Need to Break Out

[Shana O'Malley]

Shana let out a rush of air that might have been a laugh, were any part of this situation amusing. In a surreal, ironic way, she supposed it was.

"It's a little late for that apology, even if I believed it," she countered, her mind wandering now to Dante. She wondered what he was doing, where he was. If he'd forgotten all about her. Maybe he had another girlfriend... she couldn't deny that she was pretty convinces he had never looked for her. He would have to know it was some connection to This family, baaed on Wha she heard from Teo. And he never looked. That was a deep sting.

"It doesn't matter," she reaffirmed, as much for herself as for Teo.

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

Teo sighed again. There wasn't anything he could say to Shana that would make any of this better. He couldn't let her go, he couldn't give her back her life. He couldn't be her friend, and he wasn't a good guy. At least, he didn't think he was a good guy. Maybe he was better than Marco, but that didn't make him a good person. But for now, at least, they were stuck with each other.

"We should go back inside," he said, but he didn't push the issue.

He was actually sort of enjoying the fresh air, too. It was a cool, clear night, and he didn't often spend time outside, just taking it all in. He was a guy who never stopped to smell the roses; he was always going to or from somewhere, always working. There was music playing from somewhere, the high, tinny sound of an ice cream truck.

Suddenly, he smiled at her. "Hey, want some ice cream?"

[Shana O'Malley]

When he suggested going inside, Shana sighed quietly. She didn't move, though, keeping her eyes on the fading brilliance of the sky. If she could, she'd keep him out longer and look for the stars, and long enough to see the sunrise in the morning. Now that she was outside, she desperately didn't want to go back in, but she knew that wasn't really an option. Still, she wasn't going to move until he pushed it.

But he didn't. His question threw her off, and she was sure she misheard him. She hadn't yet noticed the ice cream truck music, either, so she had no frame of reference for it. "Sorry?"

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

He probably should have just told her to forget it. The idea of taking her out front, to the ice cream truck, was possibly the stupidest idea he'd ever had. As cautious, alert, and suspicious as Mateo was, he never got to have any fun. The cheesy canned music from the nearby ice cream truck brought back an innocence that was really just a distant memory for Teo. And he found that he couldn't quite resist its sudden appeal.

"The ice cream truck," he said. "If you promise not to scream or try to get away or anything, I'll buy you an ice cream cone. That is, unless you'd rather just go inside."

[Shana O'Malley]

"Ice cream truck?" Shana repeated, brows creased until she really listened and finally heard the music from it. Her eyes narrowed. Was he crazy? Did he want her to make a break for it?

But she instantly shook her head when he threatened just taking her back inside. She would do anything to stay outside for as long as possible, and he had to have known that. "Come on, I've been good so far, haven't I?" She certainly hadn't screamed out here, and she'd had plenty of opportunity.

She wondered if he even liked ice cream cones, or if he was testing her. Or maybe he was aware she was being really good and was rewarding her for it. As impressionable as a dog, she thought about herself.

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

Teo really didn't even know what he was thinking at all. It was a stupid, crazy, dangerous, and downright juvenile idea. But he never got to be any of those things. Sometimes he had so many thoughts and worries going on inside his head that he was sure he would just explode from them all. Just this once he wanted to shut down all the voices in his head and just do something for the hell of it.

Besides, he could use magic to keep her from screaming or stop her if she tried to run. She wouldn't even know what happened.

"Come on, let's go, then," he said, clutching her hand and moving toward the gate that led to the front yard. With his other hand, he used his wand to remove a protective barrier that surrounded the fence, but he knew she wouldn't even see it.

Now that they were out in the open, he squeezed her hand even more tightly. "Remember, not a sound," he whispered in her ear. "And don't think I can't stop you if you try to run. All I want to hear from you is what kind of ice cream you like."

[Shana O'Malley]

Shana was too busy just looking up and down the street. Maybe she was plotting an escape route, but not now. He was too worried she would run now anyway, and she knew she wouldn't get anywhere, and never be allowed outside again.

But his whispered words in her ear brought her back to the moment, and she instinctively squeezed his hand back. Sarcastically, she murmured, "And you were being almost human for a minute there...."

As was usually for Shana, she only considered after the fact that she shouldn't have said this, and she turned her eyes to him, obviously working over in her head what she wanted to say to him. Finally, she just said one word. "Vanilla."

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

He wished he hadn't said it. He really was trying to be nice, to forget that he was who he was for a little while. To pretend that he and Shana were friends... maybe even more than friends. But the trouble was, it was all pretend and he knew it. He had never been the type of guy who liked to pretend; even as a child, he'd never had much of an imagination. Everything was too grounded in reality for him and he didn't know how to look at things any other way. For this reason, he envied Shana... she could see the beauty in just about everything.

Everything except him. But what did he expect? He was holding her captive.

"I'm sorry, I...." He just stopped. It didn't matter. The words were already out there, and he couldn't take them back.

"Vanilla it is," he said. He had wanted to tease her, to say he figured her for something a little more exotic--Rocky Road, perhaps, or Chocolate Cherry. But he felt he'd already lost the moment.

They reached the ice cream van, and he ordered a vanilla cone and a chocolate cone for himself. He paid for the ice cream first, then handed Shana's cone to her before taking his own and leading her back to the house.

"We can go back in the back yard and eat them, if you want," he said quietly. "But we have to go back in when we're done."

[Shana O'Malley]

Shana almost made another sarcastic remark when he was careful not to let go of her hand, even though it had to make the exchange of money and ice cream cones difficult. Where was she going to go, really? She kept her mouth shut, though. At least for now.

Barely mumbling a thank you as he handed the vanilla over, she sighed softly and followed him back to the house. At his suggestion, though, she stopped. She just stopped walking, tugging on his hand a little. She had that look in her eyes that said she was going to push her limits.

And she was determined to get away with it.

"I'd rather stay out here. There aren't as many trees and you can see more." Shana stared at him for a moment before deciding to take it a step further. "I'm not going anywhere. Let go of my hand."

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

Teo frowned. This had been a bad idea. Not just the ice cream, but all of it. He should have told her to go into her room for the evening and just spent the evening alone. But maybe a part of him was lonely, or maybe he just couldn't bear to treat her like a prisoner, even if that was exactly what she was. But it was a bad idea to sit out front here with her. Although he was the kind of neighbor who "kept to himself," sometimes he had colleagues visit him here, and he was quite aware that most people suspected what he did for a living. And out here, in the front of the house, Shana stood out too much with her red hair. People were going to notice her, and they'd start to wonder. Even if Shana did as she promised and didn't run, she was entirely too exposed out here. And for that matter, so was he.

"No. It's too dangerous," he said flatly. "We never should have come out front. It was a stupid idea."

[Shana O'Malley]

Shana shook her head slowly. She wasn't going to give in that easily. If he wanted to treat her like she wasn't a prisoner... well, this was a good place to start. "It'll be dark soon," she said, as if she were reading his thoughts. "And no one will even see us out here."

She kept her tone soft, gentle, almost motherly, because she knew getting mouthy was not the way to win this battle, and God alive, did she want to win this battle.

"Why was it a bad idea?" She asked him, squeezing his hand gently. "I didn't scream and tell the ice cream guy that I needed help. No one's here. I'm not going to run because you'll be watching me like a hawk. Why is it a bad idea, then?"

Shana took a step towards him, her eyes remaining on his. It was a step of submission in a way. Yes, she was determine to stay out here, at least for a little while, and yes, she was fighting him on it, however gently. But she was trying to show that she was being good, too.

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

One thing that people didn't always realize about Teo was that he could be rather paranoid at times. Being raised as he was and educated in the business from such a young age had taught him that there were enemies everywhere. Some were waiting to shoot you when your back was turned, and others... well, they kidnapped your girlfriend and didn't even bother to tell you about it.

Teo had many quirks and habits that were caused by this paranoia. In restaurants, he always sat with his back to the wall, and wouldn't even sit at a table in the middle of a restaurant. He never took the same route to get to a place, and sometimes went far out of his way just to avoid having a noticeable pattern. And he never sat out in the open for more than a few minutes at a time.

So deeply were these habits ingrained that most of the time, he never even bothered to think about why he did them. But who would have ever guessed that all it would take was a gentle squeeze of her hand to get him to break one?

"I have enemies, you know. They could be waiting for just this moment, when I'm unprotected."

But his protest didn't last long, and he sighed. "Just until you finish your ice cream. Then we go back inside. And I expect you to keep your promise and don't try to escape."

[Shana O'Malley]

"You would have noticed if one of your enemies was out here, waiting for you." She almost continued, almost made some crack about the fact that they knew it wasn't Dante waiting to do him in and rescue her, but she bit that back, keeping it to herself.

When he conceded, she remained calm, and just smiled. "I've been good so far, haven't I?" She didn't say thank you... not yet. She was going to wait to see how the rest of the evening unfolded. But she did follow him all the way back onto the porch.

Squeezing his hand one more time, she gently prodded, "Let go." She was getting her way out here, which she was thrilled about, naturally. But she was also teaching him a lesson in trust. She wasn't going anywhere... and a sick, candid part of her questioned if she wanted to run. Was she staying put because she was planning an attack later, or because she wanted to watch the last of the colors of the sunset fade from the sky with him?

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

Teo felt strangely reluctant to let go of her hand, and it wasn't because he was afraid she would try to escape. The crazy thing was, he kind of liked holding her hand. Her hand felt soft and warm in his, and he felt fairly certain that he'd feel cold without her.

Merlin, this was getting out of control. Curse Sedona for putting the thought in his head. It had to be her fault; he never would have thought of these things before. But right now, it truly felt as if he was sitting on the front step, enjoying an ice cream cone with his girlfriend.

"What if I don't want to let go?" he asked, his voice softer than usual.

[Shana O'Malley]

Shana opened her mouth to respond to that question almost instantly, ready to tell him that she was being good, and she wouldn't run, but the words never came out. Either she was imagining it, or his voice had gone soft, and he wasn't holding her hand so tight anymore. If she wanted to slip out of his grasp, she probably could have. And she probably could have five minutes ago, too.

Was she just imagining a different interpretation of that question? Her jaw closed, and she just looked back at Mateo for a moment, feeling comfortable in the silence between them. When she did speak, her own voice came out as a whisper. "What do you want, Mateo?"

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

He looked at her, his expression strangely vulnerable. He didn't know how to answer her question. What did he want? It was strange how no one in his life had ever really asked him that question. It was just always assumed he would do his job, his duty. He took care of his brother and sister, his father, he did whatever was required of him for the business, but no one ever seemed to notice that he had no life of his own. And until this very moment, if anyone else had ever asked him what he wanted, he probably would have said something vague about wanting happiness for his sister and brother, or success for his father... or maybe Marco's head on a platter.

But none of that was what he really wanted for himself. The answer, which shocked Mateo as much as anyone else, was that he wanted a normal life. He wanted to love and be loved, he wanted a family and happiness and control over his own life. And maybe part of him wanted the girl sitting next to him on the step.

Teo didn't think he was falling in love with Shana... maybe he was, but he didn't know. But Shana represented everything that he wished he had but was denied. She was his prisoner, and he was a prisoner in his own life. They were both imprisoned, in different ways.

Teo closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the raw, vulnerable expression had been replaced by his usual calm demeanor. But it was all an act now, and if she looked carefully, she'd see right through it.

"I just want to sit here and pretend we're friends. And maybe I don't want it to be pretend."

[Shana O'Malley]

He couldn't have hidden that vulnerable expression from her- Shana was a firm believe that eyes were the windows to the soul, and he usually kept his gaze so hard. It was kind of refreshing to see that he could be vulnerable, whatever the reason was. Shana smiled at this, she smiled at his answer.

"Let go of my hand, Mateo," she repeated, her voice soft and gentle and calm. "And maybe you won't have to pretend it if I'm still sitting her by my own choice."

Her eyebrows rose a little as she kept her eyes on him to watch him for any kind of a reaction to this. For him, the whole concept was too complicated for him to ever be able to have it. For Shana, it was very simple.

Yes, she hated him immensely for kidnapping her, for keeping her hostage, for trying to scare her sometimes. But other than that, he'd been kind to her. And the truth of the matter was that she hated Dante more for not fighting for her or even looking for her so that he could share this moment with her.

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

He couldn't look away from her as she spoke. Though his eyes still seemed cold, there was an intensity there that hinted at the emotions he kept so tightly controlled. Slowly, he lowered his eyes to their interlocked hands, and with a small sigh, he let go.

When he raised his eyes back to her face, his expression had changed once again. This time he looked almost amused. A part of him almost hoped she would try to escape... and maybe he'd just let her go. She was like a firefly being held inside a jar... her light was too bright to be kept hidden away.

[Shana O'Malley]

Shana, however, did not move. She could have. She even thought about it a little... but not enough to even look over her shoulder. She promised him she wouldn't run, and God, she didn't even regret that promise.

Besides, it's not like she would get far.

The redhead raised her eyebrows, misinterpreting his look. "I'm not going anywhere," she emphasized. "See, it's not so hard to trust someone, is it?" No, they definitely didn't trust east other... but in this moment, he trusted her not to run, and she wasn't going to let him down. God help her.

[Mateo "Teo" Rossi]

He was getting attached to her. He'd known it for a while, but he had been able to keep it pushed to the back of his mind, but now it was impossible to deny. It was unprofessional, inappropriate, and possibly unethical... but Merlin help him, he liked her. A lot. Too much.

His hand felt cold and empty without hers in it, and yet there was an unfamiliar warmth spreading through him. Why was she still sitting here? Why wasn't she running away? She should have been running away, promise or no promise. And yet she stayed... she chose to stay. Why?

There were very few situations that could make Mateo feel uncertain. He had been trained from an early age how to keep his head in just about any situation. But no one had ever taught him how to deal with this. He knew she didn't trust him, possibly didn't even like him, and yet... here she was. And he couldn't deny it any longer... he wanted her. She was Dante Santino's girlfriend; she was Mateo's prisoner... she was off limits. And yet he wanted her.

To distract himself from the nearly overpowering urge to press his lips to hers, Teo continued to eat his ice cream cone, but he couldn't tear his eyes from hers.

"Thank you," he said at last.