Chapter 13 (Riley's POV):

I wandered around my empty room, in panic. I looked at Emily's bed and it was exactly like the day before. Where could she be...? Then, the door opened and I turned around, hoping that it would be Emily.

"Good morning." greeted Nate, coming in and kissing my cheek. I forced a smile and he realized it. "What's wrong?"

"I thought you were Emily."

"Were you expecting her?"

"She didn't sleep here last night. I'm worried..." I confessed, lowering my head.

"Come on, let's go look for her." he said, holding out his hand to me. I shook my head.

"You don't need to come along, really."

"I want to. Come on." he insisted, pulling me by the wrist. We started to walk and I thought about all the places Emily could be.

"Nate, do you think she could be in the studio?" I asked, stopping. He stared at me.

"Why the studio?"

"Because Kyle might be there too..."

"Don't say that."

"Can we just go to the studio, please? I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I need to be sure that she isn't there..." I begged, in a low voice.

"Okay, let's go."

We went to the studio and I tried to open the door, but... It was locked! What the hell...?!

"Here, I'll do it." Nate said. I laughed. That was such a typical thing for a guy to do.

"No need." I guaranteed, pushing the door. Since I used a lot of strenght, it opened easily. "I'm getting good at this..."

I got in there slowly and I saw Emily getting up from the floor. I ran to her and hugged her.

"Emily! Why on earth did you spend the night here?!" I shouted. She seemed surprised. "Sorry. I'm not mad, I just want to know."

"I came here and... I fell asleep!" she answered, in a tone that wasn't very convincing.

"Oh, and the door just happened to be locked?"

"I... Hum... I..." she hesitated, looking several times to her right side. I knew she was hiding something.

"Riley, let's go for a walk." Nate interrupted, seeing that I was going to start to yell at Emily.

"But-"

"Come on." he insisted, pulling me outside. I looked back and I saw Emily sighing, like she was relieved. I would have to take care of her and her secret later. I remained in silence, while Nate kept walking. He turned to me and smiled. "Are you mad?"

"No, why? Am I supposed to be?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure. I just wanted to get you out of there before you'd say something to Emily that you might regret later."

"Oh... Thanks... I guess... But you don't need to worry. I just want Emily to be safe."

"And your idea of 'safe' is keeping her in a dome where only you can go in." he joked, smiling. I frowned. He was kidding, I knew that, but maybe he was right (and he didn't even notested it). I lowered my head, with a bit of shame. "Sorry... I shouldn't have said that."

"You only said the truth." I said, walking away.

"Riley, wait!" he called, following me." I'm really sorry. I talk too much, I know. I'm sorry."

"It's... Alright. You were actually right." I confessed, biting my inferior lip. "I control her a lot, but I just want her to be safe. I couldn't live with myself if she got hurt like I did."

"And you think that, if you keep her away from Kyle, she'll be safe? Riley, she might really like him:"

"Sometimes, that's not enough, you know..." I mumbled, in a low voice. Nate stared at me with a sad expression and I sighed. "You don't need to feel sorry for me, okay?"

"I didn't-"

"I saw your face. You had the sad expression everybody has when I talk about what happened to me. I don't need your pitty. I don't need anything..."

"It seems to me you need someone to trust in."

"Yeah, well when you find someone who isn't always crying, who's a good friend and can handle my crappy temper, call me."

After I said that, he hugged me. I didn't understand why he did it, but I couldn't step away either.

"And, by the way, your temper is not that bad." he said, laughing.

"I know you're just saying that to cheer me up, but thanks anyway."

"It's true. You're just a little bossy..."

"Everybody's a little bossy."

"But you... You're the "army" kind of bossy. Like a General!"

"Hey!" I said, frowning. He laughed again.

"Well, I should go. I need to get ready for my date tonight."

"Uh, somebody I know?"

"Let's say yes."

"Aren't you going to tell me who it is?"

"Let's say no." he joked, making me laugh. He smiled and walked away. "Talk to you later, General Cooper."

"I never agreed to that nickname!" I said, while he saluted me and left. I smiled. The truth is I was a little intrigued (and bothered) with this whole 'date' thing, but maybe the best thing to do it just leave it be. I went to my cabin and spent most of my time working on a song. Emily only showed up after dinner.

"Riley!" she said, surprised to see me. I frowen, because I knew she was hiding something.

"Where were you?"

"Around... And I'm leaving again, I just came to pick up my guitar."

"Are you going to the studio?

"Uh... Yes. Why? Did you want to go there?" she asked, in a nervous tone.

"No, no. You can go." I said, as she left. I decided to wait a bit and, then, I would see what the fuss about the studio was.

Minutes later, someone knocked at the door.

"Nate!" I said, seeing him.

"Good evening, General." he joked.

"Didn't you have a date?"

"I did. And I do.

"So... What are you doing here?"

"I came for my date." he answered, like it was a totally normal thing. I looked around the cabin, confused. He laughed. "For my date with you, dummy."

"But... We didn't have a date."

"That's why it is a surprise date."

"But I'm not even properly dressed or anything..."

"You look fine. Come on." Nate said, holding my hand and starting to walk. I blushed a little and cursed in a low voice, since my plan had been ruined. We walked to a river and he sat on the grass. I did the same and looked at the view.

"Thanks." I mumbled. "I have to admit I needed this."

"Going out?"

"Yes." I nodded, lying down. He looked at me and notested my concern.

"Did something happen with Emily?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm not sure... She spent most of the day missing and now she comes to our cabin to pick up her guitar, because she needs to go to the studio."

"You think she's going to meet Kyle?"

"I think so, but I'm too afraid do find out..."

"You know... Maybe Kyle will make her happy... Without hurting her."

"Maybe... Nate, can we not talk about Emily and Kyle, at least, for tonight?"

"Sure. What do you want to talk about, then?"

"Nothing. Let's just stay here..." I told him, smiling. He did the same and started to throw little rocks to the river. I thought about my feelings for Nate. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with him. I promised myself I would never fall in love again.

We stayed there for a while, talking about things that made me laugh. It was amazing how he was able to make me forget my problems during that time.

"It's getting late. We should go back." he said, getting up. I nodded and got up as well. We walked slowly to my cabin, but I couldn't go in. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to go in." I confessed, lowering my voice.

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure... I guess I just don't want to go back to reality and realize that not anything is perfect like I imagined."

"You imagine everything's perfect?"

"After a night like this, what did you expect?"

We stared at each other, and I knew what was coming. The only problem was I didn't know if I was ready... We started to come closer to each other and I felt everything happening to me at the same time.

"Nate, I'm sorry." I said, stepping back. He lowered his head, with a sad smile on his face.

"That's okay. I should have known you aren't ready."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's cool."

"So... We're good?"

"We're good." he guaranteed, walking away. Before he got in his cabin, he turned to me. "Good night, General Cooper."

"Good night, Nate." I smiled to him, entering my cabin. I put my pajamas on quickly and went to bed. Even though the ending was unexpected, it had been a good night. A perfect night.