Hi all. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the wonderful replies. They encouraged me to complete this chapter as quickly as I could. Matthew's got it pretty bad in this chapter. Still he and Destiny are doing their best to navigate all of their personal issues. Hope you enjoy. (BTW, I'd love more of those replies.)

Chapter 2 – On the Right Path

Matthew paid extra attention to his appearance as he got ready for school. In a couple of hours, he would see Destiny for the first time since they kissed…or rather since he kissed her. When they spoke on the phone the night before she admitted the kiss was nice, even if she did say it couldn't happen again. He would have been heartbroken if he thought she meant it, but he knew she was just scared. The truth was he'd been a knucklehead in the past, overlooking her for every skinny blonde that caught his eye. But in the last year, he'd been through a lot and for some reason she'd stood by him. Now, she was the most important person in the world to him …and the most beautiful.

For the first time in weeks, he was glad to see his dad sitting at the table sipping his coffee. Typically, his dad left early for the police station, but apparently being the police commissioner had its perks. Although he wished his brother David were here instead, he'd have to settle for his dad.

"Hey Dad." He poured himself a glass of orange juice, mostly so he would have an excuse to sit.

"Hey Matthew," Bo smiled. "What's new?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything Son, shoot."

Matthew took a deep breath. He hoped his dad would answer his question without asking too many of his own. He also hoped he would answer the question before his mom woke up. "What do you do if you want a girl to know you really like her?"

"Anybody I know?"

Instead of answering, he sighed loudly. As soon as Destiny changed her mind about him romantically, he'd be more than happy to tell his dad about his feelings for her. For now, he'd hold back, just in case Darren was more persistent than he anticipated.

Bo responded to his silence with a chuckle. "Okay, okay…I supposed you might give her some flowers...maybe a single rose…in her favorite color…whoever the mystery woman is." As Matthew mulled over his father's words, Bo stood and patted him on the back. "You know whatever you do, the most important thing is that it comes from your heart."

His dad was right; he needed to show Destiny that he was serious about how he felt about her.

"Matthew."

"Yeah Dad?"

"I've noticed Destiny wears purple a lot; I think it might be her favorite color."

Matthew dropped his head. Sometimes having a cop for a dad sucked. Then again, if he was right about the flower, it might not be so bad. "Th…thanks Dad."

Matthew could barely get through first period because he typically saw Destiny right after at her locker, which was located outside of his classroom. Sure enough, as soon as he exited the room, he saw Destiny, Nate and Danielle at Destiny's locker. While it was true that he'd rather not have to deal with Nate or Danielle right now, he needed to see Destiny to make sure they were okay.

"Hey." His eyes focused only on Destiny.

"Hi Matthew."

"Dani…Nate." Although he wasn't particularly fond of Danielle or Nate, he acknowledged them because he knew it would make Destiny happy. They responded with barely audible greetings themselves.

"Des, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Destiny nodded while Danielle and Nate made themselves scarce. When they were out of earshot, Destiny asked, "What is it Matthew?"

He took a deep breath. The trouble with Destiny was that she always told the truth; it was also her absolute perfection. If she didn't like what he had to say, she would tell him. The same was true if she didn't buy it.

"Well Matthew, what did you want to talk to me about?"

He had practiced a million speeches in his head about how he was sorry for being such an idiot in the past. But now, his words failed him. So, instead, he reached in his backpack and pulled out the single long stem purple rose that was still wrapped in paper by the florist. He handed it to Destiny.

"What is it?"

"It's me showing you that I'm done being an idiot."

Destiny smiled, but before she could respond, Darren interrupted. "Destiny, will you please talk to me? I've been going crazy without you."

Matthew stared at Darren with disbelief. "Uh Darren, Destiny and I were kind of in the middle of something."

"What are you, Destiny's boyfriend all of a sudden?"

"You damn sure aren't." He and Darren had been friends once, but now, Darren was his competition and Destiny was a prize Matthew was determined to win.

Before Darren could speak again, Destiny turned to her back to him and faced Matthew. "Matthew, you're not helping." He felt the hair on the back of his neck rise until she continued. "Why don't you go to class and we can finish what we were talking about during lunch at the Buenos Dias."

Although Matthew took it as a good sign that Destiny suggested an impromptu lunch, by lunchtime, he was on pins and needles. He wondered why Destiny chose to talk to Darren, yet sent him away. He relaxed as he saw her enter alone, holding the unwrapped purple rose.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," she smiled before she slid into the booth. Instead, of sitting across from him, she sat next to him. Still, she seemed almost shy, the way she had when he kissed her. "The rose is beautiful."

"So are you."

"You don't have to say that."

"It's true." Now, he was blushing. "I guess I learned how to walk before I learned how to see."

To his surprise she kissed his cheek. A gentle silence fell over the table. After Carlotta took their order, Matthew decided to ask Destiny something that had been on his mind. "Des, why did you want to talk to Darren instead of me, earlier?"

She smiled. "Matthew Buchanan, do you know how many times I have found someone kissing someone when they were supposed to be kissing someone else? I wanted to make sure Darren understood that we were no longer together."

For a moment, he processed what she said. "Does that mean you plan on kissing someone else?"

"Maybe."

He looked at her and saw she was smiling. And for the first time since he kissed her the day before, he felt as though he could breathe. After another pause, he decided to push his luck a little further. "The Valentine's Day dance is coming up soon."

"Same time every year."

Wow, he thought to himself, she really is going to make me work hard. No matter, he was up to the challenge. "So, do you want to be my date?"

"Duh, why do you think I had to have a conversation with Darren?" She shook her head at him in disgust. "What am I going to do with you, Matthew?"

The two chuckled. As they finished their lunches, he could tell something was on her mind. He knew she would tell him if he gave her space. After a few minutes, she spoke again, "My parents want to have dinner with me tomorrow night. Shaun thinks I should go."

"How do you feel about it?"

"I don't know. I still can't believe they lied to me my entire life, but part of me feels like I should at least hear what they have to say."

"I can go with you, if you want."

"I want. Dinner is at the Palace tomorrow night."

Noticing the time, they headed back to school. Against Destiny's advice, Matthew insisted he needed to go to Buchanan Enterprises after school to see his Uncle Clint. Although his parents told him to resign the day before, his uncle refused to accept his resignation. Now that he knew that Clint purposely deceived him, he was determined to find out what else he was hiding.

No sooner than he arrived, he headed to his Uncle Clint's office. He figured it would be best to put on a smile and greet his uncle. The door was slightly ajar and he could hear his uncle talking on the telephone.

"What do you mean one of the guards let Vickers use his phone? How do you plan on dealing with this?" His uncle let someone explain something. "If anyone finds out that I'm behind Vickers being held, I'm coming after you." Clint slammed the telephone onto the handset.

It was worse than Matthew imagined. Uncle Clint, the man he'd practically worshipped for the last few months, was holding his brother hostage. And for what, to get back at his dad? He should have known David wouldn't leave Dorian at the altar a second time.

Matthew waited a few moments and entered Clint's office. He then told Clint that even though his parents told him to quit, he would tell them he had basketball practice and continue to come to BE. Uncle Clint seemed to be pleased by Matthew's defiance of his parents' wishes.

That night before he went to bed, he called Destiny. "Des, it's worse than I thought, Uncle Clint is holding David somewhere."

"What? That's crazy. Where is he?"

"I don't know. I have to keep going there until I find out."

"Matthew, shouldn't you tell your parents? Your dad is the Police Commissioner, after all."

"If I tell my parents, they'll confront my Uncle Clint and he'll hide where David is. Uncle Clint trusts me, so I have to be the one to find David."

"Let me know if you need my help. After all, David and I are besties."

"I thought I was your best friend?" He teased her. He was well aware of the unusual friendship Destiny shared with his brother and he didn't mind it a bit. David would be one of the few people who would be happy that they were a couple…assuming they really were a couple by the time they found him.

"I guess David and I are second besties then."

The two chatted a while longer before they said goodnight. Thirty seconds later, Matthew redialed Destiny's telephone number.

"Matthew, we just hung up. Why did you call back?"

"I wasn't ready to stop hearing your voice. " He smiled. This time she would know how much she meant to him.

"Goodnight Matthew," she giggled. He loved her giggle. "Goodnight, Des." He hung up the phone then said quietly, "I love you."