She told her parents about everything. Well, she told her mother, because her mother was easier to talk to and they were able to communicate better. Her mother didn't seem too surprised, and Kai had a feeling that her mother had some idea of Eric's home life. She returned to the room to sit with Eric while he slept. She had put this into the hands of adults, so she didn't have to deal with it anymore. She wasn't sure if she had done the right thing, but she told herself that it was never a bad thing to tell the truth. Eric looked so peaceful.

She sat in her chair patiently waiting for what she did not know. She was nervous that Mr. Godfrey would come back in here, and she would be stuck in awkward silence with him. She hoped that being here would earn respect from him. He would at least know that what she felt was sincere. She wasn't sure if Eric had been able to prove it to him, but she hoped this would at least give her the benefit of the doubt. She tried to block out other people's feelings. It might be uncomfortable knowing what other people were thinking and feeling. She was enjoying the temporary relative quiet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

(If she is a sophomore, I may have her turn 16 instead of 17. Also should Eric say he might have to move to go with Summer.)

It was Kai's birthday. It was the first one that she was having with Eric, and she was excited. She had to invite all of her othe friends along with Eric. Anna, Mary, and Jack would come. Her sister was visiting from college just to be here. Eric was living with his sister at the moment. She was glad that he was much safer than he had been. They were going to eat Chinese because Kai liked it. They had a favorite restaurant to get their food from. Her father had gone out to get it, so he wouldn't see everyone until later.

Her sister had been around for a few hours, and she was a little about Eric meeting her. Kai had convinced her parents to let them go swimming after they ate. She thought that might be fun to do together. Her parents were a little hesitant to have a bunch of teenagers go off by themselves, but they decided to let her go. They were a little worried about Eric's condition. However, they thought there was less chance of Kai doing something or her coming to harm if they were in a group, even though that is sometimes how people are convinced to do stupid things.

They had asked Rebecca her sister to be their chaperone, but she hadn't agreed. She said she would do it if she felt like it, but she wasn't going solely to watch them. She hoped that Eric wouldn't get mad, if she told him that she was the one who had told her parents who told the authorities. He had never told her to say nothing about it, but she felt like it might be considered a violation to him. She heard knocking, so she went to go answer the door. Her mother was amused, because Kai appeared to have hostess jitters.

Kai paced back and forth quite frequently. Sometimes she would sit down, but she was almost always in motion. Anna and Mary had come together. They were old enough where they could drive together. She invited them into the house. They chatted for a moment. The next time she checked the door it was Jack. It knocked a third time and she was pretty sure it was Eric and his family. Who else could it be? She invited Eric and any of his family that he wanted to bring along.

She headed toward the door. She opened the door and there was Eric. She knew it had taken a while recovering. With everything with his father and his memory, it had been pretty chaotic. Her parents had tried to get her to back off, because they considered it a private family affair, but she wanted to be there for him. Even though she hadn't been around for very long, and Summer had responded promptly, when she was contacted, Kai felt that she had a duty as the person who loved him and had been around to be there for him during all of the confusion.

Hopefully, things had become smoother. She gave him a smile, as he stood there. "Welcome," she told him. She wasn't sure what to think about Summer. She had responded quickly, but she shouldn't have left her brother with a father who was abusive. It was one thing to try to escape and not contact the father, but Eric needed an outlet from this life. Summer was the one who could relate with him best. She was the one who had been through the exact same thing. Besides, how could she think it was a good idea to leave her younger brother in that situation? There had to be someone who would have been a better option.

With that in he rmind, she wasn't sure how to treat Summer. Her husband seemed nice, but Kai was in no place to make accurate judgements. "How have you been doing?" she asked. She wasn't sure if his head hurt any, if he had had memory problems or what. She wondered if it was such a good idea to go swimming. It had been a while, but concussions took a while to recover from. Perhaps they would stay out of the pool and talk to each other. She gave him a hug before she stepped aside to let him enter the house.

"Wake up! You're gonna be late!" Summer's voice rang in his ears. Eric groaned, rolling over onto his back and blinking himself awake. It had been a long road to recovery, both emotionally and physically. Most of his memory had returned, but a lot of his emotions had been hard hit and broken. Such as when he returned home with Summer and her husband, who were for now staying in Eric's house. The place had been dark and empty, but horrible memories and emotions were attatched to it.

When he'd gone up to his room the first night back...he saw the empty dog kennel and food dishes. No Gunner. By the time he'd found out that his dog had been brought to a shelter, it was too late to get him back. Gunner had already been adopted out, and there was little to no chance of seeing him again. That pain was deep, and it took Eric a long time to recover from. It was so hard to be up in his room, to sleep. Knowing that his companion was no longer there.

He still had a hard time with it all, but he'd mostly gotten over it. He gradually remembered how his friendship with Kai was, and what their relationship status was. They were best friends, wanting to be more, but waiting for the moment to come. He hadn't gotten to spend much time with her since his trip to the hospital, so he was excited to see her again.

He'd been thinking a lot about her, and every time her face popped into his mind he felt his heart skip a beat, and the familiar fluttering stomach. He loved her, but it wasn't just some dumb puppy love. He really wanted to be more. And while maybe it wasn't the best time, with his injuries and brain trauma, and the stress of another issue that may be popping up...he was tired of waiting. Tired of pushing it back. He was scared that if he didn't make his move soon that she may become disinterested, or her feelings for him would dissipate. So he planned on asking her today, after the party if possible. He wanted some time alone with her, and if he got it...he would ask.

"Come on, get up." Summer said again, chuckling as she shook his shoulder. He batted her away, trying not to smile, and sat up slowly. It was hard for all of them here. Summer had taken some time off of her job and abandoned her studies just to come back for Eric. This house for her held a lot of painful memories, as it did for Eric as well. She wasn't making money, and she couldn't support him for long. Her and John both needed financial support if they were going to take on Eric for a year before he left for college.

Because of this, Summer had told Eric that they may have to move back to Oklahoma. Eric understood, and he wanted what was best for all of them, but he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave Kailey behind. Sure, they would still be able to talk via phone, but it wasn't the same as being face to face with her. Even still, it wasn't a set plan yet. Summer had mentioned it, and they all talked about it, but it wasn't set in stone. She and John were both looking for jobs here, and if they found some, they promised they would be looking for a better house.

"I'm up, I'm up." he groaned at her. She smiled and ruffled his hair before heading out of his room.

"You're gonna worry your lady if you don't hurry up!" she called playfully over her shoulder at him, her voice fading as she walked down the stairs. Eric chuckled quietly to himself, then pushed himself off the bed, finding an outfit to wear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time they arrived at Kai's house, Eric knew he was late. He saw the car that Mary and Anna had driven, and he was plenty sure Jack was already here as well. But at least he'd shown up. Summer and Eric had come, but John hadn't. He was out job searching and shopping.

"You gonna knock or just stand there, stud?" Summer teased from behind him. He gave her a smile and knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answer. It didn't take long at all for the door to swing open, and Eric's eyes lit up upon seeing Kailey standing there. She smiled at him, and he knew that he probably looked a bit ridiculous, his cheeks warming up just slightly. It had been so long since he'd seen her, and now that he actually was, his heart wouldn't stop flipping. He gave her a shy and nervous smile back.

Since his concussion, his behavior and demeanor had shifted just slightly. He had always been a quiet kid, but no more so than ever. He didn't really speak anymore unless spoken to, and he was often lost in his thoughts. After temporarily losing some of his memory, he now spent a lot of time observing people and things, mentally storing up information that he intended on keeping. After having such a thing happen, and coming to realize that he almost lost something so valuable, he wanted to store up and hold on to every little thing.

He could still be funny and playful, but those moments now were very few and far between, making them very rare and special heartwarming moments when they did happen. Same went for a genuine laugh. Chuckles happened here and there, but a genuine laugh was extremely rare and something priceless to experience.

"Hi," he said quietly, a cute and shy expression on his face. She hugged him and he hugged her back, his touch light and gentle, almost has if he was afraid to hold her tighter for fear she would break. "I've been okay." he answered. "Happy birthday." She stepped aside and he walked in, Summer following quietly behind.

"Hello Kai." she greeted her with a smile. "Happy birthday. Sweet sixteen, huh?" Eric glanced at Summer, and after the girls had a brief exchange in conversation, Summer patted her little brother on the shoulder and brushed past him, leaving the two of them to talk for a bit.

"I have something for you." he told her with a small smile. "But I don't want to give it to you until after the party. Is that okay?" Eric still hadn't figured out or been told or reminded of Kai's ability to read minds, since the two hadn't been able to talk much. She'd been involved a lot through his healing process, but once he'd returned home they mostly had just texted instead of meeting face to face. Despite not knowing her once again secret, he still naturally guarded his thoughts when around her, as if his body instinctively was reacting that way because of muscle memory, but not knowing exactly why.

He was worried about what her answer would be when he asked her later, and he had to keep telling himself that it would be okay. Even if she didn't want to be his girlfriend, he knew that he would never let her go as a friend. He couldn't. He needed to talk to her about his possible moving situation as well, but he was scared that this may effect her answer on dating him. How did she feel about long distance relationships?

"I...also need to tell you something," he said, biting his lower lip a bit nervously. "When you have time."

Kai knew that he had gone through a lot. He was sure to be having physical repercussions from his injury. In addition things had changed, and she wasn't sure what he thought about it. Was it all for the better? She hated that Mr. Godfrey had gotten rid of Gunner. At least he hadn't tried to get him put to sleep. She wondered if Eric blamed her that he didn't have his dog anymore. She hadn't had a chance to talk through all of this with him. From the few times she had noticed being with him, it was easy to see that he had become even quieter.

It worried her, but she tried to relax. He had a lot of things to think about. She wasn't sure that all of his memories had returned. It would be nerve wrecking revealing her abilities again. What if the concussion had caused him to become a different person? What if he couldn't or didn't want to know her after she told him? She noticed that his thoughts were more guarded again. Not quite as well as they had been before the incident, but much better than normal people. For her that was a sign as close as any for her to believe that he had figured it out.

She was a little nervous abotu what he wanted to talk about. She wasn't sure what it was. She smiled and nodded at him agreeing to whatever he wished. Her friends would go home afterwards, and Eric could stay around longer. It would be nice to catch up. She hoped that Summer wouldn't mind staying around. "Ohh," she gave a grin, "You'll get to meet my sister Rebecca." They would have met each other's closest relatives. She had texted him almost every day checking in on him.

She wanted him to know that she cared, and she was always thinking about him. He would always have someone to talk to as long as she was around. She didn't always expect an answer, but she did it to make sure that he knew she loved him. She could see he was nervous about what he wanted to talk about. She wasn't sure if that was a neutral thing or a bad thing. After standing there awkwardly for a moment, she told him to make himself at home.It wouldn't be fair to her other friends to stand there gawking and talking to Eric, especially when she had already planned to let him stay longer than them.

It was back to trying to be a fair hostess. She looked around at her family. She gestured Eric over to her sister. "Rebecca this is Eric," she told her. Her parents had vaguely informed her of Eric's situation. She wasn't sure how much they had mentioned about her friendship with him. Rebecca had met her other friends, so she didn't feel the need to introduce them. Waving her hand in Summer's direction, she told her, "And that is Summer. Eric's sister."

After a little bit of conversation, they all gathered around the kitchen. The food was lined up buffet style. They bowed their heads and prayed before they took turns going. Of course Kai was granted the privilige of going first, as she was the birthday girl. Once she was through the line, she found a place to sit where her friends could sit around her. Sometimes Kai felt a little petty. She liked her birthday, because it was the one day where everyone tried to sit near her, talk to her, and be around her.

The adults sat at the table, but she took a place separate from them. She hoped her parents didn't mind, but sometimes her friends became boisterous. Besides it was easier to relax, when you didn't feel like you had adults staring and judging you. After eating they lazed around a bit talking. After a while she suggested that they go swimming. She wasn't sure if Eric was up for that or not, but she had planned to do it. She hadn't planned anything special. She had always thought her sweet sixteen would be bigger, but it was nice having a small intimate group of close friends.

It took a while for everyone to change into swimming clothing, and there was a limited supply of bathrooms. Because of their ages everyone would have to drive in groups of two or three. They were sort of lucky that the adults didn't have to drive them. Jack was driving Eric and Kai, and Mary and Anna were driving together. Once they reached the pool they piled out of the car. They headed inside with their swimming belongings. They were lucky that there wasn't a huge crowd of people.

There were people there swimming and exercising. She noticed a few dubious looks cast their way. They probably weren't pleased that a bunch of teenagers had been released upon this pool. Jack and Anna leaped into the pool, while Mary and Kai waded in. She looked expectantly at Eric hoping he would be willing to join them. Should they play a pool game? Perhaps they could do a variation on spin the bottle except the penalty would be getting to try to dunk someone or getting to splash them. She grabbed a ball, "Let's play keep it in the air. If you are the last person to touch it and it touches the water or bounces onto land, you have to retrieve it and let whoever was second touching it to dunk you in the water," she smiled mischieviously.

This might be dangerous, but she hoped it would be a fun game. They could change it if it seemed really bad. She tapped it into the air. After a few passes Kai was the first one to drop it, and Mary headed over to dunk her. Kai laughed and wailed before she held her breath as she went over. She realized this might not have been the best idea, because they might get the idea to dunk her in the water sixteen times with one to grown on. Hopefully, the game would keep their devious minds occupied, and that thought would never occur to them. She had a feeling it would remind them.

(Haha oh yeah oops)

Eric gave her another shy smile. "I forgot you had a sister," he admitted a bit embarassed. Minor details like that had been completely wiped in the concussion. Kai didn't talk about her sister much at all, and while it was a fact he knew, it wasn't one that was always present. He'd completely forgotten about her existence, and now it was just as if he was hearing it for the first time. But he tried to keep the surprise on the down low. It was something he would have to get used to for sure, and something he was gradually accepting. Some things he would just have to accept.

Certain things would never be the same again for him.

Eric followed her silently over to her family, and she introduced him kindly to Rebecca, her older sister. "Hi," he said politely but quietly, dipping his head towards her in an acknowledging manner. A lot of times people were surprised by how shy he was. He was tall, and typically he was very fit, and most people expected him to be extroverted and maybe even a bit mean. But he was in fact just the opposite. Shy, introverted, quiet, anxious. He was an easy target for teasing.

He spoke with Rebecca for a small amount of time, but still found himself standing closer to Kai than anyone else. Summer approaced Rebecca and the two began conversing. Eric stayed silent, just looking around at everyone. This was the first time he'd seen a lot of these people since his time in the hospital. Jack, Mary, Anna, Kai's parents. All of them were familiar and yet so distant. He felt out of place and like a new student at school. Like he didn't know anyone at all, even though he knew he did. It was hard for him to remember Kai's parent's names. After a long moment of looking around and spotting Kai's mother, he tried to flip through all the names his brain had stored. Her name just...wasn't coming up. He felt horrible. He felt guilty for not knowing, and he even felt stupid. He knew it wasn't his fault that he couldn't remember, but it still made him feel different. Like he had some sort of disability now, and for some reason he was feeling like no one liked him anymore because of it.

He knew Kai cared about him, and he loved her deeply. But part of him constantly worried if she liked him the same way anymore, and he was worrying about her answer tonight. Finally, finally, Kai's mother's name came to mind.

Lisa. he thought, mentally checking the name off. Her name's Lisa. Remember that. But her father....

It was mentally exhausting to try and remember all of these things. Summer had told him to be careful and move slowly, to not do anything that could cause him to hit his head again, and to not worry about everything all of the time. She said it was to be expected to not remember everything after what the doctors told him was wrong. He'd had a very severe concussion, and temporary memory loss. They said it could potentially take up to a year for everything to return, and that...some things may not.

During the meal, Eric was pretty much silent, as was the new usual now. He spoke if he was spoken to, but other than that he kept mostly to himself. Summer sat next to him, and Kai on his other side. If Summer noticed something shifting in his behaviour, she would put an arm around his shoulders and he'd take the time to lean into her for a bit. Sometimes his head still flared with a throbbing pain. It didn't last long, but when it happened Summer was trained by now to know. Every time it happened, Eric's entire body stiffened, and his eyes automatically shut in pain. The pain was intense, causing all muscles to temporaily stop with shock. For a split second or two he was unable to move, and Summer knew by now to keep a close eye on his ever so subtle shift in posture and demeanor.

She gave a subtle look to Kai as this happened for the first time today, and the look in her eyes said, Please keep an eye on him tonight. It scared her everytime it happened, and each time it did she sent up a silent curse to their father. The pain never lasted long, only a few brief moments, and after resting his head on Summer's shoulder for a second he sat slowly back up. But his appetite vanished as it often did, his stomach twisting in sickness at the thought of eating.

His weight loss had slowly come to a stop, and he was ever so slowly gaining back to his normal and healthy weight, but the shock of the pain always made him lose his hunger.

After eating, Eric followed Kai silently over to where she was going, the small group of friends just sitting around, talking and laughing. Eric stayed silent once again unless spoken to, but he was actively listening, and you could tell by his expression that he was engaged. Unbeknownst to him, his brain was a huge pool of interesting activity for Kai to listen to, especially during a conversation like this one. Because physically he was completely silent, his eyes and facial expressions following along with the conversation. But mentally he was replying and responding to everything said, just unable to speak it out loud.

During this healing process, he tended to move slower, so it took a moment or two for him to speak what he was thinking. It was much easier to follow along mentally to a conversation than slow it down by trying to speak, or speaking too late and causing confusion. He had weekly appointments with a doctor, and he had been told that this could go away with time, or...it could stay. He hoped it would go away, because he hated having to stay silent so much.

Of course, this injury meant no more sports, which also put a huge damper on his enjoyments. He'd have to be extra careful when exercising and weight lifting now, but he was stubborn enough to still be doing that. He didn't want to just laze around all day.

After awhile of this, Kai suggested swimming. Instantly, Eric was excited. He loved to swim, and it was plenty hot outside. Summer heard the suggestion from the other side of the room and approached him, a worried look in her eyes.

"I don't think you should go," she told him quietly. He looked at her, feeling let down. She saw his expression and gave him a more stern look. "You'll get hurt, Eric."

"Summer," he said, feeling like a toddler. He didn't like having limits to things he could do!

"Eric I'm serious." she said.

"At least let me go with them." he said.

"Of course you can go with them, but please. I don't think you should swim, okay?" He sat for a moment thinking, and reluctantly he agreed. She walked away, and defiance shot through his mind. He would be careful, there was no need to treat him like a child. He would be turning eighteen in a few months anyway, she wouldn't have control of him then. He decided he was going, and he was going to swim, whether she liked it or not.

He was silent, but went into the bathroom. He changed into his swim trunks, and pulled on his regular clothes over them to avoid Summer's disappointed gaze. He was relieved to know that as soon as they left for the pool she'd be going home.

"I'm staying late to talk to Kailey tonight," he informed her quietly as she stood near the door.

"That's fine." she said. "Good luck." She reached up and ruffled his hair teasingly before turning to grab her things. He waited for Kai, and then walked out with her and Jack to Jack's car.

Once at the pool, he was relieved to see that there weren't a lot of people there. He walked in with Kai and pulled his shirt over his head, the sun hitting his back and warming his skin. He gave her a look, his icy eyes gleaming with an ornery defiance. He was deliberately disobeying Summer's orders, and he knew she knew that. But he really didn't care. He should be able to have fun and be careful at the same time, not be excluded from everything all the time.

He normally was extremely self conscious of the tattoo that covered his entire back and part of his shoulders and neck, because of the side comments other guys had given him in the locker room. But all of that had been completely forgotten due to his injury, and his self awareness and esteem wasn't so bad anymore. He followed her into the water, and she suggested Keep it in the Air. He knew he probably shouldn't play, because it would be very easy for him to be dunked and potentially very hurt.

After a few passes, Kai was the first one to be dunked. Mary headed over, and hearing Kai's laughing and playful wailing made Eric's eyes light up with happiness, and a genuine smile graced his face. He knew he shouldn't get too close, for fear of flying limbs hitting him in the head, so he stood a little ways away, giggling happily. Once she was released from the water and further away from Mary, Eric swam up gracefully behind her nearly silently, and whispered playfully,

"Technically you should be dunked sixteen times you know," He grinned at her and nudged her with his shoulder before backing up a bit. The ball was tossed, and still having muscle memory from sports, he was able to quickly tap it and keep it in the air. He would be doing his best to not let it hit the ground or the water, because he greatly feared injuring himself again. He was scared of losing his memory permantently. He never wanted to lose the memory of Kailey again. He never wanted to forget her. Ever.

In all though, he was having fun, and he didn't regret disobeying Summer.

Eric gave her a grin at her words, his eyes glittering. "Oh you will, will you?" he responded teasingly to her threat of keeping that idea in mind for his birthday in a few months. He gave her a reassuring smile and a glance that read,

You know I won't tell them.

He nudged her and backed up, and the game continued. After a little bit of keeping the ball in the air pretty well, Anna was the next one to lose control over it. Jack was quick to dunk her, but he did so in a somewhat cute and playful manner, and Eric found that he normally would have done the same thing if he was a more extroverted person than he was. If he knew the entirity of this small friend group better, maybe he would feel comfortable enough to do so. But he didn't, and although he quite liked Anna and Mary, Jack still gave off an energy that he didn't exactly like.

Eric did however, admire the young man, and he was really hoping that one day perhaps they could be friends instead of just aquaintences. As the dunking process was happening between Jack and Anna, Eric found himself shooting playful glances and exchanging eye contact with Kai. His eyes were lit with playfulness and admiration, and each time she turned to make eye contact with him, he instinctively looked away again, a cute boyish grin on his face. He would look down at the water for a second, and then get the overwhelming urge to glance back over at her again, his mind and heart pulling him towards her. But each time, the childish giddiness overtook him, and he had to look away with a grin each time she made any sort of eye contact. He was unaware that this had been spotted by Jack, and he didn't catch the ever so slightly cold glance he was getting from the other male.

The teens spread out and began another round, this one lasting longer than the other rounds before. But to Eric's nervousness, Jack hit the ball towards him a little too overpowered, and he lunged up to hit it, but he was a bit too early and the ball tapped his hand at an awkward angle, causing the ball to hit the water with a gentle splash. If it had been anyone else...anyone else to have caused him to slip up...he maybe would have been okay.

But his heart began doing little flips for some odd reason, and he felt his chest tightening in nervousness as Jack came closer to dunk him. Something about this was tense, and Eric wasn't so sure if he wanted to continue playing anymore. Surely Kai would notice and say something, right? She knew about his injury. But nothing was said, and his anxiety spiked further as Jack approached. Everyone was watching with small smiles, completely unaware of the panic that was starting to rise in him.

Unaware of the potential danger he was in, and the all too serious look on Jack's face. He prepared himself a split second before being dunked, sucking in a breath of air. He had a brief moment of thought, and he wondered if Jack would intentionally try and hurt him further. Surely not. He was Kai's friend, and he wouldn't do anything to make her mad, or tear their friendship, would he?

But that worry slowly started to become all too real when he realized that Jack's grip was tight, and he wasn't letting up. He was being quite rough in this, and while Eric had expected that much being guy to guy...he hadn't been totally convinced that Jack would intentionally try to harm him by holding him under for an extended length of time.

He heard the muffled shriek of Kai's voice, and the grip on his shoulders was released. He hesitated under the water for a brief moment longer however, afraid to resurface. He wasn't sure if Jack was still standing super close by and if he would try it again. While pre accident Eric would have had the urge to fight back and protect himself...post accident Eric was too mellow to do even that. He was scared to try to fight for fear of injuring himself severely again.

After a moment he carefully resurfaced, feeling Kai's touch as she reached out to help him up. He heard her question and nodded, but didn't speak, his gaze pinned on Jack. It was a wary gaze, one that came across almost as a nervous or abused puppy, but somehow they were still laced with hope. Hope that perhaps this could be worked through, and that with some time, they could eventually be friends. He wasn't sure if he was being naive and stupid, he probably was, but he wanted to be friends with Kai's friends. He didn't want to have to feel like an outcast that only had one pity friend.

It was silent and uneasy now, and he finally pulled his gaze away from Jack, glancing over at Anna and Mary. He wasn't sure what to do now. He felt like now he was a bigger target than ever, especially for Jack. It was that uneasy tension that he'd always felt around other males. It had always been around those older than him, like his father or the seniors. But he was now starting to realize that tension and competetion, strength and dominance could happen between any age group, and that perhaps humans could act a bit more like animals than he would like.

Even if Jack didn't have the same sort of affection for Kai that Eric had, Eric knew that he was still protective over her, that much was obvious. Eric was another male, an intruder, someone who posed a threat to Kai, and Jack wasn't going to give it to him easy. Eric's eyes shifted to Kai, and he subconsciously reached out underneath the water to gently grab her hand. Although the water was clear, the gesture and action was so subtle and hidden by their bodies, that no one would be able to tell unless they made a point of looking very closely.

Her touch was always comforting, and he hoped that she didn't think he was a coward. While he was scared of a lot more things now, more wary, he was also much more observant, and his mind had been opened up to a lot of things now. He was more careful than anything else, a bit more practical when it came to safety and thinking. He still cared deeply for Kai, but now the only fighting he would engage in would be for her safety. He wouldn't actively pursue violence for revenge like he previously did with Daniel, and he wouldn't try to pick a fight with Jack.

He was hoping Kai would know what to do, because he sure didn't. Should they continue playing and run this same risk again? Or should they try and find another game to play? Or something else to do?

Eric felt his entire body relax a little as Kai's fingers wrapped gently around his. He was glad she had accepted the gesture instead of pulling away. She asked him how he was feeling, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to speak, but he knew he needed to. He nodded subtly and spoke softly,

"I'm okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group ended up going back to Kai's house, and after changing, they talked for a little bit, but...the entire time it just felt a little tense and awkward. Eric found himself not even being able to look over at Jack. He didn't know how to act anymore, and so he just sat silently through most of everything. He was afraid to speak, and he didn't want to do anything to stand out. He just wanted to be normal, to feel normal. To have friends who actually cared about him. But he knew now he wasn't going to get it with this group.

His gaze finally lifted from the floor as he heard Jack announce that he was going to leave. He found it a bit rude that he was leaving before Kai even had the chance to open her presents, but he wasn't too worried about it. In fact, he was more relieved than anything else. Jack had made everything go sour anyway. After he left, it wasn't long before Mary and Anna decided to leave. Eric stood up and walked silently up behind Kai as Mary and Anna exchanged their goodbyes with her. He kind of leaned up against the wall, his gaze on the floor, standing in silence. He wasn't sure what to say to them. He wasn't sure how they felt about him at all. Did they hate him too?

Probably. he told himself. No use putting effort into a one sided friendship. He nodded to them as they left, but said nothing. Kai followed them out and was out on the porch for a bit, so he waited patiently for her to return. He'd wanted to talk to her, and give her the gift he'd bought. But...now he wasn't so sure. Maybe he should just leave, he didn't know how she felt about keeping him here. But he'd wait and gauge her reaction first.

She came back inside, and the first thing she did was take his hand in hers. Relief fluttered through his heart, and he knew then that he wasn't going to walk out on her unless she told him to. She told him to come with her, because she wanted to show him something, and he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Okay," he said, almost a whisper. He pulled his hand out of hers suddenly as his brain shot him a reminder. "Wait a second, I have to grab something." He turned and walked over to the couch, digging through the small bag he'd brought. He quickly pulled out something and dropped it into his pocket, but the movement was too quick for her to see what it was. He sideled back up next to her, slipping his hand softly back into hers and let her lead him through the house to the back door.

She opened the door and led him out into the backyard, and he followed her gaze up to a rather big tree. His eyes widened a little, and a small smile graced his face as she told him it was her treehouse. "I didn't know you had a treehouse," he said quietly before a shadow clouded his mind and heart. "Or did I?" he asked her sadly. "Did I know about it before? Have you showed me before? Did I forget?" He hated having to question everything. Everything seemed like a surprise or something new now, and he hated it. He didn't think she'd ever told him about it before, based on how she'd said things. But he couldn't be too sure. He always felt like he had to ask.

She asked him if he wanted to go up, a daring smile gracing her lips, and he nodded, his eyes glittering. He followed her quietly to the tree, and waited for her to get all the way up before he started. Once inside, his smile grew a little wider. He saw the wasp nests and the cobwebs, but they seemed to be dull and empty, and stuff like that didn't really bother him anyway. It was a bit small and cramped, but if he was careful it would be okay.

He ducked inside and sat down on the wooden floor across from her, leaning his back softly against the wall. A little bit of paint, and maybe a few other touchups, and this would be really cute. It still looked pretty decent though, even though it was a little old.

She asked him what it was that he wanted to talk about, and a few things swirled through his mind. He wanted to talk about a lot, actually. A lot more than he realized he had wanted to talk about. But before he did any of those things, he wanted to give her the gift. It would bring a little joy to the darkness he was about to dump on her.

"Well...before I talk about any of that stuff...I want to give you your present." He reached his hand into his pocket. "It isn't much, but I didn't think you'd want something big and extravagant." He shrugged. "I could be wrong but....whatever." he said, chuckling a little. He pulled out a small cardboard slip, a thing normally familiar to a female's eye, or anyone who bought jewelry. It was the packaging for a necklace.

"I was at the store with Summer, and originally I was thinking of getting you something else. But...I saw this and..." he trailed off, actually smiling. His gaze shifted down to the small necklace that was in his hands. "I actually remembered something that you told me. I don't know how on earth I did, I don't know why this specific memory was restored but...I remembered you saying that you would lose a necklace or jewelry, so you really didn't wear it often."

He gave her a shy grin and shrugged, causing his own silver chain necklace to shift beneath his shirt and glitter around his neck. "But...I kind of wanted to prove you wrong because...I believe you wouldn't lose it. And...even if you did...it's okay, because at least you proved me wrong, and I'll know what to avoid getting you next time." he teased and chuckled softly again, handing it over to her.

It was a simple, delicate, but rather beautiful silver chain necklace, the small pendent being a cross with an infinity symbol attached to it, and a small seperate chain with a heart pendent at the end.

"I'm currently working on another gift for you," he said gently. "The one I was originally going to give you. So if you don't like this one...don't worry you have a backup." he giggled.

She smiled encouragingly at him, "You didn't know about it. At least I never showed you the inside. You may have seen it though," she shrugged a little. It didn't really matter to her. It wasn't something she would have expected him to remember. It made her said that he had to question things, but she made sure to remain patient and understanding. What else could she do? They headed up, and she wasn't bothered by the mess. At least she didn't mind Eric seeing it. She was a little nervous about the bugs, but she felt no uneasiness that he saw how unclean it was.

They both sat down near each other. She could tell from the swirling in his mind, that a lot of things were going through it. This could take a while, and she had to be patient. She didn't want to become surprised before he mentioned it, so she tried to back further out of his mind. She tried to hide her smile, as his hand started reaching toward his pocket. She felt immature, self centered and selfish how excitedly she was waiting for the present. It wasn't that big of a deal. She should be more excited about talking to him. However, the little kid part of her couldn't shake it or grow out of it.

She cocked her head. She didn't mind big and extravagant things even though it would make her feel guilty if anyone got something like that for her. She realized he was right to get her something more modest. She admired big shiny things, but she hardly ever wore it. It would be better to have something that was more down to earth and on her level. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the cardboard slip. She wasn't particularly girly or wore and recieved that much jewlery. However, she recognized what the cardboard slip was unless he had somehow managed to fool her.

She was a little nervous to be recieving jewlery from a boy, but she reminded herself that they had almost been boyfriend and girlfriend. Not only that, but it was her birthday. What else would he have gotten her? She looked him in the eye, and watched him carefully, as he gave the explanation of how he had gotten it. Sometimes those stories made the gift that much more valuable. His smile was infectious, and her facial expression soon matched his. Her eyes widened slightly as he showed it to her.

She was happy that he had remembered their conversation. It had seemed slightly inconsequential, but it was one of the things that he had remembered. He sort of gave a shrug, and his own chain moved until it was exposed to the light and glittered. Her head cocked to the side. She was slightly amused and found it slightly touching and sweet. She chuckled with him. "I'll treasure it, and try to take good care of it." She felt a little nervous recieving it. Even though he seemed like he understood if she lost it, and he wouldn't be mad at her or blow up like a volcano, that wasn't how someone treated something that was important to them.

She didn't want to seem rude and ungrateful, especially when all she had to do was be polite and take good care of her belgongings. If she couldn't care for it, she didn't deserve his affectionate monetary gifts. She didn't want to make some dumb mistake like that. "Yeah. It's been a while since I've gotten jewlery. I guess we'll both know, if I am not trustworthy, and we'll know what not to do," she ruminated. He handed it over to her, and she pulled it out so she could see it. Her smile became more broad as she was able to see more of it. "It's beautiful Eric," she breathed with a smile. It was so delicate and simple, which was her style.

The symbols had meanings that she liked. It appeared to be a well thought out gift. Her head cocked, "Why would you get me another one?" her voice sounded sort of teasing even though she was really serious about her question. "You don't have to worry about a back up, and you don't have to give me your back up plan, but I would like to know what it was going to be," she told him. She moved a little closer to him, and gave him a hug. "Thank you Eric. It's gorgeous." She had her arms wrapped around him with her necklace held in one hand. Impulsively, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she backed away.

When she was close to him, she had a flashback to the night of prom. It had been awful, and was just worse than her birthday. She had such great hopes for both of those nights, but neither of them had worked out so well. Even though she had pecked him on the cheek, she began to think about what it had been like kissing him. Surprisingly, kissing him had been awesome. Even after the awful thing that had happened, she had still been able to enjoy it. Now it had been a while, since they had talked about them as an us. While she knew that Eric still loved her, she wasn't sure if he liked her and loved her more than a friend.

She had been slightly worried, but she felt it was selfish to bring it up. He had a lot of things on his plate, and recovering from a serious head injury rated far above pressuring him into making her feel secure about her own situation. She wasn't sure how much a head injury could change someone, which was why she was so worried. She quickly put on the necklace. One eyebrow quirked upward, "What else were you wanting to talk about?" She wasn't going to let him escape the subject. She would learn about it sooner or later.

He looked over at her as she answered him, and a small relieved smile showed on his face. "Okay," he said softly.

As they sat up inside the treehouse, he was amused at how quickly she drew her eyes to the gift he'd bought, and he could tell she instantly knew what it was. A smile grew on her face, and that made his chest flutter with happiness. She told him that she'd treasure it and try to take good care of it. He didn't doubt that she would. "I'm sure everything will be fine," he said as he handed it to her, responding to her statement. Her reaction to it made him relax nearly fully, because she seemed to genuinely like it.

She asked him why he would get her another one, her tone sounding teasing. He smiled shyly and glanced down at the floor briefly before looking back up at her. He shrugged again. "I mean I don't know. Because I can?" he offered, chuckling. "I didn't know if you'd like this one that much, or even if you'd take it, since you had said you were afraid to wear jewelry, so...I had something else already in the making." He paused. "I already started it before I bought the necklace, and I don't want to leave it unfinished and wasted. So...even though you might be able to guess what it is, I'm still leaving it as a surprise." He gave her an ornery yet cute side smile.

She scooted a little closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, thanking him for the necklace. He embraced her back, this time with no hesitation, but his grip still gentle and light. "Glad you like it," he said softly in return. But what did surprise him was the quick peck on the cheek she gave him before pulling away and scooting back to her previous position. It had taken him off guard a little because over the past few weeks he'd been really struggling with his emotions, and wondering if she still felt the same about him. He felt like he was less worthy of her love because he was different now, and he hadn't been sure if she still loved him because of that. But that simple gesture was enough to make his eyes mist over ever so slightly with relief, because it showed him that she did.

He felt the slight blush on his cheeks and he gave her his signature shy smile before letting out a soft, nearly silent breath. He watched her put on the necklace, and his eyes glittered with admiration, for it looked good on her. She then asked him what else he wanted to talk about, and all the different things began spinning in his head again. There were three major things to say, but he wasn't sure which one to start with, for two of them could start an argument if told not properly.

"Well..." he said, trailing off. "I need to talk to you about a lot of things, and I'm honestly not sure where to start." He sat for a moment in silence, his jaw set in thought, before he finally grinned slightly over at her. He knew it was a bit childish, but...it would let him know which order to go in.

"You want the good news or the bad news first?" he asked, his blue eyes glittering. If she wanted bad news first, he'd ask her about what he was thinking. He would ask her about what she wasn't telling him, and why. Because he had known before, hadn't he? And she'd told him at the hospital that something was different about her. Ever since then he'd been dying to know but too afraid to ask. Because he knew he'd known before, and it bothered him just slightly that she wasn't telling him now. Did she not trust him? Or was she afraid he would take it differently? Was it really something that bad? After that, he would slowly work his way around to the situation of possibly moving. And then...he would hopefully be able to finish by asking her the big question. The question that really mattered most.

That is, if her reactions to the previous two weren't terrible.

If she wanted the good news first...he would open with that. But he wasn't sure which one would be best. Either way it could all go very wrong. What if he asked her, she said yes, and then backed out because of the possibility of him moving?

Or if he told her about moving first, and THEN asked her, what if she said no because he would be moving? Or what if she got offended by the fact that he wanted to ask her what she wasn't telling him? It all could go wrong, and he was emotionally struggling on what to do. It would be easier for her to pick, that way he wouldn't wrestle with himself for months after if she said no. Because he hadn't been the one to force her to that decision. She would be making it for herself.

Dear God please let this go well. he thought, sending up a silent prayer. I don't want to lose her.