Yeah, first college update! Whoo-hoo. Of course, I haven't started classes yet, but still, it's been hard to find time to write this story. This is a longer chapter, which I'm happy about, cause they've been short lately, so hooray for me. Ha ha. Anyways, I hope you like what's preparing to happen, even though it's been implied, so let me know. Reviewers, much love, as always. And, if you haven't seen Superbad yet, DO IT! I've already seen it twice and I die laughing every time. It's hi-larious!

"Hey, Squinty, can I talk to you?" Spiederman asked Tommy later that night after a late lunch at a local wings place. "Like, away from everyone else?"

Tommy stared at the younger guy in wonder and followed him outside and towards the beach. "What's going on, Vin?"

"I need to ask you something, and this is so hard for me, so before you flip, just hear me out, okay?" Spiederman said. Tommy agreed and the guitarist continued. "Even though I haven't known her that long, I've fallen head over heels in love with your sister. She's gorgeous and smart and funny and she makes me feel like even if I were a truck driver, she'd still love me. I'm not used to that from Karma. Anyways, having said all this, I'm hoping you'll think it's okay if I ask her to marry me for real, not just to piss off your mom."

"Seriously?" Tommy said. He sighed. "Why my permission and not my dad's?"

"Cause it's so obvious yours is the only opinion she cares about," Spiederman replied. "You're her older brother and she adores you. If you say no, she won't agree to it."

Tommy wasn't sure how to answer. On the one hand, he still thought Spiederman was a childish idiot with absolutely no comprehension of responsibility, but on the other hand, he saw that he really did love and worship Nic. "Can I sleep on it?" he finally asked.

"Yeah," Spiederman nodded. "I won't ask, or even bring it up, until I have an answer from you because truly, if you say no, I won't do it; I wouldn't go behind your back like that, Squinty."

"Really?" Tommy asked. "That's pretty cool, man."

Spiederman smirked. "Please. If you don't agree, I'll still ask; I'd just feel a little guiltier in doing it."

"And that's why I'm sleeping on it," Tommy sighed, walking back towards the house.

"Hey," Jude said, sitting at the kitchen table in the SME house. "Where'd you go with Spied?"

He sat down and rubbed his temples. "Spiederman wants to marry Nic, for real, and he asked for my permission."

"Wow," Jude breathed. "That's big for him."

"No kidding," Tommy agreed. "I told him I'd sleep on it and at first he said he wouldn't ask if I said no, but then he laughed and said he'd actually still ask; he'd just feel a little guilty about it."

"Sounds like Spied," she smiled. "Spontaneity is his calling card, you know? He comes up with an idea, runs with it, and it usually works out. Karma obviously didn't, but he never planned on marrying her, so that's just a mistake. I know you might not want to hear this, but if Nic marries him, I can really see them working out in the long run. It might take a bit for them to get there, but they would. I don't think either of them wants a second divorce before 25."

"That's what I was afraid of," Tommy admitted. "Cause as much as I hate to admit this, and I'll deny it if you repeat it, I agree with you. Nic's happier than I can ever remember seeing her and to my dismay, it's because of a five-year-old trapped in a 20-year-old's body."

Jude shrugged. "It could be worse. She could want to actually get back together with Chris."

"That's true," he nodded. "So it's settled then? I'll tell Vin in the morning that I'm cool with him asking my baby sister to marry him after they've only known each other for like, two weeks?"

"Seems so," she smiled. "That's very big of you, Tommy."

"Do I get a reward?" he wondered, walking towards her.

She raised an eyebrow suggestively and headed for the steps. "If you follow me, you just might."

Nic woke up Thursday morning and looked out the window. It was sunny, cloudless, and smelled like a perfect day for the beach. She rolled over and found the rest of her bed empty, with Spiederman nowhere in sight. She threw off the covers, climbed out of bed in her black bra and boy shorts, and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning," Kyle greeted her. "Spied had to run into town this morning if you're wondering where he is. I just came over because we're out of ketchup at our house and I need it for my hash browns."

"That's fine," she told him, pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail. "What did he need to get?"

"No idea," Kyle lied. "He left when I got here and I haven't seen or heard from him since."

She poured herself a cup of coffee, which Spiederman must've made before he left, and hopped up onto the counter. "Do you think he was upset when I said I only said I was marrying him to piss my mom off?"

"I don't think so," he answered unsurely. "I mean, he's been known to play a lot of jokes to get to people, so I'd say he understands."

"Cause I didn't mean it," she interrupted. "I only said that to Tommy because he and Spied don't always see eye-to-eye on everything so I didn't want to start a fight between them."

"So you do want to marry him?" Kyle mused. "That's good. He wants to marry you, that much I do know."

Before she could say anymore, the front door opened and Spiederman walked in empty-handed.

"I thought you running errands?" she said, kissing his cheek once he was standing in front of her. "Change your mind?"

He eyed Kyle. "I did what I needed to do."

"Well, I'm gonna finish my coffee and do the beach all day," Nic explained. "Want to come?"

"Uhh, yeah," Spiederman agreed. "I won't tan, but I'll enjoy watching you do it."

"Perv," she smirked, jumping down. She set her mug in the sink and went back upstairs. "I'll be ready in 15 minutes so you'd better be, too!"

"Let me see it!" Kyle demanded quietly.

Spiederman pulled a black velvet box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a single, square-cut diamond on a platinum band. It was big and perfectly cut, just as Nic would want it.

"Think she'll like it?" Spiederman whispered. "Jude said she would."

"I think so," Kyle confirmed. "It's simple, but it stands out, kinda like Nic does."

"Okay, I better go up so she doesn't get too suspicious," Spiederman decided, putting the box back into his pocket. "When it's time to happen, you and Wally will know first."

Nic stood in front of her floor-length mirror, holding two bikinis in her hands, trying to choose which one to wear. She was down to picking between the purple Marc Jacobs halter or the hot pink Betsey Johnson string.

"How about neither?" Spiederman suggested, leaning against the doorframe. "You've been to France so just pretend you're there and it's a topless beach."

"Funny," she laughed dryly. "I'm thinking I'll go with the pink one today." She held it in front of her and turned to him. "Look good?"

"Looks great," he nodded. "So, do we have any plans for tonight yet?"

She eyed him. "Duh. We're going to Salty Dog for karaoke."

"Do we have to participate?" he asked.

"You do if you'd like to continue sleeping in my bed," she answered. "But, I'll let you perform with the boys if that helps."

"Thank you," he nodded, pulling his green board shorts from a drawer and changing into them. "Hurry up and change or your spot will be taken."

"Spied," she started, pulling off her bra, "it's a private beach. You can't come onto it unless invited or doing so illegally and people here just don't do that."

Once they were outside, he set up their chairs and she lathered herself in tanning oil. She sat down and pulled out the latest Vogue while he turned on his iPod and immediately fell into a deep sleep on his stomach.

"Umm, excuse me?" a soft young voice whispered 20 minutes later. "Is that Spiederman from SME?"

Nic looked over her right shoulder and saw a young girl of about 15 standing next to her, staring at her boyfriend. "Yeah. And I'm sure you'd like to meet him, but he was up early, so I don't recommend waking him up just yet."

"Oh," the girl nodded. "You're really lucky, you know. I mean, he talked about you on TRL after only knowing you a week and a half, but he never talked about Karma, and they were married."

"I feel lucky," Nic admitted. "I was married when I was 19 and I thought I was in love with that guy, but now that I've met Spied, I wonder what the hell was I thinking?" She motioned for the girl to sit down. "What's your name?"

"Carrie," the girl introduced herself. "I wasn't ever a big SME fan, just Jude Harrison, but then they released their solo album and I loved it, so now I like both."

Nic smiled. "Well, he usually loves meeting fans, especially ones who don't seem psychotic, but I think he's pretty tired. I just wish I knew what he went into town for this morning because he didn't come home with anything in his hands."

"Maybe he just wanted to explore?" Carrie suggested. "I mean, if he's never been to Hilton Head before, which I don't know if he has or hasn't, he could just be interested."

"Yeah," Nic agreed, "but he would've woken me up to take him around. I used to spend every summer here until I was about your age."

Carrie was quiet for a minute. "Maybe he bought you something that he's hiding and that's why you couldn't go?"

"That could be," Nic shrugged. "But what could he buy me that I don't already have?"

"An engagement ring?" Carrie interrupted. "You don't have one of those."

Nic shook her head. "Nah, he doesn't think I want to marry him, even though I do. See, my brother and I don't get along with our parents and my mom called yesterday and to irritate her, I said he and I were getting married. But when I told Tommy about it, I told him I was joking and that we're not getting married for real. What Spiederman doesn't know is that I'd marry him anytime, anywhere, any day."

"Then why don't you just tell him that?" Carrie wondered nervously. "I mean, I always read about how you're very outspoken and straightforward, so if you really love him enough, just tell him."

"I wish it was that easy," Nic sighed, pushing her Marc Jacobs aviator sunglasses up on top of her head. "I can't keep playing hot and cold on the marriage issue, so since he thinks I'm opposed to it for now, I'll just stick to that until he's ready to just propose and get it over with."

Carrie stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, I should get back to my family, but when he wakes up, tell him I stopped by to say hello and we're on Cavalier Beach. And Nic, for your own sake, don't let him keep on thinking that you don't want to marry him because eventually, he might not want to marry you." She grinned and walked away.

Later that afternoon, Jude stepped onto the back deck of the SME house with Sadie and couldn't help but smile as she watched Spiederman and Nic play on the beach, chasing each other and dodging waves.

"He's gonna ask her to marry him," she informed her older sister. "Tonight, at karaoke, through a song, sort of."

Sadie shrieked, but made sure to keep it quiet it enough to not capture any outside attention. "You're kidding! What song?"

"I don't know," Jude admitted. "I know he's performing with Wally and Kyle, which should be good, so we'll have to see. He was so excited when we went to pick out her ring today, which cost about as much as a down-payment on a house in Malibu."

"Really?" Sadie scoffed. "He finally learned what's worth spending money on and he stopped wasting it on one-of-a-kind Clash bootlegs from England?"

"He still buys those," Jude stated, "but he picked a ring so perfect, Nic has absolutely no way of saying no to him."

"That was never in question," Sadie smirked. "Look at those two; they have 'love' written all over them." She bit her lip. "I'm happy for them, I am, but they've only even known each other since January and have been dating for like, two weeks. How can they get engaged in that short period time when I've been with Kwest for like, two and a half years and am still ring-less?"

"Sadie, in case you haven't noticed, Spied and Kwest are two very different guys," Jude teased. "Kwest is rational and analyzes every possibility about everything while Vin tends to do things without thinking most of the time. Kwest is smart and has a good head on his shoulders whereas Spied's just lucky his head is still attached. Don't think Kwest loves you any less because you're not engaged and they're going to be."

"I know," Sadie nodded sadly. "Wishful hoping, I guess."

"It'll happen," Jude assured her. "Just give it time."

Nic looked down at her watch and yawned. "It's almost 4:00 and Tommy wants to leave by 6:30 cause it's always hard to get a table at the Salty Dog, so we should probably head up to shower and get ready?"

"You know what will makes things go a lot faster?" Spiederman asked, packing up their belongings. "If we showered together. It'll save water, time, and energy."

"Well, if you're a good boy," she joked, loading magazines back into her bag. "Of course, the house has four showers, so I doubt time would be an issue."

He made a face. "Fine. Showering together would just be more pleasurable for the both of us."

"Would it?" she mused playfully. "Well, if you put it that way, all right."

"Yes!" he cried, running towards the houses. "Last one back has to un-clog the drain when we're done to keep Squinty happy!"

"Cheater!" she yelled, hurrying after him.

"'Un-clog the drain?'" Tommy repeated, eavesdropping from the balcony as he prepped to get ready. "Yeah, sounds like a relationship built to last." He shook his head, laughed, and walked inside, completely unprepared for what was happening that night.