Any sane person might run away upon realizing how dangerous Owen is. All this time, I thought my brother was the one setting the buildings on fire, helping Red Raven. It was Owen. I had never even heard of Trident until the past few days.

"Della?" Owen's voice snaps me out of my distress. I look up but I refuse to respond. He sighs and closes his eyes.

"Pick out some clothes and we'll go." Great, pick out some clothes and get in a car with a pyromaniac. Then drive over to meet with Drake, a regular maniac.

In my rush, I decided on a few ordinary t-shirts and some jean shorts. If I wasn't so afraid of what would happen to my family if I ran away from the Undergrounds, I would have been out of Owen's grasp the minute he took the cuffs off.

If I could get a hold of those cuffs again, maybe I could use them against Black Light or any of the villains. It would be great to have some back up from my friends, the people that I trust. Would they even help me? I fear that if I told them Owen's plan, I would be pushed aside while Mason and my dad went to go fight my battles.

Red Raven is my battle. I may not have been the best hero in the past, but I am going to prove myself to everyone. Who's to say Red Raven is a threat anymore? Maybe Owen just wants me to defeat the Undergrounds. I'm fine with that idea too. But it's time for me to start investigating things on my own. Owen isn't a sharing kind of guy. I'm in this by myself.

"Are you two finding everything okay?" A sales clerk comes up to us. Owen nods for the both of us. I decide to take revenge on Owen for keeping such a drastic detail of his life from me.

"Uh, yes, I'm fine, but he needs some help." The guy looks to be a little older than me but has a full beard. Owen's eyes throw daggers at me. Suddenly, I'm not in a rush to get out of here anymore. A smirk comes to my face.

"Oh, well, the men's section is on the other side of the store." The guy resembles Owen in an uncanny way and ushers Owen to the opposite side of the shop. Good riddance.

I skim through the clearance rack a bit further, then I hear the jingling of the bell on the door. Someone else is in this small shop at seven in the morning? It surprises me as it is that there is more than one employee working.

My eyes quickly dart to the door to view the other costumer. In walks none other than Sophia Brown. My eyes widen in panic and I immediately start to plan where I'm going to hide. Should I hide? Maybe she hasn't heard about me running away and won't have any reason to confront me on the matter. She might confront me without having a reason, though. That's just Sophia for you.

Nonetheless, I consider ducking behind the rack, but decide against it. I try to act nonchalant and skim through the clothing, but my heart is beating rapidly and I'm afraid I'll draw attention to myself if I'm not careful. This is no time for you to have one of your clutz moments, Della.

I grab a shirt from the rack that stands out to me and watch as it hooks onto another shirt. Taking a deep breath, I tell myself to carefully unhook the shirt and put it back.

Fate, destiny, call it what you will, did not want to make this situation easy on me.

I pulled the shirts apart and then observed a few other items of clothing fall to the floor. Della you're the clumsiest person on earth, I mentally scold myself. As I'm scurrying to pick up the clothes, Sophia makes her way over to this section.

Abort mission! Abort! I toss the clothes on top of the rack and hustle to hide in the changing area. I peek my head out from the door once I've hidden myself. The wicked witch sticks her nose up at most of the clothes she places her hands on.

Suddenly I hear Owen's voice booming over the sound of the faint background music the store is playing. He's making his way over to the clothing rack to look for me. Great, now I have to explain to him why I'm hiding.

He spots Sophia and greets her with a bright smile. Don't look her in the eyes, you'll turn to stone. Then Owen does the unexpected and hugs her. My jaw drops when he leans back to kiss her on the lips.

No. Way.

It's time for me to get out of here. There's been too many secrets revealed. I'm not comfortable. The Undergrounds want to destroy my family and friends? They'll have to go through me. I'm done with assisting a guy whom I barely know. I don't want to regret sticking around. It's time to run home.

Why did I allow myself to stick around for as long as I have? This has gotten out of hand. I don't know Owen, I shouldn't have trusted him. Sophia Brown is just frosting on top of the cake.

Slowly, I turn invisible, making sure no one can see me when I dash out. I creep out of the dressing room area and carefully place my feet along the beige carpet. As I walk by, I eavesdrop on Owen and Sophia.

"I'm glad you could meet me. I've got someone I'd like to introduce you to." Owen comments, and that's when I bolt for the doors. I hear the bell on the door ring behind me. I may not have heard it when I first came in, but it was this bell that went off when Sophia walked in that saved my life. I could be heavily questioned by now if I didn't hear the warning sound.

Racing down the sidewalks, I pass street signs that will lead me back home. A sign disappears behind me that reads Kingsville, five miles. My heart race remains constant as I quicken my pace. Cars go by at a blur. The sun has just come up over the tops of the buildings, but I don't slow down to take it in.

Just think. Owen won't even have to lie on your behalf that you 'ran away'. You actually had the nerve to break away without telling him.

The image of Owen and Sophia disgusted me as I dwelled on it. Did she know Mickey was his cousin? Wouldn't it be awkward to date cousins one right after the other?

My foot catches on an uneven part of the sidewalk and I land on the palms of my hands. A part of me wants to break down and start crying from the pain, but I end up laughing. Scraped knees, bleeding hands, baggy clothes, and dyed hair. How will my friends and family possibly react to seeing me?

As I breeze down the streets, I witness charred buildings. Flames still flicker against the rubble of homes. This was Owen's doing? How did I think for one second that I could work with this guy?

Nonetheless, my heart aches as I pass by the blackened street corners of a neighboring town. This tragedy has to be justified. Owen led me to believe he was a good guy. He's no better than his cousin, brother, and the rest of his family. It's in his genes to be a villain. Maybe he just can't change that.

I never liked to imagine that we grew up to be what our parents are. We follow our own paths and dream our own dreams. That's why I believed Owen when he said he was a renegade. Now that I look back at it, Mason was a villain, and he came right back to the family tradition of being a hero. Even when he didn't intend to be a hero, Mason was reined into helping me.

I sprinted faster, after I had slowed to almost a complete stop to view the remnants of the fires. Just get home, Della. Surely there will just be more problems waiting for me when I get there, but I knew people loved me back home.

Honestly, I didn't know what to make of the situation anymore. I hope that everyone at home still loves me. For all they know, I ran away and want nothing to do with them. Maybe I'll wait to bring up the part where I didn't come running back home the instant Owen released me.

The next thing I know, I'm at my doorstep. Our house looks the same, so I know the fire didn't touch it. But there's a solemn atmosphere to the house that alnost makes me want to turn away. I know it's because of me, though. I 'ran away' and left the house filled with sorrow.

I press the doorbell and pray that someone is home because I certainly don't have my keys on me. I'm not sure exactly how long I have until Owen follows me here and takes me back. Would he take me back? Please, someone be home.

The door creaks open and I take in an audible breath.

"Oh my goodness! It's Della! Get in here!" My mom exclaims and then pulls me inside before I can say a word.

Dad comes barreling down the steps once I'm brought through the doorway. The front door closes behind mom and Mason and Ash come running into the living room as well.

I'm surrounded in mere seconds, being tightly hugged and squeezed.

When they pull away, I catch my breath and observe how much they've changed in the past three days alone. Mom and dad have heavy bags under their eyes and their hair is in a tangled mess. They're both usually wearing business casual, but they're sporting t-shirts and shorts at the moment.

Mason is wearing what he would normally wear; a t-shirt and gym shorts. Although everything physically looks okay with him, there's a fog behind his eyes and a slump in his shoulders that says he's had to put on the brave face and carry the weight of the team.

Ash doesn't look at anyone but me. She's staring at me like I'm a ghost. Her dark hair usually hangs in her face and past her waist but she's tossed it into a sloppy bun.

"Where have you been?" My mother asks, exasperated, "We thought you ran away." She pinches the bridge of her nose, the way she always does when she has a headache.

"I didn't run away." I tell them, but dad intervenes.

"You've had us worried sick." He bites.

"I was kidnapped." I throw back at him.

Everyone is quiet for a full minute. The awkwardness settles in the room before mom breaks the silence. "Who kidnapped you?"

"Trident. I've been held captive by the Undergrounds."

Mason stares at me, "Trident took you?"

"Yes, his father is Black Light and his cousin is Mickey while Thomas is his twin brother. I can get into all of this later, but I really don't know how much time I have until Trident comes looking for me. So where's Jonas?" All of this comes out at a rapid speed, and I'm not sure they processed it all.

"He's in Kingsville, moping around. We looked everywhere for you, Del." Ash informs me, placing her dainty hand on my forearm.

Mason angrily snaps at himself, "I had a feeling you were down there the whole time. I had no idea how to get passed them, though, since it's been rumoured Crossfire is a traitor. Gosh, I feel like an idiot, I should've found a way!" Mason clenches his fists and grabs the top of his hair. Ash lays her other hand on his arm, consoling him.

"It's okay, honestly. I just need to fill you guys in on what I've found out. Do you know exactly where Jonas is in Kingsville?"

"Did they force you to dye your hair?" Dad randomly inquires. I roll my eyes, "People, help me out!"

Ash inputs, "He said he was going to some roof, I don't know."

I dash out of the house without another word.

With the lack of food I've had in the past few days, I'm running on fumes. The adrenaline of seeing Jonas is the only thing that keeps me going. His bright personality and charming smile drive me to run faster.

When I pass the sign that reads Kingsville, I make a few right turns to the building I almost lost my life on once. Jonas was there to rescue me. That building was where he admitted he knew I was falling for him, before I even acknowledged the fact myself.

He still lost the bet and kissed me first.

A smile creeps up on my face as I reminisce on our moments. As I approach the building, I see the outline of a person's figure. There must be a ladder on the side of the brick building if people are working in there. It's office hours, so they wouldn't let just anyone walk through without business.

I walk around to the side of the building to clearly see Jonas' legs swinging over the edge. Cringing at the thought of dangling over the edge, I hesitantly grab onto the first rung of the rusty ladder.

"Hey Rapunzel!" I holler out, "Let down your hair!"

The feet shift away from the side of the brick wall and I hear them scurry towards the ladder. Once I reach the top, Jonas is smiling over the edge with a hand extending to help me up.

As I reach the roof, I barely have time to catch my balance before Jonas embraces me in a tight hug. Why does everyone have such a tight grip when they hug?

"Oh," Jonas says, pulling away, "You don't want me to hug you?" He smirks and keeps me close to his chest. Jonas smells like a fresh summer day.

"What? No, I didn't mean for you to stop hugging-"

He grins from ear to ear, his dark brown hair ruffling as the wind blows. "It's okay, I had something better in mind anyways." I quirk an eyebrow up as he pushes his lips on mine.

The sweetness of this kiss brings a sensation back to my mind. Our first kiss. So innocent, yet so passionate.

Jonas leans back and my eyes flutter open to see him staring back at me. "What brought you back?"

"I didn't run away, Jonas. Trident kidnapped me." I almost whisper.

His eyes widen in surprise, "How'd you get away?"

"Well," I'm about to tell him I had the chance to run away but decided to stick around, that is, until I found out Trident was dangerous. I quickly scramble my thoughts so if Jonas is reading my mind he can't make any sense of them. "I don't know exactly how much time I have until he comes looking for me, so we need to get back to my house." I say with urgency.

Jonas nods, "Let's go then."

"I can't carry you on my back. I can barely carry myself." I inform him.

He takes my hand, "You don't have to worry about that. I brought my truck." I follow him down the ladder and he places his hands on my waist when I get to the bottom rung. I suppose I am stumbling a bit.

"You need to take it easy." He whispers in my ear and scoops me into his arms, bridal style, until we reach his truck. When he gently places me in the passenger seat after opening the door with one hand, he dashes over to the driver's side and hops in.

"How do you feel?" Jonas pipes up after a couple minutes of us driving through the early morning rush.

Looking over at the boy I'm finding I can't live without, I smile as I reply, "I feel like I'm going home."

A/N
Wow. It's been forever since I've updated. Believe me, it doesn't ever leave my mind that I have to write in this book, I just don't have the time to write these days. Hopefully this will get better soon, and I thank you all for being patient with me! I've also been struggling a bit with writer's block for the past couple of weeks so that's why I've put this chapter off for a while.

In other news, how do we like the reunion between Della and Jonas?!? Y'all don't even know how much I've missed writing Jonas' character! What do y'all think will happen next? Make sure to comment please!

Thanks for reading,
Always, Sunny