28

Cloe needed to find Patsy. She was the only one she wanted to talk to right now. Patsy had always been the one who Cloe confided in - whenever she felt bad, it was Patsy who comforted her, and when Cloe had good news, Patsy was the first one she wanted to tell. It had been like that since they first met in kindergarden.

She went to Patsy's room, knocked and waited. There was no answer and Cloe felt severely dissapointed. She was tripping to talk to her sister-friend, so she ran down the hallway to check the computerrooms. Patsy was in neither of them. Cloe groaned impatiently and then sprinted towards the gym, where she flung the door open and barged in. There were a few Techno guys in there, who looked at her in surprise, and then annoyance. After scouting the room without any sign of Patsy (and neither of the others had seen her) Cloe left and walked upstairs, slightly discouraged.

She stopped to think for a while, trying to come up with an idea of where Patsy then might be. She started to walk slowly down the hallway, pondering. Maybe she was in K.C's room? She decided to go check and took off, almost running. As she rounded a corner, suddenly someone was right in front of her and she cried out in surprise.

It was Ved.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, his hands flying up to shield himself automatically, and caught Cloe, before she could collide with him.

"Cloe! Slow down!" He laughed at her, the surprise and the whole situation in generel.

"Sorry," Cloe said and laughed too - it was more of nervousness than surprise. For some reason, looking at Ved right now made her utterly and totally nervous. Cloe had never had a boyfriend before, so this whole thing with Ved was completely new to her. She didn't even know if they were girlfriend and boyfriend as they hadn't talked at all since their kiss yesterday. Cloe stood there a little awkwardly. Were they supposed to kiss each other now in greeting? She didn't know how these things worked.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" Ved then asked, not letting go of her arms.

"I'm trying to find Patsy," Cloe said, the skin on her arms electric under his touch. She gulped. She wanted more than anything in the world to reach up and kiss him - but was too afraid of actual doing it. Instead she looked down at her feet.

"She's out back at the training fields," Ved said, finally letting go of her arms, "She's training with K.C and the other recruites."

Cloe's head snapped up with excitement. She soooo really needed to talk with Patsy - to talk things over and ask her oppinion.

"Good, great," she said, already edging away. Not because she wanted to get away from him, but because she wanted to get out of the awkwardness she was feeling, "I need to go."

Ved looked confused and slightly hurt, "Okay," he just said.

"I'll see you later," Cloe said and then turned around and almost ran out of there. It was only when she made it outside that she stopped and leaned back against the wall of the building, closing her eyes. She had been so awkward and nervous - it had felt almost like a total meltdown of her brain. She hadn't meant to run out on him like that. She had seen his hurt expression when she left, and now she wanted to run back inside and tell him sorry. In her mind, she was kicking herself for behaving this way. She would have to make it right by him later, she swore to herself. Right now she really needed Patsy. More than ever.

She ran around the building and headed for the training grounds, located in the far back of the area. Here she finally found Patsy, who was drying her sweaty forehead and neck with a towel. They were taking a small break.

Perfect timing! Cloe thought, as she hurried over to her friend.

"Pats!" she breathed when she reached her, slightly out of breath from the running, "I need to talk to you!"

Patsy immediately looked worried at the urgency in Cloe's voice.

"Cloe! Is everything alright? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, everything's fine," Cloe said quickly, "But I need to talk to you. Real bad."

Patsy was still looking worried, "Okay, I guess I can try and get out of here," she said and looked over at K.C who was talking to some Techno guards. She looked back at Cloe, "But I'll need your help."

Cloe nodded, understanding. The two of them walked over to K.C, where Cloe cleared her throat to get his attention. K.C turned around and looked surprised, first at Cloe, then Patsy, "Yes?"

"Sir," Cloe said, keeping it professionel for the sake of any eavesdropping Technos, "Ram's requested for Patsy's assistance. I was sent here to inform you."

K.C looked horrified. He wanted Patsy as far away from Ram as possible. The less contact they had the better. You could never know with Ram - he might get some sort of hysteria and take it out on the nearest unfortunate person.

"What? No, I-" he croaked without thinking, but then stopped himself. He quickly glanced at the guards and then cleared his throat and put on his professional face.

"Eh, I mean; We're in the middle of training. Can't it wait?"

Cloe sensed his worry, "I'm affraid he insists," she said, and then she discretely winked at him, to let him know it was okay and he shouldn't worry. This seemed to ease him a bit.

"I guess if Ram insists, then it's alright of course. Permission granted." He threw in a small smile at the end for their benefit. Cloe gave him a small nod of the head, then grabbed Patsy's hand and dragged her along over the fields and into the building, heading for Cloe's room. Here they sat down on the bed, panting from the running.

"Thanks for getting me out of there," Patsy said, when they had got their breaths, "I was dying back there."

"K.C working you hard?" Cloe asked.

"Like crazy! He's the devil." Patsy let herself fell back on the bed with a tortured moan. It wasn't many seconds before she sat back up, crossed her legs on the bed and looked at Cloe, curious, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Cloe looked down at her hands, absently tracing the patterns on her bedspread.

"I kissed Ved," she then said and a slow smile spread across her face as she thought back at the moment, "Or he kissed me first, and I kissed him back." She looked up and was surprised to see Patsy's smug face.

"Finally!" Patsy grinned and looked up to thank the heavens, "Took you guys long enough."

Cloe was shocked. Apparently both Patsy and K.C had known about her and Ved - even before Cloe herself did. Had it been that obvious?

"How long have you've known?" she asked, feeling quite slow.

Patsy rolled her eyes, "Since I got here. It's been so obvious! All the bickering and fighting. You were starting to sound like an old married couple."

Cloe smiled and looked down again, feeling a little imbarrassed at her own blindness. Had she been the last to know? That was so silly.

"Soooo?" Patsy then asked, lowering her head slightly to meet Cloe's eyes.

"So what?"

"How was it? The kiss I mean."

Cloe's heart started pounding at the thought of the kiss and a wry smile appeared on her face.

"It was amazing," she said and immediately felt that 'amazing' didn't give the feeling justice. It was too weak a word for describing how it'd felt to kiss Ved, "It was...fantabulous!"

Patsy laughed in delight over her friend's obvious joy and Cloe was so relieved that she had Patsy's support. She hadn't been intirely sure how her friend would react to this - with all the bad blood between Ved and K.C. And Ved being the enemy and all.

"So what happens now?" Patsy asked, grabbing a pillow, putting it on her lap and hugging it.

Cloe chewed on her lip and looked hesitantly at her friend. This was why she needed to talk to Patsy - she had no idea.

"I...I don't know." She looked down again, "I mean, I've never had a boyfriend before. I don't even know if he is my boyfriend or what we are."

"You should just go talk to him," Patsy said simply, "Just ask him."

"I can't," Cloe said, thinking of their last encounter and how that had ended.

"Why not?"

Cloe closed her eyes and swallowed, "I think I did something terrible," she said, quietly. Patsy was instantly worried, and put one hand on Cloe's shoulder, "Tell me."

"When I was looking for you earlier, I ran into Ved - like literally ran into him. And he caught me, but then he didn't let go of my arms - like he wanted to kiss me - but then I froze! I sooo wanted to kiss him, but I just totally froze!" She hid her face in her hands, "And then I practically ran out on him," she mumbled into her palms. She finally looked up at Patsy, horrified at herself.

"Oh Patsy, he looked kinda hurt. I think he thought that I was running from him, but I was just so nervous and awkward - I just had to go find you and talk to you."

Cloe had said all this very fast, like she just wanted to get it all out and get it over with - like ripping off a bandaid quickly.

"It's alright Clo," Patsy said soothingly, "Breathe."

Cloe took a deep breath and felt her body relax a bit. But she couldn't quite shake the feeling of guilt off of her, "What if he doesn't want to talk to me?"

"I think you're overreacting," Patsy said. But Cloe wasn't paying attention. She'd suddenly had a terrible thought and looked up at Patsy, troubled.

"Maybe the kiss meant nothing to him," she said, her heart plummeting 300 feet down to the pit of her stomach.

"What if I'm reading too much into it and he's like - 'don't flatter yourself, Cloe - it was just a kiss'." She imitated Ved's voice very convincingly.

"You just said he looked kinda hurt," Patsy pointed out, surprised at the 180 degree turn in the conversation.

"Yeah I know, but maybe I was just imagining things. Maybe he was actually relieved that I ran?"

"Cloe," Patsy said with great sisterly patient in her voice, "Go talk to him. Now."

"But-"

"Off you go!" Patsy said, getting off the bed and grabbed Cloe by the arm. She pulled her off of the bed too and gave her a gentle push towards the door.

"And don't come back until you've talked to him." Patsy sat back down at the bed and crossed her arms, "I'll be here - waiting to hear every detail when you come back." She winked at Cloe.

Cloe swallowed nervously, but managed to sent her friend a strained grimace, meant to be a smile. Then she turned, almost like a zombie and walked out of the door.

The way down the corridor to Ved's room was paved with anxiety and dread. She was so nervous as to what mood she would find Ved in and how he would react to her. And she was scared to death that she was right in her assumptions about his disinterest in her. That would be devastating.

She took the final three steps up to his door very slowly. And then she stood there, frozen for a long time, until she eventually shook her head and decided that she was being ridiculous. It was all Ved's fault, she concluded - he was simply making her crazy!

She raised her hand to knock on his door, but before she could, the door suddenly opened and Ved appeared. He looked surprised to see Cloe there, not expecting anyone to be standing outside his door.

"Hey," he said, letting his hand fall from the handle down his side. Cloe couldn't read his expression - it was completely neutral. This made her panick a little.

"Hi," she said, her voice slightly trembling, "Can we talk?"

Ved stood for a minute, hesitating (the longest minute in Cloe's entire life!), then he moved aside, to let her in. Cloe walked in and sat down on the couch - her old bed. Ved closed the door behind her and then walked slowly towards her. He stopped a few feet from her, his face still neutral and expressionless as he looked down at her. Cloe looked down at her hands, unable to look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry about earlier this morning," she mumbled.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Ved said. There was just a touch of frost in his voice. It made Cloe look up at him.

"When we bumped in to each other in the hallway and I ran."

"What about it?"

Cloe screwed up her eyes slightly. The coldness in his voice revealed that he wasn't entirely unaffected. But apparently he was going to pretent he didn't give a rat's ass. So – was he going to make her spell it out to him? She suspected it was some sort of punishment.

"I didn't mean to run away in a hurry like that. I was just...uncomfortable."

She immediately saw that it had been the wrong thing to say, as Ved's perfectly composed expression cracked and was, for the slightest of a second, replaced by hurt - then, faster than the speed of light, turned into a hostile scorn.

"Well I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable," he snapped, "May I suggest, next time you keep your distance?"

Cloe was taken aback by the hostility in his voice, and quickly tried to explain what she'd meant, "I didn't mean to say that you make me uncomfortable - I meant, the situation made me uncomfortable."

"What's the difference?" he shot at her, along with an angry glare, then looked away.

Cloe was now shocked. She had come here to explain and make it right by him - but he was determined to take her words and twisting them. And she was slowly starting to get angry too.

"There's a huge difference!" she said, finding that she was beginning to hiss herself.

"What does it matter anyway?" Ved snapped, stalking over to the door and opening it, "Was there a point to this visit?" He held the door open, indicating for Cloe to leave.

Cloe grinded her teeth in aggitation. He wasn't going to be rid of her until she had explained and made him understand.

"I'm trying to explain!" she said and got up in a flash, "But you won't let me!"

"Oh I hear what you are saying," Ved said, aggressively shoving the door shut with a bang, "I get it, okay!"

Cloe felt frustrated and misunderstood, "What is wrong with you!" she shouted, walking over to him with angry tramps.

"You tell me!"

"You're impossible!" Cloe yelled at him, clenching her fists in anger.

"You made that clear," Ved snapped back. He stared sullenly the other way.

"I can't ever win with you," Cloe said, frustrated, and shook her head in resignation. She felt like giving up right there and now and just flee out the door. But something was making her stay.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Ved kept his voice icy cold and sarcastic. He was still looking away when he said, "Anything else?"

Filled with frustration, disappointment and anger, Cloe had had enough. This was the last drop. The pain of his hostility and coldness made her lose her temper completely.

"Goddammit Ved!" she shouted, "Can't you see? I love you, you idiot!"

Dead silence followed her outburst. Both Ved and Cloe was equally surprised by this declaration. But Cloe immediately felt that it was true. She had never been more sure about anything in her life. She loved Ved. Deeply and desperately.

Ved stood frozen, looking at her, completely forgetting to look resentful. Then he stepped over to her, grabbed her upper arms and pulled her closer to him. Cloe blinked a few times, surprised at his sudden action. Then, simultaneously, they crashed together in a heathed kiss. Ved instantly wound his arms around her and kissed her hungrily, holding on to her like he was never letting her go.

They kissed for a long time and when they finally broke apart, they were both slightly out of breath. Ved looked down into those deep, brown eyes and felt himself drown in them. She was so beautiful with her smooth olive skin, sparkling hazel eyes and the straight black hair, falling in cascades around her face.

It was only reluctantly that he removed his arms from around her, and only to immediately grap her hand and lead her to his bed. They both knew that they needed to talk. So much had been going on between them, that they felt it was necessary to talk some things through.

Ved climbed into his bed and seated himself with his back against the headboard. He stretched his arms out towards Cloe, who climbed up to him and snuggled into his arms. It was easier sometimes, to talk when you weren't looking at each other - in case some things unpleasant needed to be said. Cloe was the brave first one to speak.

"This is so new to me," she said quietly, taking Ved's hand and entwining their fingers. She felt a rush of joy - it felt so naturel and right. She brought their linked hands up to her mouth and kissed his fingers delicately.

"I've never had a boyfriend before," she said, glad that she didn't have to look Ved in the eyes, "And I don't know how it works - that's why I was so awkward this morning."

Then she suddenly wanted to hit herself over the head, "Not that I see you as my boyfriend!" she said quickly, afraid that she was making assumptions, "I-I mean...I don't know what we are...I guess we need to talk about that, huh?"

She heard Ved chuckle softly, "I guess we do."

In her mind, Cloe rolled her eyes at herself. Why was she so awkward and nervous? She felt like such a spaz. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?" she then asked quietly, and immediately felt that she was nervous about his answer.

"I have," Ved said, nourishing her dread, "But not anyone I liked as much as I like you."

Good answer, Cloe thought and smiled to herself. It made her feel a little better. But there was a gnawing feeling in her stomach, as she wondered aloud, "Do you think this is gonna work? You and me. I mean, we fight and yell at each other all the time."

She felt Ved's body tense and she knew that he had been thinking the same thing too. He didn't answer for a little while, seeming to put a great deal of thought into his answer.

"I know-" he said and then had to clear his throat, "I know I'm being a jerk towards you sometimes - and I'm sorry." He buried his head in her hair, "It's just - I like you so much, it's making me go a little crazy sometimes."

Cloe thought about this for a while. To that she could relate. She had been acting crazy herself around him at times. They hadn't known how to deal with their feelings and the fear that the other didn't feel the same way. Now they knew - knew that they wanted to be with each other. The rest they would figure out together.

"The mere thought of you together with K.C or anyone else, it just made me lose my mind with jealousy," Ved continued, unconsciously tightening his arms around her.

"I was never with anyone else," Cloe said, "I was always just with you - in my heart."

Ved kissed her hair softly. They sat like this for a long time, just enjoying each other's warmth and scent and the feeling of their bodies together.

"I wish we'd just talked sooner," Cloe said after a while, "Think of all the time we could have been together."

"And all the fights we could have avoided," Ved added and laughed a little.

"That too," Cloe grinned. She lifted her head to look up at Ved, "I'm glad we talked."

Ved returned her gaze, "Me too." Then he reached down and kissed her softly. It sent Cloe's heart into a flutter. Oh she could get used to this. In fact, she needed nothing else. Ever.

All too soon Ved broke apart and smiled down at her. He was so gorgeous when he smiled, it made Cloe dizzy. She rested her head back on his shoulder, snuggling into him and kissed the hollow of his throat. She felt his body shudder slightly.

"Cloe?" he then said.

"Hmm?"

"I love you too."