Sneaking out on a date when you're an Alcove is like trying to rob a bank with a spotlight on your face. You might think you've outsmarted the system, but it always catches you in the end.
So when I managed to sneak out to meet Sylvian at the mall for our date, I thought, just for a second, that maybe—just maybe—I had outsmarted my brothers.
Sylvian and I had been texting for weeks. He was charming, polite, and, more importantly, oblivious to the chaos that came with dating an Alcove.
We'd planned to try one of those trendy escape rooms. You know, the ones where you solve puzzles in a dark room with eerie music while being timed. It was the perfect date idea, right?
Wrong.
Because no matter how stealthy I think I am, I always forget one crucial detail: the Alcove Twins. Julian and Dante.
The bane of my dating existence. They have this sixth sense, like a pair of hawks that can spot a date from miles away, even when I'm convinced I've covered all my tracks.
Sylvian was waiting for me outside the escape room, casually leaning against the wall with that effortlessly cool look.
He was one of the most popular guys in high school, the son of a successful coffee chain owner, and a bit of a heartthrob. I'd been nursing a tiny crush on him since sophomore year, and now, here we were.
"Hey, Xandria," he greeted me with a soft smile, pushing a hand through his perfectly tousled hair. "You ready for this? I've heard it's supposed to be pretty intense."
I forced a grin, trying to push down the gnawing suspicion that I was being watched. "Yeah, let's do it!"
We checked in, received our VR headsets, and were ushered into the darkened room where the game would start.
The walls were painted black, with flickering neon lights guiding us to our stations. We slipped the headsets on, and I tried to remind myself that there was no way my brothers knew about this.
No way.
We were safe. Or so I thought.
The air felt cold and metallic through the VR headset, and the flickering neon lights cast eerie shadows on the walls. Every sound felt amplified, from the creak of a virtual door to the low hum of the ambient soundtrack.
The game started normally. Puzzle-solving, eerie whispers, and dimly lit corridors. Sylvian was enjoying himself, laughing as we tried to crack the codes on the first door.
But something felt… off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was like the atmosphere had shifted. The ambient sound in my headset wasn't just eerie; it was personal. Almost as if it were... familiar.
That's when I heard it.
"Xandria…"
It wasn't part of the game's script. I knew because I'd done this escape room before, back when it opened. That voice wasn't part of the experience.
I glanced at Sylvian, but he seemed oblivious, still tapping on a digital lock on the wall. My stomach flipped.
"Xandria… you can't escape us…"
The voice was low, teasing, and unmistakable. Dante. I would know that mischievous tone anywhere.
I whipped off my headset, my heart racing. My brothers were here. Well, not here-here, but… somehow, they'd infiltrated the system. My eyes darted around the dark room, half-expecting to see Dante in a corner with a smirk on his face, but of course, he wasn't there.
"Everything okay?" Sylvian asked, looking at me through his VR goggles, his brow furrowing in concern.
I forced a smile and put the headset back on. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Let's keep going."
But it wasn't fine. Not even close.
Because the next thing I saw when I slipped back into the virtual world was a shadowy figure standing at the far end of the hallway we were supposed to walk down.
It was tall, broad-shouldered, and as it moved closer, the shadows pulled back to reveal… Julian. Not just any Julian—holographic Julian, with his arms crossed over his chest and an unimpressed scowl etched on his face.
"Sylvian… stay away from my sister."
Julian's holographic figure loomed in the hallway, arms crossed, his scowl so lifelike it sent Sylvian stumbling backward.
"Did… did it just say your name?" Sylvian stammered, eyes wide.
I swallowed hard, my face turning a deep shade of crimson. "Uh, yeah… weird, right? Must be some kind of… glitch."
But Sylvian wasn't convinced. "It just said your name."
I could have died right there. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, and I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice calm. "Must be part of the immersive experience. You know how advanced these things are."
He looked skeptical but shrugged, trying to play it cool. "I guess…"
And then, the voice changed. This time it was Dante, no longer hiding his amusement. "Sylvian, buddy, let's cut to the chase. You think you're smart enough to solve this puzzle? We're watching you."
I yanked off the headset again, glaring at the ceiling as if my brothers could see me. "DANTE!" I hissed under my breath. "You are so dead!"
But of course, all I got in return was his smug laughter filtering through the speakers.
Meanwhile, Sylvian was starting to freak out. "I swear, that painting just moved. And… and did it just say we're watching you?"
I glanced around the virtual room, and sure enough, a portrait on the wall had changed. It now featured a pixelated version of Julian, glaring down at us with glowing eyes. Beneath it, in ominous text, read: We see everything.
Sylvian took a step back, looking genuinely spooked. "Okay, that's… that's not normal."
I could hear Julian chuckling through the headset.
"Don't worry, Sylvian," his voice echoed, "I'm just the ghost of relationships past. Here to remind you that some families have very high standards."
I wanted to scream.
Sylvian, looked like he was about to bolt out the door. His cool, confident demeanor was quickly unraveling, and I knew if I didn't stop this, my date was about to end in complete disaster.
"Julian, Dante, cut it out!" I whispered harshly, knowing they could hear me through the speakers.
"No can do, sis," Dante's voice replied, far too gleeful. "We're just ensuring the quality of your date. Think of us as virtual chaperones."
"More like virtual buzzkills," I muttered, dragging Sylvian by the arm toward the next puzzle. "Let's just keep going."
But it was too late. Julian's ghostly figure materialized again, this time blocking the door we needed to open.
"Seriously, Sylvian," he warned in a deep, mocking voice. "You don't want to mess with the Alcoves."
Sylvian pulled off his headset, pale as a sheet. "I-I think I should go."
"No, wait! It's fine!" I pleaded, trying to salvage the situation. "They're just messing with us. My brothers, I mean. They do this sometimes…"
"Your brothers?" His eyes widened in horror. "They're watching us?"
"Kind of… but it's just a prank! They're not actually—"
But he was already shaking his head, backing away. "No, no, I've heard about your brothers, Xandria. Everyone at school has. I thought it was just rumors, but if this is real—"
"It's not real! It's just Dante messing with the system! He does this all the time. Well, not all the time, but—"
"I thought this was going to be fun," Sylvian said, his voice trembling slightly. "But this? Xandria, this is… too much."
"Sylvan, no, this—"
Sylvian didn't stick around to hear the rest. He practically bolted out of the escape room, leaving me standing there, mortified and furious.
As I watched Sylvian leave, a pang of disappointment hit me. It wasn't just about the ruined date—it was about the sinking feeling that no matter how hard I tried, I'd never escape their shadow.
I pulled off my headset and glared up at the ceiling.
"Dante. Julian. You two are the worst."
Julian's voice came through the speakers, sounding annoyingly pleased with himself. "You're welcome."
Mila's text popped up on my phone: How's it going? Any interference yet?
I sighed and replied: You have no idea. Meet me after to debrief?
Her response came instantly: Sure.
Later that night, back at the mansion, I stormed into Dante's tech lair, where he was still grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Julian lounged on the couch nearby, looking entirely too satisfied with himself.
"You guys just cost me a perfectly good date," I snapped, hands on my hips.
Dante leaned back in his chair, unrepentant. "He wasn't good enough for you."
Julian nodded. "Consider it an act of mercy. You don't want to date someone who can't handle a little sibling interference."
I threw my hands up in exasperation. "You call that a little interference?!"
Dante shrugged. "Hey, if he can't handle a little VR ghosting, he definitely couldn't handle dating an Alcove."
I glared at them both, but there was no point arguing. They'd already made up their minds.
As I stomped back to my room, I made a silent vow: next time, I'd outsmart them. Because if dating as an Alcove was impossible, I was about to make the impossible happen.