I first of all want to say a huge, huge, HUGE thank you to every single person who read this story. Everyone who left a review, favourite'd me as an author, or this story (or my others), or put it on alert; THANK YOU. I can't explain enough how appreciative I am of EVERYTHING you all did! The reviews are so motivating, and inspiring, and yep, I'm most definitely in love with you guys. :) THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING ME! I'll never be able to tell ye enough how grateful I am :) xxxx

And now ye're probably all like, she's crazy, I mean, the story was only 9 chapters long? Well, my lovely, lovely, reader, this is a particular milestone for me, because it's one of the few stories (the very first I've ever shown people) that I've completed. Like completely. Even if there is a sequel, I can still say that oh yeah, I finished When it comes to kissing, practice makes perfect! AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT! Thank you, guys, seriously thank you.

I really, really, really, really hope you enjoyed this story. Even if it's only a fraction of the enjoyment I got outta writing it. XD

And yep, there will most likely be a sequel. I'm not sure when it'll be up (could be tomorrow, could be in two months), 'cause I'm going to be very busy with exams up until.. July-ish. So, yeah.. But I'm hoping (emphasis here) to have it up sometime the first week of January :D

Have a great NEW YEAR (HAPPY NEW YEARS! xx) and thank you very much for giving me your support with this story :) xx

And now that I've stopped babbling, here is the final chapter of When it comes to kissing, practice makes perfect. Guilty, I like writing cliffhangers..

Life sucks.

Once Scott's trainer clad feet touched the stony ground above, after heaving me through the tunnels whilst tucked under his wing, a cold embrace wrapped its frosty arms around us. A shiver fell from his body and pierced through mine. The sky was dimming, a serene blue melting and oozing into a splatter of soft pinks and oranges, which were mildly darkened by a tinge of black cloud speckles.

I appreciated the glum-like sky, though, because I felt it was completely in tune with my emotions.

"Over here," Scott muttered, releasing his arm from its tight grip around my shoulders only to grasp my wrist. The toes of my shoes scuffed against the gravel as he dragged me to the left, easily overpowering my measly attempts to swing around and jump back into the passageways. But he only had two hands, and since one was gripping me and the other a gun, he had no control over my swivelling head, and taking advantage, I twisted it around and screamed at the blackened figures I could see retreating into the darkness. Their faces were shrouded by long shadows, but I could make out at least nine of them, along with four huge vehicles.

Scott yanked open a dark car door and literally pushed me inside. "Gotta help me out here, Grey," he grumbled, effectively blocking my view of the horrific scene as he leaned across my chest with the seatbelt in his hand. "Can you tie yourself in?"

Unwillingly, I peeled my eyes from behind him and snapped to meet his stare coldly. "Yes," I growled, snatching the metal buckle from his warm fingers. "I'm perfectly capable of putting on a seatbelt."

"Well, that's good." He slammed the door shut with his foot, making me jump at the eruption of such nearby noise, and jogged around the glinting bonnet to the driver's side. "Hold on tight," he grunted beneath his breath, slipping the key into the ignition and simultaneously stomping on the accelerator.

The car lurched forward in a vicious roar of outrage. Seemingly unaffected at the bounce of movement, Scott swirled the wheel in his hand, twisting it so fast that when it locked to the left, a loud click echoed through the vehicle. The thick wheels kicked up dirt, rubble and leftover rubbish in Scott's haste to leave Delphic, most definitely and undeniably creating a dented pathway in the rugged, dry earth in their tracks. In less than a minute, he had manoeuvred the speeding beast around four other idly parked vehicles (thankfully, the park was closed today) and was shooting through the gate and onto the road.

An edgy silence took hold of the car. One which grated at both of our nerves, patiently waiting and prodding for the right moment to set either person off. For now, an unsettling sort of physical calm had entered my veins- my heart no longer throbbed, my blood no longer raced, my breathing didn't stutter. But I sat, straight and stiffly, and gnawed on my lip anxiously. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, but I bravely fought them back. I was vowing to never leave the Archangels reduce me to weeping ever again.

I was confused, hurt, and concentrated ripples of loneliness and abandonment danced on my skin, raising the hairs on the back of my neck and arms. I was unsure of what to do- how to go about getting Patch back. He had told me to move on, but he should've known that that thought had died before it had a chance to breathe past his lips. I would never move on from Patch. Ever.

I'd get him back. After determinately crossing my fingers in my lap, I sent a prayer to the heavens, and swore to not give up until I had him safe in my arms once more.

Of their own accord, my lungs dragged in a breath of leathery scented air. "We need to go back." The voice from my throat was not my own, it sounded tired and dead. "We need to go back and get him," I continued, sneaking a peek to the side to glance at Scott. "I can't just leave him." His eyes maintained their focus on one point on the road, and despite my continuation, he drove directly to the Farmhouse, and once their tugged the keys from the ignition.

It was only then that my slightly otherwise occupied mind realised that the car was Patch's. His beloved black Jeep.

"The Jeep?" I cried, quickly unfastening the seatbelt so that I could fully face him with a disbelieving expression. "What, are you crazy?" Scott's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Some might say I'm crazy," he replied slowly after a moment. "But whatever, what's the big deal?"

"Patch is going to be mad when he comes back!"

Scott rolled his eyes and snapped off his own buckle with a quick flick of his wrist. "No, he won't," he responded, giving me a hard look. "Trust me." Scoffing, I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked an eyebrow. "You don't know him," I quipped in a presuming tone, and met his gaze equally. "He'll be furious."

"Yeah, well-"

A dismissive wave of the hand was given. "Will you take me back there?" I cut him off.

This surprised him. "What?" he answered back snappily. I took in a deep, calming breath through my teeth. "I need to go back there." It felt like the hundredth time saying it. "I need to help him."

"Grey," Scott spoke slowly, as if he was trying to placate a young child. "If I had any idea of doing that, why would I have driven you home?" He turned his head to stare condescendingly into my eyes.

A flare of indignation lit in the pit of my stomach. "I would have stayed if you hadn't dragged me! I was in shock!"

"In shock?" A smirk tilted the corners of his mouth.

A bitter glare curdled my already annoyed expression. "Yes, in shock," I quipped sourly. "So are you going to bring me back, or not?"

"I think," he leaned more comfortably into his chair, shutting his eyes and crossing his hands behind his head, "not."

I narrowed my eyes reproachfully. "Seriously?" I ground out through closed teeth. "Seriously," he hummed, cracking open one eyelid to glance at me with a sneer. "Fine, whatever," I groaned, pushing down the door handle and clambering out of the vehicle. Too many pressing scents, too many memories of which I might not get more. "I'll go myself."

My keys were already in hand, driver's side door swung open when he took brute hold of my elbow. "You're not going back there, Nora," he snapped, whipping the jingling set from me. "You're not allowed."

"Not allowed?" I snorted. "I think you'll find I can go wherever I want. They're probably all gone anyway, they wouldn't wait around, I just want to see if there is anything there that we could use as a lead." Holding my hand out expectantly, "Now you can give back my keys and I can drive back to Delphic, or I'll walk alone," I cocked an eyebrow at him impatiently.

Scott fumbled with his words, biting down on his lip with a torn expression. "If I drive you," he began uncertainly, glancing at me through his light coloured eyelashes. "Will you at least tell him that I tried to keep you away?"

"It's a deal."

"Get into the Jeep," Scott ordered dimly, and without the need of further instruction, I rejoined him in the familiar car and off we sped.

The place was deserted. Apart from one vehicle that was neither a Jeep nor a car. I observed Scott's mysterious once over's of it, but other than that, it was unspoken of between us.

"So what're we looking for?" he asked, kicking an old fizzy drink cup which was blowing along the parking zones languidly.

"Evidence."

"Evidence of what?"

"Evidence of the Archangels.." My voice slowly came to a stop at the approach of two thick men. One was dressed smartly in a perfectly tailored suit, the other sporting a red jumper.

"One," the man in the suit whispered. I send them a bewildered look, lips parting to question his sudden appearance, but the other male beat me to the punch. "Two," he continued. Scott's eyes widened like he had seen a person with four heads. "Nora.." he said in a tight voice. "We need to-"

"Three!"

And we were jumped. Looks like the solitary vehicle was of importance after all, I considered as they tossed us into the back.

"What have you gotten me into, Nora?" Scott's whispers were saturated with aggravation, causing a guilty knife to twiddle in my stomach. So much so, I almost cringed away when he shuffled to my side in the dark back of the bumbling truck, of which we'd been thrown into by the burly Archangel in red.

"I'm sorry," I breathed back truthfully. "I didn't mean to get you involved."

I felt more than heard him heave a sigh. "I know," he mumbled in response, and inched an arm around my shoulders to pull me into his side. As a source of comfort for me or him, I didn't know. "I'm sorry, too."

"For what?"

"For not keeping you away from here."

I hoped my scowl of disapproval was visible through the inky little cave. Shrugging out of his hold, I stifled a snarl of defence. "I would have came anyway," I responded sharply. "You wouldn't have had a say. I'm a big girl, you know, Scott."

Scott chuckled at this, and the sound softly crept to my ears and ensued seeping into my skin. Despite the fact that I was annoyed at him (oh, and shoved in the back of a dusty truck while my boyfriend was being held captive and/or being tortured), I was forced to bite back a short smile at the familiar breath of noise. "Just c'mere, Grey," he encouraged after a moment. Sensing his movements, I automatically stiffened at the uncertainty, but once I felt his fingers graze the back of my hand, relaxed again. "I'll feel better when you're closer." He bent his fingers and gripped my wrist, crawling further up my forearm to my elbow where he gave a sharp tug. "They might open that door any second and snatch you away, and well, then I'd have to give the Jeep back."

I let him draw me into his side again, and once there, curled my cold legs into my chest. "What?" I questioned, resting my head against his shoulder while he allowed his arm to wrap around my shoulders.

"I owed your lover boy something," he explained, a grin evident in his voice. "But I promised to protect you on one condition."

"That's what you meant by he wouldn't be mad about the car?" I murmured, scrunching my nose in thought. And then, "You needed to be bribed?" My tone was incredulous, dripping clearly with it.

Scott's leanly muscled body trembled with laughter. "I guess so," he snickered. "Lover boy handed over the keys to my new baby, and I swore to keep you safe." Still chortling to himself, he pressed his lips to the hair at my temple.

Well, what the hell was that for? I was too stunned silent to answer, but after a while, nailed it down to a friendly act of compassion. (That's all it could be, right?) And then once that consideration had come to a close, sunk back into my worry and grief about Patch.

The ride was bumpy. The driver appeared to tease satisfaction from turning sharp corners and speeding over huge rocks. I, on the other hand, did not, and spent the journey being tossed around like captured crab in a child's beach bucket.

After a half an hour or so, the door of the truck was hauled open and artificial light from an above streetlight streamed in, sizzling my eyes which had grown accustomed to the darkness. Although the desire to huddle into Scott's jumper to hide from the very scary, wide Archangels standing in the frame was almost unendurably strong, I mustered up my best tough look and refused to shrivel like the scrawny human I was beneath their unwavering stares. "Are you going to leave us out now?" I snapped, eyeing them with a heftily disgruntled expression.

The Angel in red cocked an eyebrow at me, his eyes glinting in unhindered interest behind his thick eyebrows. I supposed he wasn't used to being disrespected by humans. Scott pinched my hand, clicking my attention to him to catch my eye briefly and communicate through this two simple words: shut up. Or maybe he would've added an annoying Grey to the end of that, who knows?

"Get out," the Angel with the suit instructed in a demanding tone. At our blank expressions, he pointed a finger at my chest and then to the ground by his feet. "See? Not so hard." Nothing more was uttered as Scott slid out first, glaring fiery daggers at the Angels, grabbed me around the waist and pulled me down too. His arm was like a protective sheath curved around my torso, and when we passed a cluster of more, unfamiliar Archangels, tightened considerably.

The two burly messengers of Heaven led us into a large building, which after simultaneously exchanged glances, Scott and I decided was a warehouse. We were shoved to the corner roughly, where I almost tumbled over a stray crate full of God only knows what.

Scott plonked down on top of this and kicked out his legs as if it was his couch at home. "Looks like the only spot left is.." he glanced around the immediate area before finishing, "My knee." His grin was all fox.

"No way," came my knee-jerk response, but Scott laughed, and kindly stood up to leave me the crate chair, instead opting for the hay splattered floor by my feet. Now sitting, gingerly as it was dirty and I was scared of rats, I took a moment to inspect the warehouse. It was bare, bar a handful of other crates- both bigger and smaller, and cutting the room in half was a wall, about three metres tall, of what looked to be chicken wire.

I hugged my arms around myself, an uneasy sinking feeling of premeditated doom adding weights to my heart. Already I was beginning to pine for Patch- for his minty aroma and warm touch. If this happened before, I'd brush it aside to the wardrobes of my mind, where it'd come out later and I'd hug him tighter to absorb my fill and dispel the discomfort. But now, there was the possibility that I would never hold him again. Never see him again. The feelings and aches would stay forever.

The thought coaxed a tiny breath of a sob from my lips.

Sure, it was a step in the right direction that less than an hour of fleeing the scene, we had returned and then sussed out (or were kidnapped to) where we assumed Patch was being held. It was possible we'd witness something useful to incorporate in our later plans to get him back. But at that moment, I wasn't really thinking of the future and this is our plan, I was wandering more down the lines of let me see him, just once more. And sliding my gaze along the contours of the room for the second time, I started doubting that my boyfriend, my angel, was here at all. Stronger and stronger, the devil on my shoulder whispered; he's already in Hell. They took his wings.

After all, maybe they had. It was a possibility. Maybe my promise to get him back was already in vain- broken.

Scott caught me the second my breathing faltered, bowing my head into his chest and putting his arms around me like a cocoon. "Don't give them the satisfaction," he said into my ear as I gripped his shirt into clumps in my fists and tried desperately to do just that. Another promise gone- I was crying in front of them. "It's gonna be okay." His words were empty, true, but equipped with them and the harsh saying "life's a bitch, get over it", I lifted my face and wiped the tears away. "I'm sorry," I apologised, and he smiled a sad smile, one that conveyed way more concern for me and our current predicament than he ever meant to show.

The Archangel in crimson marched towards us, his face a splatter of irritation. "You," he griped, gesticulating briefly at me. "You're wanted over here." Scott insisted he come too in a don't argue with me tone, and the Archangel shrugged, crooked his finger and ordered us over to the chicken wire. "There," he muttered. Both Scott and I followed his nodding head, and the dust filled air caught in my throat.

Patch.

Unbeknownst to my brain, my legs had already eaten up a few steps closer to him. But before I could reach him, Scott grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me back. "Let me go," I snapped, struggling out of his hold and going so far as to stamp on his toes. Anything to get to Patch. Anything. "I will," he snarled in reply. "But listen to me, they want to see how you and lover boy interact. If they know he's attached to you, they'll use you against him. And vice versa." He dropped his grip on me and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Just watch what you say and do, you don't want them to have that information."

"They probably have it already."

He nodded to this in agreement. "Probably, but on the off chance that they don't, protect yourself."

"Gotcha."

"I'm just back here." He backed away, still near enough to intervene if necessary, but far enough to give Patch and I privacy.

I was by the wire wall in the blink of a quick eye, sticking my fingers through the loops and gripping them tightly. I ran my eyes along him, a quick and hungry inspection. He was still in one piece! I almost whooped. His silky hair, his defined jaw, straight nose, muscled arms, hard chest and stomach, legs- everything was there.

"Patch," I whispered.

He stared at me with an unreadable fire in his black eyes. Was it disappointment? I felt sick. He maintained a distance from the wire and my reaching fingers, arms crossed firmly over his chest. "Are you okay?" I wondered lamely. Strange how when you think of a situation, a million questions come to mind, but when you are in the middle of it, you're left speechless. That's exactly how I was then, mouth opening and closing like a beached fish as I attempted to break down the words flung at me through his gaze.

Patch's jaw clenched. His eyes flickered to his left, settling first on Scott where he gave a nod of acknowledgment, and then moved on to the Archangels. I noticed tension suddenly take hold of every crevice of his being, but I doubted they would- they didn't know him like I did, no one did. He was angry. Very, very angry.

But why wouldn't he come over? Did he not realise this could be the last time we saw each other? Better yet, why was he still behind this flimsy chicken coop stuff?

"Patch," I repeated, my tone approaching the classification of begging as wide eyed, I stared as he looked back at me unflinchingly.

Scott coughed from somewhere to the back of us, subtly reminding me of what he had told me earlier. I didn't want to listen though, or take notice of the rules, they were the very last thing on my mind. All I wanted was for Patch to say something. To Hell (literally) with not showing the Archangels my love for him, they'd know sooner or later. "Say something," I pleaded.

I don't know what it was, maybe it was prompted by Scott's second bark of warning, or possibly the Archangel's sneer as he called out "two minutes" to us, or maybe it was because of the way I felt my eyes well with tears as they locked with his, but abruptly, the ice encasing Patch's joints melted, and he flashed to a standstill before me.

The smooth skinned fingers of one of his hands covered mine through the gaps of the wiring. "Angel," he spoke quietly, the usual fire and passion which I loved in his voice dwindled down to almost nothing. "Why did you come?" I sucked in a sharp breath at the feel of his skin- it had been a mere few hours, but following a scare in which you believed that you would never see your love again, it was like a refreshing glass of water after a long run in the desert. "I had to come," I answered back a moment later, my voice wobbling with pent up emotion. "You know I had to."

"I know," he sighed wistfully, flexing his fingers around mine. "But you have to go again."

I ignored this, jaw clicking as I was almost annoyed by his request. "No," I replied firmly. "I'm not going yet. Not without you." I shuffled closer, pointlessly trying to squirm through the wire to catch hold of the body heat he was always so generous with. "I'm confused," I murmured, sweeping the floor with my gaze before bringing it back to his again. "Patch, I'm scared."

His entire expression softened. He lifted a hand and brought it close to my face, as if he were going to touch my cheek, but dropped it back to his side. "Stupid chicken wire," I grumbled, a watery laugh breaking my chest, but it sounded more like a suffocated sob.

"Don't be scared, okay?" Patch removed his hand from mine, and fearfully seeking it back, I snatched onto a higher point closer to his chest. With a distressed smile on his face, he gently tugged three of my fingers completely through one of the loops and brought his lips to it. "Everything is going to be okay." He kissed each of my fingertips softly, sweetly, something he normally wouldn't do. The action finally drew the tears from my eyes, and I resorted to begging once more.

"No, it won't," I insisted, pathetically sniffling up at him. "Not if they take you away. Not ever again."

"I promised you I'd fight them," Patch said levelly. "I keep my promises."

"But that doesn't guarantee anything!"

He grabbed my quivering fingers into his palm again, kissed them softly and whispered "Angel, shh," against my skin. I couldn't though, the childish act of weeping had gripped my system in a chokehold. This grasp on me increased greatly when the Archangel began thundering over to us, a sadistically happy smile on his mature face at the prospect of splitting the young couple up.

"I have something for you," Patch said, an urgent hint to his voice. He shoved his free hand in his pocket, and withdrew a ring- different from my own which he had owned for a brief period before. White gold with a little circular diamond nestled in the middle. "I wanted to give it to you this morning," he continued, throwing the encroaching Archangel a glare of hatred. "But better late than never, right?" His eyes met mine again, and I noticed that I had stopped breathing. Awkwardly, because the gaps in the wire were so slim, he flipped my hand over. "Take this and remember me. It's another promise," he breathed, and then kissed the sparkling diamond atop. He placed it in my fingers, curled them around it and enveloped my fist with his hand.

The Archangel reached towards me.

Patch raked in a sparse intake of air. "I don't know what they'll do, Angel," he confessed, shaking his head as if chucking away unpleasant thoughts. "But fight. Fight with everything in you, and escape. You're a strong girl, you'll make it."

"I know, but Patch-"

The Archangel interrupted. "Times up," he said with a huge, malicious smirk. "Cipriano is leaving, and you, Miss, well.." His hand found its way to my forearm, but before he could force me anywhere, Patch and Scott both ground out their damnations. I jumped, startled, and ripped my arm from his.

"Patch, I-I can't, I don't know-" My voice trailed off. The salt water made my cheeks feel like cardboard. "Why can't you just break through this stupid stuff," I kicked the wire, "and we can run? Me, you and Scott."

"Don't you see, Angel?" Patch looked at the Archangel with cold determination, and then relocked his eyes with mine. "They're threatening me with you."

"What?"

"You need to go," he muttered to me, upper lip curling at the stupid, stupid, stupid Archangel. "You need to go now."

"What?" I yelped afresh, pupils enlarging as a shot of panic laced through my innards. Not now, no, not now. I just found him. Scott scrambled to my side, shoving away the intruder and throwing an arm around my waist. "Nora," he hissed into my ear. "If we're getting out of here tonight, we need to go now, okay?"

"Patch." Spinning and gripping the wire tightly, I looked to him for guidance, and he stepped back to my face. Speaking low enough that the words were meant only for me, he softly whispered, "I change my mind, Angel, don't move on. I'll get out. I'll find you."

"Promise?"

A conflicted expression flitted across his features, but quickly, he nodded. "I promise. Now go."

"I love you, Patch."

Scott tore me from the sweat that was gluing my fingers to the ductile wire. We stumbled to the entrance. I hid in his shoulder, clamping a hand over my free ear to muffle the sounds of the group of Archangels who had made their way inside to "transport Cipriano", as I had heard them put it. Again, I was crying, and Scott's feverish attempts to shush me fell on dead ears.

And then there was silence. Complete and utter silence.

"Did we make it?" I asked my friend, and he nodded jerkily in response. "We made it, Grey," he said, a whistle in his voice. I paused our walking to snake my arms around his back and crush him to my chest, willing all of my thank you's to be felt through the touch.

He chuckled. "I always knew I was irresistible-"

Silencing him instantaneously, a shadow fell over us both. Long, dark and sent shivers racing up my spinal chord.

"Well, well, well," the suited Archangel materialised in front of Scott, his face a mask of pure disgust. "What do we have here?" A grumble of noise rumbled through the small gathering of Angels behind him. "Do we have ourselves two new pets?" His grimace twisted into a hateful kind of grin, displaying to us all a set of pearly, pearly whites.

Scott stiffened. We both recognised and processed the threat.

However before we could begin negotiations or departures, from our rear, two seemingly ghostlike angels snatched us up, banging my head off the bark of a tree in doing so, and bundled us back into another pitch black truck. The monster was coaxed to life almost the second we were inside. I screamed, howled and rapped against the walls while Scott pounded, thumped and hammered into the them, but even with unreal Nephilim strength to aid us, the unnatural metal held strong.

"Scott." Over an hour into this, I tugged on his sleeve, willing him to calm down for a moment so that we could decipher tactics, and so that the hopelessness of the situation wasn't pushed in my face with every failed punch or kick of escape. "Scott, please."

Eventually, he collapsed in a ball on the floor next to me. "I'm sorry," he gasped, gazing up at me with a heavily apologetic stare. "I can't do it."

"It's okay, we'll escape somehow."

"Yeah."

Would we? I had only said it to soothe him- he was tiring out pretty fast and if we were going with the fight or flight instinct, we'd be fleeing the second the door was open. He'd need his energy.

We were quiet for a moment, both toying around with various thought trails until one became so prominent in my chest that I had to spill it out. "What do you think they're going to do to us?" I waggled my head, the sentence tasted bad on my tongue. "With us?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Scott stretched for my hand, rubbed his thumb over the back of it comfortingly. "But I'll get us out of this," he assured me. Following a soft, appreciative smile at this (I didn't believe even he could save us if the Archangel's really wanted us for something- to kill us, to sell us, to use us, whatever it may be), I tucked my knees into my chest, placed my empty hand on top and pressed my forehead hard into it.

The glittery diamond of my new ring created a slight indentation on my skin.

Don't move on, I whispered in my mind. I'll get out. I'll find you.

You like? Go on, leave me a review, it's the final chapter ;) What did you think of this chapter? Of Scott? What do you think'll happen in the sequel?

I'm curious to see all of your guesses! :)

Again, I'm so grateful for all of your support for this story, so so appreciative. Thank you one million time overs.

HAPPY NEW YEARS! xxxx :) Goodbye! x