Silas knocked on Tess's door at 5:01 precisely. It hadn't taken him long to get to her house, since he had already been watching over her. All he had to do was float outside and turn visible. He smiled to himself.

The simplicities of being an angel. Tess took a couple of seconds to come open the door.

"5:01 already?" She asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yep, on the dot, as you requested." Silas answered. Tess opened the door for him to step in and began walking to the kitchen. Silas followed her, pretending to look around her house interestingly once again. He stopped beside Tess when they were beside the four glass jars.

"Alright, we need to get some grass, rice, and a boiled egg." She said, pointing to each jar, which she had put labels on in Silas's absence.

"Sounds simple enough," Silas commented, "I'll go get the grass." He volunteered, Tess only nodding in response. Silas walked down the hallway and outside to Tess's front porch. After descending down the stairs, he bent over and tore a hand full of grass out of the ground. He turned, feeling as though he was being watched and noticed an elderly lady staring at his handful of grass. He looked down at the grass in his hand, realizing how idiotic he must look, carrying around a handful of grass.

"Science project." He said, waving the grass a little. The old woman continued to stare at him blankly. He awkwardly turned his back to her and returned to the kitchen in the house.

"Well, your neighbor thinks I'm a yutz." Silas told Tess, lumbering over to the counter. Tess had an egg in some water, heating it to a boil; she already had the rice in its jar.

"Miss Blakeley? She thinks everyone's crazy. She give you the look?" Tess asked and proceeded to stare at Silas blankly in imitation.

"Exactly like that." Silas laughed, Tess joining him. Silas looked at her and Tess bit her lip, looking to the egg that was starting to boil. She always bit her lip when she was nervous or her mind was elsewhere. Silas could easily figure out where her mind was. She was thinking about Levi. One down side to being an angel was having to sit and watch the human you're assigned to protect, make out. To say the least, it made Silas extremely uncomfortable, even though it had been a small guess. At least Tess couldn't be so oblivious about it now. Silas watched Tess closely as she turned the heat up on the stove. She seemed slightly conflicted in her thoughts about Levi. Silas couldn't place why she seemed so confused, and there was no way he could straight out ask her.

"Do you naturally have golden eyes?" Tess asked suddenly, deciding to break the silence.

"Yes," Silas answered, "it's very rare apparently."

"Well, I've never seen eyes like yours before." Tess said, looking up from the stove, "They are very beautiful," She said to him, absentmindfully."

"Uhh, thanks." Silas said, slightly uncomfortable with the compliment. Tess's face drooped a little.

"I didn't mean to make this awkward." Tess said. Silas held up his hands.

"Its fine. I get told that a lot." That answer seemed to satisfy Tess.

"Are you going to stand around all day with grass in your hand?" Tess pointed to the grass that was beginning to fall on the floor.

"Oh, no." Silas smiled sheepishly and put the grass in the jar, making sure not to drop anymore blades on the floor.

"Well, this egg has to boil for ten minutes, so we can go chat outside if you want." Tess said. Silas noticed she had side glanced toward the hallway, probably spotting her father or mother. Silas figured she didn't care for her parents listening in on her conversations.

"Okay." Silas said, figuring there would be no harm in chatting. He followed Tess back outside to her backyard. Silas sat down in an old lawn chair under the oak tree in Tess's yard. Tess's backyard was spacey with a wire fence all around it. A small underground pool sat at the edge of the yard. He felt a small pressure under his feet and looked down quickly. A cat rubbed up against his ankles.

"That's Caspian." Tess smiled and bent down, rubbing the cat on its back. Caspian let out a satisfied purr.

"He's very attention demanding." Tess told Silas. Silas petted the cat gently, not really interested in him.

"Do you not like cats?" Tess asked, looking up at Silas.

"I'm more of a dog person." Silas answered. He truly was, as they had a few guard dogs at the gateway of Heaven. Silas looked at Tess.

"So uh, what do you do for fun?" He asked.

"Oh, mostly run, read, or listen to music." She answered him.

"That's right. You're on the track team aren't you?" Silas felt dumb asking questions that he already knew the answers to. He wished that this could be simpler.

"Yeah." Tess said.

"You any good?" Silas asked her.

"Any good?" Tess laughed, "I'm the best runner on the girls' team." Silas could see the pride in her eyes at the accomplishment.

"That's great. I'm sure it's not an easy task." Silas thought about how hard it would be to run at human speed. Of course, human bodies were completely different than angelic bodies.

"Oh, definitely not. It takes years and years of training to stay in top form." Tess said. She looked at him, "You any good at running?" She asked.

"I like to think I am." Silas said to her. He could definitely out speed her any day, but only due to his angelic powers. How else would he be able to follow Tess's family? Tess raised an eyebrow playfully.

"You think so?" She said.

"Is that a challenge?" Silas asked her.

"Maybe." Tess said. She looked out over the yard. About a quater mile away was a small pond.

"How about we race down to the pond." She stood, as if she already decided they would be going.

"What about the egg?" Silas asked, his mind going to the kitchen.

"I got it covered." Tess answered. Her eyes were already sparkling in anticipation. She definitely didn't care about one measly egg right now. Silas contemplated the idea for a minute. He would have force himself to be slow, which wouldn't be fun, but maybe it would be interesting to race against his human.

"Okay. First one there wins." He stood up with a stretch.

"Agreed." Tess answered and walked inside the house.

"Hey Mom, I'm going for a run with Silas real quick, keep an eye on our egg please!" She shouted as they proceeded to go out the front door. Silas frowned, he didn't realize that was what she meant by having it "covered". While he and Tess began stretching, Silas realized he wasn't in ideal running clothes. He had khaki shorts which would work better than jeans, but would definitely rub against his legs. Silas shuddered slightly. That would not feel good. Tess, on the other hand, was in running shorts and would have no problem. Silas noticed the running shorts were really short and allowed her long legs to be shown off. Silas's eyes trailed up her legs aimlessly and he almost smacked himself right in front of Tess.

Idiot! You can't look at her like that! Silas chastised himself harshly. He couldn't believe he allowed his mind to wonder like that. Tess didn't seem to notice his distress as she shook her arms out.

"You ready?" She asked, looking at him.

"The question is, are you ready?" Silas asked, a sly smile crossing his face. Tess narrowed her eyes, not in anger, but in focus. She took running very seriously.

"Go!" She said quickly and took off. Silas easily ran beside her, limiting his speed. That seemed to annoy Tess right off the bat. She pressed harder when they were halfway to the pond. Silas was only slowed down by surprise at her determination. He quickly recovered and caught up with her in three or four strides. Tess clinched her teeth together as they both arrived at the pond in the same stride. She stopped, breathing heavily. Silas slightly panted, mostly for show, the race had been easy for him. Tess looked at him, a slight bit of amazement in her eyes.

"Wow, you're pretty good." She admitted.

"I told you so." Silas said playfully to her. Tess looked at him slyly and bent down in one fast movement. Silas felt the cold pond water hit his face and he jumped back.

"Hey!" Silas yelped and bent down, throwing water at her. Tess let out a squeal and ran away from him. Silas chased after her with a laugh. Tess looked back and let out a surprised laugh as she slipped in some mud. Silas quickly moved to her side and caught her arm, but they both still managed to fall to the ground. Somehow, Silas managed to hit the ground first and Tess landed half on top of him. She looked down at him, mud smeared on her arms.

"Well this is a predicament." Silas huffed, looking up at her.

"Yes, that it is." Tess said, she turned and took some mud off her arm, smearing it on his nose. Tess laughed at how goofy he looked. Silas grabbed at her sides, playfully turning her over. Tess laughed trying to push him away, but suddenly stopped. Silas froze, figuring he might have hurt her.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice was thick with concern. To his surprise, a small blush appeared on Tess's cheeks.

"It's just-uh, we're a bit close here, don't you think?" She said, turning her eyes away from him uncomfortably. Silas immediately realized what she meant. He could feel her knee slightly pressed against his inner thigh and her hips pressed against his, unable to be ignored. Silas quickly jumped off of her.

"I'm so sorry" He apologized, offering her a hand. Silas felt like opening his wings and flying away in embarrassment. Tess must have sensed how bad he felt.

"Hey, don't blame yourself, we were just having fun. No big deal." She shrugged. Silas didn't feel any better. He heard a small ring and Tess looked down. She dug her hand into her running shorts, which somehow had pockets. She pulled out her phone and scanned the screen a second or two. Silas waited as she typed a quick response and then looked at him.

"Levi's having a cook-out this weekend. All the seniors are invited. He does it every year."

"Oh." Silas said, the mention of Levi wasn't exactly music to his ears.

"You'll come, right?" She asked, looking at him. Silas felt a small sweat break on his forehead. He really didn't want to go, but he needed to be there to help protect Tess in person. If he was gone, who knows what could happen.

"Uh sure," Silas managed out, "but I don't know where he lives."

"Oh um, just meet me at my house around six and we can walk there. He doesn't live too far away." Tess offered, to Silas's surprise.

"Alright," Silas agreed.

This better be worth it...