Hello there, people of fanfiction. Here is chapter thirteen, and…yeah, let's just get on with it.

Massie's flashback is going to be in first person, kay?

(title: painting flowers, all-time low)

.:When I wake up, the dream isn't done:.
I wanna see your face and know I made it home

Derrick's pillow smells like Derrick, Massie Block thought.

It smells good.

Massie sighed, rolling over and accidentally bumping into Kristen Gregory's sleeping form. She moved a bit, so that she won't wake the blonde.

They were in her room, it was 4 a.m., and she hasn't really slept yet. While watching a movie, the girls fell asleep one-by-one, on the thin mattresses placed on the floor. This always happened, anyway. Sleepover, do some fun stuff, watch a movie, fall asleep together in front of the movie. Sometimes they finished a movie, sometimes they didn't. Tonight, Massie was the only one who finished the movie, since Claire fell asleep an hour ago, right in the middle of the movie. She has been trying to sleep for the past thirty minutes, but nothing happened.

She sighed again, and the events of last night replayed in her head.

-o-

"Fine." Alicia took a deep breath. "Derrick and Massie aren't really married because their parents didn't give their consent and they got married with fake IDs which render the marriage null and void."

Everyone was quiet as they all looked at me.

I smiled and scoffed. "Really? Good. Oh, my gosh, that's good news! I'm single again!"

Damn. That sounded completely fake. But it would do for now, and I hope they buy it.

"You're not, you know…distressed?" Dylan asked me worriedly. Who am I kidding? These people here were my best friends. They knew me. They knew if I was lying.

"No," I said, trying to keep cool. "Why would I be? Though, I'm kind of sad that we had to go through all that trouble. Oh, well, I guess it's good. I mean, Derrick and I became friends, and that's good, right? Yeah. But, I am kind of sad that no one's going to live in the guesthouse now." His name sounded weird coming out of my mouth.

"You sure you're okay?" Kristen asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said.

Oh, gosh, my eyes are prickling and I feel like crying.

No. No. I will not cry.

Why would I cry?

It's not like I like like Derrick, right?

Right?

Yeah.

But then, ever since that stupid concert we had, and that stupid birthday party he threw me, I've been feeling kind of…different around him.

That doesn't mean I like like him, right?

Right?

-o-

Derrick arrived back home a few hours after Alicia dropped the stupid bomb, and I begged all of them to keep quiet and not tell him anything. I'll tell him myself.

When I opened the door and saw him, I felt like crying again.

Gosh, Massie, what the hell is wrong with your tear ducts?

"You're looking at me weirdly," he said, sidestepping around me to get inside.

"Sorry," I said quietly.

"You're quiet," he remarked.

I shrugged. "Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow. And thanks for the pillows," I said.

He nodded and went inside the kitchen while I headed back upstairs.

"Why are you back so fast?" Claire asked.

"Why shouldn't I be?" I said, trying to sound preppy again. Not really working, since I felt kind of…empty? And like my heart's not in the right place.

Why am I feeling like this?

I took a deep breath. "Okay, people. I found some really old pictures of us, and I wanted to show you!" I said, walking towards my closet.

"Did you tell him?" Alicia asked.

"No," I said bluntly. "I'll tell him tomorrow. He's probably tired after going to Cam's."

"Oh. Okay."

-o-

Massie sighed again, and decided to just get up and go out. It was 4:45; maybe she could watch the sunrise. Maybe. Or maybe she could fall asleep on the grass. She was fine either way.

She stepped out onto the cool early morning air, and she decided that she loves this time. She loves how peaceful it is, how cool it is, and how beautiful everything seemed. She went right in the middle of the garden that separated the Main House and the Guesthouse, and lay down on the dewy grass. She looked up at the sky, and she smiled at how pretty the stars looked. Maybe she should do this more often.

The silence brought out her thoughts.

Shouldn't she be happy that she was single again? That she was free? That she wasn't tied down to Derrick Harrington anymore?

Yes. She should. She was seventeen years old. She was meant to be free and unmarried. She closed her eyes and sighed again.

Then why do I feel like this?

Yes. Why?

I mean, I don't even like Derrick as more than a friend, right?

Right.

Then why in the world do I feel so…so…heartbroken?

Her eyes snapped open. Heartbroken? She felt heartbroken?

No. The only way I could feel heartbroken was if I was, you know, in love with Derrick. And I wasn't.

Right?

Right. I mean, I don't feel all fluttery when I see him, and I don't feel tingly when I see him, and I don't involuntarily smile when I see the snow globe he gave me.

So I couldn't be in love. Right?

Wait. I did. I felt fluttery when I saw him yesterday. And I felt tingly when I saw him the day before yesterday, and I always smile involuntarily when I see the snow globe.

But, really, that can't be the only way to tell you're in love with someone, right?

Okay. So what if I always think about him? He lives with me! He's—wait. He's not anymore. He never actually was married, right?

Anyway. What's love, anyway?

She couldn't answer that. She closed her eyes again. Maybe she should just sleep.

"Nice sleeping place," she heard a voice say, and her eyes snapped open to see Derrick smiling down at her. Speak of the devil. "I lend you my pillows, and you leave them behind?"

Massie smiled. She couldn't help it. She felt…fluttery. And tingly. And she just smiled involuntarily.

"Mind if I try out your new bed?" he asked, a smile on his face.

"Go ahead," Massie said, and he lay down beside her. She was highly aware of his presence just a few inches away from her, and she could feel the heat radiating off him. They were quiet, and Massie could feel her heart beat faster. Babumpbabumpbabump.

Why is my heart beating faster?

"Why are you out here?" she asked, in a futile attempt to control her heart.

"Couldn't sleep," he answered, and she realizes she's never really noticed how nice his voice sounds. It was so smooth, and deep, and manly and so…so…nice.

"So you decided to go out here?" she asked again. Just to hear his voice.

"Nope." He turned his head to look at her. "I saw you lying here outside, and I thought I'd join you in your cliché."

She turned her head to scowl at him.

"Oh, come on, Massie. You know perfectly well how clichéd this is."

"I like clichés."

"Sure you do."

"I do! I mean, I like sweet, romantic clichés. Like, kisses in the rain, sunrises, sunsets, fairytale endings. Those kinds of stuff."

"You are such a girl," he said, and he prayed she didn't notice how her words were affecting him. Romantic clichés? They were in the middle of a romantic cliché?

"I am a girl."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot."

Massie smacked his arm.

She can't believe she just touched him.

Oh, gosh, Massie. You're acting like you have a school girl crush! NO, YOU DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON DERRICK HARRINGTON!

"The sky is so pretty," Massie said, noting how the sky was lightening. Derrick looked up also. The sky wasn't nearly as pretty as her. You did not just think of that, okay?

"Yeah. It is," Derrick said, and he prayed—again—that she didn't notice the double meaning in his words.

"I think this is my favorite time of the day. Dawn and dusk. Sunset and sunrise. Yeah," Massie said, getting lost in her own world, but still horribly aware of the boy beside her. "Yeah. Those are my favorites. And, for a weird reason, I like midnight, too."

"Why do you like midnight?"

"I don't know. I just do."

They stayed in silence for a few more minutes, Derrick subtly looking at Massie, while Massie tried to ignore her beating, fluttery, and tingling heart.

Oh, gosh, Massie. You're not actually in love, are you?

She couldn't be.

"If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?" she mumbled, and he didn't hear it properly.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just remembered something. It's not important," she said, and they were quiet again.

THERE IS A SONG LYRIC THAT APPLIES TO OUR CURRENT SITUATION. A SONG LYRIC FROM ONE OF THE SWEETEST SONGS EVER. A LOVE SONG. NO WAY.

Oh, gosh. That doesn't really pertain to anything, right?

RIGHT?

Who in the world am I kidding?

I, Massie Block, may just be in love.

"Hey, the sun is rising," Derrick said, snapping Massie out if her thoughts. She looked up at the sky. He was right. It was lighting up, and it looked like it was being painted with pinks and golds and oranges and yellows, mashing together to create one of the best scenes Massie has ever seen. "Now you can cross out sunrise from your romantic cliché list."

"Yeah," Massie said, noting how she spent this with him.

And they were quiet again, letting the sun rise, showering them with pinks and golds and oranges and yellows.

A romantic cliché it is.

-o-

The bright orange glow from the window was the first thing Kristen Gregory noticed when she woke up. She stood up, stretched, and walked over to the window. Judging by the light, it was just past sunrise. She looked down, and her eyes widened at the scene in front of her.

Massie Block and Derrick Harrington, sleeping side-by-side on the garden as the sun bathed them in light, giving them a beautiful glow.

She hurriedly grabbed Dylan Marvil's camera (because it was right beside her), opened the window, and leaned out as far as she could to take a picture.

Romantic clichés like that need to be remembered forever.

Mwahahahahahaha :)

How was that chapter?

Ha, I originally planned a different route for this chapter, but, I don't know, I got carried away.

Review?