-The Next Morning-

"Mitchie…Mitchie!" I jumped, snapping out of my concentrated stare out the window. It had finally stopped raining, but it left the world looking worn and dreary. Hey, at least it wasn't mocking me.

"Huh? Sorry. What's up?" I asked, stuffing my hands in the front of my pockets. Surprisingly, it never took me long to get dressed. Now Cate on the other hand, was a different story all together. I tried not to laugh at her disheveled appearance. T-shirt half tucked in, half hanging out, one boot on, the other pant leg was scrunched up to her knee. I slowly let my eyes trail up to her face, trying to hide the amused smirk slowly forming. I saw Nate at the vanity trying to do the same.

"Have you seen my boot? I can not find my boot. Nate! Did you take my boot? I'll be so mad if you did!" She said, her hands on her hips looking completely serious as she yelled at Nate across the room. Trying not to laugh, he held up his hands.

"I may be a lot of things, but stealing a shoe from a teenage girl…I'm not dumb enough to try that." He smirked, and I laughed softly as I took in his features. As Cate grunted and stomped off in search of the disappearing boot, his gaze met mine. He smiled up at me, and I couldn't help but return it.

Last night after Nate finally decided to come back in, we all decided that it would be best if he just spent the night there. We didn't want to risk him running through the camp, trying to make it back to his cabin while the storm kept escalating to an even worse state. After an over-dramatic argument of Cate and me saying that he would get one of the beds, and Cate and I would share the other, and him disagreeing about being a gentleman and how he'd sleep on the floor, we finally got him into one of the beds and sat on him until he promised to sleep there. Okay, a little harsh, but it worked.

"Man, I'm not even sure if I want to know what Jason did last night." He shook his head, making his perfectly defined curls bounce up and down and leaving one caught on the other making it stand straight up in the air. He kept talking about all the possibilities of what his unique band mate might have done, and I was just trying not to notice how funny…yet completely adorable he looked. He had a full-on serious face as he gestured, his eyebrows were scrunched, and this curl just kept bouncing all around, him not even knowing.

"…You know? Uh…Mitchie? Mitchie!" He said, standing up to wave his hands in my face. I blinked. Okay, now that's the second time I've majorly zoned.

"Sorry. I uh…" I started, still trying to keep in my giggles. He arched an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked, a little smile gracing his features. The curl still haunted me. Stupid curl. I started smiling, which quickly turned into a full-on laugh. I tried to control it, but once I looked up again, and saw how confused he looked, with that curl still pin-straight, I lost all control and doubled over laughing.

I tried to take in deep breaths, covering my mouth to bring down all the humor in me right now. It worked as long as I didn't look at him. Standing up with my back facing him, I calmed myself enough to turn back around. He looked more confused then ever, and I had to bite my tongue to prevent another outburst.

"Um…did I do something? Because I don't really know what's going on…" He looked down at me, his face full of question. I laughed lightly, stepping closer to him. I reached up, and gently untangled the soft curl. Having a sudden urge to run my fingers through his hair, I quickly pulled my hand back and immediately realized how close we were. He smiled crookedly…giving him such a sexy look, and my heart fluttered in my chest. I couldn't be feeling like this. No, I wasn't. It was just all of the stress. It had to be. But my heart thudded again as he brushed a few stray hairs out of my eyes.

"Thanks." He whispered. Our lips were only a lean's width apart, and I could feel him leaning.

Oh this wasn't good.

I looked away, feeling guilty and confused. I had just broken up with someone I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with. And the very next day, I almost kiss the person who I need as my friend, now more than ever? I swear rain does something to a person.

I slowly turned my head, needing to look him in the eyes again. He eyes were wide, and his mouth couldn't make up its mind on whether to open or close. I softened my face, laying a hand on his arm.

"Nate…" I started, trying to find the words to let him know I wasn't angry with him. I was angry with myself. But before I could, Cate waltzed back into the room, announcing her arrival very noisily I might add. The girl had impeccable timing.

I felt Nate jump back. Taking a deep breath, and putting on the best smile I could muster, I turned around. She was focused on looking around the room; I'm sure for her laptop case. I sighed; thank god she hadn't seen us. Her eyes sparkled as she laid them on her case, jogging over to get it.

"Ya ready?" She asked, slinging it over her shoulder and looking at both of us, I nodded. Her eyebrow went up.

Please don't say anything…please don't say anything…

Her mouth started to open and I closed the gap between us, taking hold of her shoulders as I guided her to the door.

"Come on, let's go. Don't want to be late for breakfast…" I said, still somewhat forcing her towards the exit.

"But, I…" She tried to talk, but finally gave up, glancing back at me. Rolling her eyes, she walked out the door and onto the muddy terrain, fiddling with her bag as she started to walk down the path. Phew. I sighed as I followed; glancing back to make sure Nate was coming.

He easily caught up with me, and I could feel his uneasy stare on the side of my face. His hand soon found its way onto my shoulder, making me stop. I looked up at him with understanding eyes; I needed him to know I wasn't upset.

"Mitchie…I'm sorry." He spoke softly, looking down into my eyes questioningly. I smiled, tapping his chin up with my finger teasingly.

"Don't be."

And I followed a now iPod listening Caitlyn as I tried to comprehend everything that had just happened.

XXXX

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