Stepping on to the plane headed home at the end of tour, Lennon knew she had to figure out her feelings for Kade. In the month since her birthday, she had faced highs and lows. She hadn't wanted to say goodbye to Kade the morning after her birthday. She had felt so certain about her feelings for him. But after he left, it had only taken a few hours for the doubt to creep in. Some days, it felt like there was nothing holding them back. Other days, it felt like the odds were stacked against them.

After a few days of the emotional rollercoaster, Lennon forced herself put Kade to the side and focus on finishing off her tour. Now with the tour complete and LA on the horizon, Lennon shut out the rest of the plane and tried to sort out her feelings.

A rush of jumbled emotions arose. She realized she was facing new territory. She had come to terms with losing Hunter. But she had never anticipated how it would feel when she developed feelings for someone new.

For a moment, she let herself imagine Hunter was still with her. That he was the one beside her, the one greeting her as she left the stage, the one to kiss her goodnight.

But the more she followed that daydream the more difficult it became to picture Hunter as a part of her life. A strange, peaceful feeling hit Lennon as she realized that Hunter wouldn't fit into her current life. Losing him had changed her and she wasn't the same person.

She wasn't Hunter's Lennon anymore, but she could be Kade's. Her life was hectic and she was always on the move and Kade understood that. She had known him for almost a year. Over those twelve months their relationship had been a rollercoaster of twists and turns to overcome.

Somehow after making it through it all, Lennon discovered in some ways it felt like Kade knew her better then anyone. He fit into so many different parts of her life. Lennon shoulders relaxed as she knew she had reached her answer. She smiled, knowing every minute took her closer to him.

********************

Lennon let out a deep breath and faced her apartment.

"I think that's it," Bear said.

Suitcases, guitar cases and boxes filled Lennon's living room.

"I think so. Thanks so much Bear," she said.

"No problem" he said, offering her a fist pump.

She smiled.

"Bye," he called out as he left.

Lennon shut the door after him and began to haul her suitcases into her room. Her phone rang a moment later.

"Are you home?" Kade asked, when she answered.

"Hello to you too," she responded.

"Hey!" he said cheerily. "Are you home?"

"I just arrived. Why?"

There was a sharp knock on the front door.

"Hold on, I think Bear forgot something," she said.

She wound her way to answer the door. She pulled it open, expecting to find her hulking bodyguard and let out a surprised laugh.

"Hey!" Kade said, with a proud smirk.

Lennon couldn't do more then laugh before he scooped her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and smiled as the familiar scent of his cologne hit her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I missed you," he said, with a casual shrug.

He moved into her apartment and shut the door. A thought struck Lennon and she eyed him suspiciously.

"How long have you been waiting here?" she asked.

"Hmm," he said, distractedly, plopping down on her couch.

"Kade Matthews."

"I missed you," he repeated, pointedly not looking at her.

Lennon couldn't help the giddy smile from spreading across her face. She caught a sideways glance from him and couldn't hold in her laughter.

"Maybe I didn't miss you at all," he grumbled, as she laughed.

Lennon tried to contain her laugh for his sake and settled on a wide smile.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She moved back to the mountain of her things.

"Unpacking."

She began to drag her second suitcase into her room.

"Where do your guitars go?" he called after her.

"The tan and black cases go against that wall," she said. "And Wes's goes on the guitar stand."

For the next hour, Kade kept Lennon company as she sifted through the contents of her two bags. He circled her room, looking at every picture she had out and flipped through the few books on her bedside table. Then he flopped onto her bed. He kept her entertained with hilarious stories from his time in the studio with Will and Noah until she was done.

"What's in those?" he asked, pointing to the two large cardboard boxes as they walked back out to the family room.

"Fan gifts," Lennon said.

She grabbed one and brought it over to the couch. Kade grabbed the second box and joined her.

"Look at this one," Lennon said.

She uncurled a large poster. Someone had carefully cut out hundreds of pictures of her and Kade and made a collage out of them.

"That's impressive," he said.

Lennon handed it over so he could take a closer look. Lennon reached into the now half empty box and pulled out more letters and cards.

"I think I've found a running theme through all these gifts," she said.

"What's that?"

"You."

She held up a silver picture frame with a photo of them from their trip to Mexico.

"What can I say your fans have impeccable taste," he said with a cocky grin.

Lennon rolled her eyes and set the frame on her coffee table.

"There is one benefit of you being a part of every single fan gift," she said.

"What's that?"

"I don't have to worry about getting you an anniversary gift."

She held up a white sweater someone had knitted. It had two disfigured faces on it. She assumed they were suppose to be her and Kade.

"Babe, for me?" he asked, taking the sweater.

"For you, only the best."

"I'm wearing this,"

Kade began to fit his arms into the sleeves.

"It won't fit. Besides its mine," Lennon said.

"First off, are you calling me fat? Secondly, you just gave it to me," he said, popping his hands free.

"Are you seriously going to put that on?" she laughed.

"Watch me," he said, pulling it over his head.

The sweater pulled tight along Kade's shoulders and chest, disfiguring the faces even more.

"How do I look?" he asked.

Lennon burst into laughter.

"It looks great, right?" Kade said.

He stood and walked to the bathroom to get a look.

"This looks amazing!" he called out, only making Lennon laugh harder.

Her abs began to seize up and she was out of breath.

"Check it," he said, strutting back into the room.

He did a dramatic model walk across the room before striking a pose. Lennon lost control and slid onto the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. The ridiculous part was that he didn't look completely ridiculous, but Lennon knew that was only due to his good looks. Kade appeared over her.

"You alright there Len?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

Lennon finally got control over her laughter and pulled herself back onto the couch.

"I think wearing it improves the faces," he said, looking down at the sweater.

Lennon looked at the mutilated faces, stretched into obscurity and bit her bottom lip, willing herself to keep the laughter away.

"Definitely," she said.

Kade smiled and settled back into his seat.

"It's actually pretty comfortable," he said, moving his arms around to test the range of motion.

Lennon chuckled as she began to return all her presents to the box. When everything was put away except for the sweater, she turned to Kade.

"You wanna put the sweater in the box?" she asked.

"No, you gave it to me," he said.

"You seriously want to keep that?"

"Yeah."

Lennon shrugged and closed the box.

"Do you have any plans for dinner?" he asked.

"Considering I just got home, that would be a negative."

"Good. Wanna order something?"

"Not at all."

Kade's face fell slightly, before Lennon continued.

"I'm so sick of eating out," she said. "I want a home cooked meal."

He smiled in understanding.

"Well, then let's see what you have," he said.

He jumped up from his seat. Lennon pushed the two boxes of gifts off to the side of the room, then joined him in the kitchen.

"Lennon, why do you have a box of stuffing in your cupboard?" he asked.

"Because, I wanted stuffing one night," she said.

"Just stuffing?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, so we can make stuffing," he chuckled.

"I'm not really in the mood for it."

"Because it's not Thanksgiving," Kade joked.

"Is there a law about only eating stuffing on Thanksgiving?" Lennon countered.

Kade laughed, but didn't say anything.

"Didn't think so," Lennon smirked. "But I still don't feel like stuffing tonight. I feel like mac n cheese. Do you have the recipe for your aunt Sarah's? Cause it sounded amazing!"

"It is," Kade said. "I don't have it, but I can get it."

While Kade called his aunt, Lennon slipped out of the kitchen to change out of her flight clothes and make her hair presentable. Kade was finishing up his phone call by the time she returned.

"Thank you aunt Sarah, you're the best!" Kade said. "I will. Yeah, love you too. Ok, bye."

Kade turned to Lennon with a victorious look.

"We got it!" he said.

"Yes!" Lennon said. "We do have to go to the store because I have no food."

Kade looked at her changed outfit.

"You are letting LA change you," he said.

"What?"

"Changing your outfit before going to the store," he said. "It's only the food store Lennon."

She looked down at her jeans and hoodie.

"Cause I'm real dressed up," she said.

He smiled.

"I think you look good, but then again, I always think you look good," he said, flirtatiously lifting his eyebrows.

Lennon laughed the compliment away and looked at what he was wearing.

"I'm not sure I can say the same about you," she joked, pointing to the sweater he was still wearing.

"Ok, you insult this sweater one more time and we're done."

Lennon laughed at how enraged he genuinely sounded.

"Funny, but seriously, we should get going so it doesn't get too late. Take it off and we can go," Lennon said.

"I'm going to wear it to the store," Kade said.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. This is fashion," he said striking a pose.

"It looks like LA hasn't changed you at all," she said.

With a whatever shrug, Lennon turned and opened the door.

*******************

As they walked through the doors of the grocery store, Kade reached for Lennon's hand and grabbed a basket. Lennon smiled, enjoying the simple joy of holding hands with the guy she liked while they shopped. They had made a trip through the whole store, getting everything for Mac n cheese plus much more. They were walking down the main aisle when Lennon stopped abruptly and pulled Kade to a stop.

"What?" he asked.

She didn't answer. Instead she let him follow her gaze to the ice cream aisle. He laughed.

"Is there ever a moment in your life you don't want ice cream?" he asked.

"No," she said.

Her eyes eagerly glanced over the different flavors. They quickly narrowed down their options.

"I mean, this one is coffee which is always good," Lennon said, staring at the cartons before her.

They had four flavors that sounded good.

"But this bunny tracks has caramel," she argued.

"Here's a crazy idea," Kade said, their food basket resting at his feet. "Why don't we get all four."

"Really?" she asked.

Kade chuckled.

"I'm gonna let you in on a small secret," he said, leaning forward. "I have sold an album or two. We can afford all four."

Lennon joyously laughed as she threw her arms around his neck.

"I knew I liked you for a reason!" she said.

Her happiness was heightened by the feel of Kade's arms around her. As she pulled back, her eyes locked with his and suddenly all they hadn't been talking about rushed to the surface. All their feelings, still unstated but communicated in so many ways, seemed to fill the small space between them.

They were still for a moment before Kade's hands came up to cup Lennon's face, his eyes distracted by her lips. Her heartbeat quickened as she leaned into him, anticipating, eager, for what was to come next. But after a moment his eyes flickered back up to her's, frustrated.

"I really want to kiss you," he said quietly, his tone making it sound like a regret.

"Then why don't you?" she asked boldly.

"Because," he said, "when I kiss you, I want you to know I'm only doing it because I want to."

His eyes flashed to her lips for a second, as if he regretted his decision. After a long moment, he lightly kissed the tip of her nose and his hands fell away from her face. One hand finding her own. Lennon's face suddenly felt chilled without his hands.

"Is this it?" he asked, putting the four cartons into their basket.

He picked it up as if nothing had happened. Lennon stood motionless, washed in disappointment and a hint of doubt.

"Len?" he prompted, giving her hand a small tug.

She started and looked down, somewhat embarrassed she felt so letdown. She busied herself by checking the items in their basket with their list and gave herself a chance to compose herself.

"We got everything, let's go," she said.

Her words came out high and fast. Kade gave her a thoughtful look, as if he could read her mind, but didn't say anything. He led the way to the check out. They were quiet as they paid for their items and carried the bags out to the car.

"I can drive," Kade offered, after all the bags had been loaded into the car.

"Sure," Lennon said.

She caught his eyes for a brief moment before dropping his gaze and handing over the keys. After they buckled in, Kade reached over and took her hand.

"Hey," he said.

Lennon looked over. He gave her a quiet smile.

"I'm sorry about back in the store. I shouldn't have taken it that far," he apologized.

Lennon nodded, but looked away, unsure what he was apologizing for. That he had almost kissed her then didn't or that he had tried to kiss her at all.

"The thing is," Kade started. "I don't want to mess this up."

Lennon wondered, had she read the situation wrong? Was he not interested in her like she had thought he was?

"It's fine," she said quietly.

She slipped her fingers lose from his.

"Liar," he said.

His response shocked Lennon. She whipped her head in his direction.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"You're not fine Len. Everything about you screams you have a million thoughts running around in your head. So spill."

"It's not - "

"No. It's not nothing" he said, cutting her off. "I'm right here. Talk."

She hesitated for a moment before it burst out.

"If you didn't want to mess anything up then you shouldn't have acted like you liked me!" she said, louder then she had intended.

She hadn't realized how hurt and disappointed she felt until it came through in her voice.

"If you weren't interested in being more then my friend then you shouldn't have acted like you were," she finished.

"But I am," he stated.

"What?" Lennon asked.

"Lennon I like you. I have since Thanksgiving, even though I didn't want to admit it then. And it's not just because of our circumstances. You are everything anyone could dream of and more," he said.

His words came out strong and steady, as if he had been practicing them for a while.

"You are amazingly talented, beautiful, funny, driven, caring and those are just the surface qualities. You have this spark for life that..." he was quiet as he searched for the right words. "It's inspiring honestly. You don't let circumstances or difficulties drag you down. You dive in full force to every opportunity. And I feel like I owe you so much. Knowing you this past year has given me a better perspective on life. If I walk away from this experience with only that changed perspective, it would still be more then I deserve."

Lennon sat speechless as she tried to process everything Kade had said. As he had talked, a giddy feeling had filled her. She found it hard to take steady breaths. It was overwhelming. She took his hand.

"Why didn't you start with that?" she asked.

Kade gave a surprised laugh.

"I kind of like you too," she added.

"Good to know," he said.

"But in all seriousness," Lennon said. "You might feel like I've given you so much, but you've given me so much in return. Your knowledge and advice about the industry alone have been invaluable. But you've taught me so much about self-confidence and how to handle any situation with grace. You're so understanding and thoughtful. Plus, you're not bad looking."

Lennon watched as a smile lifted the corner of his mouth.

"I've only found one flaw," she added.

"Oh? And what is that?" he asked, giving her a sly grin.

"You didn't kiss me."

His face fell slightly and grew ponderous.

"It's just that-" he started to say.

"I know," Lennon answered, her voice taking on a glum tone. "The contract."

"Lennon, I have an extensive history of messing up relationships and you are too precious to rush into anything," he said.

She wished his words weren't so sweet because she wanted to disagree with him. But she knew he was right.

"I don't want to make a wrong move and risk losing you," he continued.

Lennon added another hand to encircle his and gave it a squeeze.

"You won't lose me," she reassured him.

She watched his shoulders relax a bit.

"I can't tell you how happy that makes me," he said. "But we need to discuss everything. Figure out what the situation is going to look like, contract and all, before we take any steps forward."

Lennon gave him a grumpy frown.

"Why do you have to be so responsible?" she asked.

She would have happily taken the kiss and saved the figuring out for later. But at the same time, she knew he was making the best decision. One that would ensure their relationship started on solid terms.

"So," she said, "where do we start?"

**********************************************************************

Ciao! (Italian)

You know what I wish I could do? Draw. I'm seriously jealous of anyone who can draw. Sketches are one of my favorite things. If I could I would make all my book covers drawings, but sadly I am quite terrible at drawing. I actually drew for years and never really improved at all. Seriously, my first stick figure looked exactly like my last. Okay, well maybe the last one had a bit of shadowing, but that's it. So if you can draw know that you have my admiration.

Vote, comment, follow. Hey if you can draw and you're bored I would love to see what kind of cover you would draw for A Second Chance. ;)