When they reached her house, Mal realized he didn't want to leave. He was disgusted with himself for feeling that way, but he did. Alex looked from her small white house back to her savior. The fire in his eyes was gone but he looked lost and even a little sad.

"Ya know what? My momma sure would love to meet you. And it's gettin' late out. She'll drive you home. Come on, now. I don't got all night." She said with a smile. Mal nearly returned it but stopped himself. He nodded once before walking up the porch steps and into her home.

"Alexandria! Oh, honey I'm so glad you're back! Where in the hell have you been?" Her mother pounced on her the moment she came in. Her voice held both concern and relief. She hugged Alex tight, not letting her get a word in.

"Momma-Mom-Mom!" Her mother couldn't hear her. She was too busy smothering her. Mal couldn't help but smile.

They looked a lot alike. Both had straight black hair (although her mothers reached her back instead of just at her ears like Alex's), both had striking green eyes (although there were a few lines around her mother's), and both were extremely gorgeous (although Mal would never admit it). Her mother was wearing a long tight dress the color of her eyes. She was very thin, not curvy like her daughter. It took Alex a moment to calm her down.

"Momma, this is Mal. A man attacked me tonight and Mal stopped him." She smiled at him. He knew her mother would hate him regardless of what he had done. Hell, just Alex not hating him was strange enough. Her mother would despise him. He expected disgust and harsh words. Instead, he got a loving smile and a warm hug. He froze, not used to being touched.

"Thank you, honey. I don't know what I'd do without my baby girl." She whispered. When she finally pulled away, he hasn't hugged her back but he had a small smile on his face.

"Can we watch a movie?" Alex asked.

"Of course, baby. Is your momma alright with that?" Mal remained silent. He knew his voice was strange and he didn't want this to be ruined.

"Come on, sweetheart. I don't bite." Her smile grew.

"She won't mind." He said quietly, still too shocked to remember that this wasn't right. He didn't have friends. He didn't show kindness. His only purpose was to hurt other. He was supposed to hate Alex not hang out with her. He was about to speak up and say he had other plans (a total lie), but Alex didn't give him a chance to.

"Cool! Come on. I know the perfect movie!" She said gleefully before grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall to her room.

He looked around with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. She noticed the gap in between his front teeth. Unlike the rest of the house, the walls in her room were a soft lavender color instead of a light green. And the books. They were stacked everywhere. On the floor, on her bed, on the TV, on her white dresser, and on the violet shelf above her enormous bed. They were in enormous stacks all over the place and he could see bookmarks sticking out of many of them. Alex closed the door behind them.

"I'll get the movie. Go on ahead and have a seat. Feel free to move the books. Sorry for the mess." As she looked through the glass case filled with movies that the TV sat on, he carefully lifted a stack of about 6 novels off her bed and placed them gently on the floor before sitting awkwardly on the edge of the bed. This was all so strange. He sighed in frustration. This was all so wonderful, too. No one had ever been this nice to him. Ever. Some people had taken an interest in him but they quickly lost it when they saw how mean he was. He had been extremely rude to Alex, and yet she was still nice to him. It didn't make sense. Yeah he had technically helped her, but he didn't mean to. Mal only kicked that guys ass because he had started shit. He hasn't cared about Alex. He looked around at all of the books in her room. He wasn't much of a reader, but for some reason he was glad she was. He decided that while he didn't like Alex, he definitely hated her less than other people.

"Aha! Perfect!" Her outburst startled him. He looked to see her pull out a movie called 'The Conjuring' out of the glass case and putting it in the DVD player. She pushed play and made a spot for herself beside Mal, careful not to get too close.

"I ain't seen it yet. Momma bought it just yesterday." She chirped excitedly. Mal grunted and laid on the bed a few inches away from her.

Throughout the movie, Mal tried to keep his angry scowl but Alex's comments kept making him smile. He finally cracked halfway through the movie.

"Well maybe if you weren't always on ya husband's dick making all these kids, you'd have less to worry about." She muttered quietly. Mal couldn't help it. Laughter exploded from him.

"What? Don't act like it ain't true!" She exclaimed with a grin. He abruptly stopped when he realized what he was doing.

"What's wrong?" Her smile faded.

"Nothing." He snapped at her, turning back to the movie. She decided not to push him and did the same.

After a few minutes if thinking, Mal spoke up again. He knew he had to get the truth out. If she hated him for it, oh well. She had every right to.

"I was going to move." He muttered.

"Huh?" She gave him a look of confusion. He sighed heavily in frustration.

"In the alley! You hid behind me and I was going to move out of his way. I would've just continued walking. The only reason I beat him up is because he put his disgusting hands on me. I was gonna-I almost let him-" he looked away in shame. He had never felt bad about hurting people. Bringing others pain was one of the few joys of his miserable existence. But there was something different about Alex. Something that filled him with the foreign feeling of regret.

"I know." She said quietly. He looked at her.

"I'm not an idiot, hun. I saw the way you looked at me. Like I was the most disgusting thing you'd ever seen. I saw that you was about to move." It was his turn to be confused.

"Why are you being all nice and shit then?" He asked rudely. She smiled sadly.

"You ain't like anyone else. You're violent and scary and mean." His eyes hardened.

"I like it." She said simply before turning back to the movie. He grunted in acceptance.

"I know y'all ain't that dumb! Just shoot the bitch!" Mals lips tilted up slightly.

When the movie ended, Mal popped his neck and stretched his limbs.

"I guess I'm gonna-" he stopped when he looked at her. She had fallen asleep. He smiled softly. She looked so peaceful and happy. Careful not to wake her, he climbed out of bed, unfolded the fluffy black blanket from the edge of the bed, and gently laid it on her.