INeverSawAnotherButterfly – I love Nick, too! He's like, the perfect boyfriend. Lol (: And as for names… thanks. Any name suggestions? Haha. And as for updating… I just can't stay away from this series! And I know that total annoyance of people not updating for months on end. Now that really sucks.

The Significance Series belongs to Shelly Crane.

Chapter Eleven

I woke up with a content sigh. It was the way people wake up in all those commercials for sleeping medication or something. I didn't have to yawn or stretch and I didn't have that overwhelming need to just lay there for ten more minutes. But just because I didn't have the tired want to stay where I was didn't mean that I wanted to get up. It was so warm and comforting. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, and then remembered what all had happened.

I wasn't at home, hugging my own pillow. I was right next to my significant. I suddenly realized that I was snuggled right up into his side, having hardly moved throughout the night. One of my legs was tucked under his; one of his arms was draped over my side, pulling me close. My face was buried into his chest. I tilted my face to get a better look at him. He was looking down at me with a smile. He gave a low chuckle when our eyes met, his arms tightening around me briefly.

"Good morning, Elsie," he said quietly.

"Good morning," I said before remembering that I probably had morning breath. I brought a hand up to cover my mouth, but Nick quickly kissed me. I couldn't help but smile against his lips. He pulled away first, giving me one of his winning smiles. I tried to untangle myself from him, but he just pulled me closer to him.

"Stay," he said. "How did you sleep?"

"Really good, actually," I said back, twisting around so my head rested on his chest. He played with my hair, twisting the strands around his fingers.

"I heard it's like that. When we ascend, we'll basically heal each other in our sleep. But for now we just… anchor each other. No dreams, but we're extremely well-rested when we wake up." He said quietly. "Basically, we're always better when we're together."

"That rhymed," I teased, glancing up at him. Nick smiled back at me. I sat up so I could change and brush my teeth. Nick reached out and touched my neck. When I turned to look at him, he took hold of my chin and pulled me to him. He kissed me, pressing his lips hard to mine. He deepened the kiss, and for a moment I couldn't find the strength to pull away from him. Our breathing wasn't exactly stable. He smiled at me and brushed my hair behind my ear, goose bumps trailing down my arms and spine. "I know we're better together, now." I told him quietly. He grinned like I'd just given him a prize. "I've got to get dressed," I said. I wished that I could take a shower.

"You can take a shower in the bathroom." Nick said, reading the thought from my mind. "There are towels in the cabinet." He added.

I flashed him a grin. I never would've thought that I would like someone in my head, but it was... well, it was perfect. I never would've thought that I would care about someone so much. I tried to block my thoughts from him as I pulled my duffel bag up onto the bed. I dug through my clothes, folding them up and holding them to my chest. Nick picked up his phone off his bedside table and flicked his thumb over it. I walked right past him, heading straight for the bathroom. I could hear somebody in the kitchen, but I didn't bother to call out or see who it was.

I turned the shower on hot, planning to take the least amount of time possible. I didn't know if Nick's house had a shortage of hot water, and I didn't want to be the one to use it all if it did. By time I got out, though, the mirror had fogged over and my skin was warm to the touch. I quickly changed and wrapped up my wet hair, pulling open the bathroom door after glancing at myself in the mirror. It was funny how I'd wanted to impress Nick a few days ago, but now I didn't care if he saw me without makeup. Someone had once told me that meant that you were in love, or that, at least, you were comfortable in your relationship. Was I in love with Nick? I wasn't really for sure. I mean, it was a huge possibility. But I was contemplating the idea of moving in with him. I wasn't sure if that was for me to just be close to him or if I really did want to be with him. I was starting to think that it was more the latter than the former. And that warmed my heart.

I nearly screeched when I opened the door. Rodney was standing there, hand fisted and raised, as if he were about to knock on the door. Nick was suddenly scrambling into the hallway. My suddenly alleviated heartbeat must've scared him. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw me, and then gave his older brother a dirty look.

"Sorry, Elsie," Rodney said. "Didn't mean to uh, scare you," He added, making a face at his brother.

"It's fine." I said, giving a short laugh. I put a hand to my head, suddenly embarrassed by the fact that he'd caught me with no makeup on and my hair tied up. I wasn't bothered by the idea of Nick seeing me, but I was bothered by the idea of Rodney seeing me.

"You're beautiful," Nick said. Rodney glanced at him, and then back at me. He gave me a smile, but I could tell that his eyes were sort of sad. He wanted what his brother had. I didn't know if he just wanted to be able to ascend, or if he really did want to have someone he was in love with. I had a feeling that it was a little bit of both. Nick had explained it to me – if an Ace didn't imprint with someone, they didn't ascend. And their whole lives were set on ascending. Without it… they didn't feel that they could consider themselves Aces. For the last few years, Rodney was getting worried about not imprinting in his early twenties, like Aces were supposed to. Now that there were three couples that imprinted earlier, he was worried that he'd missed his chance years ago.

I put a hand on Rodney's arm, wishing that I could find some way to tell him that there was a girl out there for him. He gave me another gentlemanly smile and motioned for me to go ahead of him. I stepped out of the bathroom doorway, and he stepped in. As the door closed behind us, Nick leaned over and said, "I know he's worried about not finding his soul mate, but… I think she's out there for him. Somewhere."

I nodded, hair nearly tumbling out of the quick twist I'd put it up in. "He's bound to. If the imprints are coming back, maybe they'll get everyone that they missed."

"I don't know if it will work like that, but we'll see." He replied. He leaned over and kissed my temple. "My mom has a blow dryer she'll probably let you borrow. And then maybe I'll take you out to the stables."

"Ooh, the stables," I repeated. I flashed him a smile. I'd lived in Tennessee my whole life. It wasn't as western-associated like Texas was, but Nashville was the home of country music. I'd never even been close to a horse. But, like most little girls, I'd had an obsession with the when I was about seven. I'd always wanted a horse, but it was never really a possibility. I lived in the suburbs, and my mom had been allergic to dander, so I'd never even had a cat or a dog. I was sure that Nick could feel my excitement about going to the stables.

"You'll love them," he said in a low voice. He took my hand and led me to his bedroom. He went to retrieve a brush and a blow dryer from his mother while I straightened up. I pulled the comforter up and tucked it under his pillows. I stuffed my clothes back into my duffel bag, leaving it on the end of his bed. He returned a moment later and tossed them onto the bed. "Hey, you made the bed. I don't think that bed's been made for years now." He gave me a quick kiss and went to his closet, pulling the doors open. I picked up the brush and pulled it through my hair as he pulled his shirt over his head. I tried not to stare at him, but I couldn't help but notice the way the muscles on his back moved as he dug around in his closet for a clean shirt.

I pulled the blow dryer into the plug by his desk and flipped my hair over to dry the underside. I also found that it gave my hair so much volume, even if it only lasted for a short while. I brushed through my hair while Nick finished changing, and then I sat on the edge of his desk and balanced my compact mirror on my knees so I could put on my makeup, since Rodney was still in the bathroom. I carefully lined my eyes with a brown pencil and brushed mascara over my eyelashes. I even smoothed some Chapstick on.

I was so focused on my compact that I didn't even notice Nick walking up to me. He reached out and closed the compact mirror. "You're beautiful," he said quietly, threading his fingers through my hair.

I gave him a smile. "You're pretty handsome yourself," I said, tossing the mirror into my duffel bag. I collected the hairbrush and blow dryer, and together we walked down the hallway. He went to put his mom's hair care products back in her bathroom while I lingered in the living room. Nick's mom had photographs set up all along her mantle. They seemed to be in basic chronological order, starting from the left. The first picture was of Nick's parents, his mom wearing a red dress and his dad wearing a dress shirt and slacks. It slowly moved on, showing Rodney as a baby, then Nick, and then the two of them growing up together.

One of Nick's middle school photos sat on the mantle. He had braces, his hair a little disheveled, his eyes looking past the camera, a little to the side. He didn't look like he was paying the least bit of attention to the fact that his picture was going to be in the yearbook, or that he would look a little ADD a few years down the road. I ran my finger over the frame, smoothing a thumb over his metal-mouthed smile. His hands were suddenly on my hips, drawing me closer to him. I didn't even look over at him, but I could feel his breath, warm on my neck. His arms slowly slid around me, my back pressed against his chest. "Don't hold it against me," he said.

"You look cute," I said back. "You should've seen my picture. I looked absolutely horrible."

"I'm sure you didn't," he said. "And I'm holding you to it. I expect to see all of your middle school pictures."

I laughed, turning to face him. He barely loosened his grip on me so I could move around. Someone cleared their throat behind him. I nearly sprang away from him, but Nick didn't seem bothered in the least. His mom was smiling so widely that it was almost kind of scary. The ways Aces acted about imprints was just so… strange. Nick smoothed his thumb over my half star, reminding me that I was an Ace, too. "Come eat breakfast."

Nick and I sat down at a table that was already filled with several different types of pancakes. I scooped some chocolate chip ones onto my plate and doused them with syrup. Nick ate twice as many as I did. We both complimented her on a good breakfast. Rodney walked in when we were almost done eating. He slid in on my other side and loaded his plate with pancakes.

"Mom, I think I'm going to take Elsie to the stables." Nick said when he'd finished. I'd been done for a while. I'd been quietly sipping the orange juice that Nick's mom had poured me.

"That's a great idea!" She said. "You two should go out for a ride, too." She said.

"Maybe," Nick replied, shoving his last bite into his mouth. He wiped his mouth on his napkin and downed the rest of his orange juice. He drank the last of mine, too. His mom made a face at him as he grabbed my hand and pulled me out the front door.

It was sort of a walk to the stables. I didn't know what the awkward placement was for, but it was nice. Nick held my hand in his, and we swung our arms back and forth as we walked. I looked at the ground, focusing on not tripping or stepping in a pile of dung. We didn't say a word to each other, but that was fine. I liked the feel of his hand on mine as he led me to the stables.

It smelled like animal and hay. It wasn't an altogether bad smell, but it was no apple pie scent, either. Nick chuckled and let go of my hand as he pointed towards the first pen. Heavy wooden doors came up to my chest and continued all down the wall. The other half of the wall was a series of tall iron bars. "This is mom's newest. He's a Clydesdale," Nick said. I leaned against the bars and looked at the horse. It was huge, each one of its hooves had to be bigger than my head. Nick pointed to the next one. "This is the one dad bought mom on their tenth anniversary." He motioned towards a tall, thin horse. Its head swung towards us, and I took an unconscious step back. Nick laughed and put his hand on the bars. "He's perfectly fine."

I put my hand on the bars next to Nick's. The horse's soft nose touched my palm between the bars, his lips moving as if I had something to offer him and he was searching for it. "Sorry, I don't have anything." I told him. The horse gave a short whine back, and I couldn't help but think that maybe it understood me. Nick was silent as I cooed to the horse, probably sounding like an idiot.

"I'll be right back," he said, stepping away from me. It seemed that we only had to release each other when the other was going a particularly long distance away. I nodded to let him know that I'd heard him. I stayed right where I was, talking to the horse. I really liked this one. He didn't seem scary in the least. The horse sniffed and glanced away to pick up some hay, and then returned to me, his jaw moving as he chewed.

After a good five minutes, Nick still hadn't returned. He'd walked to the opposite end of the stable. I was pretty sure that he'd gone into one of the rooms at the far end. I said a whispered goodbye to the horse that I'd bonded with and stepped down the narrow hall. There were horses on either side, making noise as I walked past. They all seemed huge to me, so I stayed in the middle, just for my own comfort.

When I reached the far end of the stables, I turned to the left. It looked like some sort of equipment room. The lights were on, but I could see that it led into what looked to be another small room. I didn't see Nick from the hall, so I stepped in, thinking that maybe he was in the back room.

I barely refrained from squealing as an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me against the wall. With my back flat against the wall, Nick leaned forward and kissed me. I leaned against him, one of his hands on the wall by my head to brace himself. He deepened the kiss, his other hand on my chin, pulling me forward. I went willingly. All the questions that had been swirling around in my mind – did I love him? Was I willing to fight against my brothers to move in with him? Was I going to marry him one day? – all of them seemed to be answered in those few minutes. Yes, I loved him with all my heart. Yes I was willing to fight against my brothers for him. Just the idea of moving in with him was enough to thaw out that little piece of me that I'd always kept hidden from other people. And yes, I wanted to marry him someday.

One of my hands fisted the front of his shirt, trying to pull him as close to me as I could. Eventually, we had to break off the kiss to breathe. He rested his forehead against mine and let out a heavy sigh. "God, Elsie, I love you." My heart leapt in my throat. He'd never told me he loved me. It was sort of like we'd just assumed it, and I knew it all along, but to actually hear it was something different.

"I love you," I replied back. The words weren't new to me. I'd spoken them to a good sized group of people. I'd loved my parents, my brothers, and Hanna. In a weird twisted way, I'd even loved Paul, though I'd never told him that. But I'd never been in love with someone before, not as strongly as I was with Nick. In that very moment, I could see all those visions I'd had of him and me together coming true. We belonged together, and the only person who had been standing in the way of that had been me.

Nick kissed me again, his hand on my neck. I pulled back to breath, and he leaned forward to kiss under my jaw. My arms went around him, and he held me close. "I think we should postpone the riding lesson," I told him.

"Why's that?" He asked, his voice low and sort of breathy in my ear.

"I've got to figure out how to tell my brothers that I'm moving out." Instead of answering, he just kissed me again.

# # #

I theorized that it would best be done like a Band-Aid. Just one quick yank to rip it off. I couldn't try to sweet talk my way into the confession, because Royce would know something was up. And I couldn't try to joke about it, because it would either make them mad or confuse them all the more. Nick wanted to be there, at my side, but I figured that would be a bad idea. While my brothers had accepted that Nick and I were dating, I wasn't sure how they would feel about me moving out to live with him. I couldn't just tell him that I was moving out, because he would want to know who with and where I was living, and there was no point in continually lying to him.

I was worried that Royce would want to pound Nick into the sidewalk and accuse him of brainwashing me or something. I wouldn't put it past him. He was that protective of me. I was thinking about what he would say, and he would be right. We were moving fast. In just a few days, I was planning to move in with him and, in the future, marry him. Royce would be livid. And then there would be everyone else. Hanna would be blown away, but she'd probably be excited about it. She might even tell me that I was finally acting like a real teenage girl. Paul would be furious, since I'd told him that I wasn't sure if I was breaking up with him for Nick or not. It was pretty obvious that I had been lying now. I could practically picture his mom telling all of her friends, and then her friends spreading it to their friends and their daughters. It would be awful, since I still saw some of my graduating class around town, as well as some of the underclassmen.

Nick put a hand on the back of my neck, his fingers massaging the muscles there. I dipped my chin forward, accepting the wave of calm he gave me. "You can change your mind, you know." He told me. I glanced up at him and smiled. It didn't really matter if I wanted to change my mind. I wanted to be with him, but other than that, I needed to be with him. I needed his touch to survive, and now I needed his touch to be safe at night. It seemed like the only logical answer, and it was one that I actually liked.

"I'll be fine," I told him. "I want to. And technically, I'm going to have to eventually. When you go back to school, I can't hang around here. And I can't lie to them and tell them I'm taking classes there. I might as well just admit that I'm moving in with my boyfriend and let them pout about it." I said.

"Well, if it helps, in the Ace world we're something special. Usually, newly imprinted couples are married by this time." My jaw dropped, and he gave me a smile. "I think Caleb and Maggie and you and me are the only ones who are trying to date before marriage. And it only took like, a month for Caleb to propose to Maggie." He said. "When we imprint, it's like immediate acceptance."

"Has it always been like that?" I asked.

"As far as I know, yes," Nick replied. His car rolled to a stop by the curb in front of my house. I looked up at it, thinking that it wasn't going to be my house for much longer. I figured that I could go on in and start packing up some stuff so I could leave as soon as I broke the news to Royce, just in case he was more upset than I thought he would be. "Think about it, Elsie. When you imprint, you get an instant love. It's pretty much impossible to turn away from an imprint. It's never been done before." He shrugged, knocking his shoulder against mine.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I said. I glanced at the house.

"You know, you can still wait."

"Nick, I don't know if it helps that you keep offering little getaways. It needs to be done, so I might as well get it done." Nick turned off the car and I pushed open my door. He did the same, since he'd won the quick battle for if he was going to come in with me or not. It had never really been a battle, because Nick had told me that significants weren't meant to fight. It kept us in nearly perfect agreement all the time. It sort of reminded me of the way that I'd forced a happiness with Paul I didn't have to force it with Nick, because he offered it.

I'd left my duffel bag at Nick's house. I still had to carry on the façade that I'd spent the night with Maggie. My brothers were going to be mad when I said that I was moving in with Nick, but I figured that I would be able to lie and say that I was staying in a separate bedroom. It would be easier for them to swallow that than to realize that I needed to sleep by his side for my own protection, because I was some sort of supernatural person who had imprinted with my soul mate.

Together, we headed up to the front door. I grabbed his hand as we reached the top step. "I love you," I whispered to him. I leaned in to kiss him. His arms immediately went to my waist, squeezing me close to him. The front door opened after just a moment, and Royce was standing on the other side.

"I thought you were hanging out with your friend. Maggie." He said, his brows furrowed together as he watched the two of us.

"I am. I just needed something, and since Maggie had driven me over there and Nick and Caleb were doing something today. He offered to drive me here to pick up my stuff."

"What are you getting?" Royce asked.

"Several things," I replied honestly. I took Nick's hand and pulled him down the hallway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Royce called after me. Nolan was leaning out of the kitchen door, watching everything go down. He gave me a very serious look, followed by a wink. Nolan was protective of me, but he didn't try to control every aspect of my life like Royce did.

"My bedroom," I said. Royce opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off, "Jesus, Royce, I'll leave the door open and everything."

Thirty minutes later, and I'd pulled out one of the large suitcases that had been in the hall closet. I sent Nick to go get the other, smaller one as I folded the last of the clothes I wore a lot into the large suitcases. I wanted to fit a few trinkets into the smaller ones, so I could bring a little piece of home with me. Nick had told me to bring as many things as I wanted, because he figured that he could handle a little more clutter to his already immaculate bedroom. I laughed as I tucked a picture of my family into the smaller bag, followed by my toiletries. I tossed in my blow dryer and my hairbrush and anything else that I figured could be of use.

I sighed when I finished packing. Nick's knuckles brushed across my cheek. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." I told him. He gave me a smile and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. I stepped out of my room with him in tow. I could hear my brothers talking in the kitchen, though I couldn't make out what they were saying. I peered in the open doorway to see if they were in a relatively good mood. Nolan was stuffing a store-bought donut into his mouth, and Royce had a plate of pigs-in-a-blankets in front of him. They were probably in as good of a mood as they could be in.

"Hey, guys," I said. "I have something we need to talk about."

I'm on a roll with these cliffhangers lately. I promise that I'll be updating in the next few days' time, but I've got some pretty important tests coming up, so it might be a little while later. Even when I'm studying, though, I'll be thinking about this and wishing I was updating instead. Haha. (:

Leave me a review! Peace (: