Time flew when they were together.

  Although they were occasionally visited by Brady and Marina, along with the whining customers that Sawyer easily soothed, they were mostly alone with each other.

  At first, she thought he'd grow tired of her and her constant blabbering, considering it was in her nature to fill the silence whenever she could. Instead, he seemed to be the one who would strike up a conversation whenever he could, and listened intently as she rambled out a response.

She knew, deep down, that it was strange of him. He didn't do the same for anyone else; in fact, he practically ignored anyone that wasn't her.

  She constantly wondered why, yet as much as she loved to talk, she couldn't seem to get the words out to ask.

"We haven't hung out in a while," Ali remarked as she tidied up her station.

Sawyer watched with dead, yet slightly amused, eyes as she fixed the angle of her computer by a mere degree. "We hang out every day."

She threw him a look. "I meant outside of work."

"Oh," he murmured, his gaze dropping to the floor. "Well, I was thinking of going somewhere this weekend."

"Oh, really? Where?"

"The movie theater."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise, and a curious smile crept onto her face. "I never really had you pegged as a movie buff."

"I'm not."

"Oh?" she cocked her head, urging him to continue. He lifted his gaze as he shifted uncomfortably in front of her.

"But isn't going to the movies a—" Sawyer pursed his lips and shrugged roughly, "—normal thing to do?"

The weight of his words sunk into her heart all at once. Her eyes drifted over to the office in the corner of the store, where Mr. Price usually resided, and a frown overtook her face.

Sociopathic or not, she knew having a father that wanted his son to be anything but himself was draining. It had to be. She couldn't see it in his emotionless eyes, but she could hear it in his words.

Before she could reply, a loud gasp suddenly tore through the air, drawing their attention to the jaw-slacked customer.

"Oh. My. God. Sawyer Price, is that you?" a tall, brown-haired girl with feline-like eyes exclaimed as she squinted at him.

Ali glanced over at him and was surprised to see genuine distaste in his face, which he made no effort to hide. The girl, however, didn't seem to mind.

"It is you! It's been—what—two years since we've last seen each other?" she said before blowing out a breath. "Wow, two years. I can't believe it's been that long."

  "Not long enough," Sawyer grumbled loudly, making Ali's mouth open in shock, while the girl let out a laugh instead.

  "Oh, typical Sawyer," she chuckled before her eyes quickly swept over his figure. She set her bags down on the floor and leaned her elbows on the counter. "So, I see you're still working at your dad's store. Not much has changed with you since high school, huh?"

  His voice seemed to become more monotonous than usual. "No."

  "And I'm assuming you still haven't been able to get a girlfriend," she added, a pitying smile hanging from her lips.

  Sawyer showed no visible reaction to her words, but Ali caught the quick look her way. His Adam's apple bobbed before he uttered out an uninterested: "Yeah."

  "Aw, I wonder why. It's not like you're a sociopath or anything," she said, blinking innocently. An awkward silence seemed to hover over them before a sneering laugh escaped from her red lips. "Oh, wait! You are!"

  Ali recoiled in surprise, speechless for a moment, while Sawyer merely stared at her. The girl continued to snicker, covering her face with her hand, as Ali tried to process the sudden change in temperature between them.

  Once she stopped snickering, Sawyer stepped forward with his usual impassive expression. "Can I help you with anything, Trinity?"

  She smirked. "Help me? No, Sawyer, you're the one that needs help. Since therapy didn't work for you in high school, I suggest you get a lobotomy! Yeah, it's risky, but I'm sure your dad would be more than willing to try it. After all, it's better to have a son who's a little slow than a sociopath, right?"

  "What is wrong with you?" Ali exclaimed, suddenly finding her voice again.

  Trinity, startled by the sharp anger in her tone, raised an eyebrow at her. "And who are you?"

  "A decent human being, something you're obviously not," Ali snapped as she stepped up to the counter, pushing past Sawyer. "I mean, who the hell says all of that and thinks it's okay?"

  "Don't tell me you're defending a sociopath," Trinity chuckled, but the blazing fury in Ali's eyes quickly wiped away her smile.

  "You know being insensitive and cruel to others are sociopathic traits, right? Considering you just told him to get a lobotomy, I'd say you're a little sociopathic yourself," Ali said, plastering on the same pitying smile as Trinity had done to Sawyer.

Trinity gaped at her. "What kind of customer service employee are you? I should report you!"

"Please do! But you can fill out the form online, because I'd rather get a lobotomy than look at your face any longer. Bye now!" Ali waved cheerfully, and Trinity, wide-eyed with shock, trudged toward the exit.

  Once she was gone, Ali sighed heavily and turned back to him. He seemed to be frozen in place, staring directly above her, with an unreadable expression on his face.

  "Anyway," she cleared her throat, offering him one of her brightest smiles. "What movie should we watch?"