I practically jump out of my seat when I hear the bell ring, signalling the end of class. The boring history teacher ends his monotonic lecture and dismisses us, but I'm already out the door.

I sprint down the hall eagerly and throw open the doors to the outside world as the halls fill up. Speeding down the steps, I rush to a certain blonde as he leans against the car. He's grinning at me as I run up to him.

"Hey, you," he greets chuckling, wrapping his arms around me when I pounce on him.

"Hi." I grin at him and peck his lips, making a few nearby girls squeal wildly.

"Ready to go?" He asks, grabbing my hands in his.

"Yeah, but first," I say before pulling him into a kiss. It lasts a few seconds before I pull away, making him bite his lip as he catches himself leaning forward, following me.

"You love teasing me, don't you?" He shakes his head and laughs. "Get your ass in the car."

I grin at him cheekily. "Only if you bring yours in with me," I say suggestively, making him grin.

"We'll see."

I quirk an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

He nods. "Maybe."

"Well, what if I convince you?" I grip the edges of his jacket, pulling him closer.

He grins again. "I'm listening," he states quietly, making me smile.

I hum softly, pretending to be thinking about it. "How 'bout I..." I suggest a certain something quietly, tugging him even closer by his belt loops. I grin cheekily at him.

"You've turned into a sex-crazed monster," he tells me laughing.

I chuckle. "You love it."

He laughs a little and pecks my lips again before we both pile into the car, letting the vehicle take us away.

"Where are we going?" I whine with a pout.

"Well, we're gonna go on our date, but I want you to meet someone first." He looks at me with an adoring smile, making me flush.

"Who?" I ask curiously.

He smiles secretively at me. "You'll see."

The car ride isn't that long. In fact, it was rather short, but I don't pay that much mind when we pull up to a large hill. I raise an eyebrow curiously, but Michael ignores it and drags me out of the car.

Stalking up the hill, I gasp at the sight. A large oak tree sits, nestled into the ground, with its large and strong branches grasping for the sky. Its long limbs are covered in colorful leaves that fall away as Autumn turns to Winter. Resting in the shade of the magnificent tree, lies a deep black marble tombstone. Michael slowly walks toward it, uncharacteristically silent. Not knowing what to say, I follow behind quietly, confused and surprised.

"Hey, mom," Michael greets softly. "It's been a while." He swipes some dead leaves away from the headstone, revealing the name Angela Treadaway, along with her years lived and some old quote thats been weathered away slightly.

I kneel down beside him as he continues speaking, talking about everything that's happened lately, ranging from things at school to new bands he likes. He pauses and glances at me. "I met someone, too." He gently takes hold of my hand. "His name is Conrad."

A smile graces my lips, and I squeeze his hand gently.

"I haven't exactly told him everything about what happened," he murmurs quietly. "I just didn't know how to." He looks to me and brings my hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to my knuckles.

"Michael, you don't have to tell me," I remind him softly.

He smiles at me softly. "I want to." He turns back to the tombstone and pats it gently, sitting down next to it. I lower myself onto the crunchy grass beside him. We lean against the tree, his arm around me as I lay my head on his shoulder. "I was barely a teenager, 13. My mom had gone out with some of her friends while my dad and I stayed home." He takes a shuddering breath, but he manages to keep tears out of his eyes. "I thought that she just slept in that next morning, but they called me out of class later in the day." Tears fall quickly from his now glossy eyes. I wrap my arm around him, gently comforting him. "I later found out that she'd been raped and robbed and left in a ditch where she died from hypothermia," he finishes bitterly, collapsing into tears.

I feel my heart shatter for him, the little boy that lost his mother.

"And," he adds, looking back up at me, "the bastard only did it because she was human."

I feel tears slide down my face silently. My body feels frozen to the core.

How could someone do something so horrible?

Michael sniffles quietly and harshly wipes away his tears. "Sorry, this isn't the best start to a date." He freezes when he sees my tears, his expression softening immensely. He dries my tears, gently brushing my cheeks with his sleeve, and kisses my forehead.

"I'm sorry," I murmur to him, hugging his torso tightly.

"It's okay, babe." He runs his hand through my hair gently, making me relax ever so slightly.

"You should hear what happened, too," I tell him, making his eyes widen.

"You don't have-" I cut him off.

"I want to." I smile at him reassuringly.

He nods slowly and goes quiet.

I take a deep breath, glancing at the marble slab and blonde before look towards the sky. "It was early morning," I start, remembering it vividly. "I had just woken up and gotten dressed."

I shuffled around, putting my shoes on, so I could walk to school after eating and brushing my teeth. I yawned and stood, stretching out my tired muscles before looking put the window. It was a particularly cloudy day, I noticed. It looked like it was going to rain later after raining the night before as well.

I opened the door and stepped into the hallway, surprised at the silence of the house. I usually get up last, so it's weird that everyone slept in. I felt a bad feeling in my chest, like something dangerous was coming. I took the backstairs, avoiding the front rooms just in case. Quietly slipping into the hallway, I was suddenly pulled back by a clammy hand clamping down on my mouth. I nearly screamed until I recognized the French manicure done to their nails.

"Mom?" I asked quietly, turning to her. She looked panicked, her blue eyes wild and her pupils dilated. Her long curly black hair was wild and frizzy, and her forehead dripped with small beads of sweat.

She dragged me down the hallway quickly and quietly. I barely caught a glimpse of my father's body, lying stone cold and stiff, a dark, blood splattered, bullet hole rested between his eyes. I felt bile rise to my throat, making my eyes water and burn. A severe ache in my chest nearly stopped me, but I was able to continue when it was replaced with an empty, emotionless feeling. Throwing me into the bathroom, my mother locked us both inside.

Turning to the window, she spoke quietly. "You're going to climb out the window and run," she whispered harshly.

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked shakily, feeling panic race through me.

"Sweetheart," she told me, cupping my face gently, "I need you to be strong, okay?"

"Mom, what?" I nearly broke down then and there but somehow held myself together. A pounding on the door and some shouts startled my mother and me, making us jump.

She reached over and threw open the window, making me climb through into an alleyway behind our house. I turned around in time to see the door being thrown inwards and my mother falling to the floor.

"Run!" She yelled at me desperately, and I immediately obeyed, being thrown into my own form of autopilot.

I made it out of the alleyway in time to hear the pop of a gun with a silencer go off.

And I ran.

I blink slowly and focus back on the world around me. Taking a shuddering breath, I feel relaxed at long last and lean tiredly against Michael, who has yet to make a sound. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I feel free, at long last.

A warm, gentle hand grips my chin, pulling me into a stunningly passionate kiss. His hands cup my cheeks as our tears mingle together, splashing around in hot, salty rapids.

Pulling away, he looks down at me with glossy and sparkling brown eyes.

"I'm sorry."

I shake my head and look up at his heartbroken face. "It's okay. Living in the past isn't healthy, so I'm gonna focus on living for the future. You should, too." I take his hands into mine and look up to him.

He smiles softly at me, brushing his fingertips along my cheek and jawline. "Only if you're in it," he murmurs softly.

I feel myself smile and blush. "You're so corny."

"It's true," he replies with a small shrug, making me chuckle at him and roll my eyes.

I lean up and press my lips firmly against his, savoring the sweet taste of him. His lips are soft and talented as he slowly leads the kiss. His hands rest against the small of my back, holding me closer. He's so warm, and his skin is so smooth, making me practically melt into him.

Gasping for air, we lean our foreheads together, a smile uncontrollably spread across my face. I haven't felt this happy since I was with my family.

We leave for our date with our hands clasped together and content smiles plastered on our faces.

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I UPDATED!!! YAY! Lol. Anyway, I hope y'all nuggets enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to comment and shite because I love reading em!! See y'all nuggety readers in the next update! (whenever that is) Bai!!! >:3

-IggyScones