Sarah sat at the far end of the bar, pretending to be completely enthralled by the shot glass filled to the brim in front of her, but kept a careful eye on the man seated amongst his friends in a booth nearby all the while. A soft snort escaped before she could fully stop it as she spent a moment taking in his appearance beneath the cover of a sidelong glance. Baby face. Blondish-brown hair. Tall. Muscular. Probably athletic from the looks of it. A real, all-American guy from head to toe.

Honestly, if she hadn't quadruple checked the name on the ID in the wallet she managed to swipe from his jacket pocket as he walked by not long after she had arrived, Sarah would have had some serious doubts over how in the hell this guy ever made it on the list at all.

The list.

The only reason she had come back to Beacon Hills at all…

Grimacing as her cell phone buzzed at her rather insistently from the pocket of her jeans, Sarah reminded herself that she already knew who was calling. That he was not in any way owed an explanation for her presence here. In fact, she would prefer it if he never learned of it at all. But still, that was not entirely enough to force her to refrain from pulling the device out of her pocket, a scowl marring her features as she punched 'decline' on the screen while her eyes narrowed at the name flashing in blinding white letters until she did so.

Noah.

"Stop. Calling. Me," She hissed, stuffing her phone back inside the pocket of her jeans, and returning her attention to the shot glass placed before her, downing the amber liquid inside on instinct and barely noticing as it burned its way down her throat. She could not afford any distractions. Not now.

Not when she was so close to finding the one she had been after all along.

She didn't have much to go on. Just a vague memory of an overturned vehicle. Blood from a cut on her forehead partially obscuring her vision. The unresponsive body of the man in the passenger seat beside her, and a searing pain in her abdomen, making it difficult to breathe…

The flames that had licked at the exterior of the car, distracting her and filling her lungs with smoke as she saw something she knew could not be possible.

A man, engulfed in those flames, but still unharmed, had been fleeing the scene as the familiar red and blue lights signifying the arrival of first responders flared around her before she lost consciousness completely.

No one had known what to think of her dim recollections in the aftermath of the event, attributing her insistence on the presence of the man on fire to the sizeable gash on her forehead. To the injuries the rest of her body had sustained as a result of the crash, and grief over the death of her friend. But Sarah had known what she had seen was not a figment of her imagination. It couldn't possibly be.

She saw each and every vivid detail in her dreams every night since it had happened.

Having never been that creative, Sarah knew that her own imagination could never have come up with something so absurd unless she really had seen it with her own two eyes.

It was real. She knew it was real. Finding out about the list only proved it.

Anyone that wanted to call her crazy could simply go to hell.

Reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, Sarah resisted the urge to give an audible groan, her jaw clenching for a moment as she struggled to get herself back under some semblance of control. She had to focus. She had to, if she wanted to stand a chance at completing what she had come back to Beacon Hills to do.

She had to remember why she was here, so she could get the hell out of dodge before anyone came up with a reason to stay.

Or, more particularly, before Noah found out she was home, and tried to give her a reason to stay.

Determined to avoid thinking of that particular man at all, Sarah turned her attention back to her target instead, noting he was sidling out of the booth, and beginning to head toward the exit, claiming an early start the following morning as the reason behind such a sudden departure. Biting her cheek to suppress a satisfied smirk, Sarah allowed him to pass, waiting until he was mere inches away from the door before hopping down from her own seat to follow after him…

The shift in her demeanor would have been comical, she supposed, had she not been so focused upon maintaining the image that she hoped would distract her target enough to allow her to gain the upper hand.

"Hey–hey, you ah–you dropped this!" She called out, jogging after the man and managing a wide grin as soon as he turned to face her, her fingers clutched around the wallet she had plucked from his pocket when he first arrived, "Looks kind of important."

"Yeah. Yeah, more than just kind of. Thanks."

"No problem. It's–it's Jordan, right?"

"How did you–" The man began, only to stop mid-sentence, a soft laugh escaping as he grinned down at Sarah and shook his head minutely before answering his own barely formed question, "You saw my ID."

"Guilty," Sarah admitted, making a point of glancing up at the man–Jordan–from beneath her eyelashes, and feigning a sheepish sort of embarrassment before going on, "Sorry. I guess you could say I'm a little nosey."

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing."

"No?"

"Not always," Jordan shrugged, holding the door open for Sarah to pass through first, and then following her not long after, aware of how she seemed to tense in response to the cool breeze that gusted at them in the open space between the building they had just departed, and the parking lot beyond it, her arms folding across her chest while he stepped just a fraction of an inch closer to her as a result, "You ever consider police work?"

"God, no!" Sarah exclaimed, a startled laugh leaving her before she could stop it, forcing her to do what she could to ignore the strange twinge in her gut that almost felt like guilt as her companion offered her a grin–a flash of perfectly white teeth that momentarily took her aback–before she was able to speak any further, "That's uh–that's not really me."

"You sure? You certainly seem to have the curiosity for it."

"Positive. The curiosity is just a passing thing, I promise."

"Fair enough. You're parked nearby?"

"I–what, are you intending to walk me to my car?" Sarah quipped, one brow lifting on mock skepticism despite the thrill that ran through her over how quickly this man–the target, she reminded herself–had bought into her charms, "I think I can manage well enough on my own. No need for any chivalry on my account."

"Don't think of it as chivalry. Think of it as returning a favor," Jordan clarified, aware of the lingering question in the woman's gaze, and coming to a stop alongside her as she seemed to waver for a moment, wondering whether or not the offer was anything more than genuine, "How ridiculous would it be for a cop to ride around without license and registration?"

"Pretty ridiculous, now that you mention it–"

"Exactly. Just let me do this one thing. Then I promise you're free. No cuffs, nothing."

"Making jokes about handcuffs already? That's a little–forward, don't you think, Jordan?"

"I didn't–that's not what I–"

"I know. Relax, I'm teasing," Sarah laughed, satisfied with the flustered expression that she received in response, and turning with a final glance over her shoulder before speaking again, "You coming, then? Or am I gonna have to get to my car all by my lonesome?"

Knowing he would follow after her without ever having to risk another glance, Sarah turned her back on the man and made a pointed effort to saunter towards the sleek black sports car parked at the edge of the lot. Without the risk of him glimpsing her expression from his position behind her, she allowed herself a smirk, her right hand slipping inside the back pocket of her jeans to allow her fingers to wrap around the device that would hopefully incapacitate her companion for long enough to allow her to take him elsewhere. Somewhere private.

Somewhere no one could stumble upon them until she had found the answers she needed. Until she had proof he was the one she had been looking for all along, even prior to finding the list.

Based on what she found, she would either keep him or let him go. And that thought alone had a small grin tugging at her lips, her fingers tightening around the device she held behind her back as she turned to face her companion once again, his green eyes taking on a faint hint of suspicion as he spoke.

"Hey, you–you okay?"

"Believe me, Jordan. I'm perfect. And it's all because of you..."

Whether he had anything to say about that or not, Jordan never had a chance to put the thought into words, a soft grunt of surprise escaping as the woman pressed a black rectangle that was suddenly all too familiar into his abdomen, and pain ricocheted through every muscle in response. She still wore that somewhat saccharine smile, though it never did end up reaching her eyes…

It was only after he had dropped like a stone to the pavement beneath his feet that Jordan realized the sweet, innocent do-gooder act she had presented had been entirely too good to be true.

…

Yeah, so…I know I had posted an attempt at a Jordan/OC story a while back and then took it down (because as I thought about it more, I realized I had zero plan for where it was going to go, and kind of ended up not really liking what I had set up so far). But I'm back again with one that is actually going to stick this time, I swear! I think I had a little too much fun setting up this initial meeting between Sarah and Parrish for my own good. And I really can't wait to see how things progress between them going forward.

As always I am so, so grateful for everyone that has taken the time to give this introductory chapter a chance! I appreciate your time, and your support for this and all of my other stories! And I am super excited to see what you think of this story thus far! I cannot wait to hear your thoughts!

Until next time, angels…

MOMM