Hey there! Again! First off, thank you again for checking my little story out, for following it and such, and thanks to StarlaMay for being the second person to review! So this chapter takes place about a year or so after the last chapters, mostly because that was the day they first met and well, if I write about them day by day, I'd have a million chapters. So, here we are! Oh, and in case it's not clear, these two didn't start romantically right away. You'll notice as time goes on that they both had to help the other rebuild themselves before this could happen. Aahhh, what insight adulthood brings.

Anyway, on with the story and thank you for reading!

Undetermined amount of lapsed time…

"Well? Are you coming?"

"You still haven't told me where you're taking me"

"That's for me to know and you to figure out"

"I don't trust you"

"Eh. Neither do I"

"You make NO sense, do you know that?"

"It's aaaaall part of the mystery"

It went on like this for a couple minutes, our banter. After a while I thought she was stalling because she really didn't trust me, or really didn't want to go. But eventually, she caved.

"Fucking hell. Fine! Let's go then! Shall I call a taxi or have you done that already too?"

She's referring to me making plans for us without letting her know she had plans until the last minute. Oops.

"Stop being a bugger! Just 'cause you're adorable when you pretend to be peeved doesn't mean you're going to get your way Miss Fitch"

'

'

Yesterday

The truth, she really is fucking adorable. To me. ALL. THE. TIME. It's been like this since the day we met. And it's funny too because just the other day some old lady heard our playful banter and told us we were the 'most adorable couple she's ever seen'. I didn't think there could have been a brighter color of crimson on Emily's face without it leaving her with a permanent tan. So when she turned to look at me after this crazy lady's sudden 'observation', all I could think of to do was smile. As soon as I got confirmation from her in the form of another blush and a nervous smile in return, that's when I did it. At first, I didn't even know I was doing it. But after a few seconds I realized what I'd done and it was my turn to perma-tan my face. I had leaned over to her and kissed her temple. I must've meant to do it, but it still left me shaky and nervous, like I had just asked a girl to prom in front of her boyfriend.

"What was that for?"

Shrug and become entranced with your converse. Do it!

"Hey? It's okay you know"

What's okay? ...Don't ask me, ask her you dummy!

"What's okay?"

"That you kissed me"

"...Oh"

"I hope you do it again one day"

Wait, what? NO NOT TO ME! SPEAK! TO HER!

"You want me to kiss you again?"

Nod.

"Why?"

"Because I like you"

"You do?"

"Wow, you ask a lot of questions"

"Only when I'm having trouble understanding"

"Cheeky!"

"I'm being serious! My professor has literally almost thrown me out of class FOUR times this week because I ask so many questions! I think he's even started to ignore me ON PURPOSE" I let out a small gasp for effect.

"Ugh! Fine. I like you okay? You make me laugh profusely, you brought me and my family - who by the way you'd never met before - THE most amazing breakfast before you even knew our last name, you somehow managed to get my sister - the ice queen - to hug you, in that same day! And I turn into a 16 year old fan girl when I'm around you. Oh, and EVERY time I Skype with my family, my dad and sister INSIST on talking to you. That has NEVER happened. Especially when Katie practically bounces in her chair waiting for you to talk to her"

"...oh"

"Really? That's it? God you are s-"

The only thing I could do in that moment was press my lips onto hers. She was going on and on, and she gave me permission, so why not? Well for starters, I was far from prepared for the fireworks that exploded in not only my body; but also my brain. Her lips were so soft, that I nearly crumbled to the ground. It would've happened too, if it wasn't for the fact that she had finally caught on to what was happening, and held me in place by wrapping her arms around my shoulders and folding her hands along the back of my neck. I swear, she saved my life by doing that. God knows what gooey New York filth I could've collapsed into causing me an early death. I pulled away to see if what I'd done was okay, but when I was able to focus my vision on her face, I saw her eyes still closed. It was as if she was in a daze, and if we were in a cartoon I'm sure there would have been stars popping out from behind her head and birds chirping millimeters from her face. When she came back down to earth, she just simply opened her eyes, looked into mine, and smiled. I smirked back, because let's face it. I just dazed the shit out of the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on. So it came as no surprise that the next thing on my mind was: I'll show her tomorrow.

'

'

Present Day

"No, we're going to take the Subway. It's not far, I promise. You'll love it!"

So. Here's the plan. I've been hired to be the opening act for a new up-and-coming band that's playing in Central Park later on today. I was already there earlier doing my sound check and setting up my equipment so that I could spend the day with Emily at the festival before having to go on stage and do my set. I know, some of you are wondering how all of the sudden I went from wandering around like a transient at night, unable to play an expensive new guitar I had bought, to playing a live set in front of hundreds of strangers. Well the answer is simple, Emily Fitch. We have been roommates for well over a year, almost going on two now, and little by little she has been able to make me whole again. She helped me heal, she helped me rediscover my passions and goals, and most importantly, she got me to play music. And not just in general, she somehow managed to get me to play FOR her. She has magic powers. Anyway, so I'm going to take her to the festival, buy us a bag of fresh doughnuts, and walk around checking out some of the booths. You see, this isn't just any festival. It's put on by the Child Protection organizations focused on troubled youth. They bring around hundreds of teens in foster care and plunk 'em down for the day, in the middle of the giant park, with a bunch of fun things to do. I used to help run these once upon a time. There is going to be a booth there set up by one of my old friends with information about the various positions that Children's Services need filled, and the kind of things the jobs include. Emily has told me that she got into Psychology because she wants to help kids, so I thought this would be a cool thing to bring her to.

"You know, the movies make New York subways look glamorous, but they're really no different than the ones back in London. The only difference is the words used in the graffiti" She points to one with the words 'Go fuck yourself George Bush' and explains that in London she saw something similar, but instead said 'George Bush wanks to gay porn'.

"Well, sometimes people around here think that Brit's are more sophisticated because of their accents, but in reality they are just funnier than Americans".

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I think British humor is funnier" I say simply.

"Huh. You learn something new every day"

She winks at me and smiles, and a few moments after that we've found the cleanest seats we could find and sit down. Then, she takes my hand in hers and places it on her lap. It's the simplest of gestures but she has no idea that it makes my heart jump into a million different directions at once. Once we arrive at our stop, I stand up and she does the same. She doesn't let go of my hand though, and the heat permeating from my hands would be enough to melt the polar ice caps. "Come on" I say, "It's just up the street". We can already hear the bustling of the people and the music blasting through some of the loudspeakers set up around the festival. She's got her arm in mine now, and we're walking in unison like we've been doing this for years. Maybe we always have. When we finally arrive, she looks around in both confusion and excitement. After explaining it to her (and carefully leaving out the part of my performance later) she looks at me and says:

"What do you mean you used to help run these?" Ah shit. I let that slip during my explanation.

"Look, I shouldn't have said that, it's not the point. I brought yo-"

"I know, and I thank you for that. This really is amazing, and I'm so happy I'm getting to spend the day with you here. But I just don't understand what you meant. Besides, you don't really talk much about..."

"Hey, I'm going to tell you okay? Just give me time. This is my first step. If you think about it, and really look around, you'll be able to see more than what I could ever be able to explain to you with words anyways. Is, that enough for you? For now?"

"...Yeah. For now"

She smiles then and gives me a quick kiss on the lips, and believe me when I say that if she did that to me every second of every day, I'd still say that being with her for 1000 years would be way too short a life span.

Okay! that's chapter, 3 now? I'm really on a roll now! Though I should probably start sleeping soon, for some reason now I dream in writing? Anyways! Thanks everyone for being open minded about September, and for some of you *ahem, StarlaMay* actually being curious about her and her... mysterious past. All will be revealed soon enough, don't you fret! And stay tuned for some Naomi soon as well!