• We were on about the 103rd question, standing in line at a Wal-Mart register. I had already figured out that his favorite color was green, he's eighteen, his favorite book series was the Cirque De Freak series, his favorite movie was Never back Down, his favorite food was spaghetti with fresh mushrooms, his favorite season was winter, and a whole bunch of useless facts, like what his first grade teacher's name.
    "Uh, if you had the chance to fall in love any actress in the world, who would it be?" I asked. We had stopped asking the 'favorites' questions, because they were limiting the possibilities. He smiled at me and shook his head.
    "You ask some weird questions." he replied, taking a step forward. The line was a decent size but the lady in front of us had two toddlers with her and enough groceries to fill the back of a U-haul, so we were prepared to wait a while. I rolled my eyes.
    "Don't change the subject." I teased. He sighed.
    "Honestly?" he asked. I nodded exasperatedly.
    "There's only one girl that I want to be with." he said, sincerity lacing his tone.
    "Who, Megan Fox?" I asked lightheartedly. He laughed.
    "No, but if I told you, I'd have to kill you." he said jokingly.
    "Guess I'm going to die young, aren't I?" I teased back. I reached to poke him in the side and he immediately grabbed my wrist tightly. My eyes widened and I jumped in surprise of his quick reflexes.
    "Sorry." he mumbled, letting go of my wrist. My arm flopped down to my side, like a noodle.
    "Touchy much?" I asked, rubbing my wrist. He had left a red ring around it. He looked down at it and his eyes grew sad. He lifted his face and his eyes met mine and there was an instant connection. As if a ton of bricks hit me, the intensity of his eyes knocked the breath out of me. They looked like puppy eyes at first, sad and hopeless, but the longer I stared, the more emotions flashed, like showing a little movie of the past, present, and what he thought was going to happen. The stories that his eyes held were the answers to my questions and more. They told his life story, all the emotions he's ever felt. My lips parted slightly, ready to say something, but all that came out was a squeak. As if it was a sledge hammer, it shattered the silence and he looked away quickly.
    "I said I was sorry. You just can't startle me like that. You'll get killed." he said seriously, like the connection we just had never happened. I could feel the figurative walls lifting up around him, blocking me out. I closed my eyes, and refused to comment on his sudden defense. My eyes burned for holding them open for so long and I wondered if my eyes had shown as much as his had.
    "You okay?" I heard him ask. Refusing to answer, I simply opened my eyes and stared at him. Instead if staring in his eyes this time, I stared at his lips, not ready for him to shut down and his walls to go up again. He waited, refusing to turn around until I said something.
    "Yeah, I'm fine." I replied. I made sure there was no emotion in my voice, just to show him the coldness that I got. He raised his eyebrows and put his hands in the air.
    "Hey, I didn't mean to intrude." he said, taking a step farther up the line. Yeah, neither did I, I thought bitterly.
    The rest of the wait in the line was silent besides for the constant hum of people around us, but I was too busy trying to figure out was exactly just happened between us to notice. I was on complete auto pilot until the feeling of someone grabbing the tips of my fingers and quickly guiding me away from the register snapped me out of it. I looked at Danny who was glancing around frantically like a hooker in a church. I practically had to jog to keep with him.
    "What's wrong?" I asked.
    "They saw us. They saw you, and no doubt they could smell you from where they were." he replied, still checking behind us as we walked out into the parking lot.
    "Okay, for one, who's they? And for two, why is my smell so important?" I asked, trying not to beat him in the legs with the groceries.
    "They work for my grandfather and your scent attracts them, just as it did me, but for all the wrong reasons." Did he just say that I attract him? No, he said it was your scent, my inner voice argued with my fantasy.
    "Why does, my smell always attract weirdos?" I asked playfully, but he just unlocked the car and practically stuffed me in the passenger's seat. I was just about to ask him why he was in such a hurry, but then I saw them. There were two of them. They were fast walking in our direction, staring straight at me. There was something in their eyes that sent shivers down my spine. Their expressions were cold, merciless. I heard Danny slam the car door shut and rev the car to life. Without looking he pulled out and sped out of the parking lot.
    "Why were they after us? Does your grandpa work for the IRS or something?" I asked, breathless from the rush of adrenaline I felt. I'm not sure what my scent would have to do with the IRS, though.
    "They weren't after us, they were after you. And no, that doesn't even make sense." he replied. I looked through the front windshield and saw a traffic light that was about to turn red and Danny didn't look like he had any intentions on stopping. I watched the speedometer as the arrow inched past the 75 mph mark.
    "Uh, Earth to Danny, you'll never make that light!" I said frantically. He simply kicked it into gear again. Before we even got to the light, he jerked the steering wheel to the right, sending the car flying towards a ditch. I screamed as the wheels slammed against the ground right over the ditch. My head jerked forward and slammed into the seat, rattling my brain. My fist clenched the sides of the seat, as if I let go now I would fly out of the car. He sped into a thinly spread forest. I watched in horror as one of the trees tore off the side view mirror on my side.
    "Danny! Please stop!" I shouted, tears dropping unintentionally. I was scared to death, afraid at any moment it would be my last. He twisted in and out of trees, and finally leading us onto a seemingly deserted dirt road. When we were a little ways from the highway, he slowed down. I tried my hardest to stop crying, but I just went into hyperventilation. He stopped the car at the end of a dirt driveway and got out, without a word. I was still in the passenger's side, bawling so hard I thought I was going to throw up. He opened my door and unfastened my seat belt. He took my hand and steadied me as I stepped out of the car. My knees gave way under me and I fell into his arms, still crying, but quieter.
    "You b*****d!" I shouted, beating him on the chest with my fist. He didn't make a sound, he didn't even move. He just stood there, me entangled in his arms, his lips on my hair. The feeling of enclosure from him was comforting, I doubted I ever wanted it to end. My tears stopped and dried on my cheeks, my breathing steadied, but we just stood there. Finally, but too soon for my liking, he pulled back and lead me up the driveway and to a little old house-like building well hidden by the trees. He opened the door and we stepped in. Warmth washed over me and I sighed.
    "Danny! You're back!" someone yelled from a different room. Just then, Danny's black haired friend appeared from a hallway. He was smiling but as soon as he saw me, his smile faded into a a glare.
    "Great, you brought back dinner." he said bitterly, taking a step towards me. Danny stepped in front of me possessively, and what sounded like a growl escaped his throat.
    "She's not dinner, Simon. She's staying the night here until I can get her back to her apartment safely. " he said, his voice hard.
    "How'd you know I lived in an apartment?" I asked surprised. They both simply ignored me.
    "So, I'm guessing they found her." Simon concluded, plopping himself down on a beaten up couch. I looked around the room. The curtains were drawn and the lights were dim, so some colors were hard to make out. I guessed that most of it was a bunch a richly colored reds and dark wood furniture.
    "Yep, and I need you to stay with her while I run some groceries to her mom." Danny said, giving the slightest push, urging me to go sit down with Simon.
    "Hell no! I am not her baby-sitter just because you think you're in love! Can't you hear yourself when you talk? You just said you were running groceries to her mom!" Simon shouted, jumping up from the couch. Danny's face flushed and he frowned.
    "It's just for tonight, and besides, you can handle her." he said, putting his hand on the front door handle.
    "Danny, don't you dare walk out that door and leave her here." Simon warned, but Danny ignored him and walked out anyway, shutting and locking the door behind him. Simon glared and went to the far end of the couch and sat down, like I was a plague.
    "So, it's nice to see you, again." I tried. I even out on a fake smile, but he just snorted and stared at the motionless wall. I sighed.
    "This is going to be a long night." he muttered. I silently agreed, wishing Danny was back already.