Summary: A kidnapping story - Jake is still with the True Believers, and is now coming to grips about the real truth of it all. Jake hasn't been home in years and had always been the troubled sort, but Diana never thought he'd turned into a kidnapper much less kidnap her. Everything takes a turn when Jake is cuffed to Diana. Newly turned victim, can Jake get Diana to trust him enough to run with him? At first it's logical to keep together while trying to get back, but when Jake starts to realize he actually wants her around, he wonders if what he's feeling is real or if misery truly does love company.

Note: Idk what happened. I deleted what I had, started this and didn't stop. I meant for this to be a lighter story, but I kind of love where this is headed. As I've said, if no one's written it for me, I'll have to do it myself. I'm hoping to blow your minds a bit in this one. ;)

Rated: T (For Mature Teen - to be safe)

Disclaimer: This is merely the writing of fan fiction. None of the places, characters, or other names associated with The Secret Circle belong to me.

Misery Loves Company

Prologue: All We Know Is Falling

Sometimes when Jake closed his eyes in private moments - when everything went quiet and he was left in stillness - he can imagine his mother's smell. He could hear his father's laugh, the feeling when his larger-than-life hand would pat the top of Jake's small head, and the contrast of his mother's much gentler caress. The proud look in his father's eyes, and the brightness his mother's held when she smiled at him.

There was something absolutely sinister in the eyes he looked at now; something so dark that Jake wouldn't dare to wander through in fear he'd get lost. Eben's stare moved over the front of The Boathouse, the door opening as she finally stepped out.

The world of his parents slipped away as easily as they always did, leaving a numbness that was never to be fulfilled, no matter how many times he tried to right it by killing off each witch he was told to take out.

"You're positive?" Eben asked Blackwell.

Before answering, Blackwell's blue eyes, lit from the inside, watched as the brunette languidly walked to her car. A faint smile on her mouth left over from whomever she'd been talking to. Jake watched her too, wondering if he could see it somewhere on her. The hint that she had dark magic residing in her that had yet to be touched upon. There was no clue as to what she held within herself. The long waves around her shoulders pushed past with the breeze that hit her. She looked nothing of John Blackwell and even less of the little girl Jake once knew. Her long legs carried her the rest of the way to the car, the lights flashing twice as a sign she'd unlocked it with the button in her hand.

Jake looked back to Blackwell after she got in and shut the door behind her, but Blackwell kept his eyes there as if she stood and faced them. His features gave nothing away, but somehow Jake knew there was something soft he was feeling towards it - towards her and the whole situation. He was selling his own daughters out for the chance of Eben letting him go free. Of course, Jake knew Blackwell's plan was to more than likely get to them, and get them out of town before Eben had the chance to get to them first, but Jake was sure someone was going to lose their lives trying to escape Eben and the rest of them.

"I'm positive."

Eben took a breath, knowing that one answer, was the answer to two different questions. His first being that she was a Balcoin decendent, the second that she had yet to trigger that side of herself.

"Positive," Blackwell repeated, straightening from where they were slightly hunched. If it had been day, they'd surely be caught. But on a late Sunday night, not nearly enough people were around to see them stalking around this one girl.

"Good. That's very good." Eben looked back to two of the "Muscles" they had with them. One actually cracked his knuckles before nodding to Eben, letting him know he understood the way of the plan. Jake grew an ominous feeling, stepping back when Isaac tapped him to do so. Like clockwork, the two Muscles moved to grab Blackwell who instantly jerked against them, trying to break free. His eyes scanned both of them who held him, and then went straight to Eben.

"I held up my end, Eben. You won't do the same?"

"You talk as if we're on the same team, John. We never have been."

"What is this?" Blackwell demanded, watching as Eben stood before him, holding a tube of liquid which he held up to Blackwell's mouth. The man balked, but one of the Muscles grabbed his jaw, squeezing until John resisted. He dropped the contents of the tiny bottle into Blackwell's mouth, part of it spilling out over his lip and down his chin.

Jake looked to Isaac who stood to his left, but Isaac was careful not to make too much eye contact, let alone step in at any time. It's how it had been lately, and the prospect of it worried Jake to the point of second guessing what he was doing with them and why he wasn't allowed to ask too many involving questions.

"It's retribution, John," Eben finally answered to Blackwell. "You should recognize it."

John's body gasped, the two Muscles only backing off when Eben gestured for them to do so. He shuddered, his eyes widening at the shock of whatever was going on inside of his body- however he was reacting to the poison. Jake wanted to look away, but couldn't. Not even when John's blue eyes went dull and slid up to disappear to the back of his head. Not even when he dropped into a heap onto the solid concrete. Not even when Eben spat on his lifeless body.

"Get him removed from here. It's taken a long time to find the right mixture. I never want to see him again."

Isaac grabbed Jake's arm, rushing him with a hard yank to follow.

"He just killed John Blackwell?"

"He was already dead," Isaac replied coldly and quietly.

Jake looked back at the body that was being picked up and found Eben already watching him.

Something about the whole thing was off, and he should have listened to himself when he still had the chance.

Chapter One: Swimming In The Flood

"Dad?" Diana called out, walking straight into the kitchen where he sat in a stool, reading over papers. Lately, he hadn't been in his office, but in the kitchen instead. Like he couldn't stand the four walls of his office. "Dad?" She called again, much quieter this time. He glanced up, forcing a grin on his face as he turned over the papers he'd been holding. She came around the island, hugging him and seeing him try like hell to force the black lettering from underneath one of the papers to come to the surface so she couldn't read what was there.

"How was your day?"

Loaded question considering her day had consisted of considering breaking up with Adam, catching him and Cassie at the abandoned house alone, where they sat rather closely. Their voices were hushed, but it didn't matter what they were saying when their eyes and body language spoke an entire sermon.

"Sufficiantly normal," she replied, pulling back to look up at him from the mess of paperwork on the counter. "What're you doing up still?"

He looked from her face to the complication on the counter, eyeing it like it was something he wanted more than anything to avoid. "Just going over bills."

But she knew better than that. They weren't bills, and she doubted it had a whole lot to do with work. Still, she smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to bed. Test tomorrow and I haven't even studied."

"Right, well, what about dinner?"

Eating at the moment sounded like the last thing she wanted to do. She was sick from earlier. The way her stomach had dropped and gone completely sour. "Already ate. Love you."

"Diana?" She stopped before leaving the room. "You know I love you..."

With a grin, she nodded. "You've never let me doubt it. Love you, too."

She escaped to her room, tossing her purse on the dresser before shrugging off her jacket. Her nightly ritual felt odd and empty. Suddenly, it didn't matter as much if Adam's favorite smell was used to wash her body. Instead, she used her own favorite smell, the one that was meant to relax the mind. She came out of the shower into a steamy bathroom, wiping down the mirror with part of her towel before wrapping it around herself, taking in the scent of mint that could practically be tasted. At least it was working, settling her mind and making her body feel languid in action. Only problem was, it didn't relax her emotions, and those were most of her problem. After she took the time to blow dry her hair, she stepped out into her bedroom.

As she pulled on undies and a regular sleep shirt over her night bra, the sound of her phone vibrating went off and with a quick glance at the screen, she had to take a deep breath before answering.

"Hey," she said as happy as she could manage. She regretted trying to sound anything than what she felt.

"Hey, where were you tonight? We waited for you..."

Adam sounded truly confused as to why she hadn't shown up. This was it. Either keep lying, and carry on the charade both her and him were in, or it would be time to cut it off. Diana wanted to be angry with Cassie, but she knew it was pointless. Cassie, after all, wasn't the one who was in a relationship. To be angry with Adam felt wrong as well. She found the only person she was angry with was herself, but even that didn't seem completely right.

"I came and I saw you two together."

There was a pause, and Diana knew from here there'd be no going back.

"You saw us together doing what?"

"Don't do that. Don't make me seem like the crazy, paranoid girlfriend."

"I don't know what you think you saw, but-"

"Stop right now. I'm not wrong here. You and I both know you feel something for her. Anyone can see it so long as you two are in the same room. It's like you have conversations through your minds, the way you look at each other."

"That's- it's rediculous, Diana. I'm with you-"

"You're with me, but you want to be with her. Just be honest with me, Adam..." Her hand rose to her hair, pushing back the pieces of fringe. She held it there, waiting for him to deny everything and tell her he loved her. When nothing came, she felt sick.

"I'm coming over."

"No. No, don't come here. I don't want to see you. Just give me the night."

"Diana, I love you."

Her eyes began to fill with tears. "I know you do. And I love you, too. But I'm not the one, am I?" She wanted him to argue it, reassure her of what they had together. But once again, nothing was being said, and she could hear the tightness in his voice when he spoke, the only clue that he was crying.

"Let me come over there."

"No. It's best if you don't."

"Please, Diana. Don't make any decisions tonight. Let me talk to you."

"Good night, Adam."

"Diana-"

She didn't let him say anything else, and hung up with a heavyness that came over her, making her sit on the edge of her bed. Her whole body wanted to crumble into itself. Tears fell, hot and fast. He'd begged her not to make decisions yet, but she knew she'd made one the moment she'd left the abandoned house earlier that day. She was going to break up with Adam - something she'd never thought she'd have to do even before they'd gotten together.

This was heartache, and she hadn't been prepared.

Jake listened to her cry, standing against the wall just outside her bedroom door. Isaac was somewhere downstairs with the rest of them. Jake's only task was to retrieve Diana, use her to bring the Circle to them. Now that they knew what two carried Blackwell's blood, Eben wanted one of them. Cassie hadn't been at home, and they hadn't known where else to look.

Of course, Jake could have mentioned a few places, but he'd kept quiet and shook his head when he was asked. Why had he done that? Why hadn't he just told them? He knew full and well that he'd be helping to kill his brother and the Circle he was in. One of the most dangerous, considering Blackwell's that Blackwell himself had pointed out to Eben stupidly. Still, it was a Circle his parents saw to protect, and more than likely would give their lives for if they were still alive.

But before barging into Diana's room, he'd heard a murmering voice, and something in the sound stilled him. He needed her off the phone anyway, so he stayed where he was. Just outside the door, he listened in on her side of some phone call which he eventually found out to be Adam. He was spending time with someone else in a too-close sort of way, and Diana was basically breaking up with him.

No matter. Better to do it now than to do it when she couldn't anymore. He could tell she'd ended the call, but as he stepped to her door, his hand stopped to hover over the doorknob. Jake could hear her crying; weeping that made something in him cringe against the sound. There was a loud banging sound from downstairs, jostling him back into reality. Charles gave out a sharp yell that was quickly cut off by someone, followed by a grunt. They were fighting him, and Jake had his own job to do. One that he'd taken, though he didn't know why.

He opened the door, almost running into her as she'd more than likely heard the noise. Tears still wet on her cheeks. Her face contorted into different things, and he hated the fact that the girl was merely in underwear and a t-shirt. The boys - no matter how much they hated witches - would want some time alone with her.

Her frightened eyes scanned him, walking back with each step he took. "Who-" But she didn't finish asking. Her eyebrows pulled together closely, trying to put together in her mind images mixed with new ones. Just the same as he was doing in that moment. "Jake?" When she figured she'd guessed right, there was another crash and she was back to being determined. "What is that? What's going on? Why're you here?"

He didn't answer, how could he anyway? Instead, he went to grab her but her hand came out, smacking the side of his head.

She tried to sprint passed him.

Jake's arm swung out, easily scooping her up against him at her waist, listening to her let out one hell of a scream. Diana had a lot of a fight in her, and he wondered if it was pent-up frusteration over her personal life as well as his sudden arrival. Her screaming continued as he struggled with her, surprised she was a whole lot stronger than he'd anticipated when adrenaline surged her. Her fists punched at anything and everything she could reach, so he held onto her wrists, pulling them to her chest as he held the whole back of her body against him.

"What are you doing?! What are you-"

They heard the fire alarms before they smelled the smoke.

Jake's stomach dropped, shocking him in enough time for her to give his gut a swift hit with her elbow, and she tried taking off. But Jake was quick, grabbing at her waist to push her sideways, causing her to slam into the entryway to her bedroom. He pulled her yet again, getting her chest against the wall so he could close in on her, pressing himself against her just to hold her in place. She wasn't letting up, screaming and grunting out in frusteration against him. Trying to get herself free from his grasp.

Smoke began to travel up the stairs, and it was a whole lot warmer in her room than it had been. He fought to get her to calm down or they'd get caught. With a fire and the alarms, it only gave attention to the houses around them, and in no time, the cops would be there. He had to get Diana to Eben or he'd be found out. As it was, it had been Ivan's specific responsibility to get Diana, but Jake had convinced him of letting him do it. If Eben found out, he'd be on his shit-list forever.

Turning her around, he shook her hard, watching her whole body still by the movements. It wasn't enough. As soon as he stopped, she swung out at him the best she could manage. He did the only thing he could think of and kissed her, hard. Her whole body went stiff, the reaction he'd been looking for. Without warning, he sunk down and scooped her up and over his shoulder, holding onto her bare legs as he rushed out of her room. The front door was open, Luke standing with his jacket over half of his face to shield himself from the smoke.

"We only have a couple seconds!" He yelled up to Jake. About halfway down, Diana sprung to life all over again and kicked in just the right area. Jake doubled over, dropping her on the steps, still trying to keep himself moving down them after her where she landed perfectly still on the floor at the bottom. He cursed between his teeth, bending to scoop her up again, with fire burning like the one that was now in his crotch area.

From a distance, sirens could be heard. Two different ones running in the same wave. He carried her out, her eyes closed and her mouth half open, dangling in his arms without any other choice since she was passed out from the drop.

"She fell hard!" Luke yelled to him.

"No shit," he muttered under his breath, coughing on the smoke that had filled the foyer.

"I can take her. I know her!"

Luke was new, but he'd supposedly trained for witch hunting his whole life right there in Chance Harbor. Still, Jake didn't trust him, only knowing him for as long as they'd been in Chance Harbor for six days, didn't make any difference.

"I've got her," he told him firmly. Thankfully, Luke didn't argue him.

He set Diana as nicely as he could in the back seat of the SUV and lifted her legs to place over his lap as he jumped inside. Luke got in on the passenger side, hitting Doug's shoulder as he put the car into Drive.

"Go, go!"

The tires squealed as they sped away from the burning house. Jake looked back, watching the dark smoke take up the whole front of the house.

"Where's her father?"

"Isaac took care of him."

"Took care" meant killed, in hunter talk. It was a much nicer way of saying murdered. Jake stared at Diana's form, how graceful and solaced she seemed when she was like this. It didn't matter if her dad was dead, considering she'd be dead within a few days, maybe even hours. Even if killing him and setting her childhood home on fire wasn't part of the plan, it shouldn't have mattered to Jake.

But it did.

He swung around the corner, leaving Ivan and Luke to take Diana to a secluded area in one of the boats along the shipyard they'd claimed. He didn't want to, but he wanted to settle with Isaac exactly what the hell had happened, and why the plan was changed so dramatically.

As soon as Isaac came into view outside the dingy motel, Jake grabbed his collar and pushed him back until he was able to slam him into the wall.

"You killed him?!" Jake was practically screaming, worked up over something that didn't concern him in the least. The only thing he was there for was to rid the witches whom he deemed responsible for his parents deaths, and that included the Chance Harbor witches. Still, Charles Meade didn't have powers anymore. And Diana would be less likely to comply once she found out her last parent was dead. Still, it was a plan of action he hadn't been told about, yet even Luke had known.

Isaac rested his hands over Jake's, trying to pull them away, but Jake wasn't letting up. He pulled Isaac forward only to shove him into the wall with a loud thud, yet again. "Jake," Isaac said slowly, keeping his voice low since they were outside. "If you're upset over this, how will you be able to kill your own brother?"

Forcing himself to let go, he gritted his teeth and shoved away from him, turning around to gain a bit of himself again. When he spun back around, he watched Isaac who's blue eyes followed him, pleading with a quiet strength and unforgiving nature. "C'mon," Isaac said, leading him into his own room. He didn't let the door shut, but the witch hunters were the only ones in the motel as of then.

"I told you, yes." Isaac's eyes looked to Jake's, trying to get a sense of where his head was at, which was a normal thing between them. Between most people who talked to Jake. No one could ever get inside of his head. "You said the others were going to be killed together? Here at the shipyard?" Jake asked the plan again, seeing in Isaac's face if there was any change, which meant a change of plan he'd yet to learn about.

He merely nodded. "This is a particularily important coven. You know that. We've got one Blackwell, and we need the second. I did what was necessary in order to collect one of them."

What bothered Jake about that was how he'd made them sound like objects- things to collect.

He watched Isaac turn his face away, hiding something important that was written in his features. Another sign Jake took as a strange one, his eyebrows pulling together as he began running through a collection of thoughts that wouldn't quite clear up enough for him. "Communication is important here, Isaac. Especially if this Circle is particularily important. Your words."

"Eben shares what needs to be shared."

Jake's eyebrows grew even closer. Isaac was never one at defending Eben, only their sole purpose for what the True Believers did, so why was he starting now? "And this Circle," Jake continued saying, "being as important as you said it was, has to have every once-witch who've been stripped of their powers, killed as well?" He now knew why it bothered him so much, aside the fact that Diana was now an orphan... "Would you have killed my parents if they'd still been alive?"

Isaac turned to him again, his mouth in a thin line, but he didn't respond, and Jake took it as a yes.

"What aren't you telling me, Isaac?"

Jake could hear a ringing in his ears. Part of him wanted to run, but the bigger part of him wanted and needed the truth of what was going on. Of what he hadn't been told.

"Your brother..."

A horrible foreboding sent Jake into a whirl of shades of red before his eyes.

"My brother," he repeated, almost not recognizing the sound of his own voice.

"He died, Jake. He's gone."

Jake stopped in his tracks before Isaac.

"What aren't you telling me?" Better yet, there was something else that itched at him, that had been for weeks. "What have you lied to me about?"

Isaac's mouth opened, but his eyes looked passed Jake. Turning his head, his eyes hesitating before leaving Isaac to see what the man he'd once called his mentor was looking at, he spotted Eben coming into the room. His casual stride left something a lot less casual in Jake.

"I was hoping Isaac's closeness to you wouldn't present this problem. After all, you're great for using." Jake watched the man move around the room, an aura surrounding him that hadn't been four weeks prior- the last time he'd seen Eben. "You've presented a great problem to me, Isaac." Jake didn't bother looking to Isaac, too nervous to find out what Eben was planning on this uncalled visit. He wasn't supposed to show up until the next night. "Jake wasn't supposed to know about any of this. He was supposed to be taken out in time with the rest of them. Was I not clear on instructions?"

Jake chose this time to speak. "You had a plan for me all along. It's why I've hardly been told anything." Neither were questions, and Eben didn't take them as that.

He merely gave a grin as cold as the Arctic, his glare hotter than the depths of Hell. Something was in Eben, and Jake was sure it wasn't anything less than demon.

"Your brother died, and that presented a huge problem last night."

"Why's that?" Jake boldly asked him.

Eben settled where he stood, his hands leisurely clasped before him. "You became a part of that Circle, Jake. You can't be trusted any longer."

"Trusted? I've been doing this with you for two years. You've trained me. I've helped you kill people. If that's not loyalty-"

"Your loyalty died when your brother did. The moment you became one of them."

Jake took a step forward, urging the man he wanted more than anything to watch burn, to understand. To save his own life. "But I'm not one of them. I never have been. Nick took that away the moment he was born. There are six born into a Circle, and with Nick's birth, he became the start for my family line. I don't have any part of them!"

"Doesn't matter who was born when, Jake. He died now, and that means you're next of kin. Your blood is his blood. You complete their Circle. An interesting fact, I learned from Blackwell and we can't risk anything with you."

Jake felt a flood of sweat gathering between his shoulder blades, around his temples and hairline. "So, what? You're going to kill me? Is that what you planned on last night?" He raised a pointed finger at Eben. "You know what happens when you kill a witch? Their energy is left behind. The stronger the feeling, the stronger the energy." His hand lowered. "And the amount of revenge I'm feeling right now-"

"Is it as much as your fathers?"

Jake froze.

Something wasn't right. Nothing was right. Why was his father brought up? Why did Eben look so damn pleased?

"Are you getting it now, Jake?"

"No." But unfortunetly, he was.

Eben's head lifted back a bit, making it look as though he was looking down at Jake. The smirk on his face grew as Jake's chest shook with an uneasy breath.

Eben's head lowered again, his smirk unwavering. "He sold someone out to save his own life. Did you know that?" Jake said nothing, but there was movement from beside him. Isaac, whom he'd forgotten was in the room with them. "But in the end...it didn't do much to help him."

To speak the words that were on the tip of his tongue would be a turning point. He knew Eben would never say it unless he was asked the direct question. A question Jake needed, but didn't want the answer to. From here, he could press on that he didn't care, maybe cut some deal. But in asking this question, it let Eben know he'd never continue on the way it was now. Now, with Jake aiding them on their quest to rid witches of the world. Only one hunters group in the United States out of a measly hundred around the world in other countries, doing exactly as they did. But he'd been on one side of this from the beginning.

The side of his parents.

"Did you kill them?"

Like acid, it sunk down below his clothing, burning through whatever it touched to the very core of him which was never as vunerable to get to as it was that moment. And it was that moment of hesitation Eben took before answering. The moment Eben nodded once, and spoke it through his vulgar mouth.

"I slit your father's throat, then I let your mother burn."

Before Jake could get his hands on him, to ring out anything and everything that resided in Eben, a hand rose to stop him. Jake's whole body went completely numb before he dropped to the floor. He knew the way he fell should have hurt him, but he couldn't tell if he was hurt or not. He could hardly tell if he was still breathing, the magic Eben was using was suffocating him, but the tears that fell from his eyes let him know he was fully alive.

Eben landed a kick to Jake's stomach, sending him rolling over his arms, but he still couldn't move them. His cheek laid against the dirty carpeting of the motel room, his tears soaking into it as Eben leaned over him and gave the smallest, no humored chuckle.

"You're as pathetic as your father was."

A blow came to his head from a hard object Eben had concealed and pulled from under his coat in the waistband of his jeans. The pounding headache coming from the place he'd been hit, was like a dizzying pain he'd never known. The agony sent his stomach into a roll, causing him to gag and nearly puke. Though the second blow that came didn't bring pain and instead, knocked him out cold.

Jake never had much of a conscious. It came to him as a swirl of emotion instead of actual words, moving throughout his body and mind to awaken something in him that he'd put to rest years ago. Or maybe it hadn't ever been there in the first place. Guilt struck him, first in his chest like the blade of a blunt knife which made him gasp when he woke. It rung through his ears, reminding him of why he was waking with such a pain in his skull. He jerked to rise, but pulled a weight with him. His eyes scanned around, blurry at first try, but they cleared and he saw what had stopped him.

Diana Meade.

Their wrists couldn't be far apart, held together by iron cuffs that he could now feel as he registered them to memory. With dull ends meant to dig into your skin and draw your blood because iron, when touching a witches blood, deluded the magic inside. Jerking on them only caused more pain, and Diana winced against it, watching Jake readjust himself there so he wouldn't tug on them anymore. More for her benefit than his own, considering he was about ready to fight until he passed out again. Or rather, was knocked out.

"Why?" She choked out, her voice sounding raw as if she'd been screaming for quite some time. He stared at her, but he didn't want to. He wanted to look away, but couldn't. Her hair hung around her face, the lingering smell of mint he could remember from her clothing when he'd lifted her was completely gone, or drowned by the stench of rust, rot, and sea water from around them. Under her eyes were darkened, and her lids hung down as if she couldn't muster the strength to keep them open all the way. They both were sat, but she leaned against the side of the boat they were in, her legs dirty as well as her arms. She wasn't shivering, but he was cold, and he had on much more clothing than she did. She must've been passed the point of being cold, which wasn't good at all.

"Did they hurt you?" His own voice didn't sound as clear as it normally did. He didn't want to know if the reason was he'd gone a long while of being out, or if her very broken down appearence were the reason.

Instead of answering him, she talked as if he hadn't asked anything in the first place. "When they brought you in, I was worried about what they'd done to you." He stared at her, wondering if she might have been delusional because why on earth would she be worried about him? "They took off one of my cuffs and put it on you after they threw you down next to me. I tried waking you up. But I could see you breathing, so I figured you were fine." There was the bitterness he'd been expecting finally. Still, he said nothing. What could be said? She'd worried over him, even bitterly and against her better judgement when- "You took me from my home, and I was worried about you. I should have hoped they'd hurt you. I should have hoped you'd be gushing blood." She spoke through her teeth, but Jake could tell she didn't know the worst of it.

"They killed your dad."

Her whole face crumbled from anger and exhaustion into something completely different.

"You're lying."

He felt sick. Hours before, or maybe days, he'd been willing to help kill them. Now, he didn't know what he was doing. "I'm so sorry, Diana. I don't know why they did. I don't know why-"

She attacked him. Giving out a shriviling scream, she jumped at him, her fist striking his face first before she began to beat his neck, and then his chest. He let her, practically biting his lip as if it would help in holding himself back from stopping her. His arm lifted all around as she moved, the cuff digging further into his skin. He could see the older, dried blood on her free wrist from where the cuff had first been placed. The chain jingled around, no louder than the sound of her grunts and screams that turned to sobs. Someone rushed in by the noises, stopping right in the open doorway that Jake suspected was watched at all times. The guy watched with interest as Diana let out the devistation that no doubt rolled within her.

"How could you let them?! How could you?!"

A blow to the spot he'd been knocked out in, and the whole place spun around him. He grabbed her the best he could manage, their cuffed wrists, her right and his left, getting in the way. When she shoved away from him as much as she possibly could, he didn't watch her. He kept his eyes away from her.

He couldn't stand to see the emotions there.

Awakening brought heart break all over again, but it was a dull ache this time. She could feel her chest expand with every shuddering breath, her heart wanting nothing more than to release the light inside of her that kept her alive. Diana knew her father would want nothing more than to have her fight until she simply couldn't any longer, but at what cost? Losing her father, her last parent, drove the fight right out of her leaving her cold and helpless.

She opened her eyes against the light, noting how it seemed much brighter now. Slept through another night, she thought to herself. Beyond shivering, she was cold right down to her bones. Her head lifted, seeing Jake. Now she remembered he'd been apart of it. For a reason she'd yet to unveil, he'd kidnaped her, all the while her father had been being murdered.

Did it hurt for him until his last breath? Was he calling out for her? Was his body burned in the fire that was set? Was he still alive, helpless and wishing for a better way? Did he think she was dead, or that she still had a chance?

Because that was right, she still had a chance. To be alive was the chance, now she just needed the opportunity. One thing was sure, and that was the need to escape. Surely, everyone would be looking for her now. How much of her house was left?

Tears didn't come, but they might as well have for the way she could feel her face twist her features into the agony she felt.

Diana pushed herself up from the floor, noticing that Jake had tried to cover her with the leather jacket he'd had on, only getting part of her legs. The sleeve was caught on him because of the cuffs, but even as something in her warmed to know he'd done such a small gesture, her mind told her to knock it off. He was the sole reason for this whole thing, and she wasn't about to get soft toward him for helping to murder her father. The cuffs clinked as she pushed the jacket away, and she tried to still her movements. Jake didn't stir and she didn't want to wake him.

He looked less tired and worn as she'd hoped. Here she was, with her knees scraped up from fighting and being shoved and pulled around, dirt on her hands and on her legs from crawling over the floors, looking for escape. There wasn't one...yet.

Unfortunetly, this was the time Jake decided to wake, his eyes blinking open, looking from her legs all the way up to her face. Recognition spiked his memory, making him groan and sit up quickly, her cuff tugging at her wrist causing the pain to ache a bit before he stopped moving, noticing like the last time, that his movements meant hers, and it hurt her more than him apparently.

"How long was I out?"

"I think it's been another day."

"Another? How long have we been here?"

"I was put in her half of a whole day before you were set in with me. You came in the morning."

He stared at her, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm using his free hand. "How long have you been awake?"

"I just woke up ten minutes ago."

She was hungry and tired, and thirsty beyond everything. She was absolutely weak.

"What I mean is, have you slept before then?" She shook her head at his question, wanting more than anything to put distance between herself and her captor. "Look, Diana-"

"Don't. I don't want to talk about it."

"But you have to understand-"

"I understand perfectly well, Jake. You kidnaped me while they..." She let out a puff of air, looking away from him because she couldn't stand to see him look the way he did. Nothing on his face, but his eyes were full of a hurt she didn't want to know he felt. "They'll be looking for me," she told Jake. He seemed to get what she was saying to him.

He nodded. "I'm counting on it."

They sat in silence for a couple of hours, Jake left his jacket between them as if he were giving an OK for her to use it, but Diana didn't touch it.

When someone came in, they both sat up straighter. Diana hadn't seen this man before, but Jake's face grew grim.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Isaac won't be in for another hour. We just got back."

"From?"

"Not allowed to tell you anything anymore, Jake."

The guy's dark eyes scanned over Diana and she tried her best to curl her legs under herself, pulling the hem of her shirt over the front of her thighs with her left hand as best she could. It didn't help in adverting his gaze. She could feel it on her skin, creeping over her. She shifted and looked toward the door, thankful he was too busy staring at her thighs to notice her own intent.

"Where's the other guy? The one who guards the door?" She asked him, seeing Jake's head turn slightly toward her out of her peripheral vision.

The nasty guy smiled lazily. "He's gone out."

"Gone out to do what?" Jake demanded to know.

The guy shook his finger at Jake as if he were a naughty child. Diana's whole body quaked with the possibility of getting out.

So, this guy was the one meant to guard the door, which meant there were no others. Diana's heart began to pound against her chest. Like a bigger animal stalking it's prey. The guy took long, slow strides to the side of Diana, farthest away from Jake.

"I wouldn't," Jake warned. Diana wanted to give him a look that would shut him up from ruining what plan she was forming, but she kept her face forward.

"Deprived of attention?" The guy asked her. His hand lifted, hovering over her thigh and hand. She held back the tremor of shakes that wanted to come over her, but she couldn't help the trembling. Fear, anxiety, and adrenaline, all surged through her veins and on the outside, she simply looked scared. "You're disgusting, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun, right? You were born into one hell of a body, girl. Even at your young age."

He'd thought she was a shell of a person, an object. An object of disgust, according to him. But it was just as well considering Diana felt the same. She took in a strangled breath, wishing to whomever could possibly hear her thoughts, that she'd be given the strength to do this and escape. Her magic wasn't working, but the Circle wasn't with her, so she didn't expect it.

"Don't touch her. I'm warning you this last time." Jake spoke through his teeth, sounding like some sort of beast of a human, but it didn't matter. The guy was basically ignoring him, his hand running up her thigh now.

"Are you shaking 'cause you're excited?" He whispered into her ear, the only one disgusted here was her. She waited, hearing him sniff around her. "I just want a little peek. Just one. I wouldn't put my dick in you if you were the last chick on the planet." She felt revolted, wanting to heave right into his face. "Witches are an abomination..."

He got close enough and that's when she sprung. Her left hand grabbed his face, her other hand yanking Jake's weight with her as she dug her thumbs into his eye sockets. He yelled out, grabbing her wrists, but she flung him sideways getting leverage over him. When she felt her thumbs get deep in, she pulled back because of the sickening wave to roll through her stomach. She couldn't go through with it. Through all the pain she was in, all the grief, she couldn't muster up enough strength for revenge like that. Jake took it from there, though. Thankfully, it was his right hand that was free. His elbow lifted high up as he positioned himself over the guy, and gave a blow that caused an intense cracking sound.

Diana looked away from the blood that instantly poured from the obvious broken nose. When another crack came, she could tell the guy was out, or possibly even dead. She wasn't given time to contemplate if Jake truly was a killer, or if killing just had to happen in this case. Three blows to the guy's face, and Jake was up, tugging her along. The pain on the outside didn't yet match the inside, and so she let him pull her around, knowing it was best to let him lead the way in getting out. Her ribs expanded with the intakes of breath she was taking, trying to be as quiet as possible, but with Jake's heavy booted footsteps, she thought the point moot. His jacket swung around between them with every corner and rushed move they made. Her feet padded along, cold and practically numb now.

When a completely different guy came around the corner, Diana drew back, bumping into Jake's side.

"Well, well, well..."

The stranger stomped right up to Diana, yanking her arm as Jake swung his own, landing a weak hit to the heavy, dark haired guy. "Ivan," Jake choked out the name as the guy took Jake's throat in one of his large, husky hands and nearly picked him him up off of his feet.

Diana did the only thing she could think of. She used her cuff to slam the metal against the guy's temple. Unfortunetly, it wasn't hard enough and his head merely jerked to the side and he turned on her. It was enough time for Jake to grab hold of his jacket, and use the sleeve to swing around Ivan's thick throat.

The guy sputtered spit everywhere, sinking to his knees as Jake towered over him, pulling and yanking. He dragged Jake around a few steps, and Diana knew it was going to take a bit more in trying to get the guy's air to be completely cut off. She jumped to help, grabbing hold near Jake's hands as well as she could, lifting a foot to push against the guy, and pull back on the wrapped sleeve. Eventually, his wheezing stopped and his whole body slumped, his arms hanging in dead weight at his sides.

Jake pulled away from the guy, and she heard the body thump down to the flooring of the closed-in hall before they disappeared the way he'd come.

Cold air started blowing in against her skin. She knew they were close to the outside, but she didn't know how close. If only she could see, if only she could breathe in the fresh air that awaited her. When light struck her eyes, she took longer in getting used to it than Jake. He looked one way, and then another, and Jake pulled her along with him as they carefully, but quickly, ran down a walkway. When they got to the road that led in from the main one, Jake side stepped it, running along with her as she stumbled, stepping on rocks and other things.

"Wait!" She called out to him, breathing heavily. "Let go! Get away from me!" She didn't want to go with him. Sure, he'd helped her get out, but she was sure it was more for him than for herself. "Stop!"

"We can't stop. There's no time."

"I don't want to go with you! Get the hell away from me!"

He spun, coming to a halt right before her as she bumped into him. He grabbed her shoulder with one hand, giving a harsh shake. "You can't get away from me, we're cuffed. You're safer with me than without me, you understand?"

"No-"

He didn't give her time to refuse him, instead, he bent down at the knees, grabbing her butt to lift her over his shoulder. She remembered this. She'd fought him on this and had dropped on her stairs, everything going black before she had time to realize what had happened, or what was happening. So this time, she didn't fight him. He was slower, but he still made good time in getting to the road. Once there, he set her down.

"This can either go badly, or it can save our lives."

"We need someone to break the cuffs!" Because that was the only thing on her mind. The farther away from him, the better.

Jake ignored her, traveling down the road, keeping her on the farthest side of the road. He walked along, letting her travel on the grass where patches of dirt still were. No doubt her feet were cut up, and she was embarrassed to be in her underwear. Thank God she had put on a sleep bra at the very least. She tried her best to use the jacket to shield her, but until she found bottoms, she wasn't going to be comfortable. She wanted pants before she wanted shoes.

When a truck started coming, Jake turned as it came closer, lifting up an arm to signal it. But it didn't stop. Jake swore, turning back around and walking still. She felt exhausted, and he must have noted it from her.

"Don't stop now. We've gotta keep moving."

"Weren't you ever told to stay in one place when you were lost?"

"We're not lost, we're trying not to be found."

She sighed, walking along, knowing there had to be cuts on her feet from the rocks.

"And I didn't have parents to tell me anything."

So he'd noticed how she'd switched the words from "Didn't your parents ever tell you..." Diana squashed the bit of guilt she felt for him, replacing it with the reality of the situation she was in. "How far are we gonna go?" She asked him.

"As far as we can. They're staying in Chance Harbor, but they'll send some out to come for us. If they don't happen upon this exact road."

Her fear spiked again. Worse than being cuffed to Jake was having to go back and wait for whatever they planned to do to her.

When another vehicle could be heard, Jake stilled as if he expected to see one of them. When his arm went up to signal to the person, she rested a little easier knowing Jake would have taken off with her in tow, had it been one of them. Of course, he was one of them. What exactly had happened that got him cuffed to her?

Thankfully, the truck stopped. With it was a trailer full of yard equipment. Diana raced with Jake to where the truck had pulled over. The guy's window was down and he leaned out, spitting on the ground as he looked them over.

"We need a ride out of town."

"Pretty thing you've got there."

Jake's chin lifted. "Keep driving. We'll find another ride."

"No!" Diana practically screamed. Not only was this the only person to pull over, but he also carried thick scissors meant for cutting solid branches in the trailer he was hauling. Also, anyone who favored her was more likely to help her get away from Jake. It was dangerous, but the best option available. "We're coming." But as she tried to run around the front of the truck, Diana stopped mid-step because Jake wasn't budging. His eyes stared into her face with a loathsome expression.

"Are you stupid?" He asked her.

"Rude to talk to a yound lady like that, boy."

Diana wanted to hit Jake all over again. "I'm getting in the truck. This nice man wants to give us a ride," she managed a grin to the man who practically beamed.

"Why're you two cuffed? Where ya been?"

He must have been an out of towner, working for the pay because people like him didn't live in town. Chance Harbor was filled with good All-American families and fisherman. Not country men. Still, she used the fact that he found her attactive to her advantage.

"We were kidnaped-"

Jake yanked on the cuff so hard that her whole body slammed into him and she let out a yelp.

"Hey now!" The man yelled at Jake, opening his truck door.

Jake ignored him, staring down at Diana who fumbled to get away from him as much as she could manage. "Shut your mouth. Drawing attention to ourselves is the last thing we want."

She spoke as low as him, and through her clenched jaw as well. If anyone had the right to be angry, it was her. "I'll draw as much attention to myself as possible if it means getting away from you and your people."

The muscles in his jaw moved around, a long hesitation given until he caved. "Don't be stupid, Diana. I'm the only place where you want to be right now."

She didn't know what that meant, but it didn't matter. Jake was walking around the front of the truck and she got in first, knowing with their cuffs, it was the easiest.

The man's eyes looked over her bare, bruised and dirty legs, but he didn't seem to mind that fact. He looked passed it, his mouth forming a grin that made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Eyes on the road, please." Jake spat out.

"Yeah, right. You two hitched?" He asked as he sped up his truck. Diana let out a breath, feeling like she was free finally.

"She's my...cousin."

"Cousin, eh? You two seem pretty close."

"It's the cuffs," Jake spoke flatly, but the man laughed at him.

They passed one town before the man - Steve - decided to fuel up. He pulled up to the gas station, looking at Diana before getting out.

"Maybe you should stay put, girly."

Jake frowned at the man's wavering eyes.

"Can you break us apart?" She asked him. "Maybe grab those sheers?" Jake jerked on her arm, making her mouth shut instantly at the dull pain it created in having them dig further into her skin. The man left them behind when she'd turned her head to glare up at Jake, hating that he managed to look so menacing even to a older man like Steve. "We're going to have to be seperated eventually."

"Why, so you can go running off and get yourself caught by them, lead them back to me? I don't think so."

She didn't deny that it had been her plan, but not the caught aspect. "So I can move around without having you yank on the stupid thing and make me bleed more. It hurts, you know. Even if you don't feel anything." His green eyes moved away from her, staring straight ahead where there was nothing but an old man leaning against his parked car, eating mini donuts from a package, his coffee resting on the top of his car. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but the main one she had always wondered about was obviously a no-brainer. Where had he gone to? Oh, just to hunt down witches and destroy lives. "You should be ashamed of yourself." Jake had the audacity to look annoyed with her, his head thunking as he let it hit the window, his eyes again looking away from her to the side of where they were parked. "What would your parents think?"

It was the wrong thing to say, and there possibly was never a good time to bring them up, but now seemed like the worst. His jaw clenched and his head whipped aroud to face her. "They're dead. They don't think."

Her head shook as she spoke, looking back and forth between his eyes. "You can't possibly think they'd be proud to know you turned out like this."

"Shut up, Diana."

"Even if they're not here, I know you still talk to them from time to time. I know you do because I do, too!"

He said nothing, and in the silence, Diana was breathing hard. She felt so much hate toward him- so much anger. She just wanted to know why he'd done everything that he did, not knowing how much more there was to his story with two years missing out of the few hours that she'd witnessed.

It was silent mostly, except the moment Steve began talking about how he hated traveling for work.

"Why'd you start?" Diana asked him, truly curious.

The older, gruff man didn't need any time in thinking over his actual reason. "A woman."

"A woman?"

He nodded, grinning though the look he gave the road seemed far away, as if he could see her before them. "Isn't it always a woman? You all have magic in those smiles of yours."

He glanced down at Diana, embarrassing her enough to where she couldn't help the smile that spread over her own mouth. She looked down at her hands that rested over her lap, playing with the drawstring of the sweats that were too big for her. Steve had tossed them to her, not having the decency to at least look away as she pulled them on, pointless considering how much of her he'd already seen. The man was somewhere between nice and creepy.

"I wouldn't call it magic," Diana said, thinking of the Circle, and then of Adam. "Not all are...captivated enough."

"Sure they are," Steve told her, trying his hardest to convince her. "That's why we keep moving. It's why I did. I hated being weak, and she was too good for me."

It was late at night when they reached another town, but Diana hadn't known until she was shaken awake. Jake covered her mouth as if she would scream, but seeing his face for some reason settled her. She felt a slight pang of anger toward herself, knowing she should have been feeling anything but settled when it came to him. It was good to know though, how he'd thought of her screaming at the sight of him. Her head lifted and she noticed how she'd been lying against him. What's more is that he'd let her. Steve wasn't around and they were parked.

"Time to go." He spoke quietly, but rushed and forced.

"Where?" She didn't want to leave the warm heater in the cabin of the truck.

He started to open the door, glancing around out the window around the gas station they were in. Jake's jacket fell from her, leaving her to wonder how it had gotten on half of her chest in the first place. It couldn't have been Jake. He'd been nice enough, or as nice as to be expected by a kidnapper, but this repeating act of kindness was making her head hurt at trying to figure out why- if it had even been him in the first place.

"We have to go before he gets back."

"I don't want to leave. Not...like this."

"You mean not with me."

It wasn't a question, and she didn't deny it.

"Just cut us loose. I'll travel with him."

His eyes dropped to hers as he stepped out of the truck, the wrist cuffs tugging and digging and she knew more blood had been drawn. He ignored her pained expression and kept pulling on it, trying to get her to come with him just because of the pain.

She wasn't budging.

"You want me to leave you here with a stranger? In the middle of nowhere? Alone?"

She gulped without it being noticed, or so she'd hoped. "Yes."

For a second, she thought Jake was actually going to leave her. He seemed to be considering it, looking around her face as if contemplating the idea. Her nerves snapped somewhere inside, causing her to actually become frightened by the prospect of being left alone. Jake was the closest thing she had to home, after all. Yet the moment he scoffed and shook his head at her as if she were a joke, that all fell away. She glared at him.

"You're somethin' else," he told her mockingly. "No. I'm not leaving you here. You'll get me killed."

"I won't say a word!"

"You've said too much already. C'mon before I have to drag you by your hair."

"You're a horrible person."

He looked at her like she were nothing but gum he'd nearly stepped in on a sidewalk. "Just hurry up and move."

"We should at least write something to him. A note," she whispered as they went along. The cold ground didn't feel good.

"You're idea of romance is strange."

"What?"

"He's old. He's a creep and then some," Jake whispered in a tone that made him sound grossed out. She moved with him, lowering herself to stay hidden as a guy behind them pumping gas, frowned at her action. Jake's hand reached out, straightening her, and not nicely. "Stop making us look obvious." Letting go, he used his right hand to pull out the large cutters they'd seen before getting in way earlier in the day. With another look to the door, Jake spoke quickly, turning around and tugging her to follow.

She'd have scars by the time they got the cuffs off.

Jake stuffed them under his jacket, between his jeans as they walked down the road, more lights ahead giving her a bit of hope.

"Nice plan you got here, Jake. Where the hell are we going?"

"This is a small town. We should hit a motel."

"You been here or something?"

She tripped, gasping as her foot scraped the pavement along the side of the road. He looked at her in the corner of his eye, but did nothing more than that. Everytime she slowed, he'd stop dramatically, waiting for her to catch up a step. It wasn't as if they could be seperated at any sort of length considering the cuffs were no more than two inches apart.

The motel sign came into view, and Diana sighed in relief. Unfortunetly, Jake sighed in frusteration. She snapped.

"I'm sorry! I don't have as long of legs as you do!"

"A carriage isn't gonna come by and pick you up, Princess."

If she was annoyed before, she was even more so now.

Diana's legs stopped completely, and she bent, putting force into the way she yanked on the cuff. It hurt her probably more than it did him, but she considered it worth it when Jake's whole body jerked to a stop and he side stepped, complaining and grabbing at the cuff, though there was nothing he could do to fix the pain she'd caused. He turned an angry glare on her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He spat out loudly through his teeth.

"Shouldn't you be trying to earn my respect instead of digging yourself into a deeper hole? You kidnapped me, remember?"

For some reason, that pissed him off. And harder than she'd done, he yanked back his arm, wincing at the pain of it even as she slammed into him, trying in vain to keep from touching him.

"Keep your voice down."

"I'll scream if I have to, Jake. I don't owe you anything."

He breathed in and out loudly through his flared nostrils, angry with her and looming over her like he was someone superior to her. She didn't know this guy. This wasn't the same boy. The boy who acted out for attention, who later on was given up on. It wasn't attention he ever wanted, it was something else. But even so, he hadn't been this. He hadn't given any signs to turn out this badly. His parents, as she'd been told all throughout growing up, were a two of the warmest, most cherished people in the town. They'd done nothing but loved each other, and looked out for one another and their friends. Family being the upmost important thing to them. Nick had his share of issues, but he was anything but cold. Jake Armstrong too, had always had a sense of fire burning within him.

Little did she know that fire was created and placed in him from Hell by Satan himself.

"You're right." He let out a final breath, turning toward the motel they stood off to the side of now. She stared increadulously at him. Had he said what he really said? Yes, she was right, but she couldn't believe in all the stubborness Jake held in him, that he'd actually admit her to be right. "C'mon. We have to get these cuffs off, and work out a plan."

Little did he know, she had a plan of her own. And it wasn't one that included sticking around.

The woman behind the counter looked at them strangely, but he couldn't blame her. Diana was cuffed to him and looking battered. But in such a small town, he supposed the woman chalked it up to him being some sort of a woman beater, and kept her nose out of it. Part of him wanted to say something to deny ever lifting a hand to a woman, but it would be pointless and he kept his mouth shut. Diana was the one to thank her for the room and the room key after Jake had pulled his wallet out, using the money he still had, knowing it was going to start becoming more and more empty. Looking at the place from the outside, he guessed it would be the size of a closet, but he was used to this. The hunters all stayed in places where people wouldn't go looking, and people wouldn't bother asking. However, he'd never checked into a room with a female who wanted something from him as much as he did from her, much less one that was cuffed to him.

As soon as they stepped foot into the room, the key he tossed onto the mini side table. He was well aware he'd have to take the floor, but he'd slept in worse places before. As soon as she sat down next to him, warily he noticed, he aimed the sheers and tried continuously, pulling the cuff apart as far as possible. He'd hoped by some magic that wasn't his own, they'd break. And since he couldn't use his or hers, even together, they were completely fucked. Royally so.

He threw the sheers to the dirtied, stained carpet where he'd be sleeping, completely pissed off and tired all the way down to his bones.

Diana jumped, staring down at them as they clattered to a stillness that left them in complete silence.

"We need magic." Being helpless was not one of Jake's favorite things. In fact, he made sure to keep himself so far from the possibility that considering it was far fetched. Normally.

"We can't. The iron..." She'd obviously been told that when she'd been handcuffed. Or maybe she'd already tried and figured it out for herself. Either way, she was right, but they had no other option than to try. He'd told her as much and she stared at him until he gave her a serious look.

Her eyes looked down to the cuff and he pointed to a spot on them. It was worth trying. "Imagine this breaking apart." There was one type of magic that could work through this, he just had to get it out of her. She nodded, opened her mouth but he grabbed her chin to stop her from chanting. Only when she jerked her jaw away from him did he realize he'd grabbed her and he let go instantly, not knowing why he'd touched her in the first place. He looked down to the cuffs, trying not to stare at her too long in fear he'd turn to stone because of the glare she was giving him. "Imagine it breaking," he said again, his throat sounding constrained to his own ears. After a moment longer, he could tell she'd finally taken her eyes off of him, probably trying to keep herself from lighting him on fire since he'd touched her and she obviously hated him, which he couldn't blame her for, no matter how much it annoyed him.

Little did she know he hated himself more than anyone ever could.

Together, they focused. He didn't know how much magic Diana had dumbly practiced with the others or on her own, but he trusted that she knew how to direct her energy- that he wouldn't have to hold her hand through it. He gave up before she did, cursing under his breath, squeazing his restrained hand into a fist and keeping from just pulling on it and ripping it from his skin. He'd deal with the pain afterward, so long as the annoying ache would just...fuck off.

"Don't do anything stupid, Jake. I'm attached, too."

He scoffed. As if he could forget that? Keeping his eyes closed, he breathed in and out slowly. If he'd listened to his instincts, if he'd left instead of offering to kidnap her himself...

Something soft touched him and he grabbed it, ready to crush it in his grasp but it whimpered and Jake's eyes flew open, seeing Diana wincing at him. He dropped her fingers from his hand and they slowly slid out. "Sorry," he apologized, but hearing it come out of his mouth seemed half empty. Diana tucked her hand into her lap, keeping her gaze off of him, which he was thankful for.

"I want to take a shower," she finally said after some time.

In Chapter Two: Awkward moments that don't feel very awkward, Jake helps release her dark magic, Diana ecapes, both realize it's safer together than apart.