Jake tapped nervously on the cool metal between him and the window as the walls of the tunnel flew by in a flurry of darkness. He pulled his train ticket out of his shorts pocket again, the ink beginning to smudge from the rubbing of his frantic fingertips. It was well worn and folded, and he repeated the name of the station over and over again in his head with his eyes squinted shut as if he could absorb the information through sheer force. When he eventually opened his eyes he curled further backwards into his seat, anxious around so many strangers. Jake wasn't used to strangers. Well, he wasn't used to anybody really.

The other people on the train looked innocent enough: a middle-aged man in a white fedora reading a newspaper and smoking a pipe, a mother gently cooing to and rocking her child, an Asian couple clutching cameras and chattering indecipherably. Nobody was threatening him in any way and yet he felt extremely anxious.

When his cousin Jade had invited him to visit he had no real reason to refuse. His grandmother was… gone. It was lonely on the island by himself, surrounded by her memory. Jake had figured some fresh new surroundings would do him some good. Jungle boy Jake's adventure in the big city – it would be fun! As he crouched in an unfamiliar method of public transportation he began to rethink his decision.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to steady his nerves and shaking hands.

Calm yourself, you ninny! What kind of adventurer is scared of exploring new places? That's entirely the point!

Jake tried to distract himself by taking another glance around the train, fedora man, mother, Asian couple, and then… wait. In the very back of the compartment lay a man who had evaded Jake's gaze earlier by effortlessly blending into shadow. Now he was reclining comfortably across his seat, one leg bent gently and the other revealing a bright orange shoe jutting out into the aisle. Jake squirmed in his seat to gain a closer look, eyes travelling upward past dark grey jeans and a crisp white shirt with a picture of an orange hat on it. Well isn't that odd. Who puts a picture of a hat on a shirt? A black jacket was thrown across the seat, lightly covering a small bag and a helmet. Jake sat up a little in his seat to continue his search for the man's face, intrigued.

He gasped lightly, embarrassedly trying to cover the small sound with a cough. The man's face was pale, dusted with freckles, and extremely handsome. Ridiculous black shades in the shape of two triangles sat across a straight nose, his jaw was sharp and relaxed. His hair was a light blonde and spiked up in a sexy way that seemed impossible and yet effortless. Jake almost wanted to run his hands through it, to see how soft it was… WOAH THERE, OLD CHAP reel it in! While Jake stared awe-struck at this extremely strange person with the pointy hair and pointy shades, the man took notice of Jake's flabbergasted look and awful pretend cough. He glanced over at Jake and smirked, eyes hidden behind those blasted shades. With a short intake of breath Jake ducked back behind the protection of his seat, blushing furiously.

His embarrassing moment was interrupted by the conductor speaking calmly over the loud speaker in a cheery but clearly rehearsed tone, "Would all passengers disembarking at Prospit Station please ready your belongings, we shall be stopping in a few minutes. Thank you."

Prospit Station? Oh good gracious that doesn't sound familiar at all. Jake had attempted to memorize every station before his so that he could be ready. Oh bollucks, what if we already passed my stop!?

Jake panicked, tearing his ticket out of his pocket again. Oh no, oh no. Relax English, relax. I'll just get off at this stop and find some way to backtrack and find Jade. It will be no issue for a dashing adventurer! Nervously, Jake pulled a dark green jacket out of his backpack and slid into the well-worn material. He threw both straps of the backpack over his shoulders and prepared to disembark from the train. He glanced around at a few other passengers also arranging their belongings, heart pounding. His hands grasped at the area around his hips where his dual pistols would usually hang and found nothing. Dang. He forgot Jade had told him to take off his holster as it was "indecent to carry guns on public transportation." A hand on a gun always helped him to steady himself.

When the train slowed and the door opened, Jake bolted out. He cut through crowds of people trying to get onto the train and walked briskly toward a large lighted map on the far wall. He found the train line he had tried so frantically to memorize before, and traced the stops with his finger. He groaned loudly when he realized what a mistake he had made. Oh dear lord, why am I such an idiot? He spun around quickly, trying to see if the train was still there or if it was too late for him to jump back on. Unused to the extra bulk of his large backpack, he swung around and heart a low "oof" as the large bag nailed some poor bloke in the chest.

Jake turned to find a man fallen on the floor, motorcycle helmet spinning out into the crowd. Jake's eyes widened as he ran to grab the helmet, already apologizing profusely.

"I am so so sorry about that, I am simply having the worst of luck today. I apologize quite sincerely. Are you alright?" Helmet under his arm, he held out his hand to the man he had knocked over quite unceremoniously.

"'It's fine." The man grunted, grabbing the offered hand firmly and pulling himself up. His calloused hands were covered by extremely soft fingerless black gloves. As he stood Jake's eyes travelled up his lean body to that ridiculous pair of shades and ridiculously attractive face. Jake could feel his own face heating up as he pushed his square frames higher up his nose.

He handed the man's helmet back to him, ruffling the back of his hair anxiously with his other hand. "Sorry again, mate. I've gotten quite off-track in this city hustle and wasn't paying proper attention."

"Not a problem, man. Are you, uh, lost?" The man brushed off the front of his pristine shirt and picked up his bag off of the ground.

Jake laughed nervously "Afraid so. I'm supposed to be meeting my cousin Jade but I panicked and disembarked from the train a few stops early." He reached into his pocket and cursed as he pushed uselessly at his dead cell phone. His grandmother had always told him to be carrying at least 8 computers at once, but his usual gadgets reminded him too much of her and he had left them on the island.

The man examined Jake through his dark shades, his expressionless face not giving any hint as to what he was thinking. After a few seconds he spoke in a low voice, "Your cousin wouldn't happen to be Jade Harley?"

Jake gasped, taken aback. "Why yes! How did you know?"

The corners of the man's mouth curved upwards slightly, "You guys look kind of similar."

Jake's face broke out into a huge smile, revealing shining white teeth. "If you could contact her for me you would be my hero, Mr...?"

"Strider. Dirk Strider." Dirk took Jake's outstretched hand and the brunette shook it animatedly.

"Jake English! What luck, bumping into you!"

What luck, indeed.