Chapter Three

8:30 PM, Saturday Evening

Nita lay outside on her lawn with Kit, gently snuggling up to him for warmth as they both gazed up into the night sky, surrounded by the nocturnal symphony of crickets heralding the night, occasionally squinting as a passing car's headlights washed over them.

A day of watching TV and chatting about wizardry had managed to culminate in this. What strange turns life took.

With a sigh of contentment, Nita shifted positions, strategically placing her head on Kit's left shoulder, allowing him to better toy with her curtain of slightly tousled auburn hair.

She felt him tense up beside her, then relax as she took his hand in hers.

"Kit?" she ventured into the silence between them.

"Mmhmm…?"

"I don't know what to do about this…"

Kit looked down at Nita, who was gazing anxiously back at him, her gray eyes alight with a mixture of emotions.

"…about what?" he asked, immediately attentive at the undertone of worry in her voice.

Nita gave him a look as she sat up. "You know what I mean… our relationship."

She paused, contemplating what she was about to say, then continued.

"Kit… I don't know what'll happen if… if we admit that we're… well… in… you know… with one another."

The last four or five words came out in a broken rush, as if Nita was eager to get her sentence over with. Realizing she must have appeared heartless to Kit, she hung her head in shame.

But her head jerked back up as Kit sighed.

"Neets… look, I don't, either. I mean… well, does anyone? Name one person who goes into a relationship knowing exactly what to expect. Just one."

When she hung her head once more and remained silent, he continued. "Nita… look. We've gotten ourselves into tons upon tons of messes. And we've found our way out of each one. If love happens to be one of those screwups, well, then, we'll find our way out of it."

Nita looked up at him, and Kit was shocked to find tears in her eyes.

"But… what if this all comes out to be a real mess… Kit, remember, the Lone One's still out there, just waiting to cause havoc… and where better to cause it than a relationship?"

Understanding what Nita needed, he sat up, and took her in his arms.

"Nita… I'm here. For you. If anything goes wrong, I'm always here. And I always will be. Forever."

Nita couldn't help but believe him. She relaxed against his chest, letting her head rest gently on one of his shoulders.

Kit, on the other hand, was amazed at how well their bodies fit together. Two pieces of the puzzle of their lives, possibly placed together.

And to think. He'd spent years upon years looking for love everywhere but Nita.

But here they were, cuddling together underneath the night sky.

Suddenly, it all seemed strangely familiar to Kit, as if this scene was something he'd known about all his life, but had refused to admit to himself.

What's so wrong about crushing on your best friend? Kit thought to himself. You're still different from her… not like she's part of your family or anything.

With that piece of information safely categorized in the back of his mind, he looked over to a stray daisy that had invaded the lawn in Mr. Callahan's absence. Very gently, he took the flower and tucked it behind Nita's ear, where it contrasted nicely with her hair.

Nita reached up and touched the daisy, breaking into a shy smile as she looked up at Kit.

"Thanks," she murmured, and leaned up to kiss him.

When they broke apart a few seconds later, Nita promptly snuggled back up to Kit. Returning her head to its niche on his shoulder, she sighed and whispered, "Looks like rain tomorrow, huh?"

Kit continued playing with her hair as he looked up at the night sky and nodded. "Yeah… it does."

"Rain on a Sunday morning," Nita murmured sleepily. "What to do…?"

Kit shrugged. "We'll find out tomorrow. Now… you wanna get up, or do I have to carry you upstairs?"

Nita opened an eyes and looked at him. "You're not strong eno-"

She was cut off as Kit grabbed her and heaved her into the air, catching her and carting her off towards the house.

Nita playfully smacked him a few times, but gave up as he dumped her unceremoniously onto her bed.

"See you in the morning," he grinned at her.

Nita pouted. "What, no good night kiss?" she inquired teasingly.

Kit rolled his eyes at her. "You don't deserve one," he needled.

Nita grinned at him. "Oh, come on…"

He chuckled as he leaned in and met her lips.

"Night, Neets," he murmured as they broke apart.

She blushed prettily. "See you in the morning."

A drop of rain landed with a splip on one of Mr. Callahan's prized roses as thunder rolled overhead.

It was going to be a very interesting Sunday.