Vanessa couldn't stop thinking about what had happened in the car. Was Talon really going to kiss her? She wanted him to. She waited for him to fully commit, and part of her wanted to close the distance between them. But she couldn't. She needed him to take the leap of faith.

Vanessa felt drawn to Talon and she couldn't figure out why. He felt so comfortable, and so much like someone or something she's seen before. Talon was warm and infectious and he talked about everything that seemed to interest him like it was a sweet newborn baby.

She looked across the table, taking in the man sitting opposite of her. He skimmed the menu, searching through all the options for something to eat. Vanessa already knew what she wanted, so she spent her time watching him.

"Do you know what you are going to order yet?" Vanessa asked after a few minutes had passed. Talon shook his head, still searching the menu.

"Honestly, everything looks and sounds so good. I have no clue what I'm supposed to get."

"I'm getting the fried pickles with the breaded chicken wings with this sauce." Vanessa leaned across the table, pointing at the options to show Talon what she planned on ordering. "If I remember, I'll ask for all flats, but I almost always forget until after they walk away."

"That sounds delicious. Maybe I'll just get the same thing as you." Talon winked as he placed the menu down on the table.

"Don't even think about touching my fried pickles. Those are my favorite, and it's so hard to find a restaurant that does them right!" Vanessa waved her hand through the air as she spoke. Talon couldn't possibly take his eyes off of her. He couldn't remember what she was ordering, but figured he'd risk it so he could spend more time looking at her.

"I'll get my own order. I won't even touch yours." Talon put his hands up in defense. Vanessa nodded, smiling widely at the thought of the whole plate of pickles to herself.

"Good to hear. What's your favorite food?" She asked as she fiddled with the utensils on the tabletop.

"Oh, that's the hardest question to answer. How can one possibly pick just one thing as their favorite?" Talon questioned. He licked his lips at the thought of all the delicious foods he's tried over the years.

"It's easy. What do you wake up excited for in the morning, and when you have it for dinner, or whatever meal it belongs to, you just can't wait? It doesn't matter how full you are, or how strict your diet is, you are going to have some. For me, that's fried pickles." Vanessa nodded once again.

"Gross, you would eat fried pickles for breakfast?" Talon asked.

"Yep, would and have." Both of them burst into laughter at the conversation. They were really getting along and enjoying each other's company. After a few moments, the waitress was there to take their order, and the ticket was delivered to the kitchen so Vanessa and Talon could each get their own order of fried pickles and wings.

Once the food was at the table, Vanessa felt like she was in a different place. The chicken was so good, it nearly fell off the bone, leaving her with a heaping mess of empty plates in front of the two of them. But she felt awkward, and weird, because once the food came out she hadn't heard a word Talon had said.

She didn't want to be distant, but something on the TV was pulling her in and she couldn't look away. A fire burning through the trees on the west coast of the states. Wasn't forest fire season over this year?

Vanessa watched in shock as the surrounding people were too preoccupied eating their food. It didn't affect them as much on the East coast, so they couldn't seem to be bothered. Vanessa felt the fear, though, surging through her body as if it was her very own home that was on fire.

"Are you okay?" Talon asked, nervously fidgeting in his seat. Vanessa's gaze shot over to him as she shook her head.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be?" she questioned, almost feeling attacked by him asking. She hadn't been paying much attention to him. Checking her watch, she realized they'd been there in silence for almost half an hour. Why didn't he try to get her attention sooner?

"I've been trying to talk to you for a while now, and it seems like you are on a whole other planet. Did I say something to upset you?" Talon muttered. He nervously looked around the sports bar.

This left Vanessa even more confused.

What did he mean he was trying to talk to her? She hadn't heard a peep out of him since they delivered the wings to the table.

"Sorry, I guess I must be distracted."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No." Vanessa was short with her answer. She didn't even know what to talk about. All she had been doing was watching the TV that no one else seemed to notice.

"We can talk about something else, then?" Talon suggested.

"Yeah, what did you think about the food?" Vanessa leaned forward, noticing that Talon had eaten everything on his tray as well. She licked her lips, trying to get any last remnants of sauce off her face.

"They were delicious! You were so right about this place. We will have to come back here again!" Talon nearly shouted, pausing for a moment, and then began speaking again. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't assume you'd want to go out with me again. It's okay if you don't want to."

Vanessa loved how sweet Talon was. He was always trying to make sure she felt comfortable, even when she was in a daze or going through an awful panic attack.

"I think we can go out again." Vanessa replied.

"That would be amazing!" Talon smiled, his face nearly splitting in two with joy.

Talon glanced at his phone, checking the time. "Oh, it's getting kind of late. I should probably get you home so you can get enough sleep before work tomorrow." Talon used her job as an excuse because he knew if he didn't, he'd be up all night with her.

Vanessa nodded, gathered her things, and placed a ten-dollar bill down on the table.

"You don't have to do that." Talon mumbled, looking at the money as if it had offended him.

"It's okay, really. I'll cover the tip since you covered the food." Vanessa smiled, batting her dark eyelashes at the boy.

Talon led her to the parking lot and helped her into the car. Low music played in the background as they sat silently on the way back to Vanessa's apartment.

When Talon dropped her off at her doorway, she felt the nerves flare up again. Was he going to finally kiss her this time? Vanessa pushed her body forward, leaning into Talon. He was taller than her, noticeably enough that it forced her to stand on her tiptoes to get closer to his lips. Vanessa wanted him to kiss her. She'd enjoyed her time on their date. She couldn't wait to go on another one. Something about Talon was alluring, and she felt she couldn't stop until she figured out what it was.

Talon leaned forward, making Vanessa feel like he was going to kiss her, but quickly pulled away at the last second.

Another missed attempt.

"Uh," Vanessa muttered, watching as Talon ran his hand through his hair.

"Should we do this again sometime?" He asked, nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"Yeah, we should." Vanessa stood there dumbfounded, missing the heat from his body. Her hand rested on the doorknob, just waiting to break into her apartment. She checked the time. Maybe if it wasn't too late, she could invite him in for a drink, and possibly get a kiss out of him there? Her watch said it was half past ten now, and they had been out for hours. Talon would surely need to get home to get rest for work tomorrow.

"Great, I'll text you." Talon said, more confidently. He walked up to Vanessa, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in for a big hug. He leaned down and planted a quick kiss on her forehead before he turned to rush away. "Good night!" He waved.

"Good night." Vanessa mumbled, still dumbfounded by the whole string of events. After what felt like a few moments, she turned, opened the door, and went inside. Dropping her bag next to the front door, Vanessa found herself sitting in her favorite blue chair, watching out the window. Why didn't he kiss me? Vanessa thought. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea of him wanting to go on all of these dates with her, but never pushing things past an awkward hug at the end of the night. She didn't take Talon for a shy man. He was always bold and respectful in the way he asked her things. No shy man could do that.

Vanessa noticed his car out the window, pulling onto the road and driving off into the distance. She watched it until she couldn't see it anymore and wondered what he was thinking.

Maybe he didn't kiss her because she was so distant? Maybe if she would have paid more attention to him at dinner, he would have made a move? But the fires? How could Vanessa not pay attention to the fires on the television? She'd had her own scare just a few nights ago. She couldn't possibly look away. It all felt so real, and all she could think about were the animals running scared from her home.

Vanessa pushed the urge to fill up her bathtub to the side, focusing her energy on the window.

"You need to go to bed soon. At least try to get some sleep." Vanessa muttered to herself. She shook her head, trying to avoid the temptation. Vanessa would need to find something to distract herself instead. Maybe she could start on a puzzle?

Opting that the puzzle was the best idea, she pulled one with an image of a waterfall on it out of her closet. After a few hours of sorting, and placing pieces, Vanessa's eyes were too heavy, causing her head to drift down to the table and slowly she fell asleep.

"Vanessa! I can't find the missing piece!" Talon shouted, running around her living room, holding an oversized puzzle piece in his hands. Vanessa shook her head, staring at the panicked man that was holding the very piece he was looking for.

"It's right there, in your hand?" Vanessa pointed towards the item that was nearly the same size as Talon by this point. She was trying to figure out how he was able to hold it and run around the living room like it was nothing. Vanessa closed the distance between them, wrapping her hands around the growing piece.

"Here, let's just put it down right here." Vanessa tugged at the puzzle piece, coaxing Talon to follow her back to the table. He did so, carrying his side of the oversized object that was now too big for either of them to grab alone. How was it growing so rapidly? They placed the piece on the table.

"Holy shit, this is massive." Talon smacked his head, as if he had missed something. "How did I not see it when it was right in front of my eyes?" Vanessa looked around the room confused, and as the piece continued to grow, she felt like she was running out of air to breathe.

"How do I thank you?" Talon questioned, gliding through the empty space towards Vanessa. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Vanessa watched the details of his face contort, his eyes shifting from the beautiful green they normally were to orbs of black and back to those eyes she missed. Before she could do anything to push herself away from him, Talon had dug his claws into her back.

Where did he get claws?

He leaned forward, forcing her eye contact. He parted his lips in preparation to kiss her. Vanessa felt uneasy and struggled to pull herself from Talon's grasp. Before their lips met, Talon opened his mouth wide, showing all of his teeth that were now pointed like knives, his eyes fully changing colors, no more flickering between the two. He was gone at this point.

Talon licked his lips and planted them against hers, and Vanessa felt the life drain out of her body as her lips intertwined with the boy she was slowly falling for.