Disclaimer: Yeah, if I owned this show, season two would be looking veeerrryyy different right now.

This chapter is dedicated to ChubbyPony who reminded me that it is important not to let being busy get in the way of one of the things I love most in the world, writing. Your encouragement has been fantastic; I have really enjoyed talking to you! Thanks for believing in me!

15/Love

"God, is it always this hot here?" Cody wondered out loud as she riffled through her bag for more film. The temperature seemed to be increasing steadily since the day that they arrived. When she received no answer, Cody glanced over her shoulder at Adena who was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling.

"Hey I'm going to go take some pictures of Cameron's game, you want to come?"

"No thanks."

"Oh, Jace said if you wanted another surf lesson, he would be down at the beach this afternoon," Cody loaded a roll of film into her camera.

"I don't think so."

Cody took her camera off and placed it on the dresser. She came and sat next to Adena on the bed.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Adena gave her a strange look.

"Why would you ask?"

"Well, you've been only leaving the room to go to practice and to games, you don't want to even come watch Cam's game with me, and you've been avoiding Jace since the other night. What's going on? I thought you liked Jace?"

"I never said that," Adena rolled off the bed and went over to the dresser.

She opened the drawer and began folding her clothes.

"Really? You're folding your clothes," Cody pointed out with a smirk.

"I'm sorry, how does that relate?"

"You never fold your clothes, which means you're just trying to avoid talking about it. Come on Adena, I thought we could talk about this stuff," Cody got up and came over to lean on the dresser in front of her. Adena sighed, tossing the shirt down in the drawer.

"You ever think about them?" She didn't even need to say their names, in fact they rarely ever did, Cody knew who she was talking about.

It was like they all believed that if no one said their names, it wouldn't hurt as much. It was like a bruise that never went away, a sensitive spot that hurt when you touched it.

"Is that what this is about?"

"Just answer the question," Adena demanded.

"All the time, you know that," Cody answered softly, searching Adena's face for some type of explanation for the painful subject.

"Look at how we lost them, how they lost everything. Look at how it left us!

"Adena," Cody whispered.

"I don't ever want to feel like that again Cody, I don't ever want to lose someone like that again. A part of me died that day," her voice cracked and

Adena felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"That was nobody's fault; no one could have ever predicted that. They would never want you to feel this way because of them."

"I just feel so guilty! Having what they never had! They loved each other Cody and they never got the chance to tell each other! They should be here, together, winning this tournament!" Adena insisted. Her body began to shake with sobs and Cody pulled her into her arms.

"You're never going to avoid losing people, it just happens no matter how much you want to stop it. All you can do is keep on living, it's the only way they would have wanted it. They knew how the other felt, and now they're together forever. They would never want you to hold back because of them, Megs and

Sebastian loved you and they would want you to be happy," Cody insisted, trying to offer the only comfort she knew herself. She pulled back a bit so she could look Adena in the eye.

"They would both approve of Jace. Especially Meg, she would say he has a nice ass," Cody joked. Adena cracked a smile, wiping her tears.

"She would too," Adena rolled her eyes, choking out a laugh.

"What about you and Squib?"

"I dunno," Cody sighed.

"Cody, if you want to be with him, tell him. Don't let that stupid thing with

Tanis stop you," Adena insisted, walking into the bathroom to fix her now

dishevelled appearance.

"I don't really know what's stopping me. Fear, I guess." Cody sat down on the bed again, gripping the edge on the mattress.

"Fear?" Adena called from the bathroom.

"Yeah, he just makes me feel…I dunno, it's stupid. I've never felt like this, that's all. It scares me. Squib is one of my best friends," Cody shrugged and focused her eyes on the floor.

"Cody, you love him, I know you do, so don't even think about denying it,"

Cody shut her mouth which she had just opened to protest.

"Just stop over thinking it. And for God's sake, stop testing him! You too are meant for each other okay! Besides, Squib is horrible with tests," Adena joked, walking out of the bathroom as she finished putting her hair in a ponytail.

Cody could see that she was returning to her old self.

"True," Cody laughed. Adena grabbed her flip-flops and began hopping around on one foot, trying to get them on.

"Are you going to come with me?"

"Nope."

"Where are you going then?" she asked, confused.

"To the beach," Adena smiled and shut the door behind her.

15/Love

The soft sand caught her as she landed on it, the sun resting on the horizon.

Shading her eyes, Adena searched the water for Jace. She finally spotted him, just getting up on his board to catch a wave. He rode it all the way to the shore, spotting her as he hopped onto the wet sand.

"Hey, you made it," he grinned, jogging up the beach to where she sat. The last of the day's light reflected off the beads of water on his skin.

"How are the waves?" she asked, not able to think of anything else to say.

"Wanna find out?"

"What? Like surf, right now?" he got to his feet and offered her his hand. She looked at it, immediately thinking of turning him down, until she remembered Cody's words. She bit her lip and with every bit of strength she had, placed her hand in his.

15/Love

"Can I come in?" Squib asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah, sure," Cody glanced up from where she sat on the floor. Shutting the door behind him, he sat on the bed behind her, peering over he shoulder.

"What are those?" he asked. Cody had some photographs spread out across the floor.

"Just some pictures I've taken since we got her. Adena went out, so I'm taking advantage of the space." Squib leaned forward and picked up one off of the floor in front of him. His lips curved into a small smile as he stared at it.

"What?" Cody asked, trying to see the picture.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering who took this," Squib said, handing the picture to her. It was a black and white photo of the two of them from the night they had camped. They were both asleep, Cody's hands resting on his chest along with her head, which was tucked under his chin and his arms wrapped around her tightly. They fit together perfectly.

"It was probably Adena," Cody shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about the whole situation. She'd meant to take that picture out of the pile, he was never supposed to see it, no one was. She went to put it back in the pile, when he stopped her.

"Wait," his hand grasped her shoulder.

"Can I keep it?"

"Um, sure…I guess," she gave it to him, trying to ignore the sensation his hand on her bare shoulder was sending through her. Maybe Adena was right; maybe it was time to just let what was going to happen, happen. Maybe it was time to stop testing him. She took a deep breath as he came to sit on the floor next to her.

"I have to tell you something," she blurted out. He gave her a funny look.

"Okay." She turned to face him and rubbed her sweaty palms over her knees. She had a feeling it was more than just the humid air causing that.

"So, remember that time we went in the boat and…you know…"

"Yeah, of course," he smiled.

"Well…I lied," she finished lamely. For once in her life, Cody just couldn't seem to find the right words.

"What are you talking about?" he searched her face, confused.

"I lied…when you came to me and I said that it didn't mean anything, that we were just caught up in the situation, I was lying. I just was afraid and it was all happening so fast, and then the thing with Tanis happened and I didn't know what to do because I was hurt and confused and no one has ever made me feel like this and-" the words were spilling out so fast that Cody didn't know how to stop them. Fortunately, Squib did. Crossing the small space between them, he captured her lips. For the third time, he left her breathless. His hands came up to cup her face and he got up on his knees, pulling her with him, needing to be closer to her. Cody gripped his forearms, trembling, and attempting to steady herself. After a while, Squib pulled away slightly, both of them panting heavily and neither of them moving.

"It's okay," Squib whispered, his mouth hovering above hers.

"Because I lied too."

"Oh yeah?" she smiled.

"You know…this is kind of like… that day… in the dark room."

"I guess it is," he brushed a piece of hair off of her face, grinning widely.

"Except…I think we got it right this time."

15/Love

Author's Note:

Oh my gosh, I know it has been forever, please don't hate me! I have just been super, super busy. But I'm back now! I promise! So please review and let me know what you think!