Ivy sat under the setting sun by herself, crying. This wasn't unusual. She was in a secluded area in the park, and hastily tried to get herself back together. Trying not to give into it, she wiped her tears away and took a deep breath before coming out of the trees.

The sky overhead was violet with the sun recently leaving the sky. As Ivy walked through the park, she saw him up ahead of her. Ren leaned against a lamppost watching her approach, his arms crossed.

She stopped with heavy feet, throwing her head back. "You have to be fucking kidding me," she muttered. She lowered her head again and sighed. "How do you find me?" she asked Ren, beginning to walk toward him again.

"I assure you, it's pure coincidence," he replied cleverly, pushing himself off the post. "So where will I be accompanying you tonight?"

As she approached, he noticed that her eyes looked slightly green again, but he couldn't smell any marijuana on her. Only leaving him to realize, She's just been crying.

"I'm going to the grocery store to pick up a few things for my grandfather again," she answered.

"You do that quite a bit," he remarked, trying to make small talk.

"Well, believe it or not he eats three times a day," she returned.

He glanced over at her sauntering alongside him. As usual, she wore jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. Tonight, however, the dark green fabric was reconstructed into an open braid along the side of her arms, extending to the back of her hands and exposing her pale skin.

"You know, even though you're only sharing a little bit, I think this is the first time I've seen your arm, or your wrist even," he commented. Well, first time in a long time, he added.

"Good for you," Ivy replied flatly.

They were silent for a moment as Ren tried to think of a better topic to make small talk about, when Ivy said, "Hey Ren?"

He perked up at this. "What is it, sweetness?"

She gave him an annoyed side-glance at his endearment before she asked, "Do you know what bats eat?"

Ren was taken aback by this, but was glad she asked him about something he could answer. "For the most part, but it depends on the type of bat. Why do you ask?" he pried.

"I found this bat last night. Just a little one that seems pretty common around here. A child had hit her with a ball and injured her, so I've taken Luna into my care and was wondering if you knew."

What...? But none of my bats have been injured... He turned her story over in his mind and prompted, "Luna?"

"Yes, that's what I've named her," he heard as he continued to think. That means someone else is keeping an eye on her... It has to be Anju. God, she can be such a nosy brat. "And the ones that hang outside my window I've named Bruce and Wayne."

Ren wondered for just a second whether his bat was Bruce or Wayne, but then realized, So she's noticed, though I seriously doubt she'll link them back to me. "Well, if it's a common bat in this area, it more than likely eats insects," he answered finally.

"Insects," he heard her whisper back to herself, trying to remember it.

Ren smiled to himself. Damn, she's cute. For any of his other women, he would have said this aloud, even if he didn't mean it, causing them to giggle and cling to him. But she's not like the others. This made him rethink his strategy, making him realize that he might have to alter that as well.

"Would you prefer it if we didn't chit-chat as we walked?" he asked slyly.

"Most likely," she replied.

Ren thought more about how she was different and how he may need to change his game as he walked with her. Normally, I give them my undivided attention, he thought. So I'll give her minimal attention. Tonight I'll do a test.

As they walked Ren began to look around, focusing on their surroundings, and he noticed Ivy peek at him in the midst of their silence. "Ok, it's kind of weird when you're there and don't talk," she confessed, giving in.

He turned back to her and grinned. "Is it now?"

She huffed, looking over his quip. "And here we are," she announced dryly.

Ren followed her as they walked through the automatic doors into the city grocery store. He paused with her and looked around disdainfully while she picked out a basket. "I hate places like this. The odor is wretched," Ren spat.

"Then why don't you stop stalking me and go do something else?" Ivy simply suggested as she continued on.

Ren kept in pace with her. Annoyed, he asked, "I'm not stalking you. Will you stop fucking saying that?"

"Will you stop fucking doing it?" Ivy returned calmly.

Ren huffed and pouted as she stopped to examine the grapefruits, selecting a few to pick up and twirl in one hand, giving them more attention than she gave Ren. She accepted a few, bagging them, then grabbed an accompanying fruit. "And a blood orange for me," she murmured.

"If you're so sure I'm stalking you, then why don't you do anything about it?" Ren asked, starting to get quite irritated with the way he was treated.

"Honestly, I have more important things to worry about," Ivy replied, going about her task.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Ren asked, unconvinced.

"Well, I just know other people, including exes, who are much creepier than you." Ivy gave Ren a good glance and shrugged before focusing again on the products. "If something were to happen, well, perhaps it's not the worst thing that you're watching."

Ren wasn't entirely accepting of this answer, and continued to turn it over in his mind as he followed her silently. He couldn't quite figure out if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Her phone began to ring from the depths of her bag. She hooked the basket on her arm and dug into her bag to promptly answer her phone. "Hello?...oh hi..."

Ivy continued to meander through the store, Ren right at her side. During her conversation, he received a message on his phone: a request from a girlfriend to have dinner. He replied that he had planned on it before pocketing his phone. Though not the kind she's thinking of...

"...Yeah...uh-huh yeah I can pick some up, was that all?...ok, love you..." And just like that her call was over. "Linguini and 2%," she repeated to herself.

Still adorable, Ren admired. He noticed her going to put her phone back in her bag as she continued to glance around the store. Ren snatched it before she could drop it, earning her attention with this.

"Ren, seriously?"

Ren was grinning as he held it above her head, beginning to dial. Ivy reached for her phone and he, being much taller than Ivy, raised it up out of her grasp. He felt his phone begin to ring in his pocket and extracted it, making sure her number did indeed show up.

"Well, look at that," he mused, turning his screen to show her. She stood there, annoyed, with sunken shoulders and a fixed glare. Ren lowered her phone to give back, which she snatched almost as quickly as he had. "Now you have my number," he informed as she slid the phone back in her bag. "Should you decide at another time that having me watch out for you isn't the worst thing in the world."

She looked back up to glare at him, clearly not amused, and then stated, "You're exhausting."

Ren smiled wide. "Oh, darling," he jeered, pocketing his hands and leaning forward a bit, looking right into Ivy's eyes, "you don't know the half of it."

Ivy raised her eyebrows at this implication. "Wow," she declared before stepping around him.

Ren turned to follow, unable to refrain from adding, "And that's precisely what you'll say after."