"It's a sickness... I guess. I can't remember ever living without it." (O/O) (Probably romance ;)

Tyler gently, and slightly reluctantly, took her hand in his, giving her a chance to pull away if she wanted.

She tensed up a little to his touch at first, but she slowly got used to it and let him hold her hand. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" she asked quietly.

Tyler shook his head quickly, "No, not at all. Am I making you uncomfortable? Because I can let go of your hand if you want."

"No, it's okay," she replied.

"Okay… if you're sure…"

"I'm sure. It's actually kinda nice after all the time in the hospital…" She quickly stopped talking, hoping that she hadn't said too much.

Tyler grinned, “That’s good. But if I ever do something you’re not comfortable with let me know, I don’t want to push any boundaries.

She nodded. "Okay." Her eyes darted around nervously. She hadn't been outside the hospital in so long… it was all so strange again.

"Hey, you're okay," He gave her hand a small squeeze, sensing her nerves, "Nothing bad is going to happen, I won't let it."

"That's a very ambitious promise," she muttered, half to herself.

“I don’t care, I’m going to try and keep it.”

"How?" she asked quietly. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because, if you live your life thinking everything bad is going to happen, it will. If you believe it won't, or believe that you have someone to protect you, you'll get through whatever bad shit that happens."

She bit her lip. "What if the bad shit already happened and no one was there to protect you?"

"Then I'd find someone to talk to and work through my problems with them. I'd work back up until I couldn't be sad about the bad shit."

"What if you're reminded of the bad shit every day, no matter what you do, and you would feel guilty if you tried to forget it?" The question was a whisper, and she trembled a little after asking it.

Tyler have her hand a squeeze, “You learn to live with it. You learn to think about it in a way that doesn’t make you sad and unhappy.”

Her shoulders dropped slightly. "Let's go get ice cream," she muttered quietly.