My head drops into my hands for the hundredth time, before bringing it up and blinking rapidly.

What the heck am I doing?

She's been gone a while, and I'm stupidly still just sitting half naked on her couch, twiddling my thumbs, long after I've finished setting her TV up... I know in reality I should just leave, but I can't make my legs move in the direction of the door, although I can't say I've actually tried that hard too.

I blame having nothing else to do, and I really try not too, but my eyes can't help as they roam over her things. Taking in the smallest of details on the built-in shelving around her TV, like the little blue elephant poking out from under a book that's leaning, to the way her DVD's seem to be alphabetically lined up. The small dark green masked character battling an invisible monster with a bow, and the colourful little robot thing wearing what looks like a lion's head helmet. My eyes linger on the assortment of trinkets, appearing to be little characters from a TV show, arranged in some sort of scene only known to her.

The thing's she has around this place, while completely baffling to me, are not what I expected from her at all...

Shaking my head, I stand, knowing I need to get the hell out of here for a second and give myself a bit of breathing room. That look on her face before she basically bolted earlier, still fresh in my mind, and slowly tormenting me. I'm not sure what was rattling around in her head, but damn hell, the longer I sit here, the more I seriously want to know...

I'm just closing my door up after retrieving a shirt, when my feet stop, her keys in my pocket thumping my thigh lightly. There's a guy I've never seen before, standing by her door with one hand on the handle, while the other jiggles something a bit higher up.

"Hey man, can I help you at all? Lock yourself out?"

He freezes the moment I begin to speak, a sly grin spreading across his face, while he slowly turns towards me.

"Yeah, my ah, friend.. said I could borrow something, and that the door would be open. Think the damn things just stuck again. Has a bit of a habit of doing that."

My eyes stay on him, while my phone starts to vibrate away. I've spent enough time around her the last few days, that I know for a fact that she doesn't have any male friends, other than the twins and I. Her name flashes across the screen as I pull my phone out, and I return his smile while I answer it.

"Hey beautiful, what's up?"

He watches me for a moment longer, as I lean my back against my door and smile widely down at the floor, before going back to what he was doing. She sounds frantic, her words half blurring together in long, almost incoherent sentences. My eyes keep him in sight, taking in the tattoo sleeve, the grungy clothes he's wearing, complete with the 'don't give a shit' hair. Dude reminds me of the struggling musician look...

The moment she says 'ex', I straighten up.

I let her finish, my voice a bit colder, and rougher than I intend as I reply before hanging up on her. So, this is the fucking jerk that mooched off her, while sleeping with all her friends. The one she ditched with well deserved revenge, and is now trying to break into her apartment to seek payment.

Oh, fuck no.

I'm in his face in three steps, and he barely turns towards me, before my fist rams hard into his face. He drops down in a heap, trying to swear at me through the tears already filling his eyes, and the blood running from his now broken nose. My knuckles ache, but I keep my fist clenched as I look down at him.

Jesus, I wanna hit him again..

Instead my hands grab him by the scruff as I haul his ass up, pulling him to half stand, half hang in front of me.

"Listen up, dipshit. You come here again, you attempt to find Brooke in person, or by phone.. You even fucking think of speaking to her again.. I will personally put you in hospital..."

His eyes narrow, while his hands come up as he attempts to shove me off, but I'm bigger.

"Fuck you, man!! What the fuck do you even know about us, anyway?.... Oh.. that's how it is. So, she's replaced me already, hey?.. Didn't fucking take her long then, did it. Obviously she hasn't traded up..."

He spits the words at me, the anger beginning to twist his face for a moment, until a smirk starts to spread across it.

".. Have you discovered how fucking bendy she can be? Or has she not opened her legs, and spread them wide for you yet? Fuck me, the noises she makes, and the way she works that tongue of hers, is fucking one of the best I've ev.."

His back hits the solid wall by her door so hard, I'm half hoping I didn't damage it, as I throw him against it. I follow him there, leaning a fair chunk of my weight into him, trying hard to hold myself back from putting him in the hospital right now.

"Quite frankly, she let you off damn lightly for what you did to her. Now fuck off, and move on... I won't ask again.."

I let him go as I step back, and watch as he peels himself slowly off the wall. He's eyeing me, his hands clenching in and out of fists, telling me he really wants to swing back. I don't move an inch, waiting, praying that he makes a move against me and I can flatten him, but to my deep disappointment he doesn't. However, he doesn't look like he's about to go anywhere either.

".. Depending on what you choose to do, or say to me about her right now, the life support service in hospital... may become optional.."

He's silently fuming as he starts to side step, keeping me in sight as he backs up. My eyes don't leave him either while he walks away, noticing he's half limping as he goes, until he's long past disappeared down the stairs. The irrational angers still raging through me, wanting to clobber him for what he did to her.. For that worry and fear I heard in her voice on the phone... For his fucking words right now... and that she was even with him to start with...

Fuck, that's her fucking type, that's the sort of guy she goes out with...

My fist finds the door frame before I think about it, and I crack the skin open on my hand even more.

Well, fucking shit..

The door flies open, and her eyes roam her apartment before they land on me, just sitting on one of her couches.

Hell, she looks like she all out ran here.

Her breathing is heavy, stuttered as she peeks in once more, before slamming the door and coming over to flop down next to me. My eyes travel down her flushed cheeks, and her hair spilling out of the bun thing she had on her head earlier. Now it's a complete mess, the blonde strands curling delicately here and there over her shoulders, before running down the adorable overalls, that she makes look fucking good. The skin on my messed up hand still aches, and I slide it down the other side of my leg, half stuffing it into the couch so she doesn't see it.

"You know, I was serious this morning about being happy to train you if you need it."

Her hand flings out, and smacks me on the chest before she huffs out a breath.

"Hush you... I think I may have pulled something.. Hell, I haven't run that far in bloody yonks..."

She suddenly bolts upright, almost as though she's finally remembering why she was hurrying to start with.

".. Did you see him? Did he beat me here?"

Smiling gently at her, I straighten up too before shifting to face her, careful to keep my busted hand hidden. I'm not sure why, but I don't want her to know why it's all busted up.

Possibly to save myself from the million and once questions of why I hit him in the first place, that I have no fucking answer to.

She's still looking freaked and before I know it, my other hand runs along her cheek to turn her to face me. Her eyes are wide, but soften as she looks at me while I cup her cheek.

"Yes and yes, but he's not coming back... promise. You don't have a thing to worry about."

The moment her eyes narrow, I try not to laugh as I begin to drop my hand.

"Wait, seriously?... What did you do?.."

My hand lightly brushes her arm as it falls, and draws my eyes to the red marks lining her smooth skin. Is that a fucking hand print?..

Her head drops to follow what I'm staring at, and she huffs once more.

".. Yeah, the jerk grabbed me before I could get away from him, but I kneed him hard enough it'll make trying to make any babies damn painful for a while... So, what did you do to him?.."

I'm still marveling at the fact she took care of herself, even though she was so freaked out on the phone, when she leans in closer, her fingers dancing along the broken skin on my hand gently.

".. Deacon?"

My hand pulls from hers, and I just catch the eye roll as she stands to quickly duck in to the kitchen, before ditching a bag of peas at me.

"There you go, Rambo. Ice, rest and repeat... Although I would have loooved to see you hit him."

I lean back into the couch, while I do what she says, already knowing that it's gonna be sore for a while.

And knowing that if I had even the slightest knowledge that he grabbed her, I would have, without a doubt, put him in hospital.

"You'd be happy to know I did a good job then... I did warn you, that if he was in front of me I would punch him."

"My hero..."

She fans herself as she dramatically flops down on the couch next to me, taking less than a second to lean heavily into my side. My minds still whirling while she picks up the remote, and pokes it at the TV, watching as it blinks instantly to life.

".. It's alive!!.. If you were anyone else, I would say you get an extra special lap dance for that, but hey friendzoned."

My eyes find the ceiling, as I press my lips together hard, finding that the desire to comment back is almost too much. Hell, this woman and her words. She relaxes into my side more, and I lean back against her, smiling as she reaches over to softy adjust the bag of peas pressed on my hand. Careful the whole time that she doesn't apply too much pressure. My eyes want to close as her hair lightly brushes my face, and I mistakenly inhale the scent coming from it, while she brings her hand back.

She smells so good, the urge to touch her again barreling through me, and I half have to force myself not to reach over so I can run my hand along her cheek.

She makes this feel effortless. The time we spend together, becoming more addictive with every second I'm with her.

I let my eyes close this time, trying to take a subtle deep breath, and will my mind to shove the thoughts away.

All the while knowing that this damn comfortableness with her, is damn dangerous.