Knight In Shining Armor -- chase

[Roxi Kapolla]

It had been about a week or two since Roxi had spent the night with the young man named Chase. She had caught herself thinking about him a few times too but had quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts and back to reality, telling herself that she would most likely never see him again and it was probably for the better. After all, the last thing she needed was a man that she had feelings for. She did much better as a loner. Cause the way she lived her life, she didn't have anything that tied her to this life and so that alone was one of her biggest advantages. There was no one that could be used against her to bend her to someone else's will. And she wasn't in any hurry to gain someone that might be able to be used against her.

The day had been rather warm and had kept most of the people of amarillo indoors and out of the sun. But as the sun began to sink behind the horizon, Roxi made her way back down the main drag that ran through town, looking for a place to get something to eat and possibly even a bed to sleep in. She knew she always had a place to stay as long as Jack was running the old inn nearby but she hated to go there very often because she often felt like she was taking advantage of his hospitality even though she paid for her room whenever she could afford it. At the thought of the inn came to her mind, images, feelings and scenes of the night she had spent with Chase there began to flash through her head bringing back such strong emotions that she had to pull Taz to a halt just so she could clear her head.

Closing her light blue eyes for a long moment, she shook her head a bit before nudging her stallion forward once more and then directing him to a hitching post in the front of what looked to be some sort of tavern and inn combined. She guessed that the tavern was on the bottom floor and there were most likely a few rooms above the tavern that the tavernkeeper rented out to travelers or even wanderers that passed through. Perfect fit for her. Dismounting her horse, she tied up his reins to the post before coming around to the side of her saddle that held her money. Reaching into the leather pouch that hung off of her saddle, her hand came up empty and instead she met air before she realized that a perfect slit had been cut in her money pouch. Cursing under her breath she knew that she would have one hell of a time getting a meal, let alone a decent place to spend the night.

Her light blue eyes scanned the street around her in search of some option that she was hoping would make itself known to her and sure enough it did. Stumbling out of a bar across the street came a man with his hat pulled low over his eyes and his boots nearly tripping him up on every step. Glacing about quickly to see if anyone was paying attention to the drunken man, she made her way towards him before making her move when he was making his way past an alley between two buildings. Giving him a shove, he easily stumbled into the alley before she was on him. Taking no time at all, she snatched his money from the pouch he had been carrying in his hand before giving him a good kick in the stomach and then turning on her heel and heading back towards the street.

Just as she stepped out of the alley, she ran smack into a group of four large men, all of whom were coming towards her and had caught a glimpse at the man now laying penniless in the alley. Knowing she had been caught, Roxi instinctively reached for her knife, not wanting to waste her bullets on such a cause and prepared herself for a fight that would surely insue.

[Chase]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 440px; height: 600px; background-image: url(http://i44.tinypic.com/4lj137.gif); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius:100px 100px 100px 100px; border: 3px solid #ffffff;] I'LL MAKE IT HURT MORE... A jingle of boot spurs and the squeak of leather filled the town square with an ominous noise. Five men entered into the somewhat abandoned place, giving everything and everyone fierce looks. The mischievous devils knew exactly how fearful they looked and somewhat flaunted it going through the streets. By one look at the group, one could easily tell they were not there to be nice, no these men were dangerous, they were gang members. Woman and children easily side stepped out of their way; men backed off and stayed by the side lines. No one knew the gang member’s business and no one wanted to be involved. This was the life of a threatening devious monster; or at least on the outside you were. All of the men had their eyes on one thing, and that was anything that could bring in a bit of money. Anything they could mess with, anything they could steal. Sinners these men were, and did they care one bit? No, they did not care about anyone or anything. For anyone knew if you wanted to survive in this world, you had to be alone. Then, you would be free from things holding you down, things your enemies had an advantage over you. Icy blue eyes of the dangerous group’s leader took in the town square. The man was muscular, older than the others, large in size. This automatically boosted him up there; though unlike the other men, his mind was somewhere else. One woman stood isolated clearly in his head, the feel of her soft skin still tingling on his own from nearly a week ago. A very slow and agonizing week at that, of course he had seen the woman around still. Though not going up to her, not even close enough to smell her seductive scent had been quite the torture for him. Knowingly, the brunette admitted to his fault. He finally cared about someone; this fact however was a definite weakness. Chase knew his enemies had an advantage over him now; well they would if they ever figured out. He made it his upmost goal to never ever let that happen. Though, if somehow, someway there was a situation where he had to pick Fox’s life over his gang members; the boy knew he would pick Fox. Not exactly sure if this was the right thing to do, the perfect emotion to describe what the boy was feeling was very confused. He was so confused and so annoyed at the fact this Fox would refuse to get out of his mind no matter what he did. Finally, dealing with all his impossible thoughts and feelings, Chase turned to his group of boys and for the first time in his life, told them to leave him alone for a while. He needed a place to think out everything, somewhere he could get all those emotions out. After all the nineteen year old had buried them the day he killed his adopted father and this one woman was managing to dig them all out again. Determined to feel like his normal self, Chase stormed into a nearby crack, or ally between two buildings. Feeling a scent of recognition, the boy furiously realized it was the same ally he had found Fox it. Without thinking, in one impulsive motion, Chase slammed his fist into the dry wall. Immediately, his red face contorted into a face of pain which he was very thankful his group hadn’t seen. Even if he looked invincible from the outside, the boy was definitely capable of being hurt. This was one very good example of his impulsive stupidity at times. Surprisingly, after his mad punch to something much more solid than him, Chase felt a rush of peace fall into his body. Feeling more relaxed and in control of himself, excluding his still aching fist, the boy walked in more confident strides back to his group. Chase froze automatically before his blue orbs to recognize the dazzling beauty directly in front of his already advancing group. Knowing they would spare her no mercy, a hard protective glare took over his earlier relief. She would not be hurt tonight, not on his watch. Striding up to them, he side stepped through two of the boys and headed to Fox. His motions signaled he did not know the woman at all, though his eyes gave nearly everything away. Hoping she would comply to his little act, Chase gave the woman a small wink before grasping her arm with his unharmed fist. Then, he turned back to his little group, a smug smile hiding the terror and determination to keep her safe ”Ooo la la, this one looks like fun eh?” Grinning a little too widely, Chase moved to unbuckle his belt then pretended to stop. ”Some privacy please? he asked, a dangerous look forming over his face. With that, he knew they wouldn’t dare disobey him. WORDS - 826 MUSE - Good NOTES - Sorry it took a while, but hope you like it! there can be only one mikey! of caution 2.0

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[Roxi Kapolla]

Gang members.
That's what she was guessing the men in front of her were and she was probably right too. Though it wasn't too hard to spot gangs, mainly because they were all high and mighty and full of themselves like nothing could hurt them. Well she would sure show them nothing could hurt them when she put a bullet through their head. And as the men advanced towards her, she was seriously considering putting a bullet through their heads as she realized her knife would do little to stop their advances. After all, they were twice her size and definitely stronger than her as well. The only thing she would have against them would be speed and skill. And as the men got closer, she wasn't even completely sure those two things would be able to keep her alive through this fight. And if she did survive then they would most likely have their way with her first before leaving her bloody and beaten in that alley.

Still not planning to give up, even though the odds were definitely not in her favor, Roxi let one hand remain on her knife while the other slowly slid towards her gun but didn't pull it out just yet. Just as she was about to make the first move so that she would at least be able to start off with the upper hand, a strikingly familiar yet handsome man strolled casually through the guys coming at her and she realized that it was none other than Chase, the man she had spent the night with a little over a week ago. Confusion flashed across her expression briefly at the unexpected sight of him but as her eyes met his, she saw something there that told her to keep her mouth shut. At least for the time being. Curious to see what it was this man was planning on doing, she felt him take a firm hold of her arm and then speak to the men that were now watching her and Chase closely.

Her lips parted and a slightly surprised look spread across her face as she watched Chase begin to unbuckle his belt like he had the luxury of doing her right then and there. Raising her brows a bit in disbelief, she still didn't speak but let her gaze shift from Chase to the gang members that were now withdrawing from the alley and making their way back down the street, most likely to the tavern to have a drink. When they were gone and she was sure she was safe for the time being, Roxi turned her gaze back to Chase with a slightly annoyed look on her face. Jerking her arm from his grasp, she slipped her knife back into it's sheath before adjusting her gun at her waist as well.

"I didn't need your help, ya know. I can fight my own battles." she told him, her voice a bit harsh and her sentences short as she adjusted the plaid long sleeved shirt she wore over her plain white tank top. Finally turning her gaze to look him over, her jaw was set and her brows were raised as she sized him up, silently wondering how her chances were looking if she was to pick a fight with him. She was actually a bit surprised he had even come to her rescue since when she had first met him, he had seemed so cold and almost out of touch with feelings in general. Yet he had just risked his life to keep her safe. She probably should said thank you but if there was one thing Roxi hated more than anything, it was being in debt to someone. And that was exactly the case now. Now she owed him and that feeling alone left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Who do you think you are anyway? Waltzing in and sayin' shit like that! I should have cut your tongue out." she added, coming towards him until she was standing toe to toe with him. She had to look up a bit to meet his gaze but she did so with no fear, her brows furrowed in irritation as she studied him for a moment. Though her irritation was more towards the fact that she owed him her life and not so much about the fact that he had saved her. She knew if there had been a fight she wouldn't have been on the winning end of it, that was for sure.

[Chase]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 440px; height: 600px; background-image: url(http://i44.tinypic.com/4lj137.gif); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius:100px 100px 100px 100px; border: 3px solid #ffffff;] I'LL MAKE IT HURT MORE... The day for the blue eyed man had held a lot of first timers; asking to give him some space and even more so, rescuing a girl he supposedly didn’t want to think about at all. Though the last part of this, the boy knew somewhere down in his icy soul, wasn’t true one little bit. Truthfully, if he ever found to courage to admit it to himself, the boy actually cherished the memories and held onto them unconsciously. Perhaps he would be able to let them out of his head if he ever stopped trying to force himself to. In some ways, the boy was having a mental war with himself. One part of him, the common sense part, told him to forget her and live life as carelessly as before, but the other side highly contradicted this. Blaming the woman for all his headaches and mental struggles, it all brought Chase down to one reasonable thought; he was not going to forget the woman. It just wasn’t going to happen, and it certainly did not deem possible for his mind at the current time. He could have a tantrum at this fact or he could go on and live life like he was supposed to. It’s your choice to be happy or sad. The words had been said over and over again from an insensitive dead man that had Chase’s fingerprints probably still on his ashes; and the boy was finally actually getting to understand them. Only you could control your own emotions; and finally after a long time Chase was finally not being able to. Missing his ability to control his emotions so well, his blue eyes focused on the dry dirt. Dry dirt. Dry dirt. Look at the damn dry dirt. The boy’s eyes did not dare look up to meet the probably very pissed off Fox in front of him. He could feel her muscles tensing under his grip, and he knew that she wasn’t very happy. Damn. Partially in disbelief, Chase sighed as he realized he knew her well enough to tell that much. Unclear whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, he decided to just let the topic be. He knew if he pushed at it, it would get just as stuck in his head as the woman. Another thing stuck in his mind would not benefit any bit, especially since he was having these mental struggles already. Trying to control his emotions, Chase only hoped the woman understood he was only trying to help her. Apparently she did because the next thing he could see in her eyes was mere disbelief and curiosity. With no doubt, he knew she could get a knife into about three of them but there was no way the woman could’ve won a fight with five- no four Pistoleros members. Satisfied that the boys obeyed him, Chase watched with still the determined protective glance as they walked leaderless out of the area. Letting her arm go, the boy’s eyes lit with amusement at her annoyed face. Obviously the woman was not very happy about being a damsel in distress. "I didn't need your help, ya know. I can fight my own battles." The words just had to cause a chuckle to fall out of the boy’s mouth, ”Oh sure. You definitely could take those huge men all much bigger than you. Of course you would have actually had a chance of surviving if I had not been there.” The obvious sarcastic tone brought Chase’s egoistic side up an inch. He had expected as much out of the fiery beauty. The boy’s mouth turned into a pretend wince at her harsh words, his own eyes turning quite hard. What right did she have to tell him such? Did Fox have any idea how much torture he had been going through the past week and how much he risked by saving her? The fury was slowly starting to radiate through his now completely flat and icy orbs. Instead of grabbing her threateningly like he wanted to, Chase looked her close in the eyes. The boy’s voice was near a growl, row and rough ”I can take you right back there, and we’ll see how you ‘fight your own battles’.” Chase took a breath to calm his rising temper before he did anything stupid and stepped back from her. He didn’t want her to feel like he was threatening her. Though the words may have held a threat, they were mainly said to show the feelings he had been storing inside. He was good at bottling up his feelings, but like everyone, the brunette had his limits. Finally his limit had been reached, and he was not going to deal with her irritation for saving and somewhat protecting her right now. If he could have his way, Chase wanted more than anything to just get her to talk to him. Obviously not talking to him wasn’t working, so perhaps the other way would. WORDS - 838 MUSE - Blehhh... NOTES - Sorry it's so rambly... there can be only one mikey! of caution 2.0

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[Roxi Kapolla]

After Roxi had gotten her irritation out of her system and had told him off in a way, she relaxed a bit more and took a step away from him before adjusting her belt buckle for a moment to keep her gaze away from his. As he chuckled at her first statement, she didn't respond but instead shuffled her boot in the dry dirt at her feet and backed up until she was leaning against the wooden wall behind her that was most likely the wall of the tavern. She could tell as much thanks to the faint sound of music that could be heard through the boards. Letting her gaze linger on the dirt and her boots for a bit longer, she finally lifted her eyes to meet his when his voice turned icy and harsh.

Stepping towards her once more, he stared down into her eyes and she, being the fearless young vixen she was, held his gaze but didn't raise her brows or do anything to set him off. After all, she was beginning to realize that she had no right to go off on him like she had. After all, he had risked his own life to save hers even if she hadn't asked to be saved. She still owed him and could start paying it back to him by not being a complete bitch about it. Letting the irritation slide from her face, she raised her brows a bit innocently before letting a soft smile begin to raise the corners of her mouth. She couldn't help but enjoy the fact that she could piss him off so easily. After all, he had seemed to be so in control of his feelings and emotions and yet here he was standing in front of her, set off but a simple statement she had spoken.

When he stepped away from her after slightly threatening her and saying that he would gladly call the men back so that she could try her luck against them, she looked him over for a moment, her light blue eyes taking him in and her head tilting a bit as she studied him for a long moment. Why was he so concerned about her safety anyways? He didn't owe her anything. And he definitely had no reason to risk his life for her. Did he?

Taking a few steps back towards him, she came to stand in front of him, frustration still clear on his face but the initial anger seemed to have vanished a bit for the time being. A soft smile was still on her face as she looked up into his icy blue eyes before speaking, finally thanking him after yelling at him for saving her.

"Thank you." she said simply, her voice soft as she spoke and her hands coming to rest on his strong chest as she studied his expression to see if her thanks would clear the frustration from his features at all. After a moment, she let her hands slide down his chest and then drop to her sides before she turned on her heel a bit and took the few steps it took to get back to the wall she had been leaning up against earlier. Taking her place against it once more, she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the building again before letting her light blue gaze come to rest on him once more. Tilting her head a bit, she watched him for a moment before speaking what was truly on her mind, whether she really wanted to know the answer or not.

"Why did you save me? You don't owe me anything." she asked, shaking her head a bit in confusion at his earlier actions that had saved her quite a bit of pain and hurt.

[Chase]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 440px; height: 600px; background-image: url(http://i44.tinypic.com/4lj137.gif); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius:100px 100px 100px 100px; border: 3px solid #ffffff;] I'LL MAKE IT HURT MORE... The past week had been roughly treating the brunette gang member; tossing him through unknown feelings and many temper strikes. For the first time nearly after so many damn years, the cowboy had felt emotion. He had felt his heart beating faster in where it sat in his stony chest, he had felt the way his cheeks grew hot against a soft palm and finally he had felt the shiver of fear creep down his strong back bone. Fear was an emotion that was strictly banned from his body. Fear was a weakness; fear shouldn’t have existed for him. For Chase knew that he was invincible to the pathetic things people called love, care and happiness. Suddenly, all his subconscious hard work to bottle up all those treacherous feelings had been finally uncapped. Now, it was pouring through his body lighting it in a hot unpredictable flame. Despite all this idea of new feelings; truthfully, fear had been the thing that made him keep his feelings under in the first place. When, he was busy trying not to feel anything, he was scared of feeling anything and being in any weak position. In the world the boy had grown up in, Chase had learned quickly, love didn’t save you. Strength, control and power did; and you had to be the one to have it. Chase gained this quite quickly; furious and fast. He didn’t stop for anyone nor did he let anyone into his personal life. That just how it was, it just worked that way; life. This woman was certainly playing with his mind however and surprisingly, he didn’t find himself feeling the usual emotion for that. Hatred was what he expected to be running through his veins, instead he found care. He had a soft place for Fox; that much he could admit. However, being the type of person to not deal with other’s rudeness or anger; Chase felt an intense spark fuel through his body. She had no right to mess with his head, get him to save her little ass and then scream at him for it. Finding unfairness, karma made its mark. The boy had treated some like this before and even had found amusement in it; thing you did came right back around and wacked you straight in the face. Refusing to believe in what he called ‘ridiculous superstitions’, Chase was slowly starting to change that firm belief as well. As her gratitude was shown however, Chase found his features softening at her voice. Slowly, he felt his fury reducing, till he could finally see her clearly with the same emotions but a new softer one blossoming in his mind. At her touch, Chase stood perfectly straight, proudly nearly; the only movement was lowering his head an inch to look at her silky brown locks. He sighed, exhaling; she was as beautiful as he remembered. Wanting to catch her and hug her, Chase watched as she twirled on her heel in somewhat of a girlish fashion to the wall she had earlier been leaning on. Slowly, Chase walked over to her and leaned against the wall beside her as well; they were equal. No domination, no sexual instinct; just curiosity and the want to know. Truthfully, he wondered if she was feeling the same feelings as him. He wanted her to prove to him that her heart didn’t beat faster when she saw him like his did, or her eyes flew protectively over his figure like his. Wanting her to feel the crazy emotions he felt, Chase felt like the whole world was delivering true unfairness. Watching her hesitate gave him a sensation of hope; was she going to tell him what went through that sneaky head of hers? Honestly, the boy would’ve given up all his gold just to know what went through her head most of the time. He felt like he needed to see what she felt, what questions pondered through her head in the time being. Finally, making a small deal with himself, Chase decided he would only tell her if she was truthful with him herself. "Why did you save me? You don't owe me anything." The words caught the brunette off guard and he was silent for quite a while before trying to sound out why in words. It was difficult thing to put the inventory of his very confused and icy mind into words. ”I saved you because… because… um… well… because…” groaning in frustration, Chase kicked a rock beside him into the wall opposite from the two. ”Because. I felt, I mean I feel… like I need to protect you. I don’t know why. Please don’t ask.” the words came out very low and quiet, like he was ashamed. Honestly, Chase was hoping she couldn’t hear them because he was ready to just shoot out some obvious egoistic remark. WORDS - 813 MUSE - Blehhh... NOTES - Omfg. I have no idea what I just wrote. Just kinda typed and posted xDDD there can be only one mikey! of caution 2.0

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[Roxi Kapolla]

As Roxi stood in front of the young man with her hands resting on his chest, she thanked him for saving her even if she didn't want to admit that she had needed help in the first place. Her smile grew a bit when she saw the frustration and anger that he had felt earlier quickly disappear from his features and her gaze lowered to where her hands rested before she suddenly thought that maybe she shouldn't be touching him. Did she have the right too? Even if it was in a way as innocent as this, she still felt like there could be a line there that she may have crossed by doing so. After all, were they comfortable with each other enough for her to act that way around him? They had only known each other for a night and yet she was so at ease with him that she didn't even think twice about closing the space between them. As the thoughts spun through her head, she let her hands fall to her sides before turning on her heel and heading back towards the wall she had been leaning up against earlier. She knew his anger was losing momentum fast but she still didn't want to cross any lines he may have set up. So figuring that giving him his space was the best plan, she put her hands behind her back so she didn't make the same mistake again.

After a moment, she was a bit surprised that he closed the space between them once again and came over to where she stood before leaning against the wall next to her. Remaining facing forward for a long moment, she finally spoke her question, glancing over at him long enough to speak it and then looking away as if the question was suppose to be left unspoken and she had brought it up when neither of them had wanted to talk about it because neither of them seemed to be too sure about what they were feeling. Well, she knew she wasn't sure what she was feeling. Maybe he knew what his feelings were but she would admit that she was incredibly confused about their whole relationship if one could even call it that.

When he didn't answer right away, she immediately regretted asking the question but when he did finally begin to stutter out an answer, she was just glad he would actually answer it instead of making her feel stupid for asking such a thing outright. When he was finally able to get his words to form a sentence and he told her that he felt like he needed to protect her a thousand emotions and thoughts hit her at once. Someone wanted to protect her? Someone cared if she was alive or dead? This feeling alone was enough to knock her backwards if she hadn't been leaning up against a wall already. And right about now she was grateful for the support because she felt her legs grow a bit weak under her. Keeping her gaze locked on the groudn for a long while, she finally turned her body so she was facing him and could see his face which looked almost ashamed at the fact that he cared for her enough to want to keep her alive.

"Nobody. . . I haven't had anyone. . . care. . . about me in a long time." she answered, her voice just as soft as her gaze flickering between the ground and his face as she spoke slowly, trying to come up with the way to say the things that were running through her mind. She hoped that she had worded it in a way that made sense to him and then she suddenly began to wonder. Did she care about him too? Would she care if he lived or died? If she saw him in trouble would she do something to help him? After a long moment of thinking, she realized that she would risk her life for him as well. What was this!? Now she was putting herself and him in danger because if anyone found out about her feelings for this young man, they could very easily use them against her. What would she do then? She had been on her own with no ties for so long that she wasn't sure what to do now that she had someone. But did she truly have someone or would he disappear just as easily as everyone else she had loved? The question alone was enough to make her heart ache and she pushed those thoughts away instantly. Finally lifting her gaze to meet his once more, her light blue eyes were almost filled with pain as she looked at him before speaking once more, her voice a whisper.

"I don't know how to do this. ." she replied, hoping he would know that she meant she didn't know how to care about someone else. It had been at least four years since she had cared about anyone to the point where she would risk her own life for them. She didn't know how to let someone close to her and she felt a bit scared that he might be able to get close to her no matter what walls she had built up around her. The sudden urge to be in his arms overtook her and she stepped closer as if she were going to hug him but then stopped and pulled back a bit, not sure what to do in this situation.

[Chase]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 440px; height: 600px; background-image: url(http://i44.tinypic.com/4lj137.gif); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius:100px 100px 100px 100px; border: 3px solid #ffffff;] I'LL MAKE IT HURT MORE... If falling for someone were bad enough, Chase knew he was in a deep knot as his voice came out as somewhat of a stutter. The boy did not stutter; ever. The cause of this being he knew exactly what he desired or did not desire, and carefully thought his words up. He always knew what was going on around him; he always planned the next move. This instance however did not give him any chance or any way to see ahead and that was why he had no words to describe the emotions that were not planned at all. Feeling confused for at least the thousandth time that week, the brunette carefully weighed his options. Obviously there was facing this thing head first or there was placing it inside him, never to be thought of again till the next girl. After all, this was what he had been doing with all the depressing feelings his adopted father seemed to be able to choke out of his icy heart. Till Fox, Chase was nearly a hundred percent sure his heart was made of ice. In a sickening sense, he felt proud to have it like that too. It made him untouchable. Surprise lightened the boy’s blue eyes as he watched the woman grow nearly light headed. Was she that upset he cared about her? Reaching out his arms to catch her slender form if she fell, Chase contemplated whether walking away or apologizing would be better. At the mere thought of Fox being upset by this, surprisingly Chase felt no anger toward her. It seemed that in the end, he was never truly angry at the woman exactly. A more correct way of putting it would be he was mad at his reaction to her inner thoughts. Obviously with Fox, there was no seeing of inner thoughts or real emotions she made have had about the boy. Well, except for now. This week had held a very aggravating amount of exceptions for the nineteen year old, something he made his mission to fix quickly. Feeling somewhat sickeningly happy at the woman’s reaction, Chase realized perhaps she had feelings about this too. Whether they had been negative or positive, the boy had no idea, but still it made him happy to see her have at least a feeling about it. It was only fair after he had struggled for so long with the thought of her body wrapped around his and the thought that he wanted her all, not just for rendezvousing. "Nobody. . . I haven't had anyone. . . care. . . about me in a long time." The words made the boy’s brows raise nearly a foot. Suddenly, he felt a very strong feeling of pride for Fox; to be able to admit this part of her life to him. Finally, all the confusions spun around him mind and all pointed toward the same thing; it was difficult for her too. It made him relieved in a way to realize they were both somewhat in the same boat. He felt a deep sense of empathy in addition to self realization; he had no one to care for him in a long time too. Getting the hint it was going to turn all sappy; he moved his orbs to watch her face through the corner of his eyes. What possibly could they do? Chase was in no position to admit the obvious to himself or to her. There was no way in a lifetime the boy could love, yet as these words repeated themselves over him his mind, Chase found himself falling even harder. What was he to do? He was a victim of love and care. "I don't know how to do this. ." A small smile fell amongst the boy’s soft lips. He had no idea to do this either, though he had figured it out a bit earlier than Fox. Happy that she had finally realized that she had a heart too, Chase watched as she restricted herself from being in his arms. Sighing softly, the boy let his muscular arms wrap around the woman’s waist and pull her to him. There he stood, just having her body in his arms, feeling her heartbeat, her emotions. Chase needed to be with her, to have her touch, not for sex, but just to keep him safe. Then, softly and carefully, Chase put his palm to her cheek in a way that screamed, ‘I care about you.’ He ended anything else she had to say by placing his lips upon hers in a very sweet kind of way. Finally pulling back, Chase let his reply fly ”Fox, I don’t think anyone ever starts out with knowing how to do this. But I think we’re learning.” With that, he pressed his lips to hers once again, cautiously waiting for her reaction. Frankly he was somewhat scared she would slap him and be on her way. Though a part of him realized that if she dumped him in the dirt, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. WORDS - 850 MUSE - Good NOTES - Awww... <3 xD there can be only one mikey! of caution 2.0

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[Roxi Kapolla]

Roxi knew that she shouldn't be feeling the way she was towards this man but how could she help it? Her head was screaming at her to run away and never talk to him again. Or better yet, shoot him on the spot so he couldn't cause any trouble for her down the road. But her heart was screaming the exact opposite of everything logical her brain was trying to get her to do and she found that no matter how badly she wanted to listen to her brain, she just couldn't do it. There was still that something about the young man that made her not want to leave his side. And when she stopped herself from reaching out to him, she was incredibly relieved when he instead made the move and pulled her against his chest.

Wrapping her arms around him, she held onto him, not wanting to let go but knowing eventually she would have to. Her head was spinning with all sorts of emotions that she couldn't understand and almost didn't want to understand. Closing her eyes tight, she held back the slight tears that were threatening to make themselves visible as well as try to ward off all of the confusing thoughts going through her head as well. Finally when she could think straight, she tilted her head back so she could look up into his own eyes but she was sure not to let go of him if she didn't have to. His words made her feel a bit better about everything that was happening between the two of them because it seemed like he was just as confused and unsure about it all as she was. And that alone was enough of a relief, just knowing that she wasn't going through it all alone.

As he stood there holding onto her, her heart beat was racing a bit at their closeness but she didn't feel that usual sexual tension that normally came with being wrapped up in a man's arms. Instead she felt safe, almost like nothing could touch her as long as he was with her and he was safe. A soft smile spread across her face a bit as his hand came up to brush her cheek softly before he leaned down a placed a simple, much needed kiss to her lips and then pulled away for a brief moment as he spoke. His words made it sound like he wanted to be with her no matter how confusing or unsure or dangerous it could make things. She thought for a moment, glancing down at his chest before looking back up at him once more when she came up with her response.

"Well then. . . here's to learning." she replied with her usual smirk spreading across her lips now. When he leaned back down to kiss her once more, her own hands went to either side of his neck, pulling him closer and she rose up onto the toes of her boots so she could reach him better. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she didn't want to let go again but there was so much they had to figure out if any of this was even go to be possible. Yet right now she found that she didn't care about any of that. She just wanted to forget all of their troubles and focus on him. And in that moment she was doing exactly that.