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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 18, unfortunately its another slow transition chapter but that doesn't mean there isn't some good stuff in it. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing and DC Comics for the wonderful characters.

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Chapter Eighteen:

Connor and Grandma were up by the time I got back into the house. Both of them frowned at me. I think the two of them were banding together now, making sure I didn’t do anything too stupid. I’d already broken my own promise not to go out without the DEO following. But for some reason I was compelled to follow Glaucus and there was nothing I could do to stop myself. Of course, I didn’t realize that until my run home. It was kinda strange really because I couldn’t really remember much about my run to the park just that I got there somehow without thinking about it. I remember what happened once I got there---talking to that nice old man---but getting there was a little hazy.

“Hurry and take a shower” said grandma as she moved the skillet about on the stove. “Agent Chase will be here soon.”

I nodded and ran up the stairs. I got in the shower, letting the water wash over me as quickly as possible. Ok, maybe not as quick. I was kinda dreading speaking to Cameron actually. She didn’t sound mad on the phone last night but I’d already been warned by her several times to lie low. But it’s not my fault. For some reason these stupid things keep coming after me. First the thing in Greece, then the guy in the mall and the potential mugging. Let’s not forget the thing in the museum and of course, yesterday’s little fiasco. It was like the whole world was turning against me and someone was painting a giant target on my head.

I got out of the shower and dressed. For some reason, I slipped the fake coin into my back pocket. When I got downstairs, I just had enough time to eat before Cameron came in. Jay was with her as well as another woman I didn’t recognize. She was young---a little older than Donna maybe---she had shoulder length black hair pulled back into a ponytail and dark sunglasses. Unlike Cameron who was wearing her suit---no more casual clothes for her---this girl was in jeans and a t-shirt, my kind of person. The new girl looked around the room before locking eyes with me. When she did, she smiled.

“This is Agent Spencer,” Cameron pointed out the new girl. “She’s going to be Cassie’s new babysitter. Wherever she goes, Spencer will follow.”

The girl smiled. “You can call me Kate,” she said cheerily, waving at the three of us.

Cameron looked annoyed. “Agent Garrick will be assisting.”

Cameron looked right at me and sighed. “These two are going to be on you like glue just in case you try to pull another one of your little stunts.”

I groaned. “It’s not like I do it on purpose.”

She nodded. “Regardless, the two of them are now on Wonder Duty twenty four seven.”

“Wonder Duty?” asked Connor, looking at me strangely.

Cameron frowned at him, probably annoyed that he had to be in the loop now too. Then she nodded. “That’s Cassie’s nickname for the duration of the mission here.”

“Wonder?” I asked, letting it roll off the tongue a bit.

Jay chimed in. “Agent Faraday’s idea actually. Well actually, it’s Wonder Girl. He wanted to call you Wonder Woman but felt that was a bit premature.”

I groaned. Cameron smiled. I think she enjoyed watching me squirm, she was a definite sadist in a former life. After that, Cameron filled us in on the clean up or rather the lack thereof. When they got to where the incident took place, there was nothing there. Well nothing that we described. Instead of finding two mangled trucks and bodies, they found an overturned pig truck. They said it was the strangest thing, too. There was no driver but there were three or four really large pigs in the back. It looked like the truck blew a tire and flipped over. They checked with the local hospital wondering if the driver wandered in but there was nothing. I wasn’t sure if Cameron believed us or not but Connor and I told her what happened anyway. The only one who seemed to be nodding and taking notes was Kate. I already liked her, she had a friendly face.

After Cameron told us what they didn’t find, she left. Jay and Kate stayed behind. I guess I was going to have to get used to seeing them because apparently today was day one of Wonder Watch. Jay penned the phrase not me. All I could do was moan. Grandma fixed them both breakfast while Connor and I went into the living room and watched TV. There was more on the news about Olivia Queen. Apparently someone blew up her car, killed her driver. It was all over almost every news station. Luckily, she wasn’t in the car at the time but she was kinda shaken up over it. I don’t blame her. First, someone kills her grandfather a few days ago and now they tried to kill her too. I was just glad that I wasn’t rich and famous.

After some TV, Connor took the remote and clicked off. “You want to go somewhere?”

I looked back in the kitchen. Kate turned to me, lowering her shades. I smiled. “I think the two of them might kill anywhere we might want to go to be alone.”

“I’m fine with them tagging along” he said, taking my hand. “As long as I get to be with you.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Kent” I said and kissed him.

Yep, I’m one of those mushy girls with stupid lines now. Hey, he made me kinda weak in the knees.

We kissed for a bit on the couch then went into the kitchen to ask my “Tag Alongs” if we could go somewhere.

“As long as it doesn’t involve you rearranging anything I’m fine with it,” said Jay with a laugh. “Or running, I’m not going to get my butt whipped again by you.”

I smirked. I wanted to say I’d already had my run today but knew that would only cause problems. So I agreed to the no running and held Connor’s hand as we left the house. When we got outside, we saw a blue Prius in the driveway and something else, not the something we were expecting to find. Connor’s truck was gone and in its place was a brand new 2012 Ford Ranger pickup. Connor’s eyes went wide in shock. He turned to Jay, a look of total confusion on his face.

“What’s this?” he asked, his eyes bugging out of his head. “Where’s my truck?”

“It’s a bribe,” said Kate, reaching into her coat pocket and tossing Connor the keys. “Let’s just say that the government has certain secrets it wants you to keep.”

He looked at me and smiled big. Then he scooped me into his arms, kissed me passionately and carried me over to his brand new truck. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d ever seen him happy. Ok, that’s not true. A few years ago, his Dad bought him a brand new bike for his birthday and he was pretty excited about that. But not as excited as he was now. He carried me over to the truck; he even opened the door and set me on the passenger seat. I took a whiff of the brand new car smell. Connor got inside and laughed then screamed in excitement. He was like a kid in a candy store. He started babbling on and on about all the stuff that the truck had and I barely paid attention. Ok, I didn’t care. It was official; I was totally a girl now.

It was too good to be true for me. I couldn’t help but think that there was something in this deal, something they weren’t telling us. I rolled down the window and Jay walked over. I think he sensed my apprehension about the whole thing.

“Just take it for what it is,” he said, cutting me off.

“You’re not going to lock him up or anything are you?”

He shook his head. “It’s as Kate said. It’s incentive. If he tells anyone about you or us, things might be a little different. But as long as he plays the good Boy Scout, everything will be good.”

I narrowed my eyes. “If you touch him or harm him in anyway, I’ll bury every single one of you.”

He smiled and nodded. “Faraday said you’d say that.”

“Just so long as we’re clear.”

A couple of towns over there was a little Carnival. It was a tiny little thing that they did every year from the beginning of January through the end of February. They called it the Winter Carnival. I’m not too sure how many people actually had a carnival in the winter but it was a cool idea. Connor and I used to go every year since we were about six or seven. It was one of those things that the two of us rarely missed. Last year was the first time the two of us went together with dates. It was his idea actually. There was a girl in our class---Veronica---who had been hounding him for weeks for a date. He finally reluctantly agreed to take her to the Carnival. But the only way she’d go is if someone would take her friend. Connor roped me into it. Both of us had a horrible time, especially me. Her friend was a total air head.

Now it felt kinda strange. The two of us walked through the arch hand-in-hand, Jay and Kate behind us. They arrived a few minutes after us, pretending to be a couple on a date. They were laughing and holding hands, looking particularly cozy with one another. Connor paid for our tickets and the two of us slipped into the crowd. Jay and Kate followed but not too close. Connor and I made the rounds, hitting all the booths. After yesterday, I definitely could use a little normalcy. At one of the booths, we found a couple of his football friends and their dates. I tried my best to be friendly but it was hard when they were such Neanderthals. Their dates were dressed in tiny skirts and looked vapid. I’m not sure how they could wear skirts when it was like thirty degrees outside but I suppose anything to look good, right.

I excused myself to get a drink. As I was standing in line, I felt someone come up behind me. “So, you and the football star, huh?”

I recognized the voice. I turned around with a smile, seeing Artemis and Akila standing behind me. The other Six were nowhere to be found. It was strange when I saw her. For the last few meetings I had with her it was like there were two different Artemis’s. The one at school was cool and confident but the one at The Bana was sappy and submissive. It was almost like they were two different people or someone was spiking the water. The girl standing here was the one I befriended. She and Akila glistened today or so it seemed.

“Hey” I said, glancing behind them over at Connor. Then I answered her question. “It sorta happened actually. He was a friend of my cousin’s. I needed a date for the Museum thing I mentioned and he was available.”

Artemis looked too and nodded. “I suppose he’s a good specimen.”

I laughed. “In the normal world we call them boys.”

Artemis and Akila didn’t laugh. They stared at Connor and his friends a few seconds more then turned back to me. “Do you think he’ll miss you for a bit?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I suppose I might be able to get away for a few minutes,” I said

Artemis smiled. “C’mon.”

She took my arm and pulled me out of the line. I groaned, looking longingly at the drink stand. When we passed Connor and his friends, he locked eyes with me. I mouthed “sorry” and he nodded with a smile. I felt bad abandoning him but Artemis was particularly forceful today. I’m not sure where she and Akila were taking me but we wove our way through a lot of people. We passed by Kate and Jay, the two of them were at a dart booth. At first, I thought Jay would be showing off but it was actually Kate. She was some kind of crack marksman, throwing the darts without looking, popping each balloon. When she saw me pass with the girls, she deliberately missed. After we passed, I watched her slip into step behind us.

For once, I felt kinda happy that one of Cameron’s people was following me. We finally got to our destination which was a little pavilion tent. Artemis dragged me inside and I found out where the others had disappeared to. It was a Bana tent. There was a little table where some of the girls sat; in the middle of them was Antiope of course. She smiled when she saw me but was in the middle of discussing things with a few tent patrons. There was a little TV set up, showing images of the spa, explaining what they did there. I half paid attention and looked around the rest of the tent. There was a little workout area set up an area where two girls were testing their strength, slamming a little mallet onto a metal pad of some sort.

“What is all this?” I asked, looking about, wondering what the hell they were up to.

“The future” said Antiope; the two girls she had been talking to were gone.

She slipped out from behind the table; one of the other girls took her spot. Kate slipped into the tent and wandered over to the table. Antiope came over and gave me a big hug. I felt my skin crawl under her touch. She pulled back but not before kissing me on the cheek. What the hell was this woman’s problem?

“We were worried when you disappeared the other day” she said “then Artemis told me about that horrible incident in the street. Are you sure you’re all right now my dear?”

I nodded. “He took my wallet but he didn’t shake me up too much.”

Antiope’s smile got big. “Spoken like a true Amazon.”

I felt embarrassed. Kate raised an eyebrow. The others smiled around me.

I tried to change the subject quickly. “Artemis said she wanted to show me something?”

Antiope nodded. “It’s a test actually. The Goddess told me you’d be here today and asked that I test you like the other girls.”

Antiope took my arm gently and led me over to where a line of girls my age was slamming the mallet on the metal pad. Persephone was standing nearby with a clipboard, marking the readings that appeared on a little monitor nearby. When she saw me in line, she smiled. I smiled too. I liked all the girls, I hated Antiope. I was in line for a minute or two before it was my turn. The girl in front of me frowned when Persephone told her that “you’re not what we’re looking for.”

She turned and handed me the mallet then left with a friend. I looked around and saw Kate lingering nearby. She was watching everything with interest, probably trying to figure out what the hell was going on. She wasn’t the only one. Persephone told me to take the mallet and hit the pad as hard as I could. I sighed, clearly, I couldn’t do that. So I took a deep breath and tried my hardest to hit it as soft as possible. But even hitting it with part of my strength, the red numbers on the monitor rose to a high percentage. Persephone smiled, Antiope gasped and gave my arm a little squeeze.

“Is that good?” I asked, setting the mallet aside.

“Fantastic my dear” said Antiope softly in my ear. “I knew there was something special about you.”

It creeped me out that she was this close. I shrugged her away a bit. “So what happens now?”

“Now, we go back to the spa and move onto the second part of the test.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. I wasn’t here to play Amazon with these girls; I was here to have some time with my boyfriend. Boyfriend, was he my boyfriend now? A couple days of go thinking about something like that would have made me feel sick to my stomach. Now it actually made me feel good. Connor was a boy and we were more than friends but I’m not sure if we were boyfriend/girlfriend just yet. We needed to go on a date first, a real one.

“I don’t think I can go today,” I said, causing a lot of frowns. “I’m here with my boyfriend after all.”

Antiope looked like someone let the air out of her tires. “Surely he’d understand if you left with us.”

I wanted to punch her in the face.

Artemis came to my rescue. “Maybe tomorrow” she said, coming over. “We don’t have practice after school.”

Antiope smiled weakly and nodded. “I suppose that works.”

“Can I try?” asked Kate, walking over.

Antiope turned and saw her. She frowned for a second but then smiled. “Of course you can my dear.”

I watched as Kate took the mallet and easily lit the monitor up. It must have been what they were looking for because all the girls---including Antiope---smiled. Artemis pointed to the tent exit and I reluctantly left. Kate followed me out of the corner of my eye but didn’t make any move to follow. Antiope was chatting her up anyways so there was no way she could really get away.

“Sorry about that” said Artemis as the two of us walked around, looking for Connor. “She can be a little much at times.”

I nodded. “Who made her in charge anyway?”

Artemis looked like I’d kicked her puppy. “The Goddess of course.”

I groaned. “Who is this Goddess anyway?”

Artemis looked confused. “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

“It’s simple enough” I said as the two of us stopped at a candy apple stand. “I mean the Goddess must have a name right?”

Artemis shook her head. “She is the Goddess, names are irrelevant.”

I laughed. “You blindly follow the teachings of someone and you don’t even know who’s teachings you’re following?”

She frowned. “No one is following anyone blindly” There was a hint of anger in her voice.

I held up my hand. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it that way.” She smiled. “But don’t you find it weird that you’re following a Goddess that doesn’t have a name. I mean, have you ever asked Antiope what her name is. I mean her face is all over the Bana and yet you were never curious as to who she was?”

Artemis looked confused for a second. She squinted and rubbed her neck a bit. It only lasted for a second but then she smiled again. “If her name was important than Antiope would tell us it.”

I nodded, defeated. There was no way I’d get anything here. “I’m sure you’re right.”

She smiled. “Let’s go find your boyfriend.”

The two of us didn’t have to search very long. We found Connor with another group, lingering around the food tent. I frowned when I saw him, there was a girl hanging off of him. They were all laughing but Connor looked uncomfortable. Artemis frowned too. I took a deep breath and angrily marched over. The girl looked over at me and sneered but she had to get herself off my man. Yes, my man. I stormed over.

“Hey Connor” I said, causing his whole body to stiffen. “Who’s your friend?”

He pushed her off and turned to me. He looked a little relieved to see me. “Hey Cas, this is ummm….” He looked at her. “What’s your name again?”

She looked pissed. “Britney”

I smiled at her. “Take a hike, Britney.”

“How dare you!” she snapped, her friends came up behind her.

Britney was definitely cheerleader popular, possibly one herself. The girls appeared out of nowhere, probably used to backing up their Queen. I walked over to her, standing a whole head taller. Britney looked up at me, her resolve wavered a bit but she didn’t back down. Artemis stepped up beside me and then Akila. I did a double take, wondering where the hell she came from. A few seconds later, Laris and Anaya was there too. The girls looked from them to me, clearly wondering if they wanted to get involved. Britney and her friends were cheerleaders and popular but Artemis and her friends had a rep for being super jocks.

“Chose your words wisely,” said Artemis.

Britney’s face turned from a sneer to fear. “We were just leaving,” she stammered.

The other girls nodded. Then they disappeared. The football team cheered and booed at the same time. Artemis gave them all a look and they shut up. After glaring at the guys for a few minutes, she and the girls left. I’m not sure if the team was happy or sad to see them leave. It was common knowledge that every guy in the school tried to land Artemis and her friends and so far, none had succeeded. So clearly, they were taking their pretend Amazon status to the extreme. It was clear they liked guys, I saw them look every once and a while. But Antiope probably told them that it was not the Amazon way. I could already tell that she didn’t approve of Connor but as far as that was concerned, she could go screw herself.

Kate returned a few minutes after the action, Jay was lingering nearby.

After the thing with the cheerleaders, the day was kinda a bust. We stayed at the Carnival for a couple more hours; Connor won me some stuffed animals. I think he thought that was the proper thing to do. It was kinda cute I guess, watching him trying to be the big strong one to impress me. We spent some time making the rounds to all the different tents, looking at what they were trying to sell. It was at one of the last ones that vendor gave me a pause. He was a short and stocky guy, his face had a burn that covered most of the left side and he moved with a shuffle, like he had a limp. He was selling a bunch of weapons, replicas of course. There was a guy like him at most of these places.

When we got to his tent, he tried to interest Connor in one of his swords, a replica of a Greek Xiphos. The sword was double edged, used with one hand. He tried and tried to hawk it but Connor wasn’t interested.

“How about you, young lady” he said, holding the weapon out to me. “Clearly you look like you could handle such a fine thing as this.”

I looked from him to the sword, he smiled big, showing a grin with a lot of missing teeth. I shook my head. “I wouldn’t have use for something like that.”

“Perhaps something else for the lady then” he said, reaching under the table and brining out a chest that looked right out of a pirate movie. He opened it up and took out what could only be described as a gold tiara.

I made a face. It was simple looking, with a star carved into the front. It was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever seen but there was something about it.

“What is this?”

He shrugged. “Just something I hammered together for a princess like you.”

I reached for the tiara; my hand touched the polished metal.

“Do you want this?” asked Connor, I numbly nodded. I was entranced by it. “How much, old man?”

The vendor seemed to think about it. “I’ll give it to you for fifty bucks,”

Connor smiled and paid the guy. Afterwards he took the tiara and tried to put it on my head but I stopped him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, confused.

“I’m not supposed to wear it on my head” I said, confused myself. “At least not right now.”

The vendor smiled. “The lady’s prerogative I suppose.”

We thanked the vendor and he offered to allow me to take the chest too. Connor insisted on giving him twenty more for it and then he carried it under his arm for me. I’m not sure why the tiara was so important to me but I knew I had to have it. We left the Carnival after that, Jay and Kate following close behind. I thought about the tiara the whole ride back home. When Connor dropped me, off we kissed but my mind was still on the tiara. When he drove off home, I held the wooden box under my arm like it was the most precious thing in the world. The tiara was on my mind for the rest of the night. I even dreamed about it.

I was standing in the middle of a field; I’m not sure how I got there.

Looking around I could tell it was nowhere I’d been before. For one thing, the grass was tall, about waist high and for another, the air was warm. So even if it was supposed to be in the US, it was definitely during the springtime. I’m not sure if I knew I was dreaming or if it was one of those times when it felt like a dream. There were birds chirping in the distance and the sun was so bright it was hard to see. It was one of those strange days too where you found yourself in someplace but couldn’t remember how or why you were there. I might have mentioned that already but it was definitely on my mind. Another thing on my mind, the way I was dressed.

I looked down and noticed I was decked out like a Greek hoplite. I was wearing a bronze breastplate, something called a thorax by the Ancient Greeks, a white tunic and leather skirt underneath that. I should have felt ridiculous in this outfit but somehow it felt right to wear it. The only weapon I had seemed to be a bow, which was strange because I wasn’t even good with one. I used to suck at archery in Gym glass, Green Arrow I am not. But holding the bow felt right, too. In fact, everything felt right even though I knew it was wrong. I knew things too, things I shouldn’t know. Like how to fire the bow properly and how I knew I was on a hunt for something. I’m not sure what it was but I knew that standing here was just an attempt to relocate my prey. I’d been tracking it for a while now, having just left much of civilization behind me.

I just couldn’t remember what it was. I got fed up with standing there though. So I took a deep breath and started walking forward, the direction I assumed I was going in. I found myself walking up a hill, which was strange because only a second ago it wasn’t there. Further proof that I was in fact dreaming. At the top of the hill, I got the lay of the land. Most of it was fields but there was a crop of trees in the distant, like a small forest. All around the forest were red dots. At first, I thought they were flowers because they were not moving. Then one of the unmoving shapes moved. I saw what looked like branches coming from its head and then realized they were antlers. It was then that I realized that it was a herd of deer. There was only one with antlers, so I’m guessing he was the Prince, like in Bambi.

I slowly crept down the hill, remembering what I was stalking. It was the deer but not just any deer. There was a legend, a legend of a Ceryneian Hind, said to have golden antlers and bronze hooves. I knew it well; it was something I knew from Myth. But in this dream it was my life, I wanted nothing more than to kill it. I’m not sure why, maybe it was because it was a part of the Hercules legend. But I think it was more because it was so large that it could feed my whole family.

When I got to the field below most of the deer there paid me little attention. They looked my way as I crept past but they went back to eating grass as soon as I was past them. I looked at each and every one, wondering where the legendary hind might be hiding. I knew it was wrong for a female deer to have antlers but apparently, there was something special. My rational normal mind knew that the Ancient Greeks were probably thinking of a reindeer, whose does also have antlers. But my irrational dream mind knew that the Hind was actually a gift from the Gods, sacred to one in particular.
I smiled when I finally spotted her.

It was hard not to, after all she was taller than the rest. She was just as red and just as docile as the others but her antlers gave her away. When I approached, she didn’t seem to pay me much attention at first. I walked slowly up to her, moving one foot slowly in front of the other. I got within ten feet, notching an arrow and aiming for her throat. One shot, that’s all it would take. Then I could drag her back proudly and display her antlers above the mantle. I groaned, shaking my head.

I inched ever closer. She finally raised her head from grazing and looked at me. Her eyes were large and dull, docile even. Now I knew where the term doe-eyed came from. I took a deep breath and prepared to fire. Something I did must have spooked her. One second she was standing there like the most gentle creature in the world and the next she was gone. She took off like a lightning bolt, heading straight for the forest. I gave chase, keeping good pace with her. But no matter how much ground I gained, she was still too fast for me. She hit the forest first, tearing through the underbrush. I followed just as quickly. I lost her for a second in the dimness of the forest but caught a flash of gold. I gave chase again, running purely on adrenaline. She tried to trick me a few times but I was on to her. She gave me quite the chase though but like all things, it finally came to an end in a clearing. There was a small pond and no way out.
I raised the bow again, my arrow from before ready to fire again. Once again, she looked at me but this time I faltered. I’m not sure why but looking at her, staring into those eyes, I knew I couldn’t kill her. I sighed, lowering the bow. I think the deer knew it too because her head perked up. Then she looked behind me. At first, I thought she might be trying to distract me so she could get away until I heard something.

“Congratulations, Cassandra” said a voice from behind me.

I snapped around. There was a woman standing there, not much older than Donna. Suddenly I knew I wasn’t here to hunt a deer. The woman was dressed in leather from head to toe, a modern age bow resting against her shoulder. She smiled at me, her hair woven with ribbon and braided down her back. I knew her name but for the life of me, it wouldn’t come. Just like when I meant H…H….H… Well, like when I met the Queen Goddess. The woman held out her hand and the Hind walked over, allowing her to rub it on the head.

“Magnificent animal, isn’t she” I nodded. “You’re the first one that I’ve tested like this and who didn’t try to kill her. That fool brother of mine actually wrestled her to the ground you know, dragging her back to that moron King. Do you know how hard it was to get her back?”

I shook my head, unable to find my voice. Another dream, another goddess.

She groaned. “Don’t compare me to her. She’s a thief.”

“What?” I asked, finally finding my voice.

“Hera” she said, waving her hand. “Your benefactor. She tricked me out of the Amazons a long time ago but that’s water under the bridge.”

“You’re…” I groaned, still unable to say her name.

“You can think of me as the Archer,” she said, patting the Hind on the rear, causing her to disappear into the brush. “I’ve been watching you for some time, you know.”

That’s creepy. She smiled. I cursed, forgetting they knew everything. “Sorry” I said softly.

She waved it off. “It is kinda creepy,” she said, walking over and putting her hands on my shoulders. Before she’d been shorter but now she was taller than me. “Wow, you have his eyes.”

“What? Whose eyes?”

“Never mind that” she said and reached into her jacket, taking out a golden tiara, the same one I got from the Carnival today. “You see this little thing. It’s very important, just as important as those fancy gold bracelets of yours.”

I looked at my wrists but the bracelets were gone.

‘They’re not there sweetie,” she said, “the bracelets are the default form but the Girdle takes on many. You’ll learn to use it the right way very soon.”

“I don’t understand.”

She nodded. “You will. Soon everything will become very clear. The world is going to need you and I’m not just talking about what’s going on in that little city of yours. Things are going to get bad, worse than before. That’s why we tapped you now instead of later.”

I was more confused than ever. She smiled and leaned forward kissing me on the forehead.

I felt extremely warm when her lips touched my forehead and then everything went black.