Imperfectly Mine

Chapter Four: Time and Comfort

Rachel couldn't breath. Her stomach was cramping horribly, her eyes were watering, and she couldn't catch her breath. She threw her head back and screamed. She couldn't stop herself; the story Caleb was telling was so funny she just couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"So then Reid, being the thick-head he is, just couldn't stop himself I guess. He just stared at Pogue right in the eye, did the classic eyebrow raise, and of course triple-dog dared him. And of course, instead of using the bit of common sense he supposedly has, he just told Reid to go screw himself and started crawling head first though the railing of my stairs!" Caleb, Rachel, and Kate were dying laugh while Pogue just sat there, arms folded across his chest, pouting. "So of course, Reid has to outdo him, and I was trying to stop them because I knew Mom would get pissed if we ruined the railing, but they just kept going, and Reid caught up right as their hips got to the railing and POW! They both got stuck and started freaking out. They were cussing the hell out of each other and everything!"

Pogue just sat up and glared at Caleb. "We weren't that bad!"

Caleb just laughed hard, as did the girls. "You guys were brilliant up to that point. Tyler still hadn't come into play. See..." He ignored Pogue's protests not to tell his girlfriend and Rachel what happened next. "Tyler had been in the bathroom while all this was going on. Well he came strolling down the stairs…"

Rachel and Kate both groaned but laughed harder.

"And he somehow didn't hear Pogue or Reid screaming at each other or me yelling at them or any of the noise we were making. So he walks down, holding on to the railing, trips over Reid, and falls butt first onto Pogue! So now Pogue freaks out and pushes Tyler off of him as fast as he could, and ends up throwing his hand backwards and successfully gets his left hand caught in the smaller open at the top of the railing!"

Caleb, Rachel, and Kate lost it. Kate nearly fell off her chair with laughter while Caleb and Rachel were both in tears. Pogue, positively pissed at his friend for telling such an embarrassing story, glared as hard as he could at Caleb and sat back, steaming. Kate leaned over and gave him a kiss, still laughing her ass off.

"What's so damn funny over here?" Reid had just finished a game of foosball when he ventured over after hearing all the commotion, Tyler following behind him.

Pogue, still pissed off, sent them a quick look and returned to glaring at Caleb. "He told the story about us getting caught in the railing and Tyler falling on us!"

Reid and Tyler both joined Pogue in glaring at Caleb. Reid began throwing a fit. "Must you tell every single good looking girl that story?!"

Rachel and Kate looked at each other and laughed. Rachel finally managed to hold back her laughter long enough to respond. "Aw, but you guys sound so silly!" She turned to look at Caleb. "So how exactly did they get out of there?"

Pogue, Reid, and Tyler froze up, all realizing they couldn't explain how'd they gotten out without the girls freaking out; Caleb had eventually used and managed to get them out of the railing. While they were busy trying to come up with a good lie, Caleb smiled and spoke for them.

"After a lot of wiggling and a lot of pushing and pulling. Thankfully, they weren't that stuck in there, so Tyler and I just kept pushing and they eventually slipped out. It's still one of the best things I've ever seen in my life."

They all burst into laughter again, Reid, Tyler, and Pogue thinking in vain of a way to change the topic. Reid looked around and gasped, jumping up and down.

"Pool table's open, pool table's open! Come on, someone play me!" Tyler groaned, unwilling to get his ass kicked again. Caleb smiled and leaned over, resting a hand on the back of Rachel's chair.

"Rach, why don't you give it a shot? Reid's good, but I think it's about time a good-looking girl kicked his ass and put him back in his place." Reid glared at Caleb, then stared at Rachel, a challenging look in his eye.

"Aw, but I don't want 'Rach' to feel bad about losing on the first day we met her!" Rachel just laughed, standing up and taking the pool stick from Reid, leaning close to him.

"Not smart enough to come up with your own nickname for the girl who's going to kick your ass?" Reid just grinned and followed her over to the tables.

Tyler quickly headed over to the tables while Caleb, Pogue, and Kate stayed behind, knowing there would definitely be more than one game. Kate looked at Caleb with a huge smile on her face. "You guys are so perfect together!"

Caleb just laughed, rubbing a hand through his short hair. "She is great, but I mean come on Kate, we just met today. It's not like we're getting married or anything like that."

Kate shrieked, causing both of the guys to jump in their seats. "That's exactly what she said on the phone with me earlier! I was talking about how adorable you guys are and she said that you guys aren't getting married either! It's fate Caleb, come on, you have to see it, I know you both do!"

Pogue nodded his head. "I do agree with her man. You guys look great together, you guys act great together, you guys are great together. Hell, she's more your type than anyone, including Sarah." Pogue was the only one who was willing to bring Sarah up, even though Caleb had no problem discussing her. It had been months since she'd moved back to Boston to take care of her dad, who had just recently developed lung cancer. "Come on Caleb, don't be stupid. Reid gave you his blessing for crying out loud, that means something! We all know you like Rachel, and it's easy to see she's just as crazy about you!"

Caleb just sighed. "Guys, we literally just met hours ago! I barely know her. She barely knows me. Maybe something'll happen in the future, that's totally fine with me. I'd be thrilled to get the chance to be with someone as great as Rach is. But you guys really need to realize that we just met. Sarah and I had just met and then we just started dating like that. Then the whole Chase thing happened…"

Kate hesitantly cut him off. "But Chase is gone, it's not like that'll happen again."

Caleb nodded. "I know, but Sarah was suddenly thrust into handling everything about us. She'd never admit to it, but I know it was hard for her. She'd just met me, she barely knew anything about me, and suddenly I had powers and the Sons of Ipswich wasn't just a name for us. She handled it better than I thought, but it was still hard for her. I'd much rather Rach know about the real me before she looks at me and sees me as someone really different."

Pogue looked at his friend with sympathy, as did Kate. "Caleb…you know Sarah didn't see you as diff-"

"No I didn't mean it like that. Sarah was amazing, but I know she always saw that part of me as different, even if she didn't mean to. I could see it every time I looked at her. I always felt so guilty that she had to carry that burden, and I'm in no rush to push it on Rachel."

Pogue and Kate nodded, although Kate wasn't willing to just roll over and die. "But if you guys are together, it doesn't mean you have to tell her. Pogue and I were together for over a year and he never told me, and we survived it."

Caleb nodded. "True, but you also knew everything else about Pogue. How would you have handled it if you had just met him and that was one of the first things you knew about him?"

Kate stayed silent, knowing she would've handled it much differently.

Pogue sighed, wishing he could change his friend's mind. "Rachel could handle it. She's strong, she'd never look at it like that."

Caleb nodded again, staring over at Rachel and smiling. "I don't think she would either. But I'm really not ready or willing to run that risk. I want to get to know her, and I want her to get to know the real me."

Kate and Pogue remained silent, knowing Caleb had good reasons for not pursuing the amazing girl playing pool just yet. Pogue had to smile inside; he knew Caleb well, and he knew this wasn't the end of it. Given time, he knew in his heart his friend would be with Rachel.

After sitting in silence for a little while longer, Tyler came running over with a huge grin on his face. "Guys, you've got to come watch! Reid and Rachel are playing best two out of three and they're tied in the third game!"

Caleb immediately jumped out of his chair and nearly ran to the pool tables with Tyler, Pogue, and Kate trailing behind him. It was indeed an intense game; according to Tyler, Reid had beat Rachel in the first game by one ball, and then Rachel had beat him in the second game by sinking the 8 ball. They were currently tied, each having two balls out plus the 8 ball.

Reid headed up to make a shot and, despite the fact that he almost made one of Rachel's solid balls in, he thankfully sunk one of his striped balls in the corner pocket. He missed his ball on his second turn and regrettably set Rachel up with a perfect shot.

Rachel quickly made her shot and sunk her ball in one of the side pockets. She took her time setting up her next shot, causing Reid to secretly begin to panic. She smoothly made contact with the cue ball, which went sailing towards her red 3-ball and pushed it straight into a pocket.

Reid cussed out loud which caused Rachel to smile. She quickly chalked up her stick, nervous about her next shot, knowing it could potentially end the game. Reid was nearly strangling his pool stick; everyone was on edge, knowing that this game meant life or death in Reid's opinion.

Rachel lined up her shot, but she ended up coming off slightly to the left of the 8-ball. Reid grinned and moved to line up his shot, effortlessly nailing his striped ball with the cue ball. It quickly sailed into the pocket, leaving only the 8 ball left.

Reid secretly rubbed his hands on his jeans, quickly removing the sweat that had began to creep up on him during the game. He sighed and moved to line up his shot, secretly nervous but giving off a confident vibe on the outside.

Reid's shot missed the 8 ball by less than inch, causing more cussing from him and a quick smile from Rachel. She moved in to line up her shot, completely confident she would never make it, no matter how easy a shot it would be. She shut her eyes for a moment, bracing herself to accept missing the next shot, and when she opened her eyes, she smiled in spite of her doubt.

Caleb was standing across the way, leaning on a pool table with his arms crossed, staring at her with a huge smile on his face. He winked at her once he caught her eye and quickly mouthed something to her, which Rachel could easily make out. "Kick his ass Rach."

Rachel smiled and took a deep breath, reluctantly breaking her eye contact with Caleb and focusing back on her shot. She lined up the cue ball with the 8 ball and gracefully made her shot.

The cue ball sailed straight for the 8 ball, smacking head on and pushing it straight into the corner pocket…the exact pocket Rachel had called.

Everyone within the group started clapping and hollering for Rachel. Reid gave a defeated sigh with a smile on his face and moved to shake her hand. "Great game, I have to admit."

Rachel just stared at his hand, raised an eyebrow and gave him a big hug. Reid, shocked for only a moment, smiled and responded, wrapping his arms around her for a moment. Rachel pulled back and smiled, lightly punching his forearm. "You're a hell of a pool player."

Reid smiled and nodded, knowing she had been the one who deserved to win.

Kate ran over and gave Rachel a big hug, followed by Pogue running over and grabbing her, spinning her around while he and Tyler chanted and hollered about Reid's defeat. Pogue finally released her and headed over with Tyler to mock Reid to no end. Reid took the mocking with honor, knowing that while he lost to a worthy opponent, he could whoop her ass any other day.

Caleb approached Rachel and grinned. "You're one good pool player."

Rachel smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Thanks. I seriously thought he had me, he's one great pool player."

Caleb laughed and glanced at his friend. "Yeah that's usually all he and Tyler do when they come here. They can beat pretty much anyone at this place."

Rachel raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Even you Mr. Danvers."

Caleb chuckled and blushed slightly. "Sadly, especially me. I'm pretty much the worse pool player in this joint. I guess the pool playing gene skips a generation for the Danvers."

"Well that just means your kids will be able to beat Reid's."

Caleb laughed and put his hand on the small of Rachel's back, leading her back to the table and ordering two Cokes from Nicky.

Reid and everyone else were silently watching the two, the previous pool game already forgotten. "Ok what exactly is going on between them two? Are the together yet?"

Kate sighed and shook her head. "No, they both think it's way too early. After all they just 'met'." She finished the 'met' with air quotes, causing Pogue to laugh and kiss her cheek.

"Hun, you only do air quotes with something isn't true. After all, they did in fact just meet." Kate just glared at her boyfriend but quickly shot him a smile. "Caleb and Rachel both say it's way too early, which does make sense, considering that fact they did just meet."

Tyler shook his head. "But they do like each other right?"

Pogue nodded vigorously. "Definitely. Each time Kate or I brought it up, neither came out and denied that they had feelings for each other. They both just said it was too soon."

Reid sighed. "So what do we do now?"

Kate gave them all a tiny smile and a shrug. "We just wait for them to come together on their own."

"So, I totally think they're talking about us over there." Rachel smiled and took a quick drink of her Coke while Caleb glanced at his friends.

"Yeah I'm sorry about how annoying they are. I love them all more than anything, but sometimes I feel like they act like I'm the baby and they have to take care of me, you know?"

Rachel nodded, running a hand through her hair. "That's what friends tend to do." She took another sip of her Coke. "Do they have a reason to worry about you?"

Caleb sighed and took a swig of his Coke. "Well, my last girlfriend, Sarah, and I broke up at the end of last year. Her dad got diagnosed with lung cancer, so she had to go back to Boston to help take care of him. We both thought it'd be best to just end it instead of worrying about a long distance relationship and all that."

Rachel nodded, feeling sorry to hear about Caleb's previous relationship, but not feeling as sorry as she knew she should've.

Caleb picked up before she could interject, not wanting her to think something that wasn't true. "For some reason, it didn't really affect me like I thought it should. I miss her, of course, she was an amazing girl. But it felt like it was…right to end it, I guess. We keep in touch, and we're still really close. I adore her, she's a great friend to have and to count on, but I'm not upset that we aren't something more than that anymore. She's moved on and met another guy, and I'm completely happy for her. But none of the guys seem to believe me. Pogue's starting to get it, but everyone else seems to think that I'm lost without her."

Rachel looked over at Caleb's guys and smiled. They were great guys to have, and she couldn't blame him for having them around.

Caleb just waved a hand and chuckled. "They think if I get with someone else that I'll be cured or something. But I'm actually happy. I mean, if something happens with someone, that's great. But I…" Caleb paused, searching for the right words.

Rachel looked at her Coke and swirled her straw around. "Don't want to rush it."

Caleb looked at her and nodded. "Exactly." He laughed and took another swig of Coke. "I feel like an idiot, I haven't even asked you about your love life. Are you seeing anyone or anything?"

Rachel laughed and played with her hair. "No, not at all. My last boyfriend and I…well I mean, we were together for a few months, but…it just ended."

Caleb leaned closer onto the table, noticing a change in Rachel that he couldn't put his finger on. "Why'd it end?"

Pogue, Kate, Reid, and Tyler came over, noticing the exchange between the two and quickly grabbing their coats. Pogue leaned closer to them, trying to keep their conversation brief. "Kate and I are heading to my place and Reid and Tyler are heading to the dorms. Give the lady a lift home."

Caleb nodded, still staring at Rachel as the others headed to the door.

Rachel said bye to everyone, quickly grabbing her coat. "We'd better get back too." She quickly headed to the door, leaving Caleb sitting at the table for a moment before quickly grabbing his coat and following her to the parking lot.

"Rachel." Thankfully the parking lot was empty. Rachel kept walking away from Caleb, heading toward the car. "Rachel. Rach!" Caleb jogged, quickly catching up to her and stopping in front of her. Rachel tried to go around, but Caleb stayed firm and gently held her arm. "What just happened?"

Rachel just shook her head. "Nothing, I just want to go back to the dorms." Rachel tried to get past him again.

Caleb shook his head, refusing to let go. "If it's nothing, then look at me and tell me it's nothing."

Rachel just shook her head, pulling harder to get away. "Caleb, just let it go!"

Caleb put his hand on her cheek but didn't force her to look at him. "Rachel, why did your last relationship end?"

Rachel looked at him, a look of hurt crossing her eyes, causing Caleb to want to use his power to make the whole world disappear.

"It's nothing, just drop it."

"Rachel no!" She looked shock at the sternness of his voice. "I'm not just going to drop something that's obviously hurting you. Talk to me."

Rachel just sighed and looked away, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "We'd been together for a few months, he wanted something I wasn't ready to give him, and so he got it else where."

Caleb stared at her, having a good idea what she was talking about but not wanting to assume. "What are you talking about?"

Rachel just stared at him and shrugged. "He wanted to have sex, I said I wasn't ready. I went to meet him at his place one night, he was in bed with a friend of mine."

Caleb's mouth dropped. Rachel just gave a little laugh and closed her eyes again, sighing. "I wasn't that crazy about him really, but it still hurt you know? It just felt like I wasn't good enough for him. I mean, I was nowhere near ready to have sex with him or anyone for that matter, but I still don't see why he couldn't just break it off with me first. It wouldn't have bothered me if he had done that."

Caleb nodded, unsure of what to say. He just shook his head and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head. Rachel tensed for a moment, surprised by his sudden move. She quickly relaxed and sighed, burying herself in his chest and arms.

They stayed in the parking lot for a while, just standing and hugging. Caleb finally moved to pull away, startled by the fact that Rachel wouldn't release him. "I feel comfortable here."

Caleb just laughed and wrapped his arm around her again, feeling very comfortable where they were as well. They looked at each other, smiling and finally releasing each other. They headed to the car and drove back to the dorms, smiling and laughing the whole time.