Haha you guys seem so excited to find out what Jake got him… It's really not all that exciting.

Hope you like it anyway xD

Also, how does one Jake?


I was sitting cross legged in the middle of the living room floor. My back was to the t.v. with some dumb movie on that most likely Jake had picked. I swear he had even worse taste than John. And then I inwardly flinched at even the mere thought of him. Trying to distract myself, I focused on the box in front of me and not John or the four eyes set on my impassive face. Bro was leaning back; arms draped over the couch while Jake sat forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped together. I merely shifted my gaze from the box to him and then back down.

"Well open it mate!" He spouted quickly and eagerly.

His sudden burst made my eyes flick back up and stare him down for another moment. Maybe a little too cautiously, I looked down and tentatively lifted the flaps up and folded them back. My eyes became a little wider before immediately settling to their normal size once again. I began pulling out the cardboard, paper covers.

"A buddy of mine had these and he said he's too busy for this stuff anymore. He was simply going to throw these doodads away. Figured I shouldn't let it go to waste since I happen to know a chap such as yourself. He called them some sort of name… simply hogswallop to me, but I'm sure you know what they are. Correct?"

I pulled one of the records out, flipping it a couple times in my hands before looking back up.

"They're scratch records. Looks like a couple singles in here; maybe a full album or two."

With another look, I ran my finger over the maker lines in the center of the record. Places for remembering where certain lines and scratches were. A small smirk rose as I slid it back in the cover.

"Looks like he didn't know what he was doing either. Needing little cheats like that."

I glanced back up, and Jake was smiling even wider at me. Bro had the same smirk I did as he sat up a little.

"Not everyone's as good as a Strider."

His simple response made a chuckle threaten to leap out, but I kept it in and continued to flip through the box. More records, a few cds and- my hands stopped. I moved the stuff around before picking up an object in the back. I brought it out and flat out stared wide eyed down at the red headphones in my hand. Clad with a white circle and red 'b' on each side, these were unmistakably just what I thought they were. My mouth opened a tad even if no words came out.

"Oh yeah, those doohickeys almost slipped my mind."

My head rose finally, eyes locking on his face. Bro was simply grinning beside him, obviously amused by my current expression. Oh well, right now I couldn't even begin to care.

"You know what these are?" My voice was unacceptably small. Still couldn't find any shits to give.

His face scrunched a little as he shook his head. "Headphones?"

"Not just any headphones." I replied, taking another look at them. "Beats. And damn- do you know how expensive these things are. I mean, they look practically new."

"He said he never used them- didn't like how they felt."

I audibly scoffed at this. How could you not like the way they sound. If you had enough money to flippantly buy them then complain, you shouldn't have bought them in the first place.

"But- no. I suppose I don't know."

"About three hundred bucks bro."

"Pshaw, you're yanking my chain."

I shook my head, examining every inch of the sweet loot currently being delicately handled. "Wish I was."

"Who for frigs flipping sake would pay that much for a blasted pair of headphones?"

My head merely continued to shake slowly. "A pretty fucking awesome dude who has so generously given me a sweet present through you."

And wasn't that true. I would have bought these for myself if they didn't cost so much. We could barely live off of Bro's salary; I wouldn't dare ask for a gift as big as this. But then there was suddenly an unusually tan hand in my face.

"You like them then?"

I raised my head to stare at his hand. My emotions instantly simmered back down and I offered a shrug. "They're cool I guess."

He frowned, pulling the hand that I was supposed to shake away. People really didn't seem to understand that I was not the one for handshakes. His head turned back, frown deepening a bit.

"Phooey Dirk, he's even more imperturbable than you are."

"I'm a little offended by that, Jake." He countered in response, a dramatic hand being thrown across his forehead. "And here I thought I could be the impassive and combative one."

Jake's hand slapped his knee as he laughed. "Oh, aren't you pitiful! How dare I say anything to affect your image?"

My brother's mouth opened again, but I simply stood quickly. The headphones around my neck and the box in my arms. "Right- I'll let you get back to your flirting without me here gagging in disgust."

"There comes the jealousy again." Bro teased after I took a step.

I turned back, hooking the box under my arm and holding it up with my slightly cocked hip.

"And what exactly am I jealous of?" I replied with an oppositely deadpanned voice.

"That you can't flirt with your little homo boyfriend."

Jake's head whipped around, a grin blaring at me. "Golly Dave, you have yourself a little lad of your own?"

My eyes narrowed, brows creasing. If I could have pulled my lips any thinner I would have, but instead only my jaw clenched. "No. I do not. I don't know how many times I have to tell you. I don't have a boyfriend, or a crush, or anything that you could consider 'homo'." I snapped. Actually snapped. I knew as soon as the words left I had put too much into them. It was obvious to Bro now that I would never be able to lie about it. He sensed the falseness in my statement and the way his brows twitched told me exactly that.

Jake was a little less perceptive. His grin faded with the first few words as he scooted back a little against the couch. "My, I apologize. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers Strider."

Bro laid a hand on his shoulder while a disapproving expression was given right back at me. "It's fine Jake. Dave's just got his panties in a wad tonight. You think he'd be a little nicer to someone who just gave him a very fine gift. Poor little baby Dave is too mean for even a simple thank you." His tone was more threatening now.

His head tipped down a little so he could stare at me with bare eyes. I saw the seriousness but did nothing about it. No apology or gratitude was given.

"Kindly go fuck yourself." Were the only words that seethed from my mouth as I turned back around. "Asshole." That was a little more reserved and came out in a harsh whisper as my feet padded off into my room.

I tried my best not to slam the door once I entered my room. My hand didn't obey and flung it as hard as it could, but at least my foot listened. It caught the edge of the door just before it slammed into the frame. I used that foot to then nudge it closed before turning and sliding the box from my hip and onto my bed. I flopped beside it with a deep sigh. A hand snaked through my hair, tugging slightly before swiping it back into place. Shades were off for a split second; only long enough to dig my heels into my eyes and rub before black lenses were glued back to my face.

I was in no way jealous. Why would I be? My brother had a boyfriend whom he could hug and flirt with and touch and kiss and-

Dammit. Maybe I was a little jealous?

No.

I was not going to let myself be this way. Because I knew better than that, and l was completely and entirely not jealous. Jealousy was not something Dave Strider felt. Not an emotionI was capable of. Especially not with something as stupid as this. I would be acting like a hopelessly romantic teenage girl if I was jealous that my older brother had a boyfriend while I was crushing on some nerdy little boy who was probably straighter than a parallel line.

Oh god, that was a math joke.

Oh god, I am hopelessly romantic like a teenage girl.

Oh god, I am jealous of my brother.

"Shit." It was an audible word that led my head to sling back and smack against the wall. Immediate regret.

The headphones, by which this point I had forgotten about slapped against my face and made me flinch. In a desperate attempt to distract myself from my horrendous thoughts, I slid them up and onto my ears.

The world immediately went silent. There was no hum of the air conditioner, no words traveling through the walls, none of Jake's boisterous laughter crawling underneath my door and scratching away at my patience. Everything was

silent

Silent and enjoyable. There was a fleeting thought of just leaving them there with no music. Simply basking in the peace I could have for a few minutes. Though that thought was short lived. Within a few seconds, they were plugged into my phone and my thumb was hovering over the play button of the last song I was listening to. It was just some random beats and tunes, but it would do for now. I hit the play button and was instantly lost in a different world. The sound was amazing. The bass was strong and loud while just enough treble broke through. It blocked out the rest of the world and left me in a serene place of crystal music and waves of pleasure to my ears.

But as always a serene moment like this couldn't last long enough. Just as everything simmered down to where I could finally relax, I was smacked back into reality.

Literally- smacked.

My eyes shot open with a pain burning against my cheek and something landed in my lap. Eyes fell, landing on one of my shoes. A hand rose to hold my cheek while the other stopped the music and slid the headphones from my ears. Someone clearing their throat made my head turn. Bro was just standing there up against the door frame and staring me down. As always, I was simply glad I couldn't see the displeasure in his eyes. I offered no words, returning the stare with silence. I tossed the shoe to the floor but didn't break my gaze away. Neither of us wanted to back down first, but after the moment of silence had been drawn on out longer than it should, Bro flicked a hand at me before turning and walking back into the main room. I knew it was pointless to deny him of my presence, and it would most likely lead to more pain than a shoe to my face, so I reluctantly pulled myself from the bed and followed after him.

He was already seated when I emerged from the hall. I took the seat beside him, folding one leg underneath me and propping the other up on the couch.

"Your turn to talk lil' bro. I left you alone, so now-"

"Why do you even care?" I cut in, thankful that my voice stayed flat.

A simple grunt and the turn of his head was the only reply I got.

"It doesn't matter, so why should I tell you?"

"Gotta make sure you're not doing some dumb shit that'll get you in trouble."

"I'm not."

A minor chuckle escaped as he shrugged and waved his hand. "Well then there's another reason for you to look scared out of your shit and come flying through the apartment like your ass is on fire. And being the nosey ass I am, I want to know what." He then gained a smirk, and I cursed myself for even glancing his way. "You pull a move on your little boy toy and he get freaked out?"

My hands balled into fists and my toes curled in my socks. "How many fucking times do I have to tell you-"

"I know, I know, you don't have a boyfriend. It's whatever you say."

I opened my mouth again, but he merely continued talking.

"But I am still curious as to what exactly you did to your not boyfriend John that made you, Dave motherfucking Strider, act like that."

There was another long pause of silence before a sigh finally broke from my chest. This whole situation was annoying the hell out of me, but refusing to tell him would only drag it out longer. With a small shake of my head, I began.

"If you really feel the need to pry yourself into my own personal shit, then here's the entire, insanely fucked up tale of a one Dave Strider and his reunion with his long lost friend John Egbert. Once upon a very shitty time, young Dave was befriended by the dorkiest kid in the world who shall be named John. John then proceeded to become best bros with said Dave. And the out of the fucking blue John moves away to bumfuck Egypt; also known as the glorious state of Washington. And then, five years later, this dorklord returns and does he alert his previous best bro? No, he lets him go along oblivious to this fact for a couple months before letting it slip that 'Oh hey, by the way I'm your best friend from when we were nine. Just letting you know. Have fun with that.' then graciously shuts the door in his pal's face. And that ends the wondrous tale of Dave Strider."

I took a deep breath once I was done. I hadn't talked that much in a while and it left me a little winded.

"So he actually had to tell you? I guessed you would've figured it out a long time ago. I can't believe you didn't know till know." He voice sounded almost amused as he tipped his head back and let an actual laugh out. "God, you're an idiot sometimes- no, actually, all the time."

My brows creased as I stared at him before I turned, legs crossing. I was sitting sideways on the couch now, and facing him. "You knew?"

He cocked one brow of his own up and had the nerve to sit there and shrug with that smug smirk on his face. "Yeah. From the first day he came back."

"How the fuck did you know?" And there goes every shred of calm I held in my voice. It actually cracked a little at the end which made me curse myself in my head.

The unimpressed look I got in return made me clear my throat sit back a little; forcing myself to at least appear calm.

"I remembered his name. You came home that day and told me, remember?" He gave a snort a rubbed his chin. "Seriously, you couldn't figure it out?"

"I was young, okay? That too hard to believe?" I countered because there went that flare of anger again.

"But he remembered you. Guess one shouldn't expect much more from a little shit like you."

"Yeah?" I stood up then, hands curled into fists. "You can go to hell."

His face only tipped back to meet mine as he pulled his hands behind his head. "Pretty sure I'm already there bro."

"What's your problem?" Solid voice; keep it steady. "Do you just enjoy being a narcissistic ass all the time?"

"Pretty much." He replied complacently with but another shrug.

"You're a dick."

"You still have to live with me."

I was ready to punch that smirk off his face, muscles twitching with the urge to. But that would only give him what he wanted. Making me break and lunge forward. I needed to remain calm and hold in everything. And so, I forced my hands to unclench and a deep breath to slip through my teeth.

"I'm going back to my room."

I rasped out before turning and moving stiff muscles.

"Have you eaten anything, sweety?" He cooed in an obviously mocking tone.

"Fuck off." I returned sternly and much louder.

A mere snort was all I heard in reply before I once again retreated to my bedroom. Running away was much better than getting the shit beat out of me, so I opted for being stubborn and pissed off instead of bruised and even more pissed off. I shut the door behind me, clicking the lock; not that it would do much against him. I think he could get through a wall if he wanted. Back into my room and back on my bed, I settled in to pull my laptop into my lap. Time to drown myself in mindless web browsing and fill the silence with music to block everything else out.

A few hours had passed seemingly like minutes, and the daylight had disappeared completely. My room was left in the glow of my laptop and the faint flickers of the street lights through my window. I shut the laptop, slinging it from my lap to the end of the bed. Climbing down, I moved through the darkness over to the door where I soon unlocked it and stepped out. The rest of the apartment wasn't much brighter. The t.v. was had been turned off and no lights were on despite the dimmed one over the stove. The fan buzzed quietly in the corner, but besides that, everything was silent. By the look of things, Bro was already gone for the night. Now telling when he left or when he was coming back.

Couldn't say I minded him not being here. Things were definitely more peaceful without him. With my quick survey of the now empty apartment complete, I walked into the kitchen and popped a piece of bread in the toaster. Leaning against the counter, I waited for it to spring back up all brown and warm. And wah la- bon appetite; dinner was served. Buttered toast in my hand, I nibbled on it as I wandered back into my bedroom. By the time my butt returned to its place on my bed, the toast was gone and my fingers were licked clean. I usually wasn't one to go to bed before the sun threatened to rise, but I felt especially drained today and so my head hit the pillow in a matter of minutes. Covers pulled up to my chin and limbs curled up, I was practically a ball as I drifted into sleep.

By the time I woke again, it was bright, but in the stirring of my slumber, a groan broke through the suspected peace of Sunday. It had become a ritual of almost every morning. First all my limbs stretched out and popped from not moving all night; I didn't toss or turn much in my sleep. And then the sounds of discontent leaked form my mouth. The sun was always brighter than it should feel. Wearing sunglasses all the time did have its draw backs, especially when the high sun first hit venerable eyes. These grunts were even further exemplified on Sundays. It was the last day before school started again, and had a rightful place to be disliked. And not only that, I only had one day before I had to face John again.

Of course I wasn't going to avoid him or anything, but it still might be a little odd. Since, I forgot him and all. Yeah, things would be totally normal. Best bros like always. That's how things would go…

And with these thoughts came another disgruntled sound as I threw the covers back. Forcing myself into a sitting position, I sat up and squinted at the wind. My hand groped at the dresser to find my shades before placing them in their rightful spot on my face. I blinked a couple of times, sleep still making me a little groggy. The turn of my head let the blurry letters of the alarm clock soon come into focus and alert me that it was almost noon. Not really something I was too worried about. Sundays were the days to sleep in, and damn after yesterday it felt good to let my brain stop clicking for a couple hours. But now that I was awake, drowsy muscles moved and pulled me into a standing position. With one glance down, I took note of another usual occurrence. During the night, I often got hot and somehow always managed to discard myself of any pants or socks. Strange the things you do without realizing.

I merely snorted a little and ran my hand through already furiously messed up hair. It bothered me that my hair never cooperated in the mornings. I worked hard to get it to do just what I liked. But in the morning, no; it had its own agenda. In the mornings it decided to stick out in odd places, clump in others, and altogether looked like a giant, blonde clusterfuck of hair. It sure was a joy to deal with.

With a small sigh, I left it be for now and wandered my way out of my bedroom and down the hall, my growling stomach taking the lead. Once I took my first step out of the hall, I was frozen dead in my tracks. The couch faced away from the hall and the kitchen, but I could still see the obviously familiar black mop of hair resting against the back of the couch next to Bro who was currently chattering away with said mop of hair. Having the freakishly inhuman hearing he had, his speech immediately stopped and his head turned to me. He gained a cynical smirk and tipped his head back.

"Well hey there princess. You look positively lively today." His tone was amused and already taunting.

My mouth was open, ready to spit back an insult, but the bright blue eyes that met my face instantly cut the words and made my throat catch.

"Morning Dave!" He piped, as chirper as ever. Fuck him for being able to act like nothing was different the next fucking day after he dropped a giant bomb of surprise on my life.

And the realization of what I must look like set in. No, I wouldn't consider myself conceited or any shit like that, but a Strider should look presentable at all times.

Not to mention when John, the very boy that made my stomach flip and twist uncontrollably was sitting right there and I looked like utter shit that just got spit out by a monster after living in a forest for my entire life.

Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. But I would have rather not have been standing there in boxers and a t-shirt with my hair looking like the grass of an uncut lawn that has been neglected for weeks and now has weeds and all hell's fire shooting up through it. I was definitely glad I had grabbed my shades now. At least I could hide behind those.

I knew my face was just daring to flush from embarrassment, but I took deep breaths through my nose to assure that didn't happen. God knows how much fun Bro would have with that I was to let even one once of my composure slip while John was here.

God dammit, why the fuck was John here in the first place?

"Mornin'- John." My voice broke in the middle in a mix of my thickened morning drawl and the actual crack in my tone, but I pushed through and croaked out the rest while switching between and utterly dumbfounded stare at John and a glare at my brother. Not that they could see either.

"Thought I'd invite him over since I called you home so early yesterday." Bro added in and- oh

Oh

This was his doing and damn if I couldn't see the utter joy he was getting from this right now. He probably knew more than anyone that I hated looking like shit in front of other people. The cocky bastard. He did this on purpose. Well this was downright dandy.

"Yeah, I've just been having a nice little talk with- ehe, Bro." John's voice made my eyes draw back to him, and what I hated the most was I couldn't even hold a glare on the kid. "You make him out to be such a terrible guy, I don't really see why. He seems pleasant enough to me."

A loud laugh bellowed out from my brother's chest and he nodded. "Ya see? John's become quite a nice kid. Wish I could trade you in for him. He's much nicer than your little shit head."

"Yeah you're not so fanfuckingtastic either. Bet John's dad would be a better parent than you." My voice was practically seething by this point, but I couldn't even seem to care.

I never truly meant the words that left my mouth; well not fully. But they hit something in him. The grin was dropped, not even a smirk rested on his lips. Damn it, bad choice of words Dave. He merely cleared his throat and stood.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I do remember him being a nice fella. Well then, you two should go out today. I've got to go help English with something. There's money on the counter."

And with that, he was gone in a flash. Barely even saw him before the door to his room was shutting and the entire apartment fell silent. John was no longer smiling either. He was sitting; eyes locked on the back of the couch as he bit his lip and fiddled with a stray string. Apparently even he could sense the tension that had fallen.

I let a sigh escape, hand rising to rub the back of my neck. "So what do you have planned?" I asked in a partial mumble.

John's head snapped up and tilted just slightly. "Hmm?"

"We're doing something today, correct?"

"Oh, yes. Want to go get some lunch? Eh, nothing too expensive."

I gave a small nod, turning on my heels. "Sure, but I have to- …not look like this."

I started off, but almost instantly he was at my heels. When I reached the bathroom, I stepped in and turned back, one hand on the door. "Not that I really care, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to come in here with me."

His cheeks grew a little pink and he laughed awkwardly. "Right, right. Sorry. I'll just go- wait in your room."

"Just don't break any of my shit. And it's messy. I wasn't exactly expecting company."

"That's fine!" He grinned back at me before wandering down the hall to my room.

I shook my head lightly, shutting the door, turning on the water and stripping down. Once it was hot enough, I stepped in and made it a quick washing of my hair. It didn't take long; soap it up and rinse it out. I was trying to be fast. I wouldn't admit it, but it made me a little wary to have John snooping around my room.

It wasn't ten minutes before I was out and wrapping a towel around my waste.

Then and oh shit moment set in. I had no clothes, but I was determined to keep calm. I gritted my teeth for a moment before forcing my jaw to go slack and I grabbed my clothes up under my arm. With one hand holding the towel, I threw the bathroom door open and stepped out. The cold air made me shiver as he water ran down my chest and legs. I began walking but stopped right in the doorway of my room. John was sitting on my bed flipping through some book Rose had given me to read; most likely utter garbage.

"Hey John, can you like turn around or something... I forget my clothes."

I cast my eyes aside and kept my voice quiet with the attempt to hide my embarrassment yet again.

"Huh..." He muttered, obviously engrossed in whatever he was reading.

My glance flicked back to him and I sighed a little. "John."

The shortness of my voice made his head slowly pull up. "What-" He began, but with one look at me his mouth shut and his cheeks flushed red.

This only cause my own face to grow hot and I knew I was blushing without any way of hiding it.

"Yes- right- I'll, Uh-"

He glanced around quickly, grabbing a pillow from my bed and frantically shoving it against his face. He then gave me a thumbs up before moving his hand back to the pillow. I would have given a light laugh to this if I wasn't standing nude in the middle of my room and freezing my ass off. I hurried to drop the clothes from my arm to add to the pile on the floor. I then started to rummage through my drawers. Double checking that John couldn't see, I dropped the towel and quickly slipped into a pair of clean boxers. Then with as much haste as I could, pulled on some shorts and found a white T-shirt with some band on it. I gave my head a quick shake, and turned back to my bed.

"Alright John, I'm decent."

There was no reply and he didn't move, so I stepped across the small distance. Leaning down on the bed with one arm, the other grabbed the top of the pillow and pulled it down. His clamped eyes opened and he stared at me for a minute before grinning again and blowing a tuff of his hair up.

And just about that time, I realized how close to his face I was. He was way too damn cute and way to close to me. It would only take a little bit to close the space between us and-

No no no no- stop. I can't have those thoughts. Not about John. No.

I had already hesitated way too long, so I stood back up quickly and gave a small cough.

"I'm going to go dry my hair." I replied, making my voice deep and turning to leave.

With my first step out the door, I already knew he was behind me. Feet loudly banging against the floor made a huge contrast compared to my light, almost silent steps. I walked back into the bathroom and reached under the sink to get the blow dryer. Plugging it in and turning it on full blast, I cranked the heat up and moved it back and forth above my head. It never took too long because I didn't have that much hair, but the entire time John just stood there and watched me. By the time I was done, he was rocking back and forth from his toes to his heels. I turned my head a little once the dryer was cut off and cocked a brow up.

"Can I help you?"

He only grinned and shrugged. "Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing."

I watched him in silence for a few more seconds before unplugging the dryer and wrapping the cord around it. "You can go find my hairbrush somewhere in my room."

With that, he gave a nod and turned promptly. In the amount of time it took me to stow the hairdryer back under the sink and stand, he was already back with my brush in his hand. I leaned forward a little against the sink and towards the mirror, running both my hands through my hair a couple times before standing back up. While I was looking at myself in the mirror, I felt a something move against my scalp. My brows furrowed as the movement continued. An arm moved behind my head in the mirror and my expression was utterly confused.

"John."

"Yes, Dave?" He hummed back in response.

"I asked you to bring my hair brush- not brush my hair for me."

"Shh, Dave just let me do this." He only continued to brush and run his hand over my hair with every stroke.

My arms fell limp against my sides and I hunched a little but didn't protest much more than that. "You're so fucking weird."

"And yet here I am in your apartment."

"Without my consent let me add." I countered with a sigh as my eyes closed.

Maybe just a tad to my discontent, John finished in a matter of minutes and reached around to set the brush on the sink.

"All done." He mused happily.

I opened my eyes back, only moving the hair around to get my bangs to sweep to the side.

"Thanks, I guess." I muttered almost in a grumble before turning.

"Was that appreciation from a Strider? My god I think I can get you to do anything!"

Of course I would do anything for you.

"Yeah, well-"

"Well what?" He cut in, leaning forward on his toes.

Oh god he was getting too close again. He was shorter than me, but with the way my head was tucked down and he was bent over slightly our eyes met exactly. Dammit my face was growing hot again. My hand rose to rub the back of my neck and my head cast to the side.

"Well, we should get going." I was the best liar. "Pretty fucking hungry, aren't you?"

"Damn right I am." He nodded, rubbed his stomach and exited the bathroom without another thought.

As soon as his back was turned, I furiously rubbed at my cheeks and rushed into my bedroom.

"I've gotta get my shoes." I called after him, but once inside, I bent over slightly.

Hands on my knees, I took a deep breath to try and calm the god damn fluttering in my chest. This was getting ridiculous and annoying. I couldn't get through five minutes with the kid before I was losing breath and blushing like a school girl. Striders do not act like this. I needed to remain calm.

With another deep breath in and out of my mouth, I grabbed my shoes to pop them. Kicking them on, I walked back into the main room and grabbed the money left on the counter for me. I shoved it in my pocket and met John at the door.

"Ready?"

"Yeah!" He chirped, tossing the door open and bounding out.

My steps faltered for a moment and his head popped back in the doorway.

"You coming? Better hurry your ass up."

That grin stopped my breath.

Brighter than usual; more than I had seen in a while.

I guess it was good he told me who he was. He seemed almost happier now. Those eyes sparkled and that elated face struck me senseless.

It would be a miracle if I could get through this day without him killing me.