"You can stay here tonight." Matt whispered, his arms wound tight around her. After Hope had told him that she and Elena were sisters, the tears began to leak out of her eyes again. He had pulled her of the chair and into a hug, not knowing what else to do. Caroline had been emotional, but he had expected that from her. Hope was a different story, she never showed her emotions unless she couldn't handle it on her own. Even then, he thought, she had never cried in front of me like that. I never want her to fall apart like that ever again.

She pulled back and shook her head, her cheeks raw and red from crying. "No, Matt, I can stay in my car-"

"Hope, please, stay here tonight." Hope thought about it, knowing that she couldn't go to Caroline's because of the happenings earlier, and she couldn't go back to Elena's because of her father. She was stuck.

"Okay, I'll stay." Her voice was hoarse. She pulled away from him completely and grabbed the mugs from the table. She began to wash them when she head Matt chuckle softly behind her. "What?"

"Hope, stop. You don't have to wash my dishes."

"If I'm staying, I'm going to wash the mug I used. Plus, it keeps me busy." She added as she watched the soap fall from the mug in her hands. She turned the water off and dried them. She placed them on the counter and turned to Matt, his eyes sad and his smile small.

"Movie marathon? Like when we were kids?" She nodded and smiled as he led her from the kitchen, not to the living room, but up the stairs and into his room. He caught her confused look and tried to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks.

"I don't have cable, and the only TV is in here. I watch DVD's and steal Caroline's Netflix most the time." He said sheepishly. She smiled, letting him know she didn't mind. He felt embarrassed, remembering the look on Caroline's face when he told her he dropped cable and sold the other two TV's in the house. He had gotten over a couple hundred for both and was able to put it in his savings. Cable took a hundred or two out of his bills and he never really watched it anyways. He watched as she kicked off her converses and walk over to the bed before plopping down, propping herself up on the pillows.

"Want something to change into?" She nodded and he tossed her a shirt and a pair of shorts. She crossed the hall and into the bathroom. He took the few minutes and threw all the clothes on his floor into his closet. He was straightening up his desk and had just changed into sweats when she came back in. Her hair was tied up haphazardly in a bun. He missed those buns, he realized. She smiled and then realized she had not said anything since being in the kitchen.

"What do you want to watch? Are we talking eighth grade movie marathons or third grade movie marathons?" She grinned at him, hoping he would pull every Disney movie he owned out. He turned towards the DVD player and slipped one in. He left the room and came back just a minute later his arms full of junk food. She let out a squeal of delight as she took a few items from his hands. He had grabbed Mountain Dew, Munchies, Oreos, and box of packaged cupcakes along with a plate of cold pizza.

"God, Matt! Is this all you eat?" She laughed as she opened the Oreos and popped one in her mouth. He took the packaged out of her hands.

"If you're going to eat Oreos, you're going to eat them right! You split them apart and then-"

"This coming from the boy that drowns his fries in ketchup, instead of dipping them?" She teased. He remembered that day, it felt like a lifetime ago. He smiled at her as the opening credits to The Little Mermaid began. She clapped her hands and snuggled under the blankets, Munchies and Oreos splayed over her lap. Matt watched as her eyes glazed over as she mouthed the words to the songs in the movie.

Hope couldn't believe she was watching The Little Mermaid with Matt and eating junk food, something she hadn't even thought of since before she moved in with Lucas. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, but she ignored it. It wasn't until the seventh time it had gone off before she pulled it out of her pocket and answered it.

"What?

"Hope?" Her throat tightened and she jumped out of the bed, running out to the hall.

"Marcus? Is that you?"

"Hope, where are you? I'm at you're cousins house but-" She hung up and flew out the door and down the street, her bare feet drumming hard against the pavement. She turned left and ran until she was in front of the house. She was out of breath and her hair was falling out of her bun, but she felt it melt away as she looked up at Marcus pacing on her cousin's porch.

"Marcus?" She called, pushing some hair away from her face. He looked up and flew down the stairs and swept her up into his arms. He whooped in her ear and held her as close as he could. He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs gently over cheeks, drinking in the sight of her green eyes staring up at him while they shined bright with unshed tears.

"I missed you so damn much.," He muttered before he pulled her to him and crashed his mouth to hers. She wrapped her arms as tight as she could around his waist and kissed back fiercely. She felt the tears run down her cheeks as they held each other and in that moment, the pain that consumed her just minutes before left, and as long as she had Marcus by her side she was good. She smiled into the kiss and broke away.

"How did you know I was here?" She asked, her head finding the spot on his chest just over his heart. She smiled and took a deep breath, allowing her senses to be overwhelmed by the smell of him.

"I got a text from your cousin who told me you were here. I got her as fast as I could." She pulled away to look up at him, guilt creeping into her for being angry at Elena. She knew that she shouldn't have ran out like that, but the more she thought about it, she did deserve to be upset. She knew she would get over it, she loved her father and Elena, but they had both kept something very big from her.

"My sister? You now what, never mind. I'm just really glad you're here." She kissed his neck and the two stayed like that for a few more seconds before Marcus pulled away from the embrace.

"You look so different. Good different, but damn." He said huskily. She laughed and was pleasantly surprised when he puled her in for another kiss. She was happy, she realized, in that moment with the boy she loved kissing her. Do I love him? Maybe she didn't love him, but she knew that she was well on the way to. She pulled away and took his hand, leading him towards the house. That's when she remembered Matt. She whipped out her phone and called him.

"Hope, what the hell?" He said when he picked up.

"I'm sorry, Marcus showed up at Elena's and I just, I don't know, Matt, I just had to get here as soon as possible. I'm going to stay with him tonight, okay? We can pick up our marathon another time okay?" She hoped he wasn't too mad at her. She had only just gotten him back.

"Yeah, yeah okay Hope. I'll see you tomorrow." He sighed and hung up. She put her phone back into her pocket and pulled opened the door to the lead Marcus in.

"Hope, wait-"

"Hope, oh my God, are you okay?" Jenna said as she was coming down the stairs. She knew that Jenna was just as hurt as she was and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm great, oh, I want you to meet someone." She turned back to Marcus, who was waiting outside of the door, a sheepish look on his face.

"Marcus, this is my aunt Jenna. Jenna, this is my boyfriend Marcus." Jenna smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Marcus, come on in. A friend of Hope's is a friend of mine." Marcus smiled as he stepped inside and shook Jenna's hand. The two followed Jenna as she made her way into the kitchen and started to make pot of coffee.

"It's not whiskey, which I'm sure we could all use, but it's something." She said as she handed them both cups a couple of minutes later. They drank their coffee in a comfortable silence until Jenna asked Marcus about his life. Hope watched as Jenna fired question after question as Marcus answered, looking at ease as he kept a hand on Hope's knee.

"Well, Marcus, you're welcome to stay here tonight." Jenna bade them goodnight and Hope watched Jenna walk up the stairs before moving to the couch. As soon as they settled in, she pulled Marcus in for a kiss.

"Hope, what about your aunt?"

"Please, if Jenna could, she'd watch from the stairs with a foam finger and popcorn." He hid his face in her neck, trying to muffle his laughter. She enjoyed the feeling of him pressed up against her, the rumbling in his chest made her feel warm. She kissed him again, sweeter this time, slower, and they spent the night like that. She woke up the next day on the couch, Marcus on the ground, their hands loosely intertwined. She smiled softly before carefully unraveling their fingers and making her way up to the bathroom.

"Did you have fun last night groping your boyfriend on the couch?" She jumped up and gasped at the voice that snuck up on her as she brushed her teeth.

"Damn it, Jenna!" She called as she heard her aunt's receding laughter down the stairs. She rolled her eyes as she spit out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth.