They had pulled up to the Gilberts' house, sated from the delicious meal and the amount of fun the two could always muster up between them. Matt smiled at Hope, who was stroking a small picture in her hands. Matt peeked over her shoulder and saw that it was one of her and her dad, the two posing in front of the Danny and Sandy cutouts at the diner they had just returned from. Hope looked up quickly and gave him a small grin. She was folding the picture back up when she noticed the figure standing on the porch. She threw open her door and called out his name.

"Marcus?" The tall boy swirled around and beamed at her. Her heart leaped up into her throat as she scurried to his waiting embrace. She folded herself into her arms and felt so at home that it almost brought her to tears.

"God I've missed you so much." He whispered to her as one hand held her head close to his chest and the other wrapped around her. She hugged him close, remembering all the great things about the boy in her arms, and the immense feelings she had for him. Any little flutter that Matt had given her that afternoon melted away and she was so engrossed with the fact that she was holding Marcus she reached up on her toes and kissed his cheek, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"I've missed you too." She smiled and released him. He kept his arm slung over her shoulders as she turned to introduce him to Matt, but found that he was already walking down the street. She frowned for a second before she shook it off and turned back to Marcus.

"What brings you here? I mean, school isn't over yet at home and I know that you have Sectionals for baseball soon...why are you here?" She led him to the porch swing and they sat down, his arm still on her shoulders. She leaned into him and smiled softly to herself. This is what she missed most about home, the way her friends just made her feel so wanted sometimes.

"I needed to see you. We were worried about you." She wondered who was worried about her, seeing as neither Jon nor Diana had called or texted her. The only people that had been checking in with her from home were her mom and him. She felt hurt that Diana had not called or texted, but a small part of her was happy she didn't; she felt that this made Marcus's visit more special somehow.

"I'm...okay. I'm dealing, and I'm helping Elena and Jeremy deal. Elena is still shaken from the accident, and extremely prone to random breakdowns. Jeremy on the other hand... he only cries at night, before he goes to sleep. He's diving into weed and alcohol, but I think he needs to find his own way, which is why no one is trying to worm him away from them. We've all picked things that are keeping us going. Jeremy has his drugs and Elena has her writing." The boy sitting next to her looked down and whispered to her.

"What's been keeping you going?" His breath tickled her ear, and she felt her cheeks warming. She shifted and looked at him, in those deep brown eyes, and gathered her courage.

"You." She whispered back.

She doesn't know who initiated the kiss, but she feels his soft lips on hers in the next moment and internally sighs as his hand cups her face. She leans into him and smiles a bit, causing him to do the same. He pulls back and kisses her forehead and brings her in for a hug.

"Does this mean you're my girlfriend now?" Sh laughed and pulled backed, smiling softly at the blush that was appearing on his cheeks. She nodded and he leaned down to kiss her again. She was so full right now of the warm glow that she felt when he smiled at her. She was giddy and couldn't help but laugh as she snuggled into his arms. He kissed the top of her head.

"It's nice to hear your laugh again." He said softly, twirling a curly lock between his thumb and first finger. He tugged it playfully then let it fall from his grasp. She couldn't help the tears that welled up in her eyes at his statement. She buried her head into Marcus's chest and grasped his grey t-shirt in her hand, trying to hold in her sobs. He wrapped both of his arms around her shoulders and held her to his chest as she cried. He squeezed her tighter as her cries grew harder and he kissed her hair. He felt so much sadness for her, for the way she felt so much all at one time. He'd only known her for a year, but he knew her well. He knew how much she felt on a daily basis, and that was the basis of her kindness and compassion. She was the greatest strength for anyone and she always knew how to help someone, and people forgot that she needed help too. He knew about the depression and anxiety, had held conversations about them with her into the wee hours of the night when she had drunk just a little too much of her step-dad's whiskey or smoked just a little too much weed: when she had enough substances in her system to talk about the things that weighed her down.

She pulled away abruptly and wiped her face. Her sea glass eyes were rimmed in red and her rosy cheeks were tear-stained. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lightly on the lips. Her stomach dropped at the gentleness he used with her, how he softly ran his fingers over her cheekbones and sat there staring at her, memorizing every inch of her face.

"How come I've never realized just how breathtakingly beautiful you were?" He whispered, more to himself than to her, but she heard it. She didn't have much experience with boys romantically (a few boys in back rooms at stoner parties where she had never gone all the way didn't count-those were purely physical) but no one had ever called her beautiful. The only one to ever use that word was her own mother, but never a boy. She wanted to cry for a whole different reason right then and there. She tried to speak but she found that she couldn't, she was too overwhelmed with the emotions boiling under her skin. The amount of feelings she possessed always had blown her away with their force and negative affects. Feeling so much always took so much out of her, and their were days when she would just sit in sadness and grief, never able to quite pinpoint why she felt that way.

"I have to go, but I'll call you." He said abruptly, and kissed her hard before he left. She watched as he pulled out of the driveway and down the street. She sighed and wiped her face, the small smile growing there a small indication that things were finally going to get better.

Hopefully.

OHMYGOD MARCUS WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? MATT WAS WOOING HER!?

That Marcus, slippery as he is sweet.

So Hope and Marcus are a thing now (Marpe or Hocus for ship name?) but this is a Matt X O.C?

Please review and tell me what you think please!