Long, thick arms covered in a heavy layer of sweat. Dark ginger hair matted down to tan skin. Shirt sleeves tight around large biceps. Small, sexy huffs from the older man as he dug further into the dirt with his shovel. He reached an arm up to wipe the dripping sweat from his forehead, and my heart did an extra jump at the sight.

You could say I was a mess. A very flustered, confused mess.

It wasn't until I reached the age of fifteen did I realize how indescribably beautiful Nicky Jones was.

He had arms that could literally choke a bear. A face that looked like it had been carved by angels. Hair that was so perfectly colored, some would think it was dyed, and be extremely foolish for thinking so. His green eyes were always focused on the task at hand, never wandering or getting distracted from his work. A cute doctor by day, a sexy farmer by evening, and a fierce guardsmen by night. He was so out of my league, it hurt to think of how little a chance I had with him. But yet here I was, hiding up in a tree, watching him tend to his family garden and sweat through his super tight clothes effortlessly.

I buried my head into my hands and let out a quiet, frustrated groan. I shouldn't be doing this. I should be inside, with Dad and Pops, helping them with housework or something. Not sitting here and stalking our neighbor, not to mention one of my few best friends. How did I end up being attracted to my best friend?

It had to have been the time I visited Declan for a diagnosis on my illness. Months ago, I had went down there to see just what sickness my weak body had managed to attract this time. It was wintertime, my least favorite season, and I was in an angry mess because of Dad forcing me to leave my room for more than ten minutes to go get myself a check up. Pops vouched for me of course, but in the end Dad convinced him I needed medicine so I wouldn't get any worse. So I had to trudge through three yards of snow to get to the office, sick and irritated, with no intention of staying for longer than five minutes. That should've been long enough to figure out what was wrong and get me the right medicine.

When I knocked on the door grouchily, it took five minutes for someone to answer. I didn't have the nerve or bravery to override my anxiety to knock again, so I waited and hoped to the gods someone would come.

Champwan looked worse for wear when he peeked his face from behind the door, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and dark circles under his tired eyes. "Oh, hi. Is there something we can help with?"

"I-I'm sick," I mumbled hoarsely. "I don't really know what's wrong, but I think I need medicine." I didn't know Champ that well. We never talked much, except for when I came to the office for something, and that was rarely ever. I was more used to Declan. He was kind of like a grandfather to me, with the way he always visited throughout my life to check on me.

Champ nodded wearily. "Okay, come on in."

He opened the door wide enough for me to slip inside and I did so, awkwardly. He led me towards the rooms where the beds were and motioned towards the first one, where luckily, there was a small fireplace brewing inside. I accepted it gladly and hurried in, and Champwan shut the door behind me. Weird. Usually he checks me in before he goes to get Declan.

I knelt by the fire and warmed up my cold aching hands. Pops swore I had arthritis from working on my machines so much, and he was probably right. It was why I hated winter. My limbs always froze up and ached whenever the season came. It was extremely irritating to someone who worked and tinkered with things, someone who required their limbs very much.

I pulled both of my shoes off and stretched my socked feet near the warmth of the flames. Sighing in content at the way the warmth melted the aches, I let my tense shoulders relax. Always, I let myself get too worked up over things. Maybe the reason for it was that I spent too much time locked up in my room. Dad always said that was the reason.

There was a knock. I uttered a small come in before I heard the door swing open. I kept my eyes on the fire, not really wishing to interact or make eye contact with anyone at the current moment. Winter made me moody.

"Hey Teej."

My ears perked up at the sound of a warm, familiar voice that I had missed so much. I looked up at the owner of the voice, who was looming over me and smiling wide. "Whatcha doin on the floor?"

"W-Warming up," I stuttered nervously. It wasn't unusual to be nervous around people. I was always nervous. Another side affect of staying in all day, absent from any human interaction.

The source of my nervousness frowned at my shaking hands, then at my scrunched up feet. "Arthritis still bugging you?"

"Yeah, but it's not that bad when I'm, uh, you know. Near heat." I took a moment to look him up and down. Puberty had hit him like a bus, he was so different now.

He nodded. "Still, you should start taking meds for that."

"I...I guess." I hadn't noticed before that he was wearing a white coat like Dec, with a stethoscope like Declan's very own strapped around his neck. Why was he wearing a doctors uniform?

"So what did you come for? Feeling sick?" He bent down and slipped the object around his neck up to his ears and leaned in, pressing the end of the contraption against my chest. I gasped quietly at how cold the metal was, suddenly remembering how much I hated check ups.

"D-Dad said I looked really pale. And I've been throwing up a little. I think it's just allergies."

He grinned at me. I always found his confidence and endearing eye contact to be severely problematic on my end. I was nothing that he was. It's what made me resent him slightly, and avoid him whenever we accidentally came face to face in public. That was rarely ever these days, though. We'd grown apart since childhood. He was actually supposed to be at college on the mainland, and I had no idea why he was here all of the sudden, wearing Declan's outfit.

"I really don't think that's allergies. Mind if I check your temp?" Before I could even answer, he was in my personal space bubble and feeling around my forehead with his...extremely warm hands. Wow. This is not as bad as I thought it would be.

"Um, I-I thought you were supposed to be at the college? W-What are you doing here?"

Much to my disappointment, he withdrew his hand and wrote some more stuff down on my chart. "I got back last month. I've been home for like three weeks now. You know, you're a hard guy to get ahold of. I've been calling your cell ever since the Welcome Back party three weeks ago, the one you didn't come to." He gave me a questioning look.

I blushed in utter embarrassment. Right. I remember Pop asking me about a party a few weeks ago. I had been too busy with my latest machine to come. And I always had my cellphone on silent, I hardly ever checked it anymore.

"Sorry...I-I don't really use my cellphone anymore. And I think, uh, I was busy that day."

He nodded without another word. "That's fine. How've you been?"

I found myself without an answer. How have I been? My machines have been good. In fact, the latest one I was working on was showing extremely good chances of not blowing up on me. That was a good sign. "Good, I think. Um, am I sick?"

"Yes, but I'm deciding on whether its stomach flu or winter fever. Have you been out at all in the last month?"

I had to think about it. "I-I don't think so." I looked to see if he disapproved of that, but he was only wearing an understanding smile as he looked at me.

"When's the last time you went outside and got some sunshine?"

"I dunno."

"You can't remember?"

"It was...it was on Aunt Sonja's birthday. Yeah, that was it."

His eyes widened a little. "You haven't been outside in three months?"

"No. Is that bad?"

"Well...yeah, Tj. It is. Do you drink water regularly?"

"I like energy drinks. They help keep me up when I'm working on projects."

"Okay, but do you drink any water?"

I scrunched up my nose at the mention of the gross liquid. "No. I don't like water. It doesn't taste good."

"Alright. Um." He marked a bunch of things down on the paper, and it made me a million times more nervous. "What do you eat on a daily basis?"

"Usually things that I can put in the microwave."

At this point he looked so worried I felt the need to be concerned. "Teej, you're in bad shape."

"What do you mean? I-I feel okay." Do I look horrible? I should've at least put a little more effort into my appearance before I waltzed out the door so carelessly.

He gave a deep sigh before answering. "You're malnourished, dehydrated, your liver is probably destroyed from all those energy drinks, and that's not even what's mainly making you sick right now. You aren't taking care of yourself."

"I...I feel fine. I promise."

"But you really aren't." He took a seat on the floor next to me and laid his clipboard down. "What happened while I was gone?" He asked softly. "Me and you were best buds before, and you were taking care of your health. What changed since then?"

I shrugged nervously. "I-I don't know. Why are you a doctor now?" I always thought he was against being a doctor, since his parents always insisted him being one.

His hand touching my arm made me flinch a little. "I'll tell you later. Gods, you're ice cold. Didn't you bring a jacket over here?"

"No, I didn't." I was getting irritated now by his sudden change of heart. Two years ago he was a confident, self-minded, ambiguous jerk. But he had been my friend, one of my only friends, and so I stuck with him even though he never really cared about me. What happened since then? "Why are you being so...odd?"

"Odd?" He raised one bushy red eye brow at me. "What do you mean?"

"You're being nice to me."

"Wasn't I always nice to you?"

"No."

His jaw dropped a little in shock at how blunt my answer was. But the answer was true. He used to be very rude to me. He'd touch me even after I asked him not to. He'd tease me about staying inside so much. He'd make fun of how nervous I was around him, because I was scared of being judged by him.

"Tj, I'm sorry."

"Y-You don't need to apologize-"

"No, I really do. I remember being mean to you. I'm really sorry about that. You don't know how much I...I loved being friends with you. You were kind of my whole life back then." He chuckled a little. It made my chest feel tingly. That's weird.

"I-I missed you when you, um...when you left."

"You did?" He brightened up immediately.

"Yeah," I looked down at my still aching hands.  "A lot."

"I missed you too. College is full of snotty rich brats, I didn't make many friends. They didn't really have any Tj's for me to bother." He smiled guiltily.

"Why did you go all the way there just to become a doctor? I thought you wanted to fight crime, or something."

"I did at first. But...well, everyone I met who 'fought' crime were a bunch of proud losers."

"You mean a bunch of you's?" I giggled weakly.

"Basically," he laughed. "So I realized how much I missed you guys. And I think I'd do more good here than back there. After all, who's gonna help with those new babies your parents are getting?"

I groaned. I didn't want to think about babies. Or baby sitting. Or my parents.

"How do you feel about having two new siblings?" He giggled deeply.

"Ecstatic," I replied sarcastically. "Thrilled. Positively enthralled."

"You sound so happy, Teej. Congrats."

"Thank you."

"Aw, come on. I'll help you out with the new kids, it won't be so bad. Your parents are pretty good with children anyway."

"Where are your parents by the way?"

"Sick with the flu. Where are yours?"

"Probably doing horrible things on our living room couch in celebration for getting me out of the house."

"Our parents are hornier than us. It's weird."

"Yes, I've noticed."

We sat in silence for awhile.

"May I see your hands?" He asked politely. I handed them over awkwardly and he took each of them in his, looking them over as if they were a science project. "I'm going to give you arthritis medicine, first of all. Then some stomach flu treatment, and lots of healthy food and flavored water with it. Think you could stay a few hours longer?"

Without a moments hesitance, I replied. "Sure. I'm not really doing anything."

This is all new to me.

.:.

"Unhealthily skinny?" I questioned nervously as I held the clipboard up to my sight. "I'm a good size."

I watched him roll his eyes. "For a tree branch, maybe. You're skin and bones for a fifteen year old." He laid a cold cloth over my warm forehead and pulled the covers up further on my chilly body. He moved me to the bed so he could get to me better. I missed the fireplace, but I could still feel it's warmth from the bed.

"You say fifteen like its a bad thing. You're only two years older than me."

"You're just so smart, it's hard to believe you're fifteen. You still hate needles, don't you?" He said this as he filled up a small syringe with a yellow-like fluid. I stared in dread at it.

"Please don't stick that in me."

"I won't without your consent," he said with a dirty wink. I glared at him.

"I didn't know you were a pervert, Nicholas."

"I am a comedic genius, Thomas Jordan. What if I gave you stickers in return for an injection?"

I frowned at the use of my real name. Why Pop and Dad decided to use that name for me, I'll never know. "Stickers? You're bribing me with stickers?"

"You used to like them a lot when we were kids. You'd put them on anything, even the farm animals."

I blushed at the embarrassing fact. Those poor farm animals. "Yes...but that was years ago and I hate them now. They're everywhere. My parents never took them off of our furniture and now they just stay there...annoyingly."

He shifted deeper through the cabinet and pulled out a small damaged little box. "What if I bribed you with a weeks supply of...um, bandaids?"

Rolling my eyes at him, I took the box and tucked it under my blanket. "It's going to take more than that to put a needle in my arm."

I watched him attempt to hide a grin. "It doesn't go in your arm, Teej."

I tilted my head at him, confused. "...where does it go?"

After walking over and promptly poking the point where my hip and cheek met, he smirked at me. "Right in the butt cheek."

"Oh my god."

"I'll make it quick!" He promised, laughing as he did. "It won't even hurt that much, it'll just be a bit sore later on."

"I'm not going to pull down my pants for you!"

"I'll stick it through your pants then!"

"I don't want you to!"

"Please?" He said with big, wide pleading eyes. "I want you to get better. This'll brighten you up in a day. Promise. You won't throw up or have a fever anymore. I can take care of you."

I can take care of you. Why did that make me so undeniably happy?

"I'm not letting you stick a syringe in my butt. You know how scared I am of those things. You witnessed me at eight years old bite a hunk out of Declan when he tried to give me allergy shots."

He laughed. "Okay, fine. I'll just have to keep you here over night, then..."

"Overnight? I have work to do tonight!"

"Oh no you don't, you'll be sleeping soundly in bed like a normal fifteen year old. I'll make sure of it. No more projects until you're healthy again." He patted my head like I was some sort of dog.

"But-"

"No butts, unless a syringe is in yours."

I whined childishly and writhed on my sheets in a weak manner. "This isn't fair..."

"I know, but I'm only keeping you hostage for your own safety. You are in really bad shape, Teej. I'm surprised you haven't been having black outs."

"Is that passing out at random moments?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh. I have those sometimes." More than sometimes.

He was gaping at me again. "I seriously can't believe you're not dead right now. Do your parents ever feed you, you know, actual meals?"

"Pops always sticks a plate under my door for me. I don't usually eat it."

"Why not?"

"I don't eat stuff that other people touch."

"Oh. I forgot about that." He took a seat next to my bed side and started emptying the syringe of its contents back into the bottle it came from. "Does your pops know that?"

"No."

"Why don't you tell him?"

I shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know...it's weird. I don't really want them to know about it."

He smiled at me, green eyes kind and shining. "They're your parents. They won't think it's weird."

"Yes they will. They already think I'm weird enough." I was nothing like the others. Rosie was like Dad in terms of personality and in that sense Kate was exactly like Pops. Eli was a perfect mix of the two. Charlie had the combined strengths and skills of both parents, and I was just...weird. I was kind of like Dad, but we never agreed on anything or even acted remotely alike. I was like Pop in the ways of looks, but he didn't struggle with everyday tasks as much as I did. He was confident and outgoing. Both dads were. Heck, my whole family was.

And I was just me.

"Teej," Nicky said sympathetically. "They don't."

"They do."

"Well, what makes you think so? Because I don't see the reason for it."

"The same reason everyone else around here thinks that I'm weird. I never talk to anyone. I'm awkward. I can't speak like a normal person."

"It's called anxiety, and I swear on my life nobody thinks you're weird because you've got it. My dad Ry has it. He's always had it. Nobody thinks he's weird."

"Uncle Mot called me weird." On more than one occasion, too.

He shook his head dismissively. "Uncle Mot is an ass."

"Uncle Dianite said I was strange."

"Uncle Dianite is an even bigger ass. You can't listen to them."

I sighed. "Uncle Tucker said I was mentally retarded."

"He's salty because you're smarter than he is. I think you're intelligent and super cool. My parents do too. Don't worry about our grouchy uncles." He ruffled my hair playfully, forgetting once again about my bubble rule. But I didn't mind his touching all that much. Which was odd for me. I usually couldn't stomach my own family's touch, let alone the touch of my friends.

"I wish I was like you, Nicky."

"You really shouldn't wish that. You're great how you are."

"But I don't like myself."

"You should. Don't you love working on your robots?"

"I love working on my machines, but it's the whole anxiety part of myself that I'd like to change."

"Well, staying inside all day is probably the worst way to handle anxiety. You gotta go out and do stuff that makes you happy. Do you still go out every morning to feed the farm animals?"

"They have an automatic feeder now, so no."

"You invented an auto feeder?" He looked so amazed by the fact.

"Gaines helped me a little, but I guess I did make most of it."

"That's so cool! What else have you made?"

Before I could respond to his question, the room door opened a crack and Champwan poked his head in. "Um, how are things going?"

"Good!" Nicky responded cheerfully. "I'm keeping him over night, he's not well enough to go back home when it's this cold. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all. Just, um, come say goodnight when you get ready for bed, okay?"

"I will. Night Ry."

Champ nodded, smiling a small smile. "Night, Nicky." He shut the door closed, leaving Nicky and I alone again. I turned to him with a question on my lips.

"I know it's kinda rude to ask, but why do you never call them dad?"

"Well..." He paused to scratch his neck nervously. "They're not my actual parents."

I looked up to stare at him in shock. "They aren't?"

He shook his head. "I got sold off when I was a baby. Then these two girls adopted me, Tiffany and Lola. And they-...they got murdered by that World Historian guy that your Pop killed. Tiffany, before she died, asked Ry to take care of me. So he and Declan raised me. I consider them like parents."

"How come I never knew about this?"

"You never asked. And you know how our parents are about the past. They don't like to talk about it."

Dad and Pops especially hated to talk about the past. Poppy always had PTSD for as long as I could remember, and even the slightest mention of the past would set him into a panic. Dad hated talking about it too, not for the same reason as Pop, but close to it. He got really distant talking about anything that was before I was born. I had to learn what I knew from Aunt Sonja, the only person who didn't mind to tell us about the past.

"Alright enough sad stuff, let's get you to sleep." He pulled the covers back on me and slipped the fallen cloth back onto my sweaty forehead. "Do you prefer to sleep with the lights on or off?"

"On."

He nodded with a smile and drew his hand away. "Alright then." And then he started walking away towards the door. I felt my throat restricting in panic. He's leaving. He's leaving me alone in a room all by myself that's far away from home.

"Um. Y-You're gonna be staying in here, right?" I asked weakly. He kept moving towards the door, even after the strong hint I gave.

"I'll be staying in the room right next to yours, just in case anything happens. Night Teej." I watched in horror as he opened the door, left, and closed it back.

I was alone.

.:.

Without my energy drinks and the constant comfortable beeping of my machines, I didn't feel secure. I felt paranoid. Each noise made me nervous. Every creak and groan of the floorboards made me jump and cower into the safety of my pillow. My face felt like fire, but the rest of me was a refrigerator and my hands still ached. I considered calling for Nicky, making a fake reason for waking him up, but decided against it. I shouldn't bother him. He needs to sleep just like I do. He's been dealing with me all day and he needs it more.

The window in my room was eerie and creepy. It casted long, dark shadows across the floor that looked like arms reaching for my bed. The tree outside wasn't helping. It looked like a monster gazing into my window, waiting for the perfect moment to-

Nnnnggggh

I don't think I had ever ran so fast in such a short amount of time. I bolted down the hallway and threw open the room door next to mine, where Nicky shot straight up and wide-awake from the enormous noise I caused. "Teej? What-"

"M-Monster! M-Mob outside my w-window!" God, I hated my voice. I sounded so scared and childish.

Nicky didn't seem to mind that though. He hopped straight out of bed and to the closet nearby, opening it up and rummaging through it for something. "Was it trying to get in?"

"I don't know!" I choked out, on the verge of crying pathetically. "Just...I-I don't wanna go in there!"

"Okay! Okay, I'll take care of it. You stay in here, alright?" He pulled out a huge axe, longer than my hand, and went barreling past towards the front door. Where did he get an axe?

I watched for him through my room window, far away though, so I wouldn't have to see the hideous monster up close. I hadn't seen one in ages. Ever since I was smaller, I had never been allowed outside after dark. I'd only seen a mob once or twice since then, and only ever outside a window. I always shut my curtains now, since I was so scared of the stupid things. The rest of the family loved to go out and hunt them down, kill them for the potion ingredients and bone meal they could get for the garden. I never went. I had never killed a mob before.

Nicky came into view a moment later, wielding his gigantic axe as he searched around in the dark for the monster I'd talked of. He didn't seem to be having much luck finding it. Oh god, what if he thinks I was faking to get his attention?

Nnnnnngggghh

I cowered into the corner of the room at the noise. One moment Nicky was peaceful, the next he was hacking a creature, that looked directly from the pits of hell, into tiny bloody pieces. The thing kinda looked like...Dad.

I suddenly felt very sick.

Nicky came back in a few minutes later, his pajama shirt covered with small spatters of blood. His axe was drenched in it. I had to look away so I wouldn't puke up my lunch.

"It's gone. You okay?" His warm fingers curled affectionately around my shoulders, and all uneasiness melted away. I drew in a deep breath and let it go.

"It-It's just...what was that thing?"

"A zombie. You don't know what they are?"

I shook my head solemnly. "No. Why do they look like my dad?"

I watched him scratch at his ginger hair in thought. "It's up to your dad to say why. I don't really know the story."

"Are there a lot of those things out there?"

"Yeah, a pretty good lot. It's why we have a curfew, and purges. It kills them off easier."

"Oh. I-I didn't know." I watched curiously as he walked over to the window and drew the curtains closed, so that the view of the outside was blocked.

"Forgot you were afraid of those. They creep me out too. Luckily, zombies and skeleton guys always burn up in the sun. Remember when we saw one of those things for the first time ever? And the creeper nearly blew our heads off?" He laughed as if the memory was funny, but as I remembered it, it was terrifying. The sun hadn't even gone down yet and we were playing in the beach sand together. We were five. We'd never seen any of the monsters that walked around at night, or heard of them even. All we knew was that we had a curfew to follow.

It was sunset. At first I thought nothing of the green creature floating around in the ocean water, but that was until it reached the sand and started crawling towards us on its two legs.

If we had reacted a second too late, we surely would've died. I screamed at the top of my lungs and started running as fast as I could, with Nicky hot on my heels. As soon as our feet touched the grass again, the explosion happened.

Nicky had three broken fingers and lots of bruises, while I had a fractured ankle and some major back trauma. I had gotten the worst of it because I, thinking that I was some kind of brave 'knight' and righteous hero (I'd just got done reading King Arthur), grabbed Nicky and forced us onto the ground as the explosion hit. Declan said I saved his life. I say I just prevented him from having back problems, like me.

"We almost died," I deadpanned. "Our parents nearly drowned themselves in tears and grief. My parents still keep me on lockdown at night, and it happened ten years ago."

"Well, Mr. Hero saved the day, so all was well. Ry said my head could've been blown to bits if you hadn't pushed me to the dirt." He hid the bloody axe underneath the medicine cabinet and then began to...take off his shirt. I swallowed hard at the knot that had formed itself in my throat. He tossed it into a basket next to the desk and bent down to get another one from the cabinet. I watched in awe as every back muscle he owned flexed and stretched right before my very eyes. "Wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you, Teej. Thanks for that man."

Oh no, thank you I felt like saying.

Wait. What?

"Uh, it-it's no big deal. Wow, you're...really toned." You are digging your own grave.

"Thanks for noticing! I do a lot of housework." Disappointingly, he slipped a shirt back on and the view I had was gone. But why did I enjoy it in the first place?

"Alright, soo...ready for bed?" He jumped on top of the mattress I'd previously been laying on. I looked at him, a bit confused.

"So I'm sleeping in the other room?"

"No, you're sleeping with me."

I choked on my own air. "N-No!"

"Why not?"

"I-I don't..." I was about to say I don't like touching, but lately his touch has been quite comforting despite all my past experiences with human contact.

"You don't what? Come on Tj, we did it all the time when we were kids. It's just for one night. I wanna make sure nothing else happens to you." He smiled a smile that made me melt in my spot. I can't turn down such a polite offer. It would be rude, wouldn't it?

Hesitantly, I approached the bed. The grin on his face made the anxiety worth it, the happiness he received from just my agreeing was enough to make my insides warm instead of cramped with fear. I sat on the far opposite edge while he sat near the middle. After settling in on my spot, I saw Nicky giving me a funny look. "Come on, I won't bite. Get over here." Again, forgetting my bubble rule, he wrapped a strong arm around my waist and pulled me flush against him. And it felt nice. Nice feelings. That wasn't something I was used to.

"You don't care if I keep you prisoner like this, do you? I get cuddly in my sleep."

"N-Not at all."

"Alright. Night Teej."

He had his nose. In my neck. With his arms around my waist. I'd never felt so snug and comfortable in my life.

"Um, N-Nicky?"

"Yeah Tj?"

"I-...I really like you." More than I probably should.

"I really like you too, bud. Best friends forever, right?" He grinned with his eyes still tightly closed.

"Yeah," I replied gloomily, gazing down at his hand around my waist. "Friends. Forever."

.:.

"Hey Tj!"

I snapped out of my day dreaming just in time to almost fall out of a tree. Screeching in panic, I grabbed on to the tree branch supporting me and held on as tight as I could. Which wasn't very tight. The branch slipped from my hands and I went falling...into extremely warm and comfortable arms.

Nicky's green eyes shown beautifully in the setting sunlight. "You're real accident prone, you know that?"

"Y-Yeah, well. I would've been fine if you hadn't yelled at me." I pretended to be angry, but in all actuality of things, I was quite pleased with how the situation turned out.

"Sure sure. I bet you would've fallen anyway without my help, you clutz. Anyway, I was gonna ask if you'd wanna go to dinner? Aunt Sonja said she'd cook you up some ramen with dead fish bits in it." He wriggled his red eyebrows at me, causing me to giggle.

"Okay, but I'm only attending because of the food. And dead fish is called sushi, by the way."

"I just like to say dead fish in the hopes that I'll guilt trip you one day into no longer eating those poor fishies."

"Too bad. They're too good to give up. Um, are you gonna put me down?" Not that I wanted him to. I really liked the spot I was in. He was carrying me up the hill where Uncle Tucker, Aunt Sonja, and their daughter Kandy lived. But Kandy was at camp with Eli, so she probably wasn't around.

"Nope. I've gotta practice for next purge, and lifting you is an exercise all by itself."

I sent him a dirty look through my bangs. "Are you implying that I'm fat?"

He wasn't fazed by the stink eye I was giving him. Instead, he was focused on climbing the hill as fast as he could. "I'm implying that you've gained weight, and I'm very proud of you for that. You've been staying on your meds?"

"Yup. And the calorie bars." They tasted cheap and horrible.

"How are your hands?"

"Normal." I flexed them for his eyes to see. "Thanks for fixing me up."

"Not a problem Teej. You're my best bud. Gotta keep you healthy." He sent me a flirty wink, and I responded with a roll of my eyes. I'd gotten used to his new weird behavior after a few months of being around him.

"So...did you say you were training for a purge?"

"Yup."

"Those are really dangerous, Nicky."

"I know, but I think I can handle it. Besides, I think the gods are gonna start making regulations for purges, so I'll probably have to participate sooner or later. Declan told me to start training awhile back. I think that means I'm gonna have to start purging soon."

"Regulations? Um...w-what kind?" And why now? They've only ever allowed the adults to participate. Why were they changing the rules all of the sudden?

"They won't make you do it, Teej. Declan can write you a medical excuse and you can get off scott-free. Don't worry about it." I had a feeling if he had his arms free, he would've roughed up my hair. But I didn't care at this point. The gesture made worry dispel instantly from my head, and it was great for a mood lightener.

We reached the top of the hill, but he still didn't put me down. After carrying me all the way across the field and down the walk way path, he still didn't let me down until we reached the doorstep of the restaurant. It was great not having to do any exercise whatsoever. Usually when I climbed up the hill, I was ready to pass out from dehydration.

"Alright, tree branch, what am I buying you for dinner?" He sat me down on my feet again, but didn't let go of me completely. I was sort of stuck between a half hug with him.

"Ramen and sushi, like you promised. Right?"

He shrugged. "You're the boss. Fish killer."

"Oh come on, why are you so salty about my diet?"

"Because fish are awesome! Have you ever heard of rainbow trout?"

"Of course I have. They're delicious."

It was his turn to shoot me a dirty look. "Murderer."

I giggled profoundly. "What do you expect me to eat around here?"

"Garden food! Stuff that doesn't involve killing poor little fishies."

"I don't like vegetables."

"Then eat pasta, fruit, and bread."

"What kind of life is that?"

"A life that doesn't involve harming other creatures..." He pouted.

"Fine. If it upsets you that much, I'll lean off sushi for awhile. But you're preparing my meals because sushi is all I know how to make."

He grinned. "Are you saying I can cook for you?"

"I suppose. Why the excitement?"

"Because you don't let anyone else cook for you! Awe Teej, you love me!" He pulled me forcefully into a bear hug and kept me there, trapped and with little oxygen.

But I didn't dare pull away or try to protest. Because he was right.

I did love him. More than he would ever know.

.:.

Ok look I can explain-

I've been working on this for two years!! I work on it almost every day and I have over 80 drafts in this book alone. I promise I didn't forget you guys and I never gave up on this idea. I had a lot of conflicts where I didn't want to include the weird mpreg tropes, but I've managed to rewrite everything to where I don't have to include those. I just wanted to ask first before posting the next few chapters: do you want me to revise the second book so that this trope isn't included? Or would you rather me leave it the way it is and continue the story in that direction? There are only two or three chapters where the trope is mentioned and after that we steer clear of the mess. Please let me know so I can make the decision and post more chapters. Happy quarantine, and wash your hands! I missed all of you and I hope I'm still allowed to be in this fandom :,)

- Lee