"What I know about the human heart is a lot. Why do ya care? Are ya some fancy city slicker who wants some teachin' in useful matters?"

"You want to see what happens when I run?"

"Why should I? Some city slicker that can run ain't-"

I took off and she raced after me. We played a game of cat and mouse all around town. After about fifteen minutes, my chest felt like it was going to explode and I collapsed. She slowed to a stop and rolled me onto my back. Flicker hit my chest a couple times and the pain eased. What the hell is she doing? Flicker pulled me into an alleyway. My chest was still flaring with pain.

"What the hell happened to ya, slick?"

"I'm a bit of a medical experiment." I grit out.

She sighed. "One of Light's boys, then. Look, I can get your boss what he wants, he just needs to give me some-"

"Flicker, are you the boss around here?"

"Yeah, I guess y'all can call me that. But I don't run a syndicate like Light does. I let my people leave. If they don't want in the business anymore, they can leave. I don't need heartless idiots pullin' their triggers because I told 'em to."

I inhaled sharply and curled in on myself. My heart felt like someone was lighting it on fire.

"Oh no ya don't!" Flicker snapped, uncurling me.

Flicker knew how to deal with what I was up against. She pulled out a needle that she had in her lab coat pocket (why she even had one was beyond me) and emptied it into my chest, right above my heart. She pounded my chest with her fist a couple times. Everything spiraled around before going black. When I woke up, I was in yet another unfamiliar room. It was really Texan, and Flicker was staring at a computer screen. On the screen was something that looked like a beating heart. Mello was standing right next to her.

"You really think this will work?"

"Worked for you, dinnit?" Flicker's voice sounded distant.

"Yessum, it did, but Light might have refined it a bit." Mello's voice was a mix of Texan words with a New York accent.

"You sound like a city slicker. Until we know what we're up against, we can't make any assumptions about anythin'. Might be dangerous for ya friend there."

Mello didn't even give me a second glace. Flicker flicked everything off of the screen and Mello looked irritated. She lobbed a death glare directly at him and he backed down. Damn, this chick's terrifying. She handed me a small bracelet. It was a gold band, and it looked like a watch. What the hell?

"Made it myself. It's supposed to monitor serotonin, adrenaline, blood pressure, and heart rate. If ya ever need it, there's a small slide that pops out of the back. Press the button and it'll inject a sedative directly into your bloodstream. That ought to keep y'all out of trouble."

"Thanks, Flicker. I don't know how I can-"

"Don't start with me. You're in my town, and I'll be damned if I'm not keeping eyes on ya to make sure y'all don't kill yourselves."

Mello helped me up and we left. I felt a little bit dizzy but other than that I was fine. Mello kept me on house arrest for a couple days, and he never left. I was a little bit uncomfortable but the hell if I was going to kick a guy out of his own apartment. Wait a fucking second. Flicker said something about it working for him… Who the hell is this guy?

"Mells, can I ask you a question?"

"Yessum?"

"When Flicker said that it worked for you, what did she mean?"

Mello sighed and sat down on the couch next to me. "A long time ago, before you were even in that syndicate, Flicker sent me up with information to Light. His syndicate building looked far better than ours, so I asked if I could hang around. Light told me I could and before I knew it I was being injected with all sorts of crazy shit. I ended up with the same thing you did. I got back here fast enough for Flicker to analyze it and come up with something to reverse it. That's what she injected you with. Although, from the looks of it, Light's done some serious refinin' to whatever he put in my heart."

"So I'm what happened to you on steroids? Is that why you wouldn't leave me alone?"

"Naw, y'all were just interesting. Not many people had the desire you did to get out."

Mello's Texan accent slipped through and he covered his mouth, hiding a smile. I laughed and tackled him. He stared at me and I brushed my lips to his.

"Why'd you hang around me, though? Usually I try to run away from hot guys with dastardly escape plans."

"Like I said, you seemed interesting. Why didn't you just kill me when you had the chance?" He replied, kissing me and rolling over.

"I don't know. Something about you just made me… Not want to kill you. It was like you were a magnet and I was a fucked up piece of Titanium."

"That is a wonderful metaphor."

Before either one of us knew it, we were half naked on the floor, and not caring one bit. Someone knocked on the door and Mello yelled at them to go away. Flicker shot what I assumed was a blank and Mello jumped, shoving his sweatshirt on and gesturing for me to grab the clothes and get the hell out of Dodge. I grabbed them and hid in our room. I leaned against the door, listening to their conversation.

"Where's yer city slicker friend?"

"He's sleepin'."

"Seems an awfully strange time to be sleepin'. Why don't y'all roust him and we'll get down to business. I can't have Light's people in my town, Mello. Y'all gotta either make sure y'all weren't followed or get the fuck out."

"Option two, then. Is my bank account here still full?"

"I ain't touchin' your money, so I'm guessin' it is. I'll miss ya, slick."

"See ya around, Jakey girl."

I heard Mello hit the floor and Flicker storm out. When I tentatively walked out, Mello was lying on the floor, his nose bleeding. I laughed and hauled him into the kitchen. He grabbed fistfuls of paper towels and stuffed them up against his nose.

"So her name's Jake?"

"Jake Strider, yeah. She's mighty troublesome when ya know how to push her buttons."

"Hey, Mells?"

"What, slick?"

"Your accent is adorable."

He blushed redder than the blood coming out of his nose and punched my arm. We shoved whatever we had into our duffel bags and Mello went and emptied his bank account. He had about nineteen thousand dollars saved up from when he lived here. We got onto a plane and flew to California. The Texan hick and the City Slicker. Wonderful. Mells fell asleep on the plane, and I just sat there, waiting to get off the damn thing. When Mells woke up, he instantly latched onto my hand and glared at anyone who even so much looked at us weird. I kissed his cheek and wrapped one arm around his waist.

"Calm down, Mells."

He was tense. I could feel it in all of his muscles. The second we got into the hotel, Mello ran around and closed all of the blinds. He locked the door and even threw the chain. He tackled me again.

"Mind if we pick up where we left off?" He still sounded incredibly Texan. Not that I minded.

I shook my head, already flushed. His lips attacked mine, and his hands found mine, pinning them beside my head. I didn't mind. His mouth tasted like chocolate, and someone knocked on the door. Mello chuckled before getting off of me and slipping the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the doorknob. He straddled my waist again and I felt my heart beat a little bit faster. I ignored it. Mello kissed along my jawline and I shuddered. Damn. My chest ached but I didn't care and Mello didn't seem to notice. He kissed my neck and my fingernails raked his back.