Squib woke up to find himself facing the window. Rolling over, he was met with the sight of Cody's back, not an uncommon one these days. He had once read a quote somewhere that there's no point in sharing a bed with a person if you're sleeping back to back, or something like that. It depressed him greatly to think that he and Cody had turned into that. Almost a week had passed and they weren't getting any better. On the bright side, though (if there even was one), they had not gotten worse; they seemed stuck in some sort of weird stalemate. He slowly pulled himself up and headed into the shower. It was going to be another long week.

Cody sat in the paper office Tuesday afternoon, bored out of her mind. It wasn't as though she didn't have work to do; she had tons. But if she was being honest, she missed Squib. She missed his stupid jokes, and the way he could be so silly and yet so serious and loving at the same time. She missed their movie night and she really missed kissing him, for she had long ago decided that as far as her favorite activities went, kissing Squib was right up there, above even taking pictures. But something was always stopping her from going back home to see him. Pride? Fear? Embarrassment? Anger? She wasn't sure, really. She sighed and tried once again to focus on her article.

Cody crawled into bed late, as usual, on Tuesday night. She glanced at Squib's sleeping form, wondering when he would next be leaving. He hadn't mentioned anything to her as of late. Maybe he wasn't leaving any time soon, or maybe they had just drifted that far apart. Either way, she hoped he wasn't going in the near future. As cold as they were to each other, at least with the two of them together under one roof there was a chance, Cody knew, of working things out. When he left however, it only served to dampen her mood more (if that was possible). She looked at him once more, softly and affectionately brushing a few stray blond locks out of his face before turning off the lights.

Squib sat in class Wednesday afternoon not even trying to pay attention. All he could think of was Cody and how he missed her. He missed her giggling at every lame joke he cracked, and tickling her to get what he wanted (because he knew that was her weakness). And he really missed touching her. They hadn't kissed, held hands, anything in weeks and it was driving him mad. They had become like strangers and Squib hated it. He wished she would do something, because he had sure tried. Something, anything, that showed she was trying to salvage the relationship; all he needed was for her to reach out in some way. When it was finally time to leave, he packed up his things quickly and made his way toward the apartment.

When he entered the living room, he was shocked to see Cody sitting on the couch.

"Hey," she said quietly, looking up as he entered.

"Uh…hi,"

"I have to go to class real soon," she said, "but I just wanted to know what movies you wanted for tonight. I can pick them up on my way home." Squib remained silent for a long time, only was thought running though his mind; she was reaching out.

"Um, it doesn't matter. You're choice," he said.

"Alright," she answered. Why was this so awkward? "Okay then, I've got class so…See you tonight."

"Yeah…tonight," Squib said, still in shock, as he watched her walk out the door.

All Squib could think about that night as the two sat on opposite sides of the couch was how horribly awkward it all was. Not that he wasn't thankful to just be sitting there with her, because he was! But the next step was overcoming the huge gaping silence between them. Why was this so difficult? It was Cody, for Pete's sake! He had known her since he was fifteen; she was the one person he trusted more than anyone else. They were in love! Well, at least he knew he still was, although he wasn't sure whether or not he could say the same for her.

Cody hated this. Hated it, hated it, hated it. It disgusted her how this was like a horrible first date instead of two people in love. They were sitting miles apart on the couch! But she wouldn't move any closer. Why? She wasn't quite sure, but the thought it may have been a fear of rejection. She knew it was crazy to be scared of that, especially with Squib. The last time she had such a silly fear with Squib, they must have been not older than sixteen. They were adults now, 20 years old, and acting like children. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Squib stand up.

"I'm going to get some more popcorn," he said, grabbing the bowl and walking into the kitchen.

"Okay," Cody said softly. She sighed and brought her legs up onto the couch, curling up.

Squib plugged in the popcorn maker and waited for the kernels to start popping. This was ridiculous, he thought. Cody was his girlfriend; he was allowed to sit by her, to talk to her! Minutes later when the popcorn was finished, he quickly seasoned it and returned to the living room.

He sat down on the couch again, only this time right next to her with an arm around her shoulders. He could feel her tense up as soon as he touched her. He cursed himself for even trying to move forward with her, realizing she wasn't on the same page as he was. Just as he was about to pull away, however, she relaxed slightly and rested her head on his shoulder.

She wished it didn't feel so awkward. The very thought of how formal and strange they had become with each other made Cody want to cry. But she relished in the feel of Squib's arm around her; a sign that not all hope was lost.

Squib found himself carrying a sleeping Cody into their bedroom, just as he had done over a month ago when this all started. Placing her on the bed, he climbed in next to her and draped an arm around her. He felt her shift slightly and soon she was looking up at him, awake.

"Squib," she half whispered, half mumbled, "I love you." Sweeter words had never been spoken, at least in the opinion of one Gary Furlong.

"I love you too, Cody," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry I…" she started, but was cut off by Squib.

"Shh, we can talk in the morning," he placed a small kiss on her forehead. He knew they still had some huge issues to move past, and he knew they should talk about them, but there was no way he was ruining this moment. He pulled her closer as she snuggled her head into his chest. Within mere moments, the two were asleep in each other's arms.

Deliver me, out of my sadness.
Deliver me, from all of the madness.
Deliver me, courage to guide me.
Deliver me, strength from inside me.

All of my life I've been in hiding.
Wishing there was someone just like you.
Now that you're here, now that I've found you,
I know that you're the one to pull me through.

Deliver me, loving and caring.
Deliver me, giving and sharing.
Deliver me, the cross that I'm bearing.

All of my life I was in hiding.
Wishing there was someone just like you.
Now that you're here, now that I've found you,
I know that you're the one to pull me through.

Deliver me,
Deliver me,
Oh deliver me.

All of my life I was in hiding.
Wishing there was someone just like you.
Now that you're here, now that I've found you,
I know that you're the one to pull me through.

Deliver me,
Oh deliver me.
Won't you deliver me?

-Sarah Brightman 'Deliver Me'

Just to clarify, no, this does not mean the drama is over; far from it. But Candy and I had a little arrangement concerning the amount of fluff in my stories. I hope this was enough fluff (rhyme!) for you all; I tried to put in as much as possible without making it seem too happy for the story. I know it wasn't very much, but it was the best I could do without straying from the plot. Hope you all enjoyed! And Arwen51, I hope your computer decides to start working for you!