"I'm sorry. Baby, please say something," he pleaded anxiously.

"I think I like it when you call me baby just as much as I like sweetheart."

He gave a surprised laugh.

"Maggie. You don't have to do that. You can be mad at me. You can yell at me if it would make you feel better."

"It wouldn't. Besides, it hurts to fight with you."

"It's because we aren't meant to. Like everything else it'll get easier. You'll be fighting with me like a pro in no time," he said joking but his expression was somber.

"I don't want to fight. I don't want to doubt. Look. Even though I can read your feelings for me, sometimes I just feel so...unworthy." He started to interrupt but I pressed my fingers to his lips. "After everything that's happened to me in the past year, it's not easy to just know for certain that everything is as good as it seems. I'm sorry too, ok? Will you please not doubt how I feel about you? I want this, I want you. I wouldn't change anything. You said I was everything but you're everything. I promise not to doubt you again. Ok? Please, promise?"

He smiled against my fingers and pulled my hand down.

"Promise. But you do know, right? How I feel about you is... You're so funny and amazing and sweet and beautiful. I was half a person before you. You make me feel like everything in my life has been for a reason. I'm just happy that I-"

I stopped him with a kiss because I knew and didn't need to hear it and felt him chuckle as he pressed closer, pinning me against the tree, my hands on his chest in between us.

His lips took away everything. Every second of hurt or doubt in the past fifteen minutes was now a distant memory. I could hear his family around us now. It was strange that before I'd completely forgotten where we were and that there were others here and now their voices seemed to float back to us.

I pulled back from Caleb a little and he pressed his forehead to mine to keep the contact. I could feel that he'd been hurting just as much as me about our fight, about everything lately and needed to touch me. So I let him.

"You're so amazing," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I can't say I'm sorry enough."

I nodded and we just stood, sharing breath and letting our touch soothe us as he kept murmuring things to me. I turned my head to look at his family. No one seemed overly worried about us, except Kyle who was glowering but I almost expected that now from him. Then Caleb turned my face back to look at him.

"I have an idea. Why don't you go to your friend's house right now?"

"Uh, I don't know. Are you trying to get rid of me?" I joked.

"Absolutely not. But that way you'll see her now and then go home to sleep and I can be with you, won't go crazy worrying about you."

"Yeah. Ok."

"Are you ok now? Really?" he asked sincerely.

"Of course," I insisted. "I think you could cure just about anything."

He chuckled bashfully which was so freaking cute.

"Are you sure you feel ok?" His hands coasted down my arms. "You still feel a little warm."

"Yeah." I did feel warm and my throat hurt slightly but I felt good enough. "I'm fine."

"Man, I wish we were ascended already, then I could heal you." He sighed. "Ok. Well, come on. Tell everyone goodbye and I'll give you a ride you over there."

He held my hand tight even as I hugged his aunts and uncles, his parents. He wasn't looking forward to being without me at all today and was now willingly taking me to my friends to leave me there. For me, so I could see her. It was not something he wanted to do at all but was doing it for me. He was worried about Marcus still, they'd try even harder to get to me.

Kyle hugged me and told me about four times how happy he was that I was ok and if I needed anything to call him. That he wished I'd stay there and not go home, that it wasn't safe for me. Caleb seethed beside me and I peeked back and couldn't help but want to giggle. In his mind he thought Kyle was trying to take his place. That Kyle had no right to worry over me and I agreed but it was still slightly comical that they were silently fighting over me.

I never, ever in my life thought I'd be fought over before by anyone. And with Chad the other night too...I'm just blown away. It wasn't as appealing as everyone made it sound.

Caleb took me to the garage and after the helmet was on and I was behind him he started it up and asked me which way to go. I explained the directions and he drive slowly through town to her house.

When we pulled up Rebecca was just getting out of her little black Dodge Neon. She put a hand over her eyes to shield the sun and looked at us curiously. When Caleb helped me off the bike and took off my helmet she squealed and ran to me. Her bag slung over her shoulder banged me in the back at she grabbed me in a hug like she hadn't seen me in a year.

"Magpie! You came!" She pulled back to look at me, her face open wide with a smile and then she saw Caleb and her grin turned saucy. "And you brought dessert."

"Beck!" I chastised but heard Caleb chuckle behind me.

"Since when do you ride a motorcycle?" she asked me.

I told her the same thing as Chad.

"Since Caleb drives one."

"Oooh. Good answer. Hi, Caleb," she said all sultry and I almost wanted to smack her.

"Hey," he answered as I pulled myself from her grasp to step back.

I grabbed his hand to try to fill myself with his touch before he left. He squeezed my hand and smiled at me knowingly.

"So, you came to stay with me? Where's your stuff?" she asked.

"I'm not staying the night. I figured we could just hang out for a while."

"Ok. I'll go call for pizza. Caleb, are you staying?"

"Nope. I'm gonna head out but thanks," he answered and as soon as she was inside he smiled crookedly, his hand wrapped around the back of my neck.

He pulled my face to his and kissed me deeply and slowly. It was possibly the s.e.xiest kiss I'd ever had. The few kisses we had already were desperate and needy. This was full of love and sweetness. He pulled me closer with his hand on my hip and continued to let his lips take me over.

He began to playfully nip and peck my lips. I laughed into our kiss before he eventually broke it gently.

"Are you trying to persuade me not to go?" I asked panting.

"Is it working?" he whispered against my lips.

I smiled.

"So, I'll get Beck to drive me home later. You'll come right?"

"Of course. Why don't you text me and let me know when you're home?"

"Ok." I kissed his dimple quickly. "Bye."

"Bye."

I turned but couldn't step. I turned back to look at him and he knew.

"So...it's you again this time," he smirked.

"Shut up," I laughed.

"Go inside and have fun with your friend, Maggie. Then call me and I'll see you tonight."

"Ok."

"Oh, and uh...leave your mind open to me. I need to know what's going on with you, ok? I know." He held up his hands in acceptance. "Tyrant. But after everything that's happened, I need it, Maggie."

"It's ok. I'd feel better like that anyway. Just don't listen to what I say about you," I jested.

"Never." He grabbed my face gently and I felt him pushing in my mind so I pushed into his. We'd only done this once before with totality. It was so intense how I could feel everything in him just like it was in me. It wasn't like normal, just picking up bits and pieces and his heart beat never left me when we were like this. This was everything. "Ok. Now just keep the connection open and I'll see you tonight."

"Ok." I smiled up at him. "Bye, for real."

He waited until I was inside before leaving and as soon as I turned the corner Beck grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Holy cow, Mags! What was that?"

"What?"

"That! That wasn't just a kiss. That was a... something that is not just a kiss, kiss."

"What? I can't kiss the guy I'm dating?"

"You're dating him?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah. What did you think I was doing?"

"Trying to p.i.s.s off Chad," she said matter of fact.

"No! Why would I do that?"

"Because he's still in love with you. He was livid at Pablo's. Li-vid. And I know you said nothing was going on with you and Kyle but I just thought maybe, somewhere in your brain, you were trying to make Chad jealous. I saw him grab you up after graduation like nothing had happened. Like he hadn't dumped you. Jerk."

"No. Absolutely not. I really like Caleb, this has nothing to do with Chad."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." I followed her into her kitchen and she began to pour some diet cream soda into gla.s.ses. "But Chad come over the other night."

She gasped and spilled some soda on the counter.

"What? He did? Oh my gosh, what did he say?" she spouted in a flurry.

"That he wanted us to get back together," I admitted softly.

"Ahhh. Mags. You have guys fighting over you, so sweet," she crooned.

I hopped up on the counter top.

"It's not sweet. It was sad. He waited on my front steps for me and when I pulled up on Caleb's motorcycle, he was so angry. He said he wanted to talk alone so Caleb left. Then he told me he made a mistake and wanted us back together."

"Wow."

"Yeah. I was pretty shocked. So, I told him I was with Caleb and he said Caleb didn't know me like him, that he knew every time I'd ever been sick, that he knew all my broken bones and Caleb knew nothing about me."

"Wow, Mags. If this wasn't Chad we were talking about I'd ask for his number. How romantic is he! Where was all that when you guys were dating?"

"I know! I told him that after he kissed me." She gasped again. "Yeah. He kissed me, like he's never kissed me before. It was all tongues and hands and...well, it would have been something if we were still dating. I told him that. I said, if you had kissed me like that when we were still dating, maybe we'd still be together."

"Holy cow. You're so lucky."

"What? Why?" I asked.

Sometimes it was hard to keep up with her demented logic.

"Because having guys fight over you is hot!"

"No, it's not," I insisted. "It sucks. Why now? Because he was jealous? Because he finally decided he didn't want to go to college alone? Why? Why didn't he do this before I met Caleb? But then I wouldn't have met him, Beck. And I would take anything that happened to me all over again to meet Caleb like I did because..."

She gaped at me, her gla.s.s rolled with condensation in her hand. At first her expression was laced with unbelief and then worry and then realization.

"Ok, Maggie. Listen. I really like Caleb. He's hot. But are you sure he's not just some college boy trying to get some booty before he goes back to school?"

"No. He's not."

"But how do you know? Boys can be very charming, Mags. Very believable."

"Caleb isn't like that. I know its only been a few days, but you- you just don't understand. Trust me, that won't happen."