AN:

Yes! Just under a week! Success. ;)

Unfortunately, this will be the last chapter update until at least Thursday, I have three exams on Wednesday and I've done absolutely zero studying. But I'll do my best to have the next update by Friday, hopefully...fingers crossed. haha.

Enjoy!

Special Shout outs:

Lady of Sign: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

SammieLuvsFood: Thank you! I would have updated this one sooner, but I wanted to connect the two interactions I had written so that I could give you guys a longer chapter. But I'll continue to do my best and update asap. :)

Guest: Thank you! You're wonderful as well, even more so, actually. :D

Guest007: Thank you! I'm so glad! haha. Here's a little more Pogue for you. :)

To all my reviewers: you guys rock, thank you for the encouragement, it means a lot!

To all you non reviewers: you rock too, and I'm glad you're still reading!

x

"You gonna tell me what's going on between you and Garwin?" A rough, deepened murmur from above; large, warm hands running through silken midnight waves in a slow pattern that soothed her body, even if it didn't soothe her mind.

"Nothing's going on, Caleb." Avery murmured, unwilling to open her eyes.

She and Natalie had finished unpacking an hour ago and had been lying on their beds, their brother's by their sides, ever since.

Avery currently had her head on one of her pillows, lying in Caleb's lap – they may have just had a falling out the night before last, but he was still her brother, and though he hadn't actually apologized, he'd made plenty of peace offerings that she had accepted wordlessly.

"I may be a dick Avery, and I may not like your relationship with Reid; but I'm not stupid. You haven't exchanged more than a handful of words with him since Saturday night. Something is wrong, whether you want to cop to it or not."

A brief flash of skin on skin chased away the horrors overwhelming her mind, providing a split-second respite before the memory was gone and the horror was back.

"It's nothing Caleb," But that was an outright lie, it was something; something that needed to be fixed because though her brother was a welcome bit of shelter from her mind, Avery didn't feel nearly as safe with Caleb as she did with Reid – but as things stood currently, she couldn't exactly turn to Reid at the moment.

"You'll tell me if I need to kick Reid's ass, right?" He commanded, his words were meant to tease, but she was more than aware that Caleb was just searching for an excuse to kick Reid's ass.

"Never through me, will I give you permission to take out your frustrations on Reid, Caleb." She warned, a veiled promise in her tone that suggested that if Caleb ever pursued that route, he'd have to face the wrath of her.

"How's your power transgressing?" He questioned in a blatant avoidance of her previous words.

A girl four floors beneath ours is afraid of spiders.

There was a boy on the other side of the dormitories afraid of clowns.

A married couple driving down the road two miles out were on their way back from the hospital...The man was afraid he would lose his wife because he had failed to keep her safe, because he had failed to protect their child. The woman was afraid that she had ruined her marriage due to a miscarriage she had had absolutely no control over.

She didn't tell him any of this, didn't tell him that later, when he was gone and she was asleep, that she would live through that miscarriage as if it were her own; didn't tell him that she would live through the whole dormitories nightmares as if it were her reality. She merely kept her eyes closed and informed him that her control was strengthening as each day passed, and that it was almost as if she wasn't even gifted in the first place.

He believed her without question, and when Natalie looked up from her computer to glance at the other side of the room, it was to see Avery's eyes closed, her breaths shallow, but soft.

Natalie knew the light sleep was in heavy thanks to Caleb's gentle tending and for a brief moment, blue hazel met dark brown without malice for the first time in a long time, before the buzzing phone beside her pulled blue hazel away.

Natalie's eyes caught the contact Curly before a smile pulled at her mouth, "So, Doctor," She teased quietly, her attention returning to her lap top screen where she was playing Dev in chess. "How's the patient?"

"Shut up Nat." He grumbled under his breath, and she was mildly surprised by the faint tendrils of embarrassment she could feel beneath his skin.

Her brows rose as she nudged his elbow with her own, which wasn't a hard thing to do considering they were sitting side-by-side on her bed, their bodies touching from shoulder to leg.

"I was teasing big brother."

"I know," He let out a sigh.

"You two had the talk yet?"

"Wednesday."

"Need back up?" She inquired, willing away her brother's small frown, "Elizabeth's a fierce little lion, if you didn't already know."

A small smirk lifted his mouth, "Yea, I'm aware. But I think I can handle her."

"She's no tame thing Pogue," Natalie warned suddenly, needing her brother to understand this one thing before he decided he wanted to tangle with Tyler's little sister, one of her best friends. "You won't be able to control her, you won't be able to tame her…if you try to do to her, what Kate so easily allowed? It could very well kill her, it'll definitely break her."

Elizabeth Simms was wild, unrestrained, and passionate…she had spirit and she had strength – any attempts to stifle that wild passion would hurt her beyond all measures. She was who she was, and Natalie knew, if Pogue ever attempted to change who Elizabeth was, it would destroy any hopes the two had of ever finding happiness in one another.

"I don't want to change her Nat," He promised, hardened gaze meeting her own, and in his gaze, through his emotions, she felt the truth in his vow, his bone-deep conviction. "I like her because of her passion."

Satisfied with his promise, she grinned, "And here I thought it was because of those riotous curls I saw you eyeing today at Nikki's."

He pushed her shoulder with his own, causing a laugh to spill past her lips. "Whatever little sis."

But as Natalie returned to whatever game she was playing, Pogue's mind returned to the girl he'd never expected to be interested in.

She was one of his best friend's sister, and that was very dangerous water to be playing in – Reid, Avery and Caleb were prime examples of just why he shouldn't be doing this. But even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop; he had to see where he and Elizabeth could take this new development in their relationship.

They would talk Wednesday, and if they were satisfied, they would continue on their path, if they weren't, then no feelings hurt, no boundaries crossed, they would go back to being the friends they had always been…even if he already found himself getting hooked on her.

And he wasn't becoming hooked because of that teasing moment in the hallway beside the bathroom, nor was it because of her wild hair or her spirited disposition – it had everything to do with the fact that she had done the one thing no other girl besides his sister had ever done for him.

Elizabeth had worried about his safety, hadn't let him roll over her and get his way like Kate and the few girls before Kate had.

Elizabeth had coerced him into meeting her halfway, and that, that got her his respect on a level that went beyond just friendship.

All followers, favoriters, reviewers, non-reviewers, continuous guests, and first-timers: I hope you enjoyed!

Feel free to review!

Until next time,

x