The next couple of days were hectic. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with all of my foster brothers and sisters, but I also spent some extra time with my new parents and I sacrificed some of my sleep to start packing. Some of my foster siblings asked about my new parents, and I gladly told them about Cole and Tara. However, I was careful to not just bring it up with anyone unless they asked first. I knew how tough this life was and I didn't want to make anyone feel bad or jealous or anything by bringing up that I got to have a permanent family while the rest of them didn't.

Every person in the orphanage ended up asking me about my new parents, though. Even Jackson did, and I never thought he even gave two thoughts about me outside of fantasizing ways to get in my pants. I heard a knock at the door and looked up to see who it was. Speak of the devil, I thought to myself.

"Hey, cutie," Jackson said with a smirk as he leaned on the door frame. I sighed loudly and turned back to the clothes I was folding.

"Oh, come on, tiger. Take it easy on me, I'm just teasing," Jackson joked. I looked back at him and he had a smile on his face, not his usual smirk.

"Yea, yea, whatever. Come here, dumbass," I joked as I motioned for him to come over and give me a hug. Jackson's face lit up and his eyes widened in surprise, like he was excited but confused that I wanted to give him a hug. He took a couple of slow steps into my room before wrapping me up in his arms.

"You're not my favorite, but I guess I'll miss your dumbass at least a little," I joked as I tucked my face into his neck, hugging him back tightly. Jackson squeezed me tightly, and he actually lifted me up off of the ground a little and spun me around before setting me back down.

"Do you need any help packing? I know you're leaving first thing in the morning," Jackson asked me softly, his eyes completely genuine with no ulterior motive hiding.

"Yea, sure that would be great. I really appreciate it," I said with a big smile. Jackson actually seemed to blush a little but brushed it off by clearing his throat. I couldn't help but notice how attractive he was when he was blushing.

"Of course. What would you like me to start with?" Jackson asked.

"Hmmm, can you just fold that little pile of clothes over there? I'll put them into my backpack later," my hand rested on my hip as I pointed to the clothes that sat on the bed. Jackson nodded as he started folding the clothes and I gathered my toiletries from the bathroom and my belongings from the nightstand. Jackson and I worked in a peaceful silence until he sighed and grabbed my hand, making me stop in my tracks. He looked dead into my eyes and spoke clearly.

"Stella, I want to apologize for my behavior recently. I want to make things right before you leave. I was hitting on you like that because I do like you, but I didn't need to be such a jerk about it and I'm sorry," Jackson bit his lip at the end of his sentence and he looked down, avoiding my eyes now, waiting for my reaction.

My mouth hung agape in surprise. Jackson likes me? Like actually? My thoughts ran wild at the idea that Jackson wanted something more with me, but I brushed off my runaway mind.

"It's ok, Jackson. I understand. I forgive you," I said with a big smile and put a hand on Jackson's shoulder. He looked back into my eyes with a small, soft smile on his lips.

"Thank you, Stella. You have no idea what that means to me," Jackson whispered as he hugged me to him. When he pulled away, we finished the last of my packing.

There wasn't much packing to do to begin with. I didn't own that much stuff, so I managed to get everything to fit in just my one backpack. I set out a pair of red, denim shorts and a black tank top for the next day. I set the bag at the foot of my bed and head to the bathroom to change out of my clothes and into a nightshirt and relieve myself before bed. After doing my business, I headed back to my room where Jackson still waited for me. He eyed me up and down, obviously liking what he saw but snapped his eyes back up to my face and tried to be respectful.

"I'm gonna head to bed, but I wanted to say goodnight to you before I left," Jackson said as he closed the gap between us.

"G-goodnight, Jackson," I stuttered a little, suddenly aware of just how close Jackson was to me. My eyes trailed down to his lips and flickered back up to his eyes, and I noticed him do the same.

Jackson took a deep breath and gently raised one hand to my cheek, caressing my face. His other hand rested on my hip, pulling me in ever so slightly closer. My breath hitched in my throat. Jackson was close enough now that if either of us moved forward, our lips would touch. I tilted my head up slightly, giving Jackson a better angle if he moved forward. Despite the tension that was in the air between us, he pulled back a little and kissed my forehead instead. I wrapped my arms around his waist in a hug and his arms hugged my back. I could feel his cheek resting on top of my head. I don't know how long we stayed like that but it was at least a few minutes before he pulled away.

"Goodnight, Stella," Jackson whispered as he pressed one more kiss to my forehead and turned away, walking off down the hallway.

I released the breath I was holding and the tension left my body, causing me to sage against the door. I stepped into my room and closed the door behind me. Exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed my senses so I crawled into bed and pulled the covers up over my body. I wasn't expecting to be able to sleep very much, but darkness soon pulled me under despite my racing thoughts.

The next morning, I had actually slept in, even though I didn't mean to. Cole and Tara were coming to pick me up at noon and I slept in until ten. I stretched my arms over my head and yawned as I allowed my eyes to get used to the sunlight streaming in through the window in the bedroom. I glanced over at my clock and when I realized how late I had actually slept in, I jumped up, my legs tangled in my sheets and causing me to trip and fall on the floor.

"Oh, fuck shit!" I exclaimed in surprise and pain as my knees met the floor harshly. I scrambled to my feet, my mind was racing and a million thoughts were fighting for dominance in my head. I looked back and forth around my room a few times, trying to figure out what I needed to do. 10:10. I had less than two hours now. Ok, I need to shower, get dressed, and throw the rest of my stuff into a travel bag since my backpack is full, I thought to myself.

I grabbed my bath towel and headed to the bathroom, quickly stripping off my clothes and hopping in the shower. The water was freezing because I didn't give it time to warm up. I lathered some shampoo in my hands quickly before running it through my hair and rinsing it out and doing the same with the conditioner. I didn't even bother using a rag or a loofah to wash my body, I just lathered the body soap in my hands and quickly washed my body off. As I rinsed the last of the soap off of my body, I raked my fingers through my hair, trying to rinse out all of the conditioner but ended up scratching my scalp harder than I meant to. I pulled my hands down in front of my face and my nails seemed longer than yesterday. Not a normal amount longer, but substantially longer. That's fucking weird, I thought to myself.

I finished my shower and wrapped myself up in my towel and headed over to the sink and mirror. I brushed my teeth harshly, accidentally making my gums bleed. Once I spit out the toothpaste, I leaned my face in towards the mirror to look at my gums and see how bad the damage was. My gums were a little swollen but not too bad. I noticed something else weird, however. My canines seemed longer and sharper. I tried to brush it off but it was definitely really weird. First my nails grew out longer than they should have and now my teeth were longer too.

I scooped up my dirty clothes, grabbed my toothbrush, and headed back to my room to change. I shoved my extra stuff into a small duffel bag and set it next to my backpack before putting my clean clothes on. The red, denim shorts were mid thigh length and hugged my waist perfectly. The black tank top was plain and I tucked it into my shorts and pulled a pair of black flats on my feet. I used my towel to dry my hair as much as possible before throwing it in the dirty clothes hamper.I brushed my hair out, the tangled knots trying to keep my hair from smoothing out. With patience and a few minutes, my hair was finally under control.

I took a glance at the clock. 11:10. It had already been an hour. I threw my hair brush into the duffel bag and hoisted it onto my shoulder. I grabbed my backpack that was sitting at the foot of my bed and slung it over my other shoulder. I ran downstairs to set my bags by the front door but was greeted by all twelve residents of the orphanage. I dropped my bags at the foot of the stairs and started crying as I ran up to Ms. Jean and hugged her. All of the rest of the kids joined in, even Jackson and we all ended up a mess of crying, hugging kids on the floor. After a good ten minutes of the group hug, Ms. Jean broke up the group and called us all in for breakfast.

"As you all know, Stella has been adopted and she will be going home with her new parents today. So we are all going to have a special breakfast together to say farewell," Ms. Jean said as we all took our seats in the dining room. A couple of the older kids clapped briefly in a mocking but playful manner. I sat a few seats down from Jackson, but I kept noticing him glancing at me and whenever I met his gaze he would blush and smile, then look away.

Breakfast went by fast and I spent most of that time hugging and saying individual goodbyes to each foster sibling, however I didn't say anything to Jackson. The bell to the front door rang and Ms. Jean and I stood up excitedly. She rushed to answer the door while I ran back to the stairs to grab my bags. When I turned around to go to the door, Jackson stood in front of me.

"You didn't really think I'd let you leave without saying goodbye did you?" Jackson smiled down on me sadly. I shook my head with a small smile on my lips and dropped my bags again. I wrapped my arms around Jackson's neck and pulled him close and he wrapped his arms around my waist, liftly me slightly off of the ground, my toes barely touching.

As we slowly pulled away from the hug, Jackson's eyes met mine and the same tension that was present last night made itself known again. Jackson's breath fanned my face so gently and I couldn't help but close the distance. I pressed my lips softly to his, the warmth making my heart swell. Jackson's lips moved against mine gently, his lips were so soft and sweet and it almost caused me physical pain to pull away. My chest rose heavily as I sucked in a deep breath and met Jackson's wide eyes.

Neither of us said anything as I pulled away and grabbed my backpack but before I could grab my duffel bag, Jackson swooped in and picked it up for me. Jackson stayed by my side as we walked up to the door where Cole and Tara waited for me with huge smiles on their faces. I rushed forward and embraced them both, missing their touch.

"Hey, sweetpea. You ready to go?" Cole asked me as he brushed some of my slightly damp hair out of my face. I nodded and walked up to the car, putting my backpack in the trunk. Jackson stepped up next to me, putting my duffel bag in the trunk as well as he whispered in my ear.

"You lucky fucking bitch. You get a lambo," Jackson said with jealous eyes and a playful smirk.

"I mean, I did tell you they were loaded," I whispered as I giggled. Jackson wrapped me up in another hug and I held onto him for dear life, almost scared to let him go. When he pulled away, he kissed my forehead, holding his lips there for a few seconds.

"Goodbye, Stella," Jackson said as he caressed my face with his hand. I leaned into his palm, resting my own hand on top of his.

"Goodbye, Jackson," I said as I choked down my tears.

Cole and Tara had walked over to us at that point, asking if I was ready to go. I nodded and Jackson opened the car door for me and closed it behind me once I was situated. I stared at him from behind the glass, his blue-gray eyes welling up with tears. Cole and Jackson glanced at each other curiously and held each other's gazes for a few more seconds than would be considered normal but Jackson broke away and went back up to the front door with Ms. Jean as they waved me goodbye.

"Are you ready, hun?" Tara asked me.

"Yeah, I think so," I said, with more confidence than I thought I had. I looked back at Jackson and Ms. Jean and waved as we pulled out of the parking lot. It's time to start my new life, I thought to myself as I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.