When I awoke, it was not to the usual alarm I'd set for myself, but to the unmistakable aroma of coffee overwhelming my senses. Sunlight poured through a small window in the wall, the bright rays kissing my face and illuminating the small studio room. I brought my arms over my head and stretched, letting my body soak in the sweet warmth of the sun. 

What am I doing?

I jolted up and pulled the curtains down, drowning the room in darkness. Placing one hand on my throbbing head, and another on the journal that I'd held to my chest in the night, I searched the room until I spotted Silas standing across the room, leaned against the wall. His left hand was wrapped around a cup of coffee and his right held up a comic book, in which he was deeply immersed.

He was dressed head to toe in clean clothing, his hair lacking any sign of grease and a backpack laid on the ground by his feet. Another cup of coffee sat next to where I slept.

With one hand on my throbbing head, I cursed myself for getting up so quickly.

"Good Morning." Silas smiled when he saw that I was awake. He folded his comic book in half and tucked it inside his backpack, walking towards me. In my haste to get up, I hadn't thought to throw my pants on before, causing his cheeks to burn a bright crimson at the sight of my bare legs.

"Where did you go?" I narrowed my eyes, swiping my pants off of the floor and stepping into them, followed by my jacket.

His smile faltered and he picked up the coffee that was on the ground, holding it out for me to take.

No matter how angry I wanted to be at Silas in that moment, my body betrayed my thoughts. I hadn't drank coffee in weeks, simply because I didn't want to spend money on it, but now, the cup in his hands was too tempting not to take. Annoyance still on my features, I accepted the cup holding its warmth close to my chest. The last time I drank coffee had been with my mother, and every time I was reminded of her, I felt vulnerable.

Sipping the bittersweet drink, I enjoyed the way that it spread warmth across my body, awakening my senses, and then snapped back to reality.

"I needed a shower." He shrugged, gulping when he saw that my eyes narrowed even more. "I needed some things from home and I didn't want to wake you..."

I was such a light sleeper that even the sound of the floor creaking would wake me up, so I was shocked and annoyed that I'd slept through him sneaking out.

"You're not allowed to go anywhere until I say so, got it?"

My words squeezed their way through my gritted teeth as I gathered up my belongings into my own backpack. 

"But I couldn't sleep, so—"

"Do you see where you're standing right now? Do you not remember what happened last night?"

I stepped closer to him with each word, my voice growing out of anger at his carelessness. If he did get hurt, his blood would be on my hands. And I couldn't stand the thought of that.

"This isn't a joke, Silas." I was standing close to him now, almost chest-to-chest, peering up at his unreadable face.

"If G.O.L.D. catches you again, they will kill you."

His eyebrows scrunched together, face contorting in confusion. He blinked down at me. 

"Gold?"

I sighed, and instead of answering his question, walked over to the door.

"Let's go."

I swung my backpack over my shoulder and opened the door, holding it for Silas to follow. When I took a step forward, my foot hit what seemed to be a paper envelope. I picked it up cautiously, breathing in relief when I saw the word "Callisto" written in the corner, along with a drawn smiley face. 

Oliver.

I carefully tore it open, my eyes widening at the sight of countless hundred dollar bills inside, along with a cellphone and a note on a yellow post-it.

"This will hold you off for a bit. Europa and I will keep in touch. Don't spend it all at once ;)"

We looked out for each other. That was the one thing in my life that remained constant, even in this mess.

"Holy shit." 

Silas breathed behind me, his wide eyes on the wad of cash in my hands. Ignoring his comment, I smiled, tucking the money into my backpack, and closing the door behind us. Where I was going to go—I wasn't sure. But before Silas was going to drive me insane, I owed him an explanation of sorts, and to do that, I decided to take him to the place where it all started.

»»————-　　————-««

After buying a few more pairs of clothes, bottles of water, breakfast, and sneaking into a gym to shower—well, only I did that one, we found ourselves upon a familiar hilltop. 

The space where Cherry's Diner used to be was almost barren. The ground was stained, residue of debris still visible in some spots. There was what seemed to be a small memorial where the entrance used to be, but we were too far distinguish it. 

I sat down onto the grass, only a few feet away from the spot upon which Silas and I laid not too long ago, smoke in ours lungs and our lives not too far from the brink of death. I could see recognition in his eyes as he slowly sat down beside me.

"Wow," he breathed, scanning the field below us. Cherry's was a small diner in a strip of four restaurants. The other ones were buzzing with people, the parking lot nearby full of cars. We were in a more rural part of the state. The city lights and honking horns were replaced by farmlands and the sound of laughter. The hill we sat on gave us a clear view of the strip, as well as miles beyond. 

We sat in silence, which was the perfect opportunity for me to collect my thoughts. 

I reached into my backpack and pulled out my mother's journal, placing it onto Silas's lap. He remained quiet, taking it into his hands, waiting for me to speak. To explain to him why his life was in danger. And why I had to protect him.

"I am only going to tell you what you need to know. It's safer for you that way."

He nodded, keeping his distant eyes on the journal in his hands. His fingers played with its leather surface and frayed corners.

"G.O.L.D. is an espionage agency. They're looking for me because I have that." I nodded over to  the journal in his hands, which then became still.

"It has information that..." This was more difficult that it had ever seemed. I knew that Silas deserved an explanation. He needed to know what his life had turned into, but I found myself not wanting to expose who I really was to him. 

"Let's just say: It has information that can take down a lot of bad guys. And save a lot of good ones."

Silas remained still, quiet, listening keenly to every word.

"It was my mother's."

I imagined what Mom would have thought of this. She would have been angry with me for endangering him, that's for sure, but I couldn't help think she'd also find Silas's company slightly humorous.

"Rose?"

Silas asked, his finger tracing the small flower in the journal. I opened my mouth to speak, to ask him how he knew, but he was quicker.

"I'm not as dumb as you think."

I nodded, remembering that I'd told him my name was Rose as well. Maybe he wasn't as clueless as I'd thought. Or hoped.

"My mother was an agent, and so am—was I. Since birth."

He shifted next to me, his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

"You're a spy? That's so fucking cool—"

Realizing that his voice was a little loud for comfort and that that probably wasn't the appropriate reaction, he mouthed a "sorry" and nodded for me to continue.

"When Mother found out that G.O.L.D. was doing things... terrible things and using us as pawns to do them, she rebelled."

The words sounded strange coming from my mouth. It felt like these events took place years ago, not within the past month. I couldn't help but feel like I was telling someone else's story. Not mine.

"We rebelled. The people that took you... they are the people who are looking for this journal. And me."

Silas shook his head in confusion, trying to process my words.

"What do you they want from you?"

Shaking my head slowly, I took a deep breath, realizing that I myself didn't know the answer to his question.

"I'm not sure. But I have to do what's written in this journal."

It dawned on me that I still wasn't aware of what exactly my mother's instructions to me were. I'd been so busy trying to surivive that I still hadn't read the pages my mother entrusted me with. Either that, or a small part of me was too scared to learn the horrors they held.

"For your mother."

When I looked up at Silas, his smile was soft, caring. He vocalized the thought of mine that I kept to myself, in fear that he wouldn't understand.

"For my mother."

I looked at his swollen cheek, bent glasses, and bruised arms. Whereas I sat more in the shade, he was right underneath the sun, but he didn't seem to mind it.

"I'm sorry that they hurt you."

He shrugged, letting out a laugh. His eyes looked reminiscent.

"I've been hurt worse."

A part of me wanted to ask him what he meant, but I didn't. I didn't want to learn more about his life, because it made me feel guilty for taking it away from him.

"So what do we do next?" He asked, his expression serious. He sat up straight, pushing his glasses up.

"We don't do anything. I made a phone call this morning. There's a woman who can keep you safe until this dies down."

Would it ever "die down?"

He shook his head vigorously, seeming offended by my words.

"I can help!"

"Can you fight?"

"No, but—"

"Hack?"

"Well, just let me—"

"Kill?"

He shook his head, curls bouncing side to side.

"Then you are of no use to me."

He rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed with me. It was the other way around for once.

"Then can I go back home?"

I shook my head.

"What am I supposed to do?"

That didn't concern me, so I shrugged.

"Read those comic books of yours until I take you to her place tonight, and after that, you can go back to your bookstore and your classes."

Silas seemed disappointed, but not defeated. He sat back, huffing in frustration, before opening the journal in front of him.

"I'm guessing these pages aren't actually blank..."

I shook my head.

"Now that is more information than what you need to know."

He laughed, the sound echoing through the fields. The wind made his curls bounce up and down, and the dimple in his cheek was as prominent as ever.

"Can I ask you something?"

His eyes met mine. Piercing.

I nodded slowly. Cautiously.

"That night at Cherry's... you weren't trying to kill yourself, were you?"

His eyes were full of a sadness I'd only seen the first time I met him. His lips were curved downwards slightly, concern dripping from his voice. I almost jumped when I felt him place his hand on mine.

I hadn't meant to retract it so forcefully; it was instinct. I awkwardly folded my arms across my chest, and for some reason, I shook my head no.

"I wasn't."

Why I lied to him—I don't think I'll ever be able to explain. Something about the way he sighed in relief, though, his body relaxing, eyes content, made me feel like I'd said the right thing.

Both of us jumped when a ringtone sounded from my backpack; I'd forgotten about the phone that Oliver had left me.

Something in the likes of disappointment crossed Silas's eyes as he watched me dig out the device.

It was a text.

"Jupiter. Tonight. 8 p.m."

It was beginning. We'd agreed that we couldn't just keep hiding from our problems. We were going to take G.O.L.D. down from its core, and use my mother's instructions to do it.

How Maya, Oliver and I would approach the journal, I had no idea.

But for now, I wanted to get Silas squared away.

I jumped to my feet, waiting for him to follow.

"Where are we going?" He asked, handing the journal back to me and then shoving his hands into his pockets.

"You're going to the safehouse."

Silas jumped in front of me, desperate. He held his hands out in front of his chest defensively, noting my threatening glare.

"Let me help, I can—"

"No."

"I won't bother you, I promise."

Acting like I was considering his request, I cocked my head to the side. Then, stepping closer to him, I grinded my teeth.

"No. Let's go."

Silas sighed in exasperation, rubbing his eyes from underneath his glasses. He trudged to the other side of the car, got in, and slammed the door shut.

Julia Knight was skilled in temporary witness protection, and most importantly, she was someone that I trusted. And for whatever reason that I myself could not explain, I needed someone that I trusted to protect Silas.  

(A/N)

Which actors can you imagine playing these characters? I'm trying to choose some so that I can add some media... let me know if you have any ideas!

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Thank you for reading!