"You just seem a little distracted this morning," Meredith pointed out as she fumbled through her binder, trying to find her History paper. "You sure everything's okay?"

Martin's mind raced through possible ways to tell Meredith he didn't want to see her anymore. Weeks ago he had told her that he loved her, and thought that he had meant it, but now, everything was different.

First of all, he hadn't told Meredith about Sandy's pregnancy scare. So many other people already knew the truth that it was only a matter of time before Meredith found out. He wanted to be the one to tell her. He also had to find a way to tell her that his feelings toward Ruthie had, quite suddenly shifted.

It was funny how one minute your whole world can literally turn upside down. Martin had never looked at Ruthie as anything more than just a really good friend. Now he couldn't stop thinking about that passionate kiss Ruthie had planted on him just two days ago. And the truth had burst forward; he loved Ruthie, he probably always had.

Yesterday, after seeing Ruthie at church, after being ignored by Ruthie at church, Martin had been more than a little bummed. Mac had noticed instantly when they had gone to the ball field to bat a few balls in the hot afternoon sun.

"You okay?" Mac asked, tossing the ball easily to Martin.

Martin swung, and missed again. "I can't get into my usual groove today. It's just not happening," he said putting the bat down and heading to the bench.

"You wanna talk about it?" Mac asked, sitting down beside his troubled friend. "Is this about Ruthie, Meredith or Sandy?"

Mac was snickering, but Martin didn't like being laughed at. "Funny."

"Well Ruthie looked pretty upset with you today at church," Mac pointed out. "She wouldn't even look at you. In fact, none of the Camdes would look at you."

Martin sighed. It was true. Even Reverend Camden had tried to avoid Martin. Was this how things were going to be now?

"So, buddy, what's up?" Mac pushed. "You and Ruthie have a fight? Is this about Sandy?"

Martin looked at Mac. He'd been a good friend through the whole Sandy ordeal. Mac had kept his mouth shut and offered some pretty good advice. Martin wondered if it'd be okay to tell Mac about what was going on between him and Ruthie.

"You can tell me, man. I'm only asking as a friend, not a spy or an informer."

Martin laughed. "This can't leave the baseball diamond."

Mac's eyes lit up, sure he was about to hear something juicy. "You have my word."

"Okay, well, Ruthie came to my house on Saturday, basically to get mad at me for lying to her about Sandy. But then she started to cry and things got really weird." Martin paused. Mac had a smirk on his face. "What?"

Mac tried to get himself under control, but couldn't. "You and Ruthie?"

Martin gave his friend a look. "Sort of."

Mac burst out laughing. "I knew it! I was wondering how long it would take for the two of you to get all carried away. It's been so obvious!"

"What!" Martin exclaimed.

Mac sighed and patted his friend, supportively, on the back. "You're not so bright when it comes to girls, man. Ruthie? She's, like, who you were meant to be with. She's not your friend, Martin, she's your match. She's always been."

Martin gave Mac a weird look. "What are you talking about?"

Mac sighed once again, not able to believe how shortsighted his friend really was. "You get crazy with jealousy anytime you see her with another guy. You hated Vincent from the very start. You didn't want Ruthie to be interested in me, but you certainly didn't want me to be interested in her. You comment on the things she wears, the things she says, the places she goes, and who she goes with. You two banter on about everything. Not to mention the fact that when you told me about Sandy, your only worry was about Ruthie finding out. You've always liked Ruthie."

Martin thought about this for a while. He shrugged. Mac wasn't lying. He did all of those things. So why hadn't he ever seen it before?

"So what exactly happened between you two?" Mac asked, his interest piqued.

Martin smiled, remembering the kiss. "We decided we wanted to be together."

Mac made a face. "How can you be a jock and be so unfamiliar with the concept of 'jock talk'? Details, Martin. How exactly did this come about?"

Martin blushed. Mac wasn't the type of guy to go around blabbing, so Martin shared a little bit with him. "We kissed."

Mac smiled wide. "Was it good?"

Martin smiled and took a deep breath. "It was amazing. Who knew Ruthie Camden had it in her?"

Mac slapped Martin on the back. The two got up from the bench and walked back to the field. Mac finally broke the silence with, "Tongue?" The two friends shared a laugh.

"Martin?" Meredith asked, waving a hand in front of his face. "Where were you?"

Martin shook himself out of his daydream and apologized. "Sorry. Um, I've got to get to class now, but can we talk later?"

Meredith smiled and leaned toward Martin, ready to kiss him goodbye. Martin pulled back and smiled, uneasily. "I really have to go, but we'll talk later."

On his way to class, while pondering on the best way to end things with Meredith so that everyone could still remain friends, Martin ran, full force, into Ruthie.

"Watch it!" Ruthie yelled, bending down to pick up the books she had dropped in the collision.

Martin bent down too, knocking the top of his head onto Ruthie's. Ruthie gave him an evil look and held out her hand for him to stop. She gathered her books quickly and began to walk away.

"Ruthie?" Martin called, running to catch up with her. "I think we should talk."

Ruthie stopped walking and turned to face Martin head on. "There's nothing more to talk about. You made that decision and now you'll have to live with it!"