| FILLER |

"N-NAS!" I shouted into the phone. My legs were still pumping with as much strength as possible. I hadn't stopped running since I started. That was about 5 minutes ago. I'm positive I'm in the middle of nowhere right now.

I heard shuffling and groaning on the other end. I waited eagerly for him to answer, while looking around frantically to make sure no one was following me as I kept going. So far so good. It almost seems too good to be true.

"Angel what the fuck man? Why are you yelling?" He rasped into the phone, sounding like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. "And what the fuck is that noise?"

Oops. "Zhayne! I-It was Zhayne, Nas...I-I ran away! I climbed out o-of a window!" My heart was starting to burn and I felt my legs aching too. I slowed down and settled on a jogging pace. But I didn't stop. I know I can't afford to.

The next sentence Nas spoke, he sounded like a completely different person. "YOU IDIOT!" He screamed. This time it was my turn to groan. Being called an idiot is honestly the last thing I need to hear right now. He continued. "Dude are you crazy? Do you not know what this man is fucking capable of?"

My palms were getting sweaty. I clutched my phone tighter in my hand and kept going, regardless of the fact that I felt like I could pass out at any moment. "Uh-uh." I chuckled nervously, but it came out sounding more like a wheeze due to lack of air. "N-not really."

I could practically feel Nas' anger and frustration all the way over here. I heard an exasperated sigh. "Look- stop running for a second. I can barely fucking hear you. Hide behind a bush or something." He suggested poorly.

In a way I'm actually sort of relived he told me to stop running because if he hadn't, I would have surely kept going until I went out in cold blood. Breathing heavily, I scanned my surroundings again seeing nothing but a long vacant highway. Not even a car was driving by. I felt a little bit safe here. I don't think I need to hide but just in case, I stayed off the road and hid somewhere on the side behind big bushes where no one could see me.

"O-okay." I said exhausted as I rested my free hand on my knee, crouching down to take a breath. "I'm not running anymore." Nas sighed in relief.

"Angel." I sensed his face palm. "Why?" Why? What does he mean why? Doesn't he know how crazy his boss is?

"N-Nas I know I shouldn't have done it. I know...but I couldn't help it. He wouldn't let me leave..s-so when he left the room I took that as my chance to escape. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you into this..you're just the only p-person I could call for help."

"No no no- you got it all wrong dude. This isn't about me. It's about you. It's all about you."

"I- I didn't mean to be selfish-"

"No! Stop being an idiot for one second." He seethed. "You're going to be in big fucking trouble if he finds you Angel." Nas sighed. "Do you know who the fuck you're dealing with?"

"U-uh Zhayne?" I said, just now recovering from my burning chest. My breaths were now even again.

"Technically yes. But, you're not just dealing with 'Zhayne Donovan' the CEO of one of the most successful hotel companies in the world and owner of the biggest club in LA. You're dealing with a fucking psycho who is capable of more than you think, Angel. You're not fucking with an average man..."

There wasn't much I could say to that, considering the fact that I had already guessed that the man wasn't all the way right in the head. "Angel, man. I don't know what you did but you got him wrapped around your finger. He's fucking obsessed with you. There's no telling what he's willing to do to get you back where he wants you."

I sighed deeply, trying my best to process everything but I can't. It's all a blur. "How do you know all this...And what do you mean he's capable of more than I think?" I asked him.

"Angel- fuck, man. Let's just say it's a miracle you and I both made it out alive. I was a second away from losing my life. Mr. Donovan is fucking Angel."

None of that really answered my question. I already knew that Zhayne was out of his right mind. Anybody could tell. But I feel like Nas is just beating around the bush so he doesn't have to tell me something. He knows something I don't and it's causing me to feel even more afraid. I don't need this right now. I really don't.

I sighed, finding it useless to pry at him for answers. Maybe some other time but I'm on the run and Zhayne could catch up to me at any moment. There's really no time for questions to be asked left and right. Nas spoke up again before I could say anything. "Where are you at? I can come pick you up." He said. I shook my head, looking out at the highway miserably. I mentally cursed as I didn't see any signs.

"I-I have no clue. But I'm on some highway that's like 5 minutes away from his house."

"I already know what you're talking about. Just keep still and stay hidden, I'm on my way to pick you up."

"Wait." I paused. "Nas you'll get in trouble! Z-Zhayne will get mad at you and then he'll like fire you and he'll probably like try to k-"

"I don't care anymore. Your safety is more important than my job, Angel. Don't worry about that." He said with a hint of annoyance in his tone. "I'll be there in about 15 to 20 minutes." Then he hung up without another word. I pulled my phone away from my face slowly, looking into the distance. I didn't even get to say thank you to him.

A small smile crept its way onto my face. I'm so grateful for Nas. I didn't expect him to do this for me, he honestly didn't have to. But he did and that's what matters. No one would ever stick their neck out for me. No one ever has. Nas is putting his job and possibly his life on the line to make sure I'm safe.

He knows what he was in for, but I don't. He made it clear over the phone not too long ago. But he was willing to try his best to make sure I am okay in the end. So despite this gut wrenching situation, I sort of am happy about that.

But on the other hand I do feel like I'm being selfish. I never wanted to put him in danger simply because of my stupid mistakes. It seems like all I've done since I've met him was annoy him and get him in trouble.

A piece of me even considered walking back to Zhayne's house. In order to save Nas from chaos. But a bigger part of me knew he would be pissed if I did that. And, I need to mention the fact that I'm trying to avoid the psychotic man at all costs anyways. So that would defeat the purpose of running away.

But deep down. Something kept telling me I couldn't hide from him. It's almost like something is constantly in my head telling me there's no escape and that he'll find me. Every time I run. I kind of felt hopeless. But I need to fight back in some way. I can't afford to sit back and watch my life crumble before me. Not if I can do something about it.

Soon enough, after about 10 more minutes of daydreaming and somewhat sulking in guilt, I saw the familiar black Jeep Wrangler pull up on the side of the road. Nas waved at me through the window shield and signaled for me to hurry up. I wasted no time in rushing toward the car in the fastest speed my sore legs would allow me. I hopped in on the passengers side and as soon as I shut the door, Nas spun around and changed direction. We were now driving the other way up the opposite side of the highway.

It was quiet for a while. The car was eerily silent, the only sounds were my short breaths of air as we continued down the road. After about 10 minutes of silence, the red head spoke up. "Dude." He tapped my arm with the back of his hand. "Are you okay? You look like shit."

My eyes snapped toward his in surprise before I turned away, looking at the road ahead. "You really shouldn't be worried a-about me. W-what about you? You could get in serious trouble, Nas."

He rolled his eyes at my response. "Angel. Your safety is more important than anything else right now. I can't guarantee 100% that I can keep you from him forever but I will do the best I can. Even if I am putting myself at risk. It's okay. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't do anything at all to help you." He said, taking a deep breath and continuing. "And yes we just met, but, that doesn't matter. Your life is in danger and I need to do what I can to help you."

"You haven't even mentioned what you're g-going to do if Z-Zhayne catches you..." I trailed off, bringing my fingers up to my trembling mouth so I could lightly nibble on my nails. I was so nervous and my mind is running wild. I can hardly focus on what I want to say because there's so much going on. "You need to think about yourself, too."

"I did. If something does happen to me then it's whatever. As long as I know I tried my best to keep you safe then I'll be alright. Don't worry about me anymore." He told me with finality. I know that meant I shouldn't talk about it any longer. He's done with this subject. Part of me is kind of disappointed because I was still practically itching for answers to what he said to me over the phone just earlier. But I will have to save that for another time, he looked irritable right now.

"Okay." I sighed dejectedly. "How was your day today?" I asked, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood a little bit. Nas scoffed and shook his head.

"Angel. You know how my day went. We literally spent the day together. We separated like 3 hours ago."

"Right." I said. "So what did you do when I um...left?" I asked him, trying my best to avoid saying Zhayne's name. The red head chuckled softly.

"If you really want to know what I did. I went back to my house and napped. I invited the boys over for some company and that's it." He said. I furrowed my brows. Do they know about what happened too? Did he tell them? I can't ask because he'll get mad. So I left it alone.

"I wish I could have done what you did. I'm beat." I told him truthfully. I am. I'm tired mentally and physically. I sighed and placed a small hand on my cheek, staring at the vacant highway ahead. I felt myself slowly dozing off soon after I said that but I suddenly thought of something, making me shoot up. Nas side eyed me.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you! Please never take me to one of your parties again." I said to him. He raised a brow looking confused as to why I brought it up so suddenly but he responded anyways.

"Why not? Didn't you have fun?"

"I-uh. Do you want me to answer that honestly?" I inquired, feeling my face get hot. Nas turned a corner then later stopped at a red light as we approached the city again.

"I asked you an honest question so I want an honest answer." He said, looking at me briefly before the light turned green again. He drove off down the street.

"Uh. No. P-parties aren't really my um..thing. I'm a home body so, when you took me there I was extremely uncomfortable." I said and continued. "But I was glad I met your friends though. T-they were pretty cool." I added quickly.

"You should have told me, Angel. I wouldn't have taken you there if I knew you weren't comfortable- Look. How about this. Next time I invite you out, I'll take you out with just me and the boys." He told me. I smiled a small smile at what he proposed. "I at least want you to get to know me, and the rest of the crew since you'll probably be seeing a lot of us from now on." I wasn't complaining about that. I didn't say anything further.

I felt my heart swell in happiness at his words. Regardless of the situation he's managed to make me feel slightly better yet again. I'm grateful beyond words. No one's ever been this nice to me before. The fact that he is scares me a little because I'm not used to this kind of treatment. But this is a rare thing for me. So I will definitely enjoy his kindness while I can.

The rest of the ride was spent in a comfortable silence. A lot was on both of our minds so we were pretty much lost in our thoughts the whole time. It was like that for another 10 minutes before I looked up to see Nas pull up to a house I'm not familiar with.

Immediately I felt my stomach drop in fear and I looked at him with my eyes widened. Where are we? Is he secretly reporting me to Zhayne? Has he been tricking me the whole time? I took my seatbelt off and went to open the door and make a run for it but Nas stopped me by grabbing my hand. I didn't turn to meet his gaze. I only stared at the house that could be my potential doom.

"Angel. Relax. I know you're scared as shit but you need to calm down. We're at my place. I figured the last thing you'd want is to be home alone after today." His voice sounded like an echo in the background of my beating heart and the sudden ringing that sounded in my ears.

I breathed in deeply and rested a hand on my heart, trying to slow down the speeding. I could feel my anxiety attack coming on but I have to relax like he said. I can't let Nas see me like this.

Jesus. I'm out of it. I've completely lost my mind. How could I have gotten so frightened of a house I've never been to before? Has Zhayne managed to mess my head up that much?

I took in one more deep breath and felt a strong wave of relief wash over me as my heartbeat slowly calmed down and the constant ringing stopped sounding in my ears. I turned to look at Nas who still had his hand on my arm, he looked concerned. With a frown on my face, I took my arm from his hold. "I-I'm sorry, Nas. I-I didn't know I would freak out like that. I-I am so sorry." I apologized. I was going to say more but he stopped me by speaking up before I could.

"Angel, it's okay, I understand. I should have told you I was bringing you here." He paused for a minute, giving me the chance to calm myself down more. "I promise I'm not up to anything bad. You can trust me." Nas said. I slowly but surely looked up to meet his stare.

I could tell he was being genuine. It was all in his eyes. One thing that I am grateful for as far as being antisocial goes, is that it's made me get better at observing and reading people instead of talking. It's almost like I can see through them and in situations like these, it really puts me at an advantage.

"O-okay. I trust you." I nodded, saying more to myself than him. He sighed and mumbled a small thank god and signaled for me to exit the car. I did. It was kind of a struggle because I was still sort of recovering from an almost anxiety attack. My legs were wobbly and I felt a little bit lightheaded but I'm okay. I just needed to sit down.

When we were both out of his car he locked it behind us and we walked up the walkway in the yard and he took out a different set of keys and unlocked the door. He stepped to the side and allowed me to go in first.

As soon as I entered his home I was greeted with the strong smell of weed. And indeed, his friends were here. Just like he said they'd be. They were all sitting comfortably on his couch, smoking. Well all except for Torrence. He was in the kitchen which was right behind the living room where everyone else was. But because of the clear opening it was still in view from where I was standing. Nas shut the door behind us and kicked off his shoes, then he proceeded to hop onto a spot on the couch next to Lucien who already was looking at me.

I stood there awkwardly and waved. "U-um. Hi guys!" I squealed. Well that didn't come out the way I wanted it to. Way to go Angel.

Lucien of course, was the first to speak. "Angellll. We meet again." He said flirtatiously all while throwing a wink my way. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment at the gesture.

The rest of the guys greeted me normally. Torrence walked in the living room and said yelled 'hey!' loudly while munching on what looked like a ham sandwich. I giggled at his silliness and soon found myself sitting on the couch next to Nas.

"Aye. Angel. Where did you and Nas go? You guys fucking bailed on us like we weren't shit." Torrence inquired as Sterling slyly tossed a cheese ball in his mouth for him. Torrence caught it and swallowed with no issue.

That sort of answers the question I asked earlier. Since they're clueless he really must not have told them what happened. Which to me is good. No one else needs to know about this. The more people that get involved means more lives in danger. That's what Nas and I are trying to avoid.

The tall red head rolled his eyes and took the blunt from Chance. "Work issues. Boss called and I had to fix something."

Sterling made a yikes kind of facial expression at what Nas revealed. "Man, I feel bad you have to work for him because on some real shit, your boss is scary as fuck dude." He said while shaking his head.

Lucien agreed. "I second that. I took one good look at him and alarms went off in my head. Uh-uhhhh nope. Not fucking with him. I don't even know what it is about him but he just doesn't sit right with me. He's very...I don't know. Off."

You have no idea.

"You guys are saying this as if I don't know him myself. I work for the asshole so I've seen and been through 10 times worse than you could even imagine." Nas had been holding the blunt for a while, he hasn't passed it once since he's gotten it. He's just taken hit after hit.

I pressed my nail into my uninjured palm to keep me calm. Just the mention of him is enough to get me shaken up. You don't even have to say his name. Just bring anything about him up and that's all I need for my anxiety to shoot through the roof.

Even though I was staring straight ahead and trying my best not to tune into their conversation as they continued talking about him, I saw Nas from the corner of my eye glance up at me, I know he's making sure I'm okay.

When he saw the state I was in he quickly changed the subject and they began talking about something else. I leaned up and mumbled a tiny thank you into his ear.

"Well anyways. Sitting here and talking is getting boring and I'm kind of over it." Lucien yawned. "It's only like 7 and that's pretty early. What do you guys want to do? I don't plan on staying in the house all night."

"Well shit you can go. I'm too high to be going out right now. Fuck that. I'd probably end up doing some stupid shit and die or something. You guys know how I get." Chance mumbled softly, his eyes slanted and watery as he looked at the rest of us.

"Dude. We just left a whole ass party. Why are you trying to go out again?" Sterling questioned with a genuine confused look on his face. Lucien huffed and looked at him like he was crazy.

"That party was lame anyways. Everything died out after Angel and Nas ditched-"

"You assho-" Torrence started to say but Lucien payed the annoyed giant no mind.

"Plus, you really expect me to stay cooped up in NAS' house all night? You really have me fucked up." Lucien sassed, moving to get off the couch and going somewhere else within the house.

Nas took another hit of the blunt. "There's not shit wrong with my house." He murmured, his words sounding jumbled like he didn't really know what he was saying. He blew smoke in the opposite direction of where I was sitting. Sterling threw another cheeseball in Torrence's mouth as he said something to Nas who wasn't even paying attention to him.