Time Is Precious

Chapter Six: Bonding Connection

"Alright Tao, the project is almost finished! I just need to print out this paper, and I'll be done! The sucky part is, it's 4 in the morning."

Tao walked over to Catie sitting in her computer chair, and put his hands on her shoulders, standing behind the chair as he did. Caties breath hitched when she felt Taos strong hands hold her shoulders.

"I'm proud Catie. You managed to perfect every part of the project within 8 hours. Seems like a long time, but you actually used your time wisely with the project, and we had a good time together! We teased each other, laughed together, and managed to work together. I don't know about you, but I had a pretty fun time."

Tao brightly smiled at Catie, she could see his reflection from the computer monitor. Because of his smile, she smiled as well.

"You don't need to get all mushy on me Tao."

She Chuckled as she spoke, getting up from her chair. Catie approached Tao, and gave him a hug.

"I appreciate you staying up with me and helping on my project. You really didn't need to. Thank you so much Tao, it means a lot."

Tao smiled, and gave Catie a really tight squeezing hug, practically crushing her lungs.

"Awh! Don't need to get all mushy on me Catie!"

Tao laughed as he teased her and felt her struggling.

"Tao! This hurts!"

"I'm just expressing my gratitude!"

Tao released her after a few more struggles.

Catie brushed herself off, and gave Tao a look.

"I could barely breath!"

"I guess I was too thankful."

He gave a sly smile while shrugging his shoulders.

Catie huffed and walked out. She yelled to Tao from the bathroom.

"I'm going to change into pajamas, I'll be right out!"

"Okay!"

Tao loudly replied. He sat in the computer chair and started thinking to himself.

'Wow, she really put in effort towards that project. She better get the best grade.'

Tao spotted the bouncy ball he was playing with earlier, and grabbed it from the shelf, occupying himself.

'Catie is a sweet girl. If you put aside all the attitude, and somewhat lack of care, she is a generous and beautiful young girl. Probably the nicest human I've ever had to guide so far.'

Catie walked into the room dressed in a Panda tank top, and black shorts.

Taos face lit up with excitement when he noticed her tank top.

"Awh Catie! Do you love pandas as well!? I'm obsessed with them! You should see my room!"

Catie laughed at Tao acting all giddy, she found it cute.

"Actually, the Panda is my favorite animal. My second favorite is a llama."

Tao was smiling from ear to ear.

"They are so cute! The way they eat bamboo and look all cute and cuddly! It's too much for me to handle!"

Catie yawned and started walking to her bed.

"They are really adorable."

Catie climbed into bed, and forgot where Tao should sleep.

"Hey Tao, are you sleeping here? I have an extra bed."

Catie was kind of hoping he would say yes. Having Tao around was really fun.

"Oh no, I'll just teleport back to my place to sleep. But I will be back when you're getting ready for school."

Catie looked down when he replied.

"Oh...okay."

Tao sensed her "let down" emotion, and sat on the bed beside her.

"I can stay until you fall asleep. Is that better?"

Catie smiled at Tao and nodded.

"Yeah, definitely. You know at first I thought I would hate you and find you annoying. But-"

"Wow, thanks Catie."

She laughed and waved her hand.

"I'm not finished. But I realized that you're a great motivater and guardian. You're also a really cool guy to hang around with. And it seems like we found something in common, Pandas! Point is, you're awesome."

Tao smiled at her, and put his hand on her forehead, pushing her down to the pillow.

"That's very sweet. Now go to bed, you have to awake in a few hours."

Catie sighed, and got comfortable on the bed.

"Oh before you fall asleep, what were you dreaming about last night?"

Tao questioned Catie. He felt her legs stiffened beside him when he asked.

"Oh....just....I was at the zoo, and you were dressed as a panda in a panda cage.....That's why I was shocked you were there."

Tao slightly laughed.

"Oh okay. Get some sleep."

Catie nodded, already drifting off into her state of mind.

---

Catie was fast asleep, and Tao was really tired. Before he left, he stepped over to Caties desk, and wrote on a sticky note with a pen.

'Catie, if you ever need to get in contact with me quickly if I'm not there, or if we're around people, you can rub the palm of your hand with 3 circle like motions, and I'll automatically connect with your thoughts so you can send me a message. I'm your guardian, so I'll always be there, literally....'
-Tao

Tao peeled the sticky note off the notepad, and stuck it on her dresser beside her bed. He looked over at Catie, and gently rubbed the top of her forehead to send her a dream message.

'It's me, Tao....sweet dreams. See you in a few hours.'

Tao pulled back, and yawned.

"I really need sleep."

He snapped his fingers, teleporting back home to go sleep with his giant panda.