Um...well, hello again :L I've been awfully quite...again.

Right, let's just get rolling straight away. Except, this chapter was pretty rushed, so it's not that long :P

Therapy ~ All Time Low

"No I freaking well won't calm down!"

Eve's voice woke me up from my pleasant slumber, her high pitched voice ringing from the bathroom. I opened one eye to look for my alarm clock, but the bedside table didn't belong to me. Oh.

My other eye opened as I realised I was in Shane's room, a smile crossed my face when I remembered what happened last night, and my heart started to beat erratically when I felt Shane's warm hand on my bare stomach, my back pressed against his chest. I sighed in bliss and shrunk down further into the covers, trying my best not to wake Shane up. At my slight movement, he yawned, tickling the back of my neck with hot breath, sending shivers down my spine.

If it hadn't been for that and the tiniest of movements from his hand on my stomach, I would have never known he was awake. Please go back to sleep, please go back to sleep...

I scrunched my eyes shut, somehow hoping that that would make him fall asleep again. I didn't want to ruin the moment with talk, I just wanted to lie here in each others arms, while we still could.

"The living dead is walking around in my house! Besides you, I mean! I wouldn't be surprised if he started saying we should use Ouija boards, and soon we'll be drawing pentagrams around him!" Eve screamed again, and when Shane chuckled, ever so slightly, his chest rising up and down at the movement, I knew I could really punch Eve right now.

I didn't know whether he knew I was awake or not, but his arm tightened around me, almost protectively, before he lifted his hand to slowly trace circles over my bruised skin. He was gentle enough that it didn't hurt, instead sending tingles all over my body.

He kissed my shoulder delicately before pulling away. Then, very softly, he whispered, "You awake, Claire?"

As an answer, I turned around in his arms to face him. I was met with his signature bed head and narrowed brown eyes. I frowned. "What?"

He didn't reply. He crushed me to him, our mouths meeting in a passionate frenzy. I was surprised, but I returned the kiss, and when it was over, Shane rested his forehead against mine, his breathing heavy. "What was that for?" I asked, out of breath.

He pulled away, grinning. He let go of me and I leaned up on one elbow as he rolled onto his back and put one hand under his head, looking smug as hell. I grinned back at him, flopping down onto the bed next to him before putting my head in the centre of his chest while he wrapped his free arm around my waist. I draped my arm over his chest.

"Just wondering whether it was a dream or not." He said, gazing down at me.

"I know how you feel," I sighed, poking at one of the bruises on his arm. "I guess there are some aspects of last night that you wish were a dream."

"What, like getting torn apart? Yeah, you're right about that. But I didn't really mind the rest of it."

I could just hear the smirk in his voice, and my head snapped up. Sure enough, he was smirking, looking very very attractive with his Monday-morning look, smug, and like he needed a friendly slap.

"Oh-hoh, so it's all coming out now, eh, Collins?" I laughed, leaning up on my elbow again.

He just raised an eyebrow. I shook my head and flopped down next to him again, adopting the position I was just in.

"Eve, for God's sake, he's your best friend." You could hear the controlled anger in Michael's voice from outside the door. "Shouldn't you be happy that he's back?"

"No, he's not my best friend! He's my best friend's boyfriend – you know, the best friend whose heart he broke when he had to go away and play hero?" Eve's boots continued clumping down the hall, fading off into the distance. Michael's frustrated sigh sounded outside of Shane's door, and then a soft "Oh crap," sounded in my ears.

There was a knock on Shane's door, and after a shared look between the two of us, Shane shoved me down under the covers. "Hey, um, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?" I whisper-shouted, but I went down under the covers anyway, turning on my side towards the wall...in case I saw anything that...well, didn't really want to be seen.

"Michael would probably kill me if he found out I didn't at least wait to talk to you before this all happened. You know with him and his responsibility and everything, he would want to talk it out and stuff first." I peeked out of the covers as Shane rolled onto his stomach and flung an arm over the back of his head.

The door started to open, and I hurried back under the covers. Honestly, this was stupid. Michael knew what had been going on, and half the time, his feelings for Eve got in the way of the practical stuff as well. There were plenty times when even the looks those two gave each other could possibly be classified as pornographic.

"Shane?" A click indicated that Michael had stepped fully inside the room. "C'mon, man, I know you're not asleep."

Shane yawned and rolled over, feigning tiredness. "Not now, you mean. I was dreaming about rainbows and dancing teddy bears, and then you just had to wake me up." He sat up in the bed, the springs creaking under his advanced form. As he pushed himself up, he placed both his hands under the covers, and the one closet to me found my hand, squeezing it tight. "What's up?" Shane asked.

Michael laughed, a bright sound that was music to my ears. I hadn't heard him laugh like that in a while. "It's good to have you back, Shane."

"Good to be back, Mikey." There was a movement on the bed, and a tapping sound that suggested they had tapped fists, just like always. Guys. I almost rolled my eyes. Was that the best they could do? Boys will be boys.

"Mind telling me about this, though?" Michael asked, and I managed to sneak a peek at him holding up Shane's discarded t-shirt from last night. Oh no...

"...Erm, it's a shirt, dude. You know, you wear it over your chest? You have quite a lot, like most people. I know Eve doesn't like you wearing them, but, other people do prefer you with them on. Like me."

I could hear the eye-roll in Michael's voice: "I know what it is. What was it doing outside of your room?"

Shane let go of my hand then, and I wanted to sink right down into the bed, clearly out of sight. He yawned again. "I was just tired. I could hardly walk up the stairs without collapsing, and I just couldn't be bothered taking it off...in here. Sounds lame, I know, but I just wanted my bed as soon as possible. So...I stripped in the hall. For your enjoyment, obviously, Mike."

"Haha, very funny," Michael said, as plainly as possible. "So you just undressed in the hall, for all to see? Because you couldn't be bothered walking a few extra steps?"

"That's why you were always the smart one between us."

A sound like a rumpling of fabric reached my ears, and a jerked movement from Shane told me that Michael had thrown the t-shirt at him. "I'm not even gonna ask about the underwear."

"Got too hot," Shane said.

"Oh, really."

"Really."

Michael laughed again, and I knew what was coming. I shrunk further into the bed. "So now you're wearing women's underwear? And then who's that lying in the bed with you?"

An awkward silence fell upon the room, and I knew we were in deep. Shane couldn't think of anything to come up with, and I was lying there, naked under a bunch of sheets, while I was about to be forced to crawl out and get dressed. It was an unspoken fact that Michael had wanted Shane and I to talk out what had gone on the past few months before we rushed back into the romance after our reunion, and we had certainly defied his rule. I knew that he was just looking out for both of us – he didn't want us to immediately jump back into the way things were. He knew that, chances were, it would just make the needed conversations that much harder. It could break everything we had worked so hard to earn.

"..Eve." Shane said, completely flat. "Sorry, dude, couldn't help myself."

"Yeah, that's why she's wearing the carpet out at the bottom of the stairs. I think we both know the answer to this question, Shane."

Shane sighed agitatedly, fidgeting with the sheets. "Fine, it's Amelie. You got me."

"Shane." Michael said, clearly growing bored of this game.

"Oliver?"

"Try again?"

"Myrnin! That's it! Yeah, it's Myrnin. That sexy, crazy air about him...oaft."

"Okay, well you and Myrnin meet me downstairs in half an hour. We need to talk. It's kind of paedophilic, man."

"Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants!" Shane laughed, and another clicking of the door told me Michael was gone.

I threw the covers off my head, taking deep gulps of oxygen as my head resurfaced, meeting Shane's grinning face. "Air! Fresh air!" I laughed, sitting up and adjusting the covers so that they covered my body.

Shane laughed, moving himself to sit beside me. I leaned my head against his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around me as I drew lazy circles over that torso that he knew I loved way too much.

"He totally didn't buy that," He laughed, raking a hand through his hair.

"I can't believe you thought he did." I scoffed. And then added, after more though, "He really missed you, you know."

Shane nodded. "I know. And so did Eve, whether she chooses to make it clear or not. See the way she fainted? It was 'cause she couldn't cope with her overbearing joy to see me again. Mmmhmm. One sight of me, and the place just brightened up, and she couldn't take it. Both with my optimism, and devilish good looks."

"Optimism?" I screeched, a blush creeping onto my cheeks when I realised I had reached Black Canary levels.

"Yeah, optimism. Without me, you guys were a bunch of pessimists scrounging around all day, with no one to brighten your ways. I bet you three fell apart without me."

"Okay, Mr Optimistic, you do realise that you complain about almost everything?"

"That's bull. Hey, you're supposed to be the genius, I thought you would have worked this out before? Eve was so glad to see me, she fainted. But fear not, lil' lady, I'm back again to point out all the good things in life, while she goths' the place up. It'll be like a battle. And you can't forget that my looks have brightened the place up. Bet you guys looked right ugly."

I slapped him on the chest. "Oh, thanks! Glad at least someone's boyfriend thinks their girlfriend's beautiful!"

"Well, what can I say? You dull compared to me, babe."

"You are so cocky, you know that? And who said you were the most attractive person around here?" I pulled away, grinning, and stared at him in the face. "What if Michael is the hottie here?"

"Okay, 1: I'm not being cocky, I'm being optimistic. 2 – You know that I'm the most attractive person around here. And 3 – Dude, Michael's dead. I think chicks dig pulses more."

"Cocky! And at least Michael calls Eve beautiful! You just freaking told me I was ugly compared to you!"

Shane shook his head and leaned over to kiss me once, on the lips. "You know I was just kidding. You're gorgeous. And anyway, I know that sometimes, you can't help but want to tell me just how fantastic I am anyway. Those scratch marks from last night being one example," He winked.

"Excuse me?" Despite myself, I blushed...again.

"Oh, come on. What were you trying to do? Carve "Shane is incredible" into my back? 'Cause if that's the case, darlin' , I already know."

I grabbed a pillow from behind me and swung it at his head, laughing. Yelling and dodging, he grabbed me around the waist, kissing me eagerly before letting go. I pulled away reluctantly.

"We should probably get dressed. Michael wants to talk to us." He whispered, brushing a hair out of my face.

I nodded, grabbing his t-shirt from the bottom of the bed and slipping it over my head. Shane looked taken aback. "I take it I'm wearing another top then, eh?"

I shrugged and we turned out backs to each other. I felt Shane kiss me lightly on the shoulder before I heard him turn around, continuing in his business. After getting the rest of my clothes on, I turned around to find Shane standing with his back to me, pulling his jeans on. The scar I had noticed from the night before glistened in the morning sun, yearning to be touched, soothed, cooled, anything to make it stop looking painful.

I knelt on the bed and crawled closer to him, trailing my fingers down the length of the scar, making Shane shiver under my touch. The skin was soft and smooth, but it had that feeling that scars often did, like the skin that had formed over the wound was too stretched out, willing to break open again at any given opportunity.

We both froze, and I knew that Shane could sense what was coming next.

"Shane," I whispered. "What happened to you?"

Yeah, I know, it's short, considering half of these chapters are donks long. But I just kind of wanted it over and done with, and the next one will be pretty long, but not really uneventful :S It's basically Shane explaining everything that happened...like, is he dead or alive? How is he back? Etc, etc. But for you Britons, you all know it's the Easter holidays, which means more time to write ('cause I'm sad, and have no life...well, at least for the first week :/). So, basically, NO DISTRACTIONS! Yay :)

Oh, I almost forgot: Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday :D

Thanks to:

MollyxKookie: Why thank you :D Honestly, the first draft was way better than the second one, so I wasn't too happy -.- Anyway, I hope you had a good birthday as well!

Babygirl555: Who doesn't love Shane and Claire? And thank you muchly :-P I would never abandon you lot, just procrastinate like there's no tomorrow (that actually doesn't make sense...)

Heartbrokentears: Thank you! :D That is a HUGE compliment! I would love to get published one day :D

Lightbulb Moments: Okay, if I'm honest with you, I love Sam as well. So does my friend Rachael, who got me the books for Christmas. She was like "I tried to read them once, but I couldn't get into it" and then she borrowed them from me and LOVED them ;) Sam's kind of like the guy I like...well, not a lot, but the dude's a gentleman and stuff. Except, Sam's positive. Tom isn't :-P MICHAEL MCINTYRE'S BIOGRAPHY! OMG, I love him! I call him Skippy :-P Y'know, 'cause he's always skipping about the stage? And I've got a book you have to read: Siren. It's amazing. Rachael's got that the now, actually... It did take the two of them long enough, haha. And YESH, I HAVE read the House Of Night series, but only the first three :S Rachael (again) got me Awakened for my birthday, which I felt horrible at, because she loves the series a lot more than me, but just got the book for me anyway :( And thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed :D Nikita xx

BrIgHtEyEdGiRl-lIvEtIlLtHeEnD – Yeah, writer's block sucks, haha. Have you ever got readers block? The most depressing thing EVER. It's L. J. Smith (the author of the Vampire Diaries) that does it to me, with the trilogy Dark Visions. It took me months to read it :-P Haha, I'm sorry it wasn't that actiony in this chapter, and it won't be in the next either (sorry!), but probably the chapter after is when it'll start up again, and it'll carry on with the action until the last chapter. And no, Dean hasn't gone yet :-P Thank you!

Teardropsfade – x: You changed your name! NO! :O I was like "...who's Teardropsfade?" and then I realised :/ It's still a good name, haha :-P ANYWAY. Yeah. You have him during the week. School'll probably hinder that, anyway ;) Muhaha :D And I've got my eyes on someone else, anyway... I've said too much :P And you guess right, it's not me :L It's dah Lara Croft, 'cause I'm a video game nerd like that :P And I would change her name to Imie...but then it wouldn't be my name ;) xx

ChocoTeaserMunch: I know...it took me forever to update that chapter...and this :S And Eve goes MENTAL in the next chapter, so you'll probably enjoy that :L Thanks for the birthday wishes! :D And there'll probably be about five more chapters, max? The next one's basically explanations and stuff, but at the end of it, there's a bit of a surprise, which leads into the next three chapters, and then there's an epilogue. Roughly five, give or take a few :-P And I got my "stuff" sorted out. I feel soooo much better xx

Separate Entity: Thank you! And yaasss, Paramore! (I cry every time I think about them now, after what happened to Josh and Zac :/) And I'm glad you enjoyed it :D xx

Total Obsessive Bookworm: ...You have no idea how much your review meant to me. Seriously. I looked like a freaking loon grinning :D I'm so sorry to hear about your friend, though! I hope you're okay? And it's fine you didn't review the last chapter, you reviewed now! :D And thank you so much! Yeah, people do tell me that I write really maturely for my age, when I'm technically still a baby :L And..meh, I'm okay at school. My English teacher is really hard to please with writing, but she thinks I'm good, while my other English teacher...I hate. We wrote a critical essay on a poem, and the teacher wrote at the top "You expressed your views on war and the poem well, and your sentence structure is fantastic. Remember, however, that economy of language is the key to credit" and had she not been talking a bunch of bull, I would've been fine about it. Want to know what she did? On all the more unusual, less contemporary words I had used to describe things (not just using basic words, basically), she had scored them out and written more common words. I was so annoyed! Economy of language, my arse! How can she write that, when I used economy of language, and she changed that? I mean, I wrote "belligerent"...she scored it out and wrote "cruel". God, she's annoying :P Anyway, thank you, and I hope you enjoyed!

XXMelissaXXRayanne: Thank you! :D

Vampdiariesfan: I knew it was you ;) Aw, thank you! I think FANTASTICALLYAMAZINGLYHAWT is the word you're looking for to describe Shane...and that doesn't even cover it :D Funny, "fantasticallyamazinglyhawt" didn't come up with that red squiggly line under it...wait, it did now :L And Eve goes mental in the next chapter, so don't worry! I got my problems sorted out, though, but thanks anyway :D Hope you enjoyed! Nikita xx

VamprGirl4EverAndEver: Thank you so much :) You actually give me more motivation to write, and just proved to me that it doesn't matter when I update, so long as I do it.

Ironkitten89: Oh, sorry :S Thank you, though! :D

BlackSapphire96: Thankoo :D xx

Gabby: Haha, thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it :) x

SexyBite112: Well, consider it continued :D

MademoiselleTesla: Wow, you have no idea how nice it is to hear that :L And yes, you have an amazing taste in music! :D Glad you enjoyed! :D xx

think the thanks were longer than the actual chapter... :L

Anyway, I know I always say this, but this time it's true: I'll try and get the next one up as soon as I can :P I hope you all enjoyed, and if you're from the UK, I hope you enjoy your holidays!

Niki xx