Until You Feel It

''I could go for a nap now.'' Gustav said, cuddling up to Natasha.

''Me too.'' Eden said, leaning against Gustav's other side.

''I'm tired.'' I yawned.

''Probably from what you did last night.'' Tom said with a sly grin. Even though he was miserable on the inside, he tried to save face by making jokes.

''Yea, twice.'' I said with a wink and Tom shuddered and then laughed a bit.

''I didn't need to know that.'' he said and I laughed. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a proud smirk on Bill's face.

I assumed Leah had been listening to our conversation because over the bus's sound system, soft music started to play, slowly but surely putting us all to sleep.

Many hours of sleeping later, I was jolted awake by the intro to Break Away playing full blast throughout the bus.

I realized I wasn't the only one being woken so abruptly when I heard several discontented grumbles from the others.

''We're here.'' Leah sang after she turned down the music.

''Why couldn't you have just told us that?'' Eden grumbled and Leah laughed.

''I figured you all would have been happier to be home.'' Leah said.

''So happy.'' I yawned and she laughed again.

It was pushing ten o'clock and even though we had slept on the bus, we were all still tired.

''You guys want to come in and eat something?'' I asked. We hadn't eaten since lunch considering that we had slept through dinner.

''Definitely.'' Gustav said and I chuckled. He was almost always hungry.

As we all made to get off the bus, Eden hung back a bit.

''I'm going to splash some water on my face.'' she said but I caught what her true intentions were.

''I can wait for you.'' Georg said.

''No, I need you inside.'' I said and he looked at me questioningly. I rolled my eyes and yanked on his arm, pulling him off the bus.

We all got off and Georg looked around as if he had lost his puppy.

''Where's Tom?'' he asked, looking back towards the bus.

''I'll explain later.'' I said as I pulled him towards my building.

Even Leah had caught onto what Eden meant and she had left the bus too. Eden wanted to talk to Tom, to give him a chance to plead his case. It seemed soon that she was ready to let him off the hook, but I understood her reasoning. She cared for him too much to stay mad.

''So what are you making?'' Gustav asked eagerly as we all stood silently in the elevator and we all laughed.

*~Eden's Point of View~*

I waited behind as the others got off the bus. I had only let my feelings about how Tom had been acting bubble over this morning, but I missed him already. I missed his touch, his smile, his kiss, but I wasn't about to let him know I intended to let him off easy.

Tom hung back as well, clearly seeing the opportunity I had presented him with. He was standing on the opposite side of the bus as me, watching everyone leave.

As the door to the bus closed, he turned to me. His eyes were so sad and apologetic, it made me hurt to think of what I was doing to him, but he did start it.

''Eden I-'' he started but I put my hand up to stop him.

''I want you to know why I'm mad.'' I said calmly.

''Because I'm an asshole.'' he muttered.

''I know it's just your personality to flirt like you do., but it just gets to me. The idea of you caring about anyone else like you do me makes me sick to my stomach.'' I explained and felt a lot better having that off my chest.

''And if you're getting tired of me, don't torture me like this, I'd rather you just get it over with.'' I said, cringing as I said the words. I never wanted Tom to go, but if he wanted to leave, I wanted him to be happy.

I looked at his face, trying to read his reaction to what I had said. I was taken aback when I saw frustration flicker across his face.

''Eden,'' he said through clenched teeth and I looked at my feet and waited for the ire I assumed I had brought on.

''How could you say something like that?'' he asked, taking my completely by surprise as his face went from frustration to remorse in half a second.

''What?'' I asked incredulously.

''Eden Wylde, you are the most important thing to me, no other girl could ever take your place and the fact that you'll still have me despite my flaws makes me love you even more.'' he said and then looked as surprised by his last few words as I was.

''That's it. Eden I love you.'' he said and I could feel tears filling my eyes.

Tom and I had been together a while, but 'I love you' had never really been said by either of us. Both of us were too afraid to be hurt to realize or admit our feelings.

''I love you, I love you, I love you.'' he repeated, emotion burned into every word.

I couldn't speak. I closed the gap between us in two large steps and grabbed the front of Tom's shirt, pulling his lips down to mine. The tears that had threatened to spill before made good on their promise now and poured down my cheeks, a stray few finding their way to out connected lips.

Tom pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine. He raised both hands to cup my face and brushed my tears away with his thumbs.

''I love you.'' he repeated again, his eyes burning into mine.

''I love you too.'' I replied, admitting my own true feelings and his eyes lit up.

He pressed his lips back against mine, putting his hands on my lower back and pushing my body against his. I felt the muscles in the pit of my stomach tighten as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he deepened the kiss. We started to move back towards the back of the bus where the bunks were and I had a pretty good idea of what was coming next.

Tom stopped and there was a slight thud as his heels hit the wall below the bed. He slid back into his bunk and held out his arms for me. I ducked my head and assumed my position on top of him, straddling his hips. He returned his lips to mine as he let his hands roam my body.

My hands trailed down his torso to the bottom of his shirt, which needed to come off. I slowly lifted his shirt, letting my hands caress every inch of his newly exposed skin as I did.

I broke the kiss to lift his shirt over his head and as I did I lifted my head just a little too high and there was a low thud as the back of my head collided with the top of the bunk. I looked down at the boy underneath me and we both started to laugh. These beds were not designed for two people.

I moved from on top of him into the small gap between him and the wall, laying more on him than I was on the small bed. He wrapped one arm around me and I rested my head on his chest.

I listened to the steady sound of his breath as I traced the lines on his stomach that formed his abs. We had slept most of the day but my eyelids were starting to get heavy.

''I love you.'' I whispered.

''I love you too.'' Tom replied and with that we both drifted off to sleep.