we're gonna start a fire .

[kaler ryan scott]

It was truly amazing how one person could change your whole life. Kaler had never been a believer, had never thought that he would be one of those guys that let his whole life and world revolve around a single woman. He had thought it all to be a cliche of sorts, and most definitely a lie. Forming those kinds of bonds and attachments might make a person feel like they were really something, like they were honestly loved and cared for like no other, but what could they really gain from that in the end? There was nothing that seemed worth it, at least not in Kaler's mind as he had moved through life screwing woman after woman and never looking for anything more because it hadn't existed or if it did, it wouldn't last. He rolled his eyes at the disgusting romance novels that he had been bored enough to pick up and read, and silently cursed authors that put these romantic ideas into the minds of women around the world. It had all been absolute bullshit, a lie told to make people feel like they had something worth living for, worth looking for in life...to make them feel good about themselves. Kaler had written an entire paper on the subject while he had been attending school at Yale, and while it was heavily criticized by other students in that particular class, Kaler had argued his case perfectly. It turned out that he was not the only cynic in the world and he had plenty of room to expand on his own life experiences (and maybe his own bitterness) through the words of others that had come before him. If only he had known that in a few short years, he would be eating those words and feeling like he should dig that paper out of his old school things and burn it because he had found that he had been so blind and jaded, and also very wrong.

Of course, it hadn't been easy admitting that and allowing himself to feel this overwhelming new emotion. It had taken literally losing this one woman for Kaler to realize that all those feelings that he had swirling around inside of him everything he saw her actually meant something, that she actually meant something to him. Vidette Garland had had him on a hook from the very moment that she had allowed him into her life, though. Looking back, Kaler now knew that he had been in way over his head from the start, what with the way those dark eyes of hers had drawn him in, and how the spark (which he had also believed and argued to be a glorified lie) had initiated between them almost instantly. He had never stood a chance against this fiery little woman that was able to constantly keep him on his toes, making her that much more appealing when Kaler had always been so used to women that he could figure out before he even got his name out. He didn't know how Vidette had managed to melt that typically cold heart of his, but she had wormed her way right in there and had refused to leave despite some of Kaler's best efforts to rid his heart and mind of her. After all, he had had no reason to believe that Vidette would ever speak to him again after she had found out what he had done to her, and to her friend. Kaler knew that he didn't deserve her or her forgiveness after that, and had done what he could to try and move on and figure out how to be without that spitfire of a girl that had him convinced she was the clumsiest thing alive, slightly A.D.D., and quiet possibly the most kind and caring person he had ever met. In the short time that they had had that...thing of theirs she had rendered him unable of functioning properly without her, too many memories embedded in his mind and too much ache in his heart to even allow him to eat normal meals or go longer than five minutes without being reminded of her, or thinking of her.

Going to Vidette's home that afternoon and telling her how much that he loved her had quite possibly been one of the hardest things that Kaler had ever done. It was putting himself out there so much, putting everything on the line and not even knowing if it was going to change anything between them. But it had been the right thing to do, and that was why he had made himself go through with it. In every other situation with every other woman, Kaler had been okay with being wrong because it had been what was easiest. He hadn't been looking for something he hadn't thought to be true, so he never once put any amount of effort into those previous "relationships," not even the one he had entered into with his best friend, Isobel, in a feeble attempt to get Vidette off his mind. This was Vidette, though, and he had already been wrong too many times with her to even consider doing that to her again. Kaler had known it would be a long shot, had known that he might return to his own home more damaged than he had left it, but he had to know, he had to try and let her see that there was more to him, and that he was very capable of loving her and letting her in. As it would turn out, his efforts had all been worth it. This girl had somehow found it in her heart to keep loving him despite the terrible things that he had done, and she had let him back into her heart. Viddy had kissed him then in a way that they hadn't kissed before; it had been a kiss fueled by their love for one another rather than their hunger and pure lust. All that Kaler had known was that he was glad to have her back in his arms, holding her close and hearing her say that she loved him too, knowing that she meant it with all her heart just as he had and knowing that he had just lost any and all of his previous believes about love and the idea of one person being able to step into and change his whole life. He had always been the boy that was moving too fast, moving like wildfire with no one seeming to be able to tame him; Vidette was the one woman in this world that could make him want to stand still.

That afternoon, she had taken him by the hand and led him to her bedroom where many more kisses like that one followed, them leading up to a whole different kind of bedroom experience that either of them had shared but one that had been so intoxicating, so perfect that it had shocked even Kaler, a man that was no stranger to sex but he had learned he had never known a connection like this one. And from there, things had rolled on beautifully. He had even taken her out on a real date, another shocker, another first. It just felt easy between the two of them, it coming as naturally as breathing for Kaler to be with her this way. Of course there were moments where he had no idea why he was doing the things that he was doing, but one look into those big brown eyes of Vidette's and he would be instantly reminded. They still bickered and fussed, but that was the norm for the two of them. Anything different would have been too strange, too perfect. They had only been together for a few weeks, but things were going well. He had managed to tell Vidette about his new sister that had found him, along with the fact that he had been adopted. There had also been a line dropped about Izzy and that brief fling, something that Kaler could have lied about or kept hidden, but he was done being the liar. He wanted to be good for her, and that's what he was working on. Kaler would get off of work at night and go to her place, either crawling into her bed beside of her or staying up with her while she worked on things for her classes. He mocked her learning curriculum and she mocked him back. He snooped through her room and she tried not to let it bother her. They were a cute little duo, even though Kaler doubted that she thought he was very cute that evening that he sat on her couch, her feet propped up on his lap as they watched some mindless show on the television. He had already ran his finger along the bottom of her bare foot twice, grinning as he knew that almost everyone was ticklish on their feet. He did it a third time, this time responding to her glare with, "Well I'm bored, Vidette. What else do you want me to do?" It wasn't that he was deathly bored, because Kaler was happy just to be in her presence (which was more cutesy than he was willing to own up to at this point), but he was an active kind of person that wasn't always content to just sit and do nothing. That's when some inspiration struck and he was up on his feet.

"That's it. We're building a fort." Yes, a fort, like four-years-olds build with their parents. Kaler's eyes were scanning Vidette's living room, already calculating and figuring out how he was going to do this. Then he caught the look that Viddy was giving him. "Come on, it'll be fun. I got this shit." He winked at her, and then he set about grabbing chairs from her kitchen, and sent her to find sheets and blankets while he put together other materials and made a basic structure. It involved the TV, a couple laps, a piece of string being tied from a curtain rod, the kitchen chairs, couch, and a recliner, but when Kaler started to work on something like this he didn't just make it simple. He had to go big or not at all, as the saying goes, and this was definitely going to be a fort of epic proportions. Kaler and Vidette started putting the blankets up, him loving that he had gotten her to help until her natural clumsy side started showing through and she would tear down pretty much everything that Kaler would just have gotten put up. "Baby, how about you just go sit down for a second, hm?" he had said, trying to keep his cool and the frustration from his voice. It was a reasonable suggestion, though. Otherwise, the fort would never get put up. It was finally constructed, though, and Kaler stood back to marvel at his masterpiece with a grin on his lips before heading to find some more blankets and pillows to take inside of it for himself and Vidette. When he got back, he found that Vidette was once again trying to put her touch on it, having lit candles all around the inside of their fort and turned off the other lights. Kaler just shot her a look. "Are you insane? You're going to kill us with this fire hazard you just created." Common sense, people. Candles and blankets in an enclosed space did not seem like a good idea.

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1,956 words. complete.

[vidette isabelle garland]

Love was an action that was very rarely displayed in Vidette's life. She had loved her family and even her friends, but that was all purely platonic and something nearly everyone could relate to. It was a rareity to find intense love like the kind Noah and Ally shared in The Notebook, and there was a slim chance of ever making Vidette a believer in such a feeling. Meeting Kaler had broadened that chance, had made it go from being slim to actually being decently plausible. It didn't seem so extreme and impossible anymore, and she could honestly admit that she felt more than platonic love for the first time in her life. Sure, she had come close to it before. A few years ago, she had been certain that she was in love with Jem Hale. He was sweet and kind, a pure gentleman and it felt like fate when she had first set eyes on his handsome face. But that feeling...that was absolutely nothing in comparison to the way she now felt around Kaler. He was so completely different than anyone she had ever met before and, despite his feeble bad boy persona, falling in love with him was inevitable. He had made his fair share of mistakes in the short time they had known one another - the biggest and most prominent being the choking incident - but with the way he had looked that night with that broken, hopeful gleam in his bright blue eyes, Vidette knew that he was ready to change. That he was wholeheartedly apologetic for those mistakes and he was willing to do everything in his power to make up for it because he honestly and genuinely cared about her. That was love. And Vidette could honestly say she loved him back.

Though, she had to admit, watching him rummage around her small house on a mission to find fort-building supplies was the last thing she had ever expected from him. The duo had been spending some quiet time on the couch, watching a fruitless television show, when he had outwardly expressed his boredom through tickling her feet and announcing that they were, in fact, going to build a fort. It had been difficult to keep the shock off of her face, though she was fairly certain that her attempt to do so had failed and her surprise was clearly evident. But, honestly, could he blame her for being so taken aback? Vidette was usually the one who suggested the absurd ideas and dragged Kaler into them, not the other way around. He was always a good sport about it, despite his initial groans of protest, so the thought of Kaler ever suggesting a fort building extravaganza in her living room was extremely far-fetched. Honestly though, she wasn't about to sit back and let him have all the fun. So, being the little trooper that she was, Vidette hopped off the couch and went on a hunt for sheets and blankets, returning to his side with a triumphant "Mission accomplished, sir!" She was still having a hard time believing that he had actually come up with such a silly idea as he set about piling all of the supplies together, arranging them in very meticulous ways; he was totally turning the creation of the fort into a science, as opposed to a simple, childish stroke of genius. She wasn't about to protest, though. This was the most fun she had had in a very long time. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before her inevitable clumsiness began to surface and she became more of a nuisance than a help, but she should have seen such tendencies coming, what with the way she was practically dancing around and hopping from foot to foot in utter excitement. Things started falling and coming undone, ruining all of Kaler's hard work. Frustration was evident in his features as he asked to go sit down, and though she wasn't pleased about having to do so, she did what was asked of her and sat on the couch, watching carefully as he fixed all that she had destroyed.

And then it was done. A giant structure made of common household items now stood tall and proud in her living room, obstructing her view of...pretty much everything. It took up about half of the room and was topped off with the very decorative Power Rangers sheet set that Shayne had bought for her last Christmas as a gag joke; Vidette had actually been genuinely thrilled to have them, though, she she honestly thought they worked perfectly as the roof of their fort. Then, after admiring his handiwork, Kaler had disappeared into the depths of her house, leaving Viddy to gather some candles to spread throughout the fort. She lit each one, leaving plenty of room between them and the blankets so a fire wouldn't start. "Are you insane? You're going to kill us with this fire hazard you just created." Viddy wanted to roll her eyes, but she forced herself not to do so as she crawled out of the fort and took the blankets from his arms, setting them down by the forts entrance. "Relax," she sighed, looking up at his face in the darkness. She could only make out what the candle light was allowing her to, which mostly consisted of his chiseled jaw and the glimmer of light against his eyes. "I'm not an idiot. I made sure to keep them away from the blankets and all of the candles have been placed in candle holders or on plates so, if the wax drips down, none of it will get on the carpet. They're just for ambiance, baby." A soft smile graced her lips at that, and she leaned up to press a gentle kiss to his lips before ducking into the fort, laying the extra blankets out on the floor - a safe distance away from the candles. "You did a good job, babe. It's nice and roomy in here." And it was. It was large and spacious, but not overly so; way better than she could have ever done. Her eyes flickered towards one of the candles and suddenly...inspiration struck. A smirk graced her features as she grabbed it from it's holder, placing it under her chin for an eerie effect. The sound of Kaler making his way into the fort had her turning toward him, mischief gleaming in her dark brown eyes. "Wanna hear a scary story?" Her voice was supposed to be dark and menacing, but it ended up sounding more like a young girl imitating an elderly man.

[kaler ryan scott]

Building a fort was probably the last thing that his girlfriend would ever expect Kaler Ryan to ever suggest doing. Vidette would probably think it far more likely that he would try to proposition her for sex when he got bored rather than hop to his feet and start turning her living room into a child’s version of a tent indoors, but fort building was what he had asked for. Well, he technically hadn’t asked but had instructed and given Vidette little choice in the matter, but this was his chosen activity and Kaler would have gone about doing it with or without her help. That was just Kaler’s stubbornness and determination kicking in, a side that Viddy had surely known that a man like him would possess. However, she had had no reason to think that this side of him existed. It seemed that whenever the two of them were up and doing something completely childish and goofy that it had always been Vidette’s doing, her having to drag him along and talk him into doing it along with her. Kaler would groan and protest, but she always won him over in the end because deep down, Kaler was completely fine with whatever she was throwing at him. He couldn’t make it all easy on her, though, and just go along with everything. That would take all the fun out of their bickering and amusing banter. Kaler knew how to have fun, and he knew how to do it while getting in touch with his inner child and doing completely goofy things. Vidette was bound to see that side of him as he constructed what had to be the most amazing fort ever in the history of living room forts. He had taken the building of it very seriously, and he was proud of what he and his lovely girlfriend had been able to put together even though he had asked her to take a seat and stop helping after she had proved once again that she was a complete and utter klutz. She was his klutz, though, and he loved her despite the frustration that was sure to have been visible in that earlier moment.

Now, though, it seemed that his little klutz was trying to burn down his fine creation, along with her living room and possibly the whole house if the fire got out of hand. The candle light was all very nice, and he had to admit that the fort looked kind of cool as it glowed with light while all the others were out. But really, there were just so many ways that this could go wrong and several of them were playing out in his mind all too clearly when Viddy crawled out of the fort and took the blankets that he had gone and gathered out of his hands. Relax? That was almost impossible to do when he knew how clumsy she was and what kind of damage fire could do. Did she not realize that he had seriously considered putting some kind of bubble around her just because he was so damn afraid of what kind of danger she was to herself? Now she wanted to go and add flames to the picture. That was just super. He heard her sigh, but could only make out slight features of her gorgeous face in the dim lighting that the candles were providing behind her. Apparently, she was thinking that he was worrying too much. She went on to tell him that she was not an idiot, which he hadn’t meant to imply, and that she had thought her plan through by taking precautionary measures to prevent fire and wax getting into the carpet of her living room. Kaler did have to giver her credit for that, and he did find himself relaxing. She made it difficult not to with that soft smile that he was able to distinguish on her face, and the kiss that she let grace his lips before she turned and headed back inside of the fort. Kaler waited a moment to allow Vidette to get herself inside and situated before he followed her in, pillows tucked beneath his arms still.

She was already spreading out the blankets, and Kaler just sat the pillows off to the side for now, figuring that they would grab and arrange them when they were actually needed. She was complimenting him on his work, and Kaler had to agree that he had done a damn good job. This fort was roomy, making it to where they could be inside of it comfortably and have enough room for two more people easily. Possibly even three if they happened to be small. “Well, I do aim to please, and I don’t do anything half assed. You should have expected greatness,” he teased as he sat down on the floor, looking around at his handiwork before looking back at Vidette with a grin on his lips. That grin quickly faded when he saw her pick up a candle and bring it that close to her face, attempting to use it to get the same effect people went for with flashlights when they told scary stories. Which, was apparently what she was aiming for as she attempted to some kind of voice that Kaler guessed was supposed to sound scary…or something. He laughed, shaking his head at her as he reached out and let his fingers wrap gently around her skinny arm, pulling the hand holding the candle away from her face. “You telling a scary story I am all for, but I kind of like your face so let’s not burn it off with these candles.” That would just be a sad, tragic, scary kind of story in itself but Vidette was having none of it. She pouted at him for just a moment before making some quip at how overprotective he was with her. He rolled is icy blue eyes at her. “Whatever. Just tell your damn story.” A grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he said it, and his eyes were narrowed playfully at her but Kaler grabbed a pillow and allowed himself to lay back as his girlfriend embarked on her scary story telling.

Two minutes into it, he decided that he should have been recording it somehow. It would be too obvious if he asked her to pause while he went and found a recorder, and he wasn’t sure that he would be able to get away with sneaking his cell phone out to record it, either, but damn it Kaler wished he could have. He tried his best not to laugh, but a few chuckles passing through his lips couldn’t be helped. She was just too damn adorable, trying to wow him with this wild story. He was failing to see how it was going to be scary at all, but that was what made this so priceless. Vidette was getting really into it, too, and that caused her to talk gesticulate while she talked, still holding that candle in her hand. Kaler had allowed her to hold the candle, but it was getting too close to her hair and one of the sheets for comfort as her arms moved. Kaler’s eyes watched the candle, him trying to sit still and wait for her to calm down, but it got to be a bit too much. He scooted once to move himself closer, and then reached out to grab at her arm once again. She protested again, but this time Kaler wasn’t giving in. “Vid, I hate to break it to you, but the way you are brandishing this candle is way more scary that your story is ever going to be.” This seemed to displease, and maybe even dishearten the girl a little. “But I love you for trying.” He grinned as he sat himself up so that he could lean in and kiss Vidette once, then twice with small, sweet touches of their lips. He pulled back from her, a new gleam in his eyes. “I think I may have just thought of another way to utilize the fort,” he said with that playful tone in his voice, very sure that she would catch onto his idea easily enough if he leaned in and kissed her lips again, and then her neck just where she liked him to, which he did.

[vidette isabelle garland]

They say that love has a way of bringing out the best in people, and while Vidette would normally be inclined to disagree, she couldn't deny the obvious signs that she had, indeed, changed. For the better, even. She had always been a cheerful person, known for her bright smile and kind, loving eyes. But she knew that people would whisper, she'd hear them behind their hands, catch their wary glances in her direction whenever she would walk by. It wasn't uncommon, and Vidette had gotten quite used to it all after Kaler had come along and inadvertently destroyed her spirit. For a while there it was rare to catch her smiling or laughing, and the love had dissolved from her eyes, leaving nothing but cold, brown spheres in its place. She would have liked to imagine that the hushed tones and stolen glances or the heads that whipped in her direction whenever she entered a room belonged to people who were genuinely concerned for her well-being. Though naturally, she wasn't that lucky and people weren't that kind. During that period of time, not one of them ever approached her and asked what was wrong and why she seemed so sullen; why the bags under her eyes had gotten more prominent by the day. Not one. And none of them seemed to have the accurate story behind her misery, either. She overheard one lady saying, "That poor girl. I hear she was just diagnosed with gonorrhea and her mother evicted her from their family home." Not like she was living with her mother to begin with, and gonorrhea? Really? Another lady had said, "No, no. It's not an STD. She was obviously diagnosed with a life threatening illness and was given only a year left to live! I would be bummed about that too." And another woman even went as far as to say, "She slept with my husband!" which was subsequently followed by a chorus of gasps and every head in her little bakery to turn in her direction, as if being outlandishly conspicuous was the equivalent to being subtle. Needless to say, her morose attitude had been lifted the moment Kaler showed up on her doorstep for the first time in a while, finally able to own up to his mistakes and admit the feelings he had been trying to deny for so long. Now when she stepped out in public, her lips were turned up in that old glorious smile, and those women that so joyously gossiped behind her back were seemingly dumbfounded by her unprecedented mood swing. They still gossiped, there was no doubt about that, but now it was more of a guessing game filled with confusion than solid rumors. And still none of them suspected that a boy could have possibly been behind it all. Vidette was known for being a driven, independent woman who never let a man get the best of her for anything. So, naturally, Kaler was a mere spec in their thought processes, always there but never a plausible possibility to cause a personality shift of that magnitude.

Looking at him now, it was difficult for her to believe that all of that had actually happened. She couldn't seem to fathom the fact that she had let him in so easily, despite all of her efforts to keep him as far out as humanly possible. She didn't heed any of the warnings given to her, and he had ultimately proven to be exactly what everyone had said he was - a lying, cheating son of a bitch. Not that he was necessarily aware of the fact that what he was doing could be considered cheating or lying, but in a way it was. Maybe not to her, but to Shayne? Yes. And Shayne was Vidette's best friend, so you cheat on one and you might as well cheat on the other - which works even better when that's precisely what you're doing. But somehow she had changed him. She had literally, honest to God changed Kaler Scott. She had been the one to shake things up and interest him in a way that wasn't purely sexual, and over time she had entertained him so much that he had actually fallen for her. The man that was once one of the biggest and best players in the game was ready to settle down and embrace the idea of raw, unadulterated monotony with a girl like Vidette. All because she was different, because she provided him with a stimulus that didn't solely involve his penis. It boosted her ego a bit, to say the least. But the kicker in all of this was not that he was willing to put up with the concept of monotony for her, but that he was more concerned about this damn fort than spending quality snuggle time with her on the couch. Not that she was complaining, per se. This was probably the most intricately built fort that she had ever seen, and certainly the biggest; it could fit at least ten people comfortably, plus several animals and blankets, too. And the more that she thought about it, the more she realized that this fort could potentially be put to good use...really good use.

Presently, she sat crossed-legged on the floor inside the fort, candle in hand as she racked her brain for an interesting story to tell. It had to be just the right amount of scary - though she was well aware of the fact that nothing she said would scare her boyfriend - with a spoonful of hilarity for good measure. She dove right into the first story that popped into her head, excitement rushing through her veins as she spoke. Her arms moved with wild, over-exaggerated hand gestures, the candle in her right hand flickering dangerously every time it got to close to either her face, Kaler, or the blankets around them. And then, just as the story was reaching an all time high, Kaler the buzzkill had to step in and ruin it for her. He wrapped his hand around her wrist, taking the candle from her while taking a nice jab at her story. Vidette's lower lip jutted out in a pout because, really, she thought her story was pretty good. And then he was telling her he loved her and leaning forward to kiss her and all seemed right in the world again. Though the pout had disappeared the moment his lips met hers, it was about ready to slide back into place as he pulled away. However, the gleam of mischief in his eyes and the words that tumbled from his heavenly lips had her lips turning upwards instead, a playful smirk now in place. "I was wondering when you would say that," she teased. His lips drifted down her neck, causing her to arch her back toward him and her hands to grip the broad stretch of his shoulders. "This is so much better than a scary story," she breathed. And it was. The way he touched her had her whole body feeling like it was on fire, burning in all of the best ways. One thing led to another and before she could fully process it all, clothes were being shed and tossed haphazardly throughout the fort; passion seared between them as their bodies moved in perfect harmony and Vidette couldn't honestly remember a time where she had ever felt so high. Kaler was like a drug to her; it was both wonderful and terribly, terribly dangerous. The close of their rendezvous found Vidette laying on her stomach, curled up in some of the blankets that both she and Kaler had gathered for the floor. Her eyes skimmed the pages of Wuthering Heights, squinting against the darkness of the room and the dimness of the flickering candle beside her. She wasn't entirely sure where her lovely boyfriend had gone off to, and she was too wrapped up in the words on the tattered pages before her to notice him crawling back into the fort, nor did she notice him hovering above her.

[kaler ryan scott]

When Kaler had proposed that they build this fort, he hadn’t really had much of a plan for the structure in mind. He had just been bored out of his little mind, the show on the television doing nothing to keep him entertained. Maybe sitting there and being with his girlfriend should have been considered enough, and maybe she had been slightly offended by him so blatantly announcing his boredom, but Kaler was not the kind of guy that was happy to sit around and do nothing all the time. He was not above saying that he did enjoy lounging about with his girl and just being in her presence was enough to keep him happy, but he had just wanted to do something. Where the random ass idea of a fort had come from, he had no idea, but there was a spark of creativity in the young man’s mind that had yet to be properly displayed before now. So, they had built the amazing fort, Kaler proud of his finished product but not really having a clue as to what they had actually achieved other than providing him with a few moments’ entertainment. He was glad that Vidette was playing along and letting him turn her living room upside down as he constructed this little masterpiece of his, and even more glad to see that she seemed just as amused and entertained with it as he was. Now all they needed was a password and they would have completed the fort scene perfectly.

However, it seemed that other things had come to mind first. Vidette had set to work on the lighting, her idea of the candles still making Kaler uneasy, and then they had launched right into telling scary stories. Kaler had thought that he had done a spectacular job of humoring Vidette, knowing that she was trying to make the story genuinely scary but Kaler was unable to take the girl seriously. There was nothing intimidating or frightening about her, and even when she was trying to get into it and give this story some real justice, there was just no getting passed her adorable grin, or the glow that the candle light gave to her flawless skin. Vidette did not seem pleased with him stopping her story, and even proceeded to pout because he had poked some fun at her. However, he didn’t see her pouting anymore after he had offered up this new idea on what to do with this fort now that he and gone and built it. Kaler’s icy blue eyes watched as that familiar smirk came to her face instead, knowing that she was all for this new, wonderful idea of his no matter how displeased she had previously been with the interruption of her story. “I was wondering when you would say that.” Was he really that predictable, or did she just know her boyfriend that well and knew where his mind would eventually lead him? Either way, Kaler didn’t ponder the idea too much as he lips trailed down along her neck, hands finding their way and caressing her body. He was very sure that of all the forts that had ever been built that this was a way that they had not typically been used in before. At least, not when you were thinking of five year olds being the ones to put these things together…but it was whatever with that point, as Kaler was quickly losing himself in this girl that he loved so much.

Clothes were being shed, removed and tossed about. That was the one thing that drew Kaler’s attention away from Vidette, his eyes watching to make sure that none of their clothes landed on one of her candles. That would just turn what was otherwise a beautiful, passionate moment into tragedy as the article of clothing went up in flames, taking the fort and the living room with it. It might have been one hell of a story to have to be able to tell later, but it was one that Kaler preferred not to have and only grinned over when he pulled his girlfriend’s discarded shirt away from a candle, distracting said girlfriend with his lips against hers so she couldn’t once again point out how paranoid and over protective he was being. When there were no more hazards to be worried about, Kaler was easily taken by Vidette, the warmth and the feel of her body against his too much to resist. He was always amazed with how small and fragile she seemed to be, and yet she fit with him perfectly. Every bit of her seemed as though it had been made just for him, and he honestly could not get enough of her. An experience of this nature with Vidette was like no other that Kaler had ever experienced before, as he had never once felt this kind of connection, this kind of perfection with any other woman and God knew that there were enough of those in his past. There was just no comparison, and Kaler had slowly come to realize that that’s what happened when you felt about someone the way that he did about Viddy. No one else that had come before mattered; the only one in his heart and mind was her now, and he couldn’t imagine ever going without her. Those strong, intense kinds of feelings fueled their love making, leaving Kaler both pleasantly exhausted and satisfied as they finished.

A little later he removed himself from the fort to go get the two of them something to drink, moving through Vidette’s house without a sound and creeping back just as quietly. He had been lucky and happened upon two little apple juice juice boxes in Vidette’s fridge; how or why she had them Kaler didn’t know but they were easy to get into the fort without making an even out of trying not to spill something. It allowed him to enter the fort without disturbing Viddy, who had found herself something to do in the short time that Kaler had been away. His actions were soundless as he set the juice boxes aside and lay back down beside of her, peering over her shoulder at the book that she held in her hands. Wuthering Heights was a classic, a book that Kaler had read several times over for one class or another, and a few times just on his own even though that wasn’t something he would be quick to admit to. His eyes skimmed over the page, knowing where she was immediately and picking up on a line that he knew all too well. “‘If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.’” Kaler’s voice was soft and low as he read the words out loud. It had always been one of the more powerful, meaningful quotes from the story, and one of the ones that Kaler had favored the most even in while he had been cynical and disbelieving at the same time. He leaned down and kissed Vidette’s bare shoulder, suddenly realizing that he now understood perfectly what Catherine had been talking about.