"Let me get this straight," (A/N Pun intended 😎) River wrung their hands.

"You were a completely homeless fugitive for about a year, and then you lived in an underground hideout with some kind of rebellion cult?"

"Yep," I took a sip of water and finished off the last of the vegetables on my plate. "That pretty much sums it all up."

I take all of the plates and load them into the dishwasher. It coats the plates in a soapy water and steam dries it in a matter of seconds. I remove them once the machine beeps and close my eyes, sensing where the plate cupboard is. Then, I place them on top of the stack of plates as the doorbell rings.

"Cass! Can you get that?" Marius yells from the living room.

"Yeah, sure! We can just disregard the fact that I'm technically a fugitive still!" I roll my eyes.

I walk down the hallway toward the door and pull it open.

Outside the doorway is none other than Gabe DiAngelo. Without saying a word, I surge forward and wrap my arms around him. He pulls me into his arms and strokes my hair, both of us burying our faces in the crook of the other's neck.

He holds me for a while, supports me, and then pulls away. He holds my face tenderly in his hands and inspects me desperately.

"Are you hurt?" Gabe tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I'm fine," I grab his wrists and slowly move them down between us.

"Cass! Who's at the door?" Marius calls.

"A friend!" I shout back. I turn back to Gabe. "Come on in. I want you to meet my cousin."

"Cass, I'm serious I - who is that?" Marius gestures to Gabe.

"This is Gabriel DiAngelo," Gabe nods at Marius as I continue. "He's a friend of mine."

"Ah, the one that stuck a needle into Cass' neck," Marius says, shaking Gabe's hand. When he lets go, Gabe shakes his hand off, recovering from Marius' death grip.

Gabe chuckled. "That would be me."

"So you can just laugh about the fact that you technically kidnapped her?"

"Marius," I hissed.

"Cass is one of our best soldiers, and she was living on the street surviving on little to no food. I don't regret what I did, and I see it as saving her life, not kidnapping," Gabe calmly states.

"Did she resist?"

"Yes."

"Kidnapping."

"Standing right here, guys," I interrupt.

They exchanged a glare, each male fighting for a sense of dominance over the other. Gabe won, and Marius looked away.

"Get out of my house," Marius mumbles.

I try to calm him down, or at least talk some sense into him. "Marius, you're being unreas-"

"OUT!! BOTH OF YOU!!"

I don't waste a second. I run out of the house as quickly as I can, followed by Gabe.

"What the hell is wrong with your cousin?" Gabe asks breathlessly after we have run about half of a kilometer away from that house.

"Not - my - cousin," I pant, doubled over, trying to control my rapid breathing. I take a few deep breaths and stand up straight. "Marius Castro, my cousin's boyfriend. Well-known for his bad temper."

"No, it has nothing to do with his temper," Gabe looks at his feet.

I frown and cock my head to one side. Gabe senses my confusion and explains.

"I've met people like that. Just by looking at me they think they've got me all figured out. I'm the bad boy, the guy they need to protect their teenaged daughters from, the one who's gonna set fire to their houses fir fun." He pounds his fist against the brick wall beside him, making me jump.

"Hey," I gently place a hand on his back. "I didn't see that when I first looked at you. You definitely acted like it, but I saw deeper than that. You are a kind and caring guy, and I'm so lucky that you're my best friend. I really am.

"You are kind, gentle, and caring. You need to forget about the simple-minded people that label you based on your appearance. Listen to what I'm telling you. I like you for you. Nothing will ever change that."

He smiles at me and I pull him into a tight hug.

"Alright," I pull away and cross my arms. "How many people did you bring with you and where are they?"

Gabe chuckles. "Come on, I'll take you to them."

Gabe places his arm around my shoulders and I slide my arm around his waist as he leads me to meet the "search party" he assembled.