:) Thanks for the reviews- it makes me so happy that you guys are enjoying the story!

Emma's POV

Emma's eyelids fluttered open as she stayed in a phase of confusion. Her face was pressed up against something. She raised her head to find she was sleeping on Stiles' chest. She smiled to see him in a deep sleep, lightly snoring. Emma turned to realize his arm was cradeling her body. She smiled, tempted to nuzzle up against him again, but fought against the urge. She rubbed her knuckle against her eye. Emma slowly stretched her legs out to feel her feet on the fridgid hardwood floor and stood up, hoping to find a washroom or at least a mirror.

"After everything I give you, you sneak out? Have you any respect?" Emma turned to see Stiles scratching the back of his head with an adorable half-smile on his face.

"Where's your washroom?" Emma asked in a hushed tone, worried she'd wake his father up. Embarrassment rushed through her body at the thought of Stiles' father seeing them asleep together.

"Upstairs- second door to the right," he answered, pointing to the staircase. Emma nodded and slowly went up the stairs. She found the washroom, to discover her swollen eyes and pale complexion. Groaning, Emma splashed cold water on her face. To her relief, she found some mouthwash under the sink and used it. Emma smoothed back her tousled caramel bangs and clipped them back. She slowly opened the door and saw Stiles walking out of his bedroom with a new plaid shirt.

"Sorry for passing out," Emma mumbled as they met eachother at the top of the staircase.

"It's no problem," Stiles laughed, shaking his hands dismissively. "I'll be right down," he told her. Stiles went into the washroom. Emma quickly grabbed her things from Stiles' room and hopped down the stairs. She slipped on her shoes and waited at the door. Stiles soon came downstairs with a smile on his face.

"Breakfast?" he chirped, grabbing his sneakers.

"Only if it's on me," Emma replied, happy that he still wanted to spend time with her. Stiles groaned and agreed. "What about your dad?"

"He most likely came home really late.. probably didn't even see us in the living room," Stiles explained. Emma blushed as the thought about the fact that they fell asleep on eachother. "And I left a note." Emma smiled at his courtesy.

The two of them walked out of the house and got into Stiles' jeep. After buckling in, he sped down the road and pulled into the parking lot of a small restaurant. They went in, sat at a table beside a large window and waited for their waitress.

"What time are you going to the mall?"

"Around two," Emma answered, flattered that he remembered. She looked at her watch to see it was only quarter after 10. "You know, you snore," Emma teased.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, you talk in your sleep," Stiles replied, his cheeks turning pink.

"Oh God, what did I say?" Emma asked. She brought her hands up to her hot cheeks.

"Nothing understandable," he answered, chuckling. The waitress came by soon after, taking their order of two waffles.

"And a side of curly fries, please," Stiles chirped, handing the waitress the menus.

"Curly fries for breakfast. I like the way you think," Emma told him. After an enjoyable breakfast, the waitress thanked them and placed the bill on the table. As soon as Emma spotted it, she slammed her hand on top of it, followed by Stiles, whose hand was resting on hers. "We had a deal, Stiles," Emma chuckled, looking at him as their hands remained touching. Stiles snickered and slid his hand off of hers.

"Thank you," Stiles mumbled, looking at his watch, "Come on."

"Where are we going?" she asked, getting up from her seat.

"You'll see," Stiles sang. He opened the door for her once again, grinning at her. "M'lady."

"Why, thank you, good sir," Emma said, fanning herself as she walked through the door. Stiles chuckled. They made their way to his Jeep and Stiles began to drive down the road.

The car was pulled to the side of the empty street. Trees surrounded the pavement. Stiles smiled at Emma as he opened his door and got out of the Jeep. She did the same and shuffled over to his side of the car.

"Let's go," he exclaimed.

The two of them walked through the amber orange and copper brown forest. The singing of small birds was heard through the sound of the light wind blowing through the branches of each tree. With every step they took, the comforting sound of crunching leaves filled their ears.

"That's a nice bracelet," Stiles mumbled, breaking the silence between them. Emma smiled, bringing her wrist up to examine the bracelet herself. It was silver with small, red heart charms dangling off of it.

"Thank you," she replied, "It was my mom's." There it was. After promising herself she wouldn't bring up her mother, or any of her past for that matter, with a simple sentence, she broke the promise to herself. She didn't understand what it was about Stiles that made her feel like she could say anything without being judged. She didn't have a filter when she was with him.

"Was?" he echoed with a small break in his voice.

"Mhm," Emma mumbled, "Before she.." She felt a cold tear build up in her right eye. Emma looked up to the woods ahead of them, fixing a smile on her face to get rid of the sensation to cry. She breathed in the brisk autumn air and started to chew her lip.

"My mom's not around either," Stiles told her, putting his left hand in his pocket. Emma knew that. But she told herself not to ask about his mother. At least she kept one promise to herself.

She looked up at him to see his glazed hazel eyes looking down as he made each footstep. "It happened a few years ago," he explained, lightly clearing his throat, "She was so sick."

Without thinking, Emma reached out her hand and made contact with his. His warm hand welcomed the gesture, interlacing his fingers with her. She could feel light calluses beneath his fingers that he got from all the lacrosse practice. She heard her heartbeat thumping through her ears as he slowly breathed.

Stiles' POV

'Why is she holding my hand?', Stiles asked himself. 'Does she just feel sorry for me? Am I just a friend to her? God, I just want to kiss her.'

"I'm sorry," Emma's voice broke his thoughts. It was a bit raspy, yet comforting. Stiles couldn't believe he was saying these things. It was the first time in a long time he actually let someone in. He had always hid behind the happy personality he created for himself, but now, he was letting that side of him out- the side no one else saw since his mother passed. Not even him.

"Me, too," Stiles immediatley said back, feeling a lump in his throat. He bravely looked over at her to see her, biting on her lip yet again.

"My mom- she.." Emma began to explain, "It was a car accident. With my sister." Her sweet voice began to crack as she tightened her grip on his hand. "My dad jumped at the chance to move. I wanted to leave that all behind. I hated all those looks I got back home. Everyone pitied me."

"They'd look at me like I was so damaged," Stiles shared, "Like they expected me to just breakdown after it happened." He felt a small tear build up in his eye and pretended to brush his hand through his hair, when really, he wiped his eye clean.

His hand felt like it fit perfectly in hers. Her soft, warm skin was as comforting as her sweet voice. He felt the cold charm heart lightly swinging off of her wrist.

"How long was she sick for?" Emma's innocent question brought painful memories back to him.

"A few months," Stiles told her, "I thought I prepared myself for it. But you can never be ready for that."

"Does it get easier?" she asked him. She sniffed, clearly given up trying to hold back her tears anymore. Without thought, Stiles stopped in his tracks, holding his arm stiff. Emma lightly swung back and was found facing him. Their hands stayed cradeling eachothers.

"Yes," he whispered, looking down at her glossy, chestnut eyes. He brought his hand up to her pale face, wiping a tear away from her soft cheek. Their hands seperated as Emma enveloped her arms around his torso, tightly holding him. Stiles strong arms gripped around Emma's shoulders. Her soft breath tickled his neck as he rested his chin on top of her head, inhaling the sweet vanilla scent her hair gave off.

As their bodies slowly seperated from the hug, Emma's head tilted up to look at Stiles. His eyes studied her face as they stood frozen, faces only a few inches away from eachother. Stiles looked down at Emma's lips and imagined how they would taste. Her eyes looked at him, as if they were begging for him to kiss her.

Stiles dipped his head down as they tilted towards eachother in unison. He slowly closed his eyes. Their lips met, causing the butterflies in his stomach to go frantic.

Emma's POV

Her first kiss. As Stiles brought his hand up to cradle her neck, Emma felt goosebumps form on her arms. His soft lips felt better against hers than she imagined. The lips she watched so many times. Emma always lustfully stared at them when he would lick his lips. By now, she didn't even care how she looked- her eyes were probably reddened from the tears. She didn't care about anything else at that moment. Just him.

As their lips disjointed, Emma's eyelids fluttered open. She looked up into Stiles' eyes, noticing small gold speckles in the sea of auburn. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so safe.

They looked at eachother, speechless.