Today is the day... After my herculean efforts of trying to convince Olivia of why I NEED to attend Sarah's birthday party, she decided to believe me, under certain conditions. Which means I'm all set for the party... Although I won't be there to mess around. Especially with the hostess...

New York, Queens

Aaron's Apartment

19:30

"I have to say boy, you're looking kinda fine, ya know..." Aaron muttered to himself as he struck a pose in front of his bedroom's mirror. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a black leather jacket on top as well as dark blue jeans and a pair of his all-white sneakers. He had his hair combed the usual way and the pleasant smell of cologne was apparent with his every step. "Now lemme text the boys..." The young man fiddled with his phone firing off a quick text before grabbing his keys and wallet and headed out the door, locking it behind me.

...

"Oy mate, what took you so long?" Was the first thing that JJ said upon Aaron's arrival. Having said that, he and Will had just gotten there themselves.

"Hey, I'm not even late, mate!" Aaron said before greeting his friends and they all made for the bus stop that would take them to Sarah's house. Incidentally, the rich girl knew exactly what she was doing, inviting both of Aaron's friends in order to make him attend, but that's far from the reason the young man finally decided to go.

The three of them sat next to each other as they waited for the bus to arrive. "Hey man, you got some serious drip there!" Aaron exclaimed as he noticed JJ's outfit for the party. Although they were really close at school they rarely went out together outside of it, except some instances where they got together to play videogames. So, naturally they didn't know each other's fashion sense, since a uniform wear was obligatory on school grounds. JJ was wearing a black jump-man hoodie, a light blue pair of ripped jeans and Hi-Top red and white jump-man sneakers.

"Heh, I'd say you're quite slick yourself, mate!" The teenager replied in the same vibe, as Aaron chuckled lightly, before both of them turned to look at Will who was looking at his choice of clothing with furrowed brows.

"Now Will is wearing exactly what I would have guessed, though..." Aaron said jokingly as he looked at the modest and simple outfit his timid friend was sporting. He had a button-down blue and white checkered shirt, some black and simple jeans and black sneakers with a white sole.

"Yeah, I thought something along those lines too, to be fair." JJ commented himself, as Will turned to them with his still furrowed brows and confused expression.

"Is something wrong with it?" Will inquired while the two boys shook their heads.

"Nah, it suits you perfectly man." Aaron said sincerely as Will nodded with a reassured expression.

"I don't really get fashion... I mean isn't that thing more of a girly concern?" The timid teenager made an innocent comment that was answered immediately by two deathly glares. "Haha, forget I said anything..." He chuckled lightly as cold sweat ran down the back of his neck. He probably thought something along the lines of "These two are seriously going to kill me..."

...

Soon the bus the three were waiting for arrived, and after a really short trip, they got off just a few blocks away from the address Sarah gave them. When they reached the exact location, they gazed upon a dazzlingly tall building with white walls, which was illuminated by the light blue street lamps lining along the pavement. "Uhm, are you sure this is the right place?" JJ asked looking genuinely taken aback. 'I mean, I knew she was kind of a big shot back at school but this...? It's far from what I expected!" The teenager added sporting a look of confusion on his face.

"Well, there's only one thing to do..." Aaron who tried to fake his shock said, as he went up to the door and rang the doorbell. With every step he took towards the entrance, the sound of upbeat music playing and the voices of people made their way to his ears all the more clearly.

"Comiiing!" A cheerful voice that didn't sound like the Sarah he knew at all, came from inside and soon the front door was opened, revealing a slender young woman wearing a tight black dress, which matched perfectly with her figure and her jet-black hair that was tied up in a neat bun. "Oh, hey Aaron!" Sarah said with her charming and enticing smile.

"Hey Sarah, uhm, happy birthday!" Aaron replied as casually as he possibly could, trying to keep the beautiful sight in front of him out of his mind. "Thank you...!" She said purposefully locking her eyes with his. Suddenly, an awkward clearing of a throat interrupted Sarah's advances and she turned to look at the two boys standing a few steps behind him. "Oh JJ and William too, welcome! Come in!" The hostess took a step back indicating for them to step inside. The three teenagers complied and after exchanging greetings and birthday wishes they noticed their surroundings. Soon, they were left completely awestruck by the size of the building. It looked like a mansion straight out of a movie. Even with such a large group of people there, the space didn't even seem a slight bit smaller. There were probably about a hundred teenagers about, either dancing, drinking punch or chatting with their friends. The spacious living room on the ground floor was lined up with tables that either had snacks on them or paper cups and different kinds of drinks (most of them non-alcoholic).

"Really cool house you got here..." Aaron commented as Sarah widened her eyes and crossed her arms in anticipation. "...uhm, and dress. Really cool dress." He continued as a grin spread across her face.

"Thank you... Aaron." Her face softened while she called his name.

"Really cool dress..." A familiar feminine voice that tried to imitate Aaron's was heard, breaking off the mood the beautiful rich girl had just set up. The voice belonged to none other than...

"Oh, Olivia." Aaron voiced as she approached them. But as soon as he looked her up and down, the teenager did a complete double take. She was wearing a burgundy dress that run up to the middle of her thigh, and had a pair of black heels on. Her hair was completely let down instead of her usual tied hairstyle, and she was also sporting a pair of silver ring earrings that matched her small silver wrist watch.

I'm not sure why, but I think I can die as a happy man now...

Aaron thought to himself as Olivia purposefully came and positioned herself next to him. "Is something the matter, Olivia?" Sarah wore a smile on her face, but the irritation in her voice was as clear as day.

"No nothing, everything is just great." Olivia immediately displayed the same smile as Sarah as she pierced her with her blue eyes.

You're probably wondering why Olivia is here in the first place... Well the answer to that is because that was her first and most important condition. She said she'd come along with her friends so she could keep an eye on me or something... I don't really know what's she got against Sarah though...

"Um, excuse us for a bit..." Aaron voiced apologetically as he guided Olivia by the hand and broke off the impending argument.

"Why did you drag me awayyyy?!" Olivia said like a little kid that didn't get her candy.

"Because I don't wanna see you throwing hands with the owner of this 3-story mansion that's probably got like a ton of security guards lounging around!" Aaron voiced in one breath while the girl in front of him furrowed her brows. "Also, how much of THIS, did you have?" He questioned how sober she actually was by slightly waving the cup she had in her hands with his.

"Just one..." She pursed her lips in protest.

"Okay then, one's enough for you..." Aaron voiced before grabbing her cup and gulping it down in one go.

"Heyyyy! Meanieee!" Olivia protested like a little child yet again as she pouted angrily.

"Now let's pour you some orange juice..."

...

"Feeling better now?" Aaron said as he sat on a chair next to Olivia who was completely sober at this point.

"Yeah, I think so..." She voiced exhaustedly as she sighed and leaned back in her seat, her hands neatly folded on top of her thighs.

"Glad you can handle your liquor..." The teenager commented sarcastically as Olivia glared at him with killing intent.

Seriously, who gets drunk after one cup of punch?

Aaron thought but refrained from saying it aloud.

"Now that you're sober and you WON'T blow our cover, I need you to keep an eye on Sarah..." The young man whispered their plan as Olivia nodded in response to his words.

...

Soon the two of them got up from their seats, with Olivia going off in the direction of Sarah while Aaron ascended the stairs in an attempt to find Crane's office. The 1st floor was a lot less occupied than the ground floor, which was to be expected since the party was on the first layer of the house. The only people who were on the 1st floor were either making out on a secluded corner or waiting for their turn to use one of the two bathrooms available to them. Approximately, no more than 10 people were currently on the floor.

If Sarah or the security guards are letting us walk freely on this floor then I assume Crane's office must be further up...

Aaron looked around and moved up the stairs yet again. As he took a right turn right at the middle of the staircase he came face to face with 2 suited men standing at the top of the staircase.

"This area is off-limits." One of the guards said sternly as Aaron tried to play dumb and looked at them with furrowed brows.

"Oh, I see... Do you happen to know where the bathroom is? Haha..." He laughed awkwardly scratching the back of his head. But the guards didn't even respond as they glared at him with hard eyes.

Jeez okay, I get the message...

Aaron said as he walked back down to the 1st floor and moved to the small balcony.

Now that I know they're guarding the 2nd floor, there's even more of a reason for me to go there...

Aaron smiled to himself as he stepped outside to the balcony, careful to not be seen by anyone. As soon as he was out, the teenager looked up to an opened window on the 2nd floor and quickly climbed the railing of the balcony. Focusing most of his strength on his legs, he bent his knees and jumped up with immense force, grabbing the ledge of the window he was aiming for. He quickly surveyed inside the building and after noticing that the coast was clear, with a quick movement he slipped inside the 2nd floor. "Now if I were an office, where would I be...?" Aaron whispered to himself as he silently walked further inside the hallway. As soon as the guard's backs from before came into view, he slid as closer to the wall across from them as possible. Thankfully for him, the hallway was big enough for him to move behind their backs, utilizing their blind spots. Soon, he found it. At the end of the long hallway, a door with a different pattern than the rest, laid there locked. It was a dark brown and looked extremely heavy and strong. He immediately thought to himself how relieved he was he didn't need to break it or pick its lock the "normal" way. Stuffing his hand into his jean's pocket, Aaron pulled out the ultimate burglar device made from none other than Steinn himself. It was a magnet-like tool that helped disarm the lock from outside. After putting it against the door's lock and pushing the button the door made a soft clicking sound, and the teenager steadily turned the golden doorknob.

Aaron slipped inside and closed the door behind him as silently as possible, as he brought out his phone and illuminated the dark room with its flashlight. He had to make do with his phone's light, since turning on the lights of the room would alert anyone who was standing in the yard overlooking the house. "Wraith: protector of the weak and master thief!" Aaron jokingly commented as he pulled out a pair of gloves from his back pocket and started rummaging through the stuff lying on top of Crane's desk.