Usually I would wait until I've written the next chapter to release this one, but I'm honestly so excited- writing this was so much fun.

Thanks so much for the kind reviews, they honestly really did make my day through Finals week. I'm currently in the process of replying to the lot of them and I really do appreciate every review / favourite / follow this story gets. I love all of you so much, this is my childhood love and it makes me so happy that there are people out there revisiting this fandom too.

Hilariously, the first time she really connected with him was when she didn't even know it was him she was connecting with.

Which in all honestly, made up for the embarrassment that she felt when she found out that 'Bus Buddy' was actually the person behind the mask of Spectra Phantom.

The day had started simple enough; Alice was on loan with her Aunt Clara and Uncle Ben who had undoubtedly filled every familial obligation expected of them and more, when she decided to video call home.

The week had been easy for her, between the daily Skype calls with Eric the Lab Assistant and bonding with her aunt, the Russian girl had never felt more relaxed in her life. When the option to spend time away in a vacation of sorts arose, she had been slowly preparing herself to fight tooth and nail in case the Vestals came to invade Earth or something.

Like any other sane person in her position, Alice had spent all of the first day away listing every possible scenario that her time away would inevitably cause. Space invasion? Check. Work space related explosion? Had that covered. Another kidnapping? Puh-lease. Alice had thought up a plethora of ways to fix the neverending lists of disasters and quite honestly waiting for her grandfather to accept the video call had been the most antagonizing few seconds of her life. She was just barely to school her expressions when the rings finally stopped. The sixteen year old was ready to hear the sound of muffled screaming in the background, of glass shattering and explosions- there was even a moment she considered herself ready to see Hal-G blink onto her mobile screen when the Skype call was finally answered and the calm face of her grandfather's lab assistant graced her screen.

He stared unblinkingly at her and she figured it was only time before he started groveling for her return.

What happened next took her completely off guard.

(and to be honest, solidified the fact of how she really did needed to spend time away from the lab)

"Look at you, looking all cherry and girlish already." He grinned sheepishly, wiggling the screen just so slightly so he could have a firmer hold on the device, "only sixteen hours away from all this testosterone and you're looking like a newborn. My baby, they grow up so fast."

The girl only rolled her eyes at that. He always found an excuse to be melodramatic. He was, after all, the one who had wanted her to spend time away from isolation, going as far as making nice with her uncle and just outright embedding himself into the hearts of her extended family. When he dropped the concern that Alice wasn't going out as much anymore ("with good reason!"), the two had latched on immediately and whisked her away for a world of picnics and cities and people. Eric had looked on like a proud mother, waving the Warp Card he had confiscated from her as Lync looked on in disinterest. More interested in the handheld Michael had bought for him than the fact that the person who cooked most of his meals would be gone for a whole month unexpectedly.

Alice had always known Eric as a manipulative, testy and conceited individual. His personality traits filed under a list far too great for those words to even embody. While the years had mellowed him out a bit to the relief of her friends; these were things that she knew he would never change about himself. Which was fine, because he really had changed and toned it all done for her benefit in the past. The problem was when he waltzed his way to get what he wanted and gleefully watched the repercussions of his actions.

Lately, the subject of those repercussions involved anything if not everything revolving around one Alice Gehabich.

Which really did make for a greater hole in her chest when you factored in their past.

"So twitchy," her speakers reverberated against her fingers, "nothing's on fire if that's what you're worried about."

"Are you sure?" She couldn't help question. "Everything's fine? Where's Grandfather? How are you being fed? Did you tell Lync that he can't play that game all night, it'll hurt his eyes. No one's screaming-"

"And no one's going to be screaming because Eric's disgusting cooking killed them all." A voice cut in from the background, a curious teal eye popping in behind the lab assistant's plume of hair before the device was put down and the sound of a scuffle filled the guest room.

Nonetheless, Alice felt her heart jump out of her chest at the sight. While on one hand, she was happy to see that Lync was comfortable enough to roughhouse with Eric while she was away, she couldn't help shake off the growing anxiety pooling inside of her.

"Boys, please." Another voice joined the fray and her heart steadied in its nervous beating at the sight of her grandfather entering into the display. She watched as the screen shook once again before being picked up by Lync who curiously examined the Skype window reflecting Alice and a wide grin filled his features.

"Hi, Alice."

"Hello, Lync." She replied steadily, before the boy squawked and the device was dropped once again. The sound of laughter soon filled the background and she relaxed against the pillows, letting the snorts and muffled insults envelope the silence on her side. Smiling pleasantly at her relatives when they walked past the open guestroom door. Ben only laughed softly as he glimpsed into her Skype conversation, whispering that they were going to go to bed soon and for her to turn the lights off when she was done.

She was plugging in her headphones when the her grandfather finally decided to pick up the phone before the two teenage boys currently living in his home trampled over it.

"Surprisingly, the two of them were so well behaved when it was evident you weren't home." He sighed, but the twinkle of mirth betrayed the tiredness he tried to convey. The homely warmth that he had always brought along with him touched her even now, when all she had of him was the digital buzz as he looked off and started a spiel of how he spent his day and the encounters he had with each of the boys within the span of it.

Honestly, she didn't even realize how late it was until the phone was swapped from Michael to Lync and then to Eric who had let out a loud obnoxious yawn, bestowing upon Alice a magnificent view of his nose hairs and stating that he was going to sign off and head to bed.

"You should too." He told her after going through their usual nightly routine.

"Mm, G'night." She mumbled, having rolled over to stretch out her now numbing arm. Her earphones discarded once they began entangling themselves with the mess that was her mop of orange hair.

Eric had nodded at her before closing the Skype window and suddenly Alice felt like the silence was going to swallow her full.

Ever since they had noticed Lync in the snowbanks and brought him home like a stray pet, Alice had learned to grow accustom to the constant noise their new houseguest brought with him. There was comfort offered when she was startled awake from undisclosed nightmares to hear the mixed cacophony of snores and murmurs fill her home. Her heart swelled every time she walked into the kitchen to see Eric brewing something with the mild excuse that Lync was keeping him up only to return back to his borrowed room with two mugs in tow. While she had been bitter and frustrated with his presence at first, she would not deny that Lync was beginning to grow on her after bringing so much noise into her quaint still winter wonderland home.

Now, the only movement in the small townhouse was the faint sight of her blinking reflection and the flicker of the streetlight outside her window. While she was glad her aunt hadn't situated her in the attic like when she was thirteen, the clear absence of sound and the obvious distance the guestroom was from the master bedroom was beginning to make her feel antsy.

So antsy that she couldn't even catch a wink of sleep.

So turning over in bed a few nights later, after a video call home had ended a little bit earlier than usual, Alice decided it would be a good idea to distance herself from the quiet of the house and let herself bask in the city buzz.

At the time, she had thought it was a good idea.

Never had she thought to check the weather forecast.

Leaving a note on the fridge, the girl robotically grabbed her shoes and the keys before quietly heading out. A path had already been drawn in her minds eye, and immediately the stale air and starless skies had calmed her nerves in the most ironic of ways the moment she made it past the driveway.

She let a small smile wiggle its way to surface as she made her way down lit sidewalks and busy streets. While not the smartest option at this time of night, Alice welcomed the loud noise and activity, it made her feel at home and at peace. Drifting her mind away from her previous nervousness of being locked in a silent room and shoving every lecture Eric had slammed her way about city folk until she almost tripped and suddenly the world around her exploded into color.

A car whizzed past her carelessly, honking its horn and shaking Alice awake with the same bruising force the hand gripping her forearm was applying. The constant noise of a never sleeping city had escaped her right then and there and the only thing that her ears could zero in on was the choked gasp she had made as the stranger yanked her back a bit onto the sidewalk, a displeased growl following as the action dislodged her phone from her pocket.

Absently, she noted that stranger was strangely masculine.

She was debating whether or not to make pleasant talk with the stranger after thanking him when she realized that after a long moment to regain herself and her bearings, the man still kept a strong grip on her arm.

All Alice heard then was the loud chime of warning bells.

The redhead instinctively forced her arm out of the stranger's grip and made a quick show out of thanking him and grabbing her phone before bolting right out of there.

Comfortable or not, Alice had seen enough evil in the world to at least wake up in the most dire of times and let her sense of stranger danger take over as she dashed through open sidewalks and over parked cars.

She was glad she had taken those lessons with Chan Lee; the various martial arts trials she found herself dragged to certainly helped her out of unwanted situations and she even taught some moves to Runo and Julie who absorbed them like a sponge. However it was on that note, as the pursuing footsteps died away and she ducked into a 24hr convenience store did she realize she really didn't want to go back out again.

Calling uncle Ben to pick her up wasn't an option either, she debated as she strolled deeper into the store, she really didn't want to explain why the stillness of their quaint home drove her outside at three in the morning.

Besides, it was the princible of thing. It was three in the morning after all. Alice would never do that to someone.

(Dan, on the other hand... But then again that boy had no sense of common sense)

Across the counter, the cashier was slouched in the corner feigning sleep. His loud snores permeated the occasional buzz from the freezers in the dairy section and it was the only comfort offered to the young girl when she realized the world had completely turned its back to her.

"You're free to grab an umbrella when you head out, miss." A tired yawn drawled out as wide hazel eyes watched the pavement get drenched in a torrent of heavy rain and the sky light up only with the bright flashes of lightning. "Careful, though. This storm's a long one."

"Thank you, sir." She swallowed nervously, eyeing the darkened sidewalks with a quiet groan.

Alice knew for a fact that her relative's townhouse was pretty nearby, a ten minute full out sprint if not anything with the way the rain was beating down on the Earth. The strategist was absolutely certain she would be able to make it without being soaked to the bone if she set her mind to it. The sidewalks were pretty empty at this part of town- a fact that she was thankful for if she decided to commit herself to a sprint worthy of Olympic proportions.

Her eyes flickered.

Of course the shady shaky shadow currently hiding behind the trash cans told her otherwise.

But staying inside the convenience store wasn't something Alice was keen on either, even if the kind cashier welcomed it, Alice wanted back to the safety of her aunt and uncle's home. The rain was a welcome change for the deafening silence, a change she would've loved to have been stopped by before heading out on this impromptu adventure that she was supposed to be staying away from.

Another flare of lightning and the figure became more defined under Alice's careful gaze.

It was a ridiculous thought considering how she faced an evil albino dragon at the meek age of thirteen but at that moment, Alice couldn't help but panic internally as the figure shuffled around suspiciously.

Today's the day, the words almost slipped out of her mouth- never had her thoughts been more defined to her than at that moment as she debated who'd be the first person she'd text her teary goodbye to, her thoughts felt like they were on display in bright neon lights as her heart raced another mile over a circuit, she was going to get murdered because her stupid adventurous self needed fresh air at three in the morning. She should've opened a window. An ant infestation would've been a better end than this.

Her panic was so loud in her ears that she completely missed the ringing of the bells as the doors to the convenience store slid open once again. All her attention was focused on the best escape route for the likely coincidence that the stranger approached her while on the way home. She definitely didn't hear the heavy footsteps heading her way or the pitter patter of water hitting the linoleum until a curious voice hovered beside her.

"'Bus buddy?'" The way the words fell out of this person's mouth sounded so foreign she should've realized it right then and there. But the local term she had often caught off the edges of conversations with Chan had immediately put her so at ease that she was ready to drop to her knees and praise the very ground this person was standing on.

She really did feel like she was close to tears when the person beside her shuffled a bit and offered her his jacket.

"I'm close by..." she accepted the jacket readily, letting a wide smile fill her features when gentle fingers pried the hood over her head. Alice didn't even care that the garment was already soaking wet from this stranger's venture outside; the action was enough to reassure her this person was safe for the time being. "But if you don't mind?"

"Of course not," she noted the slightly chuckle in his voice and she looked up, flashing him a huge relieved smile before swallowing quite noticeably.

Her head shot back down almost immediately as she tried to hide the blush making its way to her ears.

Bus Buddy was hot.

Like smoking hot.

And his white shirt was soaked all the way through and - wow.

Alice was certainly not making it back alive.

"Sorry, it's a little wet, I hope you don't mind the stench." A tanned hand ran through drenched blond spikes, and a look of uncertainty ran through his features before setting into a nervous grin. Alice almost forgot to breathe.

"No no no. I like the smell of rain. It's nice."

"I meant my jacket but same here." Bus Buddy let out another chuckle and Alice couldn't help but join in. She was so alleviated that she didn't even think twice when she caught her reflection and noticed that the red-black pleather jacket was actually starting to create a small pool where she was standing.

Thinking back, the sight of her reflection wearing that all too familiar jacket should've done it for her but of course, 3AM strolls were only taken by the sleep deprived.

But then again, the reflection of the man beside her stretching out his muscles and desperately trying to dry his translucent shirt in vain was enough of a sight to distract her from any sane sense of conscious decision.

So she didn't even think twice after the two of them collected themselves, and exchanged small snippets of conversation before exiting the store together under a borrowed umbrella.

When they walked past the suspicious stranger, Bus Buddy didn't even falter in his long strides as Alice gripped his arm a little bit tighter and her brisk steps became just a bit quicker. If he had noticed her slight distress, he didn't let out a word hinting otherwise factor into their conversation as they briskly passed the trashcans and let the smaller girl lead him past streetlights and bus shelters.

"You know for what its worth... you really shouldn't go out at night when you're in the city." Bus Buddy mused beside her, carefully placing himself to the street edge after an unfortunate accident with a puddle. Alice rolled her eyes at the statement and tried not to get caught peeking at the tanned muscle seeping through the thin material of his shirt.

"I think today was enough reason for me never to do it again," she said curtly, "you should probably take your jacket back, you must be freezing."

"It's fine, you looked like you were turning into an icicle in your pajamas anyways." He smirked at the sight of red blossoming onto her cheeks. She really did hope he didn't notice.

"What were you doing out anyways?"

"You're going to laugh."

"No, I wouldn't"

Alice shot him a look and he twirled the umbrella a bit, dispelling a few droplets from the top and whirling it until an almost shell started to form around them.

"What's the harm?" He said offhandedly, his eyes looking off yet still the distinct glare of them told her that he was still paying full attention to the world around them. "By morning, you'd think this whole conversation was a dream."

Technically it was morning already, she wanted to retort back but thought better as she looked on at the still pouring sky. The clouds were still obscuring the sun from peaking over the horizon, keeping what little light the flickering streetlights offered be the only source of light that guided her on her way home.

She tried to ignore the way the light glisten of rainwater that had still managed to hit them shone off Bus Buddy's cheeks as they passed another streetlight. As if the convenience store backdrop wasn't enough- his jawline only became more prominent under the meager lighting, she watched as his drying blond hair caught stray rain drops and noted how the coat tails of his jacket tickled the back of her legs. Even the way he postured himself so that she was able to stay completely dry was enough to keep her blushing for days.

In the back of her mind, the only sane piece of conscious thought left not completely focused on the man beside her realized that over the years, she developed a type.

A type that definitely will be putting her in the worst positions ever.

"Ok. Fine, so you know when you're in a room full of people and like no one's talking?" She started, eyes focused ahead of her instead at the person beside her. "No noise. No movement. Nothing?"

"Yeah."

"And like it gets to the point, you just can't sit still anymore. And it's almost like a pressure waiting to be let out. I couldn't stand it, I thought I was going to explode, I needed something to help pacify that pressure so-" the words caught in her throat before she had a chance to think about what she was trying to say. What was she trying to say? This was so silly. Why was she spilling one of her major anxieties to a stranger she had met in the magazine section of 7/11? "Sorry. I'm rambling."

"No, I get it." The umbrella stopped spinning and the sound of the rain hitting the pavements encapsulated the silence that filled the space the both of them didn't know they left. "You'd think the silence would help you relax but it only makes the pressure worse. So you go to places filled with noise to try to drive away everything the empty dead air is threatening to expose."

"Yeah," her hazel eyes flickered, but still she refused to look at the man beside her. "What about you?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was because of the same reason?"

"I thought you needed to catch a bus."

"I was inside at some point," he replied cordially, voice flat before letting out a small laugh. "I can't stand it when its too quiet. So I decided to go out. Luckily for me, I found a pretty 'bus buddy' friend."

"Lucky you." Alice couldn't help scoffing, cheeks warm and eyes itching to examine his expression, "too bad you found yourself soaked to the bone too. You sort of resemble a wet dog with all that hair."

"Woof."

"Cute." She let out another laugh and turned a corner, a small part of herself was disappointed when she saw that her aunt's home was just a few blocks away.

To her shock, she wasn't the one who began to take slower steps.

"Why would you think I'd laugh at that?" He asked in almost whisper after a long moment.

"I don't know." She whispered back almost immediately and shook her head. She shouldn't be doing this with a stranger. Alice was smarter than that and however immensely relieved that she had managed to find someone to walk her home, it still wasn't a proper excuse to completely let him hear her darkest secrets. "So I guess this is where we part ways?"

"Mmm, the bus stop's right there?" He asked, pointing at the lone sign waiting at the edge of the road.

"Yeah, the bus comes fairly quickly so I guess you don't need to wait long." She replied quietly, shrugging off the jacket and giggled as the stranger juggled between holding the umbrella and helping her out. "Thanks for walking me home, that was very kind of you."

"No problem," Alice watched as Bus Buddy smiled at her, red jacket now over his own shoulders. "You don't want me to walk you back?"

"I'll manage."

"You sure? I don't want to be responsible for getting your pretty head drenched in this weather." The way he said it was so swift that it caught her completely off guard.

"I- I'll be fine." She could hardly enunciate the words, she was so flustered. Her mind was reeling. She couldn't believe this person could make something so lame sound so suave.

Alice was too busy trying not to morph into a tomato when Bus Buddy let out another snide chuckle and leaned down.

She thought she was going to explode right then and there as he leaned back up and smirked down at the sight of Alice Gehabich blushing like mad and holding a dainty hand to her cheek.

Spectra let out another laugh and all but disappeared before she could regain the ability of speech when she realized he had kindly left her with the umbrella as well.

"Be careful, Alice Gehabich." He had whispered into her ear before pecking her on the cheek, "You never know who's prowling out at night."

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a work of fiction. If you're out alone and need a ride, call a parent or a friend. Be cautious, stay at home. Hahah