The grin that appeared on his lips gradually let her know that his grudge, his silent treatment to prove a singular point, had come to an end. She was actually relieved, though she wasn’t visibly worried. The past three weeks, she was mostly unbothered by his decision to be the model demon and act as most witches and warlocks expected of their guardians. Mina was grateful that he was back to being himself. It meant they could go back to having fun together and being friends. A pleased smile stretched across her lips as he took her hand, ever the gentleman when he wasn’t a vicious protector. She beamed brightly at the kiss he placed against the back of it. She opened her laptop again, thinking they would pass the time watching scary movies—or at least they were scary to her. There were far more horrifying things in the Void territories, she imagined. Before she could hit play, Syn offered her a warning . . . About Oliver of all people. “Oh . . .”<br/><br/>Over the weeks he had been scarce. Prior to the summoning, he would show up at her door, hang out with her on the weekends, and share a table with her at lunch. Since childhood, they’d always been friends. She hated to think that something could drive a wedge between them. It was no wonder he was skipping lunch, slow to respond to texts, and not saving her a seat during class. It all seemed coincidental at first, but with Syn’s urge for caution around him she figure they should talk things through.<br/><br/>The weekend went by all too quickly. Monday morning was yet another struggle to get out of bed, Rosie wrestling away the blankets while Sasha looked on, her tail tapping the ground lightly. Eventually, when the maid inevitably won the battle, Mina showered, groomed herself, and dressed. Half a bagel waited for her on the table with a glass of juice in the dining room. It was the only thing she could eat on the fly since the maids had given up on well-rounded meals that required her to sit at a table.<br/><br/>In class she was half paying attention. She was gathering her thoughts, thinking of how she was going to approach Oliver, who was sitting several rows in front of her. He was always a goody two shoes, she knew, always having to do the right thing. They were polar opposites, though at one point in time they had more similarities than differences. Perhaps it was only natural that they grow a part, she thought . . .<br/><br/>Syn entered her mind, speaking of the lesson and she was back to paying attention. It was a good thing he was giving her a shortcut. She hadn’t been paying close enough attention to perform the assignment the way the professor had instructed them. As he suggested, she use a pin to prick her finger, using the blood that pooled on the pad of her tip to press against the rune-carved stone. When a portal opened up, and three demons appeared, she could sense the irritation from the professor. Still, he marked off that she<i>had</i>completed the assignment. In school, actual places of academic learning, a teacher might penalize a student for not going through the motions or following the steps to the letter. Witches and warlocks knew there was usually more than one way to perform a task, and thus they were often graded for execution rather than how well someone followed instruction. If that wasn’t the case, Mina would have failed long ago.<br/><br/>“Hello,” Mina smiled at the three. Syn stopped them short before they could draw any closer, claiming her before they could stake their own. Still the white-haired succubus approached her, dragging a finger under her chin gingerly. “I’ll keep you in mind.” She chuckled. “He does hover quite a bit.” She teased, looking over her shoulder at Syn as Terra and the three demons made their way back into the portal. The clock tower struck 1oa.m. She hurried through the crowd to catch up with Oliver. He was so tall that it was difficult to match his stride.<br/><br/>“Ollie! Hey. I texted you last night. Did you get it? I just wanted to talk to you when you have time.” Mina said, slightly out of breath since she ran him down in heels.<br/><br/>“I did. I’ve just been busy, Mina. Exams are coming up and there’s a lot to study for.” He responded, barely making eye contact with her.<br/><br/>“Oh, that’s right. Sorry if I’ve been . . . persistent. I just want to make sure everything’s okay. I’ve missed you at lunch, and in general really. Maybe after exams we can hang out? We can visit that tree house we made when we were kids, see if it’s still standing.” She offered, hopefulness in her voice.<br/><br/>“Yeah, I’d like that . . . I’d like that a lot. Just the two of us?”<br/><br/>“Friday night. Just swing by any time after school.” Mina smiled. It was almost childlike, a departure from her lopsided smirks and cool, mildly amused smiles that she resorted to throughout the day. “Good luck studying.” Of course, Mina wouldn’t pick up a book to save her life till the last minute.<br/><br/>She wanted to prove Syn wrong, not because she thought he was. It was obvious that there was something going on with Oliver, but she believed that she could turn things around with him, make things right. She was still the same Mina, despite having summoned a Demon Lord. She hadn’t changed and she wanted to show him that she hadn’t. "See. We're fine. Everything's good." She said, looking up at Syn.