I wanted this all to blow over. Drama wasn't normal with me or my family, this was the most that had happened in a long time. It seemed odd, at least to me. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I was starting to suspect that this was as big as I was afraid it was. 

Dad made a big deal about it when he got home from work. He almost boarded up the windows, but Mom and I stopped him. He drilled it into my head that I needed to be careful, and both of them agreed I shouldn't go out unsupervised. They'd need to figure out how to work that out for the weekdays with both of them working, but it was easy enough to stay in on the weekend. 

I sat on my bed, gazing down at the book that was on my lap. It was some mystery book I had lying around in my closet, so I decided to finally read it since I was bored. The weekend always felt boring. I didn't go out much unless my parents took me somewhere, which happened occasionally. It was fun when we would do something together. Often it was going out for dinner and ice cream or something similar, but lately we hadn't really gone anywhere. Maybe it was because it was getting colder. 

A knock on my door startled me out of my spotty concentration. I raised my head, looking at the door as it opened a little, and Mom poked her head in. She smiled softly when she saw me, stepping in fully.

"Hey, Patrick. So, the police station just called. Apparently they're pretty sure they caught the boy that we think is stalking you."

"Oh?"

"They want to bring you in to verify it's him, and be there for questioning. Is that okay? We'd leave right away, they want you there as soon as possible," she explained, her face holding a slight look of concern. 

The first thing I felt as I thought about it was fear. I was scared of that boy. Maybe it was childish of me, but it scared me to think about what he may want me for. If the police were there as well though, it should be okay. Right?

"Y-Yeah, that's okay. Let me get my shoes, I'll meet you downstairs," I said, my voice holding a hint of nervousness. Mom nodded, leaving my room as I closed my book, sliding off the bed. 

I grabbed my shoes from near the door to my room, unable to stop the fear building up inside me. Maybe this would turn out to be one big misunderstanding, but I wasn't sure. I didn't know how to deal with something like this. Trying to think positive about it, I put my shoes on and headed downstairs, seeing Mom waiting for me.

Dad was at work, but I knew that Mom had probably already told him what we were doing. They never kept anything from each other, which I really admired. I gave Mom a tiny, nervous smile as I grabbed my coat from the coat rack, then followed her out the door. 

We got in the car, both silent as Mom pulled out of the parking lot, driving down the street towards the police station. I was tensed up in my seat, nervously running my hands up and down my jeans. Mom gave me some worried glances, but I stared straight ahead, trying to keep myself calm.

Once we pulled into the parking lot of the station, my heart was pounding out of my chest. I lingered a few seconds in the car while Mom got out, but had to force myself out. I followed her into the station, sort of hiding behind her even though we were roughly the same height. 

I saw the officer that I had talked to the other day at school standing there, waiting for us. I forced a small, sheepish smile while my mom gave the officer a nod.

"Mrs. Harper, I'm afraid I can only bring Patrick into the room with me. Would you mind waiting out here?" he asked. I glanced nervously at Mom, who nodded, making eye contact with me.

"Of course. Be safe, sweetie," she said to me, giving me a smile before going to sit down. I turned to the officer, staying silent as I followed him through the police station. 

We reached a door, and the officer opened the door for me. As I walked past him, I glanced at the name on his badge. Officer Helmswick. I took note of the name, then turned to face the room.

Sitting in a chair behind a table was the boy, leaning back in the seat. He looked at me as I walked in, standing awkwardly in front of the table as the officer closed the door. His dark eyes looked at me with an almost bored look, but they were intimidating.

Officer Helmswick threw down a small file, which my eyes snapped over to. "Dallon Solis. You've been on the run for about a year, but now you show up in Illinois stalking this boy?"

Solis. Dallon Solis. It took a few seconds, but finally, it clicked. Mom had told me about him, how he ran away from his political family. The Solis's were famous, basically. I sorta just stared, waiting for Dallon to say something, but he didn't say a thing. 

The room went silent, Dallon looking at both of us before averting his eyes. Officer Helmswick sighed, glancing over at me before continuing to try to ask questions. 

"Where have you been this past year?"

Silence.

"What do you want with Mr. Harper?"

Silence.

Officer Helmswick sighed, shaking his head, then turned to me. "I'll let you talk to him for a few minutes. I'll just be in the side room, come out when you're ready."

I watched as he turned and left, suddenly feeling my anxiety spike. I didn't know what to say to this boy. Slowly turning back to him, I sat down in the chair that was on my side of the table so I could be face to face with him. Barely face to face, he was still a lot taller than me.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, my voice quiet and a lot less confident than the officer's had been. I was scared, and it showed. My fingers toyed with each other as I watched Dallon, watching as he finally made eye contact with me.

"I can't tell you," he finally spoke. He held my gaze with an air of confidence, which made him almost intimidating. Between that and his smooth, calming voice, it felt like he was sending me mixed signals. 

"W-Why not?"

"I just can't, okay? I'm not answering anything you or that cop asks."

I stared at Dallon, noticing my hands were starting to tremble. The fact that he wouldn't give me an answer made me more scared. What if he wanted to do something bad to me? Or was some creepy stalker? Did he run away from his family just to stalk me? How did he find out about me though? How did he know who I was?

The hot tears were streaming down my cheeks before I could think to try to stop them. I gripped the table, a quiet, fearful sob escaping my lips as the tears streamed down my face. Dallon stared at me, his stoic features morphing into one of shock as he watched me cry.

"W-What do you want with me? Just tell me! I'm a fifteen-year-old boy, what could you possibly want with me?" I snapped. This hadn't been going on for more than a week, and I was already crying about it. I didn't know if I was overreacting or not. 

Dallon looked shocked, his dark eyes wide and astonished. He didn't say anything, and just sat there, watching me cry. I didn't know how else to react. 

After a minute of me sitting there and crying with Dallon having no reaction, I got up and stormed out of the room. Officer Helmswick met me in the hall, giving me a concerned look. I knew he had heard it all.

"We're going to hold him as long as we can, okay? We'll see if we can get any information out of him," he reassured me. All I did was nod, looking at my feet as I tried to calm myself down. There was no use giving myself a panic attack over this. It would be okay. Right?

Officer Helmswick led me back to where Mom was. Once she saw me, she rushed over, pulling me into a hug. It wasn't even like anything bad had happened. I was frustrated mostly, mostly at myself.

The officer explained, then let us go. I was silent on our way out to the car, having calmed down my crying for the most part. I got in the car, staring out the window again while Mom started it.

"You want ice cream?"

"Huh?" I asked, turning my head to look over at her. She met my eyes, giving me a sympathetic smile.

"You want ice cream?" she repeated. "That ice cream place you like is just a few minutes away, we can make a stop."

I couldn't help but smile, reaching up to wipe away the last of my tears. 

"Sure."