p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I flash home quickly and change, being careful to not wake Joe up./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"My bag is packed in double the time it takes me to change, and then I'm ready./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I go back to Caitlin's place with my- ahem- essentials./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I figure its best to wait outside and knock./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I stare at the dilapitated old knocker (the gold paint really needed a recoat) and the white door for three seconds (I count the seconds, it's the lightning's effect on my brain) and then I raise a slightly pale, slightly shaking hand to knock./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I rap twice on the door, hesitant to see if Caitlin would answer./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Five seconds passed./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emMaybe she's in the shower? /emMy brain thinks./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"But of course, I was literally gone for all of twenty seconds. emYou'd think she'd mention that she doesn't want me to come inside because she's in the shower./em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I knock again, slower this time./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The slightly harsh sound of my hand hitting wood makes a dent in the otherwise perfect silence./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""COMING!" Caitlin yells./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She opens the door, and looks very surprised to see me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Hey, stranger," She smiles. "Sorry about the wait, I wasn't sure if it was my door you were knocking on, and I thought you'd just pop in here, so yeah."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Don't worry about it," I smirk at her, leaning against the open doorframe./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She shakes her head minutely. "Come on inside. Wouldn't want you getting rusty."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I chuckle a little bit at her joke./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She bustles around in a cupboard by the shoe rack for a second, before emerging with some thing shiny./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She hides the object behind her back, much to my annoyance./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I was never one for surprises," I tell her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I know," She replies meekly, lips quirking up on one side in the way that I love./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""And?" I quirk an eyebrow up at her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She seems to remember something./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Wait, hang on here. Promise not to follow."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Wh- Fine." I had a feeling my patience would be rewarded./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Okay. Be back in a sec." She emliterally/em skips past me, hands clasped tight behind her back./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Three minutes later, I can hear all sorts of things happening down the hall./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I cannot stand doing nothing while all sorts of things are happening in Caitlin's room./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"So I go to the kitchen./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I find eggs, and bacon./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I confess: I can't cook./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"So when the smoke alarm turns on and the piercing beeping starts, Caitlin is out faster that I could have been, and that's saying something./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I quickly turn the stove off and put the pan on the counter./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Surprisingly, the food looked- emedible./em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Barry, pass me that broom please." Caitlin yells, and I somehow hear her over the beeping and my arms over my ears./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I do so, trying not to release my death grip on my head./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Caitlin takes the broom, nods once in a emthank you/em gesture, then proceeds to beat the living crap out of the smoke alarm with a strange violence I'd never suspected before./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Caitlin was feisty?/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"When the sound finally dies, Caitlin gives it one more emthwack/em for good measure, then throws the broom aside./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Remind me to never make you angry," I smile at her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I will." She smiles, then turns to the smoke alarm with a glare of hate. "God, I hate those things. So my cousin died of smoke inhalation, and she'd just had a new system installed last week."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'm sorry. Were you close?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Relatively. She lived out in Emerald, so I didn't get to see her too often. So, I hate smoke alarms. What mundane object do you hate?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Nail clippers or chairs."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Do I want to- Nevermind, I really want to know," Caitlin says, pulling up a chair and sitting on it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Um, trapped in an abandoned house at fourteen. Turn out some idiots were just trying to mess with me, and they locked me in using a chair, as well as pulling all kinds of messed up pranks on me. Eventually, they got bored and let me out. Joe was livid. Anyway, I have not beaten up a chair."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Too bad. I know what to get you for Christmas now."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""A chair?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Caitlin once again has the look associated with one who has just remember their house was on fire./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""You know what, nevermind," she says to herself just after she passes me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She emerges a second later, something back in her hands./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Sorry, I don't have a box for it. I usually have jewellery boxes, but I bought a cabinet for my almost nonexistent jewellery collection last summer and got rid of the small ones."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She holds out at key in her palm./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""So happy early birthday?" She says shyly./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The key is definitely a house key. I recognize it from her keychain./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Now you don't have to wait outside. This key is all yours, until I change the locks."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Thanks," I grin at her, and go to hug her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I embrace her, and she says in my ear, "Well, you're going to be stuck here for a bit until we give you back the last three years of your life, so I thought, might as well."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Seriously, this is awesome."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I retract a little bit to study her face./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"And suddenly, I'm kissing her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"My bag is packed in double the time it takes me to change, and then I'm ready./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I go back to Caitlin's place with my- ahem- essentials./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I figure its best to wait outside and knock./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I stare at the dilapitated old knocker (the gold paint really needed a recoat) and the white door for three seconds (I count the seconds, it's the lightning's effect on my brain) and then I raise a slightly pale, slightly shaking hand to knock./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I rap twice on the door, hesitant to see if Caitlin would answer./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Five seconds passed./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emMaybe she's in the shower? /emMy brain thinks./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"But of course, I was literally gone for all of twenty seconds. emYou'd think she'd mention that she doesn't want me to come inside because she's in the shower./em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I knock again, slower this time./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The slightly harsh sound of my hand hitting wood makes a dent in the otherwise perfect silence./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""COMING!" Caitlin yells./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She opens the door, and looks very surprised to see me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Hey, stranger," She smiles. "Sorry about the wait, I wasn't sure if it was my door you were knocking on, and I thought you'd just pop in here, so yeah."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Don't worry about it," I smirk at her, leaning against the open doorframe./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She shakes her head minutely. "Come on inside. Wouldn't want you getting rusty."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I chuckle a little bit at her joke./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She bustles around in a cupboard by the shoe rack for a second, before emerging with some thing shiny./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She hides the object behind her back, much to my annoyance./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I was never one for surprises," I tell her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I know," She replies meekly, lips quirking up on one side in the way that I love./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""And?" I quirk an eyebrow up at her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She seems to remember something./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Wait, hang on here. Promise not to follow."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Wh- Fine." I had a feeling my patience would be rewarded./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Okay. Be back in a sec." She emliterally/em skips past me, hands clasped tight behind her back./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Three minutes later, I can hear all sorts of things happening down the hall./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I cannot stand doing nothing while all sorts of things are happening in Caitlin's room./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"So I go to the kitchen./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I find eggs, and bacon./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I confess: I can't cook./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"So when the smoke alarm turns on and the piercing beeping starts, Caitlin is out faster that I could have been, and that's saying something./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I quickly turn the stove off and put the pan on the counter./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Surprisingly, the food looked- emedible./em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Barry, pass me that broom please." Caitlin yells, and I somehow hear her over the beeping and my arms over my ears./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I do so, trying not to release my death grip on my head./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Caitlin takes the broom, nods once in a emthank you/em gesture, then proceeds to beat the living crap out of the smoke alarm with a strange violence I'd never suspected before./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Caitlin was feisty?/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"When the sound finally dies, Caitlin gives it one more emthwack/em for good measure, then throws the broom aside./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Remind me to never make you angry," I smile at her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I will." She smiles, then turns to the smoke alarm with a glare of hate. "God, I hate those things. So my cousin died of smoke inhalation, and she'd just had a new system installed last week."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'm sorry. Were you close?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Relatively. She lived out in Emerald, so I didn't get to see her too often. So, I hate smoke alarms. What mundane object do you hate?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Nail clippers or chairs."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Do I want to- Nevermind, I really want to know," Caitlin says, pulling up a chair and sitting on it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Um, trapped in an abandoned house at fourteen. Turn out some idiots were just trying to mess with me, and they locked me in using a chair, as well as pulling all kinds of messed up pranks on me. Eventually, they got bored and let me out. Joe was livid. Anyway, I have not beaten up a chair."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Too bad. I know what to get you for Christmas now."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""A chair?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Caitlin once again has the look associated with one who has just remember their house was on fire./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""You know what, nevermind," she says to herself just after she passes me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She emerges a second later, something back in her hands./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Sorry, I don't have a box for it. I usually have jewellery boxes, but I bought a cabinet for my almost nonexistent jewellery collection last summer and got rid of the small ones."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She holds out at key in her palm./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""So happy early birthday?" She says shyly./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The key is definitely a house key. I recognize it from her keychain./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Now you don't have to wait outside. This key is all yours, until I change the locks."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Thanks," I grin at her, and go to hug her./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I embrace her, and she says in my ear, "Well, you're going to be stuck here for a bit until we give you back the last three years of your life, so I thought, might as well."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Seriously, this is awesome."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I retract a little bit to study her face./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"And suddenly, I'm kissing her./p