Kendrick's POV.
Am I dreaming? Did what just happen to me really happen? I slide back into my seat in a daze. As I slowly drift out of it I turn to look at my friends and cousin beside me. The look on their faces mirrors my own. Warren and Dan have their mouths hanging open and their eyes practically popping out of their sockets. The only one who isn't looking overly surprised is Lana, she has a knowing smirk on her face and it stirs confusion in my mind. Why is she staring at me like that? Oh who cares! My mate, my beautiful, exquisite mate just kissed me.
I sit there thoughtlessly for a few minutes without doing anything, but after a while my brain starts to work again and the question as to what just happened pops into my head again. I turn to see my mate with astonishment in her eyes but at the same time there is a flicker of determination in them as she glances around the room. I trail my eyes around the room to see many miffed expressions on the faces of multiple women. A string of disappointment hits my chest for a moment and my face falls until I start to think as to why she felt the need to kiss me in the first place. Then a slow smirk tilts my mouth upwards. She's showing the other women her claim. She's jealous and doesn't like other women looking at me.
As the class begins I lean forward and make sure to graze my lips against her ear and a shiver runs up her spin. "Jealous, baby? Don't like women looking at what's yours do you? Don't worry, I've got eyes only for you." With my last words I feel her shiver again. I pull back so I don't overwhelm her just in case but I still keep my hand in hers. Thankfully I don't need to write notes as I'm not a student and she's not left handed so she can still write. It seems she does need that hand as she lets go of mine to hold the paper still. Not bothered by her letting go of my hand I just move it to her back and let it rest there. I can tell by her glance at me she needs to feel my touch as reassurance to keep her calm more than anything else, and I won't deny I'm happy about this. It has taken us so long to get here and all I wanted in the time of waiting was to just keep my hands on her.
Being in a two hour class surprisingly doesn't feel as long as I thought it would but I can tell Felicity doesn't feel the same. When there is only a half hour to spare I feel her begin to tense, every inch of her feeling like hard steel beneath my fingers. Soon after I can feel her breathing quicken and looking at her face I see the fear behind her eyes. Without thinking I lift my hand and draw her face to look at me, "breathe, just breathe." I can see a panic attack starting. That was one of the things that started happening after she woke up and we started working on getting her used to physical contact. She said it was whenever she became nervous of what she was doing that they started. I move my other hand from her back and move it to her hand, quickly removing the pencil I take her hand in mine and get up from my seat.
I can tell by this action we draw the attention of the teacher and other students but I don't take my eyes off her. I feel her eyes are on me, I'm sure wide with anxiety. I direct her away from our seats and toward the stairs to move to the exit. With each step I make I do everything I can to block her view of everyone and them of her. Without looking I motion to the others to stay seated. I never take my eyes from her face and I catch the build up of tears with my fingers that are leaking from her eyes.
The minutes we reached the door I throw it open and push her out ahead of me. I watch as she staggers on her feet, leaning against the wall on the outside of the lecture hall for support. Just as I rush forward she collapses but I catch her just in time. I let me back touch the wall and with my arms around her I let us slide to the ground. I hold her in my arms, brushing her hair from her face as she presses it against my neck taking deep breaths. Softly I tell her "Just focus on your breathing, in and out, in and out. I'm so proud of you, baby. You are doing so well, each time will get easier and soon enough you won't need me here with you. Although it's not like I make much of a difference, I was no help at all in there." She chuckles at my words of self mockery and I smile at the sound. I kiss her forehead and lean my chin on top of her head, rubbing my left hand up and down her thigh for comfort.
"We can just stay out here till the lecture is done, then we can get going back to the house if you want to. I know the day just started but I don't want you to tire yourself out." She quickly looks at me, with a spark in her eyes and her voice strong, "no, I can't leave now. I need to practice for the concert. I know I can be over these panic attacks by then, but if I don't practice I won't be ready at all." I smile down at her, "alright. Don't worry, I won't argue with you on this. I know how much you want to perform at the concert, I won't be the one to stop you." A glimmer of awe enters her eyes and she raises her hand to rub it against my chin "thank you. For everything. For helping me be comfortable in my own skin again, for being patient with me even though I know it is hard on you, and for letting me do what I need to without pressuring me. You have been so amazing. I can't believe you've forgiven me after all that's happened."
"That's what love is, Felicity. I was foolish to have let you go but now I know I am where I need to be. I won't be letting go of you, ever. I hope you know you're stuck with me," I say as I flick her nose. Her smile lights up the hallway, "I know. You won't hear me complaining Drik, I think I like you being around. Heck, I might even miss you when you're not. " While looking down at her humoured face I feel a pull forward and without thinking I lean in and kiss her on the lips. After a few seconds I pull back and to my surprise she wraps her arms around my neck again and pulls me further into her as she deepens the kiss. It's at that moment the doors close to us open and people start to come from the lecture hall. Not too long after getting up from our intimate embrace the others come out and join us. Lana is the first to reach us with Felicity's bag, she softly asks "are you okay?" We both smile but it is Felicity who answers, "Yeah I'm fine. Just needed a few moments to breathe. Now let's get this tractor rolling, I really want to get the next few classes down so I can practice my piano.
*****
Finally, after all her classes are finished we leave the current building we are in and walk to the music section of the campus in the cold winter air. A few people say "Hi" here and there, leaving surprise on Felicity's face at their unexpected greetings. Under her breath I hear her mumble "now they say hi? They couldn't have done it before?" I don't say anything and just draw her into my side. As we enter the music building doors she stops abruptly and turns to me. "Kendrick, do you mind waiting outside the classroom and wait at the lounge area just around the corner for me? I don't want you hearing the music piece until the concert, which you will be there for right?"
It's in that second I see panic in her eyes again and I quickly reassure her, "of course. Why wouldn't I be? Now which direction is the practice room? I know, I won't stay and listen but I can escort you to the door and then go and wait in the lounge." I saw Felicity open her mouth midway so I continued with my reassurances of letting her practice in peace. Without a word she leads me to the practice room door and turns around ready to say good bye. I look around, something about this hallway seems familiar, "what is it Kendrick? You look like you're trying to figure something out."
I shake my head, "I don't know but for some reason this feels oddly familiar. I think I was here not to long ago, maybe two months?" I look around the hallway until my eyes land on a familiar lone poster on a hanging bristle board. "Hey I have been here! I was here once about two months ago and I walked by hearing someone playing, I was here visiting Lana! I stopped for a few seconds to listen."
I look back to her, shock running through my system. Could it be? Was it her playing I was hearing? How could I have not known she was so close? Her soft words answer me, "I...I remember. I think I smelt you, it was as I finished the piece that I sensed you. I followed your scent but by the that time you were gone, to think we could have found each other sooner." I wish we had, I wish I had found her sooner. All the pain she's been through could have been stopped so much sooner but the timing was just wrong, we missed each other, the circumstances were not on our side.
"Kendrick, don't look like that. What happened wasn't your fault. Even if we had found each other sooner it may not have solved anything, who knows, if we had found each other then it's possible it would have turned out worse than it did. As you've said before, put the blame on the one to whom is belongs. If I had met you then who knows if he would have let me live. Everything that's happened to me is my father's fault, if it was all discovered before you came into my life it could have been so much worse."
She looks at me with a determination in her eyes, a resolve and strength I have never seen before. Her whole face is alight with it. "Everything that's happened has happened this way because it was meant to. It all has a purpose. Look at me, I'm alive! I wouldn't have survived without you, you saved me, because I knew I had to live for you. I stayed strong and I endured for you. I-I love you Kendrick. Don't ever think 'if things were different' because if it hadn't happened they way it did I could have died. Now I have the chance to live, because of you. You saved me in more ways than one. From my father, from the Ruler of the Rogues, from myself. I will always be thankful for you in my life, always. Everything that has happened is what made me fall in love with you. You have been by my side, pushing me, encouraging."
She said it, she finally said she loved me back. My chest puffs out in happiness and a take a deep breath of relief and exhilaration, my whole body is thrumming from her words. "Felicity, please, can I kiss you? You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear those words from you. I don't think I can wait much longer." The bright smile she gives me and the light in her eyes warms me heart, "Yes, please do. I'm ready Kendrick, I think I just needed to be able to say those words to fully move on from what happened to me. I'm looking to my future now, a happy one, a fulfilling future...with you." With those words I cup her face in my hands and slowly I move my face closer to hers. I angle her head just slightly and I press my lips to hers. It feels like I've waited a whole century for this moment, when I can finally hold her in my arms and never let go without fear for her.
I feel her smile in the kiss and as I pull away I smile as well. "I love you Felicity. I always will. My mate."
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Well! That's it folks! THE END!
I joke, I joke. Yeah right this is the end? Who do you take me for?!! There is so much shit I still need to write. Although it's slowly coming to a close their story still has more to be told. Wow this is a long chapter though and honestly if I wanted to I could end it here. It is kind of a sweet ending. Hope you like it!
-Viorra