"Blu," Harper's voice was like a light in the dark, giving hope to my restless mind. "Are you awake?"

We were lying side by side in two cots in a small cabin in the words. It was quite cozy actually, with real live electricity, plumbing, and even a shower!

Finn had clothes for us that fit suspiciously well, and a hot shower did us both a lot of good.

"Yes," I whispered back. "I can't fall asleep."

"I was just thinking," she laughed a bit and I smiled in the dark at the sound. "About the time we climbed the old apple tree with Jax and you fell out."

"Hey!" I nudged her gently in mock anger. "That wasn't funny. It hurt!"

"You should have seen your face," she went on, her tone implying a grin on her face. "It was priceless."

"Not as priceless as when you ripped your shirt on that fence," I retorted. "I don't know why you didn't just fly over it."

"Flying is a lot harder than you think," she said seriously, even though I was sure she knew I was joking. "Floating is much much easier."

A strange pang of protection suddenly washed over me and I moved a bit closer to her, sighing quietly. "I guess flying away from your problems isn't the easy way out then."

Somehow, Harper's hand found mine under the blanket and I pressed it to my heart.

"I can feel your heartbeat," she said softly. "Like our old signal."

Harper and I had devised a signal system when we were around 12, which was in a a sense our own personal language. It was a bit like sign language but with a wider range of motions, and we used it quite often for about three years. The particular sign she was mentioning was for always together, which involved both of us taking each other's hand and pressing it to our hearts so we could feel the heartbeat.

I gave her my other hand and she placed in on her chest, and after a few seconds I felt the familiar rhythm flow between us, synching us together.

"I'm glad you're here with me Blu," Harper said. "I miss Jax though."

Jax was our third wheel, so to speak. We met him when we were about 8 years old. At first he was my arch nemesis, but through some odd misadventures he became our close friend. That year, however, his father sent him abroad as an exchange student to England, so we rarely saw him.

"Me too," I sighed. "Hopefully he'll have a break soon."

"Well school is nearly out," Harper said. "Its May, so maybe he'll come back for the summer."

It was late Saturday night, and I knew we had to get home before the weekend was over. How we were going to make it home on time I had no idea, and what would our parents think? To be honest, they probably wouldn't be that worried. Today would only be the second night we were gone, so my mother would probably think I was still at Harper's, while Patsy would assume Harper was at my house.

Tomorrow though, we both always went to church so I knew they'd be in a panic if we didn't show. I sighed, my eyelids growing heavy, and soon darkness descended over me like a thick blanket.

• ⑊ •

I woke from the sun shining on my face. I looked around to Harper at the other end of the room. She was a restless sleeper, although she slept surprisingly hard.

The light reflected off of her silver hair, creating a halo like effect around her head. Harper muttered a bit and rubbed her eyes groggily, then opened then in surprise.

"Good morning," I grinned.

"Hey Blu," she mumbled, running her face with her hands. "How'd I get all the way over here?"

"I don't know Harps," I laughed.

She rolled away and stretched, then began neatly folding her blanket while I still lay in thought, staring up at the textured ceiling.

"Rise and shi-" Finn knocked loudly and then strode purposefully in without waiting for an answer. "Oh, you're already awake."

Harper rolled her eyes."Yeah, you would have known that if you'd have waited for an answer."

"Well there's more than one way to find out," Finn replied, his businesslike tone ending the small banter. "Now we have to get you home, but we've also got to figure out a way to protect you from Wright."

I nodded in agreement while Harper headed to the small bathroom. "You're absolutely right. How far away are we from Newport?"

"About two hours," Finn answered quickly. "It shouldn't take long."

"Alright." I began bundling up my clothes and loading my things into Finn's snazzy green jeep, then took my turn into the bathroom while Harper loaded her things. About ten minutes later we were strapped in and ready to go, with Harper and I in the backseat.

Finn smirked at us. "Ready for this?" He flipped a switch, which didn't seem to do anything at first.

"Totally spectacular," Harper said dryly. "Most amazing thing I've ever seen."

"That's because you can't see it," he winked. "Step outside."

Still giving him a weird look, Harper clambered out and shut the door. She was gone few moments before returning with a strange expression on her face.

"What'd you find out?" Finn asked knowingly.

"I won't spoil it for him," there was a definite twinkle in Harper's eye as she nudged me. "Go look for yourself."

I did look, and what I found was indeed what Finn told us. The jeep must have had some kind of advanced cloaking device, because it was very nearly invisible to the human eye unless I was a foot away.

"That's amazing!" I exclaimed as I rebuckled. "But isn't it dangerous to drive when no one can see you?"

Finn shook his head. "This equipment is top of the line. Not even Wright has got this kind of tech yet, and he's pretty advanced. Also let's just say I'm a good driver."

That satisfied us, so for an hour or so Harper and I were mostly silent, thinking about all the crazy events that had happened in the past few days.

"We're nearly there," Finn called back and then cranked up his country music a bit louder in the front.

Harper stretched a bit, but then laid her head on my shoulder and nestled it down comfortably. After a moment I laid my head on hers, deciding I wouldn't be a coward any longer.

The sights were soon familiar, and I realized we were driving down the dirt roads towards home. I smiled at the sights, feeling the fluttering sensation in my chest settle a bit with the familiarity.

Home. The word had never sounded so lovely. To sleep in my own bed, be dressed in my own clothes, attack the mountain of homework I had, see my family....

We pulled up and Finn motioned for us to get out, discreetly slipping me a card as I passed. He smiled knowingly and waved farewell, then the door shut and he was swallowed into nothingness.

I turned to look for Harper, but she was already gone, running straight for her house. I walked inside slowly, wearily, looking for a moment at my frozen family. They stared at me and then at the road, empty of any traffic.

"Was it my imagination," my father began. "Or did you just appear out of the air?"

"It wasn't your imagination," I sighed. "We have a lot to discuss."

• ⑊ •

Late that night I lay in bed, tossing and turning but somehow finding every position even more uncomfortable than the last. I was glad to be here, but the events of the weekend weighed on my mind. Harper was in danger. I knew that. But how could I protect her, weak as I was?

Somehow I managed to drift off on the midst of my troubling thoughts, and woke in the morning to my alarm. I rubbed my eyes and looked for a moment at the sunset, then sighed and began working at my pile of homework.

School that day was torture. I was so jumpy...so tense even. I was even very worried about Harper, that she might have kidnapped again and I wasn't there to be with her.

Finally the bell rang and I left in record time, trying not to speed while driving home. Her mansion looped the same, but the beautiful sunshine was almost ominous, like everything shouldn't be alright.

I climbed into her window after checking in at my house, surprised to find it open.

"I needed some air," Harper said cheerfully when I asked. "You know how stuffy it gets in here."

I laughed with her, but it was a nervous laugh. We both weren't used to being safe yet.

"Blu," her face suddenly grew serious without warning. "I'm sorry but can't be with me anymore. We can't be together anymore...not now. You have to leave."

A/N:
Ooh what is Harper up to?

Please don't point out the typos in this chapter, I know they're there. I haven't proofread this so it might be a bit rough...I had a rough day.
Update 5/12/17: I think I've fixed most of the typos and some grammar issues. Thanks for your patience!

We were at the vet with my kitten who has been diagnosed with a respitory infection and has to be treated four-six times a day, plus I had gymnastics, so sorry for the late hour.

Thanks for reading!

Next Update: May 18, 2017