Chapter 11:

"Gwen," Hank cried out loudly. He was deeply affected by the sad look that came into her eyes once she saw him with Theresa. But for a second it made him feel good knowing that she cared enough about him to be upset at seeing him with someone else, but he shook those thoughts out of his head. He had to explain everything to her.

Gwen quickly walked away once Hank uttered her name. She didn't want to make a scene, so instead of giving both Theresa and Hank a verbal massacre, she opted to just let it go and leave them. She walked out of the big room, not even looking back once. Tears clouded her eyes but she wouldn't give either of them the satisfaction of seeing it.

Before she got to the front door, she ran smack into Sheridan. Her old best friend. The one who seemed so alien to her now.

"What's wrong, Gwen?" Sheridan implored, noticing the wet tears around Gwen's smoky, almond shaped eyes.

Gwen stared face to face at Sheridan. Maybe it was the present situation, and her frustrations that made her explode on the blonde woman.

"Like you really care," she hissed, surprising herself as well as Sheridan by the bitterness in her voice.

"Gwen, of course I do," Sheridan protested lightly. "You're my best friend."

"Friend? Ha! You haven't been a friend to me since Ethan dumped me," Gwen retaliated back.

Sheridan opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by her nephew.

"Did I hear my name?" Ethan asked suavely, walking over to where the two woman were standing. He smiled at both Sheridan and Gwen.

"You did," Gwen responded quickly, nodding her head. It was the first time she was seeing Ethan that night. His presence didn't seem to bother her that much though; nor did it make her longingly want him back like it had before.

She didn't give him the opportunity to ask what they were talking about because she walked away, leaving both Cranes staring after her.

Meanwhile, Hank looked around the crowded room, trying to locate Gwen. He had to go find her. Make her understand.

"What a drama queen," Theresa told him nonchalantly, who was standing just a few feet away. "You told me you guys were just friends. Is she even jealous under those circumstances?" She gave a sneer.

"You know what, Theresa?" Hank spoke up, turning to face her. "You may be my best friend's kid sister, but you really need to shut up. You don't know what you're talking about." With that said, he began to walk away from her.

Theresa scowled, but he didn't stick around long enough to listen to what she might have to say.

He got to the entrance of the spacious room, where he saw Sheridan and Ethan talking. He could make out a woman walking out the door, wearing a white dress. Maybe that was Gwen.

He strode over to the door, following the woman in the dress outside.

It was dark out, with hardly any light to support peoples' visions, but the moonlight was enough reflection to prove to Hank that the woman who was sitting by the small fountain in the Crane front yard was definitely Gwen.

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Hank sighed. Now that he had finally reached her, he didn't know what to say or do.

So he opted to just walk over to her. He sat down next to her and took her shaking hands in his. She was crying softly, a tear slowly flowing down her face. She wouldn't look at him though.

He said the first and only thing that came to mind: "I'm sorry."

She waved it off with her left hand, while her right one quickly shed her tears. "Don't be. I should be the sorry one, getting all emotional like that. It's not like we're going out or anything." She stood up, turning her back to him.

"Why aren't we?" Hank asked instinctively, standing up, and putting his hand on her shoulder.

She turned around to face him. "Why aren't we what?"

"Why aren't we going out?" His eyes gleamed under the moonlight, and Gwen could feel the attraction between the two of them. It was so obvious.

Gwen could barely suppress what her hormones were doing to her. Here was a handsome, nice guy, standing under the moon with only her and he was asking her why the two of them weren't dating! How could she not want him?!

Gwen eyed him with interest, raising an eyebrow in amusement. She didn't answer his question, though.

Taking the initiative to move things just a little bit further, Hank slowly brought his face closer to Gwen's until he felt his lips being caressed by hers. His mouth explored hers as they shared a sweet kiss under the stars. She didn't let go, much as her mind told her to. But her heart's desire won out in the end. She responded to his kiss, stroking the back of his head with her hand.

That kiss was special, both of them knew. Gwen had seen Hank kiss Theresa just a few minutes ago, but she could tell that he hadn't kissed Theresa the way he was kissing her tonight. This one was passionate. And it seemed to never end as the moon smiled down on them in merriment.

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{a/n: next chapter, the song in the songfic will be used. finally lol. gwen and hanks romantic moment outside gets interrupted by 4 nosy Harmonians. can you guess who? keep reading.}