Luke caught up with Anna by the lockers after school. It had been a couple of days since he'd gotten sick in the cafeteria, and she'd been completely avoiding him since then – especially at school. She hadn't been walking him out to track, or talking to him in class, or even sitting with him and all their friends at lunch.

It did make it kind of lonely for her, but Anna tried to tell herself that she really didn't mind. She might have gotten used to having friends again, but she had been alone most of her life. She'd done it before, and she could do it again. And even if she really did miss him, the fact that nothing else seemed to have happened since then was all the proof she needed to know that she really was doing the right thing.

"Is everything ok?" Luke asked. He looked just a little worried.

"Of course." Anna told him.

"Really?" he asked flatly.

She could tell he didn't believe her, but what could he say? Even though they both knew she was lying, Luke would never actually come out and say something like that to her.

"Well, things are better." Anna told him. They weren't great of course, but still better than they had been. "I mean, nothing bad's happened recently, has it?"

"I guess not." he said slowly. But he didn't look convinced.

As she stood there with him, Anna found herself glancing down the hall, trying not to look nervous. She didn't see either Rudi or Summer, but that didn't mean she could rest easy. There could be any number of people in either one of their groups that could be watching her. And Anna still hadn't forgotten how Summer said she had a spy. At least the halls seemed pretty deserted now that school was finally out.

"Well, if everything's ok...I was thinking about going downtown this weekend. You want to come?" Luke asked. But he didn't exactly sound optimistic about what her answer would be.

"Not this weekend – maybe later though." Anna told him. It wasn't quite the break-up she knew he deserved, but it was just so hard. And maybe this way she could just ease into it.

"Why not?" Luke sighed, sounding resigned.

"I just don't think it's a good idea this weekend." Anna said as casually as she could.

The middle of downtown seemed like a pretty public place to go with someone she was supposed to have broken up with over two weeks ago. And what if Rudi or Summer saw them? Not to mention Summer's spy – whoever that was. If any of them saw her with Luke, all her avoiding him at school would have been for nothing.

"You busy or something this weekend?" he asked. But Anna could tell from his tone he already knew the answer was more than likely no; it wasn't like she had parents she had to ask for permission or anything.

"It just seems kind of...crowded." she told him after a slight hesitation. She'd been trying to come up with a lie, but that never really was her strong suit. Too bad she wasn't as good at it as Mia was.

"Would it be better if we did something with less people around?" He seemed confused, like he couldn't figure out how that could possibly matter to her. But Anna found herself seriously considering the proposition. If there weren't any people around, it would be ok, wouldn't it?

As she stood there debating, Luke watched her. His eyes got wide for a second, like he'd just realized something. Then, his forehead creased slightly as he finally asked her, "...Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"Of course not." Anna told him. He was one of only five people she actually trusted – why would she be embarrassed?

"It's just that you're so nervous whenever there's anyone around – like now. You keep glancing all around, like someone's going to sneak up on you. And then you act like you could be fine if no one's going to see us?"

"I don't mind if our friends come out with us." Anna said. She was being difficult, she knew. But under the circumstances, she wasn't being unreasonable.

"They don't count." Luke said flatly.

"I'm sorry." Anna said quietly. She really wished she knew how to get out of this whole situation.

"So what's really going on?" Luke asked her quietly. He looked worried.

"Nothing." Anna told him. "I just can't see you this weekend."

"How can you say nothing's going on?"

"I'm just...not sure we should be together right now." Anna told him. There. Now she had broken up with him. Somehow, it didn't make her feel any better.

Luke just stared at her, eyes wide. He struggled for something to say, and Anna felt incredibly guilty. But there was nothing she could do about that; even though she didn't like it, she knew this was for the best.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked finally.

"Of course not." Anna said automatically. She almost asked him how he could think that, but she stopped herself in time. She was trying to break up with him; of course something had to be wrong. Still, the look on his face was hard to stand. It was almost enough to make her forget that promise she'd made to herself to stop seeing him.

"Then why are you saying that?" he asked.

"It's hard to explain." Anna said slowly.

"Whatever it is, I'll fix it." he promised.

"You can't fix this." she told him. For once, it was time for her to fix it. She could tell he was about to disagree with her, so she decided to cut in before he had the chance. "It's just kind of complicated."

Luke stared at her in shock.

"Wait – are you mad about that thing at the movies?" he asked. "I'm really sorry about that."

It took Anna a few minutes to realize what he was talking about; she'd almost forgotten he'd said that very same thing to her. Too bad it had taken her this long to see that maybe he was right – things between them really were complicated. She almost would have laughed if she wasn't in the middle of breaking up with someone she really liked – possibly over those exact things he'd refused to talk to her about himself.

"No, I'm not mad about that." she told him. Disappointed that he didn't trust her maybe, but not actually mad.

"This doesn't have anything to do with what happened at lunch that one day then, does it?" he asked, still trying to figure out the reason.

"Which day?" she asked blankly.

"When I wasn't feeling good. And you rushed out of the cafeteria and wouldn't talk to me anymore."

Anna opened her mouth to say of course not, but she stopped herself. Actually, that had been a big part of her decision. It wasn't the reason of course, but seeing what could happen if she didn't act had been the final push she'd needed.

"I just don't want that kind of thing to happen again." she said finally.

Luke looked at her blankly for a minute, like he couldn't figure out what that could possibly mean. When he realized she obviously wasn't thinking along the same lines as he was on the subject, he decided to start over.

"I mean, it doesn't have anything to do with...what I am?" he asked.

"No – it doesn't."

Anna tried not to be insulted. Did he really think that would matter? Besides, she felt just a little hypocritical judging him for something like that, especially with what she was. And they'd been through enough together over the past couple years that she was pretty sure she wouldn't care even if she was human.

"Then at least tell me why." Luke said.

"It's just better this way." Anna told him.

She knew if she said it was because Rudi and Summer had told her to, he'd never let her break up with him. And that would make everything worse for him and his friends; there was no way she could be responsible for that.

"That's not a reason." he said. "I just want to know why – I mean, I thought everything was ok."

"It was." Anna said, before she had time to think about it.

"So what's the problem?"

Anna sighed. She never knew breaking up with someone would be so hard. It was almost enough to make her see why Fredrick had thought of other options when it came to her.

"I just don't want anything to happen." Anna said finally. "You probably shouldn't be with someone like me anyway."

"Someone like you?" Luke raised his eyebrows. "What's that mean? Like you how?"

"What are you asking?" He knew what she was, so what was the question?

"Like you as in what you actually are? Or like you as in just...not like me?"

"Does it matter?" she asked.

After all, the result would be the same either way. And since it wasn't exactly the reason, she figured there was no point in telling him. He already seemed to know when she was lying anyway, so anything she did say would just make him even more suspicious.

"I just think we should take a break for a little while. Maybe when everything calms back down, it'll be different." As long as he still wanted to at that point, she added silently to herself.

"Like that thing with Mia?" he asked.

"We just have to be kind of careful for a while." Anna said, nodding.

Things were already difficult enough for her, Mia and Carmine. And if they didn't try to keep a low profile, it would only get worse. Anna thought back to all the towns she'd been chased out of and shuddered. She figured they'd need at least a month before any of them could really stop worrying.

She hadn't actually wanted to admit it, but the Rudi situation had really put things into perspective for her. It might not have been the main reason she was trying to break up with Luke, but it was a part of it. And if it was the reason he was picking up on, she wasn't going to deny it.

"I know. And we will be careful – promise." Luke told her, obviously thinking she meant him instead of Mia and Carmine. Anna decided to try again.

"I meant for the three of us – we don't have a big group that can actually help us out. It's just us."

"Sometimes a big group isn't all that great." Luke muttered to himself. Anna wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear that or not. But before she had a chance to say anything, he was looking back at her intently.

"So, you want to break up with me for just a little while then? What's that mean exactly? And how long until things 'calm down'?" he asked.

"I don't want to break up with you." she told him. It was a lot easier to focus on that part than the how long part at the moment.

"Then don't." he said, cutting her off before she could finish.

"It's not that simple."

"Sure it is."

Anna sighed, wishing yet again that all of this was easier. She really hoped it was worth it. If he was still having problems next time his group got together in the woods, she would stop avoiding him, she decided. This whole thing was hard enough as it was. And if it wasn't even working, she didn't see why she had to do it.

"Well...if you're actually ok as long as no one sees us..." Luke started. He didn't sound happy about the thought. Anna would have loved to contradict him, but at the moment it was kind of true.

"It's not because of you. It's...other things." she said.

Luke just looked at her suspiciously for a minute. He set his jaw, looking almost mad. Then he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down before continuing.

"How about going for a hike or something? Outside – no one around. Would that be alright with you?"

He sounded incredibly frustrated; Anna didn't think she'd ever heard him use that tone – certainly not with her. Obviously, he wasn't that impressed with her excuses.

"Alright." Anna said, ignoring his tone. Besides, she knew he had a right to be annoyed. "Or a picnic, maybe."

Anna didn't really eat anymore, but she still loved the idea of picnics. And it had been such a long time since she'd had one.

"Fine." Luke told her. "Hike and lunch. Hope you don't mind if we invite everyone else too?"