Marshall held my hand for the entirety of the drive but said nothing. I didn't ask questions. From the little experience I had with him, I knew I wouldn't get answers no matter what. After about half an hour, we pulled into an abandoned gravel parking lot. It was surrounded by woods, but I could see a small dirt path winding back on one side.

"I knew it. You were planning on murdering me this whole time." I said, only half joking. He shook his head, and I saw a tiny smile flash across his face.

"You know I'd never hurt you."  We got out of the car, and he led me to the dirt path I'd spotted earlier. We started walking. It was beautiful, there were several small creeks, and a few spots where you could see the bright blue sky through the trees. The trail was windy and we seemed to be climbing steadily upward.

After a few minutes, the forest started to clear. We came out onto an overlook with a picnic table and a small fire pit. There were no other people, just mountains as far as the eye can see.

"Em, this is amazing." I whispered.

"I'm glad you like it." He whispered back. We moved closer to the edge to get a proper view of our surroundings. Marshall wrapped his arm around my waist, and I leaned my head on his shoulder, taking it all in.

"You should move in with me." He said suddenly. I practically jumped back, looking up at him in surprise.

"What?" I asked.

"Move in with me." He seemed so relaxed, adding a little shrug as he repeated himself.

"You should move in with me. I've seen where you live now, and it isn't safe. Half the houses are boarded up, I'm pretty sure I witnessed multiple drug deals happening on the drive in. Caleb broke your window this morning and tried to kill you. You'd be safer with me."

"But you barely even know me!" I exclaimed.

"It's up to you, I'm just saying my offer will-" I cut him off, placing my hand on his jaw and pulling him into a kiss. He made a muffled noise of surprise, but adjusted quickly and kissed me back with equal passion.

"Thank you. I think I'd like that." I said after I pulled away. It was the first time I'd ever seen this particular look on Marshall's face. It was shocked, sure, and surprised, but there was something else. He looked down at me with something comparable to happiness. My heart jumped at the thought that I'd managed to do something that left him stunned like this.

I stood there, smiling and waiting quietly for him to finally react. I realized quickly that the silence would stretch on for as long as I let it, so I reached up to tap his shoulder.

"Marsh? You okay?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, I'm fine, it's just that- never mind." I searched his face, confused.

"Well, what should we do now?" I said, hoping to get an actual answer. To my surprise, his face lit up with a smile. A real, true smile.

"We should go! Now! I'll help you pack, and then you can come right over!" He took both of my hands in his, and started to pull me back towards the path. He seemed oblivious to the fact that I was in utter disbelief. He drove me up here in silence, asked me to move in with him, and now he's giving me a side of his personality that I've never seen before. My brain couldn't begin to catch up. I suppose I was going to have to get used to him being like this, moody and secretive and strange.

Marshall maintained the boyish attitude for the entire drive back to my house, singing along to every song on the radio in an out of tune but enthusiastic voice. I laughed, holding my arm out of the window and trying to take it all in. Just this morning, my life was being threatened, and now I was happier than I'd ever been before.

There was still crime scene tape around my house, and a few police officers standing around, but we ducked past them and went inside. I paused for a moment, surveying my house. There were shards of glass and blood from Marshall and Caleb's fight on the floor, and a huge hole in the wall where Caleb had hit it. I could almost hear him, screaming at me. This right here was why Marshall was right- I had to get out of here.

Marshall must have noticed me falter, because he placed his hand on the small of my back and shot me a small smile.

"I'll help you pack up, okay? Do you have bags, or should we just toss everything in the car?"

"I have some suitcases in that closet over there, and whatever we can't fit can just go in the trunk."

As we packed, Marshall told me more about his house. I'd only been there during the infamous 'attempting to get a wasted Em home safely' incident, and I hadn't exactly paid attention to the decor. He seemed excited to have me there, telling me all about how secure it was, and how there was a great hiking trail nearby.

"Addy! We can drive to set together now!" I hadn't thought about the show, or working at all in a few days. I stood up slowly, looking over at Marshall.

"Oh Marsh, they're going to be so mad at us. Not only did I completely forget about my job, they made it very clear employees and judges were not to be anything more than colleagues." I said, beginning to return to the real world.

"Fuck, you're right. We'll go in tomorrow and see what they say. There's not really anything we can do about it now." I nodded in agreement. We continued to pack, now in silence.

When we pulled up to Marshall's house hours later, my jaw dropped. Somewhere along the line, I'd forgotten that he was famous. Really famous. And also rich. And his house showed it. He led me inside and gave me a tour, showing me his full recording studio, gym, and theater. I couldn't believe it. I was going to live here!

"You wanna order food? I can start bringing stuff in."

"Sure." He kissed my cheek and headed back out to the car.

When the food came, we took a break from unpacking to eat. I have to admit, it had been a little more awkward than I'd expected. We'd put my stuff in a guest room after an uncomfortable conversation in which we both acted like strangers. I'd assumed I would sleep in his room, but when he asked me I panicked and said I didn't care. Actually, I care very much.

We sat at an island in the kitchen to eat our pizza. Marshall offered me a Redbull from the fridge, and I took it gratefully.

"So, what do you think will happen when we go in tomorrow?" Marshall asked me.

"I don't know exactly, but it can't be anything good. Think about how many rules we've broken! Add to that the fact that I've skipped multiple days without calling or anything. They'll fire me for sure." I replied, the heavy feeling setting in again.

"You might be right. But hey, you'll have a place to stay no matter what happens." The weight lifted as I heard his words. He was right. I had a home.

Around 11 o'clock , I decided it was time to go to bed. It had been a long day and I needed some rest. I said goodnight to Marshall and headed upstairs. The room I was in was nice, but it still felt off. Marsh and I clearly had something going on, but it was so undefined. I got into bed and turned out the light. I stared at the ceiling, marveling at how fast everything was changing. But this change is good, I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

I was awakened some time later to the bedroom door creaking open. I sat up quickly, preparing myself for something awful, but it was just Marshall, looking exhausted.

"Addy, this is ridiculous and I can't sleep. Will you just come stay in my room? We can move your stuff tomorrow." He rubbed his jaw and yawned, leaning against the door frame.

"Of course. I thought it was a little weird, but it's your house so I didn't want to say anything." I stood up and walked over to him. He slipped his arm around my waist as we headed down the hallway.

"Our house, Addy. Our house." My heart squeezed with happiness. Marshall tossed some pillows off the bed to make room for me. I kept to my side, still feeling a little insecure about the whole situation.

"Come here." I heard him mumble, his face half-obscured by a pillow. I slid down further , curling into his side with a smile on my face.

Now, everything was perfect.