Remember. Addie, you have to remember!

              Remember? Remember what?

                Try Addie. Try to remember. Jump into the unknown….and remember….

Morning dawned bright and early, but of course I slept through most of it, and would have slept through all of it, had not my blasted alarm clock started blaring, making me sit up suddenly. I glanced around wildly until I found the source of that shrill beeeeep,  beeeep, beeeep! Glaring murderously at the quite loud for an inanimate object that had gotten my heart palpitating like crazy, I considered ripping the plug savagely out of the wall and hurling it with all possible speed out of the window before I decided to sullenly turn it off.

Groggily, I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. I was wracked with yawns as I proceeded to take a hot, muscle-relaxing shower. The hot water woke me up and soon, I was bright-eyed and ready to take on the world.

I put on my favorite tiffany blue blouse (the back was made up of intricate lace designs that revealed my starch white tank beneath). I wore some comfortable dark, blue denim jeans and pulled on some flats with brown, pink, and blue straps that laced them to my feet. The straps were even decorated with small crystal butterflies.

I was in such a good mood, and happy to just be home. I knew I'd never take home for granted ever again. Shambling down the stairs, I gazed over at my sofa where Alan was sprawled. His breathing was even and his face relaxed and serene.

As I took a closer look at the sleeping demon, I realized with some shock, that he didn't look so intimidating when he was asleep. It was a pity he couldn't look like he did now, all the time. But then, he really wasn't intimidating yesterday when I'd gotten him hooked on pop tarts. The memory of it made me chuckle quietly to myself, as I remembered his wide, delighted eyes, and his larger-than-life smile.

But he apparently heard me laugh, because one of his dark eyes, so dark it was unreal, opened and eyed me almost resentfully as if he didn't appreciate my waking him up.

"And what were you staring at me while I was sleeping for?" Alan opened the other eye but made no move to sit up.

The moment he cracked his first eye open, I jumbled back in shock and it was only then that I realized how close I'd been to him...just short of kissable close.

"I was about to wake you up." I clarified feeling my cheeks heating up.

"Ah." he sat up slowly, deliberately never taking his eyes off my face. His hair was messy and disheveled, his clothes rumpled, but he still managed to look like a freaking runway model. "So you needed to get close enough to kiss me in order to wake me up?" he smiled suggestively.

"I was NOT going to--!" I shouted, "That is I would never....oh! Just go get dressed in something decent so we can go to school." I turned away griping at him under my breath.

"Are you implying that I'm dressed indecently?"

My face flushed hotter than before and I turned back to face him. "Wrong choice of words." I mumbled. "Just get ready for the day, ok?"

"I look fine in whatever I wear." the demon replied with the smug confidence that truth always brings to those who revel in it. He glanced down at his silky black robe, secured loosely around his waist and back up at me as if to say "So there."

"Well it's not okay for school," I turned my back on him realizing it would be dangerous for me if I let myself stare at him too long and practically bolted to the kitchen.

"Whatever." I heard him mutter, and a moment later the springs on the sofa groaned slightly indicating that he'd stood up.

"Well," I threw over my shoulder, "It's not like I care if you go to school or not. You can go work on your demon-princely duties or whatever it is you have to do, if you need, I have more dramas in the drawers under the TV. I might be back late. There's pop tarts in the cupboard over the rice-cooker if you want any more." I snatched up a yogurt and practically guzzled the thing as I flipped through my school bag to make sure I had all my necessary utensils.

"You do realize you're rambling," Alan said and I almost jumped out of my skin because he was standing right behind me as he said it. I hadn't even heard him approach.

"What are you doing? You nearly gave me a heart attack." I cried, scurrying around the table so that I had something solid between him and me.

"I don't want to go to school." Alan stated as though he hadn't heard my remark. Alan looked at me as though to make sure I'd understood what he'd just said. His robe was slightly lopsided so part of his chest was exposed; it was smooth and muscular.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to raise my eyes to his hypnotically, deceptive dark ones. Crap! This is worse! I realized. His eyes seemed to pull me in, made my mind go into some kind of trance...I mentally shook myself and glanced away, through sheer willpower.

Not wanting to give him the hint that I found him dangerously captivating, I replied as casually as I could manage, "Well I told you I didn't care if you went to school or not. I'll just go to school without you. There. Everybody's happy."

"But you can't." Alan said.

"What? Why not?"

"Because you have to stay with me at all times. All the other princes made the same flawed mistake when they had you in their possession. They left you alone. Whenever you're left alone, it gives another demon the chance to jump in and spirit you away and I can't have that happen to my future bride now can I? That would make me an irresponsible husband."

Although he stated it matter of factly, as if discussing the weather, there was a dark, foreboding, almost threatening feel to his words. I stared at him. I liked him better when he'd been cute and funny and addicted to dramas and sweets. This serious side of him was...scary for lack of a better term. His dark eyes bored intensely into mine and I received the full power of his dangerous stare; I was trapped in his gaze. I couldn't move or even think coherently enough to speak. He could have done anything to me. Hurt me, kidnapped me back to his dark realms and I wouldn't have been able to do anything. I wouldn't have even wanted to resist.

Then suddenly, his burning stare turned playful and right before my eyes, he transformed into his cute, patronizingly mischievous self from yesterday.

"Now. Let's eat pop tarts for breakfast, and ditch school so we can go shopping! Apparently I need something decent to wear." he grinned cheekily at me but I couldn't return his grin.

I'd seen or thought I'd seen his demon side dangerously close to the surface a moment ago. Now he'd suddenly shut it away and put on a playful mask. I could never truly be at ease when I saw that cute and innocent expression because I now realized that it hid something darker (and far more ter