Hello

Kris didn't give me any insight as to who I was going with him to meet. As he pulled up to campus, it dawned on me that I was about to find out who he had been here to see the first time we had met. For some reason, that made me entirely too nervous and I had no idea why.

We left the brightly lit parking lot and walked down the dark path. My thoughts from earlier about a killer hopping out of the bushes seemed silly now that I had Kris beside me. We had stopped holding hands when we had gotten in the car, much to my disappointment. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, though. I didn't want to assume Kris liked me more than friends. Maybe he was just one of those extra-friendly French people?

I had been really bad with reading people since my last boyfriend. He had told me he wasn't seeing someone else, and I had thought I was smart enough to read through him if he was lying. I had deemed his stories to be the truth, and I had been wrong. Ever since then, I had developed a habit of making sure things were clear with the people I was around. I needed to have everything set straight. It annoyed some people, but I was not willing to go through that again. I hadn't had a boyfriend since the last incident - I hadn't even pursued anyone. I focused on my career and future and hadn't thought twice about any guy... Until Kris came along. He was friendly, and polite, and cute, and muscular, and he listened, and he wanted to be around me... But every time I got hopeful about the signs he was giving me, I would think about what had happened and decided not to get excited until he flat out told me he liked me. Until then, this relationship was strictly platonic.

We arrived at the building I had seen Kris at the other day. We walked up to the door and I watch as Kris slowly pulled his hand out of his pocket. He hesitated before knocking twice. The look on his face was one I had never seen on him. I watched him until the door was pulled open slightly.

In the doorway was a young man. He looked about Kris' age or a year or so younger. His short, brown hair was spiked up in the front and his eyes were a light shade of blue. The one thing that stood out to me was the dark circles around his eyes... And the fact that he was in a wheelchair kinda stood out too.

I glanced at Kris, surprised.

"I know, I'm in a wheelchair therefore I get the side glances and dirty looks."

The man's voice rung out and I whipped back to face him. I felt the heat rise up my cheeks as what he had said sunk in.

"I'm sorry, I-"

The guy simply rolled himself backwards and turned himself around before going into his dorm. Kris let out a heavy sigh and followed him, I cautiously stepped in behind him and closed the door gingerly. When we reached what I assumed was the living room, the man's wheelchair was parked beside a small couch. Kris sat down beside him on the couch and I stood by awkwardly until Kris patted the seat beside him. He gave me a somewhat apologetic look before he turned to the man.

"How are you, James?"

"Fine," he replied curtly.

Kris nodded and rubbed his jaw. He closed his eyes for a moment. "When you called, you said you wouldn't be a jerk if I brought her."

James rolled his eyes and glanced at me before glaring at Kris. "You said she wasn't one of those people."

I was taken aback and slightly hurt. One of those people? What exactly defined those people? I knew it wasn't good.

"James," Kris said, his voice quiet but frustrated. "It's not her fault. I didn't explain to her your situation and so obviously she was going to be surprised. She had no idea, so please don't let that change your overall view of her."

I watched James' face as his eyes bore into Kris' before they slowly turned to me. I didn't know what ot do but stare back until his expression grew softer. He gave me a light smile which I returned, relief washing over me.

"Elle est tres beau," he said. I was shocked. French? Seriously? "Et je m'excuse, Kris."

Kris simply nodded and leaned back against the couch. I sat with my knees in the two mens' direction. We didn't talk anymore about my reaction to his disability. Kris and James simply talked, sometimes in French, but most of it I could understand. They talked about his family, his classes, everything except how they knew one another. When it was time to leave, James reached up for a handshake and I smiled as I returned it.

"Livia," he began quietly. He motioned for Kris to leave and he did so obediently. His hand was still clutching mine. "I'm sorry again for being rude before. You must know... it's hard to be like this." His free hand motioned to his disabled legs. "People have been rude to me about it and it has left me bitter. Kris, my family, and therapy have been teaching me that not everyone is like that. I'm sorry," he repeated.

All I could do was reach down and give him a hug. He was tense at first, before his body relaxed and he patted my back. I pulled away and smiled down at him. "It was nice to meet you, James. Hopefully I'll see you around."

James winked. "I'm pretty sure Kris wants to have you around for a while, so I'll probably be seeing you." I blushed and he waved as I backed out of the room.

Kris held the door open for me and we stepped out into the cold air. He held out his arm and I linked mine through his, a smile creeping onto my face. We walked in silence, both of us thinking. As we neared my apartment, I took a deep breath before turning to him.

"I know it's like 1:00 in the morning, but did you want to come upstairs for a bit? I'm not really tired, but if you are..."

Kris simply began to walk to the doors and I laughed before following him into the building. The lady at the desk, whom I had left my books with, glared at me for being late. That is, until she saw who was with me again. Her face lit up and she handed Kris the books instead of me. I instantly felt jealous but pushed it away as we walked to the elevators together. I insisted on taking my books, but Kris held them out of my reach until we walked into my apartment. I motioned for him to set them down on the table and he did as I instructed. I took off my jacket and plopped down on the couch. Kris followed suit and sat on the other end. Ella was out for the night, so we didn't have to worry about waking her.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the couch. I felt Kris' eyes on me and opened them, smiling sheepishly.

"You said you weren't tired." He raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged and shook my head viciously. "No, let's talk." I paused. "Unless you have nothing to say..."

Kris sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"James and I played together in Quebec. He joined the team a year after me, so he was in it for two years while I was in it for three. It was our last season game against Rimouski... One of their forwards smashed James into the boards, as James was trying to move away the guys hip flew against James hipbone and he couldn't move his lower body. They took him to the hospital, and they told him that he wouldn't be able to walk, let alone skate."

I gasped and realized I was shaking my head gently. "That's horrible..."

Kris nodded. "He sat in bed for days and months. He finally realized the usage of a wheelchair and adjusted to his new life. He had mentioned being interested in writing, and so his parents wanted him to get out into the world and go to University. They chose near me so I could look out for him. I don't think it was really looking out... It was just checking up on him, you know?" I nodded, "The kid is smart. He wanted to be a hockey player, but since that didn't work, we needed to help him find a plan, and there was lots to choose from, but the guy decided he wanted to be a writer."

I smiled. "Well he's here, he's on his way, right?"

Kris sighed again. "Yeah, he's better than where he was. The first day you saw me there, I knew James would be yelling at me or something and I didn't want you to be there..." Kris shook his head. "He was such a great guy... I mean he still can be, I just know he wishes he could be back to his normal self. Not necessarily his body self, but just the fun guy he used to be. I paid for all of his expenses so his parents didn't have to pay. They're kind of tight on money. I hooked the dorm room up with a phone and a cell so I hope they talk... But either way, we kinda forced him to stop wallowing in self pity, by bringing him here and he's finally coming around. I didn't want to scare you away by introducing you to someone who could snap at any moment."

I smiled over at Kris. "You're such an amazing guy," I said gently. His eyes met mine and sent shivers right through my spine. "You really are. You really care about the people around you. It's incredible."

A smile spread across his face. He reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. He tugged me towards him and I found myself sitting beside him. I was cross-legged and our fingers rested on Kris' knee. His thumb started tracing circles around the back of my hand. The simple, small gesture, sent my heart into overdrive. He was holding my hand again. And we're sort of cuddling. Maybe he's...

Seriously, Livia? You know you can't read emotions. You can feel yours but don't even try to read his.

I let out a sigh and Kris looked down at me.

"I want to go to bed," I declared, yawning halfway through my sentence. "What time is it?"

Kris looked at his watch. "2:30."

My eyes widened. "Kris, okay. You have to go. You have practice and-"

Kris laughed gently. We stood up beside one another and he pulled me into his arms for a hug.

"I'll call you later."

I nodded in response.

"Oh, and Livia?"

I looked over my shoulder from my way into the kitchen.

"You were really good with James. He approves of you." He smiled before waving and shutting the door.

He approves of me? For what?