More than...

Eli meets Scarlet's gaze head-on, searching for answers... answers as to how she had sized him up so quickly and how after only a couple brief meetings, he could have had such an impact. It took people a long time to get to know each other and to trust one another. But Scarlet... not only had she done her research before seeking him out, but something else had happened too. A connection. A spark. Something close to chemistry, but more in a way. She trusted him off the bat and in so short of a time, her own walls had begun to crack. For Eli, it drove home the fact that people were always watching, and his actions were always being observed. He could make or break a person's self-worth just by what he said and did. It was kind of scary to realize this, for he knew that it meant he always needed to watch his step and behave how he should, and not give people the wrong impression, lest he lead someone in the wrong direction without even realizing it.

He blinks. How many seconds had just passed? He didn't know, but he was still staring into those blue eyes that drew him into their depths and sent chills up and down his spine.

"I don't know what to say," he admits quietly. He remains lying on his back with his hands up behind his head, his face turned towards Scarlet. "I've done nothing to deserve that kind of credit, let alone gain your trust like that." Some of his actions today would have scared off some nice girls. But Scarlet was not only nice but daring at the same time. It was an irresistible combination.

She wanted to keep him around? What exactly did that mean? Question fills his gaze. "So you're, um... looking for more than just fireworks tonight?"

Once he'd said it, he realized his mistake. It had sounded so wrong. He had meant to ask if she was looking for a relationship that would last more than just these few hours, but once he'd spoken, he realized just how his words could be taken. And even after he'd promised to behave.

"'Ohhh, that's not what I meant." He tries to recover. "I... didn't mean... that."

Cringing, he turns his head to look back up at the sky. Smooth, Eli, real smooth. "I wasn't trying to seduce you - honest. I know you're not that kind of girl. It just... came out... wrong." It was official. He felt stupid. After she'd just admitted she trusted him, he hoped he hadn't totally blown it with his comment.


Alec falls totally into the moment, having missed Ryan the last couple days. This was definitely making up for it.

Kissing and cuddling and kissing some more, a grin emerges again. "Mmm... maybe you're right." His lips trace patterns around her cheeks before returning to her lips. "I wouldn't want... to miss out... on this..." He murmurs approval as her fingers comb through his hair, tilting his head and moving closer so she could reach it easier.

His arms slide down under her shoulders and head so he's resting on her, feeling her permission and she pulls him closer. It was nice not to have to worry about leaving yet. Time didn't really matter and it made this all the more enjoyable.

Deepening his kiss along with Ryan's, he lets passion take over. His foot runs along her lower leg and he moves his lips down to her neck again. "Were we gonna watch a movie?" He kisses her ear. "Or just... do this... all night?"

Teasing laced his voice, proving he was talking about nothing more than making out. Returning to her lips, he finally pulls away just enough to see her eyes. His own stare back at her with a bright fire.


It was late. Scott shoots up in bed, his cry tearing through the dark room. Sweat pours down the sides of his face and he holds his head in his hands, rocking. "No," he whimpers. "No.... no, not again, no..."

His dream had been so vivid. He'd seen faces again... faces that he remembered... faces that haunted him. There were pictures that stayed in his dreams before, but now even they acted as visual triggers, and like a slingshot, his mind is hurled towards an abyss of data that he couldn't control.

"No... no..." He remembered now. This is what it felt like before he'd lost track of time. Before he'd had no memory of what had happened and had fallen into that terrible dream-like state. He was on the verge of falling again and he didn't know how to stop it. What had Alec said? What had Hope said? Jumpstart? Distraction? He didn't know. But he had to think... he had to think about something else.

The data claws at his mind, dragging him back into the darkness.

Desperate, Scott fumbles for the light, knocking over his glass of water onto the floor. Trying to get out of bed, his legs buckle and he lands on his hands and knees. Everything was starting to spin. He couldn't let the data take over again... he couldn't. He needed something... anything to grab onto and pull himself back out.

Closing his eyes shut tight, he curls up on the floor. "Hope..." His feeble voice becomes a loud cry. "Hope!"