Firefly hit 100 reviews last chapter! Thank you to everyone who has continued to read and review and a special thanks to Emme for helping me with this chapter! Hope you guys enjoy Chapter 8 and please let me know what you think in the reviews!


JAY

"You really like this girl don't you?" My best friend Adam says as he sits on the other end of my couch, nursing a beer.

"I do," I say as I take a sip of my own, "There's just something about her,"

"There's been something about a lot of girls," He points out as I roll my eyes. Adam and I have been close ever since I could remember, our parents always running in similar social circles and his dad happens to be my mom's Chief of Staff. Our parents haven't always agreed, but Adam and I have remained close. We were roommates in college and now he lives just in the next building over.

"I was young and dumb," I tell him with a grin. He's right, but I mean it this time.

"You're 24," He tells me with an eyeroll. "I assure you, you are still young and dumb Halstead,"

"Touche," I tell him with a smirk as my eyes wander to a clock hanging on the walls of my apartment. "Oh crap you have got to get out of here,"

"Why?" He asks as he glances towards the same clock.

"She's going to be here any minute," I say, quickly dashing both the bottles in the trash and attempting to usher Adam out of the room.

"I don't understand why I can't just meet her?" He protests.

"I don't want to freak her out, she's not too thrilled about meeting Abby,"

"Well I wouldn't be too thrilled either, Abby's a hawk. I thought she was going to ask for my blood type and social security number the first time we met. And she was only nine then" He jokes with a chuckle as I try to push him towards the door.

"Not helping," I exclaim as the doorbell rings, causing both of us to freeze.

"Well I guess you don't have a choice now," He says with a laugh.

"Shut up Ruzek," I tell him under my breath, swatting him on the shoulder before moving to open the door.

"Hey," She says softly in the doorway, still looking as gorgeous as always even after a cross country flight, her hair thrown up in a bun on top of her head and donning a simple pair of black leggings and a grey hoodie, that trusty pair of Converse on her feet. I feel a weight fall off my chest, I know I've shouldn't have been, anything can happen on a plane and I'm not going to hide the fact that I was worried about her.

"How was the flight?" I ask as I pull her in for a quick hug, mouthing a thank you to Roman, Dawson, and Atwater, who simply nod back at me and dismiss themselves. They'll be around constantly, around the building in their black SUVs. It all started during the campaign when Mom became a real contender and I've been fighting the losing battle since then. But I happen to actually like these three.

"It was good," She answers as she lets herself out of my arms, "I slept the entire time,"

"Good, I'm glad. You needed the rest," I say.

"Who's this?" She asks as she notices Adam standing behind me.

"Adam Ruzek," He says as he holds out his hands to shake hers. "And Jay's best friend,"

"Chief of Staff's son?" She questions as she shakes his hand, a polite smile on her face.

"Ah a smart girl," He tells her, almost making me want to smack him in the fact.

"Just read the news," She tells him with a smirk, "Erin Lindsay,"

"Nice too meet you," He says, looking into her eyes and then over at me, raising his eyebrows in a move that I know she caught.

"You as well," She responds politely as she smiles up at him.

"Well he was just on his way out," I interrupt as I push him out the door. "Bye Adam,"

"Bye Jay," He says with a stupid smirk all over his face as I close the door behind him.

"Sorry about that, I lost track of time," I tell her.

"Don't apologize, he's your friend." She tells me as she wraps her arms around my neck, dropping the bag resting on her shoulders. "But I am really glad that he's gone,"

"What do you have planned for me Erin Lindsay?" I say as I glance down at her seductively.

"Well nothing right now," She says as she drops her arms, teasing me. "I just got off a five hour flight and I feel gross, all I want is to take a shower and wash off the seventeen layers of plane scum,"

"Got it," I say with a smile, grabbing her bag. "C'mon upstairs, you can shower and I'll make some dinner,"

"There's a second floor?" She asks.

"Yeah," I say as I nod towards the staircase against the wall.

"Oh okay," She says, toying with the idea in her head.

"What have you never seen a two story apartment?" I joke with her.

"I can't say I have," She tells me as she leads the way up the staircase.

"Well, I'll be glad to introduce you to the idea of apartment stairs," I say as our feet march up the hardwood stairs in rhythm.

"Your place is beautiful by the way,"

"Thanks, though I can't take credit for it, It was like this when I moved in," I assure her, "I have close to no sense of style,"

"I'm sure you've got something at least,"

"Eh," I respond halfheartedly as we reach the second floor. "Anyway, I've got towels set out in the guest bedroom and I don't have much in the sense of girl shower products, but there is shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the bathroom."

"Oh," I hear her say and I know exactly what she's thinking and I instantly notice my mistake. She's thinking about which ex-girlfriend they belonged to. She won't say anything, but I have sisters, I know.

"They're my sister Nora's," I say, quickly correcting my mistake. "She likes to stay here with me when she comes home from college,"

"Gotcha," She says, that smile returning to her face.

"It's just down here," I say, opening the door to the guest room, looking spotless. This room hardly ever gets used so it wouldn't have any reason to be messy anyways. "You can start unpacking in here if you'd like," I thought long and hard about this and as much as I'd like to invite her to stay in my room, we've only been together for a couple of weeks, not even having a real date and I don't really know where we stand so I don't want to push it.

"Okay," She says. "I'll meet you back downstairs in twenty minutes,"

"Wow twenty minutes,"

"What?"

"It's just, I've never dated a girl who can get ready that fast,"

"Well that is a stereotype and what am I really doing to get ready? I'm jumping in the shower, throwing my wet hair in a bun and throwing on some clothes," She says, only proving my first impression further. She's a breath of fresh air, a 180 from any other girl I've dated. They wouldn't have been caught dead the in what Erin was wearing when she showed up at my door, with no makeup on to boot. But that's what has kept me drawn to her. She's different.

"Alright," I say with a smile as I slowly back out of the room, "Carry on,"

"See you soon Halstead," She says with a smile before closing the door slowly in my face.


"And he cooks too," I say with a laugh as I descend down the stairs, my wet hair thrown up in a bun and donning my favorite pajamas, old, but very soft cotton shorts with tiny little pineapples printed on them and a simple white t shirt.

"You weren't lying about the twenty minutes thing," He says from behind a stove, stirring a pan of something that smells delicious.

"When there's a little brother or a couple of roommates banging down the door, you get quick," I say as I sit down at the island across from him. "What are you making?"

"Chicken stir fry," He tells me, "I remember you mentioning that you liked Chinese,"

"You're a good listener," I tell him with a smile as I pluck one of the snap peas from the pan.

"So I've been told," He says as he continues to cook as a rice cooker beeps in the background.

"So," I begin as he scoops the rice out of the machine, "can you give me a preview on what it's going to look like with Abby tomorrow?" He sighs and runs his hand through his hair, which is never a good sign.

"She's the oldest, so she's been in this world the longest and she's always been there to protect us, all of us," He tells me softly. I can tell he's holding back, he has been this entire time.

"Just give it to me straight Jay," I insist. " I need to know what I'm in for," My nerves only heighten when he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"She's used to people trying to get close to us for their own personal gain. So she's going to be tough, she will strip you down and make sure that you are who you say you are. She doesn't want me to get hurt,"

"Jesus Jay I thought you said she's like me," I exclaim, suddenly second guessing my agreement to come here. It's too soon, it's way too soon to do this.

"She will, she will," He assures me, abandoning his project and running over to me as my gaze sinks down to my interlocked fingers. "It's just, it'll take a minute,"

"And she's going to drag me through hell first?" I say as I look up at him.

"Not exactly," He says, trying to slow it down as I jump out of the chair.

"I shouldn't' have come here, I had a feeling and I ignored it," I say frantically as I pace around the kitchen.

"Erin," He says slowly as he follows me.

"This is your world and I obviously don't belong in it," I continue to ramble.

"Erin!" He says again, louder this time.

"What?" I exclaim as I turn around to face him, but I'm only met with his lips.

"Calm down," He says as he pulls away from me, one hand still holding the back of my head. "It's all going to be okay,"

"Are you sure?" I ask again, his previous answers doing little to calm my nerves.

"I'm positive,"


As I lay in bed, I can't feel anything other than panic. We talked yesterday and I thought I had worked all of my issues out about this whole thing, but now that I'm alone, all bets are off. I have no idea how late it is, I haven't bothered to look at the clock.

It feels wrong, being here and being alone. I should be with him, that's why I'm here. I toy with the idea in my head, going back and forth before taking the leap and jumping out of bed, tentatively making my way out the door and down the hall to his bedroom, wincing as his door creaks.

"Hey," He says as he looks over at me, one eye open in his sleepy haze, moonlight streaming through the floor to ceiling windows. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that," I say as I stand in the doorway, legs crossed with a sheepish smile on my face.

"C'mere," He says, reading my mind as he flips back the blankets and invites me next to him. I carefully pad across his hardwood floors, collapsing into the mattress and rolling into his side, feeling more than safe in his arms.

"Jay was this a mistake?" I ask, my back turned to him as I stare off through the windows and down to the dark river.

"I don't think so," He responds after a deep sigh. "But if you want to go home and forget that this ever happened, we can do that too,"

"I don't want to just forget you," I say, feeling his chest rise and fall against my back. "And I don't want to leave, but I don't know if I can stay. I don't know if I can do this,"

"But you said you're willing to try, right?" He says, a certain desperation in his voice.

"I think so," I say.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if tomorrow goes badly, I don't know if I'll be able to hold on,"

"It won't go badly, it's going to be fine," He assures me for the upteenth time as if he won't accept any other outcome.

"Okay," I say, before shutting my mouth. Neither of us say much more before we drift off to sleep, in each other's arms, but still a million miles apart.


Hope you guys all enjoyed chapter 8! Also, if there's anything specific you guys want to see in this story, let me know in a review and I will try my best!

Please review!

xoxo,

Addie