The appeal of - for once - letting yourself fall into a spiral of selfishness looked extremely tempting; however, as I saw Warren's face, I realized there was no point in reliving my hell and informing the people I loved of what I had lost. I lost so much: a part of myself, my sanity, my ability to stay calm through bullshit and to not rely on my rewind power. I was a walking science fiction novel and, whilst that was sometimes cool, I just wanted to feel as if I had something else other than a power to feel awesome. I'm so much more than what I can do, or I used to think that. "Hey Warren," I say as he slowly slips away from my embrace, returning to a comfortable position. "Let's ditch?"

Although I meant it as a demand, my pitch indicated it was a question. That didn't matter, I realized, because Warren's head tilted to form a positive response to my question. My grin spread from ear to ear, I began to think of a plan. "Can we go for a ride in your baby?" I patted Warren's ancient and rustic car, feeling the dust from the bonnet immediately on my fingertips. "Unless you'd rather stay in Blackwell?"

"With that creep inside?" He raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. "And how I could I refuse the company of Mad Max and her superpowers?"

I rolled my eyes but couldn't resist smiling; he was beautiful. When we began to drive, and he hummed Joan Jett's masterpieces of music under his breath, I observed him rather than the surroundings. I accepted his imperfections, I accepted every part of him. I was pretty sure, after everything, he was the boy that I would adore since the day I died. I know it is a cliche and I'm not the type to believe in 'one love of your life', I don't believe it at all. Warren, however, is the first one, which is important. God, I hope he's the last too. I hope that because he will be by my side, I won't have to fall in love with someone else again. "You know," I murmured. "Your singing voice is great, you're like my personal radio."

Warren's eyes slowly traveled to meet mine and although he laughed, his tone had a fake annoyance hidden in it. "You know, Max, you're crushing my dreams, here I was with hope to be the next pop star," he pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, the comical action caused me to laugh. "And now you're laughing at me? What kind of monster are you, Max?"

I laughed but, underneath, there was truth behind his sentence; I tried to bury this part of my personality in the deepest parts of my soul, yet it still remained, its urges made me impulsive. See, Jefferson is a sociopath or a psychopath, for which I don't care. However, as I laid on the floor awaiting my next dosage, there was one sentence that he said of which I'll never forget.

Max. My name is forever tainted from the poisonous tip of his tongue and the venomous tone he uses, I will never forget what he has done. I hate him. I hate him. People use the word hate casually but they don't know the truth behind the meaning; as I looked at Jefferson, there was a part of me that was murderous. I wanted to kill him for what he had done, expose him to the world and torture him slowly. I was just like him, except the only person I'd punish - him - would have done me wrong. No, he was much, much worse than I. "Max, you and I, we're alike," he began saying.

Click.

The camera flashed in my eyes. Another name for another folder with my name, a name that had been tainted from the poisonous tip of his tongue. I hate him, I hate him, I hate everything but I hate him. He is the person who has ruined my life, the person who I will never forget. "I've seen that look, Max," he said, and I bit my lip to keep from shouting. "That look you give me is ravenous for revenge! And how delightful, my best student has continued in my works."

Saliva swirls in my mouth as I gather it before spitting at him, the substance landing on his trousers. "Die in hell." I croaked, throat dry and emotions raw. He deserves it all, everything I give him.

"Likewise, my darling."

Surrounded by darkness, I am launched into my past until fingers are clicked in front of me. I follow the trail of the arm, the curve of the elbow, the slant of the shoulders until I see him again. Warren. His face was focused on me and - momentarily - panic crept into my emotions as I realized he was suppose to be driving. However, I then notice the car has stopped and we are surrounded by trees. By light. "Max, are you okay?" He said, concerned. "You zoned out a bit there."

"Me?" I asked, my mouth curved in a lopsided smile. "I'll always be alright, Warren."

There was something I hadn't expected, his lips crashed against mine is a frenzy of worry and comfort and love. They were warm, like his chest which I had pressed my hand against. It wasn't passionate but, instead, the kiss was cradled with tenderness between our lips. "Warren," I smiled against his lips. "I think, of all the things you could have done, that was the best."

I felt the curve of his lips as he smiled, his happiness hung in the atmosphere. Then, unfortunately, the warmth was taken as he pulled away, the moment now captured in memory rather than reality. "I wanted to wait, until you saw this place, to kiss you." He admitted. "But, Max, I need to tell you that I love you. I don't know if I've told you, I feel that I have but it's urgent I say it again. I. Love. You."

Surprised by his confidence, my eyebrows rose themselves and inched further up my forehead. "I think that's the first," I lied, recalling all the times he had said it and I had erased it. Now, it's official. I can't turn back, I won't. "What is this place anyway? Are you luring me into the woods to kill me? That would be an odd confession to make for the act you're about to make."

He smiles, "Damn, you've ruined my plan."

"Ha ha ha!" I laugh evilly.

"No, actually, just follow me." He orders. "It's a surprise."

Underneath the shade of the trees, we exited the car and, hands connected, walked to wherever he was taking me. After a while, there was a barbed fence and he found an opening and we crept through it. That is when the sight exploded into my vision; further on, in the opening of trees, there was a lake, around the edge were scattered rocks of different sizes and in the background lurked the tall silhouette of the light house. "Wow," I vocalized my first thought, caught in the essence of wonder and amazement. "Warren, this is incredible."

I examined everything thoroughly; hello rock, trees leaning over the lake, which connected to the beach's ocean, Warren's hand in mine and the ever present reminder of the early morning sun. "I have no words," I smiled, turning to view Warren only to find he was looking at me. Embarrassed, I turned away but he never did. "You've got some explaining to do."

"Have I?" He pulled me closer, laughing. I had never seen this confidence before.

"How have you never shown this place to me before?"

We took to a large rock and he unveiled his story, which I found hard to hear. "I use to come here a lot, it's beautiful so I just came back time after time. If I was pissed at my mom or the world, I'd sit here alone and just wait for things to get better," he paused, finding it hard to vocalize what he had trouble thinking. "I hated who I was, my geekiness was unbearable. I was bullied badly, I didn't want to live. This place, for some reason, always calmed me.

I mean I was always going to be the opposite of a Casanova but then I met you, and I liked you so badly. You were cool without even trying, you were strong and you didn't take any bullshit - from anyone! I fell in love with you quickly, waiting and hoping you'd notice a boy not worth noticing, I guess. Stupid crap, really. I just, I wanted this place to be a reminder of something good, so I promised myself that you would be the first person I ever showed this to.

That way," he continued. "This place would always remind me of you, Max."

"Warren," I wrap my arms around him. "You're worth noticing, always have been. I love you, too."

A/N: Sick author's note again.

You wouldn't believe it; got rid of one thing, then got the flu. My immune system needs to get its shit together, seriously. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, I'm now better and functioning (hopefully) right! I will see you for the next installment (aka please don't forget about my story xD)

Thanks for reading, please leave a review ! :)