I'm sorry for taking so long. This particular chapter did not want to cooperate with me and made me write it three different times. There were other, minor issues, but that was the main one.

07

"Alex! Neal's here!"

Brown eyes glanced at the time before pink lips parted to let some colorful swears issue forth. "Be right down!" she hollered, slamming her maths book shut. She got out of her school uniform and tossed it in a corner as she yanked on jeans and a close fitting top. She grabbed her wallet and a denim jacket, thundering down the stairs.

"Hi Neal." She kissed his cheek then bent over to pull on her shoes.

"Hello," he said, looking a little bemused.

Jack laughed and patted his shoulder. "According to Ben, you deserve it."

Neal glowered at the red-head.

"And have her back by midnight." The 'or else' was left unspoken, but was understood anyway.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Bye Jack." She grabbed Neal's arm and drug him out of the house.

"Have fun," drifted after them then the sound of the door closing.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going now?" Alex asked as they got into the car, borrowed from Ben.

"You'll see," was all he said, beginning to drive. He yelped when she huffed and hit his arm.

She gave him a flat look. "I did not hit you that hard and certainly not hard enough to hurt that rock you call a muscle."

"…You like my muscles?"

"I said that they were hard, not that I like them."

He pouted, looking at her when they stopped at a light. "So you don't like my muscles?"

"I didn't say that either."

"…So what do you think about my muscles?"

Alex looked at him. "What is your fascination with your muscles?"

He shrugged. "Just wanted to know what you thought," he answered, playfully petulant.

"Your muscles are very nice. Happy?"

"Yep," he grinned, driving through the intersection.

"You are so weird," Alex said, not for the first time.

"It's a quirk."

She rolled her eyes, looking out the window. Seeing a ferris wheel, she looked at Neal again, eyebrow raised. "We're going to a fair?"

"Yep!" he said cheerfully.

"…Why?"

He frowned slightly, looking at her. "They're fun. Why, you don't want to?"

"I just haven't been to one in years."

"Well, that isn't going to matter. What do you want to do first?"

"I have no idea."

He laughed, parking the car. "Hungry?"

"I guess." She followed him into the crowd, grabbing his hand after the third time people jostled them apart.

He smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. "So what would you like? Hot dog, pizza, popcorn? Regardless, it's going to be greasy and unhealthy."

"And you sound so happy about that."

"I enjoy it while I can. I'm not allowed on my business trips."

She nodded. "When's your next one?"

"I leave in a couple days," he answered.

She nodded again. "Then we'll do what you want to."

"No, Alex—"

"You're always such a gentleman to me. And you have to leave soon. I want to make sure you have fun."

"I'm happy making you smile."

"That didn't sound sappy."

"I don't care. It's true."

Alex blushed slightly, looking away. "Why do you always do that?"

"Because seeing you turn shy is cute."

She elbowed him in the side.

"Oof! Why do you always hurt me?"

"Because hearing you complain is amusing."

Neal laughed. "Okay. I'll stop."

"I doubt that. You'd think things were too boring and find a new way to cause havoc."

"…True. Hey, wanna try some of the games? I'll win you something."

She smiled. "Alright."

"I can't believe you did that. I'm supposed to win you stuff," Neal whined, clutching the bear Alex had won him.

She laughed. "Did I burst a bubble or something?"

"Yes! You have damaged the tradition of masculine posturing that comes with dating," he teased.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "By winning you something or by being better at darts than you?"

He paused. "Are you going to hit me if I say both?"

"I might," she said, smirking up at him. "Or is the real reason you're upset because you've been trying to win something for three hours and I've only done two games?"

Neal pouted before smirking and leaning close as an idea occurred to him. "Tell you what, if you can avoid me for the next half-hour, I'll take you with the next time I go paintballing. Sound fair?" This would be a great way for him to make sure she'd know how to get away if anything were to happen.

Alex eyed him. "What?"

He blinked, realizing that most teenage girls, most females, wouldn't be all that interested in running around and getting dirty. So, what was it that most women liked?

"Uh… And I'll buy you a pair of shoes?" he ventured. Women liked shoes, right?

She laughed. "Alright, fine. Whatever you want. So I get shoes and paintballing if I win?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Starting now. Run."

She smirked then turned and dove into the crowd, moving between people with ease.

Neal took a moment to admire her. Technique that is; and if asked, that was the story he was sticking to. He shifted the bear under his arm and started to gently push his way through the crowd, following her bobbing ponytail.

He didn't really try to catch up to her for the first ten minutes, figuring that she'd think she had lost him and grow over-confident. It was at the fifteen minute mark that he spotted her slipping into one of the 'alleys' between tents.

Quickening his pace, he smirked when he saw her still inside the passageway. "Hey Alex. Looks like I win."

Alex turned to him then smirked. "You haven't caught me yet," she countered before squeezing between the game tent they were next to and the one behind it.

Neal scowled when he saw that, while he could manage to make his way through, it would slow him down a bit since he was bigger than her. "Smart girl," he murmured, hurrying around the stand to pick up her trail again.

It took him nearly all of the remaining time to finally corner Alex. "Alright, as much fun as hide and seek is, the game is over. There's no where else to go. And don't try to go over the shed again! You nearly gave me a heart attack the last time!"

"Big surprise there, scrawny."

Neal blinked and turned, facing the group of guys that had come up and blocked the entry to the alley, all roughly Neal's age.

"Hey babe, why don't you ditch the creep and hang out with us?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "My boyfriend isn't a creep. That title can go to a more fitting group of candidates."

One of the guys scowled, catching the implication. "Shut your mouth, you little bitch."

"Call her that again and you'll be shitting teeth for a week," Neal snarled, shifting to more fully block Alex from them.

Alex blinked this time, raising her eyebrow again, this time at his back. Even though she was mildly annoyed at the action, she was also flattered that he was being protective of her. That was a relatively new experience.

Typically, the goons weren't seeing things the same way. One of them lunged at Neal, most likely hoping to startle him. Unfortunately for him, Neal was a highly trained soldier who they had managed to piss off. Gone was his normal cheerful attitude and in its place was the cold-eyed man Alex had gone through training with.

Because of this, Alex was the only one who wasn't surprised when Neal simply twisted, lifting a knee into the guys gut just before driving his elbow into the base of the man's skull. He stepped aside, letting the idiot fall with a dull thud.

Neal smirked darkly, loosening his stance. "Next?"

The rest of the group jumped forward, but between their inexperience and Neal's skill, the three of them weren't able to do much.

Alex stood back and watched, as Neal seemed to be enjoying himself. Since she was 'spectating', Alex was the only one to see the first guy push to his feet and pull out a knife.

Neal had just downed the last of the three he was fighting when he heard a crack, a soft cry, and a thud from close behind him. He spun in time to see Alex finish lowering her foot to the ground before reaching down and taking the knife.

Neal blinked at the unconscious guy and his obviously broken nose then shifted his gaze to Alex and raised his own eyebrow.

Alex shrugged. "He was going to try stabbing you."

"Ah… I suppose we should call the police," he said, not sounding very keen on the idea.

Alex frowned, not thrilled with the idea either. "Well, we aren't hurt and I'm sure they're not going to do something like this again, are you?" She glared at the quartet and received frantic nods in response. "So maybe this time we can forego it and pretend this never happened. Sound reasonable?" More nods then the men stood to leave.

Alex watched them start away before speaking again. "And, Brian? I'd be really careful if I were you. You never know who's watching." She smirked at the looks all five men were giving her and tossed the wallet she had taken from the man who had pulled the knife. "Have a nice night."

Neal looked at Alex when the men had gone from their view. "What was that?"

She smiled slightly. "My uncle taught me how to pick pockets. He was weird like that." She shrugged again then changed the subject. "When are we going paintballing?"

"Uh-uh. I caught you. I won."

Her smile shifted into another smirk. "No. You cornered me. You didn't actually grab me. I could have gotten away while you were fighting. I won."

Neal scowled slightly. "If they didn't show up, I'd have gotten you."

Alex crossed her arms. "Compromise?" At his nod, she continued. "You still take me paintballing, and we'll forget the shoes."

He blinked. "…Really?"

"Yeah. I've got enough shoes and paintballing with you and your friends sounds fun."

He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. "You're getting more and more perfect."

Alex laughed slightly, looking down. 'Yeah, perfect, except the part where I'm lying to you.'

"Something wrong?" Neal asked, slipping a hand under her chin and making her look up.

She hesitated, debating on if she should tell him when she had a vivid image of him treating her similar to the way he had in training then walking away. Alex forced a smile. "No, everything's fine. I'm just…" She waved a hand. "I don't think the fair is really… suitable now."

Neal nodded, picking up the teddy bear again. "Alright. How's dinner sound?"

"Sounds good."

"I'm home."

Jack looked up from her book. "Hey. Have fun?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong?" the red-head asked, standing and walking over to Alex.

Alex looked away. "Am I doing the right thing lying to him?" she whispered.

"About what?"

"About already knowing what he does, what I used to do… that I'm not a normal girl."

Jack sighed softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Alex, you're the only one who can decide when or if to tell him. Should you tell him now? Well, you did start dating not too long ago. Get to know him first. Later on, that will be up to you."

Alex huffed. "That didn't help much."

"I can't tell you what to do," she said, gently hugging Alex. "All I can do is listen when you need me to and give advice."

"Thanks," Alex said softly, hugging back.

"For what it's worth though, Neal seems to be a great guy. He'd be one you could confide in and I don't think he's likely to be scared off. Just be sure to think things through before making any decisions."

"Yeah. I will… Good night." Alex went upstairs without waiting for a response and flopped onto her bed. She hugged a pillow to her chest as she stared out the window, feeling lost and confused.

'What should I do?'