Ellie stirred slowly as she let the vanilla mix in. The smell of hot chocolate filled the kitchen, making her mouth water. As a kid, she had learned to make hot chocolate from scratch from her mother. Ellie had made it every winter since.

"You did NOT just throw a blue shell!" Desmond yelled from the living room.

"Sorry," Connor replied, not sounding apologetic at all.

Ellie peered around the entryway. Desmond was turning the Wii remote as if he was trying to literally turn the screen. Connor occasionally pressed a button, barely turning it, not looking too interested in the game.

Claudia was painting her nails on the couch behind them. "You shouldn't go that way, Desmond," she said, blowing on her finished hand.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

Ellie turned back to the hot chocolate, waiting for a curse from Desmond.

"What the fu-"

"Told you."

Ellie wondered where Desmond got his energy. She was still wiped out from their sledding adventure earlier. Desmond had come to their houses earlier that morning, showing off his new SUV and dragging them sledding. They had only returned to Ellie's an hour ago and the boys pulled out the Wii.

She took a sip of the hot chocolate, nodding in satisfaction, and pulling out four mugs. As she hunted for the ladle, Connor walked in. He held out his hand and she grinned, handing him the ladle.

"This smells amazing," Connor said, ladling the hot chocolate in the mugs.

"Thanks," Ellie said, resting her elbow on his shoulder.

He picked up a mug and peered into it. Eyes widening, he began to gulp it down. Ellie gave him a surprised look as he filled the mug again, moving to chug it again. She put a hand over the top. "Slow down, hog," she laughed.

Connor furrowed his brow with a pout, looking down at the mug. Ellie rolled her eyes, grabbing her own mug.

"It's ready!" she called out.

Claudia raced in, sliding on the floor in her thick socks. Desmond was right behind her. Ellie dodged them, taking a sip as she walked into the living room. The TV screen was frozen on Koopa Troopa celebrating.

She switched it to the DVD player and squatted down, looking for a movie. She was sick of hearing Desmond cuss at Connor about turtle shells.

"Comedy?" she called out, knowing that Connor and Claudia would know what she was talking about.

"Si!"

"Yup."

"Huh?"

Ellie shook her head, pulling out Monty Python and the Holy Grail. "Monty Python?" she asked, sticking the DVD in anyway.

"Absolutely!" Desmond replied.

Ellie grinned, taking her spot on the couch. Connor walked in, plopping down beside her. Claudia then came back in, sitting in front of Ellie on the floor. Desmond took his spot and Ellie pressed play. She peeked at Connor out of the corner of her eye. He was paying attention to the movie. She leaned against him, hoping he would get the hint. He downed the rest of his hot chocolate, glancing at her.

Ellie was about to give up and just move his arm when he finally wrapped it around her shoulders. He was tense and Ellie could see the blush rising on his cheeks. Ellie rolled her eyes and poked him, causing him to relax a little.

She didn't know what to do with him sometimes.

Connor fiddled with the Xbox, almost sighing. He didn't know why his father owned one in the first place. He obviously didn't play video games.

"So, how's it going with you and Ellie?" Desmond asked, flopping down on the couch behind him.

Connor glanced at him over his shoulder. "It's great."

"Cool."

They sat in silence while Connor hooked up various wires.

"Dude, you're so slow!"

"Lay off me!"

Desmond rolled off the couch, practically shoving Connor out of the way. "Watch a pro!"

"Pro at losing."

"Shut up, man!"

"So, I'm just going to break the ice. Is he a good kisser?" Claudia asked, rolling onto her back on Ellie's bed.

Ellie gave her a shocked look, throwing the extra pillow from the closet at her friend. Claudia was laughing by that time.

"Seriously?" Ellie groaned, pulling a sweater from the closet.

Claudia rolled over again, kicking her legs a little. "Yes! Just answer the question."

"My first boyfriend and the first thing you ask is if he's a good kisser? Why not a simple 'Is he a good boyfriend?'" Ellie huffed with a pout. She could feel the blush rising on her cheeks. She tugged the sweater over her head.

Claudia rolled her eyes. "All right, how did he ask you out? And did you tell him I was sorry for that one time?"

"He knows you're sorry."

Claudia shrugged. "I figured. He was acting like nothing happened."

Ellie sat down in her desk chair, hugging her stuffed Beast close. She grinned, remembering when she told Connor about it. "Well, he came over here and knocked on the door. Peter and Eliza were out at bingo."

"Uh huh, then what happened?"

Ellie's heart thudded as she remembered how Connor was holding the DVD in front of his face. "He was on my doorstep with the special edition version of Beauty and the Beast. He said he was sorry and stuff."

Claudia pushed herself up to her elbows, nodding. "Did you tell him what you thought?"

Ellie hugged Beast closer. "Yeah, I told him about how I felt horrible about thinking the worse right away and stuff. He kept blaming himself, which didn't surprise me."

Claudia wiggled her eyebrows. "Then what happened?"

Ellie blushed, burying her face in her stuffed animal's fur. "He kissed me."

"He kissed you? It seems like it should be the other way around!" Claudia laughed.

Ellie shook her head. "He's a very good kisser," she mumbled.

Claudia clapped her hands. "Did he ask you out after that?"

Ellie shook her head. "He never really said it in words. It was sort of a silent agreement between us."

Claudia rolled her eyes. "That actually makes sense, since you guys were flirting for months now."

Ellie huffed. "I did not flirt with him!"

Claudia barked out a laugh. "BS! You had him wrapped around your finger from the start and you know it!"

Ellie puffed out her cheeks in irritation and looked out the window…toward Connor's house. "Did it look like flirting?"

Claudia sighed in exasperation. "It was flirting. Everyone in school thought you guys were going out until you told someone you weren't."

Ellie decided to drop it. If that brought her and Connor together, she wasn't going to complain.

Ellie needed to tease Claudia about something. "So, any boys you want to tell me about? Or are you still stuck on Mr. Kenway?"

She couldn't just call him Haytham…it was too weird.

Claudia sighed, checking her nails. "I've decided to do the 'Just looking' thing with Mr. Kenway. And, no. No boys recently. Freaking Duccio keeps flirting with me, though."

Ellie frowned. "Have you told Ezio that a pervy second year senior is flirting with you?"

Claudia smirked. "Yes."

Ellie almost laughed.

She almost felt bad for Duccio.

Connor yawned, waiting for Ellie to come back with the popcorn. It was New Year's Eve and he somehow got his father to agree to letting him stay late at Ellie's. Ellie had convinced him to watch Disney movies with her until midnight. They were just getting ready to start Treasure Planet. Connor was actually excited for this one. He had missed the movie.

Ellie walked in, tossing some popcorn in her mouth as she sat down beside him. She pressed play, leaning against him. Connor tensed up. Should he wrap his arm around her again? Is she hinting that she wanted him to? He mentally shook himself. It was Ellie, for crying out loud! She doesn't play mind games like that!

He gulped and slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

She peeked up at him, smiling deviously. "My my, Mr. Kenway, you move fast."

He spluttered, looking away, not removing his arm. She giggled and tugged on the cuff of his sleeve. "Relax, you dork."

Connor exhaled deeply, looking down at her. "I…I just don't know what you want me to do sometimes."

Ellie looked up at him, arching a brow. "Connor, if you do something, I'll tell you what I think. Now, relax and watch this amazing movie." She looked amused.

The screen switched to the scene with an older Jim and Connor forced himself to relax. He should have known that Ellie would reply with that. She was never one to keep what she thought to herself.

She scooted closer to him, snuggling into his side a little as the movie continued and a warm, bubbly feeling started to form in Connor's belly. He grinned, trying to focus on the movie.

They got to the part when Jim was telling Silver that his father left and Connor felt his heart sink a little. Sad memories peeked through the happy one he was making now.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked, looking up at him again.

Connor realized that he must have looked upset and he wiped his nose, trying to look nonchalant. "Nothing."

"Connor."

Connor almost sighed in exasperation. She read him like a book. "This is my second least favorite Disney moment in history," he grumbled, looking away.

Ellie paused the movie, turning so that she was facing him. "Is it because…" she trailed off, leaving the unspoken question in the air.

Connor sighed. "Yeah, it is."

Ellie nodded in understanding, giving him a sympathetic look.

Connor shook his head. "You can play the movie, you don't have to stop it to talk to me," he said, more sharply than intended.

Ellie didn't seem to take notice or she just ignored it, nodding. "You know you can tell me how you feel, right?" she said, pressing play.

Connor shrugged. "I know."

Ellie stared at him for a little longer before looking toward the screen again. She tossed some more popcorn in her mouth, not continuing the conversation.

Connor was glad that she knew when to drop something. But his gut knotted as he thought about the sharp tone he had used. "Sorry," he mumbled, reaching for some popcorn himself.

"For what?"

"About the movie thing."

Ellie shook her head, grinning in amusement. "You made a valid point. We can talk while the movie plays."

Connor sighed, resting his head back against back of the couch as the I'm Still Here scene started.

Ellie looked at him again. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Connor frowned a little, taking a deep breath; he wasn't sure if he wanted to. He knew he could talk to her about anything. He talked to her about his mom all the time.

"Did you feel like your Dad abandoned you and your mom?"

He flinched. She literally hit the nail on the head. She really could read him like a book. He took a deep breath, scratching his cheek as he tried to think of a way to describe how he felt. "I felt like...I don't know-like I screwed up and that's why my dad wasn't there. My mom didn't talk about him much."

Ellie grabbed his hand, twining their fingers together and leaning against his shoulder. The touch was a little comforting and he relaxed. He didn't realize that he got so tense.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled against the fabric of his sweater.

Connor shook his head. "That was a long time ago."

"But it still hurts," she stated.

Connor tensed up again, wincing a little. He really needed to learn that mind reading trick that girls did. She was too good at reading him.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence, watching the screen again. "You don't feel that way about him now, do you?" she asked quietly, many moments later.

Connor took a deep breath. "No. Not really. I know more about the whole situation now and even though I find a lot of it dumb, I get it."

Ellie cocked her head. "Dumb?"

Connor shrugged. "Mom wouldn't let him see me. She sent him pictures and stuff, but I wasn't allowed to meet him. And Dad just gave up after a while. It's dumb."

Ellie squeezed his hand and rested her head against his shoulder again. She spoke after a while, looking up at him expectantly. "I guess the important question is if you're happy now or not."

Connor grinned a little. "Yeah, I'm mostly happy now."

Ellie grinned back. "Good."

Toward the end of the movie, she gave him a mischievous grin as she pointed at the DVD player. Connor looked and saw that it was almost midnight. He looked at her again, not getting the look on her face. He stuffed some more popcorn in his mouth. "Okay?"

She tucked her knees under her, bringing her height even with his. "I've always wanted to be kissed at New Years," she teased, cocking her head coyly.

Connor almost choked on the popcorn. He finally managed to swallow, feeling the blush creep up his neck. He gulped, turning toward her a little. "O-okay. Just say when," he mumbled, looking down. The embroidery on the couch was suddenly very interesting.

She looked at the DVD player again, looking at the time glowing on it. "Okay, on three. One."

She scooted closer to him. "Two." She leaned forward.

"Three," she whispered against his lips.

Connor pressed his lips to hers, hearing the various fireworks going off outside. He tentatively brought his hand up, cupping the back of her neck. She slowly pulled away, beaming at him.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly.

Connor didn't reply. He kissed her again instead.

Connor yawned as he walked into the kitchen the next morning, pulling out the Cheerios and milk.

"Did you enjoy your evening with Miss Johnston?"

Connor jumped, almost dropping the jug. His father was sitting at the kitchen table. Haytham must have been trained by ninjas at some point. Connor wished he could sneak around that.

"Uh…yeah I did," Connor said, the corner of his lips lifting a little. He didn't even remember watching the end of Treasure Planet.

Haytham nodded, not looking happy, which confused Connor.

"Well, that's good. I can bother you about something else, then," Haytham said, frown growing deeper. He tossed some brightly colored brochures and envelopes on the table.

Connor stiffened, recognizing them. They were from various colleges that had been sending him letters, but all of the letters ended up in the trash.

Haytham tapped the one on top. "So, are you going to tell me why I keep finding these in the trash? And don't run away from this. We need to talk about what you're going to do when you complete high school."

Connor finished making his cereal, sitting down at the table. "Okay."

Haytham shoved some of the papers toward Connor. "First, tell me why you throw these away."

Connor rubbed the back of his neck. Why was his father looking through the trash in the first place? "Well, I'm not interested in a lot of them. I won't be able to afford most of them, anyway," he said.

He really wasn't planning on college when he lived at the Reservation. He knew he couldn't really afford it, despite the scholarships he would have received for his grades and heritage.

Haytham rolled his eyes. "Who can afford bloody school these days? And what do you mean you're not interested in most of them? Have you gone on visits with your mother?"

Connor shrugged. "No…"

Haytham shook his head, sighing in exasperation. "Connor, you can't really know what a school is like until you visit. And you won't have to worry about paying for school. Your grades are good enough and I can easily cover the rest."

Connor furrowed his brow, wondering something. "Would you do that if I was still with Mom?"

He didn't know why he wanted to know…maybe it was the conversation he had with Ellie last night.

Haytham remained silent, studying Connor for a few moments. "Yes, I would have, whether your mother wanted me to or not," he finally replied.

Connor nodded, looking down at his cereal.

Haytham sighed. "Connor, I don't want to force you to go to school if you don't want to. And-"

"I do," Connor interrupted, remembering the advice Achilles gave him on this subject.

Haytham's brows rose. "Oh? So why do you throw these away?"

Connor shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not interested in those." He had glanced at most of them, but none of them caught his eye.

Haytham sighed. "All right. I think that if you visit a nearby school, you will get a clearer idea of what you want." He paused, frowning a little. "What career do you want to pursue, Connor?"

Connor shrugged. "Well…I talked to Achilles about it, and he said to do something I enjoy. So, I was thinking either a vet or something in zoology."

Haytham grinned a little. "Animals, huh?"

Connor shrugged. He saw nothing wrong with it.

"Well, a colleague of mine is married to a vet. I can probably find some things out for you, if you wish," Haytham offered, getting up from the table.

"Uh…yeah. Thanks Dad," Connor said, stuffing Cheerios in his mouth. A warm feeling went through his chest.

"I want you to plan a college visit by the end of the week. No buts," Haytham said as he walked out.

Connor rolled his eyes, shaking his head in amusement.

He never thought that he would meet someone bossier than his mom.

Looks like he was wrong.