The Grand Tour ((Mack))

[Alexander Promise R7]

Alex stepped out of the fireplace and dusted himself off, looking around the room fondly. He had come out in the downstairs living room, which had the designated floo powder fireplace for the Promise family. He smiles softly as he turned and looked at the clock on the mantle above the fireplace. It was nearly midnight, his whole family would be asleep by now, so he would have to explain Mack’s presence in the morning. It wouldn’t be a problem of course. Mr. Promise was always far too busy, and Mrs. Promise loved company. Alex had no doubt in his mind that his mother’s hospitality would be doubled when he told her who exactly Mack was. Alex had never brought home a girlfriend before. He’d never really wanted to. Home was for his family, not his flingy girlfriends. But Mack was different, Mack was special. Mack was a girl he’d want to show off to everyone. He smiled brighter as he stared at the fireplace, waiting for Mack. Reaching a hand up, he touched his lips. The lips that had been pressed to hers not ten minutes ago. He had no idea how long they had stood in that street, but those moments were amazing. He smiles to himself thinking about it. Kissing her was something he was already used to. Holding her like that, that close. It was so completely personal. Before, with previous girlfriends, kisses had been awkward. Alex hated kissing before Mack. He wasn’t a fan of awkward situations, and kissing girls had always put him in them. He had never known what to do with his hands or how to stand or how to hold her. It had just been…awkward. Not with Mack. With Mack everything happened smoothly, on instinct. He loved it.

He smiled to himself still until a creak in the floor boards caused him to turn. Luckily, it wasn’t Chrys. Chrys could meet Mack at breakfast tomorrow, but not now. Not tonight. Tonight was his night. Tonight was his time with Mack and he didn’t want to share. And he knew, without a doubt, that if Chrys found them she would not leave them alone for two seconds. She would want to know everything about Mack. Alex frowned thinking, more then likely…it would be Chrys who would scare Mack away. He smiled at the house elf. “Yes, Micah?” The elf bowed low, Alex was beyond grateful that the elf had walked to talk to him. “All of Miss Holden’s things have been placed in her room, along with a glass of water and a bowl of fruit.” Alex laughed lightly. Micah always went above and beyond the expectations. “Thank you Micah. That’s all for tonight, you really should get some sleep.” The elf bowed again and grinned. “No time for sleep sir, too much to do.” With that the elf scurried off, moving rather quick for a thing with such small legs. Alex shook his head. Micah over worked himself, then again, it was his mother’s fault. He looked around the room again. It was spotless. Not a bit of it had a single finger print on it. This was Samantha Promise’s doing. She needed everything to be in order. If it wasn’t, nothing was good. She was a kind woman, good hearted and always helpful. But she was proud. Her house would be clean and she would have the best because…well…she had the money. Sam had grown up in a house with money, and at first, she had not married into one. She never complained about the early states of her and Zander’s marriage, but Alex knew it must have been hard for her. Their sudden turn in income had been a blessing that all of them were thankful for.

Admiring the room for a few moments, the large comfy furniture; suede. His mother wouldn’t have leather. You get stuck to the seats. The book cases that lined the room. Alex got his love of reading from his mother, not his father. Mrs. Promise used every room in the house as a library; in fact, you could say the manor itself was in fact a library. There was a bookshelf in each room. There was no television in this room. That was Mrs. Promise’s choice. He said that it made their wizard guests feel out of place, though he knew that it was more for his business credentials. He had to be a wizard’s man. He couldn’t have muggle things around the house, even though he had a squib daughter. He had to please his clients. Alex didn’t blame him though. His father worked hard for their family. Finally Alex turned back to the fireplace and chuckled to see that even the inside of it was spotless. The soot must have come from the fireplace he had started in. That instant green flames appeared again, and Alex grinned, stepping forward and holding out his hand. “Welcome to my home, darling.”

[Mackenzie Holden]

So, if there was one thing Mack hated, it was flooing. She hated the whole being engulfed by flames thing. It just really didn’t rub her the right way. If she hadn’t been raised within the pureblood world like she had, Mack wouldn’t have put up with it for as long as she did. She couldn’t wait until she got her apparating license, although Mack hated apparating nearly as much as she hated flooing. Regardless, it all boiled down to the same thing. Mack hated flooing. However, she would have followed Alex to the end of the Earth and back again if he had asked her to. Thus, Mack was stepping into the fireplace with her guitar safely in her grasp and following Alex’s lead. Within moments she was shooting past fireplaces and she had to remind herself to close her eyes or else she’d get really sick. Mack closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing as she continued to whirl past fireplaces in a green flame. She focused on something else, she knew she wanted to focus on anything else but the flooing she was currently in the process of doing. It wasn’t a great surprise when her mind floated back to Alex, but it was a surprise that she ended up smiling when she was in such a predicament like flying through fireplaces.

The night had been so unexpected. If someone had asked Mack what she thought would come from this night, she would not have said this. Not that she was complaining, of course, because Mack was completely euphoric that it had ended up this way… but it was still totally unexpected. If someone had told her that she was going to end up with a boyfriend by the end of this night, and not only that but she was going to end up staying in his house, she would have looked at them like they were insane and referred her sister’s psychiatrist to them. Mack liked when things were unexpected, she liked pleasant surprises; but she didn’t like unpleasant ones so she usually kept her mind on things that were predictable because from experience, Mack usually got unpleasant surprises instead of the pleasant ones. But now? Now, Mack was focusing on how pleasant a surprise this evening had been. She smiled more and opened her eyes, letting her gaze fall on the passing fireplaces, and for once… for once she didn’t feel sick. Her mind was elsewhere. Her mind was on Alex. On his smile. On his laugh. On his hand holding hers. On his lips on hers. Her mind was just completely Alexander Promise oriented and that blocked out everything else.

Suddenly she couldn’t wait to get back to him. Suddenly the flooing wasn’t going fast enough. Suddenly she felt agitation grow in the pit of her stomach at the fact that this wasn’t going fast enough. And then, just as suddenly, she came to a slamming stop in a fireplace. Mack groaned and wobbled a bit, before adjusting her eyes to the new light and seeing Alex standing in front of her. She smiled and stepped out, taking his hand and looking around the room they were in. It appeared to be a living room and instantly Mack felt herself comparing it to the Laurie’s. Of course, the Laurie manor in itself was amazingly gigantic. Twenty bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, two dining rooms, a fantastic kitchen, a family room, a drawing room, a sitting room, a library, and then the ballroom. Mack had loved the ballroom, amazing acoustics, but anyway… she was comparing this room with the drawing room where the floo fireplace had been in. The drawing room at the Laurie manor was… exquisite. The fireplace had magnificent carvings around the mantel that matched the painting that hung above it. The furniture was antique but gorgeous, a dark wood set against a velvet green. It was one of Mack’s favourite rooms, but all in all it had missed something. It had missed a familiar sense of… existence. It was empty. It felt like it was just there for display.

Mack looked around the room as she linked her fingers with Alex’s again. This room didn’t give that feel, and she liked it. It was clean and that caused Mack to smile because although the drawing room was amazing, it was cleaned only when Hank had been expecting company. Other times Hank spent most of his time in the sitting room doing his business things. Overall, Mack was certain she would like staying there. She looked over at Alex and was reminded of the sudden longing she had felt on her way over. With one simple movement, she pulled him over to her and kissed him. It had to have been their fifteen billionth kiss that night, but Mack couldn’t help it. She could go forever kissing him.

[Alexander Promise R7]

Alex grinned as Mack appeared, wobbly just like most people did. For some reason, apparating, and flying bothered Alex, but floo didn’t. He could handle traveling by floo. He was perfectly content to close his eyes and think about something else, completely shutting off the physical uncomforts that came with flooing. He was good at blocking things out when he needed to. He could close his eyes and imagine himself somewhere that was the exact opposite of where he was. The only time this didn’t work was if he was cold. He got cold easily, and no matter how much he day dreamed about standing in a furnace, he would remain cold. Nothing helped it. For that reason the Promise manor was kept warm, at all times. If it wasn’t, he complained…a lot. Alex had the potential to be very, very persuasive…or well...whiney is a better word for it. Things were done in the Promise manor certain ways, for certain people. A lot of the things that were done, were done for Alex. He could be insanely picky. For instance, breakfast was never, ever, ever pancakes. Alex hated pancakes. And dinner, was never, ever, ever spaghetti. He hated that too. Picky was an under-exaggeration.

Alex kissed her back when she pulled him into a kiss. He loved kissing her. Once again, his hands slipped around her waist and he pulled her close to him, attaching kisses onto the first. He kissed her for a while before pulling back again and resting his forehead on hers. He smiled, staring into her eyes. He loved her eyes; he’d have to tell her that sometime soon. “Kissing you is addicting Mackenzie.” He smiled and kissed her once more before pulling back and waving his arm slightly to motion to the room. “The living room.” He laughed lightly and then took her hand, leading her from the room and into an entry room. There was a stair case in the center of the room, which branched off in two directions upstairs. Across from them was just one other room. The Promise manor, on a whole, wasn’t so large. On either side of the staircase were doors. One led to Mr. Zander’s study, and the other led to a game room. Alex led Mack straight though, and into the kitchen. He waved his arm around again and smiled over at her. “This is where we’ll be eating in the morning. The kitchen was large, connected right to a quaint dinning room with a table big enough for ten at most. Alex led Mack back out of the room and towards the stairs, making his way up them calmly. He wasn’t in a real hurry. And, well, there wasn’t much to show her inside the house. There were guest rooms upstairs, but only two. Other then that there was his room, Chrys’s room, and his parents’ room. There were bathrooms connected to each room. This made getting ready in the morning much easier. Anyways, the manor wasn’t a business house, or even really a house for lavish parties or family get togethers. It was a family house. A home. That was that.

Alex led Mack up the stairs and to the right. He opened the first door on the right and smiled leading her inside. “And this is your room.” He looked over at her and then around the room before laughing lightly and pointing to a bedside table. “Micah got you some water and fruit. Midnight snacks?” He grinned and looked around again before turning to her and shrugging slightly. “So…if you’re tired you’re welcome to go to sleep…but if you’re not there’s something I’d really like to show you.” He hadn’t told her yet, but now that they were here, he wanted to show her the griffins. Night time was really the best time to see them. They weren’t nocturnal or anything like that, actually, they weren’t…day…turnal….either. The griffin was valued, primarily for the fact that it needs very little sleep. A full grown griffin could stay asleep near to 72 hours before needing a nice cat nap. The younger ones slept more of course, but they were growing after all. At night though, the griffins…had a special air of magic that they just didn’t have during the day, or at least Alex thought so. It was their eyes he thought, the way the moonlight hit him. They also tended to be calmer during the night, like the darkness cast a spell over them. Alex hoped Mack wouldn’t be frightened by them, he didn’t really think about that. The griffin had been classified by the ministry of magic as an extremely dangerous animal, and in all honesty, if they got wind that Alex himself was training griffins, Mr. Promise would probably face an inquiry about putting his son in mortal peril. There would be no point however, Alex could easily demonstrate his skill in controlling the animals. His father would probably be rather upset though if he found out Alex had taken Mack out to see them without supervision. But Alex felt confident enough, plus, it was he who really understood what the night time could do to the animals. If Mack trusted him, then he didn’t have a worry in the world. “So what do you say?”

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack smiled when Alex kissed her back and pulled her closer to him like he had on the street. It was a thrill to be kissing him. It sent shivers down her spine and fireworks off beneath her eyelids. Their kisses were the kisses that people wrote songs about and Mack loved it. When he rested his forehead on hers and told her kissing her was addicting, Mack laughed quietly; “I’m sorry, I never realized how kissable I was.” Kissing him back before he pulled away, Mack already missed his lips on hers, but she didn’t pull him back. Instead, she looked around the room when he waved his arm around and proclaimed it the living room. She followed him out of the room, her eyes remaining on him until he pointed something out. In all honesty, she really should have been paying attention to the tour considering she would be staying there for a good amount of time… but her eyes just wouldn’t leave him. He had completely consumed her and her attention. They entered the kitchen, Alex saying that it was where they would be eating, and Mack smiled but not at the kitchen, at the thought of eating in the morning with him. Just as calming as that thought was, it was also very nerve racking. Mack really did hate eating in front of people. She supposed she’d get over it, though. She’d have to, wouldn’t she?

Alex was leading her up some stairs now, and she followed without much conversation. It was… well, in all honesty, tiny compared to the Laurie manor, but Mack loved that. She loved that she wouldn’t be able to get lost in it. At least, not much until she got accustomed to where everything was… considering she wasn’t paying much attention to the tour at this particular moment. Alex opened the door to a room and Mack stepped inside, smiling at the sight of all her things. She didn’t need to be told it was her room, but nonetheless it was nice to hear. He pointed out some fruit and a glass of water and she laughed with him as she reached and picked up an apple, tossing it into the air and catching it. As the apple fell into her hands, Mack looked at it. It’s odd how an inanimate object can remind someone of something that has nothing to do what was going on at that moment. Only, in Mack’s case, it had a smaller connection. Suddenly a memory flooded over her. She was walking with her mother through the Laurie manor for the first time, and her mother was complaining about Mack’s hair… which was red at the time. They entered the room that was to be hers and Mack was immediately entranced by the huge bed and armoire. It had a medieval feel to it, and Mack loved it… but it wasn’t her. There was one thing that Mack hated about the room, though. The wax apple that sat on the desk. She never had any idea why there was a wax apple on the mahogany desk in her room, but it was there and she never thought of moving it.

She pulled herself back to the present when Alex spoke, setting down the apple and looking at him with a smile; “I’m not tired at all, actually. I’ve been on tour for weeks, staying up till maybe 4 in the morning… it’s still early for me.” Mack pulled the guitar up and over her head, setting it against the wall near her trunk. It was so weird seeing all of her things in this room which was so foreign to her, but she didn’t mind in the least. In fact, Mack knew she would grow to like the room better than the room at the Laurie manor. Especially since she wouldn’t have Trevor popping in at ungodly hours and jumping onto her bed to pester her to an insane degree. Mack pulled Alex’s jacket tighter around her as she made her way over to him, “So, what’s this you want to show me?”

[Alexander Promise R7]

Alex looked around the room as he gave Mack a chance to do so as well. The room was far from grand and he assumed that she must have stayed in nicer places before. Honestly, this was the first good look he’d ever gotten of the room. He held back a chuckle; it was obvious his mother had gotten a hold of this room. The furniture as all dark wood, Alex didn’t know the name of it but it looked black to him. The bedding was dark blue. Samantha Promise sometimes went a little overkill with her Ravenclaw pride. The floor was carpeted; blue to match the sheets. There was an armoire and a dresser with a mirror. The bed was four postered, though no curtains hung from it. Alex looked towards the door that led to the bathroom. White tile, blue towels. Oh and look at that. There was even a blue bath robe.

Alex looked back at Mack to find her looked at an apple. He smiled and watched her for a while, wondering what it was about the apple that caught her attention. He wondered if it was her favorite fruit. Alex didn’t like apples, he never had. He would absolutely refuse to eat them unless they were peeled and cut into slices; otherwise they were hard on his teeth. To be honest, Alex didn’t like fruit in general. Especially bananas. Eugh. The few fruits he would eat were kiwi, pomegranates, and some occasional berries. Oh and watermelon, he actually loved watermelon. Alex tore his mind from fruit and asked Mack if she was tired, pleased by her reply. “I haven’t slept much this summer either actually, long nights writing, too much on my mind…well technically you were on my mind but you know…” He smiled and shrugged sheepishly. He was no longer nervous around her, now it was just more of the…treading in new waters, shy sort of thing. He was learning. What to say and how it would affect her. A very important thing to learn.

Mack made her way to him and he kissed her forehead before taking her hand and leading her from the room. “Only the two greatest kept secrets of these estates.” He grinned at her as he led her down the stairs and straight out the front doors. The night wasn’t cold, but the air was cool and crisp, the smell of salt fresh on breezes. One of those breezes chilled him and he immediately slid his arm back around Mack’s waist lik it had been earlier, holding her close. His mind fell back to the fact that she was still wearing his jacket, and he smiled over at her as he led her across the grounds. “I’d like you to keep my jacket, Mackenzie. It looks much better on you then it ever looked on me.” Of course that wasn’t the only reason he wanted her to keep it. As he had discussed with himself earlier that evening, it was like…a symbol. She wore his jacket, she had his heart. Simple as that. He loved simple.

Finally, Alex led her to a waist high fence. On the other side, was the cliff. Alex had insisted on the fence; he was unbelievably terrified of heights. But he loved the view. He stood with Mack and watched the waves crash against the cliffs near them. The moon was bright tonight; perfect. Those were the best times of nights, when the water was moving and the moon was shinning. The way the light glistened on the top of the liquid at least a hundred feet beneath them. He took a deep breath, taking in the salty air before letting it out slowly. He pulled her tighter to him and turned to whisper in her ear. “This is my favorite spot on the whole island. I wanted to share it with my favorite person. And now here you are.”

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack smiled when he said she was on his mind so he hadn’t been sleeping much for the beginning of the summer. She couldn’t help but smile. The idea that he had thought about her half as much as she had thought about him was enough to make her happy for ages, but the idea that he had thought about her just as much or even more than she had thought about him? That was a fact that could send Mack soaring forever. By now she had walked over to him, and he had kissed her forehead. It wasn’t something that anyone had ever done before. To kiss someone’s forehead showed a deeper type of caring than most people bothered to have for her. No one ever showed anything like that to her. She kept a small smile on her face as she followed Alex out of the room, back down the stairs, and out the front doors. She closed her eyes at the sudden crispness of the evening and then opened them again when she felt Alex’s arm around her waist like it had been earlier. Mack sent him a smile and moved as close to him as was possible as they walked across the grounds. She looked up at the sky. It was always something that Mack loved to look at. She didn’t have a preference for stars or the moon, actually – she loved the darkness of the night sky much more than she did the stars or the moon. She loved being able to look up and see the expanse of black. It made her remember that she’s only one person in this world, and that in turn made her keep her calm and her head when it came to fame. Or… when it had come to fame.

Alex was telling her he’d like her to keep the jacket, saying it looked better on her than it did on him, and Mack looked back at him with a bright smile; “You thought you were going to get it back? Oh, silly naïve Alex.” She leaned and kissed his cheek, smiling still. She hadn’t wanted to give it back earlier, but then again… earlier she didn’t have him saying she should keep it. Wearing his jacket made everything…official, kind of. Mack didn’t know much about muggle customs, because well… she was raised pureblooded and all… but she knew that her sister would go on about not having a jacket to wear when there were about 50 in her closet. Mack would point this out, and Dixie would shake her head and say, ‘No, Mackenzie, a boyfriend’s jacket. It’s kind of like… you wear his jacket and everyone knows you and he are a couple.’ Mack hadn’t quite understood that (and the more puzzling question was how Dixie knew about that and Mack didn’t) but now she did. She fiddled with the sleeve of Alex’s, that was now her, jacket as they reached a fence that overlooked a cliff. Mack looked down and then instantly took a step back. She wasn’t a big fan of heights. In fact, she really didn’t like them. She wasn’t terrified of them, but she wouldn’t voluntarily climb a mountain or whatnot. Luckily, Alex tightened his hold on her and pulled her even closer to him, and then an instant later he was whispering in her ear.

She looked at him a moment, smiling softly, before she turned to look down at the ocean. The moon was reflected in it, but not a steady reflection like most bodies of water enabled. If you saw the moon in a lake or a puddle of rain water or whatnot, it’d probably be a steady reflection unless something or someone disturbed it. The ocean was never really steady, was it? It was always moving and so the reflection was never steady. It was rippled. Mack tilted her head a bit and continued to look at it, watching the water move and the moon shine on. It was so weird to think that two completely different things could make something so pretty. They weren’t even really interacting. It was just light and fragmented things and whole bunch of other stuff Mack didn’t quite understand. But regardless, they weren’t interacting and they were making this beautiful image. She didn’t voice her thoughts, though, as she looked. She merely stood there and looked on, resting her head on Alex’s shoulder. Mack didn’t have anything to say. She didn’t know what to say. Her words left her.

So, she stood for a bit just in silence and in awe. And after awhile, Mack looked up at Alex; “Your favourite person is here as well?” She smirked and looked at him for a moment before letting her gaze fall back to the reflected image of the moon. “Should I be jealous?” Mack thought about that. She wasn’t a particularly jealous person. She had her moments. If there was a girl hanging on her boyfriend, she immediately put them in their place, but other than that… Mack hadn’t ever had a reason to be jealous. She knew though, that if some girl started to just… talk to Alex, she would go absolutely insane with jealousy. She’d probably be a bit meaner than she should be. But would she be able to help it? No. Mack was mean by nature because of her Slytherin ways. It was one of the things she hated, but there were worse Slytherin qualities.

[Alexander Promise R7]

Mack moved away from the fence and he smiled, he was happy to know that he wasn’t the only one so scared of heights. He really had no idea why he was so frightened by heights. He figured it was just the thought of falling. One of the worst experiences he ever had was when he had those…falling sensations. When he was on the verge of falling asleep and then suddenly he just…fell. He could swear his heart would stop and he would cling to his bed. He could remember as a kid he would cry and cry for at least an hour. His mother would sit with him and comfort him and assure him that he wasn’t going to fall and die. He would nod and finally lay back down, only for it to happen again. Alex rarely dreamed, but he had that happen far too often. He even would wake up these days, sweating and gripping his bed. Well…at least he used to, before this summer he had. But ever since he had met Mack he had dreamt, he hadn’t had that falling sensation once. Then there would be the times when he’d be walking up or down the stairs and his foot would slip, or he’d miss a stair. Just simple stumbles would leave him breathing shakily. He just didn’t handle the sensation well. Never had never would. Therefore, I suppose if you were to get back to where I started with this idea…Alex was afraid of not of heights, but of falling.

Alex smiled to himself and closed his eyes as Mack laid her head on his shoulder. He leaned his head sideways on hers and listened to the sounds of the ocean. Alex preferred to listen. He always loved to listen. Noise was amazing. He enjoyed sounds. More then he enjoyed sights, more then he enjoyed ideas. He enjoyed sounds. It was one of the reasons he loved music so much. It was one of the reasons he loved Mack’s voice and her whisper so much. Sound to him, was one of the greatest gifts granted in life. He’d never met anyone deaf before, but his sister had, and she’d told him a bit about it. Alex couldn’t imagine a world without sound. He could live being blind, he could live being mute. But being deaf was not something he would ever be able to do. Sadly, he had to admit, he’d chose death over a life without sounds. Every noise was music in his ears. Just by listening Alex could tell a few things about the night. He could hear the breeze, and he could hear the waves crash on the rocks. He knew that the waters were not calm tonight, not just because his ferry had been delayed earlier, but just from the sounds. It was the sound of the water, pressed against itself. The friction of the large mass of liquid. The light breeze that seemed so trivial was causing the sea to war with itself. That was something that had always awed him. The way the sea was at a constant state of tension with itself. The way it could be calm one second, and then angry and violent the next. The overwhelming power of the ocean compelled him to love it, to cherish it, to respect it. It could carry you miles, and yet at the same time, it could bring you down in seconds.

He listened for a while before he whispered to her, and he chuckled at her reply, pulling her tighter to him. “Yeah, her name’s Mackenzie. And you should probably be jealous, because she’s the most amazing girl I’ve ever met.” He smiled to himself and looked down at the water again, watching the moon dance on the surface of it again. “She has beautiful eyes. I don’t think I’ve told her yet but she does. I get lost in them.” He turned his head slightly and kissed the side of her head, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath and then whispering again. “I asked her to be my girlfriend tonight. She said yes. It’s probably the greatest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” He nodded slightly and smiled warmly down at her. “I think she’s really special…really, really, really special. I could tell it from the first time I met her. She’s nice, funny, pretty, and smart. Just all around great.” He shrugged slightly and then kissed the top of her head. “So therefore…yeah…everyone should be jealous of her.” He laughed lightly then. “And you know, a lot of guys are gonna be jealous of me when I go back to school now…cause she’s mine.” He nodded thoughtfully and then looked back at the ocean. He took one more deep breath and then turned, leading her off, following the fence. “There’s one more thing I’d like to show you. I hope you’ll like it. My father would kill me if he knew I was taking you to see it.” He grinned over at her, wondering if she would like what he was going to show her. He’d never had anyone to show before.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack smiled when he rested his head on hers, closing her eyes and just enjoying having him so close to her. It was so strange to think that she had been dreaming about something like this only two nights prior and that now… here they were. It was something Mack found amazing and yet so surreal at the same time. She just wanted to grab onto him to make sure this was all real and never let him get away. And Mack knew that, she wouldn’t let him go. Not ever. If he let her go, that was a different story. She’d do anything for him in an instant, but she would never tell him to leave. Mack knew, even then, that it would tear her apart to tell him to go; to watch him leave. They stood in silence for a moment until Mack had asked if she should be jealous and Alex gave her a reply. She kept a steady smile as he spoke about her; soaking up every word and feeling completely content when he kissed her head. When he talked about her eyes, Mack opened them and turned slightly to look up at him. She didn’t think her eyes were that great, but if he did… well then she wasn’t going to argue. Mack hardly ever got ego trips from compliments. She was far too modest for that. But as Alex spoke, she found herself feeling… not egoistic… but… she was feeling… well she couldn’t really describe what she was feeling, but it was a good feeling.

“I think, she feels you think too kindly of her,” Mack whispered back after he had finished, her smile still on her face. She really was far too modest for her own good, but Mack couldn’t help it. She really hated the feeling of being put up on a pedestal. Not only because she was afraid of heights, but because then she started to feel the pressure of perfection… and Mack was far from perfect. She was just like every other 16 year old. She went to sleep with insecurities, took hours to finally deem her outfit for the day good enough, and walked through with the thought that everyone was looking at her when they really weren’t. Though, when she had been with G-Major… they had been looking at her. She was never out of the public eye. Mack was quite glad that she had given up on that. She knew that being with Alex while still recording and putting out albums would have become chaotic and tiring and she didn’t want that. Mack wanted her full attention on Alex, and… well, it couldn’t be on him completely if she was still recording. She looked over at him, “Thank you, for saying all that. It’s nice to hear,” Mack managed a small shrug. No one else had ever managed to tell her anything nice about herself. Everything that was sent her way was a piece of criticism.

Alex led her along the fence, saying there was one more thing he wanted to show her and that his father would kill him if he knew. Mack looked thoughtful a moment, “Then perhaps you shouldn’t show me?” It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see whatever he was going to show her, but she’d rather him not get into any trouble of any sort. She was very curious as to what Alex wanted to show her, but if it meant trouble? She could quash her curiosities. Mack was rather good at that. Hiding, denying, and destroying emotions that she shouldn’t be feeling. She had done it for years and years. It was because of this that it was difficult for her to really put all of her emotions out there. Her music was the only place that she ever did that. She was bare when she sang. If you watched her close enough, they could tell the story behind the lyrics. Skin had been one of those songs that everyone knew was emotional for her. It was probably her strongest song out of both of her albums and she knew it. It was an acoustic song. Mack remembered Tommy had wanted to incorporate the band into it, but she had refused. It was meant to be played by her and her guitar, and that was it. No one else. The result had been a huge success. But now, Mack had difficulties playing that song.

There were new songs, though, that she had written recently that had more emotion in them than any of her other songs. She just wouldn’t ever to record them and that was fine with her, because these songs were… they were for her. For her and for Alex. Mack smiled softly to herself and made a mental note to play him one of them. It would be frightful, but still so thrilling at the same time and she’d get a rush of euphoria through it, she was sure. It wasn’t a bad idea, and Mack put it near the top of her to do list. Just… perhaps she would do it a little later on in their relationship.

[Alexander Promise R7]

“I don’t think too kindly of her. Everything I’m saying is a fact.” He smiled warmly at her. Alex didn’t lie. He didn’t believe in lying. Lying was something that just kept going and going and going and never stopped. Or at least, had the potential to. He could remember lying a lot as a child. He had been one of those mischievous kids, the kids that always were up to something, and he could remember blaming everything on Chrys. Every time he’d get caught. It was Chrys’ fault. Of course, he was only a child and children do those things, but he didn’t lie now. Not now that he understood. And Mack, he would never lie to her. He had told her that. Why would he lie to someone he cared so strongly for? Mack had come to mean more to him then any girl ever had, in fact, she had come to mean more to him then any of his friends had ever really meant. She was just…so important to him. She was slowly becoming his everything and the feeling was wonderful. He couldn’t describe it but he would never let that feeling go away. The feeling he’d had only a yesterday, that loneliness, he’d never want that back. Ever. And he knew the second Mack wasn’t in his life anymore he’d feel it. Loneliness was one emotion Alex was happy to lock up in Pandora’s Box forever. “You don’t have to thank me for saying those things. I assure you I’ll be saying them often. You deserve to hear them.” She did. She was a great girl, he believed it with all his heart. Only a great girl could make him totally openly romantic like she had done. Alex had never been one to be so open with his emotions like he was when he was with her. She was the only girl to ever make him nervous, or shy. She was amazing. Everything about her. And he hadn’t even been dating her for more then a few hours. He knew though, that this wouldn’t be just another fling. This was something that was meant to last. For a while at least. He knew he’d never felt like this with any of the other two-week things. He knew this would be different.

He nodded as he led her across the grounds, listening to her tell him that maybe he shouldn’t take her if he was going to get in trouble. He laughed lightly, more to himself then to her. “Don’t worry about it. My dad won’t even know. He never knows anything I do.” He shrugged slightly and thought about that. His father really never did know anything Alex did. His mother made most of the household decisions, and she would surely not care if Alex took Mack out to the fields. Samantha Promise had other things to worry herself over, like cleaning. Chrys wouldn’t even know, though Alex would surely tell her eventually. But Zander Promise? No. Such a man was the type who sat in his study all day and did…business things. He would probably be arranging meetings with foreign wizards or putting out the Promise name to banks around the world. Marketing, budgeting, socializing. This is what Zander did. Of course, Alex understood about his father’s busy schedule. Zander worked for the same reasons Samantha cleaned. They needed to. Zander hadn’t grown up in the family Samantha had of course, but Zander had promised her father that he would give her a nice life. Zander promise had married with the idea drilled into his head that a happy family was a rich family. He had lost his concept of emotional support. Only financial support. Zander wasn’t a father, he was a provider. They were two different things. The family understood however, they got it. None of them were going to tell Zander he wasn’t being a good dad, he was doing the best he knew how to do. He made their life comfortable and they appreciated that. Alex always imagined though, growing up and having kids of his own and someday talking to his dad. Someday explaining to his own father what it meant to be a dad. Alex dreamed of children, of a family. He wanted nothing more then to be the dad his father had never been. Of course, at the tender age of sixteen this wasn’t exactly the first thought on his mind, but it was in there. Anyhow, Alex knew his father wouldn’t have any idea if he showed Mack the fields, he wasn’t worried for a second.

The walk had taken less time then Alex had expected, and soon enough they were standing in front of a large white fence. The fences had never been required to be large or indestructible, because as strange as it was, the animals in it were not the type to destroy fences. This was the mellow field. Here were the older animals, or the animals that had proven themselves reliable enough to not try and run off or attack visitors. These were the model Promise griffins. The best of the best that were kept here to show. They had never been sold simply because they were so good with people. They…weren’t exactly the best guards. The animals that were sold as guards were the one’s who demonstrated a bit more hostility to visitors. Alex pulled his arm from Mack and gave her a reassuring smile before climbing up over the fence to the other side. “Don’t be afraid ok?” He looked around the almost empty corral and then grinned when he spotted exactly what he had been looking for. “Commere Guy…” Alex grinned as the large, primarily white griffin hopped off a rock and meandered over to him. “This is the oldest we have. He’s pretty much the father of the first generation we ever sold out.” Alex looked over the fence at Mack as he brushed back the feathers on the top of the griffin’s head. “My father trains and sells griffins as guards for banks and such. So now you know the big deal being my family eh?” He grinned and waited, wondering what she would say.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Fact or not, Mack thought, I don’t believe any of it. She tried not to think that sooner or later Alex would find something about her that was less than great. There was a lot to Mack, not just what she was showing him. Though, granted, she hadn’t really shown that side of herself since her fourth year; she knew it was there. Mack had been placed in Slytherin for a strong reason and although she didn’t believe in stereotypes she knew there was a side of her that she would rather not have Alex see. She followed him to wherever he was leading her, keeping a firm grasp on his hand, and trying to push her thoughts from her mind. As they walked, Mack started to realise just how tired she was getting. She had had a long day. She had woken up at 5 after all and it was getting rather late now. How late was it exactly? Mack stifled a yawn and caught up with Alex, closing her eyes a moment and trying to fight back the fatigue she was feeling. Merlin, she was trying to fight back a lot of things. “Sounds like my father,” Mack told Alex with another yawn after he had said his dad wouldn’t know. She gave him an apologetic look for the yawn before continuing, “My father couldn’t have cared less about what went on as long as we weren’t dirtying the Holden name. Hmm...yeah...shows you how good that went. The name Holden strikes fear in no one anymore.” Mack smirked, it was an interesting concept. She had been afraid of her name for the longest time and now it was just that. A name. A name that held no power anymore. If anything it just held history. A history of abuse, neglect, and well...just over all terror. But Mack didn’t want to think about her father and she wasn’t going to. She was going to enjoy the night with Alex.

Just as Mack had come to this decision, they had apparently reached their destination. She looked around, still fighting off the fatigue. There was a fence in front of them and Mack quickly came to the conclusion that they were standing in front of a field of some sort. She nodded weakly, “Right, afraid, don’t be. Heh. Easy?” She hadn’t noticed he had left her side until she went to grab his hand again. He had climbed over the fence and now he was looking around as well. Finally, he called someone or something to him, and Mack jumped back when a griffin headed in their direction. She hadn’t seen anything in the corral so it wasn’t like she had been expecting something to come their way. Her eyes widened and she took a small step back the nearer the griffin got. Alex seemed perfectly at ease with the griffin, and Mack managed a small smile as he spoke. Of course he would be at ease, he had only grown up with the creature. She hadn’t ever seen anything like it. She hadn’t ever taken Care of Magical Creatures because, frankly, Mack was afraid of magical creatures. They were usually hostile and scary. She preferred fluffy things like puffskeins of pygmy puffs and muggle animals like cats and dogs and even the magical crup was an okay animal. Her father was fond of horses as well, so Mack had experience with those. But when it came to magical creatures such as griffins? Oh, no, Mack was scared out of her mind. I suppose it’s only natural for someone to be afraid of a creature such as the griffin upon their first...encounter? with one. However, Mack didn’t want to be as afraid as she was and so, she took a deep breath, and slowly took a step forward.

“You...you hadn’t mentioned griffins...” Mack said weakly as she surveyed the creature. She didn’t want to seem as afraid as she was, because strangely enough she didn’t want Alex to think she was a fraidy cat. Oh, wait, he had been in the same compartment as her on the train..how much more afraid could a person get? Well, you’d be surprised how afraid Mack could get. Her life had been lived in fear. Sure, it wasn’t the type of fear she was experiencing now, but it was a fear nonetheless so Mack was no stranger to feeling afraid. She just didn’t like letting people know how afraid she really was. Needless to say, Alex was no exception. She had been looking at the griffin for a long while as she pondered how scared she really should be. He didn’t seem hostile, he actually seemed very mellow, and Mack’s breathing slowly became regular as opposed to the long deep breaths she had been taking; “He’s pretty,” she finally said in a whisper before looking sharply at Alex, “He...he won’t suddenly hurt me, right?” Okay, so that sounded highly illogical, but still, Mack was worried. Even if she had no reason to be. She bit her lip as she filled the gap between her and fence and rested her hands on the top of it, still looking at the griffin.

[Alexander Promise R7]

Alex smiled, back and forth from Mack to the griffin. As he had assumed, she was obviously frightened by the thing. It was hard for Alex to understand how one could be frightened of them, but then again, he’d been raised around them. He could remember the first time his dad had let him go anywhere near Guy. Alex had been extremely excited, not afraid at all. He used to watch his dad with the creatures and one could suppose it was Alex’s desire to be just like his father that led to his immediate love for griffins. “To be honest? I forgot about the griffins…when I’m with you the rest of the world goes a little foggy.” He laughed lightly and looked over at her. She was slowly moving closer to the fence. Guy looked back and forth from both of them and finally just sat back. He wasn’t nearly interested in either of them actually, he probably just wanted to go lay back down on his rock. “He is pretty huh?” Alex looked over at Mack again and slowly moved away from the griffin, standing opposite Mack in front of the fence. He placed his hands over hers and smiled. “He’s not gonna hurt you. You think I’d let something hurt you when you’re with me?” He moved a hand and pushed her hair behind her ear slowly, looking her in the eyes. “You’re safe with me, Mackenzie.” He leaned and kissed her forehead before moving and hoisting himself back over the fence to the side she was on. He took her hand and pulled her back close to him. “Let’s go back inside eh? It’s late.”

Alex could tell she was getting tired, and then again, he could tell he was getting tired. Suddenly though, the though of sleeping was not one he enjoyed. Sleeping would mean being away from her. Sleeping would mean not having her in his arms and not hearing her voice. But, he knew he’d dream of her tonight. How could he not? The fact remained that it was slowly creeping past midnight and Mack deserved some sleep. Alex started the walk up to the manor. He held her hand for a while before looking down at it and comparing the sizes of their hands. He smiled to himself and lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it softly and then letting go of it and moving his arm around her waist. He preferred to have her body close to his, and this seemed to be the best way to do it while walking. “So tomorrow morning…” He smiled over at her, there really was no need to talk about it, but he needed to talk to her, he was starting to miss the sound of her voice. “You can come down to breakfast whenever you want. Don’t feel like you have to wake up any certain time, you just sleep and get well rested, I promise we’ll feed you no matter what time you wake.” He chuckled and pulled her closer to him, wondering what his mother would say when he explained they had a guest. She would be shocked, then thrilled, then freaked. “Why didn’t you tell me? Oh no matter company! And she’s your girlfriend Alex?! How exciting! Oh dear the house is such a mess!” That’s what she would do. Alex smirked to himself imagining the look on Chrys’ face. That would be interesting. And yet annoying all at once, this summer would most likely not be the most peaceful one he could offer Mack, his family would be swarming over her. And Chrys was sure to want to get to know her, and Chrys was one of those people that didn’t exactly respect person limits. She just said and asked whatever she liked. Alex held back a wince, hoping that Chrys wouldn’t scare Mack off. He really did like her a lot.

When they made it back to the house Alex opened the doors and switched back to holding Mack’s hand, leading her back up the stairs. He walked down the hallway with her, quietly of course, so as to not wake up…well…Chrys actually. When they got to her room however, he looked at her and whispered. “I want to show you one more thing first.” He led her further down to the end of the hallway and pushed open his bedroom door, pulling her in and shutting it behind him. Finally in the sanctity of his room, he wasn’t so on edge of waking Chrys. The walls were pretty much sound proof. Alex pulled off his sweater and hung it on a hook beside his door before moving to Mack and slowly taking his coat off her. “I promise you can keep it, but you don’t need it now eh?” He smiled softly and hung up the coat before walking over to his bed and patting the spot beside him. He grabbed the notebook off his bed where he had left it and read over the page it was open to. He smiled softly and turned to Mack as she sat down on the bed. “I started this a few days ago, I expect it’ll sound familiar?” He handed her the notebook and scooted closer to her, wrapping his arm back around her waist, reading over her shoulder slightly.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack tore her gaze away from the griffin to look at Alex when he spoke of his world going a little foggy when he was with her. She couldn’t help the smile that was spreading across her face, although she would have liked to because Mack hated feeling like she was smiling too much. It was force of habit to only smile so little because when she was younger if Derreck ever saw her smiling he would slap her. Oh, yes, Mack had quite a childhood. Of course, as she grew older, Mack learnt that sometimes smiling was just too overrated. Did a smile really mean you were happy? People smiled all the time, didn’t they? And did that mean they were happy? Not always. It just meant they were smiling, not happy. Oh well, Mack thought as she returned to the present moment and dimmed her smile just a bit. Mack nodded at him repeating that the griffin was pretty, “Pretty but very intimidating.” She looked at the griffin and bit her lip slightly before being jolted out of her moment of intimidation by Alex placing his hands over hers on the fence. Her gaze drifted to Alex again and she smiled when he did, “You’re right, but still...” His fingers grazed her cheek ever so lightly when he pushed her hair behind her ear slowly and Mack felt a shiver go up and down her spine. She didn’t blame the breeze that had blown by just then either. She knew it was because of Alex, who had kissed her forehead and was now hopping over the fence. She smiled brightly (there was that smile again) when he took her hand and mentioned going inside again.

Mack looked down at his mention at how late it was. She had tried to keep her fatigue away, but apparently she wasn’t doing a good job of it. She walked with him, her mind flittering around certain thoughts. Thoughts like how surreal this all was turning out to be. Thoughts like how she would seriously not have seen herself in a relationship like this; a relationship that was seemingly (actually, then, not seemingly...it really was) moving extremely fast. Mack had never been in a relationship like this. As previously said numerous times, her and Jack’s relationship hadn’t really been a relationship. It was a friendship with a relationship label. ‘Mack and Jack; the Slytherin couple.’ They weren’t really a couple. What she was feeling with Alex was something she had never felt before. It was a crash into a relationship. It was so fast. So extremely quick that Mack had to wait for her head to catch up with the rest of her. Being pulled back to the present moment once more, Mack looked over at Alex as he kissed her hand. She had to admit, she loved when he did that. It sent a deep shiver down her spine and the butterflies in her stomach did somersaults over and over. How Alex could have that deep of an effect on her was beyond Mack’s thinking, but she didn’t want to question it. She wanted to enjoy it. She wanted to enjoy the way he made her feel.

By now he had wrapped his arm around her waist again, and Mack was quite grateful for that considering she was growing rather tired and she found that she could lean against him a bit when he had his arm around her like that. Plus, Mack just loved how he pulled her close to him. After a moment, Alex spoke again and she looked over at him. He was telling her she could come down in the morning whenever she felt like it. Mack had issues with staying over at someone else’s house and waking up in the morning on her own. It left her mind to wander far too much on how stupid she would appear wandering into the kitchen the next morning. She didn’t say anything, though, when Alex mentioned it. She figured she would decide on how to handle everything when the time came for it. It would be an awkward situation for Mack undoubtedly. She didn’t know how she’d handle questions, because there were bound to be questions. Mack had survived gruelling interviews from tabloids, but those were questions like; “Where do you plan on going with your career after this album?” or what have you. She doubted Alex’s family would ask her questions like that. If Mack were asked those questions, she would have nothing to worry about. Mack pushed all thoughts of the next morning from her mind. She would deal. And it wasn’t like her shyness (for Mack thought she was shy around new people...not that she had really had the chance of meeting new people lately) would make Alex realize that she...isn’t as amazing as he thinks she is.

They entered the house (holding hands now) and Mack followed Alex up the stairs. They were quiet as they walked down the hallway and Mack figured he didn’t want to wake anyone up. Smart, she thought as she chewed on her lip nervously at the thought of people waking up and finding some stranger in their house with their 16 year old son. Oh Merlin, Mack thought to herself, biting back a groan. They reached the room she’d be staying in, but Alex whispered that he wanted to show her one more thing before bed. Mack smiled, relieved, because she wasn’t looking forward to being away from him and followed him willingly to wherever he was leading her. He opened the door to a room and they stepped inside. Ah. His room. Mack smiled to herself and looked around before jumping slightly when Alex slid his jacket off her shoulders. She looked at him and smiled, “I’ll hunt you down if you take that jacket from me and keep it.” She smirked and kissed his cheek before he walked and sat down on his bed. She joined him without hesitation, eyeing the notebook in his hands. Mack tilted her head curiously as he spoke. Taking the notebook from him, Mack smiled softly and started to read, leaning into him slightly as she read.

Mack wasn’t a fast reader, nor was she slow; but she did take longer to read something when she was leaning into an extremely good looking guy who made her heart pound harder than ever before. Nonetheless, Mack read over the story, her smile growing with each word. When she was finished, she looked at the story a moment longer and then slowly looked at Alex. It was then she became aware of how close he was. She looked into his eyes, smiling softly at him, for a few moments before leaning and kissing him. She had no words for how she felt about the story, no words to describe her emotions, she wasn’t a writer. Not in the sense Alex was, she was a songwriter. Perhaps she would be able to put things into lyrics and music later, but right now her kiss would have to suffice.

[Alexander Promise R7]

Alex smiled and moved a hand to touch his cheek when Mack kissed it. She had done that the first time they had met and every time she did it now that was all he could think about. How it had made him feel the first time, the second, the third the fourth and so on and so on. He knew that he’d always get that feeling when she kissed his cheek. It meant something to him, it was special. Not just some kiss from some girl, but a kiss from Mackenzie Holden, the girl he was completely mad for. He hung up her coat before he sat on the bed and shook his head. “Mackenzie, the last thing I’m ever going to want to do is take that jacket back from you. It’s yours. I like when you wear it.” He nodded at her and smiled more still. That jacket meant something too. It meant she was his and he was hers. It was like a sign. Alex almost wished it had his name on it so that everyone would know. No, they would know. He’d make sure they’d know. Alex had this image of them walking through the halls holding hands and everyone turning to see them. Alex and Mackenzie. That’s who’d they’d be. Mackenzie and Alex. Promise and Holden. They were an item. A couple. Alex refrained from wiggling at the thought. There weren’t many couples that lasted long enough for people to start thinking of them together, but he hoped that him and Mack would be that way. And part of him knew that they would be. How could they not? They had completely fallen into this and they had fallen hard and fast. People who felt this way didn’t break up in a few weeks. People who felt this way didn’t break up in a few months. This, Alex knew, would last.

Alex smiled as he handed her his notebook. Rarely did he let someone read something he’d written. Chrys was really the only one who did and that was because half the time she just stole the papers she wanted to read. Alex had never written about a real person either, so this whole thing was new to him. He smiled more when she leaned into him and began reading, the hand that wasn’t around her moving to draw shapes on her thigh. He didn’t think anything of it. They’d crashed into this and every moment was like being on a roller coaster. You weren’t sure when the thing was going to jerk you up or down or all around but you loved every second of it. It made your heart pound and then stop suddenly. It was amazing. He read over her shoulder, breezing few it a few times before she was finished.

He never thought he’d meet her there; a lousy compartment in the forgotten zone at the back of a rumbling train. Everything about the way she reclined – so leisurely – in that secluded cubby made him want to join her. He slid open the door and looked at her, clearing his throat to make his presence known. Her voice was indifferent. Nevertheless, he could dream right?

The train shook, lurched, and rocked. She was afraid of trains. The trunk above her encouraged her into the seat next to him. He didn’t complain. The conversation was more friendly now, when she wasn’t frantic about the machine. Another moan from the engine. She grabbed his hand. He didn’t complain.

He was on edge. His nerves shook him like the unsteady steel monster beneath him. She was doing this to him. He liked it. She calmed down and let go of his hand. He was even more nervous now, this didn’t seem right. The train groaned and gave another jerk. He took her hand again. There, that was right.

“So you’re not scared.” Was his simple explanation.

“Thanks.” Was her simple reply.

He admired her as they talked. She was beautiful. It was her smile and her eyes that pulled him in though, they trapped him....


It was unfinished and he wasn’t quite sure he was happy with it. Alex was his own worst critic, he knew it but he didn’t really care too much. He hoped she’d like it; that would be enough for him. He figured he’d gotten her approval however; by the way she smiled at him when he was finished. He smiled back, caught in her eyes again. He went to whisper, to tell her how beautiful her eyes were, but before he could open his mouth she stopped him. She kissed him and he kissed her back happily. He held out the kiss, enjoying the roller coaster ride for as long as he could before pulling back just slightly, his lips still on hers and his eyes still closed before whispering. “I love kissing you Mackenzie…I love being with you.” He couldn’t keep himself from kissing her again, and when that one was almost close to breaking apart he connected another onto it. He continued, kissing her more and more, not breaking any of the kisses apart, just continuing to connect another to each new one. He could feel the passion in his kisses rise, kissing her made his heart pound so loud he would swear she’d hear it. Kissing her made him shake slightly, a good kind of shake. As he kissed her, he moved slowly back on his bed, scooting towards the top. He moved slowly enough however, to pull her along with him, so he didn’t break the kiss. The idea had hit him once more that he didn’t want her to go, and if he had a choose, he wouldn’t let her. He needed her there, with him, in his arms.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack was disappointed when Alex broke the kiss, but only slightly disappointed. He whispered against her lips and Mack felt her breath leave her. She didn’t open her eyes, opening her eyes would make her realize there was more to the world than her and Alex. She felt a shiver travel down her spine again and her hairs rise on her arms. It was completely blissful how Alex could make her feel this way just through a simple phrase. She opened her mouth to say something back, but he was kissing her again and she figured his kisses were ten times better than her words anyway, so she kissed him back. Enjoying the emotions that washed over her as more kisses were connected to that one, Mack just let her thoughts run away from her. She was usually always thinking about something or other, but when she was kissing Alex? All Mack wanted to do was kiss him. Not think. Thinking was meant for school, for work, for every other second of the day except for when she was kissing Alex. She knew that if she ever became stressed – all she would have to do was kiss Alex and all her stress would float away from her. At least until the kiss was broken again and the world came crashing down around them.

She didn’t dare break any of the kisses that Alex dropped upon her lips. She kissed him back happily, matching each length and passion in them. When he moved back to his bed, still keeping the kisses connected, Mack managed a small smile. She didn’t break the kisses, because she didn’t quite want to. She knew it was getting dreadfully late, though, and she should be heading back to the guest room. Something inside her didn’t want to leave Alex, though, actually – everything inside her didn’t want to leave Alex. It was like she had been away from him for too long already. Practically all summer long. It was like if she left his side now? She’d wake up the next morning to find it was all a dream and she was on her tour bus heading into the next city. Mack knew she wouldn’t be able to take that. So, something inside her made her stay a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer. Of course, how much longer was a little bit longer…was up for debate. Mack just couldn’t stop kissing him. She started connecting her own kisses to the ones he connected kisses to, and eventually she lost track of who was kissing whom. They were kissing each other.

After awhile, Mack slowed the kisses down and whispered in between them; “Isn’t it about time for me to get to bed?” As much as she hated the thought, she knew that it was getting really late. She could feel the fatigue creeping up on her again and it was affecting her kisses, she was sure. Mack smiled softly and pulled away slightly, moving to sit up but stopping herself to look at Alex. She reached over and very gently, ever so lightly, she traced his lips with her finger tips; “You know,” Mack chuckled to herself as she took her hand back, “kissing you is something completely exhilarating. And as much as I love it, it is getting rather late and I’m sure there’ll be more kisses to come, right?” It wasn’t that she needed to know the answer, because she knew the answer was right, but it was more that she wanted to hear him say it. To make sure all of this was real. Not just some dream. She hadn’t really ever thought of the night as a dream because Mack didn’t have dreams like this…okay well, she never used to before Alex; but that’s besides the point.

[Alexander Promise R7]

Alex couldn’t stop grinning as they kissed. Each kiss was more amazing then the last, and with each kiss they seemed to get more comfortable. The kisses were molded from the simple kisses that you have when you’re like ten to the real kisses that real couples have. The kisses with depth and meaning and feeling. As much as Alex wanted to just stop thinking and kiss his mind was swimming with thoughts. He couldn’t stop it, it was like on fast-forward, just go go go. Alex couldn’t help thinking about the fact that this was actually only the second time he’d seen Mack. He met her on the train about a month ago, and here he was pulling her onto his bed, kissing her like he’d never kissed anyone before. How did something like that happen? Alex was reminded about his concept of fairy tales. This definitely qualified. It was something that didn’t happen to just anyone, this was something that was special, something that only happened to special people. As they kissed, he wondered why him, why did he deserve to get this sort of a relationship. Part of him thought for maybe a second that he didn’t deserve it but he killed that thought immediately. He did deserve this, and he did deserve him, and further more…She deserves me… He thought. He could be the perfect boyfriend for her. He could be amazing for her. He could be anything she wanted him to be and he would be. He wanted to make her happy more then he’d ever wanted anything in his whole life. And this, this he would get.

The kisses slowed down, and Alex matched their speed and length, enjoying them just as much. Mack whispered to him, and he continued to kiss her, hearing her perfectly but just not wanting her to go. She pulled away finally though, and by this time Alex was practically laying back on the bed, holding himself up on his elbows. He closed his eyes, smiling when she traced his lips. It was a nice feeling and he shivered slightly, a good shiver once again. Her touch had a way of doing that. He could remember the first time she kissed his cheek and whispered to him, and the second time she’d done that. Mackenzie Holden made him shiver and that in and of itself was a shocker. Normally only cold air made him shiver. And that was a bad shiver, not even a good one. He’d never gotten a good shiver before Mack. But he knew there’d be many more to come. Mack did things to him that no one could ever do. Mack did things to Alex that he hadn’t thought could happen. It was amazing. He loved ever second of it. And he’d only uncovered the tip of the ice burg he was sure. He opened his eyes and looked up at her when she finished speaking. “Mackenzie Holden…do you think you’re going to be able to keep me from kissing you?” He chuckled too and smiled softly at her. “I love our kisses…there will be many, many more.”

She pulled back and as her hand moved off his face he reached out and took it, not letting her pull back any farther. He looked at her, it suddenly really, truly dawning on him that she would be going now. That now she would be sleeping in a room down the hall where he couldn’t see her, or hold her, or talk to her…Where he’d be forced to dream about holding her instead of actually holding her and that idea pained him. He pulled her back to him and moved his free hand to her cheek, stroking it softly. He looked her over, knowing his eyes were sad. Finally he whispered. “Don’t…don’t go tonight? Stay here…sleep here? Let me hold you?” He looked at her for a few more minutes before pushing back the covers and pulling her closer under the blankets. “I wont be able to sleep knowing you’re in my house but not in my arms…so please…just for tonight? Stay here with me and sleep…you don’t need to go…not really…” He looked at her still before just pulling her under the blankets and close to him, lying back completely and pulling her so he could wrap his arms around her. He instantly moved a hand to play with her hair once her head was on his chest and he kissed the top of her head, smiling finally once she was settled. “Don’t ever go Mackenzie? Don’t ever go away…I don’t ever want you to go.”

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack smiled at Alex as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear; “Give it time. My kisses will start to annoy you, I’m sure.” Perhaps she was being far too negative, but Mack couldn’t help it. When something she liked a lot came to appear constantly in her life, she became constantly afraid to lose it. Either by doing something to screw it up or have something else screw it up. Losing Alex was probably her greatest fear at the moment. Maybe not her greatest, but it was up there. She gave him a sad smile as she moved to get off the bed, but Alex grabbed her hand and Mack looked at him. It wasn’t like she wanted to go, really she didn’t; but she was so dreadfully tired. Alex pulled her to him before stroking her cheek. She leaned into his touch ever so slightly and looked at his eyes. They looked so sad. Finally, he spoke and Mack took his hand from her cheek, holding it, listening to him. She smiled softly and whispered back, “Alex, I don’t…don’t know if that’s such a good idea…” she protested yes, but as he pulled her under the blankets – Mack made no move to leave. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep if he was just down the hall.

Alex seemed to feel the same way because he continued to beg her to stay, saying he wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing that she was in his house but not in his arms. Mack bit her lip, lying down beside him, still putting up a weak protest; “What would you tell your parents? I’m not sure this is such a good idea, besides – do you really think it’d be just for tonight? Tomorrow night might come and then the next night and you’ll be doing the same thing, begging me to stay. And eventually it’ll just get to the point where you don’t have to beg because it will become so routine. ‘Just one more…’ never is ‘just one more.’ That’s what you said with the kisses on the street, and Merlin knows that there was more than one kiss.” Still, even as Mack put up a protest, she rested her head on Alex’s chest and cuddled close to him. She knew that if she slept in his arms, she’d have a sound sleep. Normally, she didn’t. Normally, she had nightmares. And although Alex had been in her dreams for the past month or so, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep just down the hall from him. Another part of Mack knew that she probably, they probably, shouldn’t get used to falling asleep together because when school started up…they would be in separate areas of the school.

Alex started to play with her hair and kissed the top of her head once she was settled and comfortable. Mack hadn’t ever had her hair played with and she found it soothing, in fact she felt herself crashing into sleep the moment he had started to play with it. When he spoke next, Mack snuggled against him and closed her eyes slowly, already half asleep. She was so worn out from the day’s events that she hadn’t realized quite how tired she was, “Leaving is something that isn’t even on my mind, Alexander.” She yawned and wrapped an arm around him, “I promise I won’t ever go; but I’m not going to make you promise that,” Mack yawned again, “because if you end up going – I’ll be heartbroken enough without having had you promise.” She fell asleep then, fast, and if Alex said anything in response – she didn’t hear him.