I was crushed. Absolutely and utterly crushed. Harper's word stunned me, and I sat in silence for a long long time, not daring to speak.

"Why?" The word was spoken with a shuddering breath that held my heart back from shattering.

The unreadable expression on Harper's face was replaced with a tortured look, one she tried to mask but was unsuccessful.

"You're in danger because of me," she choked out, her bottom lip quavering despite the enormous effort she was making to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Blu."

I moved closer and placed my hand gently on her shoulder. "Harper you're not-"

"Don't!" She flinched away and hugged her knees to her chest, rising a few feet in her agitation. "Please don't make it harder for me!"

"You don't have to-" I began again."

"Leave!" She was just mere inches from the ceiling now, but she was aware and glided over to the corner of her room. "Please Blu...I can't stand to hurt you any longer."

Stung by her passionate words, I gathered what was left of my shattered heart and climbed out her window, nearly slipping several times.

How could I make her understand? How could I make her see that she wasn't meant to be alone? My thoughts tossed like waves in a storm or like the rumbling thunder after the striking lightning.

After a long while of this, I finally decided to call Finn. I held the card and stared at the ten digits with a slight apprehension. Harper was afraid of hurting me, but she wasn't afraid of hurting Finn. He was practically indestructible.

I finally dialed and hit call, the line ringing ominously. After about three rings, he picked up.

"Hey kid," the familiar rough voice calmed me, and I relaxed a bit. "What's the word?"

"Its Harper," I sighed. "She's pushing me away, saying that I'm in danger because of her. That may be true, but she needs someone to watch over her. What if she was kidnapped again?"

"Smart boy," I heard the grim smile in Finn's voice. "I'll be around, watching and waiting. I'll keep in touch."

With that the line clicked dead, and I was left alone again. However I soon snapped out of my daze, realizing that my textbooks were calling my name. It was finals week, the end of the year, and I still had a lot of studying to do.

But even I, the studious one, hated studying for finals. Time for torture I guess.

• ⑊ •

The next few weeks flew by in a flurry of studying, stressful exams, and papers being handed back marked with my grades. Finn stayed true to his word and contacted me when several times over the course of those weeks, informing me on the state of Harper's safety and the like.

I was stricken when he called one day and said that she was very sad and lonely; even to the point that he was worried about her. And that's when I decided I'd have to get us back together again. School for me ended tomorrow, and I wasn't ready to spend summer alone.

After class I drove home and did my homework, then began the long climb up the pine tree to Harper's window. It was open again, like it always was in the late spring and summer, but I still knocked so she'd know I was there.

At first her face lit up when she saw me, but then her smile faded as she remembered what she had done; how she had pushed me away.

"Blu I thought I told you-" she began, but this time it was my turn to interrupt.

"No Harper. I'm not staying away from you. We've always been together, especially in the summer, and this year is no different. I don't care if you put me into danger, but I'm here for you, whether you like it or not."

Harper raised an eyebrow, but was silent at my commanding tone. "Thank you," she finally said. "I...I guess it would be nice having you around. I've felt awfully nervous lately without you."

I smiled knowingly. "Well I called Finn to keep an eye on you, so you haven't really been alone."

"What?" I expected her to be a bit angry, but instead she looked happy. "You did that for me?"

"Of course," I replied gently. "I wasn't going to leave you alone when we'd just gotten kidnapped. Wright is probably still furious, and he knows where you live."

"That sounds creepy," Harper visibly shuddered. "I hope he doesn't come back."

"Well," I hesitated a bit before continuing, debating if I should tell her what I knew. "Some of his guards came, but Finn warned them off."

Her brow furrowed with worry. "Really? Well I'm glad you sent for him then, but we really have to do something about this."

"Yes," I nodded in agreement. "But I'm kind of reluctant to get the government involved. I mean, do you think it would work out if we contacted them? Like in those movies where the police just take care of everything?"

"I...don't know," Harper looked down, her short, choppy anwers conveying her uncertainty. "But we have to do something."

Again, I nodded in agreement, but had no idea what to say. I began pacing the room - a nervous habit - and tried my best to rack my brain for answers. Fortunately, my phone rang at the moment when I was just beginning to despair.

"Hey, kid." Finn's familiar voice instantly made me feel relief. He always only called me either 'kid', 'lad', or simply 'boy; never my actual name. Sometimes I wondered if he even knew it.

"Finn!" I exclaimed. "Perfect timing. I went to see Harper today, but we have no idea how to handle this situation. Can we get the government involved?"

He was silent for moment, thinking deeply. "I would say be cautious about that, and if you do you're going to need my help. Maybe I can meet up with you after I finish this job."

I wondered briefly what the 'job' he spoke about was, but decided not to ask. He usually did this on purpose to goad me into asking, and then he'd respond in mock anger with some sarcastic remark. I suspected that he hadn't worked with people this young for a long while, and that he was even enjoying it a little.

"Alright," I replied. "Thank you ."

The line clicked dead very suddenly, as it always did. I never knew whether it was because of keeping with his mysterious and vigilante figure, or if it was just to annoy me.

I told Harper what he had said, and her shoulders relaxed and she smiled a little. "Good work Blu."

I left and told my parents about what we planned to do, and they agreed except that they would have to come along with us. I consented, and so it was set.

A few days later I got a call from Finn saying he could meet, so we arranged the details quickly and quietly for a meeting at an old abandoned train station. It was kind of a creepy place for something such as this but we didn't really have a choice since Finn couldn't really appear in public.

The day came and I went over to Harper's house to drive her over, ensuring that I would be with her if anyone decided to follow me.

"I can drive too you know, mister 'I do everything'," she punched me lightly in the shoulder to hide her nervousness.

"I know," I replied, keeping my eyes on the road. "But I don't know if you'd do too well in a car chase."

"Please," she sighed. "I beat you almost every time in all the video games we've played. I'd be great in a car chase."

"True," I smiled at all my frustrated memories of getting beaten. "You've got good hand-eye coordination."

"Thanks," she smiled. "But you've got better judgement."

Harper always relaxed me. Even though she was hyper and spontaneous and sometimes a bit crazy, her presence always calmed me. Ms. Patsy told me once that she was always more excited around me, so I guess I have the opposite effect on her.

My phone blinked with messages from my parents and Finn confirming where we met, so Harper answered them for me.

"The west side entrance to the building is blocked, so we'll use the one to the east. Climb in a window or something," was Finn's, so Harper forwarded it to my parents. They replied with a sarcastic remark about this man taking care of us, which Harper definitely didn't answer. Mom sass is nothing to take lightly, and we knew she was just looking out for us.

The roads we traveled on began to show signs of overgrowth and not much travel. The GPS indicated that we were close, so we began scanning the area for signs of it. Why did we choose such a scary location? I wondered for the twentieth time.

"Here we are," I whispered as we pulled up to a looming gray building showing it's age with cracks and broken windows.

It was getting dark, and I felt Harper grab my hand reassuringly. "Let's do this, Blu."

A/N:
I didn't mean to publish this chapter yesterday! I'm so sorry, I meant to save it and accidentally published it :/.

Well here's the rest for y'all, but once again I haven't proofread it because I just arrived at gymnastics so beware of typos. It's also my last week as a student for the summer ;-;

Next Update: May 25 2017