Zach's POV

"Long time no see," Clive said, his voice filled with that attitude he knew I hated—the attitude that told me that he didn't care what the fuck I thought as long as I kept my mouth shut.

"Too soon," I replied behind clenched teeth. I tried to control the burning rage that boiled within. I had to keep it on a lock-down, else I'd be in deep shit.

I knew what they wanted from me, and as long as I gave it to them they usually left. This time, though, they had seen Dylan. I was a bit worried about what they might do with that information. I wanted to steal a glance at him to make sure he was staying away, but I couldn't. I had to keep my eyes on the douchebags who snatched away the one person that had truly mattered to me in my life.

"You know, you're a pretty cocky guy, and we don't think we like that, do we guys?" Clive gloated, turning to the others for confirmation. They all nodded while their eyes sparkled with danger. That didn't wipe the awful grins off of their faces, however.

"I can guess why you're here, so I'll tell you what I usually tell you. If I'd had the evidence I would have made sure you were locked up for the rest of your pathetic lives, but I don't, so you have nothing to fucking worry about!"

I took a moment to calm my breathing. I usually didn't let them see me this upset, but a certain guy had completely turned me into a hormonal, emotional wreck which didn't exactly help at this moment.

"Good, good," Clive said, nodding his head and then patting me on my head like I was a damn puppy, or better yet, a puppet. "You better take good care of lover boy over there, he's got a cute ass..." Clive smirked with badly veiled contempt. I began to shake with anger, fear, hate—but I couldn't let it show. I couldn't let them see. If something happened to Dylan because of me, I wouldn't ever forgive myself.

Clive keyed my car one last time as they went, but I didn't care as long as they walked away. I stood there, anger still pulsing within me, memories threatening to unfold from where I kept them locked behind countless doors.

"Zach?"

I startled at Dylan's soft voice behind me. I wasn't really ready to speak with him yet, not after this. Not after they'd threatened him. It hurt, and I hated that feeling. I hated to feel at all, and this guy, this good looking, obnoxious guy made me feel all sorts of things.

I felt him place a hand on my shoulder. A presence I forced myself to accept. I craved this touch, but after seeing those guys again the impulse to lash out in anger was almost impossible to rein, and I had promised never to lash out at him again. Besides, he seemed to have more than enough on his shoulders already.

"Zach!" he said, a little less hesitant this time. He kept his hand on my shoulder but moved to stand in front of me. I knew he was waiting for me to look at him, but I couldn't focus. I felt him get closer, invading my space, but this time I didn't want to stop him.

His arms snaked around me, holding me firmly while my shoulders dropped. He was here, they were gone.

My body began to shake as the adrenaline dispersed from my system. I was shaking, and I couldn't stop.

"Hey, they're gone Zach, they're gone," he said gently, gripping one hand around my head, caressing my hair. I felt ridiculous, but it helped. I hated that he had seen me like this, not only once, but twice. I'd never shown anyone before, so why him? One part of me just wanted to get rid of him, never lay eyes on him again, but another part needed him: I needed him in a way that almost made me scared.

"Do you have your stuff, I can drive," he continued, his breath tickling my neck.

"Drive where?" I asked.

"Away..."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

I dug through my pocket and found the keys to the car. His hand clasped around mine, pressing it lightly before he stole the keys.

"Come on, let's get you into the car," he said, giving me a soft touch of his lips on mine. It felt strange: being taken care of. No one had done that to me in years, not since... I shoved the thought away. I didn't want to think about it.

Dylan steered me to the car, opened the passenger door and urged me inside. I felt like a baby, but for some reason I didn't care, not now. He got down in the driver's seat and started the car. I looked over at him and relaxed a little bit more when I saw the determined look in his eyes. No matter what I said, he would keep his word.

Away... he was taking me away, and that was the best fucking idea ever.

I don't know how long we had been driving, but it was clear that we were talking hours rather than minutes. Dylan hadn't said a single word, and I was grateful. I didn't want him to ask. I looked out the window and realized that I had no clue of where we were. We were on a small road so there were no road signs in sight to give me any hints.

"Where are we?" I heard myself saying, almost surprising myself. We had been silent for so long.

"We're close to my grandparent's old house."

"You're taking me there?"

"To be honest, I was just driving..." he answered.

"Can we sleep there?" I asked, seeing as we wouldn't be able to get back into town before nightfall even if we turned right now.

"Yeah, it should be possible. There should be some firewood to keep us through the night if it gets cold. No running water, though."

His words made me smile. I'd never been in a house without heating or water before. My parents were always big on comfort.

"Cool," I said, feeling a bit of excitement stirring through the thick blanket of depression. I looked at him briefly and saw a grin spread all over his face. A grin that stirred something entirely different within me. How he did it was beyond me, but that guy packed some serious amounts of sex appeal. Enough of it to make me forget that I wasn't gay, or at least I'd never been gay before he bumped into my shoulder. It said a great deal that I was even able to think about sex right now.

"There's only one bed, though," he said. There was a hint of worry in his voice, but also a plea. I could almost taste its sweet flavor on my tongue.

"Is that so?" I answered, instantly feeling a lot hotter.

"So it is...but I can sleep on the couch."

"Right. You sure you don't want a piece of this?" I teased, pointing at myself. Yes, I was a cocky asshole, but it was fun to flirt. It got rid of the tension, and it also lessened the worry-lines in Dylan's face. He had enough of those—too many in fact.

"Hmm...perhaps we'll have to make a bargain," he suggested.

His request instantly put me on guard. I knew what he was after...and I wasn't ready. I couldn't tell him about what had happened, not yet.

"Dylan..." I started, but he cut me off.

"Zach, you don't need to tell me everything. I just want to know if I should be worried for your safety, you know, like you were when we talked about Tobias. I need to know if I can continue to sleep at night or if I should get a prescription for sleeping pills."

His comment made me falter. He couldn't be serious. Right? Did he really care so much? If anything, Dylan was the one in danger. Clive meant business with his threats, but no way in hell that I could tell Dylan about it. He had enough problems as it was.

I stayed silent the rest of the ride, thinking about what to say, how to say it, if I should say it.

Suddenly Dylan's phone came to life."Can you answer it?" he asked.

I shrugged in response and put the phone to my ear. "Hello."

"Where's Dylan?" the man on the other end asked.

"Who's asking?"

"Fuck off, where the hell is he?"

"Rude much? Dude, tell me who you are or I'll hang up."

"Is this Zach?" the man asked, and I could almost hear his evil grin.

"Fuck off man, you have the wrong number." I cut the call and placed the phone between us. Dylan didn't say a word, and neither did I. Enough shit had happened for one day.