I couldn't keep quiet later on when Archer said the following words, "I have to get ready for my date".

We had just arrived at the apartment from the stadium. We hadn't talked at all in the car. I couldn't tell if it was because of fear or his anger towards me. I didn't prod, I already felt guilty for putting him in danger.

It turned out the former wasn't the reason, because he wouldn't have said what he said if he was scared. I thought his statement was ridiculous and I told him so.

"Are you crazy? You are seriously going on your date?" I yelled.

"Yes", he said curtly as he walked towards the bathroom.

"Archer, your freaking life is in danger and you are thinking of going out with that idiot?" I said following him.

"He's not an idiot", he said. "Stop right where you are", he said as he entered the bathroom. "I'm not cancelling", he informed me assuredly moments before he closed the door on me.

I banged on the door. "I think you are crazy!"

"Shut the hell up Felix!" he shouted. I heard water running.

I sighed. He was deliberately trying to wind me up, right? There was no way he'd carry through with his plan. I couldn't let him go on a date, for more reasons than one. I had to do something to prevent him from leaving. If the Vasiliev brothers didn't know where he was, they were searching.

They were threatening me with hurting him and I had no doubt they would do it. They'd found my weakest spot.

Archer was stubborn. If I did something to physically stop him from leaving he would get angrier. There was no telling what he would do. I couldn't stop him from leaving so all that was left was to follow him inconspicuously. But for that I needed to know where he was at all times. Luckily for him and his idiocy, I travelled prepared. I inserted a tracking chip on his cell phone, which he'd left on the kitchen counter.

Tracking him wasn't enough. It wouldn't alert me to trouble immediately. I needed something that would tell me he was in trouble without him calling me. I had the right gadget handy; I just needed to know what he was wearing to the date so I could place it on the right spot. If it worked as it was designed to, I would hear his conversations through a small pod inserted in my ear.

I tiptoed to his bedroom. It was much smaller than his room at his house, but it seemed spacious enough. He had a bed, a closet, a desk and several drawers in there. There were books at his desk and his laptop. I opened the laptop slowly and was greeted by a face. Dark eyes stared back at me. He'd closed his laptop on a picture of...me. That meant he'd been looking at me. He hadn't deleted it like he said he did.

The picture was in black and white. I could still remember the day he'd taken it. We'd both been jogging before I faked breathing difficulties to be close to him. It was the first time he'd said something to me.

I looked at the name at the top.

"StrangerPark19".

I grinned to myself. We'd gone from strangers to temporary flatmates in a short time. Many things had happened in-between.

I closed the laptop slowly and switched on the study lamp. It wasn't too bright, but cast some light over the bed. I spotted an outfit on the bed with a note. I picked up the note and read it.

"Hey superstar. I know you'll dodge me after the game, so I thought I'd come here and help you pick an outfit. Got here in time too, Alex was about to leave. Smart, huh? Anyway, I think you'll turn heads in this outfit. Damian will definitely be bowled over. Stella".

The outfit consisted of a pair of beige chinos, a light blue casual shirt and blue cardigan. It was a simple outfit, but I was impressed. Damian – if he was right in his head – was going to be bowled over.

I hoped Archer wore the outfit as I bugged his cardigan. I needed to know what went on on that date for his safety. I put the cardigan and the note where I found them.

I switched off the lamp and exited the room. Archer was still not done. I made myself comfortable on the couch. Minutes went by before I heard the bathroom door open. Some more minutes went by before Archer emerged. He was wearing the outfit Stella picked for him. I didn't really know his friends but I liked Stella already.

"You took quite some time. Having second thoughts?" I said.

"I think I told you not to talk to me", he said.

"You don't have to go. You can cancel. He will understand", I said as a desperate attempt to make him stay.

"And what the hell do I say? That I am in danger of being kidnapped, tortured and killed by my..." he said and stopped. He seemed unable to continue after the word 'my'.

"Tell him that if you have to!" I said.

"Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?"

"If it saves your life I don't care!" I shouted.

"Well it's not your decision Felix! I am not cancelling on him after I stood him up", he said huffing.

"So this is about you not wanting to cancel? You think it makes you equivalent to Len, don't you?" I said, realizing something.

"No!" he yelled. "It's because I want to go on this date. I want to have a life that doesn't consist of me being your little pet!"

"Archer you..." I started but he cut in.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up. I'm going. Feel free to eat whatever you want and don't set your stinky feet in my room", he said.

He was out the door before I could say anything. How could he think he was my pet? I didn't for a second think of him as a thing. I didn't know what to think of his outburst and it was the least of my priorities. It wouldn't matter if he was dead.

I activated the bug and the tracker on his phone. I waited a few seconds before I could see where he was and hear what he was hearing. I followed him out the door shortly, positive that he wouldn't spot me.

==

~Archer~

Felix made me mad. He made me so mad I wanted to cut off his head. How dare he tell me what to do? I could do whatever I wanted. No one died and made him my controller. I would not listen to him, even if it meant dying!

I sighed. I was lying to myself. The massage he got scared me. Someone had seen us together and made me their target. They thought he cared enough to kill for me. I knew he cared about me but I didn't want him to care. His "care" was misleading me and I didn't like it. It made me vulnerable to his words; to his looks...it was too much having him in my apartment. I had to get out of there.

I'd been looking forward to seeing him I thought I could handle my emotions. I'd done so until that message, and then I just got angry. The truth is I wasn't angry at him, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

Going out was rebellion. I hoped nothing bad happened and I shoved that at the back of my mind when I spotted Damian walking towards me. He was supposed to come get me from the apartment but I decided outside the building was better. I'd been seconds from killing Felix. I didn't need a witness.

I stood just outside my building. Damian walked quickly towards me. I was early, but he was rushing for me. That was a sweet gesture.

"Hi", he said when he got to me.

We had talked before but it was the first time we'd stood next to each other. I knew it was him from his profile picture.

"Hey", I said.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting", he said.

"Don't be silly. I'm early", I said.

"Well, at least you are enthusiastic about the date", he said and gave me a shy grin. "I'm a bit nervous".

I shook my head, smiling. "You don't have to be. Shall we?"

Damian had planned the cliché date; a movie and dinner. I didn't mind at all. A movie allowed us to have moments of silence instead of forced conversations. It would be easy to relax over a movie and it gave us topics afterwards. It would be nice to know the kind of movies he liked and what he thought about a movie or a particular scene. It was an easy way to get to know someone without feeling like you are interviewing them.

We took a taxi to the cinema. On the road we talked about a couple of things. He was easy to talk to, though I suspected he was trying to impress me.

We watched a movie we picked together. We weren't supposed to talk but we threw in a few comments. We were relaxing to being with each other. It was a good start.

Stella called to check up on us- which just meant she wanted to know if I hadn't bailed again.

We went to a small restaurant after the movie. Words and chuckles were flowing easily now. But...there was no spark. Well, there was a spark, the friendship kind. I didn't expect to fall head over sneakers in love, but I'd hoped there'd be something akin to the connection with...

I stopped my thoughts right there as Damian and I took our seats opposite each other. The place was literally a few blocks from my apartment. That made me sigh in relief for a bit; I wasn't that far from home.

"Are you okay?" Damian asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, this place looks great".

"I come here often with my friends actually. It's pretty chilled", he said just as a waitress appeared at our table.

"Hey guys. Do you need anything?" she asked.

I shook my head and Damian did too. "We'll call you when we are ready to order".

She smiled at us and left.

I opened the menu. "Since you come here often, what tastes good?"

"I'm afraid I've only tried their chicken wings served with a Caesar salad", he replied sheepishly.

"Can you vouch for it?" I asked.

"Definitely", he said.

"Great, I guess I'm having that", I said. I was off Felix's bland diet, I was glad to be eating real food again.

The waitress took our orders. We started small talk about the movie as we waited.

==

~Felix~

When Archer left, he was pissed. As the evening turned to night, I got pissed too. Listening to what Archer heard and said meant listening to the guy he was on a date with blatantly flirt with him. It was obvious he was trying to impress him. Archer fell for it. He laughed at his jokes and made fun of himself to make the guy laugh.

It was all just irritating. I followed them to the cinema and stayed outside. I watched them leave, intending to go to some restaurant. I was already tired of the damn night and listening to Archer laugh at things that weren't even funny. I parked my car at the restaurant. I was sure Archer would enjoy learning I had to chase after him while he gallivanted like the child that he was.

I listened to them talk for a while. They were bloody sharing food. I had to intervene or Archer would end up at the boy's place. Who knew what would happen there? I made a quick call and got out of the car after a few minutes.

==

~Archer~

Damian was funny. Things were – except for that one part- going great. I ordered the chicken wings and Damian decided to try something new, that being grilled tilapia. I asked to taste and he decided he wasn't picky about people eating off his plate, so he let me have some of his tilapia, which tasted great. My wings were even greater and I didn't regret my choice, but I liked the variety.

Things were going well. Felix was at the back of my mind. Felix – I could swear I spotted someone just like him take a seat at one of the tables near the window. I wasn't supposed to be thinking about Felix, so why the hell was I seeing him?

"Are you okay?" Damian asked for the second time that night.

"Yeah, I thought I saw someone", I replied.

He looked briefly behind him, as if he had an idea who I thought I saw.

"False alarm?" he asked.

I was about to nod when I narrowed my eyes. I could swear that was Felix! And why not? I'd had the sense that I was being watched ever since I left the apartment. The stalker was stalking me!

I stood up.

"I'll be right back", I said to my date.

I walked to where Felix was sitting. He was looking at the menu like he couldn't understand what was written there. He raised the menu when he saw me coming.

I took it out of his hands and threw it on the table. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I hissed.

He looked like he had no idea what I was talking about.

"You fucking followed me!" I said. It was taking all strength not to yell. I wished I was as brave as Stella.

"I didn't follow you", he said.

"Oh so you just happened to be here?"

"Yes. It's a restaurant, I'm hungry" he replied.

"You are freaking lying. Don't you fucking get it? Leave me alone for one night. Let me enjoy this night. You can mess up my life tomorrow!" I said.

"I didn't do anything", he protested his innocence. His calm demeanor was irritating. He wasn't taking me seriously.

"Felix go!" I said. This time my voice was raised. It attracted only a few eyes. I couldn't bear to see if it attracted Damian's eyes.

"I'm meeting someone...and here he comes", he said.

I looked behind me. A guy was walking our way. He was tall and a little too rounded. His clothes were close-fitting. His blond hair absorbed the light in the room. It was a little too bright for me. He got to the table.

"Hey you", he said to Felix like they were old friends.

I was blocking his seat. "Hi", he said to me.

I moved slightly and he took his seat. I was more than shell-shocked that Felix was really meeting someone. I really thought he was there because of me. Again, I jumped to conclusions.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" the guy said to Felix. "He is too cute to be a waiter".

"I don't think introductions are necessary. I don't need to know your working name", I said.

The guy frowned.

"Oh, I thought you are a hooker. It's what he goes for", I retorted. I was certain I was no longer in control of my mouth.

"Oh Seth", the guy said smiling at Felix. It was sickening. Why wasn't he offended? He turned to me. "I'm Ricky, I know Seth well".

Ricky...Ricky the hooker? Of course it was Ricky the hooker! Hell he screamed, 'I'm ready to take it all off if you've got the money'. I wanted to yell badly.

Felix was with his hooker. This was the other guy he'd slept with and he was going back for seconds or tenths. He wanted him again. Everyone knew what hookers did. This was not a business meeting. I wanted to cry, I wanted to yell. I wanted to do everything at the same time.

I did neither, barely managing to keep the container from breaking apart. I was reeling with jealousy, regret, disappointment and anger.

"Can I talk to you in private?" I said to Felix, with my voice slightly quivering.

He shrugged. "You can say anything in front of Ricky".

"Don't fucking do your shit in my apartment", I said with a pause after each word.

"Noted", he said.

I walked away, and forced myself to return to the table I was sharing with Damian. I wanted to be anywhere but there, but I wouldn't allow Felix to mess up my night. I would finish the damn date even if there was an earthquake!

==

~Felix~

"He sounded like a scorned lover", Ricky said pointing at the departing boy with his thumb.

I'd messed up big time. I could remember the slight quiver I'd noticed pass through Archer's body. He was furious. He was beyond furious. I'd wanted desperately to just grab him by the hand and take him home, tuck him in and promise everything would be fine but I knew he'd be even mad I took him away from his date.

He'd seemed just annoyed by me being there, but Ricky's arrival filled him with rage. He did sound like a scorned lover, but I couldn't for a second think that was what he was. There was nothing between us.

"So Seth, been missing me?" Ricky talked again, not dissuaded by my silence.

"This is how it goes; I don't want to have sex with you. You sole purpose is to sit there and look pretty. I will of course pay you your rate", I said firmly.

"You called and asked me to meet you here so I could...just sit here?"

"Yes", I said curtly.

"I...why?"

"You are my cover. I am keeping an eye on someone", I said.

I glanced at Archer's table as I talked. He had returned there and seemed to be in good spirits again. Obviously Ricky's presence hadn't soiled his mood much.

"You are keeping an eye on the cute boy?" he asked.

"Yes, now stop talking", I said.

"Are you keeping an eye on him or trying to make him jealous?" he asked looking straight at me. His tone told me he had already concluded that the latter was the case.

"Why on earth would I try to make him jealous?"

He rolled his eyes. "Because you like him. In fact, I'd even say you love him".

"Where the hell did you get that?"

"You are looking at him".

"I am looking at him because that's what keeping an eye on someone means", I said, enunciating every word.

He shook his head. "Not the way you look at him".

"You are crazy. What do you know about love?" I said.

"I've broken enough relationships, I know love when I see it", he said. "You have the hots for that boy".

I crossed my arms and sighed. "If you keep talking I'm not paying you. I'm trying to listen to a conversation".

He frowned. "Whose?"

"The reason I'm here", I said.

"I thought you only had to keep an eye on him. Now you are listening to his conversation?" he said and looked behind him. "He seems to be on a date. You are stalking him on his date! I've always thought you were bad at interacting with people, but I didn't think you were this terrible."

"Ricky!" I warned.

"You should tell him. Hell the fire in his voice is all you need to know he likes you too. He looks a little young, but he seems to have the right spirit to handle you", he said. "Or don't tell him, I'm happy to give you anything you want".

"For fuck's sake, I don't want either of you! I am keeping an eye on him so he doesn't get hurt. Now shut the fuck up or I swear I am keeping my money", I growled.

Rick raised his hands in defeat. He kept quiet just in time for me to hear the two future lovebirds talk about leaving. They weren't ready to call it a night yet, deciding to take a stroll. I watched them stand up. I couldn't stop them.

I pulled out a few dollar bills from my wallet and passed them to Ricky.

"I put extra in case you want to order something. I'm going straight to bed", I announced standing up.

"Don't you want me...?"

"No!" I said firmly, cutting into the sentence.

"I wasn't..."

"No! Your job is done", I said walking away.

Bed was enticing at that moment, even if it was just a couch.

==