Lindsey exhaled deeply as she watched the raindrops begin to hit the window of the bus. Great, now the weather is bumming me out too she thought.

Lindsey didn't want to go home, not one bit. She would have to spend the rest of the summer telling her parents lies about the summit she went on and being on her best behavior if she wanted any freedom at all next year. And heaven forbid her parents find out she didn't go on that summit… she didn't even want to think of that.

And without Kim around she would be forced to hang out with the guys if she didn't want to be trapped hanging out with Millie all summer. Especially since Millie would flip out and probably tell on Lindsey if she found out that Lindsey had been travelling with the Dead Heads these past few weeks instead of doing what her parents thought she was doing. Millie was a great friend, but she could sure get on someone's nerves.

Of course hanging with Daniel, Ken, and Nick wouldn't usually be too bad if it weren't for a couple of small details. Like the fact that Ken would be too busy with his girlfriend, and that Daniel and Lindsey weren't exactly Best Friends Forever and he'd probably say all of about two words to her after making sure Kim missed him. And Nick…

God. Nick. How could she face him? She wasn't exactly the friendliest person in the world when she said goodbye to him two weeks ago. But that was just because she was angry with him for trying to replace her. No, God not replace her, that's not how she wanted it to sound in her head. But she couldn't think of any other way to put it. Nick had been practically in love with her all year and then all of the sudden he started dating that Sarah girl? And all of the sudden he was into DISCO? Nick hated disco! He had to have been trying to been trying to make Lindsey jealous. He had to have been. Right?

Well Lindsey sure did feel something all right, though she wasn't too quick to categorize it as jealousy. It was more like a sick feeling in her stomach that things would never be the same between her and Nick. That he was going to wrap himself up in a new world and forget all about her. She didn't want that. God she didn't want that.

What do I do? Lindsey started worrying, forgetting all about her other worries of her parents and going home. I can't lose Nick… I care about him so much… I just…

Just what? She couldn't find the words. Just didn't want to be near him when he was acting this way? Just didn't love him like he loved her? Or just wasn't ready to open her heart and let him in?

Just as she began dwelling on the last option a crash of thunder brought her back to reality. The rain was pouring down now, and she could barely see out the window because everything was so obscured by the downpour. She glanced down at her watch: still 2 hours until she pulled up to the spot her parents were picking her up at.

This was going to be a long trip home.

The heavy downpour had only let up a little when the bus finally pulled up to the bus stop. Lindsey could see her parent's car parked a little ways away; she couldn't blame them for not waiting for her outside. She grabbed her bag and headed towards the front of the bus, seeing her father running up to the bus to meet her. As she stepped off the bus her father immediately grabbed her bag and motioned her to run to the car without so much as a "hello." The two ran to the car, where her mother was waiting in the front seat. As she climbed into the backseat of the car she immediately noticed the absence of her brother, who was probably off playing with his dorky friends. His presence wasn't really missed.

The ride from the bus stop to the house seemed even longer than the trip there, even though the bus stop was only a fifteen-minute drive. Her parents seemed full of questions about the summit that Lindsey had no clue how to answer, and she ended up making half of the stuff up on the spot. She silently cursed herself for wasting all of her time preparing answers to questions her parents didn't even bother to ask, the ones NORMAL parents would have asked.

As they pulled into the driveway Lindsey thanked God that this torture was finally over.

"So Lindsey, tell me all about your professors at the summit," her father said as they pulled their rain-soaked jackets off in the living room. Lindsey was pretty sure her mother had just asked her to describe her professors about 10 minutes ago. They were probably double-checking to make sure Lindsey didn't slip up some information when recounting the story that proved she wasn't there. Either that or they really weren't paying attention to anything she said. Even though she was paranoid about them figuring her out, she still knew it was probably the latter.

"Um, listen guys, I had to get up at five in the morning and pack, and I'm really exhausted. I kind of just want to go lay down for a while. We'll have plenty of time to talk later, right?"

Lindsey's parents exchanged a half concerned look and then turned back to her.

"Well all right dear, but we want to hear all about t at dinner tonight, alright?" her mother said.

"Right," Lindsey sighed, relieved that she could get away and work out her story some more, "I'll tell you everything at dinner. I just need to get some sleep first."

Lindsey picked up her bag and walked down the hall to her room. She closed the door and collapsed onto her bed, still wearing her drenched clothes. Even though she really hadn't been up since five am, she still felt exhausted. She managed to force herself off of the comfy bed and into some dry clothes, only to retreat under the covers immediately afterwards.

All right. I need to concentrate, get all my facts straight. I can't slip up and make them suspicious.

Lindsey prepared herself to spend the next few hours she had before dinner preparing her newly re-worked story to tell her parents. However as she started getting more and more comfortable lying back in her own bed again, she started to drift off. It was in the few minutes where she was suspended in the area just between consciousness and sleep, when one's thoughts tend to run together and make no sense, that she thought of Nick again.

He couldn't have really liked Sarah, could he? He likes me. He liked me. He doesn't anymore. Because I didn't like him. But I didn't NOT like him. Everything happened so fast. I just want to start over. Just one more chance… one more chance…

The next thing Lindsey remembered was being jolted awake by her father.

"Lindsey, are you alright? You've been fast asleep for hours. We tried to wake you for dinner but you wouldn't budge," there was a look of concern in her father's eyes as she looked up at him, then at the clock near her bed. He wasn't kidding, she had slept straight through dinner- it was now almost 8 o'clock.

"I'm sorry dad… I guess I was even more tired than I thought," she replied, still barely awake.

"Well you may want to wake up, you have a visitor." He said as he started heading toward the door.

Visitor? Lindsey thought, still a little dreary. Who would be visting-

Lindsey almost jumped when she realized who it probably was. She wasn't sleepy anymore, that was for sure. She was fully awake.

Before Lindsey had a chance to prepare herself her father was at the door, speaking to someone standing in the hallway.

"She's awake now. Go ahead in… just, uh, leave the door open." He said as he walked in the opposite direction down the hall.

Then he was there. Standing in the doorway. Dripping wet from the rain and shaking slightly from the cold. Looking at her like he hadn't seen her in years… like he had never thought he'd see her again.

"Hey Lindsey… welcome back," Nick said, sounding unsure of himself.

"H-hi Nick." Lindsey managed to push out of her mouth. Suddenly the words that had rung through her head in the moments before she fell asleep rang clear. One more chance… just one more chance…

Lindsey sat up straight in her bed as Nick came over to sit beside her. She was ready to give herself one more chance. Now all she had to do is convince Nick to do the same.