"You're quiet."

Zoë looked over at Marcus, who glanced at her as he drove.

A faint smile spread on her lips. "Just thinkin'."

Marcus looked at her again. "About?"

"You."

"Well crap. Should I be worried?"

Zoë laughed and gently hit his arm. Marcus grinned, and she went back to staring out the window, dancing with her memories.

~

"You're here."

Zoë's eyes snapped open to find Marcus peering down at her. Stifling a yawn, she sat up.

She had fallen asleep on the couch. Marcus came around, sitting next to her. For a long while they said nothing, Zoë rubbing her eyes, Marc staring at his hands.

Finally he looked at her. "What's your deal?"

"My deal?"

"Yeah. Why are you--" He stopped.

"Why am I what? Still here?"

"Yeah. I mean...You have a life. Don't you have college class tomorrow or something?"

Zoë laughed bitterly. "School? Please. My life consists of working, paying bills, and going to parties on weekends."

Marcus screwed up his face.

Zoë crossed her arms. "Just how old do you think I am?"

"Twenty?"

Zoë smirked.

"Twenty-one?"

Zoë jabbed her thumb downward.

"Nineteen?"

She made the same gesture.

"Okay... eighteenth."

"I'm sixteen, Marc."

"Sixteen?!"

She laughed, wiggling her eyebrows. "What, have a crush on me?"

"What?! Ew! No!"

"Oh, are you gay?"

"I'm not--what!--I'm a vampire Zoë. Jesus, stop reading Twilight! I'm surprised because you look old." Realizing what slipped out he looked horrified."I mean, not old old, you don't look old--"

Zoë cracked up. Marc growled in annoyance.

"No I meant..." He sighed, shaking his head, dropping that subject. "Why aren't you in Highschool then?"

Zoë pulled out her fake I.D. and handed it to him. He looked at it, flipped it over, and then handed it back. "That's one of the higher quality ones I've seen. I'm impressed."

"I ran away from home two years ago."

Marcus looked shocked. "Why?"

"Gee, I don't know," Zoë snapped bitterly, "maybe it has something to do with the fact I was born to a mother who was so high when she had me she named me Z.Z., after the band Z.Z. Top. I don't know who my dad even is and I have zero other relatives."

She looked at Marcus, a look of anger and misery etched onto her face. "Fuck, Marc, I barely even know who Z.Z.Top is!"

"I'm sorry. You don't have to--"

"What, talk about it? You asked," she snapped. She then sighed heavily. "Sorry."

In a move that surprised them both, he rubbed her back. She took a deep breath.

"When I was fourteen I jumped on a train to Chicago. I didn't have money so I started turning tricks."

"At fourteen?! That's disgusting."

She glared at the judgment. "What else was I supposed to do?"

Marc fell silent.

"It wasn't like that, anyway. I was desperate, not stupid. I found guys that only wanted head, and I went to clinics obsessively to make sure I stayed clean..."

Zoë rubbed the back of her neck. "But then something happened and I decided I didn't want to make a living like that anymore. So I blew a guy who could get me a good fake ID and I applied at a sketchy, hole in the wall diner that didn't ask too many questions. I'm pretty sure most the staff are illegal immigrants. I've been there ever since."

Marcus had nothing but sympathy on his face. "Zoë..."

She looked away, biting her lip. Now she didn't want to talk. She hoped Marc wouldn't press her for further details. Zoë closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn't ask her how exactly she got the waitress job. She didn't want to think about that. She never wanted to think about that.

When he spoke she flinched, afraid of the words that were going to hit ears.

"You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be with me. It's dangerous. You could die."

Zoë had looked away from Marcus then. "Yeah, well. Life is dangerous. What am I supposed to do?"

~

"Still day dreaming?" Marc asked. "Er, night dreaming? Wait, that makes little sense."

Zoë pulled herself from her memories, memories that felt dream-like. Blinking off the webs of reminiscence, she focused her eyes on Marc. When he pulled his eyes from the road for a second to view her, he looked worried. She smiled faintly.

"Just thinking."

"About me still?"

Zoë looked out the window. "Things."

Marcus gave pause, waiting for her to speak. When she didn't elaborate, he grinned. "Thinking about how hot I am?"

Zoë snapped her head, nose scrunched. "Ew! No!"

Marcus laughed, putting his hand to his chest. "Oof! My feelings! My sensibilities!"

Zoë joined in the laughter. "I think of you more as a brother than anything."

Marcus began to dance in his seat, singing a jingle on the fly. "Vampire brother, vampire brother–everyone wishes they had a vampire brother!"I

"Oh my gosh, why are you so weird?"

Marcus grinned fully at her. "Part of my charm."

"Charm," Zoë said with a smirk, staring back out into the night with a sardonic smile. "Right."

"So really," Marcus said, concern coating his words. "Are you alright?"

Zoë looked at him, turning her body to face him. "Why do you have a cat?"

Marcus glanced at her, chuckling. "Ginger?"

"Yeah."

"I fed on her owners. I couldn't bare the thought of the cat starving to death, so I took her." Marcus glanced at her. "C'mon Z.Z., I'm not a complete monster."

The pair stopped off at the apartment quickly so Marcus could change into some more comfortable clothes and drop off his walking stick. He now wore a dark red shirt, grey pants, and yet another grey trench coat. He had put on his jewelry, which made Zoë frown.

"I want to go to the library," Marcus told her, grabbing his keys again. "You up for tagging along?"

"Of course," she replied immediately.

Truthfully that box in his pocket was still making her nervous. Incredibly nervous. The sooner they figured out what it was, the sooner they could be rid of the damn thing. She hoped, anyway.

Marcus must have picked up on her jitters because before they left, he gently took her wrist.

"Hey."

She looked up into his face. It was serious. She found it so strange how easily he could slip from being the type of person to run across Union Station shouting and laughing gleefully, acting his immature human age, then switch it to being so serious and adult-like. Zoë kind of wondered what side was the real Marcus LaBelle, the goofy seventeen year old, or the serious three hundred year old vampire.

Maybe it was both. She only hoped she would one day get to know him enough to find out.

"Whatever happens..."

Zoë sucked in her bottom lip. "Marc..."

He shook his head stubbornly. "Whatever happens, I promise you I will always protect you. I promise you on my life."