A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. :)
"She blew me off. I knew it." Nate sighed, standing inbetween two trees with his hands in his pocket. The moonlight shone down on his curly locks, illuminating his face. "Damn, Tess, why do you always do this?" he muttered, beginning to walk back toward his cabin. Once he got there, he walked in quietly and plopped down on his bed, rubbing his forehead.
"Nate?" Jason's eyes opened warily and he looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Where were you?"
"Nowhere, just go back to sleep."
"Okie dokie." Jason turned over, and two seconds later, snoring could be heard from him.
Nate laughed quietly and shook his head. He stretched out on the bed, trying not to think about anything.
-x-
Tess suddenly awoke with a start. No, it wasn't the fact that she had been dreaming about Nate; it was what was happening in the dream.
Get your heads out of the gutter, she wasn't dreaming about that.
Anyway, in the dream, they were walking outside by the lake. It was dark and his hand was intertwined with hers. It made her realize what she didn't do last night.
"Oh shit, Nate!" She sat up and looked out the window. What she didn't expect to see was hundreds of puddles everywhere on the ground and a hooded person splashing through all of them.
She got up and tip-toed past the sleeping Ella and Peggy. She pushed her feet into her slippers and walked outside, eyeing the figure walking around.
"Nate?" she asked hopefully.
The figure just kept walking.
"Nate, come on. I'm sorry about last night!" She rushed over to him and grabbed onto his arm.
"Aha, the legendary Tess Tyler actually saying sorry."
Tess drew back. "Shane?"
"That would be me." He grinned and looked over at her.
"Oh, I thought you were Nate. Well, do you have any idea where he is?"
"The last time I saw him he was sleeping... like any sensible person."
"I guess we're crazy then." Tess shrugged.
Shane laughed. "Yeah, I guess we are." He glanced over at her and said, "Why are you actually acting nice? I've never seen this side of you before."
"No one has," she muttered bitterly.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Oh, ok."
They continued walking in silence until it started pouring down rain. Tess was only wearing a sheer white tanktop and some dark blue sweatpants, so you could pretty much imagine what was happening to her. She was freezing. And it just so happened her shirt was becoming see-through. She looked over at Shane who was wrapped up in his hoodie, not even paying attention to her.
If Nate was here he'd give me his jacket...
They approached the row of cabins, and as soon as Shane was about to leave, it started thundering and lightning. Hail fell from the sky, bouncing off the cabins and ramming into the ground.
"Oh shit," Shane and Tess said at the same time. They looked over at each other, then ran inside Shane's cabin. Jason was gone; he must have left to go to the mess hall or something. Nate was still lying in bed sleeping, but when he heard the door slam and felt the harsh winds come in for those brief three seconds, his eyes shot open and he glanced around, wide-eyed. "What's happening?!" he demanded, not seeing Tess standing by the door.
"It's raining really hard," Shane explained slowly.
"I can see that, retard. Why are you all wet?"
"Well... I went walking and it started raining... and yeah."
Tess was backing away slowly, trying to plan her escape so he didn't notice her. It was all going well until she bumped into the banister and fell, which resulted in a loud crash. Nate and Shane both looked over at her and she stared at them, biting her lip.
"What are you doing here?" Nate asked darkly.
"I was just leaving." She looked totally out of place as she stood up and wiped her hands. She turned to the door and grabbed the knob, ready to open it.
"Stop being stupid. Anyone who goes out in that is insane."
"I can take care of myself," she glared, throwing open the door and stepping out into the rain.
"Why does she have to be so freakin' stubborn?" Nate muttered, getting out of bed and following her outside. He instantly saw her running and splashing quickly in front of him. He came up behind her, picked her up by the waist, waited a moment while she screamed, then dragged her back to the cabin.
"Damn you Nate."
He rolled his eyes and collapsed back on his bed. Tess sat down in the corner and glared at the wall. Shane stared at both of them, wondering what they were gonna do next. "You know, you two are very entertaining," he pointed out.
"Shut up!" They both said at the same time, then glared at each other.
"Is there something here that I don't know about?" Shane asked with an eyebrow raised.
"It's none of your business," Tess hissed.
"C'mon, tell Dr. Shane. Let's work through your problems." He sat on the bed in the middle of them and smiled.
"Are you serious?" Tess scoffed.
"Yeah man, this is stupid," Nate said.
"Ok look. It doesn't seem like the storm is gonna let up anytime soon, and I'm bored."
"So? It's not like I care."
"I guess the bitch is back."
"I take that offensively."
"Good, you should."
Tess groaned. These guys were impossible. She turned her back to the them and stared out the window. Nate took out his guitar and started strumming it, and Shane laid on the bed, bored out of his mind.
"You know what, I'm outta here. And don't even try to stop me, Nate," Tess said after five minutes had passed. She stood up and walked straight out the door. Nate didn't even notice.
"Aren't you gonna go after her?" Shane asked.
"You said it yourself; the bitch is back. If she's gonna be like that, then I don't care." Nate started playing some tune on his guitar, not even realizing what he was doing.
"Hey, that sounds pretty cool! Did you write a new song?" Shane asked excitedly.
"No..." Nate grabbed his notebook and looked at the blank pages. All of a sudden, inspiration came to him. He picked up a pen off the floor and hastily started writing. He used the tune he had from before and tried it with some of the lyrics. It fit pretty well, and thirty minutes later, he was done with it. He tried singing it, hoping it would sound okay.
She's got a smile
That I die for
Everyone knows that I'm
A prisoner of war
For her
Yeah
Sometimes I wish
I had a kung fu grip
I'd never let her slip away
She'd be my girl
I really wish she knew
What I feel is true
She'd be my doll
And I would be her hero too
I'm so in love with her
I don't care who knows that I'm
Ready to fight
Ready to go
Just like a GI Joe
Sometimes I wish
I had a kung fu grip
I'd never let her slip away
She'd be my girl
I really wish she knew
What I feel is true
She would be my doll
And I would be her hero too
Sometimes I wish
I had a kung fu grip
I'd never let her slip away
She'd be my girl
I really wish she knew
What I feel is true
She would be my doll
And I would be her hero too
She'd be my doll
And I would be her hero too
She'd be my doll
And I would be her hero too
Shane started clapping. "Good job, man!"
"Thanks." Nate smiled shyly.
"So, is this song about anyone in particular?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"I think I would know if it was," the lie rolled off his tongue so easily.
"Okay then. Oh, look at that. The storm's gone! Yes!" Shane ran out of the cabin, probably going to meet Mitchie.
Nate smiled softly and laid his guitar down. He looked at the lyrics he just wrote and murmured, "If only she knew."
Tess, who was sitting outside the cabin under the little roof thing, heard him. She had listened to him sing; she knew every single word he and Shane exchanged. She was mentally beating herself up for being so stupid.
All he wanted to do was keep me safe.
She sighed, then figured she might as well go. Sitting outside someone's cabin might seem a little suspicious. She stood up, staring at the ground, so it was natural for her to not notice Nate coming out the door. They bumped into each other, and Tess immediately looked up at him. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"What are you doing out here?" Nate asked, confused. He thought she left a long time ago.
"Did you honestly think I was gonna run halfway across camp in the pouring rain in these shoes?" She pointed down at her slippers and he grinned.
"So you just sat out here in the cold? In that tanktop?" He pointed at her drenched tanktop and she laughed.
"You know, you could've came back in."
"My pride got the best of me." She shrugged. "I really wish I could control that."
"You can."
"I'm just not good at it."
"I can help you get over it."
"Really? You would do that?"
"Well, why not? When you go back home, I want you to be yourself."
"Oh. Right..." Tess sighed. Nate was wondering if he said something that offended her. If he did, he sure didn't mean to.
"Uh... sorry if I said anything wrong."
"No, it's not what you said. I just really wish I met you earlier. I can't believe there's only two days left 'til we all leave," Tess said, her shoulders slumping.
Nate only nodded. "We would've been gone last night if Brown didn't extend it for three more days."
"Yeah... I'm glad he did. I'm not looking forward to going home."
"Me either. Out here, you don't have the whole world chasing you. I mean, there's a couple obsessed fans here, but there's no press. No paparrazzi. It's nice to get some time away, you know?"
"Believe me, I know. Even though I'm not the famous one, it seems like it is. Just without all the makeup people and interviewers."
"Your mom's TJ Tyler, right?"
"Unfortunately."
Nate glanced at the thin smile on her face, almost begging him to shut up before he ventured into deep territory. Better not push the subject of her mom. "So, um, wanna go get some brunch?" he asked instead.
"I kinda need to change first." She laughed, then slapped his arm gently and turned around, walking away from him, her hips gently swaying from side to side.
She went into her cabin and grabbed a change of clothes from her bag. She put it on, fixed her makeup, and tried to contain her already frizzing hair. She brushed it a couple times and was finally satisfied. She smiled at her reflection, then headed off toward mess hall, where Nate was waiting outside the door.
He waited for me! He's so sweet.
"Stalker!" she said once she made her way there. She giggled and strolled past him.
"Me? Stalker? Psh, no way. A stalker would've been someone who followed you to your cabin and watched you change."
"Ew, ok, don't even go there." They got in line for the food, and Nate started cracking some lame jokes, but she laughed along anyway. When he told one that was actually funny, she started laughing so hard, she didn't notice where she was going. She took her tray of food and turned around, accidently running straight into someone. Her tray of food spilled all over them and her hand instantly went to her mouth. "Oh my God, I am so sorry!"
"Thanks a lot, Tess."
"Oh my gosh, Nate! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you!"
"Don't worry about it."
Tess ran to the kitchen and grabbed a bunch of napkins. She came back out and threw them at Nate, who caught them graciously. She took a few for herself, then tried to wipe the food off his sleeve.
"Tess, it's fine, really."
"No it's not. C'mon, atleast let me help you." Nate just rolled his eyes and let her try to get the stain out of his shirt, which didn't end up well.
"I'll just go change, it's no big deal."
"But I feel so guilty! Wasn't that like your favorite shirt?"
"Um, no, no it wasn't," he lied. He was becoming better at this.
"Shut up and stop lying." Tess grabbed his hand and dragged him outside toward his cabin. She pushed him inside and said, "Take off your shirt and give it to me so I can wash it."
"No way."
"Nate. Give. Me. Your. Shirt."
"No!"
"Why? Are you embarrassed to let me see you shirtless even for two seconds?" She smirked.
He blushed and shook his head. "Of course not."
"Then take it off."
"Why do you want my shirt?"
"So I can wash the damn thing!"
"I can do that myself."
"Looks like the tables are turned, huh?"
"Apparently."
"Nate, I swear. If you don't give me your freakin' shirt right now, I will rip it off you."
"God, you're so freakin' stubborn, you know that?"
"Yes." She smiled proudly, then reached her hand out and gestured for the shirt.
"Ugh, fine. Here." He slipped the shirt off as quickly as possible and handed it to her. "You happy now?"
"Maybeee." She shrugged, then looked down at him. "I was expecting you to have more muscles than that." She giggled slighty and winked, then stalked off with his shirt.
He blushed bright red and turned around, searching through his cabin for something that looked acceptable. He heard footsteps and hastily grabbed something out his small bag. He threw on a white t-shirt and a blue checkered shirt over it, glancing down at his hands, and left the cabin, hoping to avoid Tess and just make his way to the mess hall.
"Lookin' good, rockstar."
He froze and slowly glanced to his right. Standing there was Tess, hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.
"Stalker!" he cried out, smirking back at her.
"Hey, it wasn't like I was standing there looking in your window. But I did see some girl pass by and see you and stare..."
"What?!"
"Kidding. Haha."
He glared at her and turned right back into his cabin.
"Aren't you gonna get some lunch or something?" She followed him inside and sat down beside him.
"I'm not hungry anymore." He shrugged and grabbed his guitar, leaning back on the bed.
"Suddenly, I'm not either." She took his guitar from him and recited some already too familiar notes.
"Wait, huh? How do you know that song?" He stared at her, confused out of his mind.
"You big idiot, don't you remember I was sitting outside your cabin all this morning?"
"Oh.. right. And I don't appreciate that big idiot comment."
"Oh shut up." She strummed the guitar and started humming something.
"I didn't know you knew how to play guitar."
"I really don't. Just a little."
"Want me to teach you?"
"That'd be great." She grinned at him while he carefully lifted Jason's guitar out of its case.
The next two hours were spent with Nate teaching Tess everything she needed to know about guitar playing.
A/N: No cliffy. Hehe. Oh and btw sorry if this story is being rushed... I'm honestly not trying to make it like that.
