CHAPTER 1

Kristina lies on her bed awake, with her hands on her stomach. She's staring off into space, in deep thought. She remembers back four months, to July when she was pretending to date Johnny Zacchara, a rival mob boss of her father Sonny Corinthos, to rebel against her father.

Actually, in July, Kristina and Johnny's façade had ended, but they had remained friends. Kristina was feeling scared and alone since her "break up" with Johnny. She didn't have any real friends she thought, her parents didn't understand her, her sister Molly was too little to understand, her sister Sam was always off investigating some case for her P.I. business and was never around, and her brother Michael had his own issues he was dealing with. Ever since her abusive boyfriend Keifer died, she had been feeling alone. That is part of the reason she wanted to "date" Johnny in the first place. Not only did she want to get back at her father by dating his enemy, but she wanted someone to be with, and she liked Johnny. She thought he was a good guy: nice, respectable, and kind. She even had a little crush on him, even though she would never admit it to herself or anyone else. What's not to like? Johnny was the ideal man: tall, dark, and handsome, with some danger mixed in. Plus, there was always the power and money he had; and the fact that we was nearly 15 years older than she was made him nearly irresistible.

So, one evening that July, she was at home alone. Her mom Alexis was working late again on one of her legal cases, and Molly was at a friend's house. Kristina was bored and lonely. She wanted someone to talk to; she wanted the company more than anything. She went to see Johnny at his apartment. She knocked on his door and when Johnny answered, he didn't look so good. He was disheveled and upset. He was holding a glass of scotch and didn't say a word.

"Hi…can I come in?" Kristina asked cautiously, she wasn't sure what kind of mood he was in, or why.

Johnny didn't say a word; he just looked at Kristina with a blank stare and opened the door wider for her to enter.

Kristina walked in passed Johnny and turned around to face him as he closed the door. Johnny remained silent, just blankly looking at her.

Kristina broke the silence, "I just came by to say, 'hi,' and to see how you're doing."

Johnny just shrugged, then walked over and sat down on the couch. Kristina followed him and sat on the couch next to him. She was curious as to what was wrong with him, but it was too awkward to ask. Johnny sighed deeply and gave a little groan; he leaned back on the couch. Kristina leaned back against the arm of the couch and looked at Johnny and smiled ever so slightly. She realized how cute he was. She had always liked him, but seeing him at that moment, just sitting quietly on the couch, made her see something she hadn't seen before.

"So, Johnny...," she started, as he turned his head to look at her, "how are you doing?"

Johnny sighed heavily again, paused for a moment, and then finally said, "Olivia and I are over." He had no expression on his face or in his voice. He still had the same blank stare, and then he looked down at the scotch glass in his hands again.

Kristina was a little surprised, but she didn't know why. Johnny and Olivia were always fighting, usually about her father Sonny. They were always breaking up and getting back together, and they had been back together ever since Kristina and Johnny ended there charade. Because Sonny was Olivia's first love, and the father of her only child (Kristina's older brother Dante), Olivia always seemed to protect Sonny and take his side when it came to feuds between him and Johnny. This, of course, put a strain on Olivia and Johnny's relationship. Although they were madly in love, Johnny and Olivia could never get passed the arguments they had over Sonny.

"Sorry," Kristina managed.

Johnny looked back up at Kristina and the expression on his face changed. He smiled and chuckled a little.

Kristina was puzzled by his reaction. She looked at him quizzically with a little smirk on her face and said, "What?"

Still with a smile on his face, Johnny shook his head a little and started to say something but stopped. He looked back down at his scotch glass, still smiling.

Kristina sat up straight and looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She then put a hand caringly on Johnny's knee. This startled Johnny and he looked up at her suddenly; she looked up at him as well, as she swallowed a little nervously. At that moment, Kristina and Johnny both felt a connection. They both realized that the other was feeling alone and needed something, someone. Johnny put his hand on top of Kristina's as he set the scotch glass on the coffee table. The two shared a smile.

Johnny glanced down again at their hands and started to say something as he circled Kristina's middle knuckle with his finger, then he stopped again. They were both looking down at their hands, Johnny's finger gently drawing circles on Kristina's hand. After Keifer had abused her, Kristina had trouble with people—men in particular—touching her or getting too close, but she felt safe with Johnny. She didn't mind him touching her or being as close to her as he was; in fact, she liked it. She not only felt safe, but she felt wanted; she felt that Johnny cared about her like possibly no one else cared about her. Kristina finally looked up at Johnny and he looked up at her in return. They gazed into each other's eyes, not sure of what they were going to do or whether they should do it. They both knew that it was a bad idea to get close. They had seen what happened when they pretended to date and knew it would be even worse if they got close for real. They knew it was bad for not only them, but for everyone. But, at this very moment, as they stared at each other and thought the same thoughts, they didn't care about anyone else. The world just went away and the only two people on their minds were the two of them.

Johnny took his hand from Kristina's and moved it up to her cheek. He brushed the hair from her face and behind her ear and rested his hand on her jaw. Their gaze on each other's eyes never faltered. They were both breathing heavily as their faces moved toward each other's. Kristina took her hand from Johnny's knee and put her arm around him, resting her hand on his opposite shoulder. The two shared a kiss, their first kiss. Kristina had thought about what it would be like to kiss Johnny, and Johnny had maybe even thought about kissing Kristina, but they both knew it was a bad idea, and so all throughout their pretend relationship, it had never happened, until then.