First, I'd just like to apologise for how stupidly long it's taken for me to update this.

I'll put my author's note at the bottom because I'm sure you all just want to read the chapter.

lunargirl40 - Anyway...I wad kinda hoping you'd bring back shiloh and/or jen? ... they could set them up with one of the dalton boys (like dean, cause one, he's a nerd, and that's awesome, and cause he kinda got niff together!)


"So what are you two going to do for summer break?" Dean asked, leaning back in his chair and looking between the two boys opposite him. Nick and Jeff glanced and each other and shrugged.

"We don't really have any plans yet. My parents said I could go away somewhere if I wanted and they'd pay for it, but they just want me out of the house and I'm not going to spend summer alone." Jeff smiled at his boyfriend as he finished and the brunette chuckled. Dean rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Of course you won't. You're inseparable, aren't you?"

Nick grinned. "Pretty much. What are you doing over summer?"

Not long ago, the three had realised they hadn't hung out very much over the year, despite being such good friends and considering Dean had been the one to make 'Niff' a reality. So they'd made plans to catch up at the local coffee shop – it was a haven for Dalton students as it was only a few minutes' walk away from the school - and seeing as summer break was fast approaching, it was an obvious topic of conversation.

Dean smirked and folded his arms over his chest. "My cousin's invited me to stay with him for the break in Australia."

The two boys were impressed. "Australia? Damn, I wish I was going," Jeff laughed.

"Why don't you?" Dean asked, staring at the pair like it was the most obvious thing in the world "I'll bet my cousin won't mind if you stay at his place, and even if he does it doesn't have to be a problem. And you just said your parents would pay for you."

The blonde raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking his friend had lost it. "Dean, I'm not going to Australia. Not on my own, anyway."

"I meant both of you," Dean sighed, rolling his eyes again "I'm not stupid."

The brunette frowned and said, "Unless you've got the money for me to go, then I'm stuck here."

Just as Dean opened his mouth to reply he stopped, jaw hanging slightly as if the words wouldn't quite come out of his throat. The two boys stared and Nick waved a hand in front of their friend's face.

"Dean? You alright?"

"G-ah, hide me," the boy sputtered and ducked his head, hiding under his hands. Jeff and Nick turned in their seats to see what his problem was but only saw a girl around their age waiting for her order to be filled.

"It's just Shiloh," Nick said, recognising the girl as the one from the candy shop – the one he'd flirted with on occasion to make his boyfriend jealous (but no longer, after the last disastrous jealousy attempt). When he turned back and saw Dean trying in vain to hide, it suddenly clicked and he grinned.

"You like her. You like Shiloh."

"Shut up!" Dean said into his arms, head still down. Jeff laughed and called out, "Hey Shiloh!"

The girl turned around at hearing her name and smiled when she caught sight of two of her most loyal customers. Dean's head whipped up and he stared in horror as the redhead walked over to their table.

"Why would you do that? Why?" he hissed before trying to smile as Shiloh came within earshot.

"Hi guys, how are you going? I have seen you in a while," she said to the pair of boys grinning from ear to ear at their friend's discomfort.

"We're good. Have you met Dean?" Jeff said, gesturing to the boy across the table who was speechless and attempting to get his hanging jaw under control. Shiloh turned to him and smiled. "Hi, I'm Shiloh. It's good to meet you."

Dean tried to say something comprehensible for a moment before managing to squeeze out a high-pitched "Hi."

"Look, it was great to see you again guys," the redhead said before looking at Dean again "And meeting you, but I'm nearly at the end of my lunch break and I have to get back to work. Can we catch up some time?"

"Sure!" Nick stood up and gave her a quick hug before waving her off. The moment she was out the door the mischief-making pair couldn't help themselves – they burst into laughter as Dean's cheeks were stained red with embarrassment.

"Why would you do that?" He pushed his glasses further up his nose and glared at his friends miserably "Now she probably thinks I'm some kind of freak!"

"You should say something!" Jeff said, patting Dean on the shoulder "You won't know if she likes you or not if you keep quiet."

"I think it was blindingly obvious actually," Nick sniggered but calmed down to say "Look, Dean, Jeff's right. Talk to her. Find out if she likes you. Ask her out."

Dean stared at the brunette like he was crazy. "Are you serious? I can barely get a word out around her – you think I'd be able to ask her out? Besides, I can tell you now she wouldn't like me. I'm a nerdy private school kid with glasses."

Nick and Jeff shared a look, the latter rolling his eyes. They had to find a way to get Dean talking to Shiloh – not only was he their friend, but they owed him. He had been the one to – inadvertently – bring their own relationship around and now they owed it to Dean to help him out with Shiloh if it was the last thing they did. Plus, they prided themselves on their matchmaking skills. After all, they were the ones who'd triggered the getting-together of Kurt and Blaine, and that was something to be proud of.


Operation D-Lo was officially a go.

Jeff and Nick had told Shiloh the whole story – how Dean had the biggest crush on her and how he got tongue-tied around her. How all he wanted was to ask her out. The girl was a little bewildered but agreed to go out for a coffee and a chat with him to see if she liked him and if he'd pluck up the courage to say something. All that was needed was to convince Dean to go.

But they knew if they told him outright what was going on he'd refuse. It was going to take a little ingenuity on the boys' part in order to get this plan into action and rolling.

"Hey Dean, would you give us a sec?" Jeff asked, getting up from the table with Nick, hands entwined. Dean rolled his eyes with a sigh and a smile. "Can't wait to get back to your dorm to make out? Go on, it's not like I'm going anywhere. But we do actually need to talk about summer break and Australia, so don't take forever, okay?"

Nick forced back a snigger as Jeff pulled him away to the coffee shop bathroom. They didn't enter; just stood outside and hid from Dean's view. So far it was all going to plan and the two boys couldn't help but laugh quietly to themselves.

"This has to work," Nick said as Jeff sidled up behind him. The brunette leaned back against him with a smile but jumped when Jeff kissed the back of his neck softly.

"Hey!" He tried to be annoyed but couldn't quite bring himself to as his boyfriend continued to kiss across the top of his shoulder blades, smirking. "We're supposed to be waiting for Shiloh."

"I am waiting. I'm just bored. And anyway, Dean thinks this is exactly what we're doing, so why not?" Jeff flipped Nick so his back was against the wall and pressed their lips together gently. Nick smiled but pushed him back, shaking his head. "Later. Right now I want to see this through."

When he turned back around he caught sight of the familiar redhead walking hesitantly towards the table where Dean was waiting for them to return. She stopped beside it and said a quiet hello, startling Dean. From their hiding place, the two boys could hear almost everything that passed between the potential lovebirds.

"Sh-Shiloh! Hi!" Dean stammered in surprise.

The girl asked shyly, "Can I sit?"

"Uh-yeah, yeah sure!" Ever the gentlemen (albeit awkward and nervous), Dean jumped to his feet and gestured for her to sit in one of the empty seats. Shiloh did so and the boy sat back down, fiddling with his glasses as he tried to not look so anxious.

"They're so cute," Nick smiled, glancing at his boyfriend for a moment. The blonde chuckled. "They are. I think they'd be great together."

For the next twenty minutes they listened to the pair descend from an uncomfortable to an easy conversation about their interests. Shiloh was an avid reader and a self-confessed nerd, much to Dean's delight. They talked happily about their favourite books and movies, and related funny stories from Shiloh's work and school and from Dalton. The longer they talked, the more relaxed they became and soon enough Dean was smiling and laughing and Shiloh seemed to be just as happy with how the conversation was going.

Finally Jeff and Nick got bored of just standing there and watching them. They figured Dean would tell them all about his chat when they finally finished, so they snuck out of the coffee shop and made their way back to Dalton. On the way the pair joked about how cute Dean and Shiloh were and how perfect they seemed for each other – both nerdy, dorky types with a passion for books…


It was two hours after they got back to school that Dean showed up again with a wide, dopey smile on his face. Nobody quite knew what to make of it, but Jeff and Nick knew exactly what had put that grin there.

"So, Dean," Jeff chuckled as he and Nick sauntered up to the clearly-lovestruck boy "How was your little date with Shiloh?"

"She's brilliant," Dean sighed, pushing his glasses further up his nose "And I asked her out."

Nick patted his shoulder. "Great! What did she say?"

"She said yes. We're going to go catch a movie next week."

Dean began to wander off as Nick and Jeff high fived each other in triumph – Operation D-Lo was a success! They'd repaid their debt to Dean and their friend was beyond happy. They couldn't be disappointed about that. But then the boy, halfway up the corridor, stopped and looked back with a knowing smile.

"She told me you set us up. I'm really glad you did – I don't think I would ever have asked her out if you hadn't. Nick?"

"Yeah?" the brunette asked, curious.

"You better get packing. You two are coming with me on summer break."

The pair stared, utterly stunned. They couldn't have expected this in a million years. Nick stuttered, "A-Are you sure?"

Dean smirked. "More than sure. You two deserve it."

And then he was gone, whistling to himself cheerfully. Nick and Jeff stared at each other for a second, not quite sure if they could believe what had just happened. Then:
"We're going to Australia!" Jeff half-shouted, shaking his boyfriend in excitement "We're actually going to Australia!"

Nick laughed, letting Jeff spin him around as he ranted about how amazing summer break was going to be and what they were going to do and how he was going to learn to surf and try an Australian accent and hug a koala and a million other things.

They both knew it was going to be the best summer ever.


I can't believe how long it's taken me to update. I had writer's block and a number of different chapters going on at once that I couldn't find the inspiration to finish. So I focused on my other fics and now this one should be back up and running as usual, with much more regular updates. I did try to get a chapter in every week before and that's what I'm going to continue aiming for. Thank you so much for waiting so long and for all the brilliant reviews you've sent while I haven't been updating this.

On another note, Niff is going to Australia ;P

Please review!