Hello :P It is technically Thursday now as it has gone past midnight here but I am back to upload this new chapter! This one was one that I really enjoyed getting to write. It focuses a lot more on the issues that Jayden and Katie face which leads to their break up and her navigating her way to Justin. In addition to that, we learn some more about her and Jayden's travels and Pokemon and them as separate people as well as them together. They are essentially childhood sweethearts and fall in love young but not everything is always perfect and you can see that here. I hope you enjoy :3

Ages:

Katie: 17

Jayden: 20

Justin: 23

Disclaimer: I own the stories and the OCs mentioned!

I closed my eyes and cuddled up closer to the orange haired female while she slept, and in a time where everything was then falling back into place after things had been up in the air for quite some time, I began to vividly envision moments that had been. I edged ever closer to her and as we breathed in together, I couldn't help but wonder if we were both thinking about the same thing. They were tales to me. They were memories to her. And now they're a tale to you as well.

The orange haired female leaned over the wooden rail of her ship and let out a quiet, contented sigh to herself, the vast vessel bobbing up and down in the water peacefully and the air tickling through her hair. Katie was most content. In the moment that was that one, she was most content. Though things in her mind and her life had been a little uncertain for the last week or two, the sun reflecting on the ocean seemed to melt all of that away and only one thing mattered. The present moment. And that moment was a peaceful one. She simply wished that it was going to last forever.

She smirked to herself in a girlish sort of way. She had simply always adored the ocean. With a mother who was as knowledgeable and enthusiastic as she was it was no surprise that in no time at all, when Katie was just a very small girl, was quick to follow in her footsteps. She became obsessed with the sea. She became fascinated by mermaids. She became enamoured with ocean tales and mythical creatures and pirates.

Pirates. That wasn't a word that she would often use to describe herself but when she was in control of her grandfather's ship, The Valentine, she couldn't help but feel as though a bit of one. She felt as though she embodied what all those historical scallywags held at their core. The worship of freedom. The open ocean. The never-ending horizon. She loved a good story and always loved a good ending most of all. But when it came to sailing on her ship, sometimes she liked not knowing where she was going at all. She had no idea that in the not so distant future, somebody would come into her life – or rather somebody already in her life – would live through that kind of experience with her.

But for the time being, it was just her and the vast stretch of ocean in front of her as her family ship bobbed in the dockyards and the anchor secured her to the sea. It was just her and her breath and the inhale and the exhale.

Of course, she was not truly alone. And she took a moment to think about how lucky she was to have such an able crew. She lifted one of her hands off the wooden railing of the ship to shield her eyes and she turned backwards, looking at her various Pokémon seeing that everything as running smoothly as well as having a jolly good time themselves!

Whiscash were often known to be dopey looking things and despite Katie's own one with it's fixed grin and rubbery looking features, it appeared to be doing a good job of keeping a weather eye on the horizon also. Arguably, Whiscash was doing a better job than Omanyte who had fallen asleep on the decks, clearly feeling a bit too relaxed under the oceanic sun.

And last but not least of Katie's own Pokémon was Surskit. Her beloved Surskit whom she had captured when she was quite the little girl. The dual bug and water Pokémon was running around in a skittish sort of way but he seemed to be content nevertheless. He usually was never away from Katie's side but even he appeared to understand that she needed a moment to herself. After all, he knew her almost better than anyone and he understood himself that keeping The Valentine ship shape was not an easy task.

Surskit allowed his beloved trainer to continue enjoying being in her own world and he nor the other Pokémon didn't realise that her world – what was going on in her mind – was nothing but gratitude for the beings that she shared her voyages with.

And those weren't the only Pokémon there, no. The dual lavender and magenta haired older boy's Pokémon who she shared her travels with were also there. His Meganium had taken pride of place on the decking next to Whiscash and she had taken it upon herself to make sure the fellow Pokémon knew exactly what it was doing. She didn't trust that endearing yet vacant smile! She didn't trust it one bit. Sometimes she didn't exactly trust her owner either. A grass Pokémon travelling by ship – who would have heard such a thing? But even she couldn't deny the adventures. And another of the male's Pokémon seemed to be having one there and then.

The middle Morgan son's Smeargle, much like the eldest Ketchum daughter's Surskit, was moving around from one end of the ship to the other. However, it was not skittishly scarpering. Smeargle was hopping over his own paint coloured tale and he was making quite the mess indeed. Anybody could tell that Meganiam's sceptical glances towards Whiscash were soon being cast towards the artistic dog Pokémon but lucky for all, the last Pokémon – a Leavanny and almost mother of the entire clan – was leaning against the mast of the ship and keeping a watchful eye on everything.

But it became apparent that her watchful eye wasn't good enough! After Smeargle continued his paint splattering skipping for a good few minutes, footsteps coming from inside the ship could be heard and then they could be heard on the deck. However, they were not from Katie, oh no. they came from the other person travelling on The Valentine. They came from Jayden. Like his Pokémon, he too was splattered with paint. But unlike his Pokémon, he was panting.

The orange haired female didn't hesitate to switch the hand that was shielding her face and turned over her other shoulder to look at the older male. She looked at him at the same time that he spoke, his level tones unusually exasperated.

"Smeargle! You can't run off like that. Do you really think that I can finish my painting down there alone?" he asked and to prove his disbelief even further, he ran a hand through his hair and didn't realise that he smeared green paint right through his locks, decorating the already lavender and magenta strands an added colour. Even though he continued panting, he soon enough switched his words, perhaps not wanting to come across as too serious in front of Katie. He showed off a wan smile instead. "Alright then. Go play. Whatever makes you happy. But don't make poor Whiscash clean the decks all over again!"

Meganium instantly showed off an expression that disagreed that it was "poor Whiscash" but she showed off a sunnier expression when Jayden glanced her way. Nevertheless, she was free to return to her suspicious expression soon enough when the green orbed male didn't look at his Pokémon for very long at all. He had spotted Katie standing there and saw her smile, thinking it was him rather than her squinting at the sun. He came to join her side, noticing the paint crusting on his fingers and starting to pick it.

"Hey you." He greeted as he chose to stand right next to her, lightly bumping his hip against hers but giving her a little bit of space following that. He leaned his elbows over the rails rather than his hands because he wouldn't have dreamt of tarnishing the vessel that was Jordan's and then Misty's and then Katie's. He gave her a soft and genuine smile, gesturing with a movement of his head towards the sun still bouncing off the calm level of the ocean. "You enjoying the view?"

The orange haired female finally stopped using either of her hands to shield against the sun in the presence of the older male but she nodded her head straight away, absentmindedly copying his stance of leaning over the ship with her elbows on the edge rather than her hands. She didn't say any words because she didn't feel the need to.

Jayden didn't mind. At least, the orange haired female believed that he didn't. One of his arms and elbows drew back as his hand found its way back to his hair, that time not smearing more paint through it. But none came out. Katie couldn't help but silently giggle to herself at that. She would tell him later on but for the time being, she thought the added green in his dual toned locks was sort of funny!

When the eldest Ketchum female could feel the older make tilting his head towards her curiously, wondering why her shoulders were shaking slightly as she supressed her silent giggles, Katie turned back to him and asked out of politeness. It was half habit and half not wanting to explain that his hair was starting to match his eyes.

"How is your painting going down there?" she questioned in an easy sort of tone though in her mind, it came across as a little uneasy for the first time. Her fingers found each other and played with one and other, her arms still stretched out to the ocean.

For once, Jayden didn't pick up on the ever so slight stiffness of her words although that was perhaps that it had been in Katie's imagination. The artistic male took a comical moment to glance behind them both at where Smeargle was continuing to skip about, spreading paw marks across the wooden decking of The Valentine and after both Katie and Jayden shared a look too, the male responded.

"It was going swimmingly. But now I think that he's taken more of an interest in painting across this here ship. It's hard for him to sit back and let me be the one to paint. He always wants to get involved!" Jayden told Katie and after the orange haired female listened, she nodded her head. She had always known that boy's Pokémon to be a stubborn sort and wanted to leave his mark on the world. In fact, it was quite common for Jayden to leave his paintings overnight and find Smeargle had escaped his Pokémon Ball and done his own creation right over his trainer's!

Katie's responsive nod changed slowly to a bit of a sympathetic smile after a couple of moments. She could relate to the artistic dog Pokémon in some ways. She liked to be in on the action as well. She especially liked it to be that way when she was on The Valentine. The orange haired female could be a quiet and observant sort of person but when it came to her travels and her grandfather's ship, she absolutely took everything into her own hands. She took everything into her own hands like she did the ship's wheel. She had no idea that that would lead her to quite the diversion in the not so distant future, too.

"What's the weather looking like out there?" Jayden interrupted the silence by changing the subject. It really was quite rare of him to fill the silences with words and questions when they weren't exactly necessary but with the new-found challenges they had both come up against lately, he started to like the wordless moments between them less and less.

Thankfully though, his question was not exactly an out of place one. Since the two of them had joined each other's side once again, the wind had started to pick up and when Jayden had been talking about his Smeargle, the sun started to beat down on the ocean far less harshly than before. That wasn't exactly a strange thing, even so. They were nearing autumn. They were lucky for the warmth that time of year.

Katie glanced at Jayden to the side of her and after thinking of his words; she looked up at the sky and started to take note of the few more clouds that were starting to fill above them. She hummed to herself as she contemplated. She squinted once more, holding her hand up to her face out of habit and feeling the wind blowing through her side plaited hair once more. Eventually, she had an answer for the older male.

"It looks as though it could get a little more turbulent. But who knows? It could go either way. It could go either way this time of year and by judging by the weather recently." The eldest Ketchum female informed the dual haired male and he had another rare response by nodding his head as he listened before coming out with another topic of speech.

It was obvious that he was going to do this and it was also obvious that it was genuine rather than a tactic from the way that he smiled and the last of the rays bounced off his eyes. He pointed also, edging closer to the orange haired female. He bumped his hip against hers all over again and then briefly rested his head against hers as he continued pointing. She partially wondered if he was contaminating her with green paint.

"Did you see over there? I'm sure you did. That's probably why you've been here so long. Look. Look at that lighthouse over there." Jayden spoke to Katie and at first; the orange haired female couldn't help but use most of her attention to think about the green paint that was possibly decorating her locks. But she wasn't cross. She was merely a bit curious to see what it was going to look like.

But after Jayden gave her a bit of a look when she didn't respond to his words at all and he felt it appropriate to lightly take hold of her face, moving it into the right reaction, she realised that the older male was talking to her and it would have been rude not to respond.

Her response came off sincere as well because the truth was; she hadn't spotted the lighthouse a good while out to sea and on a cluster of rocks before Jayden pointed it out to her. And she didn't hesitate to utter these words of honesty.

"I didn't pay attention to it much at all. I was too busy feeling the rocking of the ship." Katie blinked as she murmured innocently and while Jayden found himself giving her a questioning eyebrow raise, his fingers lingering on her face a couple of seconds more before slowly edging away, the orange haired female naturally smiled at the sight. Her hands went back to the rail that time as she leaned further forward, eager to see more. "Isn't it so mysterious? I do love a lighthouse. And look at the dear little home with it! I can't believe I didn't spot it sooner. Thanks for setting me straight."

The eldest Ketchum female's words were said with nothing but light-heartedness and not a single drop of patronisation. She even bumped her hip lightly back against Jayden's in response before leaning all the more further against the rail.

Jayden had a bit of a strange response in return. It wasn't exactly a peculiar response. It was how he would have acted in all those years before but in recent weeks, certain situations and conversations had made him refrain from acting that way as much as usual.

However there and then, he was back to acting out of instinct rather than thinking about what he was doing. He couldn't help but show off a charmingly earnest smile, the longer parts of his hair flopping over his face as he grinned. His more tanned cheeks than the younger female tinted a rosy pink as he smiled. There and then, he didn't bother to stop himself from moving closer to Katie. His arm wrapped around her as he replied to her with words.

"You and I could live in a place such as that one of these days you know, Katie." He told her and his arm was wrapping further around her shoulders and nowhere else and he was her boyfriend so it definitely wasn't appropriate. And luckily for him, right away he couldn't feel the fact that the orange haired female was beginning to slowly glance at him. He blurted out more words before he bothered to stop himself. They came tumbling out after the way that she had thanked him so sincerely and returned the hip-bumping gesture. "Imagine that. You and I in a place like that. It would be incredible."

"Jayden…" the orange haired female finally breathed out in response and though she didn't move her boyfriend's arm from around her shoulders or duck out of his hold, any of the Pokémon could tell from watching – if they were watching – that she wanted to add a little bit more distance between them.

Katie didn't say anything else other than the older male's name but it was enough to hint to him that he was pushing his luck too far. At first, he didn't realise that he was pushing his luck. Then as he blinked and kept his arm on her and the wind tousled throw his own hair, he had a moment to reflect on how it would seem that way from a couple of conversations over the last couple of weeks.

The eldest Morgan son was an emotionally intelligent boy and he knew when he was pushing it too far – even when he wasn't intending to do exactly that. His brow furrowed and he uttered the words "what?" and then when Katie finally took that moment to duck out of his arms, he exhaled a nonchalant breath and tried a different tactic. He shrugged, finally feeling the green paint flecking in his hair and he began to pick it out.

"It's a nice house is what I mean. I could imagine you in a place like there. And imagine the architecture. It looks as though the walls are all slanted and crooked but I reckon you could fit quite a lot of space in there. And imagine the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks while you slept and the yellow glow of the lighthouse waking you up on cold winter mornings." The dual haired male started using his imagination that was one of the reasons that Katie had fallen for him to paint his girlfriend quite the picture. She was a little sceptical at first but then hearing him go on about the design and indeed paint such a picture, she couldn't help begin to be sucked in. She started to relax, her elbows resting back on the railing.

Jayden added more and more ideas for her, seemingly enjoying saying it as much as he hoped that she enjoyed hearing it. And then he added a final few words, stuffing his hands in his loose trouser pockets and shrugging once more.

"I can imagine you right there. And I can imagine me there as well. The both of us. Imagine." The middle Morgan son couldn't refrain from concluding with a point that was back to being similar to his initial one and once again, Katie had a similar response. But that time, as she uttered out his name, she breathed him in a bit more of an impatient way. And her brow furrowed as if she was disappointed in him for going there once again.

"Jayden…" she muttered and the way that his hands remained in his pockets and both his eyebrows raised upwards as if she was completely clueless, made her react all the more disapprovingly towards him. That was rare for her. That was very rare indeed. But when it came to people repeating actions they had discussed together at length, it made her very disheartened indeed. And it caused her to protect herself. Katie's whole body turned to the older male as she reminded him. "We were keeping this friendly, remember? We were trying to keep everything a bit more easy-going. Don't try and get your way when you know I'm not ready."

These words were like a bit of a slap to the green orbed male and those eyes of his widened at the same time that the wind blew, causing the wordless silence that followed to have quite the eerie effect. At the same time that the silence happened and the wind blew also, the various noises from the Pokémon came to a halt also. And it was then that the two young people understood that they were being watched.

Jayden made the first move and with a swift action and a sigh but a polite and fair lip quirk that was a smile, he reached to his belt for three Poké Balls and returned his Pokémon to their capsules. Katie followed suit a couple of moments after and she couldn't help but think to herself that she envied how considerate Jayden was being to his Pokémon friends. He hadn't seemed to be that way with her in recent weeks and he hadn't gone with the flow with her either. He seemed hesitant to adapt.

The dual haired male very closely addressed this himself with his own words when Katie's Pokémon were in their capsules also and he had finished attaching his balls to his belt. He let his hands stay out of his pockets that time and his arms almost swung about as he finally replied with a sigh.

"I know that we're supposed to be keeping this friendly, I know that we are. But we're still boyfriend and girlfriend." Jayden reminded his younger girlfriend and she didn't hesitate to nod in response. She knew that. The middle Morgan son added, his hand running through his dual locks once and it caused them to flop around his features all the more so. "But it's not natural for me not to say things like that, Katie. You know that it's not. If I feel them, I say them. You know that's how I am. We wouldn't be together if I hadn't felt love for you and bit the bullet and told you all those years ago."

It was true that Jayden did often speak his mind in loving and affectionate ways but he usually chose his words leisurely and carefully. He didn't need to that time, however, because he was speaking the truth. And then after speaking the truth, his bottom lip threatened to pout somewhat and Katie read this as uncertainty if she actually liked that about him. And it was out of uncertainty that she was glad he had taken that initiative all those years ago, too.

Despite the fact that they had hit a bit of a bump in their relationship a couple of weeks ago, the orange haired female found it natural for her to reassure him, her hands reaching out to him as she took out the last few green paint flakes from his hair. She spoke with a sigh but she was caring nonetheless.

"And… And I'm glad that's how you are. And I'm glad you did what you did, you know that I am." Katie told Jayden and though the way his green orbs darted while the green was removed from his hair informed the orange haired female that he wasn't one hundred percent certain, the younger female persisted, lightly poking him on the end of the nose. "You know that I am. I'm telling you that I am. But that doesn't mean that you get to decide everything for me, Jayden. I love you and I want a future with you. But we decided to make things more friendly. You don't get to decide when I'm ready for certain things. And it's not fair that you talk about these travels being over and the sort of house we'll have together when I'm not ready for that."

And upon hearing these words, to contrast the rosy blush of his cheeks when Katie had seemingly been on the same page as him moments before and complimented him, Jayden's face turned as red as the Poké Balls that everyone was probably glad to be stored inside. He couldn't help but swallow. Katie had a similar reaction and she furrowed her brow and ducked her head because she couldn't bear to think that she had let him down.

Jayden exhaled loudly. Jayden exhaled loudly while he gathered his thoughts and he exhaled loudly as he tried to get his cheeks to calm down. He could feel his heartbeat in his neck and in his throat too. He waited for a few moments to pass. He thought about his words. He did it more leisurely like he usually would have done but he was a little bit irritated by it because it was something else that the two of them had discussed. The middle Morgan child put forward.

"Well… You don't get to decide that I have to act against my heart either, Katie." Jayden told her and straight away, Katie blinked. She wanted to take a few moments but she found herself reacting sincerely and her heard jerking, looking right at Jayden. He blurted out all the more words. His hands were growing clammy also. "It's not natural for me. And it's not fair for me to hold back how I feel about you and act like I don't have all these plans and wishes and hopes for us because I do. It's not fair for you to ask me to do this. It's not natural for me to slow down. And it's not fair."

For a couple of moments, the orange haired female was dumbfounded. There were no other words to describe it. She was utterly bewildered. Though her head started to feel like it was being crushed between the two palms of a giant and she got a horrible sick feeling in her throat and stomach, she was pretty damn good at hiding it. All she did was frown. And after a couple of moments of silence passed and Jayden not regretting his words because they were true for him, Katie fought back. She reminded the dual haired male.

"But… But you waited…" Katie began and she started these words and felt as though she didn't need to finish them because they had both been in the same relationship together for over two years and he knew exactly the experiences they shared together and when. And the orange haired female was right. He had been incredibly patient. And he had waited.

Through both of their minds, memories of their first sleepover fluttered through their heads. Jayden had waited until Katie was ready and it felt the right time for them both to do so. The first time they took a trip together swam through their subconscious as well. That hadn't happened until Katie was done with schooling for the summer so she could properly relax and focus. And then there was their first time being intimate with one and other. They waited until the right time and the right place and when it was right for them both.

But evidently, Jayden felt as though he had waited plenty. And he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't be reasonable anymore, it seemed. The sensitive male was filled with emotions and he showed them on the surface. With his neck flushing with frustration and disappointment and sadness too, he interrupted Katie.

"Yes, I waited. I waited forever for you and I will not wait anymore. I'm done waiting. You either want me as I am and making plans and thinking of all of these things for us or you don't want it. I've waited enough. But not anymore. I'm done waiting." Jayden insisted to Katie and it was the last thing that he insisted to her that day.

With his hands trembling with emotion and his fingers sweating against one and other and his cheeks and neck both red, he shakily turned on his heel and disappeared back to the cabin that they shared to paint.

And Katie was just left leaning up against the railing of The Valentine, her stomach feebly convulsing and her mouth hanging open. Her eyes pricked with tears but they did not spill. She just merely stared. She stared as Jayden turned away from her and he left her. She couldn't believe how things had turned out and she couldn't believe the words that he had said. And someone else felt very similarly indeed when she recounted this story to him another week or so later, labelling it as one of the moments that led to them going their separate ways.

As Justin and Katie remained in the deep purple haired male's hotel room while they had linked up together to discuss everything that had happened in their lives and in their relationships since they last properly saw one and other, the eldest Morgan son's mouth hung open. He had a bit of an expression that showed that he didn't want to disapprove of his little brother's actions too much but he had a firm grasp on what was right and wrong and so for that reason, his brow furrowed. He questioned the orange haired female as delicately as he could.

"No way. Really? He really said that? That really happened. That's…" Justin began and even though the two of them had been sat on his bed of his hotel room for a good couple of hours just talking at that point and it had grown dark all around them as night began to grow closer and no one bothered to turn a light on, the deep purple haired male could see the younger female playing with her fingers after she recounted everything that had happened. Justin decided to sigh and concluded his words differently rather than getting too self-righteous. But he did shake his head. "That's not on at all. There's always room for more patience. There should be the same amount of that is there is love."

Though Katie had begun to feel quite shaky and wordless after she had concluded all the important details of what led to her and Jayden going separate ways for good and though she continued playing with her fingers on Justin's hotel bed, she couldn't help but smile when she heard his words. She wanly smiled when he said these words. And after he sighed all over and pressed his mouth to the side of his face, his dimple appearing against the low-lit room, Katie found herself able to speak some more.

She switched her position to stop lying on her side on the bed and playing with her fingers and sat up properly instead, copying Justin's stance of being cross legged. Her hands remained in her lap but she looked across at the older male as the street lights outside lit his face as much as they could, giving him another smile. She focused on how his words mirrored his own situation rather than thinking too heavily on how he understood hers.

"You would say that because you're the patient one." Katie told Justin and his expression didn't change to insinuate whether he agreed or not so Katie persisted, shuffling closer to him on the bed. She shook her head at herself and showed off a gesture of an apology. Her fingers played with the hem of the black skirt that she was wearing. "I've gone on about what happened with me for the last good while. Did anything else happen with you? Did it all just end there for you too?"

The deep purple haired male nodded his head. He nodded his head and then he shook his head. And then he nodded his head and then shook his head some more. When Justin stretched out his own legs before folding them back up and answering her, Katie understood why. With her elbow moving to her knee and her chin resting in her hand, she listened to the deep haired purple adding a few more details of his own break up.

The end of his relationship had been caused by quite the heated discussion of his boyfriend bringing up a future involving marriage and children just days after he was finished with tour and while it was true they both informed each other that they wanted to talk more, they hadn't done much of that at all. It became apparent that they meant everything that they said. Justin meant things that he didn't say also. And because he couldn't say them, they never got put forth at all. The deep purple haired male didn't even admit them to Katie for he hadn't discovered them fully within himself at that point.

But he did tell her that Sammy wanted to focus on his faith and his other relationships for a bit and it had been suggested to him that he should focus on things that were important to him as well. Justin admitted to Katie how that made him feel there and then.

"But with tour over and me being too muddled up to write for the time being, what was there to focus on? All I could think about was the feeling of dread that I might have wasted almost six years with someone for the elephant in the room to be made utterly apparent by one dreadful turn of events." Justin expressed with a shake of the head but because it was possible that he had been in and out of all of the emotions involved, he spoke rather matter of factly about it all. Katie perhaps reacted strongly for the both of them but she waited until after he had added. "I didn't want that sort of future. But I didn't want to break up. Yet not everybody seems to get that."

The orange haired female finally couldn't supress her groan any longer, leaning forward and pressing her knuckles against her forehead. Justin must've looked rather startled because Katie had to utter a sheepish "sorry" and shake her head before replying in response, a sigh escaping her lips before a wounded smile took over them.

"It's just not fair, is it? I get that. I completely get that. But it's the same for both of us, it seems. One person wants more and they envision all of what they want so hard that they can't imagine things being otherwise. But how is that fair? We want to live for the moment. We're open to all possibilities. But we're the ones who have the fate chosen for us because we're the ones 'bailing'." The eldest Ketchum female uttered these words and despite the fact that she had hit the nail on the head and they were pretty tumultuous situations to be in the middle of, Justin found himself smiling in response. And it wasn't wan like hers. He wasn't exactly amused. But he guessed that it almost tickled him how much she cared for his situation as well because she cared for him, not just because it was close to hers. But after saying these words, she was hit with the reality that his circumstance was close to hers. And because of this, after running one of her hands through her plait decorated hair, she almost hesitantly glanced at him, asking. "Did… Did we really have to go through those relationships just to have them pulled from under our feet like this?"

Slowly but surely and softly too, Justin's smile faded. Katie's words did not put an ache into his heart. They merely put reflection onto his face. His break up had happened a month ago and he had been asked to try and move on by his ex-long term boyfriend so he believed he owed as much to him to do that even if they were no longer together.

It didn't pain Justin too much to reflect. And after her talk with the deep purple haired male, the orange haired female started to feel that way as well. It started to feel far off and of a whole different world to her and especially at the eerie atmosphere of the dark hotel room with Justin with only the street lights outside shining in. Neither of them still bothered to move to switch the lamps on. Not for the time being, at least. They were almost cosy as they were. And that little atmosphere led Justin to have answers for Katie.

Pushing his growing locks out of his eyes, Justin then used that same hand to hold up as he came out with the words that he wanted to say. Katie tried not to focus on how much he had changed since he went away on tour and yet how much he was the same also. She listened to his words instead. She almost needed him to help her make sense of everything.

"Well…" the deep purple haired male began and his eyes started to reflect light somewhat as his head tilted opposite the window of his hotel room. His words were not intended as well thought out kindness. They were merely an expression of how he was beginning to feel. "I can't answer that for you. But we ended up in the same city and on the same day and after having the same sort of news to share with one and other. So perhaps we should just focus on the fact that we get to navigate our ways through this together, Katie."

Justin told the orange haired female and as he finished his words, a small smile began to take over his face all over again and it became apparent that his hand wasn't being held up for no reason with what happened next. As he continued smiling at her and telling her with his eyes but not insincerely at all that his words were not for the sake of it, he reached his palm to where hers also was and he touched his against hers before clasping his fingers with hers.

The orange haired female had a bit of a hitch in her throat but she recovered from it quickly enough when she saw his smile and then she couldn't help but smile back. She absorbed his words. She didn't agree with them for the sake of agreeing with them but they sunk into her skin. They sunk into her skin more naturally than words had done for a long time as well because Justin spoke for himself, he didn't try to convince her or anything.

The deep purple haired male remained smiling, his gaze glancing nonchalantly between her and the large window of the hotel room. And it was then that the older male was doing this that Katie couldn't help but focus on his face. He hadn't changed at all since she had last seen him yet he looked different all in one. She couldn't quite describe it. It was like she was finally noticing a light from within him that she hadn't noticed before. She hadn't noticed before because she had been too busy looking elsewhere. And she had been too busy following everyone else's directions.

Katie swallowed. She looked at the face of Justin some more and as she could feel his gaze looking back at her in an inviting yet unassuming kind of way, a huge wave of emotion took over her. It was not an overwhelming sensation. It started in the pit of her stomach. It fluttered up towards her chest. It hung about in her neck. Tingling signals began to get sent down her arms and to her finger tips during the gaze-filled silence and then it was those fingertips that took action.

The eldest Ketchum female found herself unclasping that hand that was still holding Justin's hand and before he could wriggle his fingers after they had been freed of each other, both of Katie's own hands found the sides of both of Justin's face. They traced along his jaw for just a split second. And then she started to lean in. Before the orange haired female could realise what she had done, she had closed her eyes and she had pressed her lips to his. And she was kissing Justin.

It lasted for only a couple of seconds and even though electricity ran through her veins and all the corners of her body, she could feel that his fingers had unclenched and he had grown still and he had not kissed her back. Katie pulled away and her first instinct was to look down, her lips feeling far different than they ever had done before but they didn't dare smile that time.

At first, Justin didn't dare breathe. He just stared back at Katie in surprise with still the softest gaze that he had always had for her and he took in everything that had happened. He had been kissed. He had been kissed. And he had not kissed her back. He didn't take a moment to think why he hadn't kissed her back.

All of a sudden, exactly like it had been for Katie, intricate possibilities fluttered through his mind and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. And like it was so easy for him when he caught hold of a song idea and knew to chase that wherever it led to, he got the impulse to do that there and then and with Katie also.

For a split second, he softened at the way that she was reacting and how she didn't dare look at him. And then he focused on the feelings that he was experiencing for the first time in his life. It was natural for him to follow instinct so he did exactly that. He didn't bother to question why he hadn't returned the gesture when it first happened. He just rectified it there and then.

With another smile taking over his lips instead of Katie's, her eyes decided to look up at the last second but it was Justin who tilted her head upwards. He reached his own hand back out to her and entwined it with the one that he had clasped before and then with the other, his thumb and forefinger cupped at her chin. He leaned his own face back in, in response and then his lips were pressed against Katie's. And he was kissing her too.

It was a decision that one of them had put forth but after letting the unexpected yet hopeful magic lead the way, both of them were happy to comply. Their lips didn't leave one and others for quite some time and even when they did, smiles formed and then they found each other all over again. Then it was the same thing with their hands. It was the same with their hands and their fingers tracing along each other's skin. And it was the same for their bodies too and their hearts beating against one and others.

It was same for their beings who had found one and other. They had known each other for years but that day and then that night they had navigated their way towards one and other in a whole other way. And it was the sort of event that put them on the path of where they needed to be. And where they needed to go.

The End.

There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 One of my favourite moments to write here was Katie at the beginning of her story. I'm sure she feels a great heritage when it comes to travelling the world by ship and being on the ocean that she feels is shared by a lot of her family members. It's nice that she's so capable and in her element. It shows that you can be strong while being quiet and face difficulties as well! The break up of Katie and Jayden and Sammy and Justin respectively will always be interesting to me - as well as the relation that's created between Justin and Katie from here on out also. That was the moment that Katie changed her path. That was the moment that she changed her path and then realised that she'd been overlooking someone simply because everyone told her of Jayden's affections towards her so frequently. Justin and Katie do not end up together but their paths and dreams and wants get discovered completely within each other. And that will always be a special thing to write about :3 Thanks again for reading and I will be back again on Wednesday with another chapter so see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :P