"I'm surprised you agreed to come with me tonight," Hayden said as we walked around central park.

You weren't the only one.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked him.

"Us," he stated and then I felt him grab my hand. I stopped walking. I looked up to him. I didn't even ask him what he was talking about. I started shaking my head. "Think about it, Angela. Aren't you tired of Mickie messing with you and Dastan being such a jerk?"

"What do they have to do with anything?" I asked.

"Dastan and I wanted to invite you into our group, but I want you to...be my girlfriend instead," he informed. "If you're my girlfriend then Mickie has no choice but to be nice to you and Dastan will have to put up with you."

I tried to form words, but not quick enough before Hayden started to lean in. I took a step back and he stood up straight.

"No offense, but I rather not have Mickie be nice to me all because I'm dating you," I notified. "And I know how capable Dastan is about putting up with me, so no thank you. But your offer about joining your group—"

"You don't seem to get it, Angela," he said in a chuckle. What?  "I know that you're with Kenneth, but you and I deserve each other. You will get nowhere at school without being with me. Come on."

"I've gotten around just fine," I informed with resentment working its way into my perspective towards his words.

"With Cheyenne and Nik as friends, yeah right," he scoffed. "I'm talking about popularity and—"

"Wait a minute," I interrupted. "You really think I'm the kind of girl that will date someone else all for some stupid reputation? I--"

"No," he breathed. "I know you're different. You're looking for love and I'm willing to give that to you."

"And you expect me to just drop things with Kenneth?" I asked.

"As I see it, he's all the way in Frankford and wanted you to live your life here," he said. How did he know that? I looked down perplexed and then stepped away from him. That only made him tighten his grip and pull me into him. "Why does he even matter at this point? He waited sixteen years and he still didn't make a move on you. I'm not going to wait around for you like he did because I know what I want and I'm not going to cower from it. I want you, Angela."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I had no choice but to move my lips with his and I knew he'd take a mile with that knowledge. I felt his tongue glide against mine and that's when I started to pull back.

"Oh, you're mine now," he snickered. I knew I had an immediate attraction to him, but the thing is, I don't think really wanted to be with him. Not right now anyways. However, I didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. He didn't give me a chance to...until he dropped me off at home and expected that he'd get the best goodnight kiss every.

Sure, I allowed him to kiss me, but when he slipped his tongue into my mouth, I pulled back because I was uncomfortable with my body feeling attracted to him even though everything else told me to be more reserved. 

"Hayden—"

He shushed me and continued to kiss me as if I wasn't opposed to it. Eventually, I gained enough strength to push him off of me.

"What's your problem?" he asked.

"Right now, you," I said honestly. He sized me up and then sat correctly in his seat.

"Get used to it," was all he muttered with a smirk to lead me to believe he was trying to flirt but right now the light casting on his face made it terrifying. I wanted to bust out crying at that. He wasn't forcing me here. He hadn't done anything to hurt me. But the tone he took in his voice was enough to make me crack for some reason. It made me feel as if I had absolutely no choice or say in the matter. I climbed out of the car without a farewell and ran straight up to my room after greeting my family.

I shut the door to my room and felt a tear stream down my cheek, but then I saw the Proliator patiently sitting on the windowsill. He stood at my entrance.

"How was the date?" as soon as he asked that, I couldn't answer him with words. I only released all my tears and ran into his chest to hug him. I never in a million years thought I'd be hugging some superhero after making out with someone like Hayden in their car...but look at where I am now. I cried and cried, the result of all of this drama building up, but the only thing that made me stop was the fact that the Proliator was still here.

He wasn't making excuses that he had to leave. He didn't put some crime in priority. He didn't even ask me what happened because I'm sure that he saw it with his own eyes. He had moved us to the bed and with every tear I tried to stop flowing, he wiped away with his fingers. I was curled up against him, still hugging his incredibly built torso, and yet the electricity stayed with my touch to him. I wanted it to go away. I wanted that sensation of threatening happiness to leave this situation and I wanted the Proliator to use his powers to make me feel better.

I placed my hand on his chest and sat up. He looked over to me with dark hazel eyes that I didn't like at all. He kept his thumb sliding across my cheek and he just looked at me, ready to accept anything I would say.

"Don't you have some damsel to save?" I asked in a cracked voice. I expected him to laugh at my humbleness, hoping that his smile would somehow convince me to do the same, but his face stayed as serious as mine.

"You're kidding right?" he asked. I shook my head. "Why would I put some victimized girl and escaped convict over you?"

I wanted to crack a smile but I couldn't.

"I'm serious."

"So am I," he whispered, searching my eyes. "I have a duty to make sure everyone is okay. That includes you and, don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look so 'okay' right now."

"I am," I lied.

"Yeah right," he scoffed and then wrapped his arms around my waist. I placed my head against his chest, feeling as if the affection was justified and...welcoming. I felt like this was my rightful place. "I'm going to stay here until you're alright."

"That could take a while," I mumbled to myself.

"I have time," he assured in a confident whisper. It made me wonder. What the hell did I do to deserve some unpronounced relation to this superhero that I didn't even believe in months ago? I wanted to even ask him what made me so "different" for him and Hayden and even Dastan to proclaim it so. I didn't feel different. I only felt like some naïve girl crying in the arms of a superhero, selfishly, even though I should fake my healthy well-being so he can go back to saving people's lives.

Suddenly, I heard police sirens ring from the street. Proliator flinched to sit up and see the trouble, but didn't leave.

"Go," I told him. He stared at the window that showed the red and blue lights bounding off objects outside, but then once the sirens were out of range, he looked back to me. "Go."

"It's just a speeding driver," he informed.

"Still. You need to go," I insisted, starting to slide away from him. He frowned. "I don't know why you came back here. You should be out there helping literally anybody else."

He faced me in the bed once more and then placed his hand on the opposite area beside my waist.

"Before I left last time, you said 'come back'," he recalled. I bit my lip. I guess I should add "super hearing" to his list of powers. "That should've been a sign for me to stay, but I was just...frustrated...mad...no--disappointed that you honestly think that jerk deserves you and then you come back in tears."

"Well you were right," I said, trying to produce at least a pathetic smile. I failed. He, in turn, produced a scowl at that and then stood up. He even started to leave. "Great. What did I do now?"

"I can't keep coming here," he announced, running a hand down his face.

Please, tell me you're kidding.

"I'm sorry, Proliator. Whatever I did, I'm sorry," I immediately apologized.

"I wish I could say 'it's not you, it's me', but it's so much bigger than that now," he said as if he was in remorse and stress over something. I got up from the bed as he paced small steps.

"Proliator just tell me what—"

"I can't," he said with a raised voice for once. Immediately, he looked over me, as if in alarm, and then looked back down to me in a hurry. "I'm really sorry, but I can't keep coming here. Good night."

Right as I thought "Like I can have a 'good night' now that you nearly broke me," he leaned down and kissed my cheek. The tingling spread through my body, but it wasn't of happiness. It was a sensation of sorrow, yet forgiveness. Suddenly, Sebastian entered my room.

"Are you okay?" he asked, cautiously. He kept glancing at me and then the window that had no traces of Proliator. I didn't know how he moved so fast, but I was grateful for it. 

"Yeah," I lied.

"You don't look okay," he commented. "What are you doing by the window?"

"I was just...thinking in the fresh air," I answered. "I'm kind of tired of that, so...good night."

"Good night," he said, not truly convinced, before he closed my door.

Safe to say, I did not have a good night.