Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do own the OC in this, though.

Author's Note: Hey guys. :) Thanks for the reviews. You know I loveeee them. :D Not much to say other than I apologize for the bit of the wait to this. I had half of an update ready for nearly five days but I wasn't sure how the write second half. But I got it today. So, enjoy!

The next couple of days were torture as I waited Matt's little surprise. When I was alone, I spent my time by the pond, writing down every moment I could remember since Matt and I had gotten together. Truthfully, I had also filled up half a notebook. Everyone moment seemed sweeter as I relived it, my emotions even stronger. There was a way Matt's hand would graze my body as we sat intertwined. While I had thought it would feel wrong, it was just the opposite: I felt loved. There was the way I'd catch him looking at me when he thought I wasn't looking. Those brown eyes. They were full of life, warmth, hope, and dreams. Those eyes had the ability to send chills down my spine and the fuzzy, happy feeling in my overflowing and seemingly always rapid beating heart.

The books, the stories, the songs; they were all right. Love, the feeling of live, was magical. And there wasn't a doubt in my mind: I was in love.

It was Thursday night, mid-July. The sun was getting to the point where it left a haze of light, just enough to see. I probably should have headed back home, but the pond kept me there. When the sun happened to fall, the nature was at its best. You could see all the wild fish on the water's edge, searching for their variation of dinner. A breeze left the high grasses blowing, the smell of honeysuckle and the other flowers in the air. Crickets announced their presence, frogs sang in harmony while they hind the in swampy parts. It was just a beautiful picture.

I sat with my knees pulled up, staring at the small riffles as they glided up the bank. I felt lucky. For once, a move had done something good. I finally had a life I loved. Someone cared enough to look past the title of "the new girl". I was more than that title.

"I love this place during this time of day." The soft, gentle words nearly sent me head first into the water. It took a moment for the words to come into focus and the voice of Jeff's to be recognized.

"You nearly scared me half to death," I breathed out, moving over so he could sit beside me.

Jeff smiled apologetically. Southern Charm in full effect, of course. "Sorry."

"I thought you and Matt were wrestling." That was probably the only reason I wasn't attached to Matt's hip.

"We needed a break." There was a brief silence as Jeff stared out at the water, his green eyes narrowed slightly. Jeff, I was learning didn't have to say much to get his point across. He just stood somewhere, uttered a few words and it all fell into place. I envied him. If I could do that… well, it'd make things easier. But I guess that was why I loved writing. Detail and over explaining was my thing.

Looking at him again, I smiled a little myself. "I took your spot when I moved here. Didn't I?"

"Not really." Another smile graced his lips. "There are plenty of spots to sit around here."

That made sense. This wasn't the only portion of the bank that was clear to sit on. "What do you do when you sit here?"

"Think. Write. Just clear my head."

"You write?"

"Poetry." Jeff laced his fingers together. I noticed nonchalantly a bruise on his hand. A smile crept across my face as I realized I had probably missed a Hardy duel. I could hear them now.

"Matt kicked my hand, dad!"

"Jeff wasn't watching his defense!"

"Matt's just an asshole!"

"Jeff's a sissy!"

"What'd you call me?"

And then Gil would roll his eyes and leave them to duke it out. Back to the trampoline. They'd settle it over a rematch. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I answered. My cheeks reddened. "Just thought of something."

"Oh."

"Not to be rude, Jeff," I continued in a small voice, "but did you come here for a reason?"

Those green eyes lit like sparklers. "Shit! Yeah. Matt wanted me to get you." Fire must have burst through his legs by the way he shot up. So much for the tranquil, quiet moment between us. Around the Hardys, you learned to keep those sacred. "Come on!"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me through the woods, somehow making it so I didn't crash into trees or trip over roots. We came through the clearing, where their house came into view. Immediately, the smell of smoke hit me. And for a moment, I panicked.

"Fire!" I nearly shrieked.

Jeff placed his cool hand on my arm. "Relax, it's just a bonfire. My dad is making barbeque and he's burning some trash too. Matt wanted to make sure you came. It's something you need to see. Something southern."

"You can have a cookout with a bonfire anywhere," I reminded him. Was I missing something?

Jeff smiled again. Southern Charm. "Sure, you can. But when you're having a southern cookout, you're in for a treat, Tiny."

Once again, they were right. Barbequed foods tasted better on an open fire. Or maybe it was the fact that my mom burned anything on a grill and I hadn't had a charcoal hamburger in years. Either way, by the time the food was done and cooked, I was beginning to think I'd gained a good ten pounds.

Then again, Matt and Jeff had eaten enough to eat my weight. Matt came over as he polished off another hotdog, sitting in the lawn chair next to mine. "Are you excited for tomorrow?"

Smiling a little, I decided if he wouldn't tell me where we were going, I'd pry it out of him. "I would be if I knew where we were going."

"It's a surprise."

"I know," I answered, jutting my lip out. "But I just really want to know."

"Oh please," Matt howled. "Don't play that shit on me, Tiny." Oh well. Matt leaned forward and kissed my cheek, leaving the smell of barbeque behind. "Though, you're more than welcome to do the same thing when it's just the two of us and well, you know…"

"Ugh, I swear, sometimes Matt, you're such a man…" But even that didn't stop me from smiling.

-

The next morning, I was awoken once again by Matt at another unearthly hour. He nearly dragged me out of bed even though the sun was still not up. "Get dressed and bring food with you," he whispered into my ear. "Hurry though, okay?"

I watched as Matt left my room, leaving me to stare at the space he was once in. What did that mean? Why were we in such a rush that I didn't even get a chance to eat breakfast before we left? Still, I did as I was told and put on a pair of shorts and a tank top, careful not to make much noise as I knew my mom was still sleeping. Then, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and made sure I looked like I was alive, even though my brain still slept in my head.

Matt was seated in my kitchen when I came inside, eyes anxious. He noticed that I was ready quickly and barely gave me enough time to butter a bagel as he pulled me out the door. "Wait!" I cried quietly, seeing the sky was lightening in the slightest and the space around us was becoming more light. "I didn't tell my mom."

"Shh, she knows. I already talked to her. Now come on."

"Why are we in such a rush?" I asked but Matt didn't answer. He pulled me toward his truck and nearly threw me inside. If I didn't love him so much, I would have clobbered him. "Why are there two duffel bags back there?"

Matt didn't answer for a moment. "We won't be back until the weekend is over. I brought clothes with me. Some for you, some for me."

"Does my mom know this?"

Matt nodded. "We have a long trip ahead of us. Won't don't you rest?"

Considering he had pulled out of bed before five, I was very quick to oblige. But first, I had to know where we were going. "Where are we headed?"

He yawned a little, resting his hand on my thigh as he began to drive down the cobbled road. "Up north." His fingers began to circle my skin in a way that made me sleepier and I didn't have the strength to ask him anymore questions, only nodded before drifting back into a deep sleep.

When I awoke, I was met with several words of profanity that were exiting Matt's mouth as well as many cars and honking horns. We seemed to be on elevated ground but I couldn't tell for sure as my body had slumped down in my sleep. Peering around as I rose, I noticed we were on some kind of bridge. Matt looked furious but he didn't notice I had awoken.

"Matt?" I asked gently, trying not to make him angrier. "Where are we?"

"The Whitestone Bridge in New York." He paused for a moment and shook his head. "Well, we were going to be on the it but it seems that they're doing work. So now we have to backtrack and take the Throgs Neck Bridge. But since no one knew we're kind of stuck in this fucking traffic jam and no one here can drive."

I was about to tell him it wasn't them that couldn't drive, he was just not used to the way that the locals drove, which by people that were out of state thought were pretty crazy. And vice versa. Most locals in New York thought that the out-of-staters were horrible drivers. I knew this because I had once lived on Long Island for a few months and grew used to the way New Yorkers drove. Instead though, I only nodded. "How much longer do you think it'll be until we get to wherever the hell we're going?"

Matt attempted to smile at me as he noticed the slightly annoyed tone in my voice. "About four hours longer. We'll stop for dinner along the way, though. So maybe about five hours."

"What time is it?" The clock on Matt's truck hadn't worked in a long time, he told me weeks ago and by the sky, it was hard to tell. I was guessing late afternoon, but I wasn't sure.

"Three something." Matt sighed and cursed again as some guy cut him off. "Sorry about this. I didn't expect the bridge to be closed."

"It's okay," I told him honestly. "I still wish I knew where we were going."

He grinned fully this time. "Don't worry. You'll know soon."

I wished I knew right then but I knew that was impossible since Matt would never tell me. So I sat back in my seat and curled my legs up to my chest, watching all around me. Below us, I could hear the ocean ever-so slightly and smelled it strongly. Bridges happened to terrify me. There were horror stories about bridges collapsing and people dying. Something that made fear inside of me rise.

It was another two hours later when we were finally out of New York and in Connecticut. We'd eaten dinner at some small diner by the name of "Jennifer Anne Marie's place" where there was only one waitress (Jennifer Anne Marie) and a cook by the name of Bob, her husband. Needless to say, we'd rushed out of there after, even though the food was decent.

Now we were nearly in Massachusetts and I could feel the sleep being to lag on me. And if I was exhausted, Matt could only be worse. I wanted to tell him to pull over and let me drive, but I decided against it. Didn't want to hurt the guy's ego since it seemed I would.

"How much longer?" I decided to whine like a child, trying to get a peak of the directions Matt was looking at. But every time I did, he only made it so I couldn't see them. It was getting on my nerves. He would owe me by the time this was all over.

"About two hours. Go to sleep. I'll wake you when we get there." The stubborn part of me wanted to say no but the rational, exhausted Tiny won the fight. I was asleep within minutes.

It seemed I awoke in perfect timing though. The sky was coming to a dark close, the haze leaving a small amount of light for the people driving on the highway to see. But there wasn't any way for me to miss the huge sign that we passed. Welcome To New Hampshire: the Granite State.

Let me know what you think! Read and review. :)