Tim had still not pulled his hand away from Sophia's. It gave her a sense of relief as it meant that Tim was getting more accustomed to her. But even more than that she was glad that he had not pulled away because that would have made things more awkward for them both. He might have thought her brazen, perhaps insane, and over stepping her boundaries. He surely would have pulled farther away from her emotionally and perhaps withdrawn from her all together. Closed off all chances of the friendship they had.

The thought of a sudden and final rejection caused Sophia's heart to ache painfully, and a lump rose in her throat. Without really being aware of it Sophia gave Tim's hand a light squeeze as a look of worry crossed her face. Then in an instant she appeared to look calm again and she swallowed, forcing the lump back down her throat.

"I think it has to be some sort of magic," Sophia said, her voice a little low. "As crazy as it seems it might be. But I can't think of any other explanation as to what it might be, considering everything was the same and yet... different. I think maybe we activated something when we touched the runes. Or maybe it was activated by the light from my camera flash. It could be anything, really."

Sophia was still really conscious of her hand in Tim's. She wanted to say something about it, but she couldn't. She was too embarrassed. Clearing her throat she told Tim, "I'm going to get some more water. Let me know if you want something." She finally let her hand slide from his before standing up from the couch. She grabbed her empty glass and moved into the kitchen to get some water from the sink. Her back was to the living room so Tim could not see Sophia's face as it burned a bright red, nor see her hand shaking a bit as she raised the now full glass to her lips and downed it all in one go. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ She thought. _Why am I so nervous?_