So sorry about the mess up of reposting chapter 4!!! Lol! And thanks for making me aware, WickedBtchOfTheNorth, this chapter is dedicated to you! Please review, all!

Chapter 5

Two weeks later and Lea still felt miserable and irritable all the time. She saw Nick every now and then but mostly at meal times when they'd sit at the usual table and talk about eachother. Other then that, she tried to keep herself shut in her bedroom away from the world.

One of the reasons she was stunned when someone knocked on her bedroom door after dark one night. Lea turned her Ipod off and opened the door to reveal Nick smiling-as usual.

"What do you want?" she asked, not meaning for it to sound as rude as it did.

"Wanna grab a couple horses and take a ride?" Nick got right to the point, and something about the way he looked so excited over something so small made Lea agree and follow him to the stable where he saddled one horse and grabbed a second saddle.

"Whoa, I am not riding by myself." Lea spoke up firmly, making him turn to face her slowly with confusion.

"I think you'd do fine." He encouraged her, "It's not hard once you get the hang of it."

"It's dark outside and I won't know where I'm going." Lea pointed out, annoyed when Nick smiled and put the saddle back in its place.

"Lea. Your horse could always follow me." He stated this as though it should have been obvious, "You're allowed to admit that you're just scared. It's fine."

"I'm not scared of riding a dumb animal." She scoffed, jumping down from the barrel she had been sitting on.

"Then what's the problem?" Nick asked amusedly, "You just want to be close to me again?" Lea bit her tongue in anger at his teasing words. How dare he imply such a thing!

"You know that's not it." Lea snapped in reply instantly.

"So you're scared?" he tried again, "Or afraid you'll fall which is pretty much the same thing."

"I'm not going to stand here and have you insult me all night-either we ride or not." Lea said curtly, silently satisfied when Nick mounted his usual black horse and looked at her expectantly.

"You coming or not?"

Lea almost let the word "not" escape her, but couldn't seem to manage to turn down this invitation. She wanted to escape the world and riding a horse through the night sounded like the perfect solution.

She took his offered hand, ignoring the pleasant feeling of his skin against hers as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Lea hated being so close against someone but figured it was better then riding alone. She still couldn't get the blush to leave her cheeks though.

Only moments later they were riding through the night, and Lea could only hold on and hope that they wouldn't get lost or thrown off. Yet at the same time the feeling of riding in the cool night was exhilarating. Just as she was beginning to get used to the swift trot they were riding at, they picked up speed and were going faster then Lea had ever ridden before. And yes, she was scared.

"Are you crazy?" Lea demanded when Nick had brought the horse to stop on top of the same hill as their other ride. He only laughed, which strangely made her relax again-she fought against it though, keeping her annoyance at him alive, "You should have warned me!"

With that, Lea slid off the horse, landed surprisingly gracefully and walked a few feet away from horse and rider hugging herself tightly. Being afraid wasn't a feeling she was used to, and she didn't take kindly to it at all.

"Lea, I didn't know it was such a big deal." Nick commented, and he could be heard dismounting also. She could hear his footsteps and then sense his presence behind her but only ignored him as she starred at the stars in the clear night sky.

"Are you mad at me?" she heard him ask softly, sounding a little guilty-which was definitely a new tone for him to use with her.

"Yes." She snapped, "You should be more careful."

"I didn't do anything stupid." Nick pointed out, "Speed isn't necessarily dangerous."

"That was dumb. Maybe I should have brought my own horse-I'd probably be better off after seeing the way you ride!" Lea spun to face him with narrowed eyes, "Even if I can't ride well, I'm sure I could do better then you."

"You sure about that?" Nick sounded humored, which only added fuel to her anger at him.

"It wouldn't be hard to do." She commented sharply, shoving past him and more then ready to be back in her room-safe from falling off horses and being scared by Nick's riding.

"Well, then go right on ahead." Nick motioned with his hand for her to mount the horse in front of him. She froze next to the animal, completely caught off guard by his words. He didn't take any notice though and climbed up, offering his hand as usual.

"Fine." Lea stated with finality, ignoring the physical contact as he helped her into the saddle in front of him. Now what had she gotten herself into? She didn't know what she was doing!

"Take the reins." She felt Nick speak softly into her ear, his breath tickling her. Lea snatched the reins in her small hands, feeling awkward and out of place as he corrected the way she held the reins.

"Nick…I…" Lea started to say she had changed her mind, but Nick didn't even seem to hear.

"Let me show you." He chuckled, and took the reins from her, "Just rest your arms on top of mine." Lea obeyed, relieved to hand the control back to him so it wasn't in her hands anymore.

He started the horse at a slow trot but Lea didn't even notice since she couldn't get her mind off the way his arms were around her. She couldn't hold on to him when she was in front and didn't like that fact at all. And it didn't help that she could feel him hover right behind her, occasionally leaning against her with the uneven ground.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Nick asked her softly as they were almost to the stable awhile later. Lea bit back a retort about having him touching her so much was disgusting. He didn't say anything more as he halted the horse in the stable and dismounted, offering her his hand as usual.

Lea looked at his hand blankly, not making any move to get off. "I hate horses." She snapped, unsure of what to say in the sudden silence. Annoyance flickered inside her when she saw a hint of a smile on Nick's face.

"Sure you do." He nodded, but Lea could tell he didn't believe her. At all. With an impatient huff, she took his warm hand and slid off the horse. Her landing wasn't as graceful as last time though and she stumbled and found her hands on Nick's chest for support.

She knew she looked like an idiot then.

For some reason, Lea found herself looking up into Nick's warm, brown eyes shyly. Shyly?! Swallowing slowly at the new feeling, she failed at keeping the pink from tinting her cheeks.

"Sorry." She muttered, pushing away and blushing deeper at his soft smile. At least he didn't comment as he began to care for the horse. Lea watched him in silence, not yet ready to return to her secluded room for the night.

Lea folded her arms tightly against herself and contemplated the new feeling of being insecure and unsure. It wasn't a feeling she was used to or particularly liked. The feeling would go away in the morning, she assured herself.

"Ready to get back?" Nick turned to her when he finished, and Lea simply nodded, following him from the stable into the darkness outside. The stars seemed extra bright as a cloud covered the moon momentarily.

Back in front of her bedroom, Lea struggled to find words. She wasn't sure if she should be polite and civil or her usual sharp, conceited self. Nick spoke first though, as if sensing her confusion.

"Maybe we can ride again tomorrow." He commented, "And maybe you can ride on your own horse."

"I doubt that." Lea stated, not putting enough sharpness into her tone to sound as nasty as usual.

"Why don't you just admit that you're scared?" Nick inquired with a half smile, "It's pretty obvious anyways."

"Because I'm not." Lea insisted, narrowing her eyes at him a moment. Neither of them moved and she shifted her weight uncomfortably before looking him in the eyes again.

She didn't want to ride by herself- she didn't know how well enough. At least, that's the reason she told herself was the truth. Lea knew that if she stopped lying to herself, she would realize there was more to it than that- and it had something to do with being so close to Nick.

"Good night." He spoke after a moment, breaking her from her embarrassing thoughts as she said good night also, thankful when he walked down the hall away from her since she could feel her face getting warm again.

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