Author's note: Hey guys, here's the next chapter.*Hides sheepishly* I know I haven't been updating on a regular basis at all, and I do apologize. Alright, in this chapter we get a little drama and suspense! Maybe. We will have to see. OK, enjoy! Oh, and Mike is of my own making, I remember someone asking me about that a while ago, it's not Mike Newton, its Callaghan! Lol ok get to reading! Please.

Disclaimer: All recognizable themes and characters belong to their proper owners, mainly Stephenie Meyer, I don't claim any of them, except the plot and my own original characters. (Figured I should put that in there to be safe).

Chapter 8- Sparks in the Air?

As we drove back to my house, we chatted about school. Mike was a Criminal Justice major, and was also working to get a minor in International Studies. He said he wanted to work for the FBI. "Hopefully" he added.

"That sounds like good work, helping rid the world of crime" I replied, honestly impressed with him. He seemed like he would be good for it. From what I could tell of him, he seemed like he had a really good set of morals, and just the right amount of patriotism. Basically, he was absolutely sweet, and wonderful, and I was very attracted to him. As we pulled into the house, I invited him to come on for a bit, since the evening was still young. He agreed, and I gave him a tour, ending with my room.

"So, here it is, my room!" I said enthusiastically. I had told him earlier about my prized Batman possessions that I kept in my bedroom, and he had been really excited to see them. As we walked into my room, I saw him look around, taking it all in. My walls were painted a pale spring green, and on the hardwood floor I had a Japanese-style bamboo mat taking up a good portion. My desk was tucked into the far corner, and in the opposite corner was my bed. The main feature of my room, however, was the ceiling-high bookcase taking up the rest of the left wall that didn't have my desk against it. In this bookcase, however, there were no books. All of my books were in the family bookcases in my parent's office/den thing. The only thing remotely book-like was the two shelves full of comic books. Taking up the other five shelves were my prized possessions, my Batman memorabilia. Everything you could imagine, from old-school lunchboxes and figurines to flasks and stainless-steel, razor-sharp Batarangs. I even had a shelf entirely dedicated to Batmobiles, from the original 1930's to an exact, to-scale replica of the Tumbler from the newest Batman movies with Christian Bale. Not all of my stuff was the expensive kind, either. I had a half a shelf designated for action figures from the new Batman kid's cartoon, "The Brave and the Bold", and they were all open, too. I didn't really buy into that whole "keep it mint condition!" crap. These things were made to be used, and played with, and I was gonna play with them, damn it! I turned my attention back to Mike, and noticed that he was slack-jawed; his eyes glazed over like some fanboy at his first comic-book convention. I went over to the book shelf, propping my arm on it carefully.

"Like what you see?" I asked, my voice soft. His eyes re-focused on me, and he smirked, yes, smirked, a corner of his mouth curving up, an almost predatory glint in his eye.

"Oh, most definitely" He replied, closing the gap between us in two strides of his long legs. His gaze softened slightly, and his hand went up to cup my cheek. His lips were soft, but firm and I could feel just a touch of stubble. I kissed him back eagerly, and he pressed his body into mine, gently leaning me against the bookcase. We stayed like that for a few minutes, gently kissing, his hands migrating from the sides of my face to settle at my hips, my arms leaning on the tops of his shoulders. The height difference was only a few inches, so he didn't have to duck too much. Later, he would tell me that was one of the first things he thought when he met me, that he wouldn't have to lean down very far to kiss me, and how refreshing that had been. Right now, though, he pulled away gently, bringing my hands down from atop his broad shoulders to lace his fingers through mine, holding our arms out between us, a silly, almost shy grin on his face. My grin was almost identical, but a little more shy than silly.

"So" I said quietly, blushing slightly

"So" He repeated, "Its getting a little late, I should probably go"

"Oh, OK" I said, my grin diminishing. I really didn't want him to go.

"When can I see you next?" He asked. My expression brightened, and a full smile spread on my face.

"You mean, you want to see me again?" I asked. God, for someone with an I.Q. high enough to be almost a genius, I sure could ask some dumb questions. Mike laughed gently, bringing his lips to mine in a fiery kiss. Once we separated, panting slightly for breath, our foreheads still touching, he said,

"That answer your question?" I smiled, nodding my head slightly. We left my room hand-in-hand, not speaking, just being. Once we reached his car, he pulled me to him in a tight hug, my head fitting comfortable in the crook of his neck. He kissed my hair gently, and murmured to me that he would call me tomorrow, and we would do something. I pulled my head back and nodded, kissing him gently on the lips. And with that, he was gone. I thought I heard a wolf howling in the night, and the sound, for some reason, I found oddly comforting. I walked back into the house in pure bliss, my head filled with the sound of the lone wolf howling and the feel of Michael's lips on mine.

Meanwhile…

During the drive to Sam and Emily's we were silent, not feeling the need for conversation, just listening to the radio and feeling the warm summer air blowing through the truck's windows. I thought back on the double-date, and hoping everything was going well down at Serena's end. She certainly looked happy walking with Mike over to his car. Of course, that may have been because of his car, a jet-black Acura TL. The only thing he had added to the car, externally at least, was a silver outline of the Batman symbol on his rear bumper, which I'm sure made Serena crazy happy. I wonder if she's shown him her bookcase o' Batman, as I call it. As my thoughts wandered, I thought back to the day Paul told me he was a werewolf. He still had yet to show me his wolf form, and I had been casually bringing it up for the past couple days. Every time I brought it up, he said that when the opportunity presented itself, he would show me. I decided right then that tonight, the "opportunity would present itself". Once we got to Sam and Emily's, I whispered to him to come with me outside. Once we got outside I briskly walked the few yards to the tree line, and into the woods. He followed me, a confused expression on his face.

"Rose, what's going on? Why are you taking me here?" Paul asked, worry coloring his words. I didn't answer him, and once we got far enough into the woods that I was fairly sure the pack couldn't here us, I stopped and turned around to face him.

"Look Paul, its nothing serious" I smiled at him, but he looked no less concerned. "I mean, I just want you to show me your wolf form" I almost whispered those last words, but I knew he could hear me. His face turned angry

"Rose, how many times have I told you? Its too dangerous! I could hurt you! If you got hurt because of me" he looked crestfallen as he considered the possibility "I don't know what I would do with myself. Did Emily ever tell you how she got her scars? She was near Sam the first time he phased, and he almost killed her! I'm not willing to take that risk, darling. I love you too much" as he finished his tirade, I saw a glimpse of who Paul was before we met. He was so angry, not at me, but at himself for being who he was, a werewolf. I knew he sometimes thought himself a monster, and I hated when he did that.

"Paul, your not a monster, and your not going to hurt me. I know about Emily's scars, she told me last week. But babe, that was a long time ago. It was Sam's first time phasing, he couldn't control himself. And from you and the others have told me, at this point you are just as in control of yourself in wolf form as you are in human form. I know you" I walked up to him, cupping his cheek with my hand "and I know you would never, ever hurt me. But this is a big part of you, and I want to see you, the other you. I want to know everything about you, and to do that, I need to see you phase. I want to see you phase. I want to see this part of you that you hide so carefully from me. " Tears were brimming both our eyes at this point, and he looked resigned. He sighed, and gently pecked me on the lips.

"Fine, Rose, you win. " and with that he stepped back, unbuttoning his cutoffs. "I just want you to remember, you asked for this" and with that he stepped out of his jeans. I took all of him in, him in all his naked glory, standing in the moonlit clearing. He took a deep breath, and looked me in the eyes. "I love you" he whispered, and then he exploded.