"Need help?"

My head hit the underside of the workbench, tools scattering all about the cement floor. I knew I wasn't supposed to be in the garage that late at night, but I'd done all that trouble of sneaking out of the house, and if you asked me, my baby Mustang was worth it. I grimaced, my upper arm burning from all the strength I was putting on it in order to straighten out a damn gas pipe.

"Sorry, we're supposed to be closed right no-"

I stopped in my tracks, my eyes flickering over the face in front of me. "Ahh…hi." I stuttered, confusion taking over.

"Hi," the boy murmured, flashing me a dazzling grin. Even in fluorescent lighting, his pale skin seemed to shimmer. "I just…I broke down up the road," He explained. "I can just wait until morning if you…"

"No!" I said a little too earnestly. Part of it was out of kindness, the other part just wanted to look at him longer. "Here, let me take a look at it."

The boy grinned again, nearly sweeping me off my feet with the smile, and led the way into the rain.

The sky was such a strange color that I wasn't even sure if it was still night or early morning. The strange boy led me to a shiny beige Kia Sorento, smoke billowing out from underneath the hood.

"I've no idea what's wrong with it," the boy explained, wrinkling his nose at the damage. "One second I'm chugging along just fine and then? Sparks, fire, boom. No chugging."

I raised my eyebrows and popped the lid to the engine, swatting away the thick trail of smoke attacking my face. The boy laughed lightly, a sound that would've made a grown woman fall to her knees.

Snap out of it! I thought angrily, rolling my eyes at myself. Paul's face flashed across my mind, his voice rolling through my head as I thought of things he'd probably say if he saw how I was acting.

Smooth, Princess-having trouble keeping the drool in your mouth?

"I think it's your spark reflex," I shouted over the rain, jiggling a small cylinder until it popped off. I pulled away from the engine, the boy only inches away from me as I stood and looked up. "I…uh…."

"Sorry," he murmured softly, his black eyes trained on my face. "You just….you're a very beautiful girl."

My cheeks went up in flames within seconds, and for a moment I thought I heard a growl rising in the stranger's throat. Beautiful? No boy had ever called me beautiful, I didn't even think anyone bothered taking a second look at me. Paul's face flickered through my thoughts again.

"I…we have these in the shop," I said evenly, sobering up quickly. "They're not the best things around but if you install them right you'll be better off than you would with the expensive kind."

The boy stared at me for a few extra moments before nodding and following me through the rain back the way we came.

"You're lucky you were so close by," I mused, rummaging through a few drawers. "Next town is at least 20 miles away."

"More like I'm lucky you were here," The boy laughed. "An auto-shop is no good without a mechanic."

I smiled to myself.

"Cute AND a suck up, I just might forget you were ever here and put this in for free."

"How'd you learn about these things anyway?" He asked as I prepped the cylinder with primer.

"My family basically lives in this place," I explained. "Well, the men do anyways."

"And the women?"

"They stay at home and get into as much trouble as they can." I joked, walking back over to him.

"What about school? How old are you?"

"I'll be a Junior. And I'm 16."

"I see. School out already?"

"You sound like you're too old for it to affect you anyways." I stated, raising an eyebrow at him and flicking on a desk lamp by our side.

"Last year, actually. I'll be a senior in fall, back in Vancouver."

"Vancouver? What the Hell are you doing in La Push?"

"My father lives in Forks with my brother. Just moved here, I needed to visit is all."

"I see."

"And what about you? How long have you lived here?"

"Just moved as well. I live with my Aunt and Uncle, Lord knows for how long."

"You don't sound too excited about that."

"It's different," I admitted. "Different in a good way though."

"How so?"

"Nothing short of perfect is allowed when it comes to my mother. She's a control freak, a completely obsessed middle aged control freak-after one too many fights she decided to send me here because she wants to run of to the East Coast, which is too far for the custody agreement to still be valid with my Dad. It's complicated, being moved around so much. But around here…I mean here," I gestured around the garage. "I can be me. I feel more at home."

"And you're happy now?"

"Yes. But are you?" I asked, looking at him with genuine curiosity. "What do people expect you to be like out there in the real world?"

"In my household, a soldier of sorts. My father spent several years in the army, any sign of emotion means weakness. When it comes to school…well, I've never stayed in one for longer than a year, so people ignore me for the most part."

"Ignore you?" I thought such a thing would be impossible with looks like his.

"In a way I'm grateful. But in another way, I feel like I'm not a part of the group or something, like I'm different from someone else. Even if I WAS ridiculously popular or something of that sort, I still feel like I'd be the odd one out. I'd still feel like…"

"An alien." I finished, the feeling being quite mutual. The boy smiled.

"You're like me." He murmured.

"I guess so. It's not often you swap life stories with a stranger."

"Sorry to pry," he said softly, his high cheekbones catching in the light. His dark brown hair sat in tousled curls that lapped over his forehead-the kind of hair you could really tangle your fingers in. He smirked as my heart started to race, my cheeks turning red again. "You're just….quite amusing."

"Glad to be here for your entertainment." I grumbled, grabbing a toolbox and walking past him.

"No, I didn't mean it like that," he hurried, rushing after me. "I just meant you're interesting, that's all."

First beautiful, and now I was interesting? To a Sex God of all people? Was this some kind of sick joke?

"Interesting?" I mused, raising an eyebrow at him as we towed through the rain.

"Yes," he smiled. "Interesting. You don't often see a pretty girl in a car shop."

"Pretty." I laughed, although I hadn't meant to do so out loud.

"You don't look like the other girls around here." The boy shrugged.

"How would you know what the other girls around here looked like if your car just now broke down, at two in the morning?" I pried, smirking.

The boy's face fell, and this time I was sure he'd blush, although he didn't look like he could, even with such pale skin.

"Alright….so…I needed an excuse to talk to you."

I laughed out loud again. I had to stop doing that. Sighing, I fixed the engine of his car and shut the hood, leaning on it with one hand.

"So what is it you want, mystery boy? Money? My innocence?"

The boy furrowed his brow for a moment before realization struck his expression.

"You think I'm here to hurt you."

"Nobody's car really breaks down at two in the morning."

"You don't seem very afraid." The boy murmured softly, narrowing his eyes at me. A smile was beginning to play at his lips.

"Should I be? I mean…I don't even know you." I squeaked, still cautious. The boy's expression sobered very quickly, to one of honesty and empathy as he held out his hand gingerly.

"I'm Jackson. And you've absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Especially when it comes to me."

I watched him for a few moments, measuring the sincerity of his words. All of me wanted to run away, my head was screaming at me, wondering why the Hell I would even SPEAK to such a stranger in such dangerous circumstances, but all of it melted when I dipped my hand into his smooth, pale fingers.

"I'm Haley. And I believe you."