They were able to go back to the house a few days later. Haytham was gone for most of the day, working on the case, and Connor and Desmond were stuck at home. They were told that they couldn't go anywhere so it would be easier for the agents to keep an eye on them.

Connor flopped down on the couch, glancing over at Desmond, who was sleeping on the other one. Connor sighed and stared at the ceiling. He blew some wayward strands of hair from his face, pulling out his phone when it vibrated with a message from Josh.

Connor stood up, walking into the kitchen and pressing the 'call' button under Josh's name.

"Kwhe!" Josh said in a sing song voice. Connor could hear the sounds of the shop in the background.

"Kwhe," Connor replied, flopping down heavily in one of the chairs.

"What's up?" Josh asked, continuing in Mohawk.

Connor sighed, wiping a hand down his face. "Everything is wrong, Kanen'tó:kon."

"What do you mean?" Josh asked. Connor could hear the frown in his voice.

"My dad took on this case prosecuting some gang members. Guess who now has targets on their backs?"

"Holy shit, what?"

"Yeah."

"Are you doing okay?"

Connor rested his forehead on the table. "I don't know. I'm just scared for everyone trying to take these guys down and I'm pissed off at the people doing this to us. I have two FBI agents sitting on the other side of the street as we speak."

He heard Josh walk out of the auto shop. "Are you sure you're doing okay? Are they targeting Ellie too?"

Connor stiffened. Josh didn't know about his screw up. "I'll be fine. I'm angry more than anything now. And no, Ellie isn't involved."

"That's a relief. So what happened that is forcing two FBI agents to watch your house?"

Connor sat up straight again. "They shot at my dad and aunt while they were working on the case a while ago. My dad's arm is in a sling now and our house got broken into three days ago."

"What?! Holy shit! Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…"

"Why don't you come back here?"

"Because they could target Ahkso or you guys. I'm not going to let that happen."

"Dude, you need some people you know on your side, not just assholes in black suits."

Connor knew that Altaïr probably didn't even own a nice black suit, but he got Josh's point.

"I know. I have my dad and another friend who's dad is in this too. We're going through this together."

"No, you need people who aren't involved."

"I don't want them to get involved, Kanen'tó:kon."

Josh sighed on his end. "I'm not saying to get them involved. But you need someone to talk to that not in on it. I'm here. And what about Ellie? She's not directly involved either. You guys can't do this alone."

Connor frowned. He was more than prepared to take this head on. "I'd rather take this alone then get people I care about involved, Kanen'tó:kon. You should know that by now."

"Yeah yeah, Mister put-everyone-before-himself. Speaking of people you care about how is Ellie? I'm ready to talk about a different subject."

Connor shook his head. He was grateful that Josh could tell when he didn't want to talk about something anymore.

But, he didn't want to talk about this new subject either. "I don't know how she is lately."

"Why not?"

"I screwed up."

"How?"

"I just told you."

"Uh uh, I'm not backing off of this one. What happened?"

Connor remained silent.

"If you don't tell me, I'll tell Katsitsoni that you're available."

Connor groaned. "Fine! I said something stupid and now she hates me."

"What did you say?"

Connor sighed and told him.

"You square! Even I knew that one!" Josh laughed.

"Shut up!"

"Wow, you might just take the cake for biggest square of the year."

"Asshole."

"Anyway, how are you fixing this?"

"I can't. She obviously hates me."

Josh made a sound of dissent. "I don't think so, man. She obviously knows you. I would have thought you were being a square before being a dick. Actually, you're pretty much incapable of being a dick to your friends."

Connor stared at the ceiling. "Yeah…but I don't know how to talk to her now. She's mad at me."

"Remember when you used to piss Katsitsoni off all the time?"

Connor frowned. "Where are you going with this?"

"You used to make her a necklace with your mom's beads as an apology, remember? It shut her up and we were all happy. Just do something like that. It shows that you care about her and your friendship."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Why not?"

Connor exhaled deeply. "I was going to tell her I liked her after that damn party…and I think she knew it. This screw up is bigger than you think."

"Wow, you're in a deep hole."

"Yeah."

"Don't know what to tell you, man."

"It's okay."

"Are you going to be okay overall? Or do I have to drag you back here?"

Connor chuckled at the thought, since Josh had never been able to successfully win a wrestling match or anything of the sort against him. "I'll be okay. Tell the kids I said hi."

"Sure will. And you call when you need to talk. Think about what I said."

Connor paused. He actually felt more relaxed and at ease after talking to his other best friend. "I will."

"Okay, stay strong man."

"You too."

He hung up, scrolling down the list of contacts to Ellie's name. Josh was right. Ellie knew him too well to think that he was just being a douchebag at the party. He needed to try something to get Ellie to talk to him again, and he had no idea on what to do. His father's voice echoed around in his head. Don't make the same mistakes I've made.

He walked back into the living room, looking over at Desmond. Grabbing a pillow from the couch, he smacked Desmond with it.

"Wah!" Desmond yelped, falling off the couch.

He sat up, glaring at Connor. "What the fu-"

"I need your help. It'll get our minds off this crappy situation, too," Connor said, tossing the pillow back in its spot.

Desmond crossed his legs, leaning back against the couch and sighing. "Okay, what is it?"

"I want to talk to Ellie again, and I need help."

"Just call her."

"No, it has to be better than that."

Desmond scratched his head. "Hell, I don't know."

Connor sat on the couch, exhaling deeply. "I need to convince her to listen to me somehow, but I have no clue."

A loud 'bang' sounded from outside, causing both boys to jump. They crept over to the window, sighing in relief when they saw that it was only the garbage truck. Leaning back against the wall, they have each other a look.

Desmond sighed, scratching his cheek. "Okay, girls like gifts. You could try that."

"But what should I give her?"

Desmond looked up in thought. "Ellie's not a material girl; give her something she'll use or appreciate."

Connor stared at the carpet, trying to think of something, anything, he could give as an apology.

The day in the Craft Shop at his old home suddenly popped up in his mind. The Disney DVD collection had seemed silly at the time. He nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and pressing his father's name.

"Connor, is everything alright?" Haytham answered, sounding worried.

"We're fine. I need you to do me a favor, though."

"And what is that?"

Connor held the Beauty and the Beast DVD in his hands, gulping heavily. He wasn't sure if he could go through with his plan anymore. Desmond tapped his foot, arching a brow. "Dude, this is the most ridiculous gift I have ever heard of. Giving a high school girl a-"

"She'll want it," Connor mumbled, taking a deep breath. He looked at Desmond. "Did you tell Altaïr that I wasn't going far?"

Desmond rolled his eyes. "As long as you stay out of their house and in plain sight, he won't get mad. Now get over there and fix this shit. Do you know how awkward it was to see you both staring at each other at school the past month?"

Connor's eyes widened in surprise and his stomach did a flip. "What?"

Desmond made a sound of annoyance. "You would stare at her when she wasn't looking and she would do the same to you. It's fu-"

"It's annoying, I get it," Connor said, cutting him off.

"I was about to say it was stupid, but you get the point," Desmond said, leaning his shoulder against the entryway frame.

Connor took a deep breath, deciding to get it over with. He yanked open the door, quickly walking out. The snow crunched under his boots as he walked over to Ellie's house. He saw Altaïr sitting in a car across the cul-de-sac. The older man waved, giving him the okay to keep going.

Connor walked up on the porch, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. He waited a few moments, holding the DVD in front of his face. The door opened and Connor peeked over the edge of the little box.

Ellie was standing in the door way, blinking at him in surprise. Connor lowered his gift more, gulping down the lump in his throat. He recited the lines he practiced in his head mentally for hours.

"I-uh-know you wanted this to be your last one, b-but I figured you would like it anyway," he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

She stared at him, still looking surprised.

Smooth. Real smooth Kenway.

He stared at the back of the DVD, trying to see something to talk about. "It has deleted scenes and everything. I think there's a new song on here, too."

They stood in an awkward silence. Connor sighed, staring at his feet. "Look, I was an idiot. I didn't know what hooking up meant and I-"

"I know. Claudia told me," she cut in, stepping out onto the porch and closing the door behind her.

Connor gulped. Uh oh. "I know you have every reason to be mad at me right now, but I want you to know that I'm really sorry," he mumbled.

Ellie took the DVD from his hands, looking down at it. "I'm sorry too," she said quietly.

Connor stared at her, jaw dropping. Why was she sorry? She shouldn't be sorry! He was the idiot here!

"Why are you sorry?" he managed to croak out.

Ellie bit her lip, looking up at him. "I know you aren't like that."

Connor couldn't make sense of it. He opened his mouth to argue, but her expression stopped him. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I was so scared that you would be mad at me for assuming the worst right away. That's why I didn't talk to you. I know you aren't like that and I was being a coward about it," she managed to get out, wiping at her eyes.

Connor felt his heart twist a little as she sniffled. He never liked seeing girls cry, especially girls he cared about.

She sniffed a little. "I'm so sorry, Connor."

Connor shook his head. "Stop it. I'm the one at fault here."

Ellie grinned sadly. "Takes two to tango, buster. We both almost ruined this relationship."

"I was too big of a square for my own good and-"

Ellie laughed a little, cutting him off. "And I jumped to conclusions," she paused, taking a deep breath and wiping at her eyes again, "Can we be okay now? I hate not talking to you."

Their gazes met and Connor felt all of the worry concerning this part of his life melt away. She was there. She was there and saying it was okay. Tears started to spill over and leave trails on her cheeks.

Connor threw all thoughts aside and wrapped his arms around her, letting her bury her face into his chest. He had almost forgotten how much shorter she was than him. He tightened his hold, hoping the action would help make her feel better. He didn't know how long they stood like that, but he honestly didn't care.

She pulled away a little, craning her neck to look up at him. Connor gulped, trying to push down his nervousness. He felt like his heart was flopping around in his chest as she stared up at him.

He brought his hands up to her face, wiping away the tears that escaped. "Don't cry," he said quietly. She gave him a small smile, sniffling a little.

Their gazes met again and Connor's heart literally skipped a beat. He gulped again, leaning in close. Finally, he did something he thought he would never have the courage to do.

It wasn't his first kiss. His first one was in his sophomore year when a girl kissed him at a school dance. He remembered almost running out of the school right after it happened.

This kiss, though, was the pleasure of that moment times infinity. Ellie surprised him when she responded, kissing him back. He wrapped his arms around her again, holding her close as one kiss melted into another. They finally parted, each panting heavily from the lack of air. Connor rested his forehead against hers.

She pressed her lips against his again, wrapping her arms around his neck. Connor twisted his hands into the fabric of her sweater, pulling her closer to him. He started to feel light headed as warmth washed over him. Connor moved his lips to her forehead, taking deep breaths. His heart was racing a mile a minute.

"I'm still really sorry," he mumbled against her skin.

Ellie grinned, pulling away a little and tugging on his braid. "Forget about it, you Ox."

Connor grinned back. "Takohs."

She laughed a little, tightening her hold around his neck. "I missed you."

"Me too."

Ellie got on the tips of her toes, giving him an expectant look.

Connor kissed her again.

At least one thing was going right in his life.

Ellie glanced at Desmond, who looked very uncomfortable. She rested her arm on the armrest of the couch. Desmond had sat on the other end and Connor was pacing slowly. He looked at a loss for words.

She had raced over when Connor called her that morning, sounding worried.

Something was up. She knew that for a few days now. She remembered almost calling Connor after the police were there that one night. "So what's been going on?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.

Desmond sighed, resting his forearms on his thighs. He tapped his fingertips together, looking up at Connor expectantly. "You wanted to tell her man. Your dad is going to kill you."

Connor rubbed the back of his neck, giving Desmond a hard look. "Well…my dad is prosecuting some gang members for the FBI."

Ellie stiffened. Gangs? This can't be good. "And?"

Connor crossed his arms, clearing his throat roughly. "Well, obviously they don't like it, so they targeted him and every FBI agent involved."

Ellie didn't even try to stop her jaw from dropping. "What?"

Connor looked away, shifting his weight. "My dad and aunt were attacked a few weeks ago. My dad got a bullet in his arm. They also broke into the house earlier this week," he said, clenching his jaw.

Ellie pointed to the dried spackle on the wall. "And what is that?"

"A bullet hole," Desmond replied, frowning.

Ellie's jaw dropped. That explained why the police cars were there. Peter had told her it was a false alarm because Mr. Kenway's security system was faulty. She didn't believe him.

She snapped her gaze to Connor. "Was anyone hurt?!"

Connor glanced at the swords hanging above the TV, looking queasy.

"Haytham injured a guy with one of those swords. Connor knocked out two of them. I shot one in the shoulder. Altaïr, my dad's partner, came in with his men and dealt with the rest and figured out who was in charge of the attack. The douchebag's trial is tomorrow," Desmond replied, standing up as well.

Ellie stared at Connor. "Are you guys okay up here, though?" she asked, tapping her temple.

Desmond looked away. He looked very uncomfortable. Connor stuffed his hands in his pockets, clearing his throat and avoiding her gaze.

Ellie crossed her arms, arching a brow at Connor. Connor sighed, finally looking at her again. "I'm…just scared for dad and everyone else. And I'm pissed that they're doing this because their trafficking business is in jeopardy."

Desmond's jaw clenched as Connor said that. He suddenly looked very angry and upset. "I'm not surprised. Those assholes sell humans like they're dogs, why would they care if a few more people died?"

Ellie felt sick to her stomach. This wasn't some movie or video game; this was real and it wasn't sugar-coated. For the second time in two days, she felt like crying.

She looked at Connor, feeling tears well up. "And this has been happening the past couple of weeks?"

Connor nodded, looking down at his feet. Ellie stood up, stepping over to him. She wrapped her arms around his torso, not knowing what to do. Connor wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You dummy. You should have come over sooner," she grumbled.

Connor grinned sadly. "I know."

Ellie pulled away, looking at both of them. "So, you guys have to hide here until Mr. Kenway prosecutes those guys?"

Connor shook his head. "Most of them were already found guilty. Dad's trying to get the main one now. His name is Reginald Birch."

Desmond nodded. "Yeah, Borgia and the others are already in jail. Birch is the asshole behind the attacks on us and in charge of the whole trafficking system. The others were in charge of the money and the thugs."

Ellie shook her head. "So Birch is the head honcho?"

Connor shook his head. "Altaïr and Dad told us that they haven't figured out who the leader was. Birch was their version of a second-in-command."

Desmond scoffed, walking toward the window. "And get this. All these guys are well educated, rich assholes that didn't need to do this to make a living. I think they get a sick high from it."

Ellie shook her head, feeling her heart sink to the floor. "Wow."

They stood in a tense silence. Desmond looked like he wanted to punch something. Connor was worried yet angry at the same time.

Ellie took a deep breath. She knew they probably felt useless because they couldn't help; she was getting that from Connor, at least. But they would be no help to their dads if they were like this constantly.

She walked over to the DVD cabinet, opening it up.

"What are you doing?" Connor asked, walking over to stand next to her.

She looked up at him. "Get some popcorn going. We're watching a movie."

Connor arched a brow, opening his mouth to argue.

"Go! You guys need to relax. People always do dumb things when they're tense," she said, pushing on his chest. It was as effective as pushing the wall. She had almost forgotten how big and immovable Connor was.

"If you say so," he said, walking toward the kitchen.

Desmond looked at her and then at Connor's retreating form. "Dude, you're whipped and you just started going out?"

"Shut up, Desmond!"

Ellie grinned as she scanned the DVDs, trying to find a good movie.

She smirked and picked a DVD she knew both boys would hate, yet love.

She held the DVD behind her back until Connor came back with a couple bowls of popcorn and Desmond was on the couch.

"So what are we watching?" Desmond asked, crossing his arms.

Ellie held up Homeward Bound. "I think you guys need some Chance, Sassy, and Shadow in your lives right now."

"Cool," Connor said, stuffing a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

Desmond looked at him, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "You're going to do anything she says, aren't you?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

Connor gave Desmond a hard look.

Desmond rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Ellie grinned at the two and stuck the DVD in, letting Connor get the TV set. She sat in between them, leaning on Connor's shoulder as the movie started to play. She had missed just leaning against him.

It was nice having him back.