I stood frozen as Mercurius moved closer, and for a moment I thought--

But he turned away, laughing.

"Your face is all red," he said, leaving me standing outside while he walked around and climbed into the car.

Oh man. What the heck, how could he go from being so serious and proper to...that in a heartbeat. It wasn't fair.

And the worst part about it was, he was right. I could feel the heat of my blush without even needing to see it. Why would he even--I didn't get it. Well, I guess there was one thing I understood from it. He was making fun of me.

I almost walked straight back into the house right then.

"Oh come on," he said, out of the car again and leaning onto the roof to gaze over the top at me. "Don't be like that. I've found out a few interesting things. You want to know more about the Seed, don't you?"

Ah crap. He knew exactly how to get me.

"You're going to help me?" I asked, "Why?"

But he merely smiled. "Get in, won't you."

And with that, he slipped back into the driver's side, shutting the door. As the engine purred to life, I knew I only had a second to decide.

Okay, so maybe it was fear of missing out that made me do it, but next thing I knew I was buckling my seatbelt, saying, "Alright. I'm in. Just tell me what you're gonna say so we can get this over with."

"That's no way to treat your date," he said, smirk back in place. It was obvious he was enjoying this. A little too much, maybe.

With the speed we tore out of the driveway and down the street, it was too late to turn back now.

We got past the edge of my neighborhood, then to the outskirts of town before I realized, "Crap!" Mercurius barely looked over at me when I said, "I forgot my purse." And yes, my phone as well.

He exhaled a sharp huff, voice dry when he said, "You won't be needing it where we're going."

And that was that. For better or for worse, my parents couldn't track me. I was completely alone and on my own with Mercurius.

But you know what the strangest thing of all was? That thought didn't scare me. Well, not half as much as it should have.

If anything, I felt safe there with him. Must have been the new car smell making me loopy. And it was a new car, by the looks of it, the sort of sleek crossover people who want to look like they hike a lot buy. It was nothing like the sportscar he'd picked me up in last time, and if I didn't know better, I'd think this one was a rental. But no.

I wanted to say, exactly how much money does your family have, anyway? But that sounded rude, so I said instead, "New car?"

"You like it?" He asked, smirking, "Thought it would be good to have something that appreciates a rough road."

Uh, "Rough road?" Wherever we were going, I didn't like the sound of that. Besides, "Did you seriously just buy this car for a drive?"

To that, he laughed. "No. I already had it."

Oh. I guess that kind of made me a bit rude for assuming, but it wasn't like there'd been a big garage or anything when I'd been to his family's place. In fact, I hadn't seen a garage at all. Maybe there was like a secret underground car storage facility. I don't know. It was a possibility.

Like I was saying, I was feeling pretty good despite myself as we sped along out into the countryside. At first I enjoyed watching the hills and farmland pass. But the longer we traveled, the more a nagging anxiety began to grow in my stomach.

We'd been driving for what felt like an hour up into the hills and growing shadows of dusk when at last he turned down onto a rutted, gravel lane. Around a forested bend was a small farmhouse surrounded by a golden meadow.

"Alright," he said, shutting off the engine when we rolled to a stop just past the house, "We're here."

Uh, sure. Wherever here was. Far as I could see, we were in the middle of nowhere.

And aside from us, there was nobody else around.

"Hey," I said, not undoing my seatbelt, "Where exactly are we?"

He smirked over at me from where he stood outside.

"A secret place," he said, "Now come on. There's something I would like to show you."

- - -

Aaah it's been so long since we've seen Chance! How'd this happen!?!?!? What's gonna happen next??

Your support/comments/claps/reads make me so happy! Seriously. That stuff is like candy.

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Random question of the day... Who would you rather be stuck in an elevator with. Chance or Mercurius?

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And as usual, you can read ahead on Wattpad.

Oh! And now you can also play a choose-your-own-romance-adventure spin-off of Just a Kiss!