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"Darsy? Did you get a tattoo?" Jackson suddenly asked.

"WHAT? What are you talking about?"

He gave me a cellphone so I could use it as a mirror and showed me a little spot behind my ear that I did not remember. It was noticeable only at close distance as it was hidden behind my hair. I tried to erase it but failed.

"I must have accidentally drawn it with a pen."

"That's some permanent pen…" Jackson frowned. He was extremely conservative and did not approve tattoos.

"I would remember if I got a tattoo. Let's play?"

Frisbee was our favorite game since junior school. That's how we actually met – a frisbee hit me on the head during my first lunch in the schoolyard. And it was Jackson who threw it. Since then, we mastered the art of this game and could participate in the Olympic games, if it was an Olympic sport.

As soon as we started playing, I was distracted by a familiar silhouette a hundred meters from us, and a frisbee hit me on the forehead, just like in our first meeting.

"Darsy, are you okay?" Jackson was worried.

"Yes. I'll be right back. I'll just go refresh myself…"

I clenched my fists in annoyance. It was my first normal day this week, and Eugene decided to ruin it with his presence.

"What're you doing here?" I hissed.

"Keeping an eye on you," Eugene answered calmly. He lazily leaned against the tree and looked around.

"It doesn't look like that. We've agreed to go hunting at night. There's plenty of time, and I'd like some privacy with my boyfriend with no supervision."

"I don't bother you. I keep a respectable distance not to make you nervous. I'm not going anywhere. I'm on a mission."

"I don't give a damn about your mission! Get lost! Don't you need to take a nap or something?"

"I don't waste time on sleeping."

I was getting furious. Eugene was not willing to compromise.

"We've agreed to meet in the evening and go hunting or whatever it's called. Right? How about midnight? If I got it right it's the time when the evil spirits get down to business…"

"Ironically, Nefarious, Murky Shadows, Demons and demigods are always among the people, regardless of the time of a day. And you can be attacked at any suitable moment. And this hasn't happened yet simply because they're afraid to be erased since you stay in public places all the time. So, whatever you say, I'm staying. If it makes you feel any better, I'm watching the perimeter but not you. Just relax."

"It's hard when I know there's a babysitter nearby," I muttered.

"I don't like this as well. But my duty is to protect you now, and only the Commander assigning this mission can call me off," Eugene pulled a face, making it clear that the debate was over. This fellow has not even looked at me for the entire conversation. This was rather annoying because it seemed like I was nothing. "By the way, it's too late to meet at midnight, so we'll meet as soon as it gets dark.* You still have to train."

"I can't make it earlier. I got things to do. No later than 11 p.m. I can't just disappear in the middle of the night with no explanation. People will start asking questions."

"Okay. Let it be at 11 p.m. and not a minute later. If I don't find you outside, I'll come and get you out of bed, even if you're naked."

"Dare to try, and I'll kill you."

I did not see his expression, but I heard him mumbling, which I understood nothing. I was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. I needed to deal fast with this debt that was imposed against my will and get back to normal life without Guardians, who watched my every step, and hovering around supernatural creature. I could only hope that the memories of the past and subsequent days would be erased after all these events.

I was no longer willing to go on playing frisbee, and I sadly threw pebbles into the pond, mumbling something to myself.

"Darsy, are you okay? Did anyone was rude to you?" my boyfriend was worried.

"No. Everything is fine! I'm just getting more nervous…"

There was nothing else to say. Jackson silently hugged me, and so we stayed until the gorgeous sunset. The sky was colored in red and purple, and the last rays reflected from the glass surface of skyscrapers, creating a colorful rainbow. You could even feel its smell in the air if this natural phenomenon had any smell.

"It's time to go home!" I said sadly when the sun was all the way down the horizon and colored the sky in dull grey.

I still felt like being tailed. It was like paranoia that had grounds. I could only hope that the watcher would not follow us to the apartment.

I called my Mom and waited for her to answer. My little sister picked up the phone. She was not offended, though she often liked to be a little weepy. Mother did a great job and persuaded Mary to get used to things the way they were and would be from now on.

After the bedtime story, I started to get nervous. Jackson often stayed up late working on the project. And I really needed him to go to bed earlier today. I did not have to puzzle over a certain plan for it because I had one option that worked perfectly. Ten minutes later, Jackson was already snoring and should have been sleeping until the morning. Usually, he was sound asleep after sex, and it was impossible to wake him up even with a shovel. So, not caring about noisy, I quickly got dressed and went downstairs, and only then I realized that Eugene and I did not discuss the meeting place.

Looking around and seeing absolutely nothing in the pitch darkness, I went to the only lighted street, so he could find me.

"And I was about to pick you up!" Eugene appeared from nowhere. He just emerged from the air.

"What? How did you?"

"Haven't I mentioned that I can become invisible if needed? It's the main gift of the Guardians. That's how we can guard the reliquiae and creatures while remaining unnoticed."

"So, in the park, you just wanted to piss me off?"