BreeTico – I'm so impatient; I hate waiting for anything. In the case that I finish an update before at least three days have passed, I hate waiting to update it. Lol (:

Complete Chocoholic – Oh, good. Lol (; Interestingly enough, I sort of hate clothes shopping, but I like to imagine things that my characters wear. I even went through a brief stint a few years ago where I tried to design dresses. Haha!

Guest – Me too! This is one of my newest stories, if not the newest, and it's the one farthest along. I just love Derek and Emily way too much. (:

The Significance Series belongs to Shelly Crane.

21: A Step Forward

"Where are we?" I asked, peering out of the window. I'd lived in Chicago my entire life, but there were pieces of it that were still unknown to me. Places like this, really, were the ones that I never knew. It was one of those little clubs, the kind that had a huge stage for live bands and a long bar. I'd never even been to one of these before. It was kind of pointless, since I didn't have my hearing when I was able to come to one of these things.

"It's where we're playing tomorrow." Derek said, leaning forward to glance out of my window. He'd had to pull the car up to the curb and park parallel. Even if I had my driver's license, I didn't think that I would be able to do that. "Tonight it's another band. I went to high school with them." He continued. "I figured that you'd want to listen to music."

"It's awesome," I said a little breathlessly. I was actually really ecstatic, like I'd just learned that one of my favorite books was being turned into a movie or something. The thought of being like all of those other couples who came here to enjoy music was nearly overwhelming, for some strange reason. I actually had tears of joy in my eyes as Derek opened his car door. Too dazed to bother opening mine, he came around the front and yanked on the handle. I still just sat there.

"Come on, sweetheart," Derek said, holding out a hand. I took it and maneuvered my feet onto the sidewalk. I could walk in heels to an extent. Madison's weren't very tall, but they were sort of tight and, due to the fact that they went up my ankle, they made me feel a little rigid and stiff. Derek smirked and barely held back a chuckle as I grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled myself up. The moment I thought I had my feet underneath me, he gave me a quick yank, pulling me forward so that I collided with him.

"Look at me, being all clumsy," I said sarcastically, pressing my palm over his chest, right where my name was permanently tattooed onto her skin. Derek slipped his arms around my waist underneath my jacket. The sleeves of his were cold against the fabric of my dress, and I was suddenly aware of how chilly it was. It was only mid-September, but I was known for being cold almost all the time.

"What can I say? You just throw yourself at me all the time," he replied, his smile broad and sarcastic.

"Watch it," I said as Derek's fingers dug into my sides, holding me close. "We don't have a doghouse yet, but if I need to I can go to the store and get one. You can sleep in it tonight." I told him.

Derek just laughed and leaned forward to press his lips to mine. I could tell that he had something going on in the deepest corners of his mind, something that he didn't really want me to know just yet. He had no intentions of keeping it secret from me indefinitely, just for now. Usually, I figured that I would be pouncing on him for not telling me something at all, but I trusted him with more than my life. I'd give him everything without blinking.

Derek broke away first, giving me his easy smile. He took a hold of my hand and pulled me forward onto the sidewalk, closing the door behind me. He kept his arm around my waist as he locked the doors and led me into the building. For those fifteen feet of walking, I found myself reveling in the fact that he was holding me so close to his side. It was a physical announcement – that I was his, and he was mine.

We stepped up to the front door. "Hey, man," the bouncer said, clapping Derek's free hand. His eyes turned me to me and he added, "Who's this?"

"My girlfriend, Emily," Derek said proudly. It made me smile. "Sweetheart, this is Craig. He's an old friend of mine. He graduated two years before me."

"Nice to meet you," Craig said. My eyes ran over his broad chest, accentuated by the tight black T-shirt. Derek noticed me looking; his arm tightened around me and he leaned forward to press a kiss to my temple. I gave him a short mental scolding, and he just grinned in return. "I'm going to need to see an ID," Craig said.

I blinked, looking up at him. I was over eighteen but under twenty-one, so it wasn't like I wasn't allowed to be here. But I didn't have a single photo ID. I didn't have a driver's license, and there was never really a need for me to get anything. I had a passport up in the closet at my mother's house, but that was the only thing that was government-issued.

Derek, reading my thoughts, said, "She's nineteen, Craig. I swear to it."

Craig paused. He looked like he wanted to believe Derek, but he didn't want to get into any trouble with his boss if it turned out that I was under eighteen. Before I could even think about what I was really doing, I reached out and put my hand on his arm. He flinched away from my icy fingers, but his eyes met mine and I said, in the calmest voice that I could imagine, "It's okay, Craig. I'm nineteen. You believe us, don't you?" I let go of his arm and waited, feeling like there was something swelling inside my chest.

"Yeah," he said after a moment. "Yeah, I believe you. Here, give me your hand." I held it out and he produced a thick marker from his back pocket. He drew a giant X on the back of my hand and then nodded to Derek. Before there could even be a chance that Craig would realize that he never saw my ID, Derek pulled me into the joint.

As we got farther away from the front door, the more of what I had done had come crashing down on me. When I learned what my ability was, I was worried that people were going to fear getting too close to me because they didn't want to be compelled. I'd made a vow with myself not to use it unless I really needed to. But I'd just used it voluntarily on someone who wasn't even an Ace. Guilt pressed inside my chest and I bit my lip as Derek led me to a table. It was set high up, and there were already people gathered around it, drinks sitting on napkins. The only girl sitting at the table turned around, and despite the dim light, I recognized her instantly. Tory.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "I didn't think you'd come." She swiveled around in her chair, knocking Johnny in the back. He turned around and pinched her ear. She swatted him away, and I couldn't help but giggle at it. The two of them were perfect for each other – if they were Aces, I would assume that they were soul mates. Maybe soul mates existed outside of just Aces; it just didn't mean the same things. They couldn't talk to each other in their minds, and they didn't gain new abilities upon their ascension. But maybe… maybe they still existed. "Ooh, girlfriend," she cooed in my general direction. "You look hot. That new?"

"Um," I said, looking down at my dress, slightly uncomfortable shoes, and leather jacket, "yeah."

"I wish we were the same size. I'd steal that from you in a heartbeat. But you're too skinny," she said, shrugging like it didn't really bother her all that much. I wanted to say that I doubted that she was much larger than me, if any at all. Johnny said something to her and she turned around to answer.

She had distracted me, momentarily, from what I'd done to Craig outside. If any of them knew how I'd gotten in proof on an ID, they probably wouldn't be sitting there with me. You're not a monster, Emily. The words were soft, but I could still feel the weight of a scolding hidden underneath it all.

I shouldn't have done that. I said back.

It's your ability, sweetheart. There's nothing wrong with using your ability.

Just because it's my ability doesn't mean that I need to use it on unsuspecting people for my own gain. Do you remember what you told me about the Visionary? That story about how the Watsons and other families were using their abilities just so they could be of a higher status, or get away with things? I just did that, Derek. I did exactly what made the imprints disappear in the first place.

It's nothing like that, Derek insisted. He actually sounded like he was getting a little annoyed at me. The moment I thought that, I heard, I'm not annoyed with you, I'm annoyed that you can't see it. You're nothing like the Watsons. You didn't compel him to give you money or let you get by without an X. You just sped up along the process – I could see it, he was going to believe us anyway.

That doesn't make it right.

Derek reached out and took a hold of my arm almost sharply. It didn't hurt, but the movement was so unexpected that I gasped. Knowing that he wasn't hurting me, he didn't let go. Tory, though, heard my gasp and turned to look. I could see her eyes narrow in on the fact that Derek was grasping onto my wrist. To her, it might have looked rough. But he wasn't – his fingers just completely encased my arm, and he was pulling me close so he could whisper in my ear.

"You're nothing like the Watsons," he said quietly, his lips brushing against my ear in a way that made my spine shiver. Out of the corner of my eye, I could still see Tory watching us carefully. It almost looked like she was glaring at Derek instead of me. "You didn't do anything wrong in the least. You are the most beautiful, the sweetest, kindest girl that ever lived. There's not an evil bone inside you." I couldn't help but smile. And it was genuine, despite the fact that I was struggling to keep tears from pooling in my eyes. I saw Tory look appeased that we weren't fighting and turn back around.

"I'll never do it again," I said.

"I wouldn't make that promise. It'll come in handy one day." He said quietly. He released my wrist, his fingers moving to tilt my chin up. His lips brushed against mine, just barely, as he spoke.

"You're such a jerk, Derek Stanton." I whispered. He didn't answer me; instead he just kissed me, his lips moving against mine. I realized that I was pressing up against him, and his hands were resting on my hips. I knew, deep down inside, that I would be embarrassed if anyone saw us together like this. But it seemed like everyone had, so in the end maybe it didn't matter all that much. Besides, it was dark, and there probably wouldn't be anyone that I knew here.

"Hey lovebirds!" Johnny called, breaking us apart. "The opening act is finished. Are you two going to pay attention or continue sucking face?" Tory nudged him hard in the ribs with her elbow. She rolled her eyes, but she was giving me a smile. I had to admit, though, that there was a little bit of a shadowed look to her eyes, like she wasn't sure if she liked what she saw earlier. She didn't have the entire story, though, and I doubted that she would confront Derek about grabbing my wrist. But then again, she might. I wasn't exactly good friends with her, after all.

"Come on, man. Let me get you a drink," Tank offered. Hanging on his arm was a girl who looked to be about my age, maybe a little older. Her eyes were smothered in dark makeup, and her lipstick was far too bright for her skin complexion. She seemed to think that she looked good, though, and Tank didn't seem to mind. I wondered if she was one of his conquests. Or maybe she was a groupie.

"Nah, dude," Derek replied, leaning forward to nuzzle my ear. I could feel the blush starting up my cheeks, but he didn't seem to mind it at all. In fact, I would say that Derek enjoyed getting caught by other people. He liked for everyone to know that I was his. I didn't exactly have a problem with it; I just hated to be interrupted later on. "I don't drink, remember?"

"What about you?" Tank asked me, giving me a smile that I'm sure was supposed to resemble some sort of flirt to it.

"I'm underage, Tank." I replied, holding up my left hand. The black X that Craig had marked there was bold against my pale skin. "I wouldn't want to get you into trouble or anything," I teased. The girl I'd never met sidled a little closer to Tank, as if she thought that I might try to steal him away, despite the fact that she'd already seen me kissing Derek.

"Party poopers, the two of you!" He exclaimed. I had the feeling that we were a little late to his party; he'd probably already had a little too much to drink. He and the girl left the table momentarily, shuffling back up to the bar. All of us watched them go, and then collectively turned around and faced to the stage.

It was lit up with a few lights, so it kind of looked a little dark. A shiny set of drums was in the very back, a tall microphone in the front. As we watched, a band dressed in black and leather stepped out onto the stage. The lead singer had his hair sticking up all over the place, and it was dyed bleach blonde. The others had darker hair, both hanging long or cut short and gelled into a Mohawk.

"These are the guys you went to school with?" I whispered.

Derek wrapped his arms around my middle, my back pressed to his chest. He rested his chin on my shoulder. "They went a little crazy after we graduated and realized that they weren't subject to clothing rules anymore."

I laughed and leaned a little farther back. The set lasted for an hour and a half. Tank and his girl for the night, assuming that was what she was, sat at the table and pounded down drinks. About halfway through, PJ showed up in a uniform for the sports store down at the mall. That same time, Tory and Johnny started making out. Derek and I just swayed back and forth to the beat of the music.

For a first date, I didn't mind the fact that it wasn't just the two of us. In fact, it felt a little more personal that we were with his friends. They were people that had been a part of his life for a lot longer than I had, and the fact that he wanted me to hang out with them and be a part of their group meant a lot to me. Besides, the two of us were together, alone, a lot of the time.

In the end, I decided that this was one of the best official first dates that I'd ever been on. And there was something exhilarating about knowing that it was going to be my last.

# # #

I dropped onto the bed with a heavy sigh and leaned forward to undo the straps going up my ankles. Kicking the shoes off, I fell back and closed my eyes. I was tired, since we'd stayed out late watching the band and afterward had gone to a fast food restaurant to get food with the others. The moment Tory found out that the reason I was so dressed up while the others were wearing jeans was because we were on a date, she teased Derek endlessly about not taking me to a fancy restaurant.

Derek stepped out of his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing my name on his chest and the dragon crawling across his back. He tossed the shirt into the dirty clothes hamper. Our jackets hung right next to each other on hooks that were on the back of the door. I liked the look of them hanging together like that.

Derek loped over to me, stopping when his jeans brushed my knees. He leaned forward and put his hands on top of mine, our fingers threading together almost to their own accord. "I have something that I want to ask you." He said. At first, I thought that it wasn't much, but by the hesitation I felt in his mind, I couldn't be for sure. I peeked at him, and he looked like he was really chewing on something important.

I pulled on his hands and used him to pull myself up. "What is it?" I asked. I couldn't help but feel a spot of panic growing in my chest. He was almost never nervous around me. The only other time I'd ever seen him hesitate was when he wanted to kiss me when we first imprinted.

Derek dropped into a crouch in front of me, cupping my face with his hands. His thumb smoothed over my cheek in a constant calming motion. "It's nothing like that, sweetheart," he said. "I forget about the fact that you tend to overreact."

"You scared me," I accused, deciding to ignore the "overreact" statement. I did not overreact. "You had something on your mind earlier, and now you're acting all strange… what was I supposed to expect?" I asked in my defense. He was acting weird, and it was putting me on edge.

"I know," he said with a sigh. He looked away for a moment, and I waited. Finally, his hazel-green eyes returned to mine and he admitted in a low voice, "I'm just nervous, that's all."

"About what?" I asked. I could feel my eyebrows pulling together. He reached up and smoothed a thumb in between them, and I got a quick mental thought about protecting me from wrinkles. If I didn't feel like this was so serious, I probably would have laughed. "You know you can tell me anything," I told him, softening my voice. Seriously, there was something that was bothering him. A lot.

"I want to ask you something."

"So ask me." I replied.

Derek's eyes searched mine for a long time, hazel meeting gray. I waited impatiently, trying not to wiggle around in my seat or say something. I knew that he would tell me – there was no backing out of this now – but he would tell me on his own time. He had seemed to want to tell me, or ask me, right then. But then he hesitated again. My heart sped up a little bit. Derek rubbed his knuckles over his chest, right along my name tattooed into his skin. "Emily," he said quietly, "I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone or anything." He paused, and I began to nervously gnaw on my bottom lip. What was he getting at? Was he going to tell me that he changed his mind, that he didn't want me? Or was he going to tell me this was a big mistake? Situations blurred in my mind; all of them bad, all of them embarrassing.

"What is it?" I forced out. My voice sounded strangled, I was so scared.

"We promised each other that we were going to take things slow, remember?" He asked. I gave a slow, exaggerated nod. Where was he getting at? "But I'm tired of waiting, Emily. I really am. I want you to be mine, completely and totally. I want you to be Emily Stanton." Right then, an idea hit me. This was what he'd been getting at? But I was nineteen! My eyes immediately flooded with unshed tears. "Emily, baby, would you marry me?"

I sat there, stunned. In the heat of the moment, I hadn't noticed that Derek had shifted to the point where one knee was on the ground in the classical proposal stance. I opened my mouth to say something – my mind was screaming yes, yes, say yes! – but I don't think he heard. Because I began to cry. Tears ran down my cheeks, smearing my makeup and dripping down onto the skirt of my dress.

Derek seemed shocked for half a moment, and then he moved forward as if he was going to wrap his arms around me. I quickly put a palm against his bare chest, aware of the fact that his skin was searing my palm. Maybe I was just going insane. He looked at me with hurt in his eyes. He didn't want me to cry, and he hated the fact that the words he said had made me cry. I could tell, just by looking at him, that he thought I was offended and he wished that he could take it all back.

I was nineteen. I wasn't the youngest girl in America to get engaged, but there were plenty of years in the future for me. And then there was my mom. What would she think? And my dad. And all of Derek's friends. And Xavier. Oh, God. But then I remembered, looking at him, that I'd known I would marry him in the long run. I'd known that he was it for me. I'd even said at some point when I was getting ready that if he asked me to marry him I wouldn't hesitate.

But now I was. And for what?

I sniffled loudly. I opened my mouth, trying to find my voice, but it was lost somewhere, stuck in my throat. I coughed and started wildly nodding. Derek just stared at me, as if he wasn't sure I was answering him. I took a hold of the back of his neck and brought his lips to mine.

The moment our lips touched, fire erupted inside me. I was engaged. I'd just said that I would marry him. He proposed. Like normal, non-Ace guys do! Except without the ring, of course. I'd already learned about Ace weddings in a crash course from Madison. But he proposed.

Derek moved to sit on the bed next to me, never breaking the kiss. It was just like always, but I could feel something more… I was engaged, after all. Did that change things? Almost as if I was testing something, I pushed my mind closer to his. Instead of carefully keeping a safe distance away, Derek's mind met me full force, breaking free of him like the floodgates had busted open.

Almost immediately, our minds began to meld. I felt like there were two different things going on – on one plane, Derek was kissing me softly, almost as if he was barely giving me a peck. On the other, it was like I'd stepped on a live wire. I could feel his hand – his actual hand, pulling my carefully curled hair from the pins his mother and sister had worked so hard to keep in place. His fingers tangled in my coal black curls, pulling me closer to him.

Our minds continued to press together until I felt like we were just one. It felt like our minds were nearly completely melded together. A ghostly hand pressed against my cheek, another one running a finger over my collarbone. I remembered this – this was where Derek had pulled back before, in the kitchen at PJ and Johnny's. But he didn't stop and neither did I as our physical bodies seemed to be frozen and our minds continued to move.

I wasn't sure how long it had been, but then I felt it – the zing inside of me. It was almost like I'd stuck my finger in a light socket or had been stung by a horde of bees, but it was pleasant. I felt it all the way from my head to my toes, shaking my entire world. All there was was Derek. He was my everything – every thought that crossed my mind, every memory that unburied itself, everything that he was flooded into me. That little locked box in the very back of his mind opened, and his deepest characteristics burst out. It was like his own Pandora's box. I could feel the same happening to me. Everything that I was was shared with him, radiating from me and into his mind.

Eventually, I snapped back into myself. I was still kissing Derek, and he had one hand tangled in my hair still, the other resting on my side. We hadn't even moved. Well… not much, anyway. I pulled away from him just barely. His eyes met mine, and they were glowing with warmth. "Emily," he breathed.

I couldn't even hope the smile that crept across my face. This was what we'd been holding out on? It was one of the most amazing things I'd ever felt – pure love. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but instead I hissed and immediately went to grip my wrist. It burned with a searing pain that felt like something being etched into my skin with fire.

Derek lunged forward and grabbed a hold of my arm as the pain began to fade, bringing it out for both of us to really look at. Tattooed on my wrist was half of a three-point flame. Curving around the outside was Derek's name, printed in an easy cursive. On the open side of the flame, there was a tiny eight. When I turned my wrist sideways, it looked like an infinity sign. I just stared at it blankly. I was pretty sure that Derek had told me that at some point, I might get a flame tattoo like his. But I hadn't expected it to be in this way, and I hadn't expected it to just magically show up on my skin.

Derek let out a heavy breath and brought his own arm next to mine. I could tell that his hand was shaking. He was excited and nervous at the same time, just like I was. Pressing the warm skin of his arm against mine, I blinked once, and it was like our tattoos were on in the same – two infinity signs (I didn't like to think of them as eights) nestled against each other in the perfect center of a three-pronged flame. Our names wavered along the outsides.

Tears flooded my eyes. Every worry I'd ever had seemed to evaporate with him at my side. I had his name on me, forever. He had my name twice. I was engaged to the love of my life, my soul mate. I didn't know if it could get much better than that.

I looked up at him. "I love you."

Yay or nay? Slightly strange to write, I might say. I'm not really sure why; maybe I'll find that out later.

Pardon any spelling/grammar mistakes please. I uploaded without editing because I wanted to get it out to you readers.

Thanks for reading; leave me a review please, I beg of you! (;

Peace (: