"Please say something," Nick pleaded. "Anything."

Kintra had been staring at him for a long time, unable to formulate a thought. She raised her hands to sign something, anything, and her hands shook violently. "I thought you were in love with Catie."

Nick snorted. "Catie?" he asked. "Catie was my excuse for not liking you. I could never have anything in common with Catie." His face suddenly fell. "All she wanted was the fame that went with dating me." He looked down at his hands, which were entwined in fists. "I tried so hard not to like you, but I couldn't do it. We have this connection through our music that I've never heard of before." He laughed bitterly. "I played Catie a song that specifically said 'I like you,' in the notes, and she had no idea what I had just played." He looked at Kintra, making sure that she was listening. "She didn't understand it. To her, it was a song. To you, it would've been a declaration."

"Why were you so mad then when I told you that I loved you?" Kintra signed.

Nick shook his head. "I wasn't mad," he clarified. "I was trying so hard not to give in." He shook his head. "It would've been so easy, so natural, to tell you that I felt the same way about you, but I had to stay faithful to Catie. The thought of having to leave you waiting made me feel awful, so I thought that it might be better to just tell you that I wasn't interested in any way." He smiled ruefully. "We both know how that turned out."

They sat there in silence for a while as Kintra struggled with her emotions. Part of her was screaming for joy. He loved her! Yet, another part was strangely undecided. It argued that he had waited too long; he'd been too undecided for too long. That side argued that, in a way, she'd moved on. Her feelings had been hidden away for so long that they had become accustomed to the tight leash they were on, and felt no desire to leave it.

Nick cleared his throat. "I realize that it might be hard for you to accept," he told her. "I told you that I didn't care at all, and now I want you to return my feelings. I'm sorry if it's so confusing, but I'd like to try and make this work."

Kintra looked up at Nick. "I don't know," she signed. "I've spent so long convincing myself that I didn't, couldn't, love you, that now I'm not so sure." She raised a hand to ward off any comments from Nick until she had finished. "I'm not saying no, I'm just not saying yes. Please give me some time."

Nick nodded. "That seems fair," he said.

"What are you going to do about Catie?" Kintra signed, looking concerned. Even though she didn't like the girl, she still hated the idea of anyone being dumped in such a harsh, abrupt manner.

Nick shrugged. "I'll have to tell her the truth. I'm tired of being a ticket into the 'Hollywood World.'"

Kintra took his hand in hers and patted it gently. "Please, whatever you do to tell her that you're not interested, please do it gently."

Nick nodded. "I will."

Kintra was bothered about going on a date with Matt while Nick was across the room at the same party, but it was Nick who told her that she should still go. "You'll never figure out how you feel unless you give this relationship a try," he had said when she had told him about Matt.

So here she was, dressed up in a pretty blue dress and blue shoes, watching the concert with Matt. She noticed Nick doing his best not to look at her more that necessary, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. 'It sure is uncomfortable,' she thought, 'having you best friend, who wants to be your boyfriend, watching you and your friend on your date.' She shook her head. The evening could only get better.

Once the concert had ended, everyone went to the after party that was being thrown at a dance club that had previously been rented for the night. The music was blaring, the lights were flashing, and Nick was working his position as the D.J. Matt disappeared to go get some punch, giving Kintra a chance to scan the crowd. She saw Joe dancing with a girl that must've been Christina, and she grinned even wider. They looked perfect together, and Kintra was sure that if he had chosen her, she must be pretty special. She found Kevin twirling another girl, and identified her as one of the musicians in the band. Finally, she found Catie dancing with some guy, and Kintra rolled her eyes. There was no end to this girl's promiscuousness.

"Here's your punch," said a voice, and Kintra turned to find Matt standing there, two small cups of pink punch in his hands.

"Thank you!" Kintra signed, glad for once that she could be understood without words. A dance floor was not exactly the place to go if you wanted to have a conversation.

Throughout the night, Kintra danced a little bit with Matt, but danced more with the Grey brothers. Joe pulled himself away from Christina long enough to dancing with Kintra once, and Kevin danced with her twice. Someone replaced Nick as D.J., so he was free to go claim Catie. When he found her, Kintra saw him whisper something in her ear that made her scowl. He offered her his arm and they made their way off the dance floor to one of the tables that had been pushed up against the outskirts of the room. Kintra watched as Nick began talking, and saw Catie's body stiffen. She saw her saying something back to him, but could not see her face completely. Suddenly, Catie stood up, almost knocking her chair over, and flounced away.

Nick sat there with his hands supporting his head for a moment, and then looked up, trying to find KIntra. He found her looking at him, and he nodded. The ball was now in her court.

For the rest of the night, Kintra felt Nick's eyes on her, yet she wasn't the slightest bit uncomfortable. She actually felt comforted knowing that he was looking out for her, even if she didn't have the same feelings for him. Kintra grimaced slightly. By the end of the night, she would have to choose between Matt and Nick.

In the end, it was Matt who made the decision for her. As the evening wound down, Matt offered to escort Kintra outside to wait for Nick when he suddenly pulled her to a stop and pointed. "Look up," he told her. Kintra obeyed and saw, in keeping with all the Christmas traditions, a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the exit door.

She turned and faced Matt, who had an expectant look on his face, and signed deliberately slowly, "You do realize, don't you, that mistletoe is a parasite because it grows on trees and steals their nutrients, and it is poisonous if ingested by humans?" She glared at Matt, angry that he would try and move that far in such a short time with their relationship. "I can wait for Nick by myself. Thank you for the evening." The icy dismissal told Matt that what little there had been of their relationship was now gone, and he hung his head as he walked out the door, never looking back.

Kintra turned around, only to find Nick standing across the room, watching her once again. By the barely concealed mirth on his face, Kintra realized that he had been watching the exchange between her and Matt. With a smile, Kintra wove through the crowd to come and stand in front of Nick. "I've made my decision," she shyly signed. "If that's still what you want."

Nick's smile grew so wide that Kintra couldn't help but smile as well. "Of course that's what I want," he said. His hand reached out to her waist. "May I?" he asked quietly. "I now know better than to wait for mistletoe!"

"Absolutely," Kintra signed, smiling just as widely. He pulled her close to his chest and bent his head, kissing her lightly, sweetly.

"WOOHOO!!!" someone shouted. Kintra whirled around to find Kevin and Joe slapping high fives. She looked back at Nick and opened her mouth to show that she was laughing. Nick was laughing as well as he pulled her close and kissed her again, his hand winding into her hair to keep her exactly where he wanted her.

Kintra, for the first time in her life, wasn't waiting for anything. She had everything she wanted right in front of her.

A/N: Well? Did you like it? Tell me what you think!