Walks. One of my favorite things. Along with cigarettes, weed, whiskey, and drumming. It may be a long list, but those are the things I truly enjoy
It was close to 2am and I just needed to get out of the house.
It's not like I have a curfew anymore. I'm over 18. An awkward age I guess. 20.
All my friends are older, including my brother. They can all get in bars.
Which is where they are all at now, probably last call for the night. Until they find a friends house to continue to drink at. But of course, I won't be invited to that.
I would normally sneak in bars, but I've been caught a few more times than what I would've liked.
My parents aren't really proud of that, so for now, I'm laying low. Not gonna get in trouble. Just until the guys decide to go to a new place.

I inhaled my cigarette and looked up at the night sky.
I looked back down to see a girl turning the corner infront of me, I didn't have enough time to move.
We ended up colliding with eachother, with no time to brace ourselves for the sudden impact. It caused her to fall back onto her ass and making myself stumble back a few steps.
I quickly helped her up, trying to apologize.

She was alot shorter than me. But then again, everyone was. Her hair was long black, with what looked like pink in the front, but definitely in need of a brushing. Her eyes were covered with black makeup, making her look like a raccoon.
"Please help me!"
She gripped my hoodie and pulled me down alittle, slightly higher than her eye level.
I nodded, not really sure what to do.
"This might sound crazy, But give me your hoodie and kiss me."
What the hell?

I took off my hoodie and handed it to her, unsure. Her motions showed that she was in a rush, her hands were frantically waving infront of me, motioning for me to hurry. As soon as she got it on, she pulled the hood over her hair and stood up on her tippy toes, crashing her lips into mine.
I wrapped my arms around her small waist and kissed her back, playing along with her act.
Hey, She told me to kiss her. Why not?
I'm just following directions.
That's when I heard another pair of footsteps running past us.
She let go of me and looked around the corner at the man who just ran by before sighing.
She took off the clothing I had just given her, then handed it to me and softly smiled before she started walking off.

"What? No 'thank you'?"
She quickly stopped, turned around then nodded.
"Thank you."
"What? No! I was just kidding!"
"Either way, thank you."
"So, What was that all about?"
She looked down and tried to get rid of a few knots in her hair by brushing her fingers through it.
"Um. I'm kinda... running from someone."
I nodded and slid my arms through my hoodie sleeves.
"Who? If you don't mind me asking."
She chuckled.
"Sure. Why not. I'm never gonna see you again. My boy--"
I covered her mouth with my hand and listened to our surroundings, looking around.
The fast paced footsteps seemed to be heading in our direction once more.

I grabbed her hand before running off.
"C'mon!"
She wasn't resistant at all.
Did she really trust a complete stranger just to get away from this guy?
She didn't care at all that she had no idea who I was. She held on tight to my hand as she ran, falling behind me by only alittle.

We finally stopped running when we reached the beach. I sat down under the pier and patted the spot next to me.
The girl was standing up, but bent over with her hand resting on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
Her breathing slowly calmed down and she sat beside me.
"How the hell did we get here so fast?"
I chuckled and looked at the waves crashing in.
"I know some shortcuts. I used to come here when I ditched school. I felt like now was the right time to take someone on those shortcuts."
She nodded and looked at the waves before looking back at me.
"Thanks, Um..."
That's right. She didn't know my name.
"Mike."
She nodded at me. "Mike. Thank you."
"So, You have a name right?"
She laughed and laid back in the sand. "Why yes. Yes I do. But I'm not telling you."
I laid down beside her. "But I helped you."
She stood up and started walking away again.
"Yes. I'm very thankful for that too, but for all I know, you could be a crazy person."
"Oh yes. I'm the crazy person, but I'm not the one who forcefully kissed a stranger. But I think since I helped you out, I at least deserve to know your name."
I could already picture her rolling her eyes before she turned to face me, falling ass first into the loose sand.
"Nichole. My name is Nichole."
I smiled at her, slowly scooting to my right, slowly getting closer to her.
"Nichole, huh? I like it."
She nodded and looked up at the crashing waves before hugging her knees, breathing in deeply, still trying to catch her breath. When her breathing finally slowed down from the running, it was still a bit shaken and ridged.

Something about her was just so beautiful. The way the moonlight shone down on her. She had two little studs under her bottom lip, along with a septum ring. Her hair seemed alot less messy as it blew in the wind, her scent dancing to my nostrils. She smelled what I imagined heaven to be like. Something that I just couldn't get enough of. But yet, the smell was something that I couldn't begin to describe.
Looking at her, I found myself wanting to keep her safe from this guy she was running from. Keep her safe from anything that could harm her, really. She's a complete stranger but I feel like I owe her something.
I found myself smiling while I looked at her. Having my eyes on her didn't bother her at all. Her eyes were still fixated on the waves. My smile quickly dropped as I saw a silent tear fall down her cheek, followed by another one.

"Hey, now. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be crying."
She scoffed quietly as I lightly put my arm around her shoulder. I felt her stiffen up under my touch, I took it as a sign of 'no touching'. My arm quickly dropped from around her.
"C'mon. Let's go get something to eat. We'll make you feel better. IHop is 24 hours and I'm willing to buy. And if you refuse, I'll just keep coming up with things to do until I see a smile and no tears."
I stood up and held my hand out for her.
She stared at it before standing up without my help.
"You sure about that?"
I nodded and smiled when her stomach agreed with me about IHop. The dim lighting allowed me to see a slight crimson shade brush her cheeks. Most likely embarrassed about the song her stomach decided to sing.

We walked silently together back to my place so we could take my van instead of having to walk. Her feet were so quiet as they hit the sidewalk, but it was constant, like a heartbeat. Which for some odd reason made me focus on the sound even more.
Whenever I'd look at her, she'd ignore my gaze and continue to look at the ground. To me, that's weird. If I look at a girl, they'd freak out, get flustered and wonder why I'm staring at them. But the more I focused on her, I saw her eyes examining the side walk while her lips silently counted.

When we made it to my van, I opened the back door and pulled out
one of my hoodies, handing it to her.
"It's cold out."
She gave me a soft smile as she took it and got into the passenger seat.
"I imagined you as some sort of Honda civic guy. Not a mini van guy."
"Parent's old van. It's okay though, at least there's always enough seats for friends."
She buckled herself in and placed the hoodie on her lap, lightly running her thumb over the soft gray material.
"Thanks, again. But you really don't have to do this. You can just take me home."
"Is home where that guy is?"
She sighed and looked down at her hands, her being quiet was an obvious 'yes'.
"Look. You ran up to a total stranger and begged for help. That's what I'm doing. We'll go get food and when we're done, you can figure out whether or not you really want to go back."
She nodded and stared at the window, staying quiet for the remainder of the ride.

She didn't get out the van when we arrived, she kept her eyes fixated on the hoodie.
"It's so crazy how strangers, like yourself, are more caring than the man that has supposedly been in love with me for four years..."
"Not all people are bad."
"I-I know. It's just sometimes hard to remember."
What do I say back to her?
"Mike.... If you could take me home or... even to a hotel, that would be great. I'm just, not really hungry."
"I-uh, I have a guest bed room, if you'd wish to stay there. You'd be safe and, well, it's free. I'll even make you a breakfast as if you were at a hotel."
She started to pick at any fuzzy on her that she could as she stayed quiet, most likely debating with herself on what to do.
"But you've already done so much for me."
"No, no. It's fine."
She nodded and brought my hoodie closer to her chest.
"I promise I'll be out by tomorrow morning."
I shot her a small smile before back tracking to my house.

She stood in the living room, looking at the family pictures on the walls, the small trinkets my mom had set up around the house, everything new that she could. The only light in the house was a small night light my mom likes to keep on in the living room. Connected to our living room was our dining room. Left of the dining room was the walkway for the kitchen. Between the dining room and living room was a hallway. Bathroom and closet at the end, make a left and you're in my parents bedroom. When she finally spotted me coming down the hallway, it seemed as though a wave of relief rushed through her body.
"I just wanted to tell my mom there was a guest. So in the morning she doesn't have a freak out moment to someone new being in the house."
She nodded and followed me when I motion for her to.
While we walked up the stairs, I heard her counting once again. I wanted to ask, but I felt like I shouldn't.

Upstairs was where Vic's, Mine, and the guest bedroom are. Coming up the stairs, if you walked straight forward, you were in Vic's room. If you turned left, took three steps, then took another left then walked a few more steps you were at my door. Then the guest room was on the other side, taking rights instead of lefts, mirroring mine. The upstairs hall was almost in the shape of an 'U'.

She sat on the bed and once again studied her surroundings. The room was very plain. Bed side table, dresser with a mirror attached, purple curtains hung almost touching the ground, overhead lighting with a fan slowly spinning. The only plus about this room was really the fact it had a bathroom connected. Since we rarely had guests over, Vic and I used that bathroom.

"I'll go get you a pair of shorts to sleep in."
As I left the room, I felt her eyes follow me.
What is it about this girl?

She gave me a quiet 'thank you' when I handed her the clothing.
"I'm right down the hall. if you need anything, just knock."
"I will. Goodnight, Mike."
"Goodnight."
I smiled and shut the door behind me, giving her her privacy.

I striped down to boxers and crawled into my cold bed. Nichole danced around in my thoughts and I found myself longing to know her. I wanted to hear her laugh, any funny stories she had. I wanted to know why she was running from that guy and what he would've done to her if he caught up to her. The thought made me shudder. If she was so willing to ask a stranger for help, what was he going to do?
I laid on my back with my hands behind my head, staring at my ceiling.
I found myself wondering if this is the last time I'd see her. After breakfast would she leave and go back. Would we accidentally run into eachother again? Or would this soon be just a memory?
I found it stupid of me to ask that. Of course it wouldn't. I wouldn't let her walk out of my life knowing that something bad could happen to her. Even if she does leave after breakfast, i'll make sure it won't be the last time I see her.

"Oh great. I'm a stalker now?"
I rolled over and groaned.
I'm so stuck on this girl and I don't even know her.

--


She finally walked downstairs, close to noon. I smiled at her as she looked around the house, once her eyes landed on me.
"Morning."
She gave me a nod and said it back, only alot quieter.
"There's eggs and pancakes if you'd like them."
She slowly walked over the the table where an empty plate and the food sat.
She was still in the shorts and hoodie I had given her the night before. Her legs were bruised, along with the right side of her face. The sight enraged me, but I felt best to leave it alone. Besides, no one likes an interrogation when they first wake up. When she at down infront of me and slowly stabbed a fork into the pancakes, getting one for herself, I noticed that her hair was less knotted and that it wasn't makeup around her eyes. They were sunken in and were also slightly bruised.
She pushed the pieces of food around in the gooey brown liquid, not taking a bite of it.
"Thank you for last night... I -uh, I needed a break. And it was nice of you to offer me a place."
I smiled once again and nodded.
"I should be getting back now, though."
"Will he hurt you for this?"
The question slipped out of my mouth before I had time to filter myself.
Her breathing stopped for a second as she stiffed.
"Last night, you said that it's crazy thinking a stranger is more caring than a lover. Is he going to hurt you if you return? Since you've been out all night?"
She bit her lip and nodded.
"I can't avoid him. And it's best if you just forget about me. If something happens and he finds out you helped me, he'll go after you. All I want from you, is to know that I really appreciate your help and for you to not look for me."
"How am I supposed to do that when I know something bad is going to happen?"
She ignored my question and walked back to the guest room.

When she returned she was in her clothes from last night.
"What're you going to tell him, then?"
"That I slept in at a park... We passed one while we were running. I slept there. In his mind, I never met a Mike."
I stood up and looked down at my feet, rubbing the back of my neck. There's nothing I could say or do that would change her mind...
"If you need anything, you know where I live..."
I quickly walked to my mom's desk and ripped out a the corner of a blank sheet of paper from a notebook, jotting down my number.
"And now, you know my number."
I held it out to her, and as I hoped, she took it and shoved it in her pocket.
"Thank you, Mike."
She gave me a smile smile before walking towards the door.

And just like that she was gone. I watched as she walked down the street and made a left, going out of my view. Everything in me wanted to beg her to stay. But who am I to do that?

Notes

I'm going to try to update this as much as I can. But I'm still trying to figure out exactly where I want to go with it, but I do have some good ideas for it.

Comment and let me know what you think is going to happen, or if you just have something to say about it. Anything is appreciated. (:

The story title is inspired from The Wonder Years.