(A/N - hey guys! So I, (the writer) love you guys, (the readers) so much, that I decided to give you another chapter today. Just think of it as a way early (or late) birthday present. I know, I know, I'm a nice girl... Actually, the real reason is because I have been doing some serious procrastination on studying for my final exams tomorrow. So... enjoy. ;D )

"Austin, you alright?" I heard someone ask from beside me. "You haven't been talking for like, half an hour. What's up, man?" I turned to see Riker sitting next to me. I thought about confiding in him, because if I were to talk to any of my cousins about this, it would be him or Rydel. They give the best advice, while Ratliff and Rocky are more into making jokes. My first choice to have a deep conversation with would be Ally, but since she is the reason that I'm being quiet, I guess I can't do that. And Dez is like a brother to me, and a great listener, but Ally and Trish have ways of prying information out of him.

"Yeah, I'm alright," I sighed quietly, making sure nobody else could hear. Rydel and Ally were in their tent, and the rest of the guys were on a hike, so it seemed safe. "It's just, that Ally and I made a bet today, and the loser has to tell the winner who they like. We tied, though, so we decided we both had to tell - but at a random time, not right then. And I'm really excited to find out who Ally likes, but I'm dreading the moment that I might have to tell her, because she might not feel the same way."

"Look, man," he said, glancing over at the girl's tent as they erupted in giggles. "Ally totally likes you. I know that you won't believe it until you hear her say it, but I can tell. Look, you said that you were going to tell her before we leave. That's only a little over a week away, and if we can help you at all, we will."

"Thanks, bro," I said, giving him a fist bump. "I just really hope you're right about how Ally feels." We got quiet when we heard a zipper noise, and turned to see Ally and Rydel leaving their tent, cracking up.

"Uh, are we interrupting something?" Rydel asked, looking back and forth between Riker and I. They could probably tell that we were having a conversation.

"Not at all," I said, standing up and smiling. "We were just talking." I looked over to Ally who was giving me a shy smile. I winked at her, and the blush that crept to her cheeks didn't go unnoticed.

"Austin, will you come with me to the lake?" Rydel asked, giving me a look. "I left my towel there this afternoon, and I don't want to go back alone." I nodded and we headed off in that direction. A minute or so into the trees, however, Rydel plopped down on a low branch in a large tree and patted the branch next to it.

"Don't we need to go get your towel?" I asked, giving her a perplexed glance. I sat on the branch anyway, though.

"No, it's in my tent," she said, rolling her eyes. This only made me more confused, so I motioned for her to continue. "I just wanted to talk to you. So, how much of our conversation did you hear last night? Because I know you were listening outside of our tent." My eyes grew wide, and Rydel laughed. "Don't worry, I didn't tell Ally that you were listening. But I just want to know why, and what you heard."

"Okay, well I really was just bringing you guys some water," I said truthfully. "But I heard Ally say, 'You think Austin really likes me?', and I kept listening. I just wanted to hear if Ally liked me or not, but now I realize that if she does, I want her to tell me to my face. But I still don't think she likes me."

Rydel groaned. "You two are so oblivious to the obvious," she shouted, rolling her eyes. I started to ask her about it, but she cut me off. "If you want to know anything else, just ask Ally. Let's go." We started walking back to the camp site, and found that Dez, Rocky, and Ratliff still weren't back from their hike. We did see Ally and Riker in the middle of a hug, however.

I felt a surge of jealousy and stomped off towards my tent, crawling into my sleeping bag. I heard the shuffling of fabric from the front of the tent, and groaned. "What do you want, Riker?" I asked, bitterly. I can't believe that he's the one that Ally likes - my own cousin. And how could he do that to me? He just told me that he thinks Ally likes me and that I should tell her how I feel!

"Um," I heard a soft voice say, and I turned to see Ally easing onto the ground next to me, reaching out to put a hand on my arm. "What was that all about? Are you okay?" I sighed and pulled myself up into a sitting position.

"So, Riker is the guy you like, huh?" I asked, glancing over at her. For some reason, I couldn't meet her gaze. "You can go ahead and tell me. We both lost the bet, remember?"

She quirked an eyebrow at me. "Riker?" she asked. "Okay, first of all, he is four years older than me. Second, no, I don't like him. I mean, he's a cool guy and all, and really nice, like an older brother almost. But, I don't like him like that. I was just asking him for guy advice. And third, if I ever did like him, it would be because of how much he reminds me of the guy that I really like."

I slapped my hand to my forehead repetitively, muttering how stupid I am. I can't believe I jumped to conclusions, thinking that Ally likes my cousin, and that he liked her back. I should've known that Riker would never do that to me. "Sorry, Als," I said, finally looking her in the eyes.

They were full of concern and were practically boring holes right through me. I reached out and grabbed her hand, intertwining our fingers. "Austin?" she asked, looking up at me. "Please tell me what is going on."

"It's nothing," I said, giving her hand a squeeze. "It's just a guy thing. I promise you don't need to worry about it. I just freaked out a bit about my twenty year-old cousin and sixteen year-old best friend possibly liking each other."

She looked like she bought it, and she leaned in and pressed her lips against my cheek quickly. "Well, thank you for worrying about me," she whispered, wrapping her arms around me in a hug.

This is the third time that Ally has kissed me on the cheek. But this time, I did something different, something that I didn't even think I would do. I leaned down and pressed my lips against her cheek. "I'm always going to worry about you, Als," I whispered back.

When I leaned back, she reached up and touched her cheek looking at me with a mix of awe and confusion. We just sat there, grinning at each other, and once again, I had an inner battle, wondering if now was the right time to tell her. "Yo, Austin," I heard Dez shout from outside, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Where are you? I found a squirrel."

"I guess we should go," I said to Ally, taking her hand and helping her to her feet. We ducked out of the tent, and I saw Dez standing there, with a squirrel latched to his arm. My cousins were all standing a good distance away from him, glancing towards the squirrel with looks of fear. "Dez," I said cautiously, gently pushing Ally behind me. I didn't want to the squirrel to suddenly go ballistic and hurt anyone, especially her.

"It's going to be my new best friend," Dez said excitedly, putting his hand out towards the squirrel, as if expecting a high-five. The squirrel narrowed it's eyes and flashed it's teeth in Dez's direction.

"Dez, let the squirrel go, buddy," I said, giving him a small smile. "He isn't going to be a good friend. You need to let him go."

Dez looked sad, and after a few more moments of pleading, he relented. "Fine," he grumbled, motioning for the squirrel to go away. Much to my surprise, the squirrel seemed to understand, and leapt off of his shoulder, scurrying off to the trees. "I just lost my best friend," he said, hanging his head glumly.

"Hey," Ratliff shouted, giving him a man hug. "I'm right here, buddy." We all laughed, since Dez and Ratliff were actually similar in a lot of ways. After everyone calmed down at the almost attack by squirrel, we started a new campfire.

"This fish is so good," Rocky exclaimed, after we had cooked all of the fish that Ally and I caught today. "Compliments to the catchers."

Ally took a bow, while I jokingly curtsied. Everyone laughed, and I began dancing like a ballerina. I tripped over one of the logs we were using as benches, however, and fell to the ground, with my ankle throbbing.

"Austin," Ally shouted, running to my side. She bent down and started looking at my ankle, while the others circled around me, mumbling worried thoughts aloud. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? Does it hurt? Oh, man, it's swollen."

I tried to send her a small smile, but a grimace of pain took over my facial features as I went to clutch my ankle. Ally grabbed my hands before I could touch it however, and gripped them tightly in her own. "Don't touch it," she instructed, a warning look taking over her face. "Rydel, Austin keeps a huge first aid kit in his dad's truck. Can you and one of the boys go get it?"

She nodded and pushed Riker off towards the truck, going as speedily as they could, while being careful. We don't want a repeat of what just happened to me. "Thanks, Als," I whispered, and it came out raspy from the pain I was feeling.

Ally just nodded and leaned down to hug me. "You're going to be alright," she whispered, squeezing my hands. "I promise. You always look out for me, now I'm going to look out for you." And, despite the throbbing pain in my ankle that was growing worse by the second, I knew she was right.

(A/N - oh, no! Austin is hurt! D: so, what did you think? As usual, thanks for reading, and please review!)