Ok, I am so so so so so so so so so so so sorry! I can totally understand if you want to kill and/or mame me. I deserve it. My life got kinda crazy there. But that's definately not an excuse for not updating for a month. Again, I'm sorry. I feel so bad. And I'm sure this abnormally short chapter doesn't help. I promise the next one will be longer, and you won't ever have to wait as long as you did for this chapter again.

Disclaimer: I don't own...and I don't want sued.

"Autumn, Autumn, honey, wake up."

I crouched down next to her on the ground, gently stroking her face, pushing her brown-red hair away from her eyes. I show her the "real" me, and she faints. Beautiful.

"Autumn, please open your eyes," I pleaded her. Naturally, I'd had to return to my human form so that when she did finally wake up, I wouldn't cause her to pass out again. However, I wasn't smart enough to remember certain things would be ripped to pieces when I phased – things like my clothing. This wasn't exactly what I would call "good."

"Autumn?"

Finally, her eyelids fluttered open. Thank God.

"J-Jake, what happened?" she stammered. I opened my mouth to begin explaining, but she squealed, removing her sweatshirt and holding it out to me. She reached up with her free hand and covered her eyes. "Can you, um…"

"Oh, yeah, uh, sorry about that." I covered myself, and Autumn sat up. I sat next to her and began explaining what I was, how it happened, and why I no longer had clothes on.

The entire time she sat, listening, yet she never once said a word. She never even moved except to take my hand in her own.

Finally, the sun was beginning to set, and I figured it would be a good idea to head home. Then I remembered my little predicament.

"Autumn, can you do me a little favor? Since my clothing seems to have been ripped to shreds, can you run to my apartment and get me something to wear? I can't exactly walk into town in nothing but your sweatshirt."

She laughed and stood up. "I guess, but only if I get something else in return."

"Well, that kind of depends on what that 'something' is," I teased. She knew I'd give her anything she asked for and even more.

"Oh it's not much, I promise. I only want one little bitty kiss."

And without waiting for my reply, she thrust herself at me, and pressed her lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around her slender shoulders and fell backward into the grass.

A few minutes later, Autumn pulled away and smiled at me. "I said a 'little' kiss."

"That was little; it only lasted three minutes," I informed her. She playfully slapped my bare shoulder. My skin blazed where she touched it.

"I thought you wanted me to go get to something for you to wear. I agree, and you hold me hostage. How's that fair?"

I grinned. "You don't want me to hold you hostage?"

"Now, you know that's not what I said. You could hold me hostage anytime you want." She smiled. "It's just, not all of us can turn in to a wolf and eat a creepy stalker that tries to kill us because we're walking through town alone."

"You don't have to worry," I reassured her. "Just tell him that your boyfriend's huge."

Autumn laughed and sprang to her feet. I tossed her my keys, which I found on the ground a good ten feet away from where I had phased. "That's an understatement if I ever heard one." Then, she started to jog off toward town.

"Hey!" I called after her. "That was mean."

"You better watch it, mister. If you keep insulting me like that, I'll pick up a dog leash at the store on my way back," she replied.

"You know, we could have fun with that."

The last sound I heard was the music of her laughter.

My life couldn't get any better.