A brisk Wednesday afternoon with a small breeze circling around them was all Liesel asked for to enjoy her last couple days of school.

The sweet sound of the last bell was pleasant to her ears.

She walked across the ground pushing her bicycle as she went. She hated riding it on the rocky grounds of the school. Accidents, broken legs, tire punctures were all results of that.

The sun had finally showed itself after months of hiding behind heavy clouds. Liesel had to take off her coat and place it in the basket attached to her bicycle as well.

The sound of another bicycle wheeling right behind her caught Liesel's attention. She abruptly stopped to see who it was.

The front of Rudy's bike slammed into the back of Liesel's immediately.

"Ow, Saumensch!" he exclaimed.

Liesel turned around when she recognized his voice. And instead of apologizing, she started to laugh.

"Stupid!" she yelled. "Why were you sneaking up on me anyway?"

Rudy got down on the ground and checked the front tire of his bike. The bike was about three years old- a gift for his birthday from his father.

"I wanted to scare you," he told her.

Liesel smiled. "I guess that didn't work out for you. Do you want to go to the Amper River?"

Rudy looked up at her. "Not after what you did to my tire."

Liesel squinted at the tire. "There is nothing wrong with it." She kicked it with her foot. "It feels pretty sturdy."

Rudy smiled."Got you," he said. "I can't go because I have some errands to run with my father. But I'll see you tomorrow night?"

Liesel frowned. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes," Rudy said. He took a step and kissed Liesel on the cheek. "Its our two year anniversary, remember? And I'm taking you out for dinner."

Liesel froze in her spot. Two year anniversary, she had totally forgotten. And last year it was her who had to remind Rudy.

"Of course!" she said. "I remember. I was just testing you."

Rudy squinted. "Saumensch," he complained. "No, you didn't." He jumped on to his bike and gripped the handles. "I'll pick you up at 6:30 tomorrow, okay?"

"And when you say 6:30 do you actually mean 6:30 or will you only show at 7:00?"Liesel asked.

But Rudy was already gone.

The day was empty and free. No homework for once and no Rudy.

Liesel spent the afternoon with Ilsa. They chatted casually for quite a while and after, Liesel went back to finishing a fiction novel she had started a couple nights before.

At the late hour of the afternoon, Liesel went out with a good amount of change in her pocket that Ilsa had taken out of the mayor's drawer.

"He always has spare change in there," she had told Liesel. "So much of it, I'm serious. And he never locks it up."

She decided to buy something special- a skirt since she had nothing to wear for the next night- Rudy and Liesel's two year anniversary.

The evening air was a little but trouble some. A soft breeze brought in sharp pricking air. And Liesel was not dressed for the weather.

"We don't live in Australia," Rudy had advised her once on the first day of summer that year. Liesel had expected it to be warm so she left her coat at home. The weather, however stayed stubborn. "Just because it's now "summer" doesn't mean there will be sun. Summer in Germany is still freezing."

Memories like these kept her company while she walked a lonely path into town.

A small boutique downtown seemed to be a reasonable place for her to shop. She had come here before with Ilsa to pick out something to wear for an important occasion. The service was good, the people were nice, and the prices were reasonable.

What only seemed to be the problem was that she spotted both Kirsti and Natasha inside the small shop.

Liesel knew that Kirsti and Natasha were very good friends since Kirsti had moved here. Yet, she had never expected to encounter them on a day like this.

Now Liesel couldn't avoid them.

"Liesel!" Kirsti called out. She ran over to her and waved. Natasha followed behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Liesel asked.

Natasha held up the pale yellow skirt she was holding. "We were in town window shopping and we'd thought to take a quick look inside."

Kirsti found the tag of the yellow skirt Natasha was holding up. She cringed.

"I'm not helping you pay for that," she announced.

Natasha frowned. "Is it that expensive?"

Kirsti nodded.

Natasha flung the piece of clothing over the rack behind her and walkekd out the door of the boutique. Kirsti chuckled.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Liesel. How have you been?"

"Not bad," she said. "Have you gotten your letter from Humboldt yet?"

Kirsti's face lit up. "I did. The letter came in last evening. I actually got accepted!"

Liesel smiled. "That's good news."

"Have you heard from Rudy, yet?" she asked.

Liesel bit her lip. She wasn't sure if we wanted to answer Kirsti or not with the right information. She wasn't particular sure if Rudy would want her to know.

Or did she already know?

"He actually told me he was planning on attending next year instead because of financial reasons."

Kirsti pushed her soft brown hair behind her ears. "When did he tell you that?"

Liesel thought back. "Sunday morning."

Kirsti's blue eyes widened. "Are you sure? Because that's not what he told-"

The door of the boutique swung open.

It was Natasha.

"Kirsti, are we leaving?"

She jerked. "Oh, yes. Sorry!"

She followed right behind Natasha and smiled at Liesel. "I'll see you later, Liesel."

After she left, Liesel turned around and walked back into the boutique. She took the money out of her pocket and tried to find something in her budget.

"That skirt looks wonderful, Liesel. It really brings out your eyes."

Like a little girl, Liesel spun around in her bran new velvet colored dress in front of the mirror.

"A white top would look nice with that as well," said Ilsa.

"You think so?"

Ilsa nodded and smiled. "I'm sure. Now Liesel I need to tell you something. Would you sit for me?"

Liesel plopped down on the large red chair right next to the mirror. They were in Ilsa's and the mayor's room.

Ilsa took a deep breath in. "Despite of what the police have told us about the burglar," she annonicated her words carefully, "nothing is for certain." Ilsa swallowed before continuing. "You have to be careful and you need to tell me if you hear anything-"

Liesel stood up from the chair. She hated talking about this at all.

And she knew Ilsa did, too."It's okay, Frau Hermann. I understand."

The sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the house.

"Liesel!" Ilsa yelled from downstairs. "It's for you!"

Liesel went bolting down the stairs thinking it was Rudy.

And she was surprised to see someone else instead of him standing on the doorstep.

"Theo?" she asked.

"Hi, Liesel."

Dressed in a dark clothing really let his green eyes penetrate Liesel like a laser. She moved over to let him inside the house.

Once he stepped in, Liesel could see that his dark hair looked choppier than before and that all his clothes were battered .

"Wh-what happened to you?" Liesel asked. She closed to the door shut behind Theo.

"I fell down," answered Theo.

Liesel took a good look at him. His shirt had rips in the cloth and his face was scratched.

It looked like he was beat up.

"Where did you fall?"

Theo bit his lip. "In the neighborhood." He put his hands in his pockets and shifted. He lowered his voice and said, "Listen, can we talk?"

Liesel looked at him closely. He sounded hurt, maybe even scared.

She nodded.

Theo looked around the house. He saw the light in the kitchen. "In private?" he whispered.

Liesel accepted and quietly led him into the library. As soon as they got in, Theo faced Liesel with a stern face- hard as stone. His tone was pleading but demanding. His eyes were empty as a clear sky.

"I need money," he whispered.

Liesel caught her breath. Blood stopped pumping through her. "What?"

Theo looked uncomfortable. "Please, Liesel."

"What's going on?"

"I need to get out of town now and I don't have any money to buy the train ticket," he pleaded. His voice was quiet but condensed.

"But what about all the money from the stuff you sold from your house?"

Theo shook his head. "That wasn't enough."

Liesel became defensive. "Why can't you get a job this summer and get enough money to buy a ticket?"

"It's not only for the ticket. It's for the stay in Berlin, and food, and who knows what else. Plus, my step-father he-"

"What did he do?" Liesel demanded.

Theo sighed. "We got into an argument-and, well, he was threatening me and-" he took a deep breath in," Listen- Liesel," his voice was shaking." I don't have time to explain. Do you have the money?"

Liesel's heart started racing. "I'm know the mayor keeps some extra pocket money in his drawers in his room, but-"

"That's great! Could you-"

Liesel shook her head. "I can't," she said. "I'm so sorry, Theo."

Liesel watched as Theo's head fell down. His eyes drooped a little. He looked devastated.

She wanted to give him money. But if the mayor figured out she would be in so much trouble. She loved Theo but she couldn't cross the line for him. She had her own future to worry about.

"You know I still owe you," he said.

"What?"

"For coming with me to my parents' house- I owe you for that."

Liesel sighed and placed her hand in his. They were cold from the icy air outside and calloused from the fall.

They used to be soft as a baby's cheek.

"I'm going to stand guard outside of this library window and watch for the burglar," he announced.

Liesel shook her head. "You know they caught the man who was stealing the books."

"How are they sure that it was him who did it?"

Liesel tried to come up with an answer to that, but she couldn't. She knew what Ilsa said- how the man behind bars wasn't confirmed to be the thief just yet.

But she couldn't let Theo sit out there in danger.

"I just don't think it's a good idea to do so," Liesel told him.

Theo let go of her hand and turned around so he wasn't looking at her. "You've done a lot for me," he said. "I'm not pathetic. I'm a decent person. So whether this man is who they think or not, would you let me do this for you?"

He turned around and his eyes were slightly red at the corners. "Please?"

Something about him looking at her that way made Liesel melt inside forcing her to give in.

Hell, if he pulled that when asking for some money she might have actually given it to him.

She smiled and nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "But, I have some rules first."

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading! There are about 2 chapters left!