Three years ago, I was on an undercover mission with the Venus sector. None of those in my sector knew of my involvement in Mission Magna, not even Oliver and Maya. After Fenner, the unspoken leader of Venus, died on the field, they recruited me for a vital negotiation with Arc, who held one of our Executives hostage. 

The deal itself took place at an old parking garage that was set to be demolished, and now, I was driving past the site. The garage was no longer there, but the memories themselves were vivid in my mind. That was my life for as long as I could remember. I used to have an unquestionable purpose. Now that I wasn't being assigned to missions and being told what to do, my sense of freedom began to grow. The sensation, although terrifying, was also exhilarating.

For twenty years, G.O.L.D. owned me. Now, I was free.

"You know you're going ten miles over the speed limit?"

Silas's irritating voice pierced my thoughts. His eyes were wide and focused on my speedometer, his hands clinging to his seat as if we'd crash any second.

Rolling my eyes, I put more pressure on the gas pedal, resulting in a small whimper from him. After that, he remained silent for a few moments, his hands continuously fidgeting with the radio, changing stations every two seconds.

I decided to let him be. Besides, I wouldn't be with him much longer. Julia lived close to the university that Silas attended, which was perfect for him. How he'd explain his absence to his professors and family members, I didn't exactly know. But that was his problem. I had too many of my own.

"How long do I have to stay with this woman?"

He asked, looking out of the window, deep in thought. I could imagine how strange all of this was for him. What he experienced in the past couple of days was beyond anything he could explain to anyone, but a part of me was impressed with the way that he handled everything. It could have been much, much worse.

"As long as she says. She knows what she's doing."

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence. It's funny how someone can be a part of your story for only a few days. Silas was not someone I'd known for too long, yet he was essential to my life and in a way, my destiny. The few days spent with him were the weirdest I'd ever had. And even though he was annoying, nerdy, and quite nosy, I realized that there was a possibility I'd feel his absence. But I ignored those thoughts, pushing them far, far to the back of my mind.

Once we reached Julia's house, I stopped the car, feeling awkwardness settle over the atmosphere. Silas cleared his throat, his eyes meeting mine. He rummaged through his backpack for something, and finally pulled out a comic book.

"Uh—um, this is for you."

His smile was sheepish as he extended the book towards me. I took it cautiously, unaware of the appropriate response. Or why he was even giving it to me.

"The main character reminds me of you. And I think you might like it."

He seemed so confident about the fact that I'd enjoy it, the expression on his face almost sullen.

I blinked, running my hands over the plastic cover.

"The Adventures of Agent Silver: 1st Edition"

Underneath the title was a picture of a girl coated in leather, holding a gun by her side, looking over her shoulder at what seemed to be a burning city. Her eyes were a light brown, hair pulled up into a bun.

Not being able to decipher the strange feeling in my chest, I managed a smile. I was never comfortable with sentimental interactions, and I'd really only known Silas for less than a week. But the gesture was sweet. 

We stepped out of the car and gathered his belongings before knocking on Julia's door, which swung open within seconds. She'd aged since the last time I'd seen her. Her black hair was laced with streaks of gray and there were wrinkled by the corners of her brown eyes, but when she brought me in for a hug, it was obvious that her body's strength had not diminished with time. She looked sweet as an angel, but she was not one to be reckoned with. 

"Oh you've grown to look just like your Mother."

Her voice held traces of her British accent as she observed my face, her hands on either side of my head as she smiled at me, a melancholy look in her eyes. Seeing her brought about wave after wave of nostalgia. She was not a member of G.O.L.D., but a friend of my mother's since as long as I could remember. And she specialized in civilian safety. Her seemingly normal house was built with countless security features and alarms. 

"And this must be Silas."

She looked over at where he stood, rubbing the back of his neck, obviously uncomfortable with the interaction. But slowly, a smile did conquer his lips. I knew he couldn't help it. It was something about Julia that was so maternal and welcoming. 

We stepped into her home, the aroma of cookies lingering in the air. The place was pristine, with books upon books scattered all over the place, and flowers on each table.

"Have a seat," she urged, rushing us over to the couches. I complied, but Silas remained standing. 

He cleared his throat before speaking softly.

"Um, where is the restroom?" he asked, his cheeks reddening as he avoided both of our gazes. Julia directed him down the hall, and I heard their hushed voices as they discussed something. I wondered what they were talking about, but didn't give it much thought. When Julia returned, her face looked conflicted, but only for a few seconds.

She came and sat down next to me. Taking both of my hands in hers, she smiled.

"How are you holding up?"

I wanted to say that I was fine, but I wasn't. I was known for being strong. Unbreakable. But since the day Mother died, I wasn't myself. Vulnerability did not suit me well, and I could tell that Julia sensed it, which is why she didn't make me answer the question.

"You are not weak for missing her. You're just human, don't ever fight that."

Her eyes searched mine for answers that I could not offer her, but I squeezed her hands, nodding my head. Her sincere words warmed my heart, and I felt like that was what I needed to hear. Even though they didn't fix what was broken inside of me, they helped. And any sort of help was something I appreciated.

"Thank you for doing this."

I'd explained to Julia over the phone how Silas had been kidnapped by Clinton. Although I spared a lot of the details, I told her enough for her to know that his life was in serious danger. And he needed her help.

She nodded, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"He's important to you, isn't he?" 

I didn't know what drove her to ask that question, but it made my stomach churn. I felt sick. Was Silas important to me? He couldn't be. I couldn't allow someone like him to have any importance in my life—that was weakness. It was against everything I'd been taught. But I knew that Julia had a point... if I brought him to her, it meant that I cared for his safety. I couldn't stand the thought of it. Maybe that's the reason that I stood up abruptly.

I realized that he was still in the restroom. And this was the perfect chance to leave without having to say goodbye. I brought Julia in for a hug, ignoring her startled expression.

"I have somewhere to be," I explained, "But I'll check in tonight. Thank you again."

She was still confused, but she nodded, watching me almost stumble out of the door and into my car. I didn't know if I'd done the right thing leaving him like that, but it was for the best. Sitting down in the car, I picked up the comic book that Silas gave me. For a few minutes, I sat there, staring at the book, ignoring any emotion that dared to surface. I threw the book into the dashboard and gripped the steering wheel, breathing slowly and deeply. 

No more Silas. He was going to return to his normal life, and I was going to return to mine. What we had was barely a friendship, but his presence in my life did mean something. I could never explain it, not even to myself.

With one last look at the house, I drove away from Silas for what I hoped to be forever. 

»»————-　　————-««

When I pulled up to Falls Forest, my senses became heightened. I had to be careful here, simply because it was often frequented by agents other than those of Jupiter. We all had our secrets and how many of them hid in this very forest, I couldn't imagine.

As I trekked past trees upon trees, even though I tried to ignore it, Silas was constantly nagging the back of my mind. Even when he wasn't in my presence, he was annoying me. I wondered if he'd return to his classes next week, or even fail some of them because of how often he was absent. Or if he'd remember me years down the road.

The sound of a twig snapping snatched me from my thoughts, and my body stiffened. I turned around, searching for any signs of an animal or a person. I kept walking, at a faster pace now, totally alert of my surroundings. 

Leaves rustled. There was no wind. At this point, if someone was still behind me, it wasn't a coincidence. The forest was too vast for us to be headed down the exact same path.

I ran to the closest tree that seemed the easiest to climb and grabbed onto the rough wood, using its sturdy branches to hoist myself up to a reasonable height. I perched on top of one of the branches, using the large leaves to conceal myself from the West. The sound of twigs snapping and footsteps grew closer and closer until a figure appeared, dressed in all black, the frame seeming to be of a man's. A hood was draped over his head as he walked rather clumsily, holding onto branches for support.

The last traces of sunlight were fading from the sky, and soon darkness would settle over the night. I couldn't take any chances with being followed—even if it was just by a person lost in the woods. With one hand on my gun, I leaned down further onto the branch, waiting until the person was directly below me to jump off, and land right on top of him. 

I tried to keep my weight light as I latched onto his body from the back. His hood was concealing his face. He tried to scream, but I muffled it with my hand, pushing him to the ground in the process. He didn't fight back. Instead, he curled up in pain as I straddled him, pinning his arms to the ground with my knees. 

Why wasn't he resisting?

"I'm going to remove my hand. Don't make a sound."

He nodded, his face still concealed by the over-sized hood. I took my hand off of his lips, and he complied. His lips were pursed, and the top half of his face still unseen.

"Why are you following me?" I sneered as I forcefully removed the hood from his head.

A familiar pair of emerald eyes stared back at me, wide with fear.

I blinked.

Silas?

Taken aback, I stood up off of him, offering him a hand. The anger rising in my blood was suppressed with confusion.

He took my hand, struggling to stand up. Brushing off his clothes, he smiled cheekily.

"Surprise," he said weakly, his lips twitching when he realized that I was not, in any way, happy to see him. 

So many questions riddled my mind as I charged towards him, scrunching his collar with one hand and pinning him against the tree behind him.

"Are you mad?"

My words were laced with anger, heart pounding in my chest. How he had managed to leave Julia's house and somehow follow me all the way to Falls Forest was beyond me. And a little insulting. But the fact that he thought it was safe to do so was even more infuriating. 

"You wouldn't listen to me," he gushed, his eyebrows scrunched, voice desperate. He placed his hands on mine, trying to pry them from his neck. I guess my grip was a bit tight, so I loosened it, but my rage failed to diminish. 

"So you decided to follow me? How did you even get here?"

I would have noticed if a car or a bicycle had followed me all the way here, but there was no one behind me at all. 

He blinked hard, but there were no traces of regret on his face. Instead, he looked a little proud of himself.

"I was in the trunk. Before we left, I rewired some circuits in the back and there was a latch so that I could get out—"

"How dare you, Silas?"

I stumbled back and he finally breathed, fixing his collar. His change of clothes I supposed was accomplished by the clothes in his backpack. 

He remained quiet, his eyes darting around the forest, looking at anyone but me.

"Do you know how dangerous it is here? And how did Julia even let you leave, and when did you—"

This time, he interrupted me. 

"Zara!"

Taken aback, I stopped talking.

"Can you just stop?" I was shocked by the volume of his voice as he walked closer to me, running his hand through his hair. "You don't have a choice now. Either take me with you or leave me here, but stop treating me like I'm stupid and helpless."

My ears buzzing with anger, I took a few deep breaths, overwhelmed by his outburst. I'd never seen him so... confrontational. And although I was annoyed, confused, and even a bit insulted, a small part of me admired his confidence. 

I swiped his backpack off of where it had fallen on the floor and threw it at his chest. He caught it, swinging it around his shoulders.

"It's getting dark," I uttered through gritted teeth, "Don't fall behind."

My words were cold and emotionless as I walked past him, forcefully brushing against his shoulder, and down the trail. My heart was beating fast, unknown emotions settling over my mind. He didn't realize what he was getting himself into, and how many problems he was creating for me. 

I didn't know how Silas was going to fit into any of this, but I had to figure it out soon. I couldn't waste any more time being concerned with him when there were far more important matters at hand. Why he chose to stay by my side was a puzzle to me. Just like he was. 

Silas Bridges was an enigma who had walked into my life and left me in wonderment, something that no one was ever allowed to do. 

How he managed to do it—I had no idea.

(A/N)

wOOHOO I hope you enjoyed this one! It was actually fun to write. As always please do VOTE if you liked it! I really appreciate those of you who do and those that read my book, it really does mean the world to me.

Thank you and until next time, bye!