I woke up to a bright sun blazing through the windows the next morning. I turned over to see that the other side of my bed was empty; NOT as it was last night. I sighed, wondering if maybe I dreamt it, and slowly got up to get ready for the first day of camp. Shane was still sleeping, but Nate wasn't in the room. I went over to my yet-to-be-unpacked suitcase and picked out an outfit; a black tank top with silver trim, dark skinny jeans and a pair of flip flops. I went towards the bathroom just as the door opened. Steam rolled out from beyond the door and Nate stepped into the room, soaking wet from his head to his toes with a towel around his waist. I gulped, taking in the sight for a second, then shaking my head and looking down at the floor. I heard his footsteps coming closer to me, and I then saw his feet directly in front of mine; toe to toe. My eyes trailed up from his feet until they met his eyes, and I smiled.
"I didn't want Shane to coincidentally wake up before us, or I would wake up without a head." I giggled, ruffling his wet, curly hair, causing small droplets of water to hit me and the floor. I went cautiously around him and into the still steaming bathroom. Before I had shut the door behind me, he said: "isn't it amazing how even at an outdoor camp, we have amazing indoor plumbing?" I shut the door, laughing whilst I did it. I looked in the mirror while plugging in my flat iron. I brushed my hair and took off my pj's; replacing them with the outfit I had picked out. I put on my eye shadow, foundation and whatnot and then straightened the bits of my hair that had begun to curl in the night. I opened the door again just as Shane darted past me, shoving me out the door and slamming it shut. I looked over at Nate, who had just pulled a shirt on over his head, and laughed.
"He said he needed to straighten his hair." Nate saying that only made me laugh harder. If I wouldn't have already done my makeup, I probably would've cried. Nate smiled his brilliant smile as the cabin door opened. In came Mitchie, all bright and cheery, as always. I smiled.
"Excited?" She nodded rapidly and sat down on Shane's bed. She sighed loudly and laid back.
"Did you guys have a good night, last night?" Nate and I looked at each other sheepishly, remembering that we almost kissed, and I nodded.
"Yea, it was interesting." Mitchie sat up on her elbows and quirked a brow at me.
"Well, you slept most of the afternoon, plus the evening.. You couldn't have done anything much fun, right?"
"Oh, I beg to differ." I looked over at Nate, who smirked lightly and I felt my face get hot. This only made Mitchie's eyebrow rise higher. The moment she opened her mouth to ask about it, Shane had opened the bathroom door.
"I'm telling you guys.. I'm about to just shave my head. It's so difficult to straighten anymore." Mitchie's gaze averted over to him and she chuckled.
"Don't shave it. No matter what you do with it, you'll always find something about it to complain about." We all laughed at his despair, as he narrowed his eyes at us.
"Not funny." We all started out the door and made our way to the mess hall for breakfast. Walking in reminded me of the bad dream I had yesterday and I looked around frantically to make sure no one was following us. Nate came up beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"You alright?" I looked up at him and nodded, smiling, and then Shane opened the mess hall door for us. We saw Jason and Caitlyn sitting at a table alone together and we waved. Caitlyn noticed and waved back, indicating that they saved us some seats. As I started to walk past the table to go get food after Nate had pulled away from me, he grabbed my hand and led me to a seat to sit down.
"I'll get you some food. Go ahead and stay here." He smiled at me as he proceeded to walk up to the food selections given to us along with Shane and Jason. Caitlyn leaned in and whispered: "I think we have our own private butlers!" We shared a look and laughed at the thought of the boys being our butlers. Once we started to calm down, Mitchie looked at me tauntingly and smiled evilly.
"So, what's going on with you and Nate?" I looked at her quizzically.
"Nothing… Why do you ask?" She shrugged and sighed.
"No reason.. I just happened to notice that you guys would be pretty cute together, is all." I glanced over at Nate, picking out food for us, when he noticed my gaze and gave a wink. I blushed furiously and turned back around to the girls. Caitlyn gasped.
"What was THAT all about missy?" I smiled and whispered tauntingly: "the world may never know." By that time, the guys had returned with trays of goodies and we started digging in. Just as I was pulling a spoonful of eggs to my mouth, Nate cleared his throat. I lowered my spoon.
"Here; try this." He scooped up some cherry Jell-O with a whipped cream filling in his spoon and brought it to my mouth. I happily obliged him by opening my mouth and allowing the spoons contents to overtake. Mouth closed, I smiled as he pulled the spoon away and he smiled back.
"It's quite yummy, if I must say so myself."
"I figured you'd think so." I blushed again, unable to hide my emotions.
"So, what are we doing today guys?" I looked over at Mitchie and shrugged.
"What're our options?" She sighed.
"Well classes won't begin for a few more days.. So, really, we can do whatever we want." I smiled as Caitlyn piped in.
"Sounds like a plan to me!" I giggled as we started talking about the swimming suits we had bought specially for camp and I had finally finished off my food. I stood up, threw my trash away and stood behind Nate.
"I think I'm gonna go back to the cabin for a little bit.. I wanna work on something." I smiled and waved goodbye to my friends and headed off.
Mitchie's POV
I watched Sammy's retreating back while I listened to Caitlyn talk about her leopard print one piece bathing suit, when I looked over at Nate and saw something. Something different about him. The minute Sammy left, his body language and mood just changed. He was sitting with his eyes fixated on his tray, temple resting on his hand, using his fork to push little bits of food left over from what he had eaten, left to right. For a moment, it almost appeared as if he were sad or depressed, but it HAD to be because she left. I reached out and touched his forearm, causing him to jump a little. I smiled and whispered: "why don't you go hang out with her?" He smiled, nodding in thanks for the reassurance, and rushed up from the table and out the door. Shane stopped, midsentence, and looked at me questionably.
"Where's he going?"
"To hang with Sammy." He quirked a brow.
"You know, he's been actin' a bit weird around my sister lately.. I've been thinking that-"
"-that we should all go swimming when Jason finally gets done with his giant stack of waffles." I finished for him, as we all looked over at Jason, whose mouth was stuffed to the brim.
Nate's POV
'I wonder what it is she wanted to work on.. Maybe she wants to be alone..' I was kinda scared to just barge in on Sammy after I got closer to the dorm. I kept walking and not even 3 feet away from the screen door, I heard her. She was singing, and she was singing like an angel. I tiptoed closer and looked in. She was sitting on her bed with an acoustic guitar in hand and a few sheets of paper in front of her. (NOTE: this is Jar of Hearts by Christini Perri. I thought it would be a good song for her to have "written" for the story.)
"No, I can't take one more step towards you.
'Cause all that's waiting is regret.
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore?
You lost the love I loved the most..
I learned to live, half alive,
And now you want me one more time.
Who do you think you are,
Runnin' 'round leaving scars?
Collecting your jar of hearts,
And tearing love apart.
You're gonna catch a cold,
From the ice inside your soul.
So don't come back for me.
Who do you think you are?
I hear you're asking all around,
If I am anywhere to be found.
But I have grown too strong,
To ever fall back in your arms.
I've learned to live, half alive,
And now you want me one more time?
It took so long just to feel alright.
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes.
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed.
'Cause you broke all your promises.
And now you're back?
You don't get to get me back."
She paused for a moment, wiping away a stray tear and then she continued.
Who do you think you are,
Runnin' 'round leaving scars?
Collecting your jar of hearts,
And tearing love apart.
You're gonna catch a cold,
From the ice inside your soul.
Don't come back for me.
Don't come back at all.
Who do you think you are?"
I heard her release a few sobs as she set down the guitar and I opened the door. She looked up, fearing that I heard her and rapidly started wiping away her tears.
"Nate.. How long have you been there?" I smiled weakly at her.
"Long enough to hear everything." She bowed her head down and looked at the floor. I stood in front of her, pulling her to her feet by taking her hands in mine, and wiped away a tear streaming halfway down her face.
"Come here.. I have something to show you."
Jason's POV
I had just walked out of my cabin with my swim trunks on when I saw Nate and Sam heading for a small area behind a large tree by the lake. I smiled evilly. 'Time to spy!' I grabbed my towel quickly and silently followed them downhill. I noticed that Nate had an acoustic guitar in his hand, and wondered what they were up to. Caitlyn and Mitchie wouldn't stop talking about how cute they would be together, and it's about time I see some of what's been going on between them lately! I saw Sam sit behind the tree and Nate sat in front of her on a small tree stump. He positioned the guitar and began to play:
Take my hand tonight.
We can run so far.
We can change the world, do anything we want.
We could stop for hours just staring at the stars.
They shine down to show us.
You know when the sun forgets to shine,
I'll be there to hold you through the night.
We'll be running so fast we could fly tonight.
And even when we're miles and miles apart,
You're still holding all of my heart.
I promise it will never be dark.
I know we're inseparable.
We could run forever if you wanted to.
I would not get tired,
Because I'd be with you.
I'll keep singing this song until the very end.
We'd done all these things.
He paused, only for a moment, to smile at her. I leaned a bit to the side to notice that she was smiling back at him, and then he continued with the song.
You know when the sun forgets to shine,
I'll be there to hold you through the night.
We'll be running so fast we can fly tonight.
And even when we're miles and miles apart,
You'll still be holding all of my heart.
I promise it will never be dark.
I know we're inseparable.
I would give it all,
Never let you fall,
'Cause you know we're inseparable.
I would give it all,
Just to show you I'm in love,
'Cause you know we're inseparable.
You know when the sun forgets to shine,
I'll be there to hold you through the night.
We'll be running so fast we can fly tonight.
And even when we're miles and miles apart,
You'll still be holding all of my heart.
I promise it will never be dark.
I know we're inseparable.
"Nate.. That was beautiful." She got up from her spot and he gently laid the guitar down next to him and they embraced each other. After a few seconds, they began to pull apart when I felt someone's hand on my shoulder and not a second later, I was in the water.
Sammy's POV
After the giant splash I heard beside us, Nate and I looked over to see Shane laughing, pointing at the water where Jason's head emerged. I gasped and the sight and let out a small giggle. Nate chuckled. I looked down to notice his arms were still wrapped around my waist as we both got to our feet.
"Interesting day, already, isn't it?" I nodded.
"Sammy.. The song you were singing earlier.. Was it about Troy?" I nodded sulkingly.
"Yea, it was something that really helped me get over everything. I just wanted to finish the last verse, which I did before you heard me singing. So mission accomplished." I smiled up at him and he smiled back.
"Well, it was good. Amazing, even. I try to put as much emotion as that into my OWN songs."
"And you succeed at it. I mean, the song you just played for me, was so great. It had just the right twinge of happiness and just the right about of feeling in it.. You know?" Nate opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Jason catcalling towards us. Shane looked over, mouth wide, and we pulled apart. Mitchie came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle, kissing his shoulderblade.
"Babe, leave them be." Now he was gaping at her.
"But.. But-"
"Shush. Let them be." He sighed in defeat and they joined Jason, who was still in the water. I picked up Nate's guitar and took his hand, walking towards the tourbus, which was behind the cabins.
"I wanna play some Rockband." Nate chuckled at me, opening the bus' door for me. I set down the guitar by driver's seat and went to sit down in front of the TV. As Nate started hooking up the game, he said: "some things just never change, do they?"
'My feelings for you sure did..'
