They walked in silence. Stella made sure to stay at Quinn’s side, and Quinn kept glancing at her every few minutes.

By the time they got to Quinn’s house, Stella’s heart had calmed down and her hands had stopped shaking. She glanced over the yard before following Quinn to the front door. Quinn lived in the first apartment in a row of two-storey houses made of red bricks. Two bikes leaned against the wall, and two cars were parked in front of the garage. Warm light cast through the windows to the darkening evening.

Quinn opened the door and walked in, but Stella stayed at the doorstep, unsure of what she should do.

“You can come inside,” Quinn said with a smile.

Stella stepped in and closed the door behind her. She didn’t want to intrude, so she stayed by the door. The hallway was narrow and most of the space was taken by a staircase leading to the second floor. There was a door on the left and right, and Stella assumed them to lead to the kitchen and the living room. The hallway continued past the stairs, but Stella couldn’t see where it led to. Perhaps the bathroom or the back door.

“Quinn, you’re back already?” a man’s deep voice called from one of the rooms.

“Yeah. I got the movie,” Quinn called back.

A tall man appeared in the hallway. He looked at Quinn, but quickly his warm brown eyes settled on Stella.

“And who’s this young lady?”

Stella straightened her posture and smiled politely. 

“Stella Wilde. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Quinn’s classmate.”

The man offered his big, calloused hand to Stella —much to her surprise— but she took it and shook it firmly. The man smiled.

“Antoine Deering. I’m Quinn’s father.”

The man really couldn’t have been anyone else considering they were at Quinn’s home, but still Stella was surprised. Antoine had a deep brown skin and an accent Stella vaguely placed somewhere in the south. Quinn and Jamie were both white. While the explanation could’ve been as simple as the boys being from their mother’s previous relationship, it still slightly threw off Stella, who had always lived in traditional, rich and white neighborhoods where people didn’t divorce because it’d ruin their image. Stella wished her emotions didn’t show on her face. 

“Some creep started following Stella. I promised to walk her home. I just came to drop the movie,” Quinn said.

“What is going on?” 

Now a woman walked in from another room with a bowl of popcorn in hand. Her frizzy black hair was pulled on a messy bun, and she had a stern look in her blue eyes. She must’ve been Quinn’s mother. Stella could see the resemblance between them.

“Quinn is walking a girl home,” Antoine said with a big smile on his face.

“Dad,” Quinn muttered and rubbed his neck, “it’s not like that. I literally just said someone stalked her.”

“Can’t your parents get you?” Quinn’s mother asked.

“They’re both on a work trip. I’m home alone.”

“If there’s stalkers around, maybe you should take her home,” Quinn’s mother said looking at her husband.

“Come on, Joanna. Let Quinn take care of this. Look how pretty the girl is. And we wanted to have a movie night.”

Quinn wanted to facepalm. His parents really tried to embarrass him. Dad didn’t even lower his voice when talking about Stella.

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Stella said. Her smile was small and apologetic.

“And she probably doesn’t want to stand around all night. So here,” Quinn said and shoved the bag with the movie to his dad. He checked he had his keys and headed out.

“It was nice to meet you,” Stella said quickly and followed after him.

“Call if something happens,” Antoine shouted after them before the door clicked shut. “What a nice girl. I think she could be a good match for our Quinn. Did you see how he looked at her?”

“She was pretty at least,” Quinn’s mother said before heading to the living room to set up the movie.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Quinn groaned when they headed to the street again. “We don’t exactly have a lot of girls coming over”

“It’s fine. Your parents seem nice.”

“They’re embarrassing.”

Stella laughed and slowered her walking pace to be in sync with Quinn, so they could walk side by side. They passed several rows of identical houses, wooden fences and small yards with bikes and toys scattered around. Somewhere a dog barked and another answered. A question gnawed at the back of her mind.

“Um, this is probably really rude… You don’t have to answer, but…”

Quinn looked at Stella. She squirmed trying to find the right words. She regretted opening her mouth.

“Yes?”

“I was just curious because you don’t… your dad….Nevermind. I shouldn’t have said anything. Forget it”

“I don’t look like my dad? That’s what you’re wondering?”

Stella’s cheeks flushed red and she nodded. Quinn chuckled.

“Jamie and I are adopted.”

Stella’s head snapped in his direction, and she stopped walking. Adopted? But Quinn’s resemblance to his mother was uncanny. After the initial surprise, embarrassment burnt its way on her core.

“I’m sorry. I was even more insensitive than I expected.”

“No, no it’s fine,” Quinn waved his hand. “Mom can’t have children, so she and dad adopted us when we were babies. We don’t know our biological parents.”

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” Stella groaned and buried her face in her hands. This kept getting worse and worse. Why did she think it was a good idea to ask something so personal? She should’ve kept her mouth shut. Quinn must’ve thought she was an idiot.

“Just to clarify. I don’t think it’s weird or anything,” she hurried to add.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re not the first person to ask.”

Stella decided it was better to not say anything. She just nodded, and the discussion died off. They walked a few blocks in silence. Stella stewed in her stupidity and embarrassment. Hopefully Quinn wouldn’t mention this to his parents. They’d think she was an idiot.

Despite Stella’s worries, Quinn wasn’t bothered by her question. Quite a few people in middle school and even before that had asked why he and Jamie didn’t look like their dad, especially when he looked so much like his mother. The similarity was a funny coincidence, and Quinn felt like it made mom happy. 

More than Stella’s inquiry about his family, Quinn was bothered by the fact that they were alone. A car drove past every now and then, but the streets were empty of other people. Maybe it was better for Stella, who must’ve still been scared by the stalker, but it certainly didn’t make Quinn less nervous. Their arms brushed together a few times by accident, and Quinn almost jumped out of his skin. He needed to break the silence.

“How far away do you live?”

Stella turned her attention to Quinn. His breath fogged in the chilly evening air. The first stars of the night blinked at the sky.

“Maybe twenty more minutes of walking.”

Quinn’s shoulders sagged. Twenty more minutes? How long had they already walked? And he’d have to walk back... His legs started to ache from the thought.

“You don’t need to walk with me if it’s too far away.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I can do it,” Quinn hurried to say. It was like Stella had read his thoughts.

They continued to walk in silence. Stella adjusted the straps of her sports bag. The weight started to bother her. Sharp pain needled between her shoulder blades. She grimaced and shifted her shoulders. Quinn watched her struggle for a few minutes.

“Do you want me to carry your bag?” he asked.

“No, you don’t have to. It’s fine.”

Quinn already helped by walking with her.  She couldn’t ask for more. But Stella appreciated the offer. It was gentlemanly of Quinn. 

For the rest of the walk Stella did her best to not squirm under the growing discomfort of her bag. It was heavy, and she usually didn’t carry it around for this long. Quinn glanced at her from time to time. Few times she noticed him looking, and quickly he turned his eyes away. His heart thumped.

As they walked, the scenery changed slowly. Rowhouses and apartment buildings changed to single-family homes. The houses and yards grew in size. They became more modern. The driveways were longer. Quinn looked around with wonder. Everything was big and impressive, and most of all, expensive.

When they stopped in front of Stella’s house, Quinn’s jaw dropped. Behind a wrought iron gate was a house made of glass and stone. Large windows downstairs reached from floor to ceiling. Most of the windows had black, wooden louvers to obscure the view from the street inside the house. The railings for the upstair’s balconies followed the design of the louvers. A moat at the front of the house —or perhaps pond was a better word for the water element since there were no crocodiles in it— was illuminated by lights that reflected from the still surface.

Stella dug her keys from her bag and pressed a button. The gate whirred and opened on its own. Quinn jumped. He snapped his mouth shut and focused his attention on Stella.

“Thanks for walking me home,” Stella said.

“Don’t worry about it. It was no bother.” He was happy Stella got home safely.

“I still appreciate it. If you ever need help with something, let me know. So I can return the favor.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

He doubted he’d ask anything from Stella. What could she even help him with? They probably wrestled with very different problems.

“Good.”

They stood around for a moment. Quinn shifted weight from one leg to another. Stella tugged the sleeves of her jacket. Then she took a deep breath and a few steps forward and pecked a quick kiss on Quinn’s cheek. His face flared with heat so quickly it might’ve burnt Stella’s lips.

“Thanks for the help again,” she said and avoided looking at him. “Good night.”

“Night…”

Stella almost ran to her house and the gate began to close behind her. The sound of her wildly beating heart thumped in her ears. Quinn stood still, one hand on his still blazing cheek. The spot Stella had kissed him tingled. Quinn wasn’t sure if his face would ever return to normal color.

He was pulled from his daze, when he noticed Stella waving a final goodbye to him. Quinn raised his hand, and Stella disappeared in the house. Lights turned on inside the house and around the yard. Quinn could see Stella’s silhouette through the big windows when she walked to the living room. Then the blinds lowered down and blocked the view. The gate whirred and clicked as it locked itself.

Quinn headed home with slow, tired steps. His thoughts were jumbled. Stella had kissed him on the cheek. A wide smile spread on his face. Stella had kissed him on the cheek. Wow.

When Stella got inside, she turned on as many lights as she could and lowered the blinds on living room windows. The worst edge of her fear had ebbed away in Quinn’s presence, but now that she was alone in an empty house, nervousness tried to rear its head again. She double-checked that the security system was on. Knowing that no one could get in without her noticing eased her worries.

Mila appeared at her feet meowing loudly. Stella dropped her bag and scooped up the cat.

“I know. Your dinner is late. I’m sorry. I’m hungry too.”

Holding Mila like a baby, Stella carried the cat to the kitchen. A memory of the kiss came back to her mind when she poured cat food on Mila’s bowl. Her face grew warmer. She meant it as an innocent thank you, but what if she had made him uncomfortable? Or if he thought Stella had made assumptions based on his behavior?

“That’s not the case at all, Mila,” she sighed to her cat. “He was being nice and I wanted to thank him. It was really nice of him. He’s really nice… But I made a fool of myself for sure.”

Mila’s ear twitched, but she focused on eating. Stella sighed and slapped her cheeks. It was time to focus. She needed food, shower, and sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day. She would relax and maybe GeminiWarrior would finally come back. That’d be nice.