Olivia

Olivia balanced the tray carefully above her head as she pushed the door to the living room open with her hips. She blinked rapidly, this room was the most luminous one in the house and the large panel shaped windows reflected the sunlight like enormous mirrors, multiplying its intensity.

After a while, her eyes had adjusted to the brightness, and what she saw after opening them completely dazzled her. The light seemed to have concentrated in the middle of the room, where her protégée was sitting with her eyes closed, that absent minded smile that softened her features on her lips again; the one Liv adored so much on her. She continued to observe Amanda in silence, feeling like an intruder, and a slight pang of guilt hit her chest. Even if she would eventually stop blaming herself for feeling the way she did – there would always be someone who would hold her culpable, and damned would she be if she dragged an innocent girl into something she wasn't emotionally prepared for, and that neither her parents, nor the school, or society in general would condone.

Olivia was taken back ten years earlier; it was the time when she had first become aware of her attraction towards other girls, and this revelation had scared the hell out of her. But the one she had fallen in love with was a girl her age, and they had dated for a year, until Dana – that was her name – had moved away to Denmark with her family. Liv tried to picture in her mind what would've happened if Dana had been her teacher instead of her classmate, but failed in doing so, and the absurdity of their situation hit her with full force. She had to put an end to this once and for all; if not for hers, then for Amanda's sake. Liv took a deep breath, mentally bracing herself for what was to come.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to call her student's attention, Amanda uttered a strange sound, similar to the short cries a kitten or a puppy made in its sleep when dreaming. It sounded perfectly endearing, and she thought of leaving the room as quietly as possible, feeling she had disrupted something unique and special that she wasn't meant to witness in the first place. But as soon as she started to move backwards, Amanda awoke from her trance-like state and gazed at her intently. All of a sudden, Liv felt cold, and it took her a couple of seconds to realize why. Amanda wasn't looking at her; she was looking right through her. The tray with the cinnamon milk felt heavy in her hands, and she hastened to the table at once, putting it down with a thud.

Amanda

They were lying in his bed completely naked, with only a thin blanked between them. Amanda's cheeks were burning, and she was panting heavily against Carisi's chest, who was panting scarcely less.

"That was…" She managed to articulate, before gasping for air again.

"Amazing, incredible, completely fabulous?" He joked around, earning himself a playful punch on his arm. "Ouch, what was that for?" He asked, pretending to be hurt, and nuzzled into her hair. "I love the smell of your shampoo," he stated. "It's peachy."

"I love the smell of you." She replied languidly and inhaled deeply, as to prove her point. Both fell asleep right away, with the sunlight tickling their noses.

Amanda woke in the middle of the night and found Carisi's side of the bed empty and cold. "Dominick?" She called into the dark, panic rising in her voice. The desk lamp was turned on, and Amanda saw him sitting at his desk, turned towards her, with his arms resting on his knees.

"Did you sleep alright?" He asked, with a worried undertone.

"Well, I was sleeping alright until you decided to get up and stare at me in the dark like some manic killer," she joked, deciding to tease him a little. "You?"

"You snore in your sleep, honey." He replied with a crooked smile. "I didn't get a wink of sleep."

"Liar." She said with a little laugh, and threw a cushion in his direction, which missed him by inches.

Carisi laughed mockingly at her, and then all of a sudden, his face adopted an uncharacteristically serious expression.

"Actually, I have been thinking… about us." He articulated slowly.

"Oh dear. Is this the part where you give me the whole 'It's not you, it's me' speech?" She asked, sitting up straight and covering her mouth with her hand, barely supressing a yawn.

His face turned somber. "Actually, it is me…"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Please, Amanda, just hear me out," he said, and rushed to the bed to take her hands into his.

"What I'm saying is, you're a sophomore, and I'm in college. We don't have to… if you don't want to… I can wait." He finished, and Amanda could feel his hands shaking. She found his face in the semidarkness and caressed it with one swift motion of her hand.

"Funny though, you didn't seem to have any objections earlier." She whispered into his ear, making him tense up noticeably.

"See, you always do this." He complained half-heartedly.

"What do you mean?"

"Whenever I want to talk to you, you get all flirty with me, and we end up doing… you know…"

"Oh gee, your poor thing. I didn't know I was being so inconsiderate. I'll promise to behave." She purred, starting to massage his chest.

"Amanda…"

"All right, I'm sorry." She said frustrated, and now it was her turn to take his hands into hers. "I hear what you're saying, but I really don't want to wait any longer, I really don't. And I don't see why we should, anyways."

"I could come up with a million reasons." He sighed, squeezing her hands lightly.

"You worry too much." Amanda said in a hushed tone, and gave in to the impulse of running her fingers through his hair. She looked into his greenish blue eyes and knew that he still wasn't sure, and she was instantly filled with affection for him.

"You are such a sweet guy, Carisi." She said and gave him a warm smile. "Don't ever change." And with that, she pulled him closer and met his lips in a tender kiss, which slowly grew more passionate as their heated bodies pressed against each other.

"Wait." He said breathlessly. "You did it again."

Amanda grinned mischievously. "I'm good, aren't I?"

"You are an evil little minx, and I should really leave you high and dry."

"I'll never speak to you again if you do."

"I'll stay, if you keep your hands to yourself. I know it's difficult, with me being this gorgeous…"

"Ha!"

"Cuddle up against me?" He proposed, opening his arms invitingly.

"Sure." She said happily.

Carisi

When Amanda turned the music on, he knew she was trying to divert his attention. There was something bothering her, he could tell that much from the slight frown that had appeared on her forehead, whilst her lips continued to smile at him.

An upbeat song started to play on the radio, and he recognized it instantly, it was "Five Years Time" by Noah and the Whale. Involuntarily, Dominick started to hum and tap his fingers to the melody of the music, and they drove like that for a while, he playing the percussion, and Amanda lost in her own thoughts.

"You know, that song reminds me of you, actually," he said as they were waiting for a traffic light to turn green.

"Really?" Amanda asked, mildly interested. "Which part?"

"I don't know, all of it. It's like you – the tune has some kind sweetness and innocence to it, but the lyrics are a little sad, almost a little depressing."

"Nice going, Carisi!" He mentally cursed at himself.

"So you think I'm depressing?" Amanda tried to joke, unable to ban a note of hurt from her voice as she spoke.

"No, that's not what I was trying to say, at all." He said hastily, and his words came out with a splutter. "What I meant was, sometimes you confuse me, because you seem like this huge mass of contradictions and-"

"A huge mass of contradictions? Really, Carisi? This is your way of wooing a woman?"

At that instant, the traffic light switched, and he hit the gas a little harder than intended, making Amanda jump in her seat.

After a while they finally arrived at the lake, and he slowly stopped the car, wanting to do as little damage to the flowery meadow as possible.

"Look Amanda," he said turning around. "About what I said earlier… I'm sorry, it didn't come across the right way. What I was really trying to say…-"

"I know, Carisi." Amanda stated simply, and leaned into him to capture his lips with her own. "Me too."

So, what do you think about having Carisi in the story as well? I was just watching the new season a couple of days ago, and I loved his sweet attitude towards Rollins :) And Liv's comment about (SPOILER WARNING!) not liking "triangles" was just priceless, I laughed so hard :D

Please let me know what you think ;)