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Miles nodded. He watched the stars quietly, thinking to himself. He then looked back over at Noira for a long moment. He felt his heart starting to beat faster as he watched her but he didn't want to look away. Finally he tore his gaze away and back to the sky, but it didn't slow down the beating of his heart any. Over the last few minutes of them laying there he had slowly come to realize just how much he wanted to be closer to Noira. He took slow, quiet breaths as he watched the stars, but for some reason it didn't help. He had to do something. He couldn't just let it stay like this. A million what-ifs went through his head, but he pushed them aside as best he could. Still.....what should he do? No, he knew what he could do....it was just working up the courage to do it. That took him a few more minutes as he went back and forth with himself, but finally one decision rang clear in his mind: I've got to do this now or I may never find the courage again. With that he took one final, deep breath and, without looking away from the sky, slowly slid his hand along the grass towards Noira. He felt like his blood was frozen and on fire at the same time and every quarter-inch felt like a mile. Within several long seconds he could feel the body heat of Noira's hand. He steeled himself for one final push and slowly slid his fingers over Noira's moving along down her hand until his palm fully covered hers. He didn't grip down, giving Noira the chance to pull away easily if she wanted without resistance. Her hand was cold compared to his, but he didn't even flinch. It was soft, and just the right size to fit his. He swallowed nervously as he waited for her reaction, not looking away from the sky and the rest of his body didn't move a centimeter as if it had become frozen to the spot. And for all intents and purposes it had. His hand was trembling ever so slightly as it lay over hers no matter how much he tried to calm it. All he could do now was wait, every thought focused onto what Noira might do next.

Time felt like it stopped momentarily as Miles felt Noira's hand intertwine with his. Then he let out a long breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. The shaking subsided slightly as he took her hand firmly in his. He didn't stop looking up at the sky as he continued to hold her hand. He could hardly believe it had happened. It was one of those things that was supposed to be too good to be true. But if Noira felt the same way.... Miles had never been in a relationship before or anything like it. In fact, this was his first time holding hands with...well, anyone. What came after this? As far as he was concerned he would be happy like this for quite a while, but he wanted to tell Noira how he felt. What should he say? Nothing too crazy. He was dizzy from the joy of knowing that Noira wanted to hold his hand too. It was such a new sensation....and doing it with her, Noira, it seemed almost like a dream. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that a normal person who knew he was getting so elated about this would probably shake their head and laugh. It was just hand-holding after all. Maybe if it were a first kiss or a confession. But for him, just holding her hand made him feel like he was on top of the world. After a few more moments of silence he finally spoke. His words were slow and cautious, mainly because he was afraid of saying something utterly stupid or confusing."Noira....I um.....I...really like you and....spending time with you. I-I know this might sound a little weird but I think you're amazing and I really want to....know you better....and spend more time with you...time like this....together. Just us. I uh.....just really care about you Noira...." he finished, trailing off. He couldn't figure out how to get the words out any better than that with all the thoughts racing through his head. His heart was still beating rapidly but he felt more confident now that their hands were intertwined.

Miles looked over as he heard at Noira, a big smile spreading across his face as he heard her reply. "That's....I'm glad to hear that," he replied. He turned and scooched a little bit closer to her. "This is...the um....first time I've ever felt this way about someone," he admitted, giving a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, I don't really know how this works. I just know that I care about you a lot. And hearing that you feel the same way is the greatest thing I could ask for." He felt like he was in a dream right now. Like what was happening was too good to be true.

Miles kept his gaze on Noira as she spoke. "Yeah, I guess we'll just have to figure it out as we go huh?" He asked quietly with a small smile on his face. His smile grew slightly as she told him she cared about him. It caused his heart to jump slightly. The ending of her sentence cause him to hesitate for a moment before shaking his head slowly. "I'm not going anywhere," he told her softly, inching slightly closer. They were almost shoulder to shoulder now.

Miles smiled as he squeezed Noira's hand back. "Promise," he replied confidently. "I'll be here for you 100%." He turned his whole body to face her so he was laying on his side. "Not going anywhere."

Miles grinned as he heard Noira. "And I'll hold you right back," he replied teasingly, holding up their intertwined hands to show what he meant.

Miles nodded. "You're welcome," he replied, sounding more serious now. "And thank you too."

Miles smiled as she felt her gently squeeze his hand. "That, and for lowering you guard....for me. For giving me a chance. I know that must have been really hard for you. But I'm glad you did. Thank you."