"Punch me."

"What?"

"I want to see how strong you are, punch me." Katie swung her fist and nailed Travis in the stomach as hard as she could. He doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach.

"Damn, you have a hard stomach," Katie commented shaking her hand out.

"I work out," he smirked standing back up to rub his stomach. "You punch hard."

"Ooh mister high and mighty can't take a wittle punch? How sad," she teased.

"Oh really?" he asked advancing on her.

"Yea. Under all of that playboy persona, and acting like you're strong, you really are just a weak little gi-AH!" She didn't get to finish, because Travis threw her over his shoulder and ran around in circles to make her dizzy.

"Stoll. Put. Me. Down."

"Your with is my command." He dropped her onto the mats and flipped her over to pin her to the floor. She was struggling to get out of his grip but it wasn't working. He was too strong.

"Get off of me!"

"Do you really think someone trying to kill you would just 'get off'? Hell no. You'd be dead. Try and throw me off," he said, tightening his grip on her wrists. The smell of blackberry vanilla welcomely invaded his senses while he was watching the girl struggle with her eyes closed. Next thing he knows, he is on his back with Katie pinning him to the floor with her arm pressing into his throat with a cocky smile.

"You know Gardner, I kind of like this position," he winked. She responded by pressing her arm into his throat a bit harder, making it hard for him to breathe, nevertheless speak.

"Mercy," croaked Travis and Katie got off of him and helped him to his feet.

"How the hell did you flip me over?"

"I was a black belt."

"You could have mentioned that."

"But what fun would that have been?" she asked cheekily.

"Fine, then. Let's spar a bit. Let's see what the great Jordyn Mancini has got up her sleeve,"

Katie kicked her foot up to his knee, trying to make him fall, when a pair of strong arms caught her foot an inch away from his shin in a vice-like grip. He turned her leg so she wasn't facing him, clearly giving him the upper hand. He started walking backwards, so she would have to hop backwards, just to mess with her. Katie made herself fall, bringing Travis with her. She kicked him in the stomach and scrambled away, but Travis got a hold of her again, causing her to fall with a groan. Travis got her throat from behind, and made sure she couldn't move at all.

"I win," Travis whispered into her ear.

"Great. Get off of me," Katie growled.

"And you call yourself a black-belt," he drawled and let her go.

"Called. As in 'the past'. Can we do something else, like go outside?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you don't know anything about yourself."

"My name is Katie Gardner, I was born on May 21st 1987, making me twenty three years old, I own a gardening shop, my natural hair color is dirty blonde, like it is now. I am 115 pounds. My best friend is Percy. My favorite color is yellow, and my favorite food is Italian."

"You are way off."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Your name is Jordyn Mancini. You were born August 12th 1987, making you almost twenty three, you work in real estate, your natural hair color is black, but you dyed it. You are 115 pounds. You're best friends are me, Connor, and Annabeth. You are staying with us because you are going through a bad breakup, which isn't exactly a lie. Your favorite color can still be yellow and favorite food Italian."

"Fine, I don't know myself. So what?" she asked walking up the basement stairs to get some water.

"So, if you don't know anything about yourself, how can you think you can go out in public?" Travis poured himself a glass of water too, and took a long gulp and looked at her. She looked drained. Physically or emotionally he couldn't tell.

"Okay, so I guess your job is to tell me who I am. And my job is to be her," she said.

Travis opened his mouth to say something crude, but decided against it, saying instead, "How about I order us some pizza?" She smiled at him.

"Thanks. I'd like that."

"No problem. Why don't you go watch some TV for a while." She nodded and walked to the living room, vaguely remembering where it was.

"Left turn," Travis said when she turned the wrong way. He picked up the phone and called for pizza. Something about her made Travis smile while he was ordering the pizza. Most of the time, people would realize that they really are leaving, and they would start bawling, leaving Travis to comfort them. He liked that she was strong about it, especially when that Lenard douche dumped her. She just kept her head high and adjusted rather quickly. She accepted the fact that she's in the program, and though she slightly resents it, she has to be with Travis for a long time. He also noticed that she hasn't lashed out at him, like most would, especially because he kept hitting on her during a grieving time. All she did was shoot back a witty comment at him, and glare—sometimes smile— like she was an old friend.

"Stoll where is the damn remote?" she yelled after he hung up the phone. He chuckled and walked to the living room. Katie was sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table.

"Maybe if you would get your ass up you'd find it."

"You ruined my life." He sighed dramatically and looked for the remote. After he found it he turned on the television and threw the remote at her.

"Thank you! When's the pizza coming? I'm starved," she asked.

"I really don't like you."

"The feeling is mutual, hun."

"I have to say, of all the people I ever babysat, you are by far the most entertaining."

"You are not babysitting me!" She exclaimed defensively.

"I believe I am."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are not," he said, attempting to trick her.

"Are too." And it worked.

"Gotcha," he smiled.

"You suck, Stoll."

"I have a first name. It's Travis."

"Whatever. Now shut up, 'Divorce Court' is on."

"You actually watch this show?" he asked sitting down on the couch next to her.

"Yes! These people are crazy!"

"I hate this show."

"Why?"

"Come on, do you see these people? At one time they were in love. Now look at them, suing each other because they are mad and heart-broken. I don't know, I just like happy endings. You know like a happily ever after. That woman right there," he said, pointing to the woman ranting on the screen, "once walked down the aisle wearing a white wedding gown, looking more beautiful than she ever did, getting ready to get her happily ever after with that man there. All he could think about was that girl he was supposedly supposed to spend his life with, and he just couldn't keep the smile off of his face. I don't think that this is what they had in mind." She looked at him, surprised that he could be so deep.

"Hmm, I never thought of it that way. But really, how do you believe in happily ever after?"

"I'd like to think that everyone has a person they are going to be with forever, someone that will always be there no matter what, someone who you could love with all your heart. Waking up to the same face every morning seems... nice. To fall in love with someone more and more every day. Knowing what it feels like to love someone so much that you'd do anything for them is priceless. Not everyone gets it, but I'd like to think they do. I want to feel it happen to me. You know what I mean?"

"Honestly?" she asked and he nodded. "No. I don't believe in happily ever after. I believe in 'shit happens'," she said simply. Travis looked like he was going to ask why, but the doorbell rang and he got up to answer.

"Hey, you ordered two medium pizza's?"

"Yep. How much?"

"Twenty bucks."

"Here you are, thanks," he said giving him the money. Katie met him in the kitchen and he threw open the top of one of the boxes, inhaling the pleasant aroma the pizza emanated.

"So do you want to elaborate?" Travis asked when they got situated with some food at the high chairs.

"On?"

"On why you only believe in 'shit happens'."

"Okay, let's start off from yesterday, if you don't recall, my ex just dumped me because I was admitted into the Witness Protection Program, but he doesn't know that. Yeah, shit happens."

"No, the real reason. That may be a contribution, but I want the actual reason you don't believe in a happily ever after."

"Because," she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She really didn't want to say. It is just one of those things you keep to yourself. The only person who knew why was Percy, only because he was there through it. "My mom, she left, I don't even know when. I was really, really young.

"Anyway, my dad completely blamed and probably still blames me. Then he married this tramp with three kids: two girls and a boy. They were all older than me, except for one of the sisters. Janine, that's her name. They all resented me. I don't know what I did. While they all grew up with my dad and Melinda, my step-mom, I was the outcast, simply because I wasn't Melinda's kid. You know how kids usually have birthday parties? I was locked in my room. Thank god for Percy. When it was my tenth birthday, Percy climbed up to my window and took me to his house, and we had a 'party'. Honestly I just hung out with him, my friend Nico, and closest thing to a parent I have is his mom, Sally. She's the sweetest thing ever. I'm getting off topic...

"Well, I guess you could describe my life as the definition of 'shit happens' basically. It sucked. And it's all because my mom left. One day she was marrying my dad, next she left and ruined my life. I don't even know what she looks like. So, I am sorry that I don't believe in a happy ending. I didn't even have a happy beginning."

Travis was trying to come up with some words, any words at all. He looked around, as though the right words to say were written on the wooden cabinets or on the marble floor, or on the granite counters, or even on the food that suddenly didn't look so appetizing anymore. He noticed that there were no right words to say. How could he possibly show empathy with something as simple as words?

"I'm sorry," he told her what felt like a lifetime later.

"Yeah, me too." And then Travis noticed that there was much more to this girl than what she shows. He could see now that there are walls, walls that needed to be broken, and he decided that he was going to break them.