I own Kate. Dylan belongs to Sevanvoyager.

Chapter 3

I stood there for a few seconds, waiting to see what would happen. I was just starting to lose hope that he wouldn't come back, that he had left me there, when I heard a noise like a clap of thunder.

"Sorry it took so long," Dylan said, appearing next to me. I jumped at his voice, causing a nearby bush to burst into flames. I quickly put it out, blushing furiously.

"It's fine," I mumbled, fiddling with the bush so that he couldn't see my red face.

"I brought some food," he said. I turned to see him holding a giant pot. "I thought we could have a picnic of sorts." He had a giant grin on his face, his tail flicking lazily behind him.

"What's in the pot?" I asked, wondering what his idea of a picnic was.

"Chili," he said with a small laugh. "Not very traditional, but it was the first thing I could find."

"It's perfect," I said with a smile, finally looking him in the eye. Staring into his gaze, I wanted to melt with happiness. His eyes were full of warmth, and I could see his smile in them.

"Um, your hands are on fire," Dylan said, sounding amused. I looked down and saw that they were. I quickly extinguished them, mumbling something unintelligible. I thought I heard him chuckle slightly, but refused to look at him to check.

"So, let's eat some chili!" I said, trying to forget my nerves and get this over with before I embarrassed myself even more.

"Alright," he said, sitting down and pulling out two bowls. He put chili into them, filling one with a lot more than the other. He handed me the one with less chili. I accidently brushed his hand when I took the bowl, murmuring thanks. He just smiled at me, holding the bowl for just a little longer than necessary.

For the first minute or so, we sat in awkward silence, eating our chili. We slowly started talking, first with idle chatter. When I was almost done with my first bowl of chili, Dylan was already finishing his second. He ate like he had been starved for weeks.

"How do you eat so much food?" I finally asked as he went back for thirds.

"I have an extremely fast metabolism," he explained. "It's one of the side effects of my mutation."

"Oh," I said, not sure what to make of the information. I started stirring what was left of my chili, unable to finish the rest.

"Are you done?" Dylan asked politely.

"Yeah, I'm done," I said with a nod. He gently took the bowl from my hands, finishing what was left and then setting it down to his empty bowl.

"This was nice," he said with a smile, leaning against a nearby tree and stretching out.

"It was," I said, smiling back and sitting cross-legged in front of him. I started fiddling with a clump of grass in front of me. I shivered slightly, wishing I had worn something warmer.

"You're cold," Dylan said, pointing out the obvious. "Come here. Sit next to me," he added, patting the ground next to him.

I slowly moved over towards him, sitting down next to him. He wrapped his arm around me, and I felt myself grow warm instantly. I leaned into it slightly, losing all of the awkwardness I had felt earlier. This felt like the most natural thing in the world.

We sat there for an hour or two, just talking and enjoying each other's company. When it started to get dark, we walked back to the mansion. He left his arm on my shoulder the entire time.

He walked me to my dorm, and we stood there for a few moments.

"We should do this again sometime," he said with a smile. "I had a lot of fun."

"So did I," I said, returning the smile. "Are you free on Saturday?" I asked, being bold for once.

"Yeah," he said, eyes lighting up.

"We can hang out again then?" I said. Or asked, really.

"It's a date," he replied with a grin.