REVIEW! This is where the song picks get a little sketchy. I'm gonna do like Stephenie does on the BD playlist and put it in parantheses until I'm completely sure about them again. (In Your Eyes) and there's more than one version, so it's the one that isn't gospel. Here. /watch?vsthn8wSKrJM

You breathe in, trying to contain the pain. "No. You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong."

"Yeah. That's what you think, kid." She rolls her eyes. "But thanks for the cold comfort."

You try to figure out what to do, what to say. Finally, you go for another question. "What happened to your brother and sisters?"

"Foster care. They're doin' okay now. Drop by sometimes. None of 'em can afford to help me out, more than a week off every so often. They're pretty happy. Andy's joined a bike gang or something like that. All I know is that he's got a new tattoo every time I see him. I scarcely recognize him now. Amber got married to a nice guy who thinks she lights the moon- stop staring at me, please- and Amanda started a band."

"That's good. And I wasn't staring."

"Yes you were."

You shrug. "All right. You got me. Sorry to be so madly in love with you."

She raises her eyebrows. "Love?"

You realize you hadn't quite broached this concept yet and cast about for the words. "I… Look. I know, because of the imprinting, that I love you. And from this one day we've spent together, I've seen something in you that makes me realize that you really are perfect for me. I don't just love you, adore you, worship you. I also like you. You're an intelligent and determined person. And you're very beautiful."

"You forgettin' what I do for a living, kid?" she says brusquely. Not quite what you were hoping for, to tell the truth. You were going for something a little more along the lines of 'I like you too.'

God, that sounds like it came out of the sixth grade, doesn't it? But it's the truth. You'd settle for friendship. "No. Not at all… I don't know if I could. What I'm saying is, I don't care—no. What I'm saying is it doesn't make a difference. I don't get a choice about being in love with you. I don't want a choice. But I want you to choose me."

Her eyes are again darting around the room, anywhere but at you, and you can't bear it. You need to know what she's thinking, and because as a person you really have just the slightest acquaintance with her, there is just one way to see into her mind.

You gently grasp her face and pull her to look at you, right into your eyes.

She gasps, and so do you. For the second time, you are falling. There is nothing but her eyes in the universe, and you can't bear the intensity of it. It's like staring at the night sky, the same color. You swear you can see planets drifting in her gaze, orbiting around her jet black pupils, her eyelashes a steady drumbeat against her cheek as she blinks, slowly, slowly, slowly.

"Choice. What're my choices?" she says softly, and you feel the crack as the words break the spell.

REVIEW!