Allessandrea whipped around. Nothing.

If nobody's following me, why do I keep hearing footsteps?

She turned and continued walking, shivering slightly as she did so. The orchard really was a creepy place at night, and in this area of Houston, you could never know what to expect. At any moment you could be being stalked by a group of weir-There it is again! No, it's a different sound...rustling leaves, something's in the tree behind me…- Before she could turn around to see what it was, there was a crackling sound, and a thud as something heavy hit the soft ground.

"Ow… I really shouldn't climb trees at night…"

Allessandrea turned around again to see a thin boy with curly black hair sprawled facedown in the muddy earth.

"Leo? What're you doing out here? Running away again?!"

Leo looked up and propped himself up on his elbows in a more dignified position.

"Maybe.."

Allessandrea sighed.

"Come on. Bev sent me out to look for you, she was about ready to call the police, too. Do you have any clue how worried we've all been? Anyway, why would you want to run off? Where would you go? You have a good home here, you have food, you have friends. You have me. You're the closest to a family I've ever had. You know I was abandoned as a baby, and you'd just leave me for no reason? I thought better of you."

By this point, she was crying. Leo cursed himself and stood up, brushing off some of the mud before putting an arm around her thin shoulders. He held her for a moment, seeming to gather up his resolve.

"Alright, I'll stay. For you. Now let's get home."

Leo led her towards the small house on the edge of the orchard, keeping his arm around her.