Author's Note: There is no excuse for how long I've taken to update, (and I feel really bad) but I'm going to try and give you one anyway.. like, the fact that I am SO BUSY! AH! And whenever I have a spare five minutes I've been working on rewriting this story, bit by bit. So if you want, you can go back and read it again, I've just added a lot more detail and stuff - really the only big thing I've changed is that instead of Paige moving when she's in third grade, I made it fifth. Thanks for your patience!

"Hey," Matthew greeted me and, as always, fell into step next to me the second I walked into the gym.

"Hi," I answered, grinning back at him, "So what shall we talk about this morning?"

"I have no idea. Why don't you choose?"

"Hmm, that's a new one," I said, "Okay. Mmmm... Do you have any siblings other than Lorraine?"

He grinned.

"Nope. She's the only one."

I put on a look of mock-shocked and sorrow.

"I'm sorry."

He laughed, and his warm brown eyes smoldered.

"She's much more - well - she's not as nasty once you get to know her."

I shot him a dubious look.

"How about you?" he asked, moving the subject away from Lorraine.

"How about me what?"

"Do you have any other siblings? It honestly never occurred to me that you could have."

"Oh? And why not? Because for your information, I just so happen to."

His eyebrows rose; obviously he had been expecting the answer to be the opposite.

"Oh. I guess you seemed to imply that you live alone other than with your aunt or for some reason I assumed..."

"I do only live with my aunt. My brother lives with my grandparents in Wisconsin."

"Ah. I had no idea."

"Obviously not." I sighed, "Well, we should probably start warming up."

"Yeah. I'll get the volleyball."

He was only gone for a scarce few seconds before he was back at my side, volleyball in hand.

"So, how old is your brother?" he asked, setting me the ball.

"Almost sixteen," I answered, bumping it back to him.

"When was the last time you saw him?" He set it to me again.

"This last summer," I spiked the ball, hard and fast, at him. He casually got under it and bumped it back to me, as if I'd just tossed it to him in slow motion. His athletic skills were another thing about him that never ceased to amaze me. He was too perfect to be real.

"Can we change the subject?" I asked, setting it lightly back.

"Of course, if you want," He caught the ball.

"Here, hit one to me, really hard," I invited.

"Really hard?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup. Your hardest."

He tossed the ball into the air and on its way down, he spiked it to me, very hard and very fast.

I got under it, sort of, but the ball hit my fist and ricocheted high and sideways, flying through the air, bouncing off the wall, and disappearing under the bleachers. My hands smarted.

The other two seniors in the gym (who had also been warming up) stopped mid-play and stared. I felt like doing the same. Nobody I knew could hit that hard.

"Wow," I said, laughing to hide my shock, "That was definitely a hard hit."

He looked mortified, "I'm so sorry. I'll go get the ball," he turned and I interrupted him, "No. I want to get it. And why are you apologizing? I asked you to hit your hardest, and you did, and so thank you."

He bit his lip and looked like he wanted to say something else, but didn't.

I marched determinedly towards the bleachers.

The reason I wanted to go get the ball? I didn't want Matt to see my face.

I let it express the suppressed freak-out once my back was to him. Gah! My hand was stinging and I couldn't get over the fact that when he had hit that he had made it look like he hadn't expended any effort at all, not that it was his hardest. Was it possible that he could hit even harder? Maybe he was on steroids...

I put on a mask of indifference and turned to look at him one more time before ducking under the bleachers. He had his back to be, but his body language told me that he was beating himself up internally.

I sighed, and pulled back and ducked under the tarp hanging on the side of the bleachers. I had to hurry and get the ball before Ms. Laboreli got there, or I'd get in trouble.

Students in Elma High School are not allowed to go under the bleachers in either of the gyms. That is because staff feel like students could do anything under there - have sex, do crack, whatever. Anyway, we weren't allowed. The bleachers in the little gym (which was where my gym class was held) were old and rickety, and students especially weren't allowed under them, as they were sort of unsafe and so were never even used - games and athletic events were in the other gym.

They were wobbling over me precariously as I walked deeper into them. I looked for the ball, but the lighting was very dim and I couldn't see it. I walked farther, and for the first time, I was a little freaked out by just how unsteady the ancient structure was.

I was probably in the middle of the gym and the middle of the bleachers when I found the ball stuck in a little niche on the gym side. I crawled over a bar and reached for it. It was stuck tight - damn(!); I still couldn't believe just how hard he'd hit that ball.

I pulled harder and it came out. Then I heard the thud of another volleyball slamming into the bleachers a few feet away from me.

Everything happened surreally fast after that. It was as if everything was happening in super fast slow motion.

I heard a groan and the bleachers seemed to - lean in towards me. I realized what was happening and desperately looked to the dim lights at either end of the bleacher-tunnel. The way on both sides was clear of all living creatures and cluttered with bars across the floor, hindering any possible escape attempt. Not that getting to an exit was a feasible option anyway; both exits were way too far for me to get to.

My heart thudded. Part of me was already recoiling from the anticipated blow. Instinctively, I threw my hands up to cover as much as my head and neck as I could and I started to curl up into a defensive ball.

Time seemed to be pass unbearably slowly, yet all too fast.

All this happened within a second; it was as if my brain capacity had expanded and could think and react to different things at once.

But then something hit me. Not hard - but a brownish blur was suddenly overtaking me; two strong, impossibly hot arms materialized, encasing me, holding my face against a hot, muscular chest.

Suddenly, my dire situation didn't seem so perilous. Every fear I'd ever had - every worry, every discomfort, all the pain - seemed to just melt away in that instant. For the first time in as long as I could remember I felt totally and completely, utterly, safe.

Author's Note: Sorry for the short length and sorry again for the very long update lag! Please, please review, and remember to reread if you have the time! Thanks so much again, for your patience!