[UNEDITED]

As I climbed out of the shower and wrapped myself in my towel, the only thought on my mind was the attack, and so I wasn't really ready for the surprise that awaited me in the room.

There was someone sitting on the bed, staring hard at my clothes.

I gasped loudly, and then was on the verge of throwing the aflame candle on that person, when he turned and the meager amount of light coming from the other candle on the nightstand washed his face.

It was Dylan.

"What the hell?" I clutched my chest, "You scared the shit outta me!"

"I am sorry," he looked sincerely apologetic, "I did not want to scare you like that!"

"But how did you get in?" I asked, outraged, "There are guards everywhere!"

"I know," said, a little sad, "I had to trick one of them to get in here."

I did not ask the specifics. All that mattered was that Dylan was in my room, and I was standing here in my towel.

He pointed at one of the t-shirts that I had discarded on the bed before going into the shower.

"Isn't this the same one that you wore when you had come to deliver the shots to me?" he asked.

I was amazed at his memory, "Yeah, I guess," I replied, "I never actually memorize the clothes I wear by their dates."

Dylan nodded.

"So," I walked to the bed and then kept the candle beside the other one, and the place shone a little brighter, "What brings you here?"

"You have to ask?" he asked, clearly not amused.

I sighed, and checked where the towel was knotted. Then I groped on the bed beside Dylan, but I couldn't find my new clothes.

Then I suddenly remembered that I had left them in my room.

"Shit," I muttered.

"What?" he asked, suddenly tensed.

"Nothing," I shook my head, and then made an attempt to leave the room.

"I am sorry Naomi, for whatever happened here," he said all of a sudden.

I turned to face him, "Well, I am alive, and so are the people I live here with, so no harm done."

He clasped and unclasped his hands, and then looked up at me.

"I was scared when I heard about the attack," he said, "I thought I would never see you again in my life."

I crossed my arms, feeling weak and wobbly inside. If he started speaking about his feelings for me once again, I would crash here right then, and I could not let it happen. I had set him free, I had turned him down the other day. I couldn't ruin his perfect life and a holy promise to someone because of my weird infatuations.

"We've been through this, Dylan," I told him. Just uttering his name sent a shiver through my body, and it obviously did not have anything to do with the fact that I was standing there half-naked.

"I have to talk about it tonight," Dylan pressed, and I could see the pain in his eyes, "I have to get it all out tonight."

I kept my hostile stance intact. I could not let it get me. I would not let it get me.

"How are you?" he asked, "It's been a long time."

"It's just been a few days," I pointed out, happy inside because he seemed upset without me.

He laughed, "Yeah, right."

I walked up and picked up one of the candles, "I need to change into something nicer than this towel –"

I turned, and there he was, standing right behind me. I had almost burned his chest with the candle, but halted in the right time. A soft yelp left my throat.

"Seriously?" I muttered.

"Did they hurt you?" he said as he took a clearer look at my face, "Did they?"

"No," I looked into his eyes, "I am fine."

"Hmm," he said, "I heard you ninja-kicked them in their not-so-tough asses."

I laughed, "I think I did."

Then it all came crashing down on me.

"I killed one of them, too, you know," I said, the images from the evening coming back to me.

"It's okay," he said, "I know the feeling, I have killed people too."

I looked back at Dylan's face. Although he had learned to be all cool about killing people, there was a subtle pain in his eyes that told a complete different story. He had also gone through something that I had not. He had to kill his own sister to redeem her of the pain she was going through.

"How have you been?" I asked, "How's your fiancée?" I couldn't help myself from pinching him a little.

He made a face, "I am fine, and so is Nicole."

"Good for you," I smiled, "So, when am I getting an invitation?"

"What invitation?" he asked, slightly irritated.

"Your wedding?" I asked, "There are people who want to take me away so you'd better hurry if you want me to be the best man...or woman of your wedding –"

Dylan clutched my waist with both his hands and pulled me slightly closer, and the flame of the candle was abnormally close to his chest. I tipped it slightly towards me, and hot drops of candle fell right on my thumb.

I bit my lip. Being this near him was not helping the cause much.

"What?" I asked nonchalantly, "Did I offend you?"

"Haven't we talked about this before?" he asked, his eyes blazing, "I told you how I felt about you, but you are the one who's being all ignorant and stubborn."

"Excuse me?" I tried to shake off his hands, but they only gripped tighter on my waist, "It wasn't my fault. You tried to get done with the situation with only an 'I don't know'. What's that even supposed to mean?"

Dylan's features softened a little, "I was confused. I did not know what to do...it was messed up."

He looked up at me, and I tried harder to get his hands off my body, but they wouldn't budge.

"You don't understand what you have until you are about to lose it," he leaned in closer, "And I know now. I know what I want."

I wanted to throw the candle away, and wrap him with my arms and all the emotions that were running within my veins, but I had to be strong.

"Nicole loves you a lot, Dylan," I leaned backwards, and took a step back, "She needs you."

"But what about me?" he asked, "What about what I want?" he took a step forward, closing the gap between us.

"I could ask the same thing you know," I said, "I want you two to be happy."

"I don't think I will ever be happy in my life if you are not in it," he whispered.

I sighed, "She was promised something, you were supposed to spend the rest of your lives together."

Dylan latched on, "Naomi, I want you, not her."

"But you said you didn't know. You were torn between the two of us. I am not an option that you discard and pick up at your will Dylan," I complained, trying my best to get away from his grip. The way he was apologizing was dangerous for me, and I was on the verge of breaking down and let him kiss me.

"I think I have apologized for that already," he said desperately, "I truly was confused. But...god...I have never felt the same way about her like I have felt for you, and there's no confusion in that. It just took me a while to understand it myself."

I did not say anything. I could feel my heart slipping. I looked away, taking all the burns from the melting candle.

Dylan snatched it away from my hand.

"Stop hurting yourself," he reprimanded.

"I can take care of myself Dylan," I snapped.

He still had his right hand on my waist, which slacked for about five seconds, and then he took them away.

"Is it because of me?" he said suddenly, "Is it because the way I am?"

I snapped my head up. Was he insane?

His face shone brightly in the light, and it felt that he had finally understood a huge puzzle that had been bugging him for ages.

"Oh, I understand," he offered me a smile that was too cynical, "Everyone wants a normal human being to be in their lives. No one wants a sick, volatile creature in their lives who might as well just kill them any day."

"Dylan?" I asked. He was scaring me.

"I am sorry," he raised his hand, "I did not understand that. I am sorry that I have been trying to impose my miserable life onto you all this time."

I stared at him in shock. Did he really think that he disgusted me and that his condition was the reason I was pushing him away?

"I should have known better," he said, particularly to no one, "Nan told me this long ago."

He had overstepped the line.

"How could you even think that of me?" I asked him, outraged, "You think I –"

I never got to finish my accusation. Something bright shone in my peripheral vision, and then I felt the towel go abnormally hot.

The other candle on the nightstand! I had stepped too closer to it in an attempt to stay away from Dylan, and it had caught fire.

I stood there, dumbfounded, and within that small fraction of a second, Dylan flew forward and then pulled the towel off my body, throwing it on the floor and putting out the fire with his feet.

I was standing completely naked in front of him.

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