Chloe's heart had started to beat more rapidly. She hated Diagon Ally at night. Especially when she was alone, and got a little lost. She just wasn't as familiar with it as she was with Hogsmeade. But, she'd have to get some cash at Gringotts before heading out. She didn't have much money on her.

She pulled her jacket a little closer, as she felt a chill race up her spine. She felt like there were eyes glued to the back of her. She looked back to see a guy following her. Chloe's breath quickened as she started to run towards the exit of the alley swerving into another one. She could feel the blood thumping in her ears. Why the hell did she run off! Why would she do that?

Her foot caught on a cobblestone as she was yanked down, skinning both her knees and slicing open her hand. But she folded her now bleeding hand into her chest as she got back up and ran again.

The red sparks of the stupefy hit her square in the back as she fell forward, and on to her stomach. There, her hair fanned out all pretty like, and the thief swiped her purse, fading back into the dark of the alley.

He had finally done it.  He did something just for himself and he was glad that his parents didn't seem to mind.  Shade stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron having just come back from grabbing a few things from a muggle shop he liked to get his sketching supplies from.  His purchases (minus the pens) were shrunk in his messenger bag and he was going to withdraw some money from Gringotts and then pay for a room at the Cauldron.  He didn't need one for very long, he was going to go look for a more permanent solution in the morning, but for now, the Cauldron would have to do.

Walking down the alleyway Shade thought back to his reception off the train between his twin and his parents.  He'd been totally wrong about what each of them would think about him not going home and doing what his parents wanted.  His parents were thrilled that he wanted to strike out on his own, and his mother only told him that he better visit a couple times a month or she'd send his father after him.  It was Sky that confused him, she got angry.  And not the righteous anger she usually displayed, or the vengeful anger she would show when one of her pranks was discovered and put a stop to.  But just hard, blazing, anger.  She said her goodbye's to her friends, hugged their mother, kissed their father on the cheek and then spun and disappeared.  It just wasn't like her, but maybe it would be because they weren't twins together anymore.  She was going to stay with their parents while Shade went off to see if he could become an artist. 

Shaking his head to clear the memory of the day he continued to walk down the alleyway when he suddenly saw a flash of red light and the sound of someone falling.  He saw where the light had come from and headed in that direction with his wand out and lit up just in case.  Shade saw a figure running off, but his gaze was drawn to the person who had fallen to the ground. [1] "Chloe?" he said softly and then remembered the flash of light.  He cast the spell to reverse the effects of the stupefy and then held out his hand to help her up, "Are you okay?"

1.	Hope this is okay with you, they talked a couple times in school

Chloe stirred awake as the second spell hit her, and she finally opened her eyes. There were still tears fresh in her eyes, as she looked up to see Shade. Pain sprung up from everywhere, her bloody hands, a broken nose from her fall and her skinned knees-what a way to start off this new phase of life. "Shade? Shade, what happened?" She asked, her voice shaking a little as she wrapped arms around him. Chloe wasn't comfortable right now, she wasn't okay with the idea that she very well could have just been stolen from or something worse. The panic refused to sit well in her stomach. Right now, she just wanted to be held. She wanted to be told that everything would end up okay and that running away was the right plan.

But she knew that to be false.

Shade was a boy Chloe had always been close to. He had always been there to support her, and she had gone through brief flashes of crushing on him time after time. She always felt like there were feelings not acknowledged between them, like she was missing something special, or that they could have been something that they weren't. Needless to say, she felt good that he was the one who found her, and by the look of the alley around her, a whole lot worse could have happened.

Chloe grabbed her purse that was lying near her, only to find the contents spilled on to the streets, and her wallet missing. "Damn," she swore, looking through again, and refusing to let the fact that she was robbed settle. It wasn't a feeling she liked, nor one she wanted. It wasn't like she was carrying much, but there were more than a few pounds in there.

Shade was startled at first when Chloe put her arms around him, but he shook it off quickly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  "I think you got robbed Chloe, what were you doing out here this late?  It's not safe." Mentally Shade smacked himself, he was talking to her like he would his sister.  But she wasn't his sister.  "I'm sorry I didn't see who did it, when I came up the alley they were already taking off." he said softly, resting his chin on the top of her head.  "Are you okay?"

He knew she must be in pain, but he wasn't going to just heal her like he would of done with Sky, he didn't want to make a move unless she asked first.  He'd always prided himself on keeping his true feelings towards Chloe hidden.  He liked her a lot, but being the nice guy who was always there for his friends, never made a move.  Sure, he thought she might have liked him a little in school, but since he was never sure of his or her feelings, he just figured being a friend was the best way to stay in her life.  And it worked.

"Let's go sit down and look at you, you are obviously hurt." he said and then began walking back down the alley towards the Cauldron, but he was moving slow, in case she didn't want to go in there.  "That is, if you want to." He squeezed her shoulder a little to know that he was worried about her, but he didn't say it.  She was probably still a little freaked out about what had just went down and he didn't want to make anything worse.  So here he was again, being the great friend who never acted on his true feelings, but was there when she needed him.

Shade just held her like she needed, before he asked what she was doing there in the first place. "I, I don't know. I was just trying to think of a place to stay for a little while. I, I sorta ran away from home. I got sick of how I was being treated," she explained. She leaned on him a lot as they walked over to the Leaky Cauldron, and she was in pain. Of course she was in pain, everything hurt. Hell, she just got robbed! Slowly but surely, Chloe stopped shaking. "Yeah, let's go there," there he was, being protective and caring and everything that was so characteristic of that Shade boy.

As they made their way through the door of the leaky cauldron, Chloe held her vice grip on his arm. "What were you doing in the area so late at night?" She asked. He had to have been in the area for some reason. It was by the light of the lanterns that Chloe noticed how cute Shade was, the way his blonde hair peeked out from underneath his beanie, how he was so careful with her, so concerned about her wellbeing.

In her chest, she felt something stir, the butterflies reappearing, and flapping against her rib cage wildly. She was actively crushing on a boy. A boy that was currently helping her. "Doesn't seem like he swiped my wand, so that's good," she explained, sitting down on a bench. "God, why does this always happen to me?"

Shade was concentrating on keeping his head clear so it took a moment before realizing Chloe had asked him a question.  "Oh," he smiled, "I took a dear friend's advice and am deciding to pursue a career as an artist.  I just came back from getting some supplies and was headed towards Gringotts to get some money so I could get a room tonight. " He looked at her as he sat down on the bench beside her, "I told my parents I wasn't going to go home..." he paused, "and they were fine with it... Sky though." He shook his head and then changed the topic.

"Here I am telling you about what's going on with me and you are hurt." He hoped she hadn't caught what he was saying earlier, he didn't really want to get into what was going on with him and his twin sister.  "You have your wand, do you want to go fix yourself up, or do you want me to." he asked her, the concern edging back into his voice as he let his gaze sweep over her face to see if he could catch anything that was wrong besides the obvious.

He heard her ask why and he didn't really have an answer to that, so he did his nice boy thing and took her hand gently, remembering it was still hurt, "I don't know Chloe, but you aren't alone now okay."

Chloe listened and let a little smile slip as he mentioned a certain friend who told him to pursue being an a artist. She loved being an artist, though she only did it in her free time. She still liked the fact that he was picking up on it. But before she could add anything else to the conversation, her head started pulsing. He asked her if she could heal herself, but that tricky thing called the Trace was still following her everywhere.

"I can't, I've got the trace still locked on me," she said with a sigh, as she leaned into him, feeling the grogginess set in. She always got groggy after being stupified. She hated that damn spell, nothing good ever came from it. She could feel his concerned gaze sweeping over her, seeking out anything else hidden behind her eyes. All there was was regret for running from her parents. Regretting that she didn't leave a note, that she got herself in this position in the first place, everything. She regretted everything. "You could fix me up, that'd be fine," she said, closing her eyes briefly.

Then she realized she had yet to actually figure out a place to stay. "Hey Shade?" She asked softly. "I know this is probably asking a lot of you, but I'm tired of being alone, and I don't feel that safe tonight. Can I stay with you?" She asked. Her soft green eyes pleaded gently, as she wrapped a hand on top of his, trying to make her feelings clear. She didn't want to be alone. She wanted to be safe, and there was no where she felt safer than in his arms.

Shade only thought it over for a moment before his good boy nature won over and he stammered out, "Y-yes, of course."  He stood up and looked at her, "I'll be right back okay," he told her before he walked to the bar and made the arrangements for a room that he had been planning to do after he stopped by Gringotts.  Walking back over to Chloe he held out his hand, "Come on, let's get you upstairs," his voice laced with concern and just a small bit of something else that he couldn't place yet.

Once upstairs in the room he had gotten he looked at Chloe.  "Um, well, where do we start with fixing you up?" he asked.  Now that he was alone with her, his shyness was coming back in full force.  He thought that would go away after he graduated, but it turns out, it just went into hibernation.  "I only know the basic spells, had to with my sister being who she was."  He cursed himself silently for bringing up his sister again, that was only going to make him not focus on Chloe right now.

He was too damn gentle sometimes. He helped her up the stairs, slowly, and she held close to him. He got so nervous and she thought it was adorable. He had gotten a little room for them, and clearly, being alone in a room with a girl wasn't something he was too used to. Which was good. This was uncharted territory for Chloe too, she hadn't ever shared a room with just a boy before. But this was Shade. He was different. She was entirely safe with him and she knew he'd never make the first move. He'd never do anything to jeopardize the friendship they had.

Which means she had to.

Chloe was sitting on the edge of the bed, when she reached up, and wrapped arms around his neck to pull him down to her level. And slowly, she locked lips with him. It was gentle and slow, before she pulled away, and looked into his eyes. "Relax, Shade. It'll all cool, okay? I just need a wet wash cloth, I'll clean up the blood, and the scrapes will heal themselves," she knew it was forward, but there was something about the new found freedom that just caused her to act impulsively. And she knew he'd tell her if he wasn't okay with it.

He didn't really register what was happening when Chloe pulled him down to sit next to her on the bed.  This had never really happened to him before and before his brain caught up with what was happening, Chloe had already stopped.  Now, while he was a good boy with a personality known to keep everything friendly, he was a boy.  No, he was a young man now.  And after Chloe kissed him, his good boy personality was having a battle with his young man hormones.

He didn't even really register that Chloe had said anything.  He just nodded when she finished and then sat there for a minute before he decided that he should say something.  Now, here is where his sister and him differentiated.  Shade was the one who thought things through and Sky was the one who blurted things out before she thought them through, but they say twins share everything and before Shade could stop himself he smiled crookedly at Chloe and said in a low voice, "Why'd you stop?"

It was then that his normal self came back with a shocking slap to his brain.  "Oh my god Chloe, I didn't mean that, I'm..." he got up from the bed and stood against the wall, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..." he was freaking out now.  Chloe's and his friendship went from normal and understandable to confusing in a matter of seconds.  His mind was going a mile a minute, and between the worry that their friendship was going to unravel and what Chloe expected him to do now, was the memory of Chloe's lips on his, and he began to pace the floor.

She clearly left him a little more than shocked, as after she kissed him and asked him to grab a wet washcloth, he just stood there and processed. "Shade? Anyone in there?" And then that mysterious side of him came out, the one with the low voice and and the crooked smile that fit his face near perfectly. Why did she stop? Because she needed to just calm him down. And didn't want to scare him away, but she didn't get the chance to do that before he started apologizing and pacing and being the panicked little Shade she knew.

"Shade-"she started, before standing up shakily on sore knees. She wobbled a bit after taking a step or two and latched on to his arms to pull her back to standing. "You don't need to apologize, you didn't do anything. Remember? I was the one who kissed first?" Slowly, and again, she pulled his lips to hers, trying to get him more comfortable with the fact that she was kissing him. That this was happening. That she was being really dumb and giving in to all of the hormones.

She pulled away again, still holding on to him around his neck. Her eyes flicked to each of his. "Are you okay, Shade?" She asked concerningly. She really was hoping she hadn't just short circuited the boy. He was nice enough. But she was now wondering if she had made a wrong decision. That maybe he didn't like her. Maybe he was gay. She didn't think he was, but his reactions seemed to be telling a different story.

Shade snapped out of it momentarily as Chloe stood up and he scanned her face to see if there was any pain there, but as soon as she touched him, his mind went all wonky again.    She had her hands on his arms and she was looking into his face and then, for once, Shade decided to embrace what he wanted instead of trying to be the friend all the time.  Then, Chloe kissed him again and briefly he went into shock again before snapping out of it faster than before.  The last few minutes had gone by very quickly for him and he was sure that he missed half of their conversation.

When she pulled away again and asked if he was okay, he debated for a moment on whether to answer truthfully or not, but the truth won out in the end.  "No..." he said before clearing his throat and speaking a little louder, "No, I'm not okay.  I was just kissed twice by my best friend and who I consider a most beautiful girl and I have no idea how to react because it's the first time I've been voluntarily kissed by someone I truly care for and it's all going straight to my head and I don't know how to process this and I'm sorry Chloe, but I just have to..." he stopped talking and kissed her.

When she was looking up at him, and he finally answered her, she was a little surprised. He wasn't okay? What did she do? Why wasn't he okay with this? Was this all a mistake? But then he didn't shut up. He just kept going.

When she started listening, her heart was melting. She was the most beautiful girl to him? She knew she hadn't made a mistake now. Now she must have done the right thing. And to her surprise, he stopped talking and just kissed her. HE kissed HER. it was a thing! She didn't initiate it this time!

When she pulled away, she laughed. "You, you're a piece of work, Shade," she said with a smile, before pulling him into another kiss. "I really like you, Shade. And I'm really lucky to have you in my life," her knee gave out again, as she held him tighter. "Can we go sit on the bed?"

All this kissing was going straight to Shade's head, but he was determined to shake himself out the funk it was causing.  He smiled a crooked smile and then answered her question, "Yeah, do you need help?"  He was enjoying the kisses, but it wasn't going to stop him from making sure she was okay.  She had been through a lot tonight.

"Chloe," he began as he sat next to her on the edge of the bed, "What happens now? I mean, I enjoyed that immensely, but are you sure that it's a thing, or is it just because you want to feel safe after what happened tonight?"  He was mentally smacking himself for even thinking it, let alone saying it, but his conscious wasn't going to let it go.  He needed to know.

"I don't mind either way, but I just want to know." he added quietly and looked down at the floor, dreading her answer.

He helped her sit down, and then he wondered out loud and cast away his eyes. "Shade, no part of me would be doing this if I didn't mean it. That being said, if you aren't ready for something like this, it's no problem. We can pretend what just happened didn't just happen, but shade, you need to realize that won't change how absolutely crazy I am about you, and have been," she said slowly, as she laid a gentle hand on his cheek to pull his face back up, and close to hers.

He was so beautiful, so human, so innocent. And she felt her heart smile. He made her happy. He wasn't controlling. He was gentle. He was sweet, and he was everything she needed. Her feelings for the OConnor boy had started to surface when she was dating Heinrich and had fallen in Hogsmeade. Shade had been gentle as he helped her up, and carried her to the castle. She was his princess and he was her prince.

Or there were the nights they'd sit up with each passing hour, by the fire in the ravenclaw tower, speaking of art and siblings and falling asleep on each other later. He had been there through every good part and every bad part, she just hadn't realized. He had been stuck in the background. She wouldn't allow that now, though. Now he deserved everything he had missed over the years, all the attention he had given her had to be paid back. "I really like you, Shade,"