I figured that we needed a chapter of the two getting to know each other, so this is really what it is; the two getting closer. I want to thank EVERYONE who has rated and reviewed and favorite and followed. You guys are beyond awesome.

Lily locked the house up tightly after he left and crashed on the couch, turning the TV on. She was jumpy, scared of Chug coming back to find her somehow. She heard kids laughing in the apartment beside of them as she curled up in the blanket he had given her, settling down for a few hours. She was startled awake by a loud banging noise on the wall. She jumped up and ran to where Jon had shown her the gun was as it continued.

"Lily! Open up! It's me!" Jon's voice called through the door, "I forgot my keys."

She stuck the gun down the back of her pants before she walked cautiously over to the door. She unlocked the door, leaving the chain still on as she peaked through. What she saw wasn't something she expected. Jon was beaten, blood pouring down his face. She immediately opened the door and pulled him inside only to lock the door quickly behind him.

"Jon" She gasped, "Jon what happened?"
"Some guys jumped me," He had his eyes clenched tightly shut.
"Come on, let me clean you up." She whispered, pulling him by the arm to the bathroom.

She doctored him up, cleaning the blood from his face and out of his eyes. His left eye was pretty swollen and the cut looked pretty deep in his hair.

"Jon maybe you should go to the doctor." She said, dabbing the blood away from the cut.
"I don't have any insurance." He said, "Nor the money…why do you have the gun?"
"I'm just jumpy." She whispered.
"Did something happen?"
"No." She swallowed hard as she lied.
"Alright," He sighed as she cleaned his bottom lip up, "I need to get back down there."
"You're going back?" She asked, "Jon is that even safe?"
"Probably not, but I'll be okay." He reassured her.
"Jon..um…if you happen to run into Chugs, can you maybe tell him I left town?" She asked, fiddling with her thumbs as she teared up a little bit; she was beyond terrified.
"What happened?" He whispered, wiping the tears away that had halfway fallen.
"Nothing," She shook her head, "I just…he…"
"Lily, you can tell me." Jon pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm not going to let anything harm you."
"He tried..I don't really know what he was going to try to do, but he wanted me to come have sex with him at his house, Jon he thinks I'm a hooker. He wanted to pay me." She sobbed, "I know I fucked up when I went into that club as a performer, but I needed the money and it was fast cash, Jon. I kicked him in his dick and I ran. I ran as fast as I could but I know he will come looking for me, Jon. I know he will."

Jon held her shaken body, trying to calm the small girl down. She had admitted to him that she was wrong for going into the strip club. Jon knew that stripping wasn't a bad thing, everyone needed to make money. He just knew it was wrong of her for doing it at such a young age. She was fourteen, just barely a teenager. He didn't want her to go down that path; he didn't want her to have to deal with all the men like his mother had to on a nightly basis. He was just glad that she had admitted she was in the wrong.

"He won't hurt you; I won't let him get close enough to you okay?" Jon whispered, his embrace tightening around her, "The next door neighbor keeps an eye out on the apartment while I'm not here. She's like trained in some sort of martial arts or something I don't know. He knows how to get in touch with me if I'm needed here. You're safer than you think, alright?"

She nodded and calmed herself, pulling away from him as she realized her mascara had stained his white shirt from where she had been crying.

"Shit, Jon. I'm sorry." She whispered, rubbing at the line on his shoulder.
"It's fine; I've got more of these." He shrugged, "Get you some sleep, Lily. I'll be home soon okay?"
"Okay." She nodded, walking out of the bathroom after her.
"And be careful with the gun, okay? All I need is for you to shoot yourself." He chuckled, picking his keys up from the table.
"I have it on lock." She said, pulling it out from the back of her pants and laying it on her bedside table.
"You'll probably be asleep before I get back," Jon whispered as he pulled a can of drink from the refrigerator, "Good night."
"Night, Jon." She smiled weakly as she watched him walk to the door.

She didn't want him to leave, she felt oddly safe around Jon. He was nothing more than a complete stranger to her honestly; she knew nothing other than the fact that his name was Jon and he lived in an apartment that he let her stay in. She crawled into bed and pressed play on the stereo, Bob Marley's soothing music filling the dimly lit room and she was soon in dream land.

Jon shoved his hands deep down in his pockets as he watched people walk by. Old addicts, scags, and prostitutes.

"Hey big boy, mind if I take a ride?" One of the trashy looking older ladies winked at him as she walked past.
"Yeah, ride right on down the road." Jon rolled his eyes as he looked away from her.
"Oh, c'mon baby." She pooched her pathetic excuse of an ass out and smiled toothlessly up at him.
"Yeah, no thanks." He said, taking a few steps back.

She huffed and kept walking, leaving a trail of stink behind her. Jon hated when girls done that, he hated when they just threw themselves at him. He knew he was a good looking guy but he still liked a challenge with girls, even the prostitutes. He heard a loud crashing sound, the sound of glass breaking. He took off running; he was scared that it was Lily. The sirens blared and he soon came in contact with the police. Thankfully, someone had broken into a store.
His shift soon ended and he turned the money he made in to the guy he worked for, Tyson. In return, he got his nightly paycheck. He couldn't complain, the pay was decent for being so risky.

He walked home quickly; the Cincinnati's cold air was no match for his holy jacket tonight. He heard a faint rumbling in the distance, it was starting to rain. He picked up his pace and quickly made it to his apartment building but not before it started down-pouring. He closed the apartment door softly to be sure not to disturb the sleeping girl just a couple feet away. He locked the door and pulled his shirt off as he walked down the hallway to the bedroom. He heard sobs coming from Lily's room. He pressed his ear to her door; she was talking to someone on the phone.

"You haven't heard from her at all?...No, no Grandma. I'm fine, I'm living with..um..a friend. His name is Jon," She said, "No, no. He's not my boyfriend; he's just someone that got me off the streets. Grandma, you don't have to send me money I'm looking for a job to help him with rent and all. Yes Grandma, he's a very nice man. He's seventeen…His mom was sick too…yeah…No, I don't think it's anything like that. Sure Grandma, I'll bring him over some day….Yes, I am sleeping in a nice warm bed…I love you too, Grandma. Goodnight."

He heard her breakdown into another sob fit, it tore his insides up. He wanted her to be happy. Lily deserved it. He knocked softly and heard her gasp.

"It's me, Lily." He said softly.
"Come in." She sniffled.

He walked in her room and his heart broke as her tear streaked face came into view. He didn't know anything about this young woman, but he knew that she was beyond depressed and she was hurting emotionally.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" He asked as he sat down beside of her on the bed.
"You've done enough as it is, Jon." She smiled weakly up at him.

He felt her jump as another crack of thunder rolled through the apartment and looked over at her. She was petrified of storms. He frowned as he scratched his head. He remembered his smaller cousin being scared of storms and the only way he could ever get her calmed down was to cuddle with her, to wrap her smaller body in his arms as the storm raged on. He hoped he wouldn't freak her out too bad as he laid down behind her on the bed and draped his muscled arm over her waist. She tensed up away from him at first but after she realized he wasn't going to try and make any moves on her, she moved closer to him.
The storm raged on outside, blowing the wind harshly up against the side of the building. Lily felt safe tonight, safer than she ever had. He rubbed her head slowly.

"I don't think either one of us will be going to sleep until after this storm is over," He said, "So..Maybe we should take this time to get to know each other a little more? What do you say, 21 questions?"
"I haven't played 21 questions in forever." She laughed, "But sure. You first."
"Hmmm…" He trailed off, "When's your birthday?"
"April 14th." She whispered, "What's your favorite color?"
"I like blue." He said, "Favorite animal?"
"Turtles and panda's." She smiled, "Favorite food?"
"That's hard," He chuckled, "Umm..Pizza. Yours?"
"Mac N Cheese." She laughed, "We're nutritious people. Favorite song?"
"Ohh, another hard one. Umm…Probably Crystal Method's songs in general." He said, "I like a lot though. What's your favorite band?"
"What genre?" She asked.
"Rock, I guess." He whispered.
"I like L7 and Nirvana the most, then sublime…it's a never ending list." She laughed.

They laid there and talked, getting to know each other on a more personal level. Jon knew she was getting sleepy; he was sleepy himself as he fought to keep his eyes open. The storm raged on outside, but she was a little relaxed. She was beyond thankful for Jon.

"I'm tired," She yawned, "But hungry at the same time."
"We've got Mac N Cheese." He chuckled.
"Sold!" She laughed, jumping up from the bed.

They sat in the kitchen as they ate, they were both quiet. It made Jon's mind wander to what she was thinking, he wanted to know what was on her mind. He found her mysterious; she was a puzzle still to him.

"My grandma wants to meet you." She said, putting her plate into the sink.
"Oh really?" He asked, looking down at her.
"Yeah, she was put into a nursing home a couple years ago."
"Where's the nursing home?" He asked.
"Just a couple blocks away." She said, "She's..she's not been doing too good lately. She's worried about me."
"I think a lot of people are worried about you, more than you know." Jon said.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"You feel all alone, you feel lost..you're feeling all these things towards yourself. I've been there before. You just have to know that you aren't alone; you're just a little confused. There are people that care for you, people who love you. You just have to let them love you, okay?"
"I know," She shrugged, "It just doesn't really feel like it. Sometimes..I…nevermind."
"Tell me." He said.
"This might sound childish," She shook her head, "But sometimes all it takes is a hug."
"That's not childish," He shook his head.

The two ended up on the couch together watching a movie before falling asleep for the night.