I caught sight of Nolan's back right away, but he was moving fast.

Hoping to catch up with him, I broke into a slight jog.

Thankfully, there weren't many people on this street tonight. A couple of them glanced in my direction, but they soon lost interest and diverted their attention elsewhere.

I almost called out to Nolan, but at the last second, right as my mouth opened, I thought the better of it.

He was obviously chasing after her, so he probably wouldn't want to draw attention to himself.

This was such a bad idea.

If she was unhinged enough to turn him without his informed consent, how could any form of confrontation between them possibly go well?

On the other hand, it wasn't that I couldn't understand at all what was probably on Nolan's mind. If I saw my former-friend-turned-enemy who had ruined my life on the streets, I'd want to demand some answers too.

But what kind of answers would she be willing to give him? I doubted that she would be all that forthcoming with explanations for her past actions.

I dodged past a couple of girls, huffing out a quick apology when I brushed past one of them. She shot me an annoyed look.

"Sorry!" I repeated before racing after Nolan.

He was almost within reach now.

He ducked behind a building, likely due to the fact that there was currently nobody between him and Eri to hide behind. I slowed down as well, wondering if he could hear my footsteps. My shoes hitting the concrete sounded deafening to my ears in the now relatively quiet street.

My unspoken questions were swiftly answered when Nolan, who had been peering around the wall, snapped his head around to look right at me. The shock on his face instantly transformed into a glower.

Well, that was mean.

He mouthed something at me, but I wasn't near enough to read it. Although he continued to steal glances past the wall, Nolan stayed put where he was.

Trying to make as little noise as I could, I hurried over to him.

"I told you to wait for me," he whispered, his tone harsh. "What are you doing here?"

"Of course I couldn't just let you go on your own!" I whispered back, glowering at him. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I did that?"

An expression which I could only describe as—to my shock—pain flashed across his face.

I'd never seen this look on him before, not even when he was talking about his strained relationship with his father.

A spike of worry pierced into me, and I moved to touch his elbow. Nolan shifted away just before I could touch him.

"Nolan?" I whispered, hearing my own voice falter but being unable to do anything about it.

The searching look in his eyes was what made me reach for his arm again, but when he flinched a second time, I dropped my hand.

Trying to ignore the hurt that was rapidly stirring up a tornado in my heart, I attempted a smile.

It trembled on my lips, and all I could do was hope he didn't notice.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head but looked back over his shoulder again. When I joined him in peeking out, Eri's silhouette was rapidly becoming smaller into the distance.

"I have to go," he said. "You can't follow me. It's dangerous for you. I don't know what she might do."

"It's dangerous for me?" I blurted out. "What about you? Don't you think that I'll be worried for you too?"

His snort sounded deliberately quiet.

"I couldn't overpower her in the past," he said, "but once she turned me, that leveled the playing field for us. I can literally lift a full fridge with my bare hands. What can she possibly do to me now? It's not the same for you. Chelsea, I don't want to have to worry about your safety and what she might try to pull if you come with me."

He was right—I didn't really have to worry about physical repercussions for Nolan. He could take care of himself.

What I was concerned for was his mental wellbeing.

"Well, I don't want to have to worry about you in a place where I can't see you and don't know what's happening with you."

That same strange expression flashed over his face again. Nolan shook his head again, like he was trying to shake off a persistent thought.

"I can't," he said softly. "Stay here, please. Nothing's going to happen to me."

He looked around, checking out our surroundings. After a second of hesitation, he leaned in and kissed me, his lips chapped but otherwise soft against mine. My heart twisted as if someone was trying to wring it dry.

I hadn't realized how much I had missed little gestures like this until now.

He pulled back almost immediately, as if the contact had burned him. A searing sensation formed at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let any tears fall.

"No one's around," he said. "Sorry, Chelsea. I'll be right back. Please don't try to follow me. I don't want her to see you."

The lump in my throat made it too hard to even say his name. I attempted to grab his arm, wanting to stop him, but the sting from his actions made me feel like I was moving in slow motion.

He was already out of reach by the time I took another step forward. Nolan made his way stealthily down the street, hugging the walls of the buildings whenever he could.

I followed him. No matter what Nolan said, I just wasn't comfortable with letting him go alone. Maybe I couldn't do anything on my own, but I could at least stay in the background and hopefully be able to get some help if anything happened to him. Eri wouldn't even have to see me.

Just then, several large groups of people came pouring out of a movie theater in front of us onto the streets. They chattered among themselves, creating some lively noise in the otherwise quiet area.

It was an opportunity to close the gap between us, so I seized it. I strode as briskly as I could without breaking into a run.

Eventually, I managed to keep within fifteen feet from him—far enough for me to hide behind a nearby building if I needed to.

Squeezing past a group of friends who were engaged in an animated conversation, I spotted Nolan slipping into what looked like a narrow alley just up ahead.

I tiptoed to the wall and peered in from the edge. Nolan was almost halfway through the alley. Lined along the walls were some garbage cans beside a few backdoors. I wondered if I could hide well enough behind the garbage cans. The thought made me gag a little.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," came a deep voice from further within the alley.

Just as I took one step forward, intending to keep out of Nolan's sight, a tall guy emerged, out of the shadows, from the other end of the alley.

As he drew closer, his figure became easier to make out. He seemed to be a few inches taller than Nolan, who was already 6' tall, and had a muscular build. The dim lighting in the alley, provided by the few light fixtures on the buildings' walls, wasn't sufficient for me to see the details of his face.

Nolan squared his shoulders.

"I don't know who you are," he said flatly, "but I suggest that you get out of my way."

I gulped, horrified at the notion that Nolan might punch the guy into oblivion but unable to do anything. But who was this guy? Was he Eri's bodyguard or something? How long had he been watching Nolan?

"And I suggested that you not do this," he replied, looking utterly unimpressed. "Turn back, kid. She's not your type."

Nolan barked out a laugh. "What? You think I'm—you know what, get out of my face before I make you."

The other guy snorted. "Why does she get these creeps following her all the time? You don't even know her. Trust me, you don't want to do this."

When this guy had first appeared, I had frozen where I was, but now I held my breath and tiptoed towards the nearest garbage can. I could still hide behind it. He hadn't seen me yet, right?

"I really don't want to use violence," Nolan started, but then the guy did a double take in my direction.

"Is that a stalker you have there?" His laughter was raucous, but it was humorless. "Great. Even her stalker has a stalker."

Nolan turned his head around before I had the chance to hide myself. I offered him my most helpless smile. He gave me the most disbelieving glare I'd seen on him.

"I told you not to follow me!" he snapped.

"Did you—did you really expect me to let you go all alone?" My voice cracked at the last word.

I could only stare at Nolan.

"What's this?" Amusement filled the guy's voice. "Doesn't feel so good when you're the one being stalked, huh?"

Snarling, Nolan turned back to face him.

"You're wasting my time. Back off already," he said, and then he lunged forward.

The guy raised his hand, but before he could do anything else, Nolan already had him pinned to the wall with his forearm against his chest.

I opened my mouth and ran a couple of steps forward before stopping myself. I didn't even know what to say. The guy was clearly trying to intimidate Nolan into leaving Eri alone, and he didn't seem all that nice. Deciding that I should let him handle this, I stayed where I was.

"Are you her bodyguard or something?" Nolan said. "Do you even know who you're protecting? Stay out of this and I'll let you go."

A low grunt escaped from him as Nolan pressed his forearm in further with a deep scowl.

He huffed out a laugh. "You think I'm protecting her? This is for your own good, dude. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from my sister."

"Your sister?" Nolan repeated quietly.

Because his back was to me, I couldn't see his face, but his whole body seemed to go stock-still.

When the guy attempted to shove him off, it was as if his strength had completely zero effect on Nolan. Nolan's body did not budge even the slightest bit.

His eyes were wide. A look of horror fell over his face. What struck me was that the horror didn't seem to stem from fear. It was from some kind of dawning realization.

"You ..." he breathed. "You're ..."

"You're Eri's brother?" Nolan demanded.

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AN: oh no what how did a month fly by like that. so sorry guys! anyway, my writing schedule will be back to normal courtesy of finally leaving the most mentally exhausting job i've ever had :") congratulate me, you guys. LOL jk or am i...? anyway, have a great week!!! i'll be updating VERY VERY SOON to make up for the latest of this updateeee! as always, thank you for your votes and comments! they mean so much to me! please remember to click the little star if you're enjoying this story <3

love you guys! shoutout to the commenter on my insta post reminding me to update :") i was shocked at the time stamp hahaha :") thanks for enjoying my story enough to comment <3