Allan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he sat at the end of the block. He was debating on whether to park where he was or in Ellie's drive. Either way someone would be mad at him, so he decided to anger the persons whose wrath wouldn't be at his back the whole day and parked on the curb just outside of the mayor's house. 'More like castle,' he thought. His own parents' house wasn't small by any means, a good-sized four bedroom with a single room apartment in the basement, but it was hard to compete with the Gothic behemoth that towered over the neighborhood.

He parked the van, made sure he had his set of keys again after accidentally grabbing Alexander's too many times, and hid behind the van's side while straightening his shirt. Allan always tried to look his best when going to Ellie's. It didn't help that his parents insisted.

Since he had his own sources of money his parents' early graduation gifts were spent for him. His father gave him a brand new tool box that he happily filled and tucked in the back of the van. Allan's mother, on the other hand, gave him two weeks worth of brand new buttoned and suit shirts in different colors and personally embroidered. Most often it was a picture depicting a previous case on the breast pocket, and the one he had today had little skull buttons and matching clasps on the sleeves. He thought it was a useless way to help "creep himself up" to help the town's image, but she put so much work into all of them that Allan couldn't not wear them whenever he had the chance.

Allan sighed and resisted jogging up to the door until he saw Sarah already at the door. "You knock yet?" He casually stuck his hands into the pockets of his nice jeans. The itch to change into his work pants was strong, but they had mysteriously disappeared from his hamper that morning and no one had any idea where they went. "Every time I stand on these steps I feel like I'm going on a roller coaster," he grumbled while admiring the new foliage.