INeverSawAnotherButterfly – I think the writer's block is finally over (thank the Lord.) I'll try sending some internet mind message for your writer's block to end, too. :P

Shelly Crane – Thanks! I hope I'm doing the series justice. (:

I've been thinking about this chapter for a long time. I hope you guys enjoy it (:

The Significance Series belongs to Shelly Crane.

Chapter Six

I lasted one week. One measly, long week. Paul and I hung out only three times. Hanna and I saw each other almost every day, and apparently I wasn't as good at hiding my secret as I thought I was. She seemed to think something was up, but it was easy to just fake feeling a little sick. She seemed to believe me, anyway. She also took it as a moment to say that Paul made me depressed, and that's why I wasn't feeling well.

Hanna could really get annoying with her belief that Paul and I didn't belong together. She was using everything she could to get me to "see the light." Her words, not mine. I knew I wasn't in love with Paul, but I did love him. There was a difference, big enough to be spoken to myself, but definitely not enough for me to just dump Paul. You don't fall in love immediately. It takes time. I was giving Paul that time.

But it definitely was a rough week. Every morning, I woke up feeling awful. Nick came to see me every morning, afternoon, and evening. He would catch me at my house in the mornings and nights, just before I went to bed. He found me in the afternoons that we didn't hang out together after my heartbeat freaked out enough for him to locate me. He was like clockwork. I could always count on him to be there for me. I still couldn't figure that out. It was insane. It shouldn't be possible.

But then again, I was learning that things weren't what they seemed. There was no rationalizing the way I felt sick without Nick's touch, the way he could find me so easily, the way I just wanted to be with him, around him, breathing the same air as him.

Nick and I tended to hang out in the mornings. We'd separate a little after lunch, only to meet up again a few hours later. Still, it gave me a sense of normality, and it gave me time to get to know him. Nick was… well, he was an interesting guy. It didn't take me long to learn little tidbits about him, since we decided to play twenty questions – now turned "endless questions" – to break the ice. It worked like a charm. It didn't take me long to really felt like I knew him.

Talking to him was just so easy. I told him things that I hadn't told anyone, even Paul or Hanna. I also felt like he was doing the same to me, telling me his deepest secrets as we we walked in circles at the mall or across the table at another restaurant. Within a week, I learned his favorite foods and the things he hated. I learned that he and his brother used to play pranks on his parents. I learned that, while he felt pressured to join the family business, he also looked forward to it.

Outside of talking about our personal selves, we talked about Aces. Nick slowly told me stuff about his kind. Our kind. I hated to think that I wasn't the person I always was – Elsie Gray, piano-player, song-writer, stubborn-headed and completely willing to argue. A decision-maker. A person who gave her all in things that she was passionate about. Nick never failed to tell me that I was still me; I just had something special hidden away for eighteen years.

I didn't see Nick's family anymore. After that one time, I steered clear. I don't know if it was me or him or both of us, but neither of us expressed a need to talk to them. Being around them made me nervous, even though they were nice enough. It reminded me that I was surrounded by people who lived these secretive lives, who imprinted and had soul mates, who had powers, and who expected me to fall hopelessly in love with a guy that I'd met a week before. I didn't know his reasoning for not bringing up his family again, and I didn't ask. I did know, though, that he and his family were close. Their proximity is what kept them safe and sound. They were always there for one another.

And it made me wonder why he didn't press to have me around his family so often, if his family and I were the two most important things to him (so he said.)

I guess I didn't really have room to speculate, though, because I hadn't introduced him to my brothers. Royce and Nolan had no idea who Nick was. I was quick to meet him in the mornings after Royce was gone and Nolan was still asleep or at work. I was quick to say goodbye to him when he drove me home and dropped me off in front of the house. How was I supposed to introduce him to my family? I couldn't just stand there and say to my two overprotective brothers "Hey, this is the guy that I'm supposedly destined to marry." That would not go over well.

One week. That's how long I knew him when my two worlds collided.

# # #

Nick and I were at lunch. That's all we ever seemed to do. This time around, we were walking around the little park outside the town square. I guess it wasn't really a park, but more like a square space of green grass, trees, and metal benches where little old ladies were supposed to sit and throw birdseed. We'd picked up hot dogs from the neighborhood drive-thru, and now we were sitting on the grass in the very middle of the square area that had been named a park.

Well, Nick was sitting. I'd finished my hot dog and was now laying back, the tall grass tickling the back of my neck underneath my mess of dark blonde hair. I liked to look at the clouds. Nick peered up into the sky as I pointed up at a fluffy shape. It didn't look like anything in particular, but it had become a game where I would say what a cloud would look like, and he'd search for the skyline to find it. It had become particularly fun to just say something I didn't see and watch while he tried to locate the imaginary cloud. I think he was just humoring me.

And we never failed to be touching. His fingertips on mine, a bare foot touching a leg, a hand just barely brushing a cheek. And I loved it. It was like I could just live off of his touch alone. And it sucked, because deep down inside I should've wanted to push it back. Having the need to have his touch was clouding my feelings. I wanted to be able to know that I'd fallen for him, not that I just enjoyed him because the imprint wanted me to. I was determined to fight it, and every time I reminded myself of that, I always remembered Maggie, telling me that it was impossible.

Telling me that all the love I'd felt before wouldn't compare to what I'd feel for Nick.

"You don't see it?" I laughed. I'd just said that I'd seen a mermaid cloud, and Nick was searching for it like his life depended on it. He was animated when we were together, and that made me laugh harder than anything. He was very clearly faking it, since he probably knew that I didn't see a mermaid in the sky.

Nick was about to answer me when I heard my name. "Elsie?"

I shot up into a sitting position, immediately yanking my hand from Nick's. Our fingers had just barely been touching, opening a channel between us. Still, it had been enough to look suspicious to anyone who knew I was with Paul. And the person standing in front of me definitely knew that I was taken by someone else.

Paul narrowed his eyes at Nick, and my heart plummeted. Nick eyed me with his peripherals. There was no doubt that he didn't feel my heart spike when I saw my boyfriend. The guy who was supposed to always be on my mind, the guy who I had immediately forgotten the moment I'd seen Nick.

"What are you doing?" Paul asked. He looked mad. He looked so, so mad. A wave of sickness crashed over me, and I caught Nick's fingers flexing. He was fighting the urge to reach out and touch me, just the way I was fighting to keep from reaching out for him. I knew what his touch would bring me, and I desperately wanted it.

But not in front of Paul.

"I'm just hanging out with a friend," I forced out. I glanced between the two guys and faked my enthusiasm. "Oh, yeah! You guys haven't met yet. Paul, this is my family friend, Nick Jacobson. Nick, this is my boyfriend, Paul White."

"Hey, man. What's up?" Nick stood up and brushed his hands on his jeans. He reached out to shake hands with Paul. I scrambled to stand up, my hands clasped in front of me, my whole body shaking. I could hear my heart thudding in my ears, and I knew Nick was trying to push it away.

Paul took Nick's hands, and the two of them looked at each other. I saw Paul's thin arm flex as he tried to prove that he had some sort of manly strength. I tried not to roll my eyes at him. Nick was a lot stronger than Paul would ever be, but it definitely wasn't my place to say that. Especially not now, when Paul had just found out that I'd been spending my time with someone else. Granted, he could think that it was just a one-time thing, which probably would've been safer. But the way his eyes slid over to me told me that he was thinking otherwise.

"Not much," Paul said, a little more sharply than he needed to. Nick glanced over his shoulder, towards the walking path, as if he'd heard someone coming. I realized that he was trying not to look at me, because if he did Paul would definitely read into it. "Elsie," He said, his eyes narrowing on me, "What are you doing here?"

His voice was so sharp that it scared me. Paul had never talked to me like that, ever. Our three-year anniversary was just a few months off, and he'd never spoken to me like I was a pain, or that I had caused trouble. And annoyance, maybe, but never like I was a problem. I saw Nick's fingers flex again, but this time he was forcing himself not to make a fist. His immediate protection over me warmed my heart, which I found sort of annoying. How was I supposed to read my feelings if the imprint kept getting in the way?

"Like I said, I was just hanging out with Nick. We were really good friends when we were younger. It's been a long time since I've seen him." The lie was thick, coating the back of my throat. I fought to keep myself from playing the shifty-eyes game, which would tip Paul off that I was lying.

Paul looked conflicted, like he wasn't sure if he believed me or not. It sort of hurt, that he didn't seem to trust me. Never, not once, had I ever looked at someone else. I'd always been with Paul, throughout our junior and senior years of high school. I'd never flirted with another guy, I never took up an offer to go to a party without bringing Paul with me, and I'd never treated him like he was cheating on me. But I could see in his eyes that he thought that was exactly what I was doing. Cheating on him. With Nick.

"Jesus, Paul," I spouted. Paul gave a small jump, like a flinch. "Stop looking at me like I've been sneaking around behind your back. Nick is one of my best friends, okay?" The guy in question looked particularly pleased at being called one of my best friends, but he was hiding it well.

"Elsie, can I talk to you… over here?" Paul motioned down the path, towards a bench that was empty. I glanced over at Nick, my heart pounding in my chest. How was I supposed to walk over there if the imprint wouldn't let me leave him? My feet would be glued to the grass where I stood.

"Sure," I said, giving Nick a wide-eyed, help-me look. I was hoping that he would be able to figure it out. That's when I remembered that, if I focused hard enough, I would be able to send a clip of a thought towards him. We'd been working on it. It was what he had done to me at the movie theater, and it had certainly been helpful then.

Nick seemed to catch the drift of what I was thinking. Either that or he already knew about the problem we would be facing. "I'll be fine, Elsie. Go on and talk to him. I'll just wait here." I let out a sigh. It was enough for me to be released from him. Paul raised his eyebrows at the two of us as I followed him down the path. We reached the bench, and I sat down, trying to inconspicuously look around my boyfriend to Nick, who had returned to sitting on the grass. He had his elbows propped up on his knees, and he was watching the little kids playing soccer on the field across from the pathway. I could hear moms and dads cheering from where I sat. Paul didn't sit down, which put me on edge.

I debated standing up again to face him, but that was cut off by Paul's words. "Who is he, really?"

"He's my friend, Paul. I was sure that I'd be allowed to have friends outside of our relationship." I had been freaked out the moment that he'd showed up, standing in front of me. Now, though, I was angry. Paul had never acted like this before. He'd never questioned my loyalty or acted like I belonged to him. In fact, that was something that I realized, just now. Regular couples spouted out that they belonged to each other, that they belonged together. Paul and I had never been like that. We'd always just done our own thing, occasionally meeting up and hanging out together. But I'd never, not once in almost three years, told him that I loved him. And he'd never said the same to me.

It hit me like a freight train, that realization that we didn't belong together. Hanna had been right, to my chagrin. I had been using the lessons my mom had instilled in me to stay within my comfort zone. I'd never felt that thing that I was supposed to feel with a boyfriend. Never, not once in my life. My mom had always told me to find that one person you loved, and don't let them get away from you because of something stupid. But she hadn't said that I should forced myself to love someone I didn't. I felt tears prickling the back of my eyes, and I tried to look around Paul to see Nick. Just seeing him, sitting there waiting for me, was bound to make me feel a little bit better. Paul shuffled nervously under my watery gaze, and I was able to catch a glimpse of my significant. He looked like he was wrestling with himself to keep from rushing to my side. And it made me feel like there was something out there for me. Something that I needed.

My mom had always told me not to let someone go because of their flaws. Paul had flaws – he had plenty of them. But mom had always said that I should find that person that I loved. And Paul and I were doomed from the start. We were too different, on different paths and different ideas. He liked his video games, and I wanted to write songs for a living. I wanted to travel, he wanted to stay home. I wanted to go on adventures, and he would rather be adventurous on his TV screen.

I stared at him, trying to figure out how to break up with him. How do you break up with someone that you'd been with for almost three years? Hanna would know, but she wasn't around, and I didn't want to wait. But then again, it would look really bad if I just broke up with him after he found me hanging out with Nick.

And then again, there was that little voice in the back of my head that wondered if I was just getting caught up in the moment, and if I would regret this later. I hate regret. It makes me feel like I don't know what I want, and I'm the type of girl that craves that sense of contentment. Maybe I would wait, let my head clear, give myself a chance to read my heart and my head, to find out what I wanted.

"You can," Paul said finally. "I just… well, I was just walking to the video game store, since my car's in the shop, you know, and I saw you lying in the grass with some other guy. It looked like you were holding hands, even."

"We weren't," I said. It was a half-truth. We weren't holding hands, but we were touching fingers. Those two things were different. I wiped the sides of my fingers under my eyes, trying not to cry in front of him. If one week was enough for me to get the basics of the Aces, then I didn't want to set Nick's protectiveness off. I was sure that he could see me, but he couldn't hear what we were saying, and he wouldn't be able to see why I was crying, if he could tell that I was. "God, Paul, why do you do this?"

"Why do I do what?" Paul demanded, immediately on the defensive. I wanted to just smack him. To slap him for making me feel like this. I shook my head.

"You don't act like you care about me until you see me hanging out with a friend. And then you think you can just barge in and say that I'm cheating on you or something!" I said. It was more like a shout, really. Some of the parents from the soccer game looked over at us as I dropped my face in my hands. "I just want you to leave me alone right now, okay?"

Paul reached out to touch my shoulder, and I flinched away. He let out a breath and shook his head. "Fine, Elsie. Have it your way. I'll call you later."

He walked away, leaving me sitting there on the bench. I listened to his footsteps as he walked away from me. I pulled my knees up onto the bench with me. A short five minutes later, I heard someone walking towards me. I knew who it was without looking up. I definitely knew who it was when he sat down on the bench next to me. We sat separated for a moment or two before he scooted over, pressing his side against me. This was something that resembled a vision I'd had. A shirt sleeve brushing against mine. But this was missing the kiss at the very end, before I'd been whirled away to something different.

"Are you okay?" His voice was low and warm. I didn't say anything, and he moved to put an arm around me. The moment he did that, I turned into his side. It was scary, at first, because his touch didn't do anything to take away my panic. I had a feeling that it was just too much for a simple touch to wipe away. I buried my face into his shirt, my nose at his shirt collar. He smelled good… like something that I couldn't really explain, but it was just right. Nick sat there with me, his hand splayed on the back of my neck under my hair. I kept the front of his shirt in my hand.

We sat there for a long time, just listening to the other's heartbeat. The time when he usually took me home passed, and still we didn't move.

# # #

Usually, Nick would drop me off an hour or two after lunch. This time, he dropped me off just before dinner. Royce was standing out on the front porch. Nolan was staring blatantly out the window. I wanted to smack my forehead against the glass of the car window. Nick slowed the car down at the curb, and Royce pushed off the side of the house.

"Oh, God." I whispered. Apparently the universe had decided to make chaos out of my day, and I was really not looking forward to it. "You need to leave. Like, right now." I said to him. Nick gave me a sad smile. He was perfectly fine before Paul had barged into our day. Now, he seemed to be hurting just alongside me. I wanted to just wipe away all those feelings so he didn't have to suffer it with me. But he was, and it made me hurt to see him like that.

It was like a double whammy.

"Please, don't let him talk to you." I said to Nick.

He shook his head and smiled. "I don't think he's just going to let me leave." I looked out my window, and saw that Royce was already halfway down from the house. I bet he'd finally met his breaking point. I'd been gone every morning with the same guy friend that neither of my brothers had met, and now I was gone all day, instead of being home "soon after lunch" like my note had said.

I smiled at Nick and opened up the door. I touched his hand and he whispered to me that I would be fine, and he would come and see me for a little while before I went to bed. I stepped out of the car just as Royce reached the end of the driveway. He started heading this way, and I leaned down and said, "Bye, Nick."

He nodded at me, though he still seemed a little concerned about leaving me. To make matters worse, I knew that he wanted to meet my brothers. I pretended to push the side of the car, trying to get him to leave, and Nick laughed. He raised a hand in salute to me and Royce, and slowly pulled away from the curb. I could imagine him staring into the rear view mirror, watching me.

"What the heck, Elsie?" Royce demanded from me when I turned around. He motioned towards Nick's little black car, which had reached the stop sign at the end of the street. His blinker said that he was going to be turning right. I stared after him, wanting to chase him down the street. It was the feeling I always got when he was gone, after he'd just left me at my house.

"I don't need you scaring him off," I said to Royce. My older brother looked at me, and I could see the concern in his eyes. It sort of looked like Nick's concern, but Nick had about ten thousand more units of it than my brother did. And Royce had ten thousand more units of concern than Paul did. It made my eyes water, and Royce's face instantly softened.

"Elsie," he said, dropping his fists at his sides.

I pushed past him and up the stairs into the house. I ignored Royce calling after me, and I ignored Nolan following me down the hallway. I slammed my door hard, nearly closing it on Nolan's nose. I twisted the lock, and Nolan, the forward guy he always was, jiggled the knob. "Elsie," he called in.

I ignored him as I opened up my desk drawer and rifled through the papers that were stuffed in there. Nolan continued to tug on the doorknob while Royce pounded his fist on the door itself. They both called my name over and over, pleading me to come out and talk to them. Nolan asked me if something had happened. Royce asked if Nick had done something to me. I could hear the worry in their voices.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted at them. Eventually, they left, and I found the folded up sheet of paper I was looking for. I sat down on my bed and tugged my cell phone from my pocket. I pressed the numbers slowly and deliberately, and then put the phone to my ear.

Please answer. Please, please answer. I listened to three rings, and I was begging her to pick up. "Hello?"

I breathed out a sigh of relief, which sounded like a twisted sort of sob. "Maggie?"

Cliff-hanger! Yay! (:

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Thank you all for reading! Peace. (: