That night I fell asleep on the loveseat across from the couch where Will slept. I had restless dreams of roaming around the airport from my nightmares. What was different about these dreams from the ones I usually had was that this time I wasn't chasing after anyone specific. It was like I was walking around the airport looking at faces and trying to decide who I was looking for.

The next morning I woke up to the smell of coffee in the air. Looking across from me I saw that Will was gone. I stood up and walked into the kitchen curiously, trying to smooth down my bedhead and rub the sleep from my eyes. Will was at the counter pouring coffee into two mugs, wearing sweats and a tank top. He looked like he had also just woken up and I couldn't help but smile at his sleepy appearance, almost forgetting the awkwardness of last night.

"Good morning."

He jumped so high at my words you would have thought I'd screamed them. His big brown eyes narrowed into a glare directed at me and I laughed, my apprehension not enough to block it.

"Oh, hungover, are you?" I asked nonchalantly.

He folded his lightly muscled arms and continued glaring at me.

"You don't scare a guy like that. Especially when he's made you coffee way too early in the morning." He stuck his tongue out at me childishly.

Well, I guessed if he was going to act like nothing happened, then maybe I should as well. I smiled as I walked to the counter, grabbing my coffee before he could stop me.

"You're just grumpy cuz you're hungover." I raised an eyebrow knowingly at him.

His big brown eyes rolled and he grabbed his cup, following me back into the living room. I plopped down on the couch and smelled the coffee. I couldn't help but groan at the smell. It was so warm and rich. I loved the smell of coffee, especially Will's coffee. It must have been the kind he made, but it always seemed so much better than what I made.

He sat down much more carefully than I had next to me and took a sip, closing his eyes and smiling in contentment. My lips turned up into a grin as I watched him. I followed his lead by taking a sip from my mug as well. Ugh, it was almost too good.

I contemplated the virtues of coffee for a moment in silence with my eyes closed. Finally I opened my eyes to see Will staring at me with a peculiar expression on his face. I looked away, suddenly uncomfortable.

After a moment I spoke up. "We should really talk about what happened last night."

"What do you mean?" My head whipped back toward him suddenly. He knows what I mean, doesn't he?

"Um, everything that happened after you got drunk. What happened with us."

His brown eyes seemed sincerely confused. He raised his eyebrows at me.

"Again, what do you mean? I was really drunk. I honestly don't remember anything past breaking up with Becca." I stared at him openmouthed. He really didn't remember any of that? The fight with Jaime or the kiss?

"Oh. Well..." I thought quickly. Maybe I shouldn't bring up the kiss. If it was just a drunk mistake than this could be a blessing. If we both knew about it things might be weird with us. Maybe this way we could stay normal. "Once you were drunk you said some really rude things to Jaime. And this was technically your fault." I gestured to my black eye.

He was gaping at me. I saw many different emotions flash across his face, finally ending on regret.

"Oh Annie, I'm so sorry! I punched you?! I can't believe I would do something like that, even drunk! I'm so stupid!" He berated himself.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. You didn't punch me. I got punched because I was stupid enough to try to prevent a fight between you and Jaime. I forgive you. Besides, I got you back pretty good myself." I grinned mischievously. His face morphed into a confused expression, "Oh so you haven't looked in a mirror yet..." I chuckled.

He raised his eyebrows at me and stood, walking quickly to the bathroom down the hall.

"What?!" He exclaimed, still out of sight. I laughed harder and he poked his face around the doorway to look at me. "You did this?"

I nodded and he broke out in full-bodied laughter. I felt a little offended at how funny that seemed to him. I mean, no I wasn't a bodybuilder but I wasn't that weak. I frowned. He noticed my expression and walked back into the room, looking suddenly apologetic.

"Annie, I didn't mean I was surprised you could hit this hard, I just think it's funny that you got so angry with me. I always knew someday you would get me back for all those times I teased you. And at least I know you can protect yourself." He chuckled again and I couldn't help but smile.

This was the first time in a while we'd joked and laughed with each other and I missed it. Lately he'd been so distanced from me and I hadn't noticed how his absence left a hole in my heart until now. Seeing his warm expression made me ache inside. I knew this couldn't last. I'd always known he didn't like some of the new aspects of my life, namely James, but after what he'd said to him last night I knew we couldn't be the same. Not if I chose to stay with Jaime.

He was watching me closely once my expression fell. His followed and it left the silence in the room suddenly awkward and tense.

"So... you said I made some comments to your boyfriend last night? What exactly happened and why are you here with me instead of with him?" He asked, lips tightening bitterly.

I sighed. "Yeah, you said a lot of things last night. You told him to stay away from me and you told him you thought he had something to do with the attacks. And you called him a wuss. He was about to punch you when I stepped between you two, hence the black eye. To be honest, I don't know why I decided to bring you home last night. I had every reason to let you fend for yourself, but you were really drunk and I guess I had pity on you. So now I'm not even sure if Jaime wants to stay with me. I'm going to have to talk to him about it soon." I rubbed my hand through my long curly brown hair in frustration.

"Oh. I don't really know what to say." His face was set in stone. He wasn't even apologetic! My anger flared and I stood up, crossing my arms.

"I wasn't asking you to say anything. I'm going to go call Jaime." I snapped, sending him a glare as I walked away.

I walked out the door of his apartment and out toward the parking lot. I needed some air, plus I really didn't want Will in earshot when I groveled. He really didn't need any more ammunition.

Finally when I was outside I got my phone out of my pocket and started to dial when I noticed something across the parking lot. I saw Jaime's car, seemingly empty. When I scanned nearby I saw him standing close to someone else. I squinted, trying to make them out but it was hard to see them. They were short compared to him though, wearing nondescript clothes and a jacket with the hood up. I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman.

A feeling of dread started building in my chest. That person was about the same height as the person who'd vandalized my apartment. And on the window the police found a red hair from when the person escaped. Did they have red hair? I couldn't see. Could Jaime be...speaking to someone who'd threatened me? Could Jaime be behind all of this?

Woah, I needed to calm down for a second.  I was so paranoid. I forced myself to take a couple deep breaths and think it through.  Before I made any accusations I needed to talk to Jaime. See who he was talking to.  I don't know who it was.  My imagination could be running wild.  Maybe there was a perfectly reasonable explanation. 

After a couple more deep breaths I felt calm and steady again.  I looked back up in the direction of the stranger and Jaime to see them shaking hands.  The mysterious stranger then started walking out of the parking lot and Jaime began walking toward the apartment building, probably coming to see me.  I decided I would catch him now and see what was happening, so I started walking toward him.

"Hey! I was just going to call you!" I called to him. He froze, suddenly stopping. His eyes shot up to mine across the distance and if I didn't know better I'd say he looked guilty under his surprise. I shook myself out of that thought immediately as he grinned brightly at me. There's no way he looked guilty. That was just my imagination.

"Oh hey! I was coming to see you," He jogged up to me and looked me up and down, "we need to talk."

"Yeah, we do.  But before we talk about last night, who was that you were talking to by your car?"  I asked, watching him closely for a reaction.

He raised an eyebrow at me in surprise.  "Oh, that was an old friend who lives around here.  She was walking by and saw me parking.  She needed to borrow some money for her rent.  She was recently laid off."  He replied coolly, without hesitation.  I felt a little relief, mostly trusting his words.  If he was lying it would have taken longer for him to come up with an answer, right?  He didn't know I'd catch them talking so I don't think he'd have a story prepared.

"Oh, okay."  I smiled at him in relief.  He frowned down at me, studying my expression.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just glad you're here.  I was afraid after last night you would shun me."  I quickly lied.  He smiled at me and took my hand, leading us back toward the building.

"I wouldn't do that.  I came here to apologize," he paused, looking at our feet as we walked casually, "I'm sorry for letting Will rile me up last night.  I know he was drunk and I really shouldn't hold it against him.  And I'm so sorry I hurt you.  I feel so stupid." 

I looked at him in surprise.  He was being really mature about it!  He was actually being way more mature than Will was.  I gave him a half-smile.

"Apology accepted.  I'm sorry I walked away with Will last night.  I was just so angry with both of you..." I trailed off, looking at our intertwined hands.

"No, don't be sorry.  I understand why you did.  It's alright,"  He quickly replied.  He sent me a casual grin, "so what happened last night after you brought him home?  Any good drunk stories?" 

I forced a smile on my face stiffly.  'Don't show him anything's wrong.  Keep a smile on.' I thought to myself.  He didn't need to know what happened. 

"Oh, nothing really.  Will's not a very fun drunk.  I brought him back, dumped him on the couch, and he passed out."  I looked at his expression nervously.  His deep brown eyes studied my face for a second, looking guarded, then he shrugged.

"Oh well.  I'm sure it was probably for the best that way.  At least if he was passed out he couldn't make any more stupid accusations about me."  He rolled his eyes.

I nodded in relief.  He believed me!  Guilt coursed through my veins knowing what really happened, but if I wasn't going to confront Will about it than I certainly wasn't going to talk to Jaime about it.  I was still hoping it was a stupid drunk kiss that he didn't mean.

We continued chatting and walking back to the apartment for a while until we stood in front of the door.  I didn't really want to have Jaime around Will right now, but I didn't have a very good reason to keep him away.  At least, not one I could tell him.  So we continued inside, where I found Will sitting on the couch playing video games.

He looked up, startled at the noise.  His expression quickly went from surprise to a small smile to annoyance as he looked from me to Jaime. I glared at him, trying to tell him with my eyes to be nice.  Of course, he seemed to ignore me.

"Oh, hey.  I'm surprised you came over here.  Here to beat me up?"  Will smirked, oozing confidence and derision.

Jaime took a breath and stepped toward him, leaving me staring at his back.  What was he going to do?  I was worried Will was going to make it worse again, but after a pause Jaime reached out his hand.

"Nope.  I wanted to apologize and call a truce.  I know you were drunk last night and probably wouldn't have said those things if you were sober, so I'm willing to put it all behind us if you are." 

I held my breath in shock.  Was Will going to shake his hand and agree to peace?  Will stood, standing a good four inches above Jaime and stared at his outstretched hand with a guarded expression.  I could see the wheels turning in his mind as he contemplated something deeply.  Finally his smirk returned and he shook his hand strongly.

"Of course I'm willing.  What kind of person, or best friend, would I be if I wasn't?"  He commented, seeming to imply something else in his words.  I rolled my eyes and sighed.  Obviously he was up to something.  At least he agreed to a truce for now.

"Oh good.  I'm glad you boys have matured a little in the last 24 hours.  Since we're good now, can I ask you to help me get drinks in the kitchen?"  I directed at Will stiffly.  I had no intention of letting him screw around with my relationship and I wanted him to know that.

"Sure."  He nodded, turning and walking behind me into the kitchen.  I sensed his eyes drilling holes into the back of my head.

Once we stood in the kitchen by the sink I turned the water on, hoping it would help keep our conversation more private from Jaime. I abruptly turned and slapped his arm.

"What do you think you're doing?"  I hissed quietly, glaring and folding my arms defensively.

"I don't know what you mean."  He raised his eyebrows at me unconvincingly.

"Oh, right.  You mean to tell me that whole 'truce' thing was real?"

He sighed, glancing at my unbelieving face.  "Look, I promise not to do anything to ruin your relationship.  At least, not until I have proof."  Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

"Proof of what exactly?"

"I fully believe he has something to do with your attacks and your stalker and I'm going to prove it.  If he has nothing to hide, he has nothing to worry about and I won't interfere with you guys."  He shrugged as if that was completely reasonable.

"No!  I will NOT let you interrogate him or try to prove anything!  I won't let you screw up what I have going with him."  I pressed my mouth into a thin line in anger.

I saw a spark enter his eyes at my fiery words, and I knew I was going to regret them.

"You 'won't let me', huh?  Well that's too bad.  I guess I'll have to find something else to talk to him about then.  Like maybe what happened last night?  I'm guessing you didn't tell him since you don't want to screw anything up?"  He stared at me meaningfully, a smirk tugging at the edge of his lips.

Not understanding what he meant at first, I stared at him.  What did he mean 'what happened last night'?  Then it hit me like a weight on my chest.  I gasped, raising my hand to my mouth in disbelief.  He remembered?  That means he lied to me about not remembering what he did last night!  Why would he lie about the kiss?

"You wouldn't."  I stared him down, trying to get him to break first.

He moved his body closer to me mischievously, leaning down until he was looking straight into my eyes.  He gently grabbed my face, leaned in to my ear, and whispered, "Don't test me.  I'll just have to tell him how much you enjoyed it, responding to my touch so openly.  I'm sure he'll LOVE that." 

I shivered at his close contact, then pushed him away.  I hated myself for him being right.  I had responded way too much to his kiss last night.  I attributed it to my being exhausted, but of course Jaime wouldn't see it the same way.  He really didn't need to know what happened.  I sighed in defeat.

"Fine.  But don't expect me to like it."  I muttered.  Glancing up at Will under my lashes I caught him looking at me with a strange smile on his face.  Looking up more noticeably at him, the smile turned into a gloating look. 

We quickly went on our way filling up glasses with cooled lemonade for the three of us and walked back out to the living area.  Jaime was occupying himself by checking out Will's collections of movies and video games.  When we walked into the room he turned, smiling, and started chatting casually with Will.  Will glanced at me conspiratorially and smirked.  I knew this was going to spell trouble in the near future.

Will's threat was not fake. He was definitely trying to prove Jaime's guilt, and the worst part was there was nothing I could do about it. After we brought our drinks back to the living room he and Jaime started chatting about what seemed casual things. Will was directing the conversation towards where Jaime was from and what his story was. Every time I tried interjecting to get Will to back off he looked at me meaningfully, effectively shutting me up. Somehow I knew he really would tell Jaime about the kiss if I intervened. So I just sat back and watched it all unfold in frustration.

"So, what kind of work do you do?" Will asked, taking a sip of his lemonade.

"Oh, this and that. Whatever pays the bills." Jaime gave a crooked smile and Will became much more interested in that topic, clearly thinking he was hiding something.

"Yeah. What stuff have you been doing lately? I've been looking for a better job. Maybe I could apply where you work?"

Jaime smiled wider. "I'm currently working over at the club NightShade as a bartender. I could ask around for you. What do you do now? What's your work history look like?" He asked smoothly.

Will's face remained in a guarded mask, leaving me wondering how he could be so good at lying. I could only tell he had his guard up because I knew him so well.

"I currently work at a sandwich shop. I've done a little bit of everything though," he replied, somewhat vaguely, "It's been tough trying to find good jobs since I haven't lived here for very long. What about you? Did you grow up here or...?" Will left off.

"No. I've lived all over. But I do really like it here. It's definitely one of my favorite places so far. I know Annalee is from Pittsburgh but what about you?"

Will glanced over at me for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I'm actually from Pittsburgh too, but we never knew one another. We ran in different circles I guess."

Will looked to me this time, hesitantly. I looked back at him in realization.

"Wow, you're from Pittsburgh? How did I not know that?" I asked. Before he could respond, Jaime spoke up.

"That is kind of weird though, considering how good of friends you guys are." Jaime casually inserted.

I had to agree. It was actually really weird. I was starting to realize I knew much less about Will than I thought I did. I'd never met his parents, I'd never been to his apartment before this week, I didn't know how he could afford to live here off a server's salary. It seemed I didn't know anything about him.

"Yeah. Anyway, I saw you looking at my collection of video games..." Will completely changed the subject and started jabbering away with Jaime about non-personal things.

I was shocked at the sudden change in direction. Will had seemed so set on getting answers out of Jaime that I thought he would never stop digging, but the moment Jaime comments on his life he shut right up. Maybe I should have tried that earlier.

I completely tuned out to what the boys were talking about for a long time, until Jaime turned to me and snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Annalee, Will's going to show me