The way Cory and I broke apart from one another you would've thought someone had lit a firecracker under our asses.

Jesus Christ.

Did that really just happen? Or almost happen? Was I really about to let him kiss me?

I glanced at Cory out of the corner of my eye. He ran a hand through his hair in what was obviously frustration before he caught me looking and returned my stare.

He didn't look the least bit sorry at what had almost happened between us.

So, I reiterate. Was I going to let Cory kiss me in the middle of an abandoned mall during what was probably the end of the world as we knew it?

Yes, yes I was.

And I'm pretty sure I would've liked it.

Damn the person who interrupted us!

Which reminded me...

I only had a few seconds to collect myself and get over my embarrassment at being caught in such a position because there were obviously two more things that were a little more pressing at the moment.

One, I was still shirtless which I quickly corrected. I grabbed the discarded Tweety Bird shirt off the floor before quickly pulling the shirt over my head.

It didn't escape my notice that Cory didn't move from in front of me until the shirt was on.

The second was that the voice who had interrupted us, was male.

And unrecognizable.

The person inside the store with us right now was someone we didn't know.

"Oh, don't let me stop you guys. I was just about to leave so you two carry on."  The newcomer said with a cheeky smile.

I stared at the guy before us.

He was Hispanic with a head full of thick dark hair that curled around the nape of his neck and ears and chocolate brown eyes to match. There was a small hoop piercing in his bottom lip and I could see the beginning of what was obviously a larger tattoo peaking out from underneath the collar of his white t-shirt.

He was young, probably just a few years older than me.

He was also trouble personified if the smirk on his face was anything to go by.

"Who are you?" Cory asked eyeing up our new "friend" skeptically.

"Does it really matter? If I told you my name it's not like you'd know who I am now would you?" The boy said as he eyed Cory back.

"Then what are we supposed to call you?" I asked, finally finding my voice again since this whole embarrassing ordeal started.

The boy turned so his dark eyes were now on me, the smirk never leaving his face.

Didn't it hurt his facial muscles to smirk so much?

"You can call me Marco."

I heard Cory scoff from next to me, obviously picking up on Marco's emphasis on the word you.

"How about we just call you asshole instead?" he muttered.

I cleared my throat glancing between the both of them before speaking again, interrupting whatever Marco was going to say. It wasn't going to be anything nice judging by the nasty smirk he was now sporting.

It's like he had a different smirk for every emotion.

"How long have you been in here?" I asked.

Once again Marco turned his gaze on me and gave a shrug. "Long enough. People are pretty stupid. I guess they don't think of malls as a good place to come for supplies or take shelter." He gave another shrug. "Their loss."

"So, you've been camped out here since the start of this thing?"

Marco shook his head. "No, not since the beginning. I started off with other people, but they didn't make it."

I nodded in understanding before turning to look at Cory. He was basically the leader of our little group so it was ultimately his decision on whether or not Marco joined us.

Cory seemed to understand my unasked question because he sighed heavily before giving Marco another once over.

He mulled it over for another few seconds before shaking his head as if he knew he was already going to regret his decision.

"If you want, you can join our group." Cory finally said reluctantly.

Marco's eyebrows raised at this. "You guys have a a group?"

Cory nodded. "It's not big but it's a group nonetheless."

It was Marco's turn to think things over as he stared between the both of us.

"Okay." he said finally.

Cory nodded once before grabbing my arm and pulling me further into the store.

"Just let us grab a few more things and we'll head back" He said to Marco over his shoulder, never pausing his stride.

When we were far enough into the store that Marco would no longer hear us, Cory stopped and turned to look at me directly.

"I don't trust him."

I blinked once.

"Of course you don't trust him, we don't know anything about him." I stated.

Cory nodded. "Exactly, but I also don't like the idea of just leaving people out here to fend for themselves. On the other hand I know how that can come back to bite us in the ass."

I swallowed hard trying not to remember what Gabe had almost done to me.

"So, what then? Do we let him join or not?" I asked.

Cory glanced over his shoulder once before turning back to look at me.

"We'll let him join, but the first sign that he's trouble he's out of here."

I nodded. That sounded fair enough.

Judging by that smirk he kept sporting though, I wasn't sure how long Marco was going to be apart of our little group of merry men.

***

After we finished collecting our supplies, uninterrupted this time, we headed back to the shop where everyone else was already waiting for us.

As we walked up to the store Marco raised an eyebrow.

"This is the store you guys chose to camp out in?"

Cory didn't even bother turning to look at him as he answered.

"Yeah, and if you don't like it then you can find another store to camp out in...alone. "

I had to hide my own smile as Marco grumbled under his breath.

As soon as we walked through the door Arden was rushing towards us. She eyed Marco curiously before turning to look at Cory and I.

"You brought a friend?" She asked. 

"I wouldn't call him that." Cory muttered as he tossed the bag of clothes we had collected onto one of the display stands.

"Well he can be my friend." Arden muttered as he she started to eye Marco like he was going to be her next meal.

I snorted and patted her on the shoulder.

"He's all yours girl." I said as I went to go set my own bag down.

I had to suppress my laugh as I watched Arden fist pump the air before she headed straight for Marco who looked like a deer caught in headlights as Arden swung her arm around his shoulder.

He'd definitely met his match. 

As I started sorting through the clothes we had collected I felt another presence walk up beside me. I didn't even have to look this time to know it was Cory.

"I wish this wasn't the end of the world." I joked as I held up a shirt I had picked up. "This shirt is really cute and now the only people who'll see me in it are my dad, a little boy and his mom, your sister and..." I trailed off as I felt my face warm and glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

Cory raised an eyebrow. "And...?"

I cleared my throat nervously and quickly tossed the shirt back into the bag. "And um...you... I guess."

I don't know why I found that embarrassing but the smirk he was now wearing didn't help.

The way Cory smirked was definitely different than Marco's.

It made me feel...things.

Things that I was pretty sure I shouldn't be feeling right now given our current situation.

Cory stepped even closer to me and bent his head so that his mouth was right next to my ear.

"When everyone's settled later tonight, meet with me to talk?" He phrased the end of his sentence as a question, leaving the decision up to me.

I felt myself nodding.

Happy with my answer, Cory pulled away, his hand lightly brushing my my own before he turned and went back towards the rest of the group.

I couldn't resist turning to look over my shoulder as he did.  I watched as he sat down before looking up at me our gazes connecting for a few seconds before I quickly turned back around.

I put my hand to my chest. Why was my heart beating so fast?

I couldn't help but wonder now, after our little episode in the clothing store, would we really be doing any talking?

***