A/N: Hey everyone! You all are so awesome to keep reviewing and making me write more! Some have said that this might be a good Joe/Kintra story. Sorry! I've made Nick and Kintra just too perfect for each other. (Once he figures that out, that is.) But I might do something about Joe….hmmm. I'll think about it. Enjoy and tell me what you think!

To say that everything was strained after that was an understatement. Kintra could barely look at Nick without bursting into tears, and Nick remained stone-faced, furious at his friend for "trying to take him away from his girlfriend." Joe even got into a fist fight with him over it, claiming that it had been his idea for Kintra to tell Nick about her feelings in the first place, which Nick didn't believe. When Joe walked back in through the tour bus door, his nose bleeding and his hand tilted in an odd direction, he looked at Kevin and asked in reference to a joke he had once made, "Remember when I said that we only fist fought twice a day?" Kevin nodded. "Better make that three times."

Nick's birthday came and went with very little celebration. Nick picked Catie up and they celebrated his birthday away from the rest of his family. Kintra asked Kevin to call Matt, whose number she had kept, and consented to going on a date with him. The first night, when he drove in to pick her up, Nick was the one to open the door. His eyes narrowed and he asked, "Can I help you?"

Matt wasn't the least intimidated by Nick's icy manner. "No," he said cheerily. "Actually, I need Kintra's help."

Nick looked confused. "Why would you need Kintra's help?" He almost spit her name out.

"Because she's the only one who can rescue me from the boredom of normal, everyday life." When Nick still looked mystified, Matt sighed. "I'm taking her on a date." Kintra appeared and smiled, signing a goodbye to everyone and brushed past Nick, who stood open-mouthed, watching them get into Matt's car and drive off.

Nick whirled around. "Who let her go out on a date with him?" he asked, a furious tone in his voice.

Kevin and Joe were leaning against the doorframe, grinning from ear to ear, not intimidated in the slightest by their brother's fury. Their father raised his hand and wiggled his fingers. "That would've been me," he said. "Matt asked me if he could take Kintra out, and I said yes. Why should you care?"

Nick spluttered for a moment, unsure as to why he should care. Why did he care? "Because she's my friend!" he finally managed, ignoring the strange jealous feeling that was welling up inside of him.

Mr. Grey sat back in his chair, folding his hands over his chest. "Oh really?" he asked. "That's funny. You see, I would've said that she was your enemy by the way you were treating her. She tells you that she has feelings for you, so you completely shut her out of your life? If you weren't interested, then you could've told her gently that you didn't feel the same way. But you didn't. You brushed her off coldly, and we've all had to deal with that from you for almost a month." Mr. Grey paused, trying to catch his breath. "You could've been more caring. She's leaving tomorrow because of you."

"What?" Nick asked, shocked.

He looked over at his brothers and Kevin answered the question. "Can you really blame her?" he asked. "You've treated her terribly. She's only sixteen, Nick. She can only take so much rejection before she gives up and goes home." He shrugged. "She's had enough. She refuses to put up with you and Catie anymore."

As his family left him sitting in the kitchen by himself, Nick tried to formulate his thoughts. He put his head in his hands, groaning as he felt a headache building up in the back of his skull. Why did he always have to be so touchy? Why did everything having to do with Kintra make him on edge? Why did he feel this need to be so close to her all the time, yet when he was, he pushed her away? "No wonder she's confused," Nick thought. "I'm more confused than she is." He shook his head. He would apologize as soon as she came home. Why did he always seem to be apologizing around her? He groaned. This was all so complicated.

He heard the door slide open and looked up, surprised. There stood Kintra, frozen in place as she stared at Nick. He knew that she was waiting patiently for one of his awful remarks, and the thought made him grimace. Without thinking, Kintra took a step forward. "Are you alright?" she signed. "Are you hurt?"

Nick closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. This girl cared for him so much that even when he was treating her horribly, she still showed concern for him. "I'm alright on the outside," he told her. She nodded, looking at the ground and turning to go. "Wait!" he called, causing her to stiffen, "please." She turned and looked at him and he continued. "It seems like I'm always apologizing to you, and I feel awful about that." He stood and stepped forward, taking her hands and making her jump in surprise. "I'm so sorry, Kinny. I've treated you terribly. I shouldn't have acted like that." He looked at her earnestly. "I want you to stay, at least for a couple weeks. I know you have a doctor's appointment in three weeks, so I assume that you'll have to go back for that." He laughed lightly at the shocked look on her face. "No, I hadn't forgotten about your appointment." He looked sheepishly at her. "Will I be forgiven eventually?"

Kintra rolled her eyes. "Eventually," she signed. The friends smiled and exchanged a hug before heading off to bed.

"Morning!" Joe called when he stepped into the kitchen the next morning. Everyone, including Nick, responded and Kintra waved. His face fell when he spotted Kintra and he went over, pulling her into a tight hug. "You can't leave us, Kinny!" he cried. "I can't eat! I can't sleep! My world is already falling apart! I'm coming undone at the seams! What would I do without…ooh! Waffles!" He immediately let go of Kintra, brushing past her to look at the plate piled high with waffles. He turned around to see if he had made her laugh, and she was rolling her eyes and her shoulders were shaking with laughter.

"Before you found your appetite again," she signed dryly, "I was going to tell you that I'm not leaving." Forks clattered against plates in astonishment and every eye but Nick and his mom's turned to Kintra. She nervously tugged on her scarf before she continued. "Nick and I had a talk, and I'd like to stay for a couple more weeks. Mrs. Grey said that she wouldn't mind." She glared at Joe. "As to the not sleeping part, you were snoring last night."

Kintra was still waiting for the laughing and the cheering to die down.