"Becky!"

She turned around, surprised. She didn't stop entirely since she didn't want to appear too eager. However, she made sure that it was easy for him to catch up with her.

"Dave, are you stalking me?" she quipped.

To her delight his cheeks reddened.

"Not in a threatening way," Dave said.

Becky smiled. Maybe he was more interested than he had seemed earlier.

"You headed to the subway?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Oh, good, because I was headed that way too," he said.

He fell into step beside her. Her mind flickered through things she could say without sounding like an idiot. There were so many questions she wanted to ask. First of all, had he been in New York all that time? Obviously he had been learning magic all that time, but what else had he been doing? And then there was the big question; had he thought of her even once?

It seemed silly, she knew that, and she'd be dead before she would put that question to him outright. Yet, during those years she had thought of him. All of her friends had been distant and her parents had been going through a divorce. She'd had no one she could talk to and had yearned for the camaraderie she had once had.

Becky was well aware that yearning for that was natural. Being alone made you wish for when you hadn't been. However, actually meeting him now left her a little tongue-tied. There was so much she could say or do that she wondered which topic to broach first. For instance, there was the old necklace he'd made her that she kept in her pocket. It had become a sort of lucky charm, but she didn't want to sound weird by bringing it up.

Instead she said;

"So, you left in a hurry earlier."

Now that sounded like an accusation. Great job Becky.

"Yeah, magical related incident," Dave said.

"Really?" she asked.

It would be easier if he broached the topic.

"Sort of," he explained, "I had to go talk to Balthazar about something."

She drew a blank before remembering the imposing man who had adopted Dave.

"He's definitely not your uncle, right?" asked Becky.

"No, he's not. But it hasn't been bad these past few years. Not bad at all."

Dave coughed and dipped his head. She suddenly realized that he might be nervous too. The realization almost made her laugh; but then she thought about it. Dave had always been a little awkward when they were younger. How much had time changed? He had always been a little more awkward around her too.

A wave of confidence washed into her. They walked down the stairs to the station and Becky resisted the urge to take them two at a time; skipping.

"I, um, I listened to your show last night," Dave said.

"Oh?" asked Becky, "How'd you like it?"

"I didn't recognize any of the bands, which is probably a good indication that they're cool," he said.

She laughed. The honesty in his voice was somehow reassuring. However awkward he may appear he was at least trying to be himself with her. She liked that.

"I was wondering if-"

He was interrupted as a man came towards them with a knife. Becky stumbled backwards. She'd been warned that the subways could be dangerous places and that she should carry pepper spray. Yet, she'd been in the city for two years and never been mugged. Her pepper spray was in the bottom of her purse. This was her first time in such a situation and she couldn't help the panic that came to her.

Dave stepped forward. He was practically rolling his eyes as he pushed his palm against the mugger's arm. The mugger was pushed back and skidded on the floor a few feet away. He hit his head on the tile just as two policemen came running into the terminal. The older of the two reached the mugger first and pulled him up.

"There you are!" he snapped, "Thought you'd lost us, did you?"

The younger reached Dave and Becky.

"Anyone hurt?" he asked, "Anything taken?"

Becky shook her head numbly.

"He tripped pretty quickly," Dave stepped in, "Then you two came in."

The policeman doffed his cap.

"Don't think you'll need to give a statement then," he said, "Sorry you kids had to get involved in this. Have a nice night."

The policeman went over to where his partner had cuffed the man. Together they led him away. As soon as they were out of earshot Becky whipped around to Dave.

"That guy was huge!" she said.

"I've been doing a lot of cardio lately," Dave said, "Say hello to thunder-"

He made one fist and brandished it.

"-and lightning."

The second fist had a ring on it in the shape of a dragon. She noticed that it was still glowing. Becky looked up at Dave, who winked at her.

"There's something different about you," she said, "But…I'm glad a lot's still the same."

He blinked. His mouth opened and she didn't know what he was going to say. Luckily she was saved by the train. Feeling strange she smiled at Dave again as the doors opened.

"Well, thanks," she said.

"Oh, hey," Dave said as she got into the train, "if you needed help with Physics I could tutor you say, tomorrow at six?"

This was definitely a positive sign.

"Yeah, of course," she said.

"Alright," Dave said, "It's a date."

His face froze up as the doors closed. Becky looked at him with interest as the doors closed.

"Like an appointment!" he insisted, "A date like an appointment!"

As the train pulled away she grinned to herself. A date like an appointment? She didn't believe a word of it.