I don't know how long it's been since I updated, but here's chapter six! I really like this one, and hope you all do too-let me know with a review!

Chapter 6

The two went riding together a lot the next couple of weeks. There wasn't a whole lot of talking, which Lea thought was strange, but she enjoyed it a lot. Something about riding off and away from everyone-except Nick-was peaceful to her.

"You ready to ride on your own?" Nick's words snapped Lea out of her thoughts as he looked at her with raised eyebrows, resting his hand on a second saddle next to him. Their usual black horse was already prepared for the ride. Her eyes wandered to the ready horse, to Nick's questioning expression, and landed on his hand on the saddle.

No way.

"I don't want to." Lea shrugged nonchalantly, pretending that she wasn't scared of riding. She knew he knew that she really was, but pushed the thought away. Of course he didn't really know. She wasn't scared of riding anyways!

Nick sighed and let his hand slide from the saddle as he looked at her with that all too familiar piercing gaze that still always made her uncomfortable. "Lea, you have to sometime…"

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes and pushed past him, but stopped short at his hand on her shoulder. Lea met his eyes with no problem, but had trouble holding their gaze. Why was he the only one who made her feel insecure? She wasn't used to it.

"It's okay to be scared." Nick stated with a small smile, but went on when she opened her mouth to protest, "It's not okay to lie about it."

"Just leave me alone, Nick." Lea snapped, jerking away from his touch with a glare. He didn't look fazed in the least-another thing that she wasn't used to. For a moment they just stood looking at each other- Lea with her sharp glare, and Nick with his thoughtful expression.

"Can we just go already?" she sighed in impatience, breaking the silence that was gradually making her more and more uncomfortable. Lea saw a hint of a smile on his face at that, and shook her head. Nick sure seemed to smile a lot.

After another moment, he shrugged and mounted the horse and offered her his hand to pull her up behind him. Lea bit her lip and begged herself not to blush at least until he couldn't see her face anymore. They rode off after she wrapped her arms around Nick's waist.

The sun was shining as brightly and cheerfully as ever as they rode, and Lea was grateful they weren't going faster. She let her mind wander as they trotted along until they came to a stop at the top of a hill. It was useless to pretend not to notice the beautiful scenery.

Lea wordlessly slid from the horse, silently thanking Nick for keeping a firm grip on her arm as she did so, assuring her she wouldn't fall over. The wind blew her hair into her face and she swept it up with her hand to hold it out of the way as she took in their surroundings.

"I can't get over how beautiful it is here." Nick commented softly from behind her but Lea didn't smile as she felt like she should. Rarely did she smile. When she turned to say something to him, she saw in amusement that he was laying in the long grass with closed eyes and a peaceful smile.

The horse was a ways off grazing lazily, being trained not to go far. For a moment, Lea couldn't help but just watch Nick silently, noting the way the sun made his dark hair look browner than usual and the way his sleeves were rolled to his elbows as if to absorb as much warmth from the sun as possible.

"Nick?" Lea sighed, seating herself next to him Indian style. He opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to face her, waiting for her to go on. Picking a piece of grass, she twisted it around in her hands as she thought, "Why do you smile so much?"

Nick laughed, and Lea half smiled at the sound. She loved the sound of his laugh. The sound was carefree and cheerful, as though there was no darkness in the world and everything would always be alright. She wiped the half smile from her face and waited.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his face breaking into yet another gorgeous grin at her strange question.

Lea sighed, twisting the grass around furiously, her thoughts churning and she noticed the sun burning against her arms. Her hair was being tame at the moment, only a few strands blowing into her face.

"It's like you always find a reason to smile." She contemplated, more thinking out loud to herself then explaining what she meant, "When you smile, it makes me wonder why you're so happy all the time."

"It's kind of strange that you think so." Nick spoke after a moment, his brown eyes sparkling with amusement, "I've always heard people say that I don't smile. Or don't smile a real smile very often."

"Oh." Lea's eyebrows furrowed, "Maybe it's just me." They fell into another silence and Lea figured that would be the end of their conversation for the day. It wasn't often they spoke that much even-and it especially wasn't usually her that started the conversations.

"Why do you frown so much?" Nick asked softly, and for a moment Lea thought he was making fun of her question. When she began to look at him with a glare, though, she noticed how serious his expression was.

"Because it's easier than smiling." Lea stated honestly, letting her eyes fall from their gaze. She wasn't going to open up herself to him, but instead lay in the grass next to him-being sure to leave a small space between them.

Nick wasn't letting it go at that, though and rolled onto his side and propped his head with his elbow to look at her. She ignored his gaze, focusing on starring at the fluffy cloud above them.

"Only if you want it to be." He commented, "You never look happy though. Always angry. Why don't you look for a reason to smile?"

"There's no reason." Lea scoffed, not meeting his eyes "Stop being so naïve."

"I'm not." Nick replied strongly, "You just refuse to see the bright things in life. You're so focused on the bad things that it even shows in your facial expression."

"I'll smile," Lea began, finally meeting his eyes, "if you can give me one good reason why I should." Nick grinned and she had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes, even though she loved his cheerfulness all the time.

"I can give you several." Nick stated, "It's a beautiful day, you're free to be out here and do nothing, you're alive and healthy…There's so much to be thankful for. Don't take it all for granted."

Lea narrowed her eyes in thought a moment before speaking, "I like rainy days, I'm stuck in this stupid place to do nothing, and who the heck cares if I'm alive?" she snapped.

"You." Nick chuckled.

"Not always." Lea spoke softly, unable to keep the sadness from her tone or ignore the pity she could see in Nick's eyes. Why did she just say that?

"Me." He whispered.

"I don't see why." Lea blurted out, panicking inwardly at her sudden mood change. She couldn't seem to put any bitterness in her words, but instead she was sounding weak and hurt.

"Because you're pretty, lively, and despite the fact that you pretend to hate my guts, you're my friend and I cherish that." Nick stated in a low tone, the smile fading from his face slightly.

Lea actually laughed at his comment, unable to suppress her amusement at his words. It surprised her when Nick frowned. He never frowned. A breeze blew by as she looked up at his face, waiting for him to say what was obviously on his mind.

"You find that funny?" he asked in confusion and she nodded with a small smile, "What part?"

"I have to say all of it-except maybe the lively part."

"Why the rest?"

"Cherish?" Lea chuckled again, "You can't fool me, Jonas. I know you think I'm annoying. I'm used to it, so don't bother pretending otherwise."

"I'm not trying to fool you." Nick's forehead wrinkled, "I'm telling you the truth."

"I'm your friend?" Lea stated in a tone that clearly said she didn't believe him but he nodded anyways, "Right…"

"Just because you don't like anyone-or pretend not to- doesn't mean others can't like you." Nick stated firmly, "Or just because you expect people to dislike you, doesn't mean they do."

"Are you saying that we're actually, really… friends?" Lea spoke softly, trying to keep the timidness from her tone. Lea could tell she was unsuccessful by the way Nick's expression softened.

"Yes." He nodded firmly.

"Even though I treat you…the way I do?" Lea gave up on trying not to sound hopeful at actually having a friend.

"Yes." Nick repeated himself, a smile playing at his lips at her sounding like a normal person, and not her usual hateful self.

"Wow…I don't know what to say." She sighed, managing a small smile for once. Nick's smile only grew at her words, making her laugh lightly and love the feeling. At this, he too began laughing and soon Lea found herself gasping for air. She wondered if she had gone insane or hysterical.

There was silence between them again and Lea couldn't seem to get rid of the smile on her face now. Nick was apparently rubbing off on her, and she took a deep breath to smell the wonderful nature scents.

He was watching her still, and Lea met his eyes, unsure on how exactly she should thank him for his friendship. Instead of finding words, Lea found herself reaching up to rest a hand on Nick's hand that he was propping his head on.

The smile fell from his face, and at that Lea's did too. Had she done something wrong? His expression had changed but there was something in his eyes saying he was just as happy as when he was grinning.

"What's wrong?" Lea breathed, pulling her hand away when he lifted his head and supported himself with his arms. He was looking at her intently and it was making her increasingly uncomfortable.

By the time she realized what had come over him, Nick was already close at her side and Lea found herself staring at his perfect lips as he leaned closer down to her. She had to be dreaming.

His fingertips brushed against her cheek and Lea couldn't help but close her eyes a moment at the touch that made her heart race. Soon, she was resting her hand on his shoulder before reaching to slide her fingers into his soft, warm curls.

Lea could feel each of his shallow, nervous breathes on her face as he came even closer, the intensity in his eyes easily making her blush. Her own breathing sped up as Nick rested his forehead on hers a moment before lowering his lips to hers.

"Crap, Nick, get off." Lea found herself snapping at literally the last millisecond, shoving roughly against his hot chest so that she could sit up. A deep breath helped her to calm down before she turned to look at Nick. He was partially sitting up, watching her with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

Lea couldn't believe the hurt she saw in his expression.

The words faltered before she spoke up, "Fooled you, Jonas, didn't I?" The smirk on her face came automatically as the words had, "Let's get back, I'm bored."

Nick's gaze fell for a moment and Lea bit her tongue as she stood up. There was just no way could that have almost happened. She didn't feel like that for guys. She couldn't trust him.

"Lea…" she heard him whisper from behind her as she waited for him to mount. Half of her was silently screaming for him to go on, but instead he stepped in front of her and got into the saddle before helping her up without meeting her eyes.

The ride back was in tense silence and Lea stared at the back of Nick's sweaty neck, wanting more than anything else in the world to bury her face into his back.

Dun dun duuunnn!!!! Reviews are loved!