Mouth shuffled in his seat, rumpling his neatly pressed khaki pants and dress shirt. He moved his hand and it inadvertently grazed the hand of the person sitting next to him. Their eyes met and the pair exchanged shy smiles. It was a sweet moment between two teenagers getting to know each other, a moment only interrupted by the harsh stares of Shelly's parents and the words from the preacher in the pulpit.

"Let us end our service today with the beautiful words from the Lord's prayer. Congregation, if you would…"

Everyone in the pews stood and bowed their heads, softly reciting the familiar words together.

"Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen."

The church service ended as the members filtered about, shaking hands and fellowshipping. Shelly politely greeted the other churchgoers, introducing her new friend as Mouth stayed close to her side. They had been keeping company quite regularly, enjoying the normal Tree Hill teenage haunts of the mall, local movie theatre and of course, Karen's Café. But there was another place where Shelly spent a lot of time, a place to which her heart was near and dear. If she and Mouth were going to forge any kind of relationship, he'd have to be in tune with her spiritual side as well.

She had made the suggestion that he attend the following Sunday morning services with her and her family and he had accepted without hesitation. The only resistance had come from Shelly's own family. She had listened to the third degree from her parents over and over. In defense she had raved about what a nice boy Mouth was. With skeptical faces and grim hand shakes that had met him for the first time, keeping a watchful eye over their daughter's apparent new beau.

For Mouth, it had been a nice day. He had woken up early and showered, playing close attention to how he dressed. He wanted to be presentable for church and more important for Mr. and Mrs. Simon. Being formally introduced to them for the first time would be a big deal and he wanted to make a good impression. Outside the morning weather was nice and he had whistled as he walked all the way to the church. Shelly, looking beautiful as ever, had waited for him in the parking lot. The introduction to the parents had been quick and awkward as everyone rushed to file inside for a seat. It had been a long time since Mouth had attended religious services but it felt right. He was happy and calm, finally at peace and of course his girl was by his side and that had made all the difference.

"Shelly, we'll be leaving soon," Mrs. Simon had curtly reminded her daughter.

"It's okay, Mom. Mouth and I were going to walk down to Karen's Café for some hot peach cobbler and ice cream. Don't worry, I won't be long," she had said, ushering Mouth quickly away for the short walk downtown.

"Peach cobbler and ice cream, huh? Sounds tasty. How did you know Karen serves that on Sundays?"

Shelly shrugged.

"I didn't," she flashed him a shy smile. "I just wanted to get away from them."

"They, um, they seem…nice, I guess."

"It is Sunday and you did just come from church. You don't have to lie," she teased him.

"Well, I'm sure they are, you know, normally."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay."

"It's not okay, Mouth. Just don't take it personal, alright? They're not that bad. I guess it's just because some of the guys I dated before."

"They're worried about their little girl. I get it. Perfectly understandable."

She nodded.

"It's not you, it's me it has to do with really. Let's just say the guys I dated before you…well some of them weren't such good guys."

"And your folks are weary of that happening again?"

"Something like that."

"I don't blame them. They're just protecting you, looking out for you."

"I know. It's a lot to get into but a while back I went though a really rocky relationship with my parents. It almost destroyed our family. Things are just now getting back to normal. I haven't had a boyfriend for a while. I guess they're just concerned."

"It's cool, Shelly. Really."

"But you're a nice guy. I really like you and I want my mom and dad to accept that. They should get to know you, the real you before they just assume you're like the others."

"We've got plenty of time for all that. I'm not going anywhere," he offered quietly.

Shelly looked up and their eyes met.

"You mean that?" she asked softly.

They stopped for a minute and he took a deep breath as he began to gather his thoughts.

"These last few weeks have been incredible."

She smiled as she thought about it. Studying together in the school library, working on projects in the Media Center, attending basketball games, GoKart racing and miniature golfing. Who knew Mouth McFadden was that much fun? It had been a blast being together.

"Yeah, for me too."

"Shelly…"

She cut him off, a question burning in her mind and heart.

"Mouth, what are we doing?" she finally blurted out.

"I don't know. Taking it slow, I guess. Or at least trying to. It's kind of hard."

"What do you mean?"

"I like you, Shelly. I mean, I really like you a whole lot. We're having a lot of fun. A few months ago if anybody had predicted this, I would have thought they were crazy. I never even saw us as compatible, besides, I was really messed up and covered from head to toe with issues about Gigi."

"And now?"

"Now it's different. I'm over the whole Gigi thing. I didn't think I could do it but I did. I also didn't think I'd be ready for it to start all over again. And now…well, not to scare you but it's happening."

"Mouth…"

"You're a lot of fun. You're sweet and you make me laugh and I like it when we're together. I know we just started this but I want to be with you. When I'm not with you, I'm thinking about being with you. I don't want to rush anything but I can't help how I feel. And that's pretty scary."

"How so?"

"It's scary in a lot of ways. It's scary that maybe I shouldn't be feeling this much this soon. It's scary if you don't feel the same way. It's scary because I feel like I'm putting my heart out there and there's a chance it might get broken again."

Shelly lowered her head and softly laughed out loud.

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Look, if I…"

She put a finger to his lips.

"Don't say anything. And please don't apologize."

"But…"

"Everything you just said…I feel it too. I didn't plan on falling for anybody either but I guess sometimes things happen, feelings that you just can't help. I don't know what we're doing and I admit, it is a little scary but not so much anymore now that I know we're doing it together."

Mouth just stared at her.

"You are so pretty," he whispered.

She looked away and blushed.

"Mouth…"

"I just wanted to say thanks."

"What for?"

"For everything. For taking another chance on me and for hanging out these last couple of weeks. And for church today. All of it is really nice. I'm having a good time. No, I'm having a great time."

"Me too."

He could feel the butterflies churning in his stomach but with her standing there looking so beautiful with a soft Carolina breeze blowing through her hair, he couldn't resist. He leaned in and placed a soft, sweet kiss gently on her lips.

"Now how about that peach cobbler?"

It was the most tender of kisses but still it sent little electric shocks throughout her body. Everything he had said, everything she felt for him in such a short amount of time began to make sense. Giving him a smile with a real future in it, all lingering doubt swiftly faded away. Her hand brushed against his and their fingers locked as they continued on their way.

"Peach cobbler sounds perfect."

It felt good to finally be on the same page with someone else.