AN:

I know it's short, and this is only the first half of this particular scene, but I haven't had the time to do the other half, so I figured I'd go ahead and post it for ya'll to read. The next half should be up within the next couple of days.

Hope everyone had a wonderful mother's day!


Special Shout Outs:

Zouzou816: I'm glad you thought so! Thank you! I need to give them that time because I don't want any of their reactions to blur together, which, admittedly, can be kind of difficult with 8 main characters. haha. ;)

WitchGirl101: I am really sorry about that! But I am super stoked that this story is worthy enough for you to stress to your Mom about it! This update isn't late though, so yay! / I'm glad you liked their chapter! And that they're different to the others, making each pairing individual is really important to me! I'm sorry about the confusion and that you eventually got the gist of it! (if you have any further confusions or any leftover confusions, please feel free to ask me; I'd be more than happy to clear things up to my best abilities). / Well, then I hope you enjoy the next two chapters, which are centered around Caleb and Natalie! Haha, I can respect your choices, I'm just glad to hear that Pogue's kind of got another fan. :) And I can understand your standing with Reid - I understand completely. I read (and write) to get away from reality and if not favoring Reid is your ticket to getting your fix of fantasy, I'm totally okay with that. :) / I don't want to give away too much on the defensive aspect, but, I do want to reassure you of this; absolutely none of these girls are defenseless when it comes to Chase. I don't plan on them getting any kind of short stick, and I hope once the time comes, you won't see it as their stories as shortcomings; and as of right now, I have zero plans to making anyone a sacrificial lamb. And trust me, I have a reason for Lace appearing to be the 'weak link'. And Avery does keep a lot to herself, that's a major part of her character and I'm sorry you don't like that about her, hopefully as the story eventually reaches its conclusion, you'll like her a little bit more.

IA: Thanks! Good, I meant to show a different side to their relationship, and I'm super glad you both liked it and consequently found it believable. Sorry for the delay, and the anxiety attacks, haha - but a little suspense isn't all that bad. ;) There won't be any Chase confrontation, there will definitely be Natalie and Caleb confrontation in the next chapter though. ;) Two reviews mentioning the hit already, I might just write that in for reader's pleasure. haha. I hope Natalie's reaction doesn't disappoint!

Randichele: YAY FEELS! haha. Well then, look forward to it, cause I might just put that in there just for you. ;) Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Guest: THANK YOU! I'm so glad you feel that way, and I hope to continue writing and developing this story in a way that helps you to continue feeling that way. :) I'm sorry for the not-so quick update, life is being a pain in my a** right now. haha. Group scene? That is filed away in the to-do list of chapters. School dance isn't a bad idea either! Thanks for the suggestions and the request, I'll see what I can do. ;) haha, thank you! They are adorable and I really can't wait to write/post further chapters on their relationship.

KelseyBl: It's fine, as long as you're reading I'm a happy writer. ;) (though I do love that you took the time out to review, they're always greatly appreciated). They do tend to be the favorite pick. :D She is and I think her willingness to be tough for her family is a key part of her character. I'll put that on my to-do list, thank you for the request! I actually have considered it, just recently too, but I have absolutely zero clue on how to do that kind of thing, so if I did, it would most definitely have to be some kind of project to be prodded and played with after I've finished this story. As for the face claims - I have pictures, but I'm only positive that two of the face claims are actresses. I'll search around to see if I can for sure settle and then I'll post 'em or something on my profile for you to see. :)

SusanCullen: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter and the chapters to come! :D

CC: Sorry for the wait and thank you! Hopefully it continues to get better! ;)


To all my reviewers: (All beautiful 8 of you) you guys rock, thank you for the continued encouragement, and for taking the time to review, it means a lot!

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

Additionally: to my newest readers and reviewers, awesome!

x


"What was he thinking?" Natalie asked herself as she paced the empty confines of her dorm room. "What was I thinking?" She demanded of herself.

What was she thinking? What in the hell had possessed her not only to allow Caleb freaking Danvers to kiss her, but what had possessed her to allow herself to kiss him back as good as he gave?

And damn did he give good…NO!

She put an end to that line of that quickly and viciously; she had no business thinking about Caleb's harsh, wicked, pleasant…NO! With a short scream she clamped her eyes shut, hands coming up to clasp her head as she fought back the thoughts she now had of Caleb Danvers.

She didn't want to think about him, that kiss, she didn't want to think about the fact that their kiss lingered in her mind as sure as his touch did on her skin. She didn't want to think about how one riveting kiss from him had snapped her mind back into her body like nothing else ever had before; she didn't want to think about what had led up to that kiss because then that meant she would have to focus on the fact that she was some sort of succubus without the killer sexual craving.

She didn't want to think about any of it; especially not what she would tell Avery – because she would tell Avery…she had to. Natalie needed to talk to someone about what had happened, needed to talk to someone who would know both she and Caleb well, she need to talk to someone who knew them both and wouldn't judge Natalie's actions; and despite the fact that Avery was Caleb's sister, she would listen to what Natalie had to say and help her work through it without vindication or insult.

Aside from figuring out what had happened between she and Caleb, and aside from trying to figure out just why she had allowed such a kiss to happen; Natalie feared what would come of her already fucked up relationship with Caleb now that they had crossed a line that they hadn't ever crossed before. Forgetting briefly about the vicious verbal blows they had taken at each other's character and choices – blows had been, admittedly, some of the worst blows either party had ever delivered before – what the hell would a heavy, full on body make out session do to them…would there even be a them after that?

Natalie hated to admit that she could still remember who Caleb was to her before he had changed, she could still remember what he was like then well enough presently, that she feared not having any sort of relationship with him. They hadn't been on the best of terms for months, for the better part of a year really, but at least they had still been on some sort of terms. If she had to cut him out completely? Jesus Christ it would break some detrimental part of her foundation and fuck it all if she didn't hate that Caleb had so much power of her; power he wasn't even aware that he wielded…and what sucked the most was that Natalie even doubted that Caleb would give two shits about having that kind of control over her, the prick.

Natalie didn't want to think about any of those things, didn't want to give sustenance to her ever building fear; but she couldn't stop thinking about it, analyzing her past hour with an eye so critical it was driving her nuts.

She just wanted it to stop.

She wanted to stop thinking. She wanted to stop remembering that Danvers' mouth against her own. She wanted to forget about the overwhelming sensation that had bombarded her body as Caleb's taller form towered over her, caging her in to provide her no escape. She wanted to be able to ignore the burning imprint of his muscled, powerful arm wrapped around her back like some kind of fucking cattle brand.

But she couldn't, and she hated that.

Her fingers curled into her skull, her eyes screwing even further shut as she bowed over and let out a cry of frustration; voicing her internal struggle because she couldn't voice, she couldn't do, anything else.

A blast of something overtook her, driving her suddenly trembling form to her knees as her strength left her and the sound of chaos pierced her eardrums to drown out everything else that could have penetrated her senses.

However long that something lasted, Natalie couldn't tell but when it was over, it felt like a thousand years had passed in the span of two short seconds.

Breathless, she plied open her eyes, wondering what in the hell had happened when her blurred vision cleared and she stumbled back in shock, her ass hitting the cold floor of her dorm with a harsh, faintly painful thud.

Eyes wide and mouth parting on a silent 'whoa', she took in the unexplainable damage surrounding her. Everywhere she looked, things were broken; every thing made of glass was shattered into a million pieces, her bedroom window blown out so completely that even the windowpanes were sheer wooden carving. What startled Natalie most though, were the foot long cracks that rent through the walls, each crack varying in width and some wrapping around the corners or winding upward to split the ceiling along with the walls.

"Oh God," Natalie muttered once before the soft exclamation became a breathless mantra.

She did this. She did this; and she didn't know what about the situation she found herself in terrified her the most; whether it be the fact that she had pretty much managed to blow apart her and Avery's room, or the fact that she didn't know if it was because of her that her room was destroyed, or because of the power she had stolen from Caleb.

With badly shaking hands, Natalie fumbled to pull her phone from her pocket, eyes incapable of leaving the carnage around her as she called the first contact that came in mind; fuck her brain, she let her instincts guide her and she didn't even hesitate.

The line rang three times before the dial tone stopped and a harsh exhalation met her ears, "Shut up, Caleb," Natalie instructed before the other man could even open his mouth on the other line, "I—" She hesitated, hesitated knowing that even though she had no other options, even though he was, oddly enough, the first person she had thought to contact, she was wary of him – she didn't know what to expect, not after what happened just an hour ago. But she had no other options, and she did need someone…it was just really unfortunate, that that someone she needed turned out to be him, "—I need your help."

"Are you okay?" Was his immediate, deep response.

"Yes…no…" She winced, "Physically I'm fine."

"Was it Chase?" He demanded after the pause he took to decipher just what the hell her clarification meant.

"No," She murmured, slightly dazed as she looked up at one crack in particular in the middle of her ceiling, dear god, the state of her room was four steps past condemnation. "No…this was all me." She whispered.

A longer pause than his first, and she wondered if he thought that she had found some stranger to fuck in the little while since she had left him behind at his home and was presently calling him because she needed him to come to her rescue as he had inadvertently done just the other night.

"Where are you?" He finally queried, his voice a few shades cooler than earlier; and it was the slight distance of his voice in comparison to its rough concern just moments prior that confirmed her fleeting suspicions.

"I'm back at Spencer," She added on, "And I'm alone."

"Is it detrimental?"

"Not detrimental enough for you to power over here." She shot down immediately, she could wait the twenty minutes it would take for him to get to her – it was him using that had gotten them in trouble in the first place.

"Ten minutes." He announced before hanging up without a further goodbye.

She didn't even bother to call him back in an attempt to urge him to follow the speed limit; truthfully, she didn't want him to – she was alone, and she didn't want to be because it wasn't just Chase and her interaction with Caleb that she was scared of anymore…Natalie was scared of herself.


AN:

Side note: This chapter is basically made up of internal struggle, I tried to make it as coherent as possible so if there are any issues with coherency or it's just generally confusing, please, let me know so that I can go back and work through it some more.


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

Until next time,

x