She couldn't tell quite how long it had been. And though it felt like an incredibly long time, she was sure it was only about ten minutes that she had been submerged in the blackness. Her heart was still racing, thudding against her temples and in her ear drums like a staccato beat that worked to keep her from fainting right here and now. Sure, it was a dumb idea to break into some guy's house, that she had just met a few days ago. But then again, he didn't have to scare the shit out of her. In retrospect, she realized that she should be considering herself lucky. At least he hadn't ratted her out or called the police or something. The last thing she needed was another breaking and entering on her record. Letting her head lean back against the wall, she counted the number of breaths the took, to estimate each minute that passed. She had gotten to three before the closet door was suddenly ripped open, the red light almost blinding her despite the dull luminescence.

Eyes snapping open, she blinked at the sight of Tate once more. He looked strained and slightly annoyed, but there was a hint of a smile hiding within his pursed lips. Holding up a finger to his lips, he signalled for her to be silent as his other hand gently wrapped around her upper arm, tugging her out. His lips were next to her ear again, the words so quiet that they were barely a breath.

"We're going on the roof, down the siding and just keep walking. Make a noise and my mother will kill you."

She would have laughed, or even cracked a smile, but the tone of his voice made her apprehensive, for it didn't sound like he was kidding. So she stayed quiet, following him to the window and climbing out onto the roof after he lightly pushed on her back, nudging her to leave. She couldn't hear him following behind her. He made no noise, like a ghost in the middle of the night. Yet she knew he was there, for he was keeping her steady as she crept across the roof, with his hand on her back.

Once they had made it to the grass below, she barely had time to get her balance before he had grabbed her arm again, tugging her away. She tripped a few times, glancing over her shoulder as she stared at the two retreating houses. Her own house, right next to the suddenly ominous looking one that she had just been inside. It seemed surreal, to see the two beside each-other. One, she had just moved into, not too long ago. And the other, had been there all along. But now, as she stared at it, retreating in the darkness... It seemed more evil than before.

Finally, once they had reached a small neighbourhood park almost a block away, they stopped and he let go of her arm. There was a moment of silence, where she caught her breath and he simply stared at her, eyebrows pulled down into confusion. Like he couldn't understand her at all.

"What were you doing?" The question was unexpected, especially coming from him. In fact, she felt herself step back, face shifting into a somewhat insulted expression. What was she doing? He was the one who had broken into her room first.

"What – breaking and entering is only okay if you do it?" She snapped, her nerves making her edgy and somewhat impulsive. He had no right to act like this. Like she was the bad guy. There was another moment of silence, where she watched his face, contorting silently as if he were confused. There was this kind of blankness in his eyes and it sent shivers down her spine, making her realize yet again that they had just met. There wasn't any reason for her to be talking to him. Hell, she knew his first name and that was it. So why did she like being around him so much?

"It's different. My mom... She's... she's not a good person, Violet. You don't understand. And I didn't break into your room. Your window was unlocked." There was no sense of sarcasm in his voice. He was being completely serious. However, for her, his logic was lost.

Letting out a small breath of frustrated air, she pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closing. This was so... fucked up. There was no other way to describe it. Here was this boy – completely and utterly strange, with his oversized sweaters and unkempt hair – standing in front of her, looking like she had kicked his puppy or something. Even when her hand fell from her nose, he was still staring at her with those endless eyes, as if he were waiting with bated breath for her response.

Finally, she let a small bit of a smile slip. "I take it you sneak out a lot," she mumbled, bottom lip catching between her teeth as she cast another glance in the direction of their two houses.

His own lips pulled into a smile and he nodded, relief evident in his expression. Relief for what? She didn't know. But for now, she didn't really care. The only friend she had was Leah and sometimes, that girl drove her up the wall. But Tate was different. It was like he somehow understood everything about her, without even knowing her. Yet, she was left empty-handed when it came to understanding him. He was still a mystery.

"What card were you going to give me?"

Eyebrows shooting up at the question, Violet floundered for a second. How did he know she was going to give him a card? It might have been common sense but even then...

"I... what?"

A short laugh escaped him, falling into the night air with ease, like it belonged in the darkness. She felt herself smile along with him, tension from the earlier encounter starting to fade.

"Well?"

She hesitated for a moment, tongue darting out to wet her lips as she shrugged. It was one thing to leave a card for someone and have them look at it later. But to have them see it right in front of your face... It was nerve-wracking. She found herself pulling it from her bag, though, and holding it in front of his face. His smile fell as he stared at it, eyes fixed on the picture of the joker. She wondered what he was thinking and if she had somehow made the wrong decision... What if she had offended him?

"Joker..." He mumbled, head tilting as he grabbed the card from her hands, turning it around a few times. "Fitting. No message though."

"Couldn't think of anything to write..." Violet trailed off a bit, realizing the entirety of the metaphor that stuck out like a sore thumb. She couldn't think of anything to write because she didn't know him. Not really. Yet, he had written something. Sure, it was simple, but at least it had been something. When it came to him, her mind was just blank. Nothingness. Except for the occasional smile.

The silence only hit her when she noticed that he had stopped staring at the card and had gone back to looking at her instead. He did that a lot. Just staring.

"Well, I think I'll-" she was cut off by him, a bit of urgency in his voice.

"Walk with me?"

Her eyebrows knitted once more into confusion as she stared back at him. He looked... desperate, almost. Like he literally needed her company at the moment. Thinking for a moment, she thought of going back to her dad. Going back and arguing about nothing and everything all at once. In retrospect, spending time with Tate seemed nicer than that. Disregarding everything she had learned about strangers or bad decisions or being responsible, she nodded.

"Yeah. Okay."

First, they kind of just walked in silence. He trailed in front of her, letting her follow him as he led the way. She hadn't asked where they were walking, really. And after a few minutes, she had already begun to relax. Not having a plan was nice. Free. And she could see now why he had been so desperate. From what he said, his mother was just as bad as her dad was, so needing an escape was something she could easily understand.

"Why did you move?" She was the first to bring up a conversation topic, thinking it might help alleviate the silence that had fallen between them. It was like a cloud, lingering between their two bodies. It separated them, yet kept them bonded together with a thin veil of distance.

"We do it a lot. My mom doesn't like staying in one place for too long, you know? What about you? Why did you move?"

"I... wait, what? I didn't move."

"No, not recently. But you're not from here. I can tell."

There it was again. That weird, all-knowing kind of mindset that caused her mind to wave little red flags around, hoping that she would listen for once. But it was like a car crash. She couldn't look away from him and couldn't seem to leave him alone now. A beautiful disaster. Yet, she had the inkling feeling that she wouldn't be the onlooker in the crash, but the one thrown through a windshield.

"My mom and dad tried to get a fresh start. Apparently they think moving across the country would help save their marriage. Some good that did. My dad just cheated on my mom with some other skank who lives here... Now she left. Went back to Florida and I'm stuck with him."

They had reached a little man-made forest, standing just near the edge of it. It was nestled in between a few houses and another little park. Kind of misplaced and seemed like it didn't belong anywhere. Like the two of them. Tate had stopped walking and he had gone back to staring at her. The dark pair of eyes didn't unnerve her for once and she stared right back, listening to the steady sound of her heart beating in her ears.

"My dad left me with my mom when I was only two years old. Left me with a cocksucker. Imagine that, right? I've been with her ever since. Home-schooled. Normal school was never good enough for her 'perfect son.'" There was a tone of bitterness in his voice that hadn't been there before. It fell from his lips like smoke, curling around her and making her skin crawl with slight discontent. But not only discontent. Familiarity. He knew exactly what it was like to hate your parent, but know that you could never really hurt them. Not really. Because all things aside, there was still that bond. Invisible and annoying, but it was there.

"I'm sorry." It was an automatic response for her, whenever someone told her a part of their life. It was the socially acceptable one, after all.

"No you're not." The reply was blunt, followed by a small amused smile. "But it's okay. Because you're different. You're not sorry, but you understand. That's not the same thing. It's better."

She hadn't realized before but he was suddenly closer than before, staring down at her with those same dark and emotionless eyes. But, this time, there was something in them. Some kind of emotion, some kind of spark. Her lips parted, as if she were going to say something, but no words came out. Just a shaky exhalation. And then his lips were against hers. Not rough, not insistent. Just... there. Surprisingly gentle and soft.

It barely lasted a moment before he had pulled away, gaze threatening to burn a hole straight through her own eyes. Remembering to breath, she tried to think of what to say. But for some reason, her mind was blank. Blank except for the singular thought that she couldn't believe he had done that. Nor could she believe that she was leaning up on her tip-toes, connecting their lips once more.