Disclaimer: Not mine.


11.)

He knew something wasn't right from the beginning. It was too good to be true for her to suddenly just be there. And when he held her he realized what it was. She wasn't there. Or rather she was, but he wasn't. If that made any sense…It was like he was everywhere else, was aware of everywhere else, but his radar didn't extend to the girl right in front of him. He couldn't take her in.

It might have been silly but it just made him squeeze tighter…or maybe that was his muscles tensing? No, it wasn't, he wasn't playing the excuses game anymore. He found himself holding her closer than he'd ever dared before, cradling her against him. It didn't really matter now, after all. He had nothing to lose, and maybe, just maybe, everything he could dream of to gain.

Was it working? No. But he chose to ignore this fact.


It was so simple. They weren't connecting, this was true. This was the worst, most painful of truths, but when he tightened his arms around her, her stomach flipped. It was a sensation she was very much acquainted with, it had been happening more and more around him lately. She wondered what fool came up with the term "butterflies." It was a jolt far beyond butterflies. Then again, she'd heard somewhere that even a butterfly could be the start of a hurricane with a motion of its wings…But, whatever the term, it was the sign she needed.

It didn't matter that there was some boundary between them, some kind-of net holding them back. All her feelings for him were still there, a whirling tornado of delicious chaos that whipped her heart and left an ache. That didn't go away just because, in some sense, he had. Her feelings for him were a part of her.

And as long as she felt this strongly about him there had to be a way for them to reconnect. It just had to be possible. She'd go to the ends of the Earth, the ends of the universe, the end of the end.

As soon as she figured out just how she was supposed to start.


He inhaled, trying to breathe her in, just trying to let her in. He let all thoughts leave his mind. He couldn't be bothered with his common sense right now, all that was left was a determination—or was it desperation—to find some way, some way, to fix this.

He exhaled.


She felt his breath on her hair. They were so close, yet so…

She broke away suddenly, and pulled back to look at him. She needed to see his eyes.

He was surprised by the action, and, for just a moment, she saw in those eyes just how lost he was.

As she met his gaze she let her emotions fill her to the brim, hoping he could see something in her too. She let it all spill over and come out, and felt the tears start.

He reached up a hand to wipe them away. And then, together, they froze.

Together, they leaned in.

Together…they came together.


AN: Gah! I'm SO sorry it's taken this long! Everything from family vacations to family crises (which can be the same thing) got in the way. The next one will be out sooner…

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I mean it!