He sees her late one Saturday night at a tattoo parlor downtown. She looks nervous sitting on a chair in the waiting area, the fidgeting of her fingers a dead giveaway. He doesn't know why he's overcome with a sense of protecting her. He doesn't even know her, but there was something about the way she looked so small and defenseless sitting there alone that caused his legs to start walking her way.

She'd been looking down at her clasped hands when he stopped an acceptable distance in front of her. She looked up at him obviously a bit startled and his heart stopped. At least that's what it felt like when her wide brown doe eyes connected with his. It wasn't that she was beautiful - though she was - that had him speechless for a few seconds. It was the look in her eyes. He could see it clear as day: innocence.

Lucas Friar always had had a tendency to help out those in need, those who were defenseless, and those who were innocent. It was one of the reasons he wanted to be a vet. Animals in their own right were quite defenseless and he wanted to be able to help them. Looking down at this girl he felt that same need. He felt like he had to help. If only he could get his voice to work.

"Can I help you?" Lucas' heart suddenly started beating again as her voice infiltrated his system. It was soft, meek, and unsure. She looked at him warily and he could immediately sense her distrust.

Lucas put a smile on his face and outstretched his hand. "I'm Lucas."

She stared down at it, her brows furrowing slightly. "Are you one of the tattoo artists?" Her gaze shifted back to his.

"Uh, no" Lucas pulled his hand back and shoved it in the pocket of his jeans. "I saw you siting here by yourself and it looked like you could use some company."

"I'm here with a friend." Her response was immediate, almost panicked.

"Oh. Are you waiting for them to get their art done?" He was the one to furrow his brows this time. He had a slight suspicion that this girl was lying to him.

"Um. Yeah, yes. That's exactly what I'm doing." She stammered while vigorously nodding her head in affirmation to his statement.

"Okay. Then I'll keep you company until they come out." He shrugged his shoulders and started making his way to the empty seat beside her, but her voice stopped him.

"No!" She rushed out her eyes slightly widening. He looked at her with an arched brow and then had to suppress a grin when her cheeks turned pink.

"I mean," she amended, "That's not necessary. She'll be out any second now."

"Uh huh." Lucas mused while nodding his head. He didn't believe a word. "Correct me if I'm wrong but don't friends usually go in with each other in these kinds of situations for support?"

There was that blush again. He couldn't stop his grin the second time around because she looked cute when she blushed. He wanted to make her do it again.

"Yeah, you're right." she started while avoiding his gaze by looking at the doorway that led to the back of the shop where the tats were done. "But she didn't want me to go with her. She wants the tattoo to be a surprise."

"That's nice - really. Now, why don't you look me in the eyes while you say it?"

Her eyes snapped back to him. He stared at her expectantly; chin slightly turned down, with a small knowing smile tugging at his lips. It only took her a second to realize he'd caught her.

She sighed heavily and her shoulders sagged in defeat. "You caught me."

"Seems like I did." He sat down next to her and this time she didn't stop him.

"Am I really that obvious?" she frowned.

Lucas realized he didn't like that. He didn't like seeing that frown on her face. It didn't seem like it belonged there. She didn't look like the type of girl who frowned a lot and he sure wasn't gong to let that change now.

"Well, if looking like a deer caught in the headlights when I first came over here is obvious then, yeah. I'd say so."

The girl chuckled, and then buried her face in her hands with a groan. "I'm so pathetic."

Lucas shook his head even though she couldn't see him behind her hands. "No, you're not. You're just scared to get your first ink. Happens to everyone."

Pulling her hands away, she looked at him. "I know that, but not everyone comes alone."

She sounded alone. Lucas felt himself not liking this either just as he didn't like to see her frown before.

"Why didn't anyone come with you?"

Her eyes shifted to the ceiling and she exhaled a big breath before answering. "Because I didn't want anyone to know I was doing this."

Lucas didn't reply because he felt like there was more she had to say.

"I'm tired of always being the good girl. Everyone at school thinks that I'm this prude who would never even consider doing something wild and crazy." She took another breath and looked down at her lap. "I've always wanted to get a tattoo. I never told anyone though because I never thought I'd have the courage to get one. But when I saw other people thinking the same I just knew I had to do it. I had to prove them wrong."

She looked at him then from under her eyelashes. Lucas was sure she was seeking words of encouragement, or reassurance that she was doing the right thing, but he was never that kind of person when he knew something wasn't right.

"If the reason you're getting a tattoo is just so you can prove something to other people, then you shouldn't get one. You'll probably end up regretting it one day."

She shook her head. "No. It's not just to prove something to them. I'm also doing this to prove something to myself. I need to know that I'm not what everyone else thinks I am. I need to know for sure I can do this."

Lucas couldn't help but smile a little at her words. The look on her face was pure determination. She was doing this no matter what he said. But he sure as hell wasn't going to let her do it alone.

"All right, I respect that. But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I don't go in with you,"

"You don't have to do that." she said dismissing his offer.

"No, I don't" he agreed. "But I want to."

Her face flushed and a small laugh escaped her lips. "You don't even know me."

"True. But we can fix that while they're working on you. I hear being distracted helps when you get your first one." He paused and held his hand out, his palm turned upwards between them. "So what do you say? You gonna let an ordinary Texas country boy help out a scared New York City girl?"

She laughed again but it was a real one this time. He knew then that this was who she really is. She was the girl who always laughed and had that special twinkle in her eyes when she did. He wanted her to always be that girl, if only for the time they'd be together tonight.

"Yeah," she said and took his hand. "I think I can allow that."

An hour later they both stood in front of a mirror in the back room. She was inspecting the sphere surrounded by the word 'believe' on her lower back in awe. "I can't believe I did it."

"Believe it. You took it like a champ, city girl."

She shifted her attention from the tattoo to this face. Their eyes found each other in the mirror. A smile formed on the girl's lips. "Thank you for being here."

Lucas' heart stopped for the second time that night. Her gratitude shouldn't affect him this much. He'd only just met her after all. And it wasn't like he'd done much. All he'd done was just hold her hand the whole time, letting her squeeze his fingers when the pain became too much to bear, and then making small talk to keep her distracted.

From their hour-long conversation they slowly learned more about each other. Turns out she was attending college, too. They were even in the same year at the same school. They'd both laughed at how small the universe was and couldn't fathom how neither of them had seen each other before tonight. Then again, as she had pointed out, NYU was a pretty big campus.

She'd questioned him about his earlier remark on being a country boy from Texas. She asked if it was true or if it was just a line he used on her. He'd feigned being offended at her accusation and she'd laughed. A sound that he was beginning to find he loved. Then he started telling her the story of how he'd moved from Texas to New York when he was going to start the seventh grade because his father's job had transferred him. She'd listened attentively, nodding and asking the appropriate questions at the right moments. After he'd finished she began talking about her life growing up in the city. He'd never been more interested in a conversation with a girl until now. He realized while she began talking about her younger brother that he wanted to know everything about this girl. Even the stuff that she might not think was important to share. He just wanted to know her.

Lucas cleared his throat. It was feeling suddenly dry from her unwavering stare in the mirror. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to get a tattoo of Pluto?"

"It's kind of a long story." she grinned.

"I've got time." He smiled with a shrug.

That's how she ended up telling him about her parent's love story. How they got married in college, how no one thought they would make it, and how they proved all of them wrong. Her father never stopped believing in the love he shared with her mother no matter what anyone said.

"And that's pretty much why I decided to get this tattoo." She said and looked over at it once more before continuing, "When I was in middle school it was said Pluto was no longer a planet. It was my favorite in the solar system, I thought it was cute."

She paused then, a blush creeping up her cheeks. Lucas couldn't help but grin a little. I think you're cute, he thought.

"Anyway," she went on, "Even though all these reports were going around saying Pluto wasn't a planet, I didn't believe it. I still believed it was. I loved it that much. Then, a couple of months later it was proved to be a planet again. The day I found out, I promised myself never to stop believing in things just like my dad never stopped believing. Because if I do stop, I might not get everything I want in life."

"Well." Lucas chuckled, "That's definitely a pretty good reason to get a tattoo of a planet."

She chuckled along with him. There was a pause before she spoke again. "I don't think I could've done this if you hadn't been here."

He grinned. "I'm sure you would have but you'd probably have a much less charming companion than me."

There it was again, that laugh of hers. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of hearing it.

"Well then I'm glad it was you." She smiled up at him.

"I'm glad it was me too." He smiled down at her.

There was a moment that passed between them right then. A sudden silence -though it didn't feel awkward. They just looked at one another, not saying a word but saying so much all at once. Lucas thought that he could've stood there forever just staring into those eyes that had captured him from the moment he first saw them. But that didn't seem like it'd be happening because the silence was suddenly broken by the sound of a phone.

The girl tore her gaze away and reached into her back pocket. She looked down at the screen and then back up at him hesitating for a second before she answered the call.

"Hey." She answered.

He could hear another voice on the line. It sounded female. Probably her mom or a friend, he guessed.

"No, Maya, I'm fine don't worry." She paused. "I'm at the tattoo parlor downtown."

Lucas heard the rise in volume of Maya's voice on the other end. "WHAT? What the hell are you doing there? And without me?"

Lucas already liked this girl. It seemed like she was a good friend if she was that upset that her friend had come here alone.

"Look I'll explain later at the dorm, okay?"

He couldn't hear Maya's voice anymore but he figured she'd agreed when her friend hung up after telling her she'd see her later.

City Girl looked up at him with a sad smile. "I gotta go but thank you again. For everything."

She turned and started for the door but he caught her arm before she could take a step. "Wait."

She looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry but I don't think I can let you leave without getting your name and number."

Her smile was instant as she fully faced him and offered her phone out to him. He let go of her arm and grabbed it. Taking his own out of his pocket he gave it to her. A moment later they both had their phones back.

"I hope to hear from you soon, Lucas."

She smiled one last time before heading out the door.

As soon as she was out of sight Lucas looked down at his phone and he immediately let out a laugh. He hadn't realized until then that he'd never asked her name. He'd been calling her 'City Girl' from their first conversation. She hadn't offered her name, though and now he could see why as he read his screen.

"Riley 'City Girl' Matthews."

Seems like she didn't mind his nickname for her. It was a good thing, he decided, because he didn't plan on taking it away anytime soon. There was one thing he was going to do sooner though.

Opening an empty text message he typed out:

I hope this is soon enough for you, Riley. :)

It only took about a minute for her reply to fill his screen.

It definitely is, country boy. :)

Yeah, he thought with a smile, I couldn't agree more.