Though I'd had a skip in my step the whole way there, I nearly tripped when the 4urconvenience store's parking lot came into view. Raine was there, her tall, imposing (and somewhat curvier than I remembered) figure unmistakable from any distance. The light of the moon brightened up her natural red hair and caused the many piercings that wound their way up her ears to twinkle, as if trying to communicate some intimate secret to me through Morse code.

The sight of her alone might have been enough to give me pause, but it was the many other people surrounding her that really caused me to falter. Nervous, but too stubborn to consider turning around with Raine only a few steps away, I hesitantly approached.

"Hey, Norma. Good of you to make it," she said, somewhat more shyly than I expected.

"How could I pass up an opportunity to see you again?" I gushed.

She strolled over to me casually, put an arm around my waist, and guided me over to her hideously green truck. No small number of what I assumed were members of her gang sat in the back, smoking and laughing with their legs dangling over the tailgate, but when they saw us approach most of them backed off to another corner of the lot with knowing smiles on their faces... all but two, that is.

I glanced sidelong at the two remaining men, noting they were both rather colourful characters in their own right.

"Though I didn't know we'd be having company tonight, to be honest..." I said quietly.

"Ah, real sorry 'bout that..." Raine muttered, somewhat embarrassed. She gestured around herself to all the delinquents loitering in the lot. "These are my boys. When they heard I'd be hangin' with you late at night, they kindly offered to escort us to make sure we'd be safe."

"Huh? But I thought ya said ya wanted us here for moral support, boss?"

Raine flushed with embarrassment at the tall, lithe man's admission, but didn't attempt to deny it.

"This here's Snake. This slippery son of a bitch is my right hand man, actually got me out of a few scrapes. Cut from a different cloth than most of these bozos, that's for sure."

I turned to regard 'Snake'. He was even taller than Raine and impossibly skinny, and he looked so frail that I swore his bones would bend rather than break. His reptilian expression was made even more unsettling by his lack of a prominent nose.

"Um, pleased to meet you," I offered. He leaned the significant distance down to my ear and whispered something only I could hear.

"If you even think about breaking her heart, I'll reach into your chest myself and break yours. Permanently."

Without missing a beat, he returned to his full height and looked down on me with a cold-blooded smile. Eyes wide, I plastered on a smile of my own and nodded nervously.

"And this is Killer," Raine gestured to the obese, bald man beside her.

"K-Killer!? That's one of those ironic names, like how they call the muscle of the gang 'Tiny', right?"

"Nope. He was smart and got all his killin' done before he turned 18."

Seriously!?

"Maybe my victims should have thought twice before they hurt your feelings, boss."

He turned his head to look me in the eye, and the significance of his tear drop tattoos was not lost on me. He then squeezed the empty beer bottle he was holding until it shattered, causing me to flinch.

"I sure hope others will be smart enough to learn from their mistakes..." he finished.

"I-I see... A-and now he walks the streets a free man, does he?" I asked with no small amount of skepticism.

"He got out on good behaviour. He's real sorry, see?" Raine gestured to the man in question.

Killer regarded me with a shit-eating grin.

"Yeah, I'm real sorry. Heh heh..."

"Killer's my left-hand man, so to speak. If it weren't for him lookin' out for me, I'd have been dead a long time ago."

"Your safety ain't all I'll be lookin out for boss," he added, narrowing his eyes at me one last time before leaving to join the rest of the gang.

"Well, we'll you two lovebirds to it, then. If you need anything boss, just holler."

I watched Snake saunter off towards the others, but he was stopped halfway there by Raine, who looked to be in a panic. He put an arm on her shoulder and gave her a thumbs up, mouthing something like, 'you got this', before turning her around and pushing her back towards me.

Clearing her throat, Raine cautiously walked the rest of the distance between us.

"Sorry 'bout all this. The lot of 'em are more trouble than they're worth, honestly. I don't know what I was thinkin', bringin' 'em along..."

"I can tell you really care about them."

I thought of the two thinly veiled death threats her second and third in command had given me if I mistreated her in any way. Rather than cause me to worry as was probably intended, I found it had been unexpectedly sweet.

"And they definitely care about you too. I guess they're like family, huh?"

"Eh? Huh. Yeah, I guess..."

She thought about it for a while, almost looking like she wanted to say something else on the subject, but shook her head and moved on.

"Well it ain't no five star establishment, but you want somethin' from the store? Whatever you like, my treat."

She was noticeably nervous, as if she was worried about making a good impression. Coming from someone as tough as her, it was extremely endearing-

Does she really want to make a good impression? Or is it that I want her to want to make a good impression?

Doubt washed over me, and I eventually realized I hadn't said anything for several minutes. Raine was studying me, the concern plain on her face. I think she had been trying to talk to me for some time.

"Yeah, this was just a terrible idea all around, huh? A girl like you deserves better than some trip to the convenience store with a buncha delinquents like us... The hell was I even thinkin'..."

"No, it's honestly fine, Raine! It's just getting kinda late, and I guess I'm starting to zone out here. I hate to leave so early, but I'll text you soon, okay?"

"...yeah, sounds good. Can I walk you home?"

I had to think about this. Try as I might, ignoring this nightmarish 'compulsion' idea of mine was all but impossible, and it was souring my every experience with the people in my life. If this ridiculous power was real, what was the extent of it? Was every thought and emotion of every person in the vicinity mine to command? Did I subconsciously plant some kind of suggestion based on my desires that grew over time? Was it some kind of constant signal that only people who were already interested in me could notice? There was no way of knowing if it was any of the above or all in my head, and this buildup of uncertainty and doubt was driving me absolutely crazy!

In short, it wasn't healthy, and I knew it. I fought the paranoid part of myself for control, deciding that it was better to let these kinds of thoughts fester in the back of my mind rather than allow them to plague my every interaction with my friends and family. Perhaps one day I would no longer be able to deny that something supernatural was at work, but worrying about it now wasn't going to help me at all - actually, it was hurting much more than I could have ever thought possible.

I had left Raine hanging again while lost in thought, and from her expression I could tell this was hurting her, too. Unlike Quin, Mae, and Luna, Raine had never acted all that unusually around me. It was strange that she had come to rescue me from Quin with the others, but I assumed she had been solicited by Luna somehow, and given her background of helping the police, it was plausible that she had done it out of a sense of duty rather than obsession. Or so I hoped, anyway...

Taking a deep breath, I smiled at her.

"Actually, I think I just got my second wind. You said anything I wanted from the store right?"

Raine's golden eyes widened in surprise.

"You sure? You were lookin' pretty sick a minute ago..."

I nodded my sincerity.

"I'm sure."

Her full lips curled into a cute little smile.

"Ah, alright. L-let's go then..."

I linked my arm with hers as she led me inside. It was a lot bigger than the convenience store near my old place had been, and they had all the newest flavours of slushies, soda pop, energy drinks, and chips. I couldn't help staring at her as we walked.

"See anythin' you like?" she asked casually, looking back and forth at the colourful shelves surrounding us.

I had to resist the urge to say 'You.' Flirting while my mind-altering compulsion powers were doing who knows what to the potential recipient of my affections seemed like a decidedly terrible idea.

"What do you usually get, Raine?"

"Me? Uh... I guess I like the cherry soda."

"Then that's what I'll have, if it's okay with you."

With an embarrassed grin she grabbed two of them out of the display.

"You sure you don't want nothin' else?"

"This is all I want. Thank you."

She scratched her neck sheepishly as the cashier rung her up. We went back outside and sat side-by-side on the tailgate of her truck, enjoying her favourite drink together in companionable silence as we looked up at the moon. After a wild couple of days, having a quiet moment like this was exactly what I needed, causing me to sigh with contentment.

"Shit, it's actually gettin' pretty late, Norma."

I looked at the time - even considering my nightmares I was usually fast asleep by now, that much was for sure.

"Here, get in," she gestured to the passenger door of her truck behind us. "I'll give you a ride."

I gave her a grateful nod, and got into the cab of her truck. It took less than a minute to reach my house.

"Thanks again! You have no idea how badly I needed a night like this..."

"Anytime," she said easily. She tried to get me to do some kind of gang-specific fist bump, but I failed to return it in spectacular fashion. Before I knew it I had turned it into an embrace to avoid the embarrassment.

What the hell am I doing? Ah, whatever. Hugs are harmless, aren't they?

Raine went stiff against me, just like the first time I'd wrapped my arms around her. She really didn't get many of these, did she?

"I really did have a lovely time," I said, trying to put her more at ease.

Raine spent several seconds in contemplative silence before pulling me in closer to her, burying her face in my neck.

"Thanks for saying so... I appreciate you bein' willin' to give me the time of day."

I laughed, my voice barely a whisper with her so close to me.

"You need a little more self-confidence, Raine. You're quite the woman! I hope you recognize that... Hell, I'm surprised those boys of yours aren't all clamouring to be your boyfriend!"

"I ain't interested in boys, let alone these ones," she laughed.

Oh. Uh, this won't end up complicating things, right? J-just because she's not into guys doesn't necessarily mean she's into girls!

So telling myself, I broke off the embrace. Before I could pull away entirely, Raine kissed me on the cheek. Her own were burning, but she held my gaze, her golden eyes regal and fierce.

"Have a good night, Norma. Hope we can do this again soon."

"Yeah..." I whispered breathlessly. "I look forward to it."

With that I finally managed to get out of the truck, waving Raine off as she drove back to the 4urconvenience.

Okay, maybe she is...

With a dopey grin on my face I unlocked the door and stepped inside, only to have it wiped away as I came face to face with none other than Ves, still in her basketball jersey.

"Oh Norma, my adorable little sister... Just who the hell was that~"