IMPORTANT:

 Helloooo dedicated readers! (: SO. As you probably know, I do not have a cover for this story, and I think it'd be good if I did. Seeing as I'm technologically stupid, (it's amazing I figured out how to even use wattpad) I decided to make a contest! Yeah! So, if you're interested in making one, leave me a post asking for specifics and details and I'll reply ASAP! First prize would be you get your favorite chapter dedicated to you, I'll fan you, and I'll mention you on my profile for people to check out. Sound good? I hope so... I want to see how you guys channel your creativity! (: Anyway, read on.

 Chapter 14~

 (Recap)

 Now that that was taken care of, I stood up, gathering the knives in my hand, and did a thorough scan of the basement. The window was too high up for anyone to get in that way. Seeing as there was no other way of getting into the room besides the door, I was stumped. Frustrated and freaked out, I laced my hands behind my head and stared at the ceiling.

 Not again.

 Think you're safe? Think again. This is only the beginning, darling Ainsley.

 Damn it! Damn it all to-

 I heard a terrified scream.

~~~

 (Ainsley's PoV)

  I screamed in terror. I was not crazy! I thought I saw-

 Geek came sprinting up the stairs, running straight at me and grabbing my arms.

 "Are you okay? What happened? Why did you scream?" he questioned rapidly. I swallowed and shook my head, deciding it'd be best if I kept my possible paranoia to myself.

 "Nothing, nothing. I'm fine, dork," I pushed him away, clearing the strain out of my voice. I'd been vulnerable enough for today. He narrowed his eyes and watched me, and I made sure my performance was convincing. But really, I was wondering...

 Had I just seen what I thought I had? I wasn't crazy, but... was that even possible?

 "Are you sure you're all right?" Geek's voice came from directly behind me and I jumped, not expecting him to be so close. I nodded, my mouth turning into a stern line.

 "Yes, I'm fine. I think whatever- whoever- was playing games is gone now. We should get some sleep and take turns staying up," I declared, petting Toby's head gently. Geek still seemed wary, but finally gave in.

 "We should fix the poor guy up, first. I really hope he doesn't require a vet." My eyes threatened to tear up again when I thought of how someone could harm an innocent kitten. It just wasn't right.

 "Yeah, come on. The sink in the kitchen is big enough for us to clean him," I said, trying my absolute hardest not to let my eyes wander back down to Geek's shirtless torso. He followed behind me, flicking on the flashlight. Thunder and lightning still flashed occasionally, but the rain was relentless. The house seemed dark and quiet, and I found myself desperately wishing Geek would fill in the silence with random conversation.

 "What'd you do with the... doll," I managed to ask as I set Toby in the sink gently. He mewed pitifully, and I could tell he wanted his Mama. My heart constricted for him.

 "I got rid of it." Geek said vaguely.

 "How?" I asked, frowning.

 "You don't need to know." My eyes narrowed.

 "But-"

 "Drop it, Ainsley. Let's just fix Toby up," Geek sighed. I clenched my teeth and set about turning a combination of hot and cold water on to make it lukewarm.

 "I don't want to hurt him," I said quietly. Geek came behind me and twisted the hot water knob a little more.

 "Here, I'll do it. My brother used to have a cat. He paid me to give it baths when I was in middle school," he explained conversationally. I moved to the side, leaning my hip against the counter and resting my chin on my palms as I watched.

 "It's hell trying to bathe them when they're completely matured. Unlike this little guy," he crooned, stroking Toby under his tiny jaw. He meowed and nudged Geek's finger with his small pink nose. "my brother's cat used to come home all the time scratched up from fighting with the neighborhood's stray cats. I can even show you the countless scars I have from wrestling him. He was a chicken when it came to water, but pretty manly for a cat, if I recall correctly," Geek said fondly.

 "Do you think you'll be able to clean him up?" I asked, unable to contain the hope from creeping into my voice.

 "Yeah, he'll be okay. Can you get me some dish rags?" I nodded and grabbed two handfuls of rags from one of the drawers, dumping them by the sink to use.

 "Do you have diluted soap?" I fished a bottle of gentle, animal-friendly shampoo out from under the sink that my mom had recently purchased.

 "Bandages?" Geek asked, grabbing a rag and wetting it. I watched him as he squirted a tad of soap onto it and began rubbing Toby softly.

 "Uh, probably in the bathroom. Can we..." I cleared my throat, "get them after his bath?" Geek nodded.

 "Sure. This might take some time, he's gonna get feisty pretty soon once I clean his gashes," he said sadly.

 I pursed my lips. "I've an idea."

 "Oh?" Geek looked up at me briefly and pushed his nerdy glasses up the bridge of his nose. "What is it?"

 "Hold on," I held a finger up and began rushing around the kitchen, assembling a bottle from when Seneva was younger. Instead of water, I filled the bottle up with milk.

 "This might soothe him," I said, walking next to Geek and peering down at Toby who was hissing at the rag. A smile quirked my mouth.

 "Can you feed it to him?" Geek asked distractedly, squirting some more soap. I shrugged.

 "Sure. How?"

 "You're kidding, right? Didn't you ever bottle feed your little sister?"

 "I don't do babies," I said bluntly. Okay, that might've been a wee little lie, but I was honest about never bottle feeding a baby. My mom had always taken care of that when Seneva had come around.

 "Just stick the bottle in his mouth and hold it there," Geek tried not to laugh. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.

 "It's not funny," I gritted out through my clenched teeth. He laughed but covered it up skillfully with a cough.

 "Right, right. How on earth will you ever become a mother?" he mused. I gaped and punched his firm bicep. Whoa... didn't know that was there. I shook my head to refocus my thoughts.

 "Excuse me! I'd be a great mother!" I objected. The subject I was arguing about didn't really matter to me, I just wanted to argue with him so it'd resume normalcy-- at least for a little while.

 "Whatever floats your boat," he snickered. I huffed and squashed his toes with the heel of my foot, smiling angelically all the while as I leaned over and popped the bottle in Toby's mouth. The poor kitten began lapping at it eagerly, clearly feeling relieved. Poor baby...

 "You know, this is a pretty compromising position," Geek announced in a low voice that shocked me. How on earth could he sound so seductive? He was a geek! Geeks were nerdy! He was nerdy! Besides, I don't really get what he mea-

 I paused and looked down at the way one of my legs was between his to stomp on his foot, and how close our hips were from each other, and especially the way my body was leaning over the sink, pushing my back against his unfortunately shirtless-ness.

 "Pervert!" I exclaimed, moving away from him while maintaining the bottle for Toby. Geek chuckled. Chuckled! He chuckled at me!

 "Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it. Gettin' down and freaky with a nerd, that's new of you, Ainsley," he teased. My eye twitched and I wanted to whack him upside the head with the bottle. But I refrained myself. Barely.

 "You're not my type." Geek smirked.

 "Then what is your type?"

 "Are you seriously asking me that?" I asked. Immediately, my mind went back to the hospital and when I had met that guy with the sea foam green eyes, gorgeous muscle, and soft brown hair...

 "Yes, I am seriously asking you that," he cheeked back dryly. I rolled my eyes. "Just answer the question."

 "Why should I?"

 "Would you prefer silence?" he asked sweetly, sliding his brown eyes over at me and smirking. I scowled.

 "I hate you."

 "I doubt that. I think I'm growing on you, actually," he said matter-of-factly. I threw my hands up in the air exasperatedly.

 "Ugh! I wasn't even... Fine. My type?" I asked, giving up.

 "Yes, your type," he said goodnaturedly.

 "Not you," I shot back. I expected him to react somehow, but instead he just responded back with,

 "Good, you're not my preferred type either. But that wasn't the question." A sting of insult struck me in the heart-- and I didn't know why.

 "Fine, you want to know my type? Someone who doesn't judge me based on what I wear, what I look like, how I speak, how I eat. Someone who won't get upset if I do something stupid, or if I don't know something they know. Someone who will let me win every now and then. Someone who can test my limits and push me to be a better person. Who can surprise me by doing sweet things. Who's genuine, real, and crazy hard to find. Someone who, when I see them, will let me know they're it and that they're all I need," I ranted, telling him whatever came to my mind. Once the words sunk in, I realized everything I had said was true, and that I'd been yearning for it. My cheeks turned red when I noticed Geek's face was scrunched in thought.

 "Seems you know what you want," he commented. I trained my eyes on Toby, who was starting to sway on his paws from exhaustion. Geek rubbed his head with the warm, soapy towel with care.

 "Sometimes," I muttered under my breath. "Anyway, now that I've told you, you've got to tell me."

 He shrugged. "Fair enough, but I actually have a name to the person who's my type."

 Intrigue swallowed me whole.

 "Who?" I asked casually, leaning against the counter once again. Geek snorted.

 "Why would I tell you that?"

 "Um, duh, because I'm a girl and I can help you get her," I rolled my eyes at his obliviousness.

 "Actually, I already know she likes me. Thanks, though," he said nonchalantly. I'll admit that by now I was itching to know.

 "Who is it?"

 "Not telling."

 "Tell me!"

 "No."

 "Geek," I warned.

 "Ainsley," he replied playfully.

 "Just tell me!"

 "How about... not."

 "It's not that big of a deal!"

 "Then why are you making it into one?"

 "You're impossible!" I cried, letting out a shriek of frustration. Why couldn't he tell me? It couldn't be that secretive, could it?

 "No, I'm just driving you crazy because I'm witholding my personal information," he responded with a roll of his eyes.

 "It's on. I will find out who it is, whether you like it or not," I threatened, glaring at the back of his dumb head. He smiled.

 "Whatever you say."

 "I do say."

 "That doesn't even make sen-"

 "It does to me," I argued, ending the argument. Geek sighed and backed off, rinsing Toby gently with the sprayer.

 "Do you have a towel to wrap him up in?" I nodded curtly and with jerky movements stalked over to the kitchen pantry, reaching inside to the right and snatching a larger cleaning towel from the pile on the rack. Marching back over to the sink, I tossed Geek the towel which he caught. He lifted the three pound kitten out of the sink and swaddled him in the soft towel.

 "There, he's all better. I think we might be able to find some bandages somewhere," he murmured, cuddling Toby in his arms and drying his head. The poor thing nestled in the towel and fell asleep with his tiny head leaning against the crook of Geek's elbow.

 "Bathroom. Under the sink,"  I informed him, pointing toward the direction of said bathroom.

 "Can you hold the flashlight for me?"

 "Fine."

~

 We got bandages for Toby and started setting up our own camp in the living room. Geek set the bundled up kitten on the couch and helped me unroll sleeping bags and blankets and pillows to create a makeshift bed. I tried very hard not to stare at his muscular torso as he unfolded and unrolled the sleeping bags and blankets. Fail.

 "Do you want the couch or floor?" I asked, putting a pillowcase on a pillow.

 "Doesn't matter. Which do you prefer?"

 "I don't care either."

 "Couch," we said at the same time. I looked up at him and he smiled sheepishly.

 "Err, I'll just take the floor then," he said awkwardly. Shrugging, we continued setting everything up until at last it was done.

 "I'll take first shift," I offered, not bothering to change into pajamas as I slid under the layers of blankets that draped over the couch. Geek hunkered down onto the floor, still not wearing a shirt, and punched his pillow repeatedly to make it comfortable.

 "No, I'll take the first shift. And the second. You're exhausted, just sleep," he objected, snuggling under the covers with Toby in his arms.

 "No, that's not fair-"

 "I don't care if it's fair, Ainsley," he said sternly, "I'll keep watch and that's that. Get some sleep," he ordered bossily.

 "No," I said petulantly.

 "Good Lord, and you think I'm the one who's impossible?" he muttered. There was silence for a few minutes.

 "Tell me who she is," I demanded finally.

 "No." Just by the tone of his voice, I could tell he had that stupid trademark smirk on his stupid geeky face.

 "Just tell me!"

 "Drop it, Ainsley."

 "No."

 "Yes."

 "No."

 "Yes."

 "No!"

 "Yes!"

 "No!"

 "Yes!"

 "No!"

 "Yes!"

 "Goodnight Ainsley," Geek yawned. My hands twitched.

 "I'm taking first shif-"

 "No. You. Are. Not. Go to sleep already!" he groaned. I bit my tongue so I wouldn't yell, because I didn't want to wake Toby up.

 Before I knew it, I fell asleep listening to the sound of the pattering rain on the window.

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*Okay, so, not that interesting or creepy. I just wanted to put in a sweet little ol' chapter filled with plenty of Geek and Ainsley time. Did you enjoy it anyway? It was necessary for the next parts....