"Well, then… we need to come to an agreement."

"I have already told you… The car is mine now."

"And I have already told you… That means you get everything that is inside it. And that includes me."

He winked and smiled, watching her from the passenger's seat as she drove away, heading God knows where. He could see she was running out of arguments, and his were perfectly valid. So she had stolen his stolen car. Fair enough. That meant she got stuck with him as well.

"Following that logic, since everything that is inside the car belongs to me now, I get to choose whether I want to keep them or not, right?"

He blinked as she spoke, wrinkling his forehead as he looked at her face with his trademark puppy eyes. That girl was a tough cookie, but the way she smiled when she talked to him… She liked him. She could play hard to get, but she was having as much fun as he was.

"You're saying… you're not planning to keep me?"

"Why would I?" she asked, and then turned her head to look at him. That smile…

For a moment, he forgot how delicate his situation really was. As a matter of fact, for a few hours now, when she had agreed to have a drink with him after stealing his car, there had been very little he worried about. At that moment, his concern was not whether or not he would have a place to live after the blonde made up her mind about what she would do.

Right now, all he cared about was: would he ever see her again if she left?

"Eyes on the road!" he hissed, when staring into her eyes made his stomach flutter, again.

"Oh, stop that!" she whimpered. "I learnt my lesson."

"Only after I saved the day…" he replied, biting his lip, "by telling that officer that you were my girlfriend."

"And that I couldn't drive stick…"

"I had to be convincing."

"You were. And I agreed to have a drink with you, so now we're even."

And then, she pulled over, and leaned towards his door to open it.

"Good bye, Neal Cassidy."

"You can't be serious," he whispered.

"I am," she replied, with the same smile on her face. "Totally serious."

He scratched the back of his neck, casting a final look towards her as he scrunched his face. Now what? Should he resort to that final tactic, stealing a kiss? Coming up with another round of debate? Cracking a joke? Begging?

In the long minute during which he weighed his options, he must have looked like an idiot. The truth was, he didn't want to impose on her, but he didn't want to leave, either. But she had just asked him to, so what choice did he have?

He let out a sigh as he slowly dragged himself out of his car. That is, her car.

He was officially homeless, and yet, he felt like laughing.

"You know…" he said, leaning over the window as he closed the door. "You are going to change your mind about this."

"About what?"

"About letting me go."

She laughed.

"You're hilarious."

"I know. And you are, too," he replied, still staring at her. "And I will be waiting for you, tonight, at the Alberta Park."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that, if I were you."

"Why not?" he asked, tucking his hands into his pockets as he walked along the car as she drove as slowly as possible. "It's movie night. You get popcorn for free."

"Nice try…"

"I'm serious… And if you don't stop by tonight, you can visit me any other day…"

He stopped, and so did she.

"That is where I used to live before… you know… before I got the bug," he blinked again, trying not to laugh at the expression of disbelief on her face.

"If you're trying to warm my heart…"

"Is it working?"

"No!"

However, the smile on her face told him otherwise.

"Well, anyway… I'll save us seats. And popcorn. Film starts at 8."

And then, he turned on his heels and crossed the road, running.

"See you, Emma!" he screamed, turning his head to give her one of his most charming smiles before pulling his hood up and disappearing into the crowd.

She really wished she could stop thinking about Neal Cassidy. He was just a deadbeat, a man that she should not trust. He was fun to be with, he had a charming smile, he was kind, he had nice eyes. She liked the way he looked at her.

That was the problem.

He was trouble. He was a criminal, he was much more experienced in that life than she was, and she knew, without the shadow of a doubt, that he could have her wrapped around his finger if he wanted to. And apparently, he did. And she couldn't let him. She wouldn't.

And that was why she knew she should walk away from him while she still could.

She couldn't fall for him. She wouldn't.

She glanced at her watch again. 7:30. Her heart was racing. Why couldn't she just let go? What was she looking for?

People walked past her as she stared at the condoms in one of the many aisles of that huge drugstore. All she had to do was swipe a packet and head to the damn park. She knew how it would end. He was just like all the others. Maybe if she just let him have his way with her, it would be over and she could move on. He would just become another man she would struggle to forget.

And so, she did it. After making sure no one was looking, she put one of the packets in her pocket, and walked out of the store as silently as she could. On her way out, she slowed down, but her mind was made up when she started the bug and headed to Killingsworth Street.

It was time to nip another love story in the bud, before it actually grew into something that would break her heart later on.

It was five to eight, according to the clock near the screen in the park. He smoothed the towel by his side, and looked around one last time.

Maybe she wouldn't come, after all.

He picked one of the two popcorn cups he had managed to get them, and rearranged the two cans of soda so that they wouldn't fall, munching on a kernel as he thought about Emma Swan, or yet… about why he couldn't stop thinking about Emma Swan.

Maybe it had been silly of him to think he had found company in that strange life of his. Who would want to hang around a rudderless ship, anyway? A man with no home, no job, no purpose… She deserved better.

And she would find better, if that was how it was meant to be.

"Well…" he sighed, grabbing his can of soda. "At least I hope the film is good…"

"Me too."

He whipped his head around, only to find Emma Swan taking a seat by his side.

"What are we watching?" she asked, grabbing her cup of popcorn and her can of soda with a wide grin on her face.

But his grin was definitely wider when he replied.

"10 things I hate about you."

"Very appropriate."

He chuckled.

"Isn't it?"

His heart was about to burst from his chest. He pondered if he should say something in the lines of "glad you're here", "I thought you wouldn't come" or "you look beautiful". All of them were true.

All of them remained unspoken.

The film began, and he was much more interested in her reaction to some of the scenes than he was in the story itself. She beamed every time something particularly romantic was said, and laughed heartily when the main characters acted sassy. He laughed too. It somehow reminded him of… them.

There were moments when she would look at him, and he could tell she was probably thinking the same thing.

Except that no… he would never need to get paid to make a move on Emma Swan.

"You're just too good to be true… can't take my eyes off of you…"

He turned his head to look at her again when the song started playing, and saw how immersed she seemed to be in that scene.

"You'd be like heaven to touch… I wanna hold you so much…"

He was staring. He knew he was. If she turned her head to look at him, it would be awkward. But maybe he wanted her to? Maybe he could kiss her if she did?

"At long last love has arrived… And I thank God I'm alive…"

No. He shouldn't. It would scare her away. Why was he watching that silly romantic film, anyway? It was getting to him, that was the only explanation.

"You're just too good to be true… can't take my eyes off of you…"

And then, she laughed again, and turned her head to look at him.

And he looked away.

'What? Are you fourteen again?' his mind yelled at him. 'For fuck's sake…'

He took a gulp from his soda, and cast a sideways glance at her hand, mere inches from his on the towel.

'Yes… I'm fourteen again…'

He raised his eyebrows as his hand moved closer to hers. He couldn't play it any safer than that. All she had to do was brush him away and he would take the hint. He would stay put. As long as she stayed, it didn't matter if they never went any further than sitting side by side to watch a free movie in a park.

His fingers touched hers, but his eyes remained glued to the screen, even though by now he was hardly able to tell what was going on and who was who in that film.

And then he felt her hand squeeze his, and his eyes went wide.

"I love you baby, and if it's quite all right…"

'Do something, you idiot!' his mind kept yelling.

He drew in a long breath, put up his Neal Cassidy 'I'll-jump-your-bones' façade, and turned to look at her.

His killer look probably lasted less than five seconds. That was all it took for him to get lost in her eyes, his 14-year-old showing again.

When she leaned forward to kiss him, he closed his eyes and tried not to make a fool of himself. His lips were now over hers, and either the music had stopped, or he had gone deaf. Probably the second option. Her lips parted and he simply let his tongue slide into her mouth, his whole body threatening to start a public demonstration of spontaneous combustion when her hand reached behind his neck. Her skin was so soft… and warm… His own hands jumped to life and he reached for her face as his other hand encircled her waist. The popcorn and cherry coke lingering on her lips as he sucked on them... The scent of chamomile coming from her hair… The smell of grass around them…

If he was dreaming, then he would do something nasty to whoever dared to wake him up.

He probably was, though, because her hand had just reached his crotch.

His eyes shot open, and he gasped.

"Emma…" he moaned. "W-What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" she whispered back, her mouth moving to his ear and biting his earlobe.

Lord have mercy. He knew what she was doing, but he had obviously phrased it wrong.

"I-Isn't it… too fast?" he stuttered, torn between the rational part of him that told him to take her hand away from his pants, and the irrational side that just wished she was rubbing him harder.

"Why wait? We both know how it ends."

"How it ends?"

He frowned. He didn't like where that conversation was going.

"Yeah… " she whispered, her mouth now moving to his neck. "I know what you called me here for."

And then it hit him.

"Emma… " he held her hand, gently grasping her fingers before all the blood in his brain got drained to the lower portion of his body. "Wait…"

"Why?"

"Emma, I... That's not the reason I called you here."

"What are you talking about?"

Her fingers clutched him even harder, and his voice almost disappeared.

"I don't… I… I…" he swallowed, again trying to still her hand before it was too late. "I didn't call you here to have sex with you."

She giggled.

"A certain part of your body begs to differ…"

Of course. What did she expect?

"Well, yes… but that part of my body is not the one in charge," he replied, licking his lips as he finally gathered the courage to drag her hand away. "Usually."

When he raised his eyes to hers, there was nothing but confusion and disappointment on her face.

"I mean… Of course I want to… you know… but… I… it's not only that," he swallowed again. How could he explain what he wanted and what he didn't, when he was having a hard time understanding that himself? "I just… I don't want it… to end."

She blinked, and after pushing her glasses farther up her nose, she made to stand up.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"Emma, please…"

"I guess I should be going."

"No, Emma, wait."

He rose to his feet and tried to cover his very obvious erection with his sweatshirt before setting out after her.

"Emma, listen to me," he said, finally catching up with her and grabbing her arm. "The reason I called you here tonight was because… I miss you. I mean… The moment you told me to get out of the car... I missed you."

He stared into her eyes for a long time before speaking again.

"I've been on the road for longer than you can imagine… and when you showed up… for the first time in a very, very long time, I felt… I had someone to talk to… someone… I liked being with. And when we were together… for those few hours, I actually stopped worrying about what or if I would eat… when or where I would park my car to get some sleep…

"You made my life better. And I just… I just wanted you to stay."

He swallowed, shifting on his feet and looking at the ground before speaking again.

"And I'm sorry if I made you think I was trying to… take advantage of you. Like, having sex with you and then leaving… I… I'm sorry I kissed you…"

"I kissed you," she pointed out, taking a step forward.

"I let you."

"I wanted to."

"Me too…"

Her heart was racing again. She had called it. Thirty minutes before she had gotten into that car and headed to where she was now, she already knew she was fighting a losing battle.

There was something about Neal Cassidy, and she wouldn't go anywhere anymore.

Not without him.

"But as long as you stay… " he went on, "…it's good enough."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

She hoped he would understand what she was actually apologizing for, because she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud. But she wanted, and needed him to know it was not his fault she was so eager to run. That she found it so hard to trust, to stay. That she was so scared of allowing herself to love… just to be left behind again, like she had been in the past, by everyone she had dared to care for.

When he finally met her gaze, she saw him smile. Maybe he knew. Maybe he understood.

"Now how about we go back?" he said, his swagger showing once again. "Maybe we can still catch the end of the film."

"Why bother? We all know how romantic comedies end…" she replied, walking next to him with a smile on her face.

"What do you mean? This one is based on Shakespeare! You never know what he will do to people in the end."

"Shakespeare?"

"Yeah, the Taming of the Shrew."

"I mean, you know Shakespeare?"

"Not personally, no."

He chuckled and walked faster, before her boot connected with his butt.

"But I've read him! I've read him!" he screamed amidst laughter, as she chased after him.

She was giggling as well. When they finally reached their spot on the grass, the film was already over.

"Oh, bummer," she whispered. "Now, Mr. I-have-read-Shakespeare, you will have to tell me how the story ends…"

"We can watch it again. There is another show in one hour," he replied, sitting next to her. "But why are you so shocked that I have read Shakespeare?"

"I don't know… I guess I wouldn't take you for the literary type."

"Only the drunken type, I suppose."

"Kind of."

"Well, how very flattering!" he exclaimed, poking her on the ribs. "So that you know, I kind of grew up in libraries."

He tilted his head upwards, glancing at her with a smug smile.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you?" she said, shaking her head and eyeing him with amusement.

"Wait until I tell you where I come from…"

"Where do you come from?"

"Nah… That is a story for another day."

A story that he probably would never tell her, anyway. She seemed to carry her own load of pain and sorrow, why burden her with his unhappy past as well?

As long as he could hang around and see her smile the way she was smiling at him at that moment…

That was more than enough.