Chapter Twelve: Crash and Burn

A/N: ummm, I've got nothing to say right now... no, not really, so just on with the story!

Connie and Adam stepped out of the building, chuckling to themselves. It was already dark outside. They had spent the entire afternoon playing hockey and just having fun.

"You're such a cheater," he teased her as they stopped in front of the building, slinging his bag over his shoulders.

"Hey, I won that game fair and square. It wasn't my fault you decided to play all gentlemanly out there." Connie protested with a smile, playfully hitting him on the shoulders. "Don't think you can squirm your way out of this one, Banks. You owe me this dinner."

The two of them had earlier engaged in a little one-on-one game, with the loser buying their dinner that night. Connie had no qualms about going at it all out with Adam. But he, on the other hand, barely got three feet from her, lest he actually touch her.

"Right," he answered sarcastically. "So, what are we having tonight? Chinese? Italian? Mexican?"

"Hmm, I'm thinking Italian."

"Pizza sounds okay then?" He asked with impish grin.

She gave a small laugh. "Sounds great."

"Good. I know this great place. It's just a couple of blocks from here." He pointed towards the opposite direction of his apartment. "Come on, it's not far. Besides, I'm starving."

Connie rolled her eyes as Adam lightheartedly grabbed her forearm and tugged her. They started walking in silence.

A few minutes into their walk, Connie opened her mouth to speak. "Hey, I really, really appreciate what you're doing for me." She turned her head to look at him, but he has kept his gaze in front.

"Mmm hmm," he responded with a smile. "And you're not just saying that because I'm buying dinner, right?"

"Very funny," Connie replied in a sardonic smile. "No, really. I don't know what I'd do without you." She stopped just as they passed by a dark alley.

Adam noticed it and stopped walking as well. He turned around to face her, still wearing that smile he had a few moments ago.

"You're such a great friend, Adam. Thank you for that." Connie then took a step forward, leaned on her toes and planted a light kiss on Adam's right cheek. She pulled back to smile at him, but what she saw confused her.

Right there, on Adam's face, was the look of utter disappointment.

"I don't understand," Connie spoke softly; uncertainty etched itself across her face. "Adam, what's going-"

"Lovely night for a lover's walk, ain't it?" A looming voice echoed.

For Adam Banks, the day was nothing short of glorious.

What started as the best breakfast of his life turned out to be the most magnificent afternoon with the girl of his dreams. Not to mention, he was thoroughly pleased with himself. Somehow, he had successfully managed to wear his heart on his sleeve, yet without Connie recognizing it. Adam had been slyly passing it off as a playful banter between them. His smile never left his face since that morning. It could stay that way until his face fall off for all he cared.

As much as he hated to admit, part of him silently cheered when Connie had asked him not to call Charlie earlier that day, or to contact any of their friends, for that matter. At least it completed the illusion that there was no one else except the two of them together… that the two of them were together. And for a whole day, they really were.

If he were to suddenly drop dead right at that instant, he would have died a happy man.

Well, at least that was until moments ago, when everything suddenly just went south.

One moment, he was standing there, smiling broadly at her, and the next moment, she was unwittingly breaking his heart into pieces with three simple steps.

"You're such a great friend, Adam…"

"Thank you for that…"

And, of course, the kiss.

Rip it right out.

Smash it.

Smash it good.

Adam froze, perfectly speechless as Connie leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek. He never knew that a kiss like that could exist– sweet, like honey, yet burning, like acid.

A feeling of total dejection washed over him, and this time, no smile could ever hide it. A friend… I'll never be more than a friend. He thought miserably. And if there was an actual testament to that, it was the kiss the sealed his fate.

There was no one to blame but himself. He knew he had been foolishly setting himself up for something like this, but still he tried. Everyday he hoped for her to see past his friendship, and realize his offer of so much more. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but it had never really hurt him to try.

Until now.

Adam knew his face betrayed every emotion he felt, so he struggled to compose himself quickly. Unfortunately, Connie had pulled away a second too early, and saw the look on his face.

"I don't understand." She had said softly. Her smiled had quickly faltered. "Adam, what's going-"

Before Connie could finish her question, a menacing voice cut her off.

Adam quickly turned around at the sound of the voice, and saw a man emerge from the shadows of the dark alley they had just passed. Instinctively, he took a step towards Connie, keeping himself in front of her. At the same time, he felt Connie's hand automatically snake towards his arm.

"Can I help you?" he asked the man nonchalantly, but tightened his around his hockey stick. It only took him one look to realize that this man was not here to talk about the weather.

"Not really." The man smirked. He was sporting the standard 'bad guy' package: black leather jacket, dark pants, intimidating smirk, and bad teeth. But he was scrawny, and just a little bit smaller than him.

Adam would have laughed out loud on his face, if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation they were in.

"But that's a nice watch, though," he commented, pointing to Adam's wrist. "Must have cost a fortune." He took a step closer.

Adam felt his heart race, and in turn took a step backwards, still standing protectively in front of Connie.

"Can I have it?" It was a simple question, but there was no mistake in the threat of this man's voice.

But he remained silent, his intent gaze never leaving the man in front of him. He's just one man, and Connie and I both got our sticks. I don't care how much this new stick costs, but if he comes any closer, I would whack him with this and –

"Adam," Connie hissed, interrupting his thoughts as if she has read his mind, "I think it would be a better idea to just give that man what he wants."

"I think girlie here is right." A startling voice from behind them spoke. "It would be better if you just give my friend what he wants."

Connie's grip on his arm suddenly tensed as Adam quickly whirled around to see the owner of the voice.

Another man was standing right behind Connie, but this one was much larger than the other guy. This one was twice Adam's size, with at least a couple of inches on him. Only then that he noticed that the man was gripping her shoulders rather forcefully.

His reaction was instantaneous.

"Get your fucking hands off her," Adam growled as he yanked Connie away from the man's grip. Quickly, he raised his stick and hit the man with such brute force. Once. Twice. Thrice. Adrenaline was pumping into his veins.

"Adam, wait!"

He was about to raise his stick again, but Connie's terrified voice stopped him.

The man stumbled backwards, clutching his bleeding head. Evidently, he did not expect Adam's savage attack.

"Oh shit!" A panicked voice spoke.

Adam's blood froze. In his rage, he had completely forgotten the other man who was standing behind them. The man who was now standing right behind –

Connie!

He spun around, but he was too late. He realized that the scrawny guy had already grabbed a stunned-looking Connie, who dropped her stick, and had one hand on her shoulder and one on her back as he shoved her powerfully towards him. Adam barely had time to react as he caught her in his arm, dropping his stick in the process. The force of her fall caused them to stagger back a few steps.

With that, the scrawny guy hurried over to his partner, and dragged him across the street and into the shadows once more.

"It's okay, it's okay," he breathed heavily, still clutching her in his arms. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, him. "They're gone. It's okay."

But Connie did not respond. Instead, she was making this wheezing sound.

"Cons, you all right?" Adam asked as he took a small step backwards to look at her.

The first thing he noticed was that she was incredibly pale. Deathly, even. Second was that she was visibly having a hard time breathing. Concern quickly took over him. "What's wrong? Tell me what's –" He stopped short as his hands traveled down her back.

Adam went pallid.

There was something warm and sticky on her shirt. In one fearful glance, he knew that one of his worst nightmares had come true. The fucking bastard was holding a knife!

He fell to his knees, hugging Connie tight as he fumbled around his bag for his phone. "I-it's gonna be okay Cons," his voice quivered as he dialed 911. "You're gonna be okay."

Connie opened her mouth to speak, but all she managed was to cough up blood.

"Shhhh, don't worry, you'll be fine." He assured her as he saw the tears that were falling down her eyes. "I promise."

Adam didn't even realize the tears that were falling down his own.

Guy let out a small gasp and bolted upright.

He looked around wildly, slightly confused. His whole body was drenched in sweat. It took him a moment to realize that he was in their hotel room.

"Something wrong?" Charlie's sleepy voice came from the other bed.

"No, just a nightmare," Guy answered tentatively, panting. "Just a nightmare."

Well, that was fun, wasn't it? Yeah, I think I'll leave it at that, for the mean time… Still got some other stuff to do...

Anne918: hey, thanks! i hope you keep reading.. i've still got some surprises in store... :P

Emily: Oh, um, weelllll... Three weeks is just about enough for me to find the prefect place to hide, so - :dashes off:

Anyways, don't forget to write a review!

See you in three weeks!

Cheers!