I was too stunned to come up with any kind of response; this was by far much more than I had been expecting to happen here, especially after all the fighting and bickering we had done in the past 24 hours. But there he was, his grasp still comfortingly tight around my hand.

"I, uh, th-thank you, Kris," I stuttered, my words barely able to leave my mouth, but I knew I had a stupid grin on my face, however shocked I may have been. I felt my face grow hot in a deep blush, and I was glad the theater lights had already dimmed so that he wouldn't be able to see it.

When I looked up at his face, his features seemed warm and softened, completely different from the cold and unyielding Kris that I had gotten used to seeing. He was even smiling a little, his white teeth just barely visible between his full lips.

I quickly looked away, not wanting him to catch me staring at his face, although the fact that he was currently holding my hand may have nulled that situation as a problem. Regardless, the movie was starting, and I wanted to seem at least semi-interested, if only for the sake of my friends.

Of course, as soon as the first jump-scare occurred, not only did I flinch unintentionally, I felt Kris's hand tighten around mine very suddenly. I remembered him mentioning that he didn't like ghosts, so I had a feeling that this movie probably wouldn't have been his first choice either.

After a few more of these moments happened, I simply put my free hand over my eyes and sunk down into my seat, desperately trying to block out the eerie sounds as well. Then again, the creaks and groans and screams still made it through my ears and into my mind, allowing my mind to imagine exactly what was happening on the screen. So of course, that didn't help in the slightest.

But after a few minutes of me trying to hide in this manner, I felt a slight tugging on my hand, and I parted my fingers just enough to see Kris through them as I avoided looking at the movie screen. He leaned toward me at that point and, in his gravelly tone, whispered something to me, which I heard quite well since the movie had gone quiet as it was leading up to something else particularly scary, I was sure.

"C'mere."

That was all he said, just those two words thrown together, before he released my hand, pushed the arm rest up, and casually placed his arm over my shoulders. I didn't resist in the slightest as he pulled me closer to him. I rested my cheek against the soft fabric of his dark grey v-neck t-shirt, just over where his heart was, and I was immediately struck by the quickness of his heartbeat. For a moment, I wondered where his far-from-average pulse at that moment was due to the movie or if it was simply a side effect of his species.

Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Lay glance over from where he was seated in a similar fashion with Jamye, though his hand was running endlessly through her thick wavy red hair. I nearly smirked to myself, knowing fully well that she wasn't scared at all and was simply taking advantage of the situation. But then I was Brough t back to the movie when a sudden scream ripped through the entire theater, causing both me and Kris to flinch. His grip around my shoulders tightened slightly, but I was glad it did; it made me feel safer to be in his grasp like this.

Eventually, I ended up simply turning my face away from the screen and burying it in his shirt, unable to watch the movie anymore. Kris didn't seem to mind because he didn't ask me to move or anything; I just felt bad that he had to be the boy and keep watching. I felt every time he flinched because of something on the screen, but I was also a bit distracted by his free hand holding mine in his lap and the other still tight around my shoulders. I pondered the idea that maybe he would soften up after this and stop pushing me away so much; but at the same time, I tried not to get my hopes up too much, should they be let down again.

Finally, two hours of endless horror (mainly just on the movie screen) came to an end, and the theater lights were slowly raised as people all around our group began to get up from their seats and exit the theater. Meanwhile, our group seemed a little stunned, probably by the movie's ending, because no one was in a hurry to get up. Kris still had his arm right around my shoulders, his back pressed firmly into his seat since he had been forced to watch the movie, unlike me. I sat up slowly, allowing him to remove his arm from my shoulders, but as soon as he had, he used the same hand to grab my own again. I didn't stop him; if he wanted to do that sort of thing in front of other people, it meant that he was less likely to push me away again.

Then, I heard a sharp intake of breath followed by what I guessed to be a quiet sob from the row in front of us, and I looked over to see Tao's face buried in Chen's shoulder. I was immediately surprised by his extremely emotional display since I didn't think he was quite so fragile, what with his martial skills. I turned to get Kris's explanation of what was happening, but when I did, I was met by his gaze staring intently in my direction. I blinked a couple of times, unsure of why he was staring at me, but I was able to pick up on the warmth in his gaze, which washed over me comfortingly.

"Thank you," I said softly, remembering that I hadn't said anything since I had stuttered the same words before the movie began. "For making me feel better. Safer, actually," I added.

He smiled at me then, the expression reaching all the way to his eyes so that I could tell that it was completely genuine. He gave my hand a little squeeze and replied, "I told you I would be here for you. I just want you to know that that won't end with the movie, Elle."

I smiled at his words, my cheeks growing warm again, and I knew he saw the blush this time because he grinned at me in response.

"Are you two lovebirds coming?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Luhan's voice behind me, and I turned to see that the rest of our group, besides Luhan, had already gotten up and was headed for the exit to the theater. I jumped up quickly and began edging down the row and towards the stairs, Kris's hand clasped around mine the entire time as he followed me.

~

As soon as I stepped out of the theater, I was yanked to the side by my elbow, my hand slipping out of Kris's grasp. I panicked for just a moment before I saw Jamye's grin beaming at me.

"First of all, I saw that!" she whispered hurriedly before Kris could approach and hear her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled, acting dumb so that I could try to avoid the subject.

She scoffed and replied, "Whatever. Secondly, thanks for introducing me to Lay. He's kind of absolutely perfect and extremely adorable and attractive. Oh, and he may or may not have kissed me," she added nonchalantly.

"What??!" I cried, grabbing her arm excitedly. "Are you serious? Already??"

"Oh hush," she said, smirking as she batted my hands away. "Don't act as if you didn't expect it."

"From him, not particularly," I replied in a mock seriousness. Then I grinned at her and added, "But from you, I always expect it."

"Hateful," she said, glancing at me sideways with a grin as Kris approached the both of us. Before I could say anything, Jamye stopped right in his way and looked him up an down for a few moments before saying, "Yeah, I guess I approve." After that, she stepped around him and walked away without another word.

"Uh, what was that about?" Kris asked nervously when he had reached me. "And should I be worried?"

With my palm pressed against my forehead, I answered him, "She's the best friend, so it's sort of her job to intimidate you or something. But she approves, so no, you shouldn't worry."

~

Getting back to the pack's house was uneventful, besides Kris insisting that I sit in the front of the Range Rover next to him. Tao nearly had a fit about it until Lay grabbed him and all bit threw him into the backseat, since he already knew why Kris had requested it. So all the way back to the house, Kris kept glancing over at me, a small smile lighting up his face each time he did, while Tao and Luhan argued in the backseat about who was taking up more room on the seat.

Dinner wasn't a huge affair either; the boys' chef had made spaghetti, and as we all sat around the table, I was able to join in the casual banter that passed from one person to another. Strangely enough, it felt like the most natural thing for me to be included in what they did, like I was supposed to be part of it. Then again, it was probably just my imagination creating that feeling, so I dismissed it as quickly as it had come upon me.

After dinner, the boys changed into their shorts and t-shirts so that they could go on their evening patrol. I followed them out of the back door and then decided to wait for them on the porch. The sun was starting to set earlier as the season moved more toward fall, so I knew the stars would be coming out soon.

It seemed like only a short time had passed when I saw the boys emerge from the tree line again, their hair messy and sweat gleaming across their foreheads. Each of them greeted me in turn as they passed me on their way into the house, and I was about to follow Luhan, who was next to last, when he held up a hand to stop me.

"Someone else wants to, ah, talk to you," he whispered. "Out here, in private," he added before hurrying inside, leaving me with no chance to ask him what he meant.

When I turned back toward the yard, I was faced with Kris, a smile spreading across his features.

"Would you like to, uh, go for a little walk?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

I didn't think for a moment; nodding, I took his outstretched hand and walked beside him across the yard. The sun had set entirely by this point, and the stars shone in the sky above us the same way they had the night before, when he had first shown a little bit of tenderness by giving me his jacket to wear.

When we passed the tree line and had walked for a few minutes, I began to wonder why he had asked me to walk with him and whether or not his intention was just to walk around the forest for a while. I mean, I didn't have anything against walking, but Luhan had mentioned that he had wanted to talk about something in private.

"Hey, Kris," I finally piped up, glancing up toward his face. "I love walking just as much as the next person, but, uh, is there a reason we're out here?"

He grinned and replied, "Yeah, I guess I'm just trying to work up the nerve to say what needs to be said."

He stopped then and turned so that we were facing each other, and I noticed that we were standing in a spot not too far from where I had seen the vision earlier that same day. I shivered a little, but I don't think Kris noticed; if he did, he didn't comment on it at all.

Taking a deep breath, he began, "First of all, I want to just apologize for the way I treated you the last two days. It was extremely disrespectful of me to try to distance myself from you, but I was freaking out a little because you're so different. When I said that you aren't like anyone I've ever met, I wasn't lying. I've never met anyone who gives me the kind of crazy feelings that you do."

I felt my breath catch in my throat; I wasn't expecting him to say anything like that, especially in the blunt manner that he used. I tried to respond, but I was unable to form coherent words as my mind went completely blank other than the sight of his handsome face and beautiful smile.

"Elle?" he asked, leaning his face toward mine a little. "Are you alright?"

I nodded almost imperceptibly, and managed to whisper, "I just wasn't expecting you to say that. I'm glad though; I've been waiting for you to give me some kind of sign that we're okay."

"I'd go as far as to say that we're much better than okay," he replied, his tone low as his right hand found its way around my neck and to the nape of my neck. "But there's something I've been wanting to do all day."