With his arms still around me, Mystery Boy laughs lightly. "Sorry, I had to do that."

I free my knife from its slot and point the blade at him with wide-eyes. Ripping him arm off me, I tighten my grip on the knife, ready to swing. Someone behind me shoves me hard, pushing me closer to the brown-haired boy. The force knocks my knife out of my hand, and I groan. The party music is so loud I don't even hear it clatter on the ground.

"Your lucky I didn't knife you," I say angrily over the music, half-searching for the knife I can't find. I look into his smiling brown eyes. "Your insane."

I try to make a dramatic exit into the crowd, but I'm stuck due to the lack of space. Most of the citizens are too big or deaf for me to push. In fact, they end up pushing me.

I turn around and cross my arms at the boy, blowing a piece of hair away from my eyes. He gives me an amused look. My God, he's way closer to me than I feel comfortable with.

"What?" I demand.

"You think you're all tough, huh?"

"Yeah, I do," I scoff.

He smirks. "I doubt that."

I squint at him in disbelief. "Really? You just went there? And who the heck are you--"

The boy grabs my face and kisses me, this time with a bit more passion. Locked in his kiss, I put both of my hands on his chest and shove him as hard as I can. He stumbles into some mindlessly dancing people.

I yell louder this time. "What the heck is wrong with you?"

He returns my anger with a confused, hurt look. All he does is confuse me even more.

I storm into the crowd, not caring who I come in contact with. I want to lose the boy following me and never see him again. Music blares into my ears, blocking out Mystery Boy's voice close behind me.

I receive quite a few comments as I push through the crowd, but I don't slow my speed. I eventually reach the perimeter of the crowd, and I jog down the nearest street, heart pounding and calves throbbing. I can't head home now, not with this stupid guy chasing me for whatever deranged reason.

I make a right at the first street corner and head for a location I haven't even thought of yet. I run along a sidewalk, relieved that I lost the kid.

As I reach a desolate intersection, picking up my pace, a blur of speed knocks me flat on the ground. I trip and roll hard onto my left side. Slowing sitting up and searching for an attacker, Mystery Boy is lays beside me with a wide grin on his face.

I scramble to my feet as he sits up. Brush burns and small rocks stick onto my arms, and I hastily wipe them off. My temper is fuming.

"Did you like my entrance?" Mystery Boy says calmly, wiping his black-framed glasses on the hem of his shirt

I ignore his stupid question. "I can kill you, you know, and I'm about this close to doing it." I pinch my fingers in midair, leaving no space in between them.

Mystery Boy chuckles, sliding his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "C'mon, you wouldn't do that. Especially not to me." He rises from the ground and straightens out his shirt.

"Oh, trust me, I can and I will, you creepy stalker."

The boy changes the subject. "You know, it's good luck to kiss someone on a historical day like today."

I roll my eyes and sigh angrily. Why haven't I walked away from this kid yet? Why am I still listening to him?

"There's another part to the myth," Mystery Boy continues, "The person you kiss on a revolution day will be your soulmate."

A sudden burst of laughter spits from my mouth. "Oh, that's a good one, buddy. I'm not in the mood right now. Go find someone else to fall in love with."

I add another sentence impulsively. "I have a boyfriend anyways."

I turn away from the boy and backtrack down the street with long strides. Unfortunately, his quick footsteps catch up with me. I don't have the energy to bolt away from them.

"Then why weren't you with him?" Mystery Boy asks.

I don't reply.

"Your boyfriend?" He continues, "That's why I kissed you: you were the only person in the crowd standing still and looking beyond the party."

"Who cares?" I say exasperatedly, "Why do you care so much? You're a stranger to me."

"I'm Owen," Mystery Boy says abruptly, changing the direction of his conversation. He talks like we've been introduced by a mutual friend and not by his wild imagination. "Owen Mallant, age 18."

"Well, I'm not interested," I retort. I feign away from him, but Owen jogs to catch up to me.

"At least tell me your name," he reasons.

I stop dead in my tracks. "Listen, buddy, I don't really care about you and your recklessness. All I want is to go home. I'm don't care about you, and I want you to get away from me."

Owen smirks, and I groan. His pestering, rude, unbelievable behavior reminds me too much of Daniel Fadhill.

Danny.

Owen smiles and fixes his glasses. "Fine, but give me your name. Then I'll leave you alone."

I give in to him. "Good. My name's Renee Vilex."

Owen shakes his head in mock-annoyance. "Nice to meet you, too, Ashley Cardry."

I freeze. "How did you know that?"

Owen laughs. "I worked on the Renegade intel tech team before I got transferred here. Little Matt Cardry sat two seats away from me in Hawaii."

"Matt," I whisper as my fingers graze my lower lip. My eyes fly to meet Owen's. "Where is he?"

"What? I don't know."

"Did he come here with you?"

"No, I don't know, maybe."

"Well, you better know," I say, "because how did you get here then?"

"Half of the ITT got transferred. I don't know if Matt came or not."

"So where is he?"

"What? I don't know."

Not bothering to reply to Owen, I turn on my heels and sprint towards home. I leave Owen in the middle of the street as he calls after me like the lunatic he is.

Only one goal, one purpose, remain in mind. Owen claims he was transferred to Baltimore, and Matt might be, too. That means my family's back in Baltimore, waiting for me at home like we planned.

I've got to get home. Right now.

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