Evidence of Foul Play

Chapter 29/Sequel Announcement (Paige)

Over the next week, my life slowly returned to normal. I introduced Connor to Aunt May, who disapproved of him until I reminded her that without him I would still be with my 'kidnappers'. After that, she gave us her blessing.

I returned to school, and the reaction from the student body was both amazing and extremely overwhelming. People were constantly coming up to me and hugging me or asking me how I was doing. Everyone seemed afraid at first that I would be extremely fragile and vulnerable to pressure- which I would have been, if I remembered anything- but I quickly convinced them I was fine and said I was unconscious for half of it anyways. They gradually began to treat me like normal again, but with a few changes.

Max had begun to estrange himself from me, which nearly broke my heart even though I knew it was completely self-inflicted. The empty spot he usually filled was taken by Desiree who seemed hell-bent on making up for all the awful things she said to me. Haley came up to me with a huge smile on the fourth day after I got discharged from the hospital, telling me that Max had just asked her out to go see a movie with him on that Saturday. Then her expression changed and she asked me if that was ok, and if there was anything still between us. She looked worried that she'd done something wrong.

I put on a smile and told her to have fun. I'd officially chosen Connor, and it was far too late to regret it. I also told her to tell me if he hurt her, promising I'd kick his ass if he did. She grinned, and skipped away after promising she'd give me all the details.

James and Reid Donovan had been taken into custody by SHIELD at Connors request, and were set to be questioned, then imprisoned. I hadn't felt any need to wreak any vengeance upon them, though I was given the opportunity. They had caused enough damage to themselves by their own hands anyways.

Connor and I had spent increasing amounts of time together, and even more so when he found out that I had turned Max down for the final time. That was why I was now waiting with a pounding heartbeat as a red Porsche pulled up in the driveway of my aunts house. I took a deep breath, tugging on the edge of my shirt a final time before putting a smile on my face and stepping out the front door. Connor was waiting for me in the drivers seat as I slid into the passenger seat.

"Hey beautiful." He said, and I blushed an extremely unattractive deep red color.

"Stop it."

"Why? I'm only telling the truth,"

"Where are we going?" I asked, changing the subject. He was, of course, taking me out on a date. My first date. Not as in just with him, but as in forever. He was also my first official boyfriend, since he'd asked me a few days ago.

"I'm not telling- it's a surprise." He said, and I quickly mapped out the route he had already taken and the possibilities that he could be taking me based on that knowledge. I grinned.

"You're taking me to Dennis's aren't you?" I asked. His jaw dropped.

"How'd you guess?"

"Deductive reasoning."

"Jesus, you really are a genius." He said, giving me a sideways grin. The light reflected off the street in front of us, highlighting the scars that patterned his skin. "How can I compete with a girlfriend who's smarter than me?" He complained to the open air.

"You know you love me." I said, the nervousness dissipating a bit as I slipped into the familiar tone of us teasing each other.

"You're right, I do." He said, leaning over to peck me on the cheek.

"Eyes on the road!" I shrieked as the car swerved dangerously. He chuckled, righting the vehicle. "Hey, not all of us have a super-advanced healing factor. You could've killed me."