I looked at Stephen sitting alone at the bar. I expected him to be uncomfortable, but he looked completely focused. This was technically work. It looked like he had even ordered something to drink.

Freddie and I were out on the floor. She wore what she had come over in. A pair of artsy looking mom jeans and a flannel shirt. I had insisted on dressing up a bit more. I put makeup on and stole a top from Boo's clothes, and even managed to use this as an excuse to wear the pink wig.

"I'm not used to coming to spots like this," Freddie told me as we tried to blend in. "Normally just pubs. I used to go to concerts."

I nodded. I could tell I was the only one of us comfortable in this setting. "Back in New Orleans, they didn't play a lot of this kind of music where we went out. Clubs mostly play trap music back home."

"They play what?" Freddie looked confused.

"I'll have to play you a song or two sometime." The music here was still very upbeat, but more pop. A little synthy. Sometimes the DJ would move into a song I knew, and that made it a lot more fun because I could start singing along with all the drunks.

I was really into one song when I felt hands on my hips. Now when this happened back home, one of my friends would either give me a thumbs or get me the hell away from this creep. Since Freddie seemed unfamiliar with the club scene, of course she wouldn't know this code. She wasn't even looking at me. She was scouting for any signs of danger. I was on my own for this one.

Trying to squirm away must have made him think I was just dancing because it didn't work. Neither did standing still. He just pressed his crotch harder onto my butt. I rolled my eyes. I was about to finally just turn around a tell him off.

Freddie's eyes locked on the guy behind me and narrowed. She looked possessive. Like I was hers. She snaked her arm around my waist and pulled me against her. I still felt his hands on my hips but he wasn't grinding into me anymore. I put my arms around Freddie's neck, and she turned her back to him. I smiled at her as we danced a little way into the crowd away from the creep.

Now that she had turned me around, Stephen was in my direct line of sight. He was standing up, watching us. Maybe he had seen what happened. My face felt hot. I hugged Freddie. "You're kinda cute when you're all protective," I said in her ear. I pulled away to find a bright red, flustered Freddie smiling.

She opened her mouth to respond, but her eyes focused on something over my shoulder and her face went blank. "Freddie?"

Jerome walked right passed me and straight to Freddie. She had her eyebrows raised. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"What are you doing here?" I echoed. He looked at me. It took a second. His eyes widened.

"Rory?" I don't think any of us knew what to do. Freddie and I exchanged a sort of panicked glance.

"Hi," I said.

Someone else came around to stand beside Jerome. She put her hand on his arm, but she didn't pay attention to me or Freddie. "What about Rory?" Jazza asked. He didn't respond, so she looked at us. The light bulb turned on. "Rory!" Jazza pounced on me.

"Keep it down!" I said, but I hugged her back.

She pulled away from me, her baby doe eyes crinkled up from her smile. "Your hair is pink! You look so different!" Everything she said was a little too excited. Jazza must have had a few drinks already.

"Yeah," I said. "It's a wig, actually. I'm trying to look different, you know?"

Jerome folded his arms. "But what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be keeping a low profile," he asked just loudly enough for us to hear him.

Freddie nodded. "We're working. Training, sort of. I don't know how much you know..."

"He knows enough," I told her. "There's been weird stuff happening and since it's near Wexford, I figured this had something to do with me. Plus Boo and Callum have their weapons so I'm basically Stephen and Freddie's only option."

Jerome nodded. "I've been keeping track of the stuff happening around since you told us. It's good you came here. That girl from Thursday is still in critical condition. So you two came out on your own?"

I hated to burst his bubble since he sounded a little hopeful so I didn't say anything. Freddie shook her head and pointed to the bar. "No. We're only training. Stephen's sitting over there keeping an eye on us, but he can't really do anything else since this really has to be something Rory does."

"No pressure," I joked with a tight grin. Jerome didn't look too happy.

"By the way," Freddie said," I don't think we've met. I'm Freddie Sellars." She held out her hand to Jazza, who smiled widely and took it.

"I'm Julianne Benton. I used to be Rory's roommate until she abandoned me." Jazza shot a mock pout in my direction. "You can call me Jazza, if you like. Everybody does."

"So what are you to doing here?" I asked again.

"It's like I said," Jerome shrugged. "I've been keeping and eye on things, too."

I nodded. I had fed Jerome a glimpse into his favorite thing: conspiracies. Of course he would start to obsess over the ghost spewing crack in the ground, and do so more efficiently than I had. I smiled, and looked back to the bar to make sure Stephen was doing okay.

Without warning, the lights cut out. My breath caught as we were plunged into darkness. I had bad experiences with the dark. I couldn't move. My breathing came out quick and heavy. I didn't know what was wrong with me, or why I was reacting like this so much lately. I reached out and caught someone's arm. "It's alright, Rory," Freddie said. She took my hand off of her arm and laced her fingers through mine. Freddie was solid. Freddie kept me here instead of spiraling to wherever my mind was trying to go.

I saw a beam of light on the other side of the club. That was the bar. That was where Stephen was. That would be Stephen with his flashlight. The light searched the room and landed on me. I squinted against it and held up Freddie's hand. The light moved away to behind the bar.

My eyes adjusted enough to the dark that I could see outlines. I could make out Jerome's curly hair and Jazza's silhouette next to him. The club was one big sound of disappointment. Everyone was grumbling or sighing. I think a few girls had screamed when the lights went out. Now they were just waiting for the lights and the music to come back on.

What was the point of this? What was the game this ghost was playing? Maybe it wasn't playing a game. Maybe the electrical hiccup was just a side effect of its presence. Ghosts did that, right? I kept looking around the club for something that seemed different.

The power came back on. The loud music replaced the groaning of the drunk patrons. Over Freddie's shoulder, I saw something. It didn't look exactly like a person. It didn't have a distinctive shape. This was a much scarier version of a kid's ghost Halloween costume. Just a sheet with holes for eyes. I couldn't hear if it made any noise, but there was a vibe coming off of it. A really bad vibe.

It was getting close to us. The ghost stopped at the group next to ours. It reached out and touched the girl behind Freddie. It's hand was wrong. It looked burnt. It's flesh was black and gray and raw. It ran its fingers over the girl's skin and she rubbed her arm like she was trying to get rid of a bug. I watched this, and my friends watched me.

I looked at Freddie. She turned and saw the ghost as well. Jerome and Jazza watched us in confusion. Freddie turned back to me. I put my hands on her shoulders. "You got me?" I asked. Freddie nodded, looking determined. I closed my eyes for a second. I didn't know how this one would go. I tried to keep up the act that we were just a cute couple out for a good time. I wrapped my arms around her and we swayed. I stuck my hand out but I couldn't reach. I pushed her a little further back.

For a split second, the ghost turned and saw me. I could hear it now. It made an awful grinding screech as it watched me reach for it. I wanted to hide my face in Freddie's neck. It went to grab my hand as I sunk my palm right into its stomach. The noise got louder. My bones went cold.

I collapsed into Freddie.

I was aware that someone was holding me. Whoever it was was warm and their sweater was soft. The smell of burnt flowers still surrounded us. The person had a deep voice, which I could feel vibrating through their chest as they spoke in what sounded like an argument.

"Why make her do it if you know it hurts her? Hasn't she been hurt enough? Rory doesn't need anymore bad stuff, she doesn't need you," I heard Jerome say.

"It's up to Rory to decide what she needs," Stephen said very calmly. "You know that she is making her decisions of her own free will. She decided to be here tonight. Now I need to take her somewhere safe."

Jerome growled. "I don't believe she's safe anywhere you are."

"Stop," I moaned. It was very hard. I couldn't think of the word at first, and then there was the process of actually making my mouth move and my voice work. My brain and body didn't want to work together.

Someone's hand was on my cheek. "Rory," Jazza said softly, like talking to a sick child. "Are you alright?"

I hummed. Even that was difficult. I focused really hard and was able to move my arms. I slipped them around Stephen's neck and pulled myself up to press my face there as well. "Need... sit... rest." Talking was definitely not working.

I felt him nod. "Explain this?" This must have been to Freddie. Stephen started to walk away. He didn't exactly carry me. That probably would have gotten too much attention, but he was as good as. He carried all my weight, only letting my feet drag slightly on the ground. He had both his arms around my waist. I could stay here...

"Excuse me, do you mind if we–?" I heard a group of girls clammer in assent as they probably scooted around. Stephen sat me down on a cushion booth and slid in very close so I could lean on his arm.

I felt someone stroke my arm. "Had a bit much to drink, love?" I got my eyes to open and saw about four girls looking at me. I nodded. "Mm, here this is mostly water now," the girl beside me said. She held out her drink and brought the straw to my lips.

Seeing the drink made me realize how parched I was. I managed to close my lips around the straw. Even being watered down, I got a strong hit of vodka. It burned a little as I swallowed it. I gagged and recoiled. I wasn't prepared for that and I was in no state to take it like a champ.

Stephen rubbed my back. "I'll go get you a water," he said in my ear. I laid my head on the table as he got up and walked away.

"Your man seems so sweet!" One girl gushed.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Clark never used to worry about me so much when we went out. I always had to be the sober one," she moaned. I listened as she and her friends listed all the bad traits of their boyfriends and their exes. It was kind of nice to just hear about normal things in normal lives.

I sat up when I started to feel a little stronger. They included me in their conversation. Sitting back and listening was much easier than talking, and luckily they had a lot to say. Stephen came back with a glass of water and sat beside me as they gushed over how sweet they thought he was and how cute we were. I just sipped water from the cup Stephen held for me and closed my eyes again. The fact that I was leaning into him and his arm was around my shoulder probably didn't make us seem single.

"How do you feel?" Stephen asked.

"Tired," I breathed. "Could we go back to the flat?"

"Yes," he said, sounding relieved. "Stay here, I'll go find Freddie."

"Can I go to the bathroom? I'll meet you back here." Stephen took a moment to look at me and then nodded. He went off into the crowd and I used all my energy to stand up and walk to the restrooms.

I rested my weight against the sink counter at first. Splashing some cold water on my face helped wake me up a little. I fixed the smudges in my makeup before finally going into a stall. A couple of girls came in and I heard the distinct smacking of kissing lips. They didn't even stop when I flushed.

I really love drunk people. They get so caught up in themselves. It's annoying a lot of the times when it physically involves you, but this was something I could deal with. They were probably too drunk for it to get awkward.

I opened the stall and stepped out to wash my hands but I was caught off guard. The girl against the wall was Jazza. She was kissing someone a little shorter than her, who had curly brown hair. "Um?"

Freddie jumped back as soon as she heard my voice. "Rory!" They both looked at me with terrified expressions. I looked back with mild amusement mixed with confusion. I blinked a few times, then proceeded to walk to the sink and wash my hands.

"Stephen's looking for you," I told Freddie. "We're about to leave. He probably wants you to come with, but I can make up an excuse if you want." I grabbed a paper towel to dry off and looked at them again. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." I smiled and walked out.

Honestly, I was too tired to tease them further at the moment. That could wait for some other time. I caught Stephen at the door. "I couldn't find Freddie," he said urgently. "Did you see her?"

"Yeah, actually she was in the bath–"

"Hey, have you seen Jazz?" I turned around to see Jerome. "I've been looking for her. She and Freddie went to the bar and I haven't seen them since."

"Yeah, they were in the bathroom."

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," I assured him. "We're actually about to head home though. I'm exhausted." I turned to Stephen. "I don't know if Freddie's up to leaving with us though. She seemed a little preoccupied."

He didn't ask any questions, but he nodded. "Well, then I guess we can go."

I smiled and turned to Jerome. "I'm okay. Really. I just need some sleep. I am glad you ran into us." Jerome just nodded. He was biting his tongue, and I was grateful for it. I couldn't deal with any of our baggage tonight.

"So am I," he finally said. "I'll get Freddie and Jazza home safe." He stuck out his hand. "It was... good to see you again."

Stephen grasped Jerome's hand and shook it once. I smiled. Jerome really was a good guy. He had his manners and he would try to behave for my sake. "You, too," Stephen told him.

We said goodbye and Stephen wrapped his arm around my waist again when I stumbled as we walked out to the car. He helped me in and buckled me up.

I must have dozed off on the drive back to the flat because it felt like we were there in seconds. He walked up the stairs behind me and once we were in the flat I went straight to Boo's room. Technically, it was my room as well. I heard Stephen talking to Boo and Callum, probably catching them up on where we had been. I was already in bed under the covers when Stephen came in.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked.

"Yeah," I exhaled. "Just really sleepy. Ugh, I forgot to take off my makeup. Hey, could you go to the bathroom and get me one of the wipes behind the mirror?"

"Er- yeah," he said. While he went to the bathroom, I took off my new wig and tossed it back in the bag with the others. Under the covers, I slipped out of my jeans. I stretched out of the bed to reach for a big T-shirt on the floor to change into. Stephen came back in and handed me the wipe. "Here you go."

"Thanks," I said, rubbing it over my face. I felt like I had done a sufficient job, so I looked back at Stephen and asked, "Did I get it all?"

"Mostly. Here." He took the cloth from me and wiped around my eyes. He told me to look up so he could get under my eyes. His hand moved very gently over my face.

"Thank you," I repeated. I smiled at him as I laid down, pulling the covers tighter around me. "Goodnight, Stephen."

"Goodnight, Rory," he replied. His voice sounded muffled and I didn't remember him leaving.

We were sitting at a booth in a diner. Stephen was in uniform. I was just wearing a sheet. "They're in the bathroom," Stephen said.

"Who?" I asked. There didn't seem to be anyone in this place but us.

"Regina and her friend. They're in the bathroom." He leaned in closer and whispered, "they're doing drugs. That's what her friend brought."

"Your sister?" He nodded. "Stephen, your sister isn't in the bathroom."

"She is. You can finally meet her." There was something wrong with that statement. I was pretty sure Regina was not in the bathroom. The only thing I could think of was to kiss Stephen. Maybe that would wake him up out of whatever trance he was in.

Something told me Stephen did not want to kiss me. I didn't want to kiss Stephen if he didn't want me to. I bit my lip. We had kissed before, hadn't we? Why shouldn't we now? But I was certain this was not a good time to do that.

Instead I stood up and walked to the bathrooms. I was almost scared to open the door. I stuck my head inside the bathroom. It didn't sound like anyone was in there. "Hello?" I called. No one answered me. None of the stalls looked occupied. I sighed and closed the door.

"Behind you," a voice said. Startled, I turned around. In front of me was a pale girl with brown hair. She wore a lot of bangles on her arm and a short dress. She looked real.

I recognized her from a picture. She was a little taller than me, probably because she was wearing heels. "Re—" Regina covered my mouth and put her finger to her lips.

"Don't say my name," she said. "He'll hear you."

"Stephen? Do you not want him to know you're here?" She shook her head. "I feel like... I shouldn't be here," I told her.

"Of course you should. I picked this from your memory. You're meant to be here," Regina said. I couldn't make sense of this information.

"My memory? I've never been here..." I looked around. A second ago, I was certain that I'd never been here before. Then it started to feel more familiar. Hadn't Stephen and I had a conversation here once? We kissed...

Regina was playing with the bangles on her arm. "I don't really know how I got here, but I think you have something to do with it," she said. She looked at me again. "You can't trust them."

"Who?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment as she stared deeply at me. "Sid and Sadie are not the only ones who want to use you. You are in danger, Rory. You can't trust any of them." Regina craned her neck to look back. I followed her gaze. "Not even him."

I opened my mouth to ask why I couldn't trust Stephen, but Regina started to walk away. "Wait, where are you going?"

Regina pushed the exit open. "Don't go in the bathroom," she said. She walked out.

I stared out after her, and I knew I couldn't follow. I looked back to where Stephen sat in his trance, waiting for his sister. I heard the bathroom door open behind me. I turned around.

"Hello, little diamond." Sadie's hand was around my throat before I could even process what was in front of me. My windpipe was being crushed effortlessly. I scratched at her hand, but she seemed unbothered. My vision started to tunnel. I gagged as she squeezed my throat.

I blinked in the darkness. I was heaving for air. I brought my hand up to my throat to find it free. A silhouette moved in front of me. I shot my fist out and made contact with with the shadow person's stomach. I heard a low groan.

"Stephen? Oh my god, I'm so sorry," I gasped. I still felt breathless. I dropped to my knees.

"It's fine," he said, but he did not sound super fine. I had punched him as hard as I could. He got down to the floor as well. My eyes adjusted to the dark as I slowly regained control of my lungs. "Deep breaths," Stephen coached. He rested his hand on the curve of my neck.

"I'm sorry," I said again.

He ignored my apology. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," I told him. "How did I get out here?"

I saw the line of his shoulders raise up. "You opened my door. I tried to talk to you but you came back out here. I heard you talking and came out to see who you were talking to but you were alone. Then all of a sudden you started gagging. I realized you weren't breathing. I tried to come help."

"I sleepwalked?"

"I guess so. Have you ever done that before?"

"No. I mean, I've mumbled in my sleep, but I've never walked or had a full out conversation. You said it sounded like I was talking to someone?"

"Yeah. I was surprised no one was in here with you."

I looked away from him, trying to recall my dream. I put my hand on top of his in what I hoped he took as an absent gesture. He didn't move.

I remembered then. I had been talking to Regina. She said I couldn't trust Stephen. She didn't want me to say her name. She knew I was talking out loud.

Stephen squeezed his hand around my fingers. "Are you alright?" He asked.

I nodded. I couldn't tell him about my dream. I didn't want him to worry. And I definitely didn't want to tell him I had talked to his dead sister whom I had never met. Who told me not to trust him. "Yeah," I sighed. "Are you? I'm sorry, I think I was being attacked in my dream and when I saw you move closer, I panicked."

"I'm alright," he said. "I'm more worried about you. This could be some manifestation of PTSD."

"Maybe," I agreed. "But I've had enough of doctors and shrinks recently. Please, could we just keep this quiet."

I squeezed his hand. He was silent for a long time, but I saw him nod. Stephen let out a deep breath. I was tired again, but I didn't want to move away from this spot. Regina said I couldn't trust him, but she didn't say why. Maybe I just couldn't trust him to cook me a good omelette? Maybe I could still trust him just enough to kiss him again. He could push me away and I could blame it on being sleepy. And then he could pull me back and we could both blame it on being sleepy...

"You should go back to sleep," Stephen said before I could actually talk myself into leaning forward. "You can take my bed; I'll take the couch."

I scoffed. "I'm not gonna kick you out of your own room," I told him.

"Rory, I don't mind–"

"Stephen, I'll just stay with you. That way you can stop me if I start doing anything weird again." I stood up with my hand still wrapped around his and waited for him to follow me up. Stephen's room was mostly back to the way it was before we raided it. I didn't dwell on this. I hurried up to pick a side of the bed and made myself comfy. Once he climbed in beside me, I fell back asleep.