Aiden had found them a place to sleep for the night. It was an interesting sort of place, and honestly, Adair wasn't quite sure exactly where they were. They had walked into a brick building, Aiden had said some weird word to a security guard, and suddenly they were taking a flight of stairs down into the basement, where a few cots piled high with blankets stood, fiercely unused.

"Come on down here," He told Adair, pointing to one of the beds and laying Louis on the other, grinning once before disappearing back upstairs. Adair waited for the door to lock, maybe an evil laugh. But it never came. He really was on their side.

Adair finally fell asleep easily, after a few minutes of making sure Louis was still alright. He did seem to heal pretty fast, and it was working to their advantage in this situation. Her eyes closed for the last time that day, and she faded into Dreamland.

The next morning came shockingly fast, and Louis rubbed his head as he sat up. "Adair," He moaned, holding his ankle with one hand and his head with the other. She reacted faster than he thought she would, bolting up out of bed to his side.

"What? What's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked sympathetically, checking for any new injuries and hoping that he was okay. Or, at least, not as bad as yesterday.

"It's just...my ankle, and I have a headache now." Louis massaged his temples with his fingertips as she filtered through her bag for the Ibuprofen once more.

"You really gotta stop getting hurt," She chastised him, smiling gently.

"Thanks, helps so much." He replied casually, grinning equally enthusiastically.

"Hey guys," Aiden mumbled, coming downstairs and running a hand through his already mussed hair. "I heard you guys were up, and figured you maybe wanted some food?" He yawned, looking at us expectantly.

"That would be great." Aiden turned to walk back up the stairs, but Adair wasn't finished. "Why are you helping us?" She asked quizzically, hoping for a satisfactory.

"I'll tell you later," He answered, then ran up the stairs, to get breakfast for the three of them.

It seemed like at least a half hour before Aiden came back downstairs again. Adair skipped over to him excitedly, hoping for food. He handed her a plate, with two eggs and some toast on it. He also gave her a glass of orange juice, and the same for Louis.

They all sat down, in a circle on the floor. It was surprisingly comfortable, just the three of them, sitting and talking. It was the first normal thing Adair had done since she had found out that Sage had been kidnapped. She cracked a smile at Louis and finished off her food, burping then covering her mouth, blushing.

"Sorry, excuse me." She stammered, giggling a little. Louis was staring at her, but not in a bad way. He was laughing lightly, and she sighed with relief. She didn't know why she cared so much. He was just her best friend. That's all he had ever been. He didn't care.

"No, it's fine." Aiden laughed, breaking the little tension left in the group.

"We should probably start walking for today," Adair reminded Louis, fighting back the urge to complain about how far they still had to go. "If we get started sooner today, we can stop earlier today."

"You guys interested in a ride, possibly?" Aiden asked curiously, eyeing Adair's disappointed face.

"Really?" Louis queried hopefully. He was still holding his ankle, and Adair immediately felt bad for wanting to whine. He had it much harder than her, now that his ankle was in the condition that it was.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind. How far are you going?" He cleared his throat, looking from Adair to Louis and back again. Louis seemed to glare a message to Aiden, but if he understood, he didn't show it.

"Just around Atlantic City, off the coast—" She was cut off by an interjection by Aiden.

"Like New Jersey?" He shouted incredulously. Adair nodded shyly, and Aiden calmed down immediately. "Oh, well, I do have a lot of time on my hands. Besides, I'm just as much against them as you are..." He trailed off, not willing to finish the thought.

"What happened - why do you hate them?" Louis wondered aloud, startling Aiden from his incessant stare towards Adair.

"My parents. When I was about ten, they killed them in front of me. They threatened to do the same to me if I didn't stay out of their way. I'm pretty sure my parents were against them, and the Nightmen didn't want them around anymore, so they got rid of them." His face was calm, although Adair could tell there was probably a storm raging inside of him.

"Wow. I'm so sorry for your loss." She commented, placing a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"Alright, time to go!" Louis stated bluntly, cutting off Adair's touch to Aiden.

"Okay, come on." Aiden responded, pointing towards the door and letting Adair go in front of him. Louis stopped him with a hand on the shoulder, unlike what Adair had done.

"Stay away from her." Louis told Aiden boldly, staring him down. Although Louis was skinny, he was about the same height as Aiden, and he flexed his jaw, trying to be intimidating.

"What?" Aiden inquired threateningly.

"I said, stay away from her. I saw the way you looked at her. She's taken." Louis tensed, squeezing Aiden's shoulder. "If you don't—"

"What, by you? And what could you possibly do? It's not like she'd pick a shrimp like you over a guy like me. Now back off, squirm." He pushed Louis out of the way, after Adair. "And don't even think of getting in between me and what I want or it'll mean bad news for you." Aiden called after him. Louis followed soon after, tracing their footsteps to the garage, where a nice car was waiting.

Louis and Adair shoved their backpacks into the trunk and Aiden started the car. As soon as all three of them were in the car, Aiden backed out recklessly, starting South. Straight for New Jersey and the most terrifying thing in Adair's life.

After only a few minutes, Louis had fallen asleep, leaving Adair and Aiden to lots of talking. He kept driving, and they started to talk about their family life.

"I've always had my parents. Both of them. And, up until about two weeks ago, I had both my older brother and younger sister too. I guess, that's most of the reason I'm after the Nightmen. I mean, of course I hated them before that, because I was taught that, but them taking Sage was the worst thing they could have possibly done to me. I love her." Adair's voice broke, and she ended up sobbing softly.

Aiden looked over at her, putting a hand on her arm and looking at her quickly before redirecting his eyes towards the road. "Hey, I'm sorry. But it'll be okay. You'll beat them. And I'm sure you'll get Sage back." It helped even more than he had expected, and her tears dried instantly.

Before Adair knew what was happening, the car was pulled over on the side of the road, and Aiden had kissed her tentatively. When she didn't pull away, he connected their lips once more. They continued on like that for a few minutes, until they heard a throat being cleared from the back seat.

Aiden snapped back, smacking his head on the roof of the car. He rubbed the spot gently, murmuring a curse.

"Louis. I forgot you were back there." Adair commented, trying to cover up the blush that was spreading like a wildfire across her cheeks.

"I can tell." Louis replied dryly. Adair gave him an apologetic look, and he just turned away. "Can we get going and you guys stop making out?"

Aiden nodded, a surly expression on his face. "Right." The car started again, and they were driving.

It was a couple of hours before they stopped for lunch, then took a break to stretch their legs and go to the bathroom, then it was back into the car.

"It's only about another half an hour now." Aiden informed them briskly, turning to face the front and starting the car abruptly.

The half hour passed quickly, and soon they were out of the car. They said goodbyes, and Aiden was gone.

Good riddance, Louis thought sourly. He didn't even listen when I told him to stay away from Adair.

"Listen, Louis, about kissing Aiden. I—"

"It's fine." Louis told her coldly. He readjusted his backpack on his shoulders and then started walking, then stopped. "I'm sorry, I just got irritated. I told him to stay away from you. He didn't listen."

"Why did you tell him to stay away from me?"

"He's too old for you. And I didn't want you hurt. I just don't know what I would've done."

"I—thank you, Louis. It means a lot that you care so much."

"Anytime." He winked, and she laughed. "Now, let's go try not to get killed." Both their faces turned somber, and they looked at each other nervously.

"Louis, I really like you. And I just want you to know, if we get through this—" Louis cut her off again.

"When we get through this, Adair. I'm not going to let you go." With that, he took her face gingerly in his hands and pressed his lips to hers sweetly.

It felt so much different from the kisses Aiden had showered her with. It was hopeful, tentative, and everything else that reminded Adair of Louis. Of all their memories together. She loved it.