"Dawn, are you okay?" he asked me, concern lacing his voice.

I nodded slowly, my heart still pounding rapidly in my chest. Jack walked over to me then, gazing into my eyes.

"You're scared of me." he stated.

Suddenly, it all fell into place. That was why Jack had been acting so distant lately. He was ashamed of what he'd become. And scared that I would be too. I shook my head 'no' and continued to gaze at him, taking in the trickle of blood rolling down his skin from a cut near his eyebrow.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

Ever so slowly, I inched closer to him before pressing my lips to his. My hands rested on his chest and I felt him stiffen beneath my touch. My lips glided over his and soon, I felt him kiss me back. My heart soared in my chest. His hand moved to my hip, pulling me flush against him. Our lips moved in sync and his lips felt like rose petals on mine - velvet soft, silky smooth, and tasted like chocolate mixed with warm caramel.

My hands moved up his chest and held on this neck, my fingers playing with his sandy-brown curls. He was just as gentle as the first time he'd kissed me and I felt butterflies before breaking away from him, my forehead resting against his. Breathtaking misty-gray eyes gazed back at me.

"What?" I whispered, still out of breath from our kiss.

"Friends don't do that..." he said softly.

"Then let's be something else," I suggested.

"You still don't understand, do you? I'm more machine than man now. Why would you want to be with a monster?"

My fingers glided across the nape of his neck and I sighed.

"I'm not giving up on you, Jack... I never could," I told him honestly, shrugging, "And if you still don't believe me, then I'll just have to keep proving it to you."

I crashed my lips into his again and I felt him smile into the kiss before kissing me back roughly.