I felt bad just watching them prepare, but Barry insisted that I didn't do anything.

Lizzie was packing a buffet, and I was just dumbfounded at the amount of food that she could:

A) Cook; I mean it's just a picnic.

B) Cram into the small basket; it's not physically possible.

"Alright. I think we're ready," Lizzie declared proudly.

"Yeah, there is enough for ten people to eat," I yawned.

Nicole giggled silently to herself at my comment, which made me smile. No one even said anything about our actions.

Barry looked towards me, "I know I should have asked this earlier, but how are your burns feeling?"

"I can't feel them at all. Could we check them? I thought it would take longer to heal, but now I'm having second thoughts."

Nicole rolled her eyes and repeated what I had said.

I continued looking at Barry, but I spoke to Nicole,"Thank you, Nicole." I knew she heard me, and I could see her smiling out of the corner of my eye.

Barry nodded, unaware of what I had said, and picked me up and went to his room.

He sat on his bed, and I stretched out in front of him. He carefully unwrapped the bandages, and I turned my head to look at them.

My fur was nearly back to normal, and I could tell the remaining chars would fall off soon. I had never seen wounds heal like this, but I was healing.

Out of nowhere, I shifted back into myself and wrapped my arms around Barry, giving him a small kiss on his forehead. He gave me a warm smile, and I returned it.

"How are you feeling?" He asked shyly.

"I feel fine. I just missed you." I smirked.

"I always have and always will be here."

"Doesn't change the fact that I couldn't talk to you."

We sat in silence, enjoying one another's presence. 

The moment subsided when he lifted up the side of my shirt, just enough to see the remains of my burns. They were only about a fourth of their original size, much to my relief.

Barry breathed a sigh of relief, causing me to smile. He let go of my shirt and I leaned up against him.

"Are you guys done? How are you doing Chloe? Let's go on a picnic!" Lizzie called.

I sighed, "Yeah, we're coming. I'm great, I don't think I need bandages anymore."

"That's great!"

I got up to walk out of the room, but decided to curl myself around Barry. I shifted into a fox, and leapt up to him and wrapped myself around his shoulders. He smiled and rested his hand on my neck for a second before walking back outside to an excited Lizzie. I licked his ear, and snuggled into his neck as a light breeze nipped at my fur.

"So, you don't need to be an animal anymore, and you didn't need to in the first place, and you didn't want to, but yet here we are."

I bared my teeth at Nicole, "I quite like shifting without bandages. You're just jealous."

She rolled her eyes and stared at me pleadingly, "Come on. Please?"

I could tell that she was using her Gift so no one could understand her.

I rolled my eyes back at her, "Fine."

I could tell that she was trying to hide a smile, and I leapt off of Barry reluctantly. With a few shifts, Nicole was on my shoulders, vibrating in excitement as her orange tail swished in front of my face.

Lizzie embraced me, and I was careful with Nicole, who I knew didn't balance well. She also hated hugs.

"It seems like it's been forever since I've actually seen you." She gushed.

I smiled, giving her a squeeze before releasing her. She smiled before running her small hand down Nicole's neck.

I walked over to Barry, planting a small kiss on his cheek before putting my arms around his midsection. He ran a hand through my hair, and Nicole yipped in agitation at our actions.

We headed out to the picnic area of the yard. Nicole had eventually gotten off me, and was now running circles around us.

I spread out the blanket, and Lizzie began to put out the food. Nicole scampered up next to me and began to whimper.

"Hungry?" I teased before shifting her back. She glared at me in silence, "What does Liam usually do when he's not with us?" I began.

Barry shrugged, "He usually hung out with me before. He might just be a little guilty about what happened. He really thinks you're great, but he hates it when he messes things up."

I frowned, "Is there anything I could do to make him feel less guilty? I really don't want to leave him like that."

He shook his head, "Liam really stews with whatever he does wrong. There's not much you can really do."

I huffed in frustration, there has to be something. I just needed to figure it out. I had to admit, I didn't know Liam very well, but I did know that he enjoyed raspberries. Lots of raspberries. I blinked, and didn't think twice before I made plans for later.

I went back to eating when someone laid out a blanket close by. I looked over to see a petite girl who looked to be in her early twenties. She wore a princess-type dress, with poofy sleeves, lacy rim, and was made from a cream fabric with light blue flowers.

She unpacked a tray of strawberries and what appeared to be a gallon of milk from her small cooler.

I couldn't help but watch as my friends conversed. The girl cut the tops off of the strawberries, placing the non-leafy part in a bowl. When she had accumulated a large portion of strawberries, she opened the gallon of supposed milk. She poured it over the fruit like cereal, and began to snack on it.

Barry finally noticed my staring, and commented, "That's Missy. She is one of the first to arrive here. Do you want to go talk to her?"

"For someone who seems so shy, you know an awful lot of people."

He blushed, and I giggled at his reaction.

"She just was the person who housed me in the beginning. And lot of people I know seem to be showing up lately." He mumbled.

"Fine. Be like that," I scowled, "But I would like to meet her."

He sighed and stood up, and I sped after him.

Missy looked up, "Hi Barry! Nice to see you again!"

"Hi Missy! Nice to see you too! This is Chloe." He motioned towards me, and Missy nodded in acknowledgement.

"Nice to meet you Chloe! I've heard so much about you!"

I shot my head to turn to Barry. When did he get a chance to be with her? Now I felt like I spent too much time with him.

He shrugged guilty, "I don't need sleep, but you do it a lot."

I rolled my eyes before turning back to Missy, "Well, what exactly have you heard about me?"

"I know what your Gift is, all your favorite things, etcetera. I'm Barry's go to girl, with problems and such," She smiled, "My Gift is weather, in case you were wondering."

I smiled, and knelt beside Missy, "That's cool. Is it like good mood good weather and such, or is it full control?"

"It used to be emotion, but now it is full control," She answered, then saw me staring at her strawberry mixture.

"Do you want some?" She chuckled.

I blushed, "What exactly is it?"

"Strawberries and cream, or ice cream mix."

"That sounds good. Could I have some?" She handed me a bowl, "Thank you."

I skewered one of the soaked strawberries and took a bite. It was an explosion of goodness in my mouth, the ice cream mix just like melted vanilla ice cream. I went for more, taking partial bites of them so I could soak them even more in the cream.

The serving was finished in a matter of seconds, and I set the bowl down to see a smiling, nearly giggling, Missy, and an equally happy Barry.

I ducked my head shyly, and mumbled a 'Thank you' as Barry invited Missy over to our picnic, which she politely declined. Before I could get her to come over, Barry began to take me back to Lizzie and Nicole, who I realized had watched the entire thing.

Nothing was said, and I continued to eat my serving of food.

When I had finished, everyone else was still eating. I shifted and took to the sky, observing the world from above.