Darkness overtook the skies by 6:00 PM, which was normally what made the fall time great for sneaking around, but with winter creeping in slowly, it became harder and harder for me to slip out of Grey's bedroom by midnight without turning into a human icicle as I biked back to my house.

"Are you sure you won't stay just a little longer?" Grey pleaded with devious, glinting eyes. He shifted in bed to face me, brushing his hand over mine.

I sat on the edge of his bed, pulling my wool socks on over my regular ones. I gave him a playful shove before standing up and zipping my puffer coat up.

"There's no fun in always getting what you want," I said coyly, giving him a sideways smirk. "Work for it a little."

Grey rolled his eyes as he flopped back into bed, but gave me a smile as I tip-toed out of his bedroom. The carpeted floors muffled the sound of my footsteps, and thankfully Grey's parents' room was at the other end of the hallway. When I passed Leah's bedroom, the door was cracked open and the lights were out, with her unmade bed still empty.

I carefully slunk out the back door, making sure it didn't creak behind me as I closed it shut. Once I was in the clear, I dashed down the Fischer's back deck and made a beeline for my bike, hidden behind thick shrubbery on the other side of the house. I moved as quickly as I could to keep my blood warm, but a figure meandering up the driveway froze me where I stood. I could recognize Leah's highlighter orange jacket from a mile away.

I was about to duck back behind the shrubbery when I heard a thud. Leah had fallen onto the driveway, barely keeping herself propped up on her hands and knees.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. I approached her cautiously, and as I got closer, her faint moans and groans became louder.

"Leah?" I whispered, placing my hand on her back.

When she looked up at me, my heart sank. Mascara ran in little rivers down her cheeks, and hurt veiled her bloodshot eyes.

"I got you," I whispered as I pulled her to her feet. "Don't worry, I got you."

"I'm sorry Mom," she mumbled. Her words poured from her mouth, the smell of whiskey entwined in her breath. "I won't stay out past my bedtime anymore."

"I..." I bit down on my lip. She wouldn't remember any of this in the morning anyway. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's just get you inside."

When my eyes fluttered open, the first thing I noticed was light - bright light that practically had me seeing stars. The second thing I noticed was a bed that was most definitely not mine, with heavy cotton sheets draped over me that reeked of cigarettes. The third thing was the warmness of the spot on the bed beside me, which meant a body had definitely been there at some point.

After my eyes had adjusted, it took me a moment to place myself in Grey's room. When I had shuffled him to bed in his drunken stupor, everything was dark. I realized how little had changed - his dark oak dresser, the cracked mirror that hung over the door, the desk chair he always put his dirty jean jacket - all in the same exact spot it was before I left. It made my heart hurt in a way I couldn't quite place. It was a hollow and dreary hurt.

I scuffled around for my sweatshirt and leggings before making my way out into the hallway, where the smell of bacon carried through the air.

"I didn't know you were such a breakfast connoisseur," I said with a grin as I walked into the kitchen and sat at the all-too-familiar square wooden table. Grey tended to a sizzling pan on the stove, and a pot of tea behind it.

"Considering you were always either sneaking out of my house before midnight, or galavanting off with Leah before I was even awake, I wouldn't expect you to," Grey said with a shrug. His words stung at first, but he turned around with a faint smile and slid a paper plate across the table to me.

"And yet you knew I liked my bacon burnt to a crisp," I retorted with a smirk.

"8th grade. Cheerleading trip. It was the last time I ever came to one before I was old enough to convince my parents to let me stay home alone." He waved around a piece of bacon before chomping into it. "We were at some crappy Hilton hotel in Seattle or something and you threw a hissy fit because all of the bacon was chewy and juicy. Which, by the way, is how normal people eat bacon."

"How do you even remember that?" I muttered, shaking my head.

Grey shrugged again. "Because it's you."

Luckily Grey didn't see the solemn look on my face as he turned to tend to the hissing tea kettle. He brought me a mug, and remembered how I liked my tea too. I was starting to think I only drank it black because it matched the dark in my soul. A dark that Grey seemed intent on bringing light back to, no matter how much I wrong I had done to him. I knew in the back of my head I didn't deserve him. But he deserved the truth.

"Grey," I let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry. For everything...I-"

Grey held up his hand to stop me and shook his head. "Don't. The past is the past, remember? Let's leave our apologies and all the other bullshit there too. I'm just...tired. I'm tired of all this. I'm tired of fighting."

Tired seemed like an understatement. Everything about him seemed dull and faded, like the wallpaper that peeled at the corners of the ceiling. His eyes were glazed over with something more than just exhaustion.

I let out a sigh and gave him a faint grin. "So this is just a normal, casual one night stand between strangers?"

"I guess so," Grey chuckled. "Although, I'd like to extend it past just one night...if that's okay with you."

"Are you asking me on a date? Like, a real date?" I furrowed my brows. Suddenly aware of how pink my cheeks were, I brought the steaming hot mug to my face.

"We never really went on one, did we?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"First time for everything, I guess." I added. "I accept, on one condition."

"Oh boy, here we go," Grey rolled his eyes.

"Anything we do must involve food, and going to The Net for hot wings does not count."

"Fine, fine," Grey held up his hands in defeat. His phone buzzed on the table beside him, and when he looked down at it, he raised an eyebrow. "Hey uh...don't you have to be at work soon?"

I dropped my mug on the table, sending scalding tea in every direction. "Shit!"

I jumped out of my chair and bolted to the front door.

"Kennedy, your car isn't here." Grey called after me.

His words didn't register until I was standing awkwardly in the middle of his driveway, in last night's clothes with my shoes untied. As the morning sunlight beat down on me, I realized something else - I had slept through the night.