Still The One

Clare Edwards sighed and knocked on the door of the group home where KC lived. She needed to talk to him,tell him that she still liked him and trusted him,despite what she had learned about his past.

A man with dark,curly hair answered the door. "Yeah?" He asked.

"Um...Hi,I'm a friend of KC's from school. May I please see him?" She asked nervously,smiling as the man nodded and let her in. She stepped inside and looked around and saw three kid's---most likely in middle school sitting on a beat up,old couch watching television.

"He's in his room." The man said as he opened a door.

Clare peeked in,spotting KC immediatly. He lay flat on his back with black and silver headphones over his ears. His eyes were shut tightly. Shutting the door behind her,she tiptoed over to the bed and leaned over KC,staring down at his peaceful looking face. She sat on the edge of the bed and touched his face lightly with the tips of her fingers.

His eyes fluttered open almost instantly. Their eyes connected. "Clare?" He asked in disbelief as he sat up. He had to be dreaming.

She smiled shyly and brushed a strand of long,wavy hair behind her ear. "Hi." She said,biting her lip.

"What are you doing here?" KC asked her curiously,lowering his eyes to stare at his hands which twisted restlessly in his lap.

"I wanted to talk to you about today." Clare said to him,clearing her throat.

He looked at her sharply once more. "Why would you want to talk to me after finding out who I really am?" Shouldn't you be running away screaming?" He asked of her with a bitter sounding laugh.

She looked at him with sad,blue eyes and shook her head. "I'm not afraid of you. I don't think badly of you for something that happened a year ago." She said. Her small hand reached for his and she laced their fingers together.

He gazed down at their entwined hands before meeting Clare's gaze once more. "I'm not sure you'd still think that if you were aware of everything that I've done. I'm not proud of it." He whispered as he turned to lay on his side.

Clare climbed farther onto the bed and hesitantly wrapped an arm around KC's waist and buried her face into his t-shirt. "Tell me KC. I won't think badly of you,no matter what it is. The news about you stealing a car was just hard to digest at first." She muttered pleadingly.

KC sighed and turned in her arms so they were face to face and they sat up. He looked away from her for a moment be for he felt her gentle carress and he looked her in the eyes. "Like I told you earlier,my friends and I found alot of ways to pass the time. Things,,,,that I regret. Stealing a car wasn't the worst thing I ever did. I've done drugs,I've gotten in fights,I have stolen alot..." He trailed off and squeezed his eyes shut.

"What?" She whispered,pushing his bangs off of his forehead. "What else have you done?"

He took a deep breath. "I've done alot of sexual stuff...stuff that I wish I hadn't. That's what I regret the most."

"Oh..." She said meekly,lowering her lashes as a blush stained her cheeks. "So you've...." She stuttered,waving around her hands.

He bit at his lip and nodded,turning his back on her. He didn't want her to see the shame in his eyes.

"Well...that doesn't change the way that I feel about you. I mean,we all make mistakes. It doesn't make you a bad person at all." Clare told him,touching his face.

"But...it changes what I think about myself. The reason I never told you before is because I always enjoyed how you saw me. How I could seem to make you smile and laugh." KC told her,picking at a piece of invisible lint on his blanket.

"What do I need to do to convince you that this doesn't change my opinion of you?" She whined in irritation.

He just shrugged.

Gathering her courage,Clare let out a deep breath and leaned in to KC until their noses touched. "It doesn't change anything. I still like you." She muttered reassuringly before pressing hesitant lips against his.

KC's eyes widened before fluttering closed. His hand lifted and tangled in her hair while the other clutched at her waist he kissed her back tenderly,showing her how he felt for her with one kiss.

They parted slowly,opening their eyes and staring at one another with smiles of contentment.

The End