Walking through school later on in the day, I was still mulling over what I would say to Gray once we got home. He'd want to know how I felt about the soulfinder bond, but I simply wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

I was so entranced by my line of thought that I didn't see the girl approaching me quickly. She probably hadn't seen me either, causing us to collide and my books to go everywhere. I started to apologise as I picked them up, but it was half-hearted. I'd spent a lot of time away from the monster and my submissive nature was slowly ebbing away, something I'd never thought would happen. But I liked it, it felt like I'd been given my voice back after all those years.

"Oi, watch where you're going, shorty." Standing up once I'd finished collecting my strewn books, I chanced a glance around. Unfortunately, I'd happened to crash against the worst group possible. The popular people. Just from the way they dressed and how they were peering down their noses at me, it was obvious. My eyes immediately cast downwards. No amount of time away from school would make me forget how to act around them. Just be quiet, stick to the shadows, and you won't get hurt. A little bit too late for that now. Heels and nikes entered my line of vision as I did this, showing me why the girl I'd crashed against had called me short (not to say that I wasn't), she was wearing platform heels that allowed her to tower over my 5' frame.

"Sorry." Trying to walk past them, I made a beeline for the side of their group, but was held back when someone grabbed the end of my t-shirt, throwing me on the floor and sending my books flying once more. Sighing, I went to repeat the process of picking them up, when I was stopped by platform-heel-girl's foot.

"Didn't hear you, freak."

"I said sorry."

"Still can't hear you." As she said this, she used the foot blocking my way to slide a few of them further down the corridor and out of reach. "Aw, look at the little freak, struggling to pick up a few books. She must be…" Instead of saying an insult, she stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes, which served just as well. I sunk further into the floor, hoping to just get this done and over with. "Let's leave her alone guys, we've been taught not to mess with people like that." At this comment I went to speak up. I'd never met someone with a problem like that but they were people too and didn't deserve to be treated like that. They weren't to 'not be messed with' as if they were delicate china dolls. They were people.

"Hey! That's not ok. Insult me all you want but leave others out of this."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve? I bet she has retarded people in her family, which is why she's getting so defensive."

"Do not call them retarded." Scrambling to sit up, I glared daggers at the girl, who was staring at me with boredom on her features. Without letting it deter me, I stood up straighter. "Just stay out of things you don't understand." I was speaking as if I understood. Which I very much did not. But I did have empathy, unlike them, and I was able to imagine what it must feel like to be called retarded for something you have no control over. They were being horrible, and I couldn't let that slip up just because I didn't know who they were offending personally.

"Aw." And then a manicured hand came to rest on my head. Before I was able to stop her, she patted me twice. After that, she didn't bother continuing the argument. Instead, she left with a sashay of her hips, her posse leaving behind her. Still fuming, I stood up, brushing myself off and collected my books once more.

And so, the nightmare of school began.

"We're home!" I'd been expecting the shout from Gray – after all it was how he greeted his parents every day after school – but it still made me jump. Loud noises weren't exactly my thing, even after all the time I'd spent here at the Benedicts. There had to be something wrong with me. Gray looked to his left to see me standing there, trying to regain my composure and pretend I hadn't jumped a foot in the air, and it was obvious he'd seen. "Sorry 'bout that, Mais."

"No, no, it's ok." I shuffled a couple steps forward, hoping to distract him from my obvious fear of everything, but his gaze kept me rooted on the spot. He always had this effect on me – leaving me unable to do much of anything else apart from notice him. I hoped I had the same effect on him but, at the same time, I didn't. It would just be the soulfinder magic anyway, it wouldn't be real.

Finally breaking our stare down, he turned his head, looking sad about something. Confused I stopped trying to run away to the stairs, instead taking a step closer. Glad that his brothers had gone off to do their own thing, I tentatively lifted a hand. I wasn't really sure what I was planning to do with it, but before it could curl up and retreat back to my side, Gray lifted his own hand, entwining our fingers together.

"You ok?" I didn't want to talk to him about soulfinders or anything just yet… but I didn't want him to be sad either. And if I needed to be uncomfortable for a couple of minutes for him to be happy then so be it.

"I was just thinking. Do you trust me Mais?"I wanted to rip my hand from his grasp and run for the hills. Instead, I stayed, wanting more than ever to be able to prove to him that I did trust him. Even if I was unsure of it myself, even if I had no idea whether I was capable of trust, even if… Even if trust scared me witless. I'd stay and I'd give him an answer because I was tired of running away.

"I don't know. I just- don't know." Sighing, he went to pull away when an idea rose to my mind. It was crazy, it was dangerous, and yet my heart was beating louder not with fear but with exhilaration. If I could do this then I'd be able to prove to myself that I did trust Gray, that I'd overcome every single one of the obstacles in my mind. So leaning over slightly and standing on my tiptoes – Gray helping by leaning down – I put my mouth near his ear, making sure no one would be able to hear. If I chickened out, I could always say 'I think I do' and that would be it.

"Mais?"

"My- I think I do. But-" But that's not what I wanted to say. Taking a deep breath, I tried again. I wanted to do this – show the monster that he couldn't rule my life. Gray might turn out to be untrustworthy though, which would make this completely backfire- No. I wasn't even going to think like that. I trusted him, my heart had never had a gut instinct to tell someone my secrets so it had to be right this one time. "I- the thing is- My name. It- It isn't Maisee." Leaning even further, my lips practically touching his ear, I let go of all of my defences at once. "It's Petal." By this point I expected him to jump back. Maybe scream at me a little, or run off to tell the monster my whereabouts. But he didn't do either of those things. Instead, he shifted slightly so this time it was him whispering in my ear.

"What a beautiful name… For a beautiful girl, of course."

Hi :)

I noticed that the last couple of chapters weren't really concentrated on Gray and Petal's relationship, so I decided to give you guys a treat :) So there you have it, Gray now knows Petal's name! I wasn't really sure how to do it, but this worked out ok :)

Guys, I was definitely right about not needing a guy on Valentine's Day, because you all gave me so many reviews that I was happy for the whole day. I mean I'm pretty sure a brick could've fallen on my head and I would've still smiled. I don't deserve you guys, you're the best :)

Also, personal thanks: lissa, Finchy Benedict and tahira (who've reviewed practically every chapter cause they're amazing), and all my wonderful Guests. You guys honestly make my day.

Bye bye =^.^=