Dreamtrees

For a moment Calvin had forgotten about Brian. He had become so absorbed in his attempts to comfort Chase, despite the impossibility of achieving such a goal from where he stood in the hallway, that all else had faded away. As a result, Calvin was startled by Brian’s gesture to comfort him. He jumped spastically, and his skull connected with the glass door he’d previously rested against. “Owey…” Calvin whined as he brought both of his hands to his forehead. The skin was sure to bruise, but when the scratches that he had received that evening were taken into consideration, his most recent injury did not seem too terrible. At least a bruise would not scab over.

Having been snapped out of his momentary trance, Calvin turned to face Brian, still clutching his head, his facial features twisted into a pained expression. This look was quickly replaced by a far different one, however, as Brian began to list the rules that he was to follow upon entering Chase’s room.

He was being permitted to visit Chase. Calvin could have squealed.

In fact, he did just that.

The tears that glazed his eyes twinkled beneath the glaring hospital lights that hung from the ceiling, and suddenly it became quite difficult to determine whether they had ever been a product of sorrow. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Calvin shrieked repetitively.

The door buzzed, alerting Calvin that the bothersome thing had been unlocked.

Moving hastily, Calvin slipped inside. “Chase!” he greeted her, his voice betraying the pure terror that he had experienced when she’d screamed. He flew towards her and dropped to his knees at her bedside, crouching to her level.

Calvin had been informed that Chase had been restrained - and even if Brian had not shared this information with him, he surly could have guessed by the way in which she’d begun to harm herself and those around her when she had been permitted to freely move about. Calvin had known before he’d set foot in the room, and yet, as his eyes met with the ropes that bound Chase to her hospital bed, he felt as though nothing could have prepared him for a sight so upsetting. It had been decided that Chase Moor was dangerous. If it had not been so, she would not have been tied down in such a way – and the idea pained Calvin.

Gently, Calvin brushed his thumb against the skin of Chase’s nearest wrist, just beneath her binds, and at once the red color that the area had become was replaced by Chase’s natural skin tone. Healing minor injuries were Calvin's forte.

“Hi Chase…” Calvin spoke softly, and offered her a sad smile.

Chase could hear something outside the door and she froze. It was a voice, a familiar voice.. but a voice. She could see the silhouette of someone just outside the door, and she felt tears falling down her face faster. They were here to kill her... they were here to shoot that horrible spell at her again... she swore, if she had to undergo Crucio one more time, she would lose it.. more then she already had. At least now Felix was gone, she was starting to get a grip on herself, and her terror had turned into a new one. Her jaw was hurting, and surely was bruised by now by the impact it had when Brian had punched her, knocking her flat. She lay there shaking, listening as a voice carried through the door, and then something hit the door. She jumped and wished desperately that she could move, so she could curl into a ball and protect herself. She felt much to open.. much to able to be slit open like Barker had done to her once before.

Suddenly the door opened and Chase winced at the light, turning her head to the side to hide her face, before she heard a very familiar voice yell out her name. She spun her head around and saw.. Calvin. Tears of relief rushed down her face and she struggled to get nearer to him. Feeling her tears wash down her face, she saw that he had been crying. "Calvin.." She whispered, feeling his finger just below her binds on her wrist, she shuddered and clenched her hand closed, wanting to feel his in hers, but unable to move her hand to his. "Calvin... I'm so sorry.... I didn't mean to! Can you ever forgive me? I.. I'm a horrible person.. and I'm just so scared Calvin.. I'm so scared." She looked at him with big puffy, red eyes.

She was shivering as she lay bound to the bed, the ropes from incarcerous has really stuck her there, and the only thing she could move was her head, as she looked at him. Tears leaked across her nose and she smiled at him slightly. "I've messed up again haven't I? I've made you cry... I'm sorry Calvin.. I wish I could be more for you.. I wish... I wish I could just... get over how scared I am... I hurt her Calvin.. I hurt her, and now she'll never come back... and... her babies... and... Brian.." She worked her jaw slightly, still a little frustrated that Brian had punched her. She could feel the bruise showing up, and knew that it probably had been cut, she could have sworn he wore a ring...

Chase looked at Calvin and whimpered, seeing the nicks on his skin, and the bruise raising on his forehead. "What happened to you Calvin? What happened? I'm so sorry! Calvin.. will you ever forgive me? I want to go home.. I want to go home to you.. and Katie.. and Reid.. I want to go with you Calvin.. but.. they say I'm dangerous.. am I dangerous Calvin? I don't know anymore.. I don't know who I am anymore.. and I'm so scared.. I just want to hug you... can I kiss you Calvin? Please?" She looked at him so pleadingly, unable to do what she wanted, but able to ask for it. "I just miss you so much..." She whispered, tears leaking faster down her face and into her hair.

Had Calvin remained on his feet when he’d entered that poorly lit hospital room, he may very well have crumbled to the floor beneath him when Chase first spoke. “Chase?” Calvin whispered, his breath audibly catching in his throat. His shock was evident, but it surely wouldn't surprise Chase to see his emotions so clearly displayed before her; he'd never successfully hidden his thoughts from her eyes. The barrier that was Calvin’s freckled skin, and his skull beneath it, was no better at concealing his mind than a transparent plastic would.

Calvin fell forward against the mattress that Chase was lying on.“Your back…” he stated, his voice quite the opposite of what it naturally was. No longer was Calvin screaming aloud his every word. His innocent mind had been battered to the point of being rendered incapable of controlling the pitch in which he spoke, and as a result, his every word was soft as it fell from his parted lips. “You…” he began again, but seemed to be at a loss for what to say next in order to complete his sentence. An ecstatic smile spread across Calvin’s face, but in seconds it was replaced by a tight-lipped frown. His mind was flipping through every emotion that he’d experienced when Chase had replied to his presence in the way she would naturally, rather than speaking in a frantic manner about a dream forest that was visible only to her. She had returned. The Chase Moor that Calvin had clung to so desperately when he had learned of her breakdown had become visible once more.

“I’m fine,” Calvin replied. His words were followed by an joyous laugh, as though his own sanity had left him during the hours that he had waited outside of Chase’s door. As Chase began to apologize, however, his laughter ceased, and he hastily began to reply to her every sentence. “You don’t have to ask me to forgive you. Please don’t. You didn't do anything on purpose. It wasn’t your fault.” Calvin took hold of the hand that he’d previously healed, and instinctively intertwined his long, alien-like fingers with Chase’s much smaller digits. “Chase, you aren’t horrible,” he informed her sternly - or, rather, as sternly as was possible for the childish lad to manage. Calvin met her gaze as his eyebrows moved upward an inch. “You are… you are so strong, Chase. Amazing. Loving. Compassionate. Brilliant. That’s what you are, Chase. You – not someone that some meanie of a Death Eater created.” Calvin brought another hand upward and gently enveloped her hand in both of his. He offered her a smile once more, one which remained for longer than the previous grin had, as he had managed to gain a bit of control over his frenzied thoughts and overpowering emotions. “You didn’t do anything. That was not you.”

“Don’t be scared. I’m here. I’m not leaving,” Calvin promised her, despite what Brian had said about the amount of time that he was to spend with Chase – not out of disrespect towards Brian, but out of love for Chase. “Never,” he whispered. As tears began to dance across Chase’s fair face once more, Calvin pushed himself upward with the toes of his worn sneakers so that his face hovered above Chase’s. He brushed his lips against her forehead gently. For the first time, Calvin’s cheeks did not flush as he kissed Chase; there was no room for embarrassment amongst the feelings that had already taken over him. He separated himself from her for a moment to delve into her caramel irises.

“They are small,” Calvin addressed the small injuries that had been scattered across his arms. Chase had unintentionally run her nails along his skin during her bout of fear, drawing only a small droplet of blood from each. Calvin had paid them no attention. “They don’t hurt. I promise.”

“You aren’t dangerous Chase. Not anymore,” Calvin assured her, and as she asked that he kiss her, Calvin hunched his spine once more and closed the inch or so of distance that remained between their lips. Making certain not to upset any of the injuries that she had inflicted upon herself, or that she had received when she had gone after Khaat, Calvin brushed his lips against hers tenderly.

Thank you, God. I promise, I will make it up to you somehow, Calvin prayed, expressing his gratitude towards the being who he felt had returned Chase to him.

Chase was so happy to hear Calvin's voice. Even if it was soft, and not at all like it usually sounded, it was like heaven on earth, and it brought up normal memories, not the ones haunting her brain. It made her think if happy times, and sunshine outside, teaching Calvin to change a diaper, laughing as they washed Katie in the sink, spraying each other with water as they did, Katie kicking away at the inches of water that her bathing seat let her move around by herself. The laughter, the happiness, it become so bright in Chase's mind, so amazingly dazzling, but not blinding, just.. wonderful. The love of the Ransom household was strong enough to push any horrible thing out of Chase's head, and just one look at Calvin, looking pretty beat up, and distraught, brought back memories, even though he looked sad, he was still Calvin.

When she felt his hand in hers, she could have wept for joy. "Thank you, thank you." She whispered over and over, unable to tell him how much just seeing him meant to her. "I'm so happy your okay.. I hurt you... I hurt you, and I hurt Khaat.. and I hurt everyone today.. I didn't mean to." She said and looked up at him, seeing his smile, his normal, Calvin smile, and a grin of her own lit up her face. She could feel her hand being held by both of his, and she closed her eyes carefully, concentrating on that feeling. Wanting to lock it away forever, and ever, and ever. But her eyes opened again and she looked at him. "But it was me Calvin.. it was... I remember it.. and.. it's like it was someone else.. but I remember doing it.. are they going to throw me in Azkaban Calvin?" She whispered, her eyes locked on him.

He said he wasn't leaving, and she started to weep with happiness. Real tears of joy streaked her face and she closed her eyes to his gentle kiss on her forehead, feeling the familiar sensations of his kiss sweep over her, she could feel herself returning more and more to herself, now that Felix was gone, now that he had left her alone, it was like every moment with Calvin was healing her again. He may not be pressing his hands to her and healing little nicks and scars, no.. he was healing her mind by being there, by holding her hand, by kissing her forehead. By being Calvin, he was healing her. Her eyes opened again, and she looked up at Calvin, his face hovering over hers. "Thank you.." She whispered softly, searching his eyes. "That's all I needed to hear.." She smiled at him and when his lips gently touched hers, she felt tears fall down her face again, but no longer was she terrified, no longer was she upset, and confused, she had Calvin now.. she had Calvin. "Don't leave me Calvin." She whispered, her eyes finding his again after the kiss. "Don't leave me... screw the people who think you shouldn't be in here! I have my mind back, and I don't you to leave..." She said gripping his hand in hers, and looking up at him a small smile on her face. "Don't leave me Calvin, please... I love you.." She looked up at him, hoping he realized that she didn't just mean leaving the room.. she meant leaving her in general, she wanted him to be with her, always, forever. "Don't you ever leave me." She whispered and her eyes closed, a sudden exhaustion sweeping over her. Her stomach growled loudly, and her eyes opened slightly, before she frowned and tried to figure out why that was so weird.

It hit her after a moment, her stomach hadn't growled in weeks.. she had literally been not hungry for so long, her stomach hadn't even growled, and for the first time since she had been kidnapped, she was hungry. "Can I get something to eat?" She asked softly, looking up at him, but gripping his hand tighter. "Don't go.. but I'm hungry..." She said, almost to herself, trying to figure out which one she was stronger, her need to have Calvin by her side, or the need for food. When her stomach growled again louder, and she started to feel hunger pain, literal, strong, hunger pains, she whimpered and looked at him, and then very carefully loosened her grip on his hand. "Food?" She asked softly, her eyes searching his again, her tears drying on her face, her hair a mess, but Chase's normal twinkle was slowly coming back to her eyes, coming from the depths from somewhere it had been lost in, finding it's way... fighting it's way back to see Calvin. The trees had cleared to the point where she could get through them, and she stepped out into the brightest light she had ever seen. "Calvin." She said softly, closing her eyes and drifting off into a doze, exhaustion finally taking control of even her hunger, and her need for Calvin, and she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Brian was about to oust Calvin, no matter what the young man thought. He realized Chase seemed better for the moment, but it was not acceptable for Calvin to simply camp out in the psych ward. He had laid his hand on the door, when Khaat and Robert's secretary, Hannah, came up to Brian, laid a restraining hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear.

HIs face paled as she spoke, his eyes grew wide. Brian was never afraid of anything. But this? This was different in a hundred thousand different ways. His head snapped to look at Hannah, a deep frown on his face. She merely nodded. He looked back at Calvin.

"Sorry, Mate!" He shouted at Calvin. He turned the key in the lock, locking Calvin in with Chase. "Someone will be back--sometime or another. Gotta go!" He turned and ran, as fast as he could run. He wished he could have just ripped the young man out of the room, but right at the moment, there had been no time. Right at the moment, there was far more at stake. Calvin would have to put up with being locked in the psych ward til someone would remember to return for him.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Calvin assured Chase. He separated his right hand from hers for a moment, and brushed a strand of red hair from her face. “A promise is a promise. I am never, ever, ever, going to leave you.”

Under any ordinary circumstances, Calvin would have wrapped Chase in a gentle hug at that point during the comforting process, but with her limbs restrained in such a way, Calvin found himself incapable of doing so. He wished to hold her close and to speak softly in her ears of the brighter days that were to come so long as they made it past this particularly unpleasant trial, but he was prevented from doing so. If Calvin had been the sort to get frustrated in such situations, he sure would have at that moment. True to his nature, however, he found himself thinking of ways to eliminate the enchanted ropes.

Calvin glanced towards the sliding glass door that he'd entered through, as though to check to see if the coast was clear. Brian had ordered him not to free Chase from her binds, and to go against an order was something that Calvin simply did not have to heart for... but he also did not have the heart to leave Chase strapped to her bed. How was Calvin to convince Chase that she was not dangerous when he was following orders not to allow her to move freely? It would be dishonest to continue to attempt to do so.

Once more, his will to protect and to aid Chase in whatever way possible, overpowered his desire to remain loyal to his superiors

As Calvin returned his gaze to Chase, a sudden determination twinkled in his eyes. He producing his wand from one of the many pockets that were scattered about the layers of clothing that he’d dressed in that morning. He held the twig out at an arm’s length and inhaled shakily; the sight of Chase at wand-point was unnerving, even when said wand belonged to him. After pausing for a moment to recall what he'd been taught in Charms class, Calvin spoke the counter-charm’s proper incantation aloud.

Suddenly, Calvin’s attention was stolen by Brian’s voice.

The jig was up. It had to be.

He’d seen what Calvin had done.

It was because of these assumptions that it came as such a surprise to Calvin when Brian locked the only exit and ran off abruptly. Calvin processed the information that he’d obtained, and after a moment of thought, lept to his feet. He began to call after Brian, though there was no possibility of him being heard by the other man, as he’d left him to tend to Chase far sooner than Calvin had responded. “Hey-wait-no you can’t! She needs something to eat!”

He pressed his face against the door and peered outward. At least he was on the right side of the door this time.

His eyes flicked towards Chase, and for a moment they lingered on her relaxed facial features. At last, she was at peace. Nothing could have pleased Calvin more. He smiled and allowed himself a moment to breath. His lungs were starving again.

Chase looked at Calvin, his wand pointed at her, and she gasped, her eyes shutting tight. Immediately memories rushed into her head, memories of wands pointed at her. People she cared for... so many of them had turned on her.. she had turned on so many. Pointing her wand at Jack, Nerezza, Thomas, Sterling, Jesse, tears flew into Chase's eyes and she gasped, her mind whole heartedly convinced that he had been turned by Felix, and was going to kill her now. It was the only way.. she had killed Khaat, maybe it was fitting that the love of her life killed her in return. But just as suddenly as she decided all of this, she suddenly found herself able to move. He had uttered a spell.. not the killing curse, but the counter spell to her binds. She blinked and slowly sat up, rubbing her wrists painfully, her breathing coming in shallow gasps.

She was so tired... she watched Calvin run at the door, and even though she was free... after her small utterance of his name, she fell back onto the pillows and slept.

-----

She wasn't asleep that long. Her need to hold onto Calvin, hug him close, and keep him to her was stronger then her exhaustion. She woke with a start, sitting straight up, her messy hair falling about her face, sweat beaded on her forehead, and her eyes frantically searched for Calvin, almost immediately she flung herself off the bed and her arms were around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably against him, holding onto him, head buried in his chest. "Calvin." She sobbed, tremors wracking her body. "I killed her! I killed her, she's dead and I killed her! It's all my fault!" She was sobbing horribly, clinging to his neck, needing his hug, needing him there. How long had it been since she had been able to hug someone she truly cared about.. hug them and not think about whether they were cheating on her, or only wanted her for sex, or only wanted her because they knew her as someone who had long since been forgotten...

Calvin was her knight in shining armor, he was her hero, her samurai, her savior. He made her feel whole for the first time in her life, and hugging him, her face buried in his chest, making his shirt damp with her tears, even with her own sobbing, she felt completely safe, so safe in his arms, and finally himself. Felix was gone, and she was safe... safe, a word she barely knew the meaning of. A word she had only come to associate with Calvin and their home. A word that Calvin strove for her every day, keeping her safe, and she did a horrible job of thanking him. So as she held him, she tried to put more into the hug then she ever had in her entire life. Sobbing, but she was holding onto him hard, using every last bit of strength she could to show him just how much she loved him, how much she thanked him, trying to put into that hug, what she couldn't get out in words. "Thank you.." Her mind had changed during the hug, she had woken up thinking of Khaat, and as she held Calvin, she needed him to know just how much she loved him. "Thank you Calvin... Thank you." She sobbed, wishing she could stop crying, wishing she could smile at him again, she knew how much he hated seeing her sad, and now.. she could do nothing but sob.

"Thank you for saving me." She whispered against his chest.

While it is rather obvious that sugary treats should not be fed to those who haven’t eaten anything of nutritional value in several days, upon recalling that he’d stashed a half-eaten bar of chocolate within his hooded jacket, Calvin was ecstatic. Before having lost consciousness, Chase had complained of being hungry – which was to be expected, for Calvin could not recall when she’d last eaten properly – and thus it had become his main priority to provide her with something that would tide her over until the pair were freed from the hospital room. Calvin began to rummage through his pockets once more, looking a fool as he attempted to keep track of those which he’d already searched. He pulled his lips inward as he concentrated. This expression of concentration made his resemblance to a Chihuahua pup far more noticeable.

“Ahah! There you are!” he cheered as his fingers brushed against the torn edges of the sloppily re-wrapped bar of chocolate. He withdrew it from his pocket and held it high above his head for a moment as he relished in that momentary feeling of accomplishment. Such emotions had become scarce after Chase’s kidnapping, and thus it became quite important for Calvin to appreciate the moments when he felt he’d done something correctly. The last thing the pair needed was for Calvin to develop an issue with the way he viewed himself. Despite having taken this action, however, the feeling of having failed Chase in his attempt to heal her remained, and would continue to glare at him from the back of his mind until Calvin was certain that Chase was healthy once more.

After a moment’s time, the young man returned his gangly arms to their previous position at his sides, and gently set the candy bar atop Chase’s bedside table. For a moment, Calvin remained where he was, silent and unmoving. Like a guardian angel he stood at Chase’s beside as she slept, listening closely for any changes in her breathing, and for any sign that she’d been plagued with another nightmare. Once more he was filled with the need to swear Chase his allegiance, but his fear of waking her from her slumber overwhelmed this longing. I promise… Calvin whispered inwardly.

As Chase slept, Calvin drifted about the hospital room, constantly battling with his exhaustion and his equally powerful anxiety. Occasionally he would stop beside Chase and would set to work on healing her visible injuries – sometimes even going as far as to attempt to tap into her mind and to rid her of any dark memories she may be reliving. Otherwise, he paced. He stumbled around the small room, constantly falling over his own feet as he walked along the trail of scuff marks he’d created.

Suddenly, however, Calvin’s attention was pulled away from the floor beneath his sneaker-clad feet, and towards his beloved as she darted forward in her bed, having returned to reality in a panic. “You’re OK. Don’t worry -” Calvin began in his attempt to calm her after having jumped to the conclusion that her mind was once again under attack, but she’d found her way towards him before he could so much as complete his sentence. With a grip that suggested she had recovered a good deal of her strength during her brief nap, Chase hugged Calvin. He squeaked in response, as he’d been surprised by the abrupt manner of the gesture. Calvin returned Chase’s hug, holding her gently against his chest.

Immediately upon embracing Chase, Calvin found himself feeling at peace. When she’d slept, Calvin had been left to assume the worst was occurring within the confines of her skull, and thus nothing could have relieved him of his fear for Chase’s wellbeing than to hold her near. For a moment Calvin considered the possibility that she’d become aware of his unease while she’d been unconscious, and that she’d woken on his behalf. While there was no evidence of such a connection having formed between the pair, Calvin could not deny the comfort that the idea brought him.

Just as quickly as he experienced said comfort, however, it was replaced by a deep concern for Chase. While Brian had informed him of the fact that Chase believed she’d murdered Khaat, it could not have come as more of a surprise to the young man to hear these words sobbed aloud by Chase. Surely, she did not believe that she was capable of something so evil. Not Chase. Not the Chase whom Calvin had grown to love. “No, no, no – Chase, you didn’t kill Khaat,” Calvin informed her in the gentlest voice he’d ever put to use. Without remembering the warning Brian had given him, Calvin continued to provide Chase with what he truly hoped was the truth, “everyone is going to be OK.”

Calvin inhaled slowly as Chase continued to cry; nothing pained him more than seeing her upset, but he said nothing on the matter. Instead, Calvin hunched forward to meet Chase’s height and rested his chin upon her head softly. Had he the words, he surely would have informed Chase of the fact that he had been useless during her breakdown, and that, if it hadn’t been for Brian, Khaat, and the Minister that she surely would have – Calvin breathed deeply once more as he banished the thought. Instead, the only understandable sentence that he’d been capable of locating within his frazzled mind was a simple statement of the truth: “I love you.”

Chase held onto him hard, sobbing against his chest. "I missed you so much... I couldn't stay asleep.. I just couldn't... I had to wake up.. I had to tell you how much I missed you.. I'm sorry..." She whispered into his chest, feeling his arms wrap around her and she felt the most comfortable she had ever felt. Ever since she had given birth to Katie, ever since she had been with Calvin, ever since she had felt like she was at home. She held onto him as hard as she could, sobbing uncontrollably, feeling his arms around her, and she felt herself slowly calming down as he spoke. She didn't? She didn't kill Khaat?

Chase slowly looked up at Calvin, frowning. "I didn't? I didn't kill her? But... but..." Chase ran her hand over her jaw. "He hit me..... and Robert.. they.. the looks on their faces.. I killed her Calvin... I killed her..." She whispered tears still falling down her face. When he held her closer and put his chin on her head, she curled herself closer to him and sniffled, wishing she could make him happy again, wishing he didn't look so upset, wishing she wasn't so fragile.. and that she could give him the love he so deserved. When he whispered those small three words, they were so tender, so loving, so... true. It was the first time she had ever felt so loved, so cared for, she just couldn't help but cry more.

"I love you too Calvin, I'm sorry... I wish I could be as strong as you need me to be... I wish I could be everything you want me to be.. and I just keep messing up.. I keep letting this happen to me, and I'm so sorry! I love you so much Calvin, I love you so much it hurts! I just... never want to let you go.. and I keep being pulled away and I'm sorry.. I'm so, so, so, sorry!" She whispered into his neck, holding onto him as tightly as she dared, afraid she would hurt him, afraid of hurting anyone else, she had hurt Khaat, she had hurt so many people with her breakdown, and she was so afraid of hurting Calvin, even though the tears kept coming, and she knew to make him happy she had to smile, she just had to.

So pulling away from Calvin, she looked up at him and forced a smile on her face, forced herself to be happy for him, made sure she looked as happy as she could for Calvin. Then she gently held his face and brought her lips to his, hoping that even if her hug couldn't show him how much she loved him, how much she needed him right then, then maybe her kiss would. Maybe she could convey her emotions to him by that gentle touch.

It seemed, as Chase began to list the ways in which she was certain she’d failed Calvin, despite him having shown no sign of having been failed, that Calvin was not the only one who’d begun feeling useless. They were quite the pair; both were as blind as the other when it came to the good that they’d done for each other. While Calvin had mended Chase’s broken smile on several occasions, he had great difficulty picking this accomplishment out of the thicket of events before him. Chase, too seemed to be facing the same challenge as she swore her love could never amount to that which Calvin deserved.

For a moment, Calvin struggled with himself; Chase’s inaccurate accusations towards herself did not sit well with him. Once more, however, he found that he could not find the appropriate words to use in order to correct her. Calvin extended his bent arms further so to examine his lover’s facial expression from his hunched position in front of her. Surely, there was a manual for such situations. How was he to properly confess his love, while simultaneously assuring Chase of the fact that she had in no way failed him? Was such an accomplishment even possible? It had become quite evident that his previous words regarding the positive impact she’d had on him had been of no real use. But what more was he to say?

Calvin allowed himself a moment of thought before his next statement. He cocked his head to one side and traced Chase’s forced smile with his glittering pupils. They never did stop twinkling, no matter the difficulties he faced.

Alas, Calvin spoke, “Chase… could you – uh – could you please… could you please stop? Please. I-I-I,” he’d begun to stutter once more; a sure sign of his fear of upsetting Chase with his words. “When I-I-I say that I-I-I love you, I-I-I mean – uh - every bit of you. Even – uh - even this part of you. Please don’t apologize. You don’t need to. You see – uh - I-I-I want to be here for you, even when – uh - even when things get hard. Forever. OK?” Calvin could not have been a clearer picture of innocence as he spoke. With his forehead wrinkled and one of his teeth gracing his bottom lip, there was no question as to whether or not his words were truthful.

Just as Calvin had finished with his speech, his chapped lips were met with Chase’s. It had taken every ounce of self control that he’d possessed in order to prevent himself from crumbling to the floor, with how week his knees had grown at Chase’s touch. Calvin’s eyelids drooped slowly as he began melting once more. His arms found their way around Chase’s dainty midsection in order to draw her nearer. Calvin was not sure he would ever grow used to Chase’s affection; no matter the time that had passed since the first kiss they’d shared, Calvin found that the static that danced along his skin with each touch that they shared hadn’t faltered in the slightest.

It was enough to drive Calvin mad.