A/N; Check it - this one doesn't have any canon characters. Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Appendix D

Section B

Alex age 17

"Again, I am sooo sorry."

Alex sat in the front seat of the '85 Chevy Cavalier she so often drove, a black sack in her hands, her boyfriend next to her on the passenger side.

"You're really serious, aren't you?" Logan laughed.

"I don't want to! But it's for the best," she wore apology on her face, one side of her upper lip raised in apprehension.

"What, does your father work for the CIA or something?"

"Well, if I told you that, then I'd have to kill you," Alex teased.

"You are so corny," Logan teased.

"I know," Alex giggled, shrugging her shoulders. She knew it was a compliment in his eyes. "But really, no, he doesn't work for the CIA. It's kinda like that, I guess, but it's… different…. Really different."

"And you think someone eventually is going to come along and try to pry answers out of me about where you and your dad and your uncle live?"

Alex tucked her mouth to one side, hating that she had to reply, "Yeah."

"And you think I'd actually tell them?"

"No!" Alex exclaimed happily, pleased to show her faith in him.

"Buuuuut you still need to blindfold me – or rather, blindbag me – to make sure I don't know just in case I'm… what, interrogated, blackmailed, tortured?"

"Sure, any of those are possible," Alex nodded.

Logan looked genuinely surprised, "Really? Torture?"

"Yeah," Alex spoke without hesitation.

"You're serious?"

It was then that she realized something of her folly and bit her lip, staring wide-eyed at her companion. Given this expression, Logan could tell she wasn't joking, rather that she had let slip a slightly more truthful truth than she should have relayed to him after a month of knowing each other. He gained an oh-my-god-what-am-I-getting-into look. At this, Alex backpedaled.

"Oh, really, don't worry about it!" she lightened her tone, "It's not that big a deal! I'm sure it'll be fine! No worries!"

"Uh-huh," Logan replied uncertainly.

Alex tried a little less hard and a little more honestly, shrugging, "It's just dinner."

His expression softened as he looked at her. "Yeah," he nodded, "you're right. And you're worth that, at least."

She smiled, warmed.

"I'm still really sorry," she gestured with the bag she still held.

"It's all right," he replied and bowed his head towards her.

With appreciation, she moved to cover his noggin with the black fabric. But then she stopped short and pulled away, surprised.

"You chopped your hair!" she cried.

"Yes. I did," Logan nodded. "Thanks for noticing 12 minutes after you came to pick me up."

"I'm sorry, I just… was really distracted about having to ask you to wear a bag on your head to dinner and it's kinda dark out, I thought you just had it pulled back," she rambled, somewhat distressed. "Why'd you do that?"

"So glad you like it," he retorted.

"No, no, it's just… I'm surprised," was Alex's excuse. "Really, what brought about this kinda big change?"

"Well," Logan shrugged, a little sheepish, "you'd said your dad kinda hated the long hair, so I thought… you know, first impressions…."

Alex snorted, "Did you seriously chop off your hair for my dad?"

"Nah, nah, it was time for a change," it sounded like a rather small percentage of his reasons.

Alex laughed. "Aw, I kinda liked it long. Though I kinda liked it because it pissed off my dad. I don't know why; I liked that you pissed him off at all."

"Yeah, well, you can go ahead and piss off your dad," Logan said. "I'll be right over here – whatever 'here' he wants me to be at – trying to do precisely the opposite. I've seen him in the restaurant," a fear crept into his eyes. "He kinda… he kinda looks like he could kill me with his thumb."

Alex was incredibly amused at this whole turn of events, laughing, "Yeah, he probably could. He wouldn't though," she placed the sack over her boyfriend's head. "That's not his style."

A/N; So, unfortunately this chapter may mark the beginning of a brief hiatus. With school work taking up nearly all of my time, I can't devote as much attention to my fan fiction as I would like. I am making headway! But it's hard to say if I'll have a publishable chapter ready by this time next week. I know some of my reviewers have expressed excitement for getting to the "Meet-the-Parent[s]" dinner, but it's precisely for that same reason that I'm not pushing it; I want it to be as good as you were hoping for! Fingers crossed!

So for now, thank you so much for reading! Keep an eye open for updates! With any luck, it will be a short break. :)