Chase felt his throat catch as Carys suddenly grabbed his hand and he had to suppress the sudden urge to recoil from the touch. It wasn’t because he found her touch unpleasant or anything to that effect, it was more that he wasn’t used to strangers touching him and when his friends did it was usually at the very least playfully aggressive. Basically unexpected touching was generally not a generally pleasant experience for him. After the initial reaction though, he found himself relaxing and, oddly enough kind of enjoying the way she gently held his wrist, watching the loop of the pen as it marked the back of his hand.

He smiled slightly at her words and shrugged gently. “Don’t think too much of it. I just… moving to a new town where you don’t know anyone must be hard. I couldn’t imagine being all alone and…” He stopped himself, not wanting to continue anymore. Either he’d insult her or he’d make her feel bad and Chase didn’t want either of those. He didn’t want her to feel alone, he wouldn’t wish that on anyone. He just couldn’t imagine life alone, without his family. And she could be part of that. The others sometimes took a while to get used to new people; it would take them a while to let her in. He wasn’t sure if she’d ever be accepted into the inner circle, only time would tell with that one.

“Sorry I um… I’ll get going now and leave you to your things. I’m sure you’re eager to get off your feet and relax.” He stumbled a little, rolling the helmet over in his hands uncertainly.