As I rake a comb through the next morning, my thoughts are all on Rhys. I can't wait to see him. I gallop down the stairs and pick up a paper. I can't wait to see him. I gallop down the stairs and pick up a pear. "Dad, I'm off to school!" I call and then dash into the garage. My sleek black car is waiting for me beside Mom and Dad's cars. Dad gifted to me as the 'finale' of my birthday party.

I slip into the car and turn the key in the engine. The car purrs and I grin. I pull out of the garage and make my way to the school. In the parking lot, I catch Rhys parking his car. I slide my car into the parking space beside his.

Rhys spots me and waves. I grin at him and then clamber out of the car. Rhys gets out and then lopes in front of me, making me press my back into the side of the car. "Nice car, Donna." He says, "You make it look even more beautiful when you sit in it."

I smile, my heart stuttering and then reply, "Well, I can't wait to see how you make it look, then."

"Are you offering me a ride in it?" Rhys beams, raising an eyebrow.

"That depends. Do you accept?" I ask.

Rhys nods, "I do."

"Good. Where should I pick you up?" Then I decide to tease, "The tower?"

"Starbucks, actually." Rhys grins, "You're getting awfully outspoken." He lets his forehead rest on mine, "Six?"

"Make that five." I grin cheekily. Rhys chuckles and bends his head to mine, letting our lips meet momentarily and then pulling back when we hear someone squeal. I look to the right to see Crystal Weathers standing beside her silver Volvo. "Rhys!" She says and then walks over to us, "You're dating Donna?"

Rhys shrugs, "Is it that obvious?" I bend my head, trying not to giggle.

Crystal's eyes darken, "Why?"

"Normally when you date someone, it's because you're attracted to them. Why else would I be with Donna?" Rhys raises an eyebrow, "See you in English, Crystal." He takes my hand, leading me away.

In Biology, Avril pats my shoulder. I turn to look at her, as does Rhys. "What did you two say to Crystal?"

"Nothing." Rhys shrugs, "She was asking me whether Donna and I were dating and I told her the truth."

"Well, apparently, she's not talking to anyone and she's crying in the toilets." Avril says, tucking her auburn hair behind my ear.

I meet Rhys' eyes, "Really? She must be upset."

"What has that got to do with us?" Rhys asks, "We only told her that we're together. Why would she cry about that?"

"You are so innocent." Avril rolls her eyes, "She likes you, Rhys." I look at Rhys, waiting for his reaction. Rhys locks our gazes, looking sheepish.

"Why should she like me? She doesn't know me."

"You don't have to know someone to have a crush on them." I tell Rhys, intertwining our fingers, "It just happens, you know."

Rhys looks at the desk between us and Avril guiltily, "Okay, but it's best for her to get over it. Nothing's going to come from it."

"Rhys Hart? Miss Morrison? Is there something you'd like to share with the class?" Mr Markovitz calls.

We turn to the front hastily, "No, sir. Sorry, sir."

Later On...

"I'll see you later. At five, okay?" Rhys says as we stroll into the student parking lot.

"Yeah, sure." I say, "But, maybe we could schedule it a little earlier? I have a feeling that I won't be able to wait two hours."

"I have some business first. That's why I told you to meet in Starbucks. Five on the dot, okay?" Rhys tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. I nod unwillingly. It's like he doesn't even want to spend time anymore. He sighs, sensing that I'm disappointed and says, "I'll be thinking of you the whole time. You know I don't like being away from you any more than you do."

I smile, but I'm still not convinced, "Okay. Five 'o' clock. Don't be late, Rhys."

"I won't." Rhys says and bends his head to touch my lips with a gentle touch. Then he presses against them harder, sending fire shooting through me electrically. Rhys' fingers wind through my hair pulling me closer. Then he pulls away, breaking the kiss way too soon. I smile again, opening the car door and getting in. Rhys leans in through the open window and strokes my cheek with gentle fingers, "Hey. Don't be upset."

"I'm not. I'm just... I'll miss you." I admit docilely.

Rhys grins, "It's good to know that. I'll be missing you too."

My heart lifts and I genuinely smile, "Yeah. I'd best get going home or else Dad will demand to know whether we've been getting up to things."

"I wouldn't mind getting up to things." Rhys teases merrily, tugging on my hair.

I blush, "And that's my cue." I rev out of the student parking lot, a geeky smile plastered on my face and accelerate all the way home, blasting some Rihanna at full volume on the stereo.

I pull into the garage and slide out of the car, stepping through the adjoining door to the dining room/kitchen. Dad is in there, talking on the phone, "She's just got home. Yes, of course. I love you too. I'll give her the phone. Here you go, Don, it's your mom."

I clonk down on the chair and press the phone to my ear excitably, "Hi, Mom! How are you?"

"I am fine." Mom growls, "Dark-haired boy. I need the details this moment."

I let out a nervous little laugh, "I think Dad wants to talk to you." Dad suppresses hysterical laughter, as if he has suspected this all along. I glower at him. Traitor.

"No, he doesn't, Donna Jade Morrison! You tell me right now." She demands.

I sigh, "Mom, he's just a boy. You don't want to know about him."

"Donna..."

"Fine." I groan, "He is called Rhys Hart. He is from Arizona. He studies with me at my school. He is sixteen years old. He is --" I stop in mid-sentence. The other half of my sentence was 'my boyfriend' but I don't say that to Mom. I don't want my eardrums to explode, not just yet when I'm so young. You see, Mom's a screamer.

"He is what? A juvenile delinquent? An FBI spy? An undercover cop? A younger version of James Bond? What, Donna?" She snaps and then takes on a teasing tone, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"I just remembered I have to do some homework." I blurt, looking to Dad for held but he's too busy laughing at me, "I'll call you later."

"He's your boyfriend!" Mom squeals, "He is! You have a --"

She doesn't finish because I cut the call. "Ooh, harsh." Dad teases. I narrow my eyes at him and he puts his hands up in surrender, "Hey, Donna sweetie, you knew it was going to happen sometime, Like I say, best to get it over with."

"Yeah, I know." I rest my elbows on the table, "Oh well, at least I don't have to live the rest of my youth life in mortal fear."

Dad sniggers, "You know, your mom has been waitiing for this moment for years. The day you successfully seduce a male." I look at my father, my jaw gaping wide open in astonishment.

"Dad! I haven't seduced anyone!" I slap his arm gently.

"Mom's vocabulary, not mine." Dad gets up and ruffles my hair, "You want something to eat?"

"Nah, it's okay, Dad. Rhys and me are going to catch a movie at five so we'll probably grab something after. I tell him, momentarily distracted.

Rhys.

Why do I like him so much? It feels like I've known him for centuries, not just one month and a few weeks. Everything he does is so familiar. I even feel like the tower is familiar. It's stopped being the place of my nightmares, it's more like a safe haven. A secret place just for me and my fallen angel. We've spent so many nights there together, just talking about his past life. The way he wandered for half a century, all alone, yearning for company. It still reduces me to tears. The bond between Rhys and I is so strong, anything that stresses him out just takes me out to the end of my tether. I can't bear to see him sad. It's like someone has squeezed my heart in their clenched fist, making me double over in pain. It's like we were always meant to be together.

Rhys is someone who will do anything to see a smile on his loved ones' faces; I've seen that in action so many times already. So many times I have heard his story and ended up in tears and it's always that he ends up comforting me when it should be the other way. Time flies when I'm with him, and when I'm not, it ticks by sluggishly like it's teasing and taunting me on purpose. Some of my life -- okay, nearly all of it -- is centred around Rhys now, nothing happens without him having information of it.

A part of me says this is old-fashioned and how I can be so dependant but the other part just says it's love so deal with it. I'm confused to which side to listen to. The positive seems much more reasonable. When I'm with Rhys, everything just seems so right. It all just feels in place, like that's how it's meant to be. How things were always meant to be. Normal girls would be jealous if Rhys talked to them about how deep the relationship between him and Eliza ran and how much they were in love, but I don't. In fact, I really like it when he talks about her like that. The way it used to be for her and him. I like the way they both used to stay up late and meet secretly at late hours because Eliza's father was very strict about whose company she took and didn't like Rhys because he wasn't an Earl who had a big mansion and millions of servants.

I love it when Rhys talks about his past life in Riré -- otherwise named Paradise for us measly and temporary humans, the tasks and missions he was issued to complete. Most of them were small, but occasionally he was set a big task to do and he always succeeded in them, making a respectable name for himself in the angel kingdom.

Most of all, I love it when Rhys talks about the two of us. How our relationship is so much more than what he had with Eliza, when he tells me how has feelings for me that confuse even him

Then next time I anxiously look at the clock, it is ten to five. I scramble for my car keys and jog rapidly into the garage...

the picture is of Donna's car! I <3 Audis!!