^^^That is the cover to the final book in the Outlawry trilogy! That is when shit really goes down.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day at school was not something I looked forward to. Let's just say it was...awkward. It was the first Friday in a long time that I absolutely dreaded would come. It wouldn't be the last, either.

When I got to school, there was hardly any body there. Word had got out that I thought that Luther was the one who had killed Samantha. For some reason, people really wanted to believe me. Simply because he had kidnapped me, they thought that I knew everything about him. They all thought that he must just think that I am so special, and tells me everything that goes on in that twisted mind of his, simply because he kept me alive, unlike the others. And so, because of this unspoken trust and blind belief, they grew afraid that he would come for them. However, it was all the wrong people who didn't attend school that day.

For the people who did come were my fellow acquaintances that I had gotten to know a bit more in the time that I had been attending that school. The previous day I had returned to school after my little "road trip", no one really bothered me with their questions. But, since they thought that I had a day to..."adjust", they thought that it was okay to completely pepper me with questions.

"Where did he take you?"

"Did you get hurt?"

"How did he do it?"

"Did he rape you?"

I looked up from my Caesar salad. Rape. Did he rape you?

"What did you just ask me?" I asked the girl back.

She furrowed her brows as a perplexed look spread across her face. She looked back and forth at her other friends, looking on their faces to see if she had accidentally said something that she shouldn't have. "Did Luther rape you?"

"Why do you want to know?"

She looked even more puzzled. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, you know. I was just wondering if you wanted to tell us about it if he did. We're here for you."

"What does it matter if he did or not? It's not like the police will find him." She nodded and looked down. "What would you think of me if I said that I willingly went with him?"

This evoked several gasps and heads shooting up. They all looked at each other, utterly confused to my odd behavior.

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you saying that you went willingly with him?"

"Is this a way of saying that you wanted to have sex with him?"

I furrowed my brows and looked around at them. They stared at me expectantly, waiting for the twisted answers. "Um...no...? Guys, come on. It was hypothetical."

One of the stupider girls in the group tilted her head to the side and squinted her eyes. "What's hypothetical?" she asked genuinely.

I laughed sarcastically and threw my fork down into the remaining salad. I got up and threw it away, leaving the insensitive girls all sitting there, wandering what they said wrong.

I just needed some peace and quiet. Some time to myself, to be alone with my thoughts. I walked down the hallway to the library and settled into one of the couches that was empty and inviting. I set my elbow on the arm rest and rested the side of my head on my fist.

It was peacefully quiet in the library that day. No rowdy, freshman boys galloping about, acting like deaf, retarded primates. No bitchy white girls lying around, being loud and obnoxious, silently judging you while they sipped their Starbucks lattes. And no Luther sitting in the corner, drawing. Just me.

Something, however, caught my eye. Right across from me was a book shelf. The bookshelf categorized under fiction. A certain book on it stood out to me. The title alone drew me to it. I looked around really quickly before getting up to examine it. I pulled it off of the book shelf and looked at the cover.

"Outlawry..." I whispered to myself. I opened up the cover to see the synopsis of the book.

It was wickedly interesting. A story about a dangerous member of the mafia, plagued with personality disabilities, and how he tries to get the woman he loves, but she, of course, is in love with somebody else.

"Sounds kind of familiar," I sarcastically remarked to myself. Interested in reading it, I went up to the counter and had the librarian check it out for me.

"Whatcha reading, book worm?" A warm, soothing voice asked me. A smile spread across my face as I turned around to face Nate. He returned my smile, my eyes completely melting into his brown ones. The librarian gave the book to me. I handed it to Nate, letting him look at it.

"Outlawry?" he asked. "What does that word even mean?"

I shrugged. "I'm pretty sure it just means disobeying the law." Something Luther has done on numerous occasions. I decided not to add in that last part.

He lifted his eye brows in approval as he read the description of the book. "Not bad. I might read it once you're done with it."

I chuckled and took it back from him, slipping it into my backpack. "Yeah, I read the first chapter and it's pretty good so far."

The two of us started walking along. He awkwardly tried shoving his hands into his abnormally small-sized jean pockets. Weren't guys supposed to have big pockets in their pants? I just playfully rolled my eyes at him.

"Are you...doing okay?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I answered, nodding and tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. We sat down at one of the tables in the library together. "I think I am. I am still absolutely horrified about the whole Samantha thing, though."

"You still think that Luther did it?" he asked.

"I know that he did it."

He furrowed his brows. "But how?"

"Because he told-" I immediately stopped talking. Nate lifted his brows and slightly cocked his head to the side, promting me to continue. "Because I just know."

"Well, he's not going to get back into the school. There is so much lockdown here now, it's literally insane. Police men are every where. They're doing a full body check before you come into the school."

I rolled my eyes. "I know, Nate. I came to school this morning, in case you've forgotten."

He smiled and nodded. "I know." He sat up straighter. "Anyway, the reason why I asked was because, if you're up for it, I was wondering if you wanted to go to that school Halloween dance with me?"

I sat back in my chair. "You mean, they didn't cancel it?"

He shook his head. "Nope. And if people changed their minds about coming, the tickets are non refundable. So there should still be a good crowd."

"It's tomorrow, right?" I asked. He nodded. I shrugged. "Sure, I mean, as long as it gets my mind off of Luther. But...I don't have a costume or anything."

He laughed. "Then, why don't we go out today after school and go buy a couple. So that we match?"

I smiled. "I would like that."

He smirked. "It's a date!" He got up and started walking away.

I laughed as I followed after him. "I wouldn't call costume shopping a date."

He looked behind his shoulder at me as he walked. "Awww, but you like the idea of it."

I rolled my eyes again. "Oh, shut up!" I pushed his shoulder as he ran away from me. I playfully chased after him to the second floor of the school to our 4th period class.

For the first time in two weeks, I was genuinely enjoying myself. Nate made me feel good. He knew just how to soften me up. I wasn't sure if that was a quality I should admire, or one that I should fear. But either way, I felt safe with him. I knew that he could protect me.

The only thing that I feared, was that I could not protect him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sorry for that cheesy book-within-a-book cliche. I just wanted something new near the end of the story that she could carry with her through the rest of the series that was kind of symbolic.

Anyway, what do you ship more? Luther X Ava or Nate X Ava? Leave your answers in the comments!!

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