Finally! Making a return that was over six years in the waiting…

Chapter 21: Leave a Tender Moment Alone.

Alyson looked up to the sky again. She had no clue how long she had been out there. It felt like a lifetime, but was probably just a few minutes. What had she done to deserve such a wonderful boyfriend? She knew that Gabe cared for her; maybe even loved her. She had been stubborn and did everything in her power to keep things from him; but to no avail. He had broken through every single defense she put up. By the powers of pure observation; he had figured out her darkest secret. He didn't even bat an eye at it.

"Babe?"

Alyson turned from her kneeling position and looked towards her balcony door. Her guardian angel was coming for her; carrying her wool blanket and a smile. She felt the warm blanket placed onto her shoulders and sighed as the warmth and love of her angel lifted her up and carried her into her room.

"Were you planning on staying out there all night?"

She sighed again and snuggled closer into his embrace. She truly felt loved. She felt him stop and sit down on her bed; still in his arms.

"No Gabriel, I was lost in thought." She reached for the small bandage on his eyebrow. "How long was I out there?" He lightly took her hand in his and placed them towards his chest. She looked into his brown eyes and smiled back at him.

"Seems to be a popular place for you tonight." He replied with a grin. Alyson chuckled at this and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Hey, don't get too comfy. You need to warm up. I filled up the bathtub with hot water. Go warm up and we'll talk."

Alyson groaned, but agreed freely. She removed herself from the blanket/boyfriend combination and headed to her dresser. He watched as she grabbed some clothes and headed towards the bath. She closed the bathroom door and locked it, just to play it safe. She wasn't so much worried from Gabriel; the energy from the public celebration was still a running high for her. As she finished washing; she sat and soaked up the warmth of the water. She sighed and replayed what had happened tonight: the public Samhain celebration in the city, where her cousin Angie bailed out on coming by and heading off to a party. She didn't really want to go and drink/do drugs at a place she didn't know. She especially didn't want to participate without knowing someone other than her cousin. She ended up taking a public bus home and happened to get the one with the gropers/pedophiles. Luckily, no one bothered her on the bus. She walked the two blocks from school and walked to the front door, with her boyfriend waiting for her.

Alyson got out of the tub and drained the water. She dried off; still leaving her hair somewhat damp and got dressed. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. Her long copper-colored hair looked more a red color now; looking sad and limp. She was wearing no makeup or earrings; the exception being the pentacle on her necklace. She never removed that at all. She had on a beat-up Clash "London Calling" t-shirt that was long enough to cover the pair of boy shorts that she used only for sleeping. She felt the energy slipping away from the celebration as she unlocked the door and walked out.

Alyson noticed that her boyfriend had found a spot on the floor. He was shirtless; as well as shoeless/sockless and was sitting in the Lotus position. His hands were in his lap in a specific positioning she wasn't familiar with at all. His eyes were closed and he was breathing almost in a rhymical fashion. She looked at him with a pained look on her face.

"Isn't that painful?"

"Actually, it is the easiest way for energy to flow through the body when in deep thought or meditation." Gabe replied. "Thanks for breaking me out of my meditation. I was pretty close to reaching Nirvana."

Alyson gave him a look as Gabe opened his eyes. "Nirvana? The highest state of enlightenment? You are probably the last person that I would think that would practice meditation."

Gabe didn't respond. He stretched his arms over his head. He brought his arms down and placed his hands on the ground. He pressed his palms down on the ground. While his legs were still in the Lotus position; he pressed his hands into the floor and lifted himself up. Using his hands, he walked with his hands closer to Alyson. She merely watched him, absolutely stunned that he could do this.

"Oh wow!"

Gabe lowered himself to the ground. He rocked himself backwards and performed a handstand. He then proceeded to walk on his hands back to his original place. He brought his feet down and stood up.

"Gymnastics are a wonderful way to keep the body flexible. Martial arts and meditation helped me to do these types of tricks." Gabe smiled. "Ideas like this let me be creative and open to a lot of things." He moved closer to Alyson and gently grabbed her hands. She smiled at him.

"You never cease to amaze me Gabriel." She looked down at their hands. "My gods! The energy coming from you is crazy!"

"And people think I'm just overtly hyper."

Alyson laughed. "That too. You're really something else."

Gabe nodded at her. "Look, I just wanted to know if we're good."

"We're good." Alyson kissed him. "I wanted to talk about me being a witch."

"You're a witch. I have no problem with you being a witch." He pulled her close. "It is your way. It's kind of like why I do meditation. It works for me like witchcraft works for you."

"You're not afraid that I'm going to hex you or put a love spell on you?"

Gabe snickered at her. "I know that you could, but I know that you're not that type of person. The gods and goddesses are all around and they help you. Meditation and martial arts work for me. It's fine with me."

Alyson hugged him tightly. She felt so connected to him. She understood him and all that she is. For that; she was truly blessed. He leaned into her and they spent a few minutes standing there and kissing. It was a few minutes later that he pulled away. Alyson looked at him questionably.

"I don't want to pressure you into anything."

"You're not pressuring me to do anything that I don't want to do." Alyson looked at him with a sly, seductive smile. "I'm ready to share myself with you; body, mind and soul."

Gabe stopped her. "But I'm not ready." Alyson tried to pull away, but Gabe stopped her. "I love you. I love you very much, but I'm not ready to go to that step. I'm worried if we have sex too soon; things will get weird between us."

Alyson had to admit to herself that maybe it was too soon. She didn't want to rush into anything either. She nodded. "I have to admit that I got caught up in the moment. I do love you. I don't think that I've ever felt like this for anyone. I didn't feel this way for Thomas and…"

"It's okay Ally." Gabe stated. "You have history and I get it. We'll take our time and when we're ready; we'll know." They leaned into each other and took in each other company.

"Will you stay with me tonight Gabriel?"

He nodded. "I'm setting my alarm for five. I'll have to sneak back in at home." Alyson nodded and led him towards her bed.

They climbed into her bed. Gabe laid on his back and Alyson cuddled next to him. He wrapped his arm around her and the two quickly fell asleep.

So, it's been awhile…

The short of this is that I've been working on this on and off. Then I lost everything when my laptop died. EVERYTHING. To top it all off; I grew disgusted with what happened on the show. The death of Adam and bringing in characters that I didn't like or care about were the toppings on the cake. With that and a LOT of personal issues with my life at the time, just made writing very difficult.

I became disillusioned with Degrassi. I lost myself.

I just didn't care anymore.

Then, in the last year; I made a major life change. I went back to school and started a better career. I invested more time with my family. I felt the calling of being creative again.

The pull of creative writing was a call that I needed to answer.

I decided that working on this story and seeing where this goes is key. I can't guarantee a regular writing schedule again, but I'm wanting to try and take this story as far as it will allow me to take it. I thank you for those that have been patient with this story. I thank those of you for continued reading of this story. I thank you.

Please let me know what you think and feel free to ask me anything about this story.