"Ade!" I huffed and puffed trying to keep up. His legs were so much longer than mine and I had to pace myself just so I wouldn't lose sight of his forest green parka. He was dodging through the crowded Brooklyn streets, ignoring my pleads to stop for the past five minutes. Nearly running into a young woman, I mumbled an apology and continued to chase after Ade. "Will you stop for a second? Ade, come on! Don't do this."

He turned down a street corner. For a second, I lost sight of him and nearly panicked. I didn't need a repeat performance of what happened the last time Ade was gone when he wasn't supposed to be. A shot of relief went through my heart when I also turned the corner and saw him sitting down on a bench outside of an arcade. He had his hands shoved into his pockets, a grumpy look on his face, and chewed gum like it owed him money. Ade looked so comical sitting there, I think I would have laughed if I wasn't so upset.

"You're a dehydrated donut." I grumbled as I took a seat beside him. My labored breathing was embarrassingly loud from all the walking, even though we couldn't have travelled more than three blocks and a pulse throbbed deep in my chest. After Ade mysteriously pulled yet another disappearing trick on me in the cellar, I had chased him all the way down here just to get an explanation. At this point, I didn't even think it was worth it. I was so tired of Ade's mood swings these days and I was reaching my breaking point with my patience.

"What happened to us, Florence?" Ade asked quietly. He sounded just as frustrated as I felt. "We were so close just a week ago. I used to kiss you on the cheek every morning. You used to ask me silly questions about everything. How much Twizzlers can a person eat without dying, how long a piece of string can be, why aliens abducted humans and what they did during the abduction...everything, Florence. There were no secrets between us. Nothing could separate us. Until now. What changed?"

I took a moment to catch my breath and then gaped at him. "What changed?" I repeated in disbelief. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that my cellar has one thousand pounds worth of crystal meth in it. Maybe it's because Wolfe Sterling, America's most wanted crime boss, is out for my family's blood. Maybe it's because the Brooklyn Crowns, America's most wanted mafia, is going to get everyone I know and love inside of a coffin!" I whispered furiously. "Maybe it's that, Ade. Gosh golly winkle, you have some nerve to ask what's changed when you know everything has."

He was silent for a second. I hoped he was thinking long and hard about what I said. We watched a flock of pigeons peck around for a moment, both of us knowing that nothing could be the same again, not for a long while at least, but neither wanted to say it. Ade was my best friend. He was my only friend, besides Clancy. How was I supposed to pretend everything was like it used to be, before he kissed me, before Wolfe came into my life? Speaking of Wolfe, his previous words in the car were now resounding to a maximum throb in my mind.

I never even wanted a white picket fence. But that didn't mean I wanted Wolfe.

Whatever. What did Wolfe know, anyways? I had my heart set on smacking the living daylights out of him the next time we unfortunately crossed paths. I probably wasn't going to do it, though. I was too much of a wimp to do that. Besides, I valued my Twizzlers too much to jeopardize them, in case he, you know, murdered me or something. Hmm. Maybe I could ask Clancy to slip in some bags of Twizzlers into my coffin to take into the afterlife.

"Florence." Ade started again. "We need to talk."

"About?"

"Us."

"What about us?" I questioned nervously.

"I don't think I can do this anymore."

I frowned and tugged hard at my necklace. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"I have something to say to you." He said. The light in his blue eyes was gone. "And I want you to listen."

Dread curled around my stomach. Ade wasn't meeting my eyes. He was chewing even harder on his gum and I was nearly cutting the back of my neck open by tugging roughly on my necklace chain. People walked by, ignoring us after a brief glance or two. They didn't pay attention. They didn't care. I wondered how many people would believe me if I said I knew the locations of the oh so famous Brooklyn criminals. And what would they say if I said Wolfe Sterling gave me a ride home? And that I made him bandages with little smiley faces on them? What would a cop say? And why, exactly, was I still thinking about Wolfe Sterling when my best friend was about to confess a deep and dark secret to me?

"I don't like him." Ade growled. "You know that, Florence. He's a bad influence on you. I can't even say his name. He's scum. He's the worst human being on his planet. Can't even think of him as human after everything he's done. Everything he's put you through. You read the reports, haven't you? His past crimes. You know about the brothels, the drugs, the murders."

"I know, Ade. You think I don't? I do, I know all about that. I don't think of Wolfe Sterling as anything but a monster. You saw what I saw in that cellar. I hate them just as much." I argued back. I didn't see the point of what Ade was getting at.

"No, that's the problem, Florence. You don't hate them, especially not him." Ade's voice was miserable. "I know you're not blind enough to fall for a guy like that. But it just pisses me off. I don't mean you, I mean they way they look at you...that shouldn't make me angry. And it wouldn't...if they weren't wanted criminals. I have no problem with you making friends. But when it's with people like them, then we have a problem. You're my best friend and I would do anything for you. I don't want to see you get hurt. And they will hurt you. He will hurt you. Is it so wrong for me to want to protect my best friend?"

"You're making it sound like I can't defend myself."

Ade gave me a look. "You can't, Florence."

Okay, that made me mad. "I can't?" I scoffed. "Oh, you watch me, sir. I can kick anyone's butt. I'm a dangerous butt-kicker. I can kick ass."

"You've tried to punch me before, remember?" Ade said. I remembered. It happened last year on April Fools Day, when Ade switched out all of my Twizzlers with long red erasers that looked exactly like the candy. I was halfway done eating one of them before I realized I was eating rubber. "It felt like someone threw a marshmallow at me."

"Oh, well excuuuuse me."

He sighed. "That's not the point I was trying to make, Florence. I just think that maybe...I don't know...we should take some time apart or something. I don't think I'd be the best of help while these guys are around. Since you want to deal with this yourself, I think that maybe it would be good if we both gave this friendship a rest. I'm really tempted to go to the cops and I know you don't want that, Florence. So I won't interfere. But I can't stick around either because if I do, then I will interfere. It's for the best-"

My mouth dropped open. He was abandoning me again, this time for good.

"What?" I nearly shrieked this. I admit, I wasn't taking his excuses very well lately. "You want to break up with me? You can't do that! You cannot do that! No, I refuse. What do you mean, you think it'd be best if we took some time apart? I can't believe you would say something like that-"

"Florence, listen-"

"No, you listen, you ugly raisin!" I jabbed my finger hard into his chest. I was seeing red, I was so mad. For the third time today, I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. My shrill voice had attracted some attention but I didn't care. A tight, heavy feeling was taking over and a lump grew in my throat. "Things start to get bad, and you just decide to leave?" I whisper-yelled. "I thought you were my best friend, Ade. You know I would support you through anything! Why can't you just be here for me, just this once? I am terrified out of my mind. I'm lost, I don't know what to do. Why would you choose now, of all times, to break up with me? I can't get through this without you. What am I supposed to do, Ade? I've always looked to you for help. For answers. And you want to leave? Now? Are you serious?"

"I can't do it, Florence!" Ade's voice broke. "The problem is, I see you as more than a friend. I can't hang around you and pretend everything is fine, because it's not. So we should let each other go. Just for a little while, okay? I have finals coming up and you have...you know. All of that to deal with. It'd be better if I wasn't around. They don't seem to like me very much. Nothing is the same anymore. I loved you through it all but I can't do that anymore. Besides, you deserve better friends than me."

I rubbed my eyes hard to prevent the tears from escaping. "Love me just a little bit longer." I mumbled.

Ade was silent for a while. Everything in my vision was pixelated. I stared at the cracks on the sidewalk, trying to think of anything...anything that would keep me from losing it. How could Ade do this to me? Just because I didn't see him in any romantical type of way, he can't stick with me any longer? Was it a 'take all or take none' kind of situation? I wanted Ade to be my friend. A friend, and nothing more. Was that so much to ask for? Him and Clancy were the only two people I could tell everything to. Fuck, this was all the Crown's fault. It was Wolfe's fault. He was going to end up ruining my life completely, and it seemed to start with alienating everyone in my life away from me. Sure, having friends in this type of situation where Wolfe could easily barter them to hurt me was dangerous.

But I needed my friend.

"You just want to protect yourself." It took everything from me to spit out those words. "Ade, this isn't about me at all. You know how dangerous an affiliation to the Crowns is. Since I have ties to them and you have ties to me, that puts you in a position of vulnerability, doesn't it? What, are you gonna go spill the beans to the cops now? Turn us all in?" I couldn't believe what I was saying. And the hurt, disbelieving look on Ade's face told me he couldn't either. "Go right ahead, then. Do what you think is best for yourself. Tell yourself anything you want so you can sleep better at night. I'll just, you know-" I shrugged nonchalantly, trying to appear as if it didn't bother me. "-sit here and wait for Wolfe Sterling to destroy my life. If he hasn't already."

"It's not like that, Florence-"

"You know what?" I held my hand up. I felt numb again. I was getting used to the feeling and it scared me. "I understand. You made your decision to leave, Ade. It's dangerous to stick around, huh? I wouldn't even want to be friends with me, either. It's not your fault. Like I said, I get it. You want to protect yourself, that's fine. That's not even selfish, it's just common sense."

He sighed heavily. "I feel like you hate me. You have every right to do so, Florence. I just...I wish I could explain myself better. I know you don't understand, but I'm trying to protect you. I don't know how to put it into words but-" Ade seemed to be struggling to talk here. "-I'm doing it for you. Hell, I sound like an idiot right now. I don't know how to explain it. I've spent three years struggling with my feelings for you. And to have them around makes it so much worse. I'll love you from afar...I just can't...have a front seat to this, you know?"

"I know." I said, even though I didn't. "Hey, it's your life, right? I can't force you to stay if you don't want to."

"I do want to stay, Florence." Ade said. "Under different circumstances, we could've been something really special. But you need some time to figure yourself out, too. Everything is just going to get even more screwed up if we don't figure out the mess we have now."

"Okay." Tears rushed back but I managed to hold them off for a little bit longer. All this crying was making me feel pathetic. Made me feel vulnerable, and I didn't like that feeling one bit. Ade was my shoulder to cry on but I didn't have that anymore. Maybe I could cry on the shoulders of Twizzlers. That'd help. That was one thing I could count on. Twizzlers would never hurt me. Especially the Pull 'n' Peel kind. They're like best friends in candy form. I don't know, I was all kinds of confused and it was making me sound psycho.

"Hey." Ade's voice softened. "I'll still come by the Espresso House. I need my ten dollar lattes with the little swan designs. They look more like decapitated ducks, but hey, it's the effort that counts."

I couldn't even force a chuckle to sound polite. Ade went back to chewing his gum in silence. I think he was trying to think of more ways to apologize. I didn't want him to because, like I said, I truly did not blame Ade for leaving. Bringing my feet up on the bench, I wrapped my arms around my shins and rested my chin in top of my knees. People still walked by, still ignoring us, still going on about their own lives with their own problems. I chewed my bottom lip, only stopping when it was about to bleed.

After about five minutes, Ade stood up and gave me a quick hug. And just like that, all the years of our friendship washed away. It was like my best friend never existed. "Don't worry, Florence." He said softly into my ear. It almost sounded like a warning. "You'll get what you deserve."