Jeff's P.O.V.

I glance down at Thad sometime around midnight, "Are you still awake?" I ask in a hoarse whisper.

He turns to face me, "Yeah, I'm awake. What's up?"

I turn towards him, a sharp pain shooting up my side, "Mmph, nothing..." I mutter, the pain showing up in my voice.

He sits up, resting a hand on my arm, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry," I answer, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" he asks.

I nod, "Yeah. I'm okay."

He sighs, lying back down, "Can I ask you something? If you don't mind..."

"Yeah, sure."

He looks down, quiet for a moment, "Sorry, I guess I don't really know where to start."

I smirk, "Alright, take your time."

He pauses, deep in thought, "I don't know...Just like, who are you exactly?"

"Well," I mutter, almost unsure myself, "I'm Jeff."

He nods, "Well, yeah, but like, I don't know more specifically..."

I smirk, "I'm Jeff Sterling."

"Ugh, you know what I mean." he explains, shaking his head.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Hmm, well," he begins, "How'd you end up the way Hunter found you? You're way too young to be involved with that kind of stuff."

"If only," I mutter with a smirk, "I'm not the youngest person I've seen around, you know?" I sigh, "But anyway, It's not really all the complicated. I'm in a gang, gangs fight with other gangs, people get hurt."

Thad reaches out and takes my hand, "You sound a little...I don't know, neutral on the subject."

I shrug, "It is what it is, I guess."

"Are you going to go back to your gang when you're better?"

"I don't know. I don't want to, honestly, but I don't have anywhere else to go. I'm pretty homeless. I don't have family to turn to. That gang's all I got, you know?"

"Jeff..." he replies, a gentle softness in his voice, "I'll have to ask Sebastian, but you can stay with us. You shouldn't go back. You almost died. I can't let you go back to that."

I pause, thinking, "Are you sure about that? I mean, you don't even know me, you've already done more than enough to help me..."

"I've had a good feeling about you since I first met you." he replies with a comforting smile, "I'd be happy to help you."

I nod, grinning, "Really?"

He smiles, "Yes."

I sit up a little bit, holding onto my side.

"You alright?" he asks, quickly helping me support myself.

I nod, blushing, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

We both pause for a moment, staring at each other in the eyes. He puts his hand on the back of my head and pulls me into a gentle kiss. My hand instinctively goes to his shoulder and my eyes shut. He suddenly pulls away, startling me.

"I'm sorry," he mutters, lying back down, "I didn't mean to-"

I shake my head, "No, it's okay. I don't mind. Like, at all."

He sighs, "But you didn't want me to do that."

"Maybe I did," I mutter, "I think I just didn't know that I wanted you to."

"If you're sure," he replies, "I wouldn't want to make you feel pressured or anything like that."

I grin, "It's totally cool, man."

I fall asleep a lot easier after that. Something about him kissing me just had a strange way of making me feel safe. Maybe it's because I know he's legitimately interested in me and that he really does care. I never doubted that I was in good hands but now I've never felt more sure.

I wake up relatively early the next morning, not seeing Thad anywhere. I sit up a little bit, feeling confident enough that I'll be alright to walk on my own. I walk slowly into the kitchen to see him sitting at the table with coffee and newspaper.

I smirk, watching him silently for a moment, "Morning." I greet, walking into the room.

He looks up at me, putting his paper down, "Hey, um, are you alright? Are you sure you can walk and stuff?"

I shrug, "I can't be bed-ridden for the rest of my life. Besides, I didn't even get shot in the leg."

He nods, watching me closely, "Fair enough. Take it easy, though. If you fall or anything you could get seriously hurt."

I roll my eyes, getting myself some coffee and taking a seat at the table with him, "Please, I'm not 80."

He puts his free on mind, "I'm serious, Jeff. As your doctor, take it easy."

I smirk, shaking my head, "Haha, whatever you say, doc."

He sighs, leaning back again, "I hope so."

"Have you seen Hunter today?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Yeah, he was in here a little while ago but he went back to bed," he explains, "He was getting it on with Sebastian last night so he didn't want him to wake up alone."

"So that's what all those noises were..." I mutter with a laugh.

He raises his eyebrows, "Yeah, haha, at least they're having a good time."

"True that," I agree, taking a sip of my coffee.

He gets up, putting his things away, "I actually have a class that I have to be at today, but call me if you need anything at all, okay?"

I nod, "Oh yeah, med student. I almost forgot."

He gives me a small smile, "Yep, actually when I think about it, I should probably get Sebastian outta here, too."

"You're both in college?" I ask plainly.

He nods, "Yeah, he's a couple grades behind me, but we go to the same school."

"Fair enough."

He jots his number down on a sheet of paper and heads into the other room to wake up Sebastian.

I sigh, thoughtlessly looking at the newspaper he was looking at. I know that I'm gonna have to get used to it, but I'm not crazy about the idea of being left alone here all day.