Gray's POV

As I watched Mai- Petal lift her arms slowly, a daisy began winding its way upwards, forming a beautiful a sight. A subconscious smile touched my lips, making me walk over to her to talk to her. Watching her from afar was one thing but to really enjoy Petal's company talking to her was necessary – even if most of her responses came out by force.

"Are you trying to get better control of your ability?" I made sure she saw me standing in front of her before sitting and speaking up. I'd learnt that lesson over the course of the time that she spent with us. She seemed to startle at any surprises no matter how many times I reassured her so this was the best next thing, no surprises at all.

"Yeah." I could tell just by her voice that she was focusing on nature. It was soft, barely audible, and it sent me into the trance it always did, submerging me in tranquillity. I'd never met anyone who had this effect on me but, then again, she was my soulfinder so it was to be expected. But it wasn't anything like I'd imagined though. I thought she'd make me happy, sure, but Petal was making me rethink everything, giving me a beautiful new perspective on life. It was beyond even my wildest imaginings, and then some.

"So, hey, have you given any thought to the whole soulfinder business?" As Petal startled, looking away from the daisy hurriedly, the spell was broken, nature disappearing for me as if it'd never been there. She stared at the ground for a second, seemingly preparing herself for what she was about to do. What that was, I had no idea, but I was praying it would be a positive response, rather than an 'easy let down'. She wouldn't intentionally break my heart, I knew that. She was too much of a kind soul to do that, but if she didn't want this, she'd have to tell me one way or another. And it'd hurt – no matter how she said the words.

"I have, a little bit." At least this was better than all the other times, when she'd coughed and pretended she needed a glass of water.

"And have you come to a decision of any sort?" Her eyes finally left the floor, meeting mine in a wordless conversation. Her features screamed fear… Yet her eyes tod a different story. There was still fear, but also determination. Whatever she was going to say, it was her final decision. She wasn't backing out of this, which scared me witless. If she chose against me… That'd be it for me. I wouldn't ever be able to look at another girl. My life would be over.

"Kind of. I'm willing to give it a shot- That is, if you want to." Once she gave her final decision, she retreated back into her 'let others choose for you', but I'd already gotten what I wanted. She'd said yes. For a second I just sat there, trying to let my mind catch up – I couldn't believe that a girl as wonderful, kind and beautiful as Petal had let me into her heart. Especially with how scared she was.

In this moment of silence, all the reasons I loved her bubbled up in my mind. Her laugh. How she always knew exactly what to say to Vince and Maxy to get them happy again. Hell, how she knew what to say to anyone to assure them that they'd be ok in the end. The atmosphere that always surrounded her – that calm that settled over me whenever I looked into her eyes. Which made me remember her eyes, with their depth and their beauty, that endless sea of blue that made me want to be shipwrecked only to be able to lose myself in them for an eternity. I loved every single thing about her.

"Gray?" Shaking my head slightly, I remembered that she'd given me her insecure doubts and that I needed to settle them before they got out of hand.

"I'd love to give life a go with you by my side." Whilst I said this I found myself drowning in her eyes once more – what was soon becoming my favourite pass time. "But seeing how we're not quite ready for that yet, how about we try the next best thing?" She shot me a curious look at this, obviously confused as to what I meant. I used this moment to collect myself, not allowing any part of me to chicken out of doing this. "Will you go out with me?"

Petal's POV

I'd heard a lot about going out with someone during my years at the monsters house. All the other people around me seemed to always be doing it – or complaining about the lack thereof. I hadn't ever been asked, though. But, to be fair, I'd never had the impulse to go out with someone either. The monster had shown me that all of humanity was bad, and back then I believed him wholeheartedly.

That was before I met Gray though. He had opened up my eyes to the possibility of there being good in the world. Not in every heart but certainly in some – like his. And for the first time in my life, I not only saw this, but I also wanted to keep discovering more good in the world, no matter the risk this might pose. So before I could even stop myself, the words left my mouth.

"Yes." And then I did the girliest thing I'd ever done in my life. I giggled into my hands as I blushed bright red, cursing my actions at the same time. He really had changed me in the two months I'd been here. "Of course, yeah." A breath taking smile lit up his features as I said this, and he leaned forward so that our noses were almost touching. This gave me a perfect view of his brown eyes, making me want to melt. They were slightly crinkled at the edges from his genuine smile that I quickly found myself returning.

"Do you mind if I try something?" I shook my head slightly, not wanting him to ever sit back. I would've done anything at that moment to be able to keep getting lost in his eyes. But then something happened, he closed them and he was coming closer. Unsure of what to do, I kept my eyes wide open as he slowly tilted his head to the left, cluing me in on his actions. He was going to kiss me. By this point, I was full-on panicking, but forced myself to calm down. I'd never kissed anyone before due to the monster saying that my lips were too filthy for him, so, at least, it wouldn't bring any trauma to kiss him. Sure, it was different and new and God knew it was the scariest thing I'd done in a while… But did it matter? This wasn't like when the monster violated me, this would be a soft embrace. Tender, not harsh. And if I knew the first thing about Gray it was that if I started having a panic attack over this, he'd help me straight away.

So I closed my eyes too, tilting my head to the right, and moved slightly closer. I counted in my head to try to keep myself calm but hadn't even reached 2 when our lips met. At the contact, my eyes widened in surprise, yet they soon closed again of their own accord, not needing any incentive, this time, to drift shut. I lost myself in the kiss, our lips moving in sync as if we'd been doing it our whole lives. His hands came to rest on my hips as mine lay on his chest and suddenly I realised what it felt like.

It was like coming home.

Hi :)

Well, that was eventful xD I hope you all liked their first kiss, I certainly enjoyed writing it :) Also, sorry about Petal being a bit awkward, but she was abused all her life so I didn't think she'd react all that well to a kiss.

Oh my god guys, how amazing are you? You not only beat the 65 review target on the same day but you also got it to 66 :D So, I was hoping this time we could get it to 70? Oce again, completely optional, but you will make my day if you manage to reach it :)

Anyhowsies, have a wonderful end of the week :)

Bye bye =^.^=