Luna woke up the next morning to rapid knocking at her door, "What the heck?" She mumbled as she rolled out of bed. Well it is ten to be fair. She thought as she stretched and opened the door. She was surprised to see Elliot standing there, with his dog by his side. "Can you watch Flipper for me for the day?" He asked as if nothing from the previous night had happened. "S-sure." Luna said, apprehensively. "Thanks, here's her food and her favorite toy. I'll be back sometime tonight." He said, handing the leash over to her.

All Luna could do was nod her head as Elliot disappeared down the stairway. She sighed and looked down at Flipper, who looked at Luna inquisitively. "You like running, pup?" She asked as the dog's tail wagged. "Perfect." She said smiling. She threw on her running clothes and headed out with her new companion.

The rest of the day was uneventful, but that was fine with Luna since she'd definitely have a busy day tomorrow with her new job. Nighttime came and she sat on the couch, eating pizza with her friend. "Your dad should be here to pick you up soon." She said looking up at the clock that read nine thirty. "Well hopefully." She mumbled under her breath, handing Flipper a small piece of crust.

A few more hours passed by and nothing. Is Elliot coming back? Or has he deserted his dog, which will be under my care now? I start work tomorrow, I guess I could just bring her with me? Luna lay in bed, chewing at her fingernails, a bad habit that she had tried to rid herself of multiple times, but with no success.

She looked over at the window, seeing the sun rise as her alarm went off. I don't think I slept, what the hell? I'm totally fucked. She got up, shuffling out of bed like a zombie as Flipper closely followed. She walked the dog outside, letting her do her business. On her way back she banged on Elliot's door, "Hello? If you're in there please take Flipper, I have to be at work in about an hour….hello?" Nothing. She bit her lip and sighed.

Luna's first shift had gone by fast, luckily for her. It was about eight at night when she had left and she sat on the subway, dozing off. She was startled by Flipper who was growling and became alert, there was a man sitting uncomfortably close to her. "Can I help you?" She asked trying to get as far away as possible from the stranger. He let out a loud laugh as the subway had stopped and Luna ran off. "Sweet Jesus, what a day."

She made it home and had just finished showering when there was a loud knock. If that's Elliot, I'm ripping him a new one. She thought grinding her teeth as she opened the door. Sure enough, it was him, hood up and head down. "Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to pick her up yesterday! Do you know how embarrassing it was coming in on my first day with a dog?" She said angrily, as Elliot didn't react to anything she was saying. "You're like talking to a fucking wall, you know that?"

"Come on Flipper." He said, his voice hoarse. She lay on the couch and looked up at him, her tail slightly wagging. "You're going to ignore me? That's great, you have no people skills, what so ever." Luna gathered Flipper's things, setting them outside of her door. "Come on Flip, you have to go." She said as the dog ran to her side. She glanced at the floor and noticed some blood on the ground. "Elliot, what happened?" She asked as her heart began racing. "You're bleeding, come inside." Her tone changed immediately.

She grabbed his arm, causing him to flinch and she quickly let go. "Let me see." "I-I'm ok. Thanks though." He said, his voice uneasy. "Ok, I guess I'll just have to call 9-1-1…." She grabbed her phone, "Wait!" He entered her place and stood there awkwardly, still not revealing his face. "Have a seat." She said pulling out a dining chair.

"Thanks." She was about to remove his hood, but remembered how he reacted to her touching him. "Can you pull your hoodie down?" He did so and slowly looked up at her, maintaining eye contact for a few seconds. His face was in bad condition, he had a black eye, a busted lip and a cut on his head too that were both actively bleeding. It looked like at one point his nose was bleeding as well. "You're going to need stitches." She said, trying to stay calm as she ran a wash cloth under warm water. "Is it ok if I clean up the areas?" She sat across from him as he hesitantly nodded. She lightly dabbed his face as he winced.

"What happened, Elliot?" "I-I got jumped by a couple of guys." I don't believe him. She thought as she grabbed some suture and needle drivers from her bag. "Do you want me to call the cops?" "No!" He quickly responded, which confirmed her doubt. "This is going to hurt, you ready?" He nodded as the needle went through his skin. He barely reacted.

"There." She had finished up, not asking him anymore questions. He had already been through enough for the night. "Thanks." He said, looking around at her apartment. "Your place is a lot brighter than mine." He stated, "I like all of your pictures." His eyes met hers and she smiled, "T-thanks." She blushed. He has such beautiful eyes….come on Luna, snap out of it. She tucked a loose hair behind her ear, "Yours could be brighter too if you added more lighting." "I don't mind it, honestly." He began to stand up but groaned as he sat back down.

"Let me see your stomach." She almost demanded. "I'm-" "Elliot, if they kicked you hard enough then you could be bleeding internally, which would mean death on your part." It looked like he was contemplating on whether or not to remove his shirt. He unzipped his trusty hoodie and lifted his black shirt up. There were bruises scattered on his abdomen, but luckily it didn't look serious. Luna studied them, "I think you got lucky." She said as he pulled his shirt down. "Here, take these." She handed him two aspirin and gave him a glass of water.

"Are you a doctor?" He asked as he finished the water off, acting as if he hadn't had any in days. "For humans? No, but for animals, yes." She said refilling his cup. "Thanks. Animals are definitely better than people." He said matter of fact. "You have that right." She said chuckling, his stomach grumbled loudly. "You hungry? I made some spaghetti and have a lot left over." She stood up heading over to the fridge. "No, you've done enough for me. I better get going." "Please, I'll probably have to throw some of it out if you don't." She looked over at him, their eyes meeting briefly again, causing her heart to pitter-patter. "Ok, you sold me on it." He said, a small smile spreading on his face.

"What do you do for a living?" She sat the plate down for him as he dug in. "I work with computers." "Like an IT guy?" He shrugged his shoulders, nodding, "Computer engineer." He said, nonchalantly. "Oh yeah, no big deal…just the fact that you're basically a genius." Luna said teasingly. He looked up at her, not sure of how to react. People normally didn't joke around with him. "Says the person who's a doctor." He said finishing up the last of his food.

Luna grabbed his plate, "Yeah, that's true. I did work my ass off, so I'll take it. You should too though." She smiled over at him as he cracked a larger smile, but quickly stopped because of the stitches. He is pretty cute. "Thank you…for everything." He slowly stood up. "Yeah, sorry for being a bitch earlier. I didn't get much sleep." She scratched her neck, looking down at the ground, "You're just being honest, which is rare in people." He grabbed Flipper's leash. She smiled, taken off guard with his response, "You'll need to remove those sutures in 10-14 days, and I enjoyed Flippers' company so let me know if you need a dog sitter again." He nodded and left.

Luna shut her door and leaned up against it, trying to catch her breath. I shouldn't have feelings for him, but there's something about him. I hope I can see more of him.