"Can I call you Nate?"

"Why?"

"Because Nathaniel is a mouthful."

"Then no."

"No?"

Nathaniel had his head rested on the top rim of the bench, his throat coated with dark ink, exposed under the light provided by the lamppost. When I repeated myself, sounding all shades of stupid, he lifted his head up slowly and he glimpsed down at me.

"No." He said slowly, and I couldn't help land my eyes on his lips as he formed the single word. They looked lush and carefully crafted.

"You know..." I started to say, pulling up one leg closer. "You can do well with dropping down the rudeness a notch. I mean... You'll actually get friends that way."

Nathaniel sat up, all lean and bulky with the same jeans jacket as mine on him. My eyes dropped down to his shoulder, unavoidably seeing the same stitched logo as mine.

"I have friends."

I raised one eyebrow at him, rolling my tongue around the inside of my teeth. I wanted to fire back with a "yeah right" but I'd be a fool to open my mouth after my previous retort.

I wanted to ask what he considered as a friend. He seemed very far off from someone who was approachable and could hold some sort of friendship.

"Er..." I was fishing for conversation, since the tension that replaced the air was growing thicker and thicker. "How was your day?"

How was your day? Seriously?! I bit the insides of my cheek, horrified for my own self.

Nathaniel turned his full self so his torso was parallel to me. "Had better days."

"Oh?" I tried to sound disinterested but I really wanted to know how today excluded from being a good day.

"Yeah."

I dropped my head down to my entangled fingers, trying my best to find an exit out of this awkward route. "I had a good day." I tried, hell turns flowery, I freaking tried.

Silence fell over us. It was like the previous two nights had never occurred and we were back to being full strangers, with no business interacting whatsoever.

"Oh?" Nathaniel repeated. I snapped my head up and nearly reared back at the magnificent light that beamed off his face. But of course, it was only his smile, all white-teeth and full that somehow blinded me. I held close the butterflies that fluttered within me, my cheeks burning up for no adamant reason.

"Yeah." The ends of my mouth lifted up and I scooted closer to him.

Now someone please notify me why I thought that was a good thing to do?

Nathaniel looked down at me, all smiles gone and replaced with a blank straight face. I expected him to scoot away from me but he stayed put. He started talking.

"Now you know who I am, are you staying here on a dare or something else?"

I furrowed my brows at him, a frown replacing my face. I knew who Nathaniel was but I didn't know why he thought I was on dare right now.

"No one even knows we speak," I slowly told him, watching him with tight eyes.

Nathaniel's expressed changed, from blank to something else. I couldn't grasp in then but looking back at it, he looked slightly surprised.

"Are you saying none of your people know you're here with me?"

I shook my head at him, ignoring the 'my people' comment.

"Isn't that kind of stupid?"

I shrugged.

Nathaniel let out a sigh, already sounding bored and tired of me. "Let's go." My eyes widened when he stood up, straightening his jeans jacket. Before he took a step away from me, I grabbed his wrist. The instant touch sent shivers down my spine and I could feel the goosebumps ripple along the back of my skin.

"Stay," I whispered at him, dropping my head back to look up at him. He glanced down at the hand on his wrist and I dropped it quickly, scared if he didn't like it. I saw something flash past his eyes and just as quick it was gone.

He dropped back on the bench.

And that's how another night with a half-stranger started and ended. But a whole lot of in-between happened which ultimate led to Nathaniel letting me call him Nate.

****

It was getting late, very late and I tried to predict the time before I pulled out my phone from my pocket. I nearly dropped off my seat when I saw it was one minute to three in the morning. I screeched, threw my phone on the bench and jumped up.

"It's late!" I yelled, walking around in circles like a lunatic.

Nate trained his eyes on me, an amused glint in his eyes. "I know."

"You know?" I bellowed on a screech, frantically running my hands through my hair. Nate had pulled the bubble out of my hair before and threw it behind him. It was far too dark for me to go and find it so I sat with my hair everywhere.

I had shot him an displeased smile, which he had only returned with a raise of an eyebrow. If there was anything he was doing this night, it was testing my boundaries. What I would accept and not.

Nate knifed up, prying my hands away from my hair. "Calm down Ellie."

"No no, Nate you don't understand! I'm not meant to be out!" I told him, pushing away and grabbing my phone from the bench. "And if my father checked up on me he'd see an empty bed and he'd probably be sitting at the dinner table right now and have his dress shirt on and trail his moustache with his finger-"

Nate put a hand over my mouth, lowering his face closer to mine. "Shut the hell up Ellie."

I closed my eyes, all shades of scared for my stupid ass. I nodded slowly when I knew I was calm and Nate moved his hand. "We'll take you home now and sneak you in through your bedroom window."

I gawked up at him in disbelief. "Through the window?"

Nate had his hand in mine and was dragging me away before he replied. "How else where you going to sneak back in?"

I sputtered out incoherent sounds before managing to speak like a normal person. "I was going to go through the kitchen door."

Nate looked at me like I lost the plot. Which wasn't debatable because I did think I lost the plot. Where did a whole three hours go to? I sat talking to Nate for three hours when I usually get bored doing the same thing for more than an hour. I was losing the plot.

"And walk into your father sitting at the dinner table in his dress shirt and trailing his moustache with his finger? ?"

"Nate... I can't sneak into my bedroom window." I softly told him. Nate stopped at the end of the pavement, looking left and right before crossing the road, pulling me along. I could see my house from here and the fear inside me increased.

"Why not?"

"You know, throwing myself off the floor a few feet too much and looking down to see the ground a few feet too much below me is not my cup of tea. If you know what I'm trying to get across." I sheepishly told him, dragging my foot along the ground.

Nate stopped directly behind my father's fancy Porsche car that was parked on the side road. "Are you saying you're scared of heights?"

"Well not really no. And by that I actually mean yes really yes." I glanced over his shoulder to see if I could spot any lights on in the house. It looked pitch black through the windows. I did not let that fool me. He had eyes that were on the grounds to constantly patrol the area.

Nate stepped in my line of vision. "Okay fine. You'll have to sneak in through the front door. If you want, I can come in with you and if you make any noise and your father wakes up, I'll pretend I'm a burglar and make a run for it."

I gaped at him, my mouthing threatening to drop off its hinges. "You'd do that?"

Nate smiled softly at me. "Yeah, but don't purposely make a noise. I'm actually tired to run too fast."

I grinned at him, thinking all sorts of sweet things about Nate Lewis.

We made our way to the front door. I quickly jabbed in my key and carefully opened the door whilst sneaking back in. Nate was right behind me, his hand on my lower back and ushering me in further. He closed the door behind him unhurriedly and carefully. The lights weren't on and I pointed up at the stairs at Nate. He nodded his head, following behind closely.

Just as my foot landed on the first step, I heard a light switch on. For a second, I thought I made a noise and Nate had to pretend he was a burglar, but then I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

I sluggishly turned my head around, looking straight into the opened dinning room.

And, I kid you not, there sat Lorna, glaring hard at me with her apron handing down her beck.