Miss Stacy's house was bursting with excitement after the protest. They had thrown a little party for the students to celebrate their success, complete with desserts and punch. The girls were hiding in the kitchen, overjoyed at having Josie part of their group again, but Ruby - not surprisingly- was distracted. She lenaed against the kitchen counter, absentmindedly playing with the handkerchief.

Tillie noticed this and heaved a deep sigh. "Now what are doing?" she asked her.

Ruby jumped, startled out of her daydreaming. "Nothing!" she cried, hiding the kerchief behind her back.

"You know you can't keep putting it off forever," Jane pointed out.

"Someday that handkerchief is going to fall apart," added Josie. "It's already fraying."

Ruby glared, defensively. "I know that. It's just...comforting." She looked at it lovingly.

"Now that's just disturbing," said Tillie. "You need to tell him, and if you won't, I will."

"No!" cried Ruby in horror. "I will tell him, I promise! But I'm waiting for the right moment." She glanced over at Moody chatting with Gilbert in the corner over glasses of punch. Just as she looked, Gilbert laughed and walked away to go bother Anne, leaving Moody alone.

Tillie looked at Ruby with raised eyebrows. "No time like the present!" she announced, before marching up to Moody, ignoring Ruby's pleas and threats of murder. Tillie stopped in front of Moody, arms crossed.

He smiled at her. "Oh, hi, Tillie - "

"Ruby needs to talk to you. In private. Outside."

Moody's smiled vanished, replaced with an expression of utter fear. "Wh- what? Why? Is everything okay?" he said, worriedly. "What did I do?"

"She'll tell you!" Tillie replied, cheerfully, shoving him and Ruby out the back door into Miss Stacy's backyard.

"No, wait!" Ruby cried, but the door closed in her face, locking her out. She sighed miserably and when she turned around, Moody's face was one big question mark.

"First question," he said, interrupting the silence. "Am I in trouble?" When she assured him he wasn't, he immediately relaxed, plopping down on a log. "That's a relief. I thought for sure I saw my life flash before my eyes!"

Ruby stood there nervously, wringing her hands in silence. She paced across the back porch, but this only made her more nervous.

"Do you need to sit down?" asked Moody, shifting over on the log.

Ruby nodded and sat on the far end of the log, as far from him as possible, but it was a small log, so it didn't make much of a difference. Her heart raced in her chest as she sat there in the silence. She knew she had to tell him at some point, but now that she could, all she wanted to do was run away. What if he rejected her? Or even worsed, laughed in her face? She didn't think she could handle that kind of hurt.

"You're shaking." Moody's remark cut right through her chaotic thoughts and she looked up at him, then down at her shaking hands.

"I am, aren't I..." She whispered.

"Here, let me." To her complete surprise, he took her hands in his and held them tightly. She gazed up at him, too stunned to speak. He met her eyes with an equally soft gaze. The warmth of his hands calmed her down, reminding her of all the reasons why she fell for him in the first place. "Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" he asked, in a playful yet kind voice.

"I- uh..." she spluttered. His dark brown eyes blinked expectantly. "I..." She remembered all the moments they had shared the past few weeks, from the handkerchief to the waving at the barn dance. It all seemed like a blur, but she loved every moment of it. "I like you." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. Moody was taken aback, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Wait," he said, slowly. "You actually like me?" Ruby nodded, shyly, looking down at their hands. She braced herself for the oncoming rejection, the laughter. "I like you, too." She whipped her head back up. This she did not expect.

"You like me back?" she said, shocked.

Moody laughed. "I actually do. I really like you, Ruby."

Ruby sighed in relief, settling into the realization. He did care about her. She glanced up at him, smiling at her. It was only when he said those words that she finally saw it: the romance in his eyes. She was so caught up in staring at him, that she didn't even realize his hand was touching her face, and that they weren't that far apart anymore. Her heart skipped a beat when he started to lean in. She stood completely still, fearing that if she even breathed the moment would be lost. His lips touched hers in the softest of kisses, and she felt herself melt against him. It wasn't just romance, it was safety. For the first time in her life, she felt completely safe in love. She kissed him back, delicately placing a hand on his cheek. He broke the kiss and gazed at her as if she was the only person in the universe. Just them, sitting on a log under the moon.

Sadly, their moment was cut short by the girls running outside to harass them. They jumped apart, startled by the sudden company. "I knew you could do it!" Tillie cried, clapping her hands.

"You better come inside," said Jane. "Miss Stacy is about to make a speech."

"Yup, we're coming," Ruby muttered, annoyed at being interrupted.

"Also, were you two...?" Josie started, with a raised eyebrow. Ruby turned back to Moody, who looked just as stunned, and embarrassed, as her. "I'm not even going to ask," Josie said, with a wave of her hand, disappearing back inside.

Moody stood up, awkwardly. "We should probably go back inside," he said.

"Yeah..." Ruby sighed, smoothing out her dress.

As she started to go inside, Moody suddenly spoke. "Wait, what is that?" He pointed to her dress pocket.

Ruby cringed and pulled out the old, fraying handkerchief with two fingers. "Um...this! Is...a..."

"Is that my handkerchief?!" Moody cried with a laugh. He took it from her and examined it, laughing harder when he found the M.S. initials on it. "You kept it all this time?"

Ruby laughed shyly. "Well...yeah."

Moody shook his head. "Wow."