Hello! I'm back and have fallen into the wonderful world of CR2 :) I watched it yesterday, wrote this, realised it wasn't very good and posted it anyway. In that order. Obviously with my primary pairing in this fandom being NateCaitlyn, I couldn't stand Dana. Hope you're all well and haven't missed me too much! I'm kidding.
P.S ~ Kevin is adorable, and I can not take to him being Jason. It just doesn't fit. Is that just me?
Dana breaks up with Nate three days before the end of Camp. She tells the truth: that she liked the thrill of forbidden romance, that now there is no risk there is no excitement. He tells her that he understands when clearly (clearly) he does not. That makes Dana angry. That he just accepts it, that he won't fight for her, tell her what he really feels. But she does not say anything more, just leaves him standing by the lake, because she knows that if Nate can't tell her his true feelings there wasn't much point anyway.
;;
Dana does not expect Caitlyn Geller, of all people, to confront her on the second to last day of Camp. If anything she was expecting a pissed off Shane, telling her how much of a Tess Tyler she was, and how if she ever hurt his brother again … etc. Typical. Instead she is walking towards her cabin and is turned forcefully by fingers gripping her wrists. She's spun around so quickly that it takes a few seconds for her head to stop spinning. She can feel the pressure of the fingers, and imagines they'll leave bruises, like a thorned bracelet laced around her wrist.
Caitlyn, who she recognises as a friend of Nate's, is standing there with a very stormy look on her face. So, Dana thinks, it is not Shane that will do the yelling after all. She waits for Caitlyn to speak, assuming she will do so, and it takes barely a second.
"Nate won't tell you this because he's a nice person who, even after everything you've done, doesn't want to hurt your feelings more than necessary. But he has me to hurt the feelings for him. I tend to tell people exactly what I think about them and you are no exception -I think you're a horrible person, and you had no right to do that to Nate. If you ever hurt him again, I will make your life a living hell, got that?"
And then Caitlyn grins as if every word she's said had been sweet and lovely. That makes it even more frightening.
Dana blinks, shocked that this tiny girl with the crazy hair could convey so much with just a few sentences. She hasn't talked to Caitlyn much, and a voice in the back of her head gleefully informs her that if she had, this confrontation wouldn't be taking place. Dana has a way of influencing people, but something told her that Caitlyn would stand firm in her opinion, unable to be swayed by a charming smile and a few choice words. If the rumours were true, Caitlyn had already dealt with the same thing from none other than Tess. And, while Caitlyn had been talking, there had been something lighting up her eyes. Something that Dana notices, but can't place. And it is only now, as the silence surrounds them like a thick blanket, that Dana realises what it was.
Passion.
Which could only mean one thing. And Dana isn't about to back down to a girl shorter than her, with anger issues and a sly grin. She returns the smile to Caitlyn and replies, ignoring everything Nate's best friend has said in favour of trying to embarrass her:
"So how long have you been in love with Nate?"
Caitlyn freezes, much to Dana's obvious delight. She smirks, crossing her arms and basking in the glory that was Caitlyn's surprise. It takes several seconds for Caitlyn to respond, but when she does the words hit Dana with full force.
"Longer than you, obviously." And then Caitlyn turns on her heel and walks off, leaving a very shocked Dana behind her.
;;
"You didn't have to do that for me, Caitlyn."
Caitlyn looks up from her book and grins when she sees Nate. He is already moving to sit down.
"Yeah I did, she hurt you, so I hurt her," Nate looks shocked, but Caitlyn quickly adds "not physically, Nate," to reassure him. He relaxes.
The silence is comfortable, and Caitlyn goes back to finishing the chapter in her book before turning to her best friend. He still looks broken, and that alone makes Caitlyn even angrier at Dana. Nate has always been unsure of himself, hiding his feelings for fear of rejection unless it comes to music. And one of the only times he opens up to a girl who isn't Caitlyn, exactly that happens.
"She wasn't a nice person, Nate." She says it softly, so that the blunt words won't hurt as much. It doesn't work, because Nate's face crumples regardless and Caitlyn has only seen him like this once, when his Grandma died.
"I know, Cait. But that's what makes it worse. That of all the people that I really like, she has to be like … like Tess."
Caitlyn flinches at the name, a reflex action, but doesn't mention it. "It's not your fault, Nate. You didn't know what she was like. Girls like that, they're good at manipulating. Do you really think I'd have stuck around with Tess if she didn't trick me?"
Nate smiles, bumping shoulders with her. He knows how defensive she gets about Tess, and she doesn't talk about it lightly. Caitlyn rests her head on his shoulder, a familiar position, and closes her eyes. For a moment she can pretend that this summer nothing out of the ordinary has happened. No Camp Star, no televised competitions, no Dana.
Caitlyn knows that Dana is slowly being forgotten – or at least the positive things about her are slowly draining from Nate's mind. And she can't risk that not happening.
She thinks back to what Dana said, remembers her reaction, and knows that this isn't the time to tell Nate about her crush. Any other time, she would have. She's blunt, to the point and wouldn't hide her feelings unless absolutely necessary. The opposite to Nate, in many ways. But it works. They click together like pieces of a puzzle. And right now, with Nate heartbroken over a girl, it really isn't the time to tell him so. No matter how much she wants to.
"Thanks, Cait," Nate says after a few seconds have passed.
Caitlyn thinks of all the things she could say in response. Of all the ways she could tell him she's sorry she let him fall for the wrong girl, that she was to wraped up in winning than she was about the possibility that Nate would fall for a girl so quickly, or that Dana wasn't worth it. Instead, the words that she does speak are "no problem."
And, for now at least, there isn't one.