When Sasha offered James her fork of waffle, he forgot for the briefest of moments that they were surrounded by his family.  Without using his hands, he took the bite from her outstretched utensil, looking around at the symphony of 'awws' that were let out by the table.  He almost didn't finish the bite.  He just sat there, dumbfounded, frozen with a mouthful of waffle.  Finally, he managed to swallow it and looked back down to his food, waiting for the feeling of eyes on him to disappear.  After a few jokes about how red James' face was, Matt dropped the topic and returned to his conversation.  The boy looked back to Sasha with a sheepish smile, squeezing her hand as he returned to his own meal.  No doubt Kendra had been the one to first point out how they were acting.

At the bookstore, James leafed through a few titles he'd read, but had yet to own, including [i]Slade House[/i] and [i]Metro 2033.[/i]  However, he didn't have a lot of money with him, so he decided against getting anything.  Sasha, on the other hand, was having a field day looking through the stacks.  While they were alone, he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.  "What d'ya wanna get, hon?" He asked, scanning the titles in front of him.  "I brought a bit of my own spending money, want me to get ya something?"  He asked, rocking playfully back and forth as he held her.  He knew she would decline, but he was more than willing to get her anything she wanted from here or anywhere else.  They soon left the store after he promised to take her to another back home, maybe Waterstones if she really wanted to go.

They walked the campus for a bit and as she told him to pose for a picture, he wrapped an arm around her hip and smiled.  However, just as she pressed the button, he turned his head and pecked her cheek, capturing the moment permanently on the SD Card inside the device.  He hugged her as she clung to him, his eyes meeting hers.  "Who knows?  I like to think about now more than the future.  'Life's what happens when we're making other plans,' right?"  He observed.  "I mean, we're only just turning fifteen, right?"  At her mention of being on opposite sides of the globe, he faltered for a moment, shaking his head and dismissing the thought that brushed the edge of his mind.

"Antarctica would be a lot of fun.  I'm sure you'd look adorable in one of those big, fluffy coats," he said honestly.  "I'm sure we'll see lots of things."  He pressed his nose back to hers, feeling a bit more reserved now...  In four to five years, did she not see herself with him..?

They got back home shortly after that, though James didn't seem to be out of sorts at all, his mind had been on their conversation for quite a while.  Once they were at the house, he let her go shower and get ready for the evening, taking all the time she needed.  His own focus was on the bag in his room, which he rifled through until he found the little box he was looking for, then he hid it inside of his hoodie once he had put his pyjamas on.  That night, around midnight, before they went to bed, he'd make sure he and Sasha were sitting next to one another, even if she was falling asleep.  Everybody else went to bed, and he promised they'd go soon too, but they were both already starting to nod off by midnight.  He nudged her when the hour finally came, it was officially February 14, Valentine's day, so he pulled the long, thin box out of his pocket.

"Hey, so... since I kind of already said... what I said a few days ago..." He mused tiredly, kissing her cheek to try to keep her awake.  "I wanted to make sure I got this to you to go with it," He explained, holding the wrapped gift out to her.  Once opened, she'd find a silver bracelet with a narrow metal strip that read [i]'For the Writer'[/i]  However, he instructed her to turn it over and read the back of the small plate, which completed the statement [i]'Laying Her Heart on the Pages.'[/I]  He smiled weakly, "Sorry it's kinda lame...  I wanted something that... I dunno, the words sounded good at first, now I'm wondering if I should have gone with something else.