AN: I'm baaack. Sorry for not uploading sooner! I was caught between classes and all the reading I had (and still have) to do, so I hadn't much time to sit myself down and write. Hope you like this chapter!

Norma felt as though her whole world had been turned upside down.

"I can explain—" Alex began. He didn't care to pick up the book he had dropped, just stepped over it as he entered the room. "Just let me..." he edged towards her, and she backed off. He looked at the sheet in her hand and reconsidered his strategy. "Will you put that down first?"

Norma looked at it and put it behind her back. "No."

"Norma, I'm serious—"

"So am I," she mustered, her voice still shaky. "And you'd better start, because you have a lot of explaining to do."

He knew she had meant it, and he stopped trying to negotiate. He now stood four feet from her and wanted nothing more than to run over and hold her, but he knew she would just push him away. She didn't want him any closer to her than where he was now; she was a little more afraid of him than she had ever been.

The thing with people, thought Norma, was that you never really truly knew them. She thought about her awakening with Zack and Rebecca - he had seemed so perfect, and she so wildly unattached - but then, as it turned out, he was not faultless after all, and she could be emotional too. If she had learned her lesson then, she wouldn't have to deal with this now.

This bothered Norma because it wasn't just some personality quirk in Alex that she had overlooked, but an entire segment of his life. It was ridiculous how well he had hidden it, and she felt stupid for having believed him at all. Once people started lying, they tended to lie about everything else, too. They had to, to cover up their previous lies. It was an addiction she knew all about, because she did it all the time. She just didn't think he would be too, even if she knew she was a hypocrite to be disappointed in him.

"You know what's going on," said Alex tentatively. He could still hardly believe this, and a part of him was holding on to the faint hope that it was all just a terrible misunderstanding. "But it's not like that. I'm still... me."

"Are you?" she asked doubtfully. She peered at him. She wanted to bring up what he had written about her and ask him if it was true, but his words sounded too ridiculous to be read aloud. All the flowery language, like he was Keats on narcotics. While his rejection had made her feel terrible, knowing the truth behind it had somehow managed to make her feel worse.

"Yes—"

"Is Alex even your real name?" she interrupted him. "Or have you constructed a whole fake persona, where you're— you're this Romanov-reading, tea-drinking, book-club-joining loser? And you're nothing like this in reality, not even close?"

Norma could feel herself losing it now, but it couldn't be helped. Somebody else try being in her shoes and see how they'd take it.

"I am who I am! And Alex is my real name," he stammered, deflated.

"Nice one," she said sarcastically, "whoever you really are." She shook her head and left the sheet on the foot of his bed. She didn't want to touch anything that was related to him. "I'm sorry I ever knew you."

"What? Norma, don't say that." He sounded hurt, but she chose not to hear it.

"Well, I just did."

"All I ever wanted to do was to protect you!" declared Alex suddenly, which caused Norma to retract a little. She was just beginning to feel bold, but that feeling was short-lived.

"Protect me from what?"

"Everything that's been going on!" he said, and it shocked her how he hadn't bothered to contain his voice. "This town's hideously corrupt. I don't want you snooping because I don't want you to get hurt. And I have seen people get hurt! I'd rather it not be you."

She rolled her eyes in defiance. She closed the distance between them, and for a moment Alex wondered if she was going to kiss him again, but then he noticed the ferocity in her eyes and thought perhaps not.

"You—" she said through gritted teeth, jabbing a finger into his face. It caused him to stumble back in reflex, and she cornered him against the door frame. She looked as though she was about to go off on a rant, but something in her wavered and she suddenly felt very tired. She stared at him in contempt, before mumbling, "you exhaust me, do you know that?"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. He remembered Jane, and he couldn't even think about how she would react. Best just to keep Norma quiet first. "Look, the most important thing is that you don't tell anyone about this. We're close now. We have names, we have leads. So if you'd just carry on like nothing's happened—"

"Alex." she said. She wished she could hit pause on the ever-revolving wheel of crazies life had decided to throw at her. "Don't even suggest that. I can't just go on with my life and act like everything's coming up roses—"

"I'm not saying—"

"Excuse me, I'm not finished," she snapped. Her heartbreak had suddenly turned into anger, and she was furious. "I can't go on pretending everything's fine, okay? Not with all of that going on!" She gestured at the report vaguely.

"You're going to have to try."

"But what if I don't feel like it? What if all I really want to do right now," she said, "is scream so loud the whole town hears me—"

"—but you're not going to do that—"

"—oh, but what if I am?" she said maliciously, raising her voice. "In fact, I'm going to do it right now—" she said, and she let out one shrill and piercing scream. He rushed over to cover her mouth and she ducked away. He didn't get her, but she stopped screaming anyhow. She only did it to see if she could, and she could, so she shut up.

"What the hell was that?" he asked frantically. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. He couldn't believe this was the woman he had fallen for, and that despite what they were arguing about right now, his feelings for her hadn't budged an inch. "You're a pretty fucking impossible person to deal with," he remarked.

"You're not so goddam tolerable yourself," she fired back, letting out a scoff.

There was a moment of silence, and then Norma lowered her head because the corner of her eyes had begun to well up, and she couldn't bear the shame of him witnessing her crying. She didn't want him to think her anger had subsided or that she was going to capitulate to him, because she was planning on neither.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and sniffled a little, and then she looked up at him again.

"I didn't mean to do that," she said.

"Do what?"

"Cry. Like some weak-willed woman."

"I don't think you are. I think... oh, just come here, won't you?" he said, extending his arms out a little. "We'll figure this out." He walked towards her, but she shied away from him.

She let out a small hiccup. "No, don't touch me."

"Norma—"

"I said don't you touch me."

He obeyed, but there was a hint of resentment in his voice when he next spoke. "You know, if you find me so repulsive, why did you even call me that night?"

Norma shrugged in a blasé manner. "You were the first person who came to my head."

"Why?"

Alex didn't relent. He knew it was unfair of him to make her admit right now that she did like him. But he knew she had it in her, and if it meant taking an awful amount of digging and scratching and searching to get to that, then so be it.

She knew what he was doing. And he was, although a whole lot guilty, also a little pleased with himself.

"Fine. You were the one person I trusted," said Norma. "I'm..." she began, and she could feel herself tearing up again. She bit her lip. "I told you. You make me feel safe, that's all. And I don't really feel that with most people." She looked at him and his stomach dropped.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly. "I'm sorry. Why do we always end up like this?"

His words were said in earnest.

Alex had observed how dysfunctional they were when they were alone together, as if they could never quite settle on one mood for one time. They always fluctuated with uncertainty, and their emotions came in undulated waves nobody could predict. Every interaction between them was met with bated breath, and it was surely exhausting to keep living like that, but neither would admit defeat either. He wondered if she felt all of that as well.

"I don't know," she said softly. She could sense the atmosphere changing, and it made her afraid. She knew that if they kept going, all of that cloying mush of emotions would spill out, and she was afraid to have that. She had to leave before it happened.

She picked up her scarf and wrapped it around her neck. "I guess I'm just tired. I don't want to talk about this anymore. Just— just forget it. I know I am, so don't you worry. I'm going to forget it, and I'm going to leave now," she said, adjusting the strap of her tote bag before laying it on her shoulder again.

"Where are you going?" Alex asked frantically. They hadn't really settled on any concrete conclusion, and he was scared of letting her go out with all of that information in her head.

"Home," she said, and shot him a glance. "Please don't follow me."

Alex didn't. He watched her slip out of the room wordlessly. There was a slam of the front door, and he knew she was gone.

It took less than two hours for Alex to meet Jane at a petrol station along the highway. It was the halfway point for the two of them, and a place so relatively unknown that they wouldn't run the risk of being spotted. The sun had begun to set earlier due to the change of seasons, and on the drive here, Alex was reminded once again of his hatred of overly bright headlights.

"She did what?" Jane had exclaimed the moment he had told her what had happened. "I'm sorry—" she interjected. "You're telling me she read the entire report because you had just left it on your desk?"

"Not exactly," Alex explained. "I didn't know she was going to show up at my house. I mean, I knew she had to give me that book. I knew that part. What I didn't know was that it was going to be that moment. It's bad timing."

"And careless behaviour," she added, and he nodded. He wasn't going to shrink away from this blunder. He had messed up, and she had the right to criticise him. She let out a loud exhale. "Romero, what the hell are you doing messing around with Norma? I told you you can start pursuing her when you're done with this, just not now. You have to realise what's at stake."

"I do."

"Is she going to keep quiet about this?"

"I think so. I drove here right away. And Zack's out of town," said Alex. "So she wouldn't have had the chance to speak to him yet. In fact," he added, "I don't think she would about this."

"But as his girlfriend, don't you think she has some degree of loyalty to him?"

Alex parsed her words and realised she had a point. She always had a point that he always missed. It was easy for her to sort it out from far away, he thought, where she could see the whole picture. But once you were entangled in it, things grew complicated.

"I'm disappointed in you, I really am," said Jane. "I know what you're going through, but as your superior officer, I can't let your feelings get in the way."

"I understand."

"So put them aside and we'll figure out how to go from here."

"Have you told anyone?" Alex asked when she went by his house again the next day like he had asked her to. He was beaten down from his lack of sleep from the night before, but he knew he couldn't leave things unresolved.

"No," she said. She sounded a lot calmer today, thought Alex, which was always a good thing. They would have a level-headed conversation without either of them dissolving into fits of frustration. "And I won't," she added.

"Good," he said.

"Zack's coming home tonight," she said suddenly, and the sound of his name made Alex tense up. "I'm not sure what I should do. How I should act. I know I made it sound like I was cool with it, but—" But how could you be cool with a thing like that? she thought.

"Just do what you always do," he said. "Tell him you watched a western last night, and it jittered your nerves a little bit, which is why you're jumpy. If you're jumpy, I mean," he added.

The response he had given her was not top-notch, but it would have to do.

Norma was glad she had read the report. Suddenly, her feelings for Alex didn't seem as intense as before. Maybe the thrill of wanting him had gone away with the knowledge that she could have him. And was it always going to be this way? Was she always going to be chasing after love, and then hiding as soon as it showed signs of wanting to be caught?

Maybe, she thought. Because to have someone as your whole world— that was a dangerous thing.

She couldn't put all of her eggs in one basket. She couldn't risk believing in someone else entirely. What if that person vanished? What would happen then? It would be too devastating for her to handle. It crushed her now, to even think about it, and she never wanted to be powerless. She simply would not have it, and she preferred to leave her heart under the rug where she had swept it years ago.

Norma smiled at Alex warmly, and even though that was just her game face, even though she hadn't really meant it, it had made his heart tremble.

"Alright," she said.

"And stay away from him, won't you?" he asked. He couldn't work up the nerve to say Zack's name. "I know it sounds stupid, but he's not exactly the kind of person you think he is."

"And neither were you," she said automatically, and then apologised. She hadn't come over to start a fight again. He didn't take offence.

"Just don't spend that much time with him." He wondered if he had said that for her safety, or just out of his own selfish possessiveness. He couldn't tell.

"You know I have to," she said quietly. "Especially with all this going on."

There was nothing to discuss anymore. Before she left, Norma cast him a wretched look, and it kept him awake the whole night through. It had been two days, and he really needed to sleep. Alex knew that. He just wished he could shake off the discomfort that arose from thinking about her in the arms of someone else.

Norma didn't think much about the study group gathering at Tom's house. As the SATs loomed ahead, her students had decided to set up some last minute study sessions to get them through the exams. She had told them over and over that they would be alright, but everybody had been too anxious about college applications to listen.

It was only seven of them, including Norma. They had decided to congregate at Tom's because his parents always worked late, which meant they had the whole house to themselves and the peace and quiet that came along with it.

The two hours flew by and when night settled in, the students were too tired to keep their eyes open. One by one, they stood up, stretched out their legs and went home. Norma waited until the last kid had left, and when she was alone with Tom, the house seemed bigger and more daunting than she had noticed before. It was a little magical in its grandeur, and the black and white floor tiles made her feel as though she was in a picture book. And it was the perfect opportunity to get him to talk to her about White Pine Bay High's drug problem, and she couldn't leave without knowing more.

It had been going well. Tom trusted her and enjoyed their conversation, so he didn't hold back. He gave her names. Names of his friends, mostly, and of dealers. Norma listened intently and wondered how any of them had enough money to afford recreational drugs, but he shook his head. They just did, he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Their conversation was cut short by the loud bang of the front door closing, and harsh, leather shoes clicked against the marble floor, walking towards them.

"It must be my dad," said Tom. He got up to peer into the hall, and then he nodded at her. "Yeah, it's him."

Norma, still sitting in her seat, wondered what she should do. It must look awfully suspicious for her to be here with him like that, and she didn't want a misunderstanding. She should go. She started putting her things into her bag, and had just gotten up from her seat when Roger walked into the dining room. She felt embarrassed at once, like she had been caught in the act.

"Hello," said Roger. He was dressed in an expensive suit, and he was clutching a leather briefcase in one hand. He sounded friendly and not at all threatening, but there was something in the way he looked her up and down that made her feel exposed. "You must be Thomas' teacher."

"Yes, Norma Bates," she said, extending a hand out to shake his. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Campbell. I was just leaving—Tom had kindly let us use this place for our study group. There were five other kids, so—" She needed him to know that she hadn't been up to anything perverse.

"No, I understand," he said with surprising warmth, cutting her off. He looked at Tom, who stood by the table. "Thomas, weren't you going to pick up your mother from the airport?" Roger glanced at his watch.

Tom jolted. "I completely forgot. What time is it?"

"'Bout half past ten. You'd better get going."

Tom sucked in his gum and looked at Norma. "Sorry, Ms. Bates. I just—the study session was awesome. Thank you so much, I—"

"You're welcome. Just go," said Norma. She smiled at him and he nodded sheepishly, mumbled a goodbye, and ran off.

When Norma and Roger were alone, she put on her coat. She heard the front door slam, and through the open window, the sound of an engine turning on in the driveway. "I'd better get going too."

"No. Stay, won't you?" said Roger. He registered her surprise and sighed. "I just wanted to talk to you about something in my study. It won't take five minutes, I promise."

She didn't know what to expect, but felt obliged to. She got her bag and followed him up the stairs and into the first room down the hall. He flicked on a light and closed the door. He set his briefcase on the table and took off his suit jacket while she hovered around the doorway.

"Please sit."

She sat down on the loveseat of burgundy leatherette and watched as he made two drinks. He turned around and offered her one of them. "Gin?"

"No, thank you," she said politely, giving him a flat-lipped smile. It was just going to be a quick chat anyway, she thought.

"Oh, do have some. It's good stuff."

Norma took the glass but didn't take a sip. She was sitting stiffly with her legs together and her bag next to her, wedged between the armrest and herself. Roger sat down next to her and sighed. He looked perplexed, and she recognised that look. It was the universal worried parent look, wasn't it?

"Ms. Bates—" he began.

"Please, call me Norma."

"Norma," he tried again tentatively. "The thing is, I've heard a lot about you."

She didn't say anything. What was with this town and everybody having 'heard of' her? It made her sound, she thought, like she was some myth who floated down hallways in her free time, some spirit who always left a trail of perfume behind her wherever she went.

Roger shifted sideways to take a better look at her.

She was a striking young woman, she really was. From her clear blue eyes to her impossibly sunflower blonde hair, she looked almost angelic, like a Pre-Raphaelite lady. He had met a lot of pretty women, but Norma was something else, something he had never seen before. And to think she had been here all along, stuck inside a classroom reciting Chaucer and Byron and Dickinson to a bunch of school kids. What a waste of that face!

But it wasn't this that he was concerned about.

Roger had heard about Norma alright, from Rebecca. He had taken Rebecca under his wing two years ago when he found her smart and fastidious, qualities he admired greatly in an employee. He had treated her with kindness, involving her in his underground affair, and she had an unyielding loyalty towards him. Rebecca had always been a little aloof, which let him know he could trust her with business.

But months ago, Rebecca had come to him about Norma. She had been worried this new English teacher would come between her and Alex, as Alex seemed more and more distant. That was before Rebecca had discovered she would get along with Norma immensely well, and she hadn't kept Roger updated so he didn't know what the situation was now. All he knew was that Norma had come into town and made ripples. Strike One.

Roger also knew Norma had been snooping around. All of that researching she had done, that was Strike Two. And Strike Three was freshly imprinted hours ago, when she had the audacity to come into his house and exploit his son in the guise of a study session. So that was three strikes in his book, and she was out.

"I hope they're good things you've heard," said Norma, giving him a weak smile.

"I'll be honest and say there have been some mixed reviews." His bluntness shocked her. "And I gotta say, I know why you're here."

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about," she said. Her voice quivered a little, and she cleared her throat. She had to seem tougher than she really felt.

"But you do. And I'm going to help you with this, so don't play dumb."

Roger downed his drink and put the glass down on the side table, and she took that opportunity to do the same. She left her untouched drink next to his. He looked at it momentarily, and she wondered if he was going to make her have it, but he didn't and she was relieved.

"You're going to help me," she echoed with uncertainty.

"That's right. You just want information, don't you? I've been overseeing this town for years. Drugs, money laundering... I've heard it all. And I have it all," he tapped his index finger against the side of his head, "in here. Now I'm a reasonable businessman, so I'm going to make you a proposal, and you're going to tell me what you think."

"Alright," she said, sitting up straighter.

"Just now, I didn't think you could possibly have anything to offer," he said, "because you're obviously just a high school teacher snooping around." She didn't have time to be offended by his remark. "And I was going to tell you to quit altogether, but I've since decided against it."

"Okay." She had no idea where this was going.

"You know your currency, don't you?"

"I suppose I do," she said vaguely. Her currency? What of it? She didn't know what he was talking about.

"Good. I'm proposing that if you let me do this..."

Roger reached out, and his hand brushed up her dress slowly, until he had rested his palm on her bare thigh. His thumb kneaded small circles on her skin, and she pulled away with urgency.

"What do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed.

She had wanted to bat his hand away completely. But here she was, sitting alone with him in his study, and she had to admit that she didn't want to piss him off, especially when he was much stronger than she was.

"Business," said Roger, smiling lightly. He retracted his hand but she could still feel his touch.

She pulled her dress back down to cover her knee and moved away from him as far as the little couch would allow. It was only about two inches, but it made her feel a little better. So that was what he had meant when he said her currency. Apparently, hers was her looks.

"I'm not that kind of woman," she said curtly, lifting her chin a little as if to preserve a shred of dignity.

He let out a snicker. "Alright, we have a noble one here." He paused, and looked at her dead in the eye. "Norma, you're an attractive young woman and you know what you want," he said almost melodically, seemingly turned on by her repulsion, "and I appreciate that! I do. Now that didn't go well, but I'm giving you a second chance."

He moved in closer and faced her. He swung his arm over the back of the loveseat and tugged at her dress again.

"I don't want it," she said, feeling a surge of panic rise up in her chest. She started to gather her things to get up but he put a hand on her knee again. It felt warm against her skin, and there was a sternness in his action that made her sit back down. She looked at the ring on his finger and felt her sense of abhorrence towards him magnify. "And you're married—" she said dumbly, as though she was reminding him like he had forgotten.

"I don't think that matters."

"It does, and I need to go—"

"I don't know why you're in such a rush. If you'd just stop and think for a second!" he said. "You'll make money with me. Lots of it. Much more than your schoolteacher salary. Double. No, triple."

"I don't care for the money," she said.

He gave a hearty laugh.

"That's what they all say at first. If you take it," he said, "things can go very smoothly from here." His hand travelled up her leg and rested on her inner thigh. She was trying to ignore it now.

"And suppose I don't?"

He leered at her. "Then it's going to be a bumpy ride."

"I'll take my chances," she concluded, finally gathering the strength to push his hand off of her. She got up and felt a little unsteady in her heels, but she knew she had to leave. She grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder.

"If you want to think about it, that's fine too," he said, holding open the door to his study.

"I said I'm not doing it."

"And I said think about it," he said a little more aggressively. And then: "I'll see you out." His tone was light and airy again, and this spontaneous change frightened her.

Norma was creeped out by how grand the house was, and her stomach tightened as she listened to the sound of Roger's footsteps behind her. They got to the door, but before he let her out, he suddenly pushed her into an alcove in the entryway. She let out a squeak.

"What—"

He came onto her by placing a hand on her waist and forcefully planting his lips onto hers. She struggled under his weight but managed to push him away, and she slinked out from the side and unlocking the front door in a manic rush.

She yanked the door open and wiped her mouth against the back of her hand. She was stumbling now, almost tripping over her own feet, but she was not going to stay in the house for a second longer. She could hear Roger speaking to her, in a voice that suggested no shame, much less any remorse at all.

"I do hope this isn't all I'm going to get from you," she heard him call out jovially, and she picked up her pace and ran away from that old house as fast as her legs would carry her.

The smell of coffee was invigorating, and Norma listened to the sound of coffee machines whirring as she waited for her order to be served. Next to her, Alex was uncomfortable.

"You did what?" he repeated for the third time.

"I said I went to his house," replied Norma bluntly. "Are you deaf?"

"No, I heard you-" he said, "it's just—you really shouldn't be poking your head through that door."

"I was just trying to help," she snapped, a little offended.

"Did you?" he asked, and she didn't respond. "He's not a good person."

"You're friends with him."

"I'm not."

"Sure."

She shot him a sardonic smile.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Norma hesitated, and shook her head. "No."

"Good. Just—be careful."

"Mind you, I know that. And I'm always careful."

Alex made a disgruntled sound. This was exactly what he had told her not to do, and here she was, running face-first into danger. This woman was a headcase.

"Two lattes," said the girl behind the counter. They grabbed their cups and thanked her. "You're welcome," she said, and then she went back behind the till to take another order.

"You're not invincible, you know," said Alex. He pushed open the glass door for her and they walked out of the café.

"And neither are you," she said while looking the other way for incoming traffic so she could cross the road.

Across the street, Zack was just coming out of White Pine Books. He saw Norma and had wanted to say hi, but then the car that had stopped in front of the shop drove away and he noticed Alex, too, standing beside her.

Zack felt a knot in his stomach; he didn't want to say hi anymore. He ducked back inside just as Norma looked in his direction, and he stayed there until he was certain she had walked past.

AN: The chapters are getting longer and longer. I APOLOGISE.