They didn't know her well, and she was curious why she had been paired with the basketball player. She might have let the basketball player kiss her, but it would have been her first kiss. She wanted her first kiss to at least be slightly special, so she awkwardly offered thumb war as an alternative. At first the basketball player had been stunned, but he good naturedly smiled and accepted. When they exited her face was neutral, but the basketball player was smirking.

No one else would know that they had only played thumb war repeatedly. She felt really bad, because Eric was by himself, and he looked even more anxious. She was putting extra energy into blocking his thoughts, because she couldn't cope with them. It was immobilizing fear, and she wished she could do something to help. Now he was stranded by himself. Around her she could feel guys and girls beginning to lust after the game, and it mildly through her off. It was quite the conflicting emotions that were going on around here.

However Eric's anxiety was definitely the strongest thoughts and emotions. She could feel that Eric was about to scream and leave, so she got up to go over to him. Either she would leave with him or take him somewhere to calm him down. She could ask that girl to move, but Eric needed to be calmed down. Both of their names got called, and she decided that two minutes in a closet might be long enough to begin the process.

She wondered if Eric would be happy, nervous, or unhappy that her name had been called. She supposed they were curious to see what they would do together, since Eric seemed to need her. They stood there in the darkness for a moment, and Kai felt the need to try to calm him down, but he talked first. At first she was confused, because her mind was in a completely different place. Her face filled with amusement, but she stopped herself from reflexively asking him why he was curious.

She knew that. Normally, she would have asked, but she decided not to ask him. He sounded concerned about it. "Eric. It's okay. You don't have to do anything," she took his hand into her own. "They don't have to know a thing, and I doubt anyone will say anything. If it makes you feel any better, during my time in the closet, I lost 6 times at thumb war. He has much longer stronger thumbs," she felt the urge to laugh a little, but wasn't sure if it was a good moment.

Should she tell him that whoever kissed her would be her first kiss or would he guess that? Would that put too much pressure on him? What if she ended not liking him the same way, and he took that admission as encouragement? "You don't have to do anything," she repeated. "Do you want to go home? I am sorry I haven't done a very good job sticking with you. I should have asked that girl to move." She hadn't felt like she had abandoned him or anything, but it didn't seem to have helped any. It wasn't like she was going around chatting people up.

She had just played the game and moved. Wasn't she allowed to act normally? She didn't think he would be mad or hurt at her. She wanted to be around him, but she did think it was pretty clingy, if he didn't like what she had done. She knew he had a crush on her, but she wasn't sure if he wanted to kiss her or not. Should she let him? "If you want to kiss, that's fine. If you don't want to, that's fine too," she told him. "I don't mind either way." She wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss him. If he had a crush on her, she sort of wanted him to want to kiss her though. She wanted to ask him why he was so nervous. She wanted to help him calm down. "Can I help you? What can I do?" she asked him.

He took a deep breath in as she took his hand into hers, and let out a breath slowly. She was right. Nobody had to know anything. It was just a stupid game, he shouldn't be getting so worked up over it. He grinned at what she did during her two minutes with the other basketball player, he let out a couple soft chuckles, subconsciously running his thumb gently over the side of her hand.

His worry and stress were slowly fading as he stood in here with her, her touch and her words calming him down. She repeated again that he didn't have to do anything, and she asked him if he wanted to go home. She apologized for not staying with him and asking the other girl to move, and he shook his head. "It's not your fault, don't worry about it." he whispered. "You don't have to be sorry. I'm not upset with you." He gave her a weak smile. "I didn't expect you to be by my side all night, it is a party." He paused, thinking. "I do want to go home." Eric admitted. "But I want you to be here. I want you to have fun, and...and I'm just dragging you down. I probably shouldn't have agreed to come in the first place, I thought it would be good for me but it...it just isn't."

She said that if he wanted to kiss that it would be fine and vice versa. He knew time was ticking by, and this was his only chance. It was private, no one else would know, and it was just a game. He wouldn't have to elaborate any further. This was a game, and kissing was a key part in it. He wouldn't have to explain his feelings for her because of this, he wasn't ready to do that yet. He could kiss her as part of the game and be done with it.

He stood silently for a moment, debating. She asked if she could help him, and what she could do to do that. He just looked at her, his heart picking up pace and starting to hammer nervously in his chest. Would he do it? Would he not?

"You don't have to do anything," he whispered, his tone and voice gentle. He realized that he was starting to tremble again, and so he grabbed her other hand in his and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself back down, breathing in and out. "I don't know why I'm so scared." he admitted to her, opening his eyes back up and looking down at her. "I don't know why I feel so much pressure, I don't know why I can't just make a choice." He breathed in deeply through his nose, the choices weighing back and forth heavily.

"Okay," he said, his heart beating faster and faster. He knew it had at least been a minute, and there wasn't much time left at all. He didn't know if he'd ever get this chance again, and what was the harm in it? It was just a game, it was what he was supposed to do, that was the entire point. She said she didn't care if he did or not, so what harm could be done? It was just a kiss, right? Sure, it would be his first kiss, but it would at least mean a little something to him because she was his first crush ever. He didn't want to be picked again and forced to come in here with some other girl who insisted on kissing and have his first kiss with someone he didn't know and didn't care about.

"Don't kill me?" he whispered, giving her an apologetic smile. He hesitated just briefly, but pulled her closer to his body as if he was going in for a hug. He raised one hand to her face, tilting his head just enough to not awkwardly bump her, and pressed his lips softly to hers. He was shocked at how easily this had happened for him, there wasn't any awkward bumping, it was smooth and easy. The only thing that he was unsure about was what to do with his hands.

So instead of over complicating things, he kept the one on the side of her face, and moved his other to her back, pulling her gently closer. He didn't let the kiss last too long, but it wasn't just a quick peck on the lips either. His heart felt as if it was going a million miles a minute, but as he pulled away, he was shocked to discover that he wasn't anxious anymore. He wasn't worried anymore. He was still a bit nervous, yes, but nowhere near as bad as he had been before.

He put his hand down from her face, and released his gentle grip on her back, but he did slide his hand back into hers, afraid to completely let go. If she wanted to kiss him again, he wasn't going to stop her, but he didn't want to push things too far and do it again on his own accord. With his free hand, he reached up and absent mindedly started to fiddle with his mother's necklace, waiting for her reaction.

Had he made a mistake? Was he bad at it? Was it too awkward for her? Would she still want to be friends with him?

"I hope you don't mind, but your thoughts and feelings were really strong. I can understand what you were going through, and I wish I knew how to help." They were there silently for a moment. She could feel his tension, but she was trying to block out his thoughts. She looked up at him, because he said something. Soothingly, she rubbed his hand. "But I want to help," she had to point that out. She listened to him. She had no ideas either. The time was ticking away, and she almost wished that they had more time.

She supposed they could excuse themselves for a while, but it would sort of defeat the purpose of being at a party. She cocked her head curious at the okay. He sort of sounded like he had decided something, but she couldn't figure out what it was. The game was dumb, so there was no reason to play the game. It wasn't even that fun or it hadn't been for her. She caught his last thought about not wanting to be forced to kiss a girl. "Eric. Please. Don't let anyone do something you are not comfortable with or don't want to do," she told him.

She didn't want him getting hurt because of peer pressure. A kiss might not seem like a big deal, but something bad could happen. She didn't want him to collapse even though it might give him anxiety to stand up for himself. She felt her heart beat speed up, when he said don't kill him. Why would she want to hurt him? Wordlessly, she let herself be pulled closer to him. She felt a little excitement that came from anticipation. She reminded herself that they were just friends.

She also tried to tell herself that this was normal. They were just playing a game, and he did have a crush on her. She realized how aware she was, and how hard she was paying attention. She didn't want to mess up. She had been thinking about Eric's anxiety, and she hadn't expected him to actually try to kiss her. She would have tried to put her arms around his neck, but he was tall and she was short, so it was awkward. She didn't want to bump him with her heavy cast anyway. That wasn't very romantic.

She wasn't sure where to put her arms then, because her cast would be clumsy. She put her right hand on his face though as he came closer. He gently pulled her closer and their lips met. He pulled away, and she sort of stood there in his embrace looking at each other. It was surprisingly easy. She wondered what it would be like for that to happen regularly, if they actually got together. She held his hand, and there was soon space between them again.

While she sort of felt like kissing him again, she didn't feel like it would be a good idea. Their time was almost up, and she didn't want to complicate things. She noticed that he was less nervous, and she found herself grinning a little. "Feel better?" she asked him teasingly. She began to try to straighten herself up, because she preferred to keep everyone else guessing. "I think the two minutes are up," she told him softly, when she heard them yelling for them to come out.

She noticed this time they were under more scrutiny than any other pair. What did they expect? They were just friends. "I think we should leave before you get worked up again," she told Eric. She began to start the process of leaving by saying goodbye to everyone. She wasn't sure if anyone would say goodbye to Eric, but they should get going. When she came to the basketball player, she grinned, "You were very good." She knew what everyone else was thinking, and it sort of delighted her that she could trick them. Once they were outside and ready to leave, she asked Eric where he would like to go. They could go to his place, they could go to her place, or they could separately go home.

Eric shook his head. He didn't mind her saying. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be for her to be constantly hearing his anxious thoughts, and feeling his stress due to her ability. She pointed out that she wanted to help, and he gave her a shy smile like he always did. She spoke, telling him to not let anyone force him to do something he didn't want to do. He simply nodded, his thoughts still swarming around in his mind.

When he'd kissed her, he felt like everything was going to be okay. He found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss her on a daily basis, and for a longer period of time rather than just once in a semi dark closet in the middle of an anxiety wridden game that wasn't even fun. He saw the grin that slowly spread on her face, and he hoped that was a good sign. He hoped that he hadn't screwed up, and that she wouldn't mind still being his friend. She teasingly asked him if he felt better, and he let a sheepish grin grow on his face.

His cheeks felt a little hot, and he was sure they were a bit rosier than normal, but that was okay. He'd done it, and she didn't seem to mind. She straightened herself up, and he knew the others would be guessing what had happened, but his posture stayed the same. No one knew him well enough to be able to tell what he was feeling. She told him that she thought the two minutes were up, and that was validated by the muffled calls from outside the door.

"Yeah, I think so too." he said, his heart still beating faster than he would like it to. "Thanks for not killing me." He teased, squeezing her hand one last time before letting go. Once they exited the closet, she told him that she thought they should leave before his anxiety got the best of him again. He wanted to ask her if she was sure, because he was happy to go home, but he didn't want to ruin her fun. If she wanted to stay, she shouldn't have to feel responsible for him. He could leave on his own accord if she wanted to stay and have fun.

"You sure?" he asked quietly. She started to say her goodbyes to everyone, and he just kind of made his way towards the stairs. He hung around the base of them, because he didn't really know anyone here, and he couldn't bring himself to talk to his basketball friend. He was scared that he would ask him what they did and his compulsion to be honest would take over. He didn't think he could handle that without making a scene so he just waited patiently for Kailey.

He saw her speaking to his team mate, and he wondered what she was saying. He briefly wondered if she had lied to him judging on the expressions on the faces of those who heard her, but he didn't think she would do that. When she was ready he let her go up first and absent mindedly opened the door for her. Once outside, she asked him where he wanted to go. It wasn't too late yet, but the sun would be setting in about an hour or so.

He stuck his hands in his hoodie pocket, the evening breeze cool and flowing through his dark hair. It felt so nice outside compared to in there. It wasn't hot or crowded, and he felt like a free man again. He looked at her, thinking for a moment as they walked slowly down the drive and onto the sidewalk. "It doesn't matter to me." he said quietly, his voice soothing and gentle as always with a hint of shyness now that hadn't been there since the day he met her.

"If you want to go home, I can walk you back." he offered. He didn't want to force her to do anything she didn't want to do, but he really did want to spend more time with her. He felt awful about dragging her down at the party and quite possibly tearing her away from a good time. He wanted to make it up to her but he just didn't know how.

"If you aren't ready to go home yet, I suppose we could go to my place." he said. "My dad is probably in bed passed out or out of the house, so we shouldn't have to worry about being scolded or anything." She hadn't been to his house before at all, and if she wanted to he'd be happy to show her around. Besides, she loved Gunner and Eric hadn't been able to really bring his dog to any of the places they'd been choosing to hang out at. She'd probably like to see him again too.

Did the kiss mean anything to Eric? Had he ever kissed anyone before? She couldn't really see his blush, but she knew him. Since she had teased him, she had a hunch what he looked like. There were the muffled calls. She felt like she had been able to help him at least calm down, and she was glad that they had had two minutes together. Honestly, she hadn't been expecting Eric to kiss her. It had thrown her off guard and surprised her. "I suppose we better go," she told him.

She kept in her mind anything about trying to make them think different things. It didn't matter what they thought. She gave his hand a squeeze back. "Yeah. I'm tired of this game, and I don't know them very well," she reassured him. She didn't want to risk kissing a guy, so she wanted to get out of here pretty quickly. It took her a little while to make the rounds. As they exited she began to get ready to say her farewells. Some of them got up to say goodbye to her, but a lot of them didn't really care.

"No," she waved a hand, "I've just had as much fun as I can stand."

It might be a good idea to go ahead and head home, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to part ways yet. She was surprised to hear him offer to go to his place. She was nervous, because she had never met his dad, and he sounded scary. When she remembered Gunner, it sealed the deal. "Are you sure it would be okay to go to your house? I'd love to see Gunner again," she told him.

Eric was relieved to know that she was fine with leaving and that he wasn't fully the cause of her not having fun. Although he knew he was definitely part of it. She seemed a bit nervous to go to his house, and she had good reason. She'd never met his father, and David Godfrey could be one scary dude. He was aware that his father had told him to stop hanging out with Kailey, but he'd been keeping his interactions with her a secret for a week now and he still hadn't noticed.

He knew it was risky and a bold move, but if he saw any sign that his father was home or awake, he wouldn't risk it and just go on a walk or something with her. "Well, I know it's not exactly something that I'm supposed to do, but...if it looks bad when we get there we won't stay." he said honestly. "If anything I'll just sneak you in the backyard and we can chill with Gunner for a bit." He shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he isn't home, but if he is he'll probably be passed out."

He walked with her down the sidewalk, enjoying the evening air and feel of the surroundings. He wanted to reach over and hold her hand, but he knew it was uncalled for. They weren't a couple, and he was no longer stressed, so he had no reason. They soon reached his house, his front yard clean this time, and he quickly made his way to the porch. The thin curtains inside were pulled clumsily closed so he couldn't see inside. He made his way agilely around the back and peeked into the garage, the amount of relief hitting him nearly knocking him to the ground. His father's truck was gone, which in turn meant he wasn't home.

"He's not here," he said to Kai with a small grin on his face. He walked up the rickety wooden porch steps again and reached into a small slot in one of the wooden planks that was loose, pulling out a small key. He stuck it in the door and quickly unlocked it, letting her in and placing the key back. He left the curtains as they were since it would be getting dark soon anyway, but he walked over and turned on a few lamps.

The inside of his home could be described as rustic, or on the verge of western. It was made of wood, the walls and floor wooden, and right when you walked through the door you stepped into a decently sized living room. On the far end there was a fire place, around the opening was decorared with large stones and such, making it look natural. There was a small brown couch, a dark brown leather rocking chair, and a small wooden table between them. On the table there were a couple bottles of whiskey, one empty and one still with some liquid inside, carelessly left out, and a small lamp which Eric had turned on. The lamp had a nice golden glow that radiated a soft warm heat. There was a tv as well, opposite of the couch, hooked up onto the wall.

The wooden walls were pretty much bare, except for a decently large painting of two men on horseback traveling through a forested moutain range with a river. On either side of the rocky fireplace chimney, there were two pretty large taxidermied deer heads, both bucks with impressive racks of antlers. His father was not a hunter, but he enjoyed collecting things like this. Next to the door there was a wooden railing with small metal hooks on it that served as a coatrack, and below it were pairs of his father's boots and shoes.

Eric walked over, grabbing the empty whiskey bottle and walked into the kitchen, which was connected to the living room. "Sorry about this," he said to Kai, tossing the bottle in the trash. "We don't get company much, and Dad tends to not like to clean up his messes." He gave her an apologetic grin. "But anyway, this is the kitchen." He said with a teasing voice. He opened the fridge. "We have water, a few different kinds of soda, I can get you coffee if you want." he offered. "There's some snack stuff in there," He pointed to cabinets under the counter. "And cereal and stuff in those." He tossed a hand at the cabinets on the wall above the counter and sink.

"So if you want anything, feel free. Just...don't touch the alcohol." He said, giggling softly. "Oh! We also have ice cream, so if you want some you can have that too. Help yourself." He walked through the kitchen and down a hallway, going past his father's bedroom and the bathroom, and going into a small room that really served no purpose other than being a mudroom of sorts for his father when coming home from work or coming in from working out in the backyard.

The room was completely bare, the walls here plaster, and there was a small rickety screen door leading out to the backyard. He opened the door and Gunner burst inside, shaking instantly. "Hey buddy! How are you, huh? Huh?" Eric greeted him. Gunner barked, making Eric's ears ring a bit, and he was positive Kai could hear him from the kitchen. He laughed and opened the door that led to this room, and Gunner tore off down the hallway all the way into the kitchen.

Eric had to jog to keep up in order to make sure that the dog didn't jump up on Kailey and accidentally injure her. Sure enough, Gunner was already at her feet, crouching into a position that prepared to lunge upward. "No, no!" Eric said quickly and sharply out of a brief moment of fear. He sprinted over, grabbed Gunner around his midsection and pulled him slightly back. "No, no stay down." he told him. Gunner's tail wagged furiously, his excitement making him tremble a little bit.

"Sorry, he was gonna jump." he said to Kai, keeping Gunner back a bit from her until he calmed down. "He's a little excited to see you." He kind of patted Gunner's rump and the dog sat, and Eric bear hugged him from behind, kissing the side of the dog's muzzle. "With good reason." He looked up, giving her a smile. For the first time all day, his bright blue eyes had no trace of stress of any kind whatsoever, alighted instead with joy and contentment.

His dark hair was messed up a bit, but he didn't care. This was all he really wanted in life. Gunner, God, and a good friend like Kailey. They were the beings that brought him the most happiness in life. "Do you want to see the rest of the house?" he asked her.

She also wasn't sure how out of it someone was, when they were passed out. Did people do anything weird before they passed out? Could they wake up and get mad, if he saw her? Since he had invited her, she accepted, trusting that he knew what he was doing. She walked along glad to be going somewhere. It was a nice time of day to go on a walk. The air was cool, and the exercise pleasant. They soon reached his house, and she began looking around. She had only been here, when they were dropping something off.

When he said that his father wasn't here, she couldn't bring herself to smile, so she nodded instead. Nervously, she followed him up the steps. She was looking around as if she was ready to dive into hiding if she noticed anyone coming. Curiously, she watched as he grabbed the key from its hiding place. She kept note of it though she doubted she would ever have to come here on her own. Nosily, she turned and looked around, as she had never been inside before. One of the first things she noticed were all the deer heads mounted on the walls.

She hadn’t expected Mr. Godfrey to be a hunter. She was not a hunter, and she had always considered it a little odd, when they wanted to mount animals heads and put them on walls. It always made her a little sad to see them on the walls, because she knew they used to be alive. While she was okay with people killing animals to eat, she wasn’t sure if she could do that, if that's what she had to do to get meat. There were several whiskey bottles scattered about in different places.

Many of them in various stages of being emptied. The amount of whiskey bottles surprised her, and it made sense why Eric thought he might be passed out. If he were, she wasn’t sure if she would be comfortable hanging around, especially, when Eric was free to come to her home. She gave him a smile, as he apologized. He hadn’t known she was coming over, and she was glad that he felt comfortable enough around her to invite her over no matter the stage of cleanliness of his house.

It annoyed her when some of her friends kicked her out until they had cleaned up their room. Unless there was fecal matter strung about or something as disgusting, she really wasn’t that picky about it. While if she slept over she did prefer a higher cleanliness, she could deal with a lot of mess. Messes were different from dirt. Messes came from a lived in house in her opinion, and dirt was the result of not cleaning. While she understood not cleaning also, she did believe it was good to keep down the dirt.

Normal messes didn’t bother her, but she did feel a little uneasy with all of these whiskey bottles laying around. “Does your father ever notice if something is out of place? I don’t want to go rummaging through your kitchen, and get you in trouble.” She knew that eating was something that demonstrated that you were making yourself at home, but she was a little too nervous to eat. “Where do you think your dad is?” she asked, “When do you think he will get home?” Should she try to leave before then?

She was feeling a little thirsty, so she went to the fridge and grabbed a soda. She decided that she had eaten enough for one day, and she could eat more later, when she got home. She gave a little laugh at her touching alcohol. She had tasted a sip of it before, and it hadn’t inspired a desire to drink it, when she became old enough. When he walked off, she wondered if she should follow. Instead, she rummaged around for a bowl, and looked in their fridge.

She scooped out some ice cream and waited for him to return. After more searching she found a spoon. In the distance she could hear the tale tell signs of a dog being let into the house. The furious energy and noise as it moved around was impressive. Soon the sounds told her that he was tearing down the hall toward her. She barely heard Eric jogging along trying to catch up. When he started running toward her, she braced herself and her ice cream. She could see him squatting down, so that he could jump up. She smiled at Gunner as Eric held him back.

“Awww. Did you miss me?” she asked the dog, as she put her ice cream on the counter. She was surprised that he missed her, since they had only really met once. She bent down to pet him furiously with her one hand. “Sure, if I can bring my ice cream,” she told him. The house could probably wait, but the ice cream would melt. Normally, she would have spent a lot more time petting Gunner, but she grabbed her ice cream. “I am so happy to see you again pretty boy,” she cooed at him.

"Well..." he started, rubbing the back of his neck. "The day I met you...the day I was home late from school? He found out from the principal that I was hanging out with you and...he told me not to anymore." He had a feeling that she wouldn't want to hear those words at all. It painted him as a disobedient child who broke all the rules, but he really wasn't. This was the first time he'd ever disobeyed his father since he was five. Besides, he felt it kind of harsh that his dad wouldn't want him to hang out with a potential new friend.

"It was mostly because of how bad my grades are right now," he clarified, so she wouldn't think that his dad thought she was a terrible person. "He wanted me to be studying and stuff rather than hanging out with people. Which I mean...I do study. It's not like I'm trying to fail or failing on purpose. But I guess he also doesn't trust me at all, I don't think he trusts that I won't do anything to you." He hoped she got the implication, he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable around him for fear he may touch her in a way she didn't like, or try to do anything sexual to her.

That wasn't in his mind at all, and was never his intention when hanging out with her, even though he did like her. It was a crush, and he was simply getting to know her better. He was making a friend, a much needed one at that, and he had no intention of abusing that relationship. She said she was only goingfor Gunner, giving him a smile, and he put his hand on his chest, giving her a fake hurt look.

"How dare you?" he said overdramatically. "Oh the pain. You are only my friend because you have the benefit of seeing my dog. Huff puff." He turned away dramatically, but then quickly turned back, giggling. His entire sentence had been filled with obvious teasing. "I'm sure it will be fine if he isn't home." he said. "If he is we won't go I guess. I don't want to get you in trouble or anything."

When in the kitchen, Kai asked if his father ever noticed if something was out of place. Eric shook his head. "No, he doesn't pay attention to much other than work, television, and his drinks." He tossed his head at the fridge. "He notices if his alcohol is gone, but he doesn't really pay much attention to much else. So it's fine, rumage all you want." He chuckled. She asked him where he thought his dad was, and what time he would be home. "Honestly, he's probably at the bar or some club." he said, shrugging. "He has nowhere else to be on a Saturday night. He gets home from work in the afternoon, works a bit in the backyard, grabs his drinks and sits down to watch tv. He was tipsy when I left for the party, so I'm sure he's out drinking with some buddies." He knew that probably didn't reassure her, but if that's what he was doing, he would be gone for a good two more hours.

"If that's where he's at, he should be gone for a couple more hours." he answered. "But just in case I don't think you should stay too long. I can show you around, we can hang with Gunner for a bit, maybe play a card game or two, and then I should probably walk you home. Just to be on the safe side."

Gunner panted happily up at Kai as she spoke to him, his brown eyes wide with excitement, and his tail thunking heavily against Eric's feet. He let out several excited whines, his front feet scrabbling and slipping on the wooden floor to try and go over to her. But Eric held him firmly back, for he was still too hyper to be trusted. "If you want to finish that, you can." he said, nodding at the ice cream. She commented to Gunner what a pretty boy he was and how glad she was to see him, and a streak of orneriness flared up in Eric.

He didn't know where it came from, but it was there, and he couldn't refuse the chance to say it. "Why thank you m'lady," he teased, giggling. It was obviously a joke and not meant to be taken seriously at all. As he waited for her to finish her ice cream, Gunner slowly calmed down. Eric let him go and stood up straight, leaning his back against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Gunner walked slowly up to Kai, then sat down, looking up at her face with his big brown eyes. He let out a soft whine and tapped his paw on her leg, wanting pet.

Eric smiled at the scene. He was calm, but he was still on edge. He heard a car door outside, and his entire body tensed and jolted. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and Gunner felt the fear spiking off of his owner. The German Shepherd trotted to the door, sniffing the base of it, his hackles raised ever so slightly. But he didn't growl, and soon he gave up, walking back over to Kai. It wasn't Eric's father, it was just the neighbors.

"Okay," he said quietly, his heart hammering. "I think I'll show you the house and then we should probably leave." he said.

Even if he had been misinformed to dislike her, he did like her now, so she could forgive him and move on. It surprised her that he was disobeying his father. He didn't seem like that type, and she wasn't sure what to say. Should they hang out? Maybe she should suggest they only hang out at school. She didn't want to get him in trouble and only lead him astray. Her face stayed downcast, but she didn't say anything. She didn't want to give up this friendship. Her parents saw nothing wrong with it.

She wanted to ask why he disliked her, and she was glad that Eric was willing to explain, so she didn't have to ask the awkward question. When he told her, she wasn't totally convinced, but it made sense in a weird way. "It wouldn't make sense to sit through school and then deliberately fail," she commented. "Do you do anything else besides studying?" she asked. There was only so much studying you could do. She looked up and her eyes widened slightly at the implication. If his father didn't trust him, could she?

She had let him kiss her, but he also hadn't tried to continue or go further. She wanted to shiver, but she didn't want to seem afraid. It wasn't like she had purposefully encouraged anything romantic, had she? She almost wanted to ask him, but she didn't want to scare him away or give him the wrong idea. She just wanted to validate herself that she was a good platonic friend. She knew he needed a friend, and she wanted to be that friend, but she didn't want to be chased off by his father.

She relaxed a little, when he started joking around. This was something she was comfortable and more familiar with. This was less awkward, and it came naturally. She gave him her best devious knowing grin. "Purely because I love dogs and want my own." She giggled with him glad that things were a little less weird. She nodded her head trusting him. Nothing bad would happen. Everything would be okay. Eric told her that his father didn't notice anything out of place except the alchohal.

She wasn't supposed to touch any of that, so that wouldn't be a problem. While what Eric said didn't reassure her, it sounded like he would at least be busy for a while. Long enough for her to visit without him ever knowing. "Yeah, let's go on the safe side," she told him. She petted Gunner for a little while, because she was delighted to see him. "Okay thanks," she told him. She was glad not to be run over by someone's happiness. She went back to eating her ice cream. When he made his little comment, she mimiced spitting out her ice cream in surprise.

"Uh.....I don't think I can consider you near as cute as Gunner here. You never try to knock me over, when you come to greet me, because you are uncontrollablely happy to see me," she shook her head at him. "Or did you mean thank you for complimenting your beautiful dog," her eyes widened with pretend innocence. "Of course. Of course," she gave him a smile. Now that Gunner was calm, she wanted to pet him, but her hands were full. She managed to hold her bowl with her broken arm, so she could give Gunner a good scratch.

When both Gunner and Eric seemed to freeze, Kai followed their example. Her eyes were widened with panic not sure what was going on. "Is everything okay," she whispered her voice filled with uncertainty. She nodded her head. After that mini heart attack, she would be ready to leave without an argument. Perhaps they should only visit at her house. "Has your father said anything about the pick up in your social life? she asked as she followed him, while he showed her the rest of the house. She doubted that he could be oblivious to everything. Eric needed to be careful or there could be serious repercussions.

"I take care of Gunner," he said in response to her question. "Go on walks and stuff, I do my weight lifting and exercise, I draw, read, write..." he trailed off. "I mean I do stuff, it's not like I sit around all day on my phone. My dad's not really around enough to know when I'm home actually studying. All he sees is what I do outside of that." He sighed. "My grades prove it, too. It's not like I'm failing every class, just a couple, but still. He sees it that I'm not studying. I am it's just....hard. I don't know why." Eric's voice dropped, as if he was slightly ashamed to admit to his failing grades and lack of study.

It wasn't anything too embarassing, but admitting it to a girl he liked who also happened to be a straight A student...it just made him feel a little less than average. Nothing against Kai at all, she was amazing. It just made him feel like he could have been better if he wasn't born so stupid. And because of his social anxiety, another worry piled on top of that. He was worried that she wouldn't like him anymore because he was a bad student. He knew it wasn't true at all, but anxiety eats away at a person, especially someone like Eric, and he hated it. He wished he could just get rid of these negative feelings and thoughts, especially since he was walking next to Kai. She could feel his emotions, and he didn't want to keep being that rock attatched to her ankle in the water.

He laughed as she told him she didn't think she could consider him as cute as Gunner. "Yeah, you're right." he said, playfully agreeing. "But to be fair, I don't try to knock you over when I see you because I'm a giant, and...you have a broken arm, and I don't want to hurt you any further so..." He gave her a smile and knelt down behind Gunner, ruffling his hands through the dog's fur before standing back up.

When Gunner made his way to the door, Kai whispered if everything was okay. He hesitated a moment before speaking. "I heard a car door," he whispered quickly and quietly. When Gunner calmed down, he did too a little, although his entire body felt as if he was shaking. He turned to her to answer her question. "He mostly thinks that when I'm gone hanging out with you, I'm just doing my daily stuff at the park or with the team. I'm really not home that much anyway, and neither is he. He finds out about stuff I do from other people, so...that's where it gets tricky for me."

When she was done with her ice cream he took the bowl gently and set it in the sink, before patting his leg softly to signal Gunner it was time to go. The dog stood up and walked next to Eric on one side while Kai was on the other. "I'm not a liar, I don't like to lie. So if and when he finds out about us hanging out...I don't know what I'll do." His demeanor was calm, but the fear in his voice although small was obvious.

"But anyway," he said, shaking himself free from that looming fear. They rounded into the kitchen doorway that led into a hallway, and the first door they came to he opened slightly for her to look in. It was a pretty small room and completely bare except for a single desk and a file cabinet. There were various tools strung about on the desk, and papers stacked somewhat neatly. Of course some beer and whiskey bottles strung about, but Eric didn't make a move to go inside. On the left side of the room up next to the wall was a staircase. "This is my father's office." he said. "Kind of I mean. Like, he comes in here for tools and stuff and to do paperwork. We'll come back here later so I can show you the upstairs but I can show you the rest of the house first." He closed the door softly, and continued walking down the hallway. "This is the bathroom," he said, tossing a hand at the next door. "My dad's room is down there," he pointed at the end of the hallway. "We won't go in there. But this is the family room, it's where we all used to sit and play games and stuff." He walked into a doorway that led into a relatively small room. It had two rocking chairs, a tv, decorations and pictures on the walls, a table, lamps, and a big bear rug. Eric stood in the doorway enough to allow Kai to go past and inside if she wanted, but he stayed where he was.

"We don't come in here much." he said quietly. "We aren't really a family anymore. After my sister moved out, it's been just me and Dad so..." he shrugged. "It isn't like we hang out much." He waited a bit before turning and going back into David's office, this time walking in and going right to the stairs. Gunner's tail lifted and started to wag, and he trotted after Eric with a doggy smile on his face. Gunner darted past Eric with ease, bounding up several steps at a time before standing at the top and looking down at Eric and Kai.

Eric smiled and stepped up a couple steps before turning and offering his hand to Kailey. The stairs were really steep and there was only a railing on one side to hold, which happened to be her left side. She wouldn't be able to hold that railing for balance. Gunner sat down, patiently waiting for his owner. "Don't want you to fall," he said gently to her.