The In Between

Part 3

"Since you were so difficult in the in between we'll have to lay low here for a little while. Although it's not my favorite dimension it shouldn't be too bad." He sighed as we made our way deeper into the park. 

"Oh right, my bad. Sorry I didn't want to follow a complete stranger in some weird world I didn't know existed. Are you sure I'm no hallucinating?" I asked, still struggling to wrap my head around it all. 

"I'm that dreamy huh?" He asked with a smirk and my cheeks immediately got warm. "No, this is not a dream, or a hallucination, you actually get to spend time with me incredible, I know." 

"Not what I meant." I assured him. 

"Your cheeks tell me otherwise." He told me, only making them grow hotter, before sending me a wink. 

"Stop it its just warm." I lied. 

"Well then, looks like we're going shopping." He sped up now walking with a purpose. 

His legs were much longer, and I struggled to keep up with his pace at this point. Slightly out of breath I asked, "When my siblings wake up where will I be? Or does time stop?" 

"Not usually, but I can explain that another time." He sped up, to the point of me almost needing to jog behind him. 

"How long do you expect to keep me here, if you've got so many stories for another time." I huffed as we slowed in front of a storefront. 

"Here, not long. In other dimensions we'll spend more time." He took a rock and broke open the glass door to a clothing store. 

I gasped, "What on earth do you think you're doing." 

"It's fine trust me." He reached his hand through the broken glass door and turned a lock. 

"It most certainly is not." I stomped my foot, aware of how childish it made me seem. 

Kal turned an placed a hand lightly on my cheek,  "You're gonna have to get used to this, if you wanna keep up." His green eyes sparkled with excitement as he pushed the door open. "It never gets old."

"Take anything your little heart desires." He told me, his arms open wide as if the store were an exhibit, which to me it might as well have been, not touching, anything.

"I'm not stealing." I crossed my arms as I told him to make sure he knew I meant business.

"What a sweetheart. That just means I'll have to pick somethings for you hmm? What else will you wear everyday it's not like you brought a suit case." He raised a questioning eyebrow while he held up a piece of lingerie, "I think this will do don't you?" He shook it around. 

I snatched it from his hands, "Stop that." He had a point though. What would I wear? "I'll just wash the clothes I have on now."

He laughed "Suit yourself, I'll grab a few things for you when you want them." He winked not leaving the lingerie section. 

I went to wait on the front steps of the shop, not wanting to take any part in what was going on in there, when out of the corner of my eye I saw blue and red lights flashing down the street and coming closer. Before I even had a chance to say his name Kal was out of the store, two steps ahead of me with a bag full of things. 

I followed him where he ran, adrenaline pumping through my body, this was the closest I had come to committing a crime. what will colleges think? doesn't this make me an accomplice? Will colleges even know? All these thoughts raced through my mind as we raced through the woods. 

Finally we stopped near a lake. "This should be fine." Kal told me setting his things down. 

"Should be? I thought they treated us like royalty." I put my hands on my hips. 

"We could've gotten away with it if we stayed, but what's the fun in that?" He tilted his head, "plus, you said you wanted to wash the clothes you had on." He moved closer to me with a smirk. 

"Oh... nonono!" I squealed as he threw my body over his shoulder and somehow managed to toss me into the lake. 

By the time I resurfaced he was unbuttoning his shirt and taking off his shoes. I rolled my eyes at him. "What they're designer!" He justified.

"Not like you paid much for them." I reminded him. 

"You got me there." He said as he finally stepped into the lake in his boxers. Wincing at the cold. Of course he had a perfect stomach and toned shoulders. I guess hopping is good exercise. 

"My eyes are up here." He smirked before I even realized I was staring. Before he could see me blushing I went underwater to swim away but he caught hold of my ankle and pulled me back. When I resurfaced he already had a question on his lips. "How can a 17 year old girl possibly be this innocent?" 

I stifled a laugh and headed back to land and climbed out mud covering my pants and my hair sopping wet. Only to realize that I was wearing a white tank top which was now entirely see through. I squealed and covered myself quickly. 

Kal climbed out more gracefully than I had and laughed at me. "So how do you feel about your idea to wash your own clothes now?"

I glared at him, "please just hand me the bag of stolen clothes please." 

He smiled smugly and handed me the bag. "Here princess." 

As I tore through the things he had chosen he had really gone through with taking all lingerie and clothes that weren't much more, he'd planned this. But at the bottom of the bag he did have a large mans tshirt which I assume was for his pajamas. I put on the long blue shirt that ended mid thigh and headed back out from behind the trees. 

He chuckled as soon as I walked out. "How did I know you would do that? You know I bought girl clothes right?" 

"Feel free to wear them, I assumed they were more your style than mine." I retorted. 

This really got him laughing and he didn't stop for well over a minute. His laugh sounded like music, like something I shouldn't have been able to control. The green of his eyes just barely visible passed his crinkled eyelids and his perfect teeth vibrant against his pink lips. 

I snapped myself out of it, yet again 'you're not boy crazy.' I repeated in my head over and over again. 

Once he calmed down he patted a spot on the ground for me to sit. I sat next to him but left a good distance, I still didn't trust him, I had no reason to.

"I do have some bad news." He paused, "We're going to have to stay in you number two's house tonight otherwise we're homeless. I haven't set up a spot in this dimension because like I said it's not my favorite." 

"I'm not." I began to say before he cut me off suddenly angrier than before. 

"You've fought me over everything today. That is where we're staying." He told me firmly. 

"Maybe that's where you're staying. I'm not doing that to the family." I snapped getting defensive. 

"You know what fine. Suit yourself." He growled standing up and grabbing his clothes. 

"I will." I yelled after him as he actually left. I watched him walk away until he was no longer visible and for the first time, I let myself cry. 

I had been taken from my home, I unintentionally killed a girl, I was chased by some type of monster that I got no explanation of, and now I was alone in a town that was mine but wasn't, with no place to stay and a setting sun. 

After I cried for what seemed like forever, I stood up and vowed to myself that was the last time I would cry and that I had to be strong for myself if I was alone here, I had to be enough.  

I gathered my things into the bag that Kal had left and I found a park bench to lay on until the sun rose. Convincing myself that it no longer mattered what was right for everyone, but what was right for me.