Pizza guy (Ruby, Jon)

[Lovely]

June 19, 2010
8:45pm


Ruby was singing along with the radio on and off as she waited for Noah and the pizza delivery person to show up. She was picking up a little, tossing some clothes into a bag to take to the laundry mat tomorrow. "I have too much underwear." She laughed to herself as she picked up another pair off the floor. Ruby was always saying she was going to start being neater so she wouldn't have to scramble to pick up on the nights Noah came over but every week she was scrambling again. He only came over about once a week with his work schedule, usually they would meet or just go out and he'd drop her off back here. Things were mostly good between them aside from him being insanely jealous and on edge alot lately. Being on edge she excused away because of all the disappearances, alot of their friends were missing and she knew he must be worried like she was. Ruby set the laundry bag down by the door of her room and then leaned on the kitchen counter, staring at the front door and waiting for the knock.

He never had interest in working at the mill. He just wasn't cut out for that kind of work.With the recent events he was thankful for that, too. He didn't have much interest in cars, either, but grew up with the pack understanding that he needed to fit in when it was necessary, so at 16 he'd gotten a license like any normal kid. One look at Jon would confirm he wasn't entirely normal, though. He usually watched everything with a sort of elusive stance, a standoffishness between arrogance and paranoia, but it worked for him most of the time. He wasn't as crafty as his den brothers, but had the idea he could get Noah's girl if he worked the timing right, and the results couldn't have been better. The pizza guy was called just as he'd hoped and Ruby would be inside waiting for two arrivals, though Noah wouldn't be one to knock tonight. Pizza in this town was usually delivered in weak excuses for cars, the kind that didn't lock or accelerate quickly enough - the kind with windows that needed a crank to roll down and didn't roll up fast enough, either. Such was Jon's fortune to sabotage the delivery and get a free pizza, although the pizza kid was likely to be missed - like so many of the other recent disappearances. He took a few minutes to salvage the cleaner clothes - at least the hat was clean - before driving up to her place, first to wait for Noah, then to deliver the pizza in style. When finally the knock on the door did come, Jon was there, pleasantly grinning and although Noah's car was parked in the street, he was nowhere to be seen.

Ruby was quite bored by the time the knock came at the door and she pushed off the counter with a sigh. "Finally!" She murmured to herself, the pizza guy was not getting a tip and Noah.. well he'd have more severe punishment! Both were playful thoughts, her anger not even strong enough to carry in her scent. She peeked out and saw the hat, maybe she'd eat without Noah! "Hi!" Ruby had a friendly smile as she opened the door and motioned the guy to bring it inside. "Busy night?" She asked, closing the door and slipping in front to lead him into the kitchen, her hips swaying lightly as she walked.

"Yeah, kinda," he said, watching her lead the way inside. He looked back to the pizza car and Noah's parked outside. He'd try not to worry about it too long. "How about you? Planning on eating this all by yourself or are you having a party or something?"

"I might eat it all myself!" She laughed but the expression didn't stay happy long as it turned into a pout, she was thinking about Noah and why he might be late. "No party.. but I'm supposed to have company." She hadn't looked far enough to notice Noah's car, since there were trees blocking the view to the street. That's what it was like almost every where but downtown which wasn't really very city like either, just things were closer than everywhere else in the rural wooded town. "You can just set it on the counter." She rubbed her tummy a little, she was hungry and probably wouldn't wait much longer to eat, hot pizza was the best. "Here, keep the change." She brought him over the money for the tab, which Noah would owe her for.

"Nah. It's on the house," he said, refusing the money. He set the box on the counter and turned to face her. "Seriously, no charge. It's my fault it was late so you eat the pizza, I eat the charge, deal?" He looked around her place and took in the scents from where she'd been piling clothes. What he wouldn't get to get closer to that!

He made her smile a sweet little smile and she blushed a little, he seemed really nice and though she shook her head a little she dropped her hand with the money. "You're not really that late.. You don't have to.. eat the charge." She bit her lower lip and watched him look around, something about his face made her want to get closer.. hug him or something.. it was kind of weird. She decided he was cute, but she couldn't place him, he hadn't delivered to her before. "Really.. I'm more upset that my company is late.. I'm hungry and.. sorry, I'm sure you don't care about my silly issues.." She tried to hand him the money again, stepping closer to him this time.

"It's cool," he shrugged. "Can't think anybody'd stand you up, though. I dunno. It's kind of a weird night out there. Maybe it's a full moon or something. If it was me, though, I wouldn't keep you waiting. Anyway, if you're hungry, you should go ahead and eat while it's still gooey, right?"

Her smile peeked out again and she knew it wouldn't go over well but he was being real sweet to her, so she offered anyway. "Do you have another delivery waiting in the car? Maybe you could stay for a slice?" Noah had been kind of a jerk lately and it felt good to be treated nice.. she just wanted a couple minutes more.. that wasn't so wrong, was it?

"I really shouldn't. I just ate, anyway, but thanks. More for you, right? Fresh hot's the best, but leftovers - can't beat that, either," he said, declining the pizza though it and the rest of her place did turn his hunger up a notch despite the recent snacks. "I don't have any other deliveries at the moment, though. I wouldn't mind sticking around until your company arrives, though. Weird shit's been going on lately and I dunno about you, but it freaks me out a little."

[Lovely]

She should have told him to go and her eyes cast down as she nodded and invited him to stay instead. Ruby wasn't stupid and she didn't normally act this way - maybe she was just sick of being treated like crap? "That's very nice of you.. Are you sure you don't mind me eating.. and you won't get in trouble?" She pouted a little at what she was doing and the thoughts of him leaving or getting in trouble for staying. Noah would be pissed but maybe he'd realize that he wasn't the only guy who'd give her the time of day. "A lot of pretty scary stuff has been happening lately.. makes a girl not want to be alone."

"Hundred percent sure I won't get in trouble," he grinned. The way she suggested not wanting to be alone made him think of all kinds of other trouble. "Not when I'm taking care of the customer, right? Okay, so maybe not entirely by the rules, but what the heck? I don't mind at all if you don't. Seriously, if you're expecting people and they don't show up - that's pretty serious. I mean, you've heard all the news, right? Glad to help with that if I can - I mean, sticking around so you're not alone."

The pout came back as he put it into a different perspective - how could she be mad at Noah if something had happened? "Yeah, good point.. do you want to sit down?" No reason for the nice guy to stand the whole time. "We can sit at the table or in the living room, if you want." She nodded toward the other room she'd mentioned and went to get herself a plate. "Are you sure you don't want a slice? How about a soda?"

He was likely to start pacing if he didn't sit down. "Yeah, maybe, if that's okay? A soda would be cool. Hey, you know, I could go take a look outside if you want. You're kinda set back a little from the road. Maybe he's just out in his car listening to tunes or something?"

She leaned into the fridge, bending down to get the sodas off the bottom shelf, she came up so quick at his idea that she banged her head on the edge of the freezer door. "Ow." She blushed, probably more embarrassed than hurt and rubbed her head with one hand as she held the cans of soda cradled in her other arm. "Yeah.. maybe.. I don't know if you should go out and check, he might be all pissed and stuff. He's been in an awful mood lately.. a real jerk to be honest."

"Has he? That's not cool. Are you alright? That sounded like it hurt," he said, noticing the bump more than her worry about Noah's temper. "Tell you what. If it's cool, I'll take a look around and see. If anything seems whacked, I'm not going anywhere until he calls or something."

"Yeah.. he's been jumpy and cranky.. on edge.. you know? I figure it's all the stuff that's been happening.. several of his friends have gone missing..." She explained, trying to excuse some of Noah's behavior, she didn't want this guy to think she'd just date a total loser. Why did it matter what he thought? "I'm Ruby.." She came closer again, setting the sodas down and offering her hand to him.

He knew exactly why Noah had every reason to be on edge, but unfortunately for Noah, he hadn't been jumpy enough. Jon chuckled as she gave him a name. He hadn't thought about that and he felt his pale cheeks darken a little. "Sorry. Forgot my name tag I guess. I'm Jon. Yeah, so if it's okay, I'll be right back, I promise," he said, taking her chilled hand in his unusually warm one.

"That's okay, I'd rather be polite than just read off your name tag.. a little warmer this way." She smiled, speaking of warm - his hand felt nice around her and she held onto it a moment longer than she needed to. "If you want to go have a look, it would be okay.. I think he's probably just blowing me off.." That's what she wanted to think anyway. "Be careful alright?"

"Eh, I'm tougher than I look," he admitted, still feeling his face warming up. Her scent close up was enticing enough to do that but acting like a dork wasn't helping. "Thanks, though. I appreciate the concern." He grinned again and his eyes seemed to sparkle a little before he turned to go back out the door. He knocked as he let himself back in, peeking around and hoping she wasn't armed with a frying pan. He'd been gone only a few seconds. "Ruby? What kind of car does he drive?" He made it sound like he'd simply forgotten to ask.

She gone to sit at the kitchen table and barely was in the chair when he came back, she sort of jumped up and looked at him with a worried expression. Her face relaxed as he asked about what kind of car Noah drove and she chuckled half under her breath at being so skittish, this wasn't a horror flick for goodness sake! "Oh.. it's a dark blue Saab four door sedan type thing."

"Oh. Then you might want to come out here a sec," he said, his own expression appearing worried. What if she didn't believe the whole thing? "There's a dark something parked out front but I don't see anyone in it."

Her emotions were pretty easy to read on her face, the expression becoming concerned again and she hurried toward the door, her red boots almost a blur as her legs moved her quickly toward him and then outside. She stopped and looked around a moment, biting her lower lip before she headed down the driveway.

The car he'd borrowed was parked askew as if he was planning on simply delivering and leaving, but the car in the driveway looked parked with the purpose of staying for a while. The engine was off and no one was anywhere near it. Ruby ran up to the car and would see exactly that - nothing. Jon followed her and looked to the car he'd borrowed. He reached in and shut off the engine he'd left running for effect. "Looks like I should stay a while and see what's up with this, huh?"

It didn't make sense to her, why wouldn't Noah come in? She could see him maybe sitting in the car for a few minutes, stewing or something but to just take off and leave his car there? "Noah!" She called out as she stood up from looking in the car window and finding nothing. Ruby looked to Jon, the level of worry on her face was clear, as well as a little fear creeping in. This was starting to seem more like a horror movie than real life should. "Maybe he was just mad and went for a walk?"

"I don't think so," Jon said, rattling something in his hand he'd bent to pick up - where he'd left them before coming in. He held Noah's keys in his hand and came up closer to Ruby. "I don't think he went without help," he suggested, shaking his head.

[Lovely]

Her heart was already beating at a fast pace but it started to race at the sight of the keys. "M-maybe.. he dropped them?" She suggested, pouting and looking more frightened, Jon was probably right. "I should.. call the police." It took her a second to get her whirling thoughts in some order to have any sense to it. She wanted to run, but wasn't that what the girl in the movie did? Ruby turned toward the house to go make that call.

Jon was a step ahead of her somehow, keeping her from going inside. "I don't think that's a good idea," he suggested, his eyes seeming to sparkle even more now. "You can't stay here. If someone got him, they might be waiting here for you, right?"

She stopped, nearly bumping into him and having a second of confusion as she looked into his eyes. "That's exactly why we should call the police.. what if they're still out there? The sooner we get someone on the way, the safer we'll be, right?"

"I don't think so," he said. "The police can't do jack about this, or won't. I think we need to leave. Now," he said, reaching for her to turn her back from the door. "I mean consider, if someone did this to him, they could be here right now and where are the police? I don't see them, do you?"

Ruby resisted, trying not to let him turn her around and away from the door. "I do think so.. I think we're just asking to get... killed if we stay out here. The longer we wait to call the police the more chance they have to jump us.. What if they're waiting till we try to get in the car.. when we're seperated and easier targets?"

"I think you're missing my point, Ruby," Jon said, pulling harder, his eyes flashing more of a red gleam than before. "It's time to go now, and forget about Noah. He's not coming back. Now, come on!" He wasn't thinking clearly anymore.

Obviously she'd been missing alot and some of it dawned on her as he pulled harder and told her it was time to forget about Noah. "Let go of me!" She snapped back though she was pretty scared, his eyes seemed to be getting red and it was like something out of a movie, not anything she'd ever seen in real life. "You're hurting me.." She tried a different angle, moving toward him a little, her eyes shimmering with tears and her mouth in a small pout. "Please.. Jon.. please don't hurt me."

"I'm sorry. Guess I'll have to do this a different way, then," he said, thankful now for the cover of trees and the bit of distance between neighbors. He moved fast this time, bending to lift her over his shoulder to get her into Noah's car. He was banking on the fact the guy was a jerk most of the time and that others besides Ruby knew it. If they thought she was yelling at him then taking off in his car, who would care until it was too late?

"A different.." She didn't finish asking as he scooped her up over his shoulder and started to move. She screamed without thinking, simply reacting to the fear and panic that rose up inside her and finally erupted in a shrill voice. Her hands clawed and beat at him, her legs trying to kick out at him as well. She wasn't sure if anyone was close enough to hear or if they would care about the yelling since she and Noah had founght alot lately and they might have heard that as well.

For as small as he was, he carried her easily despite the kicking, but the screaming hurt his ears and trying to turn his head away from the sound made him stagger a little. He pulled the door open and dumped her unceremoniously into the back seat, shutting the door quickly before she could adjust herself to try and leap out or lock him out. Jon leapt into the driver's seat himself and almost took the second to buckle himself in, but thought better of it in favor of speed. Noah's car needed to be gone and it was good at making itself disappear. Jon had never driven a performance car before and actually liked how it felt, but not the sick feeling of worrying that's he'd actually hurt Ruby.

It was a shock when he dumped her into the back seat, like one second she was over his shoulder and the next the car was moving. She recovered and went for the door handle, it might hurt but she could throw herself out. Alright it would hurt and she knew it but she was led by the fear of disappearing like all those other people. "Figures I'd fall for the serial killer's charm!" She muttered to herself as her hand grabbed the door handle and jerked it.

"Not so fast - thing's got child locks," he said over his shoulder, thankful for the improved technology over the pizza guy's car. This was one he could get to like, but he couldn't keep it. "And I'm not a serial killer," he said, pouting now as if his hurt feelings would help her panic less and sway her back in his favor.

"Damnit Noah! Why couldn't you buy an irresponsible sports car like other guys?" She asked of her absent boyfriend, who's car she was now trapped in. "Not a serial killer? Ohh well, color me relieved.. Where is Noah and why are you kidnapping me?" She demanded, looking to the front and into the rear view mirror with a pouting glare, his expression shouldn't have bothered her but some part of her recalled how nice he'd been at first. She tried to tell herself it was all a trick to get her to let her guard down and she'd been dumb enough to fall for it. She folded her arms and glared at the door instead, she didn't like the hurt expression on his face.

He angrily flipped the hat off his head and flung it into the passenger seat. "I'm not, but I can't tell you where he is. You wouldn't believe me, or understand," he said quietly. He shook his long, thick hair out of his face and glanced back at her in the mirror as he drove. Her scent was driving him crazy in the small space and he was having trouble concentrating. "I'm keeping you from getting killed, but I don't expect you to believe that."

She looked up as he ripped his hat off and flung it across the seat, her arms tightened around herself and the pout set a little deeper on her face, she looked sort of small and scared. She didn't argue with him though she wanted to yell and tell him that he was kidnapping her - no matter what his reason, he was taking her against her will. "Give me a reason to believe it." She challenged instead and lifted her gaze to the mirror again.

"Because I wouldn't hurt you. I'm sorry I did, cuz I didn't mean to. I forget sometimes that h-.... hot girls... make me nervous and clumsy," he said, almost calling her a human girl by mistake. "I mean that about you. Not that it matters so much now."

[Lovely]

"That doesn't make me believe you." She told him, her eyes narrowing on the mirror and then her face relaxed a little, still pouting but not looking as if she wanted to rip his face off. "I accept your apology. You didn't hurt me that much.. mostly scared me." She crossed her legs and looked off to the side. "Do you kidnap girls that you think are hot, often? You know there are better ways to get dates.. ones that could result in a second date even."

"That's not the reason. I told you, I'm trying to keep you alive. I wasn't joking about someone coming to your house - someone besides me - who will hurt you if they find you alone or still with Noah. If anything, he's the dang killer," he said under his breath, a look of extreme emotional pain tightening his eyes into narrows for an instant.

"Why would anyone want to hurt me and how is it that the pizza guy knows about this plot?" She asked, leaned forward to try and see his eyes as they narrowed, he looked like he was.. "This talking through the mirror is not working! I'm coming up front." It's not like it was a police car, she didn't have to stay in the back! Ruby shifted her skirt up on her thighs to get her leg over the seat, her breath hitting his neck as she climbed in front, trying not to knock into him while he was driving.

"The pizza guy was just a bit player, caught in the middle," he explained, lithely dodging her attempt to climb up front. The bare thigh didn't go unnoticed, but he only had a blink or two to appreciate it for the moment. "You said Noah's been acting all kinds of psycho on you lately and I could probably tell you why. He was in on something big that went down a few weeks ago. Him and his friends at the mill? They got a little crazy on someone close to my family and shit went all kinds of wrong."

She got into the front, sitting in the seat, pulling the hat from under her and her skirt down again, she stared at the hat a moment before tossing it in back. "You're not the pizza guy.. Is your name even Jon?" She asked a tint of hurt in her voice at being deceived and more upset with herself for getting pulled in so easily. Was she really that unhappy that she craved the attention of a stranger who said a few nice things? "It's been more than a few weeks, like twice that.. since then end of April when people first started going missing." She glanced at 'Jon' and then reached to put her seat belt on. "You should buckle up."

"Yes, it's really Jon," he said through his teeth as he buckled the seat belt. He glanced over at her. "Someone died that night, Ruby. He was like a brother to me and that shit and his buddies, all they could do was laugh and gloat over it like he was some kind of... trophy," he spat.

At first she was a little pissed that he seemed mad at her for asking about his name, how was she supposed to know what to believe when he'd deceived her already? She opened her mouth to lash back and it was left opened in a soft gasp as he explained the rest, her head shook lightly in denial. "No." She whispered, turning herself away as much as she could in the car, she felt sick. "Noah wouldn't do that.." Her voice was soft, barely there and she felt like she couldn't breathe. The way Jon said it, with such hurt and anger, it was clear he believed it. Ruby denied it but it made sense in a way, her mind putting the pieces together about how he'd been acting and how crazy he got, how nearly hysterical he'd become whenever there was another report. He'd clung to her like he was afraid she'd leave him or disappear like the mist. She shook her head again, closing her eyes against the well of tears. "No.. no..it's not true." She whispered to herself, curling up on the seat as if that might protect her from the truth.

"Yeah, well he did and some folks around here feel payback is necessary which means him and anyone close to him unless someone gets in the way, like me," he said, slowing down to pull off the road. "They want to hurt you badly, teach him a lesson, maybe kill both of you, too. It's beyond the police - that's what I tried to tell you. It's blood now and a vengeance that's so strong I can taste it."

His words scared her enough that the tears spilled down her cheeks, though she didn't sob hysterically. "How are you going to protect me if it's that bad already?" She asked, lifting her gaze to him though he was just a blur beyond her tears.

"I keep you with me and prove to them that you had nothing to do with it, first off. After that, maybe we get to have that soda and stuff and start talking instead of screaming at each other. Kinda starting over from 'hi, here's your pizza', you know? I don't like it like this, either, but I told you, I don't want you to get hurt," he explained. He pulled off the road to a small side access road that went behind the mill.

Ruby wiped at her eyes and glared at him through wet lashes. "I haven't screamed at you! I screamed for help when you tried to take off with me.. that's different!" She sniffled and glanced out the dark window, she wasn't sure where they were or where he planned to take her. "I think I've been pretty reasonable considering what's happened and what you've told me." She swallowed before asking the next and seemingly obvious question. "How do you convince someone who is so angry and set on vengeance that they are out for blood, that they don't need to hurt me?"

"You won't like the answer. Even after I tell you everything else, cuz I don't like the answer, either. Years.... YEARS.. Mitch always said to live and leave everybody be, you know? That's all changed now. He says that the only way now is to lay claim to what we want to keep for ourselves. If I claim you, they won't touch you," he explained.

[Lovely]

She was silent for a couple of minutes as she let his words roll around in her head, finally she looked over at him again, her head shaking a little. "I don't think I understand the answer.. how do you claim me and what difference will it make? I mean.. wouldn't they still hate me for what Noah did and wouldn't they think you were a traitor or something?" She wiped at her cheeks and rested her head against the seat. "This isn't fair. I didn't have anything to do with what happened, I didn't even know about it until just now.. you shouldn't have to risk yourself for some girl you don't even know and wouldn't want to.."

"But I want to. When I found out about you, I wanted to even more because you had nothing to do with it - and you needed someone who wasn't a shit to you like him anyway," he said. "I was kinda around one night and heard you fighting. That's so not cool beyond words. You deserve better than that. They won't hate you or think of you that way."

"You've been watching me?.. us?" She was shocked at first but then not so much, it made sense that they would watch and wait for the right time to attack.. only he was trying to save her instead. Maybe her first impressions of him hadn't been so wrong. "It sounds too easy.. you just claim me and boom they don't try to hurt or kill me? There must be some catch.. How do you claim me.. what does that mean?"

"That's the part you won't like," he said as he stopped the car on the slope of the hill. "We have to walk the rest of the way. You probably won't like that part, either, but I can carry you. Claiming means keeping, like that song 'forever your girl'? You'd be forever my girl," he shrugged and turned to look at her directly. The light here was next to nothing, but his eyes still shone.

"That doesn't sound so bad.. especially if you're nice to me.. like you mostly have been." He really hadn't been mean or cruel or acted like a jerk to her, the worst he'd done was when he forced her into the car. There wasn't a scratch on her, she'd likely hurt herself worse bonking her head on the fridge than anything he had done. "You wouldn't suddenly start being mean to me or knocking me around if I let you keep me, would you?" She stared at his eyes, biting her lower lip, she wanted to ask about them too, but one thing at a time, she told herself.

"No, I'm not like that. There's one thing though, and I won't lie - that part does hurt, but it doesn't last long. It's kind of like an initiation thing, but better," he explained further, getting ready to get out of the car. "Ready to walk with me?"

She looked out at the dark forest and slowly nodded, she wasn't ready for all this but what choice did she have? She needed to at least try to be brave and face what was happening, fight to survive when others wanted to harm her. "Jon.." She started, reaching for his hand before he got out of the car. "You'll stay with me through the part that hurts? Maybe hold my hand if I cry like a baby?"

"Of course I will. That's part of the deal. You stay with me through all of it. Get all your stuff if you have anything in here that you want to keep," he said, clasping her hand and waiting for her to be ready to head into the woods on foot.

She felt a little better with his assurance that he wouldn't leave her alone, but she was still scared. There were some things in the car that were her - a sweat shirt, a change of clothes and a bikini in a small tote bag from one time they went on a day trip, her perfume in the console... just little things that said she spent alot of time in the car with Noah. She gathered up all she could find and put it into the tote that was about the size of a large purse. "Okay.." She said with a soft sigh as she pulled the bag onto her shoulder and closed the car door. She turned to Jon with a hesitant smile, she was nervous but reached for his hand again. "How can you see anything out here?"

"It's one of the perks of the initiation along with not getting cold easily," he admitted as her door closed. "And a bit of extra oomph for the road, too. Hope you have everything. Stand back." He reached in and released the brake as soon as she was clear of the car, giving it a little push to roll itself wherever it would go.

She stepped aside and watched the car roll, then turned toward Jon trying for his hand again before they heard the crunch of the car hitting something - probably a tree. "What are you?" She asked rather bluntly. "The way you keep talking like you're.. something else, this initiation and perks.. and your eyes.. they're.. they like glowed or something.."

"I'm not like you," he said, taking her hand and holding on as he shrugged again, unfazed by the damage to the car. "I am something else. Once you see more, it will make more sense. Come on, it's back that way. It's kind of a long way for those shoes, though. I'm serious about carrying you."

"Yeah.. I sort of got that part." She smiled a little and laced her fingers with his. "Why won't you tell me? If I'm going to see more, shouldn't I know more?" She edged herself closer to him, trying a little sweet pout to see how it effected him, she was starting to think he liked her and just maybe he meant it. It was worth finding out if she had any sway over him, especially if she was going to stay with him. "If it's a long way in these shoes, isn't it a long way to carry me?" Her other hand brushed his arm a lightly.

"Remember that part about not believing me? You have no reason to believe me if I tell you, other than my saying it's true. I grew up in these woods and never worked at the mill - never will either. Our family is really close and we keep to ourselves mostly. What happened that night should never have happened. We didn't stick close together and they found him. They didn't know what they were dealing with, that it was one of us. They didn't know about us - and they never will. Look carefully," he said, pulling a cigarette lighter from his pocket to give her more light to see by. His features were garish with the under lighting to start with, but his face changed enough to show her he wasn't like her, like he'd said. "We fit in when we need to, Ruby, but I don't live that way. I'm an
outsider...a wolf."

Maybe she should have screamed and tried to run but she didn't, only moving back enough to feel comfortable as he pulled the lighter up to show her. "A wolf.." She echoed softly and lifted her hand to his face, tracing lightly over his cheek while her other hand held his a little more tightly. "When you talk about initiation and how it will hurt.. do you mean.. this.. somehow making me like you? The others won't hurt me if I'm with you.. and if I'm like you?" He was probably right about showing her, she could hardly believe what she'd seen but she knew she didn't imagine it. "All the people who have gone missing in the last couple of months.. it's because of what happened?"

He nodded and tucked the lighter away. His face shifted normal... a human normal... under her fingers. He couldn't help nuzzling against the touch. "If you're like me... with me... they will leave you be because you'll be my family, chosen to stay with me, but that part's not just because of what happened." He wanted to show her, but wanted it to feel right, not strange or forced.

Ruby nodded, she kind of already understood that even though it wasn't at the surface of her thoughts, he pushed his face against her hand and she smiled softly. "You really like me." She whispered, shifting closer to him now that he'd put the lighter away. "I should be terrified." She confided. "But I'm not.. well not as much.. I trust you.. and right now, here with you, I feel very safe.. protected." She knew there were scarier things to come, the pain and initiation he'd told her of, facing his family, and learning to accept that she needed to be with him. It was really her only option but it wasn't like she could snap her fingers and forget Noah or be madly in love with Jon. If only things were that easy!