She sighed heavily, looking at him. "No!" she said defensively, shaking her head. "Well, yes. Sort of. But no at the same time..." Her voice trailed off as he gave her a puzzled look. "Ugh!" she exclaimed finally, throwing up her hands in annoyance. "Guys just don't understand."

He looked at her calmly, giving a small grin. "We do, but not when you gals are talking in a whole different language." Dali scoffed at this.

"Oh, shove it, Caleb," she retorted sharply with a roll of the eyes, arms crossed tautly over her chest. "It really is not that hard to understand." She was stubborn, and she damn well knew it.

They stood there, silence radiating off of them like a thick pollution. It was awkward, unbearable, and pure discomfort. Dali was tapping her foot impatiently on the ground, her arms remaining crossed and lips slightly pursed as she directed hazel eyes at the ground. Caleb was grinning lopsidedly, though charmingly so, and watching his counterpart through his own soft celery-green eyes that nicely complimented his dark brown hair and tannish skin. He was just as stubborn as she was, though much more calm and patient. It was an interesting combination, really. He absently placed his hands in his pockets; she began clicking her tongue as though he was supposed to be saying something. Maybe an apology, he mused, for having learnt of her underlying, suppressed feelings for him.

"What?" she asked sharply, snorting faintly as her eyes met his. "Stop looking at me, Caleb. CALEB." Her arms came uncrossed and were now at her side, fists clenched angrily and knuckles white from such an action.

He adverted his gaze to the ceiling, twiddling his thumbs as he proceeded to talk to her. "You know, Adalia, it's not good to bottle up your feelings like that. It never ends up good. You look like the person who has watched many movies; you should know this by now," he said with a shrug, continuing to look up at the boring, white, tiled ceiling.

She snorted. "I have no hidden feelings to bottle up, Caleb Whealdon," she said, putting emphasis on his name as he had used her actual name as opposed to her nickname (an action he knew bothered her). "I'm over the whole 'relationship thing' You know that." Another snort as well as a roll of the eyes. "And stop looking at that damn ceiling, won't you? It's really annoying."

He shook his head, his light laugh getting trapped in the cold atmosphere that was courtesy on her part. "You are not. You're just commitment phobic," he answered simply. "Where would you like me to look?" he inquired, lowering his gaze so it met hers and lifting an eyebrow in question.

"Commit- commitment phobic?" she repeated, her voice much higher and therefore squeakier than it was normally. She gave off a cold laugh that devoured his light one. "Caleb, what the hell would you know about what I'm afraid of?" she asked, her voice considerably lower and darker than it had been. "You want to know what I'm afraid of? I'm afraid of ending up like my sister. Not commitments. Don't flatter yourself. I'm afraid that I'm never going to catch that bastard of a man who killed her. That's what I'm afraid of." Her normally vibrant, lively, hazel eyes seemed to flash with darkness and sadness.

"Oh, get off your high horse, Adalia. You know just as well as I do that you're just as afraid of having a relationship - being committed to someone - as you are of those things you just said. What ever happened to Kristian, huh?" He shook his head, his voice much more serious than it had been. "Did you just get bored of him like you did the others?" She opened her mouth for rebuttal, but he had cut her off before she even could start. "I saw the way you looked at him when you first saw him earlier in the year and when you were with him. The way you'd laugh and flirt shamelessly. You loved him, and you just let him go." He paused again. "You're afraid of commitment, Dali," he said softly. "But you have feelings for me. I know you do. I can tell. You've looked at me like you've looked at him more than once before. Don't try and -"

"Oh, don't even go and try and give me a free shrink session!" she cut him off angrily. Who was he to tell her how she felt? "I'm not afraid of commitment. And don't you even -" her voice became dangerously low "- don't you even go about telling me that I cut things off with Kristian because I was afraid of a commitment. I don't have to tell you anything, Caleb. You're only around until we find Cerisette's murderer. Then you're gone. I'll never see you again. Good riddance." She turned on her heel, walking towards the door that led out of the infirmary where their mutual friend, Anya Delorrentis, was being kept. What a place to discuss such things, wasn't it? She snorted, shaking her head in disgust. Who was he to tell her that he had feelings for him? Who the hell was he to tell her that she was afraid of commitment? And god damn, who was he to -

Before she could even finish that thought she was being spun around, a hand belonging to Caleb on her shoulder. She was immobile from the shock, and her reaction time was drastically cut, thus giving her no time to deny the kiss that he was giving her. She felt the familiar tingle run down her back as his lips gently touched hers - the electricity that seemed to erupt between two human beings. She didn't move, and he had broke off the kiss. Neither said anything, but just looked at one another.

"I- I've got to go." Dali broke the silence, shaking her head and bringing a hand to her forehead, feeling slightly dizzy. Without another word, she began walking away again. Caleb didn't move, and simply watched her exit.

And god damn, she revised her last, unfinished thought, who is he to kiss me like that?