Note : Okay. I had to write something mushy after chapter 5, I was feeling down after all this negative energy. Here's more Antoine stuff, I hope you like him as much as I do…

Tammy : I'm still trying to remember why I wanted to write that flashback. All I know is that I had the idea since chapter 2, but didn't know where to put it… I thought it fit well after the power disaster… Glad you love it!

Enjoy.

Just say it

~~

"Ah! Je vous trouve, enfin… Je vous présente Daniel*, mon nouveau copain!**"

Josée smiled at Lilianne. Another boyfriend? Antoine seemed to think the same thing, and had an ironical smile on his lips as he looked up from his lunch to greet the newcomer with a wink. "Hi, I'm Antoine, Lili's brother."

"And I'm Josée, the girl from the exchange program."

"And Antoine's girlfriend" Lilianne giggled, and Josée blushed. Antoine grinned at her, and looked up to his sister. They had both been scared to talk about their new relationship to Lilianne, but the fear had been unfounded, since Lili was willing to scream it on the rooftops. She kept "giving them privacy" and often deserted to leave them alone. It wasn't very hard for her, Josée thought. Lilianne was the entire school's friend and knew everyone… and seemed to have a new boyfriend every month. She met her friend's clear blue eyes, and pulled on Lili's sleeve.

"You just stop saying that to everyone, we already are getting a lot more attention than I like to. And you're staying with us for lunch today!" She smiled at the shy handsome blonde guy standing next to the table. "And so does Daniel!" Daniel gave a little grateful smile at her and sat next to Antoine.

"But I want to leave you guys alone, I don't want to interrupt…"

"You already did, sis" Antoine said with a grin. "Does it look like it bothers us?" Lili bit her lip, smiling at her brother, and Josée felt a fresh wave of affection for the girl.

"Hey, you leave us alone so often I almost miss you, Lili." She turned her head towards her, and smiled even wider.

"I have an idea."

"Well, that's new." Lilianne glared at her brother, and resumed.

"Why don't we go to the mt. Orford this weekend, and climb it? The view is wonderful from up there, and the forests are green again."

***

"There we are!" Daniel's cheering voice came from a few feet above her head.

"C'est pas trop tôt…***" mumbled Lilianne from behing her. "I can't breathe anymore! God it's cold here!" Josée laughed, and turned to her.

"Hey, it was your idea!"

"I know, I know… Remind me not to have any of these ideas anymore!" Josée stopped in her tracks, letting Lilianne go ahead and waiting for Antoine, who was carrying a packsac full of food and water. He didn't look tired, but walked slowly, looking into the forest around them.

"You sure don't look in a hurry." He looked at her and smiled, opening his arms and gesturing at the trees all around.

"Are we? Take a snif, Jo." He sighed with pleasure, letting air filling his lungs. "I really feel I belong here, Josée, this is such a beautiful day. Wanna eat here?"

"Daniel and Lilianne are a little higher, at the top."

"Bah, too much wind up there. And they'll probably want some privacy" he added with a large grin. He dropped the packsac on the ground and sat down in the leaves, and Josée sat next to him. He put an arm around her waist and, pulling her close, dropped a kiss on her offered lips. "What do we have for lunch?"

"Sandwiches, Toine. And fruits, and a little bit of chocolate I managed to slip in while Lili wasn't watching." His lips streched in a grin, and he fumbled in the bag, looking for his prey. He drew back his hand with some chocolate covered peanuts, and grinned even wider.

"Gotta love you, Jo!"

Her own smile faded at his words, but he didn't notice, busy pulling out the sandwiches from the bag. Five months. Five months since they had kissed on New Years day, and they hadn't really been further than that. Sure, they got out to watch some movies, going to the restaurant, holding hands  and eating together at school, but she had never said the words, and neither did he. At first she put the blame on the fact that he was the first person as close to a boyfriend she ever had, and that it probably wasn't love that was between them, but as weeks passed, she was getting more and more dissapointed with the turn in their relationship they weren't taking. She craved for more.

Sure, he had just said it, but it was an expression, gratitude for the chocolate goodies, because of Lilianne health craziness. She sighed without noticing, sinking her teeth in her sandwich. Antoine noticed, though, and lifted his head from his apple. "Everything okay, Jo?" She stared at him.

"Sure, why not?"

"Well, coeur qui soupire n'a pas ce qu'il désire****, Josée. And you just let out three of those sighs in less than a minute."

"Oh, well… I was just thinking, about stuff."

"As long as it's about me," he added with a devilish smile. She smiled back, and he dropped the apple on the bag. He reached to her sandwich and took it from her hand, putting it back in its wrapping. She looked at him as he leaned over her, and gently bent his head to kiss her, pushing her back. She sighed again, letting herself lay back in the grass, and their tongue met, exploring each other's mouth. After a time, Antoine pulled back for air, and Josée decided to take a step forward.

"I love you" she whispered. Antoine's eyes popped open, and he looked thunderstrucked for a few moments. His mouth hung open, but he managed to stammer a few words out of it.

"You… you what?"

"I…I said… I said I love you." She felt her throath tighten, and tears slowly welled up to her eyes, as he stayed silent and stared into her watering eyes. Here in the sunlight, his eyes showed their real color, lighting a deep purple gleam in the blue dephts. They always showed a lot of emotions, and now she saw interrogation in it, and… and?A smile made its way on his face, and he suddently burried his head in her neck, squeezing her tight. He mumbled something in her shirt, and she tried to push him away, trying to look at his face.

"What?"

"I said, "Mon Dieu"." He drew back and kissed her again. That wasn't quite the words she had been waiting for, but the kiss was sweet and tasted like apple, and she didn't have the heart to push him away. He did pull back, though, and stared into her eyes again. The tip of his nose touched hers, but she didn't blink, waiting. He smiled. "Je t'aime, moi aussi. And I've been waiting for weeks for telling you." He bent his head as tears began to run on her cheeks, and he kissed her eyelids. "I love you so much, Josée." She reached up and kissed him again.

The kiss went deeper, and she held on tight to his wide shoulders and his fingers ran in her dark auburn hair, cupping the back of her head. She put a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him even closer, and ran a hand down his back, and up again, sliding under his shirt. He suddently broke the kiss, and put his hand on hers, stopping it. She opened surprised eyes. He was out of breath like her, and his almost purple eyes were covered with a light mist of desire. But he shook his head, already pulling away. "No. Not here, not now" he simply said. Josée's eyebrows rose.

"But, Antoine, I didn't want to…"

"Not here." He kissed her, a light kiss that only made her want more. "Not now." She sighed, and soon they heard Lilianne's heart-warming laugh and Daniel's voice, coming towards them. Antoine picked up the leftovers and put them in the packsac. They got up, waiting for their friends, and he put a hand on the small of her back, pulling her close, and bent down to kiss her forehead.

"I love you."

~~

Josée sat on her steno chair, staring at the blank screen in front of her.

Antoine

She had only managed to write one word. She wanted to write more, but the words couldn't get out, and the letters blurred as her eyes filled with tears. Her hands hovered over the keyboard, and she tapped a few keys.

How are you?

She sighed angrily, pressing on the backspace key. What a stupid thing to write! Of course he would say he was fine. He probably had just gotten out of the hospital where she had practically sent him, and had been silent for almost a month. Of course he was fine! She put her fingers on the keyboard again, hesitating, but a small beep signaled her the arrival of a new message in her mail box.

Hands shaking, she opened the mailbox, and her heart leaped when she saw the Bergeron family's email adress.

***

Oh, Josée, it's terrible.

Antoine left. He packed his stuff in one single packsac and left a few minutes ago. Dad tried to talk him into staying, but they both yelled a lot and Toine slammed the door on his way out, and took his car.

I know you proposed that he would go to that mutant school you talked about, but I doubt a lot that's where he was heading. Josée, he looked so angry… If you have any news from him, any! please call us!

To be continued!

* pronounce "Da (like "that", without the final T) – nyel"

** "Ah, there you are, finaly! Let me present you Daniel, my new boyfriend!"

*** Litteraly "Not too early". In other words, "Finaly!"

**** "Heart that sighs does not have its desires fulfilled". Or something like that.