Bloom found Damian sitting on her bed when she opened the door to her room, she froze at the doorway.

"Look who decided to come home." He said standing up.

"I'm so sorry, please don't tell my dad," she begged.

"Bloom, it's almost midnight and you stayed out the whole night with no guard."

"I'm fine, I blended in so well." She smiled and walked in.

"Laura shouldn't have taken you to that party." He sighed, folding his arms.

"Relax, no one knew," she said throwing her bag on the bed.

"It's still not safe for you, promise me this will be the last time."
Damian required but she was quiet.

"Bloom?" He pressed.

"Uhmm...there's this little girl I met, I have some old dolls I'd like to give her, that's all and I won't sneak out again."

He grunted mumbling incoherent words.

"Fine but I'm coming with you."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"I won't act like your bodyguard but as a brother."

"You've appeared on tv before, someone might recognize you."

"How about a disguise?"

"No, I promise I will be fine on my own." She wanted to yell the words at him.

"Are you sure?"

"I was out the whole night on my own and I returned home unharmed."
She pointed out.

"Okay but this should be the last time. After that no more sneaking out, you promise?"

"Yeah yeah yeah."
She chimed and gave him a hug.

||

Bloom walked around her closet searching for something simple to wear, she didn't want to appear wealthy.
She went with a simple floral two-piece set that Laura gave her last year for her birthday. She grabbed a denim jacket and white sneakers, she pushed her hair up in a ponytail, and searched for a small bag.

She packed four of her old dolls and some Twix inside her brown bag.
Damian walked in immediately she was done, she gave him a broad smile.

"You sure you wanna do this?" he asked looking worried.

"Yes." She said as she zipped the bag.

"How are you going to leave here without being seen? I'm curious."
She smiled mischievously at his question.

"That's a secret," she said with a sly smile.

"I need to know in case something goes wrong," he insisted.

"Damian, I will be fine I promise. Stop worrying about me."

"If anything happens to you I won't forgive myself."

"M whole jujitsu training was not for nothing."

"You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"Yessss, I'm leaving," She groaned.

"Wait," He blurted.
She turned to look at him with a frown.

"Keep this with you. "
He gave her a small spray bottle.

"What's this?"

"A pepper spray."

"Seriously?" She sighed and put it in her bag.

"I also have a taser."

"No, the spray will do."

"Okay."

"Bye and don't follow me."
She stared at him like she wanted to read him.

"I won't, just be careful."

She smiled and left the room. The journey through the tunnel was less frightening, she made it out without being noticed by passers-by.

She followed the same path she used last time, her heart started pounding when she entered the neighborhood.

"Relax Bloom, relax."
She gave herself a pep talk, five minutes through her walk nothing scary happened except the person staring at her from the window upstairs across the street.

She sighed in relief when she was getting closer to the last alley to the apartment, but the loud argument from close by stopped her.
It got louder and seemed to turn into a fight. She swallowed hard and looked around before walking away.

Gunfire started, she gasped and gripped her bag like it could save her from the situation.
A voice was screaming in her head, telling her to run. She ran in another direction looking back once in a while if she was being followed.

She found herself at the lonely street where old and abandoned cars were parked, she stopped and looked around.

She saw three silhouettes running towards the car park and the gun in their hands delineated with their silhouette.
She quickly hid behind a white car covered in dust. She tried not to sneeze as she inhaled the air around her.

Another gunfire started on the street, she clamped her ears with her hands to block the sound and said a silent prayer.

She wished she brought Damian with her, she could smell her death. She wondered if anyone would find her body if she got shot, her thoughts were interrupted when she felt someone behind her. She stiffened and her heart stopped beating, she quietly reached for the pepper spray.

She turned around and sprayed it on whoever it was.

"What the hell!"
She stared wide eyes at who it was.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry I didn't know it was you," she said in a hushed tone and looked around if anyone heard them.

Zayn groaned and sat on the ground next to her, she smiled wickedly at how he winced and cursed at the pain.

"Sorry," She mumbled pretending to care.

"What the hell was that?" Zayn asked trying to open his eyes.

"A pepper spray."

"Shit!" He opened his eyes but shot them back with a grunt.

"I'm really sorry I thought it was someone else trying to kill me."

"And a pepper spray is what will save you?" he sneered.

"It will buy me some time to escape," She defended herself.

"Shit! This stings."

"I know."
She knelt in front of him and used her thumb to touch his left eyelid softly. He groaned and pushed her hand away.

"Don't touch me," he warned in a pained voice and put his face down.
Bloom felt awful all of a sudden, she didn't like him much but seeing how helpless he looked sitting there made her feel like a horrible person.

"At least allow me to blow some air to cool it."
She offered, not moving away.

He was quiet for a while but complied, he put his face up resting the back of his head on the car.

She smiled and moved closer until she was kneeling between his opened legs. She admired his long eyelashes for a while and his beautiful face, guys with curly hair had a certain kind of charm. She was glad his eyes were closed.
She stared at the tattoo on his neck, her eyes trailed down to his chest where the rest of his tattoos were hidden.

"What's taking you so long?"
She flinched at the tone of his voice, she snapped out of adoring his beauty and focused on his eyes.

"Just making sure my breath doesn't stink."
She tried to joke.

"Does it?" he moved his face away.

"Of course not. I brush three times a day and I use the... "

"Didn't ask for details just do it fast," he cut her off.
She glared at him and placed her palms on his cheeks to hold his head in place.

"Open your eyes."
She said in a low tone. He could feel her warm breath on his face and her soft palm felt so good on his cheeks.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah."
It took him a few seconds before he could open them completely.

Her throat went dry when he looked directly into her eyes, it was a bit red and moist. "Do it," he said with a groan trying to keep them open.

She nodded and blew each eye softly. Her minty and cherry warm breath mixed with the air around them.

"Is it subsiding?"
She asked a minute later.

"A little, keep going," he replied, she sighed and continued.

She was getting uncomfortable with the way his eyes were fixed on her face, penetrating into her skin. She stopped and stared at him when their eyes locked, how could one's gaze make her feel so many things she couldn't comprehend. She expected him to look away but he didn't.

A sudden gunshot ruined the moment, it shattered the window of the car they were using as a shield.
He was fast to pull her down and covered her. She squeezed into his arms, blocking the sound of the gunshot. They remained in that position for a minute, silence engulfed them; only the sound of her heavy breathing.

Bloom was breathing hard, she kept her eyes shut and refrained from screaming. He pulled away and looked at her, checking for any injury.

"You can stop shaking like a chicken now," he told her, she opened her eyes and looked around her.

"Are you okay?"
She asked looking at his body, she saw the bloodstain on his white t-shirt.

"I think you have an injury, let me take a look."
She tried to come closer but he stopped her.

"Don't, I'm fine."

"No you're not, a piece of glass might be in your skin."

"I'm not complaining."
She stared at the spot on his arm where a piece of glass had pierced his skin before moving back.

"Don't move," he warned her.
She was scared he might leave her on her own but he only took a peek and turned to look at her.

"You can run right?"

"Of course you can, how can I forget," He mumbled before she could reply.

"Follow me and don't stop running till I stop, even if a bullet is coming your way keep running."

"What?"
She deadpanned, he stood up and took off. She grabbed her bag like it was her greatest treasure and ran after him.
It was hard to keep up with his long legs.

She was already out of breath when they got to the dark alley, she was relieved when he stopped. She placed her hands on her knees, panting while he looked unaffected like they didn't just run for two minutes.

After catching her breath, she looked at him. He was texting someone, the light from his screen highlighted brown skin and pretty face.

She looked away and stretched for a bit, she searched the bag if anything was missing but everything was intact. She looked away from the bag when she heard voices, she saw three silhouettes from afar, they were walking toward the alley.

She turned to Zayn but he didn't look bothered.

"I think we should leave, some men are coming. "
He took a glance at her and returned to his phone like he didn't hear her.

"Hey."
She poked him and he scowled at her.

"Bad guys are heading this way, we should leave or we might get killed?" he didn't say anything but she was panicking.

"Are you ignoring me right now? At this time of danger? We need to leave, now."
She said taking a look at the men again.

His eyes were still glued to his phone like whoever he was chatting with was more important, the worst-case scenario appeared in her head.
She put the pieces together and something clicked in her brain.

"Was this your plan? To lure me here and get me trapped so you could kill me?"
Her tone increased at the end, she sounded disappointed.

"Do you ever keep your mouth shut?" He cut in putting his phone into the back pocket on his black jeans.

"Well forgive me for trying to pour out my guts before you kill me."

"Stop whining."
He looked at the three guys heading their way, he knew them and they knew better than to cross his path. They were harmless and probably returning from the barbershop shop down the street. They were too busy laughing about something to notice them.

"Do you have a plan? Cause I have a lot on my bucket list before I die"
He chuckled briefly and turned to face her.

She kept rambling and he couldn't help but watch the way her lips move. He wondered what she would taste like, how soft her lips would feel and the sounds she would make. His eyes traced the curve of her lips, tempting him to press her to the wall and kiss her till they were both breathless.

"They're getting closer."
She whispered moving closer till she was standing in front of him as if she wanted to use him as a shield.

"They might have a gun," she whispered with a shaky voice and bit her lower lip in fear but her little action drove him crazy.

"Did you really have to do that?" he whispered.
Before she could ask him what he meant, his hand went around her neck and he had his lips on hers.

She stiffened with her eyes wide open, her brain was trying to process what was happening.

Her heart stopped beating for some seconds, his lips felt cold and his soft kisses made her eyes closed slowly on their own as the overwhelming feeling flowed through her veins like electrical currents.

She mimicked the movement of his lips until their lips were moving in sync. His left hand snaked around her waist pressing her to his body. She could feel the hard specs and curves beneath his shirt.

She was not in control of her body anymore as her hand moved up his chest to his neck, everything just seemed to flow as all she could think about was how good his lips felt against hers.

He bit her lower lips earning a soft moan from her. He deepened the kiss stroking the inside of her lips with his tongue. He groaned against her lips and pressed her back to the wall. She tasted far better than he imagined.

It was the best feeling she had ever experienced since she was born, she never knew kisses could leave someone weak and craving for more. She didn't expect her first kiss to be with a complete stranger, a mysterious one at that, or for it to happen in the alleyway in the middle of one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in D.C.

"Find a room, you horny idiots."
She heard one of the guys yell at them, she forgot why they were kissing in the first place.

"Make it an unforgettable one buddy," another one said and laughed.

"Let's go you, morons! Teenagers can't control their hormones these days."
Their voices faded in her head, she focused on her first kiss.

He sucked on her lower lip relishing the softness, he was surprised she didn't pull away. He knew he was her first and it was what he'd ever wanted. He was still angry she knew nothing about him, he wanted to let her go and get over his dumb feelings for her. He felt like an idiot hung up on his childhood crush.

Bloom returned every kiss, she didn't want him to stop. She liked the new feeling in her body, how her body reacted to every touch of his lips.

He pulled her lower lip between his lips slowly as he broke the kiss. He removed his hand from her waist and stared at her face, her eyes were still closed and she was breathing hoarsely. His eyes trailed to her swollen and moistened lips before he stepped back.

"They're gone," he said and cleared his throat.

She jerked like she wasn't expecting to hear anything, she opened her eyes and looked at him. She didn't know what to say or do, so she looked down at her feet. Her heart was still beating fast and her lips were still hot from the unexpected make-out.

"It was an act, don't let it get into your head."
He said curtly and started walking away.

She stood there dumbfounded for a while before trailing behind him. She knew it was an act but it didn't feel like it, the way he had kissed her was beyond her imagination.
She didn't know if she was feeling that way because it was her first kiss or he was just super good at acting.

The kiss was engraved somewhere in her brain and won't be leaving anytime soon. She was too busy thinking about the kiss that she didn't notice he had stopped, she bumped into him.

"Sorry. "
She said tapping the spot she hit him like it was delicate.

"You're not thinking about the kiss, are you?"
She didn't answer.

"It was a stupid kiss, Bloom, forget about it."
He sounded irritated.

She scoffed and folded her arms looking around, she shouldn't feel hurt by his words. It was just a stupid kiss as he said.

"You should go home now and never come back here."
She didn't realize they were out of the neighborhood.

"Wait!" She blurted as he turned to leave.
He raised a brow at her.

"I came to see Mika, can you take me to her?"

"No."

"Please," She forced a smile.

"No, go home."

"But I..."

"Go home Bloom and don't return to this place."

"You don't own this place and you don't have the right to tell me where to go and where not to!"
She shouted.
She was annoyed at how mean he was toward her.

"Get this straight Bloom, someone like you doesn't belong here, don't try coming here if you love your life. If the people here find out who you really are, you will be dead in a blink of an eye."

"Why?" She asked.

"Just stay away, don't ever come back. You have everything you need already."

"You know nothing about me, you think I have everything?!"
She yelled.

"I don't care, go."
He said emotionlessly and turned to leave.

"Can you give this to Mika?"
She said opening her bag, when she brought everything out to give him, he was already gone.

She sighed and put everything back. She stared at the neighborhood before turning to leave.

Zayn was hiding in the dark, staring at her from afar. He ran his tongue over his lower lip not ready to get over her taste, he shook his head and walked away.

Bloom felt annoyed as she walked down the sidewalk. The sudden cool breeze that brushed her skin snapped her to reality. She looked up and saw it was about to rain. The dark sky was engulfed in a thick cloud that was wrestling for space with the stars.

"Oh shit."
She walked faster, it started drizzling for a while and soon a heavy rain whipped her.

Her phone beeped, she searched for it in her bag and saw six texts from Damian. She groaned and walked faster to get to the bus stop where few people were standing under a shed.

A loud honk from behind her made her heart jump, she looked back and saw a familiar blue truck. She looked at the driver's seat and was shocked to see the person behind the wheel. He rolled his eyes before gesturing for her to get in. She smiled and ran to the other side.

"Did you forget to tell me something?"
She said as she wiped her body with her denim jacket.

"I can make a U-turn and drop you back if that's what you're talking about."

"Are you ever nice?"
She muttered under her breath as she threw her jacket to the back seat.

"Seat belt," he reminded her.

She sighed and put it on, the silence that accompanied them in the ride made her sleep off.

He packed the car a few feet from the Valley House. He turned to look at her and found her sleeping. He watched her, memorizing the shape of her lips, her thick eyelashes, and how lovely she looked in the floral print outfit. He stared at her for a while before deciding to wake her up.

"Hey wake up, we're here."
She pushed his hand away and placed her head on the window making herself comfortable.

He chuckled lightly and allowed her to catch some sleep. He took out his phone and went to their group chat. Taylor and Nicole were arguing about the sweetest fruit while Lizzie and Tyra talked about the cutest celebrity couple.

Twenty minutes passed and she was still sleeping, the group chat was over so he just stared at the Valley house.

Memories of his childhood replayed in his head, he remembered how he used to talk to her while she was asleep.

"Why can't you remember? At least my name. "
He asked in a low tone running the tip of his finger on her soft cheek.

Her eyelashes fluttered and her eyes opened, their eyes met and she smiled. He pulled his hand away and looked outside the window.

"You should go in. Daddy must be worried."
He said and adjusted on his seat.

She looked outside the window and saw the Valley House. She took off her seat belt and reached for her phone and the pepper spray. She pushed the bag aside, planning to leave it behind.

"How long was I asleep?"
She wondered.

"Does it matter?"

"Thanks for the ride."
She got down from the car and walked away with her arms around herself to shield her from the light rain.

Zayn was already far from the Valley House when he saw the bag and her damped jacket.

"Seriously?" He groaned.