It had been almost two weeks since I'd seen Leah's brother. The leaves that were beginning to cluster on the ground were shades of reds and oranges and as the end of October fell upon us, it brought with it a bitter cold New York wind and slate grey skies that hid the sun from view. The tank tops and shorts that were normally worn by my classmates were quickly packed away with the shiny red drop tops that Mommy and Daddy bought, to be replaced with hats and scarves and old beater cars that wheezed and groaned when they started up.

If Leah knew there was something amiss, she acted apathetic. She had even invited me to her house on occasion, but I'd blown her off and made excuses. I wasn't hiding from Judd- Devi Black didn't run away. But I needed the space. Those jade green eyes did something to me I couldn't comprehend. When I was around him, the comforting numbness that I was used to melted away and left me feeling vulnerable to emotions I wasn't used to experiencing. He jumbled my thoughts and made my lungs burn. It was as if I was constantly holding my breath and the moment he was near I could breathe again, gasping and eager to fill my body with his oxygen. It was nerve-wracking.

"How did I get talked into this?" I grumbled, adjusting the black corset dress that was restricting my breathing. The short black skirt frilled out around the middle of my thighs, the only thing covering them was a pair of fishnets and my combat boots. I'd pulled the cop look together with a silk tie that hung loosely around my neck, a shiny black utility belt that held a pair of black fuzzy handcuffs and an officer's peaked cap that rested on my loosely curled hair.

Thanks to Tallulah, the three of us were walking up to the Halloween party of Tallulah's latest crush; Leo, the guy who'd flirted with me during detention. He was eighteen and sold weed out of his parents' mansion and she was in love. Leo had personally invited her, and she had begged and pleaded for us to buy costumes and show up.

Tallulah was dressed in a tiny red and black Lolita style dress and a long maroon cloak, trying to pass as Little Red Riding Hood and Leah was going as Alice in Wonderland and was already nursing a bottle of Riesling wine. She was about as excited to be here as I was. I pulled out the bottle of coconut Parrot Bay I'd swiped from the grocery store and unscrewed the top to take a swig. The sweet flavor covered any taste of rum and while it was far from my liquor of choice, it was booze and would get the job done.

The scene before us was reminiscent of Leah's party, although this was on a much larger scale. There were bass speakers thumping loudly inside the house somewhere and you should smell the alcohol from the driveway. There was a pair of older girls standing in the grass dressed as black cats smoking cigarettes and giving us the side eye as we walked past.

"I'm so excited," Tallulah giggled giddily as she opened the front door, the sounds of the revelry within spilling out as we dove headfirst into the chaos inside.

Two hours and I was polishing off the Parrot Bay while laughing with Leah about a joke the boy in front of us had made. My thoughts were slow, and my body was warm from the alcohol. There were a few people I recognized but it was mostly seniors from school that we didn't know so we had carved out a little nook in the kitchen to sulk in. Tallulah was nowhere to be found and Leah was leaning into the boy, Ryan I think his name was?

"I'm gonna go find the bathroom," I murmured in Leah's ear over the loud music and wandered off. I needed a minute alone from their drunken flirting and my stomach was starting to churn.

Meandering upstairs and weaving through the drunken bodies of the teenagers littering the house I eventually found what I was looking for. It was relatively small compared to the rest of the house and contained a simple tub to the right, a sink immediately to the right, and a toilet nestled in the corner.

A few moments later after I'd splashed some water on my face and used the toilet, I was finishing up in the restroom and went to open the door only to find the handle unmoving. Glancing at the fancy golden knob in confusion, I tried it again. The door didn't budge.

"Oh, son of a bitch," I growled and banged on the door to hopefully get someone's attention.

I waited for a moment but there was no answer. Only the dull resounding noise of the music downstairs.

Goddamnit.

**

I was sitting against the wall in front of the toilet smoking a joint I'd stashed in my clutch awhile later. I'd given up trying to call and text Leah and Tallulah, odds are they were both getting their jollies off somewhere in the house themselves.

Just my fucking luck.

The doorknob jiggling brought me out of my fuming and a body entered the small space.

"Wait don't let the door-" I couldn't get the words out fast enough as the stranger turned to face me.

"Shut..." the door snapped shut with a click and Judd gave me a confused and annoyed look.

"What the Hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, fucking great," I growled and rolled my eyes. Was the universe toying with me now?

He turned to leave and rumbled when the door didn't open.

"It won't work. I tried that; it's jammed."

I relaxed against the wall and inhaled the marijuana again, letting the white smoke dance around my face slowly when I exhaled. Judd punched the wood with a roar before leaning his entire upper body against it as if silently pleading with the door to reciprocate as I watched him with a raised eyebrow. He reminded me of an animal trapped in a cage the way he was acting. I didn't blame him.

"You want to get high?"

He stopped in his tracks with a dramatic sigh and faced me as he slid down the wall, glowering at me all the while and crossing his arms like a child as he stretched his legs out in my direction. The air was filled with friction and his hostile eyes watched me like a cornered panther awaiting a chance to escape as the beast reached out a paw hesitantly to snatch the weed out of my outstretched hand and bring it to his mouth.

We sat in silence as the small white bathroom filled with smoke and tension. Judd wasn't dressed up for Halloween, simply donning a black jacket with a dark heather tee shirt underneath and black jeans with his light-colored Converse. I suddenly felt simultaneously overdressed and underdressed and instinctually fiddled with the hemline of my skirt as I stretched out my legs like he had so that mine were parallel with his own.

"How long you been stuck in here?" His voice was rough, and his eyes were unreadable as they razed over my form while he handed the joint back to me. I ignored the blush beginning to creep up my face at the prospect that maybe he liked what he saw.

"Like an hour. Tried calling Tallulah and Leah but they're both occupied so here I am having my own little party," I glanced down at my boots, a stark contrast to the white spotless bathroom.

"Fuckin' Christ," he let his head rest against the wall and ran a hand across his face.

"Yep... So, it's gonna be just you and me until the next victim shows up," my answer sounded mistakenly suggestive I realized, and I felt my face get hotter. The alcohol and weed combination weren't helping at all.

His juniper green eyes were narrow slits, but they were on me with a look I couldn't place.

"You didn't dress up."

"Halloween is just an excuse for sluts to wear lingerie." I couldn't stop from wincing at his words and he seemed to notice, his gaze softening ever so slightly.

"Glad to know you think of me so highly," I tapered my eyes at him, gaining some of my composure. He was clearly still mad about the puking incident.

He opened his mouth to say something and seemed to think better of it and took a toke instead and relaxing ever so slightly against the wall, bringing one leg up to rest his arm against it and watch me.

"You look... good. For a cop." The compliment was meek, but it was a compliment, nonetheless. The joint was almost gone, and I groaned just thinking about it. It was the only sanity I had in this moment and I didn't know how long we were going to be stuck in this small space together.

"Thanks," I grinned toothily at him and he smirked in return and rolled his eyes. There was a break in the enmity between us, and he sighed and met my gaze again. I couldn't look away from him. I'd almost forgotten how handsome he was, especially when he wasn't frowning.

I knew I needed to keep my composure but the longer I was in Judd's presence, the more relaxed I became.

My stomach growled, reminding me that we were stuck here against our will and I was beginning to sober up from the alcohol, leaving my body feeling hungry, cold, and exhausted despite it only being midnight.

"I'm so ready for bed. This is not how I wanted my night to go," I complained, pulling my peaked cap off my head and setting it down beside me to run a hand through my hair with a yawn.

Judd immediately returned his own yawn and he mulled it over for a moment.

"Sleep in the tub. We might be here for a while." His face was genuine as he spoke, and it made my cheeks redden.

I contemplated his words and shrugged. He was right. Standing with a stretch, I grabbed a few fluffy white towels from the cabinet and made a makeshift bed in the bottom of the tub and clamored in and attempted to get comfortable. It was far from a mattress, but it wasn't the worst. Although there was something that would help tremendously...

"Um... do you want in on this? It's not half bad," I stammered, embarrassment flaming in my cheeks. He didn't miss a beat and was climbing in before I finished the sentence.

"Move over." He shucked out of his jacket and positioned himself so that he was leaning with his back against the tub and I was pressed up against his chest, his jacket balled up behind us to become a makeshift pillow.

His arm was draped lazily around my shoulders as he settled into the tub, staring up at the tiled ceiling.

"I-"

"Shut up. Don't make this awkward." His tone was commanding but soft. I stilled and nestled into his body, letting my free hand come up to lay on his left pectoral. I could smell his cologne and it was twice as intoxicating as any booze I'd ever ingested. I could drown in the scent happily.

I could feel his hand absently playing with a strand of my hair and I felt more relaxed than I had in weeks. Despite how I felt about Judd Birch and my own hesitance when it came to the opposite sex, I couldn't ignore how correct this felt being curled up in this stupid bathtub with this boy, his hand running through my curls and our legs entangled.

My stomach gurgled again, piercing the silence.

"I'm going to fucking starve to death." I whined and shifted. I couldn't ignore the way his arm tightened around me and drew me right back against him. My heart went squishy again.

"If we ever make it out of here, I'll buy you dinner."

"I'll hold you to that," I shifted to look up at him with a smile. He glanced down to meet my eyes and something akin to adoration shifted across his features for a split second before disappearing.

"I know." He broke contact and went back to staring at the ceiling as my eyelids started to droop.

I didn't remember drifting to sleep.

**

I was awoken by a gentle nudge in my side and a murmur of my name. Furrowing my brown and whining I buried my face back into the warmth underneath me.

"Come on Devi, we have to get up," I knew that voice. It was impossibly rugged and smooth, all at once.

"J-Judd?" I cracked an eye to see that was the warmth underneath me and I was instantly propping myself up. The memories came back all at once and I remembered how we'd gotten there with a blush.

"The door is open." He pointed towards the door and sure enough it was gaping open, waiting for our departure.

"Oh, thank fuck," I sighed with relief and attempted to dislodge my limbs from Judd's. I noticed a momentary flash of hurt on his face but attributed it to the fact I had just accidentally elbowed him in the ribs.

We climbed out and I fixed my dress and ran to the doorway. The rest of the house was silent and dark when I peaked out. My phone was dead, and I had no idea what time it even was.

"Let's get out of here," Judd murmured, grabbing his jacket and handing me my officer's cap. My head hurt from sleeplessness and my eyes burned.

We made our way back to the main area and had to tiptoe around trash and sleeping people who were looked as though they had literally crashed right where they stood. I kept an eye out for Leah or Tallulah but saw neither of them. Which meant that my ride home was gone.

The fact was reaffirmed when we got outside, and Tallulah's car was nowhere to be seen. The moon was far in the west and the sky was a midnight blue with shades of pink rising in the east signaling it was sometime in the early morning. I shivered as a gust of wind cut through my miniscule outfit and Judd gave me a look and wordlessly handed me his jacket which I graciously slipped my arms into.

"Can I have a ride home? Looks like I got left behind," I said sheepishly, rubbing my neck and looking up at Judd who looked as though he was expecting me to ask.

"You still hungry?" he asked as we hopped in his Jeep and he turned the keys and flipped on the heat.

"Judd you don't-"

"Are you still hungry?" He repeated himself, turning to face me. His eyes looked tired but there was a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

My abdomen growled, answering for me and I looked down and then up at him with a shy smile.

"Put your seatbelt on," He smirked and threw the car into drive and we pulled away into the night.