Again with the lateness! I need to be shot! Well anyway, I read this and get all hyped up about it. So I will write another chapter for you!

Chapter 9 - Confidence.


I hadn't spoken to Wanda all that much since I'd been here, just the two of us, anyway. She seemed such a brave Soul, very different to the average one I met everyday. There was something about her that shone in her eyes, something very... Human. It was like she belonged here. I wanted to belong too, I would work to be very like her.

"Hello, Harmony in Soprano." She smiled at me. Her host was very beautiful, it contrasted and suited her personality at the same time. Whilst she was very sweet, and Jamie said she was the most beautiful person he'd ever met, she was still more strong than the body let on. Even though I'd heard her call me just Harmony to the humans, she still spoke to me like a Soul. She was two people, and I admired her.

"Good evening, Wanderer." I replied pleasantly. She smiled at her Soul name, after all, I was still as Soul, and so was she.

The same thoughts must have been running through her mind; "How have you been fitting in?"

I questioned that in my mind first. Sure, many people had been speaking to me, but never really had a conversation with me. Except for Jamie, Ian, and my fellow Souls. Instead of telling her this, I tiptoed around the question; "It's strangely hospitable here. I like it."

Wanda's face flickered, but she smiled quickly again; "Yes, I know what you mean. Feels homely, right?"

I nodded, not wanting to speak a lie I knew I would badly tell. Nowhere was home without Felicia.

"Is something wrong?" Wanda asked me, and I looked up from my bowl of soup. Clearly my face had let on more than I wanted, and Wanda was worried for me. I looked to the cave entrance, where was Jamie to change the topic when I needed him?

"Ahh, Jamie will be back soon. Him and Ian needed to chat." She smiled at me, and I was relieved she'd jumped to the wrong conclusion. I smiled and went along with it; "About what?"

She grimaced; "Well, what I have to talk to you about, actually."

As nervous as I was when I registered her facial expression, I still smiled; "oh?" I said with interest, perhaps it would make it easier if I was open for conversation.

"Harmony, I'm sure you're aware of the human host's emotions."

I nodded, and she sighed. She just stared at me for a minute expectantly, then exhaled slowly in disappointment. I felt bad for not doing as she wished, but I didn't have a clue of what she was aiming at.

"You and Jamie are very close, and it has happened very quickly. Now I know this is good and you know what you're doing but you're both young and we want what's best for you..." She drifted off as she realised my blank expression. "Are you and Jamie having intercourse?"

I recoiled away from her, a natural instinct for my adolescent body, embarrassed by these sort of conversations due to the lack of experience. Wanda giggled; "Take that as a no."

"Why would you ask me that?" I whispered, suddenly I was reacting to the evening heat. I'd lost my appetite, too.

"Well," She giggled again, it must have been a host habit; "Jamie's sister noticed you were getting close. You know how protective siblings can be..."

I flinched, that I knew very well. She noticed how I'd reacted, and nodded understandingly. "Sorry. You have left family behind too, I presume."

"No." I was merely away from Felicia, I would be with her soon. "They left me."

She frowned at me, sympathy shining in her expression. I sighed, it wasn't something I liked to talk about. "Adele's father died before the first wave, and her mother was taken but she resisted and..." I stumbled over the two words that were almost impossible for me to say; "Adele was caught, and had nothing to fight for." Not true, but she'd thought the Seekers had got Felicia too, and so gave up. Tears welled in my eyes at the memory of baby Felicia lying quietly under a bed, waiting for me to return. It was a whole day before they let me go, and she was the first thing I loved on this planet.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Harmony."

"Thank you, but that was many years ago." I insisted. The internal battle inside to stop myself from breaking down in front of this Soul had me breathing heavily in slow inhalations. She gave me a minute before continuing with the conversation I had hoped she'd forgotten.

"Do you love Jamie?"

I looked her in the eye, and she could see I wasn't enjoying this topic; "Very much. He has been very kind to me."

She shook her head; "What I mean is, are you in love with him?"

I gritted my teeth, she did not need to know this. She simply wanted an answer from me, I would give it to her to get her off my back. "Me and Jamie are not having sex."

Another sigh brushed over me, and I became abruptly irritated. What did she want?

"Boys are very different to girls, Harmony. Especially human boys." She narrowed her eyes at me; "I know Jamie is very sweet, believe me, I'll be the first to say that, but I think it's best you know before the time comes."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" I waved my hands frantically in front of me; "I'm sure that in the unlikely chance Jamie tries to force himself on me, I'll be able to stop him." I hissed, it was a weird sound, but I'd heard Adele before, it was not foreign.

Wanda blinked a few times, and then nodded her head; "Sorry to have embarrassed you, Harmony."

I grunted, a very un-Soul like thing to do, and walked out of the kitchen. People glanced at me, but made no move toward me. I headed through the tunnels, reaching the main plaza quicker than I expected. I could hear Jamie talking, but I couldn't quite understand him. I stayed in the shadows, and strained to listen to their conversation. I knew it would be along the same lines as mine and Wanda's anyway.

"Well, I really do like her, but I didn't realise that you'd assume it to be like this." He said, and I heard Ian laugh; "You really are oblivious, Jamie."

"Do you think I'm giving the wrong impression? I don't want to hurt her." Jamie asked worriedly.

If truth be told, my heart sank slightly that he did not return my admiration. I may have avoided Wanda's question of my love for Jamie, but it wasn't because I didn't. I wasn't, but I knew I had the potential to be.

I heard Ian chuckle, and I stopped my thoughts and listened. "No Jamie, I think you're going with your instincts, and instincts tend to be right about finding what's best for you. If she falls in love with you, you won't find a more loyal and honest girl for you."

"You're scaring me, Ian. Who said anything about love?" Jamie forced a nervous laugh, full of implications that I was foolish to read into.

Ian didn't reply, but I heard him sigh and saw him stand. I pressed myself into the wall further and headed slightly into the shadows more.

"You'll see. If you like her, then tell her. What have you got to lose in here?" He didn't give Jamie time to reply, and walked straight past me without even noticing me. I held my breath when he was close, then exhaled and emerged from the shadows. I headed over to where Jamie sat, his head tilted backwards as he looked into the open roof. The moon reflected around the mirrors, and gave everywhere a beautiful silver glow. The odd speck of light glittered in reflection to my eyes, so I kept my eye line down.

"Jamie?" I asked, and he turned quickly to look at me. "Oh, hey." He sighed, relaxing as I sat next to him. I wasn't sure what to say, and neither was he. I settled with; "I wondered where you'd gone."

"Sorry."

"That's okay," I assured him; "Wanda came and sat by me."

"Oh." He sounded passive, but once it sunk in; "Ohhh..." He grimaced down at me, and I looked away and giggled.

"You can see why they said it." He said, pain evident in his voice. I nodded in agreement."It was inevitable."

We chuckled, then drifted into an awkward silence. I didn't have the courage to ask the question both of us wanted to ask but not answer ourselves.

"So umm..." He drifted and hesitated, his voice croaking as he held the syllable. I looked up at him hopefully, wondering if he was going to ask. "What did she say to you?"

Well, not the question I had in mind, but this was easier. "She asked me if I loved you." I looked down shyly, as if that wasn't the answer to his next question.

"Are you?"

"Maybe." I replied honestly -as if I could lie about it anyway- staring at my finger tips; "I don't really know."

"Neither do I."

I smiled, glad we were both on similar tracks. At least that meant my human body was reacting normally. Adele had never had a lover, she was too young when I was given her. I felt bad to have taken her experience away, and only because I was feeling what she was missing now.

"I know I'm not not in love with you." He said, then frowned in confusion and thought his words through again. I grinned; "Me too."

"And I do like you a lot." He admitted.

I sat up onto my knees, facing him; "Well that's all you need in the beginning, don't you?"

"I don't know. Jared and Melanie knew right away. Ian hated Wanda in the beginning. It doesn't make sense." His lip was jutting out in confusion, and I giggled again stupidly. His childlike expression was completely alluring, and I naturally leant closer. His eyes met mine and widened in bewilderment. He didn't need to ask, but I knew he wanted to know what I was doing.

"We'll never know until we try, right?"

He thought about it a moment, before meeting my eyes again and we both closed them as our noses touched. Like we were in sync, my head turned left, and so did his. Our lips met gently and pressed together once before we moved apart again. Our eyes met, both of us silently asking what we thought. He didn't need to speak out loud, he answered by kissing me again, this time a lot longer than just a peck. Instincts kicked in, and we instantly knew to lock lips, rather than just press them together. As we pulled apart a little to turn out heads, our lips locked that little while longer and stretched across the gap so we never broke apart. Once I was set in the rhythm, I began to really think about it.

Well, I was breathless. It probably didn't help that we hadn't really stopped for air, neither willing to, either. I could feel my blood pulsing quicker around my body, desperate for oxygen, and it made my heart thump quicker.

I shivered, even though I was in the middle of the desert. He'd instinctively placed his hand on my shoulder to hold me in place, but his fingers brushed my hairline and sent tingles down my spine. I decided I wanted him to feel that too, so I pushed closer to him, finding that I'd moved up onto my knees so I was above him, his lankly legs aside. He simply sat back, leaning on one arm while the other held onto my waist. I clutched his jaw as we continued the kiss.

With our bodies so together like this, I could tell that it wasn't just our hands that fit like puzzle pieces. My hands roamed down his strong body, and I felt him shudder. I smirked with delight, and it brought our kiss to a stop. He craned his neck in, and looked me straight in the eye.

"Wow." He panted, pushing a lock of hair out of my face.

"Uh-huh." I agreed. "So do you think we might be?"

He shrugged; "I know I want to do that again."

I beamed and tilted my head back to laugh, flashing silver light in countless tiny dots, then swooped my head back to do as he wished.


Well hopefully that was worth the wait. Oh I do love first kisses, and I find the whole naivety really cute to play around with.