A/N: This story started out as a short and sweet one page scene but I started to add back story and 10,000 words later I finally got to my original scene. I normally don't publish my fanfictions, but I really wanted some feedback so please let me know what you think! (Rated M for future smut and other adult themes)

Marley pov:

I was restocking the shelves in the local cooking store where I worked with half and hour before my shift was supposed to end.

"Excuse me"

I turned around to see two guys standing there. "Can I help you?" I asked, putting on a smile.

"Yes," said one of the guys. He had giant blue eyes and had a fringe haircut that almost matched the haircut of the guy he was with. "We were looking for a Delia Smith cookbook. Do you know where we could find one?"

They are one of the most awkward gay couples that have ever walked into this store, I thought to myself. "Yes, right this way." I took them over to the cookbook section and showed them where to find what they were looking for.

"Thanks," said the other one.

"No problem. Let me know if you need anything else." I smiled at them and went back to stocking the shelves.

Dan pov:

"Dan, seriously?" Phil said, hitting me as we walked up the stairs to our apartment.

"What?" I said, taken aback.

"Why didn't you talk to her? She was so hot! And you have been whining about not having a girlfriend for waaaay too long!"

"Yeah, she was. Wasn't she?"

"You are going to go back there within the next week and you are going to say something more to her than just 'Thanks.' Okay?"

"Fine," I said, glaring at Phil. The girl at the cooking store had been very attractive and seemed friendly enough, but how the hell was I supposed to start a conversation with some girl at a cooking store?

A few days later, Phil and I were preparing our props and ingredients to film a cooking video the next day, using a recipe from Delia Smith's cookbook of course, and we realized that we didn't have everything we needed.

"You're going to that store," said Phil. "And you are going to talk to that girl."

"Seriously, Phil? It's your turn," I protested. I knew what he was trying to do, but it wasn't like I would ever get together with some random girl in a cooking store.

"I'm dead serious. I'm not going."

Rolling my eyes, I sighed, grabbed my wallet, and walked out the door. I tried my best to put a smile on my face as I walked the short two blocks to the store.

Marlena POV:

I glanced at my watch again. 8:50. Ten more minutes.

I had told Rachel she could leave around 8:00 and I would cover the rest of her shift because her dog was sick and it was a really slow day. Attempting to pass time, I stood at the register, flicking through some teen magazine.

"Aren't the Jonas Brothers a little out of date?"

I looked up to see one of the guys who had come into the store the other day looking for the Delia Smith cookbook. His boyfriend wasn't with him this time though. He was leaning on the counter, his immaculately straightened hair perfectly positioned on his face and his dark brown eyes staring at me.

"Um, yeah," I said, realizing that I had been staring at Joe Jonas's face for the last 20 minutes without actually seeing it. "I was just bored. This was the only magazine I could find that doesn't have to do with cooking."

"Yeah, I guess you can only read so many recipes for the worlds best brownies," he said, indicating a magazine what was sitting on a rack near by.

"You would think I would at least be a better cook though," I laughed, remembering my horrid attempt to make brownies for my boyfriend for his birthday last month. "My brownies turn out like bricks and my cookies always crumble."

"Yet you work in a cooking store," he said, pointing out the irony.

"I'm just hoping some of it will rub off on me, I guess. Anyway, is there anything I can help you with? Or did you just come here to criticize my taste in magazines?"

"Yeah, actually." He gave me his list and explained what he and his friend were trying to make. I helped him around the store and eventually found everything he needed and we returned to the register. Not wanting to walk all the way around the counter (there were mountains of boxes back there right now because we had just gotten a new shipment) I simply turned the computer around and rung him up from there.

"Marlena. That's a pretty name," he said, apparently reading my nametag.

"I go by Marley." I said blushing.

"Marley. Even better. I'm Dan." He extended his had as I finished bagging his items and I shook it.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled back at him. I was still blushing, not used to being complemented.

"Well, I better be getting back. Lots of cooking to do. Thank you so much for your help, Marley," said Dan, giving me a quick and unexpected hug in gratitude.

"Marley!" I flinched. It was my boyfriend Jake. And he sounded angry. Shit. He had warned me the other night that if I let any guy so much as touch me, he would make sure I never forgot what it felt like to have him touch me. He had gotten angry enough to threaten me with hitting me before, and he had in fact slapped me a few times, but it never left any lasting damage. This time though, I was downright terrified of him. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" he growled.

I held my ground, bracing for the worst. Thankfully, I was standing between Jake and Dan, so an innocent bystander would most likely not have to get involved. Unless he knocked me out first. The thought made my blood run cold. My heart stopped pounding for a second then kicked into overdrive.

"Jake. Breathe. It's—"

"Don't tell me what to do, woman!" he yelled. Before I had time to react, his fist made contact with my face. I crumpled to the floor.

Barely conscious, I thought I could hear Dan say something and I saw Jake take a swing at Dan. Then everything faded away.

When I started to regain consciousness, the first thing I realized was that I was not touching the ground. What the hell, I thought. What's going on? Then I remembered; my eyes flew open.

I was in the middle of the street in Dan's arms. "Oh thank god," he said, seeing that I had woken up. "I was worried I was going to have to take you to the hospital."

"What happened? How? You…?"

"Jake is currently unconscious inside the store," he explained. "He tried to hit me so I figured it was okay to use some of the Tae Kwan Do I learned when I was 10. I called the manager and explained the situation. He said he would take care of it."

"Oh," I responded, still dazed from being knocked out. "Let me walk. I can walk."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Marley. You just got hit in the head pretty hard. I can carry you back to my car and drive you to wherever you need to go. The hospital might still be a good idea, actually."

"Okay," I relented. I didn't think I would be able to support my own weight anyway, so I just rested my head back on his arm and let him carry me through the streets back to his car. We got there and he opened the passenger door effortlessly despite my weight and slid me smoothly into the seat.

"Where to?" Dan asked after he had climbed into the driver side.

"Um," I began. Then it hit me. I had nowhere to go. I was supposed to spend the night with Jake because my apartment was being fumigated. "I… I don't know," I said, explaining my situation as coherently as possible, still in a daze from the punch.

"Well, you could come up to my apartment and I can try to help you work things out from there," he awkwardly suggested, clearly aware that he we were complete strangers and his suggestion could be taken the wrong way.

I didn't know what to do. On one hand, it went against everything I knew to just walk into a strangers apartment, but on the other hand, he had just saved me from the wrath of my boyfriend and I was feeling very fatigued.

"Okay," I agreed. Managing to open my door, I began to fumble with the seatbelt, unable to push the small button. Dan leaned over me and carefully removed it, lifted me out of the car and carried me to the elevator. He didn't put me down even when we reached his door; he just knocked. After a few seconds, I heard a lock turn and the door opened.

"Dan! Is she okay?" I recognized this guy as the one that had accompanied Dan to my store when I first met him. Dan must have called him too before I woke up and told him what happened.

"Well, she's conscious now, but I'm not convinced she doesn't need to go to the hospital."

"I'll go now," said a blond girl from behind the guy who answered the door.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, baby." He gave her a swift kiss as she skirted around us out the door. I guess they aren't gay, I realized.

Dan carried me in and placed me gently on a sofa. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I responded automatically.

"Would you like some water?" asked the other one.

"Yes please."

"I'm going to go get a washcloth to clean off your face," said Dan.

Oh, no. Was my nose bloody? How embarrassing…

"I'm Phil by the way," said the other one, handing me a glass of water.

"Thanks," I said taking the glass. "I'm Marley."

"Here we are," said Dan, reemerging. He came over and knelt beside me. "Do you mind?" I shook my head. I was starting to be less weirded out about being in a stranger's apartment and I was beginning to think that these guys were just genuinely nice people. Maybe it was just the fatigue setting in. "Close your eyes," he instructed.

I did as he asked. The warm washcloth felt nice. Dan was very gentle, taking note of when I winced from where I had been hit and being even more delicate in those places. When he was finished, I didn't want to open my eyes, but I thought it would be rude if I just fell asleep on his couch, so I forced them open.

"Thank you," I said weakly.

"It's okay. I don't think your nose is broken either, which is good. "But, do you want me to take you to the hospital to make sure nothing is wrong?"

"No." I was not going to go to the hospital and tell a bunch of doctors about how my boyfriend abused me. When I thought of it, I started to feel angry. How could he do this to me? Am I really not worth anything to him?My anger at him turned into anger at myself. I knew this would happen eventually. Why did I let myself stay with him?

It was as though Dan could sense what I was feeling and he said, "Okay" without argument. "In that case, is there anywhere you want to go? Do you want to call a friend and stay with them?"

"Well, I would, but the only person's phone number I know off the top of my head is Jake's. Did you happen to pick up my purse when we left the store? It had my phone in it."

"No, I didn't. Sorry. Um, give me one minute. Phil? Can I talk to you for a second?"

They walked away through a hallway out of sight and I tried hard to fight back the sleep. When they reemerged Dan knelt back down beside me and said, "We were wondering if you might want to stay here? I can tell you are about ready to fall asleep and we wouldn't feel right kicking you out, especially in your condition."

I thought about it and decided that I trusted them. Besides, I was too tired to move.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Phil asked.

I just shook my head. Dan went and grabbed a blanket and draped it over me. "Thank you guys so much. I really appreciate it," I mumbled. I fell asleep before I could hear their responses.