No one paid me any attention as I ran through the big room, I didn't stop to say hello to Trudy or talk to Lucina, Freedom and Isaiah chasing after me until their mother yelled for them to stop. I skidded to a fast walk when I got to the third hallway from the left. Counting the make shift doors until I got to the green screen. I could hear them talking quietly. It seemed like such a private moment, I was almost unsure of whether I should say anything tonight.

This could wait, there was plenty of time for us. I could pull Mel aside tomorrow and talk to her. I imagined going back to mine and Ian's room tonight, without any knowledge from Melanie, I would walk in where Ian would be waiting for me, leaning back on his elbows, his sapphire eyes burning at the sight of me. "Melanie?" I barely whispered. My voice quiet and too whispy for anyone to hear. I cleared my throat. "Mel?" I said more audibly.

"Wanda?" I heard rustling of clothes and whispers, finally Melanie opened the door, pulling one of Jared's flannel shirts over her tank top. My cheeks flushed. "What's going on?" She asked pulling the screen behind her as she stepped in the hallway. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine." I said, my face burning with embarrassment. I did interrupt them. "I'm so sorry. I should have just waited until tomorrow. It's just.. I.." The words would not come out. I could not ask the questions I needed the answers to. I looked back up at her hoping she would just know.

She searched my small face for the reason, and when I felt my eyes well up and my face now on fire, I saw the recognition in her eyes. Of course she would know. "Oh Wanda," she smiled, throwing and arm around my shoulders leading me out of earshot from Jared. "Come on, out with it. If you can't even say it, you probably won't be able to do it." She teased.

I sighed letting my shoulders shrug. "How?" I whispered, afraid to speak any louder.

She leaned up against a protruding rock, pulling herself up and holding out her hand for me to join. "Well," she stared as she helped me climb the rock. We sat side-by-side, practically joined at the hip. "It's like riding a bike, without ever being taught." I must have looked confused because she elaborated. "I think," she said, her voice just as loud as mine was, barely above a whisper, "everyone knows how, it's just a natural thing. Your body just kind of takes over. It's natural." She repeated.

"But," I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, "I'm not natural."

Mel put her arm around me, pulling me into her side. Being so small, I fit better than Jamie did now. She opened her mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it. She just smiled pulling me closer to lay a kiss on my forehead. "Ian loves you," she whispered in my ear, "if you're not ready, he'll understand."

If it were possible my shoulders slumped even more. "But I am ready."

Mel pursed her lips nodding. "Well then go get him." She was calling my bluff.

I looked down the hall at the red door, then back at her, panic written all over my face.

Mel chuckled pushing her self off the rock. She shook her head smiling. "Go to bed Wanda, I'm sorry but I can't.." she sighed, looking at the purple rock beneath us, kicking around some dirt, "It's okay if you're not ready, there's no shame," she locked eyes with me, hazel to silver. "Ian loves you, he would be happy to wait forever."

"But," I paused jumping down from the rock, wringing my hands together as I stood, "when?"

"Oh you'll know." She laughed, pushing the green screen and making her way back to her room, "Trust me on that." The screen closed but I could still hear her distant chuckle.

I leaned against the protruding rock and chewed on my bottom lip. How could I be so sure and so conflicted at the same time. These hormones wracking this body would not give up. I could feel them coursing through every cell. Every inch of me knew what I wanted, but I just could not get over the panic I felt when I thought about it actually happening. My stomach fluttered when I heard that unmistakable voice. "Wanda?" Ian was down the hall by our door, he had finally caught up. "Are you coming?"

I nodded slowly, the panic had been replaced by what could only be described as anticipation. I knew what I wanted. I wanted Ian. He hadn't moved from his spot in front of the door, waiting for me to move first. I smiled at him, walking ever so slowly, making sure he was paying attention to every movement. I had no idea what I was doing. But it felt right somehow.

I put my open palm flat on his chest, over his heart. I could feel the rapid beating and knew then that he was just as scared as I was. Or maybe it was excitement. I looked up into his brilliant eyes and turned to walk into the dark room. Standing in the middle facing away from the door. I tried to catch my breath, I could feel the lava in the pit of my stomach starting to boil.

I heard the door scratch against the hard ground as Ian replaced the door. His footsteps walk up behind me. My breath hitched in my throat when one of his hands laid on my hip, right beneath where my t-shirt stopped, his left hand mimicking his right. I felt his breath on my neck mere seconds before his lips replaced it, leaving feather light kisses, a trail, to my ear. "Wanderer." He breathed. My skin was on fire.

I turned my head to meet his, our lips finding each other automatically like magnets in the dark. His fingers stretched and pulled at me almost unconsciously, my back flush to his front. I turned in his hold our lips never breaking, his strong arms wrapped around my back, one hand reaching up to tangle in my long hair.

I felt the mattress against my back before I knew we had even moved from the middle of the room. Our heavy breathing echoing off the walls. My hands had a mind of their own, sliding under his shirt to feel his skin on my bare hands. I pulled his shirt over his head, our mouths falling apart for the briefest of moments. I wrapped my arms around his back, leaving red trails down his back as he found the hallow of my neck, the kisses he left there leaving me gasping for air. Ian pulled away, almost immediately after an involuntary groan left my unattended lips.

He panted above me looking down, my shirt was bunched up right under my small breasts. He looked up at my face and sighed, smirking. What had I done wrong?

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. I tried to straighten out my shirt without him noticing, I felt suddenly very exposed. "I'm so sorry," Ian rolled onto his side, taking me with him so that I was facing him, he buried his face in the crook of my neck and sighed again. I could feel his lips move against my skin as he spoke. "I know you lied." His lips moved into a smile as my body stiffened. His hand drew small circles on my hip.

"What?" My voice was shaking, barely more than a whisper. I was petrified that he was going to be angry with me, that he wouldn't want to be with me. My heart was beating out of my chest.

He pulled back and chuckled a bit, pulling me closer to his chest, "It's okay, I think it's kind of funny actually." He moved so that he was laying on top of me, resting on his left arm to stay above me, his right hand tracing a line from below my ear down to my collar-bone, leaving goose bumps in its wake. "I know this body isn't 18." Even in the dark I could tell he was still smiling.

My hands flew up to my face to cover the fire that had ignited there. I was embarrassed before I even knew what the emotion was. "I'm so sorry." My voice muffled in my hands. "I just thought that if you knew you wouldn't touch me, and I remembered how much it frustrated Melanie and I didn't want to go through that, I'm so sorry!" My words came out in a rush, no pause between them. Ian pulled my hands away gently, his smile impossibly wider. "You're not mad?"

"No, not at all," He said, his had cupping my small face. "You are thousands of years old, it's just the body that's young." I must have looked confused because he elaborated. "I love you. You may be small and childlike in this body, but I know enough to tell that this body is no child," His hand moved down my ribs to the dip in my waist, leaning his face down to the spot right below my ear, leaving a kiss there. "You are no child." He nibbled the skin that he had just kissed. My body involuntarily arched towards his body, again I felt him smile against my skin.

My breath came in short gasps as he continued his assault on my neck, down and across my collar-bone, stopping briefly at the hollow there, and then back up the other side of my neck. My arms circled around him, my nails dragging red track marks down his bare back. Starting right were we left off.

"Good or bad?" He teased, his mouth moving against my skin.

I couldn't even speak as he looked down at me, my breath was coming out in pants, and my legs were jelly, I knew I had twisted them in Ian's legs, I couldn't feel them, but I certainly wasn't panicking about it. I just nodded incoherently, hooking one of my short arms around his neck and crashing his lips onto mine. There was urgency and desperation that I had never felt before, our mouths moving as one together, tongues twisting, hands moving lower and lower.

My body arched my back as I pulled away for air, Ian's hand snaked its way around my waist and pulled me into his lap so that I was straddling his waist. My legs locked together around him, his hands were at the hem of my shirt as if not sure what his next move would be. I nodded against his mouth hoping he would get my meaning.

I jumped off his lap and fell onto the mattress below when the big red door to our room hit the floor. There was a flash that ran by that could only be Kyle, "Good Night Everyone!" He yelled as he ran down the hallway, his voice echoing several times before it was completely silent. Sunny's quiet giggle following him down the hall.

Ian pulled his legs out from under himself and leaned his back against the opposite wall from me, he sighed and rubbed his face, leaving a gentle smile, "Would you be mad if I just kicked the living shit out of him?"

I gasped at the swear that Pet's ears had never heard, not necessarily the violence that Ian was suggesting.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt him." He was quiet for a moment, then started moving on his hands and knees toward me, "I'll just be patient until I can get my revenge." I could see the wheels turning in his head.

"Don't hurt him." I chastised as he gave me a kiss on the cheek, a far cry from the kisses I was getting just a moment ago. My body ached with the memory of his hands on my bare skin.

"I won't," Ian leaned to the side and plopped onto the mattress putting an arm under my head, "I'll just wait until him and Sunny are all comfy," He drew small circles on my arm unconsciously, "and then BAM!" He clapped his hands together, causing me to jump as I was between them, "I'll do the same thing and see how he likes it." He kissed me on the temple and yawned. "We should get some sleep." He yawned again.

I eyed him suspiciously. I couldn't be the only one that got all worked up, I could feel how worked up he had got. How could he just roll over and go to sleep?

"Phm." I pouted crossing my arms. I was frustrated and I did not like it.

Sometime in the night I must have fallen asleep, dawn was just peaking through the cracks in the walls. I didn't want to give away my alertness just yet, I kept my eyes close and tried using my other senses to see if he was still sleeping.

I didn't feel a weight behind me on the mattress, I couldn't hear his light snores, I peaked one eye open looking around the room before me. No not there, I rolled over and leaned up on my elbows, where did he go?

My heart started beating faster, I was starting to panic. He wouldn't leave without telling me where he was going would he? Maybe he changed his mind? Maybe my inexperience made him think otherwise about being with me? Questions came to my mind like rapid fire, every one of them a testament of these teenage hormones. I couldn't stop or control the direction of them, they came from every angle.

"Oh! Breakfast in bed!" I heard Mel coo from the hallway, "What did you do?"

Ian mumbled something, his voice to deep to understand through the closed door.

"Or should I say what didn't you do?!" Although Melanie was clear as a bell.

I buried my face in my pillow, my cheeks were burning, I was mortified. Ian yelled something, and then I heard the door moving against the rock. I tried as hard as I could to pretend I was still sleeping, rolling onto my side so my back was to him. I heard Ian place the tray on the floor and the door close before the mattress moved. "Wander." He elongated my name in a sing-song voice, as if he were waking a child.

For some irrational hormonal reason, that made me angrier. I had never been angry before. Not like this. I must learn how to control these emotions, My eyebrows knitted together, wrinkling my forehead.

"Wanda, I know your awake." I could feel him pull me closer to him, pulling me onto my back, his chest against my side. I kept my eyes closed.

"Come on baby, look at me." Ian begged. I had never heard him use that tone with me or a term of endearment like that. My eyebrows relaxed involuntarily, but I refused to open my eyes. I knew he saw the small twitch and in that he knew he one. He buried he face in the crook of my neck like he'd done the night before. "I know you're angry with me, Hell, I'm a bit angry at myself." My body stiffened and he moved his face away from my neck, I assumed he was above me. I didn't look. Was he angry he ever let it get that far? "That's not what I meant," He back pedaled, he must have felt my tension, this damn body giving me away every time. I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm angry at Kyle," He sighed, "Well, I am and I'm not."

My eyes snapped open to look at him, his eyes just read as guilty. I was so angry, but I didn't know what to say, I was so irrational and as a soul I had never argued with anyone, it just was not done. Souls don't argue, we don't get angry, we are peaceful beings. My eyebrows knitted together as I tried to categorize the emotions I was feeling all at once. Anger, confusion, sadness, and love, all felt for the same man. I thought I would explode.

I started crying almost immediately. Deep, gut wrenching sobs, that twisted my insides and leaving me heaving for air. I hadn't even noticed Ian had run out the door through my tears until he returned with Melanie. "Wanda?" Mel cupped my face gently causing me to look her in the face. "Take a deep breath." She instructed just as gently as her hands. After I did so, she motioned her other hand for me to repeat the action, and did so until my breathing was as close to normal as possible.

I stole a glance at Ian, he was chewing on his nail and watching us, anxiety written all over his face. Mel took my chin in one of her hands, turning my attention back to her, "Hey there," she whispered, "What's going on?"

I shot a quick look of panic in Ian's direction.

Melanie dropped her head, "Ian, could you please give us a minute?"

Ian dropped his hands and took a step closer to us, "You've got to be joking. She just started bawling for no reason!" His voice started to raise, "I'm not leaving her."

"Ian," Mel started in a warning tone.

"No, she's not in your head anymore Mel, you can't make her do what you want anymore!"

Mel's head raised looking me in the eye, her eyebrows raised with surprise. She turned to look at him, I chanced another glance. The resemblance he had to Kyle striking in that moment.

"Excuse me?" Mel asked, what I assumed to be rhetorically, I know for a fact she heard him.

Ian stood his ground as she stood, clearly challenging him. Even I could see that. "Please?" I whispered from my seat on the ground.

Ian was kneeling in front of me in a wink, my hands in his. "Are you sure?" I nodded. Ian bowed his head just as Melanie did, more defeated than Melanie's exasperated. "Okay," He sighed, "I'll be in the kitchen when your done." He kissed one of my hands and stood, sharing a mocking look with Mel on his way out of the room.

"Okay, now that we're alone," She wiggled her shoulders and rubbed her hands together. "What happened?"

"I think my host is defective!" The words rushed out of my mouth before I had the chance to stop them. I covered my hands with my face, I was so ashamed. How could I possibly run through these many emotions in such a short time? It must be defective. Pet must have had something wrong with her. I tried searching through the memories and fast as I could, trying to find something, anything that had mentioned any afflictions. There was nothing. Maybe it was me after all.

"What are you talking about?" Mel said incredulously as she sat crossed legged in front of me.

"This bodies emotions are out of control!" I almost shouted. Soul's were not supposed to be acting this way. "I'm angry," I took her hands in mine trying to make her understand the wrongness of what I was saying, "I'm anxious and panicky, and frustrated and sad and all that makes me more angry."

Melanie's smile was growing the more I kept talking.

"And then Ian was trying to wake me up this morning, and he was using that voice that you use for small children and it just infuriated me." I clawed at the air on either side of me, this body always betraying me. "And all the while I just wanted him to keep kissing me like he was before Kyle knocked down the door!"

Melanie was full on laughing now. I stared- no, glared at her.

"What's so funny?" I asked when Melanie hadn't stopped her laughter at my glare.

"You, Wanda." She chuckled. "How old did you say this body was?"

My shoulder's slacked, "Eighteen."

"Yeah right, how old is it?"

"It's going to be seventeen."

"That's why." She put both of her hands on either side of my face. "Honey, you're a teenager." My eyebrows knitted together. "You're still growing into your emotions, just like the body, they take some getting used to. And everyone's different. We certainly learned that with Lacey, she is just as annoying as the Seeker was."

I thought of the Seekers personality and Lacey's in comparison, there were slight differences, but they were pretty much equal on some levels. I thought of Pet's emotional memories, they went up and down, one minute she was slamming doors and pouting and other times she was sweet and compassionate, angry and giddy, depressed and elated, confused, clear, they were a metaphorical roller coaster.

I covered my face with my hands and buried them in my knees, I was ashamed for a completely different reason. "How am I going to explain this to Ian?" I practically whined.

"That is all on you," Melanie leaned back on her palms, raising her eyebrows and pursing her lips.

"Ugh," I moaned through my hands.

Thank you everyone for reviewing. I know, I know, it's been FOREVER. I actually had to reread the book to get back into this story. Please review let me know what you think, good, bad, mediocure. I tried to make it super long for all of you who had been waiting forever for this update. Hopefully the next chapter won't take that long..