Disclaimer : I don't own a thing so there!

ICESK8ER7-08 : Arr I'm glad you're enjoying this. Anyways thanks for your support and review. CHEERS MI DEARS!

PRINCESSH : You've never seen these two together? God I think these two have got to be my all time greatest couple lol. Anyways thanks for the support and review. CHEERS MI DEARS!

DUCKYS : Thank you. Anyways thanks for the support and review. CHEERS MI DEARS!

B : Yay, another Adam/Connie fan lol. Anyways thanks for the support and review. CHEERS MI DEARS!

GINA : Hey you! Oh stop, it's too much blushes lol. You really know how to inflate a girls ego don't ya lol. Of course you're making sense, you always make sense to me lol. Am I to take it you can't wait to read the rest lol. Ok, I'll shit up and let you get on with it. Anyways thanks for your wonderful support and review. CHEERS MI DEARS!

SWEETNJUICYX0 : Arr thanks. Anyways thanks for the support and review. CHEERS MI DEARS!

Chapter 2

As I walked down the aisle toward my future husband, looking just as sweet and innocent as he had on our very first date…

I was sat on the kitchen work surface, kissing the Adam Banks. Though slightly aware of the pounding headache I had, from the events of the night, I pushed the thoughts aside, and put my whole concentration onto who I was kissing. Enjoying his tender touch, the taste of his lips against mine. Suddenly he caught my bottom lip, that was still swollen and tender, I let out a murmur of pain, of which he immediately backed off. It was then, that I realized, that I shouldn't have been enjoying that kiss. After Guy, I had promised myself, dating a friend or team mate would never happen again, it complicated things just too much, and there was always somebody that got hurt.

"Sorry". He mumbled.

"It's ok. Um, so I'm gonna go to bed". I jumped down, and slowly headed upstairs.

I was supposed to be sharing Adam's parents double bed with Julie, but upon entering the room, I knew that this would be one night, where I slept more on the corner of the bed. Julie was spread out across most of the king-size bed. I pushed her over, of which she grunted and obliged. I kicked my shoes off and climbed in. I didn't however fall asleep, I couldn't get Adam from my mind – was he thinking about me? Did he want to kiss me, or was it a spur of the moment thing? When I did begin drifting to sleep, I felt Julie turn over, nudging me to move further to the edge. I nudged her back, of which she grunted, then nudged me even harder, causing me to topple off the bed. Great I thought, breathing in deeply. It was then that I realized, that all I could smell in this room was alcohol. I stood up and grabbed my pillows, pulling the duvet away from her, and began toward the door, deciding that I wasn't going to get any sleep at all if I stayed in here with her.

"Remind me never to share a bed with you again". I whispered, as I closed the door behind myself.

I headed down the hall, toward the stairs. I passed the bathroom, seeing the light creep under the doorway. I kind of guessed it was either Guy or Charlie, coming round from their chugging contests. I stepped down the first step trying my utmost not to fall down them again. Once a night was plenty enough for me.

"Connie"? I jumped sky high, and nearly toppled down the stairs again, but I dropped the duvet and pillows and saved myself by grabbing the banister.

"Don't do that". I chuckled, once I had regained myself.

"Sorry". He replied. "Where're you going"?

"Well, the couch seems more inviting than having to share a bed with the bed hog in there". I laughed, and began picking up the duvet and pillows.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch. You can have my bed"? He offered me.

"No it's ok really, I'll be fine". I replied.

"I insist". He opened his bedroom door, then gestured me toward it. I stepped closer to him, even in the dimness of the hall way, I could see the gleam in his eyes.

"Look Adam, about earlier". I began, I don't really know what I was going to say, but there was something telling me to keep him close.

"Don't worry, it's already forgotten". He stepped passed me and headed for the stairs.

"I don't want to forget about it". I placed my hand gently on his arm. "I think we need to talk". I whispered.

He followed me into his room, closing the door, quietly behind him. I put the duvet and pillows down on the bed and turned to him. He was stood in what could only be described as a safe distance from me. As though if he stood any closer, we wouldn't be able resist temptation, ending up in a similar embrace as we had earlier. I didn't know where to start, sure I'd said that we needed to talk, but there was a big difference between what we needed to do and doing it.

"Look, I don't want to just forget about what happened downstairs. But it's just, I don't know, difficult". I wanted him to say something, but he stood there, looking at me as though he was reading my thoughts. "I just, I don't want to spoil our friendship, and it would be inevitable if we carried on with this". I said. He didn't say anything, just looked at me. Slowly a small smile crept onto his face.

"Who you trying to convince there, you or me"? He said in his low husky voice, that sent shivers up my spine.

"So you're telling me, you aren't be worried that we'd ruin our friendship if we went out"?

"This isn't about our friendship. It's more than that". He answered, throwing me off guard. "You're scared, you're scared of getting hurt".

He was right. I was scared. When I split up with Guy, I hurt more than I ever let on. Everyone seemed to think I was the one who broke up with him, almost taking his side of the argument. It didn't matter that we both had something to do with the break up, and that I was hurting just as much as he was. We had both said horrible things to each other, all of which I regretted, but even now, after we had buried the hatchet, I still found myself being given the cold shoulder every so often by him. I remained silent, not daring myself to answer him.

"There are gonna be some guys out there, that hurt you, I'm not gonna be one of them". He stepped a little closer, reaching for my hand. "I'm not gonna lie and tell you I've wanted to be with you for, like forever, but I do want to be with you". He lifted my chin with his spare hand, making me look him in the eye. There was something there, that made me believe every word he was saying.

"Ok". I whispered, nodding my head gently, before leaning into his embrace.

"Ok, well I'm gonna go get some sleep". He winked at me, before heading toward the door.

"Stay". I kept hold of his hand.

"Are you sure"? I nodded.

That night, I laid snuggled into his chest, we chatted easily with each other. I explained why I had been a little apprehensive about going out with him, but he soon put aside those fears. I fell to sleep, with his finger running up and down my back gently. I woke the following morning, in a different position, but his arms still around me. I twisted around a little, to see his eyes shut, he looked so sweet, especially when his nose started twitching slightly. I let out a stifled giggle, almost immediately his eyes popped open.

"Did you know your nose twitches when you sleep". I giggled almost silently.

"Did you know you're perfect when you sleep". He answered, yawning slightly.

"Just when I sleep"? I teased.

"Don't push your luck". He teased back. "How's your head"? He ran his thumb over my cuts.

"Ask me after I've had Julie rattling in my ear for a few minutes".

We laid there in each others arms a while longer. Something could never have felt more right than it did right then. Sure I was still scared that everything could go wrong, but there was more thoughts about what if everything went right. Slowly, we both got up, and headed to Charlie and Guy's room and Julie's room to check on them. Both rooms stunk of alcohol, and all 3 of them, looked as though they weren't quite ready to get up yet. When we got downstairs, we picked up from where we had left off last night.

"So what do we tell the others"? I asked, as I put empty cans in a rubbish sack.

"I dunno. I suppose we could tell them everything". He suggested.

"But what is there to tell. Let's just leave it for a while, until we've figured out everything. Ok"?

"Ok". He answered, then knelt down on 1 knee in front of me, taking my hand in his. "Connie Moreau, would you please accompany me to dinner tonight"? He asked gently.

"I'd love to". I answered.

By 11am, when the other 3 finally stumbled down the stairs, the house was clear of rubbish, all we had to do was put most of the furniture back in it's rightful place. They all sat around the kitchen table, holding their heavy heads up. I placed a jug of orange juice and some glasses on the table, before giving each of them some aspirin. Adam had begun cooking us some breakfast, just as the others came in. They squeezed around the table, all wanting some of what Adam was cooking, though there was no guesses as to who wasn't wanting anything to eat.

"Looks like Adamrella's been busy". Russ commented on the tidiness of the place.

"Actually me and Connie did it this morning". Adam answered.

"How'd you feel this morning"? Fulton asked.

"Why, were you feeling ill"? Julie asked, she still hadn't noticed that I had 2 big bruises on my face.

"Show's how much you put away last night". Portman said sarcastically.

"My shoulders are a little stiff, and my lips pretty sore, but other than that, I'm not too bad". I ignored Portman and Julie's comments.

"Why what happened"? She looked from Portman to me, then finally noticed the bruises. "Oh my God Connie. What happened to you"? I didn't answer her, just began dishing the food out.

"She got into a fight". Ken answered for me.

"With who"? Julie continued questioning.

"A dumb cheerleader". I answered.

"Why"? She couldn't just let it drop.

"Because you were headed upstairs with her boyfriend". Charlie said suddenly, as though he'd just remembered.

After that Julie wouldn't stop apologizing and going on about it. Eventually I was the one taking the aspirin. After breakfast, I excused myself and went upstairs, to tidy up after Julie, Guy and Charlie. See the guys were naturally untidy, and Julie's side of the dorm room looked like a bomb hit it everyday. So I busied myself with making the beds, and checking that everything looked just about right. When I got to Adam's room, the duvet I had taken from my original room, and pillows were laid in a heap on the floor. I picked them up and headed back down the hall to put them back in their rightful place.

"You didn't need to do that". Adam said coming upon behind me.

"Well Julie wouldn't". I giggled a little. "We both know what her side of the dorm room looks like".

"Still, you didn't need to do it". He slipped his arms around my waist.

"Adam, what if they walk in right now". I squirmed a little.

"They won't, they're watching a film". He whispered in my ear.

"So where are you taking me tonight"? I asked, wanting a bit of an idea of what I should wear.

"How does Italian grab you"? He asked.

"Italian sounds great". I purred back.

"CONNIE, WHERE ARE YOU"? It was Julie she was upstairs. We jumped apart, as if on cue.

"I'm in here". I shouted as she passed the door without noticing me.

"Oh, erm, I'm going back to the dorm to get changed and everything, you coming"? She asked.

"Erm, yeah". I answered, beginning to follow her. "Oh, thanks for last night Adam". I turned and gave him a quick wink.

When we got back to the dorm, all Julie could go on about was how she'd made a mess of things last night, and how sorry she was. I think the only time I got a bit of peace was when she went in the shower. I purposely waited until she came back in, before heading off for one myself. I couldn't wait for tonight, the closer it got, the more excited I became. When I started picking out what I was going to wear, Julie looked at me puzzled, before asking me what I was doing. She caught me out there, I hadn't really thought about any excuse. I quickly explained that I had a date with a guy from the party. Well it wasn't a lie, but the guys would call it a lie, as the guys knew, I had spent my night, protecting Julie and hanging with them. She bounced up and down in the prospect, asking me all sorts of questions about him. You know the usual, his name, what did he look like, how old was he, did she know him? Luckily I got away without answering any of them. She was that busy, she thankfully, didn't notice when my mobile beeped, letting me know I had a message. It was from Adam, telling me where to meet him and what time. I deleted it before Julie had the chance to read it. I tried applying some light make up, to cover my cuts and bruises, but they were still pretty visible. I left the dorms and headed out of the school grounds. I kept looking behind me to make sure Julie wasn't following, so she could catch a glimpse of my mystery guy. I managed to get into Adam's car without being seen and he quickly sped off.

The restaurant was in a secluded area of Minnesota, where I recognized no-one. We were seated immediately, and given menu's. The soft Italian music played gently in the back ground, and the candlelight made for a very romantic meal. We ordered our meal and sat gazing into each others eyes, he slowly slipped his hand across the table, and took hold of my hand.

"Thank you for coming tonight". He whispered.

"Thank you for asking me". I couldn't help but smile.

"I only asked you because my real date cancelled at the last minute". He said with a completely straight face.

"Glad I could be of some use to you". I replied, but I couldn't keep a straight face like he could. "So what have you told the guys you're doing tonight"? I asked, as our food was placed in front of us.

"Well, I told them that I was hooking up with a very curvaceous blonde, that wanted me just for my body". He couldn't keep a straight face this time. "I didn't need to tell them anything. They were too engrossed in the film they were watching. It's as though they've all come back from the stone ages and never seen a film before". I nodded along with him.

"But your TV is like a cinema". I replied objectively.

"True". He answered.

"So where do we go from here"? I asked seriously, he knew this time he couldn't joke.

"How about we go out a few more times, then tell them. They are gonna have to be told, if they found out some other way, then all hell will break loose". He answered.

"So this isn't going to be a one off date"?

"I don't want it to, but I suppose if you do". He left the sentence open.

"I don't want it to either".

We ate the rest of our meal in semi silence, creating small talk every so often, to douse the silence between us. Now I hadn't dated an awful lot since Guy and I broke up, but when I had done, silences such as this had been uncomfortable and awkward. But with Adam, I didn't feel the need to keep a conversation going, his company was enough. After the meal the waiter brought us our bill. Adam reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. I began fishing into my purse for my half of the bill.

"My treat". He murmured.

"No Adam it's ok". I looked at him.

"I wouldn't be a proper gentleman if I let you pay". His eyes gazed at me deeply. I put my purse away, but not without telling him, I was paying next time.

We left the restaurant, hand in hand. I was expecting him to drive me back to the dorms, but instead I found him driving in totally the other direction. I looked at him questioningly, but I wasn't worried, I knew he wasn't kidnapping me or anything. We drove for about 20 minutes, before he pulled up, in a small secluded spot. He almost leapt out of the car, and ran around to where I was half out. He for some reason grabbed a bag that had been sat in the foot well behind my seat, took my hand and closed the door behind me, before leading me somewhere.

"Adam, where are we going"? I asked, yet I knew it would be somewhere worth all the hassle.

"You'll see". Was his only answer. We walked a little further, until he finally turned to me. "Close your eyes". He told me. I looked at him suspiciously. "Trust me, you'll love it".

I sighed and did as he requested. I felt him step to my side, and one of his arms, circle around my back, then his hand rested softly over my eyes, to ensure I couldn't peek. His other hand took one of mine and lead me, through what I could only guess as trees. As we walked a little further, I could hear water crashing soothingly against something. We walked down a slight decline, before I heard a creak. I immediately tensed up. He whispered that it was ok, then continued leading me.

"Ok, you can open them". He removed his hand and I fluttered my eyes open, trying to focus, though his other hand kept hold of mine.

I was stood at the end of a dock, that had small electronic lamps on each pillar, that looked as though they were candles flickering in the moonlight. From where I stood I could see there were a few other docks with the same lights. The moon danced over the surface of the water, almost illuminating my surroundings. Stars were twinkling in the almost pitch black sky, something you very rarely saw in the heart of Minneapolis.

"Adam, this is wonderful". I whispered, afraid that if I talked any louder, I would shatter the painting like image that surrounded us.

"I thought you'd like it". He began sitting down, leaning against one of the pillars as he did so.

"Like it, I think it's gotta be one the most beautiful things I've ever seen". I sat down, leaning against his chest, one of my feet dangling toward the water. He pulled a blanket out of the bag, and draped it around us, keeping the cold chill away.

"I think you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen". He almost purred in my ear.

It was just saying things like that, that made me want to be with him more than I already did. Adam was the first guy I'd been with, that was the slightest bit romantic. Even Guy who I had dated on and off for 2 years, had never been romantic. Yeah I know we were only kids really, but he had never done or said anything to me to make me feel as though he was truly in love with me.

We must have been sat there over an hour, just listening to the splashing over the water, and the rustling of the leaves in the nearby trees. We hadn't moved an inch, we had just been sat enjoying each others company, there had been very few words spoken between us, but Adam continued making his presence known by leaving a trail of gentle kisses on my ear lobe. I rubbed his arm affectionately, as his hand entwined with my other hand. I could have sat there all night with him, but there was a thought suppressed in the back of my mind, telling me it was time we got moving.

"As much as I want to sit here all night, Adam. I think we ought to head on back, the supervisor tonight is Ms Bennett and she's pretty strict". I told him, knowing that if I was caught sneaking in past the 10 o'clock curfew, I might as well go to sleep in a coffin. I stood up, carefully, then took one last look out across the water, whilst Adam pulled himself up.

"Um, hate to tell you Con, but we've already missed the curfew, it's 10.30". He told me taking my hand, and leading me back to his car.

"What? Oh my God. I bet there's like a thousand missed calls on my phone". We began walking a little faster, but not too much.

"Don't worry about it. You can always stay at mine again". He offered.

As predicted, we both had a few missed calls. All mine where from Julie, knowing her she was probably trying frantically to reach me, worried that I had missed the curfew due to being mugged, or raped or even murdered – those were the thoughts I knew would most likely have passed through her mind. Adam had a few calls from his house phone, probably the guys, finally realizing he had gone out. Suddenly his phone began ringing, he showed me the screen that told him that it was Charlie's mobile.

"Hey man, what's up"? He asked. "No, no, I haven't seen her". He winked at me. "Well I'm on my way home now, so if I see her". He was trying to keep a serious tone. "Yeah, ok. Bye". He hung up. "I think you're in trouble with Julie". He laughed a little.

"Let me guess, she thinks I've been murdered"? I laughed along.

"Not yet, she's currently on kidnapped or raped".

"So I've got like another half an hour until she pronounces me dead"? I asked. About 10 minutes later, my phone began ringing. You've guessed it, it was Julie. "Hi Julie". I said happily.

"Don't you hi Julie me". She was angry, panicked and relieved all at the same time.

"What's wrong"? I asked innocently.

"Where have you been? I've been ringing for the past hour".

"You know where I've been. On my date".

"Well where are you now"? She asked. Now this is where my brain kicked into gear.

"With Adam". I smiled.

"With Adam"? She asked questioningly.

"Yeah, I missed curfew, and rang the dorm phone and you didn't pick up, so I kinda figured you'd be at Adam's, so I started over there. Adam's just seen me and picked me up". I explained quickly.

With that explanation done, she seemed rather happy and put the phone down. 10 minutes later, Adam pulled up in his driveway. We both climbed out, and headed toward the house. We no longer walked hand in hand, in fact we kept a respectable distance from each other.

"Oh, and thanks for tonight. It was great". I almost whispered as we entered the house.

So what do you think? PLEASE R&R!