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Chapter 3: Her Father's Daughter

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Abby sat at her vanity, staring into the mirror at her tear-streaked face. "What is happening to me?" she asked herself out loud. She had spent the last hour crying over what had happened with Connor and still didn't completely understand it. She had wanted to kiss him. She had even been the one to initiate the kiss. But, she hadn't expected it to be like that, and she had gotten scared. The emotions she felt coming from him and the sensations she had in her body were too much.

The kiss had begun well and she had been fine at first. His lips felt incredible against hers and her whole body was responding to him. She had been kissed before, but never like that. The coolest thing had been that, as they were kissing, she could feel his emotions, how happy he was and how much he cared for and wanted her. As their kiss deepened she had seen flashes of what she guessed was his past, and these came with emotions as well.

She saw him when he was a child and felt how scared he was when he first discovered his powers. She saw him as a teenager and felt how much like an outsider he felt, having no one to share his secret with. And she saw him on the day his parents died, and felt his pain. All of this only amazed Abby, and made her care about him even more. For a second she thought she could even love Connor, and that's when she pulled away. She was frightened, not by the thought of love, but by what she had seen when she thought she might love him. At the moment this thought crossed her mind, she received the most powerful of all the flashes, the dream that had been plaguing her for years. But this time she saw the man in the dream, and he was Connor. Shocked and frightened she had pulled away and then been both embarrassed and confused. The only way she knew how to handle the situation was to leave, and leave fast.

When she had arrived home she had run to her room, thrown herself on the bed, and cried. Her mother, Maria, had come up to comfort her, but was little help because she didn't know what was hurting her daughter. Now Abby sat, staring at her own reflection, trying to understand everything. Trying to understand why she had been drawn to Connor since the day they met and trying to understand why she saw him as the man in her dream. Soon there was a knock on the door followed by Nate asking to come in. She dried her tears and tried to look happy as she invited him in, but he didn't fall for it. He crossed the room and hugged her.

"What did he do to you?" he demanded, looking into her eyes. Abby fought the tears off.

"Nothing," she answered honestly. "It was just a stupid misunderstanding, nothing more.

All my fault." Nate looked into her eyes and saw that this was the truth.

"Are you gonna be ok?" he asked. She nodded and he continued, "If you're not I'll crush him like a little bug." She laughed for the first time in a few hours.

"I'd like to see that," she giggled, knowing full well that, while Connor, being the son of the king, would come out victorious in any battle, Nate would certainly put up one hell of a fight.

"I bet you would," he joked, laying an arm on her shoulder. "You still want to go through with tomorrow then?" he asked. The next evening the four had planned on going to see one of their favorite bands in concert in Boston, and, then, they had reservations to stay the night in a hotel, with separate rooms for boys and girls, of course. Abby nodded.

"Yeah, I just freaked out momentarily. I'll be fine as long as he doesn't hate me or something." Nate smiled.

"I doubt that," he said. Then he thought for a second. "So what exactly did happen?" Abby blushed and looked down.

"I kissed him... and then I freaked out and took off." Nate laughed.

"So, my baby sister can't deal with the whole intimacy issue," he teased. "Mom's gonna love this one.... that's always what she's complaining about with Dad." Abby didn't laugh but punched him in the shoulder, hard. "Hey," he said, rubbing where she had hit him.

"You will not tell Mom," she hissed. He nodded.

"Jeez, you're a real basket-case sometimes, you know that?" She nodded happily.

"Yes, I do. Now go. I need to be a basket-case by myself for a while." He stood up to leave, chuckling. "Oh, and Nathan," she said as he approached the door, "I'm NOT your baby sister." He laughed, knowing how much the ten-minute age difference annoyed her and she laughed with him.

"Night, sis," he said, closing the door behind him.

"Goodnight," she whispered in reply, secretly glad she had him. Nathan had always been the best thing in her life (not that she'd let him know that). Even though they were the same age, he had always been her protector and defender, from the moment they were born. She really loved him, and he her.

Abby sighed and walked to her desk, thinking about what she would say to Connor the next day. She was certain he would hate her, but was hoping otherwise. She took out her journal and, without realizing it, began to write one of her frequent letters, this time with an addressee.... Connor.

~*~

The next evening Abby and Nate showed up at the Evans's house at 5 pm as planned. They had planned on taking the Jetta to Boston, enjoying the concert, grabbing a bite to eat, and then collapsing in their hotel room. All four were packed and ready to go, but Connor was having some doubts. After what had happened the previous evening with Abby, he wasn't sure if he should come along or not. He was confused about her reaction to their kiss, especially since he could sense her emotions and knew she had been enjoying it. When Abby and Nate showed up, Lane greeted them rather disappointedly and informed them that Connor had decided not to go. Upset, Abby immediately went up to his room to see him.

When she entered, he was laying on his bed, listening to music.

"Hey," she said. He remained silent but nodded slightly in her direction. Upset, she hurriedly continued. "Are you upset with me? Because I understand if you are, but I'd like to talk about it. I mean... well, I don't really know what I mean, I just know that I'm sorry." Connor sighed, sat up, and motioned for her to sit in the chair at his desk.

"I just don't understand," he began, "and I guess I don't know what to think. I mean, I thought we were on the same page here.... you know, you kissed me, not the other way around... and then you just freak out and take off without another word. Did I do something wrong? Did you suddenly realize that it was all some big mistake? What? Just explain to me why and I'll try to understand." Abby examined her shoes carefully and they sat for a while in silence. Finally, gathering courage, she looked up at him and spoke.

"I don't know. I just got scared. I'm not sure if it was a mistake or not, I just know that I was kind of overwhelmed and reacted badly. I'm sorry, but that's all I can say. I just hope you can understand that this is all very new for me." Connor nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine," he sighed. "I was just hoping that maybe we could be closer, you know, and then all this happened." Abby nodded.

"I'm sorry about all of this. Maybe we can figure it out later, but you are coming to that concert. It wouldn't be the same without you." She looked at Connor pathetically, begging him to come with her eyes. There was no way he could say no.

"Ok," he consented, "but we need to sort this all out when we get back." Abby jumped up and hugged him, taking his breath away.

"Thank you so much," she whispered in his ear. "You won't regret this." They left the room and went downstairs.

"So, you coming, man?" Nate asked when they came down. Connor nodded and looked at Abby.

"Yeah," he replied, "I'm coming."

"Good, then lets get out of here," Nate said, grabbing the keys to the Jetta. They all piled into the car for the drive to Boston, Nate driving with Lane in the passenger seat and Abby and Connor in the back, sitting silently. The entire trip was relatively uneventful, with Abby and Connor not really speaking and the mood obviously more somber than it should be. Every once in a while Abby swore she caught Connor staring at her out of the corner of his eye, but he always looked away in time to look innocent. When they arrived at the concert they went in, grabbed some souvenirs, and headed into the crowd.

The opening act was ok, but Abby and Lane used it to talk, mostly about Connor, while Nate took it as an opportunity to introduce Connor to some of his friends who were there. When the band came on they met up again and were carried from their troubles by the music. Within an hour Abby and Connor seemed to be their old selves again and were dancing and singing and having a good time. Nate and Lane were, of course, making-out. At one point Connor leaned in to ask Abby if the other two ever quit, to which she replied in the negative, and both felt their temperatures rise. The fun had erased the memories of the awkwardness the previous evening and they were acting like good friends. Connor was, in typical male fashion, taking the chance to blatantly check Abby out, head to toe, without being conspicuous. He had looked her over before, several times, but he had never seen her like this. Her shirt drove him nuts, being a tight, red tank top with a plunging V-neck and a bare midriff. With her golden-brown hair and hazel eyes, red was definitely her best color. Her pants were tan and equally as tight as the shirt, causing more than one passer-by to stare, making Connor want to make more than one passer-by suffer. He was having the time of his life with Abby, and she with him.

The night wore on and, as their fun increased, their feelings for one another increased with it. During the last song Abby turned to Connor and said something.

"What?" he shouted, unable to hear her over the roar of the music and the fans. She moved closer, pressed her body against his, wrapped an arm around his neck, and spoke into his ear.

"I said I'm glad you came." He looked down, took her free hand in his, looked into her eyes and replied.

"Me too." Then he kissed her. It wasn't like the night before, but softer, more gentle, more caring. And Abby, though she had the same vision, didn't pull away. Eventually, as the house lights came up, it ended and she looked into his eyes.

"I'm REALLY glad you came," she repeated, pulling away to go find her brother and Lane.


~*~

The four left the concert hall and went to their hotel, too exhausted to eat. By their parents' designation, the girls had a room and the boys had a room. Unfortunately for their parents, Lane and Nate had different ideas and, within a half an hour of arrival, Abby had been kicked out of her own room. In her pajamas and with nothing else to do, she wandered to the door of Connor and Nate's room, where Connor was alone, and knocked.

"Yeah," came the reply. She hesitated.

"Connor," was all she said. Within a few seconds the door was open and she walked in.

"Nice place you have here," she joked, sitting on the sofa. Connor resumed his position on the bed and placed the book he had been reading aside.

"What do you need?" he asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable that Abby was in his room, wearing nothing but a tight tank top and boxers. She smiled uncomfortably.

"I can leave if you like," she said, standing up.

"No," Connor immediately said. She sat back down.

"What are you reading?" she asked, motioning toward the book on the bedside table.

"A Brave New World," he replied, picking the book up nonchalantly and showing it to her.

"Ah," she said nodding, "happy pills, meaningless sex with multiple partners, and government controlled genetic conditioning... a classic." He laughed.

"I take it you've read it?"

"Just once," she replied. "It disturbed me beyond all reason and I haven't been able to pick it up since." He lay it back down.

"So why are you in here, anyway?" he asked, restating his earlier question.

"Nate and Lane are.... you know," she replied, motioning to the room next door. He nodded in understanding. "I got kicked out and needed somewhere to stay. I guess they actually took it seriously when I told them to get a room." Connor laughed.

"Well, you can stay here then," he offered. "I'd hate to find you sleeping in the hall in the morning or something."

"Thanks," she said, snuggling down on the couch with the blanket she had brought with her. Connor reached up and turned out the light, feeling exhausted yet exhilarated. After a few minutes of listening to her turn on the couch, however, he was feeling something entirely different. He turned the light on, unable to withstand the temptation any longer.

"Sorry," she said, sitting up. "I'm keeping you up, aren't I?" He thought the answer to himself, but restrained from telling her.

"No," he lied, "I was just worried you wouldn't be able to sleep over there. That couch isn't all that comfortable." She smiled at his concern. He took a deep breath and then said what he really wanted to, "You know, this bed's really big and, if you wanted, you could sleep up here too. There's plenty of room." Abby stared at him.