An hour or so had past as Adam and Amanda changed seats to a booth, facing the front window which out looked on the darkened street. It took a few minutes of awkward silence before Amanda asked him how her photo came out. Smiling, Adam looked down at his hands and told her the truth about not being able to develop them yet. Before he knew it they started chatting and decided to have their dinner together. As time past both seemed to relax a little and found themselves stuffing their faces on greasy cheeseburgers and crispy fries as they laughed and raised their moods a little.

For a little while Adam really didn't feel that scared. Somehow between the hospital, the police, and the reporters…everything turned into one giant blur. Now just having some food with a complete stranger, he finally felt, as strange as it sounded…safe. She told him that she lived in a pretty rundown apartment across town, and how she moved up from Florida when she was ten when her parents died. Spending some time with her aunt, she ran away from home at the age of fifteen and started working underage at a local bar, living off tips and gaining a pretty bad habit for drugs. Skimming over most of the details, she told him she worked odd jobs and pretty much lived as if every night was a party before she had a few run ins with the police and changed her outlook after a year in rehab. Now she was clean and working at another night club, trying her very best to support herself.

Adam didn't really feel the need to go into detail about his own life either. He told her he lived a pretty simple childhood with his family, up until his dad died when he was only sixteen. After that his mother dated a lot of jerks and finally ran off with her third husband to Vegas. His sister by then was all ready in school and trying to support herself…so he jumped around and got into a little troublemaking as a kid and finally went to New England School of Photography, where he worked two night shifts to pay his way through. Finally he moved to New York with a few buddies of his and first tried to get into sports, then a band, then finally worked freelance with his camera. He told her it really wasn't that exciting of a life and how he had been through his own share of trouble.

But he wasn't about to tell her what had happened.

They talked a while more and finally started laughing as they shared cups of coffee. They talked about life in the city, music, and overall how awful the country was getting. Finally they noticed the waitress was waiting for them to finish up so she could close. Paying the bill for her, Adam tugged on his jacket and laughed with her on their way out.

Walking out into the crisp air of the night, the two of them stood outside facing each other. Adam dug his hands deep into his pockets and smiled.

"You got a way to go home?"

Amanda looked over her shoulder and chucked her thumb down the street.

"A bus come around eleven, I'll wait."

"Alone?"

"Yeah I'll be fine…thanks again."

Adam smirked and shook his head.

"Hey trust me…I needed someone just to talk to."

Amanda studied his face for a moment and gave a faith smile under the streetlight. Finally Adam locked eyes with her and took a deep breath.

"Hey…my apartment is only a few blocks away…maybe you might like me to fix us a cup of coffee to warm you up a bit."

Amanda smiled a little and brushed back her bangs which had fallen in her eyes.

"I don't drink coffee."

Adam looked at her.

"Neither do I."

Amanda smiled and started walking with him back home.