Hello again all! Here's another installment. Just a fair warning, this is not going to be a Nemma centered chapter. This is going to center more around Noah and Owen in a friend related scenario… as well as including something with a bit more to it. I wanted to introduce a side plot that I was unsure about going into for a LONG time. And while it wasn't something I was a fan of doing in the beginning, I saw it as a way to bring a new dynamic type I've never shown off before in a fanfic. All I ask is you fully read my ending A/N to see a full explanation on the contents of this chapter. Anyway, I'll get right to it. This chapter begins a couple weeks after the previous chapter. Hope you all enjoy it!

(Noah's POV)

I just got out of the communal bathroom and looked around only to see how quiet it actually was.

Normally I wouldn't care and would just embrace the silence for as long as possible, but this… is new to me.

I still can't believe I made it to the merge.

Sure, needing to work with Alejandro and Heather is still just… great, I was still more than willing to deal with it. This is the farthest I've ever gotten and I was not about to screw this up. And honestly, it could be worse.

Luckily I still have Owen and we finally kicked out Scott last week so… yeah, I'll take that as a win!

I got back into the cabin and just saw Owen laying down and facing the wall in his bunk. Honestly, laying down and reading or catching some 'Z's' sounded like a pretty good idea to me at the moment, especially without Señor Eel around.

Then again, knowing what I knew… he and Heather were probably off plotting or hooking up somewhere without being caught.

Ugh, that's an image I'll still probably never get out of my head.

I was about to climb up to the top bunk when I saw Owen was actually still awake but he was… reading?

Well, reading one of his letters he got. A couple days after the merge happened, I got to participate in another activity I never made it to.

Letters from home.

I was actually surprised I got more than I was expecting.

Well, I got a letter from each of my sisters and one from Ben that just had the word 'Dweb' written in it (and not surprisingly, he spelled it wrong). Then again what else would I expect from someone with the IQ of a juggling circus monkey?

The only letter I really cared about was Emma's anyway.

Dude…

All that letter did was make me realize how much I still really miss her. But that wasn't what I was thinking about right now.

Owen looked like he was reading his letter from Kitty. How did I know that? She sent one to me on the same exact pastel purple paper.

Ugh… the fact that my sisters forced me to learn about pointless color variations and made me watch chick flicks with them when they'd baby sit me growing up still makes me want to vomit.

Either way, it was cool of Kitty to send me a letter.

But again… not what I have on my mind right now.

Point is, I knew Kitty also sent Owen a letter… and that I've been seeing him reading it a lot. I quirked up an eyebrow as I saw Owen smiling at the letter in an interesting way.

He still didn't even realize I was there as he kept looking at the letter.

Slowly, I got back to the floor and leaned on the edge of my bunk above as I started, "What are you looking at?"

I stumbled back as Owen immediately turned over when he realized I was there as he put his hands with the letter behind his back. He was avoiding looking at me as I saw his face go red as he started, "Nothing…"

I continued to quirk up my eyebrow as I crossed my arms, not believing it for a second.

"Really? 'Nothing', eh? Then how come all I've seen you do is stare at your letter from Kitty for the past 4 days? I've seen less weird looks from you staring at stuff in a bakery window. And I've also seen you almost try to eat your way through the glass to try and get to a tray of cookies." I pointed out, wondering what the heck was even happening.

Look, I've been surrounded by 'weird' and 'chaos' my whole life and I've competed on reality TV for years. That and I've known Owen just as long as I've been on TV and this is probably the weirdest I've ever seen Owen act… and that's saying something.

It was dead silent until I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me for a second as Owen threw me over his shoulder and just started running.

"Dude, what the?!..." I started to complain until Owen yelled, "Can't explain! Gotta go!"

Go? Go where?

We got into the woods more as Owen put me down (well, dropped me on the ground to the point that I face planted) and was also trying to catch his breath.

I groaned for a second before getting off the ground and brushing myself off only to see Owen biting his lip with his hands in his hair as I called out, both confused and pissed off by what just happened, "Dude, seriously, what the heck is going on with you?!"

Finally he stopped and slowly turned around as he put his hands in front of himself as he started, "Sorry, I… I couldn't tell you back there. I keep trying to not think about it but all I do is think about it and it's making me go CRAZY!"

I put my hands up in return as I responded, still weirded out and confused, "Whoa, hey! Slow down, big guy. What are you even talking about?"

His face slowly went red again as he bit his lip before rubbing the back of his neck before looking back at me and saying, "Noah, buddy, you gotta promise you won't tell anyone if I tell you about this. Because I don't want anyone to know. And with you and Emma, I... I just really don't want her to know about this."

I gave him an even more weirded out look as I started, "Who? Emma? What are you even talking about?"

I was taken off guard as Owen lifted me up and looked like he was about to lose it. My eyes went wide as I just looked at him and was just hoping he wasn't going to drop me again until he slowly put me back down and said, "Sorry, man…"

He looked at the ground one more time as he said, still barely looking at me, "Noah, look, you're my best buddy and I'll tell you about this, but I don't want you to say anything. I never want her to know or she'll never even want to talk or hang out with me again."

At this point I knew I was past holding back as I let out, completely confused and fed up, "Fine, whatever, I'll keep my mouth shut. Just what are you even talking about?!"

He looked down at the ground and I saw him nervously scrape the dirt with his sneakers as his face went red again and rubbed the back of his neck before admitting, "I… I kinda... I like Kitty. Um, actually, I like… like her. A lot… Okay, I'm totally into her."

I just stood there wide eyed as I started to unpack all of that.

Yeah, I knew he and Kitty hung out a lot for obvious reasons and got along during the race. But this… yeah, was not expecting 'this'.

For once in a situation without Emma, I had literally zero idea what to say right now.

And I showed that as I finally got out somehow, "Um… what?"

2 months ago

Suburban Toronto

({No POV})

Owen walked into a local night club that Kitty asked if he'd like to tag along to with her and her friends for a fun night out. But, still being without a driver's license, he had to rely on public transportation.

But, Owen never minded going on trains or buses.

Even as a child, Owen always liked to meet new people and make friends with complete strangers… even if they had no interest in talking to him at times with certain individuals.

But, meeting strangers and running into fans of his on public transportation was always one of his favorite things that always made his day.

The only thing he felt bad about was that he showed up almost an hour late.

He looked around, trying to find Kitty and her friends… if they were even still there. He kept looking around until he heard over the loud blaring music, "OWEN! Owen, over here!"

Owen looked behind him to see Kitty at a booth with a couple of her friends he recognized from the last time they all met to hang out. Owen smiled as he walked over and started, his usual over the top and good nature coming through, "Hey guys! Sorry I'm late! The bus was CRAZY! He-he."

Kitty just smiled in her usually friendly way as Owen slid next to her in the booth as Kitty scooted over.

"No problem, we've only been here an hour." She passed off casually, not seeming bothered at all.

Across the booth, Kitty's friend Will started to get up as he started, "Actually I should probably get going. I have to be at work by 8 tomorrow."

"Yeah and I gotta babysit for my aunt tomorrow so I think I need to check out too." Kitty's other friend Jade started.

"What? But we just got here?" Kitty complained slightly.

Will shrugged, smiling a little as he started, "C'mon Kit, you know I'm like an old man that needs his 8 hours. Besides, we just started the new semester and I don't want to over do it this soon."

"But that's the point! This is when you're able to actually have fun before midterms and finals come in." Kitty persuaded slightly, understanding but still seeming slightly disappointed by her two best friends since junior high ducking out on them this early during a night out.

Jade smirked and said, "Hey, we'll hang out later. Just have fun without us. Though trust me, I'd much rather be here than watching my cousins."

Kitty shrugged back and gave her friends a slight smile before saying, "Hey, you know I'm just messing with you. See you guys later!"

They all exchanged waves as Jade and Will walked off and went their separate ways out of the club.

After that Kitty turned to Owen and said, "Hey, doesn't mean we still can't have fun!" "Got that right!" Owen responded as they laughed while exchanging high fives.

Since the two of them have only started hanging out casually as friends just recently, this was the first time they had really hung out with each other without anyone else that wasn't Noah, Emma, or any of Kitty's friends.

Finally Kitty started, "So… what do you want to do? Whatever it is I'm down."

Owen kept thinking, even though ever since he could drink he'd always do a boilermaker chug with his cousins. But… he didn't really know if that was something Kitty would be up for since she didn't really look like the type to him.

Well until a server passed by and asked if they wanted anything and Owen just smiled and answered, "One boilermaker, please!"

"Make it two!" Kitty responded right after Owen and the server gave her surprised looks for a moment.

Well until the server walked off as Owen just kept giving Kitty a very surprised look.

Kitty just grinned before remarking, "What? Never seen a girl that can drink before. Trust me, I've been able to out drink most guys I've met. I'm not a lightweight. I can take it."

She threw a playful wink his way as the server came back and set their two pints of beer and whiskey shots down on the table before walking off.

Kitty just smirked as she grabbed her pint before saying, "Cheers?" Owen was still looking at her in slight surprise as he took his pint and they clinked the glasses together before he watched in almost fascinated shock as Kitty took the shot and dropped it directly into the pint before starting to chug.

Finally after the shock settled out, Owen smiled and just embraced the situation as he smiled wide before calling out, sounding pumped up to have a good time, "WOOOOO! Let's do this!"

Owen was quick to drop his shot of whiskey into his own pint as he practically downed it all in a matter of seconds.

He was even more surprised to see Kitty wasn't far behind until she finished and slid her pint into the middle of the table as she said, just seeming like she was living in the moment, "Alright! Up for shots?"

Owen just smiled and enthusiastically responded, "Let's go!"

2 hours later

After a couple more rounds of drinks, laughing, letting people who recognized them from TV take selfies with them and dancing… Eventually they made their way out of the club and started walking around in the downtown area surrounding the club until they got to a park.

Owen was buzzed a bit but still feeling relatively good after how many shots they did back at the club together.

But Kitty… not so much.

While she didn't lie about being able to 'hold her own' pretty well when it came to drinking, it was clear she let her 'inner-party girl' nature take over when she tried to keep up with drinking with Owen.

But, even Owen had to admit he was still amazed and impressed by her ability to keep up with him in the partying department.

Although he could still see Kitty definitely hit the 'point of no return' since even he could see she was pretty drunk at this point. Sure he personally had never seen her get to this point but he could tell by the way she was constantly giggling and stumbling and leaning on him as they walked that she was definitely there.

But, he just stayed close as they kept walking to keep her on her feet.

They got to a fountain in the middle of the park and Kitty stopped and went wide eyed, her eyes looking glazed from her current state as she started, stumbling away from him, "Ooooh, we should totally jump in."

Owen laughed and looked like he was about to say something until he went wide eyed as he saw Kitty looking like she was attempting to practically strip her clothes off in front of him in a public park.

Sure while Owen was known to get pretty crazy and was also no stranger to streaking since he had done it at parties and also doing it on international TV MANY different times, something about this situation wasn't sitting right with him as he got right in front of her and tried to bring her shirt back down.

Despite feeling guilty and obviously uncomfortable since she practically got to the point of almost bringing her shirt over her head and seeing her wearing nothing but a bra underneath.

His face went red as he bit his lip and shook his head as he nervously laughed, not knowing how to really handle the situation, as he said while pulling her shirt down back in place as quickly as possible, "Uh, maybe later." '

Kitty exasperated out loud as she complained, definitely showing she wasn't her usual self as she called in a drunkenly annoyed groan, "Uuuuuggggghhhh! No fun!"

Owen looked like he was about to laugh and say something until Kitty just laughed and practically stumbled into him.

He reflexively pulled her close to keep her from falling as she wrapped her arms around his neck, though now making even someone as occasionally naive in these situations as Owen realize what this looked like.

They both just stared at each other in silence until Kitty tilted her head at Owen and asked, completely out of left field, "Owen… are you dating anyone?"

Owen's face went red a little as he stared at Kitty.

Though he knew that Kitty was only acting like this because of how far gone she was right now since normally she was never like this, it still didn't mean he wasn't as embarrassed about this question being asked.

And mostly because it was something that Owen tried to ignore when it came to himself. After how things ended with the one and only real romantic relationship he ever had in his life with Izzy, Owen kind of secretly kept a 'guarded heart' after that… considering he still wasn't sure after all these years if he was even fully over Izzy or not?

Maybe not as bad as Emma was with her ex, Jake, when she first met Noah, but he just wasn't sure if he'd ever want another relationship at this point personally.

But, the way he saw it, it couldn't hurt to say anything right now.

Owen shrugged, still having a slight blush in his face, as he started, "Uh… no, I'm not." Kitty groaned slightly before dramatically responding in her current state, "Ugh! WHHHHHYYYYYY NOOOTTTT?!"

As much as he was trying to resist laughing to a certain extent until the reality of the conversation looked like it hit him again as he responded, still unsure and slightly nervous, "Uh, I don't know? I just haven't really met anyone, I guess?"

While keeping one of her arms around his neck she used her now free arm to pat him on the chest as she started, "That suuuucks. Owen, you're… you're just so nice. You're such a good guy. So sweet and fun and… ugh, what do I know? I always get on Emma's case about dating and stuff, but why? What do I know? All the guys I ever date end up just being JERKS!"

Owen was just staring at her as he kept 'taking all that in', mainly that he felt like he heard a lot of things that Kitty probably would never have told anyone under normal circumstances.

Then he further got caught off guard when she put a hand on his cheek as she said, "Owen… I need a nice guy."

Owen was feeling very uncomfortable by the situation for A LOT of reasons. Mainly that he was currently in a very awkward yet oddly intimate position with a girl who until this moment he only thought of as just a friend.

But, before Owen could even respond and much to his surprise, Kitty pulled him down slightly to kiss her. His eyes went wide at the sudden action and he looked extremely conflicted.

Mainly that he knew this was very wrong.

He knew Kitty was drunk and probably wouldn't do this under any other circumstances if she hadn't been.

Owen knew he really had to stop the situation and was about to push her away; however, Kitty had a surprisingly strong hold on him and shocked him even more as she actually deepened the kiss between them and let out a sigh.

He had no idea what was happening and even though there was a part of him that looked like he was guilty and conflicted about the current situation, it was like he couldn't help himself as he closed his eyes and gave in just a little and just let her kiss him.

At first he had no idea why?

Was it because of how long he'd been out of a relationship? How secretly heartbroken and lonely he felt after he and Izzy broke up despite seeming to be 'okay' pretty quickly after the fact?

Or maybe because as wrong as this was to him, he also couldn't help himself from admitting that this with Kitty right now actually felt… really 'good'.

He didn't do anything to push any limits, but he also wasn't doing anything to stop her anymore.

They held the kiss for a couple more seconds before Kitty pulled away.

They both just looked at each other for a moment until Owen got concerned when he saw all the color drain from Kitty's face and she immediately pushed off from him and managed to run and somehow stumble over to a trash bin in the park before proceeding to violently throw up in it.

Finally it seemed like Owen caught up and ran over to at least be a good friend and hold back her hair for her and rubbed her back.

Even though Owen looked more confused now than he ever had been in his whole life.

Almost like he was trying to 'figure himself out' for the first time in a long time. Well, until Kitty finally seemed like she was done being sick from 'over doing it' back at the club.

She was just standing there as she braced herself on the trash bin as Owen kept giving her an unsure look as he started, getting concerned at her just vacantly staring at nothing, "Um… Kitty? You okay?"

Finally, even taking him by surprise for a second, she let out a loud belch that even impressed Owen to completion until she stumbled back a little and said through slurred dialogue in her current state, "Er, night."

Luckily Owen caught her just before she was about to fall over.

She was completely out cold.

Owen had no idea what to do?

He knew the 100% right thing to do would be to take her home to her parents, but her parents barely knew him and he didn't want to get either himself or Kitty in trouble by bringing her back 'like this'.

So, he thought of the next best thing.

Luckily, even as total 'dead weight', Kitty was still pretty light to him and he was easily able to scoop her up bridal style as he walked them out of the park and tried to get a cab.

On the walk out of the park, Kitty stirred a little, causing Owen to look down as she mumbled out with a slight smile, "Mmm… warm." She proceeded to snuggle up to him more and that made him smile a little for a second, finding it kind of cute… but also for an entirely different reason now that he was trying to keep himself from thinking about it.

Eventually they were able to get a cab and Owen took her back to the only place he could think of at the moment, his parents' house.

"Thank you." Owen said to the cab driver before he proceeded to carry Kitty into his parents' house, and also hoping everyone was still asleep.

Well, mainly his brothers.

Owen was able to get into the house and looked like he was trying to figure out what to do until the light flicked on as he heard his mom say, "Owen, sweetie, is that you? Did you have fun with your frien…"

His mom stopped short as she came down the stairs of their split level home and saw Owen holding a currently unconscious Kitty.

They both were in a standoff for a second and Owen bit his lip, trying to think of a way to explain to his mom why he just came home holding an unconscious and drunk girl, especially since it was Kitty.

Sure Kitty hadn't officially met anyone in his family yet since they started hanging out, but he knew that his mom knew it was Kitty since she watched the race with his dad.

Eventually he was surprised to see his mom smile as she said, sounding very calm and sweet, "Don't worry, honey. She's more than welcome here. Let's get her to the couch and get her a nice blanket."

Owen, still feeling overwhelmed, eventually just smiled as he started, "Thanks mom."

After getting Kitty all set up to spend the night on their living room sofa, Owen's mom left the room to go to bed.

Owen; however, looked like he was going to leave the room until he stopped in the doorway for a second and looked back at Kitty fast asleep on the couch.

He looked at her for several seconds before smiling a little at her and walking out of the room, turning off the lights on his way upstairs.

Present day

(Noah's POV)

"Uh… Noah?" I heard him say, realizing I was almost in a state of shock for a second at the last possible thing I ever expected to hear.

I mean just… yeah, this is happening. I gripped my hand into my hair as I started, "Okay, wait, back it up. Kitty actually... kissed you?"

Honestly I couldn't even believe this was even happening.

To me, I just never saw anything past Kitty and Owen just being friends or something.

But this… yeah, this is 'something'.

Owen bit his lip as I saw his face go red again as he rubbed the back of his neck as he responded, sounding just as nervous and awkward, "Uhhhh… yeahhhhh."

I quirked up an eyebrow as I stated the next obvious question, "So… does she know that?"

Owen gripped my shirt and immediately looked like he was going to freak out again as he yelled, "NOOOOOOO!"

"Dude, off!" I called out as I shoved his hands off my shirt.

But Owen just kept going as he fell on the ground and grabbed my ankles as he looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown, "Noah, she can't know about any of that! Cuz if she finds out and then finds out how I feel about her then she'll never want to hang out with me or even talk to me ever again."

I was trying to get his hands off, emphasis on 'try'. His hands stayed locked around on my ankle as he started almost sobbing in his usual overly dramatic way.

"Dude, stop! I mean sure this is… something. But, what's the big deal? If anything, great. You like a girl that's not crazier than a cuckoo clock loaded with nuts in a parallel dimension on opposite day. What's the big deal? Kitty's fine…she's normal."

Owen looked down to the ground, still holding on my ankles as he started, "And cool, smart, pretty, fun… awesome…"

"Dude, then just tell her." I cut in, only to wince as he squeezed my ankles in a vice grip and yelled out again, "NOOOOO!"

He looked back up at me and said in a total freak out, "Noah! I can't! Please don't say anything! Especially not to Kitty or Emma. This is the first time I've felt like this since Izzy and I can't do that again. I can't handle another break up!"

"But, you aren't even dating her." I pointed out only to immediately regret it as he started losing it on the ground.

Great…

"Okay, fine, whatever… I won't say anything." I started, just wanting him to let go of my ankles at this point.

He sighed and said, looking relieved, "Thanks buddy."

I took a couple steps back just to put a little more distance between us, still not believing we were even talking about this as I said, "But seriously dude, what's the big deal? And shouldn't you at least fill her in on the whole 'kiss thing'. I mean, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… that to me kinda sounds like something you should tell her."

"Dude, please don't tell her!" He called and immediately went on his knees and put his hands together, making me glad I decided to get more distance so he didn't crush my ribs, spine, or ankles again.

I shrugged and pointed before saying, "I'm not saying anything about that. That's all on you to tell her man. Just saying."

Seriously? Since when did I become a stupid relationship counselor?

I decided to just take that as my cue to walk back to the camp since Owen was just kneeling on the ground doing nothing but stare at this point.

Either way… still something I wasn't expecting to happen today.

Okay… let me explain. Lol. When I started writing this almost a year ago now, I got a PM from someone asking me (since I ship Nemma) if I shipped Owen and Kitty. But, honestly… No, I personally don't. To me they always just seemed like good friends and nothing more. Sure they also have a lot in common as people with more bubbly and energetic personalities that like to have fun and live in the moment and had fun hooking up Noah and Emma during the race together. But, then I got another idea. Again, though this fanfic will stay with its main focus on Noah and Emma, I also wanted to find a way to bring Owen and Kitty more into the plot and give them more active roles than just passive support to the Nemma dynamic. Also, I feel like with the exception of Ozzy ship fanfics, I feel like Owen isn't properly represented in the fanfic community much. And to me I always thought Owen was so much more than his stereotype as the 'funny, farting, partying, and kind of obnoxious future frat boy'. Because for real, he deserves SO much more than the writer's give him most of the time. Owen is a big teddy bear and just a really nice guy and good friend that always wears his heart on his sleeve and I really wanted to highlight that in this fanfic. Especially after Owen seemed like he got over Izzy relatively quickly after being involved with her for a YEARS when they met on TDI. To me, Owen is too much of a soft, sentimental guy to not have more heartbreak after the end of his relationship with her. Sure she was crazy (and we love her as our psycho-hose beast queen that she is) and their relationship was kind of putting Owen's life in danger by TDWT, but he still did love and care about Izzy a lot and I find it VERY hard to believe he was over Izzy after he sang about her in TDWT. I think that it would be something that would keep him from pursuing 'dating and romance' for a WHILE due to said reason. So, I decided to concoct a situation to address all those points, bring in a new and interesting dynamic into the story, and bring Owen and Kitty into the story more. Now for Kitty. I actually really like her as a character A LOT. She just seems like a very genuine and sweet person with a lot of fun, party-girl energy. Also, her 'sister dynamic' with Emma is so realistic and funny. Those two are truly sisters. XD And while I do personally only see her and Owen as friends, I decided to break out of my comfort zone and have Owen fall into an unexpected crush on her. And to be real, I could totally see Kitty in her private life outside the show being that cool college girl that loves to party and could probably unexpectedly drink a lot of people under the table. Lol. And in a rare moment of her 'over-doing it', she unfortunately showed what I like to call her 'drunk-sona' (we all have one) and I based Kitty's off on one of my friends in college who became a bit of a fun, sweet, yet flirty and over-sharing mess. And in that, Kitty accidentally kissed Owen and got him to develop a hard crush on her as a result. Now, I am going to elaborate more on this later in the fanfic, but just know that for now Kitty has no idea about anything that happened beyond just drinking and dancing with Owen at the night club and then the next thing she knew was that she woke up on the couch in his parents' house. Anyway, the next chapter will be A LOT more Nemma centered. Stay tuned to see how. ;) Thanks so much for reading and constructive feedback is always appreciated.

Stay classy, safe, and well all!

Dexter1995