A/N: Hey guys! I have another update for you! I love the lightheartedness of this story so I couldn't ignore the creative juices that were flowing and as a result, Chapter Six was born! Anyway, I once again can't thank you enough for all your comments and reviews! Literally they are the highlight of my day! I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, happy reading! =)

Chapter Six

Trish was relieved when she could see the cabin in her sights, but it was like her legs and feet wouldn't move fast enough. She was doing her best to fight off the tears that were slipping out of the corner of her eyes against her will. She could hear Jeff calling out for her in the distance but she completely ignored him. She didn't feel like talking, even if it was Jeff. She just wanted to lock herself in her room and bury herself underneath the sheets, shielding herself from the cruelness of the world. Why did she ever think that coming on this trip was a good idea? Why did she think that she was ready to face six months of her past and two months of torture and heartache head on?

Trish reached the cabin door and jerked the door knob. Unfortunately for Trish, Adam had locked up before they left and only he and Matt had the keys to the cabin.

"Just my luck" Trish sighed as she banged her fist against the door in frustration before leaning her forehead against it in defeat, taking a moment to just breathe.

"Trish?" Came the soft southern voice of her blue haired friend. "Are you okay?"

"Not now Jeff please." Trish exhaled as she closed her eyes, still trying to jerk the doorknob, hoping that it will magically open.

Jeff's eyes darted to her struggle with the door. "Look, I know you don't want to talk, but that door won't be opening any time soon, no matter how hard you try."

"I could always break a window." She quietly snapped back.

Jeff couldn't help but smirk at her comment. "Before you go breaking anything, how about we just sit down for a moment while we wait for everyone to come back."

Trish let out another deep breath, letting go of the doorknob and turning around. "Jeff I know what you're trying to do, I just want…" she stopped midsentence as her eyes fell upon the North Carolinian standing in front of her. With her mind elsewhere, she had momentarily forgotten that they had just come from swimming in the lake, until a certain blue haired man stood half naked in front of her, his blue hair wet and dripping, the droplets of water falling onto his chest and sliding down his sculpted, slender, athletic physique. She bit down on her bottom lip as she took in her view, forgetting everything she was about to say.

Jeff looked at her quizzically, arching his brow, curious as to why she had stopped midsentence. "You want what?" Jeff questioned. "Trish…? You feeling okay, you look a little flushed." He added, noticing the change in colour of her cheeks.

"I just…uh…I just…need to sit down." She struggled to say, placing her hand on her head as Jeff guided her to the same seat where she sat earlier this morning before their little stroll through the woods.

As Trish sat in the chair, dealing with her whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, Jeff leaned up against the porch railing, staring at the quiet blonde in front of him. The two were silent, waiting for the others to arrive.

"Okay…" Jeff said breaking the silence as he knelt down in front of Trish. "I know that you don't want to talk about it, but I really need to let you know that you can't let him get away with treating you like that."

Trish couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was exactly what she was expecting everyone to say and she just wasn't having it. "Jeff…it's fine."

"No it's not fine!" Jeff snapped back as he placed a hand on Trish's bare thigh, catching her off guard by his touch. "The fact that you think it's fine, means there is something seriously wrong with you."

"Hey" Trish said a little insulted by his last comment.

"I don't mean it in a bad way Trish. You can't let him treat you like that. You don't deserve it. No one deserves to be treated like that unless your Jay himself. Look, I may not know the full story about what went down between the two of you, but I know enough to know that you have done nothing to deserve that kind of hostility and insensitivity that he gave to you just then."

Trish could start to feel the tears creep up again in her eyes. "Jeff, it's just easier for me to walk away."

"But walking away gives him and Candice the satisfaction that they've gotten to you. You are stopping everything in your life just to avoid having to deal with them, but truth be told, you're only doing more harm to yourself."

"It's just easier that way."

"It might be easier, but it doesn't make it right. Trish no matter how many times you relive that exact moment in your head where everything went wrong, you can't go back and change it. Things happen for a reason and it sucks. It sucks that you're the one that had to deal with all the pain and the heartbreak that Jay caused you, but imagine the pain that he would feel knowing that he wasn't your be all and end all. Imagine the pain that he would feel knowing that you're happier without him."

"But I'm not. He was my be all and end all." Trish cried. The tears were flowing now and there was no stopping them.

It broke Jeff's heart seeing her so broken. He knew that she didn't want to talk nor did she want to hear the things that Jeff was saying, but it was time that she started to focus on healing herself rather than avoiding the issue any longer. He gently brought his hand to her face and using his thumb to wipe her tears away. Unintentionally, she lent her face in his palm.

"Trish…someone who you made your priority, while they made you their option, doesn't deserve to be your be all and end all." Jeff responded softly. "I know that it might not seem like it now, but my father told me growing up that 'pain makes you stronger, fear makes you braver and heartbreak makes you wiser.' Trust me, Jay will feel more pain and experience ample amounts of regret when he sees you moving on and are happier without him."

Trish took a moment to let Jeff's words sink in. Her hazel eyes focused on the emerald pair looking back at her, she was mesmerized, hypnotized and captivated all at the same time. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Jeff was right. Everything he said was right. It was clear that Trish didn't mean anything to Jason for him to go and cheat on her, let alone move on so quickly.

"I loved him so much Jeff…I can't believe he would treat me like dirt." Trish sobbed.

"Hey, hey, come on now darlin'…" Jeff tried to soothe as he wiped away her tears. "I get it, breakups hurt, but losing someone that never appreciated you or respected you is not a loss Trish, it's a gain. You are better off without him."

"I don't think I'm strong enough to face him and Candice."

"Don't you see Trish, you already have, which shows me that you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. It's not going to be easy, but every day, slowly and surely it will get better and you have such a great support team behind you."

"Why are you being so kind to me Jeff?"

"Because unlike Jason, I can see your worth. In the short time that I've known you, I know that you are a woman of resilience, compassion and have the purest of hearts. You're broken, but you don't want people to see you broken, you would rather take the high road, which shows your strength. You're kind and you're genuine and you're willing to give a punk ass blue haired stranger the time of day." Jeff smiled.

"You don't want to get to know me Jeff, I'm not worth getting to know."

"And yet here I am thinking that you are."

Not another word was shared as the two just stared at each other in complete silence, not realizing the immense power that Jeff's sentence had behind it. Neither of them acknowledging the strong gravitational pull they had between each other.

"Hey is everything okay?" Amy's voice interrupted, snapping Jeff and Trish out of their little trance as she cautiously stepped up onto the porch.

"Uhh…yeah", Jeff awkwardly cleared his throat as he was quick to stand up. Rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes glanced from the blonde to the red head. "Just checking if Trish was okay. Uhh…where were you? The last time I saw you, you were right behind me." Jeff questioned trying to divert the conversation.

"Yeah I was but you were too far ahead and then I heard Matt calling out and so I waited. Everyone else got up and left as soon as you did, the douchebag and his princess stayed behind" Amy then glanced over at her best friend who sat with her head down, eyes focused on the ground.

Amy walked over and knelt down next to Trish as she ran her hand through her blonde locks, brushing a strand aside and tucking it behind her ear so that she could see her face.

"Hey bestie, how you holding up?" Amy asked in a soft and caring tone.

Trish didn't answer. She just sat there in silence, still letting Jeff's words sink in. She was so conflicted, she didn't know what to do with herself. She knew she would have had to face this situation eventually, but she didn't know how truly painful it was going to be and what made the situation harder, was that she couldn't escape. She couldn't just pack up and get in the car and drive away, leaving her friends stranded in the woods. She was not that type of person, but it was just so hard to be around them and though her friends had the best intentions, she couldn't handle being treated like she was a fragile piece of glass.

The rest of the group soon arrived and stood, staring, eyes filled with concern for their petite blonde friend.

"Trish, I want to sincerely apologize for my brother's actions. He is a complete ass." Adam apologized before fiddling around for the key.

"Pfft…that's putting it lightly." Amy scoffed as she stood, hands placed on her hips in anger. "Isn't there another cabin around where those two can stay in…perhaps one in a different state!" She snapped.

"Amy…he's still my brother." Adam responded.

"We're still waiting for the DNA results" Amy joked sourly.

Adam narrowed his eyes.

"You can't ignore Jay's actions. He can't be treating Trish like that. He's the one that cheated, he has no right." Stacy chimed in.

"He's just being a typical jealous ex-boyfriend." Randy added causing everyone, except Trish, to glance at him curiously.

"Jealous? He's got a girlfriend why would he be jealous?" Matt asked.

"Come on guys it's pretty obvious. Jay can't stand seeing Trish having fun, laughing, smiling and giggling around with Jeff. The fact that she's getting along with another guy is eating him up inside. He's jealous."

All eyes then turned to Jeff, who glanced around at everyone staring at him as he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a huge wave of awkwardness.

"Well so he should feel jealous!" Amy scowled. "It's about time Trish experiences some happiness. Hell, she deserves it and if Jeff's the reason than so be it."

Jeff couldn't help but shoot a quick glance at Trish. She still remained seated, avoiding all eye contact with everyone but the ground.

"Look, I understand what Jay did was inexcusable, but that doesn't mean that we should banish him away. He is still a valid member of our group." Adam stated.

"Unfortunately." Amy scoffed once again, her annoyance growing each time Adam would defend his brother.

"Amy that's enough. He's my brother and I want him here just as much as I want Trish here." His frustration starting to seep through.

"Well that's the difference. Everybody wants Trish here and only you want Jay and his disposal piece of trash here!"

"Guys come on let's not get fired up here." Stacy tried to intervene.

"You've always had an issue with my brother haven't you Amy. Just admit it." Adam accused.

"I didn't have an issue with him when I thought he was making Trish happy. Then we found out it was all complete bullshit!"

"That's not true and you know it. He did love Trish."

"He never loved her! He loved the idea of Trish! He just wanted to have the hottest girl in school around his arm just to climb the social ladder." Amy argued.

"Enough!" Trish yelled, standing from her chair, causing everyone to spin their heads in her direction. "Look, I appreciate you guys standing up for me, I honestly do, but I'm sick of everyone cradling me. I can deal with this whole thing my way and in my own time. Now Adam can you please open the fucken door!"

Everyone was stunned by her little outburst. Since the breakup, it was the first time that she really stood up for herself, even if it was to them that she stood up to. Hearing her curse was surprising to them. She was the sweetheart of the group and it was very rare that she used a curse word, so they knew that she was really hurting.

Adam was quick to open the door as Trish was quick to rush inside and head upstairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.

"Just give her some time." Amy advised as everyone began to enter the cabin. "If I know her, she won't stay mad for long. She loves us too much."

As everyone went their separate ways, Jeff headed towards his room stopping in front of the door opposite his. He thought about the girl that locked herself behind that door. Being the tortured soul he was, he knew that that locked door was only the first barrier to the many walls that she created after Jason's infidelities. The many insecurities she now possessed. The girl behind that door now lacked confidence in herself, she no longer thought she was worth somebody's time, she no longer thought she deserved to feel valued, respected or loved. But what really upset him the most was knowing that she longer thought that she was beautiful both on the inside and outside. Jeff thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever crossed paths with. He could see her inner beauty. She had so much inner beauty that it overflowed from the inside to the outside. She was breathtakingly stunning; her big hazel eyes that were like floor to ceiling windows to her soul, her luscious lips that on the rare occasion would turn into a smile or giggle. Her blonde angelic hair that cascaded around her shoulders like a shining bright waterfall and her sultry figure that had all the right curves in all the right places. She was beautiful and he was determined to remind her of that.

Remembering Trish in her tight, figure hugging bikini sent a pleasurable sensation through his body. It caused goose bumps to form on his skin. Jeff cleared a lump that had formed in his throat as he run his fingers through his blue hair. "I think I need a cold shower" he said to himself, as he headed to his room.

•••••

After burying her head in her pillows and crying to herself, Trish laid silently in her bed, staring out at the scenic view through her big bay window. What was she going to do with herself? She knew what she had to do, but after experiencing two months of pain and heartbreak, she wasn't willing to put herself through any more pain.

A quiet knock came from her door as she tried to ignore it.

"Trish, it's me." Came the familiar voice of her best friend. "Can I come in please?"

Trish didn't say a word. She remained still, staring out of the window.

"I don't hear a no, so I'm going to come in okay?"

Trish heard the door creak open before feeling her bed sink as Amy climbed into bed, wrapping her arms around her best friend.

"I know you don't want to talk, but I wanted to see if my bestie is doing okay."

"I'm fine Ames. Really…I'll be okay." Trish whispered.

"You know that I'm here for you if you ever need anything. If you want to talk, smash something, eat ice-cream, you name it."

She couldn't help a small smile from forming on her face. Amy always had the knack for finding ways to make Trish smile.

"Speaking of food." Amy continued. "Adam and Matt have prepared a lovely meal for our family dinner tonight and I think it would be such a waste if you don't join us."

"I'm not really hungry Ames."

"I know, but you would be doing me a favour. You see I'm on this diet where I can only eat my meal and not my friends meal also, so I kinda need you to take one for the team."

Trish let out a little laugh as Amy wiped a few tears that escaped Trish's eyes.

"Well if I have to take one for the team…" Trish replied as she turned to look at her red haired friend and smiled. "Thanks Amy." She added.

"Any time soul sister. I love you and you know that I've got your back always."

"I know. I'm very lucky. Sorry for lashing out at you guys before." Trish apologised.

"Hey, I was actually glad to see some emotion. Last time I saw you lash out like that was when we were at that party and you thought you could take on the 6 foot 5 guy that grabbed your ass."

"Hey, I had every right."

"Trish, it was like a chihuahua taking on a great dane." Amy teased. The two of them laughed as they took a trip down memory lane.

"I guess it's no surprise Jason was nowhere to be found that night." Trish said sadly.

"You didn't need him anyway." Amy replied. "So…you coming down to join us?" Amy questioned.

"Yeah, I think I'll just go have a shower first."

"Good luck with that, just about everyone's had a shower, so you'll be lucky if you have any hot water left." Amy climbed off of the bed and made her way to the door before looking over her shoulder at her favourite blonde who had managed to climb out of bed. "I'm proud of you Stratus" she added, throwing a smile Trish's way. "See you downstairs."

Trish grabbed her towel and made her way to the bathroom. She was looking forward to a shower. She still had her bikinis on and couldn't wait to get them off and get herself into some clean and comfortable clothing. She was feeling a little better and a little hungry. Matt and Adam were great cooks and she was looking forward to a delicious meal, even though she wasn't looking forward to sitting at the same table as Jason and Candice.

As she opened the door to the bathroom, she let out a high pitch shriek. "Oh my God! Jeff...Uh... I'm so sorry" she stuttered bringing a hand to cover her eyes.

Jeff let out a small chuckle as he wrapped a towel around his waist. "All clear" he said watching as Trish peered cautiously through her fingers to make sure it was safe to look.

Jeff leaned up against the vanity as he watched Trish's face go extremely red. He ran his hand shyly through his hair, feeling a little awkward but a little pleased to see her, trying to ignore the fact that she pretty much saw him completely naked.

"Jeff, I'm so sorry. I should have knocked." Trish mumbled, not realizing that she was struggling a little to breathe. She couldn't help but stare at the chiselled body in front of her. His slender athletic build, the sculpted marks of his abs and the deep v outline that poked out from his towel which had slipped a little further down from his waist.

"It's okay. I was done anyway." Jeff replied struggling to take his eyes off of the woman standing in front of him with her red bikinis on. The same image which caused him to jump in and have a cold shower in the first place.

"Do you know what. I'm just going to wait outside till you're done." Trish responded awkwardly.

"It's okay Trish. I'm done. I've just got to chuck some clothes on."

"You do that. Yep. Just pop your clothes on and I'll wait outside."

"You sure?"

"Yep. I'm sure. I don't mind waiting long…ah I mean hard…ah I mean big! Ah…I…I…I'm just going to go." Trish uttered, a wave of embarrassment flooding through her body due to her awkward choice of words. She quickly stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Feeling her heart thumping through her chest and an incredible amount of heat rising within her body, she took a moment to compose herself.

"Wow!" she mouthed silently as she made her way back to her room.

-End of Chapter-