Chapter 8

"I'm super hot right now."

"Quit complaining again, Eric." Nathan said impatiently. "If you had done what I had asked when I asked you to do it, you would not have had the heat we're having now."

Eric and Nathan were looking for more firewood. It was a bit after noon, and the sun was scorching. They hadn't eaten yet, but Nathan insisted they were almost done, and should continue.

So here they were, hungry, looking for firewood in the heat of midday. This was why Eric was in such a foul mood. Or at least, only partially the reason. The real reason was that Eric had stumbled on a very "private" moment between Melissa and Jackson the night before, and it irked him to no end.

Flashback

Taylor had suggested that because they had been working really hard lately, that they should have another "Chiloween" type of event. Unlike last time, where people complained to no end about it, everyone actually agreed to this plan and excitedly prepared for it. Even Daley was excited!

So everyone was scattered, preparing their own "gifts" and such. Melissa was the only one at the campsite, drawing with charcoal. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed her drawings last time, so she figured she would do some again. She was in the middle of drawing a beautiful sunflower for Daley, when she heard someone plop down beside her.

Startled, she moved to shield her drawing from the person's sight. Luckily, it was Jackson. Melissa let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Phew, it's only you. Next time, don't scare me like that!" Melissa scolded. Jackson just smirked. "Sorry. I can't promise it won't happen again, but I'll try."

Melissa narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Jackson just looked at her all innocent like, and said, "nothing. I'll try."

Melissa shook her head, and was about to go back to her drawing when Jackson suddenly poked her.

Melissa jumped. "JACKSON!" Melissa hissed. "What are you doing?" She tried to look mad, but failed miserably .

Jackson just grinned back and said, "I said I would try not to scare you. You didn't say anything about tickling you." Jackson poked her in the hips, and Melissa squealed.

Jackson continued to tickle her, while Melissa was trying to get away. "STOP, Jackson! Please!" She said, in between laughter and squealing. She reached out to try to push him away, but Jackson kept tickling.

Melissa didn't know how it started, but somehow in the midst of all the tickling and her trying to pull away, at one point, she had her hands on his shoulders, and his hands were on her hips, and as she caught his laughing eyes, her laughter died as she got lost in his eyes. Likewise, Jackson's face got all serious, as he also looked at her solemnly.

It was as if time had stood still for a moment. All was forgotten as the two just stared at each other's eyes.

Jackson's eyes moved to her lips for a moment, and Melissa could feel her heart beating really fast.

Is he going to kiss me? Melissa wondered nervously. Is my breath okay? While Melissa was thinking these thoughts, Jackson took this time to slowly move forward, and pressed his lips to hers in the most gentlest of kisses. He moved back a bit, just to see how she would react.

Melissa, though stunned, gave him a shy smile, to which Jackson took as a good sign. Relieved, Jackson kissed her again, though this time with a bit more passion, to which Melissa responded.

After what seemed like only a fleeting moment, Jackson released her, his hands still cupping her face. Both of them smiled at each other.

"Wow..." Melissa breathed. "That was some kiss.."

Jackson smiled, thinking how cute Melissa was when she was speechless.

"Yeah... it was." He said simply.

The two just kept looking at each other, smiling gigantically, until Jackson reluctantly said, "We should probably head back before one of them catches us being all lovey-dovey."

Melissa laughed a bit. "Agreed. Shall we?"

Jackson laughed, and held out his hand for her to take. She placed her hand in his, and he squeezed it gently before releasing her. He bowed down, and pointed for her to lead the way.

"After you, my lady."

Melissa smiled bashfully, and led the way. Jackson followed.

Meanwhile, unnoticed by the two lovebirds, Eric was hiding behind the trees, and had witnessed the entire thing.

Back to present.

Eric frowned, remembering that private moment. He knew that he had already said he would not get in the way of the two, and that he said he would be okay with letting Melissa go, if that made her happy.

But it was a whole other ball game when he actually HAD to do it, you know? It was so much harder in practice. Eric felt his heart being ripped into two. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to make the pain cease.

Nathan noticed this, and said, "Dude, you okay?"

Eric, startled, looked back at Nathan, and lied. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired... didn't get enough sleep last night because of the stinky sleeping bags."

Nathan didn't look like he believed a word Eric said, but thankfully, kept quiet, and only said, "Let's go back. We have enough firewood."

Eric nodded, and led the way back to the camp site, where everyone else was there. Melissa and Jackson were sitting quite close to each other on one log, while Daley, Lex, and Taylor were sitting on the opposite log.

Melissa turned and gave them a bright smile. "Hey guys! You're back! We were wondering when you guys were going to show up!"

Nathan smiled, and said jokingly, "Blame it on Eric. He didn't do the chores when he was supposed to."

Melissa giggled at that, and said, "Typical Eric." She smiled at Eric, but grew concerned when he didn't smile back at her. Instead, he dropped his firewood, and walked to the beach.

Everyone exchanged confused glances. "What's with Eric?" Lex asked.

Melissa bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I'll go find out." She got up out of her seat, and started walking in the direction he had gone.

It didn't take long for Melissa to spot Eric. She studied him for a moment, observing his body language. He was slouching, which wasn't odd for Eric, but he looked almost... defeated. What could have happened to him? He's usually so confident and cocky. She wondered. Time to find out! She told herself.

She walked over to him, and slowly sat down next to him. She didn't say anything; she just looked at him for a moment, gauging his reaction.

Eric felt someone sit down, and could just sense her. In the past couple of weeks, as he became aware of his growing feelings for her, he began to pay attention to her scent, and what her presence felt like. Back then, it made him happy whenever she was around. But now, especially since Jackson and Melissa kissed, her presence only served as a reminder of his inadequacy and his failure to get her to like him.

Now, he didn't dare glance at her. He didn't dare look at her eyes, because he knew that if he did, she could see his feelings arise, and he couldn't let that happen. Things were pretty awkward for the most part, with Eric trying not to look at her, and Melissa waiting patiently for him to say something... anything.

Finally, Melissa spoke. "What's the matter, Eric?" She said, in a quiet and comforting tone, willing him to open up to her. She hated seeing him like this. It was weird... she was used to cocky, and sweet Eric, but quiet Eric, withdrawn Eric-this she was not used to, and she missed the old Eric.

"Please tell me what's going on." Melissa pleaded. With her plead, Eric couldn't take it anymore. He turned to her, and looked at her with sorrowful eyes.

"You. That's what's going on."

Melissa looked confused. "Me? I don't get it."

Eric stayed silent for a bit. He had promised himself he would not interfere with Jackson and Melissa. He would stay out of it. And that's what he intended to keep.

Taking a deep breath, he said the first thing he could think of that came close to the truth, but not really. "I just miss hanging out with you. Ever since you and Jackson made up, you haven't been spending as much time with me anymore." Eric shrugged. "I miss you."

Melissa was stunned. "I'm.. so sorry, Eric! I didn't realize I was neglecting you." She said apologetically. "It doesn't mean I don't value your friendship. Believe me, I do! I just got carried away. You know how it is... young love."

Eric smiled sadly. "I know. I'm sorry if I've been a bit moody. I DO understand why you did what you did. I just.. it takes time getting used to, that's all. I'll get used to it eventually."

Melissa smiled at him. "Well, I'll try to make sure to spare some time for you, for sure. After all, you and I are buddies! I need to show my buddy how important he is to me." She beamed at him.

Eric inwardly winced at the word "buddy", but pretended to be happy about it. "Great! We should head back now."

Melissa nodded. She got up, and held out her hand to pull him up. Eric reluctantly grabbed her hand, and let her pull him up. Melissa squeezed his hand before pulling him to drag him back to the campsite.

Eric relished the feel of Melissa's hand in his, knowing that would be the last time he would be able to do this.

Goodbye Melissa. Time to let you go for real.

And I finally come to the second last chapter of this story! Just one more chapter, I think, and that'll be a wrap! Thanks all for the awesome reviews! They keep me writing! I'm so encouraged every time I read a review! I'm sorry it took me a while to finish this chapter. I've been working at a summer camp this entire summer, so it's been tiring, and I was too lazy to write. But, I'm done now, so I have time to write! Now that I'm on a roll, I should have the final chapter up by the end of next week! I plan on finishing this story before school starts, so there's my goal.

Haha. Thanks again for reading, and please, please, review! :)