The train pulled into the station at one o'clock in the morning. A young brunette wearing well-fitting, but worn jeans and a tight black tank top emerged with a duffle bag. She stepped out into the subway station to find it deserted.
Perfect, she thought.
She settled down in a corner where she knew she wouldn't be noticed, and awaited the sunrise. She was patient and passed the time with planning her stay in New York. She was through running from them. It was inevitable that they would find her, but this time she was going to stand and fight.
In a house half way across the city, Jake Long was dreaming. He was standing atop a building staring out at the sunset. Leaning against him was a lovely blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl by the name of Rose.
"It's beautiful," she murmured.
"Not as much as you," Jake said softly.
Rose turned to face him and looked up into his dark eyes. He smiled and leaned closer. She did the same and just as their lips were about to meet, his alarm clock buzzed annoyingly in his ear. He growled in frustration and punched a button to stop the buzzing. He wished that, for once, he could finish the dream. Against his will, Jake rolled out of bed and got ready for school.
Ever since Rose left, he'd been haunted by dreams of her. It was bad enough that he had to live with the knowledge that she was supposed to be his mortal enemy, but to not get to see her at all was almost unbearable. He wanted so badly to tell her how he felt, and to tell her that he didn't care what everyone else said. Now, he feared, he'd never get the chance.
He had tried just moving on with his life. He'd had dates, and girlfriends, but it wasn't enough. Thoughts of Rose kept coming and the feeling was stronger than ever. Relationship after relationship failed and he was ready to just give up. The only girl he wanted was out there somewhere, but he hadn't an idea where.
He wondered why he felt so strongly about her. She was, after all, Hunts Girl. On top of that, she'd been gone six whole years. She'd left him standing there, not even bothering with a 'good-bye'. Any other guy would just forget her and move on. So why was a crush he had back in middle school affecting him so? Was it possible he loved her? That didn't make sense. They came from two totally different worlds, both intent on destroying the other.
He thought about these things on his way to school. Trixie and Spud were arguing back and forth over some silly something and he just ignored them. What really perplexed him was that he hadn't seen Hunts Girl since that night. Surely Rose would've accompanied her uncle on a mission or at least cause some mischief. It wasn't like her to disappear and he knew her uncle wouldn't just let her drop out of every mission. Come to think of it, the entire Hunts Clan hadn't been spotted in a long time.