Chapter 12

That was…interesting…

"Come ON! Let's go in!! It's not like the store's gonna bite or anything!" I yelled at him.

"No…I just…no." he replied. Obviously he had some reason for not going in, but he didn't want to say it.

"You're coming in, whether you like it or NOT." On "not" I yanked his am, causing him to lose balance and literally fall into the store. I started picking stuff off the racks and shoving them into his arms. "Ok, now this…definitely not your color…" I muttered to myself as I threw a yellow muscle tee back onto the rack. When I was finished, I pointed to the corner of the store.

"Alright, dressing rooms are over there. I'll wait on the outside and you're going to come out and show me EVERY…SINGLE…THING…that I picked out for you. None of this 'noo I'm not coming out' because I can and WILL make you come out, so don't even bother protesting." I stated matter-of-factly.

"Fine, fine…whatever…" he ducked into a fitting room. I waited impatiently outside the door.

"Hurry up…it can't take THAT long to put on a pair of pants…"

He walked out in a pair of baggy khaki pants and a black muscle tee. My eyes widened. He has a chiseled physique, very toned and muscular. He just rolled his eyes at my stare and said, "I am NOT trying on anything else. And that is final."

"Fine then I'll go pay for this. Hold on a sec."

I paid for the t-shirt and khakis and made Fowl put them on in the nearest bathroom. I told him at a mall, walking talking fashion hazards are a no-no. He just shrugged and ducked into the nearest restroom that we could find. When he came back out I was speechless again. I felt myself turn red; I turned away so I wasn't facing him. "C'mon," I said, (I looked down at my watch; TEN TO THREE??! WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!) "We still have to hit the movies."

"Must we?" Artemis asked.

"Yes, we HAVE to." I mocked. "What do you want to see?" I asked, ignoring what I think I heard him say under his breath. ("I always thought she was a bitch…")

"Er…I duno." He responded.

"Then we'll go see Van Helsing. Fair enough?" I suggested, still smarting after his remark.

"Yes. That's fine." He seemed distracted. "Ahem, Amalia…might I ask you something?"

"Yeah, go ahead." I was puzzled.

"If you're such an assassin, trying to kill me and everything, why haven't you tried yet? You've had many opportunities, certainly."

"Well, I…I'm not sure…I don't want to talk about my job…" I said nervously.

"Oh……alright. I understand." He said solemnly.

We bought tickets and went to the movie. It ended up being pretty good, actually. I quite liked it. We went to dinner afterwards, too. That was also quite nice. I enjoyed it…sort of. It was a bit…strange, but oh well. Fowl gave the Manor a cellphone call during dinner and told a random person (whoever picked up the phone and knew how to drive, I guess) to come pick us up. That's exactly what happened. The clockwork of the manor is so weird. I'll soon be part of it.

The black limousine pulled up into the massive driveway. The chauffer electronically unlocked the door and led us in. He left, heading for the servants' quarters. "Well…um…thanks for taking m to dinner and stuff. It was fun." I said.

"No, no…thank YOU. It was fun…I suppose." He said.

Suddenly I found that he just a bit close to me. My breath caught in my chest. "I-well-I gotta go to bed. I'll see you later…." I gave a tiny wave and started heading up the stairs to my room.

"I agree…me too."

We both met at the top of the stairs. "Well, good-night." I looked down.

"Good-night." He replied. He walked over to be and held me by the waist. "Thank you for everything." Then he kissed me. He pulled me closer and deepened the kiss. I felt his tongue beg entry, but I stubbornly didn't let it. As it was becoming quite passionate, he pulled away. I looked up at him.

"You could have killed me just then. Why didn't you?" he whispered huskily.

"I chose not to."

"Why?" he asked yet again.

"I just...I don't know. I chose not to." I insisted

"Oh. I see. Well, must go. Tah."

I stood in the hallway, the tips of my fingers touching my lips...what did I just do?!