There was nothing quite as refreshing as a quiet fog rolling out over the lake. The waterfront was still except for the seagulls and the waves lapping at the rocks. Here, I could finally pretend to be normal for a moment. Here, I could breathe.

  Between working for the Order and doing my schooling to be a nurse, I just didn't seem to have much time for myself anymore. Everything moved so fast, moments dusted away in a cool breeze.

  I couldn't complain too much though; the pay was fantastic. I had set up a small house North of the city for my sister and I, I had paid off all my debt and I have a nice amount saved for starting a life after all this is over. Maybe I would have kids, settle down with a stable guy...

  "Hey."

  I shrieked loudly, startled by the intruder. All the seagulls flew away, screeching. I whirled around to find Anders standing behind me, eyes wide.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said, trying to be disarming.

  "Did you follow me? I can't believe you followed me all the way here. You creep!" I took off my flip-flop and whacked him several times until I was satisfied.

  He cringed, but accepted the hits. I was kind of pleased it didn't scare him away.

  "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have followed you, but I've been dying to talk to you one on one. Without everyone else standing around judging me." He said, meekly.

  "Couldn't you just knock on my door and come talk to me in my room?" I asked, putting my hand on my hip.

  Anders turned bright red and I stifled a giggle.

  "I just thought that, maybe out here would be more appropriate." He stumbled over his words and stared at everything but me.

  "So what did you wanna talk about?" I rocked back and forth on my heels like a school girl with a crush. He was a bit of a dork, but he was a cute dork.

  "I...uh..." All the color left his face.

  "You mean you came all this way to talk to me out here and you've got nothing to say?" I teased him.

  He fidgetd with the sleeves on his white dress shirt and dusted off his grey khakis.

  "I wanted to ask you if maybe you'd go get dinner with me sometime?" He finally asked.

  "Dinner?" I said, dragging out the word just to watch him turn red again.

  "Or...coffee, you know, if you don't eat dinner." He stumbled over his words.

  I raised an eyebrow and he smacked his palm to his forehead.

  "Of course you eat dinner. I'm just gonna go now." He turned around and started to walk, so I grabbed his sleeve.

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  At first he seemed worried about his sleeve, but then he caught on.

  "Yea, sure. I'll go to dinner with you. And we can do coffee and desserts after. Maybe do mini golf?" I winked at him.

  "Uh, yea sure!" He said, filled with excitement. A beautiful little light flicked on behind his eyes; a spark of magic that made me smile; one of those toothy smiles you can't help, that make you look super goofy. The kind of smile that is pure and comes from your heart.

  "But you're paying." I put on my best serious face.

  "Oh, ok." He wavered a bit, but didn't disagree.

  We walked back from the rocks and down a little trail covered with trees. The weather was nice, not quite autumn, but the summer was all but over. There were lots of couples about, as was the case for the colder months, everyone pairing up and trying to feel desired before the winter blues kicked in.

  Perhaps that was why Anders was saying something now. A seasonal yearning to not be alone.

  The path led off to a parking lot, with both our cars parked next to each other. My little blue Cooper and his silver Lancer.

  "Your car or mine?" I asked.

  Anders stood there for a moment, dumbstruck. I grabbed his keys from out of his pocket and headed over to his car.

  "You can drive me back here after." I told him before jumping into the driver's seat of his car.

  "Hey!" He called out. He rushed to the door and I smiled at him.

  "Come on, scoot over." He motioned for me to get into the passenger seat. I feigned insult.

  Anders got all flustered like a perturbed peacock. He tried to straighten his unruly hair and fussed over his clothes, moving back and forth.

  "Relax, you can drive." I said slipping across to the other seat and throwing him his keys. Which he promptly dropped.

  Twice.

  Anders was very clearly new to driving, and I could tell that downtown traffic made him uncomfortable. But he knew where he was going, at least in theory.

  "I've taken these streets by bus so many times, it's weird driving them though. So many of these streets don't let you turn left or right." He said nervously. I patted his thigh and he turned red again. It was fun how easy it was to fluster him.

  "You're doing okay. Where exactly are we going for dinner?" I asked.

  "Oh, there is this restraunt called Three Brewers at Yonge and Dundas Square, I always wanted to try it, but never really had the money until now." He told me.

  I smiled at him. He was so new and green to this Order thing. He'd done one mission since joining up with us some months ago. The money had practically burnt a hole in his khaki pockets.

  Gideon had told us that the Progenitors had specifically requested that he locate and recruit Anders. Apparently there was something special about him. As far as we all knew, he was some streetwise runaway from the foster care system.

  I knew that the system failed a lot of those kids, so it was nice that he could make a new life for himself with the Order.

  When he finally found parking, he came around and opened the door for me like a gentleman and I wrapped my arm around his and let him escort me in. He opened doors, pulled out chairs and even ordered a bottle of fancy red wine to the table. I don't know if he felt he needed to impress me, but he had done a good job.

  By the end of the night, we were both chatting and laughing like old friends. We sat at a Second Cup down by Union Station, just as they were getting ready to close up.

  "You gonna drive me back to my car now?" I asked, smiling at him. His shy demeanor had improved but he wasn't being quite as cocky as I normally saw him with the others.

  "Yea, I guess I can do that. And then I'll see you back at the Cathedral?" He asked, collecting up my garbage for me and holding the door as we exited onto the street.

  "Anders, we live down the hall from each other, it's not like you aren't gonna see me again." I told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged and smiled softly.

  "Oh, I know. I just had such a good time tonight, I don't want it to end, y'know?" He tried to smooth his hair back, but it help falling in front of his face. He had barely the wisps of a goatee forming, and in the city lights, he looked so young and innocent.

  I felt bad, knowing that one day, the Order would take that from him. Likely by force.