HatedPart 5: Revelations, And New Beginnings free porn video

The next six months were perhaps the most peaceful, and enjoyable time in Pete’s life. It had taken a simple statement from Pete to have him removed from Miss Sarah’s care, and a quick guardianship hearing the week after for Amelia to have the boy officially move in with she and Ashley. For the first time in his life, Pete was able to relax within his own skin. He finally began to excel in school, not living inside a nightmare allowed him to put his full effort into his work. It quickly became apparent to all of his teachers that they had very little to teach the boy. His grades went from barely scraping by in the first marking period, to a 3.92 GPA by the time his sophomore year ended. The only person happier for Pete was Ashley.

Physically, his change in living was having an even greater effect on Pete. A steady, and healthy diet allowed him to finally pack on enough weight to fill out his enormous six foot four inch frame. His body mass increased from one hundred ninety, to almost two hundred thirty pounds, and the fact that Amelia enrolled him in the gym she used, meant that the extra weight was a lot more muscle than fat. In the school halls, the word was out about Pete as well, after the story of his second fight had made its rounds, it became his last fight. Absolutely nobody wanted a piece of him. The fact that he had fought to protect Ashley, a girl that by this time was a constant fixture at Pete’s side, even added a romantic twist to it all, making him sort of a legend in his own rite. And as he continued to fill out, a lot of the girls began to take notice of him, sadly for them, they all knew, he only had eyes for Ashley. By the time the school year had ended, everyone already considered them a couple, though, much to Ashley’s dismay, Pete continued to avoid most physical contact. Though he did concede on the point of holding her hand, or giving her a hug when she needed it, he still shied away from most else.

It was August. Ashley and Peter sat in their living room, she loved thinking of it that way, their living room, talking about nothing in particular, simply going over their plans for the next school year, Ashley ribbing Peter about when he was finally going to get his license, and just generally having fun before they both went to bed. Ashley got up to grab a glass of ice water, and coming back to the living room, she froze. Peter was staring at her, not like Frank had, with that perverse sense of desire in his eyes, but with awe, as if she were the first female he had ever seen. “What?” she asked self consciously, looking down at herself. She had on a baggy t-shirt, and terry cloth shorts that came down to mid thigh, an outfit she had worn a hundred times. “Is something wrong?”

“Ash ... Ashley...” Peter stammered, his eyes locked on her, “When the ... When the light from the kitchen ... Behind you...” His face was pale, he could barely find the words, “I um ... I’m sorry ... I uh, I can see through your shirt” he blurted out finally

“Peter...” Ashley said lightly, her smile was warm, and affectionate, “I’ve um ... Kinda been trying to get you to look at me like that for months now...” She blushed, this was the first time in her life that she had actively been trying to get a man’s attention, and she had begun to despair of ever catching Peter’s eye in more than a protective way.

Pete slowly got to his feet, and walked over to the blushing girl, and put his hands gently on her shoulders. He had by now noticed the fact that Ashley no longer even had to restrain the impulse to flinch with him, it was simply no longer there. “Ashley, “ he began, looking directly in her eyes, wanting her to know exactly how he felt as he spoke, “I have thought the sun rose and set on you from the first time you took the time to look at me not the shell that used to surround me.” his voice was steady, and calm, he had been trying to find a way to say these things to her for a long, long time now. But he had no experience in this area, so he never knew if it was right, until now. “I thought you were the single most beautiful person I had ever seen. And now that I know you the way I do, I know that what I thought then, pales in comparison, to what I now see every time I look at you.” he took one last deep breath, and plunged on with what he now had to get out before it blew up within him. “Ashley, I never tried anything, because I wanted you to know that what I am about to say I mean with everything I have. I love you Ashley Waters.” Then, with no preamble, or hesitation, he bent down, and kissed Ashley gently on her full, moist lips. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and when he stood back up, he saw a dreamy smile spread across Ashley’s face, her eyes still closed, in that moment, frozen in time in Pete’s mind, she was the absolute most beautiful he had ever seen her. “Goodnight Ashley.” he whispered, and walked down the hall to his bedroom.

Ashley opened her eyes when she heard Peter’s bedroom door close, and her smile broadened, as she remembered the five words, Peter loved her! The very thought of it made her want to scream in joy, that beautiful, intelligent, wonderful boy loved her! It was more than she could process, and suddenly she felt very insecure. Ashley spun quickly, and raced up the stairs to her aunt’s bedroom door. Normally she would have knocked, and waited, but this was far too important to wait, and so she pushed the door open, and ran to Aunt Em’s bed. “Aunt Em, wake up! We need to talk, now!”

Amelia sat up groggily, looking at her niece in concern, thinking there was some sort of emergency. She almost panicked until she saw the smile engraved across Ashley’s face. “Ashley...” she said, sleep still deep in her voice, “It’s almost midnight honey, what’s the matter?”

“It’s ... It’s Peter...” Ashley stammered, not really knowing where to begin, “He uh ... He told me something tonight...”

Amelia sat bolt upright, concern written all over her face, “What happened?” she demanded, “What did he say?” she had always harbored a fear that, one day, Peter would decide he could not live in her house any more. That his resentment would return, and he would leave, and the idea of failing him again was almost more than she could bear.

“Aunt Em ... He told me he loves me!” her smile could have lit up a small city, it was so bright, “He told me he’s loved me since the first time he caught me looking at him. Aunt Em...” tears filled her eyes as she spoke, “What do I do now?”

“He said what?” Amelia asked, not believing that Peter, that shy boy, would ever find it in himself to admit that he felt how, Amelia knew, he felt towards Ashley. “Tell me what happened.” she said again, more intently this time. And so Ashley settled in, more comfortably, and began explaining the entire incident, she was not shy about how she had tried to seduce the boy, and when she got to where Peter had finally told her exactly how he felt about her, her smile was so radiant it was nearly blinding. Amelia was overjoyed for her niece, they had spoken many times in the past months, Ashley coming to terms with the fact that Peter was the part of her that Frank had taken from her. She had listened to her niece, as she began to realize herself, that the broken pieces of her own life, fit perfectly together, with his. Amelia hugged her happily crying niece, and whispered, “It certainly took him long enough, didn’t it honey?”

The next two weeks were very confusing for Pete. While Ashley seemed ecstatic that he had finally admitted that he loved her, she also seemed both nervous, and flirtatious at the same time. He would catch her, when she though he wasn’t looking, casting appraising looks his way, but he never felt that sick hunger he had felt all of his life. This was different somehow, with the looks came gentle hugs, and brief kisses, which he was all too happy to reciprocate, but as soon as they began, she retreated again, leaving him in questioning silence. But, he thought, as long as she was willing to kiss him before she ran off, it was a deal he could live with. Ashley also seemed to be spending a lot of time, closeted away with her aunt, the two of them spending hours at a time in Ashley’s room. And the only explanation Pete ever got when asking what was up, was a knowing smile from both of them.

Pete’s birthday finally arrived. If Pete had to be honest with himself, he didn’t even know what date his birthday fell on, it had been so long since he had been allowed to celebrate it. So Amelia again went to her case files, and found out that Pete had been born on August twenty third, and Ashley had insisted that they have a party for him. He really didn’t know how to react to it all, he’d never really had a birthday worth celebrating before. But there he sat, in the kitchen, eating his favorite dinner of grilled hamburgers, and curly fries, with Ashley and Amelia, for the first time, understanding what it was like to have a family.

Dinner was done, and the cake had been eaten, they had discovered early on, that Pete had a fondness for red velvet with cream cheese icing, and tonight Ashley had decided to make a double decker cake for Pete, all on her own. After they had finished putting the dishes away, and wrapping up the leftovers, Ashley grabbed Pete by the wrist, and smiling, began dragging him toward the door to the back porch. “C’mon Peter!” she said, her excitement bubbling out in every word, “It’s time for your present!”

The screen door to the back porch banged shut, and Ashley plopped him down in an Adirondack chair, “Close your eyes Peter,” she whispered, as she she hugged him around his neck, kissing his cheek tenderly, “And happy birthday sweetie.” A squirming, squeaking, bundle was deposited in Pete’s lap, “Open your eyes Peter!”

Pete opened his eyes, and looked down into the honey colored eyes of an adorable, dark brindled, pit bull puppy. The little dog began wagging its tail as it climbed up his chest, curiously examining its new owner. Pete stared down in disbelief, as the inquisitive face of the puppy finally made it to his, and began sniffing its new owner. Tears began to slip down Pete’s face, as his large, scarred hands, gently began to stroke the soft fur along the puppy’s back. “Thank you so much!” he whispered hoarsely as his tear rimmed eyes looked up at Ashley and Amelia, “I don’t deserve this, but thank you, both of you!” he said, as his puppy began to lick the salty tears off of his cheek.

“No Peter,” Amelia said softly, tears standing in her eyes, “You deserve this more than I can say. Ashley decided to call this little guy Brooklyn for the last three days,” she said as she too began stroking the puppy’s back, “He’s been pretty hard to keep a secret.”

Pete, and Ashley were, by now, sitting next to one another, crying openly as Brooklyn tried to lick both of their faces at the same time. “Happy birthday Peter.” Ashley murmured, and reaching up, took his battered, tear streaked, face in her hands and kissed him. This kiss was different than any other they had ever shared, and Pete could feel it instantly, it was not gentle or hesitant, it was deep, and searching. There were no warning flares, there was no screaming inside his own head, there was only a profound sense of right. Ashley pulled away slowly, her eyes shining as they looked into Peter’s “I want you to know something Peter...” she said gently, never taking her eyes off of his, “I love you too Peter Daniels.”

It was later that night, Pete had spent hours playing with his new dog, and looking up at Ashley, both of their faces glowing, as they caught each others eyes. The night had finally worn down, and Pete had brought Brooklyn to his room, bedding him down in a small basket with one of his old t-shirts. Pete woke up in the dead of the night, knowing instantly that he was not alone, his years of abuse, warning him when someone was close to him. “Peter...” the whispered voice came from just beside his bed, “You awake?” Pete rolled over slowly, his wary eyes softening instantly, as he saw Ashley standing before him. Ashley bit her lip, insecurity, and fear written all over her face, “Peter...” she whispered softly, as she crawled onto the mattress beside him, “Peter, I need...” tears were in her eyes, as she reached up to touch his face, her fingertips gently caressing his cheek, “I need you Peter. I need you to show me that Frank didn’t steal this from me too,” her heart was breaking in her voice, and the fear of rejection was written all over her face, “Please Peter, please...”

Pete silenced her pleading with a finger placed gently against her lips, “Ashley...” he whispered, and leaned up and kissed her, his hand gently sliding around her head, to hold her to the kiss. Ashley moaned into his embrace, as her lips gently parted, and accepted Peter’s tongue into her mouth. There was no warning cry in Ashley’s mind, there was no sick hunger in Peter’s touch, there was only that same, warm, safe touch she felt the first time he ever touched her. Peter slid his other hand up Ashley’s thigh, and hesitated at the hem of her night shirt, his strong fingers squeezing her flesh softly. Ashley’s moan intensified as she felt Peter’s hand so close to where she wanted him to be.

Taking the initiative, Ashley grabbed Peter’s wrist, and pulled it up under her shirt letting his hand come to rest on her soaking wet slit. “Please Peter...” she whispered, looking deeply into the eyes of the boy she loved so deeply, “I need this so badly...” she moaned, as her hand slid down Peter’s stomach, and under the band of his boxers. Her eyes widened in surprise as she came into contact with his firmly erect cock for the first time. “Please Peter, I need to know this is how it’s supposed to be. I need you to make love to me.” the fear of rejection was still written all over her face, as she began pushing his boxers down urgently.

Peter dragged his finger slowly through Ashley’s slit, as she moaned more loudly into his mouth. She was soaking wet, and her hips bucked into his touch, when he finally found her clit. Knowing how to pleasure a woman was something he had learned at the brutal hands of Miss Sarah, but for the first time, he felt like this was something different. This time he was deriving pleasure from giving this beautiful, scared, fragile, girl kissing him, pleasure. He circled his finger lightly around the erect bud of her clit, increasing the pressure as he felt her responding to his touch. “Oh God Peter! Just like that!” Ashley gasped as a wave of orgasm crashed over her, her arms pulled Peter into her, as spasms rocked her body. Pete could feel her erect nipples drilling into his chest through her nightshirt, and her hand lock into a strangle hold around his cock. “Oooohhhhh Peter!” Ashley moaned loudly, her head thrown back, her eyes squeezed shut in pleasure.

Ashley collapsed next to Pete, her body drenched in sweat, and shaking from the most intense orgasm of her life (in truth it was the first one she had not given herself). Impulsively she threw her arm over Pete’s chest, and pulled him to her, kissing him hungrily, for the first time in her life, she felt an actual desire for a man to be inside of her body, and she desperately wanted it to be him! “Peter, I need you right now,” she said, in a husky voice, as she nibbled on his lower lip, “I need you inside of me Peter! I need to give this to you!” her voice was intense, as her need spiked when she felt Peter begin to pull her shirt up over her body. She wanted Peter to see her, she needed him to see her. She needed to see in his eyes if he wanted her or if he was only seeing sex. She wanted to see desire, but she needed to see love, and compassion. When the shirt passed over her head, and landed somewhere in the darkness, she looked up at Peter, and waited, biting her lip, hoping that he could be everything she needed him to be.

Pete looked down, and gasped, Ashley’s breasts were firm, and full, her pale pink nipples topped off the perfectly proportioned C cups, which were heaving up and down as Ashley gulped in breath. He quickly scanned her body, her full breasts sloped down to a flat stomach, Ashley was trim, without that hard muscularity that seemed to be so desirable these days, instead she was soft, and supple, with her curves more of an accentuation of her beauty, instead of a definition of it. Her hips flared out gently, tapering into a pair of the most gorgeous legs Pete had ever seen. And at the juncture of those legs, was her swollen, and dripping sex, shaved smooth except for a single small tuft about half an inch above her exposed clit, her pubic hair the same rust red as the glorious locks that Pete now ran his hands through.

Pete looked up into Ashley’s expectant, fearful eyes, and her heart soared, he was looking at her, and seeing Ashley, the woman he had fearlessly, and fearsomely defended, the Ashley he had cried against, and who’d cried against him. He was seeing Ashley, the girl he loved beyond anything else in the world, yes there was desire in his eyes, but it wasn’t just that hunger that she had seen all those years with Frank, this was tender, and amazed, and it made Ashley feel like a real person for the first time since Frank had come to her room all those years ago. “You are absolutely amazing Ashley,” Peter whispered as he gazed into her eyes, “And I love you so...” his words were cut off as Ashley pulled his face into hers, her mouth searching out his, and forcing her tongue into his mouth, as her hands continued to push his boxers down and off.

It was now Ashley’s turn to examine Peter, and her eyes roamed hungrily over his muscular frame, she no longer saw the scars that laced his body, she had long since looked beyond the mere surface, now she only saw his body, flushed with excitement and need, his broad chest heaving with deep breaths, and his hard muscled stomach tensing as her eyes followed their lines down to his tapered waist, and lower to his erect cock, throbbing in desire of her. Ashley smiled wantonly at Peter, as she pushed him onto his back, and threw her left leg over his hips. “I’ve wanted this since the first day you came to visit me here Peter,” she hissed, as she pressed her vagina onto the rigid underside of his cock, “I needed to know I could do this for you, and it feels so right!” she reached down between them, and, grasping his hard rod, she rose up, and slotted his head into the entrance of her dripping wet hole. “Peter, I need you so badly, pleeeeaaasssseeeeee!” Her last word was a long drawn out moan, as she slowly pushed herself down his cock.

Pete was amazed, Ashley was the polar opposite of Sarah. Where Sarah had been hot, and wet, just like Ashley, she had also felt open, and sloppy. Ashley was tight, and firm, and her pussy walls gripped Pete’s cock like a fist made out of velvet. “Oh God Ashley!” he moaned, his hands sliding around the soft curve of her hips, as his eyes bored deeply into hers. “You ... Ugh! You’re sooooo...” the words were strangled out of him as Ashley settled down on the base of his dick. He couldn’t speak, he could barely think, it was as if her pussy had been custom made for his dick, and it gripped him in ways he had never imagined possible. He slid his right hand up her body, and gently cupped her breast, her nipple drilling into his palm, as her breathing increased. He felt Ashley reverse direction, and slowly drag her pussy up his cock, and he gasped in ecstasy, “Ughhh!”

“Oh yes! Peter, just there!” she panted, as she slid back down along his hard meat, raking her clit against it, until it slapped into his pelvic bone. In a flash of inspiration, she began to grind their hips together in a soft circular motion, causing both of them to groan. Her tempo slowly increased, she would bounce her slit on Peter’s cock for a couple of strokes, and then grind on him for a few rotations, and repeat. But as she got more accustomed to Peter’s size, and girth, her speed began increasing, her pattern became more erratic, and finally, she was simply pumping up and down, her pussy sliding over that glorious, hard cock, as she looked down into the glowing, groaning face of her Peter, her Peter, forever hers. The thought of him being with her forever, combined with the erotic thrill of making love to this amazing man below her, was too much, her back arched, her eyes screwed shut, and her teeth clenched, as an orgasm unlike any she had ever experienced slammed into her like an avalanche. “Ooohhhhhh Fuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkk!” she moaned loudly, as she shook in spasms of pleasure, finally collapsing onto Peter’s heaving chest.

She was glowing in the aftershocks of her most incredible orgasm ever, when she was suddenly shocked, as Peter grasped her leg, and rolled her over so he was on top of her, his cock never leaving her pussy. He smiled down at her, as he leaned in for another, hungry, passionate kiss, his motion causing his cock to slide inside of her again fully.”Oh God Ashley,” he whispered as he slowly began sliding out of her, “I love you so much.” and so saying, he slid back inside of her. His tempo was slightly faster than when she had began riding him, his thrusts were more powerful, but she could feel he was intentionally holding back.

Ashley’s hand came up and cupped Peter’s face, forcing him to look her directly in the eye, “Peter ... I want ... This to be ... Yours too!” she grunted, her words stuttering with the timing of his thrusts, “Let it ... Go Peter ... I’m yours ... And You’re ... Miiiinnnnnneeeeee!” her last word became a squeal as Peter finally understood. She was okay with this act of love, it was finally clear that they belonged together, and she wanted to experience it fully, not just on her terms, but on their terms.

Peter’s thrusts picked up, his tempo increasing until his hips were pounding into hers, her hips flying up to smack into his, as she thrust up to match his own. They created a tempo all their own, as passion, and pleasure, and love, all mingled into one beautiful act. Ashley wrapped her arms around Peter’s back, her short nails trying to claw at his flesh, as she lost herself to the pleasure he was giving her, her legs locked around his hips, pulling herself up to meet his thrusts, causing her clit to scrape along his cock in the most amazing way. Finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore, her body began to shake, and she pulled herself up and buried her face into Peter’s neck, and screamed, as seizure like tremors shot through her body. Peter felt her pussy clamp around his cock, her orgasm triggering his own. With one final thrust into her body, he unloaded his cum, firing rope after rope of fiery hot semen deep inside of her. When Ashley felt him unloading inside of her, it caused her orgasm to peak again, the shaking and wailing intensifying until, at last, both of them collapsed, Peter rolling to his side, his arm laying across her heaving, gasping chest, and they laid there, together in the afterglow of their first time together.

They laid together, for how long, neither of them knew, but Pete finally got his breath back, as he looked at the luminous smile spread across Ashley’s beautiful face. “Ashley, “ he whispered, as his hand slid up gently cup her face, “It was never like that before. It was never beautiful...” he wished he’d had a better way to explain it to her, despite his extreme intelligence, he felt like the words were so inadequate, that they did no justice to what he was trying to express.

Ashley’s smile only broadened as she saw him struggling to put it into words, “Peter,” she whispered, placing a tiny finger gently to his lips, “When I was a little girl, I thought Frank had stolen my life from me. It wasn’t until the first time I kissed you, that I felt like it was being given back to me.” she explained slowly, “Aunt Em says that there are no perfect people in the world, only people who’s pieces fit together perfectly. Peter, we were both broken when we found each other, but those jagged edges...” she leaned over, and kissed him softly, her lips lingering on his for several seconds, “They fit together perfectly Peter. I love you Peter Daniels, and I’m not ever going to let you go!” she whispered fiercely, as her arms tightened around his torso.

“I love you too Ashley Wat...” his words were cut short as a curious, furry face suddenly launched itself onto both of them. Brooklyn, having been woken up by their love making, had crawled up onto the bed, and was investigating the strange sounds being made by his new owners. His wet nose burrowing in between them, as he tried to make sure they were both alright. The tense mood was shattered by light giggles, as the little puppy wormed his way comfortably between them, and nuzzled them both into submission.

At the top of the stairs, sitting in the subdued darkness of the early morning, Amelia Warren sat, and listened, as her niece, and the boy she had come to think of as her own family, had finally given in to the feelings they both shared. She smiled, as she came to terms with what had happened between them. They had both been so fragile, and damaged, by the trauma of their past, but they fit so well together, she could tell, that the two of them were going to be so much stronger, now that they had finally admitted how they felt about each other.

The next two weeks were a blur for both Peter, and Ashley, while they had acknowledged their love for one another, and had made love on several occasions, it was all still new to them. They had never been intimate with the people they had been forced to have sex with, so this was a completely new experience for both of them. By the time school began, Ashley was sleeping in Peter’s bed with him, almost as often as she slept in her own. They didn’t always have sex, most of the time, it was simply the intimate contact of holding each other in their sleep, that they either needed or wanted. What had changed most dramatically, was how open Peter was in his affection for Ashley, he would spontaneously hug, or kiss her, just to show her he was thinking of her. Some days he would scoop her tiny frame up in his arms, and plop down on the couch, with her leaning into him, as Broadway, Hudson, and Brooklyn, all clamored for spots on the couch with them. Amelia had never been happier for them, as she was when she saw just how deeply they loved one another.

The first week of school was an eye opener for the rest of the students. They had seen the relationship between Pete and Ashley, in its infancy, but when they all returned from summer break, they were seeing it in its full bloom. The couple walked hand in hand down the halls, their fingers intertwined, and stole kisses between classes. They suddenly found themselves to be the most talked about couple in the school. Every boy who saw them couldn’t help but wonder how a girl as hot as Ashley Waters could stand to be seen with a scarred up, hulking freak like Pete Daniels. Every girl that looked at them, was jealous that their boyfriends weren’t as attentive, or affectionate as Ashley’s. And the fact that Pete had put several boys in the hospital defending her, made Ashley the most envied girl in school.

Neither of them paid it any attention, they didn’t care what other people had to say about them, it didn’t matter one lick. By the end of the first week, the looks had turned from curiosity, to envy, several of the school’s social elite, the most popular girls, had tried to find out what made Pete so special, some of them being very bold in their approach. Pete either ignored them entirely, which drove the girls, who were so used to getting their own way, completely mad, or he rebuffed them, very firmly. One girl in particular, Stacy Granger, who the year before, had been very vocal in her dislike of Pete, calling him things like”Whipping Boy” because of the scars he could not hide, had tried to get him to take her to the Band room.

“Hey Pete...” she had begun, gently running her fingers along his forearm, “A bunch of the girls were wondering, ya know, how Ashley got so lucky,” her eyes were full of lust, as she felt the hard muscles in Pete’s arm, “I was wondering ... If maybe you wanted to share?” When Pete realized that ignoring her was not working, he looked down into the vapid, blue eyes, and he saw it. The one thing he could never, ever, stand seeing again, that same, sick desire, that he had seen so often in the people that had hurt him, before he could respond, Stacy continued, “C’mon Pete, the Band room is unlocked, and Ashley doesn’t have to know...”

Pete knew his answer before she even finished speaking. “I don’t think so Stacy,” he said loudly enough for the entire hallway to hear, “I don’t think I’d ever go to the Band room with you, or any of your friends. I don’t think I could stomach it.” and he turned and began walking away.

“What’s wrong Whipping Boy?!” Stacy shrieked, outraged that this stupid freak had had the nerve to say no to her! “Don’t think you could handle it?”

Pete simply turned, and with pity in his eye, replied “It’s not that Stacy. It’s just that Ashley is so much better than you are.” and he walked away, leaving a stunned, silent Stacy in his wake. By the time he sat down next to Ashley at lunch, the story, and several truly embarrassing videos of Pete’s rejection of Stacy had been circulated. Ashley’s million watt smile preceded a kiss that had the entire cafeteria hollering encouragement to the couple.

At the same time, several of the guys who fancied themselves God’s gift to the school, had tried to find out what made Pete so loyal, figuring Ashley had to have some sort of trick that would blow them away. It was much easier for Ashley to push them away, since all she had to do was remind them that it would only take her word that they had tried something, and Peter just might put them in traction. After last year, with some of the biggest ‘Alpha Males’ in the school demolished, absolutely no one wanted to risk becoming Pete Daniels’ next target.