"Hey, wake up, we're here." Someone whispered softly, shaking the blonde.

Luna opened her eyes and blinked sleepily a couple times. Whatever Mr. X had used to knock her out had made her very tired.

It was Chris who had woken her. He leaned on his knees, a hand on either of her shoulders.

"Hi?" Luna said sleepily.

"Hey, let's go inside. Jace is waiting." Chris reached around her and unlocked the door. "It stopped raining." He commented, getting out and offering a hand to Luna.

Timidly, Luna took the hand, remembering that Brittney had taught one time that it was a common thing to do. "S-so it has." She involuntarily smiled afterwards, being so happy that the horrid rain had ceased. "Where are we?" It was an after thought, however.

"Heck if I know." He laughed. "We're still sorta lost." Chris didn't sound worried, which helped the new risen fear in the girl. "Looks as though it's a drive-in." He observed the small building with picnic tables outside.

"A what?" Luna questioned, tilting her head to the left.

"A drive-in." Chris repeated this time slower, eyeing her curiously. "You know, a place where you eat in your car or at tables, just not inside." He gestured to the parked cars and families scattered around.

Luna shook her head. "Never heard of it."

Chris smiled thinking she was joking. "Maybe we did hit you." He joked. "Since everyone knows about drive-ins." He nudged her as they continued to walk, noting how soaking wet she still was.

Jace had picked the furthest table back almost like he was hiding from something. The table was in an alcove between the brick walls of the building. "Good news." Jace announced when the two sat down.

"And what would that be, buddy?" Chris asked, glancing up at the menu on the wall.

"We're only twenty minutes from my house." Jace stated annoyed, making his best friend look directly at him.

"How do you know that?"

Jace pointed to a waitress who stood at a car. "Because that's your mother over there." He dropped his hand, and looked skeptically at the brown-eyed girl across from him.

Chris followed his gaze, looking horrified when he saw his mother leaning on a car. It wasn't so much his mother that bothered him, but the man in the car was his stepfather. "Oh gosh." He mumbled.

Watching Chris' expression change drastically, Luna raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," He lied, turning back to face her. "Jace, stop staring at her, it's not very nice." He chided his friend.

"Sorry," Jace held up his hands. "The thing is we still don't even know her name. For all we know she-"

"Luna." She cut the darker skinned boy off. "My name's Luna."

"There now we know her name. Happy?" Chris paused to think, then continued "Anyway, you seemed really shaken up earlier. Were you running from something?" He asked Luna, locking eyes with her. "You were almost frightened, and it wasn't from almost being hit by us."

Luna looked away from him to all the people around them. "Yes." She spoke after a minute, her voice barely above a whisper suddenly scared by the crowd.

She'd never seen this many people in her life, and right now the blonde wanted nothing more than to be safely in bed. But deep down Luna knew she couldn't go home. Even if she could there was no way for her to find the compound.

Chris noticed the shift immediately. "Hey," He said, catching her attention again. "It's alright these people are just families having dinner with their kids. They're harmless." Although he didn't know that to be true, it sounded like the right thing to say.

"You said you were running from something," Jace began, not caring about anything but finding out the truth. "From what?" He half-demanded.

"Jace-" Chris began, but Luna cut him off. "It's fine, Chris, really." She paused before meeting Jace's intense gaze. "I was running from a man who captured." She answered.

"Captured?" Jace echoed. "Cool. What's the story on this dude?"

"I don't know." Luna looked down at her shoes, scuffing them against the concrete. "He.... um.... he knocked me out, and took me to warehouse somewhere. He didn't want me, not really, he wanted my father ....." She trailed off.

"And?" Jace pressed. "What happened next?"

"Give her a break." Chris said. "You're in trouble?" He inquired, already knowing the answer.

Luna nodded-something both boys noticed she did quite a bit-but didn't answer.

"Seriously, finish the story." Jace commanded as soon as Chris went to the bathroom.

Luna sighed, and began to tell the story to the best of her ability-leaving out the part about who her father was.

By the time, she finished Chris had rejoined them. Both boys sat there not really knowing what to say.

"Wait so you can't go back home?" Jace concluded. "Like not at all. If you do he'll find you."

"Easy." Chris laughed. "The lake house. No one will look for her there."

"What?" Jace and Luna asked simultaneously.

"The lake house." He said again. "We were going there anyway. Besides my parents never use it." He shrugged. "Therefore she'd be safe until we can help her get her father back."

"Are you insane!" Jace gaped. "You want to help her?"

"You're the one who said nothing ever happens to us during the summer. How it is so boring. Well here's the solution." Chris got up from the table. "First things first though; she's going to catch a cold in those clothes."

Sighing, Jace stood as well, knowing when his best friend put his mind to something there was no arguing. "So what do you suggest we do about that?" He questioned.

"Natty left some clothes behind right? We take her to your house, and pick them up." Chris looked down at Luna. "Let's go."

Luna got up, and followed them to the car, slipping into the backseat. Still not fully understanding what was going on, but going along anyway.

"One problem with that. My mom's home." Jace pointed out, throwing the car into gear.

"Tell her you forgot something and had to come back." Chris replied, shrugging a shoulder.

"And you think she's not going to ask about her?" Jace chuckled. "The second she sees Luna she'll freak."

Chris thought a minute, glancing back at Luna through the review mirror, studying her. "We'll say she's my cousin. Problem solved. Now drive."

Jace did as told, silently cursing his friend the entire drive. He suddenly wished he could take the earlier statement of wanting something exciting this summer. This strange young girl was going to get them murdered.