Snow Shaped Miracles [Xio]

[Evan Warner]

And I won't say you're useless,
because I've seen you dream.

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The day was cold; perhaps, too cold. The boy couldn't contain body heat if his life depended on it, which, sadly, it did. Despite the fact that he could freeze to death, he decided that getting some fresh air would do wonders for him. Being cooped up inside was driving him insane, no matter how badly he tried to entertain himself. The thin boy rummaged through his drawers and pulled out a warmer shirt, replacing the one he had on, and covering that with his coat. Grabbing a book off of his nightstand, along with his scarf, he quickly set off to the grounds.

Thanks to his long legs, he arrived to his destination within minutes. Even though Evan could see it from his dorm window, he never really took the time to appreciate the lake for all its worth. It was beautiful from higher up, but down on the same level, it was breath-taking. Or maybe he was just looking into it a little too much. Oh well, he didn’t mind in the least. He was stuck within the academy walls and having a change of scenery was wonderful.

He wandered around for a little bit, looking for a decent sized tree. Finally deciding on one across the lake from the academy, he easily hoisted himself up onto the branch, settling in quite nicely. He wrapped his grey fleece sweater around his small frame, opening the book to the page he left off at. He pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose, sighing almost angrily.

He normally didn’t wear his glasses, because, well, he didn’t have that bad of eyesight. They were just nice to have and they made him look more appealing and handsome. Or so he thought. Either way, they were nice and helped him out just a bit more.

After about 20 minutes, Evan began to feel a little drowsy. No, the book he was reading wasn’t boring. Not in the least. He hadn’t slept a whole lot the night before and he figured it was catching up with him. Without realizing it, he let his head droop a tad, his grip loosening on the book on his stomach. You wouldn’t know he was up there in the tree, fast asleep, unless you looked straight up. And that’s all the reassurance Evan needed to completely drift off.

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[Xio Beckett]

What's the story, morning glory?

It was one of those days today. The kind where she woke up and a good mood was by her side. Good enough to wake up early and make coffee and get along with Mel. Good enough to take a long hot shower and fix her hair and try to look remotely nice for no reason and just do something. Anything. It didn’t matter. She just wanted to go outside and feel the fresh air and just, twirl in circles or something. Yeah, it definitely rare for Xio. But it was good. It was real good. It had Xio in such a great mood that she scooped up her Ipod and her little notebook and was out the door in a flash. She took the stairs two by two and even hopped the last one. Silly girl. She should have worn a jacket. She honestly hadn’t thought it would be this cold but oh, had she been wrong. Well, she would just deal with it. Going back up to get a jacket felt like she would be wasting time though she really didn’t know where she was going.

She inhaled deeply and gazed around the grounds. Only Winterthorne could look this breathtaking. Her dark traveled across the endless seeming land of the Academy. She was trying to remember why she didn’t like it hear, but she couldn’t think of why. I mean, how could you not like it here? You couldn’t. She couldn’t. She loved it here, she realized. It was like home, only better. Only not as warm! Xio winced at the cold and she shivered from her straight locks of hair to her simple snow boots she was wearing. (No, she didn’t pick them out herself. A friend had. We all know Xio has no style.) “Shiiit,” She mumbled trough clenched teeth. The only thing she could do was wrap her arms together and hope it got warmer.

Yes, today was a good day, she just didn’t know why. There wasn’t much to do yet; she hadn’t run into anyone she knew. Yes, you read right. People she knew. Ms. Anti social was actually making friends now. She could hardly believe it. It was what they said, ‘you can attract more flies with sugar than vinegar’ or however it went. Either way, lately, she was making extra efforts to be even nicer than usual and it was working.

Xio made her way over to the lake, quite glad that it wasn’t snowing yet (then she’d really be in trouble) and looked around. She was so close to sitting down and just pulling out her notebook or her ipod when something--or rather, someone caught her eye. The scene made her tilt her head to one side and look again. He was in a tree. Sleeping, it looked like…And if she correct, it was Evan. Xio bit her lip and pondered her choices. She could leave him be and let him sleep or she could wake him up…she hadn’t spoken to the boy since the dance...

Picking up a fallen acorn, Xio aimed it and flicked it lightly at Evan; hopefully enough to get his attention but not hurt him. She stood there with her hands in her pockets as he stirred. Would he wake up?

[]

[Evan Warner]

Maybe it was in Evan’s best interest to stop dreaming. Completely.

Behind those lids, the boy dreamt of a swamp. A bog, almost. Lilly pads adorned the surface of the green-ish waters, frogs adorning the pads. This would sound normal to any person, but in reality – or, actually, non-reality – it wasn’t. The lily pads were a sickly shade of purple with yellow pinstripes running horizontally, the frogs a neon turquoise. Evan stood on the edge of the swamp, staring at aforementioned frogs, listening to their singing. Yes, singing. No, these frogs didn’t croak. They sang. And they sang beautifully, indeed.

The boy tilted his head, listening peacefully to their music. After a few moments, he decided he’d best explore the rest of the swamp, since it was quite huge indeed. Walking farther away from the swamp, he found a small maze, the hedges an odd shade of red. It wasn’t that difficult of a maze, since he could nearly see over the top of the hedges and there weren’t that many turns in the first place. The exit of the maze led to a sort of forest. The plants here were huge, even for Evan. They towered high above his head, looming almost ominously.

The plants here weren’t the normal trees, shrubs and bushes. Oh no. They appeared like blades of grass. Brown and off-white grass. He paused, taking it in. It was quite odd, to be honest. But then again, Evan had seen quite a few odd sights in his life. So this wasn’t that big of a shocker.

As he ventured further into the forest, he began to notice the mushroom population growing. Again, as if you would have guessed, the mushrooms weren’t quite normal, either. What else would you expect? The top of the fungus was a peculiar yellow color with neon polka dots and the stalk was a flat purple. Evan sighed, shaking his head. What the hell? he thought, taking a closer look at the mushrooms. As he examined them more, he realized they were almost like steps. Jumping on top of one of the mushrooms, he began to jump from one to the other.

About 79 mushrooms later, he arrived at the biggest piece of fungus he had ever laid his eyes on. Think Grand Canyon big. Oh yeah. He stared at it for a moment before shrugging, taking a seat in the middle of it. He stared up at the opening in the forest canopy above him, seeing a piece of the sky. And no, it wasn’t any odd color. It was normal. The regular blue you have seen since you were born. Reality.

After a few moments, he felt a pinch on his leg. He looked down to see what it was when he stopped. Frozen in motion. Maybe the next time he dreamt of a strange place, he should see what he’s wearing first. Let’s start with the apron. Oh yeah. Apron. It was white, hooking over his shoulders and tying over his stomach, the rest going down to his knees. Next were his pants. A ridiculously bright baby blue pair of skinny jeans clad his paper-thin legs. Next was his shirt. The same ridiculously bright color. But at least it was a v-neck. It wasn’t all that bad. He sighed, shaking his head.

He felt a jolt in his stomach – that falling feeling you get when you’re asleep and you awake suddenly. He opened his eyes, sitting up quickly. Too quickly. He wobbled precariously, nearly falling off of the tree branch. Well, he would have, had his hand not automatically latched onto the tree’s bark. He waited a moment, making sure his balance was fine before sighing heavily in relief. He rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses, yawning widely.

Then he remembered that there was a reason why he woke up. He looked around eye-level, search for a source of the almost pinching sensation he had experienced in his dream. Looking down at his leg, he saw an acorn. He picked it up, eyebrow arched in confusion. Evan laughed slightly before looking down to the ground, breaking into a grin.

Standing below him, looking right up at him, too, stood Xio. He couldn’t help his grinning when he saw her. She seemed a little different from the last time he saw her, which was quite a while ago. And it was a great kind of different. “Well, well, well,” he said, giving her that silly lopsided grin he had, “If it isn’t the wonderful Miss Xio. To what do I owe this pleasure to?”

[/blockquote]

[Xio Beckett]

Play me a song, its been too long since I've heard you sing

He looked so cute sleeping. She almost felt bad waking him up. Almost. But she did anyway, eager to speak to him again. Whoa. She took a step forward to the dangerously close to falling Evan with wide eyes. Thank god, he didn't fall, its not like she would have been able to save him. What was she supposed to do, suck the life out of the tree? Stupid, she thought. You shouldn't have throw anything at him... She paused for a moment, a smile adorning her face. Since when did he wear glasses?

She waited until he regained full composure and finally looked down at her. She had forgotten what it felt to have his eyes on her...she liked it. Xio caught his infectious grin and let it play along her lips, her arms wrapped around herself again. She only imagine the kinds of things he was dreaming about.

Xio's smile widened at his little chortle and she looked down for a second before lifting her eyes back up to him. "Well," She said with a hint of slyness. "If you can call it a pleasure, that you owe it too....fate," She said nodding. Oh, jeez was a stupid answer. Note to self: Never try to act smoothe again.She let her stupidity go and shrugged up at him. "I guess I just got lucky." She raised an eyebrow. Was he going to come down or was she going to have to climb up? Cause she wasn't too good with heights but she if she had to....

She pointed at finger at Evan and smirked. She nodded in a way that meant, you, then pointed to the ground, come down here, then pouted, please.

[Evan Warner]

”If you can call it a pleasure, that you owe it too....fate"

He smiled widely, finding her statement too cute for words. Or emotions, really. “Aww,” he cooed, swinging his other leg over the branch so he was facing her completely, “Well, remind me to thank fate. Or luck, for that matter.” He grinned, pushing his glasses up a bit. If he wouldn’t have known any better, he would have said he swallowed a whole bunch of butterflies while he was asleep. Also if he didn’t know any better, maybe it was her smile that made his stomach flip flop like that. Nah. He’d reason for the butterflies. At least for his sake.

He watched her point to him, then the ground and then pout. He laughed slightly, catching the message loud and clear. Maybe he did, or didn’t, try to ignore that pout of hers before he would grin his face off – apparently, she seemed to affect him more today than before. And for Evan, he wasn’t quite sure if that was good or not. But he’ll settle for good.

He let out a mock fed up sigh. “Fine, if I have to,” he said carelessly, jumping off of the branch. Of course, in typical Evan Warner fashion, he missed. As he neared the ground, of course his feet decide to slip, causing him to go down. Straight on his ass. Of course. Why would it be any other way?

After letting out a small ‘oof!’ out on impact, he began to laugh. A few moments later, he stopped, that smile still plastered on his face. “I don’t recommend that,” he said, looking up at her from his spot on the ground, smiling almost cheekily.

[Xio Beckett]

Set outside my front window, this story's going somewhere

Jeez, something was making her grin non stop today. Was it him? He looked so effin cute 'awwin' that she blushed, just a little and chuckled. "Will do," She said eyeing evan as he turned to face her. Heights kind if scared her a little bit. "In fact, I have both fate and luck on speed dial if you want them." What was up with her cheesy comebacks today. That was the only turning out bad for her and she really didn't mind it that much. As long as he was still here, talking to her. She fished her sidekick from her pockets and waved it him with a smile that paused then softened into an 'aww' as pushed those frame back onto his nose. Cute.


Hey, maybe she could be a professional charade-er...or something. She watched in mock over-eager hope and clasped her hands together and he sat there, debating whether to come down. Hey, if she had to, she would climb up there. No lie. She just felt so....confident today, (well, more confident then usual) that she was willing to do something crazy. Like climb a tree just to talk to him.

However, to her relief he decided to play nice and he came down. "Well," She sighed, pretending to be hurt, "If you really don't want to come down...." She turned away as he started to slid off the tree branch and had only taken a step when something hit the grounf with a thud. She could only it assume it had been his ass. Xio turned and snorted at the sight of Evan in the grass, just lying there. She was tempted to go lie next to him and laugh with him but instead she chose to shake her head. Then she laughed. Damn, he was just so adorable. "Smoothe, that's what you get." She teased, I'll make it a point not to try it at home."

"But bonus points for looking cute when you landed," She added taking a few steps toward him. Whoa. Where had THAT come from?

[Evan Warner]

Evan frowned when she laughed at him. It's not like he was really hurt by it, but he thought that he might as well play it up like he was. A moment later, he couldn't even play it up anymore. He broke out into a grin, propping himself up on his elbows. He shrugged, smiling almost shyly. "I guess that's what I get for being abnormally tall. Clumsy just comes with the package," he said with a small laugh. Sometimes he hated being terribly clumsy, but he liked the fact he was able to play it off to his own advantage.

"But bonus points for looking cute when you landed."

When the sentence left her lips, his eyes widened slightly. At the same time, he felt his heart do another flip flop while the supposed butterflies in his stomach made definite note of their existence. He looked at her, eyebrow arched slightly, a smirk toying with his lips. He looked down for a moment, a smile now replacing that smirk, blushing profusely. Believe it or not, it was hard to make Evan blush. But he wasn't going to tell her that.

"And bonus points for being cute all the time," he said, looking up at her again, smiling widely. He patted the ground next to him, gesturing for her to come sit next to him. "Don't make my fall not worth coming down here," he said, his tongue poking out between his teeth.

[/blockquote]

[Xio Beckett]

Innocence was a key, I was locked up, never free

She pretended to ponder the statement and gave him a once over and if she might consider buying him or something. “Eh. Its not a bad deal, really. At least witty humor and good looks come with package,” she offered still watching him lie there. She was trying not to stare but trust me, he was making it hard. She wanted to say all kinds of things that she was smart enough to keep in head. One stupid sentence and he might come to his senses. Xio grinned down at him. Only Evan could fall and make it look good. That boy had some kind of magic.

Whoa, was he blushing? Xio had to resist that evident look of surprise that threatened to take over her face when she caught sight of the color in his cheeks. He looked so cute and innocent in that moment, but she had a feeling he wasn’t. I mean, look at him. There’s no way a guy that gorgeous (yes, she admitted it, he’s gorgeous) had never had a girlfriend or been with someone. Still, he was here talking to her now and she had just succeeded in making him blush. She’s was feelin’ pretty confident and that something you didn’t see ever day.

"And bonus points for being cute all the time,"

It was her turn to blush at his statement. Her shy eyes looked away from him to the ground as the heat in her cheeks rose. She had to force herself to look back up at him out of sheer embarrassment. No one had ever called her cute before. Her eyes went wide and she absolute what to say to that except to blush some more. She almost said ‘me?’ of out stupidity when he patted the ground but caught herself in time. Of course her, there was no one else around. “Trust me, I’m trying really hard,” she admitted.

"Don't make my fall not worth coming down here.”

Damn him and his adorableness. Xio bit her lip but made her way to Evan’s side and took a seat, crossed legged and facing him. She stuck her tongue back out at him out of playfulness and giggled before giving him a clever smile. “You’re fall--and let me tell you, that was definitely falling with grace--is going to be worth it.” She paused slyly then burst out laughing. “I just don’t know how yet.”

[Evan Warner]

Evan smiled widely as she teased him. He always liked it when people teased him. Some people just took themselves way too damn serious that they just couldn't toss around a few jokes here and there. That's one thing he liked about her. Yes, one thing. But he wasn't about to point out everything he liked about her. Not only would that take forever, but he wasn't willing to admit he might like her. He wasn't sure. Heck, he wasn't sure about most things now-a-days. But now wasn't the time to think about that. All he could think about was Xio.

“I just don’t know how yet.”

The first thing that popped into his mind was just the sheer fact that she was here, sitting with him. That was enough for him. The thought made his cheeks glow a soft rosy color. In the back of his mind, he thought, 'Just seeing you smile is enough for me.' Anything was enough for him.

"You know," he said with a small smile, his cheeks and neck growing into a darker red with each passing second, "Just you being here, simply talking with me, made my fall worth it." He flashed that stupid, unintentionally lopsided grin at her, trying to hide his blush but failing miserably. "Hell," he said, laughing slightly, unable to stop himself from speaking, "I'd do it again just to talk to you longer."

And why couldn't he just keep him mouth shut for five minutes?

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[Xio Beckett]

Now that you know

She was still amazed that she was actually just talking to him, making jokes, acting normal. With anyone else she would have had a hard time just opening her mouth and saying hi, but here she was teasing him; getting him to blush. That made her want to grin from ear to ear. Not the fact that she was embarrassing him or making him blush, just the way he looked so cute when he did. He cheeks turned slightly pink and he looked incredible adorable. Just watching him smile had her mesmerized. What did all of these feelings even mean?

She had to blink a few times and let that process. Had he really just said that to her?

"Hell, I'd do it again just to talk to you longer."

Her stomach flipped as if on cue and she brought her eyes up in a mixture of surprise and shyness. Hearing him say that, seeing him give her that look that meant he meant every word made her blush pink in return. How did you even answer to that without looking stupid? She wanted to turn to him and tell him the same thing. Explain to him how she couldn’t explain the way he was constantly on her mind lately. And oh man, that smile. Lopsided and all, it was breathtaking. Not to sound cheesy, but it really was. She shot him a surprised look. “You don’t have to fall out of a tree for me. I like you.” Oh, crap. She wanted to smack herself. “--Uh, I mean, talking. I like to talking to you…yeah,” She revised, though was too late and he probably knew she was starting to crush on him or fall for him, or whatever they called it. Oh well. She coughed and smile a little more. Well, he knew now. Nothing she could do about it.

[Evan Warner]

He smiled shyly as she blushed, the action making his stomach twist pleasantly. Evan was sort of expecting her to push him over and call him a cheese ball. It's not like he purposely meant to sound extremely cheesy and whatnot, but the truth could come out as such sometimes. These things can't be helped.

"I like you."

Evan's eyes widened unintentionally at the statement. He clung to it in his mind, so desperately, not daring to let go. He smiled, the words still registering in his mind. He smirked at her revision, guessing, actually, hoping, that all of the above was true. He, too, liked her. And he liked to talk to her. It made everything seem so much brighter.

"Well," he said, learning back on his hands, "That's a relief." He smiled, widely, grinning practically from ear to ear. "I like you, too. Er," he played, mimicking her earlier statement, "I like to talk to you, too." He laughed lightly, the blush on his cheeks showing his slight embarrassment with his confession. It was true - he did like Xio. Hell, he would even dare to say he was sort of falling for her. But things were complicated and he wouldn't want to jump ahead of himself before he knows what he thinks.

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes softening. He just looked, taking in her features. Even though he knew what she looked like, he liked to keep the image in his mind. He glanced and her small shoulders, realizing they were bare. Evan shrugged off his jacket, the warm fabric leaving his skin, and leaned forward, carefully draping it over her shoulders. "You looked cold," he said softly, reluctantly going back to his previous position.

[Xio Beckett]

What had she done? In typical Xio fashion she had opened her mouth and possibly said too much, that’s what. She habitually tugged a piece of her hair. A nervous habit. A small part of her was panicking inside but the rest felt relief wash over her and leave her calm. Things were changing for her left and right and she was changing with them and for once in her life, she wasn’t going to try and stop it. Yes, she was most definitely afraid. She had put herself out there and he every chance to crush her. Who wouldn’t be afraid, feeling these kinds of feelings, whatever they were? But she wasn’t going to worry about it. And she wasn’t going to worry about what she had said, she decided. Why bother? It was true. She didn’t know how he would take it but it was true.

He seemed to be taking it pretty damn good. Her stomach flipped again, on cue with his smile. That would be probably be happening a lot, she realized and beamed, the pink on her cheek making her glow. Every word he said was precise and audible, there was no way she was imagining this. He liked her. That’s what he said. Xio fought the urge to get up and dance stupidly. He liked her! She bit her lip, and laughed with him as she shook her head. “Hey, I just put myself out there, don’t make fun of me!” She joked. Truth was, she didn’t care what he said about her, as long as he was there talking to her.

Shyness settled back as the moment grew silent. There he went again, watching her. Those eyes, she had secretly decided were mesmerizing. Every time they caught her gaze, it was hard for her to look away. She just couldn’t stop blushing. The way he studied her gave her chills (in a good way). She didn’t even really he was taking off his jacket until he had already draped it around her. Her cheeks went pink again, jeez, she needed to stop blushing, and she shook her head. “You didn’t--you didn’t have to give me your jacket,” She mumbled shyly. Hell, she didn’t mind it one bit, she just didn’t want him to be cold too. But he was right, she was cold. She pulled the sleeves forward and stuck her arms through them and put it on all the way. That had to be the sweetest thing a guy had ever done for her. Actually, that was probably the only thing a guy had ever done for her. “Thanks,” she whispered. She scooted closer so that she was by his side and sat quietly for a moment before turning to him. “I would share it with you but yeah…I don’t want you to get hurt.” She might able to, if she tried hard enough but she was too afraid to hurt him to try.

[Evan Warner]

Evan grinned and shrugged. "I wasn't making fun of you!" he defended lightly. "Well, actually, I kinda was," he laughed, unable to hide the fact. He smiled sincerely, almost saying 'you know it's all in good fun' with his eyes. Everything was so light-hearted there in that moment, nothing mattered at all. Hell, the school could have been set ablaze and they may have laughed at it. Possibly.

"You didn’t--you didn’t have to give me your jacket."

He smiled gently, watching her scoot closer next to him. Evan took in a deep breath to calm himself. He was nervous with Xio sitting there next to him. He was bound to mess up - it was in his blood. Programmed in his mind. Then again, wasn't the fall out of the tree enough? He shrugged in response to her thanks. "No problem. Y'know, of course I didn't have to give you my jacket," he said, smiling cheekily, "I could have just watched you freeze to death." He laughed, nudging her softly. "But I wouldn't want that to happen," he said with a smaller, shy smile.

“I would share it with you but yeah…I don’t want you to get hurt."

He shrugged, blushing slightly at the thought. "It's alright," he said, "It's the thought that counts." He smiled gently at her, almost itching to put his arm around her, seeing as he didn't have any chances of getting hurt. He blushed slightly, his mind furiously debating whether or not he should. He did. Casually, he lifted up his arm and gently wrapped it over her shoulder, pulling her a little closer. "This is close enough, right?" he said with a nervous smile, followed by and equally nervous laugh.

[Xio Beckett]

Don't wake me up, I am still dreaming; the story's undone

“Psh, you were!” She poked him lightly; quickly enough that it wouldn’t affect him at all, and giggled. She knew he was joking, it was fine. “But I forgive you,” She sighed, and looked away to pretended she was hurt. On a normal basis she would have been afraid to act this way. To be so flirtatious and carefree but these circumstances were different, don’t you think? After all, he liked her. And that really did make all the difference.

You would have thought that to Xio, all of this would have felt so weird, but it didn’t. It felt natural. Right. Absolutely perfect. She mirror his cheeky smile and grinned up at him. “Sure, you didn’t have to…but I’m just so amazing.” Xio was the last person to have that kind of self confidence. She was never that secure with herself until now. “Aw, thanks…” she nudged him back. “I guess that means you saved my life. What do I owe you?” These kinds of comebacks and words made Xio more nervous then you can imagine but there was a bigger part of here that didn’t care. She like this. She liked being around him and knowing that he felt the same way. I mean, it was probably just a friendship thing…no way he could ever want to be with her. [Not that he probably could.] This was probably just his way of sayin, ‘yes, lets be friends.’ She doubted anyone could ever like her more than that.

If he blushed one more time, she was going to melt. Or Swoon. Or both. Cause that incredibly cute and she couldn’t remember the last time she had ever made a guy blush. Except Ivan, and he didn’t count. He wasn’t really a boy, he was just…Ivan. But Evan…? This was a new feeling; one she had never experienced in her life. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and they swarming around in there like crazy. It was amazing how Evan was so sweet. It made her want to blush and smile. It made her a little sad too.

Her heart dropped into her stomach and the feeling of his warm arm around her. He was touching her. Like she was normal! Okay, so technically he wasn’t touching her, there was a jacket between then, but you get what I mean. A shade of red crawled over her cheeks and she bit her lips as he pulled her closer. She felt like such a dork because she was thinking something along the lines of ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe this is real, this is happening to me.’ Taking another chance, she let her body rest lightly against his side and looked at him. Wow. She had never been this close to him. Or his face. “It’s perfect,” She said softly. But I wish we were closer. Her fingers twitched. Breathing steady was hard at this point because she was reaching for his hand. All she had to was concentrate. Eight inches away…four inches away…one inch away…Their hands were side by side…and she couldn’t do it. Xio closed her hand and cursed herself.

[Evan Warner]

Evan gasped, portraying mock hurt, putting a hand over the spot she poked him. "Violence isn't need, Xio," he said, pouting angrily. He couldn't hold it for long, though, before he burst out laughing. He grinned, nudging her gently. "But I'm glad you forgive me," he said with a relieved sigh. "I don't know what I'd do if you didn't." He laughed again, rolling his eyes at his own cheesiness.

“I guess that means you saved my life. What do I owe you?”

He smiled, laughing gently. There were a million things running through his mind that he couldn't even formulate an answer. He couldn't honestly believe he was sitting and talking with one of the most amazing people he had ever met. Sure, it sounded like quite a feat, but not for Xio. In Evan's mind, she was wonderful; dare he even admit she could be perfect. He had never really felt this completely natural with anyone. Well, except Adalyn, but she's family and doesn't count. He stared at her for a second, giving honest thought on an answer to a question that wasn't meant for a response. "A smile," he said simply, giving a small nod. He blushed at his answer, but knew it was true. All he could ever want was to just see her smile. He couldn't get over how beautiful she looked when she was happy, smiling the way she does.

“It’s perfect."

Evan smiled, nodding in agreement with her statement. This was perfect. He gazed out across the ground, taking it in for a moment. His brief space-out was broken when he looked down at his hand, seeing Xio's inch closer to his. He blushed before frowning slightly as she retracted her hand. A small pang of disappointment hit his stomach. He looked at her for a moment, breathing in deeply. "Xio," he muttered softly, hoping to get her attention, even though he was pretty sure he had it, "May I hold your hand?" He blushed profusely, not even trying to hide it. If she couldn't do it on her own, then he'd help her out and ask. He knew she could do it. And even if she couldn't, he wouldn't mind one bit, because then he would have had the chance to hold her hand.