Whoo! A chapter!

The title really doesn't have a lot to do with the chapter, but it kind of does. Plus the song (by Taylor Swift) fits Jim and Tabitha's relationship really well, in some ways.

As always, I apologize for the wait. This was originally going to be a Halloween chapter, but:

1. I didn't think of it until Friday night, so I didn't have time to write the whole thing before Halloween.

2. I couldn't think of a good way to make an original Halloween-y chapter, so I did this instead. :D

So this takes place on Halloween weekend of their last year at the academy.

Enjoy!


"You have to trust me."

Tabitha looked up from the book she'd been reading to see Rylee attempting to stumble through the door with a garment bag in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. "What the - ?"

"Okay," Rylee sighed as she finally got in and managed to shut the door. "Please don't get angry with me..."

That should have been Tabitha's clue. Rylee had just returned from picking out Tabitha's costume for the Halloween Masquerade Ball the academy had every year. Tabitha had initially declined her invitation, but Rylee had finally managed to talk her into it, after promising that she would pick out the costume... but Tabitha was now seriously regretting that decision.

"What in the stars did you pick out for me?" she asked apprehensively.

Rylee grinned, took a deep breath, then unzipped the garment bag. "Ta-da!"

Tabitha raised an eyebrow. "That looks remarkably like a ball gown to me."

"That's because it is!"

Tabitha frowned. "Absolutely not. No way. No, no, no."

"Tabitha!" Rylee whined. "You have to! Please? You'll look gorgeous!"

"I don't care. I do not wear ball gowns. You know that! What in the stars ever made you think I would?"

"But you have to! I already gave Jim his costume, and - "

"Wait, what?" Tabitha stopped her. "You picked out Jim's costume too?"

"Uh, yeah," Rylee said impatiently. "You're a couple. Your costumes have to match."

Tabitha sighed and rolled her eyes. "So what are we? A prince and a princess?"

"Exactly!"

Tabitha's jaw dropped as her friend pulled the dress off the hanger and tossed it to her. "I was joking!"

"Well I'm not. You're a princess. Jim is your prince." Tabitha still didn't look convinced, so she added. "Jim already bought the tickets."

Tabitha groaned. "You are making this up to me somehow, or I will never speak to you again."

Rylee squealed and clapped her hands together eagerly.


Tabitha might have protested more if she'd known that her costume not only consisted of the poofy white gown, but also of a pair of elbow length gloves, jewelry, and even a damned tiara. Rylee also made an attempt to fix Tabitha's hair and makeup, but she adamantly refused. The rest was more than enough.

Rylee was, apparently, going as a pirate. She'd tried to argue that Tabitha wearing a dress was fair because Tabitha had had to pick out most of Rylee's outfit for her, since she had considerable more know-how about pirates, but Tabitha wasn't buying it. However, she eventually sucked it up and accepted that she was going to be a princess. People were going to look at her oddly because she was in a dress, and she was sure she'd have to listen to a few dozen compliments about how 'cute' she and Jim were as a couple... but at the end of the night, she could change back into her own comfortable clothes and it would all be over with.

As Rylee and Tabitha made their way downstairs, Rylee kept grinning at Tabitha, then shaking her head.

"What on Montressor are you looking at me like that for?" Tabitha finally enquired.

"I'm sorry, you just look so beautiful," she gasped. "You look like a bride."

Tabitha would have rolled her eyes, but she was keeping her gaze focused on the ground and the hem of her dress so she didn't fall. "I thought I was supposed to look like a princess."

"Oh, that too," Rylee laughed. "Jim's going to fall out when he sees you."

"Rylee!"

The girls looked up to see Cason waiting at the bottom of the stairs in the lobby of their dorm. Tabitha couldn't help but notice what he was wearing...

"Why is Cason dressed like a pirate, too?" she smirked.

Rylee blushed. "H-How should I know?"

"You said that couples' costumes have to match..." she hinted.

Rylee turned on her friend, her face scarlet red by now. She glared at her and elbowed her directly in the stomach, which in turn knocked her off balance and sent her falling to the ground.

"Tabitha!" Cason shouted as he rushed up to the girls. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Tabitha laughed, at herself and the fact that Rylee was still blushing. "I'm used to it by now."

Cason chuckled and helped her up. "You two look great," he stated, though he kept his eyes focused on Rylee for the compliment.

"Where's Jim?" Rylee asked.

"I don't know. I guess he's - "

"Not coming."

The three turned around to see Graham just entering the dorm.

"Not coming?" Rylee repeated. "What do you mean?"

Graham sighed and looked at Tabitha. "Jim's sick."

Tabitha's eyes widened as she descended the last couple of steps. "Oh... Well is he alright? Sick how?"

"Yeah, he's fine, I guess. It's just a cold or something. He asked me to take you instead, but he sent me over to here to see if you even wanted to go first. Something about not liking your costume..."

She smiled at how well Jim knew her, then shook her head. "No, I don't want to go. Especially if Jim's not going. Besides, I'm a doctor, maybe I can take care of him."

Cason laughed quietly from somewhere behind her. "Right. Take care of him."

Tabitha glared at him, then slugged him in the arm. "Just because I'm in a dress doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

"Tabitha!" Rylee squealed while the two guys laughed. Tabitha just shrugged as if to ask, 'What?'.

"Come on," Graham nodded toward the door. "I'll walk you back to our dorm."

It wasn't a long walk, nor a dangerous one, but Graham refused to let Tabitha turn down his chivalry. So while Cason and Rylee headed to the ball, Graham escorted Tabitha back to his dorm.

About halfway there, Tabitha smacked her hand across her forehead. "I don't know why I didn't change out of this damn thing. If I'm not going, I don't have much reason to be dressed as a princess."

Graham laughed. "It'll be worth it just to see Jim's facial expression."

"That's what Rylee said too," she said thoughtfully.

"Because you're apparently the only person who doesn't see how he looks at you," he teased. "Stars, I've never seen a guy so infatuated with someone. It's disgusting."

Tabitha pretended to be offended. "Oh, what, just because you've decided you're never going to fall in love?"

"Tabitha, he's the reason I'm never going to fall in love," he explained. "I've sworn I will never look even half as stupid as Jim does when he's gawking at you."

Tabitha rolled her eyes as they reached the building. "Goodnight, Graham. And thank you."

"No problem. Hey, if you get a chance, take a picture of Jim's expression when he sees you."

Tabitha laughed as he started to walk away, but she stopped him. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

"To the ball, of course."

"In that?" she inquired, nodding towards his uniform.

"Yeah. I don't do the dressing up thing."

"Neither do I, but - " Tabitha laughed as she gestured towards her dress. "You could borrow Jim's costume. You two are about the same size, so - "

"No way," he laughed, holding up his hands to stop her. "I will not be playing the part of Prince Charming this evening. Besides, if you go in a costume and you don't have a date, then you run the risk of running into someone with a similar costume, and then everyone thinks you're a couple... Speaking of which, what was up with Cason and Rylee wearing - ?"

"I have no idea. I plan on questioning her A.S.A.P."

Graham laughed. "Well... Goodnight, princess."

Tabitha glared at him, but a smile tugged at her lips. "'Night, Graham."

Now that she was indoors, Tabitha paused to take off the shoes she'd borrowed from Rylee before making her way through the dormitory - across the lobby, up to the third floor, and down to room seventeen. She knocked and had just enough time to wonder if Graham and Rylee's predictions on what Jim's reaction would be were accurate before there was an answer.

"Come in," a congested voice answered.

Tabitha slowly swung open the door and entered the room. Jim was rifling through the box of 'just in case' medical supplies his mother had sent to the academy with him, but looked up when he sensed that it wasn't Graham who had just entered the room. He turned around and nearly stumbled backward in shock. His jaw dropped and his eyes bulged and his breath stuck in his throat.

Tabitha looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

Jim released a shuddering breath and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Okay, maybe my fever's really high and I'm delusional... but you are my girlfriend and you are wearing a wedding dress... aren't you?"

She laughed. "It's a princess dress, actually, but yes."

He looked at her again and let out a breathy laugh. "Wow," he said in awe. "You look... wow. I mean..." He stopped and gulped, shaking his head as he tried to think of something to say. Instead, he ended up letting out a raucous cough.

"Are you alright?" Tabitha questioned as she walked over to him. Before he could answer though, she had her hand against his forehead to check his temperature. "Hmm, you're pretty warm, but I don't think it's too serious. Plus you're coughing and you're congested... sounds like a bad cold."

"Feels like a bad cold," he sniffed. "You should go. I don't want you to get sick too."

She scoffed. "Okay, one - I'm your girlfriend, and two - I'm a doctor... or at least I'm about to be. I'm staying here to take care of you."

"Oh, no - " he attempted to object. "Really, you don't have to - "

"I know I don't have to, but I'm going to," she smiled. "It's not like I have anything else to do."

"You should go to the ball."

"No way. Especially not without you. Get in bed."

Jim, too sick to argue, simply lay down and closed his eyes.

"Have you taken any medicine?"

"No. I was trying to figure out what to take when you showed up." A shiver raced across his skin, and he reached down to pull the covers up, but a hand on his stopped him.

"No, wait," Tabitha said as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Not yet."

As he opened his mouth to question her, her fingers reached for the buttons on his shirt and he looked at her confusedly. "Um... what are you doing?"

"I'm taking care of you," she stated simply as she pulled his shirt open and grabbed the jar she'd brought over with her off the bedside table.

"What's that?"

"Basically, it's a blend of herbs and a few other things that will help you be able to breathe," she explained as she scooped up the gel. "This is a homemade version, and it's not the best treatment, but I'm working with what we've got, and it should help."

Jim gasped as Tabitha smoothed the warm cream across his chest, then he relaxed and closed his eyes.

"Do you have any other symptoms?"

"I'm tired," he answered groggily. "And... Just sick. You know, weak, no appetite, achy muscles..."

Tabitha nodded. "Yep, bad cold. Here, take this."

She handed him a small cup filled with a thick orange liquid. Jim winced, then swallowed it all in one gulp and grimaced. "Ugh. What was that?"

"Poison," she said sarcastically. "It's medicine. What else? It'll probably make you pretty tired," she explained as she went back to rubbing the warm gel across his chest. "The only other thing I can think of is to put a wet washcloth on your forehead to bring down the temperature, or if you're up for it, taking a luke-warm shower would be better."

Jim chuckled and looked up at her. "If you don't quit rubbing this gel stuff on me, the only shower I'm going to need is a cold one."

Tabitha looked at him curiously, then froze, quickly pulled her hand back, and blushed. "I-I'm sorry. Maybe you should - "

In her embarrassment, she tried to stand up and make her way quickly back over to the box of medical supplies, but only ended up tripping over the hem of her dress and crashing to the floor.

Jim jolted upright in bed. "Are you alright?"

"Ow, yeah," she mumbled as she pushed herself up. "Yeah, I'm fine..."

Jim smirked as he watched her face brighten to a dark pink. She met his amused gaze and sighed. "There's a reason I don't wear dresses."

He started to laugh, but only ended up coughing again. "Do you want to change out of that?"

"More than anything," she groaned. "Will you be okay while I go back to my room and - "

"No, I don't want you walking across the grounds alone at night."

"Jim, it's safe, and it's not a long walk. I'll be fine."

Jim shook his head and climbed out of bed. "No, here, just borrow some of my stuff."

Tabitha started to object, but decided to just leave it alone. This was an easier solution, and she didn't feel like arguing it. Jim quickly ransacked his drawers for something she could borrow. "Um... everything's dirty except - Well, here's a shirt... and here's some... boxers?"

"Um... That's fine."

He tossed the clothes over to her and began to rub his neck. "Sorry I don't have any real clothes clean... I kind of need to catch up on the laundry."

"Yeah, you do," she teased as she glanced around at the amount of dirty clothes strewn about the room.

"Hey, some of that's Graham's!" he defended.

"Alright," she giggled. "Um... Where am I supposed to change?"

Being an all male dormitory, the only washroom facilities were for guys. Technically, Tabitha wasn't even supposed to be there right now, but as they'd learned early on in their freshman year, the dorm advisors didn't care what rules you broke... as long as you didn't get caught by someone higher up on the totem pole than them.

"Oh, um... I'll... turn around, I guess," he proposed warily.

Tabitha eyed him suspiciously. "Mhmm. You're going to stay turned around the whole time while your girlfriend changes clothes in the same room?"

"I - " He stopped, looked at her, then blushed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll, um, just go get the washcloth."

Tabitha laughed as Jim left the room. With hardly a second of hesitation, she stripped off the ball gown and accessories, swearing she would never wear a costume like that again, before changing into the clothes Jim had loaned her. In seconds, she was back to feeling like herself... only in baggier clothes. No sooner had she pulled the shirt over her head, then Jim entered the room.

"Much better," he smiled at her.

"I thought you liked the dress," she questioned.

"I did. You looked beautiful in it," he began as he walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "But this is more you."

"I have to agree with you there," she laughed, her arms sliding their way up his now bare chest.

Jim suddenly reached a hand up to cover his mouth as he yawned. "You weren't kidding about that stuff making me tired. I feel like I could fall asleep now and sleep for days."

Tabitha frowned in mock-annoyance. "If you're about to fall asleep, then what was the point of me changing? I can't walk back to my dorm in this."

"I already told you, I don't want you walking back to your dorm in the middle of the night."

She blinked in uncertainty. "So then... what...?"

He smiled. "Stay with me?"

Tabitha tensed and avoided looking at him. "Oh, Jim, I, um... I-I'm not sure I..."

"Everyone's at the ball. No one will know. Even if Graham comes back, he won't mind if you're here or - "

"No, I'm not worried about getting caught," she laughed nervously. "I-I'm worried that... I mean... Wh-When you say 'stay', do you mean - ?"

"Oh, no, Tabitha," he chuckled. "No, no. I meant stay as in sleep with me - No, wait! I-I meant - " He rubbed his eyes and laughed under his breath. "Bad choice of words. I just meant... sleep in my bed... with me. Just sleep. And you said you wanted to take care of me..."

"Oh. So we're not going to - ?"

"No way." Tabitha looked slightly offended and he laughed again as he pulled her over to the bed. "Tabitha... I want that to be special. When that does happen, I'm going to do everything I can to make it the best night of your life."

Tabitha blushed. "When, not if?"

"Well... I hope so," he smirked as he stretched out in bed, pulling her down next to him.

Tabitha followed, but was a bit reluctant. "Jim..."

"Yeah?"

She rolled over on her side to face him. "About... that."

Jim's brow furrowed. "What is it?"

She sighed and turned her eyes away. "I-I'm not... ready for that. I know we've been dating a long time, a-and most people would have already, b-but... I-I don't - "

Jim kissed her, brushing her hair away from her face as he did. "Tabitha, have I ever pressured you to do something you don't want to do?"

"Oh, no! Jim, I didn't mean it like that!" she gasped. "I-I didn't think you were trying to pressure me, I was just letting you - "

He chuckled and kissed her again. "I know. I'm just trying to make a point."

"Oh, well... n-no, you haven't - "

"And I'm never going to," he stopped her. "Especially when neither of us are ready for it."

Tabitha blinked at him. "Y-You don't want to - ?"

He smiled and shook his head. She smiled back and reached out to brush his bangs away from his eyes.

"I shouldn't have kissed you," Jim suddenly said regretfully. "You're going to get sick."

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "I'm sleeping in the same bed with you. If I was going to get sick, I would have anyway. Besides, I don't care," she said as she kissed him. "I like it when you kiss me."

Jim started to kiss her again, but stopped. "I'm really too tired to do this right now."

She smiled and snuggled up against him. As she closed her eyes, he laughed again. "See? I wouldn't have been able to stay awake for anything else tonight."

Tabitha tensed, then sat up and smirked at him. "I'm pretty sure I could keep you awake..."

Jim closed his eyes and groaned as her hands slid down his chest. He narrowed his eyes at her. She squealed as he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her back down to him. "Don't tempt me."


Random fluff is random. Then again, you guys like this sort of thing, right? :P

Well, there you go! It's a chapter. I'm pretty satisfied with it. Now time for a brief authors note! Please read this, you guys! I need your opinions. :)

1. Okay, first thing I'm going to talk about is the requested chapters. You guys have made a LOT of requests, and I love them all! It's so amazing to see you guys wanting me to keep writing, and I'm completely flattered. I, of course, still plan to write them, but here's the thing: You guys have requested so many that it's taking much longer to get through 'Sparks Fly' than I thought it would. So here's what I was thinking: I'm ready to continue on to the sequel - 'Tell Me Why' - but there are a few key chapters that I need to get in before I can do that. These chapters include a few scenes that you guys requested, but mostly some preliminary things I need to get out of the way (namely Tabitha's pregnancy, but a few other things as well). How do you guys feel about me writing the chapters I need to lead up to the sequel, and then keeping 'Sparks Fly' as a work in progress? Meaning even after I've started 'Tell Me Why', I will continue to write chapters for 'Sparks Fly', and you guys are free to request anything else you want to see (including any ideas sparked by the sequel). Does that make sense? What do you guys think?

2. I am pretty sure that I've figured out a way to publish my stories as a book. I'll go into more details, but first I wanted to know how many people are interested. If you are, will you please say so in a review or email me at (link to my email on my profile)? Once I know how many people are interested, I can start investigating prices and things like that.

3. I'm doing NaNoWriMo! Come friend me if you are too! My screen name is ITSemilyOMG. Also, I am writing a novel! I've mentioned that before... but anyway. For updates on it, my NaNoWriMo story, and 'Sparks Fly', you should follow me on twitter. My screen name is writemily. (You should also follow me on tumblr, just for the heck of it. My screen name there is omgitsemily.)

4. Out of curiosity, how many of you are guys and how many are girls? I'm just kind of interested in the demographics.

Thanks you guys! You are all amazingly awesome! Be sure to leave your answers in reviews or email me. :D

-Emily

+Responses to Reviews+

NeverTooLate03: Haha I still feel like I fail at updating. It's because I overanalyze things so much! It drives me crazy! Haha I really may have to bring Henry back, just so we can all enjoy 'sexy, confident, jealous Jim'. :P Thank you!

23jk: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it!

Horseygirl 96: I do have a lot of readers. It's kind of scary, honestly. Whoa, am I really one of the most popular people in this category? I mean, I guess that makes sense... but Whoa! That's crazy! Thank you so much!

Icecreampopstar: Haha Yeah, I hope I didn't ruin brownies for you! :P Thank you!

MistressTaco: Haha Thanks! Oh, I've been there - where your parents keep looking at you funny for laughing at the computer. That's always interesting. Lol. Ugh, school does suck, but good luck on that paper!

anon: I love when you write long reviews! Thank you so very much! I'm glad you liked it!

ADangerousPastime: Nice pun lol. Yes, I'm definitely going to try to update more often! I'm sorry it keeps taking me so long! This chapter was before the sequel, but it didn't have much cute and awkward... I'd love to do more of that though! I'll see what I can do. Thanks! :D

Tsukasa-kun: Haha I know, right? Those two trapped in space with no way to... erm, relieve the tension... What else could you expect? :D Thank you!

malisa: Lol Thank you very much!

SweetAngel183: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it! I know! I'm very excited about my first book, too!