A/N: Thanks for the reviews and everything. Just letting you know that you can put your name into the name box on anonymous reviews now, in case you didn't realize, so if you leave a review, which I hope you will, you can actually identify yourself, enjoy! :)

Whenever he walked into a crowded place, there was always a few seconds where he couldn't collect himself. He winced at the cacophony of voices for a moment before he was able to collect himself and block everyone out. Still, there was always a dull white buzz in the back of his head, threatening to swarm like a hive of bees. Sometimes, little snippets would break through without his knowledge, but for the most part, he was learning to deal with this strange life turn.

"Chris, you okay?" Stephanie asked as they stood in the doorway. I wonder if he's regretting bringing me here. I mean, God, look at all the beautiful women, and I'm here like a sore thumb. What if he wants to bring someone home, I'm not even sure Paul will come pick me up. I guess a cab would suffice…

"Yeah, fine, just wasn't expecting it to be so loud," he said, grabbing her hand, reassuring her without words that he wanted to be there with her. "Did you want something to drink?"

"Huh?" she asked as a new song played, heavy on the bass.

"Drink, you, me, drink?" he asked jokingly, just yelling over the din of the music and the buzz everything created in his mind. She nodded and he lead her over to the bar, leaning on it, and making note of where the bartender was.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked as she came over to get their orders.

"I'll take Grey Goose on the rocks, and she'll have," Chris turned to Stephanie to get her drink order.

"Grey Goose martini, one olive, one onion," Stephanie ordered.

"A girl who knows what they like, I dig that," Chris smirked at her as Stephanie laughed, ducking her head. "You know, you do that far too much."

Stephanie looked up at him in confusion. What is he talking about? "What do you mean? What do I do far too much?"

"Duck your head like that," he told her. She bit her lip, blushing a little bit.

"I didn't know I did that so much," she said. God, sometimes, I must look like such an idiot to him…to everyone. If only people could see how their words affect me, but it just wouldn't do if I ever showed any kind of weakness. My dad would tell me to suck it up and not let things affect me so much.

"No, I think it's cute in a way, but…you don't have to be so embarrassed by everything," he said, his heart reaching out for this girl and the sad words her mind was trying to tell her. He hated the entire world for trying to convince her she couldn't be herself, that she had to change everything she was to please others. "You are a wonderful person, Steph, you're a beautiful person, I wish you could see that."

Does he really mean that? I don't think anyone except my mom has really ever said anything like that to me. It's so hard sometimes in this business, with all the people I work with, with all the big personalities I deal with. "Thank you," Stephanie said, "that's one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me."

Their drinks arrived then and Chris paid for them, putting the money down before Stephanie could even say anything. She opened her mouth to protest, but he winked at her and shook his head, "I'm the one who invited you tonight, that means I pay for you."

"You don't really have to do that though," Stephanie told him. "It's really sweet of you though."

"That's my middle name," he joked.

"What? Sweet?" she asked. "That's not what I heard about you."

Chris's face fell a little bit, which Stephanie obviously noticed. I'm such an idiot, why don't I think before I speak, I swear, one of these days, my mouth is going to get me into trouble. Now he really probably wishes he was with someone else. I can't believe I didn't think before I said something like that. "Hey, why don't we go sit down somewhere?" Chris just said, knowing Stephanie was embarrassed, but he didn't want to talk about anything here, at the bar, surrounded by a million people.

They grabbed their drinks, and then Chris gently took Stephanie by the crook of her arm and led her away from the bar. He scanned the club and saw a small booth open in the corner. He quickly made his way over before anyone else could take it. He smoothly slid into the booth, glad for the relative quiet of this back booth. Stephanie fingered the rim of her drink as she averted her eyes. He's probably going to tell me off right now. Let's just get this over with.

"I didn't mean what I said," she told him quickly, her voice almost too soft for him to hear.

He leaned in closer to her, finding it funny how her thoughts could be so loud in his brain while her voice was so soft. "Don't apologize, you're right." He thought back to the night before he was given this strange superpower. He was horrible to a woman who apparently cursed him. Hell, he was horrible to a lot of people.

"Chris, no, I'm not, I'm just…I don't know what I'm saying," she shook her head.

"Stephanie, seriously, you're absolutely right, I wasn't a good guy, I was horrible, to everyone," he sighed deeply, taking a deep pull of his GG. It helped calm his mind down, dull the white noise even more. "I was in a really bad place."

"I'm sorry," Stephanie said, pressing her hand against his wrist. He looks so sad, I wish there was some way I could help him. I wish there was some way I could comfort him, but I wouldn't even know where to start.

"The divorce was really hard on me," Chris admitted. "Jessica and I…we didn't make it easy on ourselves, that's for sure. I'm just lucky there were no kids to involve, but…well, I didn't have a pre-nup, so she saw fit to try and bilk every bit of money out of me. I'm paying through the nose for her, which sucks, and…when it was over, I was just so bitter…"

"That's completely understandable," Stephanie said. I wonder if he even really had anyone he could vent to. I don't even know if he has friends…he must, I can't imagine someone like Chris doesn't have friends.

"I kind of alienated everyone who cared about me," he said, answering her silent question, and she looked at him in surprise. "It was easier that way, you know, I hated their sympathy, I hated the feeling like I needed to lean on someone. Then, it was like, there was Barbie, and she was so easy…"

"I can tell," Stephanie joked. I'm such a bitch!

"And at that point in my life, I needed something easy, something I didn't need to think about. She got my mind off of everything that was hurting me, but that can only last for so long. She made me a worse person. The divorce was partly to blame, but she was too, and of course my own behavior because I didn't need to act like I did. It just seemed easier not to care than to let any of the hurt inside of me," Chris confessed to her, and it felt good to get out.

It was true, all of it. It was just so much easier to play the asshole than try and go for the good guy image he'd had before the divorce. He hated the looks he got from friends, so if he turned on them, made them hate him, then he could pretend he wasn't as hurt. Barbie played into that. All she cared about was fucking and he was content to concentrate on his own carnal pleasures rather than deal with the real world.

"That's no way to live though," Stephanie told him, "without friends. You need support, people need to know someone is there for them." I wish I could have someone support me. It would make it easier, and I might actually break away.

"Yeah, I know that now," Chris said, "luckily I didn't push too many people away. And I've managed to add some new friends…I hope at least…"

He wants to be my friend! "Absolutely you have," Stephanie nodded eagerly.

"And it goes both ways too," Chris told her. "I know that…well, I can just sense something in you, something that makes you really…I don't know, kind of sad, like you have this sadness about you, hanging in the air or something."

He was trying to hint without coming out and saying he knew exactly what was going on with her. If he knew everything, he might get the wrong idea about a few things. For one, he might think he was some kind of stalker who knew her intimate thought, and for another, she might think he was trying to use her or be with her. That was not the case. He just found himself drawn to her in a way he hadn't been drawn to anyone in a long time.

There was something about Stephanie that, whether it sounded cheesy or not, brought the humanity back to him. He thought he'd lost that in the divorce, along with his house and most of his cash. He'd lost faith in people after the nastiness between him and a woman he'd once loved so fiercely he'd promised to love her forever. After the divorce, trust became an issue, a huge issue, and finally, Stephanie was bringing him out of his self-imposed cocoon.

"I do not," she tried to brush it off casually, but even if Chris couldn't hear her thoughts, the words sounded flimsy and hollow. How can he see it, I really am that transparent, aren't I? So long I've tried to make Paul and I look like the model couple, and now I see it's all just been a farce.

"I don't mean to upset you," he quickly told her, "I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk or vent or…whatever, I'm here for you, and I don't want you to feel like you're alone. Just…you know, in case."

"Thank you," she said. I really wish I could tell him how unhappy I am, but that would just…I shouldn't need someone so much…but isn't that what you just told him, Stephanie? Didn't you JUST tell him that he should have someone there who could support him? Then he's offering you your own support and you're not even taking it! But it's different, it's just different because you aren't supposed to need anyone. Oh come on, like that's such a huge problem.

"Hey, come on, finish that," Chris pointed to her drink, "and let's go dance."

He had to get her out of her own head. She was only doing damage to her own psyche, and he wanted it to stop. He wanted her to be having fun, not contemplating on whether she was strong or not. Stephanie gulped down the rest of her drink, enjoying the buzz that came along with it as Chris downed his in one shot. He stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her out to the dance floor. She giggled, the drink making her personality loosen up more. Chris pulled her right out into the middle of the dance floor.

She stared up at him, her eyes wide, glancing around at everyone, but they were all so engrossed in themselves, Stephanie almost felt like she and Chris were alone at sea. This is crazy! I haven't been out like this in forever. I never have time to go out with my friends at home. I've missed this. Chris heard her thoughts; it was like, even with the mass of bodies around them, the music thumping, everything, her thoughts were the loudest. He realized when she thought, when he focused on her, everything else completely faded.

He didn't know what to make of it, didn't know why her thoughts were so special, but maybe, just maybe he was supposed to listen to hers the most. Chris stopped mulling over it, and instead, he pulled Stephanie closer by grabbing onto her hips. She was surprised when she bumped into him and he started dancing against her, doing his best not to look like he belonged on a reject dancer pile on some reality show.

Stephanie loosened up considerably when she let the music take over. She'd taken dance classes for a while so she was a lot more graceful than Chris was, but this wasn't real dancing, it was more like gyrating and wiggling on the dance floor. Stephanie laughed as she got lost in the music, trying to help Chris dance. She would periodically grab him by the hips and try to help him sway with the rhythm of the music, even though his body refused to cooperate. Chris noticed that her mind was relatively blank, which had to mean she was having too much fun to think anything serious. He took that as a mission accomplished, and when he realized she was having a good time, he let himself have a good time. Maybe that's why he was given this gift. Maybe he wasn't supposed to hear everyone's thoughts.

Maybe he was just supposed to hear Stephanie.