A/N: Rated T for swearing and sexual content. Rating is probably going to change for safety, but no lemons.


Returning to Shady Creek after spending two months fulfilling excitement in the sunny environment that was Hawaii was a lot like getting off the most brilliantly designed rollercoaster of your life, then stepping off to get on a kiddy ride with your baby brother. Although, Leah couldn't deny she had missed the calming serenity and lovely familiarity of it all. She didn't precisely tan in the merciless rays of sunlight, simply burned to a crimson crisp that made her utterly sensitive to the touch. But it wasn't the type that made her outwardly bitter towards anyone who's flesh hue was not modernly hilarious. It was the type that put a big cocky grin on her face because she had gone someplace others wished they could follow, this burn was proof of its excellent severity.

"Honey," Leah's mother called from behind the car, the youth was slowly making her way towards the eerily silent home with her key twirling around her finger. "Could you help with the luggage sweetie?" Leah felt a stab of shame that she had nearly forgotten about their suitcases and swiftly spun on her heel with the intentions of being the helpful daughter she should've been. She squeaked an apology as she padded over on swift feet and joined her mother at her side. Her mother unlocked the trunk, the lid opened lazily into the air and revealed their suitcases. Leah reached inside and picked up two while her mother picked up the remaining pair. "Good to be back home?" Her mother wondered, setting down the baggage briefly to shut the trunk.

Leah hummed agreeably as she made her way towards the front door, dragging the luggage while being lost in her thoughts. "I mean, it's not Hawaii but I guess it's home." She shrugged and looked over her shoulder to acknowledge her mother coming up behind her. She settled the suitcases on the floor, then reached into her pocket to once again produce her key and unlock the door. She flung it open and, almost instantly, she was attacked by a pair of paws leaping up to stroke at her blouse, the source of them whined insistently for attention.

Leah stumbled slightly but seemed to recognize Bieber without effort, but it raised the question of how he had gotten here. And suddenly, from the living room, a choir of voices shouted 'SURPRISE!' and furthered her frightful jump, baggage falling from her grip. She stepped inside and scanned her gaze over every individual figure smiling at her vibrantly with excitement, a group of adolescents had gathered together inside her home. There were the faces she recognized, and a whole lot more she supposed had been invited simply so that the mass wasn't depressing.
"What even-" Leah stepped fully into the room and took to quickly doing a check around the room. There were balloons of neon coloring floating in every corner, streamers seemed to hang in spirals from the ceiling as well. "How did you get in here..." She turned suddenly just as her mother came in, beaming like this was a wild accomplishment she would forever cherish. "You gave them a key," she realized, the older woman nodding vigorously.

"Abby approached me right before we left and told me she and your other little friends wanted to surprise you when we got back, I had a duplicate key made for them."

Leah turned to scour the culprits, but they suddenly engulfed her into their loving embrace and she was flushed against too many bodies to decipher who was who. But then someone whispered in her hair, and his breath being so close to any part of her at all made her stiffen all over, heart seeming to jump in her throat. "Nice sunburn Leah."

Nick's words reminded her of the sudden pain she was currently in and she proceeded to twist ruthlessly in their enrapture. "Guys, let me breathe!" The bodies separated long enough to let her get a good look at everyone, her trio of comrades were encircling her. Simon, with his messy blonde hair and Harry Potter glasses, had his mouth turned up into his widest grin. From behind him, Bram joined them by wrapping his arms around the other boy's petite waist and rested his chin against his shoulder, welcoming her back in his quiet, relaxed tone. Simon leaned naturally against him.

She wasn't sure how someone could change so much in the spam of two measly months (she held secret suspicion that it had something to do with Abby's magnificent influence), but Nick had certainly done so entirely. He was so much taller than her, his dark hair had grown out to sweep those eyes she struggled looking away from. His figure, which she was used to being so scraggly and gangly, had broadened out with the tone of muscle, he was too beautiful to possibly fit in with their nerdy clique. But then, the same went for Abby- who was so stunning it made Leah want to cry. And damn that strange scent of French toast she carried with her everywhere.

Nick had his arm wrapped around his girlfriend, and seeing them together- all of them together- only seemed to painfully remind Leah that she was still lonlier than a strange person adoring a senseless pairing. She looked down at herself, at her oversized green sweater and holey stretch pants too large to even be sexily form fitting. She hadn't been briefed by her mother to look presentable for a sudden party happening in her living room. She suddenly wished her mother had, at the very least, insisted relentlessly that she wear one of her dresses.

Feeling self conscious in everyone else's sparkling attires, Leah lifted her hands up to undo the messy bun on her head (lazily made to keep the strands out of her eyes, not the cute style) and let her long tresses fall down past her breasts, then she crossed her arms underneath her chest. "You guys didn't have to do this," she smiled pleasantly, shaking her head back and forth.

"Actually, we did." Simon returned, tilting his head to the left so that the Bram's chin fit better into the crook. They were so adorable, so disgustingly in love, Leah had never been so happy for her friend because, out of everyone here, he definitely deserved his happiness. "If we'd just waited until we saw you at school, we'd be, like, the most boring friends ever."

"Excuse me," Abby spoke up from under Nick's arm, lifting a finger towards him in playful mockery of attitude. "I will leave all of you if I'm ever suddenly classified as boring in even the slightest." Nick pressed his face into her hair and whispered something that made her giggle like she'd just won the lottery and the rare warmth Leah felt towards the girl melted back into the typical coldness. Unpopular opinion of the year, it wouldn't be the worst thing on this planet if Abby suddenly had to move back to DC and never be permitted to see them again.

All around them, the party goers had gone into their own conversations, the soft sound of music filtered at a dull roar through the speakers. Leah's mother had quickly left to avoid the teenagers, most likely to get on her laptop and begin sharing photos of their vacation on Facebook. "Alright," Leah sighed, squinting at them each individually with moderately affectionate suspicion. "Who was it? Who's grand plan was it to throw me a party? Simon?" She raised a brow towards him, but he didn't get the chance of defense.

"Actually, it was me." Nick lifted his head away from Abby's hair and gave her a lopsided smile, something that made Leah want to kiss him all over. "I knew how much you hate being the center of attention, so I suggested we do exactly that so you keep in mind that you love us because we're assholes, not because we buy you teddy bears."

"Okay, but you don't buy me teddy bears. Like, ever. And let me tell you something, a teddy bear would've been so much more simpler than all of this." It was the first time Leah was directly acknowledging Nick, she realized with dismay, and she wondered if her joking prods made her seem like a raging bitch. Nick was grinning at her, but she amended herself anyway. "Er, I mean thanks. All of you thanks. I appreciate the unnecessary trouble you went through."

"That's the best we're gonna get out of her," Simon sighed, bending his head backwards to look towards Bram, who shrugged noncommittally. "Alright, let's party now."

So they did precisely that. Leah was politely asked at least a thousand times how Hawaii had been. To amuse herself, she tested how many ways she could answer "good" to each person. Thankfully, no one seemed interested in details, saving her from having to dive into them. Simon pulled her aside at one point and spoke to her in a voice that sounded deliberately sweetened. Leah wasted no time calling him out on it and he quickly dove into the item of his concerns: Nick. A lump thicker than anything Leah had ever struggled to swallow formulated in her throat, but she smiled and dismissively told him how bland he had suddenly become to her. Simon returned her smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. She knew very well that he didn't believe her for a second, considering how many years she'd spent unsuccessfully trying to simply be rid of this blasted unrequited crush.

Later, Nick got her alone as well, though it probably wasn't purposeful. Things like that tended to happen she supposed. Leah had needed space from socialism and sunk down into her couch with a red plastic cup filled with punch in her hand. She lasted for about twenty minutes, mindlessly daydreaming and watching the others as they interacted, when Nick dragged over one of the kitchen chairs settled in the living room for more seating, stopped it in front of her, then sat backwards on it. He looked towards her expectantly, but she wasn't particularly certain on what she was supposed to say to him. Due to this, she left it in ill minded silence. Apparently, this did not sustain any satisfaction, Nick stretched out his leg and tapped his shoe into the side of hers and she finally made herself look at him. "What are you thinking?" He asked.

Leah raised a brow up at him, lifting her eyes towards the ceiling as she considered her response. "I don't know," she finally shrugged, and it was the truth. Thoughts persisted her quickly, but they were so meaningless that the memory of them didn't so much as linger. "Nothing important. And I'm not avoiding anyone, seriously. I just needed to sit down for a little while." Tomorrow would begin school for all of them, but it had reached the point for Leah where nerves were nonexistent. Honestly, it would probably feel like she hadn't spent an entire summer away from the facility because she had been going for so long. She wondered if the same went for her little group.

Nick looked off to the side for a moment, he seemed thoughtful and she hated that. When Nick thought too hard into something, it was because he was trying to find some deeper meaning behind what had been said. Strangely, he was never good at reading Leah and she suspected that this turned him off. He shook his head and looked back towards her soberly, it made her straighten up in preparation because she wasn't certain what he was going to say. "We're glad you came back. It kinda sucked without you, like something was missing all throughout the summer. Text messages were definitely not enough." Leah wished he had changed the word we're to I'm, but that was simply a pathetic need for sentiment. But she appreciated his note of care nonetheless.

"It's almost like last year," he said suddenly, and this time he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were strangely fascinated with the toes of his shoes. She knew this wasn't a very good sign. "When you disappeared for over three days straight and wouldn't return anyone's messages, then suddenly showed back up with zero explanation." He lifted his gaze back to hers and Leah felt a sense of error between them, like she had invented a subtle virus in their friendship. Simon had gotten his explanation, had forced her to return to them because damn him for being so wonderful. And yes, she had behaved as though the entire thing never came to pass, despite her terrible resolve to stay away from them.

It had been painful for her, the day she realized that Nick, Simon, and fucking Abby were all in agreement to hang out together. How she hadn't been invited, how she hadn't even heard about the plans until Morgan and Anna had wondered "how on earth had Abby and Nick became something." They presumed she was with them and that she had witnessed it somehow.

But she hadn't even known.

Leah did not cry. It was a rare specialty that nobody was ever permitted to see because she was stronger than tears. But she had cried herself to sleep several times, not just because of Nick (she would never be that ridiculous, Nick could date whoever he pleased even if it hurt her), but because someone a thousand times better than her had stepped in out of no where and had replaced her without any effort. And she had hated Nick, had hated Simon, for making her feel so horribly inadequate. She had made amends with Simon, but she would never confront Nick about it, and she honestly didn't give a rat's ass about what Abby thought of her. However, to have it so suddenly brought up by Nick, like it had bothered him that she wasn't there anymore whenever he needed her, made her realize that he wanted to know what happened. Meaning Simon had been incredibly loyal enough not to spill about her breakdown even to Nick.

But none of that mattered because she had already concluded how she was not going to share in her thought process with him, ever. And to further this task, she was going to flat out ignore his obvious prod. "I know you brought your guitar," she said, crossing one leg over the other. "Are you gonna sing me something nice or...?" They stared at each other for awhile, Nick seemed blank over her inquiry but Leah was defiantly waiting for him to confirm that, yes, he was singing. He narrowed his eyes and poked the inside of his bottom lip with his tongue, then he stood up and moved away from her without another word, but he went straight into the hallway to retrieve the instrument. Leah sadly watched him go, knowing full well that they were broken. But she wouldn't try to fix it. Nick was far more complicated than Simon.

The music shut off, everyone gathered around to hear Nick play his guitar and sing Pink Floyd in the voice Leah adored so much. Abby clearly did as well because she was staring at him in a way that spoke of devoted romance and a type of pride that said he's mine. Leah could only look away.