A/N: Sooo this is going to be a really long chapter. But anyway, to get the full effect of the dance (as you'll see when you read) listen to the song and watch the video in the side first. Then start reading the chapter, but don't play the song again until you read this line:  "Once we heard the music start, we began walking into the ballrooms." The song is a perfect choice for this part and I think it'll add to the effect of the chapter if you can imagine the dance with the song in the background. Enjoy!

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READ THE NOTE FIRST!

"Guys, guys, guys! Guess what?!" Abbey squealed, running towards Trey, Lance and I with a paper in her hands.  We were sitting on the couches by the tall arched windows in the common room.

"I'm not a guy," I said pointedly as she stood in front of us, half breathless from running and half from the excitement that she couldn't hide.

"Guess what?!" she shrieked again, earning several glares from the students around her.

"You're going to get us jumped by the upperclassmen," Lance hissed, sinking into the couch.

"Will you just tell us?" I said.

"You guys are no fun," she pouted, plopping down into the seat next to Lance.

"Well, what's the excitement all about?" I asked.

She handed us the paper that she held and Trey and I leaned in to look at it.

"There's going to be a school ball!" she squealed excitedly.

"What?" Lance and Trey asked at the same time.

"A ball! A real ball! I've never been to one before. I'm so excited. What will I wear? How should I do my hair? How--" she started talking a mile a minute.

"Confuto," I muttered and her voice disappeared.

Her mouth kept moving and no sound came out. This caused Trey and Lance to fall into a fit of laughter and me to grin. When she had realized what happened, she glared at me and started moving her mouth again, with no sound coming out.

"What? What did you say? I can't hear you!" I chuckled. This made Lance and Trey laugh even harder. She smacked my knee and I caved in.

"Vox," I said and her voice came back.

"You're such an ass, Caley!" she exclaimed.

"I'm pretty sure that's the funniest use of a spell I've done on you so far," I replied.

"That was hilarious," Trey said, regaining composure.

"You guys are jerks," Abbey pouted. Lance was still letting out random guffaws. She shoved him to the side of the couch. "Especially you," she said. He looked at her innocently, his eyes watering. He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Once he recovered, he turned to her.

"So what color tie should I wear?" he asked. She looked at him incredulously. Trey and I exchanged a knowing look.

"What did you just say?" she asked.

"Uhh, what color tie should I wear? To match your dress?" he asked slowly, glancing at Trey and I to see what mistake he had made this time.

"What tie?! What tie should you wear?!" she repeated.

"Ok, what did I do now?" he asked, throwing his hands in the air frustratedly.

"Wrong question, man," Trey mumbled under his breath. I sat back and watched, extremely entertained.

"What did you do? You don't think you should ask me to go with you first?" Abbey exclaimed.

"What?! I thought it was pretty clear that we were going to go together--" he started.

"Just because we're together doesn't mean you shouldn't ask me," she interrupted.

"You're being ridiculous," he argued.

"Oh am I?" she asked, raising an eyebrow threateningly.

"Yes, you are," Lance said. I snickered and they both looked at me.

"You think this is funny?" Abbey snapped.

"Honestly, yes I do," I responded. I wasn't afraid of Abbey and her dramatic personality. I was used to it. After all, I lived with her for over a year.

She glared at me and I gazed back, a smirk on my lips. She turned her attention back to Lance.

"Well?" she asked impatiently. He huffed.

"This is so stupid..." he muttered. Then he took a deep breath. "Abbey Greene, would you please grace me with your presence at the up-coming ball?" he asked formally. Trey and I chuckled.

"Yes, yes I will," Abbey said sitting up proudly. Lance rolled his eyes and shook his head. Trey nudged my side with his elbow, his multi-colored eyes glittering mischieviously. I knew what he was thinking without needing to read his mind.

"Hey, Caley. What color dress are you going to wear? I need to figure out what tie to match it with," Trey said, making his voice sound like Lance's. Pretending to be completely offended and upset, I put my hand over my heart.

"What did you just say?!" I asked over-dramatically.

"What color is your dress?" he repeated, saying his words slowly.

"I cannot believe that you asked me such a completely--" I started, but Abbey threw a pillow at my face, shutting me up.

"Oh, hush," she said. Trey and I fell back on the couch laughing.

"You two are the funniest couple ever. If there was a Magii version of Jersey Shore, you two would for sure be one of the couples in it," I said.

Abbey threw another pillow at me and Lance aimed a kick at my knees. Chuckling, I got up, fixing my hair which had fallen out of its pony-tail thanks to Abbey and her pillows.

"I'll see you guys later," I said.

"Where do you think you're going?" Abbey asked, standing up as well.

"I have to do homework. I still haven't started on that essay for history," I answered.

"It's due tomorrow," Trey said.

"I realize that," I replied. He shook his head at me.

"We have to go shopping, though!" Abbey said.

"Shopping can wait until Friday," I said.

"That's the day of the dance," she said.

"Exactly," I replied, walking off.

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I ran my hands over the silky chiffon cloth of the dress I was wearing, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

All week, preparations for the dance could be seen all over campus. Banners and flyers were hung up, decorations were being made, and every conversation in the school seemed to be buzzing about the upcoming ball. Even the upperclassmen seemed excited. I had asked Oralie and Matt about it, wondering what the big deal was.

"Pretty much it's the biggest event of the academic year," Matt had told me.

"Traditionally, the ball is supposed to honor the new generation of Magii that received their powers the previous week," Oralie explained.

"Why a week later?" I asked.

"Because, the dean has to be present at the high school on the night of the Yellow Moon. He can't be in two places at once," Matt answered.

Of course he can't.

Now I was standing in my room, wondering if the dress I had chosen was too much or too little. I knew that a lot of the other girls going to the dance were going all out. They had bought big puffy dresses with delicate beads and intricate embroidery on them.

The dress I had chosen was made of a light chiffon material that felt like water when I ran my fingers over it. The color was a light turquoise, almost like a soft aqua, with a white sequined bodice. It had an empire waist and flowed all around me. It had been my mother's wedding dress.

I didn't want to wear fancy jewelry. I stuck with the same necklace Trey had given me for Christmas, the one that had a calming effect over me, as if the water droplet shape of the necklace was actually water. On my wrist I wore a simple diamond bracelet that Natalia had insisted on giving me as a gift when I had visited over the summer.

I picked at my hair, wondering what on earth to do with it. At the moment, it was down and wavy. But I couldn't decide if I should wear it down or put it up like most other girls were doing. At breakfast earlier that day I had heard chatter from all around me about what people were doing to their hair. Mostly the upperclassmen were talking about using spells to fix their hair. Other girls in my year were talking about taking a trip to Trinity Square, the Trinity college town.

I decided I'd do a little magic trick myself, something that Gianna had taught me after one of my lessons when Gerrard hadn't been there to guide me.

We had been getting ready for a dinner that Elijah was having for some members of his inner circle. Since I was to be a part of that, I was asked to join. Gianna was helping me get ready, and although it was forced, I could tell she was kind of enjoying herself.

"On my wedding day, I didn't want to waste time and money in hiring a hair stylist that would go through countless styles before I found the right one. So instead, I found a spell and did it myself," she had explained.

I had been completely shocked to find that Gianna was married. I wondered if Isaac was her husband. And if not, who her husband was. I had decided it best not to ask at the time, since it was a rare occasion that Gianna was nice to me.

I used the same spell she had used and twisted my hair into a loose, curly ponytail to the side. I found a delicate sterling silver clip and stuck it in the back so that it entwined around the ponytail. Satisfied, I grinned in the mirror.

The door opened at that moment and I heard a gasp come from behind me. I turned to see Abbey, looking incredible in a long, light lavendar colored gown.

"Oh. My. Merlin," Abbey sighed, putting her hands to her heart. My hand immediately went up and found a loose curl at the side of my head and began twirling it nervously.

"What?" I asked.

"You're asking what? You look amazing, Caley," Abbey responded, coming into the room and closing the door behind her. "That dress is gorgeous," she added, coming closer. I sighed.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"What?" she asked. I shrugged and turned around, hiding the emotion on my face.

"Caley...?" she prodded, coming up behind me. I glanced at her reflection in the mirror before looking down at the ground.

"My mother wore this on her wedding day," I said in a soft voice. I heard an in-take of breath from Abbey. "I used magic to change the color. It used to be a light creme," I told her, still not looking up.

"Where did you get it?" she asked. I looked up now.

"My father," I replied.

I had gone to my father's office earlier that day. I still hadn't gotten a dress, despite Abbey's protests and pleadings for me to go with her to town to look for one. I just wasn't feeling the shopping at the moment. A lot was going on in my life and I was distracted.

So I went to my father.

I had no idea why. I was just walking on campus and somehow, I ended up in front of the dean's office building. I strode inside and the secretary told me he was busy. Ignoring her, I went up the stairs anyway and knocked on his door. It swung open on its own accord.

"Dad," I said, walking in. He had been standing at the large windows, a shadowy silhoette against the sunlight pouring in. He turned and I couldn't see his expression, whether he was happy to see me or not.

"Caley...I was hoping you'd come by," he had said, stepping out from the sunlight and towards his desk. He looked more awake now, his eyes a little lighter than usual. I wondered why he was in such a good mood.

"What do you mean?" I asked, walking up to his desk.

"You need a dress, don't you?" he asked, ignoring my question.

"How did you--?" I began.

"I'm your father. I know how little you care about these dances," he said. I bit my lip. He knew I would wait until the last minute to get a dress.

"Is it too late for me to go to town?" I asked.

"It is," he replied. I pursed my lips and then shrugged.

"Oh well. Guess I can't go then. Bummer," I said, starting to turn around.

"Not so fast," he said, stopping me. He motioned me to follow him and led me to an inconspicuous cabinet at the side of his room. He opened the doors and in it hung a dress bag. He pulled it out and handed it to me.

"I think it will fit perfectly," he said as I unzipped the bag to reveal a gorgeous and simple dress.

"How do you know?" I asked. A shadow passed over his face before he recovered.

"Because it was your mother's wedding dress," he replied.

"Well, it's gorgeous," Abbey said, pulling me out from my thoughts.

"Thanks," I muttered. She gasped suddenly, making me jump.

"What?!" I yelled, smacking her arm.

"Your hair! That's so pretty!" she exclaimed. I glared at her and she grinned sheepishly at me. "Sorry," she mumbled. "How did you do it?" she asked.

"A spell," I replied.

"Teach me!" she cried.

"Your hair is already done," I said.

"For future events," she said. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Fine," I said. She clapped her hands in excitement.

"Are the boys ready yet?" I asked, checking my make-up. She nodded.

"Lance texted me a few minutes ago asking if we were ready so that they could come over," she replied. "They'll be here in a few," she said. I nodded.

"This night is going to be amazing," she said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I can feel it," she replied, her eyes glittering.

Lance had gotten to our room before Trey did. He told us that Trey was held up. He was trying to help Jason tie his bow-tie. Abbey and him left, telling me they'd meet us in the ballrooms, leaving me alone in my room again. I went to the windows and stared outside at the night sky until Trey knocked on the door.

I opened it for him and he instantly started talking.

"Sorry I'm late. Stupid Jason just had to wear a bow-tie and neither of us knows how to-" he began explaining and then he stopped when he saw me. He blinked a few times, taking in my appearance. I felt my cheeks flush with color with the way he was looking at me.

"Well?" I asked, feeling my heart race. He continued to look at me with that funny expression on his face, like he had just realized something.

"Uhhh--" was his response. I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. He shook his head and recovered, smiling at me.

"I can't find the words to describe you at the moment. You'll have to give me a second," he said. He pretended to think for a minute. "Nope. No words come even close to describing how beautiful you look right now," he said. I felt my blush sink deeper into my cheeks.

"Thanks," I said.

"I thought you said you didn't buy a dress?" he asked.

"I didn't. This was my mother's," I replied.

"Oh..." he said, shifting slightly.

"We should get going," I said, trying to diffuse the tension that had started to settle in the air around us.

He nodded and I made to open the door. But before I got there, he pulled me back to him, kissing my lips gently. When we pulled away, we were breathless.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," he said with a slight smirk.

My cheeks burned and I looked away. Smiling, he offered his arm, which I took. I closed the door behind us and we walked outside to the main student center where the ballrooms were.

"Damn, we're late," Trey said as we looked around.

The ballrooms were enormous. I had never been in them before, except for freshman student orientation, but even then, some of the sections had been closed off. For the ball tonight, the entire ballroom was open.

The white marble floors gleamed under the lights from the crystal chandeliers, which had no lightbulbs in them. The actual crystals themselves were glowing--probably magically--with a dull light, but together, they lit up the ballroom brightly.

There were tables set up on the two far ends of the ballrooms. They had alternating fancy creme and gold tablecovers on them. As decor, there were white roses with red rose petals around the sides of the vase in the center.

The tall windows on the walls of the ballrooms were covered by heavy golden colored drapes that hung to the ground. There were tassles around them, pulling them back to reveal the night scene outside.

Next to the windows on either sides were flower arrangements set on pedastals. There were even a few ice sculptures around the room. In the center front of the room was a stage set up with a band and orchestra. The whole place was decorated to look so classy and elegant that for a moment, I forgot that I was at a university.

"This place looks amazing," I noted. I caught Trey looking at me again. He cleared his throat and looked around.

"It does. The faculty really went all out," Trey replied.

"Do you see the others?" I asked. Even in my heels I couldn't see our friends over the large crowd of people in the ballroom.

"Ummm..." Trey said, looking around. He was a good two feet taller than I was, so it was easier for him to look over the crowd.

"Caley!" I heard someone call out. We turned to see Oralie coming towards us, looking stunning in a soft golden colored dress. The color looked nice against her dark skin tone. Next to her was Matt.

"Hey!" I said as they stopped in front of us.

"Wow, Caley. You look beautiful," Matt said. I felt Trey's arm snake around my waist and fought the urge to smirk.

"Thanks. You guys look pretty amazing yourselves," I replied.

"Well, it's the only dance of the year, so people tend to go a little crazy," Oralie said. I nodded.

"So what goes on at these things?" Trey asked.

"Well, first the dean gets up and talks to us. He gives a speech about the in-coming generation of witches and wizards and how it's important to support them. Then dinner is served. Then we dance," Matt explained.

"Simple enough," I commented. He nodded.

"In the middle of the dancing, there's a partner dance. It's tradition," Oralie informed us.

"What do you do?" I asked.

"You just partner up and do a rehearsed dance that you'll learn soon enough. It's a lot of fun," she replied. I glanced at Trey, who shrugged.

"Oh! There's Abbey!" I said, pointing into the crowd where I could see my roommate with Lance and a few others sitting at a table on the far right.

"We'll see you around," Trey said. We waved to them and made our way into the crowd towards our friends.

"It's so funny how jealous you get," I said. Trey still had his arm around my waist.

"I wasn't jealous," he scoffed.

"Right," I snickered. He shook his head at me and pinched my side. We walked up to Abbey and the others.

"Damn, Caley. You look amazing," Jason said. Samantha, his girlfriend, elbowed him in the side. "What?! She does!" he exclaimed. I chuckled, but felt a blush on my cheeks.

"Thanks, Jason. Nice bow-tie," I said.

"Bloody thing took me thirty minutes to put on," he replied.

"You're telling me," Trey mumbled. Jason grinned and winked at me.

"We were talking to Oralie and Matt and they told us that my dad is going to give a speech, we eat dinner, and then we dance," I told everyone.

"Typical," Samantha said.

"There he is now," Mark said, pointing to my father, who had just walked onto the stage. He took the microphone and cleared his throat. His presence brought on a silence that fell over the crowd. I wondered in awe about the immense respect he received from everyone.

"To our old friends, it's good to see you again. To our new friends, welcome," he began, looking out over the crowd looking handsome as ever in a dapper black suit. I looked at Trey, who looked down at me, a soft expression on his face. He kissed the side of my head and I looked back at my father, trying to fight the army of emotions that were running through me.

"Tonight is a night of honor and celebration. As you all may know, the night of the Yellow Moon was last week. A new generation of witches and wizards has been given their powers and our numbers have multiplied. This is a cause for happiness and joy. Next year, those same students will join our ranks here at Trinity University of Magic or at other universities of magic around the world. Tonight we celebrate this new generation and hope that their transition and education is smooth and enlightening. And so, without further ado, let us begin our celebration with food and drink. Bon apetite!" he said.

Magically, food appeared on the plates on the tables and the crystal glasses were filled with sparkling water. A collective sound of awe came from the freshman, who were fascinated by this display of magic. And the, we dug in.

"Oh Merlin. This food is amazing," Jason said through a mouthful of pasta.

"This tastes like the pasta from Syllvia's," I said.

"That's because that's where it's from," I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned around to see Syllvia, looking breathtaking in a silver gown that matched her sparkling grey eyes.

"Syllvia!" I exclaimed.

"Hello, Caley," she replied, a smile on her lips.

"How are you?" she asked as I stood up to talk to her. The others turned their attention away from us, leaving us to have a conversation.

"I'm well. What about you?" I asked.

"I am doing just splendid," she replied.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Your father asked me to cater for the event tonight," she answered.

"My father?" I asked. She nodded and pointed to the stage where my father was chatting and dining with Professor Little.

"Oh," I said. She smiled and looked me over.

"That dress looks oddly familiar," she said.

"It was my mother's wedding gown," I told her. Realization flooded her face.

"Katerina..." she whispered under her breath, a sad expression falling over her face. She quickly recovered and looked up at me, forcing a smile. "You changed the color," she said. I nodded, trying to push away the emotions that threatened to expose themselves. "Well, you look beautiful. Just like your mother did. She would be proud of where you are today," she told me. I wasn't so sure.

"Thanks, Syllvia," I said. She nodded.

"I'll let you get back to your friends. Be careful tonight," she said. I looked at her oddly as she walked away.

"You're on speaking terms with Syllvia?" Trey asked me. I nodded.

"My mother, your mother, and her were friends when they went to school together," I told him.

"Yeah, I know. She's been to our house before," Trey said.

"She's so hot," Jason said. Samantha must have kicked him under the table because he let out a yelp. We all chuckled in amusement.

After dinner, the tables were cleared and the music started. People stood around idly, no one wanting to be the first to start the dance off. My father, being the dean, took Syllvia's hand and led to the middle of the dance floor. They started a waltz and spun around the dance floor gracefully. When Syllvia's eyes met mine, she smiled softly. I wondered how good of friends my father was with her.

Slowly, others began joining in and then the dance was full on. All around, couples moved smoothly around on the dance floor. The freshman were called to the side of the room and were shown a demonstration of the traditional Dance of the Yellow Moon that would be performed in a few moments.

The floor was cleared and people moved off to the side. Those that wanted to take part in the dance went outside while everyone else stood around the edges of the room. Outside, we stood in two lines: one for the girls and one for the boys. We stood partnered up, the partners linked by their elbows. Once we heard the music start, we began walking into the ballrooms.

It was a strange feeling, being watched by so many people. It felt like we were spectacle, a show to be watched, which we kind of were. Trey and I were in the middle of the line and we stopped once we reached our spot. We turned to face each other, just like everyone else.

The two lines stood straight and facing each other horizontally along the width of the ballrooms. I stood facing Trey. Next to me stood a couple I didn't know and Abbey and Lance. I glanced at Abbey, who looked about ready to burst from excitement. Then I looked at Trey, who was looking at me oddly like he had been all night.

As the lyrics began, I felt strange. As Trey and I stepped towards each other, bowing. Then we stood back up and placed our right hands together, but not touching, in front of us. We turned once, twice, three times and then stood in our original positions. Then we repeated this again with our left hands, turning three times once more. The entire time, I kept eye contact with Trey, not looking anywhere else except at him, because at that moment, he was the only person present in the room.

We stood again in the line and then put both our hands up, reaching out to each other, but not quite touching. Then we stopped in line for a beat before coming close. I set my hand a little below his shoulder behind him, while placing the other in his hand. He set his other hand on the small of my back. Then we moved in the small space that was our's doing a simple waltz.

After a few moments of doing the waltz, we stood back in line to repeat the first part of the dance again. Except this time, instead of leaving a space between our hands, we joined them, weaving our arms around one another's. We did this once clockwise and once counterclockwise to the beat of the music before the song broke into its chorus again, at which point we did the waltz for a second time.

"Caley..." Trey whispered as we counted our steps in our minds.

"Trey..." I replied.

I had a painful feeling in my chest. My heart felt like it was constricting, clenching in pain, making my chest hurt. The emotions I was feeling at the moment for Trey were overwhelming me and I didn't know whether to let them take over or control them. But as I gazed into his serious, multicolored eyes that I was so fond of, I knew that I couldn't control them. Not at this moment. Not tonight.

The music continued to play. Trey looked at me with a look so discernable and foreign I had no idea what to make of it. I wanted to read his thoughts badly, but I refrained. I had promised myself I would never do that unless it was completely necessary.

As we turned and waltzed, now moving out from our little space and to the rest of the dance floor where other bodies were twirling around, Trey spoke again.

"Caley, I need to tell you something," he said.

I felt my hands begin to shake slightly and if he wasn't holding me in his arms, I would have collapsed on the ground. I knew what he wanted to tell me and I was afraid. I was afraid because I knew it was true and not only of him, but of me, too. And this frightened me more than being forever in Elijah's control.

"Trey, I--" I began, but he shook his head, a storm raging behind his eyes.

"Caley, I think I've been feeling this for a while now, but I first realized it when I had to leave you for the summer. And since then, I've been trying to come up with the perfect way to tell you, but I just can't, because there isn't a perfect way. And you want to know why? Because in any scenario that I came up with in my head, only one thing stayed the same, and that was the truth. That's when I realized that as long as I'm telling you what I feel and what the truth is, then it doesn't matter how I tell you. And so tonight I have to say it because I can't hold onto it any longer," Trey told me.

The music was soft now, the quiet before the storm.

"I love you, Caley," he whispered to me.

My heart swelled with emotion to the point where I couldn't speak. I wanted badly to answer him, to tell him I felt the same, but I couldn't. My voice had failed me. My heart was exploding in the pain I had been feeling all night and I wanted to cry because of it. It wasn't a bad kind of pain at all. It hurt, but it felt good to hurt. And I knew it was because I felt the same way. I loved him, too.

"Trey..." I croaked. We had stopped moving now, although everyone else danced on. "Trey..." I tried again, feeling my vision go blurry from the tears that had suddenly formed in my eyes.

"You don't have to-" he began. I shook my head to stop him.

"I love you, too," I whispered, biting my lip after the words came out. He paused, blinking. "I love you, too, Trey," I repeated. And then in a heartbeat, he was kissing me and I kissed him back.

There is a healing potion that is formed by putting together deionized water in its purest form and a mixture made from Red Sea rocks and aloe leaves. To make the mixture, the rocks and leaves are heated with an artificial magical fire, which extracts the minerals from the ingredients. These are then added to the water for the most spectacular view of potion mastery.

When the heated minerals are added to the pure water, an intricate network arises. The heat from the artificial fire ignites the molecules of the water individually to a blue electric light, making the substance glow. The electricity from the network of molecules heats up the entire mixture to the point of explosion, but before it does, the electricity fades away and what's left is a healing potion so powerful, it could restore an amputated leg.

Trey and I left the ball after the dance was over. We went to his room, turning the lights off, but leaving the window open to allow air circulation and moonlight to pour in. I stood by the window, in the light coming from the moon. Trey stood in front of me. He reached out, tucking the loose curls around my face behind my ears.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked me.

I was scared, but I knew now was the perfect time. I had never felt so incredibly strongly about anyone before as I did for Trey. Even if magic had a lot to do with the feelings that I had for him, there was no denying that there was an intense and unavoidable connection between us. And I loved him, so there was no point in waiting any longer.

So I nodded my head and told him I was ready.

He was very gentle with me, making sure he didn't hurt me. He told me I had nothing to be afraid of, that he would take care of me. I told him I wasn't afraid, not when he was with me.

He had already done it a few times before in his life, so he knew what he was doing. But he wanted to make sure he didn't hurt me. He was completely prepared so that nothing unexpected would happen.

I had thought it was pleasureable whenever Trey kissed me. But this was on a whole other level. As the moment intensified, so did the electricity between us. Like the molecules in the water network of the healing potion, we were on fire, the electricity burning blue in its intensity. And just as the healing potion was a product of separate, meaningless ingredients, so our love was a product of two separate, meaningless entities.

Trey fell onto the bed next to me, closing his eyes. My heart was still racing, but I knew that Trey's exhaustion had sunk in. Moving closer to him, I placed my trembling fingertips on his face. He opened his eyes and I could make out every brush of color in his eyes. He smiled at me and took one of my hands, kissing it.

"Are you happy?" he asked, his voice gentle and quiet.

"I don't know what happiness is anymore," I replied honestly, looking at him with unblinking eyes. "But I do know that if there was such a thing, it would feel like this. It would feel like how I do whenever we're together," I added.

He nodded and leaned in a little closer, resting his forehead against mine.

"I'm happy," he told me, causing me to smile.

"I love you, Trey," I whispered to him.

He looked at me with those amazing eyes of his and moved his lips so that they met mine. I reached up, interlocking my fingers in his hair, pressing the soft exposed skin of my body to the hard, muscluar skin of Trey's.

I felt the dull aching in the pit of my stomach again as we kissed, but this time I knew what it was. This time, I knew it was because I loved Trey and he loved me.

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A/N: Well, there it is. I didn't want to write an explicit sex scene; that's just not the style of professional writers. I hope you understood the symbolism of the healing potion.

Yay! They finally said the L word to each other! Took them a year and a half, but it happened! =)

This is probably one of my favorite chapters, just because of how it was written.

I heard this song and from the song came this chapter. So props to Within Temptation for providing the idea!

As always, comment and vote. I hope the long wait for this chapter was worth it. =)

XOXO