I watched her, breathing raggedly, eyes wide as she came closer toward me, playing with the tips of my long fringe. She looked curious, she looked adorable and I couldn't take it. I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt her thumb touch my chin, I made a short sharp gasp and the thumb was pulled back sharply. I opened my eyes again, heart pounding in my ears as she creased her eyebrows and frowned.

"Did I hurt you?" she whispered, her hand caressing the edge of my neck.

"No", I choked out, transfixed on her touch.

"Oh", she said simply. There was an awkward silence, her hand stopped moving and rested near my heart. She was trying to catch my gaze, to read me through my eyes like she always did, I stared at the intricate feather tattoo below her little finger. She knew me too well, yet she didn't know me at all. She was wondering what was up with me, every time she tried to get near my face and my stupid hair. I let out a long shaky sigh and took hold of her wrists, my calloused thumbs tracing her pale palms slowly. I was stalling.

"What are you hiding?" she breathed almost silently, all my neatly packed boxes being kicked to pieces in my mind, the vivid images of the memories I'd taken and placed there and hid away in boxes never to be opened were invading my head, unravelling faster than a wool sweater with a hole in it. How did she do this to me? How did she manage to do what someone trained to do couldn't? I let go of her abruptly, anxious to get rid of the contact. I backed away into the more shadowy part of the loft. She followed me, a determined look on her face yet there was also a hint of tears in her eyes. I cowered, like I always did as she balled her fists at her sides before suddenly shoving me back into one of the plush armchairs. She straddled me, effectively pinning me in all my skinniness, it didn't help she also had her knee pressed against my groin, not enough to do damage but possibly… other things. She had her face mere inches from my own, my eyes were darting all over the place to avoid hers.

"Stop-"

"No", she replied sternly. I started hyperventilating as she started stroking my fringe, she started to pull it back but I grabbed her hand out of reflex, a pleading look was ignored as she snatched her hand back. She pinned my arms, but she pinned me more with her concern. No one had given a shit before. She started back to my fringe again and I knew there was no way I was going to win. I slowly felt slight fingers hesitantly brush the hair away, my eyes closed once again; I heard her gasp and I waited for her to shy away.

"Oh Jay…" she kissed me then, not sweetly, it was raw. I felt my fringe fall back into place as a tear squeezed from the corner of my left eye. Her fingers were on my cheek, I could clearly think of the feel as she broke the kiss, breathing words in my ear that I couldn't make out. She tucked the hair behind my ear as she began to lay fleeting, soft butterfly kisses over the dark, puckered melted skin. I released a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding as she continued along my jaw, up by my eye. I was damaged goods. I felt like my skin had been scrubbed with a wire brush, from the inside, I shook, the flames licking and stroking my skin in a white hot pain that I couldn't stop.

She helped break me all over again.

"I got burned", I panted out.

"I know Jay… I know"

This is my favourite chapter.

-5kinnys