'Diana's asleep?'

Both Sylvia and Richard looked up at their son entering the living-room.

'She is. She was rather tired from her first therapy session' his mother answered.

Adam scoffed.

'I can't believe you let him close to her' he grumbled.

'Adam, enough. We talked about this. It's in Diana's best interest to get therapy. We're lucky Dr. Crane wanted to do this for free' his father argued.

'He's a freaking psychopath!' Adam snapped back.

'You're being awfully selfish. You obviously have something against this man, that's fine. But don't try to control another person's life because of it, especially since Diana's still recovering' his mother said.

'I'm trying to protect her!' Adam defended himself.

'No. you're trying to hold her back from getting better' his mother said.

'But-' 'Enough, young man. Go to your room!' his father said.

'Dad I-' 'Now!' his mother cut him off.

Adam narrowed his eyes.

'You guys are unbelievable' he grumbled.

'I don't want to hear another word from you. Go to your room' his dad spoke.

Adam stepped back, hurt and awestruck his parents believed Crane over him. Maybe Diana believed him.

XXX

Diana skipped through the pages of her journal, seeing every part of her tormented past written down there. Maybe if she brought it along to her next therapy session, Jonathan would be able to help her better.

She looked up at hearing a knock on the door. The door opened, revealing Adam.

'Mom said you were asleep' he commented.

'I couldn't sleep' she answered.

'Look, I've said this before, but Crane's a complete psychopath. You need to get away from him' he said.

She frowned.

'His name's Jonathan' she argued.

He raised his eyebrow, a dry, disbelieved chuckle escaping him.

'Excuse me?' he asked.

She swallowed.

'You heard me' she said very softly.

'You're defending him? After what he did to you?'

She flinched slightly. He was starting to raise his voice at her. She felt really uncomfortable when he did that.

'He…He's changed. He's really nice to me now' she answered.

'You're so stupid' he scoffed.

Tears prickled in her eyes.

'I'm not' she argued very softly.

'Yes, you are. You're so stupid to believe everything this guy is saying!' he snarled.

She put her hands on her ears. Her bottom lip trembled.

'Go away' she said.

'Are you that blind? Did your mom beat your common sense out of you?!' he nearly yelled.

She closed her eyes, tears beginning to spill and running down her cheeks.

'You're such an idiot!' he yelled at her.

'Leave me alone. Go away!' she cried out.

She dared to open her eyes at hearing footsteps, and saw Richard come into the room. He glared at Adam.

'I thought we told you to go to your room' he snapped.

'What did Crane do to all of you? She's stupid enough to believe him!' Adam yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Diana.

She choked back a sob, her heart breaking at hearing her best friend talk about her like this. They had always been best friends, why was he doing this now?

'Go to your room. You've done enough!' his father snarled at him.

As soon as Adam had left, Richard got over to her. He took a seat next to her.

'I'm so sorry' he spoke comfortingly.

'Am I stupid?' she asked.

'No, you're not' he assured her.

He patted her shoulder.

'Try to sleep. You need your rest' he spoke kindly.

She offered a small smile as he headed out the door, leaving her by herself. She swallowed thickly, hoping Adam would come around. She wasn't looking forward to having to defend herself all the time.

XXX

'So, have you been sleeping better lately?'

Diana gave an absent nod, while admiring Jonathan's certificates. He had quite a lot of them. She was rather impressed.

She touched the glass surface carefully. This certificate read psycho-pharmacology. She had never heard of it before, which made her feel really stupid.

She cringed at the word.

'You're so stupid'

'Yes, you are. You're so stupid to believe everything this guy is saying!'

'Are you that blind? Did your mom beat your common sense out of you?!'

'You're such an idiot!'

She raised her head at realizing he was standing right next to her.

'You had trouble at home. I can see it in your eyes' he concluded.

She wanted to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, but he -gently- brushed the stray lock behind her ear before she could. She felt her heart flutter at his warm fingers tracing her jaw-line, before he pulled his hand back to himself.

'Tell me' he insisted.

She fought back the rising blush on her cheeks, and cleared her throat.

'Adam and I had an argument' she hesitantly said.

'About what?' he asked calmly.

'About you' she answered shamefully.

He frowned at her, his blue eyes studying her reaction. She clenched her fingers into his clothing, her green eyes beginning to water.

'He keeps on telling me you're a psychopath. And if I try to tell him he's wrong, he says I'm stupid' she said.

His hands found the back of her shoulders, grasping them lightly through her sweater.

'Don't cry. If he can't trust you, he's not worthy of being your friend' he spoke.

'But-' 'Let me finish' he interrupted.

She nodded faintly. He moved to grasp her hands within his, before slowly pulling them away from his body.

'He's trying to hold you back. He doesn't want you to get better, because then…you'll remain weak, and easy to manipulate' he spoke.

Her eyes widened. That couldn't be true. It wasn't true.

'Adam…he wouldn't…' she mumbled.

'Wouldn't he? He's in love with you, and I think he's willing to keep you under his thumb so you'll be easier to bend to his wishes' he explained.

Diana looked down, confusion in her eyes. Was Adam in love with her? Was that the reason they were friends? Because he liked her?

'How did you know?' she asked.

'I've studied human behavior my whole life. I can see it in a person's eyes. It's such a shame this is happening to you. You went through enough' he told her kindly.

She rubbed her tired eyes.

'What do I do?' she asked.

'I'll talk to him. Better yet, I'll visit him at your current home. Maybe I can talk with his parents too' he said.

'He can't stand you' she confessed shyly.

He chuckled.

'I can handle him' he assured her.

She offered a smile. She was growing really confident with each session. And while she was conflicted by Jonathan's description of Adam, she guessed he knew him better than she did.

XXX

As Crane prepared Diana a cup of tea, he felt awfully pleased with himself. His plans were running smoothly. Soon, he'd get rid of that boy…and she'd be all his.

'It was a good idea to turn her against her own friend. Soon, she'll want to leave the house to stay away from him'

'Maybe that's a way of avoiding having to kidnap her'

'Why would you want to avoid that? You know it's going to happen'

Crane faintly shook his head. He wanted to spare her from being afraid of him. The simple thought of her being frightened or sad in any way simply broke his heart.

'You really are turning weak. Don't you see what she's doing to you?'

'I'm not weak. I have everything under control'

'Keep on telling yourself that'

Crane simply rolled his eyes at his other half's comment, and returned to the living-room. He found Diana, once again, on the couch, a book nestled in her lap. She gave him a quick glance, before resuming her reading.

'It seems she's rather interested in your subject, good doctor'

'And to think she had such a hard time answering questions in class. She's come such a long way'

She closed the book, and looked up.

'I'm sorry…I just…I was really curious' she said with a small smile.

'It's alright. You can borrow that book if you'd like' he replied.

Her eyes brightened up. She stood up, holding the book firmly against her chest. He briefly was distracted by her body, but met her eyes again rather quickly. He noticed how she was able to look into his eyes, and not look down in fear. Of course, she looked down, her cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink.

He had to smile at her shyness. She was still so timid and innocent. She was nearly twenty years old and yet…she still acted like a child. He assumed her mother and stepfather had always belittled her, and that such small, simple rewards were able to light up her whole world.

'Thank you, Jonathan' she replied.

A chill went down his spine. He still hadn't gotten used to her calling his first name. How easily she said it now, her sweet, soft voice speaking his name.

'If her saying your name already drives you insane, think about what her screaming your name would do, huh?'

Crane froze, and allowed a small, uncomfortable cough to escape him.

'Just shut up, will you?'

He motioned her to sit down, which she did. He held out a cup; she took it gladly. He sat down next to her, smiling at seeing her so at ease with him. It had taken a while, but he was glad she wasn't afraid anymore.

She ran her fingers gently over the cover of the book.

'What's psycho-pharmacology?' she asked softly.

He chuckled, before looking at her. Her big, child-like eyes looked up to him with glimmering interest. He could see she was genuinely interested. She was eager to learn being alone with him, opposed to how little she dared to ask in class.

'It's a study on how drugs affect human behavior' he explained.

She turned her gaze back to the book.

'I see' she softly said.

He carefully laid his hand atop of hers.

'Have you heard from your stepfather yet?' he asked.

She flinched slightly at the word.

'Gordon told me he was dead. They found his body in a dumpster' she said.

'Do you feel relieved?' he asked.

She got up, and rubbed her arms.

'I do. He…he hurt me so much, for three years. Every day, he'd call me out to molest me, or tell me to dress as he pleased so I could satisfy him' she softly explained.

He stood up.

'You're doing much better already. I can see that. When I first met you, your eyes showed pain; you had given up on the thought someone would rescue you. But now…your eyes hold courage and confidence in them. It's a spark, but you're going to get better' he spoke.

Before he knew it, she had wrapped her arms around his neck, and had buried her face into his shoulder. He was taken aback by her display of emotions, but grew into her embrace rather quickly.

'No one has ever told me that. Thank you' she choked.

He nuzzled his nose into her hair.

'You're welcome' he whispered.

She started to cry. He smiled sadly, before gently taking her by her shoulders, and pulling her away to look at her.

'Don't cry' he paused to wipe away her tears, her cheeks warm and soft under his fingers 'You should be happy' he finished.

'I am. I just…I just can't see why Adam hates you. You're such a kind person' she sobbed.

He had to smile at her innocence. If she only knew how far he was willing to go to be with her.

XXX

Short chapters are short! I'm sorry, please don't hate me! I'll make it up to you guys, BIG time! I promise :D

~TheOneWithTooManyInterests