Okay, here's chapter 14! SO sorry that I haven't posted in ages, and I don't want to make excuses so I'll try to keep writing from now on so...enjoy!

By keeping her heart protected

She'd never ever feel rejected

But little Miss Independent said ooh,

She fell in love.

~Miss Independent~

~Kelly Clarkson~

Luke watched Kaia, looked her in the eyes, saw for the first time how her eyes changed colour when her emotions switched so rapidly. They were dark with worry before, a deep brown into which he couldn't penetrate, but now, it was like her eyes were a dark tea, and someone just plopped a dollop of milk into them, making the silt brown a rich gold in which he lost himself for a matter of seconds. He drew his hands out of hers and laced them together.

The soft bed didn't help his leverage as he leaned in, slowly, both of them still cross-legged, and Kaia looking like a deer-caught-in-headlights. He pulled his hands towards him, bringing hers with them, and Kaia with them. Her eyes were sparking in the nicest, most beautiful way, and for some reason, she laughed.

"What's so funny?" Luke whispered, smiling himself, still not quite sure why. The dark red sheets crumpled at they moved on the queen bed, Kaia's face inches from his own. For once, she wasn't hesitating, wasn't serious, wasn't thinking. She was just going with it, and damn, it felt good. His breath was all smoke and mint, and it smelt like-like absolute heaven. They were sat awkwardly now, Luke leaning over so much that he half lost balance, half pushed himself onto his side, landing softly on his back and pulling his hands up to his shoulders; Kaia's still interlinked. She laughed, an echoing sound that surrounded his heart, and he laughed with her, looking up at her face that was fuller of beauty than anyone he had ever or would ever know. She was straddling him now, with her hands above his shoulders, and it was her face that was laughing and so close to his and her body and heart that was so close, and all he wanted to be was closer.

He took one of his hands and placed it on her cheek. She leaned into it, closing her eyes and sighing-before opening them with mischief glinting in her golden eyes.

"Kaia, Wh-" Luke began, but she'd taken both of her hands and started tickling his side-Hell! He was laughing so much that only the fact that he was a lot bigger and stronger than her allowed him to flip them both over and restrain her hands and start tickling her.

"L-Luke!" She went into hysterics, laughing until tears spilled out of her eyes, and tried weakly to shove him off. They were both laughing loudly before the hands on his chest started punching him and he grinned even wider at their feeble attempts. Regardless, he grabbed the hands now flat against his chest and held them there with one hand, while leaning in and wiping away Kaia's tears with the other.

"I'm sorry I made you cry," He whispered as he leant into her ear, but she just laughed quietly.

"I think I'll forgive you, just this one time." She replied, and slowly brought her hands out of his hold. They ran up his toned chest, covered by his ripped and bloodied smart T-shirt, past his shoulders and laced themselves into his fine hair.

"Your head-" She began, but he cut her off by pressing his lips to hers, finally closing the gap between them.

"Later." He concluded, nuzzling her neck, before meeting her lips once more, his hands supporting his body on either side of her head as he straddled her.

"Luke, I-" knock, knock, knock. Three floors down, the door banged.

"Oh, my fu-"

"Luke!" Kaia gasped, laughing, and burying her head in his neck.

"I think they'll go away if we just-"

"Kaia! Get that skinny butt out here right now or I may have to kill Luke for keeping you in there for so long! And no-in case you're wandering- I'm not going away, so open up!" Clarisse shouted though the door.

"And if you think you're missing that party, little Miss 'I'll just get my boyfriend to beat up the alcohol provider', then you can think again! We need someone else to get the alcohol, and guess what? You're the weirdly rich one!"

Groaning, Kaia propped herself up on her elbows, keeping her head rested on Luke's shoulder. She opened her mouth to reply to Clarisse, but Luke kissed her fiercely. His hand held her face to his as he deepened the kiss and tilted his head to the side, pushing her back onto the bed. She grinned into it, and couldn't help but push him off her laughing. She felt lightheaded and dizzy and could barely breathe when she looked at Luke's radiant face, and she just wanted to stay there and stay pinned beneath his warm body for forever.

But Clarisse rapped loudly on the door again, and Kaia groaned, nuzzling into Luke again.

"I think I'd better go," she began, but it was like waking up on a freezing winters morning, wrapped in your thickest duvet. Her heart and mind were telling her to stay; and only her mouth acted differently from the rest of her. And even that changed its mind when Luke captured her lips for another kiss. He could feel her grinning into it, but he took no notice, tilting his head to the side and running his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She let him gladly, and didn't even bother fighting for dominance as he kissed her passionately, making her groan and lie on her back, wrapping her arms securely around him once more. Neither heard the door smash open, or the feet that could be as silent as they wanted to be stomping up the stairs and onto the top floor.

"Guys, get a room!" Clarisse moaned as she saw them oblivious to the outside world. Luke moved broke away and, keeping his forehead on Kaia's, turned to glare at Clarisse.

"We did, until you came barging in here, idiot." He said, scowling at her already made up face with eyes like molten ice. If he wasn't so caught up in the moment, he would've raised his eyes at Clarisse. Her usually armour clad form was wrapped in golden silk, with bangles and earrings to match, and her golden hair fell like a water fall from her scalp. She looked beautiful.

"Luke," Kaia said disapprovingly, bringing her hands to pull his face back to look at her.

"I'm coming, Clarisse. Just give me ten minutes." She shot look at Clarisse, wondering if she would take the hint.

"Too long. The party starts in three hours. You need to port me out of here, get the booze, and then port back in with that lovely ability you have within that time. You also need to get ready!" She said, looking at the clothes Kaia was wearing, (or, at least, as much of them as she could see beneath Luke). "And what happened to you, Frankenstein? Oh yeah, that's right, you lost a fight to that good for nothing asshole, who was also drunk. I mean, I knew you were crap at fighting, but-"

"I did not lose!" Luke was kneeling up now, hands still entwined with Kaia's, but itching to slug Clarisse in the jaw.

"Luke..." Kaia started, but it was already over.

"Five minutes, love birds, and then I'm taking you whether you like it or not."

Luke snorted. "Sounds kinky."

"Honestly, Kaia, I don't know what you see in him."

"The same thing you did, I expect." Luke sneered, not bothering to hold back his malice. Kaia just gaped at him.

"That was at least a week ago, when your hair looked better. And your body, for that matter. You're getting fat, Luke. Five minutes, Kaia."

"Luke!" Kaia said, looking to her left, where Luke was now on his back next to her.

"You can't say that." But she wasn't angry, not really. She knew that Clarisse wasn't angry about her and Luke, from the mind vibes she was giving off, and she could tell that Luke didn't really want to hurt Clarisse, just wanted her to go away. He looked at her apologetically, using his free hand to trace the line of her jaw, and watch her as she closed her eyes and shivered.

"Luke..."

"I know." The three words that build up a life, or destroy one, hung in the air between them, and Kaia remembered all of times that her and her brother had lain in their garden on their backs, just like now, gazing up at the stars with wondrous eyes. She remembered how the girls that had been introduced to her used to chat about men as if they were princes in shining armour, every single one of them. And perhaps they were, to each individual person. And she remembered thinking that she would never, ever need someone like that, because no one would ever be closer to her than she would be to her brother.

But he was gone. And Luke was right there.