A/n: I apologize in advance for this chapter. It is jam-packed with information and goes very quickly. This was written before I had Kayli editing for me and before I actually had an idea of how to write. I also really suck at starting stories. So, if this story does sound interesting to you, at least give the 2nd and 3rd chapters a chance before passing it off as a teenager who has no idea how to write (I swear I've improved a lot since beginning this story). Thank you.

Prologue:

It was all her fault. He was gone, and it was all because of her. If she never went for that walk, if she never found that stupid thing, if she never gave it to him, if they had never gotten into that fight, he would still be with her. Instead of being alone in a forest in the middle of nowhere, she would be with him at the Benbow Inn, talking and playing with Morph.

Meg tried helping out at the inn when she visited, but Jim would always take on her work as well as his, never finishing either, so eventually when she went over, she would just keep Morph busy or help Sarah with small chores while waiting for Jim to get off of work. Soon, even that wasn't enough to keep Jim focused on his own work and, since once she arrived he would be useless anyway, Sarah would just send her, Jim and Morph on some random errand so at least something useful would get done.

The 'errand' usually just turned into them either going to her house and talking or walking to the park and sitting by the fountain, watching other couples walk by. Eventually Morph would get bored and start mimicking the couples that went by, at least until she got annoyed and scolded at him. Jim would laugh and said she acted like such a mother, and she would get embarrassed.

Really, they were like parents to Morph. On one of their earlier dates, while she was still unsure as to why the trouble-making teen would want to go out with a stubborn female like herself, they found the poor pink blob shivering and cowering in a cardboard box, afraid of everything that went by. Jim, being as curious and rash boy he was, bent down to the creature and poked it with his finger as he would a mysterious substance. Although she would never admit it, she was inquisitive about the unfamiliar creature too, but was content enough in watching Jim try to interact with it.

The blob looked at Jim's prodding digit questioningly, and bit it, retreating to the far corner of his box and trying to blend in.

"Augh! That thing has teeth! Where did those come from?"

Meg couldn't help laughing at him, receiving an aggravated glare in return. "It's not my fault you expected it to be friendly. You just scared it."

She noticed the little blob had cowered even further into the box and looked even more afraid than before. She put a hand on her hip, studying the creature, before bending down and looking straight at the thing's eyes.

"Alright, come out of there. Stop acting so cowardly."

Jim looked at her, still massaging his sore finger. "That's a little blunt, isn't it?"

To his surprise, the blob slightly came out of the box, transforming into Jim and mimicking his outburst after being bitten. Meg, although surprised at the thing's transformation, not to mention its understanding of what she said, chuckled at its actions.

Looking up and smirking at Jim, she said, "Well, what do you know, he understands us. You did just scare it." After a disgruntled grunt from Jim, she addressed the creature. "He didn't mean to scare you, now come on out if you want a new home."

Startled, Jim proclaimed, "Wait, what? You want to take the thing home?"

She picked the creature up, holding it close to her body to warm it. "His name's Morph, and I'm not taking it home, you are." She put Morph in his pocket, smiling as it seemed to curl up and fall asleep.

"Now wait, why do I have to take care of it?" Jim looked at her as she crossed her arms and leaned on one hip.

"Because you know I can't, my landlord would never allow it. And besides," she walked closer to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and smiling seductively, "if you take care of him, I'll have just another excuse to visit more."

He grinned back at her, leaning in for a quick kiss. "You're lucky I love assertive women."

"I know." She said, leaning forward, but pulling away in the last second and hitting his face with her curly chestnut hair as she quickly turned away and walked back to his house, Jim in tow.

She smiled at the memory, leaning back on her hands and crossing her legs in front of her. He noticed the change, his expression changing to his signature mischievous grin.

"What are you thinking about?"

She turned her attention to him, noticing his taunting smirk and deciding to tease him right back. "Oh, I just thought the guy that passed was really cute. I think I'll go talk to him."

Jim frowned. "What? Am I not good enough for you?"

She pretended to think about it. "I don't know, maybe he'll be more interesting and spend more time with me instead of working." Taking it a step further, she slowly got up and began to walk away. She didn't take more than two footsteps before Jim grabbed her hand and pulled her back down next to him.

"I don't work that much." He took the little curl of hair by her cheek and began twirling it around his finger. "Besides, just a little longer, and we'll have enough to get our own place and you can stop living alone in that apartment."

She smiled at him; he was always worried about her well-being. She took his hand out of her hair and placed it in both of hers.

"I'll be fine; I can take care of myself. Your mom still needs your help, at least while Doppler's busy taking care of his wife. I can wait that long to live with you." She gave him a quick kiss and smirked when she pulled away. "But you really need to get back to the inn with that juice; else Sarah won't let me visit for a while."

He sighed, knowing she was right. "Alright. You coming with me?"

She shook her head. "I think I'll stay here a little while longer." At his concerned look, she continued, smiling at him reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll be back at the inn before dark and I'll let you walk me home if it worries you that much."

He hesitated. He hated leaving her alone anywhere; especially considering that it was a party weekend and she'd have to go through downtown to get back to the inn. But he saw that determined look in her violet eyes, and if he didn't leave soon, he would get a scolding from his mom for taking so long (well, longer than she knew the distracted teens would take).

He sighed, admitting defeat. "Ok. But just to be safe, I'm leaving Morph with you, he's got enough teeth to do some damage." He cringed in remembrance, as Morph rubbed his cheek affectionately before floating to Meg and hiding in her hair.

Meg and Jim smiled at their little creature, giving each other a quick farewell kiss before Jim ran off to the store, leaving Meg to meander into the forest part of the park.

After a few minutes of walking, and Morph restlessly circling about her, looking all over as if monitoring for nonexistent danger, Meg became slightly annoyed and sighed, putting her hands on her hips.

"Alright Morph, new job." He looked at her, recognizing her irritated tone of voice and stance, knowing that when she did that, someone (usually Jim) got yelled at. She gave him a quick, reassuring smile to abate his fear of punishment before continuing. "Go find something interesting to take back to Jim," she paused, remembering the last time she told him that, "and make sure it doesn't belong to someone else like the last time."

Morph gave her his best imitation of a salute before zooming off into the forest on his next treasure hunt. She watched him leave before letting out a breath of relief and leaning against a tree.

Jim was so protective of her; she knew he didn't like her being out alone, and she didn't blame him, especially considering how they became a couple in the first place. She leaned back against the tree, remembering the day they met.

It was a little over a year ago. She was walking through downtown alone, returning from another unsuccessful job interview fuming. She couldn't seem to find a job anywhere, not without the managers always asking for something extra before hiring her. It got old. Just because she was beautiful didn't mean she was willing to use her body to get what she wanted. Unlike their expectations, she wasn't like those other girls. Of course, nowadays it seemed that everyone expected her to be.

No one in her life had yet to prove her wrong. Her ex-boyfriend, her friends, everyone she knew was only around because of her looks, not for her friendship. She didn't see or understand that truth, not until she found her boyfriend making out with a gorgeous blond girl with curves larger than hers, breaking up with her the day after. Once they broke up, all her friends stopped talking to her; she was no longer the center of attention, so they wanted nothing to do with her anymore, and there was no way she was going to demean herself and become just another petty and dishonest follower with them.

She didn't need anyone anyway, she could survive on her own, and she'd been doing fine the last few years. Besides, how could she hope anyone wanted to be with her if even her parents left her on her own once she turned 16 and went to another country? She figured it was better to be alone, that way no one would be able to hurt her again.

She was so caught up in her inner ranting and musing that she didn't consider the shady part of town she was walking through to get home, instead focusing on it being a shortcut to her apartment where she could shut out the rest of the world. Her apartment. She wondered if she would ever get out of it.

About a block away from her home, three guys interrupted her thoughts, blockading the path. She walked up to them, trying to pass. After they just continued to move in her way, she grumbled and crossed her arms.

"Excuse me. You're in my way."

One of the guys chuckled as his two buddies surrounded her. "Someone's a little feisty tonight. Why don't you come with us, get a drink, and relax?"

She could smell the alcohol on his breath, and tried to retrace her steps, to find the other two blocking any way she tried to turn. Her heart began beating faster, but she knew if she showed these drunks any signs of fear, she would never escape unscathed. She hoped her mouth and attitude could get her out of trouble like it usually did. She put on her most convincing aggravated face before mustering up the courage to address them. "Sorry, not interested."

One of the men looked offended. "Well why not sweetheart? We're not bad looking and we ain't going to hurt you and we ain't going to do anything you didn't ask for. And with a body like yours, you're just begging for everything we've got planned. Be happy it was gentlemen like us who found you."

His two friends behind her started chuckling and moving in on her. She studied the size of the three and determined that, even if she was able to immobilize one, she could never handle the other two and that would probably result her in being hurt worse. So fighting back was out of the question. She cursed her parents for giving her these curves and no muscle to protect herself with. She stood as still and fearlessly as she could, although every nerve in her body was screaming for her to just run.

She watched them approach until she felt a hand on her arm, pulling her out of the circle of men. She quietly gasped in surprise as the arms steadied her before one protectively went around her waist. She assumed it was one of the men, until she saw all three looking at whoever was holding her in surprise.

She looked up at her 'rescuer' (she wasn't really sure if he was, or just another guy trying to get her in bed with him). He picked up his solar surfer with his free arm (she could only recognize it because her ex used to ride one, she never went anywhere near it), causing her attention to change to his brown jacket and dark t-shirt underneath. She eventually looked at his face, seeing him smiling at her with his blue-gray eyes showing concern. She blushed slightly and looked down, embarrassed that he caught her studying him.

She knew she recognized him; maybe it was from school or somewhere. What was his name? Hawkins? Josh? James? Jim? Jim Hawkins, that was it. But what was he doing here of all places?

The three men, aggravated at being interrupted, roughly addressed the boy, snapping Meg out of her contemplation. "Hey, kid, who the hell do you think you are? We were just having a pleasant conversation, that's all."

Jim smirked. "Really? Didn't look that way to me."

The man grew more impatient. "Yeah, and what would you care kid? You her boyfriend or something?"

Before Jim could falter over the answer, she quickly put one arm around his waist and the other lightly on his jacket; she felt him flinch at her unexpected action. "Now that you mention it, he is. We were meeting at home for dinner before you rudely blocked my way. Now, if you don't mind, we'd like to get back to our business." Sometimes it scared her how good she was at lying.

She pulled on his jacket a little to guide him in the direction of her apartment, but the drunks refused to give up.

"Who cares if she's got a boyfriend? Let's get rid of the boy, take her and change her mind."

Crap. The one time she really needed her mouth to get away it didn't work. It probably didn't help that the men were intoxicated and thus lost all sense of right and wrong. She shifted to try and run, but Jim didn't move. Instead he grabbed her tighter and threw his board on the ground, pulling her up onto it and kick-starting the motor. It blazed to life and they shot into the air before she could protest.

It took her a moment to realize they were going higher and higher off the ground, before she cinched her eyes shut and grabbed on to him tighter. She desperately hoped he wouldn't let her go and fall; she'd prefer those ruffians over being this high in the air, at least with them she had a higher chance of survival.

Eventually, she felt the board thump on the ground and him pull her off of it. She slowly opened her eyes to see his looking into them. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and lighten the overwhelming dizziness that threatened her balance.

"You okay?"

She took another breath before sighing and looking at him. "I will be, but I think I'll keep my feet on the ground from now on."

She realized she was still holding onto him and pulled away. He chuckled at her. "Sorry for not warning you, but those guys didn't give me much of a choice. What were you doing with those, those-"

"Intoxicated idiots?" She finished for him. "I was walking home. I was almost there before those jerks stopped me." She paused, noticing the sun setting."Anyway, thanks for helping me. I best be getting myself home now."

She turned away from him and began walking back toward the city. He grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Hold on, you live in that area? You can't go back home now; who knows what kinds of freaks are waiting there."

She stared at him for a moment. Was he actually worried about a stranger like her? "So what do you suggest? It's either go back through downtown or sleep on the streets, and honestly the latter doesn't sound very appealing." She crossed her arms and watched him as he thought.

"Listen, my mom owns an inn nearby; you can stay there for the night and go home in the morning." He pointed to the house behind him. She could tell Jim was trying to convince her to not go home; he was sincerely concerned. That was new in a guy.

"One problem, hero, I don't have any money on me."

He smiled at her. "I'll cover it for you, just means a few extra chores for the week is all."

She considered his offer. She really didn't want to go back through town right now and chance meeting more drunks. And there was no way she was going to suggest him flying her back home. She sighed and accepted his offer.

"I feel bad not paying, especially after you saved me. If there's any way I can return the favor-" she feigned forgetting his name, not wanting to make it seem like he saved a creeper or anything.

"Jim, it's Jim. And I guess if you really want to repay me, you could go on a date with me-?"

She giggled. "How forward, asking me on a date before you even know my name." She laughed more as he turned red. "Megara, call me Meg. And I think I can spare a date with you. Thank you." She gave him an appreciative kiss on the cheek and walked toward the inn slowly, waiting for him to catch up and lead her inside.

After that night and their first date, they had been practically inseparable. He helped her find a part-time job to keep her busy while he was working. She daily went over to the inn after work to see him and he would walk her home afterwards. They talked and teased one another about everything, from getting a house together to her fear of heights to his inability to stay out of trouble.

She felt something nudging her leg, breaking her reverie and forcing her to return to the real world. She looked down to see Morph with a large sphere in his mouth, prodding her with it so she would take it from him.

"What did you find this time?" Meg put her hand out for Morph to drop his prize into it. It was surprisingly light for looking so dense and appeared to be covered with copper or something similar. She played with it a little bit, before it beeped at her. She smiled. "Looks like a puzzle of some sort." She looked at the little blob suspiciously. "And no one was around it or looking for it?" Morph shook his head, floating happily around as she sighed thoughtfully and shifted off the tree, walking toward the inn. "I think Jim will like what you found; let's go show him."