Khala felt blood rushing to her face. This man.. this handsome, masculine man was actually interested in her? She felt so ordinary compared to some of the other girls at school. She exhaled slowly, unsure of what to say next. She didn't want to blurt out something wrong, as she often did. "I... uhm.. how about a second date first," she said slowly, afraid of letting down the wall she had so strenuously built around her heart.

Griffen relaxed significantly. He'd meant to think that last part, but in the end it turned out well, "Of course," Griffen said happily, "I wouldn't want to go too fast would I? Then It would be over way sooner than I'd like." The bell above the door jingled as the last few customers other than them left, but Griffen felt no inclination to leave yet. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with this amazing woman.

Khala glanced outside, amazed to see that a fine blanket of snow had layered the streets. A passerby tightened her coat around her large frame and hurried out of view. "Marie, I'm going on break," the other waitress yelled, stepping out with a jingle. The diner lay pleasantly silent. Khala noticed Griffen's relaxed posture and a visible happiness about him. "Have you had to use your gun," she asked softly, trying to imagine the man before her in war. It didn't seem possible with his gentle charisma, but she was a little afraid of foolishly falling for anyone with good acting skills.

A pained look crossed Griffen's face. "Unfortunately. And before you ask the next question that people yes, I have killed. I'm not proud of this fact, but i've had too." his eyes stared off as he remembered that horrible night. the bullets flying, the screams. The smells of burned flesh, and blood. the utter horror of it never left him. Shaking his head he focused on the girl in front of him. "Sorry, sometimes i drift off and think about it...... So what do you like?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

Khala watched Griffen's eyes adopt a distant look while he spoke. She could see misery and darkness in his eyes while he had described his horrors. When he had shaken it off, she still hadn't broke her gaze. Silently she leaned forward, placing a gentle hand on his cheek and very lightly brushed her lips against his. She closed her eyes and could feel his warm breath tickle the top of her lip.

Feeling her lips brush his, Griffen froze in shock. He truly hadn't been expecting that. Even after they broke the kiss, He sat there for a moment unable to say anything or move. After he had recovered though, He turned a bright crimson, and tried to think of something, anything, to say, but all he could manage was to mutter at the table. He was in way over his head, and he knew it.

Seeing a deep blush across Griffen's face caused Khala's own blood to rush to her face. "Oh my god," her head silently screamed, "I kissed him! I actually kissed him! Oh jeeze, oh jeeze, oh jeeze!" Khala fought to control her breath, unsure of what to do next. Her heart zipped around in her chest, excited yet afraid. She could barely bring herself to look up from the table, much less his eyes for fear that her heart might pop from her chest.

Looking out the window, Griffen noticed how dark it was. glancing at his watch, he saw that it was almost midnight. "I-it's getting late," he stammered, "would you like me to escort you home?" He was still blushing, but he managed to look at her straight on again. His hands, however, weren't as calm. He began to fidget with the silverware again, spinning it so that its silvery light flashed brightly.

Khala nodded, completely unaware of how quickly time had passed. She felt sleepiness begin to creep into her bones and call her into its grasp. She turned away to hide her yawn, slipping on her coat and slowly buttoning up while she waited for Griffen. The pair stepped out of the cozy diner into the dim light of the moon. Autumn's icy breath wrapped around the couple, its chill announcing winter's soon arrival. The streets lay completely silent save for the crunch of snow underneath Griffen's boots.

Griffen smiled when he saw the snow. While spring was his favorite season, he loved the snow. It made him feel like he was walking in a world all alone. Grinning, he looked at the beautiful girl net to him. Maybe not all alone, He thought to himself. It started to snow lightly again, the huge soft flakes drifting down towards the earth, where they'd join their fellows. A few flakes landed in Khalla's long black hair, and the sight made Griffen smile even more.

Khala slowed as she approached her apartment building, aware of its daunting features. She never liked coming back home when it was dark. The building stood tall and menacing, surrounded by deep shadows and dying weeds. She turned back to look at Griffen, unaware of the pleading look in her eyes.

Griffen glanced around and frowned a bit. This house looked really sad. It was almost like ther was a giant depressing air about it. Griffen looked at Khalla, and opened his mouth to say something. He noticed the look she was giving him and asked "What's up?" With a worried look on his face.

"I.. uhm," Khala stuttered, a little startled at Griffen's expression of worry. "Are you staying at a hotel, or a family home or something," she asked uncertainly. She edged a little away from her building, turning her back to the sidewalk instead. She couldn't stand the thought of the house reaching out to grab her, however absurd the idea was. There was just something wrong with the place in the dark, and she did her best to avoid it.

Griffen shrugged and said, "I'm staying at my house. Even though i don't use it much, When I come back, it's nice to have." He looked at her curiously "Why do you ask?"

She shuffled her feet in the snow, looking down in embarrassment. "It's nothing," she mumbled, before looking back up at him. The light of the moon cast a soft bluish glow on Griffen's kind face. Khala's breath was caught in her chest as she gazed at his gorgeous eyes. "G-Good night," she nearly whispered, unable to remove her eyes from his.

Griffen put a hand o her arm and said, "No, It's something. Do you have a rude neighbor or something like that?" He was genuinely worried, and the fact that she wouldn't tell him only worried him more.

The warmth of Griffen's hand sent goosebumps down Khala's cold arm. "I'm just.. I'm afraid of-" the sudden frantic honking of a horn cut Khala off as her attention was ripped away from Griffen. Glancing around his shoulder, Khala's mouth fell open in horror as she watched the driver of a car fight with his steering wheel. The car's tires slid easily over a slicked patch in the road, spinning freeley through the street. "Oh god," Khala whispered as she realized the nose of the car pointed in their direction.

Griffen, reacting with speed born from years of training, and even more importantly, actual use, shoved Khalla out of the way with all of his strength. In doing so however, he gave up on his chance to jump, and the car hit him head on. He got lucky, in that when it hit him, he was able to roll over the roof, however, when he came back down, he landed headfirst, and the world slammed into a black void.

(Ouch. XD)

"Griffen!" Khala screamed, her voice echoing far down the block. The car slid sideways into a light pole and came to rest in a hissing fury. Fear enveloped Khala as she rushed to his unmoving body. "Oh god no, please no," she cried, afraid to touch him. The driver's car door creaked open as an elderly man stepped out. "Of course it'd be snowing in November," he said to himself, removing a coat from the car. "Look at this mess! Just look at it," he shrieked, inspecting the damage. "You, girl," he snarled at Khala, "just look at the dents in my car! That stupid boy of yours dented the roof! I'll never get this fixed!" He ignored Griffen's body laying in the street and instead crawled back into his car, slamming the door in procession. After a couple of complaints from the engine, the car roared back to life and crawled its way down the street and out of sight. Fear and fury overtook Khala. "You monster!" she screamed in the car's direction, though it had already faded from view.
Khala studied Griffen's chest, feeling a wave of relief wash over her as she saw his chest slowly rise and fall. The snow around Griffen's head was quickly growing dark as blood seeped from a nasty gash. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in the direction of her apartment. Puffs of steam rose from her lips as she panted, nearly at the foot of her stairs. "Hold on Griffen," she muttered partly to herself. "Hold on.." she pleaded in her heart. She slipped her arms around him and began pulling him up the stairs, gentle not to bump his head. "Just hold on."

Griffen began to slip in and out of consciousness. He thought he heard yelling, but the next he was being drug up stairs. In a flash, he went back to his first day of battle. when he'd been a lowly private, then, to when he was helping train recruits. He groaned aloud, and moved his head.

Khala awoke from her doze when she felt the bed stirring. She raised her head sleepily, her eyes focusing on Griffen's face. He wore an expression of pain and a low groan ushered from his lips. An alarm went off in Khala's head, "if you can hear me, try not to move too much. We don't want that gash opening anymore than it is already." She bit her lip in worry and took the wet rag from his forehead, rinsing it in the basin on the side table and refolding it to place back onto his head. "You scared me," she whispered, her eyes never leaving his closed eyes. She watched as he slipped back into unconsciousness until sleep overtook her as well, leaving her slumped over Griffen's sleeping chest.

Griffen woke up again, this time permanently. Taking a look around, he found he was in an unfamiliar room. Looking around made his head hurt. He lifted his arm to touch his head, but he found he couldn't Looking down, he saw Khalla laying on him, dead asleep. Smiling a bit, Griffen sat up, and gently picked her up. He looked around for a bed, and when he found it, he gently lay her down and tucked her in. He sat down next to the bed, and wrapped the cloth that had bee on him around his head. Leaning back with a yawn, he fell asleep against her bed.

The clanging of a garbage truck in the ally stirred Khalla from her sleep. She yawned and pulled the covers tighter around her shoulders. "Wait a minute.. what am I dong in bed," she thought, now fully awake. She sat up in bed, peering around the room. The washcloth for Griffen's forehead sat on a chair beside Khala's bed, but noone else was in the room. "Griffen?" she called out softly. To her, the voice that came from her throat sounded so uncertain and strange. "Griffen?" she called again.

(wait, when did I leave? 0_0)

(sometime when I was asleep? I was thinking I'd do this as a dream segment, but my roommate distracted me with some youtube video, so I decided to cut it short so I wouldn't keep you waiting). You might just be in the other room or something, not necessarily out of the whole apartment :P