugged, but by the time he regains consciousness we’ll be long gone and he’ll just think that he was sleeping on the job.

The five of us then get into the SUV in complete silence but as Merritt begins to drive us back to our hotel, we break out into a cacophony of laughter and shouting.

“We’ve just robbed a bank!” Jack exclaims.

“Yeah we did!” Merritt boasts.

“I can’t believe that just happened.” Henley adds in disbelief.

It’s finally starting to sink in - we’ve just robbed a bank of over three million euros. I would never admit it to Jack, but this whole situation has been exhilarating to say the least. Getting away with something this big gives me a kind of rush I’ve never experienced before. I guess it’s true what they say - it feels good to be bad.

🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨

I’m trying to get some rest, but I haven’t stopped tossing and turning since I’ve gotten into bed. I don’t know whether it’s because of the adrenaline still coursing through my veins but I give up on trying to get some sleep, put on my robe and head outside to stand on the balcony for a while, making sure not to wake Danny in his bed across from me.

As I lean on the railing, I take in the sight before me. The Eiffel Tower is lit up in the distance and the moonlight shines on the river nearby, giving it an almost magical glow. God, even in the middle of the night Paris is still a beautiful city - now I understand why it is the most romanticised place in the world, especially when it has views like this.

I’m snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of the door sliding open behind me.

“Can’t sleep?” Danny asks, before coming over to stand next to me.

I sigh heavily before replying, “No. Every time I hear the smallest noise, I keep thinking that the police have found us and have come to arrest us, which means we’ll be thrown into jail, which then means that we won’t be able to go back home and do the shows, which means-“

My rant is cut off by the sound of him laughing.

“Are you being serious right now? It isn’t funny Danny!”

“I’m sorry, I just forgot how crazy you can get when you overthink.”

“I am not overthinking. It’s a genuine concern.”

He then goes on to tell me, “Y/N, the three of us got into the truck by taking advantage of the security camera blind spots and we made sure that we stopped the truck at a location that had no cameras at all. We’re not going to get caught out or arrested for this, so take a deep breath and relax.”

I do as Danny says and feel a weight I didn’t know was there lift off my shoulders and I do feel more calm. After a couple beats of silence I break it by asking, “Do you know why Paris is called the city of light?”

He shakes his head in response.

“After a war a couple hundred years ago, the king wanted people to feel safe again. One of the solutions was to add more lights to the streets and people were asked to light candles and lamps in their windows too. The theory was that it would give criminals less places to hide if they broke the law, working as a sort of deterrent to make people think twice about committing a crime, which is how Paris got its nickname.”

“Well, considering how we’ve just gotten away with stealing over three million euros, I don’t think they’re that good at stopping people from breaking the law.”

That causes me to let out a chuckle. “True. I got to say, our heist tonight was pretty fun.”

As an afterthought I add, “You better not tell Jack I said that because he’d never let me live it down.”

With a small smile he answers, “Your secret’s safe with me.”

I continue by telling him, “You know, you weren’t as insufferable as you usually are tonight, which made being stuck with you in an enclosed space much easier.”

“Thanks… I think.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Since we’re being honest, you weren’t so bad yourself - being a criminal suits you.”

I scoff at his words. “That’s good to know, considering that’s what I’ll be in a few weeks.”

“There is a bright side to that.”

“Really? Want to share?”

Danny voice takes on a softer tone as he says, “You won’t be alone in this. We’re a team and a pretty good one at that if tonight is anything to go by. Merritt, Jack, Henley and I will be by your side throughout it all and it’s like you said at the beginning - it’ll be tough but as long as we all stick together, we’ll get through it and come out on the other side stronger magicians. God, was that as cheesy as it sounded?”

“Yes it was, but I understand where you’re coming from. All for one and one for all right?”

“Exactly.”

As I look at Danny now, I notice that the moonlight is accentuating his features perfectly, especially his blue eyes which have become so light that they’re almost grey. Realising that I’m staring at him I quickly turn away in an attempt to hide my flustered state and red cheeks. Damn him and his stupidly attractive face.

After letting out a big yawn, I take that as my cue to head back in, but before I do I turn and tell him, “Thanks for the talk. I needed to get out of my head for a while and this helped a lot.”

“Happy to help. There’s nothing like some late night talking to put things in perspective,” he replies.

“Yeah. Goodnight Danny.”

“Night Y/N.”

As I get back into my bed, I feel more at peace than I did the last time I was here. The doubts and worries that were there before are almost non-existent and my mind is quieter and clearer too. It’s not long before I hear sheets rustling opposite me, signalling that Danny has returned to his own bed as well.

Lying there in the darkness, I think about the past 24 hours. The five of us have successfully done the final preparations for our performance in a couple of weeks: manipulated and programmed our mark? Check. Stolen millions of euros for our big finish? Double check. Now it’s just a case of crossing our fingers and hoping that everything goes well for our opening show.

Danny’s words from earlier come back to me. Tonight has proven that we make a strong and effective team and as long as we continue to keep that up, I have no doubt that we’ll become unstoppable. I can’t wait for The Horsemen to finally step into the light and show everyone what we’re truly capable of. Vegas better be ready for us, because we’re going to perform a show that they’ll never forget.

We soon find a few folders labelled Act One, Act Two and Act Three. After taking a quick look at them, we discover that each one contains intricate plans for an exciting and ambitious show. They’re unlike any that I’ve seen before: whoever thought up all of these really considered everything. I mean, these probably took years to complete. They couldn’t have done it without some sort of help, which means that it’s possible The Eye is involved in this too.

The excitement in my voice is clear as I remark, “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Nothing is happening yet, we still have to decide if we’re going to do this,” Merritt says.

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Is he seriously willing to pass this up? Daniel must share my opinion because he replies, “What do you mean if? Do you know how lucky we are to be chosen for this?”

“Do you know how many people get this opportunity?” Henley asks.

To that Merritt answers, “What, to go to prison in America? Two million give or take. I mean, how are we even sure that this is real? When you think about it, you chase a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and it turns out poof! It’s just an illusion.”

“No. The Eye is not an illusion,” Daniel counters.

“It could be a very real, very elaborate hoax and you know I’m right. Look at what they’re asking us to do. We couldn’t pull off one of those shows, much less all three.”

God, Merritt is such a pessimist. He’s given up before we’ve even started.

I turn to him and comment, “You don’t know that for sure. How much do you know about The Eye?”

“Nothing apart from the fact that it’s a magician’s version of the holy grail,” Merritt discloses.

“Well, I did some research yesterday on my way to the apartment, and I read something that said, ‘Candidates for initiation must follow a series of commands with blind obedience, for-‘“

“‘Only by taking a leap of faith will their eyes truly be opened to the world of miracles’,” Daniel completes.

I look at him with a curious expression on my face. “Right.”

“Ah well, see that’s the problem: I don’t do faith.”

“C’mon man, are you seriously going to give up right now? The plans look insane and doing these shows could turn us into the most famous magicians in the world. We’ll be living legends,” Jack remarks.

Before Merritt has a chance to reply Daniel adds, “All of the great magicians, the ones who have really dedicated their lives to this, they know the rumours about The Eye, but this,” he takes his card out of his messenger bag and holds it up. “This is a chance to find out if they’re actually true. Deep down, you want this just as much as we do.”

I look at my own card on the table next to my laptop then say, “The person who sent us these cards obviously believes that we can pull this whole thing off. It’ll definitely take a lot of time and effort and you can be damn sure that the cops and maybe even the FBI will be after us, but if we’re going to do this, we need to go all in and commit to it fully. So who’s in?”

Jack’s the first one to speak up. “I’m in.”

“Me too,” Henley adds.

“So am I,” Daniel tells me.

The four of us stare at Merritt until he sighs and comments, “Fine. But if there’s no payoff at the end of this, I will hypnotise your asses and make you do some stupid shit.”

A grin spreads across my face. I knew he’d come around eventually. “Alright then. Let’s get started.”

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A few months later, we’re all sitting in my living room (which has been taken over by countless sheets of paper) looking through the dossier on Arthur Tressler.

“This guy is one slimy son of a bitch,” Merritt states.

“Totally. Anyone who gets rich by treating individuals like numbers instead of actual human beings is automatically an asshole in my book,” Henley replies.

I nod in agreement before saying, “Tell me about it. I mean look at this: hundreds of people denied their claims after Hurricane Katrina turned their lives upside down and for what? Greed and profit. Money is clearly more important than people’s livelihoods for Tressler. I can’t wait to take it away from him.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself Y/N,” Daniel remarks.

I turn to face him and ask, “Really? How, pray tell?”

“Well, we’ve got to get him as a benefactor first, which means making sure that we impress him enough to make him invest in us, and-“

“Relax Daniel, everything will be fine,” Henley interjects.

“You don’t know that.”

I roll my eyes before explaining, “Yes I do because between the five of us, we’ll blow Tressler’s mind so much that he’ll have to back us. People like him think with their egos: he’ll not want to pass up the opportunity of getting the bragging rights for ‘discovering’ us when in reality he’ll be playing right into our hands. From there it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to earning his trust and robbing him blind.”

“She’s got you there Danny boy,” Merritt comments.

“Of course I do, he just won’t admit it because he’d need to say that I’m right, and his ego just won’t let him do that. Isn’t that right Daniel?”

“Whatever.”

It’s quiet for a moment before Jack asks, “Why are the bad guys always British?”

I give him a confused and bewildered look. “What the hell are you talking about J?”

“Well, a lot of the villains in movies are British and this Tressler dude is too, so why them specifically?”

“That’s a great point actually,” Henley muses.

It’s kinda random, but I get where he’s coming from. After thinking about it I respond, “Okay, first of all, you really need to start watching something other than spy movies. Second, it’s definitely got something to do with the upper class accent, as well as the fact that they’re almost always rich and put a lot of money into their evil schemes.”

I then pretend to pet an invisible cat and say in a poor imitation of a British accent, “We meet again Mr Wilder. How dare you and your charmingly good looks try to thwart my plans for world domination.”

Jack plays along by exclaiming, “I will stop you and the rest of your henchmen Y/N, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

“That can easily be arranged.”

The both of us then burst into laughter at each other’s antics. The thing about Jack and I is that we always enjoy acting stupid and goofing around - we share the same sense of humour and never take ourselves too seriously, which is one of the main reasons why we’re such good friends.

Henley joins in on our laughter and says, “I would definitely watch that movie. Jack Wilder, spy extraordinaire.”

Merritt’s lets out a little chuckle and observes, “You kids are crazy.”

Daniel looks far from amused as he tells us, “Come on guys, stop messing around and focus.”

Talking of someone who takes themselves too seriously…

After rolling my eyes I remark, “Excuse us for trying to have some fun Mr Buzzkill.”

“There’s no time for fun Y/N. We’ve got to make sure that everything goes smoothly and not leave anything to chance. Besides, all of this isn’t going to sort itself out.”

I get what Daniel’s saying and I know that we need to sort out the logistics of everything, but contrary to his belief, we can still have fun while we’re doing it. He really needs to learn to how to switch off and chill the hell out, but there’s a very slim chance of that happening - guess it’s time to get back to work.

🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨

“Nope. No way. That is a really stupid idea.”

Daniel sighs heavily before saying, “You think all of my ideas are stupid.”

“Not all of them, but this one is especially stupid.”

It’s during moments like these that I wonder how Daniel and I have lasted eight months together without killing each other. We’re always disagreeing about something, much to the annoyance of Jack, Merritt and Henley, who have pretty much become our mediators at this point. It’s not as if I want to argue with him, but he makes it so hard not to sometimes. Take right now for instance: our latest argument is about a damn bracelet of all things.

“Come on Y/N, it’s not that bad,” Daniel reasons.

“Yes it is! If I wear one of those things I might as well be holding up a flashing neon sign that says ‘yoo hoo! We’re over here! Come and arrest us.’”

I can hear the frustration in his voice as he asks, “Why do you have to be so difficult?”

“Guys-“ Jack tries to interject, but I ignore him in favour of snapping at Daniel.

“Difficult? If we actually go ahead with this idea of yours and the FBI finds out about it, they’ll use their very high tech resources to trace the signal from the bracelets to find us, then all of the planning and work we’ve put into everything will be for nothing. Are you really willing to take that risk?”

“Yes I am!”

I scoff in disbelief. “God, you’re unbelievable you know that right? How can you not see that these things are a liability and make things way more complicated than they need to be? It’s a risk we can’t afford to make, so I am not wearing one of your damn bracelets Daniel - the sooner you accept that the better.”

Before he has a chance to snap at me again, I turn towards the others, who have been sitting on the couch watching all of this unfold and ask, “What do you guys think? Henley?”

“Nuh uh. I’m not offering any opinion on this because the last thing I want to do is piss off either one of you. As far as this issue is concerned, I’m Switzerland.”

Daniel looks at her in annoyance before addressing the mentalist. “Alright then, what about you Merritt?”

“I’m thinking that it’s getting late, so I’m just gonna go and leave it for you guys to decide,” he replies.

“Jack? Any thoughts?”

“Nope, I am so not getting in the middle of this. You can work it out between yourselves.”

The three of them then get up and start making their way out. In an attempt to stop them I say, “Guys come on, please don’t leave.”

They ignore my plea and walk out of my apartment, closing the door behind them.

“Great job Y/N, you forced them to leave,” Daniel snarks.

“Me? You were the one who started it when you suggested the stupid tracking bracelets!”

“Maybe if you weren’t so quick to dismiss them then the situation wouldn’t have escalated as much as it did!”

It’s at that moment when I feel all the aggression leave my body, making me feel drained. “God I am so tired Daniel. Of the bickering, the arguing, the snide comments… I just can’t take it anymore.”

I then sit down on the couch and put my head in my hands, trying not to cry out of frustration at everything. It’s giving me flashbacks to the arguments that we had near the end of our relationship and I hate it. I can’t believe that I actually thought that we could work together without our past getting in the way, but I guess that was too much wishful thinking on my part.

The room is silent for a few seconds until Daniel breaks it by saying, “I’m sorry.”

I lift my head up to look at him. “What?”

“I’m sorry for yelling at you like that and for how things ended between us.”

“Daniel-“

“No please, I need to get this out.”

After sitting next to me on the couch, he’s quiet for a moment before he tells me, “I should’ve been there for you more instead of being so focused on other less important things and it probably didn’t help that I blew stupid stuff way out of proportion either. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you Y/N, yet I did it anyway and made you hate me in the process. You deserved so much better than that and I know I can’t take any of it back, but I really am sorry. For everything.”

The thing about Daniel is that he’s a proud guy who rarely admits to his mistakes because he thinks that it’s a sign of weakness, so for him to say all of that to me is a big deal. I can also see genuine regret and sincerity in his eyes so I say, “Apology accepted.”

“Look, we make a pretty good team when we’re not at each other’s throats, so how about a clean slate? I’m willing to start over if you are,” I add.

“I’d like that,” he replies.

“Good. Oh and for the record, I don’t hate you Danny. You drive me crazy pretty much all the time, but you have a few redeeming qualities that more than make up for it.”

Once I finish talking, I notice that he has a weird expression on his face that I can’t quite decipher. “What’s that look for?” I ask.

“You just called me Danny.”

Crap. I did didn’t I? Well, time to feign ignorance.

“No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did.”

“Nope. You heard wrong.”

After staring at him for a couple of seconds, I finally cave and remark, “Fine, I did. But don’t read too much into it - I still think you’re an annoying control freak.”

A small smile appears on his face. “I’d be worried if you didn’t.”

“So in honour of our fresh start, I’m willing to hear you out about the bracelets. Why are you so insistent on us all wearing them?”

“It’s so that I can keep tabs on all of you if we ever got split up. I know that the FBI could trace the signal, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take if I can make sure that nothing bad happens to you guys,” Danny answers.

That’s actually a pretty valid reason for using them. I’m still not 100% behind the idea, but I understand what he’s saying, so I decide to meet him halfway.

“Okay, I’m willing to wear a bracelet but I have one condition.”

I can hear the slight apprehension in his voice as he asks, “What’s that?”

“We only wear them in New Orleans.”

Before he gets a chance to speak I continue by saying, “Think about it: Vegas is our first ever show so we won’t be on the FBI’s radar yet, meaning that we’ll have no need to split up and make a break for it afterwards. New Orleans on the other hand… they’ll definitely be on high alert and will be desperate to catch us at that point, so the bracelets would be more useful in that scenario because there’s more of a risk that we’ll be separated if the Feds come after us. Does that make sense?”

“Yes.”

“So you’ll accept my compromise?”

“If it means that you’ll wear one, alright.”

“Great! Since that’s all settled, do you want to go over some of the plans for the shows some more? Just to make sure that we’ve definitely thought of everything.”

“Sure.”

That’s how we spend the next few hours - double checking and triple checking every detail to ensure that nothing is left to chance. I don’t realise how late it actually is until I feel my eyelids become heavy and I slowly fall asleep.

******

I’m awakened by the sound of people talking.

“I don’t know whether to think this is sweet or just plain disturbing,” a man muses.

A female voice responds, “Sweet. Definitely sweet. They look so adorable together. Did you get it?”

“Yep.”

The first man speaks again. “What is it that the kids say nowadays? ‘Pics or it didn’t happen?’

Someone who sounds eerily similar to my best friend says, “Never say that again.”

Sure enough, once I open my eyes, I see Merritt, Henley and Jack standing in front of me with identical expressions of amusement on both their faces. It’s not long before Merritt notices I’m awake and remarks, “Well look who’s finally returned to the land of the living. Rise and shine Sleeping Beauty. Why don’t you wake up Prince Charming too while you’re at it?”

What the hell is he talking about?

As I become more aware of my surroundings, I realise that I must’ve fallen asleep on the couch. I can’t remember it being this comfortable to sleep on though…

Lifting my head up, I look to the side and notice that it was not the couch that I slept on last night, but Danny’s shoulder.

Well, this is an embarrassing development. We’ve just gotten to a good place with each other and now I’m sleeping on him? Oh god, I hope I didn’t drool or snore.

He looks so peaceful - his hair’s slightly mussed and there’s not a hint of tension in his body. I almost feel bad about waking him up.

Almost.

After giving him a gentle shove I say, “Danny? Danny, wake up.”

I get no response so I slap the back of his head and speak more loudly. “Wakey wakey control freak!”

He awakens with a jolt. “Ow! What the hell Y/N? You could’ve woken me up without hitting me.”

“I know, but I already tried the gentler approach and it didn’t work. Besides, we have company,” I reply, gesturing to the three magicians in front of us.

After noticing them he comments, “Oh, right. What are you guys doing here?”

“More to the point, how did you get in here? I swear I locked my door last night,” I add.

My attention is drawn to Jack, who’s looking a little sheepish and says, “Yeah, about that… we kinda let ourselves in.”

It doesn’t take me long to work out what he means. “Wait - you picked my lock?!”

“Hey, don’t give me that look Y/N/N. Neither of you were answering your phones and nobody answered the door either, so we weren’t sure whether you guys killed each other last night or not. Turns out it’s just because you both sleep like the dead,” Jack tells me.

“Alright, how about I make us some coffee? I don’t know about you, but I’ll definitely need it if I’m going to deal with you guys this early,” I remark.

As I’m walking out of the room I hear Merritt mutter, “Someone’s clearly not a morning person.”

“I heard that!”

After I get to the kitchen and make a start on the coffee, Jack walks in behind me and asks, “What the hell happened after Henley, Merritt and I left last night? The both of you were practically tearing each other apart and now you’re using his shoulder as a pillow? Who are you and what have you done with Y/N?”

I chuckle at his words. “Relax Jack, I’m still me. We just had a long overdue talk and decided to start over, hopefully without as many arguments.”

Henley appears behind him and exclaims, “Well thank god for that!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Do you have any idea how exhausting it’s been for the three of us trying to break up the arguments you and Danny have? It’s basically become our full-time jobs.”

“Oh come on, we haven’t been that bad.”

It’s then when Danny and Merritt enter the kitchen with the latter declaring, “Yes you have. We’ve felt like three kids watching Mommy and Daddy fight on a daily basis. Don’t even get me started on the amount of headaches you’ve both given me over the past few months with your constant bickering and arguing. I mean, it’s got to be the weirdest foreplay I’ve ever seen but if that’s what gets you going, who am I to judge?”

After sharing a look of pure mortification Danny and I object to Merritt’s insinuation.

“Wait what? No! No way!”

“That is so not what’s happening here! I couldn’t stand him until twelve hours ago! Sleeping with him is the last thing on my mind!”

With a smirk and a knowing look Merritt remarks, “Sure sweetheart. Keep telling yourself that.”

“Okay, now that we’ve gotten that totally unnecessary comment out of the way - thank you McKinney - let’s get some coffee and look at the plans again. Y/N and I thought of some improvements last night,” Danny says.

“Was that before or after you decided to sleep over?” Merritt asks.

I groan before remarking, “You’re never going to let this go are you?”

“Nope.”

“Great. Just great.”

🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨🩶✨

Two months later we’re all doing final preparations for our shows in a couple of weeks, which includes practicing tricks. I’m currently standing at one end of the living room holding a pencil up high while Jack’s on the opposite side with a deck of cards.

“Ready?” He says.

“Yes.”

He then proceeds to take a card and throws it at the pencil. When it makes contact the writing utensil breaks, with half of it falling to the floor.

As Henley applauds him from her spot on the couch, I have a big smile on my face while exclaiming, “Nice job!”

“You’ve seen me do that trick plenty of times Y/N.”

“It’s still pretty cool. Cutting a pencil in half with a playing card? Automatic crowd pleaser. There aren’t many people who can do what you do Jack.”

To that Merritt voices, “I beg to differ. I mean, how hard can it be to throw a card at a pencil?”

After sharing a look of amusement with Jack I comment, “I don’t know Merritt, there’s a lot more skill involved in this than you think but alright - let’s see what you got.”

Jack grabs a new pencil and swap positions with me while I take a seat on the couch next to Henley and wait for Merritt to attempt the trick. This should be fun.

When the mentalist throws a card at the pencil, it barely goes anywhere before falling to the floor. Clearly trying to save face Merritt says, “There’s something wrong with these.”

I laugh before telling him, “No there’s not. You just haven’t got the knack for it.”

“Really? Well why don’t you try it then Y/N,” Merritt counters.

In response to his challenge, I stand up from my seat, grab a card from the deck and face Jack. After focusing my aim I throw it and as soon as the card makes contact with the pencil, it cuts through it and the top half falls to the floor.

I celebrate my success by shouting, “Yes!”

“Well done Y/N! You were right - that trick is pretty cool,” Henley remarks.

“Oh come on! How’d you do that?” The mentalist asks.

“It’s all about the technique. Besides, it helps when you have a good teacher. Isn’t that right J?”

As I walk over to Jack and give him a fist bump I hear Merritt mutter, “Show off,” before sitting down again.

My attention is then drawn to Danny, who’s sitting in my armchair looking extremely focused on whatever he’s doing on his laptop, clearly lost in his own world. After making my way over to him I ask, “What are you doing?”

“Just double checking that everything’s ready for next week.”

Ah yes. The five of us are taking a little trip to Paris to ‘program’ our mark for the Vegas show and steal over three million euros from a bank. You know, the usual touristy stuff.

Speaking in a tone that only he can hear I say, “Are we actually gonna do this? It’s one thing influencing a person’s decisions, but robbing a bank? That’s another level entirely. I mean, we’re talking about breaking the law here Danny.”

He looks away from his laptop to face me. “Hey, this is our leap of faith remember? A chance to become a part of something bigger than ourselves. I know it sounds daunting, but we’ve got a plan and as long as we stick to it, we won’t get caught.”

Danny must see that I’m still worried about it because he asks, “Do you trust me?”

I surprise myself when I answer without hesitation, “Yes.”

“Then know that I wouldn’t be doing this unless I was a hundred percent certain that we could pull this off. Between the five of us, we’ve got all bases covered so it’ll just be a matter of taking things step by step until we’ve programmed Etienne and gotten hold of the money.”

“Alright. Step by step, I can do that. I just don’t want anything to go to hell before we’ve done our first show - we’ve worked too hard to fall at the first hurdle,” I comment.

“We won’t. If the past year has taught me anything, it’s that we all make a great team. A slightly dysfunctional one at times, but still.”

It’s true what Danny’s saying: when you look at us and our personalities individually, we’re pretty different and shouldn’t work yet the more time we’ve spent together, the more I’ve realised that our differences are our strengths. What one person lacks another makes up for, which in turn makes us a strong unit.

With a small smile on my face I remark, “You say dysfunctional, but I think the word you’re looking for is eclectic. Besides, you’ve got no room to talk Mr Control Freak. Wait, I’m supposed to be practicing my French - Monsieur Control Freak.”

Danny tries and fails to hide a smirk then says, “Very nice, I see what you did there. Think you’re funny do you?”

“I know I am. Anyway, I can practically see the gears turning in that head of yours so I am going to leave you with your little logistical checklist.”

As I walk back over to Henley, Jack and Merritt, my mind is still focused on Paris. Next week will be our first test as to how well we actually work together before our show in Vegas. I genuinely hope everything goes to plan and that it doesn’t end with us all in a jail cell. There’s no point in wasting energy thinking about the future - let’s just hope that our trip has a positive outcome. As the French like to say, que sera sera.

Once I get off the train, it’s not long before I find the place I’m looking for, which seems to be an old looking apartment building. Making my way towards it, I’m stopped by someone calling my name. “Y/N? Is that you?”

Turning in the direction of the voice, I’m faced with someone I haven’t seen in ages. After walking over to her, I give the redhead a hug. “Henley! Long time no see.”

The woman in front of me is an amazing illusionist and an even more amazing person. Her and I were magician’s assistants together for a short while a couple years back before she decided to branch out and become a solo act. I don’t blame her to be honest, the guy we worked with was very difficult to say the least. I managed to last a lot longer with him before I decided to do the same.

“I know, it’s so great to see you! How have you been?“

“I’m doing what I love in one of the greatest cities in the world so I’m pretty good,” I answer.

“Are you still with-?”

I cut her off by answering, “Nope. Not in a professional or personal sense. You know how he is.”

“Ha! That I do. I’m honestly surprised neither of us killed him,” Henley remarks.

“I know, we must have the patience of saints to put up with him as long as we did. As nice as it is to see you, what are you doing here? I thought you were in LA now,” I ask.

“I am, but the weirdest thing happened after I finished one of my shows last week. I found a card that had a date, time and an address on it, like some kind of invitation. I usually take those kind of things with a pinch of salt, but there was something about it that made me want to see what it means.”

Huh. That’s exactly what happened to me. We’re in the same place at the same time, which can’t be a coincidence.

“The information on the card. Does it say March 29th, 4:44 pm, 45 East Evans Street, New York New York, by any chance?”

The shock is clear on Henley’s face as she says, “Yes. How do you know that?”

“I got one too,” I tell her.

“Oh thank god for that! If this whole thing is just a ploy created by someone to kidnap or murder us, at least I have some back up.”

I laugh before replying, “Hopefully it won’t come to that. Now, how about we go and find out what’s in store for us?”

“Let’s do this thing.”

Henley and I then proceed to make our way to the building. After going through the door, there are some stairs to the right of us, so we start to walk up them. As we near the top, we hear two male voices talking to each other. What are the odds that they’re here for the same reason as we are?

The both of us turn the corner towards the apartment and stop dead in our tracks at the sight before us. There’s two people standing in front of a door: an older man who I don’t recognise and one that I definitely do. Exchanging a quick glance with Henley, I can tell that she’s just as shocked and annoyed as me at this unexpected development. I’ve come to the conclusion that the universe must hate me because standing a few feet away from me is my ex boyfriend. I knew this whole thing was too good to be true.

Neither of them have seen us yet, so I make our presence known by saying, “You have got to be kidding me.”

At the sound of my voice, their conversation immediately stops and they turn in our direction. I can see the surprise on Daniel’s face from here as he takes me and Henley in. Yeah, I wasn’t expecting you to see you here either buddy.

After walking over to them Daniel comments, “So the both of you got cards too? Good for you. Congratulations.”

God, what a condescending jerk - he really hasn’t changed. I let out a scoff and in a tone dripping with sarcasm I reply, “Gee, thanks.”

I then turn to the man next to him and remark, “I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“Meritt McKinney. Mentalist.”

“Y/N L/N.”

“You. Now hold on, don’t tell me. Uh… Helen? No, Henley.”

Before the redhead has a chance to answer Danny tells her, “It’s on your coffee cup.”

“Thanks for keeping me honest,” the mentalist dryly retorts.

We stand in awkward silence for a couple of seconds before Merritt breaks it by asking, “So… I’m guessing you three know each other?”

I’m the first one to answer his question. “You could say that. We definitely have history together, don’t we Daniel?”

“We sure do. Henley and Y/N were my assistants.”

That’s putting it lightly. A couple years ago, work started to get slow for me so I got an assistant gig with a certain cocky magician called J. Daniel Atlas. What with me spending so much time with him, it was almost inevitable that our partnership would develop into something more. The first few months were great: we were pretty much wrapped up in each other in our own perfect little bubble. However, that soon began to change when he started to become more well known. It was suddenly work work work all the time, meaning that we barely had enough time for us and that was when the arguments started. One day it all got too much for me so I ended things. The first couple of weeks after the break up were tough, but I dusted myself off and got back to doing what I do best - putting smiles on people’s faces. Today is the first time I’ve seen him in almost 18 months, which isn’t long enough in my opinion.

“So, what you’re saying is-“

Daniel interrupts Merritt by telling him, “Listen, I’m not interested in you doing your mentalism thing on us, especially when we don’t know who brought us here or even if it’s real.”

“Hold on a second. I’m sensing… I’m sensing that you are a control freak,” Merritt accurately observes.

The offended look on Daniel’s face is almost comical as he says, “Excuse me?”

“Oh come on, it doesn’t take a mentalist to figure that out. You are a control freak,” Henley comments.

“Yeah well, I take that as a compliment.”

Turning to Merritt I say, “Only he would take it as a compliment.”

“So, that’s why you’re no longer a couple?”

Both Daniel and I answer him at the same time.

“Yes.”

“No.”

Our different answers cause Merritt to mutter, “Awkward.”

“Y/N was a very good assistant, it’s just that-“

“I couldn’t do anything right for him. Everything had to be perfect and if it wasn’t, he’d sure let me know all about it. ‘You missed your cue Y/N,’ ‘you didn’t do that trick quick enough Y/N’, ‘you could’ve done that better Y/N’-”

“Well sue me for trying to perform an amazing show,” Daniel bites back.

In a voice full of disbelief I counter, “You don’t think I didn’t want to do that too? There’s constructive criticism then there’s being an ass, which is the category you clearly fall into.”

The mentalist then turns to Henley and asks, “What about you beautiful? Something tells me you’re not his number one fan either.”

Looking at the mentalist she tells him, “I was too fat for him.”

“No, I said that one time because of the trap door,” Daniel argues.

“No one could fit through there. No one.”

“Rebecca could.”

“Do you know how hard it is to stay in those tiny little costumes?” Henley snarks.

I can hear the arrogance in his voice as he replies, “No. I’m the main attraction.”

Just as I’m about to tear him a new one, Merritt interjects by saying, “Okay, so he never made either of you feel special and trust me, you deserve to be made to feel special.”

I then look at Daniel and remark, “See? Someone gets it.”

As Daniel rolls his eyes, someone behind me calls my name. “Y/N?”

Turning around, I come face to face with my favourite person in the whole world. “Jack? Oh my god!”

I immediately take back what I said earlier about the universe hating me because my day just got a hell of a lot better.

“You two know each other?” Daniel asks.

“Yep, he’s my best friend. Aren’t you street rat?” I say, ruffling his hair for good measure.

After playfully pushing me away, Jack notices who I’m talking to. “No way. J. Daniel Atlas? Dude, I’ve seen everything that you have ever done! I mean you’re like.. I idolise you, seriously.”

I hate how smug Daniel looks as he comments, “From a true fan. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Despite knowing each other for over a year, I have failed to tell Jack the teensy weensy little detail that his favourite magician is my ex. I mean, he knows that I dated an asshole a while back, but I’ve never told him who it was specifically because I didn’t want to burst his bubble when it came to Daniel. There’s nothing worse than finding out your hero is a total dick.

“Question: did you get one of these?” Merritt asks Jack, holding up a card.

He takes his own out of his pocket. “Yeah - Death.”

“The High Priestess,” Henley states as she shows it to us.

“Cool. I got The Sun,” I say, holding up mine.

It’s Daniel’s turn next. “I’m The Lover.”

I let out a cough and murmur under my breath, “Three minutes.”

It seems like my comment was loud enough for Daniel and Henley to hear because his pretty intense glare is accompanied by an amused chuckle from the redhead.

“The Hermit,” Merritt tells us.

After that Jack wonders, “So… are we waiting on someone? Why are we just-“

“The door’s locked,” the four of us say in unison.

A mischievous smirk appears on his face. “Nothing’s ever locked.”

Jack then proceeds to walk over to the door, takes out two pins from his pocket and puts them in the lock. After moving them about for a couple of seconds, we all hear the unmistakable sound of the lock clicking open.

“Good job Wilder,” I remark, patting him on the shoulder before moving past him. Once I open the door, the first thing I notice is that the place is in complete darkness, so after switching on the torch on my phone, I slowly make my way inside, with the others following close behind me.

As we make our way further into the apartment, we pass a bathroom and notice that the toilet and bathtub are covered in a thick layer of grime.

Henley screws her face up in disgust. “That’s so gross.”

“Wow - and I thought my place was nasty,” Merritt adds.

“Man, it’s freezing in here,” Jack observes.

I decide to tease him by joking, “Awww, does poor little Jacky need a blanky to keep warm?”

Trying and failing to hide a smile he says, “Shut up.”

When we’re almost at the end of the hallway, I see what looks like a card and a white rose lying on the floor. Daniel must notice at the same time because he walks ahead of me to take a closer look.

After he bends down to pick up the card, we all crowd around him. “What does it say?” Merritt asks.

The confusion is clear in his voice as he states, “Now you don’t.”

That’s a weird thing to write. I mean, it would’ve made more sense to explain why we’re here in the first place. But then a thought strikes me - that’s the second half of a well known saying: now you see me, now you don’t. I wonder if we’re going to have to do something to make another thing appear. My eyes are suddenly drawn to a vase on the floor near the flower. Hmmm… I wonder…

Henley must come to the same conclusion as I have because she grabs the flower from the ground, walks over to it and draw everyone’s attention by remarking, “A rose by any other name…”

Once she places the rose in the vase, the water starts to drain out of it and slides across the floor.

“Whoa. Look at that.”

Merritt’s words draw our focus to a weird symbol that’s been engraved on the floor’s surface and as the water reaches it, it sinks into the ground and is replaced by what looks like mist.

“That’s gas!” Jack shouts.

As it swirls around the floor, I can feel a chill around my ankles and it’s then when I realise that it’s not mist at all.

Looking over to Jack I tell him, “Relax J - it’s just dry ice.”

“What do you think this is all about?” Daniel asks.

“Hang on, hang on…” Merritt says, proceeding to close his eyes in concentration.

The four of us are silent as we wait for him to answer. After doing this for a couple of seconds, the mentalist opens his eyes and states, “I got nothing.”

Well - that was a complete waste of time.

“Thank you. Thank you for the delay,” Daniel sarcastically replies.

As I stand there looking at him, my thoughts stray to the possibility that he is responsible for everything that’s happening right now. With a look full of suspicion that mirrors my own Henley asks, “Daniel be honest - did you do this?”

“What? No! Wait, did you?” He replies, aiming his question at Jack.

“I wish,” is his response.

Jack then turns to me and counters, “What about you Y/N?”

I place my hands up in a placating gesture and answer, “Hey, don’t look at me. I haven’t even attempted anything this intricate before.”

“Why didn’t anyone ask me if I did it?” Merritt asks.

No one answers his question.

“Oh great,” he voices to no one in particular.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Daniel flicking a light switch up and down a couple of times, but no lights are coming on. “Electricity’s out,” he tells us.

“Well, let’s check,” Merritt says, walking over to an overhead light and turning one of the bulbs. As soon as he does that, the light turns on and the room is suddenly full of bright blue light.

Turning around the space, I notice that the source of it is a few projectors that meet at the centre of the room and they’re creating some 3D images in front of us. They’re extremely detailed and full of information, exactly like-

“Blueprints,” I murmur.

Daniel stares at them and remarks, “They’re incredible.”

“Who do you think did this?” Jack wonders.

Henley responds by saying, “I don’t know, but I really want to meet them.”

Looking closer at the plans and diagrams in front of me, I start to put the pieces the together. “It’s a show.”

“Wait, what? How’d you work that out?” Merritt asks me.

Pointing at a part of the hologram next to me I reply, “These look like stage plans and over here-“ I move to a different section and add, “Those seem to be ideas for tricks and illusions to perform.”

“Well look at that. A girl that’s smart as well as beautiful,“ the mentalist comments and sends a wink my way.

Smirking at him I respond, “Flattery will get you nowhere Mr McKinney.”

Jack voices what we’re all probably thinking. “How are we supposed to look through all of this? There’s got to be hundreds of them there.”

“It’s definitely going to take a bit of time to do it - a few months at least,” Daniel replies.

“Where do we even start?” Henley muses.

I try to think of an answer to give him, but I’m all out of ideas. Then out of nowhere, something occurs to me. “Well, these blueprints couldn’t have just magically appeared from thin air. There’s got to be some kind of storage device that has all of this information on it.”

“What, like a laptop or a memory stick or something?” Jack asks.

I look to him and say, “Exactly. If we can find that, we can get a better look at this stuff and begin to actually make sense of it all.”

We then start to look around the apartment, going off in different directions. When I get close to one of the projectors, I notice something small sticking out of the wall beside it.

“Guys, I think I found something,” I call out.

The four of them return to main room and come over to where I’m standing and watch as I pull a small USB stick out of the wall, causing the holograms to disappear.

It’s not long before Daniel opens his big, obnoxious mouth to say, “So here’s what I think we should do. I’ll take that and have a look at everything then I’ll get back to you guys when I’ve thought of a plan.”

He then goes to reach for it to take it out of my hand but before he can touch it, I pull my hand away and tell him, “I don’t think so Mr Control Freak.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re doing that thing when you automatically assume that you’re the one in charge here and try to take over everything. When you adopt your ‘it’s my way or the highway’ mentality and get tunnel vision so bad that you completely ignore other people’s ideas and suggestions because you’re the one that always knows best.”

Daniel scoffs and folds his arms across his chest. “I don’t do that.”

Rolling my eyes I reply, “Sure you don’t. Look, in case you haven’t noticed, there are four other people in this room right now. You aren’t the only one who got a card Daniel, all of us did, which means that whoever sent them to us wants us to work together on this as, you know, a team. I get that’s a foreign concept to you, so you’re gonna have to get it through your thick skull that you’re not the main attraction anymore. We’ve all got our part to play, so think of this group as a democracy and not a dictatorship. If working with you taught me anything, it’s that you definitely put the dick in dictatorship.”

“Amen to that,” Henley mutters beside me.

Merritt starts to laugh but hides it with a cough when Daniel glares at him. Looking like a petulant child who hasn’t gotten his way Daniel snarks, “Real mature Y/N. Well, you clearly think you can come up with something better, so what do you suggest we do?”

I address the four of them by saying, “Well for starters, we need to decide on somewhere to strategise and brainstorm because this apartment is a total crap shack and in no way fit for purpose. I’m willing to offer up my place, unless any of you want to volunteer yours?”

None of them speak up, so I take that as a definite no. “Then it’s settled. We can use my apartment as our headquarters.”

“Where is that, exactly?” Merritt asks.

“Oh yeah, right. How about we all exchange numbers, then I’ll send it to you.”

Since I’ve already got Jack’s on my phone, I get Daniel, Merritt and Henley’s contact details then send them a message with my address.

“Done. Now, how about we all meet up tomorrow? The sooner we get started on this thing the better,” I suggest.

“At least we can agree on that,” Daniel remarks.

God, we’ve not even done anything yet and he’s already getting on my last nerve.

In an attempt to be the bigger person, I choose to ignore his words and go on to say, “Alright, now that we’ve got all of that sorted out, I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow. I’m so glad you’re here Henley and I look forward to working with you too Merritt. I wish I could say it was nice to see you again Daniel, but then I’d be lying,” sending him a saccharine smile before making my way out of the apartment.

I’m at the bottom of the stairs when I hear Jack calling for me. “Y/N, wait up!”

I wait for him to catch up and as soon as we leave the building he says, “What do you think about all of this? Bringing five magicians together for some mysterious plan that we still don’t understand?”

“It’s definitely got me intrigued. Those blueprints we saw looked pretty detailed, so whoever drew them up has put a lot of thought into them. I think someone chose the five of us for a reason - we all have different skills and specialties and they obviously think that by putting us together, we can use them to our advantage and work together to fulfil whatever it is they want us to do. What that is, I have no idea, but I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when we look at the memory stick.”

He nods in response. “Right.”

We walk in silence for a while before he asks, “So… am I right in assuming that you and Atlas already know each other? Things seemed pretty tense between you two in there.”

Of course he noticed, it’s not as if we were subtle about it. I guess now’s as good a time as any to tell him about my history with Daniel.

“Remember the douchey ex I’ve told you about?”

“Yeah. What did you call him? ‘the egotistical narcissist with the huge superiority complex,’” Jack says.

“That’s the one. Well, you just met him.”

I can see the exact moment he figures it out. “Wait - you and Daniel? No way!”

“Yes way.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

I scoff at his question. “You’re kidding, right? Jack, you’re practically his number one fan and are always gushing over everything he does. I didn’t want to be the one to tell you that Daniel Atlas isn’t as great as you and everyone else thinks he is - it felt like telling a kid that Santa isn’t real.”

He lets out an over dramatic gasp. “There’s no Santa? How could you Y/N/N? You’ve ruined Christmas forever!”

I can’t help the loud laugh that comes out of me in response to his words. “You’re such a dork.”

“Yeah well, takes one to know one. Seriously though, I know that we all have to work together on this thing, but if he ever gets on your nerves too much, just say the word and I’ll kick his ass for you.”

Pulling him into a sideways hug I say, “Thanks J, but I think I can do that just fine on my own.”

“Alright, but the offer still stands.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.”

It’s then when I notice that we’re at the subway station. “Well, this is my stop. I better get going if I wanna catch the next train. See you tomorrow street rat.”

“See you tomorrow Y/N.”

With one last smile in his direction I head inside. Once I’m on the train back to my apartment, my mind starts to drift to what just happened. It sounds a little bit like one of those spy movies Jack likes to watch: five people brought together by an anonymous figure who wants us to work together to pull off god knows what with the blueprints on the memory stick currently in my bag. It’s pretty crazy when you think about it.

But at the same time, I’m almost excited about it all. I get to do this with my best friend, Henley and even though I barely know him, Merritt seems like a decent guy too. The only problem is Daniel. I’m worried that our history together will get in the way of everything, but I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen. I just hope that he does the same.

Something tells me that this is going to turn out to be a pivotal moment in all of our careers - good or bad I don’t know, but only time will tell. Tomorrow is going to be very interesting and I can’t wait to get started.