I walked back over to the campsite after rounding up my Pokemon. It seemed like they were having a team meeting or something. It's good to know that that they're getting along so well. The others had all returned their respective Pokemon and where preparing for bed.

Brooke busily cleaned up the mess kits we used for her delicious impromptu dinner. We had offered to help her, but she refused, stating that we were the guests. Michelle simply stood by and brooded, nothing short of what I expected.

"So are we ready to turn in, guys?" I asked of Taylor and Nico.

The two nodded. "Definitely. It's been a long day." Taylor stretched her arms high above her head and yawned loudly. "Let's set up the tent we bought in Pewter."

"Already done!" Nico called out proudly. He pointed over to where Michelle and Brooke's tent was situated, and sure enough, ours was pitched and ready.

"When did you do that?" Brooke asked.

He shrugged. "I slipped off a little bit ago to do it. I didn't want to make it a big deal."

"Well, we appreciate it, man," I said with a smile his direction.

"Thanks," he responded with a slight blush.

Michelle got up swiftly. "Well, I'm bushed, guys. See you in the morning." She grabbed her backpack and trotted inside her tent.

Brooke rolled her eyes, then dutifully followed. "Goodnight, guys! Sweet dreams!"

"Goodnight!" Nico, Taylor, and I all headed towards our much smaller tent. Nico went in first, and when he wasn't looking, I gave Taylor an expression that asked something she automatically figured out. Maybe it was twin telepathy, or maybe her strong intuition.

"Um, Brooke?" she asked with a swift wink at me.

"Yeah, Tay?"

"Would you mind if I slept with you guys tonight? Our tent is kinda small, and plus Terran snores really loudly." She had to get her digs in somehow…

"Yeah, of course! The more the merrier!" Brooke opened the tent flap invitingly.

"Thanks!" She picked up her bag and pranced over to Brooke. "Goodnight, Terr," she said with a suggestive twang to her voice. "Don't do anything you wouldn't do in front of Mom."

"Goodnight, Taylor," I said abruptly then slipped inside to join Nico. Even thought it was a fairly cheap tent, it still protected us from the harsh night wind.

"What was that about?" Nico asked. He was already inside his sleeping bag, more than ready for a good night's sleep. Or as good as we could get on the uneven ground.

"Taylor decided to sleep with the girls." I rolled out my own sleeping bag as I explained. "I guess she wanted us to have some alone time." I tried to make it sound as innocent as possible, but Nico picked up on it immediately.

"'Alone time'? What do you mean?"

I slipped inside my sleeping back after taking off my belt and jacket and shrugged. "I guess it's whatever we want it to be." I smiled widely at Nico, but he didn't return it. That puzzled me. In Pewter we brought all of our feelings out into the open. Why would he have any apprehension at all at this point? It didn't make sense.

"Are you all right?" I asked after a long awkward silence of him staring blankly. "Nico… I mean, aren't we, like, you know…" I couldn't finish my sentence.

"Are we?" he asked rather bluntly. "Are we really…anything besides traveling companions?" There was almost a hint of malice in his speech. I didn't think that was possible for him.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I sat up. "Back in Pewter City at the museum, I thought we―."

"Well, how do we know it's real?" he interrupted. He never interrupts. He just doesn't. What is going on?

"What do you mean is it real? Of course it is!" I leaned toward Nico, my hand reaching for his, but he quickly jerked away. That's when I realized something. He wasn't mad, he was scared. He looked at me with shaky eyes, sparkling with moisture. "Nico…" I breathed, but couldn't follow it up with anything.

"Terran, what happened back in Pewter…" he began, but he got caught up with a lump in his throat. "It was…spur of the moment. I wasn't really thinking clearly. I was just acting on impulse."

"Yeah, and?" I responded haughtily. "If it was just a reaction―a reaction of that caliber―then you can't get any more real than that."

"I know, I know, but I―I don't know…" He gazed off in a different direction as he chose his next words. I couldn't believe this! I had poured my soul out that day, and I was under the assumption he had done the same. I know everything I said was true―my love for him was as real as the air we breathing right now. Wasn't it?

After a few unendurable seconds, he spoke again. "I think I was just caught up in the moment and I confused love with something else. Maybe lust, or just overexcitement, but I don't think I gave you a truthful answer."

"What?" My voice all but squeaked the word. "So all that stuff you said about me was just a lie? You didn't mean any of it?" I've never felt like this before. I wanted to cry. Me, Terran Murdock, wanted to cry. How could this happen to me? What I had thought was the best experience of my life turned out to be just a lie!

"No, no no! Nothing like that! Everything I said was completely true. I really do think you're awesome and we have a connection that is unmistakable. I just don't think it's possible for us to really, truly be in love with each other. We've only known each other for a short time. Stuff that powerful doesn't just happen overnight, Terran."

I stared at the ground. I couldn't bear to look at him. "I thought the same thing. I thought, 'Wow, this guy is too good to be true just from his first impression.' Turns out, that first impression was all I needed to get a huge revelation." I forcibly pulled my line of vision to meet his. "Nico, I've never felt so strongly about anything else in my life. If someone asked me which was truer: the sky is blue or you fell in love with a guy you just met, I would say the second one."

"I think you're lying to yourself," he said all too frankly. "I really think you just want love to be that easy. Unfortunately, it's not. I care about you so much. I can't even explain it. I would hate to see you get hurt because you put all of your feelings out there, but I couldn't return it."

I sniffed. "So you're basically saying I'm stupid for saying all of this and you could never return how I feel. Great." I turned away from him. I couldn't deal with this―all of this. It was too much.

He leaned forward and put his hand on my shoulder. "Terran, that's not what I'm saying at all! All I'm saying is that it'll take time to get to the point where we can say we love each other―and truly mean it."

"I'm already at that point, though! I love you, and I could never love anybody else as much as you." I didn't think it at the time, but I was being completely irrational. I was like one of those pathetic girls who bawl their eyes out after their boyfriend breaks up with them after a week of "dating." I was being impulsive and stubborn, and looking back, I would've handled it completely different. Unfortunately, I was too caught up in my excessively melodramatic state.

"You can just say it," I spat. "Say that you didn't mean anything that you told me." I attempted to maintain an even tone. Nico tried to say something, but I cut him off, further proving my immaturity. "Seriously, don't try to tell me you actually meant it. If you did, we wouldn't be having this fight right now."

"Do you even hear yourself right now?" he seethed. "You're taking this the totally wrong way!"

"I don't think I am," I snapped back. "I think you're too insecure to admit anything that might leave you vulnerable!"

That shut him up. His mouth closed into a hard line. Not long after that, I full realized the damage I had done. All the pain I had inflicted on him in the last few minutes exited his body in a drop of water falling down his cheek, then splattering on the ground. It was like watching the sun burn out, or a having a Flying-type's wings clipped. It was the corruption of all things beautiful and sacred.

"Nico… I'm sorry…" I reached for his hand, and this time he didn't pull away. My fingers were able to travel on top of his hand, the warmth between our skin electrifying. He wiped his eyes with his other hand, then took both of mine in firm grips. We locked onto each other one more time. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

In a sudden rush of passion, he lunged forward, his lips pressing hard against mine. My eyes went wide for a moment, but then I let my eyelids relax and enjoy the moment of intense ecstasy. We stayed upright for several seconds, our mouths never releasing for a much needed breath. My hands roamed upwards until I cradled his head. Nico's own hands wrapped around my back, pulling our bodies ever closer.

I don't know how long we were like that, two virile young men expressing the purest human emotion. They say you're supposed to be a feel a spark or fireworks when you kiss someone that special to you. I don't think there's a force in the universe comparable to what we were feeling at that moment. When we finally did pull apart, both of us were panting heavily, but smiling hugely.

"That was…amazing," I breathed.

"Yeah, it was―."

"Magic."

He shook his head. "Better." We promptly started round two, but it didn't last as long.

"We should stop," Nico suggested―or dictated, rather.

"Why?"

"We need to move slower…to make this last." It hurt me to hear him say that, though a lot less than it would have two minutes ago. I'm not sure exactly what happened during that kiss, but I could now understand Nico's point. It was true I was probably more than a little impulsive when I decided I was in love with him. We definitely need to take this relationship slower and let it come to its full fruition. Who knows: we could end up being complete opposites and fight about everything.

"Okay," I agreed. "We'll act like that whole scene at the museum never happened." I gave a weak smile. I didn't want to do it, but I knew it was for the best. We both crawled back into our sleeping bags to hopefully get some sleep.

"Terran?" Nico shyly asked after a brief silence.

"Yeah?"

"Was that your, um…first kiss?" His voice quavered cutely.

I laughed once. "It was my first one with another guy."

"So you've kissed girls before?"

"Well, yeah. But none of them even came close to that."

"Oh, okay…"

"Was that yours?" I asked.

"My what?"

"Your first kiss?"

He paused and gulped. "Yeah."

"Like, your first, ever?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Wow, for real?"

"Yes, for real. Can we drop the subject now?"

"Yeah, sure. Seriously? You've never kissed before and you were that good?"

"I thought we dropped it."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Goodnight, Nico."

"Night, Terr."

One thing's for certain. Things will never be the same between us. And for once, that is a very, very good thing.

There you go! Hopefully this makes the Terran/Nico relationship seem a bit more realistic. I'm trying to make this story as close to real life as I can get it, so I'm basing a lot of stuff off my own experiences, and unfortunately, since I am an impulsive sixteen year old boy, all of my relationships started just as quickly as Terran and Nico's did. This little speed bump should make for more realism to come. :) The next chapter will probably be out sometime during the week, so watch out for that. Until then, review, review, REVIEW! :D