Clarity

He asked to meet at the old gazebo.

Stella skipped a step and the wooden platform sagged under her weight. Alex was standing at the far end, smoking as usual. She approached him, wondering what was so urgent that he was calling her out here all of a sudden. His mood was notably dark and Stella quickly deduced why as he looked at her. She was quiet for a moment before bringing her finger up to pinch the collar of her shirt.

"You got a little something," she pointed out. "Right here."

Alex already knew what the dark red stain was because he zipped up his jacket without a word. A heavy truth lingered over their heads and he simply waited while Stella soaked it in. After what seemed like an eternity, she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What sort of trouble am I in for, Alex?" She asked softly.

"Do you know how to handle a firearm?" He asked in return, arching a brow.

"Can't you ever just answer the question?" Stella cried in frustration. "What's going on?"

Alex breathed out, shaking his head. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Stell," he said gently.

"But it is. Otherwise you wouldn't have called me out here," she said. "I'm not stupid, Alex. Who's threatening you?"

He just shook his head, unwilling to burden Stella with any details. She sighed, turning to lean her weight against the bannister. It was puzzling how he expected her to go about her daily routine as if nothing were wrong when something obviously was. Alex was tense and Stella wasn't used to seeing him this way.

"I'm going to find out sooner or later," Stella muttered, giving him a frown.

"Later," Alex echoed, standing straight and snubbing the cigarette out with his shoe. "Let's go."

Stella didn't say or ask anything as she obligingly traced his footsteps as they left. She got used to following him to nowhere because he rarely ever gave her a direct answer. They walked through the park and to the East end of the city. When they reached the inner harbor, Stella knew that she was going to some sort of obscure meeting that only a few people knew about.

"You've brought Stellina," a voice observed from behind them.

They turned to find two familiar young men strolling up and Stella beamed when she recognized the shorter one with bronze hair named Marco. She turned and moved to meet him as he swept her up in a friendly embrace.

"Caro mio!" Stella laughed aloud as he set her down. She slipped into the little Italian she knew. "How are you?"

"I'm good, as always," he replied with a charming smile.

"And you've gotten taller, Ales," she remarked, looking to the stoic man beside him. "Have you been well?"

"Sì, Stellina," Ales said, lifting a hand to lightly muss the top of her head. "Has Alexander been behaving?"

"More or less," Stella replied with a cock of her head and a sly smile.

They all turned to look at Alex, who was just hanging back and watching them in silence. He greeted them with a simple half salute before they continued on. It had been about a year since Stella had spent time with the two Moretti men, but it seemed like just yesterday when she was pestering them to teach her Italian. When they met, she hadn't known that they were of the infamous family that ruled the North East corner of the city. She only found out when Alex introduced them to her the first night they hung out at Capital.

"What's going on? This one won't say anything," she asked, ignoring Alex's curious sidelong glance.

"There's a new gang in town trying to gain power on Kingsley's part of the city. They're pretty vicious, so he's asked us to this meeting," Marco said, casting a glance to Alex. "But don't worry. We're here to look out for you too."

"Ah, I see," Stella said, frowning slightly before shrugging her shoulders. "If it's you two, then I really don't have to worry."

It didn't take a genius to recognize the subtle grim line of their small smiles. But smiling was her own way of coping with her anxiety. Strangely enough, Alex seemed to notice that about her not long after they met and now he was giving them all a stern glare.

"Enough," he declared. "You guys go ahead. I need to talk to Stell."

Marco bowed his head and Ales simply nodded once, giving her one last look before continuing on to the rusting warehouse sitting at the edge of the dock. When they were alone, Alex finally looked at her and slid his hands into his pockets. She returned a neutral stare, lips curving by default.

"I'll keep you safe," he promised. "This isn't something you need to worry about."

"I'm fine, Alex," she insisted, clasping her hands behind her back.

"No, you're not," Alex stated. "You're not stupid. You know what this means."

"Then why did you bring me here?" Stella asked.

"Sparrow will stay with you while we're inside," he murmured. "But I need you to stay with me tonight."

"I can't, I have plans with the girls tonight," she frowned. "We're go-"

"Stell, it's not just dangerous for you," Alex said, face hardening. "You have to stay away from them for a while."

Stella frowned, knowing that his words held a good amount of truth. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to get caught up in this kind of mess, even though she had promised herself that she'd keep no more secrets. She knew what she was getting into each time she decided to go along with him, so she should've been prepared for something like this to happen. Stella just didn't expect it to be so soon.

"They're about to start, Hunt," a woman's voice called out. "You'd better head in."

A tall woman with golden hair and blue eyes sauntered up, a sleek black dress hugging her slender frame. She smiled mischievously at Stella as Alex nodded once and walked past her to continue inside. Once he was out of an earshot, Stella raised her brows at the woman and pursed her lips.

"I thought this would be an issue that his girlfriend would face, not his friend," Stella finally said, scratching the back of her head.

"Jesus, Stella," she laughed. "Alexander doesn't give his time or effort so freely to just anyone. I'd say he's more concerned about you that any old girlfriend."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sparrow," Stella muttered, trying to hide the mild heat rising to her cheeks as she turned away.

"Sure you don't, Stella," Sparrow giggled, pouncing on her and wrapping her arms around her shoulders. "But you know, Alex is pretty cute. If I were a few years younger…"

"H-he's not even my type," she protested, struggling to escape Sparrow's death grip. The woman had probably snapped many necks with these very arms and now she was playfully hassling Stella with no ill intent.

"There are men of types and then there are men like Alexander Hunt," Sparrow recited, leading Stella back to the car she was driving for the time being. "You and I both know that regular men can't even begin to handle women like us."

"But I'm not like you, Sparrow," Stella said, leaning against the hood of the car as the blonde stood a few feet in front of her. "I'm just a simple student."

"That's true, but you've got that thing about you," Sparrow replied with a half smile. "There aren't many students that would find themselves here now, are there?"

"That's just bad luck," she laughed.

"It's luck alright, but it's not so bad," the blonde replied. "You were born for something special, Stella. You just don't know it yet."

"Says the gorgeous blonde assassin who has a thing for Italian men," Stella added.

"You know about that?" Sparrow gasped, blushing furiously. "No! No one knows about that!"

"Even if I didn't have my source, it doesn't take a genius to notice those longing stares of affection you and Marco share," Stella teased with a smile.

"You've got a lot of nerve to tease the most notorious assassin in East Harbor," the blonde said. "You're going places, Stella. Trust me."

Sparrow reached out and dropped her hand on the top of her head, ruffling her hair until she finally ducked and swat her hand away.

* * *

The meeting didn't last more than a couple hours and Stella ended up riding in the back of Sparrow's car, nestled between Alex and Jonathan Meade himself. Kingsley Meade's only son was a handsome young man with neatly shaved hair and pale blue eyes. This was Stella's first time meeting him and he seemed fairly interested in making her acquaintance.

"Stella, right?" He asked, resting his elbow against the door as he looked at her. "I'm Jonathon. Alex never brings any friends. How'd you meet?"

"Randomly," Stella replied, unable to help but reflect the amused smile on his face. "And then he took to stalking me."

"Really? And you didn't even owe him any money?"

"No, I just didn't call him," she said.

"Oh, I see," Jonathon said, brows raising as he leaned back in his seat and to cast an antagonistic glance in Alex's direction. "Anyways, sorry to get you all caught up in this mess."

"Don't be. I knew what I was getting into with this guy," Stella said with a shake of her head. "Uh, thanks for thinking of me though."

"Of course," he grinned. "We take care of each other. Any concern of Alex's is a concern of ours."

Stella entertained him with a light conversation until they arrived at Alex's condo. She bid both Jonathon and Sparrow a good night, watching the car depart until Alex softly poked her elbow to call her inside. Sliding her phone out of her pocket, she tapped out a group message to the girls to let them know that something came up and she wouldn't be able to make it that night. As they stepped into the elevator, she tucked it back into her pocket and turned to meet his lingering stare.

Neither of them said anything as the door slid closed and they were shuttled up to the fourth floor. Stella was the first to break it as she stepped out as soon as the doors opened again, leading the way to his door at the far end of the hall. He continued to fix her with a look, even as he unlocked the door and let them in.

"Are you going to talk to me?" He asked, shortly after glancing over the hall before locking the door behind him.

"Why are you asking?" Stella crossed her arms over her chest and turned on her heels to tilt her head at him. "I'm not mad. Nor am I much bothered. Just thinking, that's all."

Alex shrugged his jacket off his shoulders and tossed it over a nearby chair, effectively revealing the large dark splatter staining his white t-shirt. Stella's brows quirked, but she turned away and moved to the window as he started to peel it off. She poked the dark curtain aside and peeked out over the area below until she felt his presence behind her. Pulling back, she turned and was startled to find him standing so close.

"Here," he said, offering her a bottle of water. "I'm going to shower real quick… unless you want to join me?"

Stella had taken the bottle and wrenched off the cap, but she almost spewed water out of her nose upon hearing his question. She coughed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, unable to prevent the laugh already escaping her lips.

"If you're trying to seduce me, it's not going to work," Stella retorted, her mouth pressing into a smile as she forced herself to turn away. Better to look away before she caught herself admiring the view.

She was twisting the cap back onto the bottle to keep herself occupied until he left. When she felt a pair of arms slid over and around her waist, followed by a solid warmth pressing into her back, Stella stiffened as a mild heat rose up her cheeks. She was lacking any clever comments for once as he leaned his head down and his mouth brushed lightly over her ear. A dark blush burned up her neck and her ears almost instantly as she was suddenly frozen in place.

"Who said anything about seduction?" He asked quietly. "Persuasion, maybe."

"Wh-what are you doing?" Stella finally managed to squeak, turning around again and planting her hands on his chest. Although she didn't want to let him see her face, she knew it would only get worse if she let it go on.

Stella forced herself to peer up and meet his eyes, which were looking down at her with mirth. All the while, there was a tiny smirk tucked into the corner of his mouth that annoyed her to no end. No one made a move, but it only made her more aware of the way her heart was threatening to bust out of her chest. The thought of it didn't help her dispel the blush at all.

"What are you so scared of?" Alex asked. "It can't be the business because you're apparently well acquainted with people more dangerous than me."

"I need friends, not a boyfriend," Stella snapped. "I need people who will still be there for me even after it's over. I'm tired of being alone."

"If that's what you're worried about it, then we can just ditch the labels," he said, reaching out and catching her by the back of the head. "Stop lying to yourself already."

Stella stared at him with wide eyes, wondering if it was possible that he knew what she was thinking. She cleared her throat and tried to pull back a little. It had been years since she remembered being this flustered around a guy. It had been even longer since she ever had a nervous stutter.

"I… l-like you," she said in a small voice. "But I just-"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence as his mouth crashed suddenly against hers. Before she knew what she was doing, her eyes fluttered closed as her lips returned his unspoken affections. Stella knew that she should stop, but her mind was no match for her heart, which she had been keeping at bay this entire time. His arms wound around her hips and her arms slipped up around his neck.

He smelled of soap, smoke, and safety. Stella couldn't help but let the feelings in her heart run rampant. And so the hours of the night passed with a swiftness of time that only happens when you wish you could savor a single moment for all eternity.

Then as Stella watched the dawn break the city skyline amidst her quiet reflections on what had transpired last night, she knew she was in for something entirely different from everything she had ever known.