A/N - OH MY GOD. It's May 30th today and it's 90 DEGREES OUT TODAY. (32 degrees Celsius for all you non-Americans.) IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS HOT IN LONG ISLAND. I AM GOING TO DIE.
I wrote this chapter in less than 12 hours in burning weather, because I was too consumed with my other mult-chapter. My writing schedule has gotten so messed up that I don't even know what days I'm working on what story. Now, it's 1:13 AM on May 31st and I have precisely eight hours until the cover for House of Hades is released. I am freaking out. Oh my god. But, like I said, it is the update day, so I'm updating. It's just...very early for me to update.
DISCLAIMER: Our plan did not work. It was perfect; Jerome had suggested we disguise ourselves as the band Train to sneak into the courtroom and ask for the papers to House of Anubis. We were this close, but Fabian had to come in and ruin all the fun. He dragged us back to Liverpool with him; he's forcing Jerome and I to say that, no, we do not own House of Anubis, or any of the songs made my Train. There's our Disclaimer. Now to just find a way out of Fabian's basement...
I do hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope you have a sparkling day!~
~Julianna
Fabian
Chapter 11: "The Concert"
Unlike what I had discussed with Aaron, Nina wasn't thrilled. She wasn't jumping up and down like I expected her to; instead, she wore an expression of anger and shock.
"Oh my God, Fabian!" she exclaimed, throwing the broken table leg back into the common room. "You scared the living shit out of me! What the bloody hell are you doing here at four in the morning?"
"I think the real question is to why he's in your house Nina," a boy muttered bitterly from inside her common room. I didn't know who he was; Nina had always refused to tell me about her friends. She'd explained that she didn't want things to move too fast, but her 'fast' was too slow for me.
"I finished work!" I told her, moving closer to her side now that the table leg was safely out of the way, and the holder wasn't intending to smash my face in with it. "The reason I was gone for two weeks was because I had to record some songs for my next album out of town. I've been busy twenty-four/seven for the past two weeks. But since all the songs are recorded and I'm back in Liverpool, we can be together again!"
I could have sworn I saw Nina smile in the dim light of her foyer, but before she could speak, the boy that was sitting in her common room ran up to us. He looked at Nina, and pointed his finger at her. "You said you've only seen him in person four times in the last two months. This is five! I...I don't know...I just...Nina..." then he turned around and aimed his fingernail at me. "Where have you been?"
"Um, considering I don't know you, I'd advise you to please introduce yourself before you interrogate me," I said carefully, pushing his finger down from in front of my face and getting my first look at the boy; He definitely could be defined as attractive in girls' eyes. He had hazel eyes and blonde hair that was up in a spike. His eyes had a piercing look in them, as if he wanted to murder someone...and that someone would probably be me.
"I'm Eddie," the boy introduced himself, with an American accent, "Nina's friend." He held out his hand, and I shook it, but our gazes never left each other's faces. He looked like he was anticipating when I was going to pounce.
"Nice to meet you," I returned. "Considering that Nina never once told me about her friends."
Instead of introducing me to the girl in the common room, Eddie had to walk in there and drag her into the foyer by the ear. "And this is Mara," he told me, "our other friend. She's shy, but she's practically in love with you."
"Eddie!" the girl, Mara, scolded him, slapping his arm. He winced and started to rub it; the girl obviously had quite an arm. "I am not in love with you...I mean, yeah, I like your music, but...I'm not..."
"It's okay," I chuckled, holding out my hand for Mara to shake, which she did, rather reluctantly. I released Mara's hand and turned to Nina, who was minding her business by holding her arms behind her back and staring at the tiled floor.
"Nina?" I asked, and she immediately looked up. "You know, I haven't seen or talked to you in two weeks," I began, a smile creeping up on my face. "Some girls might give the father of their child a hug."
Nina released a weak laugh and walked into my arms. I embraced her in a hug, and after not touching her, much less talking to her, it was nice to be back with her.
I had meant to email her, I really had, but with me in the recording booth and scheduling concerts with Aaron, I didn't have the time. I'd felt extremely guilty in the past fourteen days, so when Aaron drove me back to Liverpool, I'd requested to be driven to Nina's house first, despite the fact that it was four in the morning.
I'd only come in because the lights were on. It was a Friday, and Nina was in her last year of high school, so I wasn't surprised why she was up at that hour. Though, I certainly wasn't expecting to meet her friends, when she hadn't told me any details about them in the two months we'd been talking.
"Oh my God," Mara breathed, a British accent coming through, now that she wasn't whispering, after Nina and I released our grips on each other. I turned to face Mara, who's black hair was in curly tangles resting on her shoulders. "Nina, this is actually Fabian? This is the father of your child? This is Emma's father?"
"Um, yeah, Mara..." she smiled, moving closer to her friend. "That's Fabian Rutter standing in my foyer. The one and only singer."
"He's actually there?" Mara sounded extremely distressed, for some reason. "I...I can touch him? Like, touch him in real life and not on a computer screen? Nina, this is huge!"
Nina and Eddie were holding in laughs, but Mara wasn't finished yet. "Oh, wow, he's actually here..." she addressed me, looking me straight in the eye. "Nina spent three years watching you through a computer screen, while you were singing and playing the guitar without the knowledge that you had a daughter, you stupid idiot! Did you know how distressed she was? She had a baby without a father! And...and now you're here! You're here! In her house! WHAT IS THIS?"
Holding back his laughter, Eddie walked up to her and rubbed her back in a circle. "Shh..." he soothed, obviously trying to comfort her, even though he was probably just doing it so she wouldn't wake up the whole town. "Yes, Mara, that is Fabian Rutter standing in our doorway. Calm down. Your screams won't help anything."
Nina and I shared a look, and eventually I had to hold in my chuckles as well. Eddie, done with comforting his friend, walked back over to me and placed his hands on his hips. "You know, Mara's right," he began, and I knew I was in for a long talk with Nina's best friend. "You were gone for three years. I just learned earlier today that Nina has been talking to you for the past two months, and Mara didn't know that at all, so that's why she's acting so surprised. I don't really understand this, because Emma has been fatherless for the past two years and now you're suddenly here, but you can't just act like the past three years hadn't happened."
"Eddie, it's fine," she tried to reason with him, but Eddie was passionate about this subject, as he continued his argument against me.
"Look, you're a famous singer. You're known worldwide. Like I said, I didn't know Nina was emailing you until earlier today, but she said she hasn't talked to you in two weeks because you were doing work or something."
"Oh, God," Nina breathed, obviously embarrassed. She shot me an apologetic look, then ran into the common room again and grabbed Mara by the arm. "Come along, Jaffray, we're going to the market."
"At four a.m?" Mara protested, and I could hear exhaustion and absolute confusion leaking in her tone. She either wanted to go back to sleep and pretend this never happened, or wanted an explanation from Nina herself; which, to the looks of it, Nina was doing. "I don't think they'll be open..."
"Nonsense, the convenience stores are open twenty-four hours!" she explained. Quickly, she waved me a goodbye, and weaved Mara through Eddie and I and out the door. When the car left the front of the house, Eddie, who was still here, turned to me again.
"How about we sit down?" he suggested, and I followed him into the kitchen. The last time I was in Nina's house was on August 9th, when I met my daughter for the first time. It had been a while; it was now October 20th, and this was only the second time I'd been over her house; and I was alone with her friend.
"You're not going to interrogate me, are you?" I laughed airily, moving around uncomfortably in my seat.
A thin smile spread across Eddie's lips as he shook his head. "Nah," he said, waving the idea aside, "I just want to talk to you about Nina and Emma."
"Speaking of Emma, where is she?" I asked.
"Where do you think she is?" Eddie acted as if the answer was obvious, which, it should have been. "It's four AM. Emma is two years old. She's asleep upstairs."
"Oh." I scratched the back of my neck and tried to change the subject, but Eddie beat me to it.
"Look, dude, you're famous. Girls at our school love you." I tried to hold back a smile; I always liked hearing that someone liked me as a singer. "Just like with any celebrity, the media can take something and turn it into something it's not. Have you been out in public with Nina yet?"
"Well, once," I remembered, thinking back to the time we met up in the coffee shop back in September. "But I know we didn't get caught. We sat in the back of the shop when we went out, anyway, so no random costumer snapped a picture or anything like that."
He didn't look relieved; in fact, it didn't look like any emotion had crossed his face at all. Instead, without looking at me, he asked, "As I've said, Nina didn't tell me about meeting up with you until yesterday. I didn't know you were talking to her. When she was pregnant...she didn't even know who you were."
"I know," I breathed, guilt already leaking through my tone. "I've beat myself up for it multiple times, and I've even apologized to Nina, so no need to-"
"I'm not going to curse you out," he explained, his voice calm and steady. He lifted his eyes from the wooden table and continued, "All I'm saying is that Mara and I were the only ones to help her through her pregnancy. Her grandmother is old; she couldn't help her granddaughter during her time of need or drive her to the doctor's office to check on the baby that was growing inside her. I had to do all that. In fact, I still do; Nina's struggling in school; so while her and Mara study together, I'm the one to take Emma to the pediatrician for check-ups and I'm the one to buy the extra food for the toddler and I'm the one that comes over here every day to make sure Nina and Emma are safe. Do you?"
"We're trying to make it work," I said miserably, putting my face into my hands. Through my fingers, I muttered, "Look, I don't know how to talk about the night we met...I know it wasn't a mistake. Nina was an amazing girl, but I didn't know I had gotten her pregnant, as she left the morning after we'd slept together and I didn't get her number, or any means to contact her by. So, I had no idea I had a daughter until I got the photograph."
"Photograph?" Eddie questioned, and I explained how the photograph of Emma came in the mail, and how my friends and I had found Nina's information on the Internet, and how that lead to me reuniting with her. "Oh," Eddie said, and when he didn't say anything after that, I took it as my cue to continue my explanation.
"Like you said, I'm famous. Singing as an artist is everything I've ever wanted. Eddie, I'm trying to juggle the difficulties of fame with the constant guilt that I got a girl pregnant when she was fifteen and she was probably trying to feed her family, while I relaxed at home and watched television. Do you know how guilty I feel every day? I've only seen Nina in person for four times in the last two months, and I've only touched and seen my daughter twice. Twice. In two months. I am nineteen. This is as hard on me as it is Nina."
Eddie blinked, and stared down at the table again. Sadness crossed his face, and he said a quick "Sorry", before looking up at me again. "I don't know what it's like to be famous, seeing as I'm a commoner in the sad land of England...I'm sorry," he repeated, "It must be hard on you and Nina to be juggling this extra weight on your shoulders. How do you deal with it?"
I shrugged, honestly having no idea. Eddie sighed and placed his elbow on the table, resting his chin in his palm. "So Nina really hasn't told you about me and Mara?"
I released a small chuckle and said, "No. She refuses to tell me about her friends."
Laughing, Eddie stated, "Well, there's really nothing interesting to tell anyway. I'm a rebel and Mara's a geek."
"Thanks for the info," I said lightly. It hit me that I was actually talking to one of Nina's friends; now was the time to get inside her head, without the stubborn girl trying to take things slow. "How long have you known Nina?"
"Since she came here," he said simply. "Which was...2008. So, I've known her for four years. We were thirteen...that's actually kind of weird when you think about how long it's been. She got pregnant in the summer of 2009, so I knew her for a year before your dick went wild."
"Anyway," I said quickly, desperate to change the subject, "You said that you didn't know about me and her until yesterday. What happened during her pregnancy?"
Eddie laughed harder than he had this whole talk. "Do you really want to know?" I nodded. "Oh, good Lord, Fabian, she was a mess. At first she was crying, because she was pregnant with Emma and didn't know who the father was. She had to stay home a lot during the first couple of months, because she was so distressed, not to mention the side effects of a child growing inside you. I was by her side the whole time; I don't think I could be away for ten hours without her growing crazy and flipping shit.
"Eventually, she calmed down and began to accept that she was pregnant; we went to doctor's appointments to check up on the little girl inside her, and she took responsibility; she took care of herself so the baby wouldn't be sick. Then, on May 25th, 2010, she gave birth to Emma Grace Martin.
"Emma was probably only a few months old when the school started to realize who you were. So, when Mara mentioned a guy called 'Fabian Rutter' she forced Nina to look him up, and, well...she recognized your face. She knew it you, the guy who she had sex with when she was fifteen...it was you. She knew it was you.
"I didn't believe her at first, of course. Not even Mara, and she believed me when I told her her dress she wore to my birthday party was nice." Eddie snorted at his joke, but continued his speech. "After all, who would believe her? Why would anyone believe she had sex with a famous celebrity who everyone loved? They would just think she was looking for attention.
"But one day when I was over her house, she told me about you being Emma's father, and she was bawling. I mean, completely bawling. I couldn't get her to calm down. Through her sobs, she told me the story of how she met you in the coffee shop and never learned your name. You were the same person she met three years ago. It was you. And that was when I finally believed her. She had sex with Fabian Rutter before he was famous, and know he was a famous singer known around the world. Emma's father was travelling worldwide without the knowledge that he had a daughter, and that was severely depressing.
"Mara didn't believe her at first, either, but Nina and I convinced her. So, for the past two years, we'd been studying you online. She'd followed you everywhere; she listened to your music, she watched your interviews; she learned things about you that she didn't learn the night she met you. She had told me before that she wanted to do something with you, but she could never find the courage in herself to find you and tell you you had a daughter. She loved you and respected your career too much to do that.
"But now, obviously, she did something about it, by sending you the photograph of Emma, and now you and I are sitting around Nina's kitchen table, alone, at four o'clock in the morning. How about that?"
xXx
Mara and Nina came back a few minutes later, carrying nothing. I knew they hadn't gone to the convenience store; but I didn't know how they got past Aaron, who was sitting in his car in front of the house.
I still hadn't told Aaron about Nina; I told him I wanted to see a friend who lived in Picton, so he drove me there without question, seeming as he was the one who worked my ass off the previous two weeks.
Once the two girls returned, Eddie and I were on good terms. They didn't seem tired at all as they sat by the counter around us, Mara touching buttons on her phone, desperately trying to avoid my gaze.
"Any reason why your friend won't look at me?" I whispered in Nina's ear, once she had sat next to me.
She beamed at me and announced, "Mara's in shock. She can't believe her famous singer is sitting in my house. She wants to talk to you and meet you in person, but she's too shy to do so."
I rolled my eyes playfully and grabbed a napkin from the holder; Nina handed me a pen, and I quickly scribbled my signature onto the paper napkin. Mara, still pushing buttons on her phone that would probably be nonsense words if Eddie or Nina ever took it away from her, looked shocked at the arrival of the paper napkin at her sides, and met my gaze for the first time, her eyes the size of tennis balls. "No, no, no!" she protested, "I don't want this! I mean, I don't need this! I...I..."
"Just take the damn napkin, Mara!" Eddie exclaimed, and with apparent reluctance, she gripped the piece of paper and, folding it carefully, stuffed it in her coat pocket.
"I don't want to make you think that you -" Mara began, but I cut her off with: "Stop it, Mara, it took two seconds to sign my name. Shut up and take the autograph." Her eyes changed from guilty to grateful as her lips curved into a smile.
I continued, "So, Eddie has told me to tell you, Nina, why I've been away for two weeks." Nina perked up at the mention of my absence. "I was recording for my next album, while Aaron and I planned for concerts and such. I was so busy that I coudn't ever get to a computer, so I'm sorry. Now that you haven't spoken to me for two weeks, do you feel compelled to give me your phone number?"
"Nope," Nina answered simply, popping the p. I groaned; I'd been talking with Nina for two months now, and she still refused to give me her number. She was probably one of the most stubborn people I'd ever known. Mick, Jerome, and Alfie thought it was hysterical how I still didn't posses her telephone number; they made constant jokes about it all the time.
Suddenly thinking of a solution to my problem, I turned to my new friend and asked, "You know Nina's phone number, obviously. How about giving it to me so I can talk to Nina more easily?"
I had just thought that my problem had been solved when Nina growled, "Eddison Carl Miller, don't you dare give him my number."
I sighed; I respected Nina's wish to take things slower, but our communication would be better if I had her phone number. I'd been so close to receiving it from Eddie, but Nina obviously scared the boy out of his wits, because after she told him not to give me her number, he'd cowered away like a scared puppy.
"Anywho," I said, desperate to change the subject away from my embarrassment, "One of the concerts Aaron, my manager, planned," I said, adding in the last part so Eddie and Mara would know who I was talking about, "was in this area. Seeming as today's Saturday and you both crashed at your friend's house, I am assuming you all aren't busy today. The only people that ever come to my concerts as guests are my four sisters, so I'd love to have some non-related guests for once. How about it?"
"Mara's probably so excited she's gone into shock," Nina announced, pointing to her best friend, who was staring at me with her tennis ball eyes again. Nina faced me and said, "I'd love to come, Fabian. But don't think that I'm bringing Emma, because a concert full of girls probably wouldn't be the safest place for a two-year-old. What about you, Eddie?"
He shrugged. "I don't care. Anything to save me from going fishing with my dad."
"So I guess you're all coming, then?" I asked, and there was a chorus of "Yes". I beamed, bid my goodbye to Nina, and walked out of her house to sit in the seat next to Aaron in his car.
"Back, I see?" He said, looking up from his iPhone. Aaron lived on that thing; he made all his appointments and schedules on it. When I nodded, he asked, "Who were you seeing?"
"Oh, no one," I answered vaguely. "Come on, let's go home. I'm exhausted."
Aaron obeyed; he started the engine and the car started to move towards the road that lead to where I live; but that didn't stop him from interrogating me further. "Fabian, if you're hiding something from me, I will find out."
"Well, I'm not," I lied smoothly, fastening my seat belt while watching trees and road disappear. I knew I'd have to tell Aaron; I just didn't need to tell him now. I closed my eyes and I drifted off to sleep in the front seat of Aaron's van.
xXx
The next time my eyes opened, I was in my house's common room. I remembered Aaron telling me to prepare myself first thing for the concert I had in a few hours when he'd woken me up when we'd arrived home; but the first thing I did after I was fully awake was run upstairs to get my laptop to begin emailing Nina.
I'm glad I have my priorities straight.
The first email from Nina, in over two weeks, said: Um, hey, yeah, I mean you invited us to your concert and we'll come, but we don't know where it is and where we should meet you.
My reply came quick: I don't know the name...Aaron tells me it's the "Theatre of Suffolk" somewhere around here. Go ask someone who's good with directions. Meet me backstage; tell the security guard or whoever's blocking it that you're Mick's new girlfriend and I invited you; they'll believe that. Mick has a new girlfriend every other month.
Nina's reply read: And what about Eddie and Mara?
I typed my response of: Just say that Eddie's your brother and Mara is your friend, the die-hard fan of Fabian Rutter. Which actually won't be a complete lie; you and Eddie are so close you could be siblings; not to mention how much you actually look related! And we both know that Mara loves me more than she loves you, so.
After Nina's response was ":)" I decided to close my computer and get dressed before Aaron ripped my head off like bacon. I slipped into a plaid shirt and jeans; the outfit I'd normally wear for a concert. While my sisters, Mum, and Dad ate a quick meal before heading out, I decided to watch some television.
I had just seen a quick glimpse of a picture of myself before Rosie, my second-oldest sister waltzed in and turned off the telly. I groaned, but I didn't feel like complaining, so I followed her out of the house, down the hill, and into the car, where we drove a few minutes to the Theatre of Suffolk and arrived there.
I rushed into the backstage area, where I found Eddie, Nina, and Mara huddled together. Nina waved at me; Eddie looked like he wanted to cartwheel out of here; and Mara looked like she was about to implode. I said a quick hello, before ushering them out into the crowd of people.
I found my team, and they began prepping me; it was a tedious process, and was probably taking so long that Eddie probably had cartwheeled out of here already; but eventually I escaped from Carol and Aaron, with a hand around my shoulders, walked me to the back of the stage I was due to perform in in only a few seconds, but before I could step onto the wooden stage, he said, "Quick Confidence Lesson."
I rolled my eyes, but when he asked, "What will you do if you become scared and can't perform?" I answered with, "Imagine Chloe in her undergarments." I answered the same way every time, but Aaron seemed satisfied every time I answered. He slapped me on the back, whispered, "Good luck, kid," and I stepped onto the stage in front of thousands of screaming fans.
I didn't know why I even bothered looking for the trio; the arena was full of thousands of people. There was a one in a bazillion chance that I'd actually see the blonde, brunette, and black-haired group in the crowd of people in the building. I glanced at my band; James, the drummer, shot me a thumbs up, and I knew that was confirmation for me to go.
I greeted the crowd, and I couldn't help the oncoming smile turn into a grin. I loved hearing the sounds of the people who liked and listened to my music. I only had one album out, so I didn't have much to sing from; I chose a few select songs, like 'You I See', 'Right Time', and 'We Shall Overcome', which I recorded in 2011 with a woman named Tasie, who looked similar to Mara. Then there was 'Be Mine Tonight', 'Always the Quiet Ones', and 'One in a Million'.
After singing a whipping six songs, James handed me a bottle of water and I sucked it down in one gulp. I didn't know if Mara, Eddie, or Nina were listening or not; Christ, I didn't even know if they were here at all. I hoped they were; I was wondering what they were thinking of me at the moment.
"Alright, guys, it's nearing the end," I spoke into the microphone, and the crowd gave a long "Aw". I smiled and rolled my eyes; it was funny, the way fans acted sometimes. "But as I always do, I cover a song at the end of every concert. I sing the song with the lyrics I most relate to at the moment; the song I'm really 'feeling'. And, today, I'm going to sing 'Drops of Jupiter' by Train.
The crowd roared; they obviously liked the song as much as I did.
"I'm singing that song today because I recently reconciled with someone whom I hadn't seen in a long time. Three years, to be precise. In the three years I hadn't seen her, she changed so much and in the short time I've been talking to her, she's making me find myself while I'm helping her find herself in the process. She's still a mystery, and that's what I like most about her. I thought this was the perfect song, so enjoy."
I sucked in a deep breath, and I gave my band the cue to start.
"Now that she's back in the atmosphere, with drops of Jupiter in her hair;
She acts like Summer and walks like rain, reminds me that there's time to change;
Since the return of her stay on the moon, she listens like Spring, and she talks like June;
Tell me; did you sail across the sun? Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded? And that Heaven is overrated?
Tell me; did you fall from a shooting star; one without a permanent scar?
Did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?
xXx
The first time I saw them was when Aaron had suggested we do a Q&A.
I don't know how I saw her. It was like we were connected; as soon as my heart rate sped up, so did hers. I wasn't prepared for Questions and Answers; what if the fans asked something I couldn't answer honestly? This wasn't an interview; this was real life, in front of thousands of living, breathing people.
I couldn't say no, obviously. So I reluctantly agreed, and the first question came from someone named Lauren.
"Are you single?" she asked with excitement; I knew a lot of artists had questions like that thrown at them.
I hesitated for half a second; I was actually making progress with Nina. I couldn't say that I fathered a child in front of thousands of girls, obviously, but I knew my relationship with Nina was making a steady increase. I didn't want to say I was 'single'...but then again...
"Yes, I'm single," I finally answered, and the arena full of girls erupted into screams. Someone calmed them down after a few moments, so a girl named Joy (her last name was Mercer, she also wanted me to know), could ask a question.
"Who's the girl you spoke about when you were singing Drops of Jupiter?" Joy looked curious. I inhaled, trying to think of an answer to her question while avoiding the true answer at the same time.
"Well, I don't think she would really want me to mention her name in front of thousands of people recording and listening to this," I chuckled to myself, "So sorry, I'm respecting her wishes. All I'm going to say is that she was an old friend."
I was expecting Joy to sit down, but she wasn't finished with her questions yet. "Whatever happened to Grace? I thought you and her were cute together."
Grace was an arrangement made for publicity by my manager and hers a few months ago; we had dated for half a year, but Aaron forced me to break up with her when I really started to like her. If Aaron hadn't made me break it up with her, I think we might still have been dating today. "We just disagreed on a lot of things," I said, which, honestly, wasn't a compete lie. Grace and I were complete opposites; Grace was the summer and I was the winter. Grace was the sun and I was the moon. We didn't get along that well all the time because of our disagreements. "We disagreed with each other on a lot of aspects of our relationship, so we figured we'd both end it naturally before it ended in heartbreak. And that's that."
Unfortunately, Joy asked one more question before one member of my team forced her to sit down. "You do know all of us love you, right? You're so talented and you deserve someone who's as nice and kind as you are."
I blushed, but what Joy didn't know was that her classmate was sitting only a few rows behind her; and her classmate was also the person who mothered my child. I can't imagine how delightful that would be if Nina ever had to tell her the truth...
A/N - I'm looking forward to next chapter because it has to do with Twitter and has some Fabina bonding! c: Next chapter is going to be a big one between Nina and Fabian; it's a huge climb on the positive chart with their relationship. The story is going to reach its climax at the end of chapter 13, so it's coming! A lot of stuff is going to happen between now and the end, guys, trust me. It'll all be worth it. (:
I do hope you enjoyed this chapter I wrote at 1 AM, and I hope you have a sparkling day!~
~Julianna
