Alice swept her eyes around the room. It was a sty. What else could be expected when six gamers get together for a weekend? She sighed and began cleaning up the soda cans and pizza boxes. She heard footsteps coming down the hallway. She looked towards the sound and felt her heart jump in her chest for a moment. It was Mark. Of course it was Mark. She controlled her breathing, gave him a small smile of acknowledgement, and went back to cleaning up.

"Hey, Alice. Thanks. God, we're such pigs. Let me help you with that." Mark asked, his voice deep with grogginess. His hair stuck up wildly, eyes still puffy from sleep. She waved him away.

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind. I actually enjoy cleaning up. Go on into the kitchen. There's coffee brewing and there are doughnuts on the counter."

Mark shot her a crooked grin that made her knees tremble. "You're the best gal in the world. Thanks." He ambled into the kitchen and Alice heard him fumbling around for a mug. She calmed herself again and went back to work.

Alice worked up her courage. "Mark?" she called into the kitchen.

"Yep." he answered

"Mark, may I borrow your flip cam for the morning? There were some sea turtles nesting on the beach, last night, and I was wanting to capture some footage this morning before the local animal conservation comes up and ropes the area off. I would only need it for an hour or less, and I'll make sure to clean it before giving it back, and I'll recharge the-", but she was cut off with a finger being pressed to her lips. She had continued cleaning through her questions and never even saw Mark come back in the room with his coffee. She looked up at him shyly, having expended all of her courage in asking for this favor.

Mark smiled at her and put the camera in her slightly trembling hands.

"You may keep this camera as long as you need to. Take your time and enjoy the beach. I'm not recording, today. We're going downtown as soon as your brother and the other guys get up, and we'll be back later this evening. Have fun!"

She looked at the camera, then back at Mark's happy face.

Withtout thinking, she threw her arms around his neck in a quick hug, startling herself and him. Her face flushed a deep red as she let go quickly. "Ummm...sorry. Thanks again." She darted out of the back door and down to the shore, breathing hard, leaving a confused Mark standing alone in the living room.

She felt tears well up in her eyes with embarrassment.

WHY?! Why am I so awkward? Why am I so flustered around him? Why on earth did I hug him? She ran up the coastline as fast as she could, trying to get past these emotions. She wished she had never asked for the camera. She wanted nothing more than to hide in her room for the rest of the trip, never face Mark again. Being an exteme introvert was hard enough, but being an introvert who had feelings for someone was torture. It was a constant battle between a desire to be near them, and a desire to keep them at a distance so they couldn't see your awkwardness. But she'd have to return the camera at some point, so she might as well use it and try to redeem the rest of her day.

*********Author's Note************

I'm just trying to get this dream out there. There are going to be NUMEROUS grammatical and punctuation errors. I'm not writing well, I just want to write what's in my mind. :) Bear with it, if that sort of thing bothers you. Now...onward