Author's Note:

So I did take a few of you for a bit of a turn, didn't I? Well, you're in luck that I'm in a writing mood and want to get a ball rolling. This chapter has turned out ten times than I ever thought it would. We get to see the sweetest of my little bean, Lucas Friar. He is such a sweetheart and I think I've showed that but I wanted the ULTIMATE bean level.

I will say that in the next chapter, we will meet Farkle. (Smackle will not be included in this story, mainly because I won't be able to give her character any justice when I've made other main characters background to my two precious beans.) While all this time, it's seemed like things are somewhat one sided, we'll see that not everything is as it seems in this chapter. Can someone spell.. jealous? And this will most likely be my last chapter with Maya's point of view; I like one side to have some mystery to it!

Please enjoy this next chapter. It will be long and there will be a major Lucaya scene. You're welcome.

There wasn't words to explain the feeling. Was it regret? Guilt? Relief?

All he could think was one thing: If she had left, what would have happened?

His emerald eyes wandered over to her and her fists were clenched so tightly that he could have sworn he saw the blood begin to stop flowing. His hand reached over to her wrist, his fingers just over her pulse; he could feel just how fast it was pumping. About a million miles a minute. The scariest part about it was how well she was keeping everything else still.

Her expression hadn't changed and her legs hadn't started an anxious rhythm. She was as steady as a rock.

"Maya." Lucas made sure that his voice was soft, as if she were a doe who would run off at the first sign of trouble. What he wasn't paying attention to was how the detective was watching him; he felt the stare but he gave it no mind. It was Maya that was important for the moment.

After a cleared throat, he felt his hand pull away, as if he remembered how unnatural it was for a friend to hold onto someone the way he had been holding onto Maya. He glanced one more time before turning his attention back to the police officer and taking a deep breath. "What happens now?"

Dark red lips pressed together in a thin line, brown eyes narrowing in his direction. "Well, for one, you'll have to provide your alibi's again, have to stay for questioning. As long as you cooperate, you should be out of here in no time. I assume that will be no problem."

He nodded, glancing to the blonde next to him before rising up from his chair. Maya stood up next to him and his hand moved to her shoulder, their eyes meeting for the first time since the news had dropped. And he could tell that no matter what he said next, she wouldn't hear it; it would be white noise compared to what she was dealing with right now. So he gave a careful squeeze and let go, something he seemed to be growing in the habit of doing, before he left her behind and went to give DNA samples and be questioned.

Lucas found himself being steered down the hallway and to the third room on the right, finding a new detective waiting for him. It was a man this time, sporting a five o'clock shadow and weary eyes. He felt a small twinge of compassion for the man before remembering why he was here; it was to clear his name, Maya's name, and move on.

He sighed and sat down, his hands resting in front of him in a carefree manner. Just that movement seemed to be under a microscope, just from the way he was being looked at from the officer. "Detective Desseno." They shook hands after a moment, mainly because Lucas offered his hand out of habit. Damn his momma for teaching him Southern hospitality.

"Now, Mister Friar-"

"Doctor Friar," he cut in, clearing his throat. It wouldn't serve him well to look so smug but he couldn't help it. He knew that they probably suspected him for some reason, like being at the scene first. Part of that made his stomach drop to his knees; sure, he'd wasn't always considered the best of the bunch ("Texas Lucas" as some of his friends had called him), but he wasn't a murderer.

But then he thought about it. If he had known that the man who'd tried to kill his friend was right in front of his face, would he really have been able to stop himself from hurting someone? Deep down, he knew that it would never escalate to that point, but he would've fucked Josh up harder than anyone in a jail cell could ever dream of.

And he wasn't talking about the beat up eye, cut lip kind of fight. It was the kind where he would've broken a few bones, probably would've gotten assault charges, and had to pay all the money he had in his banking account so that he could get out.

There was a knock along the metal, something that brought him out of the thought process and looking to a photo set out onto the table. It was of him kissing Maya and his eyebrows pulled together in confusion before he looked at the date, his expression becoming blank. The picture was impossible to see in the way that it had happened; his arms were around her, laced with the intent to score and the way her hands were already on his shirt to pull it from his body. "It wasn't like that."

"No? Because it looks like you're kissing the girl who was shot before her boyfriend was killed."

He leaned forward, clasping his hands together; his heart rate was about to send him into cardiac arrest if he wasn't careful. "Look, yes, she and I had sex. And I'm not going to try to cover that up, but that doesn't mean that I killed Josh."

Desseno before him stood, observing him in a way that made a chill run up his spine. "I think you were jealous of Josh. After all, he was the boyfriend and you were the guy she came to when she needed someone to bone when he wasn't there for her."

His lips pressed together as he gathered himself, pushing away the anger that came along with how much the comment stung. It wasn't.. wrong. "No."

"And when you found out about what he did to her? It was hero time. All you had to do was level out the odds by getting rid of him."

"No." He knew it was just a tactic, maybe to get him worked up, maybe to be eased into a confession; either way, that didn't make it true.

"It would have been so e-"

Lucas was out of his seat, eyes level with the police officer. He felt the same anger from all those years ago, the kind that would send him spiraling out of control to the point where he would have to be arrested. His chest rose and fell slowly, while he still held onto the strongest memory that kept him at bay, seeing his reflection in the black eyes in front of him. His rage was written all over his face. "I didn't kill Josh. I slept with Maya once. And if you ask anyone who knows a single thing about me, you'll know that what came out of your mouth is, to date, the most incompetent thing you've said in your entire career."

His hand reached out, without dropping eye contact, managing to put his fingertips on the file, and dragging it to the middle of the table. "If your academy taught you anything, you'll know that doing a little research never hurts," he hissed, turning away from the table and walking out the door.

[ Maya's Point of View ]

When Lucas had come out of the interrogation room, she felt it in the pit of her stomach. Something was.. wrong. She'd seen him get worked up about things that were no big deal, but that had been nothing compared to the war raging on in his vibrant, seafoam green eyes. The way he walked suggested that he wanted out of the building faster than a human being could actually move.

Her eyes flickered back to the officer before letting herself out, seeing him attempting to yank the tie from his neck and nearly ripping the fabric in the process. "Lucas," she said softly, catching his attention just as her hand moved over his to take over the actions. She felt the way his hand trembled, like he was just on the brink losing himself into something much worse than what anyone would expect of him.

And be that as it may, it surprised her. She had always seem him as someone so good that they could never loose their temper, or even come close to anything other than kindness. Perhaps it was because that was all he showed her, after all that she owed him and she still took, still made fun of him, despite that kindness.

Her fingers slowly undid the knot as she swallowed hard, taking a few moments to just look at the tie before she looked up to him. "You alright, Sundance?" she inquired under her breath as his own hit her cheek. It was quick puffs, heated and like he were deliberately bottling something up. Her hand reached up and turned his chin so that he looked at her, just as he had done with her what seemed to be so many nights ago, his eyes finally meeting hers.

"I'll be fine." His hands pulled hers off and she still held the tie, crumpled up, confused slightly as he walked to the station's door and held it open for her. He motioned for her to pass through but didn't say a word, avoiding making eye contact with her at all costs.

Silence overtook their drive to his apartment, lingered for dinner, and outstayed its welcome when they sat next to each other on the couch and watched TV together. Her hand moved over the remote when he wasn't paying attention, turning it off and turning towards him.

She saw his expression, something she wasn't sure she'd seen before, all before it dimmed down to confusion. "What was that for?" he asked, raising a dark blonde brow in her direction.

The words caught in her throat because she knew she was supposed to ask him how he was, to find some way to make him feel better like he had done for her. And yet, she couldn't do it; she knew that she would try and ended up failing him miserably. There was something about not seeking out disappointment if it could be avoided. So instead, she gave him a smirk and laid down, lifting her shirt so that it was up to her ribs. "I don't feel like changing the bandages, Sunshine. Wanna step on it?"

She tossed him a wink as he chuckled and got up, going to his kitchen to retrieve his first aid kit. "You act like you haven't seen me naked. Even when you aren't being such a Huckleberry, you are still such a Huckleberry."

He rolled his eyes and came back with the kit, opening it and digging through it for a few moments before pulling out the items he needed. "I can think of a few times where you can admit I was far from it." He pulled off the bandage and set it aside, moving to clean the wound carefully. His touch was gentle but it felt like he were practically scraping the cleanser along her stitches.

Her teeth clenched together in pain but she laughed, shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. I can't remember a time you w-"

"Funny, I don't remember you thinking I was a Huckleberry when you were bent over my coffee table." His tone was casual and his expression hadn't changed in the slightest. She was, unfortunately, impressed with his comeback. She wouldn't have expected him to say something like that to her.

Her eyebrows raised when his hand slid down to her hip, only for it to move from her body entirely and back to the supplies. For a moment, she had felt the same heat she had that night, when she'd come to him because her initial distraction had disappeared. "Touché."

It had taken ages for her to fall asleep that night; she'd become surprisingly used to the bed and she'd refused to move from the couch. It was only being fair since he'd been sleeping on the couch for a few days now. Somehow, she'd expected more of a fight from him but he looked too exhausted to put up one.

Maya felt her shoulder shake gently and she groaned, rolling over in an attempt to ignore who was trying to pull her from her blank dreams. Just because there wasn't anything there didn't mean that she wanted to leave. "Just ten more minutes."

She felt a gust of hot air against her neck, a soft chuckle following it. "I don't think life works like that," a Texan twang greeted, the hand belonging to the man moving from her shoulder to her elbow. "Come on, Maya," the voice mumbled in a slightly frustrated tone, "I'm not carrying you to the hospital for your appointment."

Her eyes opened and she saw that her head was level enough to see the time on the microwave in the kitchen. "It's five in the morning, Ranger Roy; I'm not getting up and there's nothing you can say or do that will change that." She could practically feel his eye roll from where she was laying but she didn't care. She wasn't moving until she absolutely had to.

With a soft sigh, she felt her hair being gently taken in his hand, something she wasn't expecting, all before she was caught off guard more than she had been the previous night. His nose had skimmed up her neck, sending her skin into goosebumps and a near gasp to exit her lips. It was all she had not to shudder from the way he was breathing against her throat, like he was holding back something himself. "Come on, Maya," he beckoned, his chuckle holding something more behind it.

Just as she was about to turn her head towards him, the warmth from behind her had disappeared. She sat up and rubbed her neck, almost wondering if she had just imagined him being there at all. It's Ranger Rick; get a good head on your shoulders, Maya.

When she saw him coming out of his room, she found herself pressing her legs together, tilting her head slightly and taking a deep breath in to remind herself to calm down. And with the slight smirk on his lips, she knew that the chill that ran down her spine was real, just as his wake up call had been. The goosebumps started again, just remembering how close his lips had been to her jaw, and she knew just where that would have gotten her. The question was why, after all the distance between them last night.

"Try not to take forever in the shower, alright?" he said, moving to make coffee and leaving her still dumbfounded. It felt like she'd moved in, like this was where her home was now. As grateful as she was to him for wanting her to be in his sights, it reminded her of how much she owed him. He had saved her life, was continuing to do it (or that's what she assumed he was doing), and she owed him more than she could ever repay.

She would've slipped away if she knew that he wouldn't follow. And perhaps that was the worst thing about him. He cared too much.

Maya spent her fifteen minutes in the shower contemplating her odds of convincing him to skip the appointment today. She only had two weeks of them left and she knew it was healing on track; the thought of them having to act like a couple yet again sent her stomach in knots, though she wasn't sure why.

She smelled like something that he had in his shower, half used before she'd ever gotten the chance to use it herself. Some part of her wondered just how many people he'd been with. He seemed like such a pure and innocent boy before, but she knew better than to think like that when he'd gotten his hands on her. But afterwards, he'd become the same Huckleberry from before, good and someone who wouldn't hook up with someone more than once a year. Yet the fact that he had showering options for a woman said differently.

She walked out of the shower in two towels, deliberately leaving the shower rug in a messy fashion and the door wide open. Stem spilled from the room and into Lucas', something that caused him to look up. "Be ready in five or I'm not going at all," she taunted, swaying her hips as she walked out.

The nurses envied her. She could feel it every time she walked into the damn hospital, hand in hand with a certain cowboy. He was always so polite in signing her in, often offering to carry her to the room to look like the ultimate boyfriend. (That benefited her since she didn't necessarily want to walk down the long hallway.)

And while it partially annoyed her that he had called himself her boyfriend, she didn't mind it. She couldn't think of anyone else who would understand what was happening to her as much as he did. She didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Josh had been back here with her, especially with all the things he could have killed her with.

As much as it pissed her off to admit it, she felt.. safe with Lucas. She knew that if he was going to hurt her, he would have done it by now, rather than spending over sixty five thousand dollars on her surgery and more with every check up.

Today, she held onto him tighter, her head resting on his arm as they waited. He didn't say anything, something that normally would have been awkward for her, but it wasn't. The silence was comfortable, listening to his breathing was preferable than to listening to a Southern twang that might as well have said, "I'm definitely not from around here," after everything he actually said.

Her name was called eventually and he tapped on her leg, only to make her remember just how warm he was; it was like he'd brought the heat of a desert with him when he moved.

Maya lay down on the bed, smirking to him when the nurse left them alone to wait for the doctor. After about a fifteen minute wait, the doctor came in, followed by the same nurse that had brought them to the room. "My fingers are feeling a bit cold, sweetie. Could you help take off my clothes?"

Lucas rolled his eyes when the two had turned away, standing up and pulling off her coat with a slight bitter look on his face. He buttoned her shirt, showing an intense amount of effort not to look at her breasts as he did so. "I'm going to end up killing you," he mumbled under his breath.

She smirked wider, leaning forward and whispering into his ear, "Well then you'll love this little bit." She pulled back and gave a convincing giggle, slapping his hands before pulling the shirt from her shoulders. "Lucas! Not now! I'm about to get a checkup." She leaned forward again, seeing the glances that the doctor and nurse exchanged, chuckling into his ear softly. "Your move."

She picked at the dark green nail polish on her fingernails, sighing heavily. She went from doing ninety percent of the work to being paid to sit there. And while she relished in part of it, mainly because she could go to her teachers and prove them wrong about such a thing, she knew it was for a completely different reason.

Lucas was treating her like a victim, like she had to be protected at all costs. And it irritated the life out of her. Not because the gesture wasn't nice, but because she knew it wasn't a genuine gesture at this point. He was doing it because he had invested too much money in her for her to just die and become ashes again. That was why she practically lived with him now, in his guest bedroom; her art was even hanging in one section of his living room. And she hated it.

She watched as Lucas came into the office and sat down in a chair. She opened her mouth to say something, something degrading and clever, only to see his chair turn to Riley. He put a hand on the brunette's shoulder, his thumb rubbing comforting circles directly onto the girl's skin. Maya could hear the soft sobbing, and despite knowing better, she scooted closer, just enough so that she could hear when they were talking.

There was a deep breath taken but sounded more like a desperate attempt for air. "He was.. He was like my brother. He's one of the few people I've had all my life." The girl's head turned and it showed just how much Josh had meant to her; tears were streaming down her cheeks and she looked as though she were on the brink of falling apart. "And now he's just gone. We can't have a closed casket because of what happened to him. Who would do that, why would they do that? He was a good person!"

The green eyed vet wrapped an arm around her as she wiped the tears away from her eyes, only for more to fall. "Sometimes, people make choices that we can't prevent or understand. But it's not what happened but how we react to what happened that matters, Riles."

Maya felt her upper lip curl, like she'd eaten something that she couldn't stand. Riles. Of course he had to be so sweet. Lucas Friar, the boy who has every girl wrapped around his finger because he's as sweet as sugar.

And while she reminded herself that Riley had lost someone, she couldn't help having to hold back the urge to make a vomiting sound. But no matter what she did, she couldn't just look away from the scene unfolding from her. She felt.. betrayed? Lucas had known what had happened, that the same man that the girl in the front office mourned was the same one that had shot her.

And there Lucas was, unable to keep his hands off the person related to a shooter; couldn't he just keep his hands to himself and give the same comfort? He did with every single patient with a freshly deceased dog.

Her hands curled into fists when she thought about how those hands had touched her; it wasn't just the shoulders, it had been nearly every single part of her. Her hands, her wrists, her face, her hair; come to think of it, he had touched her more than anyone else in her life had in a very long time. Part of her longed for that warmth again, the callouses that were only on the insides of his palms, the heartbeat that rested just in the middle, the same one that she had in her ear when he'd brought her to ecstasy.

With the tilt of her jaw, her cheeks hugged her cheekbones and proved she was.. No, she couldn't have been that. She pulled the jacket from the back of her chair and passed the currently conversing couple, seeing that Lucas' head instantly turned to her. She didn't dare look at him with more than the corner of her eye until she heard his voice.

"Maya." It was a warning, one that she'd heard her entire high school career.

She turned to him, seeing his arm still wrapped around small shoulders and his cheek rested against the head that was on his own broad shoulder. "Yes, Dr. Friar?" she asked sarcastically, resting her elbows against the counter and giving him a dreamy look, as if she were lost in his eyes.

He sighed and looked to be in thought before saying, "Have Zay drop you off at home. By home, I mean my apartment." He rose a finger to her, one she swatted away without a second thought. Did he really think he could just point a finger at her like that? As if, Friar.

His emerald orbs flickered past her for a moment and she turned to see Zay in the doorway of the hall, smiling at her like he'd won a prize of some sort. "You'll want to listen to him, Maya."

Maya rolled her eyes in response, pressing her lips together for a moment. "And if I don't?"

Zay's eyebrows rose before he moved closer, bending down slightly and lifting her over his shoulder. Her hands beat against his back as she was carried out until the parking lot. "Let. Me. Down," she hissed, growling about a million insults under her breath. "I swear to God, I will kick you back to fucking Texas if you don't let me down!" She was let down close to a red vehicle, sighing as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The Texan smiled at her sarcastically this time, unlocking the car. "If I go, Lucas goes. And we both know you don't want that." He laughed softly and paused for a few moments when her nose wrinkled up and her eyebrows pulled together in disgust. "Make that face all you want but I saw the way you were walking the other day. And I know you weren't like that you got here. Admit it; Friar did one hell of a number on you."

She didn't respond at all because there were only two things she could say: "How did you know?" or "Yeah, sure." And even if she could fool almost every one out there about her.. Entanglement with her boss, she knew Zay had to have been watching more closely than she had thought if he had noticed the way she had been walking. And just that thought made her hate that cow wrangler more than she already did.

[ Lucas' Point of View ]

Lucas had spent the past week running around from one spot to the other. Now that he was on the last appointment of the day, he finally let himself take a well deserved breath. He rested against the wall, inhaling deeply a few times before turning into the room. He saw the woman in the room and gave her a small smile before sitting down in the chair in his office. He opened the file as he rolled to the table, looking at the dog for a moment before he looked at the writing.

He remembered now, his lips pressing together for a few seconds before he glanced back up. "I know that today will be a very hard day on you, Miss Bradford."

Their eyes met and he could see the tears in hers, one slipping down her cheek as she couldn't speak. Her hand reached out and grabbed onto his, her eyes closing as she seemed to gather herself. "I know that you'll do your best to make sure he goes out in the possible; everyone talked to about you said that you always made their pet comfortable and happy before they were put down. I just ask that you do that for Molly."

The Texan nodded, pulling his hand away from hers and beginning to stroke Molly's fur, seeing that her tail still wagged, though it was slow. It made him sad for the owner, but he knew that keeping the dog alive, with all the organs shutting down due to age, would just make the dog in pain until it's death.

After a few strokes, he rolled to the lower cabinet with the euthanasia medication, pulling out a syringe and the bottle of medication. He pulled out ketamine and another syringe for the sedation, returning to his spot and preparing the sedative. He injected the needle through the injection point of the bottle, withdrawing the needed amount before moving the fur away from a muscle in the back of the dog's leg. "If you'll pet her, she'll be more calm than she would be ordinarily."

His concentration took him to the injection spot, meaning he had no idea if Missy had taken up on his suggestion. He didn't feel the dog fight him and he sighed softly when he withdrew the needle from the skin, knowing that the hardest part was what came next. He disposed of the syringe properly, his gaze finding Missy's as he moved to prepare the final injection.

"Does.. Will it hurt her to die?" she asked, her voice soft as she petted just behind the animal's ears.

Lucas thought for a moment, whether or not he should really get into the science of the situation, then decided against it. His voice lowered, like she were a doe that he was trying to get close to and stop from running. "It'll be just as easy as if she were falling asleep. She won't feel a thing."

This made the woman come to peace with the operation, her head nodding for when she was ready for it. He made it as quick as he could, seeing the final breath after a few minutes and exhaling a deep breath at the sight. "One of my nurses will talk to you about what you want to do with her, should you want to have her buried or other things." He helped the woman out into the hall and directed her towards one of the people that had been hired to ease the load on how busy things had become.

He looked down the other side of the hall, heading that way with a sigh for a small break. Putting down an animal was always hard for him; it was the opposite of what his goals of becoming a vet were. But nature took it's course and there was nothing he could do about it, other than ease an animal into death.

The moment he reached the counter, his hands held onto the edge, holding on until his hands knuckles were beginning to become white. He took a deep breath, collecting himself and looking up into his reflection in the glass. He hadn't noticed the man beside him too much, but a familiar voice pulled his attention from his thoughts.

"Friar?"

Lucas turned his head and saw a face he hadn't seen since high school. It was Charlie Gardener. His tongue suddenly caught a bitter taste, causing his expression to become one that showed his distaste for the figure before him. Remembering that he had a business and that he had to be polite, he extended a hand towards the man, nodding respectfully. "Charlie. I'm assuming you're here for Riley."

His voice was empty of emotion; he knew how the being in front of him worked. In fact, he'd lost a few girlfriends from the creep; girls wanted someone attentive, sensitive, and someone who paid attention. And after Charlie had given up on winning over Riley from her high school boyfriend, he'd directed his attention to every other girl that had a boyfriend that was falling behind in certain areas.

Unfortunately for the Texan, he just happened to be one of those boys, more caught up in friends and his grades than a girl he knew would move on at some point. Despite knowing all of that, it didn't stop his bitterness.

"I sent my dog in for a few shots, actually; I was actually talking to Miss Hart about how she likes working here." The bastard smiled at him, with that smug, knowing smile.

The blonde looked to the person behind the desk, seeing that it was Maya rather than Riley; his hands were about to break the counter at this rate. He took a deep breath, looking back to the boy that had proved to be a nuisance on more than one occasion for him, giving a forced smile. "Good for you. Glad to see you took the rejection well for once."

Charlie's expression changed for a split second, like he was about to punch the life out of someone, all before his appearance returned to a sweet kid that everyone would've defended the honor of. "Maya didn't reject me for lunch. I'm just having to wait for her."

Perhaps it was the temperature outside, maybe it was the way he didn't like the look on the creep's face, but Lucas excused himself, opening the door to the receptionist's office and pointed towards Maya, making a very deliberate head movement towards the hall. She sneered back at him, making it clear that she didn't want to go, only to get a low, "Now."

Maya rose from her seat, giving a sweet smile towards Charlie, all before excusing herself and going to the now crowded hallway, shoving the door between the two spaces open harshly. She stood before him, arms crossed over her chest and glaring up at him. Despite his obvious height advantage, she held a more intimidating presence for the moment. "Did you not learn your lesson the last time you messed with who I wanted to talk to?"

"Are you sure you weren't the one who learned the lesson?" he spat back, his gaze reflecting his annoyance to the apology he made, one he wished he could take back. "You don't even know him."

"So? How will I get to know him if you won't let me out of your sight?" she growled, her hand moving to his chest and giving him a shove. He could tell she hadn't expected him not to budge; her eyebrows pulling together in frustration.

He inhaled deeply, his eyes searching hers as he tried to bring his anger down. "If you'll just listen to me, I think you'll thank me for talking some sense into you."

"I don't need you to a damn thing for me. He's ten times nicer than Josh and most certainly nicer than you."

"He's a fucking creep! He stalked Riley all throughout high school, if that tells you anything about him," Lucas argued, getting the bitter taste in his mouth again for a whole new reason.

Maya laughed, shaking her head. "Whatever. I bet you and Riley were a thing in high school and because he's less of a douche bag than you, she picked him. I can't say I blame her either. He doesn't have 'Mr. Perfect' written on his forehead like some people I know."

He felt his chest rising up quickly, his eyes focused on hers with precision. "Would you just listen to me?" He could feel the way his blood was boiling, how she had been the one who could get him this riled up in a matter of seconds. "Just trust me; this guy isn't good news."

"Like you are," she snapped back, her eyes narrowing. "You're so good. You're the choir boy, the one that every father secretly wants their little girl to bring home." Her words weren't meant to be out of kindness. The curl of her lip and the way she practically spat the words out like they left a horrible taste in her mouth. Maya took a step closer and he could've sworn she had taken all the breath out of his lungs. "When are you ever going to drop the act?"

"The act?" His eyebrows pushed together in confusion. What act could she have been referring to?

She nodded, taking one final step closer, her blue eyes seeming to pierce his soul to look for a flaw, one thing to hold over him. "The, 'good guy who protects every single person he meets because that's just the guy he is.' When is that act ever going to just drop off from you, huh, Cowboy?"

"Right when your, 'I'll push everyone away and pretend I don't care about anything,' act rubs off on me. Since we spend so much time together, I'm surprised it hasn't already." His hands were shaking, stuffed in his pockets because he needed to keep her from seeing how much she was really getting to him.

Her lips turned into a smirk, her head tilting so that her curls moved to her back and other shoulder. He tried to keep his eyes on hers rather than the pale flesh that had been exposed to him, biting into his tongue. "I'm so sorry, Huckleberry. I just haven't had the lessons in Southern hospitality that you have; do teach me your ways."

"Stop."

"No, no, no, please. I want someone to tell me how someone else doesn't deserve to be with me because they didn't trade their best cow for me." She grabbed his shirt by the collar, pulling him down so that their faces were intensely close and he could see the fire practically burning through her. It almost burned for her to touch him. "Go on, tell me with that stupid accent of yours."

For a moment, it was just the sound of her breathing, the way it hit his cheek, like she wanted to emphasize just how angry she was. But now that he was close enough to finally look, he noticed that her eyes never took the hint. They were surprisingly soft, like she was holding something dear close rather than someone she wanted to strangle.

The more his gaze sifted through hers, the more her anger transferred over, slowly kindling the abandoned blaze, and making it even more impossible to look away. "Ranger Rick," she hissed, her hand curling into more fabric. "Earth to Ranger Rick."

Lucas couldn't have been more off his rocker than he was now. But then again, crazier things had happened between both of them. So with his shirt in her hand and his own hands moving to cradle her face, he kissed her, throwing every bit of himself into it; his lips were pressed to hers like he was trying to rebuke every desire for her in one kiss, all while trying to whisper that some part of him promised that he wasn't letting a single one of them go.