“Ooh, he looks cute,” Tayla said, pointing.

“Where?”

“That one over there, with the blue coat.” she turned my body in the right direction, still pointing. “See him? He's buying a drink from that machine.”

“How can you know that he's cute by looking at his back?” I questioned skeptically, for all I could see of the guy was a long back hunched over, and a pair of faded jeans.

“I saw him when he was facing us. Just wait 'til he turns around,” Tayla insisted. But i never got the chance. Once the man had straightened, now with a SoBe in his hand, he walked away from us – toward a lady holding a toddler. When he got close enough, she smiled and kissed his lips.

“Well, there goes that,” I said, disappointed.

“Don't worry, there's gotta be one cute, single guy in this whole mall!” Tayla exclaimed, holding out her hands like she expected to catch rain. The movement made her long, strawberry-blonde hair ripple behind her.

I laughed at her open show, not caring who saw us. “Tayla, you're gonna get us in trouble is you talk so loud it echoes,” I said, still smiling.

“Psh! You know as well as I do that the only security here is that old guy that stalks the teenagers until they do something stupid!” Tayla shot back, her voice bouncing around the high walls and ceiling. This only made me laugh all over again.

“Come on, you. Let's come back tomorrow, I don't think there's any potential--” I was cut off while turning around by someone -- A guy, I think – who ran head-on into me. “Uh...” I said dumbly, while he shouted and held a hand to his head. For a second, I believed that I had regained my balance. But, then I could only watch as the world seemed to pitch sideways, burst into color, and then quickly fade black.