The reviews for the last chapter of Terrified were amazing and overwhelming. 16 for one! Phew, you guys must love me. Now remember, this is only supposed to be 10 chapters long; 3000 words for each up until ten, which will be around 5000-7000. Somewhere around there. Plus, chapter 10 is going to be an epilogue which I am already planning out, so please be prepared for more to come.

Reviews will be very much appreciated. Please constructive criticism and no burning! Let's get Terrified up to 32! Come on you guys can do it!

Disclaimer: I am no way affiliated with Lucy or Ian. This is simply an innocent story about friendship, love, and honesty.

Terrified: Chapter 2

What Lies 13,000 Miles in the Sky

Maybe I should let you go,
You know I'll fight my corner,
And that tonight I'll call ya,
After my blood is drowning in alcohol,
No I just wanna hold ya.

~"Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran

Ian didn't know what was better, being alone with Lucy for the first time in months or being alone with her for the first time in months thirteen thousand miles in the sky. He loved the way that they were perfectly comfortable with one another to be alone together for an entire weekend. Their friendship meant the world to Ian and he didn't plan on screwing that up between them; even if they could possibly return to Los Angeles with everything in shambles. He was willing to take this huge leap into the unknown and risk everything just to make sure that he may have a chance to be with Lucy.

It was too early in the morning for him to start thinking such things; they boarded the plane at six thirty with only Starbucks' coffee in their empty bellies. Luckily, they were able to get such an early flight on a Friday morning. He was sure that someone would recognize them from the show and even though he loved his fans more than anything else, he didn't want any time wasted with Lucy. He had to use every spare moment to his advantage. He wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

Lucy had been quiet all morning. Obviously, her argument with Chris had shaken her to the core and when Ian had picked her up at her apartment, she hardly said a thing besides a mumble that he'd translated as a greeting. He knew that she wasn't happy with how she left things before the weekend, but Ian would soon have her forget it. Her relationship would be the last thing on her mind by the time that they were in Detroit. He was determined to make her happier than she was. He loved her too much to see her so miserable. Though he was miserable almost every day by seeing the woman he loved with someone else; it was like life was sucked out of him every time that he saw her with Chris. He would rather die a hundred times than seeing them together in a photo one more time.

He looked over at Lucy who was sleeping. He smiled as she snored softly, her breathing soft and effortless. He wondered what she was dreaming about; was she dreaming about him? About her relationship with a guy whom Ian didn't approve of by any means? Whatever was happening beneath her eyelids was obviously peaceful to her. He hadn't seen her this calm and childlike in five months. Now that he thought about it, she hadn't been carefree since she started seeing Chris. Ian couldn't help but wonder if she even wanted to be with the twenty seven year old actor. They didn't seem to have any chemistry or anything in common. Not as much as he and Lucy did; besides the fact that he was more of a private person and that she liked going out a lot, they shared almost all the same interests. That was why he needed to make her see that he was better for her.

Out of nowhere, Lucy leaned over and laid her head on Ian's shoulder, her soft lips pressed into his blue t-shirt, murmuring softly in her sleep. Her shoulder-length hair brushed against his upper arm, causing goose bumps to rise on the surface. He could feel her heartbeat against him and for some reason, it soothed him. It was like a mother's murmuring to her child's cry. He wished he could have frozen the moment right there. He took out his iPhone with a glance around to make sure that no flight attendants were nearby and unlocked the camera. He smiled slightly as he laid his head on top of hers and quickly snapped the photo. What he captured took his breath away. They looked like a couple by the way that they had posed. Not two best friends on a weekend trip.

A couple.

Suddenly, Lucy picked up her head, blinking the sleep out of her hazel eyes. Ian quickly slid his phone back into his backpack and then stretched as if to pretend he'd been asleep as well, "Hey there, Goose? Are you finally awake?" Her hair was a mess and she wasn't wearing any makeup, but honestly, she still easily took his breath away more and more every second he gazed at her.

She yawned as she nodded, "I think so." She looked out the window next to her, stretching out her cramped and petite shoulders before she turned back to her castmate beside her, "How long was I out for?"

He shrugged, "You closed your eyes as soon as we were in the air and by the position of the sun, I'm guessing that it is around ten o' clock. So, you've been asleep for three hours, more or less." He smirked as he nudged her affectionately, "I'm just glad that the snoring finally stopped. I'm sure all of the other passengers feel the same way."

Her eyes narrowed and she punched his shoulder, "You ass! I don't snore. I've told you that before!" The blow that she had bestowed on him didn't hurt; she was barely 5'2 and weighed less than a hundred and ten pounds, "Anyways, at least you don't have to look at your face when you wake up. It's like a nightmare followed me into real life."

"Wow, thanks, Luce. I should file a restraining order against you because of all the verbal abuse I have to take from you and Holly every day." Ian rolled his eyes and dug a book out of his carryon bag. The China Study was one of his books on diets and long-term health. It had gotten him thinking the year before about his well being and that he should start taking better care of his body. Now, he was trying to put on some muscle in addition to eating being healthier. He was actually going to go work out with Shay Mitchell the following Saturday. It wasn't like he was obsessed with his looks or anything; he was just trying to stay healthy. Some of his fans took it as he having low confidence; maybe he did, but why not give it a boost by working out three times a week? He wanted to live a healthy lifestyle.

Lucy ducked her head to see the title of the novel and she rolled her eyes, her long eyelashes batting, "Ian, I swear, you're worse than most women when it comes to eating healthy."

He looked up and bit the inside of his cheek, his jaw tightening, "You're starting to sound a lot like my fans. I'm not 'obsessed'. I am purely trying to stay out of the way of being diagnosed with diabetes."

"Please. Ian, I have a higher chance of getting diabetes than you do." She took The China Study from him and sat on it, "There. Now try to get this away from me."

"Tempting, but I'll pass, thank you." He glared at her, but ended up laughing at the funny face that she made in response, her cheeks puffed out like she was a chipmunk. He sighed and looked at her with unreadable dark blue eyes, smoldering a pool of indigo lava, "You're impossible to be made at, you know that right?"

"Well, a girl can only try!" She giggled, her cheeks flushing a light pink, "Now shut up as I try and boost your low self confidence." They shared a chuckle before she continued, "Shmian, you're a good looking guy with a great body and an amazing diet. You don't need to change for anybody." Her tone changed into a beautiful melody and his eyes widen as she began to sing a song that was unfamiliar to his ears; he could listen to her sing all day. No wonder she just got signed for a record deal, "You're insecure. Don't know what for. You're turning heads when you walk through the door." Her cheeks darkened as she lowered her voice, "Baby, you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed. And when you smile at the ground, it ain't hard to tell that you don't you're beautiful. And that's what makes you beautiful."

An awkward silence set between them in the still air of the airplane. Lucy looked out the window in embarrassment of saying such things in a way as she just did, her head resting against the glass. Ian didn't know whether to be flattered or worried. What if she felt the same way as he did for her? He shook the thought out of his head. The way he felt for Lucy Hale was more like hate/love kind of thing. He hated to love her because it always ended up hurting only him. Maybe moving on would be the wisest decision. Just treat this weekend as any other one: two best friends spending quality time together.

Ian sighed and played with the band of the watch on his right wrist, his wavy dark hair falling over his forehead in a mess, No. I'm not giving this opportunity up. If she does feel the same way and I push her away, I'll lose her. I don't want that to happen. I'm in too deep with her now. I have to make her see that there is a future for her with me if she wishes for it. He glanced over at his best friend, watching as she gazed out the window beside her. The way that the early summer sunlight hit her face made an old familiar ache enter the cavity of his chest. He was so used it, it was only a numb feeling, Where there is love, there is pain in the words of the old Spanish proverb and I'm willing to endure it until I have her fall in love with me.

No matter what the cost.

"Hey, Ian?" Lucy called out from behind the shower curtain of their hotel room in the small Novi hotel. They were going to stay at the four and a half starred Crowne Plaza just outside the huge city that was Detroit for ninety dollars for that one night, split between the two of them. They had gone to the Twelve Oaks Mall to pick up some souvenirs to take back to LA with them on Sunday night and returned by eight in the evening. After dinner in the hotel restaurant, they went immediately up to the hotel room. The time change had the both of them whooped and they were going to turn in early for their four hour drive to Toronto the following day.

She was just getting out of the shower when she realized that she'd left the folded up towels on the table next to the plasma screen television. She could hear it from outside the bathroom; from what it sounded like, Ian was watching Girls, which was his favorite show apart from Glee. He was laughing and she shook her head desperately at the way he was such an adult baby.

She stepped out from the tub, her brunette hair dripping drops of warm water down her bare tanned back as she reached over and grabbed her iPhone. She quickly texted Ian in desperation:

Ian! I need you. Grab me a towel. I'm completely naked in the bathroom.

She quickly sent it and soon she heard his familiar ringtone that he'd set for her number. She heard him chuckle and footsteps as he neared the bathroom, calling out, "Lucy, you call me a dork and then you do something like this." He turned the knob the door and cracked it open just enough for her head to poke through. His hand held the long white towel in his grasp and he stretched it out to her.

"Thanks, Shmian." She shot a smile at him and then her mind finally registered the fact that he was only wearing his khakis from earlier that day, sagging a bit to reveal his navy blue boxers. His shirt was nowhere to be seen, revealing his chest and stomach. Since he'd recently shot a robe scene for the show, not much of his curly black chest hair was present, but his subtle yet still noticeable abs were there. She didn't know why he wasn't confident in himself. She'd meant what she had said on the plane earlier; she truly thought that he was a good looking guy. Her cheeks flushed red as she continued to eye him.

Ian didn't notice like the typical male normally would. The only recognition he gave her was a nod in response and then he headed back to the bed, plopping down on his stomach, his arms entangling the pillow and hugging it to his body. She continued to stare at him for a couple of moments, his shoulders gleaming back at her in the faint fluorescent light. Finally, she divvied up enough will power to close the door and wrapped the towel around her wet body. She looked in the mirror as she gripped the marble sink counter, her petite shoulders sagged. She was blushing a deep tomato red and the more and more she looked at her reflection, the darker they got.

Lucy didn't exit the bathroom for ten minutes for two reasons: reason one being she had to get ready to settle down for the night and reason two being that she needed to regain some of her self control for when she went out to join her best friend and castmate. She didn't want him to think that she was obsessed with him by staring at him for far too long. Finally, when she regained some composure and finished getting ready, she cleaned up the mess she'd made and stepped out of the bathroom with the white towel draped over her shoulders.

Ian must have fallen asleep, his long and gangly legs hanging over the edge of the one king sized bed of the suite. His shoulders fell and rose in a smooth rhythm of tranquility, the smooth skin of his back tanned and dark in the dim lighting of the room. Her heart began to hammer as she went to the other side of the mattress, settling beneath the quilt. He stirred and looked up with drowsy blue eyes. He smiled sweetly, "Well, that was a nice cat nap?" He narrowed his gaze at her, "Turning in early?"

She nodded, "It would be easier to get settled if you would move your big ass feet." She giggled as he immediately swiveled around, turning down the volume of HBO as he settled in beside her underneath the bedspread. This wasn't weird for them; they'd stayed the night at one another's apartments before, even though they'd never slept in the same bed before.

He raised a wiry eyebrow at her, stretching out his shoulders with a large yawn, "Well, I guess this is goodnight." He leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead, lips lingering for a millisecond before he immediately sprung away, "Um, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Um, goodnight. See you in the morning, I guess."

She didn't say anything and just gave him a slight nod as she switched off the nightstand lamp, her head turning toward the window of the balcony of the hotel suite. She listened as Ian sighed and mumbled something unintelligible beneath his breath, directed at himself. She looked over her shoulder and watched him close his eyes, his body relaxing. He looked like a young teenager with his wavy hair falling over his forehead, his chest rising and falling as he sank into a light sleep. His right arm was behind his head as a neck support, revealing his ribs beneath the thin white sheet of the large bed.

Despite her conscious and better judgment, she turned over and snuggled closer to him, her head finding a place on his chest. He startled, his eyes shooting open. She pressed a finger to his lips, whispering, "Shhhh. Don't say anything. I just want to do something. Just stay just how you are." That was when she stretched up to press her lips to his.

She would have thought that after all the times they'd kissed for the show that this kiss wouldn't be any different. In some ways, it wasn't, but this time it was new. Ian kissed Lucy with urgency, his lips harsher than they usually were. His fingers fluttered at her neck as the embrace deepened, his tongue struggling to probe her mouth open to allow him entrance and to be able to explore it. Meanwhile, she kept her hands on his stomach, outlining the contour lines that were engraved in the skin of his lower torso. The kiss lasted for about forty five seconds longer than she'd intended it to be, but she didn't want it to end.

Finally they broke away, both breathless. They didn't say anything more as a heavy silence settled in the air conditioned room air. Lucy watched as Ian sighed with what seemed to be relief mixed with happiness and his blue eyes blinked heavily at her one last time before they shuttered sleep for the night. She smiled and snuggled closer to him, her hand finding his and she entangled their fingers in a mess of skin. At that moment, she didn't want it to end, but nothing could remain forever. She closed her eyes and settled closer to him, her breathing matching up to his.

Only before she was about to be fully asleep did she realize what she'd just done.

Crap.