Forget pink guava juice—mocktails were officially my favorite drinks now.

Having drained almost half the glass in one sitting, I set down my virgin mojito on the black countertop. Nolan's arm draped over my shoulders was warm and comfy.

"It's so good," I gushed. "Bonus points for being non-alcoholic."

I'd actually tried alcohol before under Ryan's supervision, but I personally detested the aftertaste. It wasn't for me, and that suited me just fine especially since I still wasn't twenty-one yet.

I looked around the bar we were in, letting my eyes roam over the horde of students that the place was packed with. The dim lighting cast shadows all over the place, obscuring the faces of most people.

"What's in it?" he asked.

"Lime, mint and soda, I think. I wish you could try it—" I clapped a hand over my mouth. "Sorry, no that came out wrong—"

"I can," he said.

That got me to goggle at him.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I can try it."

As he reached for my drink, I grabbed onto his hand.

"I don't want you to get sick," I whispered with a frown.

"It's fine if it's just a little sip. It's like eating mints. The amount is so tiny it doesn't get a chance to upset my stomach."

"But I've never seen you drink anything besides water."

He gave me a wry smile. "Like I said, it can only be a bit. I'm not going to buy something just to drink less than one percent of it."

That did make sense. I relinquished my hold on his hand.

"Okay, then I guess it's fine if you try some of mine."

After he took a small sip, Nolan nodded. "It's good. I like the touch of mint to it. What else did you want to try?"

I pulled my phone out. "Let's see. What should I order next?"

Nolan looked over my shoulder at the list of mocktails I'd wanted to try.

He pointed to one. "What's this?"

"Virgin Paloma? It's supposed to be made with grapefruit juice, so I thought it sounded interesting." I scrolled down the list. "I pasted the recipe here, look."

The speed in which he made a face brought a chuckle out of me. "Won't that be sour and bitter?"

"Hey, this drink has lime, which is also sour. But you thought it was nice."

"Yeah, but it's mixed with other flavors and it's not bitter."

"This isn't supposed to be pure grapefruit juice either. It's probably going to be sweet in some way." His reaction was surprising enough for me to ask, "You don't like sour stuff, then?"

"No," he said after a short pause. "I like—I liked sweet stuff better."

"You can still like sweet stuff better," I said softly.

"Just can't eat it."

The nonchalance in his tone felt contrived.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

I squinted at his face. Under the dim lighting, I couldn't decipher anything beyond a neutral expression.

"I don't know; just thought—never mind."

After downing another quarter of my virgin mojito, I rested my chin in my hands. We were here tonight for a 'normal' date, but of course I was the only one drinking something. I wasn't sure if I hadn't made the wrong choice asking to come here.

Lately, Nolan had been a lot quieter. While I always enjoyed the comfortable silence we had between us, there wasn't usually this much of it when we were alone together.

Every time I asked him if there was something on his mind, however, he always said that there wasn't. If he didn't want to tell me, there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn't a mind-reader after all.

I started when the bartender slid a pinkish liquid-filled glass across the countertop to me.

While I'd been lost in my thoughts, Nolan had gone ahead and ordered the virgin Paloma for me.

"Thanks," I said to him, smiling appreciatively.

"No problem," he said. "I hope it doesn't taste bad."

"It won't!"

To Nolan's disapproval, it turned out to be refreshingly tasty. I tried a couple of other drinks as well, after which I desperately needed to go to the toilet.

"I'll be back in a bit," I said, hopping off the bar stool. "I have to use the washroom."

"Okay."

When I was done and came out of the washroom, I had to squeeze past a bunch of other people who were hanging around outside. Nolan's figure was blocked by the crowd—I couldn't see him at all. I made my way to the bar and tried to keep close to it while I walked in the direction of my seat.

Someone moved backwards, resulting in me colliding into their arm.

"Oh, sorry," I said, shrinking away.

As I persisted in trying to get past another person, the guy I'd accidentally bumped into turned to face me.

"Excuse me," I said, but the tall guy in front of me didn't budge.

Maybe I wasn't loud enough. The entire bar was buzzing with noise, mostly comprised of loud chatter.

"Don't be sorry," the guy said, leaning his body towards me. "I don't mind. You're pretty cute."

I eyed him warily. I didn't recognize him at all. He looked like he was a few years older than me.

"But I mind, so just ... Hey, excuse me," I said again, more loudly this time.

The tall guy must have heard me this time; he inclined his head towards me and shuffled slightly to the left.

"Thanks," I said, scooting past him.

To my alarm, the dark-haired guy who'd spoken to me trailed after me.

"I don't remember seeing you here before," he said, his words slightly slurred and his smile cocky. "Is this your first time here?"

This could not be happening.

Thanks—or not—to all the people blocking my way, he was able to keep up with me without trouble. It was going to take me forever to get back to Nolan.

Wanting him to hear my words clearly, I raised my voice. "Sorry, I have a boyfriend."

He leered at me. "I don't see anyone with you. Why don't I buy you a drink?"

I had never said "no, thanks" so quickly in my life. My pulse raced as I desperately tried to get through the crowd. This guy practically towered over me, and the last thing I wanted was to get into a confrontation with him.

"Don't be shy, babe."

"Don't call me babe!" I snapped, forcing my way through another group of people. "I don't even know you!"

"You could get to know me." The insinuation in his tone made me gag.

I turned my head back to say, "I'm not interested," but he tried to place a large hand on my shoulder.

"Don't touch me!"

When I slapped his hand away, his smile deepened into a smirk.

"Playing hard to get, aren't you? That's okay, I like that even more."

He reached for me again, this time as if to put his arm around my shoulders. Before I could shove him away, a hand shot out at the speed of lightning and caught him by the wrist.

Nolan emerged from the crowd to stand next to me.

His icy expression sent waves of relief rolling through me. He seemed to have a good grasp on the situation.

"Don't touch her," he said. "Didn't you hear her?"

The creepy guy sneered at him. "Don't bother us, kid. We were having a good time."

"No, we weren't," I said hotly.

"Are you okay?" Nolan asked me. "Did he touch you?"

I shook my head. "I'm okay."

Nolan spoke to him in a measured tone. "When I let go, I want you to leave my girlfriend alone."

He did a double take and guffawed.

"Girlfriend? That's a joke." He turned to me. "I can show you what it's like to be with a man."

"A man? Don't you mean a clown?" I spat.

"Oh, feisty." He threw me a wink, then tried to fling Nolan's hand off. "Let go. You're annoying me."

He wasn't successful because Nolan simply stood in place. His arm remained in the exact same position despite the guy attempting to wrench his hand back.

"I'll let go if you leave," Nolan said.

"Fine," he said.

The second Nolan loosened his grip, the guy yanked his arm away. Within less than a second, he reached out to me again.

"Come on, babe, let's get away from this loser," he began, only for his words to be cut off when Nolan grabbed his wrist again.

"Nope," he said, pulling the guy's arm away from me and holding it there. "Are you deaf? I told you to go."

Scowling, the guy tried and failed to snatch his arm back. "Who do you think you are? I could snap you in two if I wanted."

Realistically, he would have if he had been sober and if Nolan wasn't ... well, Nolan. This guy was well-built, and his bulging arm muscles were a good indication of regular gym patronage.

Nolan's voice was cool. "Try me."

He raised his other arm and motioned to push Nolan, but Nolan caught that arm by the wrist as well.

I could see the anxiety start to set in on his face as he realized that he couldn't extricate himself from Nolan's grip. I knew that Nolan was strong, but I didn't know the full extent of his strength.

"What are you—I didn't drink that much—"

"You gonna go? I'd prefer not to break a wrist," Nolan said.

"As if I'm going to let a kid like you beat me!" he snarled, lunging forward with his body.

Nolan merely turned the guy's right arm around like the wrist he was holding was a lever, until the guy almost buckled at his knees as his entire arm was twisted up behind his shoulder. There was no sign of physical strain on Nolan's part at all.

The guy's anxiety had transformed into full-blown panic, which was obvious from his gasps of pain.

"S-stop! Please stop," the guy babbled. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to upset you or anything—I'll go immediately, I swear I'll go, just please let me go!"

"Not going to play deaf anymore?" Nolan waved his other wrist, which he was still holding, from side to side.

"No, no, sorry, really—"

We were starting to get stares from a couple of people who were standing near us.

"When I let go, you have three seconds to get out of my sight," he said.

"You got it," the guy gasped out. "Just please—"

Nolan released both of his hands.

"Go," he said. "Three."

The guy scrambled to his feet and almost tripped over himself trying to get away from us.

"Two."

"Freak!" I heard him spit out.

"One."

Infuriation surged through my veins, but he had already vanished into the crowd.

"Forget about him. Are you okay?" Nolan asked me, running his hands down my arms.

I threw my arms around him, not caring that my nose was getting squished by his chest. "Yeah, I'm okay. You came just in time. Thanks, Nolan."

He hugged me back. "Good."

I felt so safe in his arms, and it wasn't only because he'd protected me from that creep. Nolan's care and concern made me feel so loved.

"I told him I had a boyfriend, but he just wouldn't leave me alone."

"He was probably too drunk to care. I should've waited for you outside the toilet."

"You didn't know that I would meet a creep," I said, shaking my head. "Speaking of which, how did you know I was in trouble? Could you see me from your seat?"

"No. I heard your voice telling someone not to touch you. I went into the crowd to follow your voice and find you."

I'd never been so glad that I continued talking to that guy instead of ignoring him.

"Thanks for saving me," I said again. "You're so strong."

"The only good use of my strength so far."

There was something off about the way he said that. It reminded me of how he'd talked about his preference for sweet foods earlier, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

"Hey," I said, trying to change the strange mood that seemed to be hanging over Nolan. "What about that time you pulled me up into the tree and saved me from the coyote?"

"Oh, right. The second time it's useful, then."

"And the time you saved me from falling off the old brick wall?"

Nolan's arms around my waist tightened as he gave me a squeeze. "Okay, okay. All those times I saved you."

I sighed. "My knight in shining armor."

"First, I'm your noble steed, and now I'm a knight apparently. What's with all these fairytale comparisons?"

"Hey, count your blessings that I'm not cheesy enough to call you my prince charming."

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AN: sorry, late again! i'll get to replying comments on the prev chapter tomorrow! thanks so much for reading, i really appreciate all the votes and comments i get, you guys are the sweetest <3 have a great weekend, LOVE YOU!