I learned something about Chase on Friday afternoon. The day had gone by as it usually did, but as we got ready to go home for the day, something happened that gave me a little more insight into the mysterious boy that I had become so close to.

            We were walking down the hall towards the doors. Chase had my bag slung over his right shoulder, and he was holding my right hand with his left one, as I used my other hand for my cane. As we came to the intersection of two hallways, someone came skidding around the corner and bumped into me. I was knocked off balance a little, but I managed to stay on my feet, though I did have to drop Chase’s hand to do so.

            Unfortunately, the collision with me had sent the person into a dive, and he desperately grabbed at Chase to try and keep himself from slamming into the ground. He managed to get a hold of Chase’s arm, but I think he quickly wished that he hadn’t.

            Chase’s reaction was immediate. His right hand swung forward and slammed into the guy’s jaw, causing him to release his grip on Chase’s arm immediately. Chase then backed up two quick steps and stood completely still, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides and his whole body rigid.

            I gaped at the boy now sprawled on the ground. It had happened so quickly that it took my brain a moment to realize what had happened. I looked up at Chase and saw that his face was a blank mask. My bag had dropped off his shoulder and was sitting in a heap on the floor by his feet. I glanced around the hallway quickly and was relieved to see that no one had witnessed the little scene, since almost everyone had already left the school.

            Using my cane, I nudged the boy on the ground. “Are you okay?” I asked him.

            He rolled onto his back and looked up at me dazedly. “I think so,” he replied.

            I tilted my head slightly. “Sorry I hit you with my cane like that. You knocked me off balance and I couldn’t control where I was waving it.”

            He frowned in obvious confusion. “Huh?”

            I wrinkled my brow in mild concern. “Don’t you remember how you ended up on the ground?”

            “Uh…” he glanced between me and Chase, his eyes widening when he realized who it was that he’d grabbed onto. “You accidentally hit me with your cane?”

            “Exactly. Maybe you should get up now.”

            He did as I suggested, scrambling to his feet. “Right. Sorry about that.”

            “No serious harm was done. Next time maybe don’t come flying around a corner like that.” I patted his arm and then looked at Chase, dismissing the other boy. “Let’s go.”

            Chase’s face was still unreadable as he bent down to retrieve my bag, and we continued down the hallway. He didn’t take my hand again, but I could sense him looking at me out of the corner of his eye a few times. We drove to my place, and he came into the house with me. I waited until we were both seated at the kitchen table before finally speaking. “Well, that was interesting.”

            “Why did you lie for me like that?”

            I rolled my eyes. “Because I didn’t want you to get into trouble.”

            He frowned. “How did you know that the boy wouldn’t argue with you?”

            I snorted. “You do know that you have a reputation, right?”

            “So?”

            “So, that boy was probably so relieved to get out of there without worse injury that he would have agreed to anything. I think I could have told him that a purple elephant knocked him down and he would have agreed just to get away from you.”

            “Oh.” He seemed to consider that for a moment and then his lips curved in the barest hint of a smile. “You’re probably right.”

            I placed my hand over his. “Are you going to explain your reaction to me?”

            He grimaced slightly, but nodded. “I don’t like to be touched,” he mumbled. When I glanced meaningfully at our hands, he shrugged. “You’re different.”

            “How?”

            “You know how the other day I said I recognized the same pain in you that I felt? Well, for some reason that made it okay for you to touch me and for me to touch you.”

            “You don’t like touching people?”

            He shook his head. “Aside from you, no. If I have enough time to prepare for it, then it isn’t always so bad. But if anyone tries to touch me, it usually results in a very negative reaction.”

            “So all those fights you got into before I met you were because of that?”

            “For the most part, yeah. People learned really quickly not to touch me, unless they wanted a fist to their face.”

            “But it doesn’t bother you when I touch you? Or when you touch me?”

            He raised his free hand to my face and stroked it lightly. “No. It hasn’t from the beginning. That was part of the reason I was so drawn to you.”

            I thought back over our short acquaintance and realized that there was only one time I’d seen him touch anyone aside from myself. “What about that time you grabbed Adam’s wrist in History class?”

            Chase’s brow furrowed as he thought back, and then his expression cleared. “I’d forgotten about that,” he murmured. “Adam was reaching out to grab your shoulder and I reacted instinctively, as if it was me he was trying to touch me instead of you. I’m not entirely sure why that happened.”

            “So it wasn’t something you really planned?”

            “No, not really.”

            “Huh,” I replied. “That’s strange.” I chewed on my lip as I thought about what he’d told me. I wanted to ask him why he didn’t like being touched, but I knew he would tell me if he wanted to. With a mental shrug, I gave him a small smile. “We still going out tonight?”

            “You still want to go out with me?” he asked, confusion evident on his face.

            “Why wouldn’t I?”

            He frowned. “Because of what I just told you.”

            “Really? Chase, I have issues of my own. The fact that you don’t like people touching you doesn’t bug me, since it doesn’t seem to apply to me. Why would I change my mind about going out with you?”

            “You’re not going to ask why I’m this way?”

            I cocked my head to one side. “Do you want me to ask?”

            He seemed to ponder this for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “No, I don’t think I want you to. At least not yet.”

            I squeezed his hand and then got to my feet. “I’m here if you want to talk. Now, where are we going to go tonight?”

            I swung myself onto Justice’s back, pleased when my left leg held up without trembling. I squeezed my legs, and Justice moved off into a walk. I let him wander around for five minutes before gathering up my reins a little. “Okay boy, let’s try trotting around a little.” I nudged him with my legs again and he willingly went into the faster pace.

            My body moved with him easily and I automatically started posting to his trot, rising out of the saddle every time his outside shoulder went forward and then sitting as it went back. I could feel the muscles in my bad leg protesting a little, but it wasn’t too horrible. I didn’t want to push it though, so I only rode him around for another five minutes.

            I dismounted and led him over to the arena door. “What did you think?” I asked Chase, who had come down to the barn with me after our date.

            He eyed Justice warily as we walked down the barn aisle. “I think you’re a little crazy for getting on something that big.”

            I grinned and led the horse into his stall so I could untack him. “It’s not as scary as it may seem,” I told him. “Besides, I’ve been riding since before I could walk. There’s a picture of my parents both sitting on horses when Luke and I were only about six months old. My mom was holding me in the saddle in front of her and my dad was holding my brother in front of him. That’s how young we were when we started riding.”

            Chase shuddered slightly. “I can’t imagine riding something that huge,” he muttered.

            I set the saddle down outside the stall and grabbed Chase’s hand, pulling him back in with me. I put a brush in his hand and nudged him until he was beside Justice. “Try brushing him. He really likes that.”

            Chase looked at me in horror and backed up a few steps. “You have got to be kidding me.”

            “Are you too much of a coward?” I taunted him.

            He didn’t even blink before responding. “Hell yes.”

            I sighed and pushed him forward again. “Justice won’t do anything to you. I’ll stand right beside you the whole time,” I promised.

            Chase grumbled a little under his breath, but then he cautiously raised the hand holding the brush and ran it down Justice’s side. I told him what to do and he slowly relaxed as he brushed the horse rhythmically. “This isn’t so bad,” he admitted.

            “I told you he wasn’t that scary.” I took the brush from him and put it back in the tack box. Then Chase gathered all the tack for me and we went back into the tack room. We put everything away and then left the warmth of the barn to head back up to the house. When I shivered, Chase put his arm around my waist.

            We reached the house and he turned me to face him. He put his warm hand on my cheek and tipped my face up to his. “I had fun tonight. Thanks for not freaking out about what I told you.”

            “Thanks for watching me ride. That was the first time I tried trotting him.”

            He pressed his lips to mine in a gentle kiss, and I sighed in pleasure as my free arm slid around him. When he pulled back, his eyes were lit up and he was smiling softly. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Maybe we can do something else this weekend.”

            “I’d like that,” I replied, then pulled his head down so I could kiss him again. “Thank you for a wonderful night.”

            “Anytime.” He caressed my cheek once more and then left.

            I smiled dreamily and let myself into the house, deciding to grab a drink before going to bed. I went into the kitchen, still lost in my own world, but I stopped dead when I saw that I wasn’t alone. I stared at my father, my eyes wide as I tried to figure out why he was still up and if he knew that I’d been down to the barn. He answered my second silent question really quickly.

            “Want to explain to me why you were down at the barn so late without telling me or your mother?”

            Crap. I was busted.

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Hope you like the chapter! You guys did so well bringing me up in the ranks that I made myself find the time to write it. Made for a couple of late nights, but it was fun to write it :-). The more you vote this time, the quicker I'll get the next chapter up again. I won't make any guarantees about when exactly it'll be, because my life is kind of hectic, but it'll be within a week no matter what hopefully. Comment and VOTE to let me know what you thought!!