Seconds

Charice sat on the arm of the couch on a September Sunday afternoon, having just changed out of her church dress and gotten herself a snack. As she flipped through channels on the rarely used television, the typical broadcast was interrupted. An announcement was being made, the presidential seal flashing on the screen as a woman's robotic voice spoke. "…A message from out founding fathers," the voice said in a monotone. "In addition to the Annual Purge on March the twelfth, a Biannual Purge will commence on this September thirtieth." The voice began explaining rules and reasoning but Cherry was already rushing out of her house. Her skin went pale and fingers shook as she sent Caleb a message to meet at the tree by the lake. Driving was difficult with her head spinning as it was. Would Caleb take the opportunity to Purge twice a year? He would be in twice as much danger, take twice as many lives.

Charice got to the tree first, but she spotted Caleb approaching after only a few minutes. He smiled with his mouth and eyes, then frowned seeing how serious she was. "Yes darling? You wanted me?" Caleb walked forward placing a thumb on her cheek. He kissed her other cheek and then backed up looking the other way out across the lake. Charice sighed with relief when she saw him, instantly feeling better. "Caleb," she said, the name coming out more like a prayer than a greeting. She took his hand, examining his face as he looked across the water. "You know why. A second Purge, at the end of this month. I'm scared, that's twice as much danger. That means another twelve hours for people to kill each other. " She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide with anxiety. "Are you going? With Drake and Edith and the others?" Edith was a friend and former lover of Drake's, a cruel girl that Caleb only dealt with for her weapon skill.

Cherry bit her lip, her eyebrows knitting with concern. She expected him to say yes. They had only been together for about five months; he hadn't changed his ways completely. He would probably go, while she sat at home and worried herself to death. The anxiety would probably kill her before any Purgers did. Then again, knowing Caleb, she would probably be forced to stay at his house or something so he knew she was safe. She frowned. At least I'll have plenty of time to paint, she thought bitterly. She was holding his left hand, but she took the other one, too. Holding both of them in hers, she stepped forward and nuzzled her head into his neck, glad to feel his warmth. "I..." he looked away and then stepped away walking to the end of the water. "You wouldn't understand. Your childhood was perfect..." He paused running his hands through his hair. "Yes, I am." He muttered the last part quietly. He had met her expectation.

Suddenly he changed his mind, a look of determination crossing his face. "I won't do it. I swear I am not going to." He stood up and looked at her, smiling, and took her hands again. "I will be home, even texting you. I will not do it. I don't even need to. I promise." Cherry raised an eyebrow as he took her hands again. She knew he was lying. Maybe not about staying home- he might stay home, if he knew how worried she was. But he was lying about not needing to, not wanting to. He wanted to, she could tell. She would have said something, but at the moment she just wanted to be with him. She would worry about the Purge later. Instead of arguing she stretched on her tiptoes and kissed him for a while, a few lingering seconds. Pulling away, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Sorry, I'm sure you were busy. I just really wanted to see you. I feel like I haven't had time alone with you in ages, we're always with other people." She knew she should let him go home; take care of his dog and such. But she just stayed there, holding onto him as long as she could. His smile also faded and when she kissed him he didn't pull away, but he didn't kiss back as he usually did. He let her rest on his shoulder and he hugged her tightly, looking past her.

After a tense moment Caleb took off his jacket and set it on the tree. He lay down with his head on his jacket and then waved at her to follow. Cherry sighed and curled up with him. She wrapped her arm around his waist, closing her eyes and leaning completely against him. "I love you," she whispered. She wanted to say more, to fix the tension that had suddenly grown. Somehow she knew that talking wouldn't help, so she stayed quiet and just breathed him in. When they first began dating she would always get hyper when she saw him, like she had to say ten things all at once. She still felt that way when she saw him. Every day, even if he just walked out of the room for two minutes and came back she would smile like the world's biggest child. She frowned a little, knowing he couldn't see. This was what the Purge did. It tore people apart. Everyone thought the Purge was great, that it took down crime and made people happier. From her end it felt like her life was more dangerous and stressful. What if he decided to go, and he never came back? What if the last time she saw him they had a fight they could never make up? They hadn't been together long, but she would crash without him. She knew she needed him more than anything else, and she would rather die herself than see him hurt. Squeezing him tighter, she wondered what he was thinking and if she had hurt his feelings somehow.

Caleb stayed there for a while until he used his free hand to grab the fallen leaves and them onto her head. He did it again, and laughed and when she went to grab leaves herself. He took his chance to run behind the tree. Grabbing a handful he jumped out throwing some and then she threw some at him. "That's it! I have had enough!" he said running up to her and picking her up. He went to the water's edge, playfully threatening to drop her in the water. A bird crowed and flew out of the tree. Startling he fell forward and caught himself, his left foot in the water to save her from falling. He stepped back and set her down. "Your house? Mine is a mess. I kind of dropped everything to keep my lady from waiting."

Cherry smiled sweetly. "My house. My parents went out to run errands, so they shouldn't be home for a little while. We can have some peace and quiet without my dad asking about all of your future life plans." She went to her car and drove her usual way until she saw she was out of gas. Texting Caleb at a red light, she warned him she would be a minute late. When she got home she saw a note on her doorstep and smiled, unlocking the front door but locking it again when she was inside. The note told her that he was already waiting. Hurrying to her room, she opened her door and shut it behind her, smiling at Caleb. He was sitting on the bed as expected- having gotten in through an unlocked window downstairs- flipping through the pages of her favorite book and looking very casual. "It's slow at first," she admitted, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at him. There was something glittering in his eyes, like was about to show her something. Perhaps he had some sort of surprise? She smiled, examining once again his handsome features. Cherry was extremely lucky- she wondered how it was going to balance out. She was a strong believer in karma, and she knew nobody could have good things without any bad.

Caleb set the book down, already at the end of chapter one. He grabbed a bag from behind him and pulled out red roses along with two stuffed animals. They were a white dog and a black dog. The white dog was pretty and smiling then the black dog looked like he was stupidly panting over the white dog. "It's us. Saw it in the store when buying you flowers. I may be very smart but around you I am absolutely stupid. I feel like I could impress you more if I was not so dumb." He laid down his head on one of her pillows. "You're gorgeous. When I found you I won the lottery." He said, smiling again. When she lay down next to him, the black stuffed dog in her arms, he kissed her forehead, then her nose, then her cheek and lastly her lips.

Perhaps it was all of her stress and pent up emotion, or perhaps it was gratitude for having him there that made her feelings more intense. Either way their kisses deepened until she found herself lying over him, her hands on his neck as their mouths whispered together. The door swinging open shocked her, forcing her to pull away and look into the eyes of her father. "Oh!" She breathed, looking back and forth from Caleb to her dad. "We weren't...we were just..." She looked at her boyfriend desperately, wishing she had some sort of explanation for the fact that she was making out with a boy in her bed when she wasn't even supposed to be home. John Grey was frowning, looking like he was trying to figure it out, too. "I was coming in to say dinner is almost ready...but I can see you're busy." Turning abruptly, he shut the door loudly behind him. Cherry sighed, looking at Caleb. "Once he cools down a bit we should go talk to him. Apologize for the very awkward thing that just happened." Biting her lip, she took Caleb's hand and stood. Leaning down, she kissed his cheek, wishing she could have more time with him. Sadly, her father would probably never let her be alone again. It may have just been kissing, but her dad had a conniption just hearing that Cherry had a boyfriend.

"Ugh." Caleb groaned. "I shoot, I score, I get caught, I fail." he said grumbling. "He was able to stand me. He stopped giving me the death glare, now it's back but ten tines worse." He looked out the window from her bed. "I am sorry," he said. "Talk to him? He's probably going to kill me. I would talk to him but what am I going to say? Sorry Mr. Grey for making out with your daughter, I won't do it again. " He turned to look at Cherry. "Even though I am not sorry and I probably will do it again, if you let me.""Don't worry," she said. "If you do try again, I'll let you. However, next time we hang out it should be at your house. Obviously mine is not safe, since my parents think they can just walk into my room whenever. Of course, usually they can. The most scandalous thing I could be doing is procrastinating on my homework, and that happened approximately one time." Taking his hands in hers, the way she usually did, she swung their arms gently from side to side, looking down at his fingers. The tips had started to get calloused from instruments, weapons, and sports, but he still had the same careful touch, like he was making sure he didn't hurt her. She doubted he ever would.