When I got outside the sun had mostly disappeared beneath the trees and the blood red sky glowed above. Justin's goons followed me out of the shop, the three of them made a dull and terrifying crowd. Justin stood in the middle of the grassy patch to the right of the shop, he had thrown his jacket to the side to expose his muscles in his slim fit t-shirt. Juan and Pep were at the window watching from inside. Juan cracked his knuckles nervously like he always did when he was anxious or scared. I unzipped my hoodie to reveal a far less terrifying physique.

"So, you're actually doing this," Justin shouted as I walked towards him. "you're actually going to fight me!" I was face to face with him now. Close enough to hear his oddly steady breath and smell his axe spray on his shirt, "Finally going to stop being a wimp." He said with so much confidence.

"Yup," said trying to unsuccessfully match his confidence, "I'll even let you have the first punch." Turning the side of my face towards him. He didn't hesitate to take miss the opportunity and he threw a punch towards my face. To his amazement, I grab his fist mid-punch moving it away from my face and pulled him into my elbow. He fell to the floor with blood dripping from his nose. He got up shakily and came at me again. He throws predictable punches which I dodged and evaded causing him to go off balance and found the opportunity to kick him in the side chest knocking back to the ground. From the ground, he swiped my feet knocking me to the ground as well, I could slowly feel my rage taking over. I tried to get up, but he comes out of nowhere and knees me in the face. I feel my lip split open and the metallic taste of blood seep on to my tongue.

I got up to Justin charging into me, I roll out of the way to avoid being winded by his size. He turns around and marches towards me. My vision begins to blur as the rage takes hold over me. I throw a jab into his side and then bring my elbow into his head stunning him. With both hands, I grab his head and force it into my knee. Then two sets of arms grab me from under my arms and hold me back, at first, I thought it was my friends stopping me from doing any more harm to Justin but then one of Justin's goons comes into my sight. I wriggled and jerked my body to try to get loose, but their grips tightened, I realized that I was being held by the other two goons.

The one in front then punched me in the gut, then again, then again, repeatedly beating me while I tried to get out of the hold. Suddenly Justin, with blood dripping from his nose and cuts on his face, pushed him aside. His short pitch-black hair was wet and covered in grass, I wasn't sure if it was blood or sweat. He then proceeded to use me as a punching bag, hitting every single inch of my body. When he was done with me he told his goons to drop me like I was a sack of potatoes. Through the pain, I could see them take my bike from the side of the shop and shove it into the back of Justin's car. Justin stood over me with bruised knuckles and a sloppy grin on his face. He crouched down next to my torn-up body and whispered into my ear.

"This, this is why you don't mess with me. You're always going to be under me Stark." He kicked dirt on to me and drove away.

The next thing I saw was Pepper running towards me with a med-kit in her hand and Juan by her side. I could feel the warm blood drip out of my nose and into the cold soil. My mind was blank through the pain, I willed myself to say conscious, but I had no strength left. I felt slim fingers gently left my head on to a soft surface.

"You are so dumb, oh my god, why would you do that?" I opened my eyes and saw Pepper above me rummaging through the kit pulling out cleaning alcohol and cotton balls. She'd placed my head on her lap, I could feel her warmth move into my body leaving me feeling vulnerable.

"How did I do?" I croaked.

"You didn't win," Juan said bluntly, "and you didn't tell me you could fight, you were winning for a bit." He put on a smile that was comforting and put me at ease.

"The self-defence classes you got me to take finally came in handy, Juan." I chuckled.

"Never do something so dumb like this ever again because we might not be there next time." Pep said sharply, she cleaned the blood off my face gently. I wince as she went over the cuts, but she continued. She was quite obviously mad at me and I couldn't blame her, I was mad at myself. Everything in my body was aching because I couldn't hold my temper. I looked up at her, her brown eyes were dark, filled with anger and tears. She placed two plasters onto my head were the cuts were, she pressed them down with strength, maybe a little too much, to make them stick on. My lip stung as the fresh air rolled over the split.

"Ok, I'm done." She says as she pushed my head off her lap and onto the course grass. "Get up so we can take you home seeing as you can't do that yourself."

"Actually, I'm going to take an Uber home," I said struggling to my feet, Juan came to support me, "I've put you two through enough. I was rambling on about government conspiracy theories and now getting my ass handed to me so that you guys can carry me home, today's just been a weird day for me" I told them, I knew they weren't going to listen to me about the store fire, so I played it off as a joke.

"This just proves that you need us right now." Pep said

"You guys have done enough today, go home."

"I don't know about him but I'm not leaving you like this"

"Neither am I" chimed Juan.

"Please guys," I said with sadness in my voice, "I really just want to be alone."

"But-"

"Please. I've honestly gone through a lot today and I just need some time to myself."

"Come on Pep, he doesn't want to come with us and we also can't make him," Juan said with his hand around my shoulder to keep me standing straight.

"Ok, fine, just call me or Juan when you get home." Pep said reluctantly. Juan looked at me and asked if he can let go and I softly nodded. When his stocky arms let go of me I could feel the gravity yanked me down, but I managed to keep standing. I could almost hear my sides screaming in agony and the sting of the cool air brush over the cuts on my face. They started to walk away from me, but Pep kept turning her head every second to see if I'd be on the floor but all I did was wave at them as they walked away. They grabbed their bags that they had left at the front of the shop when they ran to me after the fight. Before they left Juan looked back at me while grabbing his bag, he mouthed the words You sure, bro And I just nodded back because that felt like the only thing that I could do that didn't hurt. Then they rode off towards their homes and left me in the approaching darkness as the sun's heat began to disappear behind me as it set slowly. I go into my pocket to grab my phone and call for a taxi, when I pulled it out it was cracked beyond repair, it must have cracked on my fall. I fumbled with the power button to see if it would work but its black screen taunted me, leaving me to curse into the wind. I walk towards the front of the shop to grab my bag and try to call from inside but when I get there I see the closed sign on the door with a coffee mug saying Sorry Folks, that's all for now. Come Again Tomorrow! So, I do the only thing I can do, I pick up my bag and sling it over my shoulder in pain and start walking home.

It had probably been an hour of walking before I got to a way to familiar sight, the burnt down convenient store. I suddenly forgot about the pain I was in and started to make a slow jog towards it. The Transgress trucks had cleared off and the only thing there was the scorched pavement from the blast and police tape around the gaping hole where the door and windows should have been. There was a half-broken sign on the top of the store that used to read At your Convenience but now only read At yo- Conven. I crossed over the tape and looked around the store, it wasn't big on the inside, just four small corners packed together that used to contain five small isles. The baby blue walls were a disgusting colour of mud brown and burnt toast. It smelled like ash and heavily scented vanilla candles but there was a moist feeling in the air.

There was a part of the roof that had caved in and all around it were cracks that made me feel slightly unsafe to be under it. I made my way to the checkout counter and behind the crumbled counter was a puddle of maroon liquid with dust and bits of the ceiling in it. I realized that it was a puddle of blood from someone that was still inside when the rocket was launched. I stumbled back and tripped over a piece of the ceiling, causing me land on my side. My body groaned in pain, my ribs seemed to be stabbing my internal organs and my head was screaming at me to just sleep.

I looked up through the hole in the ceiling and the sky was a dark shade of purple, it had to have been half-past 6 or 7. I moaned as I pushed myself off the dusty floor and waded my way out of the store. When I got outside the fresh breeze of the dusk air flowed through my clothes. I looked down at one of the glass shards from the window and saw my face for the first time since the fight. My cheek was swollen to the size of a plumb, and I had a cut across the top of my right eyebrow about 3 fingers long, I opened my mouth a bit to check if I had chipped or lost any teeth, and I exhaled heavily to see that I still had my one slightly chipped tooth and the rest of my teeth. My brown skin was covered in purple bruises and I could feel each one pulsing in pain.

"You do know that police tape is supposed to keep random people like you from going inside there, right?" came a voice from out of nowhere that nearly made me jump onto the roof. A girl was leaning on the side of the wall, but she hadn't been there before, or maybe Justin hit me harder than I thought. She had short black hair with purple highlights that just reached the top of her black leather jacket. She had a grey scarf that curled around her slim neck, her fair skin made her spring green eyes look young and menacing although her height took away most of the menacing features, she wasn't terribly short but wasn't very tall either.

"Jesus, do you just wait outside of places to scare people."

"You know you just went through an active investigation scene, that's a crime, you should get arrested for that." She moved away from the wall and walked over to me, her voice was calm and gentle. "Why risk it?"

"Curiosity," I replied

"Same thing that killed the cat."

"Same thing that leads George on those adventures of his." She let out a small laugh that warmed me up in the cold night. She was close enough to see the red in her cheeks from the cold and a few cuts on her hands and the right side of her face.

"Who did you get in a fight with," she asked folding her arms over herself to keep warm.

"Oh, you should see the other guy, if you ask me I'm pretty sure I won but that's just me. What about you, you look like somebody brought a kitten to the side of your face." She held the side of her face as if she hadn't noticed it before.

"Something like that. Let's just say siblings are the worst."

"Tell me about it. I have twin sister, imagine sharing your birthday with a girl popular enough to have a restaurantfilled with her friends." And she laughed again. I have known this girl for 5 minutes and I feel connected to her already.

"That just sounds amazing."

"Most anxiety inducing thirteenth birthday ever." I said giggling softly "You seem like a decent human being, creepy store girl. I'm Oliver Stark."

"Kaitlyn Harley, with a K, but just call me Kate, and you seem to be an interesting human being too."

The world seemed slow around us, we left the convenient store and started to make our way to my house. We seemed to have been walking for hours but we didn't seem to get bored, we talked about how bad star trek is, the stupid internet drama and I found out that she likes Panic! At the Disco just as much as I do. It wasn't long before we made it to the street where I lived, and I slowed down just to make the conversation last longer, but we eventually reached my house. The darkness of the night consumed the house except for the bright light in Stephy's room and the one in the kitchen.

"Sadly, this is my stop," I said stopping in the middle of the pathway right in front of my house.

"Aww, come on Olivia, isn't the guy supposed to drop the girl off." She said in a moan. The light of the house bounced of her leather jacket, the green in her eyes faded in the darkness but her fair skin lightly glowed in the darkness.

"I would walk you home, but I feel like my body wouldn't withstand the walk there and back, plus I'm pretty sure my mom is waiting in the living room to ambush like in a cliché movie mom whose kid has snuck out in the middle of the night."

"Shame, this has been fun though." She said in a sad tone making me feel guilty. She moved her hair away from her face and smiled. "This has been the best ambush conversation I've ever had with a stranger so far."

"Wait, you do this regularly."

"Duh, where else would I make friends." She said with a cheery grin on her face and I just laughed, loud enough that I probably woke up some of the neighbours.

"Okay then Kate, I guess I'll see you around. I would ask for your number, but you saw my phone and I would give you my number but I have a horrible memory." I extended my hand out towards her.

"It just sounds like you making excuses to never see again." She said with sadness in her voice.

"Hey no... that's not true." I stammered.

"I'm joking. But it's a shame, it would have been nice to have my phone blown up by you." She lifted her hand out too and we gave each other a formal, friendly handshake and laughed as we tried to keep a straight face. Then waved goodbye to her as I made my way to the door. Before I got to the door stopped and turned around.

"St Valentine's storm is happening tomorrow," I shouted to her. Her hair ruffled in the wind as she turned her head to face me. "and I hear there's a Storm Watch party out in the forest. Maybe you'd like to come with me because going alone would be a little sad."

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Well tomorrow is Valentine's day, and no one likes to spend Valentine's alone, so I guess I am." I stuttered, she looked at me with a smile on her face.

"Sure, okay, sounds like fun." She looked excited and even the sound of her voice made me feel excited. "I'll meet you outside the convenient store and look nice because I refuse to be seen with a dirty looking date."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Shut up and good night. Seven o'clock outside the store." She said with a cheeky smile on her face and she turned around and walked away. I opened the door but turned my head to see her one more time, but she had vanished into the darkness, nowhere to be seen in the overhead street lights, I left it and entered the house.

As I closed the door behind me, the warmth of the inside of the house slowly crept onto me making me feel safe, I took small silent steps into the living room to see my mom. At first, I was scared but slowly realized she had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for me. She had a book draped open over her lap and her glasses hung loosely on the tip of her nose, her hair was hung freely over her face and the light grey streaks in it glowed a calm silver in the dim light of the side lamp. I grab a blanket from the closet and place it over her as I set her down comfortably on the couch, I removed the glasses off her face and set them on the table with her book and carefully laid her head to rest on the pillow. She looked at peace but a slight twitch in her mouth showed a sign of worry. I kiss her on the forehead and silently make my way up the stairs to my room.

Sensuous music wafted in the air as I ascended the steps, each note swung in the air trailing into my room. Opposite my room was Stephy's, her door was plastered with Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco stickers and a sign that said Stephanie was and still is here in the middle, under the door no light seeped through. The door to my room, on the other hand, had a picture of the Avengers on one side and the Justice League on the other and right in the middle was a sign I made in sixth grade that said Oli's Laboratory, it was slightly ajar letting calm tune through. My heart warmed as I got to the door, swimming in the soothing melodic swing of each note lulling my body to rest. I knew the song well, it was Frédéric Chopin's nocturne in E flat, I've heard the notes being tripped over many times but it always got better. I could almost see the sway of the bow as the song carried out it's hopes within a melancholic heart. When I entered the room Stephy was playing her violin, dancing around the room as if it were the set of a musical. She only briefly caught a glimpse of me as she tiptoed on each string, it caught her of guard and the piece cut just as it neared it's apex. She looked back at me like I had a knife in my chest, laid her violin on the bed and ran over to me.

"What the hell happened to you." She said softly going over the cuts on my face. "You look like you had a fight with a weedwhacker."

"I picked a fight with Justin Wong."

"Ugh, that Confucius looking jerk." She gaged "Please tell me you won."

"Nope. He even stole my bike, that prick, I had to walk home."

"But obviously not alone, I saw that girl outside and I know that wasn't Pepper." her voice was cheeky and mischievous while saying that.

"She's just someone I met on the way here, a friend."

"I'm your twin sister, she isn't just a friend is she."

"Maybe, I asked her to the Storm Watch party tomorrow."

"Ohhhhhhhhh," she said while punching my arm and my body cried silently as she did, I still felt pain from the fight, the cuts still stung in the air. "Sorry." She said as saw my face wince in pain.

"It's nothing, I'm going to meet up with her first and then take her up to the spot where everyone else will be so it's not like a date."

"What did she call it."

"A date."

"Then it's a date, dear brother." I probably made a face that made it look like I was going to pass out because she put her hand on my arm. "Don't worry about it, she obviously likes you if she said yes so relax." Her touch was warm and calming, it radiated through my body putting it at ease. Even though Stephy was the most irritating person, she had an alluring warmth about her personality and a calming touch that brought everyone to her. I felt the pain slowly subside from the injuries and the stress I felt for going on a date for the first time in a while lift off my chest.

"Maybe..."

"But weren't you talking about asking Pepper to that?" She asked. I didn't know how to respond because I was going to do that but I just don't know how she would handle it. The thought of her rejecting me and not ever wanting to talk to me again. "I was," I finally said, "It's just that I know it's never going to work between us, so I might as well move on."

"So, this is your way of moving on, going on a date with someone you just met, on Valentine's day. Moving from girl to girl doesn't solve your issues." She said, she took her hand off my arm and crossed them over her chest. There was a pang of disappointment in the last part that hit close my heart.

"Any other ideas would be appreciated."

She paused. "Okay, fine. Just don't be crazy, you're a decent person so don't screw it up with her okay."

"That was very helpful." My eyes ached from rolling them so hard. "Why are you playing your violin in my room?"

"Because I can't see the front of the house from my room and mum isn't the only person in this house who worries about you". She said with a yawn at the end. She looked down at her watch and whispered a curse. "It's 11 already, I'm not going function well tomorrow. Goodnight brother," she stood up and kissed my forehead right next to the cut, a warm pulse went through my body and suddenly it felt like the air around me was filled with sleep dust, my eyelids got heavier. "I will see you in the morning." And she left the room. I took off my shirt and wandered into the shower. Each time I moved I felt my eyelids drooped more and more. I got to my room, hopped into bed and as soon as I did my body shut down and I blinked and suddenly I was blinded by the light and my mother's face hovering over mine.

"Rise and shine my sleepy boy," she said with a giddy smile "Today is a day for love to flourish. Happy Valentine's day" she said to me as she kissed my forehead.