"GraveRobber." I called his attention as he walked, his huge boots thunking menacingly through the grime green alleyways, taking special care to dodge GENECops and junkies alike.

"Hm." He grunted, not looking down at me for a moment, calculating his next move with every step.

"Why did you make that noise when Lila brought up Amber's paying for my surgery?" I mumbled this especially quietly in case there were eavesdropping passerby's. The massive man sighed, making another noise under his breath. "See? You did it again. What happened?"

"IT'S THAT WALLACE KID!" a man with neon hair cut in all the wrong places, and bizarre clothes like all the others in main city, shouted, pointing furiously. Lights in surrounding windows of buildings lit up, and the pounding of footsteps sounded from not too far away.

"Shit. Time to run. Hang on, kid." GraveRobber took off running, bringing the worst bouncing I'd experienced in my life to consume my frame and the un-ignorable searing pain to dance on my incised side. I chewed my lip, wrapped my arms around his neck, and burrowed my face in his coat, which smelled significantly more like sex than I remembered it. There was a sharp turn and a descent behind a dumpster as the drug dealer sunk down to his knees, pulling me in closer to him, hearing the footsteps echo in another direction away from us.

"GraveRobber. You smell like sex." I commented plainly, looking up at him. GraveRobber seemed determined to keep his gaze fixated straight ahead, not looking down at me. "You had sex with Amber, didn't you."

"Shi-" he started with a sigh, sounding guilty.

"You had sex with Amber so she'd take care of the surgery." I snapped. I didn't even understand why I was upset, it wasn't something unusual for him to sleep with her, that much I knew. I noticed I'd balled my hands into fists behind his head then. "So she knows you're taking care of me."

"Kid I-"

"You just signed yourself up to be used against me- or for her to use me against you! Why would you do something so reckless? Why would you go off and do something like this?" I barked angrily, glaring up at him. The drug dealer's gaze snapped down to look at me, his ocean blue colliding with my auburn. All that could be read in his eyes was desperation for once…he'd never looked at me that way.

"I couldn't just let you die!" he growled, "I wasn't going to watch you die if there was something I could do about it. I've watched too many kids die. And if fucking around with that bitch will save your life, you're damn right I'd do it. What do you fucking know, it did."

I continued to stare at him hard, "It isn't like my life is of any significance to you anyhow. I've done nothing but be a burden and abused you for my own gain."

"If I was so pissed off with you and your condition, I'd have left already wouldn't I? What about a thanks for saving your goddamn life for once, huh kid?"

"Your being in love with me is doing you no good, GraveRobber. Being in love with you isn't doing me any good either."

The words had come out of my mouth before they'd crossed my mind for half a second. What did I just say? Was that really how I felt? Had I… been so focused on his feelings…and not noticed my own? I blinked at myself, looking down at the locket before looking back up to his painted face.

The huge drug dealer just stared, the desperation fading, his expression blank.

"A code green curfew is in effect. Return in doors. A code green curfew is in effect. Return in doors." The loudspeaker rang out all over the city and GraveRobber broke our staring contest, standing and sprinting down the path to my home. I whined at the pain in my side as he nudged the gate open, making his way up to the ornate door and clicking it open with the hand that had been supporting my back before returning it there and entering my home. I helped him out and closed it behind him.

"Where should I put you, Shi?"

"My room I guess." I muttered, not looking forward to it in the slightest. I'd spent much too much time in my room. But it didn't seem like there was any getting out of it this time. Up the stairs I was carried, until I was laid into my sheets. GraveRobber made his way to leave after he set me down, but again, words I hadn't thought about sang out "You're really going to leave me in here all alone?"