Heeey guys! I'm back with chapter 5, and boy are you in for a ride! I'm gonna be vague as hell and leave it at that. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 5: Just Friends…?

As soon as my shift ended, I rushed home to start getting ready for my evening with Matt. My body was shivering with anticipation, my stomach filled with butterflies and doing constant somersaults.

I shouldn't be so nervous over a simple and casual dinner, it's not like it was a date.

It's a goddamn date and you know it.

It's only a casual dinner with Matt.

Beautiful, sweet, sinfully sexy Matt who is obviously attracted to you.

A casual dinner with Matt, who is my neighbor and just my friend.

Really? Just friends? Tell that to your hormones, you dirty liar.

With my stupid thoughts refusing to shut up, I reached for my CD collection and popped in the first one I grabbed, which ended up being Erasure. Whoever owned these CDs had excellent taste.

The beginning chords of A Little Respect started playing as danced towards my closet.

I try to discover
A little something to make me sweeter
Oh baby refrain from breaking my heart
I'm so in love with you
I'll be forever blue

I continued singing to the lyrics, not really paying attention to the lyrics as I went through every dress I owned. Unfortunately that wasn't saying much, since I had very little to offer in my wardrobe. Packing light didn't leave much room for much clothing.

After spending 20 minutes fussing over it, I finally settled on a light grey sweater with long sleeves to cover the bruises, and an A-line red skirt that sat a few inches above my knees, completed with black tights and my black ankle boots.

Red and grey, huh? Interesting choice of colors.

I continued to ignore my inner thoughts as I put on a bit of makeup and brushed my hair.

I heard a knock at my door 10 minutes later and my heart, as well as the butterflies in my stomach started fluttering at ludicrous speed once more.

I tried to calm myself as I reached for my jacket along with the small heart shaped purse Lucy was kind enough to loan me. I rushed to the door, paused to take a deep breath, and opened the door to greet my friend Matt, who was not my date.

Keep telling yourself that.

"Hi Matt!" I greeted with a smile I seemed to always have when I was around him.

My heart raced as he smiled back at me, "Hi, Iris. You look beautiful tonight."

"And how exactly can you tell, Mr. Murdock?" I giggled as my eyebrow raise in amusement, "I could be dressed like a homeless person for all you know."

Matt belly laughed, "You raise a very good point, Ms. Roberts." He tilted his head as he "looked" right at me. "But something tells me that's just not the case with you. How can I tell you look beautiful? I just know. Call it a hunch." He finished with a knowing and sexy smirk.

Well what the hell do I say to that without making an aroused idiot of myself?

I didn't have to touch my face to know I was blushing tomato red. I cleared my throat as I tried to change the subject. "Thank you, Matt. You look beautiful all the time." My eyes widened at the realization of what I said. So much for changing the subject, you twit!

Matt's eyebrows rose as I stuttered to fix my slip up, "I-I meant handsome. You look handsome all the time- I mean tonight! Not that you don't all the time, I just meant-um…" You're making it worse, shut up! "So where are we going again? We should go!" Smooth.

Matt, God bless him, tried his hardest not to laugh at my embarrassing display. He was kind enough to go along with actually changing the subject. "You should probably turn off your music first."

I stood there confused for a second before I heard the current song playing loud and clear in my apartment.

When it's cold outside
Am I here in vain?
Hold on to the night
There will be no shame

Always, I want to be with you
And make believe with you
And live in harmony, harmony oh love

Fuckin Erasure!

My already flushed face turned even redder as I rushed to shut off the stereo I thought was my friend. Of course it would play Always at the most inappropriate time after I already embarrassed myself once this evening.

I let out a silent prayer that this would be the last of my awkward moments for the night before I walked back towards Matt and locked the door.

I turned to look at him, still blushing. "I'm sorry about that. My brain is sort of all over the place."

Matt just gave another sweet and beautiful smile in return as we started walking towards the elevator. "Don't worry about it. Besides, that sounded like a pretty good song. Who was it?"

"Erasure. The song's called Always." I replied, the blush starting to fade from my face, but still very much present. "I haven't listened to them in years, they're one of my favorites."

Matt nodded with a smile. He motioned for me to step on the elevator first as he replied, "They sound pretty good. I'd ask if I could borrow your CD sometime, but I can hear your music through the walls perfectly."

My eyes widened with guilt, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry for playing my music too loud. I didn't mean to be so insensitive."

Matt's brows furrowed with confusion, "Iris, you don't need to apologize." He reassured me, "I wasn't implying that you were disturbing me. And you're the furthest thing from insensitive."

I looked up at him timidly, "Really? I wasn't bothering you? Because I'll be sure to keep the music down from now on."

Matt just smiled that sweet endearing smile that always makes me melt, "Please don't. I actually enjoy hearing it. It's a nice change from hearing the city noises and sirens all night."

I smiled with relief, ignoring my rapidly beating heart as we stepped out of the elevator and made our way out to the restaurant with Matt leading the way.

Bella Notte was a little hidden gem of an Italian restaurant just a few blocks away from home. The delicious smell of garlic, Italian spices, and marinara greeted us as we entered the restaurant. The space was small, could fit maybe 30 people at the most, very intimate. The lightning was somewhat dim with fairy lights hanging on the ceiling and a lit candle at each table, giving it an enchanting ambiance. Paintings of different parts of Italy adorned the rustic brick walls. The music of Frank Sinatra's Night and Day filled the air.

We were shown to our table that was towards the back of the restaurant. Matt, the perfect gentleman, pulled my chair out for me to sit before he took his seat across from me. The waiter took our drink orders and left us alone to look over the menus.

I looked over at Matt, concerned that he didn't have a menu in braille. "Matt, would you like me to read the menu for you? You can let me know what sounds good."

Matt shook his head with a grateful smile. "No thank you, Iris, that won't be necessary. Thanks for the offer though, that's really thoughtful of you."

"It's no problem at all." I smiled in return. "I take it you've been here enough times to remember the menu?"

"Yeah, you'd be right about that." He chuckled. "I usually get the chicken parmigiana. It's pretty amazing."

I instantly felt my mouth water. I hadn't been allowed to eat anything fried or breaded in years. He insisted I needed to watch my weight, even though I never once had a weight problem.

What the hell did he know? He doesn't matter anymore, so don't think about him. Focus on the sweet, gorgeous man in front of you who is the complete opposite of that monster.

"You know what? That sounds fantastic, I think I'll have the same." I replied.

Matt grinned, "Okay, great! I promise you won't regret it."

The waiter chose that moment to return with our two glasses of red wine. I gave Matt the okay to do the honors of ordering our food for us.

"I'm going to remember you said that in case I have to sue you for false advertising." I jokingly threatened as the waiter walked off. "And there's witnesses that will back me up."

Matt laughed, "Oh, hell, you got me there. I'll have to make extra sure you enjoy it then. Foggy would never let me live it down if you took me to court."

"Well, I imagine he wouldn't, since I'm going to hire him as my attorney." I laughed as Matt let out a dramatic gasp.

"Ms. Roberts! You would dare use my own partner against me? What makes you so sure he'll even betray his best friend like that?" He asked with suspicion.

I was quick to reply, "He has heart eyes for my boss. I just need to have her ask him, and he'll be putty in our hands."

Matt's eyebrows raised in surprise, "I didn't take you for the type to play dirty, Ms. Roberts. I'm impressed."

I smiled in victory, and I might or might not have done a little victory dance in my chair. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Mr. Murdock. I'm just full of surprises." If he only knew.

"Well I'm hoping I can change that with time, Iris." Matt replied with that sexy smirk I love so much. "I'd love to get to know you better, if that's okay."

I blushed as I tried to think of how to approach this without giving too much away. "Yeah...I guess that's okay…" I hesitated. "How about we play 20 questions? I tell you things, you tell me things."

"Quid pro quo, Clarice?" Matt joked.

"I'm pretty sure you're the Clarice in this scenario." I quipped.

"Okay, Hannibal. Just don't eat my liver." He chuckled with a smirk.

"I make no promises, Matt. This is a very nice Chianti." I replied as I took a sip of my wine.

Matt let out an infectious belly laugh that echoed through the tiny restaurant. Before he could say anything else, our waiter came back with our meals in record time.

"Before we start our game, you have to take your first bite and be honest about how amazing it tastes." Matt stated as he waited patiently for me to take the bite.

It was delicious. The crispness of the breaded chicken was bursting with flavor in my mouth, the fresh pasta soaked in marinara sauce was so mouth watering, the smoked mozzarella literally melted in my mouth. It felt like my palate was awakened.

"It's good, right?" Matt asked, already knowing the answer.

"No." I replied with a straight face.

Matt looked confused as he was stunned silent.

I couldn't hold back my laughter and decided not to torture him any longer, "It's amazing!"

Matt let out a surprised laugh, "Oh I'm gonna get you back for that." He pointed at me threateningly with a sneaky smile on his face.

You've already got me. My heart skipped a beat at the thought. Matt tilted his head slightly, as if he heard my heartbeat.

I quickly brushed it off with a laugh. "Good luck with that, Clarice."

"Alright, Hannibal," Matt chuckled, "Let's play. Ladies first."

"Thank you, don't mind if I do." I replied as I thought of my first question. "How old are you?"

"Starting off easy, I see. I'm 32." He replied. "How old are you? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

I smiled cheekily, "I'll allow it for now. I'm 23." Matt's eyebrows raised in surprise at my answer. "What music do you love?" I asked.

Matt took a second to think about it. "I honestly don't listen to music that often, but I like a bit of everything I suppose. Oldies especially. Nothing too crazy."

"So you like Rap?" I smirked waiting for his answer.

"I can't stand it. It gives me headaches." He replied with a grimace. "I already know the music you like. What music do you hate? Or at least strongly dislike?"

I answered without a second thought, "I dislike classical music. I hate Hector Berlioz."

Matt tilted his head in curiosity. "Really? Why Berlioz?"

My spine stiffened and my voice went hollow before I could help it. "His Symphonie Fantastique gives me nightmares."

It was his favorite piece to play every time he got excited and would…

Don't think about that. Not now. Not when you're having such a great night with such a sweet and kind gentleman. He doesn't need to know about that.

I shook myself out of my thoughts as I quickly changed the subject before Matt could have a chance to question me about it. "So, have you always lived in New York?"

Matt cleared his throat before he answered, "Yeah, all my life. I've actually never been anywhere else, really. New York and Hell's Kitchen is all I've ever known."

"I can't say I blame you there." I replied. "I've been here for almost a week now and I honestly can't imagine being anywhere else."

Matt's smile lit up his face at my comment. "That's great! Some people would say it's a waste not to travel anywhere, but I don't feel like I'm missing anything. It's not like I could see any new places anyway."

I shook my head. "You're not missing anything. I traveled to get here, obviously, but it was just a means to an end. I'm much happier and at home here."

"Where were you at before coming here? If you don't mind me asking." Matt asked, getting back to our question game.

A little more truth won't hurt. "Miami, Florida."

"Florida?" Matt asked, sounding surprised and intrigued. "That's quite a difference from Hell's Kitchen. What was it like?"

My own personal Hell. "It was beautiful at first…" I trailed off.

Matt's eyebrows raised in curiosity. "And later?"

A fucking prison I nearly died to get out of. "I outgrew it."

Matt seemed to sense my desire to change the subject. "What color is your hair now?"

My eyebrow raised in confusion. Matt again seemed to sense it as he explained, "I can smell the fresh dye in your hair," He grimaced, "That sounded a lot less creepy in my head."

I let out a laugh, breaking the tension that was in the air. "Pretty impressive senses, Mr. Murdock. It's red. I was pale blonde before."

Matt smiled as he asked softly, "What do you look like?"

I didn't spare a second thought as I stood up to to sit in an empty chair next to him. My heart started racing as I reached for his hands. I could feel his hand tremble slightly as his fingertips touched my cheeks. His touch was as soft as silk as he gently explored my face, touching with the utmost care as if I were a porcelain doll. I felt my eyes well up with unshed tears at the first truly gentle touch I've gone so long without. His hands felt slightly rough with calluses, yet they felt heavenly against my skin.

"My eyes are blue. Like the ocean." I whispered as his fingertips lightly grazed the closed lids of my eyes.

"They sound beautiful." He replied just as softly. "I can only imagine how blue they must look with the red hair." He gently ran his fingers through the tendrils of my hair.

I gently smiled, "They've gotten bluer since I've moved here." And brighter since I've met you.

My heart skipped a beat as his fingertips saved my lips for last. My lips tingled at his touch as if they were coming alive for the first time in years. His fingertips stopped dead in their tracks as they felt that awful cut on my lower lip. My body stiffened as I opened my eyes to gauge his reaction. His jaw tightened so hard, I could hear his teeth grinding, he looked furious. I couldn't explain it, but I could feel it in my heart that his anger wasn't toward me, even though my knee-jerk reaction as well as force of habit tried to insist that it was.

"It's nothing." I tried to soothe his silent anger. "It was just an accident."

Matt loosened his jaw slightly as he gently replied, "The idea of you being hurt in any way is not nothing."

Sensing the increased tension in my body made him loosen up more. He gently held my cheek in his hand as he "looked" at me.

"Are you okay?" He asked with genuine concern.

I gave a shaky nod as I swallowed back the threatening tears. "I'm going to be."

He gave a tender smile as he leaned towards me and asked, "What's your favorite color?"

I couldn't stop the belly laugh that burst out at his random question that gratefully lightened the mood.

"Red."

The rest of the evening went beautifully after that. I told Matt as much of the truth as I felt was harmless and necessary, and I got to learn more about Matt's life. His rough childhood of losing his sight while saving a man's life, losing his father shortly after that and spending his childhood in an orphanage. But with the worst times came the best times; meeting Foggy, passing the bar exam, making the giant leap into starting their own practice together.

Maybe that was one of the reasons I found myself so drawn to Matt. We're both survivors of our own personal Hells. One different from the other, but we both survived. He made it out so much stronger. Stronger than I did, no doubt. I don't really believe I'm as strong as Matt, but maybe someday I will be. And maybe I could start by stop denying myself the chance to get close to Matt.

Not that I was doing a good job of doing that to begin with. Despite telling myself to avoid him, it hasn't really worked out, and maybe now I'm realizing that that's a good thing.

We're never going to be "just friends", and I'm starting to really open up to the possibility of being more.

We made it back to our apartment building as I was pondering over my realization. Matt, ever the gentleman, stopped at my door first; stepping aside to let me unlock the door.

"I had a wonderful time tonight, Matt." I told him with a grin I was sure he could sense.

He of course offered his gorgeous smile in return. "I did too, Iris. Maybe we can do it again sometime soon?" He asked , his voice filled with hope.

"I'd love to." I answered. "Just let me know when and where."

"You got it." He replied with a smile of relief. He leaned towards me and gave me a tender kiss in my cheek, causing it to instantly heat up. "Goodnight Iris."

"Goodnight, Matt." I replied as I decided to be bold and kiss him on the cheek in return.

The smile I received shined brighter than the lights in Las Vegas. His cheeks flushed pink as he turned away and walked to his apartment door.

I closed the door and practically floated into bed, falling asleep with a smile on my face.

It was the middle of the night when an unsettling feeling came over me. I felt a dark presence in the room.

Someone was standing over my bed.

I kept my eyes shut tight, my knuckles turned white from the death grip I had on my pillow, trying to will the presence away.

"Hello, Princess."

My blood ran cold.

My body trembled as my eyes opened to see the gigantic, familiar, threatening shadow towering over me.

"I told you I'd always find you." He said in a pleased and taunting voice.

I was paralyzed with fear. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. Not even to cry out for help.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was over you?" He growled as he leaned down to face me, forcing me to look into his cold blue eyes. "Now you've forced me to punish you, again." He declared as he held up his usual punishment of choice; a heavy can wrapped in a towel like it was a nap sack.

"I'm going to make sure you never leave me again!" He yelled as he raised his arm to strike.

Only then was I able to scream...

My eyes popped open as I sat up screaming my head off. I looked around the room and saw that I was alone.

It was a dream. It was only a dream.

However, I couldn't stop the panicked breaths I was taking. It felt so real.

But it wasn't real. He's not here. He hasn't found you. You're safe!

I sure as fuck didn't feel safe.

My legs felt heavy like dumbbells as I bolted out of my bed. I rushed towards the bathroom to empty my stomach in the toilet. I yanked back the shower curtain to make sure the tub was empty. I rushed over to the closet to check that nobody was hiding in there.

I ran like a madwoman to check that all the windows were shut and locked. I ran to the door to make sure that all of the locks were locked, then I unlocked and relocked each of them three more times to make extra sure.

I went to one of the drawers and grabbed the biggest kitchen knife I had before I stumbled back to the locked door, leaning against it as I slid to the floor.

I grasped the knife with both hands as though my life depended on it. Only then did I succumb to the impending meltdown the nightmare had thrust upon me.

My entire body trembled as I failed to control the tears running down my face and the painful sobs in my throat; I came to realize that no matter how far away I am...I was never going to be free of him.

A/N: I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. Iris still has quite a way to go in order to move on, and it's not gonna be easy. More is getting revealed about her past, and there will be even more revealed in chapter 6, so stay tuned! Until next time, please subscribe and leave feedback! *kiss noise*