Lena sat awkwardly on the edge of Carmen's bed. Carmen had gone downstairs and Lena was contemplating going to talk to Paul. She stood up, then sat back down. She groaned. Everyone that she didn't know well expected her to be self-confident and brave because of the way she looked. Nobody could understand how 'beautiful' Lena could be so shy and uncertain. Lena hated being judged by her looks.

'Just do it, don't be so pathetic' she thought to herself, after all she'd been through with love she thought she should be able to handle anything. 

Lena walked lightly down the hallway towards Paul's room, almost as if she was creeping, she was so nervous. His door was slightly ajar and she knocked tentatively and pushed it the rest of the way open. He wasn't there.

Lena shuffled a few steps forward into his room, she hadn't planned for it to be empty. What should she do, stay there and wait for him? She could walk out but what if he saw her and was wondering why she was walking out of his room. Lena stood frozen unable to decide what action to take. She glanced around the room, it was tidy, for a boy. Then she suddenly realised that this was the first time she had actually been in a boy's room, well a boy that mattered anyway. She laughed at the thought, and felt slightly more comfortable. As she wondered over to his dresser a photo caught Lena's eye, it was of her. She picked up the frame and looked closer at it, Carmen had taken it a week after Lena and Paul had first met. The Lena in the photo looked faint and haunted, a result of the events of the summer before, but her sad eyes held the slightest glimmer of hope. That hope was Paul.

'Whats up?'

Lena spun around and dropped the picture frame, startled to find Paul standing in the doorway. 'I ah, I'. Lena was horrified to feel her checks burning, and she knew she would be a bright shade of pink.

She bent down to pick up the frame, giving her a few precious seconds to think of what to say. She placed the picture back on the dresser and turned to face Paul, it felt like they stared at each other for hours before Paul gestured to the photo.

'Carmen sent it to me….'

'Oh'

'I hope that's okay'

'What?'

'That Carmen sent me a picture of you'

'Oh…yeah, that's fine' Lena had never felt more awkward in her life.

Silence.

Paul broke the ice again 'Do you want to go for a walk?'

Lena nodded.

Lena had felt a bit guilty leaving Carmen alone in the kitchen, after having to tell her that she was going on for a walk with Paul. Lena wouldn't have minded if Carmen wanted to tag along but she suspected Carmen didn't get that impression.

They walked for a good five minutes in silence, and Lena felt so comfortable that she didn't feel compelled to blabber nervously and the thought that she was so relaxed with Paul made her smile. She glanced up at him and noticed that he was smiling down at her as well, they looked at each other with their goofy grins before bursting out laughing. Lena watched the way Paul's eyes crinkled up when he laughed, she had never noticed that before, but then again she wasn't sure she had even seen him laugh before.

They had walked for hours talking about everything, except Paul's dad and Kostos those were topics neither one was quite ready to open up about.  There were several more comfortable silences, and Lena noticed more than ever that Paul was a man of few words, but when he did spoke it was meaningful. It was almost like Paul said what needed to be said without all the clutter that would make things complicated. By the time they got back to the house it was getting dark and dinner was about to be served. Lena endured the introduction to Lydia, who was overly nice and stared at Lena as if she was the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen. Lena wasn't sure whether it was because Lydia knew something was going on between Lena and her son or because of Lena's naturally beautiful looks, but it made her uncomfortable all the same and all through dinner she dodged the gaze of both Lydia and Paul.