Impavid

    I yawned, stretching out on my back on my bed. Chase was lying beside me, his legs tangled around mine. We had fallen into an easy rhythm the last week, hanging out every second we weren't busy. 

    "Your story," he mumbled into my hair. I giggled at his breath, squirming away. He wrapped an arm across my stomach, adjusting to lay on his side against me. 

    "What about it?"

    "You still haven't told me."

    "My life is so uneventful." I laughed, rolling my eyes. He nudged against me, earning another giggle. "What's yours?"

     "I was born in New York City. I lived there until I was four, then I moved here. I have an older sister, an older brother, and a younger sister. I have a dog." He looked over at me just as I was yawning. "I'm obviously boring you."

    "Just a little," I teased. "I have a sister."

    "What's your favorite color?" 

    "It's a tie between mint and light pink."

    "That must be a special tie. Do you wear it out with your suits?" 

     I rolled my eyes. This was something I'd noticed Chase was always doing, no matter the subject. He'd take a word and apply a totally different meaning than I had intended. He was big into puns, reading plays, and chemistry. He was surprisingly very against religion, but he had a strong love for good, faith, and family. He loved to laugh, but he loved making me laugh even more. He buried his head into my neck, breathing in the scent of my hair. He'd found that my hair smelled like apples almost always, something that he loved apparently. He loved most fruits, but was very anti-vegetables, while I was the exact opposite. He loved animals almost as much as I did, and he preferred big dogs like I did. He loved raw emotions and pure passion. 

     "Sing me your favorite song," he whispered in my ear. 

     I shook my head. I never sang in front of people I didn't know. It had taken me weeks to sing even quietly in front of Luke, even when he couldn't hear me with the music blaring through my room. 

     "Come on," he begged. "I'll sing it with you if I know it."

     "I can't sing," I noted.

     "Everyone can sing. You might not be able to sing well, but you can sing." I could tell by his voice that he was smirking, even if I couldn't see his face. 

     "The dawn is breaking, all light shining through," I started quietly. I paused, sitting up to look at him. He rolled into the place my body had just been, continuing the lyrics while I was quiet. 

     "You're barely waking," he looked directly into my eyes, "and I'm tangled up in you."

      I started to grin, but his eyes had so much intensity in them that I ended up blushing instead. 

     "That's enough of that," I giggled again, and he flashed that smile I had started to love. Chase was different than anyone else I'd ever met. I'd never seen the passion and intensity I saw in him in anyone else. When he talked about something he loved, you could just feel his love for it radiating off of him. His eyes were always telling me a story, even when we were lying silently in my bed, where we'd settled most days after classes. 

     I thought back to how smooth he had been the first time I had ended up in his arms.  It was the night after our first date, and we were both stretched out on my bed, him lying the opposite direction. He was squirming, clearly uncomfortable, and I sat up, looking down at him. I had told him he could lay with his head on my pillow, if he had wanted, and before I even realized what was happening, he was beside me, with an arm draped across my lap. I looked down at him, hesitating slightly, before I laid down beside him. His arm shifted, and he ran his fingers across my stomach, tickling me for a second and earning a laugh before his arm settled upon it. 

     I was surprised that he was still into me after I rejected him the previous night, telling him I wasn't ready to kiss him quite yet. He clearly wanted to kiss me that next night, too. His face was inching so close to mine as we lied beside each other, staring into each others' eyes and joking about random things. He was patient, though, and that was something I really liked. Unlike how things had been with Luke, though, he still made it clear that he was into me despite us sticking to being just friends. 

     The following Sunday afternoon, since Rachel had to go home for the weekend for a wedding, Chase brought coffee and donuts to share. I had been woken up by my phone constantly buzzing until I had answered. I was yawning, still groggy, when I answered. He said he was bringing food and would be there in two minutes, so I should get up and be ready to open the door.

       I remembered thinking that two minutes wasn't enough time to get dressed or put on makeup. I was relieved to find Chase -- still in his plaid pajama pants and adorably dorky glasses standing before me, balancing a cupholder and a bag of food -- smiling at me when I opened the door. He held the bag up, still smiling, as I moved aside to let him enter. 

     "You look nice." He smiled. While I knew he was partially joking, since I clearly had just woken up, there was a look in his eyes that made my heart pound and my cheeks heat up. He was looking at me with desire and interest, which was something that even Luke hadn't always done. I had felt comfortable with Luke, not needing to be dressed up and put together to hang out, but it had taken a lot longer than just a couple days for me to get to that comfort level. This intensity thing was something new and exciting. I felt so comfortable and so secure around Chase.

     "I didn't realize you had glasses," I commented, ignoring his comment about my appearance. I pulled out my hair-tie, freeing my loose pony-tail. I ran a hand through my hair, watching as he shrugged, dropping the bag on my bed before handing me a cup of coffee. I was impressed that he had remembered just how I liked it, as it had been something we'd only briefly talked about during a late night study session when I was drinking some. I took it, and his, and set them both on Rachel's desk beside us. I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around his waist silently. 

      It took me a minute to find my courage, but when I found it, I looked up at him with big eyes. 

     "Just kiss me," I whispered. I didn't have to ask him twice, as he was leaning forward, pressing his lips onto mine instantly, his hands tangling themselves into my hair to hold me closer. Things had been just as comfortable since, with us spending almost all of our time together, whether relaxing, working on homework, or taking long naps. 

     Now, Chase leaned up to kiss me. "You have a pretty voice," he complimented. I was still blushing.

     "What's your favorite word?"

     "My favorite word?" I questioned as I laid back down beside him. I rolled onto my side, my eyes meeting his. "I don't think I have a favorite word. What's yours?"

     "Impavid," he answered easily. 

     "What?" 

     "Fearless." He was smiling, his eyes fluttering closed and I leaned forward to meet him halfway, pressing my lips against his once more. 

      We both pulled back at the sound of the door opening slightly. "Coming in!" Rachel exclaimed, "and I have a visitor!" 

     I rolled over, yawning. "Rachel, we're..." I trailed off as the door opened, and Luke appeared behind her. I sat up quickly, blinking, wondering what he was thinking to find me with someone else in my bed. 

     "Luke." I blinked.

     "He was sitting outside the main doors when Heather and I walked past. He asked us if we knew you. He said he'd called you, and you hadn't answered, so I figured you must have been doing homework or..." She trailed off when she noticed Chase in bed beside me. "Oh."

     I ignored her. I kept my eyes focused on Luke, but he was too busy staring at Chase. 

    "Luke, what are you doing here?"