Melissa climbed the stairs leading to her apartment wearily, wondering what had gone wrong. She was supposed to get some regularity back when she went to work. That was supposed to take her mind off of Matt. Instead, she found herself, thinking about when he sat in the corner, thus making a complete mess of her daily job. By the end of the day, and after a host of botched orders, Melissa was called into her boss's office, and fired quite bluntly. She barely realised what had happened. Her mind kept wandering back to Matt. The only thing that kept her driving was knowing he would be at her place. He said he would be, she thought, he had to be. Opening her door, she saw that he was. Sitting on the couch, watching the door avidly. It made a lot better, now that he was there for sure. But there was still her job, or lack thereof. Matt could tell something was wrong, from the way that she looked at him, from the way that she walked, and from the desperation in her mind. He walked over to Melissa, who stood staring at him by the door with relief.

"What happened? Did something happen at work?" He asked, slowly, holding her shoulders. She hung her head.

"They fired me."

"Why, what happened?" She shook her head, walking out of his grasp and throwing herself down on the couch.

"I don't know, Matt….I just….I kept seeing you in the corner, wishing you were there and - " He smiled, lowering his head so she wouldn't see.

"I should have guessed."

"What should you have guessed…"

"The thrall, Melissa. Its why you think about me all the time…I don't know how to - " She turned her head to him, finishing his sentence.

" - make it go away! Matt, I can't live like this….please, make it go away…" He walked over to her, kneeling beside.

"I can’t…its not something I know how to do…I can't stop it or - "

"Why?" She demanded angrily, "I need to know this! I hate this! I hate needing you, I hate wanting you…"

"We all want something…." He said, mysteriously, garnering a strange look from Melissa.

"What do you want?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"You." He replied, reaching to her side, and taking her hand in his. "You need me…and I think I need you, Melissa."

"But…I need a job…" She told him plainly, rationally. He frowned. "I need to keep some shred of this life…"

"You don't need a job, you can come wherever I go…we can go back to North Carolina…" He said, hopefully.

"No, No, Matt, I need a job, I need money…I can't go back with you…I…" He put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up, leaning in and kissing her lips softly, eagerly.

"You can't stay here your whole life…." Melissa fumbled through her mind for some form of protest, but there was none. She wanted his lips on hers again.

"Matt…I don't know why, but I'm willing to abandon my whole life for you…and I barely know you…"

"That’s the fun. You get to know me on a giant road trip." He stood up, pulling her up with him. "Pack some stuff, we'll leave when the sun sets." Melissa smiled at him, and turned to grab whatever she could fit into a small bag.

"Maybe it’s the…what did you call it? Thrall? Well, maybe it’s the thrall talking, but I know I'm gonna like this…and what do we do until the sun sets? There's at least a few hours…" He grinned, sauntering up behind her.

"I can think of a few things…unless…."

"Screw unless. Have I said no to you yet?" He shook his head, smirking. "Then you've got good odds."

"And we've got all the time in the world." She groaned.

"That was the cheesiest thing I've ever heard. I didn't know people actually talked like that." He shrugged, laying down on her bed and stretching out.

"Well, get used to it."

"Why, are you a cheap ass poet all the time?"

"Nah, only when I wanna get some." She smiled, climbing on the bed beside him, playing with the light streaks in his dark hair.

"It worked."