Daniel saw Molly's eyes widen as her attention focused on something or someone across the room. She turned to him and grabbed his arm, leading him into the throng of dancers. It looked as if putting off the idea of dancing wasn't going to happen.

But something was wrong. Molly wasn't exactly the bubbly type but she was usually at least calm and cool. At the moment she seemed ready to bolt on him.

"What's the matter?" he asked, gripping her arms a bit so that she would focus on him.

"My brother just walked in," she said, putting her lips to his ear.

He knew she was only doing it so that he could hear her, but the warmth of her breath on his cheek sent a jolt through him. It had been happening all night.

First when she had asked him to hang out with her. He was a pretty popular guy. Athletic. Tall. Some might say handsome...but the girls he dated, described him more as �like...hot'. But Molly Taylor...she was... What was she? She was the girl that you never noticed until you were right in front of her. The person that no one really ever thinks about until they grow up and become super famous - then you suddenly remember them as being your best friend. The silent and shy genius type. Yet slowly but surely over the past few weeks, her true colors had begun to show. And her asking him to hang out...to go out with her...it was shocking and thrilling at the same time.

Then when she had allowed him to hold her hand. He still wasn't completely sure what had prompted him to that. Besides his need for the familiar as he had stepped �over the rainbow', it had simply felt right and his motto was - if it feels good, do it. As he had held the small hand in his, their wrists pressed together and he had felt her pulse racing. He only hoped that she hadn't felt his heart rate, because he was sure it was giving hers a run for its money.

Then when she had been dancing before, with her body moving in ways he had never seen a body move...he was astounded. There wasn't a thing in the world...Armageddon could have rained down on them and still...his eyes would never have strayed from the mesmerizing sight before him. He wondered how he had not seen it before? She was absolutely amazing.

Finally her words penetrated the fog in his brain and he followed her gaze to the blonde man that was standing at the bar. The same man that his brother had bashed only eight years before. The thought still left a sick, tight, guilty feeling in his stomach. "Does he...I mean...Is he mad that you're helping me?"

"No. He has no idea that I even know you. I was kind of hoping to keep it that way." For some reason, Daniel felt disappointed by this. That she would hide him away like some dirty little secret.

Never mind that none of his friends knew Molly was tutoring him. He definitely hadn't told his family. No one knew that he spent his afternoons on Liberty Avenue, working on poetry and prose. But Molly was different. She was supposed to be the good one. The one that was fair and kind and understanding.

She was supposed to want him in her life, more than he wanted or needed her. That was the way it always worked. That was the way he liked it. It made things easier when he was done with a girl.

Except Molly...Molly was different. Molly was nothing like the girls he usually dated. She had her own opinions, beliefs, loves and didn't need him or anyone else to make her happy. She could make herself happy. He had never in his life been faced with this particular problem, but he was left wondering, where did that leave him? What part could he play in her life?

As they continued to dance, trying to make them blend, he saw Justin begin walking towards the dance floor. "Um...Molly..." he started to warn her, but she never heard him.

"Molly?"

Her head whipped around quickly at her brother's voice. "Justin! Hi!" She grinned, trying to play the scene off. Daniel stood back, wanting to say something but trying to go unnoticed for Molly's sake.

"What are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I decided -"

"Hey!" Brian interjected, wrapping his arms around Justin from behind.

"Hey yourself!" Justin swivelled his head until he could lean back and capture the taller man's lips in a quick kiss.

"I thought you were in New York."

"What's with you two? Want to get rid of me that badly," he joked. "I went, did my little presentation, and decided that I didn't want to stay until Sunday." He split his attention between his sister and Brian. "Either of you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all. Far be it from me to complain about the prospect of early make-up sex." Brian kissed Justin's neck and they waved at Molly as they walked away together.

As soon as they were out of sight, Molly pulled Daniel back to her and hugged him casually. "That was close," she laughed.

Daniel grinned and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, nuzzling her neck as he had seen Brian do to Justin only moments before. It felt so comfortable. So natural. So...warm.

Pulling back, the two of them stared into one another's eyes. Daniel stared deeply, waiting...waiting...and there it was. The look. The look that says �you can kiss me; you'd better kiss me.'

Slowly - what seemed like hours to him - their lips moved towards one another. So close. Closer. Touching. Firm lips over soft. Pressure. Light nipping of his bottom lip. Taste of cinnamon. Fire.

He sighed, feeling somehow freed by the light touch.

They separated slowly, once again meeting each other's gazes. Eyes's dilated even more so than before. Lips slightly swollen and pink. Faces flushed. "Wow," she breathed. And Daniel nodded, seconding her response.

She had almost gotten the word out of her mouth when Justin appeared again.

"Just gonna tell you that we'll be at the loft and not to stay too late and who the hell are you?" The last bit had been aimed at Daniel but he and Molly were so flustered by the unexpected interruption, that they hadn't heard a word that had been said.

"Justin..." Molly bravely began. Daniel could only stand there silently, hoping that her brother wouldn't put a name with the face.

In the end, several seconds later, his hope proved to be false. "Wait...you look... FUCK!"

"Justin..." Molly said a bit more forcefully, begging and warning him at the same time, not to start something there at that moment.

"Molly." Justin held up his hand to stop any possible explanation. He was staring at Daniel, his face bright red and he looked as though he were torn between wanting to hit something and wanting to run away. He pointed towards the door and Molly held fast to Daniel's hand, pulling him towards the exit behind her.

As they made their way through the crowd, Daniel tried with great difficulty to convince himself that he wasn't about to be tried, convicted and hung by the fuming man behind them.

***

He couldn't breathe. His vision was getting cloudy and all he could think of was the imaginary image of his sister's limp body, lying bloody on the concrete, Hobbs standing over her with a bat in hand. "Fucking son-of-a..."

He saw the two of them waiting for him just outside of the club, standing about a foot apart, making a conscious effort not to touch. Yet an invisible connection between them was still quite noticeable. The way she was looking at the kid so worriedly, so apologetically. She liked him. The small rationale left in Justin, told him that he must like her too. He was at fucking Babylon after all.

But that didn't matter. Couldn't sway him to believe that Hobbs' baby brother might be good. He couldn't take that chance - for Molly's sake.

Hell...even Chris had allowed Justin to jerk him off. Shit happened when you were seventeen. Just because the kid decided to tag along to the homo hop one night, didn't exactly make him trustworthy.

Still, it remained to be seen as to why she was with him in the first place. She knew the history. Knew the pain the fucker's brother had caused. Not only for Justin himself, but his friends, family...some might even say the entire community.

As he approached them, he saw the boy stare at him unflinchingly. He wasn't angry or afraid or even indifferent. He simply looked as though he was ready to roll with the punches. Justin admired that to some degree. And he gave him credit for at least being sensible.

"Explain."

The minute that it had taken Molly to walk to the door of the club, she had enough time to think things through, more specifically her own argument. Her stance indicated that she was highly frustrated and verging on pissed off. His muttered mono-syllabic demand was just enough to push her over the edge. "Explain what exactly?" She said, her hands flying to her hips.

Justin frowned. "What are you doing here with HIM?"

"HIM has a name. It's Daniel. And Daniel is my friend." She lifted one shoulder indignantly. "I invited him to come with me."

"So what? Now you're dating him? Oh excuse me...Daniel."

"No, Justin! I'm not dating him. Not that it's any of your damn business."

"It's very much my business. I'm your legal guardian at the moment. And I will be until you turn eighteen."

"So what? That gives you the right to dictate to me? Decide whom I can and cannot be friends with?"

"No, that isn't what it means. It means that I am responsible for your safety. For your health. And sorry to burst your little bubble, princess...but Daniel here already has several strikes against him."

"Why? Because of his brother?"

"YES! That's exactly why!" Justin crossed his arms and met her glare for glare.

"You don't even know him!"

"I don't need to know him! Ever heard the expression �the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?'"

"Yeah. You ever heard the expression �you're being a close-minded judgmental prick'?"

Justin bit the inside of his cheek, realizing that saying anymore was only going to dig the hole all the more deeper.

Molly shook her head, looking dejected and disappointed, and walked away. Without saying a word either way, Daniel turned and followed her through the small crowd that was spilling out onto the street.

***

He was still standing in the same spot twenty minutes later when Emmet appeared at his side, looking worried. "Hey...sweetie? You might want to go back in. Brian is combing the club for you as we speak."

"Shit! I totally forgot about him."

"Wow! I never thought I'd hear those words come out of YOUR mouth!"

Justin looked at him wearily. Emmett's nose wrinkled as he smiled apologetically. "Sorry...It like a reflex or something."

"Justin!" He heard Brian bark. He turned to see the man striding towards him, a somewhat urgent look on his face that was quickly covered with a mask of irritation. "If you say you're only going to be a second...and you decide to take off...at least have the courtesy to tell me so that I can get in a trick or two."

Justin closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "Okay. Fine. I'm leaving. Go...fuck whoever you want," he said flatly.

"Well it takes all the fun out of it if you actually want me to." Justin felt Brian's arm slide around his back. "You okay?"

"No...I'm fine. It's Molly that I'm worried about."

"What's wrong with her?" The man sounded near frantic, hearing that something might have happened to his little sister. Justin smiled.

Once he might have been jealous that Brian was so protective of Molly. He would have felt competitive for Brian's affection and attention. But Molly was his sister and he, to some degree, was the one that was sharing them. He was proud that Brian would consider Justin's family his own. And he was thrilled that Molly felt she had another brother in Brian. With their dad gone, she needed all of the positive male role models she could get. Well...positive he wasn't so sure about, but Brian was definitely an impressive role model to have.

His smile faded when he remembered his original problem. "She's with...Daniel Hobbs." Brian stayed quiet one fraction of a second too long and Justin examined his face. "You knew!"

"What?" He asked, working to act clueless.

"Don't bullshit me Kinney! Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"Wait! Tell you what exactly?"

They both ignored Emmett's question. "I only found out this afternoon."

Emmett frowned at their dismissive attitude, "Only found out what?"

"She told you?"

"I walked in on them."

"Walked in on who?"

Justin thought he might choke. "What exactly did you walk in on?!"

"Calm down. He was sitting on the couch and she was upstairs. Nothing was going on."

"And she told you who it was?"

"Who what was?!" Emmett cried out.

"No. He introduced himself and I confronted her about it." Brian wrapped his other arm around Justin and hugged him to his chest. "Justin...I really think-"

"If somebody doesn't tell me who you're-"

"Emmett!"

Brian's incredibly loud and obviously annoyed growl, startled the man into momentary silence. Finally he smiled and contritely hummed a "Hmm?"

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up. For Two. Seconds." Brian ground out through gritted teeth. Emmett nodded, making a motion of zipping his lips before looking away and pretending to be interested in some of the passing hard bodies. Brian turned back to Justin and continued on, minus the angry tone. "I really think she likes him."

Justin groaned and covered his face with his hands. "I was afraid of that." Quickly he recounted to Brian, the scene with Molly and Daniel only half an hour before.

"She's right, ya know," Brian said solemnly. "We don't know him. He could be a fuckin saint for all we know. The only thing we can be sure of is that his brother is a piece of shit."

"Doesn't mean that Daniel can't come out smelling like roses right?" Only a trace of cynicism was left in his voice.

"Exactly." It seemed strange that suddenly Brian was the one with the positive, rational outlook of the two of them. But they had always balanced each other well. It was simply that Justin had usually had to be the one to ground Brian and not the other way around. It felt nice that he could count on Brian to return the favor if needed.

Justin stood on his tip-toes, putting him eye to eye with his lover and wrapped his arm around the taller man, Brian's arms wrapping around his waist. He pressed his lips against Brian's and smiled softly. "Thanks," he whispered.

"So...crisis averted?"

"Not even close." Their forehead's touched and they stared at one another. "Crisis temporarily sidetracked."

Brian groaned. They kissed once again, more deeply this time. "Ready to go?" Brian motioned towards the street.

Justin nodded and they turned, waving goodbye to Emmett. Their silent third party stood there for a second before calling out to their backs. "Is this about that guy that was with Mol?"

The only response he received was a warning glare from Brian as they continued down the alley towards the jeep.

The man shrugged. "What did I say?"

***

The walk to the townhouse was quiet. Too quiet for Molly's taste, but she didn't know what to say after the little confrontation with Justin and she figured that Daniel was suffering from the same problem.

At her front door, she turned to him and grabbed his hand on an impulse. "I'm...I'm sorry for what my brother..."

Daniel smiled and pulled their clasped hands up to his lips, brushing his lips against the top of her wrist. "Don't worry about it. I know who my brother is. Can't say that I'm proud of him or what he did. Justin...he has every right to be suspicious of me."

Molly nodded, touched by his words of admission. "A-Are his suspicions valid?"

"No," Daniel replied quickly, but firmly so she had no doubt that he was telling the truth.

"Want to come in?"

He smiled at her and nodded. "But only for a second. I don't want to give your brother any more of a reason to hate me."

"Don't worry about him. He'll be at Brian's all night."

"Still..."

She unlocked the door and led him inside. Instead of stopping in the living room as she had before, Molly continued on up the stairs towards her room. When she didn't hear him following her, she turned. "Coming?"

"I..."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm more comfortable in my room." He seemed to be weighing his options and soon he was right behind her.

As she flipped the light switch and her room was illuminated with soft white light, she tried to imagine what her sanctuary must look like to him.

Her furniture was simple. A full bed, a desk along the wall in front of the window, a cheval mirror in the corner, and a small entertainment center along the wall beside the door that containing her cd player and a hand-me-down television. It was all arranged to give her the maximum floor space possible in the room. It was airy and warm like a good nest should be, but to him it probably seemed boring.

Daniel, meanwhile, looked like a kid in a candy store. He was bouncing around the room on the balls of his feet, checking out her cd collection, her shelves that were filled with books of poetry intermingled with a few romance novels. Daniel picked a few up, studying them before putting them back in their place. If she didn't know any better, she might have thought he was nervous.

She watched as he studied a full size poster of Rage that covered the better half of one of the walls. "I used to collect comics. I think I've seen this somewhere."

She smirked. "Yeah? So you've heard of "Rage"?"

"Uh...yeah I think so. I think I almost bought an issue once before I realized that it was a..."

"Gay comic?"

He nodded, not wanting to admit that he had once been so narrow-minded. Somewhat ludicrous since she had known him and his friends for years. Had seen them pick on kids younger, smaller, weaker, than they. Anyone that had been different had been singled out. At some point she had wondered why the different kids were singled out. If you looked close enough, one would realize that the number of the different vastly outnumbered the number of so-called normal teens. Yet...she had seen something in Daniel. Something that she couldn't deny or bring herself to hate. She had overlooked his flaws in hopes of changing a few of his views about things. So far, her mission had been successful.

Like a little girl bragging to her friends, she stuck her chin out and smirked, "My brother draws him."

"Oh yeah?" he asked in a small distracted voice.

"No...I mean he really draws him. He's the illustrator for "Rage"." She pointed to the bottom of the poster, where he could see a scribbled name, though all you could make out was jagged capital J and T.

"Wow! No shit?"

She shook her head proudly as any sister of a quasi-famous artist would be. "No shit."

"But I thought he was a teacher."

"He is. Teaches Illustration at PIFA. But "Rage" was he and Michael's baby first. I don't think he would ever give it up."

"Michael is..." He squinted his eyes in thought. "Debbie's son?"

She clapped mockingly. "Very good. You get a cookie."

Ignoring her sarcastic tone, he perked up. "What kind of cookie?" She rolled her eyes and his widened, "I'm starving."

"Starving? You just ate at the diner not three hours ago!"

The taller boy shrugged his wide shoulders and grinned. "I'm a growing boy."

Though it had been a simple enough statement, she heard the teasing tone beneath his words. "Debatable," she giggled as she walked past him and out of the room.

Obediently, he went along with her unspoken request and followed her through the hallway, down the stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Molly hopped up onto the counter and pulled a large jar onto her lap. It was in the shape of a gingerbread house and it had been her mother's favorite cookie jar. She had let Molly keep it, knowing that she would use it far more than Jennifer. Pulling on the faux peppermint chimney, she lifted the lid and tilted the jar towards him, offering up her stash of Oreos.

"Perrrrrfect," he laughed as he grabbed a handful and put them on the island within reach. "What's this?" He asked, reaching for the book that had been abandoned on the counter that morning.

Molly looked at the book and sighed. She hadn't meant to leave it out. She could only hope that neither Brian nor Justin saw it. They worried when they saw it. Worried that she was thinking something stupid. Worried that she was going to do something stupid. Again. As if the book was some sort of evil force in itself that might cause her harm.

"It's nothing. Just...some poetry." She made to grab it from his hands but he held it out of her reach and read the cover. "Sylvia Plath? Wasn't she...nuts or something?"

"Or something," Molly said testily.

"So...you like her stuff huh?"

"Sure."

"You seem tense." He held the book in front of her but just out of her reach. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is this book making you tense?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"You avoid a lot of questions."

"Why do you care?"

"Who said I did?"

"If you didn't care, you wouldn't keep pursuing this discussion."

"Maybe I do care and that's why I AM pursuing this discussion." Molly stared at him blankly, unsure of what to say next. "So..."

"So what?"

"What's with this book?"

"You don't want to know."

"Yes I do."

"Then I don't want you to know."

"Yeah you do."

"Daniel...shut the fuck up!"

"Molly...no," he imitated her frustrated tone.

"It's just a fucking book!"

"If it was just a book, you wouldn't be so mad. And I know you're mad because you get a potty mouth when you get mad."

"You dickhead!"

"Enough with the compliments. Just tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me what this book means to you. It's obviously pretty important to have you this worked up."

"No...you have me this worked up, trying to piss me off."

"Just tell me alrea-"

"I fucking tried to kill myself!"

It took a second for Daniel to register what had flowed from her mouth. It took another few seconds to confirm that what he had heard, was indeed what she had said. "W...When?"

Molly sighed, mentally kicking herself for letting him get to her. For telling him something that she had wanted to deny for years. Her whispered reply was filled with anguish, "Two...Two years ago."

"Why?" He wouldn't meet her eyes and Molly knew that she had freaked him out.

"I don't know. I just...didn't want to do it anymore."

"It?"

"Live."

"But...why?"

"It's not exactly the sort of question you can answer to everyone's satisfaction ya know. I just...my dad forgot my birthday. My mom had started seeing someone new. I failed an algebra test. I don't know. It could have been anything. Or it could have been nothing. It's not like I woke up one morning and said �I think I'll slit my wrists today.'"

"Molly..." he whispered, unsure what to say.

Her spine stiffened and she shrugged, hoping to look nonchalant. "My brother found me...unconscious, bleeding over everything. My face buried in this book." She saw his fingers tighten on the book in an effort not to toss it on the floor. "Luckily...I hadn't cut deep enough or something. The blood flow wasn't nearly bad enough to kill me so Justin rushed me to the hospital." She blinked away tears and finally looked up to see Daniel staring at her intently.

"What's your favorite poem in this book?"

Silently Molly thanked him for changing the subject. Thanked him for staying there and not running away. Thanked him for trying so horribly to act normal. She shook her head. "I don't have a favorite."

"No?" he didn't believe her. Of course she had a favorite. But she wasn't about to tell him and give him anymore ideas.

She smiled shakily, "Why don't you try to find it?" That should keep him occupied for about five seconds. He did hate poetry after all. He had proven that time and time again. Had proclaimed it at the top of his voice in the middle of the diner hundreds of times. He would bore of reading and they could change the subject altogether.

"Found it."

"What?"

"The poem."

"Daniel...I was only kidding when I-"

"No. Not your favorite. Just...you."

Molly was intrigued. His tone had been soft and lilting, drawing her in. She slipped off of the counter and moved to stand beside him. His hand rubbed the page, caressing it as he might a lover's cheek. "What are you talking about?"

"You..." He picked the book up and put it closer to his face, his eyes peeking over the top of the pages at her. "If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the same impression Of something beautiful, but annihilating." He didn't go on, but there was no need to.

Molly stood staring at him, in total awe. This time, happy tears gathered in her eyes and she looked away, hoping to mask them. No one had ever compared her to a poem. Especially such a beautiful poem. And she had watched him read it. Had listened as he spoke slowly, annunciating each word, and nailing the rhythm. There were no words to possibly express what was in her heart at that moment.

She pried the book from his fingers and flipped the pages until she found it. Without preamble she began, "I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again. (I think I made you up inside my head.) ... The stars go waltzing out in blue and red, And arbitrary blackness gallops in: I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead." She looked up at him and slowly his lips began their journey towards her's. From memory she gently closed her eyes and recited the next verse, "I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane. (I think I made you up inside my head.)"

Daniel scooped her up into his arms and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, knowing that wherever he was going, she didn't care. She wanted to go too.

To Be Continued...