The night was bitterly cold. His duffel bag hit him in the back with each quick step. It had been a few years since he'd set foot in this neighbourhood; each garden was more pretentious than the last. If it had been his high school New Year's party there would be no doubt that each fountain would be stuffed with toilet paper and every stone cherub would meet a fateful end with a baseball bat.

But tonight he put his reckless urges aside and continued running, every so often checking the illegible scribble on his arm for directions. His breath danced like dragon smoke from his mouth, catching the glow from passing porch lights.

He finally came to a stop by an iron gate, lifting his head up to listen to the sound of the street; the sirens wailed softly in the distance. He wiped the sweat from his brow and fixed his eyes upon the second story window, lit only by a small desk lamp. A familiar silhouette moved across it. He couldn't help but let out a relieved smirk.

Courtney gave a great sigh as she sat back down at her desk. She glanced at the clock, it was getting late. Surrounded by folders, case studies and several cups of coffee, her laptop screen stared back at her with an unfinished paper blinking cruelly. She ran her fingers through her hair and out of her face. When did it get so long? She thought to herself. Not looking away from the screen, she tied her hair in a loose ponytail.

Just as her fingertips returned to the keyboard there was a sudden knock of a small stone against the window. Thinking nothing of it, she brushed it off and rolled her shoulders back, composing herself. But she was immediately startled by a second clunk; her head shot to the direction of the window. Her heart began to beat quickly. Fearing the worst, she hesitantly shuffled to her window. At first she thought she was imagining things, it was dark outside after all. However there was no mistaking what she saw on the grass below her.

"Aren't you going to let me in? It's freezing out here!" called the inimitable voice of Duncan. He looked up towards her, pebbles in his hand and a grin across his face.

Courtney stumbled backwards, her hand clasped to her mouth. This can't be happening! Her eyes darted around her room in desperation that she was dreaming.

"Hey Princess, I'm still down here!"

Courtney sprinted back to the window and seethed. "Shhhh! Shut up! What are you doing here? Are you trying to wake up the whole street?"

"I've been known to do so before…" He replied coyly. Courtney grimaced. What does that even mean?

"Just- Just climb up here before anyone sees you!" She hurriedly pushed her window open wider and beckoned he moved quickly. She had to pause momentarily to actually process what was happening. Why was she helping him? She had no desire whatsoever to see this person and had made her point very clear the last time they had spoken. Then again her father would completely kill her for even allowing a toe to step onto the property let alone the toe of a home-wrecking convict of an ex-boyfriend. She took her chances.

Duncan carefully clambered up the garden trellis, the frame occasionally giving way underneath the weight of his feet, but he kept hold and headed for the window. There was a very high likeliness that this plan would backfire. On the one hand, Courtney could not stand to look at him and would not be at her most hospitable given their circumstances. On the other hand, it was a much better idea than risking Courtney's father catching him standing on the property. He took his chances.

Courtney stepped back towards her desk, nervously crossing her arms. His right hand grasped the windowsill; her heart dived into her stomach. Then a large grey duffel bag was slung over the frame and onto the floor below, landing with a thud. Courtney immediately regretted her decision and had half a mind to run downstairs and blow his cover, but before her feet could catch up with her head, Duncan hoisted himself up and into her bedroom.

She became almost transfixed. There he was, standing six feet away from her. Without a doubt, this was Duncan; his signature green Mohawk had faded and he had clearly invested in a few more piercings but his same, famously blue eyes were staring right back at her.

Gone was his black band shirt. In its place was a long white vest which inadvertently showed off his upper-body. Courtney suddenly became self-aware of her own appearance. Her woollen jumper hung loosely over her pyjama shorts, revealing more of her legs than she would have liked to show for a Thursday night.

"So…" said Duncan after a significant awkward pause, "are you going to give me the tour?"

Courtney fumed. "That's all you have to say to me? Are you serious? You turn up out of the blue and expect me to be courteous?"

Duncan took a few steps, scanning Courtney's desk and picked up a small potted cactus. "Take it easy babe I'm only—"

She snatched the plant out of his hands "Don't you babe me, mister." He raised his arms defensively. "I am this close to calling the cops."

His eyes widened slightly. "That… I'd really appreciate if you… didn't… do that."

Courtney slowly set the cactus back on the desk. She knew that look. It was the same look that the dog had when it had crapped in the washing machine. It was the look of a boy who was hiding something. "Why? …What have you done?"

He couldn't keep his gaze. He turned away and scratched his shoulder, avoiding the question.

"DUNCAN?"

"Okay fine. I may or may not have busted out of Juvie and the feds are still hot on me so I need to stay low tonight until morning and then I'll be out of your hair. No big deal." He waited for a response. Or any sign of consciousness; her expression had frozen halfway through.

Courtney's eye twitched. Her lips traced the words in disbelief, "Juvie? Busted out of… JUVIE?!" She howled. "YOU RAN AWAY FROM JUVIE?!"

He ran to her and pressed his hand against her mouth to stop her from screaming. "Hey! Hey! Keep it down!"

She flailed her arms and escaped from his grasp, "I'm sorry, have you forgotten that YOU BUSTED OUT OF JUVIE?" she began pacing back and forth "I can't believe you! I'm done for. What were you thinking? I'm going to get arrested. You're an idiot! I'm an accomplice to a convicted criminal. Why did you have to escape to MY house? I'll never get my degree. I'll never get to live out my dreams on Broadway. What if I never see Paris again?!"

"Relax! Court, relax!" Duncan took hold of her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "Trust me; no-one knows I'm here. You're safe."

Despite her hyperventilating exterior, she quickly became very calm. She felt the firm grip of his fingers around her as though he wouldn't let go. There was something about his voice that made her believe every word he spoke, and the softness of his eyes that brought her back down to Earth. How did he do that?

She shrugged his hands away from her shoulders. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"The very best," he teased. Courtney scoffed and Duncan proceeded to wander about the room, poking at picture frames and nudging little ornaments.

"Do you have to clobber around like that? My parents will hear you!"

"You still keep all these stuffed animals?" Duncan disregarded her and picked up two of Courtney's bears. He then made them perform inappropriate noises and gestures much to Courtney's disgust.

"Give me those!" She seized them back and returned them to her bed. "You are so immature." Before she could turn around Duncan had already opened her wardrobe and the door to her en-suite.

"Man, your place is huge! Look at this, you've got your own bathroom in here! Jeez, this makes the crapper in my cell look like… well, crap!"

Courtney could feel the rage building inside her. "You're not staying here. There's a perfectly good bus stop you can squat in down the road-"

"Could you get me a beer?"

Courtney blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Or anything really, I've been running all this way so…" Duncan began fiddling with a noisy jewellery box until Courtney could stand it no more.

"If it will shut you up I will get you something to drink. Stay here, stop touching my things and for the love of God try not to be more of an imbecile than you already are."

"Thank you Sweetie" he replied. Courtney groaned and shut the door in his face. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before tip-toeing downstairs.

There was a soft buzz of the television emitting from the living room, the bright colours flickering over the walls. The occasional chortles and chuckles from Courtney's parents signalled that it was safe for her to sneak past unnoticed.

The tiles of the kitchen floor were cold beneath her bare feet. Reluctantly, she opened the fridge, squinting at the intensity of the light. Pushing aside the copious Tupperware of pre-prepared salads and excessive quinoa from her mother's latest fad diet, she searched for anything resembling a normal beverage to offer to her 'guest'. What am I doing? She thought. She dejectedly closed the fridge and slumped over the kitchen counter, resting her head in her hands.

Herbal tea. Yes. Herbal tea will make things better. With a swift click, the kettle was boiled and Courtney placed two mugs on a neat little tray. Perhaps it was the delirium from lack of sleep, but she found strange comfort in preparing tea for two.

With great caution, Courtney returned to her bedroom and slowly pushed the door open with her hip. It was auspiciously quiet. Duncan was nowhere to be seen. She set the tea tray down on the table and took a few steps. Had he left? Did she dream the whole thing? But before she could sigh in relief, she almost tripped over his old red shoes that had been slung onto the floor along with his other belongings.

An abrupt thump sounded from her en-suite. She quickly rushed over to the bathroom door. "Duncan! You'd better not be messing around with my stuff in there-"

As she swung the door open, Courtney found herself face to face with Duncan wearing nothing but his birthday suit.

Courtney screamed.

Duncan tried his best to conceal himself, "HEY! A little privacy your Highness."

Turning a bright shade of beetroot, Courtney tried her best to avert her eyes but found it quite difficult. "Why are you naked in my bathroom?"

"It's a shower. You don't tend to shower fully dressed."

"You could have warned me!"

"You could have knocked!"

"Why are you still nude?"

"Why are you still looking?"

Positively flustered, she slammed the door shut.

"Darling? Is everything okay? I heard screaming" called a voice.

Crap! It's Dad! Courtney panicked; she could hear him ascending the staircase. She quickly scurried around her bedroom, picking up Duncan's things and shoving them onto her chair.

"Everything's fine Dad it was just a- a spider!" She threw a blanket over the pile. "But it's gone now!"
The door handle rattled as he pushed the door open. She kicked Duncan's rogue shoe under her bed in the nick of time. Her father entered to see her leaning rather oddly against the wall.

"What are you still doing up at this hour?"

"Oh you know, just studying" she replied, trying her best to conceive a smile.

"You look a little… rattled" he gestured at her flushed complexion.

She clasped her hand to her cheek, thinking on her feet. "I was just about to—"
She was suddenly interrupted by the shower starting. Her eyes widened, "to… take… a shower before bed! Whoo am I tired!" She laughed nervously.

Her father looked at her with great scepticism but let it slide. "I think you've been at the books for too long darling. Get some rest, alright?"

She nodded exasperatedly. He gave one last concerning look and was almost out the door when all of a sudden there was a great crash and a muffled "sonnovabitch!" from the en-suite.

"What was that?" exclaimed her father.

"SONNOVABITCH I'M TIRED DAD. I THINK YOU'D BETTER GO CHECK ON MOM. GOODNIGHT!" She rapidly edged him out of the door and closed it sharply behind him. Completely bewildered by his own daughter, he thought it best not to ask and left her be.

Courtney, with her ear pressed into the door, didn't breathe until she could confidently hear him walk back downstairs. Satisfied that he was no longer in earshot, she exhaled and sank down to the floor. That was far too close.

She stood outside the en-suite and leaned in so that Duncan could hear her. "Listen up moron. You'd better get your sorry ass out of my house before I strangle you and we both end up in prison."

"It's not my fault you've got eight thousand shampoo bottles avalanching on my foot"

"You've got some nerve, you know that? Do you realise how many lawyers I have that could-"

Duncan proceeded to whistle loudly and turn up the shower pressure, literally drowning out her words.

Courtney groaned. This is so typical him. She picked up her throw pillow and aggressively threw it at the bathroom door.

She slumped onto her bed and pouted, "Idiot."

The shower continued to whirr like a quiet locomotive. Courtney turned her head and rested it on her shoulder. She stared at the pile of Duncan's poorly concealed clothes on her chair. Unfortunately, it quickly reminded her that she had just witnessed his naked body only feet away from her not moments ago.

She couldn't help but turn pink just thinking about it. She had never seen him like that before. His tattoos had spread from his arm all the way down to his obliques, but they suited him tremendously. Whatever he had been doing in juvie it was working, his body was so toned but in all the right places that he still had that familiar stance about him.

Courtney bit her bottom lip. She shook herself to snap out of it. Regardless, she thought, this is still Duncan and this changes nothing! The shower came to a stop. Courtney jumped up from the bed and began to tidy odd things around her.

Duncan emerged from the en-suite, his black hair brushed back into a soft faux hawk. He was drying his ears with a small towel and was thankfully wearing his boxer shorts this time. He stopped as he reached the bed; Courtney was deliberately facing away from him. A grin creeped its way across his face.

"Admit it, you haven't stopped thinking about me have you?" he teased.

Courtney forcefully scrunched up the piece of paper in her hand. "Please. I despise you. I have loathed you since the day we met." She turned to face him now. "And now every time I blink, I'm going to be haunted by the image of your ass."

Duncan gave a cocky smile. "Like that's a bad thing. I have a great ass."

Courtney rolled her eyes and made her way to the window. She began to open it but stopped as she saw Duncan lying back on her bed, his head resting in his hands.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Jeez, touchy! I'm just gonna rest my eyes for a bit."

"NO you are not. You are leaving! This instant!" she beckoned.

"Just like, five minutes tops."

Courtney marched over to him. "Oh no you don't. That was way too close back there. If my parents find out – If the cops find out…"

"Relax Princess. No-one knows I'm here." He yawned. "Just lemme… close my eyes… just…" and just like that he was sound asleep.

Ugghh! He's hopeless! Defeated, Courtney glanced at her clock. It was getting really late. She didn't realise just how exhausting it was to keep up with him. Just looking at Duncan's sleeping face made her feel tired. She powered down her computer and switched off the lamp allowing only the moonlight to spill in from the window.

Something about this Duncan was different. Of course this was the same delinquent she'd met all those years ago. The same jerk who cheated on her with her best friend. And the same idiot she'd gladly hoofed in the kiwis several times. But this Duncan in front of her had something about him. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Her fatigue started to weigh her down as she could barely keep standing upright. If she closed her eyes just for a short while, and if she woke up early, she could get this mess cleared up before anyone had to know. She perched on the opposite side of the bed and curled up away from him. She let herself sink into the mattress; a wave of serenity washed over her.

Everything was still. If she listened closely, she could hear the tiny purr coming from Duncan as he breathed. Even from far away, she felt warmed and comfortable just knowing that someone was there sharing this moment with her. A strange nostalgia enveloped her and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

The dawning sun creeped across the bedroom walls like the slow tide of an orange sea. The light washed over Courtney's face, she twitched her nose and slowly opened her eyes. Peeking through her eyelashes she could see the dazzling colour that filled her room. She felt warmer than usual which was odd considering she had fallen asleep on top of her blanket.

She scooched a little, only to find something heavy wrapped around her waist. She opened her eyes wider, realising that it was none-other than Duncan's bicep. She quickly turned her head to face him. He was engulfed by his pillow, sleeping peacefully like an old sheepdog. Courtney carefully prized his arm from her body, trying not to make him stir. She tip-toed away, almost reaching the door.

"Morning Princess."

"Oh good. You're awake." She answered sarcastically.

Duncan leaned over to her side table and began to rummage through her things and into her drawer. "What time is it?"

"Hey! Don't go through my stuff, have you no privacy?"

"You can talk." He teased and wiggled his butt tauntingly.

"Ughh, you Neanderthal." She picked up her alarm clock. "It's almost seven am."

"I'd better get moving then huh?" Duncan sprang out of bed and scrambled for his clothes.

"Finally!" said Courtney, watching him gather his things. "…Where will you go?"

Duncan scouted and reached for his lost shoe under the bed. He pulled them on swiftly without untying the laces. "I'll probably find my brother's new place. He's pretty cool about it."

"Isn't he in the police force?"

"Nahh, he's cool."

In a flash, he was dressed. He grabbed his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. He stepped towards the window, passing Courtney in an unusually awkward shuffle. He opened the window wide. The crisp, dew-filled air filled his lungs.

A strange emotion overcame Courtney. Just seeing him stand there filled her heart with a longing that she never knew she had missed. She didn't want him to go. She didn't know why.

He stifled a cough. "Well uhh… I guess… Thanks for the uhh…"

"Oh, oh… don't – don't mention it."

Duncan lingered for just a second longer, nodding his head. Courtney's lips were on the very verge of spilling the words that ran inside her. She looked into his eyes and they were mirrored back at her. She took in every piece of this moment. She wished that this moment would last for just bit longer; this comfortable discomfort. But before she could say anything, he disappeared over the ledge and out of sight.

Courtney rushed to the window after him, the fresh morning breeze blowing through her hair. She looked down to see Duncan staring back up at her from the ground. He beamed his signature grin.

"Catch you later Princess!" He hopped over the iron gate and ran backwards until she could see him no more.

Courtney closed her window and looked back into her room. It was almost as if Duncan had left a trail of mess with each step that he took. The bed unmade, the footprints on the carpet and her side table drawer still wide open. She ambled towards the drawer to close it, but not before taking one last look inside. She picked up a small wooden carving and clutched it tightly in her hands. She couldn't help but smirk.

"Idiot."