A/N : This was one of my favorite chapters to write. Just sayin.

Chapter 18

I felt the impact as I fell sideways into the grass. It was a relatively soft landing though. The ground wasn't as solid as it was at my cabin. I closed my eyes as I fell, an instict to protect them, something about me still human. Jack's weight pressed into my side, and I found it to be a little difficult to get up. His white haired head popped up from being buried into my side, and he had a grin on his face.

"What on earth happened to your clothes?"

"Camoflage. How'd you find me this time?"

He lifted himself off of me, and cautiously offered his hand, wary of what happened last time. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I just got lucky."

I grabbed hold of his hand, and he tugged me up from the grass. We both turned to face Bunny when we heard thumping getting closer to us. Sure enough, he appeared out of the grass.

"Well, love. Looks like we've won yet again..."

He raised his eyebrows at my stained clothes. Green grass stains covered them, and a tinge of dirt dusted the edges of the lace.

"Although it looks like you've adapted quite well."

I smiled at him sheepishly.

Bunny looked up towards the sky. Time had flown by. There were hues of pink and orange in the clouds above us. The sun was on its last leg. Bunny motioned for us to follow him back up the hill.

Once we were back by the portal, I changed into a new dress, one I wore to a dance in highschool that was originally bright blue, now white.

"It was fun, love. Maybe we can do it again sometime."

I leaned in and hugged Bunny goodbye, and thanked him for all the help he gave me, well aware of Jack waiting impatiently over by the portal. With a wave, I vanished with Jack into the swirling colors, not sure where we were going next.

When the swirling stopped, I blinked hard, still not used to portal travel and it's dizzying effect. It was dark out, and I could make out distant shapes in the black around us. I couldn't see Jack, but I felt him next to me. An old fear of the dark came crawling back to me. I searched for Jack's hand in the dark, feeling like a small child. I found it and took hold, instantly feeling the cold radiate onto my skin.

"Where are we?"

"You'll see. Come on."

I could feel him gently tugging me forward through the black, and over the soft ground. There was grass between my toes, and damp earth under my feet. It smelled wonderful out here, wherever here was. It smelled like fresh rain. I looked up to the sky, and noticed the tiny sliver of the moon. It reminded me of a fingernail, or a smile, without eyes or a nose. We kept moving forward. It felt like summer in the air. A summer night. There were crickets and cicadas in the distance. I even heard the strange croak of a frog nearby. It was all foreign to me. I had lived in a place that had a record high of 54 degrees in the summer. The more we walked, the more humid the air seemed to get. It felt odd, but there was something about it that I liked.

We finally stopped when I heard water sliding along in front of us. I peered into the darkness, trying to see how much water there actually was. Under the faint light of the crescent, I saw a wide river in front of us. I curled my toes in the cool sand, realizing that we were on the bank of a giant river. I turned my face towards Jack's. he told me the river's name.

"The Mississippi, _. "

"It's beautiful."

I tilted my head back to see the band of stars above us. There was no artificial light around us for miles. We were in the middle of nowhere. I took a couple steps towards the river, pulling Jack behind me. I was startled at what he said next.

"Not as beautiful as you."

I turned around to see him in the dark, and we searched eachother's faces. Did he really just say that? I flashed back to the kiss, that harmless kiss. Or so I had thought. What did it mean to him? Obviously more than what I had intended. I could feel my face blush. I thanked the heavens for the mask of night.

"You're blushing aren't you?"

My eyes widened. Best not to lie.

"Ya. I am."

The cool water started to lap at my feet, sliding up to my ankles. I still held his hand in mine, wanting to let go, but refusing to because of my fear of being alone in the dark. I heard the sand shift as he came a bit closer to me, trying to see me in the dark. My heart did overtime. What did he think he was doing?

The silence between us was broken when his light laugh rang out.

"What's so funny?"

His eyes shone out from his face at me in the darkness. I could barely make out the curve of his lopsided grin. Then he spoke.

"_, remember earlier today, at Bunny's place? When I found you, even when you covered yourself in grass and dirt? Even when you hid your scent from Bunny?"

I nodded, recalling the tackle. My heart fluttered again. Jack laughed lightly again.

"I didn't just get lucky,_. I can hear your heartbeat."

He looked at me with earnest eyes. So that's why he was laughing. He could hear my heartbeat pick up.

"But, how did you know I blushed?"

His eyes gleamed again at me. Stupid heart. A grin appeared on his face.

"That time, I really did get lucky."