WHEN I went to answer the door, I was glad to see Isaac hadn't changed his clothes as I was beginning to feel uncomfortable and very self conscious of the whole situation. I found myself checking in the mirror as I walked him into the living room. Sneakers was on the couch, and upon seein a new face, he came over and sniffed at his feet, then butted his stomach. "You know," I said, "He only does that to family, I don't get it. Then again, there are a LOT of things I've been out of lately, especially where it concerns YOU." Isaac looked up from patting the dog, put down his backpack and guitar, and said "Let's get to work." which ended THAT area of discussion rapidly.

We worked into the night, me playing my flute to transcribe notes, and Ike at his guitar. I was pleasantly surprised to find that our voices blended well, and that he seemed like an old pro when it came to transposing harmonies into notation by ear alone. I said to him "You know, you really DO have a pocket going when it comes to this harmony stuff. Does it come to you naturally, or did you just have really good teachers growing up?" He explained that his parents taught him when he was little, and he also explained that he and his brothers had played around quite a lot and had made a name for themselves. I said to him "So that's where the ability for harmonize came from." and he smiled a wide cheshire cat like grin that seemed to hold a secret not yet ready to be reavealed, at least not to me anyway.

We returned to work on the music, then broke out our outlines. I was floored to find that he'd already had a 3 page synopsis on Kerouac, and after reading it, was amazed at his insight, thoroughness, and knowledge on the subject. "Well, I see you don't need my help on this, I feel at a loss for words, what makes you so GOOD?" He laughed and said "I think a lot of it comes from being home schooled and getting to see a lot of the world that most people don't usually get to see. I've had a lot more opportunity than some, and I never take it for granted., not for a minute. I have a lot to be thankful for in my life." and he smiled again, a sincere smile that revealed SO MUCH respect for everything that he'd been given that it became contagious, and I smiled too at his obvious pure joy. I strangely began to feel warmed all over by this exchange, and while we were smiling at each other, I grew aware that somehow, he and I had just touched upon something so very deep inside us, that it was clear that a bond had been made right then and there. We sat there for a long time and just stared into each others eyes, and I , for one, didn't want this moment to end.

I gathered up all the willpower inside me that I had and looked down. He moved closer to me gently lifted up my chin so that our eyes met once again, and ever so gently, he brushed my cheek with his hand. I closed my eyes momentarily and drank in the feeling, which seemed to travel all the way down to my soul. I quickly and suddenly grabbed his hand and put it down by his side and he gave me a look of confusion and disappointment. He said "I'm SORRY, Jenna, I'm so VERY SORRY." as he quickly gathered his belongings and got up to leave, a look of utter sadness on his face. I ran to the door and stood in front of it to keep him there, if only to explain, then to let him go.

"Clarke Isaac Hanson, I WILL BE HEARD before you leave here!!!!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I planted my feet on the floor as firmly as I could, knowing full right well that I was turning to jell at the mere THOUGHT of the impending confrontation.

He tried to reach around me for the door, but when I wouldn't let him pass, he got VERY agitiated and started yelling at me. "LET ME GO!! It's obvious to me that you're not ready to deal with the thought of ANYTHING special between us!! I thought we had just connected, but I obviously was wrong, REALLY wrong!" He grabbed me by both arms and pinned me up against the door, revealing a strength that I hadn't believed such a slight man capable of. He continued screaming at me as if I were miles away. "You're still missing a memory, aren't you? For my and your sakes, get on with your life or crawl into the past! I am here now, and I REFUSE to fill someone elses shoes, and I KNOW you feel this too, this thing between us. I also know that you're afraid Jenna. What of? Of me? Or are you afraid that you might have found something so right that you would actually succeed in making yourself happy? Do you have a problem with our ages? I know your soul Jenna, and I did from the first day I looked into your eyes. The soul knows no age, and neither do I! You KNOW In your heart that I'm right, don't you?" he finally said as he let me go. I slid down the door and onto the floor in a heap of exhaustion. NOBODY had ever spoken to me like that before in my LIFE! the scary part was, he was right, and I felt his righteousness all the way to the core of my being.

I began to cry, softly at first, then came the full body heaves as I tried to explain myself through my tears. "Oh Isaac!" I said, fully realizing that this was now or never to explain myself, and try to salvage this thing that I had so suddenly become involved in, heart and all, amazingly. I calmed down enough to finally speak. "This is all happening so fast that I can barely comprehend it. There is just something about you, so special, so unique about you, that I'm beside myself just thinking that you would even LOOK at me that way, never mind want to CARE about me. I feel so old to the world, but in yours, I feel like a new person inside, and that's the feeling that scares me. I feel like I've been shaken by the root of all that is in me, and if you ever stopped caring, once someone younger than I, or more beautiful comes along....... " but I never got to finish.

He swept down on me and kised me, long and deep, unleashing a passion in his kiss that I never knew a human being capable of. He undid the clip that held my long brown hair up and as he did so, he ran his long, strong fingers through it as it feel down around my shoulders. As the kiss broke, I found myself buried in his warm yet strong embrace, my head on his shoulde, basking in his feel, his smell, and the softness of that wavy hair that I had already grown to admire and love so very much.

We got up off he floor and stood up, still not wanting to let go , but when we finally did, Isaac looked at me tenderly and said "Now, would I have stayed here to defend myself if I didn't believe in this? Or better yet, if I didn't believe in us???" "I guess not, I've been won over Mr. Hanson, and happily so." I said as I smiled and went into the kitchen to fix some tea to calm our nerves. I felt like a changed woman to be sure,and to top it all off when we said goodnight a short time later, I realized I'd forgotten to tell him about his family and the hotel situation!

Another conversation for another day, supposed, as I lay awake in my bed, unagle to get the new feelings that this YOUNG man had caused to overflow in me out of my head. I turned over and fell asleep with a smile on my face and in my heart.