"Amber!" I stopped and turned around to identify the voice. It was Ross and Riker with the rest of the group in the car. How did they find me so quickly?

"Go away," I groaned, attempting to climb back into the truck.

"Stop!" They both jumped out of the car and ran up to me. I didn't want them here, I didn't want to be here.

"Or we going or what?" The man offered me a hand up.

"No, now get out of here before we call the cops!" Ross growled with anguish, slamming the truck's door. I jumped slightly. Why was he like this now? Why didn't he fight for me earlier? The man sped off and converged into traffic. Missed opportunity.

"What'd you do that for?" Anger scraping my throat.

Riker fumbled with his words, "For you... you were making a mistake." No. It was a mistake trusting them. He was back to his old self again, it was charming, but I couldn't forget the words he had said. I saw his eyes wander, examining the trails of dried tears on my face.

"So what?" I shouted, a crack in my voice. "You both thought you could save me? Like suddenly I needed a pair of superheroes to come rescue me? I would have been fine on my own." I turned to leave.

Ross caught my wrist, "No." His face was rigid and narrowed. Although he stood so close to me, he was so far away. I drew a deep breath in, I wanted to protest, but his hard stare wouldn't let me. I wanted him to tell me every brutal, harsh word on his mind, so I could finally break off. But I couldn't break it off. While he sharply stared me down, I still wanted to sip out of his whiskey eyes, showered in the sunlight. I still wanted to kiss his worry lines away. I wanted him to say my name again, send chills down my spine. What is wrong with me?

"You can't save me, I'm too far gone." The words fell from my mouth like leaves of gold. I hadn't meant to say anything, but it was too late.

Ross's eyes softened, but his grip tightened on my wrist. "Maybe you're the superhero of this story. Maybe we're the ones who needed saving." It knocked every wisp of air from my lungs. I stood there struggling to inhale, exhale, perform the common task of breathing. Me? I had never experienced this shock before, the wind was knocked out of me. I tried to remember how to breath, unable to profess how I was feeling, it quaked me to my skull. Why was I so affected by this? Was it Ross? Was it possible that no matter what he did, he managed to take my breath away? Or was it that I had never felt like the protagonist of anyone's story-- and definitely not a hero. Ross almost smiled, cracking into two, his blood no longer ran cold.

"He's right," Riker was taken aback too. "We need you. I need you. Now that I--we have you, we can't lose you. I don't know what's gonna happen next, but we'll survive it, we have to." My anger had completely subsided, I knew he was right. Riker always could play me like a flute, and hit every note perfectly. I needed them as much as they needed me. I had thought that I could go back, start over, but I had done enough running. Too much had happened here, I was here to stay.

"Plus, I don't think Rocky could handle Serenity without a little back up," I had to glance back at the car, Serenity's head rested on Rocky's shoulder, she had a fire in her eyes from the topic that had sprung off her lip. Riker laughed at his joke, the fever pitch had echoed in my ear. It instantly cleared the tension. His chuckle was slow and warm, like honey. I wanted to know if I had caught my lips on his, if it would taste as sweet.

Ross tugged at me, as a silent way of saying 'let's go home.' This was my home, and I couldn't leave. I wouldn't. No matter what came my way, I was here to stay. I hopped in the car, and was welcomed by the family. My family.

As we arrived at the Lynch's, I was heavily worn out. Falling in love and crying was exhilarating and exhausting. Wait did I just say the 'L word'? It must have just been a slip of the mind. My brain was too overworked to over analyze anyway.

As soon as we walked in the front door Ryland suggested something, "Hey guys, while the beach was fun and all, the day's not over yet. What do you say we have a 'Going Away Barbecue' for the girls?"

"Ry, they're not going far, they're going back to their apartment. But that does sound like a lot of fun!" Rydel gleamed with excitement, it shone through her like sunlight in a colorful glass window of a church.

Serenity was psyched for it as well, "Well I don't think that'll be a problem seeing that I'll be coming here more often." Her finger traced along Rocky's pectoral muscles through his thin shirt.
"Speaking of which," her eyes radiated as they looked up at Rocky, "Can I tell them?" She lowered her voice slightly. He nodded, she squeezed his arm tightly and squealed, "Rocky and I are officially dating! We haven't decided when to tell the fans, but I hope they can accept me." She was deliriously happy, giddy even. I was jealous of the way she felt, so sure of her happiness, no mundane worries clouded her brain. Her mind was a beautiful butterfly, and it fluttered and flitted around the room. That tingly feeling in her stomach, looked like it would never go away.

When the barbecue was set up, I felt ecstatic that they decided to have it on the roof. That same roof that made me feel alive. I climbed the steps, eager to plant myself on the edge and just breathe, but when I got there, Ross was already perched on the ledge.

I sat beside him, the wind running its icy fingers through my hair. I grinned through tantalizing lips. This is where I wanted to be. I closed my eyes tightly and breathed in the city. It was just me, the wind, and the lights of the buildings that appeared to be dancing in the faint sunlight. The sun was coming down, I didn't have to open my eyes to feel the world dipped in orange paint. It's bright limbs stretching over the tops of the city, bordering it like a painting. It dyed them a light amber, the color was fresh enough to harvest from the trees.

"It's --" Ross spoke, I opened my eyes, his fixed on the horizon, his face was warm with the last blink of the sun as fine as a needle, aglow before twilight would beckon for the moon. His lips were a soft crinkle of a smile for only a moment, just enough time to show the enjoyment of his thoughts, whatever he was thinking of. I stay quiet, I wanted him to stay lost in the moment a little longer. "It's incredible up here."

I peered at my dangling feet, the roof sloped suddenly away, and I imagined leaping off,the wings of an eagle taking flight, soaring over the city, resting in the setting sun along the painted landscape. I could be the ablaze in the enormous sky, a firefly blip in time. Then when the moon woke up, the stars would guide me back, flying through obsidian. Dodging darkness's dark waves until the reflections on the glass of each building would sparkle, bright embers underneath a star bitten sky. The blinking lights of the city would direct me here, where I could do it over again the next day. "It really is."

He breathed in, "and tomorrow we can do it again." His eyes were constant on the already dark sky. An airplane flew overhead, he followed it with it with his eyes, taking mental notes. He picked himself up and joined the rest of the barbecue.

"Do it again." I grinned shyly to myself.

Author's Note: I think I'm going to do author's notes at the beginning or end of each chapter because I'd like to know your thoughts in the comments! My question for you is : Are you Team Riker or Ross?