FACE DOWN Ch8- The Assignment

"Off to Friedman's again!" Petey sang, skipping along at Kristen's side.

"And you're happy about this?" Kristen asked.

"Well, we're all finished with Thoreau," Petey said the name dramatically, "So no matter what the next topic is, it's bound to be less dull than 'Walden'. It's a call for celebration in my book!"

Kristen smiled. "Alright, whatever you say."

"That's the spirit!"

They entered the classroom, or lecture hall. Kristen still was not used to the enormous size of it. Kids were filing in and finding their seats from both sides. Kristen looked around and spotted Jonathan sitting near the back beside a boy with shaggy brown hair that hung over his eyes. He was not looking in her direction, so she was not able to wave like she had hoped to. She turned to Petey.

"Hey, why don't we sit back there?" she said, pointing.

Petey looked. "Okay!" he said happily, following after her as she began to make her way towards the back, "Why?"

"You can meet my tutor," Kristen said.

Petey gasped in excitement. "Your tutor!?"

They reached the back. The boy beside Jonathan noticed them first and stared, confused, prompting Jonathan to finally look up. "Kri--what? Er..." he stammered, surprised.

"Hi!" Kristen said, smiling.

"Uh, hi," he said back, "What are you doing here?"

"I have class here," Kristen answered.

"I know that. I mean, why are you back here?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh, well I thought maybe I... we," she gestured to Petey, "Could come join you."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow, but after a second, he moved his books, vacating the seat beside him. "Sure, I guess," he said.

Kristen grinned and sat beside him. Petey took the seat next to her. "Oh, this is my friend, Petey," Kristen said, gesturing, "Petey, this is Jonathan. He's my tutor."

"Hi!" Petey said, grinning, "I love to hug! So look out in the future!"

Jonathan gave a partial wave, taken aback slightly by Petey's enthusiasm. He turned to the boy on his other side. "Um, this is Sam... my roommate," he said to Kristen.

Sam leaned forward over the table so he could get a better look at Kristen. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," she said back.

He smiled. "So you're Kristen, huh?" he said, nodding slightly.

"Um, yes. Wait, how did you know my...?" Kristen began.

"Oh, this guy here only talks about you all the time," Sam said, elbowing Jonathan, "He blabs for hours at a time."

Jonathan's face reddened and he scowled at him. "That's not entirely true," he said, "I've mentioned you a couple times, but I certainly do not "blab for hours at a time"."

Kristen smiled at Sam. "I see. Anything else I should know?"

"What?" Jonathan said, looking back at her.

"Well I need to have confidence in my tutor," Kristen replied, shrugging, "And Sam here seems to be willing to give me information."

Sam grinned mischievously. "Oh, if you insist," he said, "I've got the low down on Jonathan... Well first off, he sleeps with a stuffed moose..."

"It's deer," Jonathan interrupted.

"Ah-ha! See?" Sam said, pointing accusingly.

Jonathan crossed his arms. "What? Deers are very bold and majestic animals."

"Yeah, sure," Sam said, smirking, "Anyways, he also eats radishes. Raw, whole. Like just takes a bite right out of it!"

Jonathan frowned. "You do that too."

"Oh yeah. Not the point... Anyways, he also has no concept of personal hygiene."

"I don't think that's any secret, bud," Jonathan retorted.

Kristen watched the two banter, amused, while Petey just watched, confused.

"Seems, you've got nothing really dirty on me after all, Sam," Jonathan said, smiling cockily.

"Jonathan is afraid of the dark!" Sam suddenly said quickly.

"What? I am not!" Jonathan cried, "If you've got nothing substantial, don't make stuff up."

"He still wets the bed!" Sam added.

"Now you're just being desperate."

"He has a phobia of cars!"

Jonathan opened his mouth to reply, but froze. Instead, he threw Sam a dirty look and then stared ahead, stone-faced. Sam bit his lip, looking almost sorry he had said anything. Actually, he looked more like he wanted to disappear into the walls.

The sudden tension was killing Kristen. She leaned forward towards Jonathan. "That's okay," she said gently, "I have a phobia of spiders."

Jonathan glanced at her. "Isn't that kind of typical for most girls?" he asked.

Kristen narrowed her eyes. "No, you don't understand. I see a spider on my bed, I will run out of the room screaming and have someone else kill it," she said.

"Well that's not so..."

"And then promptly have the mattress burned."

Jonathan snorted. "What if you just see a spider say... on your kitchen floor? Then what?"

"Then I destroy the kitchen!"

Everyone laughed, Jonathan's sullen mood suddenly forgotten. Sam gave Kristen a grateful glance and she smiled.

At that moment, the door opened and Friedman stepped in. "Good morning, class!" he greeted everyone.

"Morning," everyone chorused.

"Do I have some news for you!" Friedman said, "As you know, we have finished with Thoreau's Walden, which I hope you've all completed your essays for?"

There were murmurs of confirmation all around the room. "Good, good. If you would just stack them neatly on my desk before you go, that would be excellent," Friedman said, "Now, since we're finished with Thoreau, I suppose you're wondering what our next topic will be?"

There were a few grunts from the students, agreeing. Friedman rubbed his hands together. "Well, I wasn't going to do this quite yet, but I decided to bump it up sooner. Our next topic is going to be... fairytales!"

Some of the students began to mumble with one another at this announcement. "What? That's all I'm getting? No enthusiasm? No "hoorays"? No grumbles about "stupid fairytales"?" Everyone looked back at Jonathan. He held up his hands innocuously.

"Before we begin, I want to you to already begin thinking of which fairytale you will want to write your essay on," Friedman continued, "It will be due at the end of the section."

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"So what fairytale are you going to write your essay on?" Kristen asked as she, Petey, Jonathan, and Sam all walked out of Friedman's classroom together.

"We're deciding already?" Jonathan asked, shifting his backpack on his shoulder, "It's three weeks away."

"I know, but Friedman did say to start thinking about it," Kristen said.

"Ooh! How about Rapunzel? Petey said, "With the long golden hair and the prince and stuff. Or Snow White! With the poison apple and the seven dwarves."

"Maybe something not with a princess," Sam said, "Like... Puss in Boots or Hansel and Gretel. Hey, Jonathan might like Hansel and Gretel. It's got a giant candy house."

"Just what are you implying?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, you're a big guy and all..." Sam said.

"It's true," Petey piped up.

"You must have gotten that way somehow," Sam said.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Jonathan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No, no. Just... big," Sam said.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said, smirking.

"I think I might like to do the Snow Queen," Kristen said.

"Ooh! Doesn't that one have a reindeer in it?" Sam asked eagerly.

"Ah-ha! See, I'm not the only one who likes deers!" Jonathan pointed out.

"You two!" Kristen reprimanded in good nature. She turned to Sam, "Yeah, it takes the main character to the Snow Queen's fortress to save her friend."

"Cool!" Sam said, grinning, "Be careful. I might steal that from you."

"Steal what?"

Everyone turned towards the new voice. David stood behind them, hands in his pockets. Kristen's eyes brightened at the sight of him. "David!" she cried.

"Hey," he said.

He walked over to her and planted a big, passionate kiss right on her mouth. Jonathan and Sam looked away uncomfortably while Petey just stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed as if he had never seen anything quite like it before.

Finally David pulled back, arm draped around Kristen's shoulder. "So what's going on?" he asked.

Kristen swallowed, catching her breath. "We were just talking about our new english assignment."

"Ah english. Nasty stuff. What is it? An essay?" David asked.

"Yeah. On a fairytale," Kristen answered.

"Ohh, I remember that assignment," David said, nodding, "How many pages was it again?"

"It's fif--" Kristen began.

"Fifteen, right," David said, "I hate english class. Always have, actually. I remember taking your class a couple years back and just sulking the whole way through it."

"A couple years back? So you’re a...?" Jonathan asked.

"Senior," David answered.

Jonathan nodded, crossing his arms. There was something about this guy that was rubbing him the wrong way, and by the way that Sam was looking at him, it seemed he was thinking the same.

"And you are?" David asked, still looking at Jonathan.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kristen finally spoke up again, "David, these are my friends, Jonathan, Sam, and Petey... Guys, this is my boyfriend, David."

Everyone mumbled their hellos. David nodded at them, then turned back to Kristen. "So anyways, I need to get going," he said, "I'll pick you up at 6:00?"

"Oh um... actually I have this Economic test I should probably study for..." Kristen said.

"An Economics test? Really? You'd rather study for some dumb test rather than go out to the pier with moi?" David said putting on his biggest grin.

Kristen gave a half smile. Then she closed her eyes and scrunched her face. "Okay, fine!" she said, opening her eyes.

"Great! I'll see you at six!" David said. He gave her another sloppy kiss, then turned and left.

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FACE DOWN Ch7- Monsters and Milkshakes

"This is where she lives?" David asked, eyeing the apartment complex as he and Kristen approached, hand in hand.

"Yep. 53, The North Ridge Apartments," Kristen replied, "She's been living here all by herself since her sophomore year."

"Does she ever leave?" David asked.

"I have no idea," Kristen replied, "Not that I've seen. She must if she wants food... Unless she has it delivered or something."

They walked around the peeling white gate and towards the complex. Kristen squeezed his hand. "Thank you for doing this," she said, "Hopefully it'll bring Annalise out. I'm sure she'll be very happy."

"Hey, no problem," David said, "I'm looking forward to meeting her."

They approached the door. "Here it is," Kristen said, gesturing to the large silver "53" on the teal door.

David stood back. "Well, have at it," he said.

Kristen took a breath and knocked three times. "Annalise?" she called out, "It's me! I'm just here to to tell you that I got a B- on that Economics paper I was talking about before. I guess Pooperston doesn't hate me as much as I thought. Although he was pretty harsh on a lot of other kids in there. And I've got another math test tomorrow. So far there hasn't been any improvement in my past two tests, but I guess I'll just have to keep going to tutoring... even if that guy is a bit of a grump. Petey says I should just stick it out because at least I haven't got an F on my tests since I started. I still get D's though!"

She sighed. She suddenly noticed David standing behind her and remembered. "Oh, Anna, there's something else," she said, "You remember I've been telling you that I started dating this guy about two weeks ago? And how he's wonderful and amazing and everything? Well... he's here! I brought him here. To meet you."

Kristen stared at the door expectantly. Nothing happened. She sighed and glanced back at David. "I told you she wouldn't come out," she said, down-trodden, "It was worth a shot though, right?"

She began to turn away, but then heard the door handle jiggling. Kristen immediately turned back and rushed to the door. She saw Annalise's eye peek out. "You brought your boyfriend?" Annalise's voice floated out of the crack.

"Yes. Yes, I did!" Kristen said, ecstatic that Annalise was interested. Maybe she would come out after all. Kristen reached back, grabbed David's arm and pulled him forward. "Anna, this is David Leskov... my boyfriend. David, this is Annalise my--"

"No!"

Kristen and David both looked at the blue eye peering out of the dark crack, confused. "What?" Kristen asked.

"No. No! You can't! How could you!?" Annalise cried, "Just... just... stay away. STAY AWAY! I've told you! You... you MONSTER!"

"Anna, but..." Kristen began.

"No! Don't. Just... don't," Annalise said, and she slammed the door in their faces.

Kristen and David stared at the door, shocked. "She... she called me a monster," Kristen said quietly.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," David said.

"Why would she get so upset like that?" Kristen asked, barely registering his words.

"I don't know. Maybe she was just having a bad day," David suggested.

"I mean, she hasn't always been super receptive to me, but she's never been so..." she felt her eyes begin to sting and suddenly felt a bit nauseous, "I have to go."

Kristen turned and ran, hot tears burning in her eyes, ignoring David's calls after her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jonathan sat at the desk, drumming his fingers and staring at the clock. Late again as usual. Would this be a common habit of hers?

The door suddenly burst open, making Jonathan jump slightly and Kristen ran inside. Jonathan could clearly see her eyes were red and puffy as though she had been crying. Uh-oh. She sat down beside him and began to fumble with her backpack.

"Sorry I'm late," she said quickly as she began pulling things out of her backpack, setting up for tutoring "I had a little trouble this morning and I lost track of time."

"Are... you alright?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes! Of course I'm alright! Why wouldn't I be alright?" Kristen asked.

"Well you did just hand me a tube of lipstick, and pulled out your Economics book instead of your math book," Jonathan responded.

Kristen grabbed the lipstick and swapped it for a pencil, then began digging in her backpack once more.

"Did... something happen with David?" Jonathan wondered cautiously.

"No. No, everything's fine with David," Kristen said. Then she threw her backpack down and buried her face in her hands, "I didn't bring my math book!"

She looked close to crying once more. Clearly she was not alright and Jonathan did not think it was over a math book.

He picked up her Economics book and stuck it back into her backpack. "Kristen, come on. I know just the thing to cheer you up."

Kristen looked through her hands. "What?" she asked, "But what about the math?"

"Forget about your math right now," Jonathan said, standing up, "The way you're acting right now, I don't even think you'd hear a word I'd try and teach you. Now come on."

Kristen wiped the back of her hand under her nose, sniffling. "O-okay," she said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Here you go. Chocolate milkshake with extra whipped cream," Jonathan said, pushing a large cup towards Kristen.

Kristen took it as Jonathan sat down on the other side of the booth from her, holding his own cup. "Thanks," she said.

"I promise. The milkshakes here are guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face," Jonathan said, "Go on. Try it."

Kristen took a long sip from her straw. As she swallowed the cold chocolatey goodness, she felt a small smile creep over her lips. She looked at Jonathan who was watching her expectantly.

"Well?" he asked.

"This is probably the best milkshake I've ever had in my life," Kristen declared, and she went for another sip.

Jonathan grinned. "Didn't I say so?"

Kristen nodded, still drinking her milkshake. She finished off half the glass before she finally looked at Jonathan again. He was casually drinking his own, watching her.

She wiped her mouth. "Thank you again," she said, "I feel a lot better. Chocolate always helps."

He nodded. "No problem," he replied. He was silent for a moment. "So... you didn't have a fight with David or anything?" he asked hesitantly.

Kristen bit her lip. "No. Nothing with David. We're fine," she said, sighing, "It's my sister.

"Your sister?"

"Yeah. See, she lives all alone and I haven't seen her in over a year and a half and everyday I go and try to talk to her, but she hardly ever even opens the door, let alone acknowledges me. Anyways, I brought David with me today, hoping maybe she'd be happy for us and want to meet him. But she yelled at us and slammed the door in our faces."

Jonathan saw the sadness and hurt returning to Kristen's eyes and feared she might begin crying once more. He pushed her cup towards her, "Milkshake, milkshake."

She took another long drink and stared at the table. "She... she called me a monster," she said, going for another sip.

"You're not a monster," Jonathan told her.

Kristen looked up at him. "You know, that is probably the nicest thing you've ever said about me?"

The corner of Jonathan's mouth tweaked up. "Well I may be impossible, but I'm not stupid."

Kristen felt a blush coming on. She fought it back and quickly said, "Well obviously not. You're a tutor."

"Being a tutor doesn't mean you're smart," Jonathan said.

Kristen furrowed her brow. "Sure it does. You'd have to be in order to teach someone how to do something."

"Okay, it might mean you're like book-smart, " Jonathan said, "But are you life-smart?"

"Life-smart? Is that even a word?" Kristen asked, smiling slightly.

"It is now. Don't mock me while I'm trying to be deep," Jonathan retorted, holding back his own smile, "There are lots of different types of smart. Smart with books, smart in life, smart with people. You're lucky if you find someone who is smart in all areas. No one is. If you find someone who is, they're probably a fake."

Kristen nodded, her mind trailing off to David momentarily. He was smart with people for sure, and in life. Was he with books? She remembered him saying something about barely being able to pass his classes, but he could have been exaggerating. Hmm... he must not be because otherwise he's have to be a fake like Jonathan said, right? Or else she was just lucky and actually did find the perfect guy.

She turned her focus back to Jonathan. "Well books are definitely my weakness, as you well know. Although I'm not sure if I'm all that smart in life either... or people... I'm a three package weakness!" she said, smiling, "What about you?"

Jonathan's face dropped slightly and he suddenly found an immense interest in staring at his milkshake. Kristen leaned forward on her elbows. "Come on, I know you're book-smart. You got a scholarship in math for crying out loud," she encouraged, "So it can't be that."

Jonathan finally looked up at her. "People," he mumbled.

"What?" Kristen asked.

"People," he said again, "I've never been good with people."

Kristen saw genuine hurt in his face. "That's okay," she said, "Lots of people aren't good with other people."

"No, when I say I'm not good with people, I mean people can barely stand to be in my presence for very long. I don't know what it is. They just avoid me, and I don't know... I guess it's just sort of turned me into, well... this," Jonathan said, gesturing to himself, "Only my roommate, Sam, has stuck with me through the years."

"He can't be the only friend you have," Kristen said.

"Yeah, actually," Jonathan said, staring coldly at his cup, "People don't like me."

"I like you."

Jonathan looked up at her and saw her smiling warmly at him. There was something about that smile, he could tell she meant it. She pushed his cup towards him. "Milkshake?"

He gave a half smile and took the cup. "Thanks," he said, and took a sip.

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FACE DOWN Ch6- Impossible

Jonathan drummed his fingers against the table. He looked at the clock. 4:42. Twelve minutes late. Where was she? Was this revenge on him because he had been late last time? Would she really stoop down to such levels as to purposely being late just to spite him?

The door suddenly opened and in walked the girl in question. Kristen beamed at him. "Sorry I'm late," she said, moving inside, "I was on the phone and lost track of the time."

She sat down beside him, eyes shining with absolute giddiness. Jonathan mentally rolled his eyes at himself, knowing he would probably regret asking the question coming out of his mouth, but he couldn't help himself, "And who, may I ask, were you talking to that has made you so bright and chipper?"

"My own prince charming, David," Kristen replied, sighing dreamily.

Ah right, the guy she had been raving about last session. He smirked. "I take it your date went well then?" Why was he asking this? Now she was probably going to go off on a frenzied rampage about how wonderful it was.

"Were you expecting anything else?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, "Oh that's right. He's got lines and lines of girls just waiting on him, so he's probably just a second-rate dingbat who doesn't even know how to take a girl on a proper date, right?"

Alright, little miss sassy. "And he picks his nose," Jonathan added, suppressing another smirk.

Kristen snorted. "Yeah. And eats it. Gross," she said, "Anyways, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that the date was fabulous. We went for walks, ate sandwiches, looked in shops. And he was a perfect gentleman the entire time. Not to mention he's an amazing kisser. And he promised..."

"Whoa! You already kissed on the first date?" Jonathan interrupted.

Kristen looked innocently up at him. "Well yeah," she said, "We were at the sandwich shop talking and, well, he kissed me."

Jonathan was staring at her incredulously. "How far into the date was it?"

Kristen shrugged. "I don't know. We ate first. So maybe a half hour, forty five minutes."

"You kissed a guy only a half hour, forty five minutes into a date?" Jonathan asked, disbelieving.

"Well technically he kissed me," Kristen replied, "Why are you so interested in my kissing habits?"

"It wasn't even a goodnight kiss on the porch or something," Jonathan was now basically muttering to himself.

"Well of course we kissed goodnight too!" Kristen said, "What do you take me for?"

"If you have to kiss on the first date, which you really shouldn't, it should only be the goodnight kiss," Jonathan said.

"What? Why?" Kristen asked.

"It could ruin the relationship."

"Oh and you would know?"

"Yes. I would."

"You have personal experience in this area?"

Jonathan paused. "No..." he said finally, "But I've seen it happen dozens of times. In my family."

"Right, okay," Kristen said, "Look it doesn't matter. It already happened and I still see a bright future ahead for us. He promised a second date tonight."

"Whatever you say," Jonathan said, smirking once more.

Kristen shook her head. "You're impossible."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows and held up his arms sarcastically. "Hey, you guessed my nickname."

Kristen snorted. "Really? Who else calls you that?"

"Anybody who meets me," Jonathan replied, sounding almost proud, "But mostly my roommate."

"Your roommate?"

Jonathan shrugged. "Well you think I'm impossible and you only see me for an hour once a week. Imagine if you had to live with me."

Kristen cracked a small smile. "Absolute torment," she stated simply.

Jonathan gave a nod, holding back a smile of his own. "Right," he said. He looked at the backpack sitting at her side and cleared his throat, "Now are you going to get out your homework or not?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kristen rushed to the front door and opened it. "David!" she cried happily.

He stood, smiling with his hands in his pockets. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yep! Let's go!" Kristen said, shutting the door behind her and yanking him by the arm.

"Whoa! Slow down. Do you even know where you're going?" David protested from behind her.

Kristen immediately stopped pulling his arm. "Sorry," she said, "I'm just a little flustered. I went to see Annalise again today as usual and she actually talked to me this time."

"Isn't that good?" David wondered.

"Not when she's telling you to go away and never come back," Kristen said staring at the ground.

"What did you say before she told you that?" David wondered.

"I was just telling her I had another date tonight with the same guy as before," Kristen said, "Then she suddenly opened the door and asked where we were going. Then after I told her, she told me to stop coming by for my own good."

"Hmm," David responded simply.

There was a short silence between them. David suddenly held out his arm. "Well let's not let it spoil the evening. Shall we?"

Kristen wrapped her arm around his and they began walking once more, at a much slower pace than before. The cinema was not far from Kristen's house, so they did not have to walk very far. Fortunately it was not crowded either. Not surprising since it was a Thursday and nothing earth-shatteringly interesting had been released lately.

"So what are we seeing?" Kristen asked.

"Well let's see what's playing," David said, pointing.

They approached the sign with showtimes. They both studied it for a moment.

"Okay, it looks like there's only two options open to us if we want to get home at a decent hour," David said, "You did say you had to get up early tomorrow, didn't you?"

Kristen nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately. Early morning class on Fridays. Blech!"

"Alright. Well our two options are Lucy's Letter or The Corpse Maze," David said.

Kristen turned to look at the posters for the two movies David had just named. The first looked like some sort of mushy, sappy romantic flick, while the other seemed to be a horror, slasher, gore and violence film. Kristen grimaced at the mere sight of the horror poster. Just the look in the eyes of the character on the poster holding the blood-soaked machete was enough to make her run for cover.

"Um, well, what do you want to see?" she asked.

"I think The Corpse Maze looks pretty good," David answered.

"Are... are you sure?" Kristen asked, "It looks a little bloody and violent to me."

"Exactly why it looks interesting," David said, "Come on, it could be fun!"

Kristen cleared her throat. "Couldn't we see a much happier film? Like that one?" She pointed to the poster for Lucy's Letter.

"Kristen, do you know what would happen to me if I went into a movie like that?" David asked, "They'd revoke my man card."

"Yeah, but--"

"Kristen, if you get scared, I promise you can hold onto me," David said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Scary movies are much better cuddle movies than that mushy stuff." He kissed her cheek.

Kristen sighed. "Alright," she finally relented, "You have more experience, I guess."

He winked at her. "Great! I'll go get the tickets."

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Kristen knew she was never going to sleep again. Ever. She had her eyes shut and her face buried into David's shoulder through most of the movie, but she could still hear the horrible noises. There was hardly ever a moment when someone was not bleeding or dying or getting their head chopped off or losing a limb or SOMETHING! And then with that crazy machete murderer while they were all trapped in that stupid, stupid maze! In short, Kristen despised it.

She clung tightly to David's arm as they walked back to her place... in the dark... with noises all around... and sudden movements. Her eyes darted back and forth, just waiting for a machete-wielding maniac to come out of the shadows and attack them.

"So I was just thinking..." David suddenly spoke up.

"WHAT!?" Kristen cried, turning back to him suddenly, "Where!? Why!? Is there something to worry about? Should I be thinking too?"

"Whoa there. Calm down," David said, "I was just thinking about something you said earlier."

"Oh," Kristen said, relaxing slightly.

"I was thinking about what you said about your sister," David went on, a bit taken aback by Kristen's outburst, "How she only ever responds when you talk about your dating life."

"I never said that," Kristen said.

"Ah, but it was implied that she's interested," David pointed out, "So I was thinking maybe I could come with you on one of your visits and see if she wants to actually meet your boyfriend."

Kristen looked up at him, eyes twinkling. "Boyfriend?"

David looked at her. "Well... yeah," he said, with a small smile, "Unless there's someone else?"

Kristen stared at him in awe. Never in her whole life had she thought it possible to be in a relationship with someone like him. She shook her head. "No," she said softly.

David nodded, then pointed ahead. "Your house," he said.

It was then that Kristen noticed that they had stopped walking and were standing directly in front of her home. "Oh, right," she said, swinging her arms like an awkward schoolgirl, "I guess I should go now. Um... goodnight. Tonight was... interesting."

"Yeah, what a movie, right?" David said.

"A lot of blood," Kristen said.

"Yeah," David said, "Anyways, I'll call you."

"Okay, and I'll let you know about Annalise," Kristen said.

"Sounds good." David leaned over and kissed her, long and slow. When he pulled back, Kristen felt lightheaded.

"Good night," David said, turning away.

Kristen teetered in place, watching him go. "G'night."

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FACE DOWN Ch5- First Date

Kristen approached the door. Room 53. She raised her fist and knocked. "Annalise?" she called.

There was no answer. "Annalise!" she called again, "It's me, Kristen."

Still, there was no answer. "I'm just here to tell you that... I've got a date!" Kristen continued, "He's super nice and unbelievably good-looking. Like, wow! And he asked me out. He's picking me up in like a half hour. We're going... actually I don't know where we're going. But I'm sure it'll be amazing. Just think, my first date ever and it's with the perfect man!"

The door remained closed. Kristen wasn't sure if Annalise could even hear her, but she was determined to let her know that she cared and wanted her in her life. "Anyways, just thought I would let you know," Kristen said, "I'm going to go get ready. I miss you!"

She turned and walked away from the door. Every day she visited Annalise's apartment and gave her an update on what was happening. One time she brought her a plate of cookies- double chocolate chip, those were her favorite- and left them outside the door. They were gone the next day, so she must have been listening to her at least some of the time, right? ...Or maybe she just found them. In any case, at least she was aware that Kristen was coming by.

Once Kristen got home, she immediately began to fret over what to wear for her date. Should she wear pants or a skirt? Casual or formal? Where were they going? She wished she knew so she could dress appropriately. In any case, she knew she would have to look her best. She didn't want to him to show up at her door with her looking like a slob.

She eventually decided on a green skirt and black top. Not too formal, but just a step above casual school-wear. She looked at herself in the mirror and gave a little twirl. Her skirt fanned out beautifully around her and she decided she was satisfied.

Just as she was finishing twisting her hair up into an simple bun, there was a knock at the door. No one else was home, so she quickly stuck the last pin into her hair and rushed to the door.

There was David, holding out a bouquet of flowers, grinning with his oh-so dashing smile. "I know this is probably completely cliche," he said, "But I couldn't resist."

Kristen took the flowers from him. "Thank you! They're beautiful. No one's ever given me flowers before."

"Really?" David said, sounding surprised, "Well I'm glad I could change that."

"Let me just put these in water," Kristen said. She turned back into the house. She went into the kitchen and began searching the cupboards for a vase. She finally found one on a shelf above the refrigerator. She filled it with water and stuck the flowers into it. She set it on the counter and just stared at them, smiling, pleased.

Then she suddenly remembered... "David!"

She rushed back to the door. She opened it and found David still standing there on the porch, looking rather confused.

"I am so sorry!" she said, "I didn't mean to take so long! I should have invited you in or something."

David laughed. "It's fine. I always like being left out in the cold by women I'm about to take out."

Kristen cleared her throat and chuckled nervously. She met his eyes. "So... where exactly are we going?" she wondered.

He smiled. "Town," he answered, holding out his arm.

Kristen wrapped her arm around his. "Town?" she repeated.

"Mm-hmm," he replied, "I thought we'd walk down town and take a look at the sights to see, maybe find a good place to eat, look in shops. That sort of thing. Not too boring, is it?"

Kristen grinned at him. "No! It sounds perfect!"

"Great!" he said, "And I know the perfect place to start. There's this fantastic little sandwich shop just a few blocks down. You'll love it!"

"Ooh! I love sandwiches!" Kristen exclaimed.

"Me too!"

"They're my favorite."

"Seriously? Mine too."

"Of course, chocolate takes the cake though... Or rather, is the cake."

David smirked. "Did you really just say that?"

Kristen shrugged. "Err, well, sometimes my mouth runs away with me."

"So I've noticed," David said.

Kristen blushed a deep crimson. Why did she always have to make herself look like such a confounded idiot in front of him? David noticed her embarrassment and quickly added, "I think it's cute."

Kristen looked back at him, smiling coyly.

After walking for a short time, David pointed ahead. "Here's the sandwich shop."

Not too far in front of them sat a small shop with a blue neon sign reading, "Sadie’s Sandwiches" over the top. They began to make their way towards it.

"So how do you know this place?" Kristen wondered.

"Well, my dad's in politics," David explained, "I used to have to wait for him to get out of some big important meeting or whatever in the Town Hall just over there."

He pointed across the street. Kristen looked at it. "Isn't that where foreign diplomats and stuff meet?"

"Yep."

Kristen looked at David once more, surprised. "Is your dad a foreign diplomat?"

"Ambassador, actually," David replied, "All the way from Russia."

Kristen looked at David in a new light. "Wow. So you're like... not American?"

David smirked. "Yes. I'd say that was an accurate assertion."

"Sorry. It's just, you don't even have an accent or anything."

David shrugged. "Well, we actually lived here for the first eight years of my life. I grew up here. I guess, it took care of my accent. I liked it here so much that I came back for college." He leaned closer to her, “You actually pronounce my name “Dah-veet”, but I stopped correcting people after the first eight thousand times.”

He winked and then opened the door to the sandwich shop. "M'lady," he gestured for her to enter first.

Kristen smiled and walked in. It was small, like a fast food joint, but not brightly colored or strongly scented with disinfectant. They approached the counter. "Hello, what can I get ya?" the girl behind the counter asked.

"I'll have a regular sized turkey with everything on it, but no onions," David replied, then gestured to Kristen, "And she'll have..."

"A large roast beef with everything," Kristen immediately said, "Also could you add avocado? Oh, and bacon? Oh, and possibly some ham and turkey? ...and extra cheese?"

David looked at her, surprised. "What?" Kristen asked.

"Nothing. I just didn't expect someone so small to eat so much," he replied.

Kristen raised her eyebrows. "I told you. I love sandwiches."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Okay, wait. So this is your first date ever?" David asked, pushing away his sandwich wrapper, long since finished.

"That's what I said," Kristen replied.

"So that means you've never been kissed or anything?" he asked.

"Ah, ah. It's my turn now," Kristen said, "What is... your worst childhood experience?"

David puckered his lips, thinking for a moment. "Well, I have ten older brothers..." he began.

"You have how many?" Kristen cried, incredulous.

"Ten," David repeated, "Yeah, I know. Mom and dad went a bit crazy. Anyways, when we were growing up, four of them literally pretended that I would spontaneously burst into flames at random moments. So they would tackle me to the ground and beat me with rugs and stuff... for eight years. Horrible way to live, really."

"That's awful," Kristen said.

David shrugged. "That's what brothers do."

"Sisters aren’t much better," Kristen said, "Annalise and I were really close while we were growing up. But then suddenly she became, you know, a recluse. Now, every time I go to see her, she completely ignores me and shuts me out."

David took her hand and she felt her heart flutter. "Kristen, I think she must be completely crazy for doing that. Also, I want you to know that I would never do something like that to you."

Kristen looked up into his eyes. He smiled as he took her other hand. Her heart rate was off the charts now. "Um... i-it's your turn," she said, trying her best to keep her voice steady.

David scooted closer to her. "Okay," he said, "So, you really have never kissed anyone before?"

Kristen could barely breathe as she forced herself to shake her head in response. Her stomach was doing somersaults and her head was spinning madly. She was barely conscious of David moving towards her. What was even happening? She might actually pass out!

But then his lips were on hers and everything seemed to freeze. Time stood completely still as his lips gently moved against hers. She was floating on a cloud, lost in a wonderland. But then it was over too soon. He pulled back, leaving her completely breathless, and gave her a half smile. "Well?"

Kristen grinned, "I think I might need another test." She grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him in for another kiss.

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FACE DOWN Ch4- Tutoring

Kristen entered the small wooden door with 23 marked across the front of it. She checked the scrap of paper in her hand just to make sure. Yep. "Barnes Building, Room 23, 4:30". The lights were off inside. Kristen felt around for a switch and quickly turned them on.

It was completely empty except for a few old-looking tables and banged up chairs lying on their sides around them. This was where she was supposed to meet her tutor? Well he wasn't here yet and it was two minutes past 4:30. Should she just wait for a few minutes?

She set a chair upright and sat on it. It was eerily quiet in the room and it was so bare. Like one of those asylum rooms with the white walls and no windows... except the walls and floor wasn't padded, but still. She began humming to herself in order to break the silence.

Five more minutes passed and still nobody showed up. Maybe she had heard him wrong. When he called the other day to set up a time, she had been busy cooking at the same time, so she might have misheard what he was saying. Maybe he was waiting for her somewhere else entirely. Because why would he want to meet in such a lonely, depressing room like this anyway?

Just as Kristen was about to pull out her phone and make a call, the door opened. A tall, blonde boy in a black coat and hat walked in with his head down. When he looked up at her, Kristen was shocked to recognize him as the boy who had been thrown out of Friedman's class the other day for hating on fairytales.

He didn't smile or anything, just simply said, "You're Kristen, I suppose?"

"Um, yeah," she replied, "Jonathan?"

He nodded and walked over to her. He picked up a chair and set it up across the table from her. "Let's get down to business then."

Kristen didn't move, she was still studying him, puzzled. He got a scholarship for math? He didn't look like the bookish type. He looked more like a football jock based on his build. He was rather large and stocky. Plus he did seem to have an attitude like those jocks on TV did, going off the show he made in english class.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"Hmm? No. I was just wondering... why did we have to meet here? Why couldn't we have met at the library or something?" Kristen asked.

"This is closer to my apartment," he said shortly.

"But don't most tutors meet in the library?"

"Yes."

"So why didn't you?"

"I told you, this is closer to my apartment."

"Don't you like to walk?"

"No."

"But you could meet so many fun people at the library!"

He just rolled his eyes.

Right. Okay, so he didn't seem like a big talker either. She would have to change that. There was a short silence as she tried to think of something.

"So... what year is this for you?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well I'd just like to know how much more advanced my tutor is than me," Kristen replied.

"Junior," he replied.

"Oh really? My sister's a junior," Kristen said, smiling.

"Hmm," he said with disinterest.

"Maybe you've met her."

"Doubt it."

"Annalise Ford?"

"Nope."

"I guess that makes sense. I'm pretty sure she takes all her classes online. At least since her sophomore year. I just thought maybe you'd met her before that."

"No," he said shortly.

Kristen paused for a moment. "I've already met lots of great people around since I started here."

He rolled his eyes once again. What was with him and doing that?

"Yeah!" she continued, "I made a friend on my first day. His name's Petey. And then I met this amazing guy. I think he's going to ask me out. And..."

"Wait, wait. You think he's going to ask you out?" Jonathan interrupted.

Whoa, hold up. Was he actually asking her a question now? Progress! Kristen looked at him. "Well, yeah," she replied, "I gave him my number."

He smirked. "Do you have any idea how many guys just go around asking for girls' numbers, but then never call them? They have like a mountain of random girls' numbers piled up in their closets. They just use them as bragging rights for their friends."

Kristen frowned for the first time. "People don't do that."

"It's true."

"Well David is not like that," Kristen said confidently, "He's a true gentleman. He'll call."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "He's probably got boat loads of girls just waiting for his call," he said.

"No," Kristen said, crossing her arms defiantly and turning away from him.

"Waiting by the phone every day in anticipation," he continued.

"That is ridiculous."

"And you're just one in the long lineup."

"Unlikely."

"Plus he probably picks his nose."

Kristen turned to look at him once more, caught off guard. "What?"

He was smirking. "And then eats it."

Kristen glared at him. Now he was just trying to annoy her... and it was working. "That's disgusting," she said.

He shrugged. "All guys do it. It's just a fact."

Kristen wrinkled her nose. Then she glared at him again. "Okay look mister, I don't care what you say. David will call. He said he would and I believe him. So that's that."

Just then, her phone rang. With a final scowl at Jonathan, Kristen answered it. "Hello?... Why hello, David!" She threw Jonathan a "told you so" look. He just folded his arms over his chest and watched her stand up and pace about the room.

"Yeah, I'm great... No, it's fine. I've been busy anyways. It's not like I was waiting by the phone every day or anything." She saw Jonathan smirk.

"Am I free on Friday?" She looked at Jonathan once more, smiling cockily, "Yes, I believe I am... 6:00? Sounds great... Okay. See you then!"

She hung up the phone. Did that just happen? Was she really going to go out on a date with David Leskov? It was too good to be true! She squealed and without any choice of her own, began to dance in place, caught up in her own excitement.

"Wow. You should really be on Dancing With the Stars," Jonathan deadpanned.

Kristen immediately stopped dancing. "Shut up," she said, "I am going on a date with my own prince charming. I have every right to dance like a maniac. Even you cannot spoil my mood now."

Jonathan shook his head and Kristen could have sworn she saw a small smile play across his mouth, but it was so quick, she couldn't be sure. "Well now that that is all over with, can we get to your math now?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, yeah, sure," Kristen said, sitting down and grabbing her backpack, "Where do we start?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was just peeking through the thick overcast that loomed over the sky. And Jonathan had thought it was going to rain. It practically always rained whenever he decided to go outside for anything other than class, story of his life, the outside hated him. But for some reason, the sun was coming out to say hello today.

He reached his apartment, unlocked the door, and entered. Tiny was the word to sum it up. One sofa covered in patches against the wall, a dilapidated kitchen on the other side, a blanket over the window used for a curtain, his roommate's sweatshirt thrown in the middle of the floor. Yep, that's what he called home.

Jonathan moved inside and picked up the sweatshirt lying on the ground and folded it. He was the housekeeper around the apartment. Even though the place was a dump, he still tried to maintain it. Only he and his one roommate were the ones that lived there. There was only one bedroom with one creaking bunk bed. Jonathan slept on the bottom and every night he was always afraid that maybe the poles would give away and his roommate would fall down and crush him flat.

A head covered in shaggy brown hair popped out of the bedroom. "Oh! You're home!"

"Yeah. Just," Jonathan answered. He held the sweatshirt out, "What have I told you about leaving your things in the middle of the floor?"

His roommate, Sam, stepped out of the room sheepishly and took the sweatshirt from him. "Sorry," he said, "At least it wasn't my backpack and everything this time, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Jonathan muttered, turning away and sitting on the couch.

Sam came up beside him. "So how was tutoring?" he asked.

Jonathan shrugged.

"Are you going to stick with this one this time?" Sam wondered.

"I don't know," Jonathan answered.

Sam's mouth formed into an "O" and he sat down beside him. "That's different. You normally say "no" right away. You should stick with this one if they don't repel you right away!"

"Maybe," Jonathan said.

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes!" Sam insisted, "Do it! This could be the first person that my dear little Johnny-boy doesn’t hate on sight! It's a miracle! You like them! I have to meet them!"

"Please, Sam," Jonathan scoffed, "I do not like her."

"Oh it's a her, is it?" Sam asked, "Johnny, I've known you since... what? Kindergarten? First-grade? Pre-school? I know when you're lying."

"Okay, okay. Fine. She kind of amused me," Jonathan said.

"Amused you?"

"Yeah."

"What are you Shakespeare?"

Jonathan frowned at him. "Look, all I'm saying is that I think I'll give it another go to see how I feel about the arrangement before I make my final verdict."

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