Chapter 7

When I wake up Brittany is still curled into me. Except she's not spooning me like she was when we went to sleep last night. I'm laying on my side facing her. Brittany's arm hangs limply over my waist. Her head is under my chin, every time she breathes little puffs of air hit my neck skin. My hands are tucked between our bodies, between her chest and mine.

She is amazingly beautiful when she sleeps. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone look both adorable and breathtakingly beautiful while they sleep. But, Brittany is all that and so much more.

I lift my hand to stroke my fingers over her cheek. My cheek, of course, hurts like a bitch today. I obviously haven't seen myself in a mirror, but I can see the swollen skin under my left eye when I look down. I can't open my eye all the way either. I bet I have a pretty awesome shiner.

I pull myself away from Brittany so I can see her face when she awakes. As my fingers stroke over Brittany's skin her eyes flutter and then open slowly. She looks at me for a few seconds before a smile graces her face.

"Good morning." I whisper. My fingers stroke over her cheek again and again.

Brittany licks her lips. "Morning. You have a pretty nasty black eye." She bites at her lip now.

"I figured. Does it make me look tough?" I try to smile, but it hurts too much.

Brittany sees it on my face. "Try not to smile. But, yeah, you look very tough, babe."

Brittany used that word a few times now. I don't know how I feel about it. Don't people usually use words like babe and baby and honey once they're been together a long time and are very familiar with each other. I don't know exactly what Brittany feels, but the use of the word makes me think that she has or is developing serious feelings for me.

"Okay. I think I'm gonna need that Tylenol. My face really hurts."

Brittany nods. "I get it for you. Will you meet me downstairs? I have to start breakfast."

"Yeah." I nod.

"Good." Brittany leans in and gently presses a kiss to my lips. "Meet you down there." She gets up without changing out of her pajamas and leaves the room.

I roll over onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. I've gotten myself into a real mess here. I'm almost one hundred percent positive Brittany has serious feelings for me, like love feelings. And I know that I am having some feelings for her. But, that's as Santana not Eva.

I'm also starting to think this whole undercover operation was a bad idea. Maybe not a bad idea, but like I want to quit it before anything else develops between Brittany and I. I know that deep in my heart I'm in too deep already. I don't know how this is all gonna play out in the end, but now all I'm hoping for is something good. The last thing I want to do right now is break that sweet girl's heart.

With a heavy sigh I heave myself out of bed and head downstairs.


It's weird wearing Brittany's clothes outside the drug house. It's even weirder being outside the drug house with Brittany.

After breakfast Brittany informed me that we were going shopping. I looked at her funny, but she insisted. She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. Brittany spoke on the phone with someone. When she hung up she told me Fitz would be here in an hour.

Brittany got me a towel and a fresh shirt from her dresser and rushed me into the bathroom to take a shower. I showered and put her shirt on. When I was done in the bathroom Brittany showered and changed.

It's weird. I look down at the red shirt with yellow dots that I am wearing underneath my leather jacket. This shirt is definitely something I could see Brittany wearing, but not so much myself. She even offered me pants but I told her that I could just were my jeans from yesterday.

She's sitting next to me in the back seat of a very expensive looking towncar. Which is also weird. She said she hardly ever goes out so I guess I'm lucky to be going on this outing with her. But, I feel like I'm being babysat. Fitz is driving the car. He showed up almost exactly one hour after Brittany got off the phone. He escorted us the to car that was parked along the side of the road out in front of the house. But, not before Brittany got some money from Danny.

All I got from Danny was a threatening look.

I haven't said anything to Brittany during the whole ride. I don't want Fitz to overhear anything. I don't like him. Something about the boy rubs me the wrong way. I call him a boy because he can't be twenty one years old yet. He's so smug and full of himself. Makes me want to puke on his expensive shoes. He looks in the rear view mirror at us every once and a while. It's juvenile but I want to stick my tongue out at him every time I catch him looking.

Thankfully, the drive to our first destination didn't take too long. About twenty minutes. Fitz parks the car in the parking lot of a strip mall. It's parked away from all the rest of the cars. The expensive car looks completely out of place in a mall parking lot.

"What are we doing here?" I turn to Brittany and ask as soon as Fitz gets out.

She doesn't have time to answer cuz he opens her door. Brittany points to her left eye and winks.

"Oh." I breath.

I follow Brittany out of the car and we both follow Fitz into the strip mall. Brittany takes the lead once we are inside. It seems like she knows her way around, so I just let her go wherever is it she wants to go. Fitz tags along behind us.

The first stop is in a little beauty store. Brittany steps inside. "I'll wait here." Fitz's voice rings in my ears. I even can't stand his voice.

"Okay." Brittany says without so much as a look in his direction. I get a feeling she isn't a big fan of his either.

We step further into the store. "Thank god. I can't stand that little prick. With his greasy hair, expensive suit, and slimy smile." Brittany chuckles at my words as she looks over the cover up. "What's his deal?"

Brittany glances in my direction. I'm standing right next to her. "Whaddaya mean?"

I shrug. "How did he get the honor of being your personal chauffer? And why does he wear those suits? He looks like such a jackass." My fingers dance over the little bottles on the counter in front of me as I await an answer.

"Hmm." Brittany holds up a bottle to my face. "He needed a job and that was the only position that Danny trusted him in."

"Why did he need a job?" I ask curiously.

Brittany turns to me again, holding up another bottle. "I think this one will do." She wiggles the little bottle of concealer in front of my face. "And about Fitz, his mommy and daddy work for Danny. On the money end of things. Fitz's parents get a, lets say, healthy paycheck from Danny. Thus, Fitzy boy has a healthy amount of money. He doesn't buy those suits with his own money." Brittany clicks her tongue and raise her eyebrows after she finishes. "But-" She points a very non-threatening finger at me. "-you didn't hear that from me."

I play along. I pinch my fingers together and move them across my lips in a fluid motion. "My lips are sealed."

"Good. Now let's purchase this so that your face looks a little less ugly."

"Hey!" I shout.

Brittany laughs as she walks over to the cash register. When I catch up to her she is at the counter. She pays and we start to walk out. Brittany takes my hand in hers and leans into my side. "You could never look ugly." She whispers in my ear and seals it with a kiss.

My cheeks flush. How she makes me feel like a giddy schoolchild with my first crush I will never know.

"Let's get you all fixed up." Brittany says. She doesn't let go of my hand as we exit the store. Fitz is there leaning against the wall looking incredibly bored. He probably is and I don't feel bad about it. He sees our intertwined hands and shoots me a dirty look before his eyes turn to Brittany. He opens his mouth to say something, but Brittany cuts him off. "We're going to the restrooms." Brittany says. Fitz rolls his eyes, but nods his head.

Fitz follows us all the way to the door of the ladies bathroom. "God, that little fuck is annoying. He's like a lost puppy dog just following us around."

"That's his job. However menial it might be." Brittany quips. I chuckle a little. "Now hold still."

"Britt, I can do this myself." I protest. I love Brittany taking care of me, but I'm not helpless.

"Let me." She kisses me and that ends any and all arguments.

After Brittany put the make up on my black eye, it only looked slightly better, you can still see that it's covering something up. After we left the bathroom we walked around the mall of for a while. Going in some stores and passing up others completely. Brittany seemed to get bored after about an hour and we left.

Brittany has a list and a pen out as we walk up and down all the isles of the grocery store. Fitz walks behind us. Can't he stay in the car or something? How annoying.

Brittany made me in charge of driving the shopping cart. She told me it was a very serious job and that she didn't let just anyone do it. Fitz has never steered the cart, but Brittany said she trusted me to drive today.

"You want anything special?" Brittany asks out of nowhere.

I look around. "Me." I point at my chest with my index finger.

"Yeah you, silly." Brittany chuckles. "Who else?"

I slump against the shopping cart. "I dunno. Fitz?"

Brittany eyes shift behind me to where Fitz stands and she starts shaking her head subtly. "No." He's been yakking on the phone, I doubt he heard me say his name.

"Oh." I scrunch my nose up.

"Sooooo?" Brittany lingers at the front of the shopping cart. She leans over it and puts her hands on the sides. "Do you want anything special?" Brittany emphasizes the final word.

A chill runs down my back. "N-no." I stutter.

"Fine. Suit yourself." She spins on her heals and walks away from the shopping cart and me. "But-" She stops and pulls some canned vegetable off of a shelf. Brittany brings them over to the cart and sets the inside. "-don't forget I gave you the option." She turns around again and walks down the rest of the aisle. I follow after her aimlessly wondering what she means.

The grocery store ends up being a maze of aisle after aisle. Brittany picks and pulls items off of shelves. She fills the cart with everything you need in a kitchen. I've had a few of her meals and they were all good. But, I'm guessing she has a great range. She probably doesn't make too complicated of dishes because I can't see her spending hours cooking, but Brittany is probably a great cook. Simply, easy, hearty dishes. Meat and potatoes kind of stuff. The things she probably grew up with. I just get that sorta feeling.

"Last chance. Are you sure you don't want anything?" We are in the bakery and Brittany is looking over all of her options. "Whatever you want?" Brittany looks over and makes eye contact with me, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Uh-" I try to think of something, anything. I look over the display case that has every pastry and dessert inside. Brownies, cookies, donuts, all sorts of yummy bakery treats. "-how about that." I point to one of the items in the case.

Brittany smiles proudly. "Good decision." She licks her lips. Brittany hails the bakery attendant over.

"What can I do for you today?" The attendant asks.

"Yes. I would like three raspberry filled donuts and those." She points to the item that I pointed out. "Please." Brittany adds with a cheesy smile.

The attendant boxes up the three donuts. "There's the donuts. How many brownies did you want?" The attendant man asks Brittany.

Brittany directs her eyes to me. I shrug. It's not my decision. "I don't know half a dozen." I tell her.

She turns back to the bakery guy to relay the message. "We'll have a dozen."

"Okay." The man says and starts boxing them up.

Brittany turns to me with a smartass smile. I roll my eyes. "Why'd ya do that?" I ask.

She shrugs. "I didn't think six would be enough."

I want to ask her for what, but the attendant gets her attention by handing her the box of delicious looking caramel covered brownies. Brittany takes the box, puts it in the cart, and walks away.

We proceed to the check out with Fitz following along behind us. He purchases a soda from the little machine and goes out to the car. Brittany and I handled the bags into the trunk before shuffling into the back seat.

Fitz drives us back to the house and parks in the driveway. The little asshole doesn't even bother asking if we need or want help carrying the groceries inside. "Fuckin' useless bastard." I mumble under my breath. Fitz walks arrogantly into the house.

"He's not worth it." Brittany must have heard me. She lifts two bags from the trunk and walks towards the house. The garage door opens as she walks over. I follow Brittany with my two bags into the garage then into the house.

When I step into the meeting room it's filled with smoke, and dark as usual. But, it's also full of bodies. People are milling about the room. There's music playing. It's too loud to hear anything. I follow Brittany through the room into the kitchen.

"What was that?" I ask as the door shuts and seals the kitchen from all the noise.

"A party." Brittany shrugs. "It's fairly common occurrence. Let's go get the rest."

I put my bags down on the table and follow Brittany back into the other room. There are people everywhere. Some sitting, some standing, some on the laying on the floor. There is a hint of alcohol in the air along with the smoke. Partiers have drinks in their hands. Some are smoking pot. I'm guessing everyone in this room is either high on something or drunk. It looks like a big fucking mess to me.

Where did all of these people coming from? And is Danny here? Brittany and I weren't gone that long. A few hours. Three maybe. None of this was here when we left. I would have no idea if I didn't come in this room that there was a party going on. You can't tell from outside the house. How did all of these people get there? Don't they have cars? Did they walk?

"Are you coming?" Brittany's voice has me looking away from the 'festivities' going on in the room.

"Yeah. Sorry." I snap out of my thoughts and return to the tasks at hand.

Brittany and I are putting the groceries away in the kitchen. The beat of the bass vibrates through the floor. "Do you want to join the party? After we are done you can." Brittany says. She is unloading items into the refrigerator.

"Do you?" I counter. She shakes her head. "Then neither do I."

Brittany whips around to face me. Her eyes are a little wide, her face surprised. "Really?" It's my turn to nod. "Sweet." She pumps her fist in the air.

I giggle at her reaction. I would rather spend time with Brittany than go to that party or whatever it is. Heck, I would rather leave the house than got to the party.

We are almost done with the groceries, there are just a few more things to put away. Brittany showed me where most of the food goes and it goes by fast. That is until I come across the donuts and brownies. "What about these?" I ask and hold the two items up, one in each hand.

Brittany looks over. That devilish smirk is back. "Put the donuts on the counter by the microwave and hold onto the brownies. I'm gonna need those in a few minutes." I quirk an eyebrow at her, but Brittany ignores it and finishes up with her last bag of groceries. I put the donuts on the counter like she said and stand there holding the box of caramel brownies. "You like milk, right?"

"Y-yeah." I wrinkle my face up. What does milk have to do with anything?

"Good." Brittany reaches into a cupboard above the sink and gets down two tall glasses. She takes the jug of white milk out of the fridge and fills both glasses to the top. "Follow me." She takes a glass in each hand.

I'm about to ask about the brownies in my hands. "Bring them with." Brittany says as if she can read my mind.

I follow Brittany up the stairs and into her room. She sets the two glasses of milk down on the dresser. She pulls her jacket off to reveal the unicorn shirt that she is wearing. It's really a regular horse, but the horse thinks it's a unicorn and has a rainbow colored cone strapped to it's head. It's a cute shirt.

"You and your brownies sit down and get comfortable." Brittany smirks at me. "I'll be right back." She skips passed me out of the room.

I go over and sit on the bed and set the brownies down on top of the blankets and wait. I don't have to wait long because Brittany comes strolling back in like she owns the place a couple minutes later. I have no idea where she went or what she did. She looks the same as when she left. Nothing seems different about her.

Brittany grabs the two glasses of milk and sits on the bed next to me. We both have our backs to the headboard. "Don't spill on my blankets. I don't want to have to change them." She hands me a glass of milk. "I thought we could have a picnic in the yard, but then thought it was too cold and a bad idea. Then I thought we could have a snack, inside. That's why I wanted you to get something special at the grocery store."

"Oh. That's- nice." I say dumbly. Brittany giggles. God, I'm so awkward. "This was a good idea, Britt." I try to sound a little more confident and less like a flustered teen.

Brittany opens the box of caramel brownies, takes one out, and hands it to me. "I should have brought napkins." She comments while taking out a brownie for herself. "Oh, I know." She singsongs. Brittany hops off the bed, brownie in hand. She goes over to the stand that the tv sits on and opens one of the double doors on the front. To my surprise, she pulls out a roll of paper towel. Brittany hops back over to the bed and sits next to me.

"What are those doing in your room?" I ask between bites of my brownie.

Brittany shrugs. "Don't remember." Brittany finds the tv remote and flicks the tv on.

The volume is low while Brittany changes the channel again and again looking for something to watch. She probably goes through fifty channels before she finally picks something. I finish my brownie before she does. We watch the show for a while until it goes to commercial.

"Want another?" Brittany breaks our conversation silence.

I do want another, but I shouldn't have another. They were so great though. Possibly the best brownie I've ever had. The caramel on top only made it that much better. I had one already, I shouldn't have another.

"Sure." The word slips out of my mouth without me knowing.

"Okay." I watch Brittany as she picks another brownie out of the box and hands it to me. As soon as I have the brownie Brittany sticks her fingers into her mouth and starts to slowly lick them clean. I forget about the brownie in favor of watching her. She slowly stick one finger on her right hand in her mouth at a time, before sucking on it, then releasing it, and taking another between her lips.

I may or may not have let out a soft moan at the sight.

Brittany finally picks up a brownie of her own and takes a bite out of it. I reluctantly turn back to the program on the television.

"How often are there parties downstairs?" The music thumping through the floor is hard to ignore. As far as I can tell Brittany's room isn't above the meeting room, but you can still hear the party going on from where we are.

"A couple times a month. Danny lets some of his best dealers throw a party. It's a win-win for him. It boosts his business and has junkies coming back for more. The only problem is that I have to clean up the next day."

"That sucks." I can't imagine that would be any fun. Cleaning up other peoples messes is never fun.

"Yeah."

"So, why didn't you want to partake? I kinda got the impression that you don't want to be around that." I finish my second delicious brownie and turn my full attention to the wonderful girl next to me.

"I don't like drugs." Brittany takes a drink of her milk. "I don't do any drugs. Occasionally, I'll have beer or wine, but I don't drink hard liquor. I don't know. I guess I don't understand it. Kinda hypocritical of me, right?"

"Not necessarily." I think about it. "I mean- why do you stay around them then?"

"I don't know. I think it's like I said before, I don't know anything else. This is all I've known for the last seven years." Brittany shrugs, looks away from me, and drinks the remainder of her glass of milk.

I move the box of brownies and our milk glasses to the floor. Brittany raises an eyebrow at my actions. "Come here." I open my arms. Brittany questions me with her eyes. I nod for her to move closer to me. Brittany moves over and snuggles into my right side. I wrap my arms around her back. She rest her head on my chest just under my chin. I start rubbing my hands up and down her back and press my lips to the top of her head. Brittany sighs contently when my fingers come up and start running though her hair.

My feelings for her are starting to scare me. She does things to me that I've never felt before. She makes my heart beat harder than it's ever beat with anyone else. She gives me butterflies sometimes and other times she turns me on with just a look of her eyes. She's amazing and I'm starting to realize just how much.

Brittany doesn't deserve to be here. She doesn't deserve this life. She deserves a better life. A more fulfilling life. A more exciting life. Brittany should be able to do whatever she wants, go wherever she wants, whenever she wants. She deserves more. I want that for her. A part of me wants to give that to her.


The phone rings once, twice, three times. "Answer the phone you little twat." I mumble under my breath. The call goes to voicemail after the fifth ring.

I hang up the phone and walk away from the payphone booth. I look around cautiously, then start walking down the street. I really need to talk to Puck today. This is the first time I've had a real chance to call Puckerman since I got the info about Rory and Danny from Brittany. She supplied me with just what I needed.

I walk three blocks west and then four blocks north before I start searching for another payphone. It's another three blocks before I finally spot one. The thing looks like it's barely standing. It's Plexiglas is cracked. There's graffiti all over the box part. And it looks older than shit. When I step inside, I see it's dirty too. Gum is stuck to every surface except, thankfully, the phone itself. I'm just praying right now that the damn thing works.

I dial Puckerman's desk phone again and pray that he answers this time. I don't need to spend my whole day walking around New York City trying to get a hold of the man. It starts ringing. One Ring. Two Rings. Three.

"Hello, this is Detective Noah Puckerman, how can I help you?"

"Hey, Puck." I laugh into the phone. It's funny hearing him answer the phone like that.

"Why are you laughing?" Puck asks hesitantly.

"How's it going man? How you been? Miss me?" I ask instead. Now that I've reached him I feel better, good, great even.

"Answer my question first, then I'll answer yours." He says seriously.

"You're no fun. I was laughing cuz you sound stupid answering the phone. Now you answer my questions." I demand.

"Okay, but first, why are you in such a good mood?"

"Let's just say I've had a good few days." I grin into the phone. Minus the black eye, it's been great recently.

"O-kay." Puck says skeptically. "I've been good too. Mostly working. Went out with the guys from the department last night. We had fun, but we missed you." Puck admits.

"Aww. Puck missed his favorite wingman." I'm the one who always gets the ladies for him. "But, enough chit-chat. I'm in such a good mood because I have some very interest news for you. Well- that's part of the reason I'm in a good mood."

"Geez, with the way you are talking I'd think you're getting laid."

I make sure to reply quickly. "Don't be ridiculous, Puckerman. I'm undercover." What he doesn't know won't hurt him.

"Okay, so what's this news?"

"I got some information. Like real information that I think will really help us out." I pause to think of what I should start with first.

"Well, lay it on me sweetheart."

"First of all, yuck. Second, you ready for this. Get your pen and paper out. You might wanna write this shit down cuz it's that good."

"S-Eva, just tell me." Puck groans. Okay, so I guess he's not as amused as I am.

"So, I was talking with Brittany. She seems to know everything. She's like a actual, real life, fly on the wall in this place. Anyway, we were talking and I eventually asked her about that Rory guy, the Irish one. She told me how Rory and Danny are connected. You're not gonna believe this. Are you writing this down?"

"You haven't actually told me anything yet." Puck grumbles over the line. "Spit it out."

"Fine. Chill your panties. This Irish guy came to the United States when he was sixteen, I guess. I don't know if that's really that important or not, but whatever. He works for Danny, but only sometimes. He has a very specific job to do for him though. And Rory rarely comes around. He isn't a dealer. He doesn't sell drugs. His role is so much more serious than that."

I stop, look at my surrounding, lick my lips, and start again.

"Rory's is part of the Irish mafia. I didn't know the mafia still existed. I mean I know it still exists, but I don't think it was so- organized. So, this Irish kid came here at sixteen and joined the mafia. Are you still there?" Puck hasn't said anything about Rory yet.

"Yeah, I'm still here. I'm writing this down like you requested. One question though. I still don't understand what Rory's connection is with Danny?"

"I was just getting to that." I swallow and drop the volume of my voice. "Rory is a hitman. Danny hired him as a hitman. Brittany said that she heard the two of them talking about having someone murdered. She said that she heard them talking before and after the hit. She didn't know if there were more murders or not, but she knew for sure about one. It was over something stupid too. The guy that got whacked was selling Danny's drug, but keeping the money. When he didn't pay Danny back, Danny had him killed. That's some crazy shit. I'm never crossing that man."

"Good idea." Puck starts out with. I can almost hear him thinking through the phone. "This is definitely good info. I can say with almost certainty that we can nail Danny now. Hopefully, this Rory kid too."

"That's good. I'm getting sick of this shit. It's stressful."

"I'm sure it is. With this new information we can at the very least bring Danny in. We have him on drug charges. With this I can get a warrant for his arrest and search warrants for the house. Do you know where he keeps his stash?"

Shit. That's a good question. "No. I don't actually. I'm only allowed in some parts of the house. He's gotta have it in a room I've never been in, cuz I haven't even seen it."

"That's alright. That's the point of the search warrant. We'll find it. I'm gonna do my research on our boy Rory, but this is very good. Do you know when they will both be at the house?"

"No. Rory doesn't come around often."

"Okay. If you find out when both of them will be there at the same time call and let me know right away. If we can get them together in the same place it will be easier to take them into custody."

"Got it. I'll call as soon as I know anything. Talk to ya later." With that I hang up the payphone. I look around to make sure no one is watching. It's clear. I stuff my hands in my leather jacket pockets and walk away briskly.


I knock three times on the front door. The slot opens, eyes spy me, the slot closes, the door opens. Karofsky stands there holding the door for me. "Good afternoon." I nod my head at him. He nods back, but like usual doesn't say anything. I step past him and start down the hall. The secret door is no match for me anymore. I push it open with practiced motions. It seems like just yesterday that Karofsky showed me how to open it, but it's been a few weeks now.

The meeting room has a handful of occupants in it. I go to shut the door, but Karofsky is standing in the way. I didn't realize he had followed me. I'll let Karofsky handle the door. It looks like Danny is having a meeting with this group of people. Brittany is sitting up there next to him. I smile and wave at her when I see her. She smiles back. I take a seat at the back of the room and wait for Danny to finish.

After another boring morning of watching tv at my studio apartment it feels good to be back in this house. It's weird, I know. I would spend more time here if I could, but I can't be here all the time. I need to 'keep up appearances'.

I listen as Danny talks about a 'mission' for this group of people sitting before him. I see Danny glance over at me a few times, but he keeps on task and keeps talking.

Several minutes pass. The group disperses and Danny summons me to the front of the room, closer to him.

"I have your money." I dig my hand into my jacket pocket and pull out the cash for Danny. He takes it and starts counting. "You seem busy today." I decide to make small talk while I wait. My eyes shift to Brittany and she's smiling at me like a fool.

"Yeah. I've got many little operations going on at once. I called that group in to make sure everything was under control. I don't need anyone screwing up and getting this whole crew in over their heads. Things need to go the way that I write them up, otherwise it doesn't work. It's like a well oiled machine. All the individual parts have to be working smoothly or the whole thing will break the fuck down." Danny says his speech as he counts the money. He sections off a chuck for me. He holds it out towards me. I reach out to take it from him, but he pulls it back. My eyes finds his with a questioning glare. "Before I give you this I want a report on everything that you've been doing for me."

"Okay." I lick my lips nervously. "I've been selling coke to my friends. That's been my main priority so far. In the past week or so I've gone out with Sugar and learned from her through her sells. And I've gone with Sam too. I've actually learned a lot from him. Sam and Sugar have different methods of sales, but they both seems to do well for themselves. I hope to take what I've learned from both of them and apply it to my future sales. I know you want me to be more involved and sell more and I feel like I'm close to being ready to do that." The words that come from my mouth are pure bullshit. Part of me is satisfied that I can con this man so easily.

"Very good. I'm seeing some progress and confidence in you, Eva. It's very promising. If you continue on this path you will be challenging Sugar and Sam for the top sales spot in no time." Danny holds the money out to me again. This time when I reach for it he doesn't pull it away. "I'll have Karofsky bring you your stuff. Hang tight. I have to use the pisser. I'll see you later." Danny turns to Brittany. "You too. Later."

Brittany nods. "Bye." She adds quietly.

Danny stands from his throne chair with a grunt. He slowly walks out of the room. I sigh as soon as Danny is gone. He makes me tense whenever I'm around him.

"How are you?" Brittany asks quietly.

My eyes shift from the door where Danny left over to Brittany. She sitting relaxed in her chair with a soft smile on her face. "Good. How are you?"

"Okay." Brittany pushes herself up and out of her chair. She takes the few steps that separate us until she is right next to me. She puts a soft hand on the left sleeves of my leather jacket. "Your eye is a different color today."

"Oh." I breathe out. I can see out of the corner of my eye as Brittany lifts her hand. Her fingers barely make contact with the skin under my eye. "I've tried not to look in any mirrors."

"It's not so much a blue color anymore, it's lighter now, a purplish color." She says as she examines my eye. "Does it still hurt?" Brittany takes her hand away and looks me directly in the eyes.

I shake my head. "Only a little when I wrinkle my face up. It's not as bad as it was a few days ago."

"That's goo-od." Brittany stutters as we hear the door open up. We both turn to look over at who the intruder is. Karofsky is standing there, awkwardly looking at us. He has a little brown baggie in his hand.

"I'll take that." I hold out my hand and walk over to the big man. Karofsky hands over the bag. He eyes me up and down, then his eyes shift behind me to Brittany. He narrows his eyes at her before suddenly turning and leaving.

I turn around so I'm facing Brittany again. "Why was he looking at you like that?" I ask defensively. I definitely didn't like the way Karofsky was eyeing Brittany.

"He doesn't like it when I get too close to Danny's employees. He had to break up a fight between me and Sam after I broke up with him. He doesn't want to have to get involved in personal business. He's just doing his job. It's nothing."

I frown. "That doesn't really make me feel better. I don't want him looking at you like that. I don't want him thinking negatively about you."

God, when did I get so defensive over Brittany?

She smiles cutely at me. "Don't worry about him." Brittany reaches out and takes my hand. "Let's go upstairs." She suggests.

Brittany tries to tug me behind her, but I keep my feet planted to the floor. "Actually, I think I have a better idea."

"Oh really, what's that?" Brittany swings her hips from back and forth. It's astonishing how she can be so adorable and sexy at the same time. It's effortless for her.

"How would you feel if I asked if you wanted to get out of the house today?"

A big grin takes over Brittany's face. She squeezes my hand in hers. "Excited. I would need to call Fitz and ask him if he can come over."

"NO. Britt. Not Fitz. He can't come with us. I just want it to be me and you. You don't need a babysitter. I don't know why you can't go out by yourself, but it's not right. It's not fair. You should do everything you want to do without someone breathing down your neck. Britt, please no Fitz." I plead with her.

It's sad that Brittany is so shelter from the world. She can't go outside without someone questioning what she is doing. Brittany's young. She should be out exploring the world. She should be doing the things she wants to do. Instead, she in this house all the time and I want to change that.

Brittany's frowning at me. I know she's not convinced. At least not yet. "We can sneak out. No one will have to know. Danny seems too busy to even think about what you're doing. Karofsky is probably at the front door or with Danny, so he's not a problem." I put a hand on Brittany's shoulder and look straight into those crystal blue eyes. "Do you trust me?" I raise an eyebrow in question, not breaking our stare.

Brittany rubs at the back of her neck. "Of course." She whispers.

"Then come with me. I'll be Fitz. I will watch over you. I will be with you the entire time. I won't let you out of my sight." I lick my lips nervously. "I will protect you."

Brittany perks up. Her whole face lights up, starting with her eyes and finishing with a cute little happy smile. "So, you'll be like my knight in shining armor. Fighting for me."

"Uh- sure." I say awkwardly. If that's what Brittany's needs to think for me to get her out of this house, then fine. "Is that a yes? Can we do this?" I run my hand from her shoulder down the length of her arm to her hand. I tangle my fingers with hers and give her a tug.

Brittany nods. "But we have to go upstairs so I can put something warmer on."

"Okay." I smile at her. "But, no funny business. I want to get out of here for the rest of the day."

"Alright." Brittany pouts.

"And no pouting. Today is suppose to be fun. An adventure. Let's go." I tug on Brittany's hand. She steps forward and takes the lead through the house.


We went up to Brittany's room. She put on a warmer shirt and then her jacket. Brittany dug around in the top drawer of her dresser until she pulled out winter hats and gloves. She stuck a red and black stocking hat on her head and then handed one to me.

"I'm not wearing that." I shake my head and cross my arms over my chest.

"Don't be silly, Eva. It's almost winter. It's starting to get cold out." Brittany scolds me. I feel like a kid again and my parents are yelling at me, as I run out the door, to put a hat on, as I go out to play in the snow.

"I'll be fine. I'm tough."

Brittany crosses her arms over her chest too. The hat tucks into her armpit. "I'm not going anywhere unless you are wearing this hat."

"Fine." I look over at the corner of the room and hold my hand out. I feel the hat in my fingers seconds later. "I'm gonna look ridiculous." I shove the grey hat with tiny red reindeers on top of my head.

"Nuh-uh. You look cute." Brittany kisses my cheek as she walks passed me. "You have to wear this warm gloves too." She says. "Come on."

Brittany's at the bedroom door. I spin around to see her holding two pairs of winter gloves in one hand. Her other hand is on the door knob. She smiles as I approach her. I roll my eyes. Yet again, Brittany is getting her way. She smacks me on the ass with the gloves as I walk passed. I jump a little, but continue out the bedroom door.

Brittany shuts the bedroom door and we walk down the hallway as quickly and quietly as possible. We have a mission and there's no way that I'm gonna screw it up. The kitchen is empty when we get down there. Brittany turns to me at the bottom of the stairs and holds her finger to her lips. I nod and she steps into the kitchen, stops, and listens. I don't hear anything and apparently neither does she. Brittany tip-toes across the kitchen floor to the back door that goes out into the yard.

When she gets to the door and opens it she waves at me for to come over. I, too, tip-toe across the kitchen floor as quietly as possible. Brittany ushers me outside and shuts the door behind us. She looks at me for a quick second before holding out her hand. I grasp onto it and Brittany smiles. She takes off in a run. I'm dragged along for a few seconds before I'm able to get my feet beneath me. When I do, we run together across the small yard and over into the neighbors yard. We are halfway across when I hear a growl and then barking starts. A big dog jump out of it's dog house at us. I scream. Brittany squeezes my hand as the dog runs at us. She starts running away from the dog. It keeps barking as we cross the yard. Finally, the dog stops with a yelp as the chain chokes around it's neck.

I start laughing as the threat is eliminated. I look over to Brittany, she's looking back over her shoulder at the dog. The small smile on her face blooms and turns into a full blown laugh. She jogs to the right and I follow her. We laugh and run between two houses until we come out to the street. At the sidewalk, I double over from the running and laughing. Trying to catch our breath Brittany rests a hand on my back and breathes in and out heavily next to me.

"Oh my god." I breath out. "That dog scared that crap out of me."

"That was awesome." Brittany chuckles.

I stand up and eye Brittany. "It kind of was." I agree with a dopey smile. "Shall we continue?" I swipe one hand out in front of me.

"What are we gonna do?" I've been waiting for Brittany to ask that ever since I brought up the idea of getting out of the house.

"What do you want to do? This day is all about you and what you want to do. It's totally up to you. You can pick anything you want and we will do it. Within reason, of course."

Brittany bites on her lower lips for a second. I can see her thinking. Her eyes narrow a little and she looks like she's focusing on something off in the distance. Brittany's eyes shift, focus on me, she licks her lips, then speaks. "Can we get ice cream?" She asks quietly, shyly.

"It's kinda cold, but sure we can do whatever you want." I hold out my elbow for her. Brittany wraps her arm around my elbow and I start walking down the sidewalk away from the house. I have a feeling that we need to get as far as from Danny's house as soon as possible. We can figure out what to do as we walk.

"Or maybe cotton candy." Brittany says after a few steps. I glance over at her and she is staring off into space again. Thinking. "Can we go to the movies or maybe bowling?" Brittany blinks and her eyes flicker over in my direction.

"We can do whatever you want." I remind her. I pat on her arm that's in my hold with my gloved hand.

"I want to go to the movies, and bowling, and to the park. I want to get ice cream and cotton candy. Can we do that?" She asks excitedly, a huge happy smile on her face.

I chuckle lightly. "We might not be able to do all of those things in one afternoon, but someday we will do everything on your little list. I promise I will take you bowling or to the movie theater, but we can't do both in one afternoon. There's just not enough time."

I look over to see her reaction. Brittany's still smiling, but it's calmer now. She's nodding her head. "I get that." She comments.

At least we are on the same page now. "What do you want to do today? What's the most important thing on your list?"

I look from the sidewalk in front of me quickly to Brittany, then back to the sidewalk, so I don't trip and fall. I'm expecting an answer from Brittany, what I'm not expecting is for Brittany to stop walking. I don't expect the kiss she plants on my lips when I stop walking too. Her lips massage over mine for a second before I kiss her back softly. I'm a little speechless when she pulls back. That must reflect on my face because Brittany is grinning at me smugly.

"W-what was that for?" I stutter and lick my lips.

"Just because. Because you are the most amazing person ever. Because we are doing this. Just because." Brittany shrugs.

I stare at her for a few seconds. "Okay." I'm not sure about Brittany explanation, but I'm not gonna complain about her kissing me.

"Let's go to the candy store and the park." Brittany says after a few quiet seconds. She starts walking down the sidewalk again. "I know just the place."

"Then lead the way." I fall into step next to Brittany as we walk.

After we walk a few blocks and then making a right turn and walking about a half dozen more blocks Brittany leads me into a candy store. We walk down one aisle along the outside of the store. Brittany tugs me into the next aisle with instructions.

"I'm getting cotton candy. What are you getting?" Brittany asks tugging on my left arm and pulling me down the aisle.

I shrug. "I don't need anything."

Brittany turns so that's she's stopped in front of me. I stumble into her before taking a step back and raise an eyebrow at her. "Every trip that you take to the candy store you have to leave with something." My brow furrows together. Brittany continues. "If you don't get something then we can't leave." Brittany taps me on the nose, then turns around and skips away from me.

Brittany disappears around the end of the aisle. I can see her head bobbing as she walks down the next aisle. She stops for a couple of seconds, then continues walking. I could turn around and follow the blonde head with my eyes, but I don't. I stare at everything around me. At the end of the aisle is a little stand with assorted licorices on it. On the shelves around me are all sorts of hard candies. I suppose it doesn't matter what I get. I could just grab a bag of something and Brittany would be happy. I could grab anything in the store and it wouldn't matter. But, I might as well get something that I actually like and will eat. I'm not a huge candy person, but I do have a few favorites.

I hurry to the end of the aisle and pick up a bag of black licorice before turning the corner and going down the row Brittany went down. Except she's not in that row. I look around me, over the tops of the shelves as much as I can, but I don't see Brittany's blonde head anywhere.

I hurry down to the end of the row that I am on. I look left. I look right. She's not at the end. I go to the next aisle and peek around the corner. Not on that aisle either. I go to the next and look around the corner again. That's when I spot her. I step into the row that Brittany is on and hold my hand over my heart. It's beating a lot harder than it should. My brain reminds me that I almost just lost track of Brittany. The consequences of that happening would be devastating. I don't want to know what Danny would do to me if I came back to the house and told him that I lost Brittany. I run down the aisle and grasp at Brittany's elbow when I finally reach her.

"Hey." She says with a bright smile.

"Brittany, I didn't know where you went." I breath out in a rush, worried.

Brittany squints her eyes at me for a second. Then a frown comes to her mouth. "I thought today was about me." She says sadly.

"It is." I confirm for her. When did I said that it wasn't?

"Then why are you treating me like everyone else does. I'm not a baby, Eva." She pouts and turns her back to me.

That's when I realize my error.

"Contrary to popular belief I can take care of myself. I don't need someone watching after me and observing my every move." She folds her arms over her chest and walks away from me.

I realize what's happening. What I'm doing. I'm treating her like Fitz treats her. I'm treating her like a child and not an adult. I'm doing exactly what I didn't want to do. Doing what I set out not to do. But, somehow I'm just like Danny or Fitz, treating Brittany how I don't want her to be treated.

I gasp leaves me in own realization. "Brittany, wait." I follow Brittany as she turns down the next aisle. "I'm sorry. I just-"

"You just what?" Brittany spins around to face me. Her face is tense with anger. "You wanted to protect me or make me feel like everyone else does? Cuz you did a bang up job. I thought you were different, but you're just like the rest of them." Brittany spits out her words before spinning around again. She walks towards the front of the store.

When I catch up to Brittany, she is paying at the cash register. There is a bag of pink cotton candy on the counter in front of her. The cashier hand Brittany her change, she grab the bag of cotton candy, and walks away from the counter to the door.

"Brittany, wait." I yell after her. Brittany pushes the door open and I take off into a run.

"Hey, lady, you have to pay for that." The cashier yells at me.

I stumble and look down at the bag of licorice in my hand. I don't have time for this. I drop the licorice. I hear it hit the floor the second before I push the door open. I look left and then right. Brittany is walking heavily half a block away.

"Brittany." I yell after her.

It takes me a whole block to catch up to her. "Brittany." I grab onto her elbow and try to stop her. She rips her arm out of my grasp and walks faster down the sidewalk.

"Britt, I'm sorry." I try and plead. "Brittany." I sigh pathetically. I'm such an idiot. I wish she would just stop and listen to me. This is not how I wanted this day to go. I wanted it to be special. I wanted Brittany to feel special. Now I've ruined it by being stupid.

I groan heavily and follow after Brittany. I don't try and stop her again. Brittany walks and walks. I walk behind her by about twenty feet with my head hung low. I stare mostly at the sidewalk as I walk. I'm mostly thinking about how I've done Brittany wrong and how I can make it better.

I feel terrible. I've done to her what everyone before me has done to Brittany. She deserves better. She deserves to be treated better. She needs someone to respect her and treat her like the smart, beautiful woman that she is.

I follow Brittany until my feet hit something other than sidewalk. Woodchips. I look around and see that we are in a park. Brittany wanted to go to the park and here we are at the park.

I watch as Brittany walks over to the swings and takes a seat at one. She opens up the bag of cotton candy and take a little fluff out. She nibbles on it and starts to swing gently back and forth. I go over and take the swings right next to hers. I sit there, Brittany doesn't say anything, neither do I. After a few minutes I scuff my toes in the dirt and take a deep breath before I speak.

"Brittany, I'm sorry. I just- I just didn't know where you went. I know that it was irrational, but I got scared for a second. I know you can take care of yourself. I know that you hate when Fitz follows you around or that Danny makes him do it. I know that I shouldn't have acted like I was following you around like they do. I just wanted to know that you where safe. It was stupid of me. I told you earlier that I would protect you. I wanted to, but I did it in totally the wrong way." I look over at Brittany to see her reaction to my words. Her face is blank as she looks out at the playground equipment in front of her.

"I should have let you do your thing instead of worrying about where you were. I shouldn't have come up to you sounding worried and wondering where you had run off to, even if it was just on the other side of the candy store. Brittany, you deserve to be treated with respect. You deserve so many things and I'm not giving them to y-you." My voice starts to crack. For whatever reason I can feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes. "You deserve so much more that I can give you. You are a beautiful, wonderful, strong, woman. I told you today was all about you and I took that all away with the way I acted. I'm sorry." I sniffle, trying to hold the tears in, but they start to fall. "I'm so sorry. I ruined your day. I'm sorry that I am just like them." I suck in a labored breath after my last word. I'm trying to hold it together, but failing miserably. I can't even look over at Brittany, I'm so ashamed of myself and my failures. If Brittany notices that I'm crying she doesn't say or do anything about it.

There's an awkward silence between us for many minutes. I sit and twist back and forth on my swing. The tears slowly leaking from my eyes. I'm not looking for forgiveness. I'm not sure what I'm looking for from Brittany. Maybe nothing. But, I'm not going anywhere. I will sit out in the winter cold as long as Brittany is sitting next to me. And when she decides it's time to go, I will walk with her back to the house. That's how I can protect her now. And when we get back to the house I will leave. If she doesn't want to see me again I will understand.

It's silent, except for all the city noise, for a long time.

"When I was little I use to come to this park."

Brittany quite voice makes me nearly jump from my swing when she speaks. I glance over at her out of the corner of my eye, I can't look at her fully, she's leaning against the chain of her swing that's closest to my swing. Her gloved hand grips onto the chain and her head rests below that. She's looking at the ground. I glance down to see that she is drawing shapes in the dirt with the toe of her shoe.

"Once a week my mom and dad would bring me to the candy store. They told me I could pick out one thing. But, only ever one. I always picked cotton candy." She sighs. "Then after we got our candy -they always picked a something to share- we would come to this park. That happened once a week, usually on the weekend, on a Saturday or Sunday. I loved coming to this park. I would play on all of the equipment and they would sit on a blanket in the grass or at that picnic table and watch as I played." Brittany points over to a picnic table a little ways away from us. "Sometimes we had a picnic and had lunch, but most of the time we just ate our candy from the candy store. But, the swings were always my favorite. That's where a spent the most time."

"It sounds like you had fun. That sounds like a good memory." I comment. The tears have stopped falling from my eyes now. I wipe the wetness off my cheeks with the back of my glove covered hands. It's coarse as the material rubs across my soft cheeks, but it reminds me of why I was crying in the first place.

"I did and it is a good memory. It's one of my favorite memories with my parents and I wanted to share it with you today."

"You didn't have to, but- thank you." I say awkwardly.

"No, I wanted to. I needed to. I wanted to show you one of my favorite places as a kid. I wanted to share that memory of my parents with you."

It hits me hard at how much Brittany is saying with so few words. My eyes widen as I look over at her for real for the first time since we were in the candy store. She's worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She grips at the bag of cotton candy with her left hand. Brittany's right holds on tight to the chain of the swing. She looks sad.

"I miss them a lot sometimes." Her voice is sad and weak when she speaks. "This place is the only place I can go now that I can remember them. I've only been here two or three times since they died. Not much has changed since I was a kid, so it's not hard to remember all the times I was here back then. I really miss them, Eva." Brittany whispers and slumps forward in her swing.

I scramble to get up. When I get my feet underneath me, I shuffle over to stand in front of Brittany. I drop to my knees when I realize standing isn't gonna cut it. The pain that stings through them as they hit the ground is welcome. I gingerly rest my hands on top of Brittany's knees. She doesn't push them off, so I guess that's a good sign. I look up to see her face, but she avoids eye contact. "I'm sorry, Brittany. I'm sorry that you miss them. I'm sorry that they are gone and left you here. I'm sorry about earlier at the candy store. I'm sorry for being so stupid." I mumble that last one. My hands rub up and down the tops of Brittany's legs.

I don't expect what she says next. "Why were you crying?" Brittany lifts her chin and I can see her eyes for the first time. They are glassy, but no tears fall.

"Because I messed up and ruined your day. I wanted it to be special. I wanted you to feel special." I tell her honestly with a lame shrug.

I watch Brittany's tongue poke out between her lips and moisten them. "I may have been too harsh with you at the candy store. I'm sorry. It's just that I get trailed all the time and I may have taken it too far. I'm sorry I yelled at you. You're definitely not like the others. You are so very different. I appreciate it. That's one of my favorite things about you. You treat me like a princess some times, like today. You wanted to make today all about me and make it special and it was." Brittany takes her hand off the swing chain and bites the fingertips of her glove and pulls it off. Her warm hand comes to rest on my cheek. I sigh and lean into her touch. "You make me feel special by just being you, if that makes sense."

"Yeah." I breathe and nod. I small smile starts to tug at my lips.

"Now I feel like a ruined today by running away from you and being a little brat about everything." Brittany chuckles. "But, I'm glad I got to show you one of my favorite spots that holds such a special place in my heart. I truly wanted you to see it and know the story behind it."

"Thank you, Britt. I loved hearing about it. About your parents. About your family tradition. Thank you for letting me be a part of that." I turn my head and press a kiss to her palm. I turn back to her and she is smiling now. It's a relieved, pleasant smile.

I wait for her to say something else. My hands rubs circles into her jeans as I wait. But, she doesn't say anything else. She just look at me, into my eyes. The glassiness has cleared from her eyes and the are crystal clear and bright blue. They shift down from my eyes for a quick second and then they are back.

Brittany bends over a little. She leans in closer to me. Her hand on my cheek tugs me forward. Her lips wrap around my top lip before she switches to my bottom lip. Brittany hums against my lips and her thumb swipes over the skin just under my eye. I lean forward further into the kiss. Brittany kiss me again before I press my lips to hers a few times. Brittany pulls away several seconds later and I blink my eyes open. It's hard to clear my head from the daze that I'm in, but I manage with a small shake left and right.

Brittany looking at me. Her eyes are sparkling now. They are so beautiful, just like the rest of her. I go cross-eyed as I keep my eyes on Brittany as she leans in again. She kisses the tip of my nose once, then twice.

"Let's go back to the house. It's getting late." Brittany says.

All I can do is nod. Brittany hooks her hands under my armpits and hoists me up as she stands.

We walk back to the house, mostly in silence. Brittany holds her cotton candy in one hand and my hand in her other. She has a happy grin on her face and I couldn't ask for much more. Today didn't end up being a total disaster. Brittany doesn't hate me. I learned more about her and I feel like it's brought us closer together.

When we get back to the house Brittany looks in the window of the door on the back of the house that goes into the kitchen. She waves her hand over her shoulder and I follow her inside. The kitchen is empty. No one seems to be around. Well, I don't hear anyone.

"No one even knew we were gone." Brittany giggles.

"So, was today worth it?" I step up to Brittany and pin her against the counter by the sink. She gasps, surprised. I wrap my arms around her waist and lock my hands together at the small of her back.

"Totally. It was worth it and so much more." Brittany sets her forearms on my shoulders. Her hands wrap around the back of my neck. She weaves one hand into my hair, the other rubs at the skin on the back of my neck.

"Even the part where we sorta got into a fight." I ask.

"So-" Brittany wiggles her eyebrows at me. "-was that our first fight then."

I shrug. "I don't know if I'd call it a fight. It was more of a misunderstanding."

"Does that mean we get to have makeup sex now." Brittany grins wickedly.

"Uh- um- uh-"

"I'm kidding. Sorta." She shrugs. "I would love that more than anything right now but-" Brittany looks over my shoulder at something. I turn my head, but I don't see what she's looking at. "I should get dinner started." She's frowning when I look back. I lean forward and kiss the frown right off her lips.

"Do you want me to help?" I ask.

"No." She shakes her head. "I don't think I would be able to concentrate. I'd probably chop a finger off because I was too busy looking at a sexy woman. You wouldn't want that, now would you?"

"No. You need to keep all of your fingers. They are a very important body part." I lick my lips after the words pass them.

"Definitely." Brittany hums with her wicked smile. "Kiss me." She requests.

I can't deny her that request. I stand up a little taller and Brittany leans down. Our lips connect. They swipe over each other again and again until we are both a little breathless. I don't want to pull away first, so I keep kissing her. My tongue pokes out and swipes across Brittany's lips. She moans, but pulls away. She licks her lips where my tongue just was.

"Don't want to get carried away. I don't think Danny would appreciate it if I had you on the table instead of dinner." Brittany says.

I moan out at the thought. "You're naughty."

"Only with you." Brittany shoots back.

"Okay, enough." I pull my arms from around Brittany. I pat her on the forearm with one hand when her hand come down from around my neck. "I'll go. I'll let you cook dinner without anymore distractions."

"Okay." Brittany bites at her lips as I step away from her. I take steps backwards so I can see her as I back away. I bump into something. "Careful." Brittany whispers. I glance down to see the chair. I step to the side, then walk backwards some more. I reach the door to the meeting room and push it open.

"Bye, Britt-Britt." I smile as I step back into the other room.

"Bye." She mouths, but I don't hear any sound. Her eyes never leave mine until the door swings shut and closes Brittany into the kitchen by herself. I take one more step backwards before turning around. The room is empty, as expected, a walk as quickly as possible out of the meeting room and out of the house. If I don't leave Brittany now I might be here for another night. Not that I would mind that. It's just that a little part of me is still trying to be professional. And god, it's so hard.