It was 6 o'clock in the evening and Luke and Nat were no where to be found.

"Where are they?" Tony asked Mattie while he helped Beth set up for the barbecue.

"Um, they went out a little earlier. I'm sure they'll be home soon," Mattie said, trying to cover up the fact that Luke and Nat had left their houses 5 hours ago and still weren't back.

One of two things must have happened, she had concluded. Either they were having so much fun together that they had just lost track of time, or they'd had such a bad date that they were trying to avoid each other.

Mattie was already ready for the barbecue. She'd put in extra effort because she knew Ric was coming, and she knew he was arriving soon. She sat in her room, day-dreaming what it would be like if her and Ric could finally get together, and all the fun they could have together over the summer.

She was interrupted when Ric came and knocked on her door.

The knock made her jump slightly. And when she saw it was Ric, she tensed up, becoming nervous.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said, turning and facing him properly.

He walked in and sat on her bed.

"So, do you have any idea where Luke and Nat are?" he asked.

Mattie shook her head. "No idea. I hope everything's okay," she said, suddenly realising that maybe they'd been away so long because something was stopping them coming back.

Ric grinned. "I'm sure they're fine. Probably just lost track of time."

Mattie sighed. She wished that it could be her and Ric out, losing track of time, having fun. Instead they were here, in her bedroom, talking about everyone else having fun.

"I heard from Cassie today," he said. "Her and Henk are actually going away for a few weeks to Thailand."

"Oh really? That's really cool. Good for her."

Mattie couldn't help but sound a little insincere. She was jealous. She was jealous of everyone – of Cassie, of Henk, of Nat, of Lucas. She was jealous of her mum and Tony. She was jealous of Jack and Martha. She was jealous of everyone who was with the one they wanted to be with. She was jealous of their courage, of being able to put their hearts on the line. It just seemed to be something she couldn't do.

"Would I be able to get you guys to come and help us take all the food out to the barbecue," Tony said, putting his head in the door.

"Yeah. Sure," Ric said, standing up.

Mattie pulled herself up and followed. It was going to be a long summer.

-

At 6:45, Nat and Lucas came through the door.

"Sorry we're late," Lucas said as they walked into the house, in which only Beth was inside.

"Where have you been?" Beth asked. "We were getting worried."

"Yeah, sorry, the bus broke down," Nat explained.

"Why were you on the bus?" Beth asked.

"We went into Yabbie Creek to look for something," Nat said, being very vague. "I'm just going to get changed," she said, heading into her room.

"I might just quickly go home and grab something actually," Lucas said. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

He walked towards the door, made sure Beth wasn't looking and crept into Nat's room.

"Geez, haven't you heard of knocking," Nat said as she placed the earrings she'd been wearing on her bedside table.

"Oh, sorry," Luke said, turning around.

"Luke. I was kidding. It's fine. What's up?" she asked.

"Um, well, I was wondering, what are we going to tell everyone?" Luke asked Nat.

"What do you mean?" Nat asked.

"Well, I mean, are we going to tell them...about what today was?"

"What do you mean?" Nat asked seductively, grinning at him.

Lucas grinned and sighed.

"But, can we please be serious for a second?" he asked.

"Alright."

"I don't know what you thought about today, but I would put it up there as one of the best days of my life, definitely one of the best days I've had with a girl and I know you're only here for the summer, and it can't really go anywhere, but while you're here, I'd like for this...us...to keep going."

Nat smiled.

"You know, I think you're probably the cutest guy I've ever met, Lucas Holden."

Luke looked away, feeling embarrassed. She made him feel so much of everything, but most of all she made him feel insecure. He worried so much about what she thought. Too much, he knew. But he couldn't help it. He had felt it since the first time he saw her.

Nat walked over to him.

"You should take that as a compliment."

Lucas looked at her. She was so different to anyone he'd ever met. So different to every girl he'd ever been with.

"As for what you said, if we could even have half as much fun each day I'm here, I would leave a very happy girl."

With that, she leant up, and kissed him.

-

Outside, Ric and Mattie were sitting in a corner of the backyard, watching everyone having fun, relaxing, enjoying themselves. Ric and Mattie, it seemed, were not. They both knew what they were feeling, yet they couldn't seem to let it out, to let each other know.

Mattie sat, silently.

Ric was very unsettled. He couldn't sit still. He was trying to make small talk with Mattie, but it just wasn't working.

He jumped up.

"I'm going to get a drink. Do you want one?" he asked.

"No, thank you," she replied politely.

While Ric was getting the drink, Martha went a sat next to Mattie.

"How's it going?" she asked.

Mattie shrugged.

"You know, it's pretty obvious to just about everyone that there's weird going on with you and Ric," she said. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

"I wish."

Martha contemplated for a second, then spoke.

"Look if I know Ric, then I know this is probably killing him, all this tip-toeing around. And I don't really know why you guys are just ignoring it, but I must tell you, in my experience, sometimes if you wait too long for something, you might lose it altogether."

Mattie didn't say anything.

Martha smiled and stood up.

"Martha," Mattie said.

"Yes?"

"Do you think it's possible to be in love with someone without realising it?"

Martha paused for a moment.

"I do. I also think it's possible to convince yourself that you're not in love with someone if you try for long enough," she replied.

Mattie sat for a second, before standing up, walking over to Ric, taking his arm and leading him inside.

Ric didn't say anything. He knew what she was doing, and he was relieved.

She led him down the hallway and into her room, where she closed the door.

She sat him onto her bed.

"I need to know something," she said, panting with anguish.

Ric looked at her intensely.

"Do you feel it, too?"

Ric exhaled and rubbed his head with his hands.

"I think you know the answer to that," Ric said.

"But that's just it, Ric, I don't. I honestly don't know if I'm just imagining everything. If I just want you to feel what I feel so badly that I'm like creating it in my mind or something. It's driving me crazy. I can't think without thinking of you..."

Ric reached out and pulled her towards him. He took her hand, as she stood, looking down at him.

He kissed her hand.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have let it get this far."

Mattie panicked. She thought he was talking about her feelings. That he hadn't meant to lead her on. She pushed him away.

"Oh, my gosh," she said. "I'm so stupid. I'm so sorry."

"What? Mattie. No! I meant we shouldn't have ignored it for so long. I do feel the same. I've felt it for a long time, too."

Mattie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

With that, he lent up, and kissed her.