Cassie could remember reading a book that was home to a sentence that stuck with her. Well, not reading a book. More like… skimming a book while they were hiding from a hot day in a library. It mentioned something like the main character spending 'several sunlit days' with a girl. She had remembered it because she thought it was so stupid. Several sunlit days? Just because he was with a girl? Whatever.

Now, though, she thought she understood it. Her past several sunlit days had been amazing.

Monday was her 'birthday.' She would never hate Mondays again, if only because it was the day that she had her first official kiss with Nick. It had only taken, what, five years for it to happen? Cassie thought that was an okay time, especially considering he was ten years older than she.

Tuesday and Wednesday they parked their clunky old car by a lake. On the journey there, Nick had made her close her eyes because he wanted to surprise her with a water view. Her heart had lurched at the sight of the water, remembering her vision. But this was a lake and there was no tiger on his body when he took his shirt off to go swimming.

Still. Tattoo or no tattoo, it had been a nice view.

Thursday wasn't as sunny as the past days, since a conversation had blossomed as they slept in their car. It wasn't an inappropriate sleeping arrangement at all: Cassie got the back seats to stretch out on and Nick preferred to lean back in the passenger seat. Usually she slept in a way so that her feet were on the same side of the car as his head, but Thursday night… she had decided to lay down with her head next to his.

"Do you think we're getting close?" she had questioned softly, looking up at the black sky through the window. Nick hadn't replied straight away, so she had feared he had fallen asleep already. She needed this conversation for reassurance. If he wasn't awake, she'd have to find a way to casually wake him up…

"Getting close to what?" he asked finally, his voice as soft as hers. She liked the fact that he could be loud when he wanted to – like shouting her name over the crowd on a street like the day she had almost gotten lost in a marketplace. Sometimes, Nick could be soft. Like when he pulled her close on Tuesday, whispering something in her ear that made her throw her head back and laugh until she cried.

Cassie paused, wringing her hands on her stomach. "To them," she clarified, clearing her throat. "To my mom. And Kira. Do you think we're getting close? Do you think they've made it to wherever they were going?"

Nick stirred on the seat, rolling over onto his side. He stretched out a hand towards hers, stilling the hands that had been nervously wringing. "Cass," he breathed. "Yes, we're getting close. I think they're already there and waiting for you. I bet your mom has already set up an easel for you and bought you some nice how-to-draw books. Go to sleep."

Though she knew it must've been an awkward position for him – leaning halfway off of his reclined seat so he could lace his fingers through hers – she appreciated the gesture. Occasionally, just occasionally, Cassie had insecurities that she let show through. Nick was very, very good at calming her fears.

"Thanks," she whispered, getting no reply from him. Maybe he was already asleep. She spoke softly, so quietly that she wouldn't wake him up. "I can't wait to see her… It's been so long. I… I bet you want to see Kira again. What happens when she comes back?"

Cassie fell asleep a few minutes later, never having gotten her answer from Nick. As soon as the man was sure that the teenager in the back seat was soundly asleep, he tugged his hand away from hers so that he could move into a more comfortable position. He had pretended that he was asleep, too much of a coward to answer her question.

He didn't have an answer to give to her, anyway. He didn't know what would happen.

Friday was much better than Thursday night. A state fair had set up on some fairgrounds for a few days and Nick had somehow been roped into going to it. "Trust me," Cassie had assured him, dragging him out of their car.

"I trust you," he assured her. "Not evil carnies."

She laughed slightly, reminding him of why he liked her. "You've been watching too many Stephen King movies. Chill out. This isn't It. There's not going to be any dead ladies coming out of bathtubs."

"That was the Shining."

"Details, details," she had muttered, already forking over her ten dollars to gain access to the various rides and funhouses that had been tethered to the ground. "You'll have fun. And if you don't have fun, at least you can suck it up while you look at me having fun."

Nick's cheeks were sore by the end of the day from laughing and smiling so much. He didn't remember ever not smiling while she dragged him onto ride after ride after ride. As the fair was closing and they walked among the various carnival games to get back to the parking lot, Cassie suddenly tugged on his sleeve.

"Hey, hey, gimme two dollars," she demanded. He looked at her, bewildered at the urgent demand for money. He had two dollars, of course, but he didn't like to hand over money without knowing what it was for. Nick gave her a look, silently asking what she needed the two dollars for.

"I'll give you ten back," she assured him, her palm spread wide as he reluctantly laid two dollar bills into her hand. Cassie lifted his arm from her shoulder to approach one of the games. A large motor was set in the middle of a kiddie pool – attached to it were various paddles that stirred the water around in a continuous circle. Little rubber duckies were being pushed around in the water. A quick glance at a sign near the game promised that each duck had a different colored dot on its bottom that signaled a person's prize.

"Pick a duck, win a prize for two dollars," the man sitting next to the pool droned unenthusiastically. Nick couldn't really blame him. It must be boring work, waiting for someone to lift up a duck and examine it's… bottom. "You playing, darling?"

Nick watched – now he was unenthusiastic as the worker inspected Cassie's legs – as she gave the man the two dollars. "Nah, but he will," she said, jerking a thumb in Nick's direction. She beckoned Nick over, watching the pool carefully.

"Which one should I pick? Any suggestions, Cass?"

She stood on her toes, her mouth so near his ear that he could feel her damp lips brushing over it. "One of the ducks will get stuck near the motor. This guy's gonna reach to pull it away," As he watched, one of the cheerful looking ducks started to swirl down to the motor in the water. The worker cursed under his breath, pulling it from the machinery. "And you pick that one."

As soon as the duck was set back among the others, Nick gave the worker a half-hearted grin. "It needs to be picked after that," he told the man, his fingers snatching the duck from the water. He carefully overturned the rubber animal, noting the bright blue dot stamped on the bottom of it.

"We haaaave a winnerrrr," the worker cooed, taking the duck from Nick's grasp and releasing it back into the water. "Blue dot. You get a ten dollar gift certificate for the International House of Pancakes and a stuffed animal of your choice." He pointed to a wall of various stuffed toys that were either sitting or hanging off of small shelves.

Cassie picked a white rabbit as Nick retrieved the gift certificate. As they were walking away, he shook his head at her. "You said ten dollars."

"That is ten dollars," she said, her eyebrows creasing as she hugged the rabbit to her chest. "I mean, it's in breakfast currency but it's still ten dollars. It counts. We could always sell this fake rabbit to some blind kid and make a quick buck by claiming it was a real rabbit. Is that what you want? Huh? For me to go all Dumb and Dumber on you?"

Nick was about to ask her if she was even alive when that movie came out, but thought better of it. He was already painfully aware of how much older he was… he didn't need to remind her of it. While he drove back to their motel, all he could think of was the vast age difference.

All he could think of… until he saw who was sitting against their motel door.

Kira.

She had changed in the year and a half that they had been apart. Her hair looked shinier and healthier and the dark circles underneath her eyes had brightened up. Her smile was wide as she stood from her spot, instantly hugging Nick tightly. Before he could stop her, his mouth was being pressed against hers and opened by her lips.

Some part told him to stop. When he finally pulled away from her, he caught sight of Cassie. She wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were downcast, though he could practically see the hurt and anger sparking from them. The white bunny had been dropped and was now lying in a dirty puddle on the sidewalk.

"Hey, cute bunny," Kira said, going to retrieve it for her. "Did you win it somewhere?"

Cassie's voice was flat as she spoke, rubbing her temple slightly. "Yeah. I saw you coming and thought you should have a present," Nick marveled at her ability to lie. "This belongs to you. I'm pretty tired, though. It's sorta late. I'm going to bed. We can talk tomorrow. I know she's not with you anymore."