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A/N: A nice long one, woo! Read on to find out Demi's big secret. Review please!

Chapter 10:

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Just as Demi finished her physics homework, there was a knock on the door. 'I'll get it!' Demi heard Nikki shout. She'd left the room and started walking over to the door before Nikki had chance to shout her.

"Perfect timing, I've just finished my homework." Demi said, smiling at Adam.

"I aim to please." Adam said grinning. "Your notebook." He said, handing her it with a little bow.

"Why thank you." She said, curtseying and laughing. "Come in, I'll be two minutes." She went into her room to put her notebook back in her back and get changed into her bikini, before getting her wetsuit and Bradin's surfboard. "Ready to go?" She asked when she came back out, finding him talking to Bradin.

"Yeah." He said, smiling. "See you later, Bradin."

"Hey, Bradin, what time are you meeting Erika? You could still come surfing with us if you've got time." Demi suggested.

"She should be here soon." Bradin said smiling. "Have fun though." Demi shrugged and left the house with Adam, and once again they were surfing a wave together in the sea.

"You're getting really good." Adam praised her when they paddled out to sea a bit more and floated for a few minutes.

"Thanks. Hopefully I'll be able to do more than just stand there soon." Demi laughed, sitting sideways on her board, facing Adam who was doing the same.

"You will soon. So… what was all that about at lunch?" Adam asked, trying to sound as casual as he could.

"Well, don't be surprised if Courtney tries to make you jump through hoops, because she thinks she owns you." Demi said bitterly.

"I can't believe you stood up to her like that. Barely anyone would." Adam laughed. "I mean, if you hadn't stopped things when you grabbed her hair you'd probably have kicked her arse!" The corners og Demi's mouth began to twitch. Every time that she had talked or thought about what happened with Courtney, she'd feel anger and hatred bubbling up inside of her, but this was the first time she wanted to laugh, the first time she was proud of it.

"Have you ever went out with her before? Or does she just have a crush on you, because I can't figure out which."

"I think I would kill myself if I went out with a girl like her. She's so vain and mean, she just grinds on me so much. I hate girls like her, who think they're better than everyone." Adam said, thinking thoughtfully, looking down into the sea, then looking up at Demi, who was watching him intensely. "…What?" He asked with a laugh.

"You've just basically summed up exactly how I feel about her." She said, looking at him, slightly astonished. "Although if I'd said it there'd be a few strong words in there." She added quickly. Adam laughed. He jerked his head to the side slightly, telling her to follow him and catch another wave.

They had been surfing for an hour when they finally came back to shore, both of them exhausted.

"You really are getting good." Adam told her, panting slightly. She smiled as she took her arms out of her wetsuit and wrapped her towel around her shoulders. They stood there with their towels around themselves. The breeze bit at Demi's skin, who wasn't quite used to the weather in Playa Linda yet, especially not straight after coming out of the sea. She shivered slightly. Adam seemed to notice this and took off his towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, too.

"Here." He said with a smile, rubbing her shoulders to warm them up. They looked at each other, Demi smiling, Adam deep in thought. They were standing so close to each other, their toes almost touching. Adam slowly began to lower his head down to Demi's. She gasped. This was definitely not been expecting this. His lips were an inch from hers now. Demi panicked.

"Maybe I should be getting home now." Demi said, turning her head to the left, looking over her shoulder slightly. She tried her best not to flush. She silently walked away from him and picked up Bradin's surfboard. Adam had straightened up, stood in the same spot, looking confused and hurt. Demi hated seeing him that way.

"Um, ok." Demi could hear it on his voice. She could barely stand it. "I'll walk you home." He offered. She could hear his pain in every word he spoke. She couldn't take it.

"No, it's ok." Demi said timidly, wanting to get away from him as fast as she could, so not to hear his voice anymore. She began walking briskly towards the house. Don't look back. She told herself. Do NOT look back. She couldn't help it. She looked over her shoulder quickly and saw Adam in the same spot as she left him, lowering himself down onto the sand and sitting with his knee bent up, resting his elbows on them. She wished she hadn't looked back. She felt horrible. A totally hot guy that she likes wanted to kiss her and she freaked. And he likes her, too! She felt like banging her head off a wall. She showed quickly and pulled her wetsuit fully off. She walked through the living room and found Bradin sat on the sofa.

"Erika had other plans so we couldn't go out tonight." Bradin said quickly, feeling he owed an explanation to the question she hadn't even asked. She wasn't even going to ask, either, as she would have done if everything had just been normal today, and she surfed with Adam and came back happy as she always did. "Where's Adam?" Bradin asked, leaning to look out of the patio doors slightly to see if he was outside. Demi walked quickly into her room, closing the door quietly behind her before laying on her bed, subconsciously picking up the teddy at the end of it that she'd received off Johnny as a child. She didn't cry, but stroked it, confused. She looked out of her window. She had a clear view of the beach, and could see that Adam was still there in the same spot. She felt like someone had dealt her a blow to the stomach when she saw him. She felt like scum. She couldn't believe she got a chance with Adam and blew it.

There was a knock on Demi's door. She knew it was Bradin but didn't answer. Bradin walked in anyway. He saw her stroking the teddy again, something he'd come to realise that she does when she's upset.

"Wow, it must be bad." Bradin said, nodding at the teddy. Demi threw it to the end of her bed. She sighed.

"It's not funny." She said, looking down into her lap, hating herself.

"What happened?" Bradin asked, sounding more serious now. She looked up at him. She really trusted Bradin, but this was a big secret, and when she thought about it, anyone could just tickle it out of him if he told them he knew something. But still, Bradin was the person she'd grown closest to in the house, and she was sure that he wouldn't tell if she asked him. She was still unsure and hesitant, however.

"Thing's are just… weird."

"I'm going to need a little more to go off than that, Dem." Bradin said with a soft laugh. He called her 'Dem'. No one had ever called her 'Dem', but for some reason, it made her feel more comfortable.

"Well, Adam thought I was cold so he put his towel around me and started rubbing my shoulders to warm me up."

"I get the feeling there's more to it than that." Demi shot him a look, and he held up his hands. "Sorry, just, you know…" Bradin said, circling one of his hands, indicating for her to get on with the story.

"Then… he tried to kiss me." She said, looking down into her lap again, hating herself even more now that she'd said it out loud.

"Well, that was obviously coming." Bradin said, the corners of his mouth twitching. She looked up at him, puzzled. He rolled his eyes at her. "Oh, come on, you MUST have known he fancied you. He even asked you for your English notes. Demi, he's a straight A student!"

"Britney said that, too." Demi said, feeling more and more hatred towards herself. "Well, in so many words. God I hate myself!"

"Anyway, carry on. You said he tried to kiss you. I'm guessing that means you didn't let him." Demi nodded guiltily. "And this was because…" Bradin probed. Demi remained silent for a while, but Bradin just waited.

"It's a secret." She said with a sigh.

"I can keep a secret." Bradin said. She looked up at him.

"It took everyone like, what, 2 minutes to get you to tell them that Derrick kissed Martha?" She thought about that night, how Bradin had blabbed, and thought about her own secret. She groaned and put her pillow to her head.

"Ok, how about I tell you a secret, and you tell me your's." Bradin offered. Demi didn't respond, but took her pillow away from her head and sat waiting, expectantly.

"I didn't really have plans with Erika tonight." Bradin said.

"Shocker." She said sarcastically. "But why'd you say you did?"

"Because… Adam wanted to spend some time alone with you, and I had to say I was going out with Erika so I had an excuse not to come surfing with you guys."

"Why'd he invite you if he wanted to be alone with me?"

"He didn't." He'd caught Demi's attention by saying this.

"But then why'd he tell me…"

"He told you so that you'd go, probably. I guess he just felt awkward asking to go out with you, you know, just the two of you." Demi considered this for a moment. It did make sense. "So, what's your secret?" Demi stayed quiet for a moment, still hesitant about saying it out loud. "Why don't I guess and you nod or shake your head." Demi looked up at him. "You have a boyfriend back home?" Demi shook her head. "You don't like him the way he likes you?" Demi shook her head again. "Guys have hurt you in the past and you're not willing to take a chance at love with him?" Demi shook her head, but smiled at how corny Bradin sounded. Bradin was at a loss. "Then, what is it? You like him, you're single, you haven't been hurt… then what?" She took a deep breath.

"What I'm about to tell you is something that I've never told anyone." Bradin nodded. "Something I'm pretty ashamed of." She said sadly. Bradin nodded again. "Something I've lied to my friends about a lot before." Like a robot, Bradin nodded again. "Don't laugh."

"I won't." Demi inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as she exhaled.

"I've… I've never had a boyfriend, or kissed a guy." She said finally. She looked over at Bradin, expecting him to laugh. He didn't. He just sat on her bed and nodded slowly, not knowing what to say. "… Bradin, say something."

"I wasn't expecting to here that." He said truthfully. Demi breathed a sigh of disappointment. "Not that there's anything wrong with that." He said quickly, trying not to sound insensitive.

"Bradin, tell me truthfully, what do you see when you look at me, and I don't mean feature-wise." Bradin was slightly taken aback by this request, but obeyed all the same.

"I see a beautiful girl who is a great, caring friend…"

"Exactly." Demi interrupted him. "A friend. It's exactly what every guy has ever seen in me." A small layer of tears began to form in Demi's eyes. She tried her best to blink them back.

"But that's not what Adam saw." Bradin added quickly. The layer of tears began to build higher.

"I know, and that's why I'm kicking myself now." She couldn't help letting a tear roll down her right cheek. "The first guy to finally like me and I freaked. I'm such an idiot!" She cried, letting a tear roll down her other cheek, too. "Please don't tell anyone." She said after a few hearty sniffs. He wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged her.

"I won't." He said, pulling out of the hug. "But I think, if you want another chance with Adam, you'll have to tell him."

"What?"

"Come on, Demi, you know that's he's a great guy and that he'll understand. He's not like most other guy's." She nodded. She knew he wasn't like other guys, that he was something special, but telling her secret again would be hard. She walked over to her window and looked out onto the beach again. Adam was gone.

P/S: Please review! Pretty please? I worked really hard on this one, been cooking it up for a while :)