right back in the water;;

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

Things had changed that day in the laundromat. Brit wouldn’t say it out loud of course, but she knew deep down that something had changed dramatically. She was walking around with the knot in the pit of her stomach all the time, and the more she thought about Kade, the more that knot tightened. A lot of things had been said, and Brit was amazed still that it hadn’t broken out into a fight. Still, the fact remained that Kade was the most important person in her life, despite how much she really wanted to hate him at this moment. It takes a lot to upset Kade Trent, and Brit had been able to clearly see that whatever was going on had shaken him pretty hard. He had even come to Brit to talk, which meant that it was getting to him. She didn’t want it to, but this worried her, and she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to look out for him; to make sure that whatever it was didn’t send him over the edge.

Brit was the kind of girl that you didn’t look at twice. Sure, she was good looking and all, but she was also quiet, and very few people ever concerned themselves with her. She was the kind of girl that you didn’t worry about saying something in front of. You always figured that she either had no clue what you were saying, or she wouldn’t repeat any of it at all. That was pretty much true in some cases, but this probably wasn’t one of them. I can honestly say that Brit should have perused a career as a spy. She knew how to make herself unknown in a crowd of people, and knew just how she needed to turn her body to keep her subject in sight when he moved around. Brit was never once caught, and Kade never suspected a thing. That was the way that she wanted it, and the way she planned to keep it.

Her efforts paid off. She soon figured out who Kade’s friends were, who his enemies were, and who he had his eye on. At first it had been hard to point out the girl that Kade was with. After all, the whole camp was pretty much after the boy, so watching other girls was impossible. Brit knew Kade, though, and she knew his looks. Soon she knew who the girl was. Brooklyn McKenzie, that was the girl’s name. Brit could honestly say that she knew absolutely nothing about this girl. She only knew what she saw, and she had to say that it cut her like a knife. She saw the looks that Kade threw towards this girl, how his eyes softened when he looked at her, the sparkle that flashed across his eyes, and how he seemed to relax the minute she walked into the room. Those things told her this was the girl, and that was mostly because it was the same looks that had come her way only two years ago.

Brit hated to see him look at another girl like that, she hated the way that they looked at him, and how they threw themselves at him. Mostly, though, she hated the way that he looked at her. His eyes always grew dark the moment he saw that she was in the room, his jaw clenched, and it seemed that every muscle in his body stiffened in place. She hated that more than anything really, except for one thing: the fact that it all mattered. Brit would have never once in her life called herself the jealous type. Seeing old boyfriends or guys she liked with other girls had never bothered her, never mattered at all. Things like that with Kade did, though. Even when they had been dating she had almost ripped a girls head off for her harmless flirting, and she had never thought of hesitating when it came to a fight over it. It wasn’t something that she had let a lot of the world know, and Kade had probably only seen her flip out at another girl once for that reason, but it had been cute at the time, and now it was just painfully annoying.

Knowing the whole of Kade’s little secret bothered Brit more than she thought it would. The knowledge that Kade was with another girl, any girl, brought even more knots to her stomach, and it made her completely nauseous 99 percent of the time. That, along with Brit’s usual emotional state, made her completely horrible. There were already several girls that didn’t like her, mostly because she had snapped at them once or twice when they started doing the “oh my gosh” thing. She had even almost slapped a girl in the dining hall because of something she had said. Luckily Brit had one or two good friends that were able to stop her from doing something she would seriously regret. Still, it didn’t stop the word “bitch” from being attached to her name every now and then. Brit honestly didn’t care. The girls had started to leave her alone, and she was content to continue out her existence alone and ignored.

Of course, being left alone didn’t always work out to be a good thing. Brit had never once in her life gotten that much time to herself to think. Something that you should know about Brit: giving her time to think is never a good idea. Brit is well known for over thinking pretty much everything, and this camp had given her mind the chance to go into overdrive. That might be exactly what led her to this point in her life. Up until now she hadn’t actually went searching for Kade, he had just happened to be in the same place that she was. Now, though, that had changed. She was angry, far more angry than she had been in a long time. Before she had even realized what she was doing, Brit had taken off towards the Yellowstone cabin, and once she realized what she was doing, she didn’t even stop.

Brit hardly slowed when she finally reached the cabin. She glanced in to see how many people were actually in there, and then she blew in the door with the force of a storm. Besides Kade, there were only 3 other guys in the cabin. Her gaze was on Kade at first, and the minute she looked at the other guys, they were out of their chairs and threw the door without her even having to say a word. Brit kind of had that ability nowadays. All she had to do was enter a room and people fled. Why, well, I’ll leave that for you to decide. There were many different reasons, and the main one had to be her tendency to be completely horrible to no one in particular. Yeah, that could be it. Brit’s hands were on her hips, her gaze moving to Kade’s face, but not his eyes. “We need to talk,” she said coldly, the tone telling him that she clearly wouldn’t let it go.

kade;;

[kade trent.]

Kade was not a summer camp person. When he was younger, his parents had tried to encourage Kade and his brothers to attend some week camps that would get the away from the city so that they could have some different life experiences. Kade had always just simply rolled his eyes, said no thanks, and walked away. Jared hadn’t shown any particular interest in it either, and Hunter wasn’t about to go if his two older brothers weren’t going. Kade didn’t have a problem with the whole camping idea. He and his family did enjoy camping, and Kade was pretty good at that kind of thing. Summer camp, though, had always seemed very out there to him, and he couldn’t quite get his head around what it was that the campers found to be so great about being at a camp like that. Sure, you get to meet new people and you get away from family and all that, but those were things that you could accomplish in other ways. The Trent brothers certainly found other ways of going about it, at least. The only kind of camps that Kade ever attended other than doing camping trips with family and friends were football training camps over the summer that were very much required by the high school football team that he played for. It was either go to camp, or be the equipment manager for the team and not see one minute of playing time the entire season. So, Kade went to the camp, and while it was hotter than hell most days and miserable, he enjoyed it and it helped him improve his game. Otherwise, Kade Trent was not the summer camp type of person. That could be seen as ironic, seeing as he was the counselor of the Yellowstone cabin at Camp Brunswick this summer. Kade didn’t want to be there, and he hadn’t just volunteered for this position. He had been roped into it because his father was one evil son of a bitch and had control over everything in Kade’s life at this point and time. But that was okay, pretty soon there wouldn’t be much that Robert Trent could do to stop Kade from doing what he wanted. And really, being at this camp did have its perks.

Kade got paid to be here with the campers and look out for them and all that stuff that falls under the duties of being a counselor. He got good meals most days. There was a nice bunk for him in a cabin full of campers that he got a long with relatively well. He got to play football and go canoeing and swimming. Life here at Camp Brunswick wasn’t all that bad. But, the main perk of the job was getting to meet that one girl that had him wishing time and time again that he was just a camper and nothing more. If he was just a camper, he could hold her hand without someone thinking twice about it. He could give her a kiss on the cheek without having to worry about who saw or if they were going to get turned in for breaking the no counselor/camper relationship rule. Brooklyn McKenzie was a beautiful girl that had a past that matched Kade’s so closely that it was almost painful. Kade knew what his kind of life was like, and he wished that Brooklyn would have had never to experience such a life, but that was what made them connect so well. Without their dark and twisted pasts, they wouldn’t have had that bond that existed between them. So, in a way, it was proof that out of the bad does come some good. Kade wasn’t sure if this good out weighed the bad and made the bad hurt any less, but there had to be a positive way of looking at this, and Kade was determined to find it. That used not to be him at all. Kade was not optimistic about things; it just didn’t pay off in the long run. At least, that was how he once was. Now, he was trying to look at things and find the good in them. That was the only thing that kept him running in times when it seemed like he had nothing but bad in his life, and right now seemed like one of those times.

He just found out that he had a three-year-old daughter that he knew nothing about. The mother of this child was a counselor at this camp with him, and they fought every chance they had. Another ex of his was here, and while they seemed to be ignoring one another, Kade could feel the tension building, and it was only a matter of time before something gave way. Nightmares about his and Jared’s wreck were still haunting him. His mother was not in good health, and neither was his father, it seemed. Hunter was God knows where doing God knows what, and it just seemed like the entire world was weighing on Kade’s shoulders. But, there was good. He had Brooklyn, and he had a nice life here at this camp and as long as he could ignore the outside world, he was okay. The only trouble with that was he could ignore that outside world forever, and sooner or later he was going to have to figure out what he was going to do and how he was going to handle it. Even now it was taking its toll on him, but one would never know by looking at the boy. He was one of the favorite counselors, the one that the campers went to when they wanted to have some fun because they knew that Kade didn’t enforce the rules very strictly at all. He might snap here and there if he was having an extremely bad day, but most of the time he but a smile on his face and went with it, being the fun, carefree guy that the people here at this camp knew. Brooklyn worried about him, knowing that not everything was right with him, but Kade insisted that she not worry. She was the only one that he shared his problems with, and while he was sure that there was one other one that knew and could see right through him, the campers were not aware of the happenings of Kade’s life, and that was the way that he wanted to keep it. So what if he lied a lot of the time. Kade was good at lying and making it seem very real and convincing. There were whispers from the campers, rumors going around about his secret past, and Kade just let the campers talk. Let them believe what they wanted to. There was no way that he was telling them any different.

Another day, another game face to be put on and carefully guarded. That morning, Kade had let his campers sleep in pretty late, just barely getting them into Cyprus Hall to get a meal. Not one of them complained about it though. They would much rather get the extra sleep than have a leisurely meal. After that, he went about the daily activities that he was assigned to, making a special effort to avoid Chrissy Maddison at all costs, and to get some time in with Brooklyn. Then, he got himself roped into a game of football, which he didn’t really mind. It was only supposed to be touch football, but Kade and the others decided that was for sissy ass guys that couldn’t handle a hit and changed it to tackle football. There was just something about the game that made Kade feel very relaxed and comfortable. On the football field, he knew exactly who he was and what he was supposed to do. It was life that gave him trouble. So, he and the guys played one of the most hardcore games that Kade had ever been in that wasn’t for a real competition. There were injuries, and a lot of blood, but none of the guys complained. They took it, and the game went on. The other counselors weren’t too pleased, but Kade just grinned and went back in, ignoring all the angry looks that were being sent his way. In the end, his team won with just an one point lead. The guys did their “good game” thing, then either headed off to the nurse or the shower. Kade opted to head back to his cabin to fix up a deep gash on his left arm, then go to the showers. Some of the people that had been watching made a fuss over him, telling him that he should go to the nurse and let them handle it, but Kade wouldn’t hear it. He just shook his had, said thanks anyway, and kept on his way to Yellowstone cabin. Kade had been fixing up his own wounds for years, and he could sure as hell do it now.

Though, this one was in a place that it was hard for him to reach, but he made due with it. Once back in the cabin, Kade and stripped off his blood and grass stained t-shirt and started tending to the cut, getting the bleeding to slow and eventually stop all together. After dabbing some anti-bacterial ointment onto it, he found a band aid that covered it nicely. See, he could do it all on his own without help from anyone else. Wasn’t that what he had been trying to prove to people all along? That he wasn’t as broken as they thought, and that he could take care of himself? Being able to dress a cut seemed to have no relation to that, but through his eyes, it did. How that thought had even entered his head, he didn’t know. Kade sighed, digging through some clean clothes until he found a shirt to pull on so he could head down to the shower house and get this ick and grime off of him. Just as he picked up his small duffel that had all the toiletries one needed for the showers and a clean change of clothes, three other guys walked in, ones that participated in the game. Kade had meant to keep on going, but as they started chatting, he found himself sitting on the edge of his bunk, talking and going over the game. These other guys were a little bit younger than Kade, apparently members of their own high school football teams. They asked about Kade’s old team, and liked hearing about the glory days, as Kade called them. Hell, Kade even enjoyed telling them about it. That was one part of his life that wasn’t screwed up. Right up until he had turned down the scholarships, but that wasn’t the point. Kade was really getting into it, telling the boys about a championship game where he hadn’t had a teammate to throw the ball to, so he had to run it in himself if there was going to be any chance of winning it. There were people going down left and right, the opposing team wanting to rip his feet right out from under him. It was a great story. Too bad someone had to walk in and ruin the best part.

Somehow, Kade knew who it was without even having to look. When she entered the cabin, it was like the air had turned cold, a sense of danger coming with it. The three guys that had been listening to Kade’s story, were up and out of the cabin with just one look from Brittany Morgan, and Kade could see why. She was on a mission, it seemed to him, and one that wasn’t going to turn out so well between them. So this is where the tension between them would break. Even after all this time, Kade could still easily see when he was in trouble with her, and he was most certainly in trouble. Though, that wasn’t really all that new. They hadn’t been on speaking terms for a while now, so he was left with only wondering what he had done now to make her come after him. Part of him was tempted to get up and walk right by her to go take that shower. The other part of him just wanted to jump up and let that tension break and let all his pent up anger unleash itself. Still, another part of him told him to sit back and take a slightly more smug approach to this, and that was what he did. He let a slightly menacing smirk come to his face as he looked to Brit where she stood, him almost finding a way to be amused with this. ”You know, girls really shouldn’t be in the boys’ cabin. It’s against camp rules.” Right. Enforcing the rules here really wasn’t his main concern. Might as well get a few good digs in before the real fight begins. The smirk faded slowly as he realized that this was going to lead to that fight that they had been putting off, and when he spoke next, his voice held the slightest of edges. ”But, if you want to talk, go ahead. I’m all ears.” Sarcasm also lay heavily on his words, but that was Kade Trent for you. Especially a Kade Trent that was finding himself in a situation that he didn’t much like at all.

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

Brit’s relationship with Kade was always a touchy subject, and one that you didn’t talk about unless she brought it up. That was just how things were, and it was the way that they would stay. For Brit to admit that she was hurting, that being within’ eye sight of Kade Trent tore her to pieces would be a big step, and not surprisingly it was one that she had yet to take. There were times when Brit wouldn’t even admit it to herself, so admitting it to the rest of the world just wasn’t an option. And to let Kade see her like that? It would kill her in so many ways. Brit was strong, at least that’s what she needed everyone to believe. It was pretty clear to see at times that she wasn’t as okay as she seemed, but for the most part she was pretty good at keeping up appearances. One look into those beautiful brown eyes of hers, though, and the world could see the truth. Anything and everything that involved Kade Trent was like a knife through the heart, and no matter how much she numbed herself to the pain, it still hurt.

Now she was facing the man that she loved and hated more than anyone else in this world. Keeping her anger flaring helped, but she still cursed herself when she felt her heart skip for that small second before he spoke. Thankfully his words were cold and smug, which was all that was needed to ignite that temper of hers just a little more. You might not think that being angry was a good thing, but you aren’t Brit either. For Brittany, being angry was a hell of a lot better than admitting that she was hurting, or even showing it. Anger fueled her very existence anymore. If she couldn’t be angry, then she’d pretty much be in pieces. Bitterness was good too; anything was better than being vulnerable.

”You know, girls really shouldn’t be in the boys’ cabin. It’s against camp rules.” That seriously almost made her laugh. Kade enforce the rules? Yeah, that was downright hilarious. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from laughing… at least until he had finished what he said. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long. ”But, if you want to talk, go ahead. I’m all ears.” This time she didn’t hold back. She let the cold laugh leave her lips. Like this, Brit kind of put you in the mind of the Ice Queen from the Chronicles of Narnia. It wasn’t like her to laugh so cold and heartlessly, but that’s what she did, and it almost felt good. This wasn’t the Brit that everyone in Fate had known and loved, but she hadn’t been that person for a long time. The day Kade stepped onto that plane was the day that Brit was lost forever.

“Since when does Kade Trent care about the rules,” she taunted, starting things up in a way that would get her straight to the point, and one that Kade wouldn’t like very much at all. “After all, everything you do seems to be completely against the rules.” She was having fun with this. Her anger was subsiding slightly, finding a reason to taunt him, and to be as smug and cold as she could be. “I mean, the last time I checked the counselors weren’t supposed to be romantically involved with the campers… or did you miss that rule when you signed on?” Well, she hadn’t wasted too much time getting there. A cold smile, almost a smirk, slid onto her lips, her eyes watching his face for a reaction. She was possibly enjoying this all just a little too much, but that didn’t matter. It was rare that Brit ever got any type of satisfaction. Even if this only lasted a short time, it was still worth it.

Of course, this wasn’t really all that she had wanted to come and talk about. No, that would all end up coming out, she knew, and it was an argument that they just couldn’t avoid. They may be able to get by without having it another day or so, but it was tension that was constantly building up between them, and in the end it was like a bomb just waiting to explode. In the end, the result would be terrible, she had no doubts. It all had to be said, though, she knew it. A huge part of her wanted to vent everything she had suppressed over the last few years. In all honesty, she needed to vent it out, but even with doing that it might not help. Brit had already beat herself up over this a thousand times, and nothing at all would stop that… nothing at all.

[kade trent.]

This was like looking into the fiery pits of hell. Kade could see the fury in her dark eyes, something that he had only ever saw directed in his way once before. The day that they had broken up was the last time he had ever seen it like this. Since then, he would catch small glimpses of it from time to time, but he hadn’t gotten to see it head on like this for a long while, and now he was seeing why he had been careful to avoid being on this side of that angry stare for so many years. When Brittany Morgan was angry, she was a force to be reckoned with. You just knew by looking at her that this was not a game, and it wasn’t a joke that could be laughed at. Something was seriously wrong, and she was about to let you know what it was. Kade had known this was coming, though. They had both had to of known it was coming. There was no way that they could coexist in a camp like this and it not come out sooner or later. Their break up had been short, but it held enough anger and bitterness in it to make it a long, messy and difficult process for a long time after it was done. There was just so much history there between them, and that was what made it even harder. That, along with both of them being totally and hopeless in love with the other right up until that one day that had changed everything. Now, when Kade looked into Brit’s eyes, all he saw was that raw anger and fury. When she looked in his, he was sure that she could see anger and bitterness, things that didn’t wear well on Kade Trent for the liking of any person, because when the boy let these things in, he was also a dangerous one that you just didn’t mess around with. Kade didn’t like being this angry, bitter person, but with Brit he didn’t know who else to be. He couldn’t just let go of all of that after she had done what she did to him, but at the same time he couldn’t fully let himself give in to this angry Kade because no matter how much he’d like to, he could never out right hate Brit. That just wasn’t there between them, and probably never would be no matter what happened between them.

The icy laugh. Kade heard it, and knew that it meant that this girl was really on the edge or however else you wanted to say that she was extremely pissed off. It was cold, nothing like the laughter that had come from the Brit that he had loved, and while that thought stung, one would never know it. Kade’s expression didn’t change as she let her cold laughter fill the otherwise still room. It didn’t even change as she began to speak. He just listened, taking in every word. ”Since when does Kade Trent care about the rules?” She definitely had a good point there. Kade had never really had a lot of respect for any kind of rule. He lived by the theory that rules were made to be broken. Maybe not a great theory to live by sometimes, but it worked for him and that was who he was. A Kade Trent that actually obeyed all of the rules would be a very strange thing. ”After all, everything you do seems to be completely against the rules.” Come on, now she was just exaggerating. While Kade didn’t like a lot of rules, not everything he did went against them. Sometimes it might seem like that, but it wasn’t like he tried to go against them a lot of the time. It just seemed to happen. ”I mean, the last time I checked the counselors weren’t supposed to be romantically involved with campers… or did you miss that rule when you signed on?” Oh, so that was what this was all about. Well, maybe it wasn’t what it was all going to be about, but it seemed to be the most prominent thing on Brit’s mind at the moment. So, she had figured out that Kade was seeing a camper. Somehow, he wasn’t really surprised. As much as he hated to admit it, Brit knew him better than anyone. Just by sitting back and watching him for one day, she could probably figure out everything that she needed to know about him. He should have known that she would see and be able to catch on to who his girlfriend was, but he hadn’t really thought much about it. Kade had been the one to tell Brit that he had a girlfriend, and had known that there was a possibility that she would figure out that it was a camper, but he had told her anyway because despite their recent relations, he trusted her not to tell anyone. She may be angry with him, but she wouldn’t do something like that to him just yet.

Again, his face stayed the same. If she was looking for a certain reaction out of him, she wasn’t going to get it. If she thought that her knowing about his relationship with Brooklyn was going to mean something to him, it really didn’t. He wasn’t about to make something out of it. Instead, he was going to just shrug it off. She had nothing on him, and he didn’t see why she was so pissed off about it that she had come to seek him out in his cabin. ”No, I read that one. But, just because I read it doesn’t mean I’m going to follow it. I mean, everything I do goes completely against the rules, right?” This was something that he had never saw himself doing. He and Brit used to be closer than close. She had been the girl that he had thought he was going to be spending the rest of his life with. They used to talk about everything, and whisper sweet words to one another in the darkness of the night while they lay in each other’s arms. Never once had he imagined that he would be so cold to her and trying to be mean. But, here he was, and the words just kept coming without him hardly even having to think about it. For a nice guy, Kade could really be awful when he wanted to be. ”But, since you know it’s Brooklyn, what do you think? I happen to think she’s gorgeous. And very understanding, unlike a lot of girls out there.” And he just had to go there and rub that in her face. But, that was how this harsh game went. One insult for another, no matter how deep the cut. Kade looked at her a moment longer, his hazel eyes narrowing slightly. ”I know you’re not here to talk to me about my girlfriend, Brit, so whatever it is, do you mind just spitting it out? I’ve got a shower stall waiting for me.” Actually, he would be lucky if any of the showers were open at the moment, but it was as good of an excuse as any to get this done and over with now as opposed to dancing around the real topic of conversation for a while. Kade had never been the kind to beat around the bush, and he wasn’t in the mood for it now, either.

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

There was a time when Brit was the sweetest girl on the face of the Earth. She never had mean thoughts, she didn’t feel the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she certainly didn’t go around picking fights. As already stated, that Brit hadn’t been around for a long time. All of her anger and bitterness and hurt had taken control of her. There were few people who were actually able to see the true Brit, and that honestly didn’t happen very often at all. There were few people here that tolerated her at all, and most of the girls annoyed her beyond all comprehension. She could honestly say that she hated it here, and that if it weren’t for Nathan and Hunter she would have done something to get herself kicked out a long time ago.

“No, I read that one. But, just because I read doesn’t mean I’m going to follow it. I mean, everything I do goes completely against the rules, right?” Her eyes narrowed at him even more. She knew how his temper was, but that didn’t mean that she liked dealing with it when it was directed at her. He did manage to ignite her anger even more, though, and she was somewhat thankful for that. Hopefully it would be enough to keep her other emotions out of this. Of course, Brit knew that what she had said hadn’t held that much truth to it. Her taunts hadn’t worked, of course, because Kade knew her way too well. He had probably realized she’d figure out about his secret relationship and that even with all her hate and anger, she wouldn’t let it slip. No matter what they always seemed to understand each other, despite all the time they spent apart.

“But since you know it’s Brooklyn, what do you think? I happen to think she’s gorgeous. And very understanding, unlike a lot of girls out there.” Before Brit could stop it, the hurt from his words flickered in her eyes. Kade could have just taken a knife and stabbed it all the way through her chest and it wouldn’t have hurt as much as his words. She knew what he was talking about, she had beaten herself up over it for a long time. One mistake on her part and she was a horrible person and never going to be able to live it down. She was ready to shoot something back at him, but he continued to speak.

“I know you’re not here to talk to me about my girlfriend Brit, so whatever it is, do you mind just spitting it out? I’ve got a shower stall just waiting for me.” It didn’t surprise her that Kade has seen past her excuse for hunting him down. He saw everything. She was ready to hold nothing back, and so she didn’t stop from getting straight to the point. “Fine,” was all she got out at first. She didn’t take the time to gather her thoughts or think about what she was going to say. Letting it all come out without a thought would make her feel better, and hopefully cause more hurt. She wasn’t going to hold anything back; anything at all.

“One mistake Kade!” she started, going straight to his first statement. “There was one time that I didn’t listen! One time that I let my own feelings take control and it seems that no one will let me live it down!” She hadn’t noticed that she had raised her voice, but it wasn’t something that should be surprising. “Have you forgotten all the time I was there, Kade? All those times when no one else gave a damn?” She had caught him on that one, and she had more than proven her point. She knew Kade wouldn’t forget those times she had woken up in the middle of the night when he had been on the verge of a meltdown. She had been there when he needed to talk, and she had understood everything, accepted him, and loved him for who he was – the good and the bad. For him to even suggest that she wasn’t understanding was far from the truth, and he knew it.

“You were the one that left, Kade. I didn’t tell you to leave; you did that one your own!” She was talking a thin line at the moment, but so far she was still on the side of truth. She had never once told him to leave, only that they were over. ”You of all people should understand blind anger like that. And if you really know me as well as I know you do, then you should have realized that everything I said that night wasn’t even close to the truth!” She was close to her point, what she wanted him to know. She didn’t give him a moment to talk, only to listen. “You would know all of this, though, if you had been there.” She let her last words come out the coldest, hoping that it would hit a nerve somewhere. She didn’t know if it would, but she hoped it did. It was something she had held in for far too long, and it felt good to let it out. If felt really good.

In Brit’s mind, she had made this all out to be Kade’s fault. For a month or so she had settled with the truth, that she had pushed him away and broken everything that they had had. It ate her up from the inside out, and she soon didn’t think that she could live like that any longer. So, for lack of anything better, she decided that it was Kade’s fault that she felt this way. If he hadn’t of went to the party, or had waited to leave with her, then none of it would have happened to begin with. If he hadn’t taken all those drinks and let Ashley take advantage of him, then nothing would have happened except Ashley getting her lights punched out. Most of all, if he hadn’t ran, but instead stayed there and taken it all like a man, she would have gotten to apologize and begged him to take her back. Who knows, they could have still bee living happily in Fate now if any number of those things above had happened. But they hadn’t, and they never would. This was how everything had turned out, and to be perfectly honest, Brit didn’t like it one bit.

[kade trent.]

Despite the current situation that was unfolding between himself and Brit, and even though they were exchanging bitter words that neither of them never thought they would be saying to one another, Kade’s mind couldn’t help but to wonder. Usually, he was a focused individual, especially when it came to something like this where he needed to be paying attention, but for a moment, as he sat there looking to Brit after his edged words had been said, his mind left that Yellowstone cabin and that moment behind. In that short time, he saw the shoreline of North Carolina. It was Fate, no doubt about it, and in this memory were two small, blonde haired children. Brit and Kade. Kade was about eight, Brit around five or so, and they were out in the sand, making a sandcastle, something that they were good at even at that young of an age. The weather was a bit overcast and windy, and there was a gust of wind that had blown hard enough to pick up the sand. Kade had been facing away from it, able to keep the sand out of his face, but little Brit hadn’t, and had ended up with sand in her eyes. There were tears, and had it been one of Kade’s brothers, he would have told them to get over it, that it was only sand and that it wasn’t worth crying about. Yeah, I know, he doesn’t sound like a nice kid, but that was just the way that Kade was. But, with Brit, he hadn’t been the mean older kid that laughed and made fun of her. Instead, he had taken her by the hand and helped her over to his uncle’s house, which was only a short walk away so that they could rinse her eyes out. That was how it had always been with Brit for him. Kade had always taken care of her and looked out for her, almost as if he knew that he had to for the role that he would someday play in her life. Kade had always been the one to look out for the younger kids, and he was always more particular with his brothers, but Brit was the one that he kept close and went that little extra length to make sure that she was always taken care of and safe with him.

That had been a happier place, a time when things were simple and life was good. Now, everything was completely different. Kade’s world was literally being twisted and turned upside down with every step he took, leaving him with very little solid ground to put his feet on anymore. For the longest time, Brit had been the only sure thing in his life, and now that was also gone. He saw the younger versions of themselves within his mind, and was almost in disbelieve over the fact that they had ended up here now, so full of anger toward one another. But only almost. Kade remembered all too well why they were here like this and how they had gotten there. Mistakes were made and a lot things were said, but also left unsaid. Actually, it was more like Brit had done the talking, and Kade had been the one not to say anything at all, but that isn’t really the point. The point is that they were no where near the people they used to be, at least toward one another, and this fight that they were starting was just more proof of that. Kade should have been better than that and not brought his new relationship with Brooklyn and how understanding she was into it. He should have been the better person and started this out without the edge and bitterness, or he should have just gotten up and walked away instead of taking the opportunity for what it was and using it to get back at her in some way. Kade should have done a lot of things, but he didn’t. He was there, staring at Brit with narrowed eyes that would be full of flames if that was possible. And what was even more stupid was that he had just said things that would fuel her anger. But, what the hell. Kade knew that the wrath of Brittany Morgan wasn’t something that someone should ever just willingly walk into, but what did he really have to lose at this point? So, he had swung the door wide open and was ready for whatever she came at him with.

She got out that first word, and Kade was a little surprised that she was willing to just drop the Brooklyn thing. But, he was also not surprised. He had known that Brooklyn wasn’t what had Brit so upset. It had just been the last straw before she had flipped and couldn’t keep avoiding him anymore. Kade didn’t really see why it was like that, though. It wasn’t like he wasn’t going to date and see other people after they had broken up. He didn’t get a lot of time to ponder it, because Brit found her words and started at him, the volume of her voice increasing to where she was practically yelling at him. ”One mistake Kade! There was one time that I didn’t listen! One time that I let my own feelings take control and it seems that no one will let me live it down!” Uh huh. Kade sat still, his face blank, but his eyes showing his anger sparking. ”Have you forgotten all the time I was there, Kade? All those times that no one else gave a damn?” Was she kidding? There was no way that Kade would ever forget, no matter how hard he tried to sometimes. Brit had been the one that he had turned to when he needed someone the most, whether he was living in Fate or in Seattle. Or course, it had always been easier in Fate, but there were a few phone calls made from his home in Seattle to her home in North Carolina when he really needed her. They were few and far between, but she had been his go to person when it felt like no one else would understand. She had been the one that had cared, and that was something that he couldn’t forget just like that. But, all that good didn’t make up for that one mistake, because in Kade’s opinion, it wasn’t just a mistake on her part. It was much worse. ”You were the one that left, Kade. I didn’t tell you to leave; you did that one on your own!” The anger in Kade’s eyes was growing hotter and hotter, turning to rage, but he still sat quietly, knowing that it was his turn to listen now and he would have his turn to yell in a minute. ”You of all people should understand blind anger like that. And if you really know me as well as I know you do, then you should have realized that everything I said that night wasn’t even close to the truth! You would know all of this, though, if had been there.”

Kade was a good listener. There were a lot of teachers from his old high school that would disagree, but he really was someone that you could go to if you just needed someone to listen to your troubles or whatever it was that you had to say. But, there was a line drawn on that, and Brit had just crossed that line. Actually, she had taken that line and ripped right through it as if she didn’t even realize that it was there, but she knew damn well what the limitations where on that sort of thing with him. He was done listening. He didn’t want to hear it anymore. As soon as she was through with that little speech, he shot up off the bunk that he had been sitting on, facing her with a cold expression. It was one thing to push him so far that he yelled, and that was what he had been looking forward to, actually, but it was another thing completely to put him on this level. To some, the angry pacing and the yelling might have been worse, but when Kade is so angry that he’s pushed into a cold, rage filled stillness, it’s bad. Really bad. ”No, you don’t get to do that,” he said, his voice with an edge that could cut like daggers. ”You don’t get to blame me for all of this. Yeah, you made one mistake, but it was a mistake that you should have never been able to make.” That might seem a little harsh, like he had been holding her to too high of a standard, but it really wasn’t. All he had wanted was for her to have faith in him, and she hadn’t been able to do it the time he needed it the most. Yes, he had screwed up, but that’s the story of his life. ”And while you didn’t actually say the words, you were the one that pushed me out that door, Brit. It didn’t matter that you didn’t mean it. What mattered was that you said it.” There was no way that Brit could ever truly realize how badly she had hurt him by accusing him of sleeping with his ex-girlfriend that night. Kade had been through things that had been, in all reality, so much worse, but that one had hurt worse than hell. He looked at her for a moment, his hazel eyes still cold.

”And you know, if you really cared and wanted me to know, there’s a thing called a phone, but mine sure as hell never rang with a call from you.” That was what he had wanted more than anything at that time. Kade had watched his cell phone like a hawk for almost three weeks. He felt that he had no reason to pick it up and call her, seeing as she was the one that had ended it and he wasn’t about to be the needy ex-boyfriend to call and beg for answers or try to make his case with her so that she might take him back. If she really wanted him to know, then she would have called. When the crushing day came that he realized she wasn’t calling, Kade knew that it was really over, and that was the day that he went out, got drunk, and woke up with a woman he didn’t remember lying beside of him and a tattoo on his arm that he immediately had removed. Well, as soon as the hangover wore off and he could get in to have it removed. Those things hadn’t made him feel better, but they were the first step on what was road to recovery. It had been a tough road, tougher than he would like to admit, but he had done it and he had gotten over her. There were days that he would wonder about her, but he had accepted it for what it was, or had been, and moved on. He had Brooklyn, and he was doing well with the screwed up life he had. Then, there were days like this that he felt like he was being pulled back under the water and into a place where he wasn’t meant to do well or enjoy his life. Kade hated that feeling, but being with Brit right then in that moment was making him feel like that more and more.

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

Few people had ever seen Brit’s anger, even a tiny bit of it. She wasn’t the type that had usually lashed out at someone for something small, and she never started fights with other people. However, times had changed, and that night that Kade and Brit were talking about was the start of her terrible temper. Kade had seen her yell and blow off steam before, but she had only ever directed it at him once, and that was because he had truly done something wrong. He had left her with no explanations, just a note with a single sentence that told her nothing of where he was. The night that Brit had ended their relationship, though, was the night that she would never, ever forget. It was clear, though, that there were a couple of things that Kade didn’t understand, and she was going to tell him that soon. Still, that night her temper had hit a point that it never had before. She was blind to everything. The only thing that had even registered in her mind was that Kade had betrayed her, and that nothing he could ever say would make that right. She was wrong, obviously, and about an hour after Kade had left she had realized this. By that time it had been too late, though. When she had finally ran out to see Kade, he was gone, but this time there was no note, and this time it was completely and entirely her fault.

”No, you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to blame me for all of this. Yeah, you made one mistake, but it was a mistake that you should have never been able to make.” Like I said, he clearly didn’t see everything in the situation. There were a good many things she knew that he didn’t know, and she had no doubt at all that they would only make things worse, still, that wasn’t the point. Brit wasn’t perfect, and she never once said or acted as if she was. For Kade to say that she shouldn’t have made the mistake she did wasn’t fair at all. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and a lot of the times they are ones that should be able to be fixed. You should be able to patch things up, admit that you were wrong, and then go back as if everything was okay again. Things just couldn’t work like that with Kade and Brit, though. It seemed that Brit could forgive Kade over and over again, but for once Kade just couldn’t forgive her. It only made her angrier, and she had to clench her fists tightly together so that she wouldn’t start shaking from it. Brit could see that she had hit a series of nerves that equaled one bad combination. She had made him extremely angry, but she couldn’t have cared less. Where strong, tough men would have just backed down and started apologizing, Brit didn’t even consider backing down. She had seen Kade’s anger before, she knew what was to be expected. Mostly, though, she wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction of knowing he could scare her in any way.

”And while you didn’t actually say the words, you were the one that pushed me out that door, Brit. It didn’t matter that you didn’t mean it. What mattered was that you said it.” Again, Brit saw this as completely and totally unfair. She was very tempted to point out that had the whole situation been reversed that he would have done the exact same thing. At least, she was fairly sure that that was what would have happened. Had Kade had some guy come up to him after having seen her making out with him and told him that he had just slept with Kade’s girlfriend, she had no doubt that Kade would have thought the same thing. True, Brit was probably rasher with the whole thing, but he couldn’t deny that his first instinct would have been to break everything off and push her away. And if given the same amount of time to think it over in blind anger, he might have even followed Brit’s example in every way. Brit was convinced of this, even if it was far off. Besides, it only helped to prove her point even more, and she was all for anything that would improve her point.

”And you know, if you really cared and wanted me to know, there’s a thing called a phone, but mine sure as hell never rang with a call from you.” That honestly knocked the breath out of her. All of this because she hadn’t called? She hadn’t called for a number of reasons. She had made her effort to reach him, she had tried to tell him how things were, apologize, telling him that she made a horrible mistake. He had ran, left everything behind. He hadn’t been there when she wanted to tell him everything, and she honestly wasn’t convinced that he would have answered if she had called. Her side of this made perfect since, but it seemed that neither or them wanted to see both sides. Brit sure didn’t, because she knew that it would eat her up all over again and drive her back to drinking. She never wanted to go back to her dark place, the place she had been right after Kade had left.

Brit waited for a second after he paused before she lashed into her own retort. She couldn’t be sure if he had finished what he was saying, but she honestly didn’t care. She was going to hold her ground; she was going to make her point. “And would you have picked up the phone, Kade? You left! You were out of Fate before I even had time to realize what had happened! What would have honestly made me think that calling would have done anything?” She could almost hear him saying “well you could have at least tried!” Well, there was a good answer to that, and that was Brit’s own pride. She knew that she should have tried to contact him, she knew that she should have made every effort possible, but she hadn’t because she just couldn’t. She had been convinced that nothing would have worked to make things right, that she had truly lost him. But Brit’s pride was strong too, and it seemed to be the only thing she had left most of the time.

“And you can’t judge me for saying things in the heat of anger, especially when I didn’t mean them! I thought you had done it! I thought that you had actually done something with her! I saw you two, and then she called…” She stopped there, her voice trailing off because she knew that he didn’t need to know who had called or what she had said. He would know without her saying anything. She shook her head, then went on, her hesitation only lasting about a second. “It wasn’t until Tyler showed up at my door that I knew she’d lied to me. Then when I showed up the beach house, I find that you were gone!” Her mind took her back to the that night, and how horrible she had felt. It would have been enough to break her, but she pushed it away and forgot it. She couldn’t break in front of Kade, especially not with him that angry. There was no way she was going to back out, no matter how big of a hole she dung herself into.

[kade trent.]

If only they would hurry up and figure out how to make that damn time machine. That was all that Kade and Brit needed to fix this mess. He could go back to that night and do it all different. He knew that no matter what, he wouldn’t chose to not go to the party at all. For one, it had been an awesome party up until he messed up. For two, without Kade, there wouldn’t have been a party because he was the one that had made it happen. And for three, Kade liked parties and he would go. Simple as that. But, he could have not drank as much, or he could have gone and picked Brit up to save himself from being left alone with the ex from hell that he ran into that night. Or, better yet, he could go back in time and just not have been with that girl at all and save the residents of Fate from ever having to suffer of meeting the girl with the toxic personality and an evil, scheming little mind that was going to land her straight in hell. But, if there really was such a thing as a time machine, Kade knew that he would go back way before any of his problems with Brit had started and save his brother. How that would change the present, one would never know. Kade could be the one that was dead, or neither of them would have died and things would have kept going like they should have, or would have, at least. All right, so the time machine idea was out, but that was really the only thing that was going to make this one better. As far as Kade could see, they were both too stubborn and angry to really hear what the other had to say. He knew that she wasn’t going to see how his side of things was right or had good reasoning to it, but in his mind it made perfect sense. She shouldn’t have been able to make that mistake because she shouldn’t have ever thought even for a second that he would cheat on her, no matter how drunk he was. She shouldn’t have said what she said to push him away without even thinking about it first. And she certainly shouldn’t have expected him to stick around for someone who didn’t trust him or want to hear what had really happened. But, just as she was refusing to see why his side of things made sense, Kade didn’t want to see why her side of it made sense, either.

”And would you have picked up the phone, Kade?” If only she knew how he had sat around and waited for that damn phone to ring. It was pathetic, really, and he didn’t like thinking that he had been the one sitting by the phone like that. It went against his pride, but he had done it, hoping against all hope that she would come to reason and find the nerve to call him up. Kade might have let it ring a few times, and he would have masked over his relief with anger when he finally did answer, but he would have picked up if she would have called. But, she hadn’t called, so it really didn’t matter if he would have picked up or not now, did it? ”You left! You were out of Fate before I even had time to realize what had happened!” That was kind of the point. When Brit had ended it, Kade didn’t say a word. He was quiet, and on his way home, it really hit him what had just happened. At first, he felt devastation pulling him under, but it was soon replaced with anger. That anger was what caused him to make up his mind to leave Fate. After all, half of the people there didn’t like him any way, and after they heard this they really wouldn’t like him. No one would care if he was gone, especially not the girl who he had thought would be the first to jump to his defense no matter what it was that people were saying about him. It wasn’t like he needed her to take up for him. Kade could certainly do that on his own. It was more of the idea that she was the girl that he trusted no matter what, and for her not to trust him was a major blow. Maybe up and leaving was an extreme thing to do, but it was something that was a characteristic of Kade. That was how he had handled things for the better half of his life, and it was how he chose to handle that situation as well. ”What would have honestly made me think that calling would have done anything?” Calling would have let him know that she had made a mistake. Hearing her say that she knew that he didn’t do anything wrong and that she trusted him would have meant the world. He would have gotten on the next plane back to North Carolina and worked things out with and everything could be okay. Instead, there was no call, and he never went back, and they were standing in some cabin at a summer camp in Maine having this argument. A call would have been nice.

”And you can’t judge me for saying things in the heat of anger, especially when I didn’t mean them!” Kade hadn’t judged her. But at the time when he was standing there and she had been shouting him and breaking up with him, he hadn’t given a lot of thought as to whether she meant it or not. He had just known what he was hearing. ”I thought that you had done it! I thought that you had actually done something with her!” And that was the part that hurt the most. Of course, if you wanted to really get technical, Kade and Ashley had been together, though it had been long before Kade and Brit were ever together. Those times didn’t count. ”I saw you two, and then she called…” Kade had known that Brit had seen him and Ashley together, but what he hadn’t been aware of this phone call. Though his face had been etched in anger and rage, now there was confusion added along with it. So Ashley had called Brit? And said God knows what. Well, there it was, the root mistake of the other mistakes that Brit made. She should have never listened to Ashley. ”It wasn’t until Tyler showed up at my door that I knew that she’d lied to me. Then when I showed up at the beach house, I find that you were gone!” So it took Tyler to show to make Brit see that Kade had been innocent? Wait, what part had Tyler played in this? When Kade had woken up the next morning after this party, he was in Tyler and Micah Orsino’s living room, apparently having passed out on the couch. The two brothers had told Kade what had happened the night before, and the story was one that made Kade sick. Literally. It seemed that as he got more and more drunk, Ashley got more and more friendly. When it got to the point that Kade didn’t even know his own name, she made her move, kissing him, and that was when Brit walked in. It was only when Brit stormed out that Micah had thought to see what Kade was up to, and that’s when the Orsino brothers tag teamed, Tyler pulling Ashley off while Micah hauled Kade away.

They had known that he didn’t do anything wrong. So, Tyler had told Brit? It had just occurred to him that earlier, she used the terminology that she had “thought” that he had done it, meaning that now she knew he hadn’t. And Tyler hadn’t told him that he had told her? The tangled webs we weave, right? Kade was silent for a few moments as he put this together in his mind. If she had thought this was going to help her, then she had been so very wrong. If anything, it pushed Kade even further into that icy rage. ”So you knew? You knew that I didn’t do anything, and you still didn’t try to call me or get a hold of me somehow?” All this time, he thought the reason she stayed away was because she thought he had been unfaithful. What was her excuse now? He didn’t even know what else to say to that. In all honesty, that almost hurt worse than her just thinking that he had cheated, but he did his best not to let it show in eyes or face or voice in any way. ”You really cared about me, didn’t you?” he asked his words sarcastic, but his voice more fierce and dark than it had been before. Kade then bent down and picked up the duffel he had had earlier, sling the strap over his shoulder and walking past Brit and toward the door. This was just too much for one day. What he needed was to get away, go take that shower, and then either go find something to take his mind off of it or go find Brooklyn and steal her away for a little while so they could talk and he could cool down. If Brit tried to stop him, he seriously doubted that he would wait to hear what she had to say. Kade didn’t like to be the one that backed away, but if he stayed now he was going to end up saying or doing something that he would later regret, and as much as he disliked Brit at the moment, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he hurt her. He wouldn’t meant to, but when he got this angry, sometimes he couldn’t control it, and he wouldn’t have that to add to his list of screw ups.

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

It seemed that for Brit, Kade’s leaving had been the tip of the ice berg to her horrible and messed up life. She had only once admitted how much Kade had hurt her, and that had been to her half brother Dean and her cousin Briar. Kade’s leaving had been just the thing that Fate had been looking for to set a stream of bad luck in her direction. Going back to school after that summer was horrible. Her friends told her to move on and get over Kade, her enemies jeered with a smile of satisfaction as she strolled through the hallways. Only her family comforted her, and understood why she acted the way she did. Not only did she have the whole town knowing of her heartache, but she also had a course load of school work. She soon became completely stressed out, and she had had no choice but to quit playing all the sports she loved. She was so close to breaking and being crushed under the weight of her one mistake that it had pretty much destroyed her. It was then that she had pinned all of her hurt on Kade. It was the only thing that had helped her to move on and live with herself.

Brit didn’t like where this argument was going, though she had had no expectations of it going good in any way. Tyler had once told her that she and Kade made one extremely stubborn couple. She knew as well as she was standing there that Kade was just as stubborn as she was, and that he refused to see her side of the whole situation. He had made some really good points about everything, but she refused to see that here. Brit hadn’t called Kade for a number of reasons, most of them because she didn’t want to here his voice. She didn’t want to apologize and put all of her heart out there for him to just push away and hurt her more. Mostly, every time she picked up the phone in an attempt to call him, she froze, becoming completely sick in her stomach. Brit hated stuff like this, arguments and what not. She had already hurt herself, and Kade leaving had broken her even more. Having him reject her too would have pushed her to the edge and she knew that there was no coming back from that. So she had set the phone back down and gone back to her worthless existence.

But honestly, where did he have to talk. He hadn’t picked up the phone when he had left. He had known that he made a mistake in leaving her, and he never once picked up a phone to tell her how he was feeling. She had known that she loved him with all her heart, known that he was the only one that she wanted to ever be with. And just as fast as everything had come, Kade was gone. She had no way of knowing why, or knowing where he had gone. She had called his cell phone once or twice, trying to get him to pick up and talk to her. But it was a fruitless mission, and it wasn’t long until she just gave up trying and let what was be. She had moved on as best as she could, and she didn’t hear from Kade until he returned to Fate and begged to take her back. She hadn’t hesitated for more than a second, because she knew that she couldn’t be without him and that even after all that time that she had still loved him. That was then, and this was now, but she couldn’t help but feel that he had absolutely no room to talk about her not calling. After getting nothing from him once, how could she possibly expect something in return this time.

Brit hadn’t expected what she had just sad to do any good for her cause. He probably thought she was a completely horrible person, she knew that she was, but she had to get it out there now, because him not knowing that would just make her even worse of a person, and even in the heat of anger she just couldn’t lie to him. ”So you knew? You knew that I didn’t do anything, and you still didn’t try to call me or get a hold of me somehow?” Uh… yeah, that’s pretty much how it went down. As explained, though, she had thought it was a fruitless cause, and she just wasn’t ready to have her heart broken and shattered after it had already been smashed. She had realized even before Tyler had come that she shouldn’t have said what she did, and after Tyler had come she knew that everything was completely screwed to hell. So she had ran to find him, ran to try and explain everything and make everything right. But she was too late; Kade was gone. Realizing that, she had ran off to the airport, trying to find him and bring him back. Kade was completely gone, not even in North Carolina anymore. She had pushed him away, forced him out that door and onto that plane. She knew it, but it made her feel so much worse, and so she ignored it.

”You really cared about me, didn’t you?” The words hurt worse than anything else he had said that afternoon. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from crying out right there, and thankfully he had already moved out the door and couldn’t see the hurt flash across her eyes. How could he possibly say that she didn’t care about him? How could he even suggest it? It was horrible, and she could once again feel that knife stabbed in her back and her chest. This time it only took one comment. She hated this, she hated it all. Realizing now that she was the only one in the Yellowstone cabin she turned and walked out in a blind whirlwind of hurt and rage. She didn’t realize where she was going to go until she thought of Nathan. Brit could already feel the tears streaming down her cheeks from her blurry eyes, and she hated herself for them. She wiped her cheeks to brush the tears away, but it only made it worse and she finally decided to stop. She didn’t know where Nathan was, but she knew that she had to find him. He would be there for her, and if he wasn’t, then she would go and find Hunter instead. She knew that this time she couldn’t keep the argument to herself, because she would lose it completely. Everything was starting to surface and eat her up inside, and all she could do was hate herself for caring.

[nathan warren,]

Nathan really didn’t see why they fought so hard to get him up and out of bed that morning. He was usually the boy that wasn’t hard to get up. Actually, he was usually one of the first to be awake and got a good cussing from whoever was around to hear his cheerful banter so early in the morning. That was just Nathan for you. But, that morning, he hadn’t wanted to get up at all. It had been a late night out with some of the guys from the Yellowstone cabin, and Nathan wasn’t one that got up so early from late nights. Apparently, the rest of the guys in his cabin had missed the part where he had come in around two in the morning and were alarmed when Mr. Sunshine wasn’t up bright and early. The would walk by his bunk and try to coax him out of bed. Nathan would stir in his sleep, but otherwise made no move to get out of his bunk. After a while, someone actually poked him to see if he would move. Nathan had lazily swatted a hand at whoever it was that had poked him, so the guys had been able to determine that he was alive. After that, they kept poking and prodding at him until Nathan had forced his eyelids apart and made his way to sitting position on his bunk. That seemed to satisfy the rest of his cabin mates, and they went about their business as they got ready to head down to Cyprus Hall to get breakfast. Nathan supposed that he should do the same. Breakfast would probably be good for him. So, he slowly stood from his bunk, stretched a few times, and then dug around in his duffel bags until he found some jeans and a t-shirt from a Hinder concert to wear. Then, after finding a pair of clean socks and pulling on his shoes, he was out the door of the cabin and found that most of the campers were already returning from breakfast. It wasn’t like Nathan to get a late start on the day, but right then he could really care less. So what if he had to grab a short breakfast. He was up and he was there. That was all that mattered, right?

It turned out that he wasn’t the only one late to breakfast. The Yellowstone boys were also late, and they gave Nathan some company in the otherwise empty Cyprus Hall. None of them were too talkative, other than Kade, but Nathan and Kade always found something to talk about. Kade was in a rather good mood that day, something that was as rare this early in the morning. Nathan didn’t ask questions; he just enjoyed a quick breakfast that was an apple while he and his good friend laughed over last night’s adventures. Those Yellowstone boys were always getting into something, and as they all dumped their trays and headed out for yet another day of camping activities, still mostly hung over, Nathan was glad he had been bunked in Mammoth cabin instead. Sure, Nathan could handle the partying, but for those boys it was a nightly thing, and Nathan very much enjoyed his sleep and getting up early. Now, though, he was wide awake and alert, his normal self. It seemed that there would be a game of football between some of the guys of the camp, and Kade invited Nathan to go along. Ha, yeah right. Nathan was in shape, yes, but it wasn’t because he willingly let himself be run into the ground time and time again over some ball. He passed up the chance to actually play in the game and took to watching instead, which proved to be just as much fun. While Nate didn’t play football himself, he was a fan of it and had always enjoyed watching the game. He had known Kade in high school and had gone to the home games. If you thought Kade was intimidating before, wait until you see the boy play football. Even Nathan couldn’t believe some of the hits that the Trent boy carried out, but that was how the game was. Hit hard and fast. After the game, it seemed that things around the camp sort of slowed down. Some of the campers got bored and decided to head out to the lake, but Nathan decided to head back to Cyprus Hall to see what he could snag as a sort of brunch, seeing as his breakfast had been pretty lacking.

It was much too early for the hall to be serving lunch, and campers weren’t allowed to be in there between meals. Nathan chose to ignore that last bit and try his luck with sneaking inside to get himself a small bite to eat. He didn’t care if it was just another apple. At this point, anything would do. He approached the hall’s big double doors, casts glances to either side of him. There were other people there, but none of them were paying attention to him and what he was doing. He turned his attention to the doors, and carefully pulled one open enough for him to be able to take a peak inside. It seemed that no one was there, and with the coast being clear, Nate allowed himself to slip inside the hall completely, making sure to let the door close silently behind him. Part one had been successful, now for part two, which was actually obtaining some sort of snack for himself. It was extremely still inside of the hall, the quiet being odd for a place that Nathan had come to know as loud and almost always packed full of people. He had never taken the time to think of what it was like when it wasn’t full of campers, but now he was here, experiencing it for himself. Truthfully, it was kind of creepy. Nathan decided it was best if he not linger, so he quietly made his way over to the table where the food was usually set out for the campers to help themselves to. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a tub still sitting out, full of apples. This was just too easy. Nathan smiled to himself as he approached the tub, hand outstretched, ready to take an apple and run for it when one of the cooks came out another set of double doors just to the right of this table. Crap, he’d been spotted. What to do. Nathan looked to the cook, who didn’t look happy at all to see him, then looked to his hand where it hovered over a perfectly good golden apple. There was only one choice. Nathan snatched the apple up in his hand, turned, and ran for the double doors that would set him free into the camp.

Okay, so maybe that hadn’t been his only choice, and he probably wouldn’t have gotten into trouble for taking an apple, but running away seemed like the fun thing to do, so that’s what Nathan had done. Now, he was strolling leisurely up through the camp toward the cabins as he ate his apple. He didn’t know what he was going to do today, but he figured that he should probably meet up with some of the guys from his cabin and see what they were supposed to be doing, anyway. The apple was half way gone by the time that Nathan drew near the Yellowstone cabin, and he was just in time to see Kade come out of the door and down off of the porch steps. ”Hey, that was a good game you played. Oh, and they still have apples down in the hall if you want one. This one’s pretty good,” Nathan said, always one to do a lot of talking at once. Kade just flashed him a look, one that Nathan took to mean that the older boy was not in a good mood. Nate knew it had been too good to last. ”Okay, I’ll catch you later then,” he said to his friend as Kade kept walking by. Nathan wondered what could have set Kade off in such a mood as he turned and took another bite of his apple, but didn’t get another step in before he saw who else had been in the Yellowstone cabin. Brittany Morgan. Now it all made perfect sense. Nate knew all about Kade and Brit’s messy history, and now it seemed it had all come to a head. Nathan could see even from where he stood that Brit was upset, so he decided to stay where he was and see where she headed. However, that seemed to be something that even she didn’t know. She was crying, and that pulled at Nathan’s soft heart. He hated to see anyone cry, especially someone that he was such good friends with such as Brit. She seemed to be walking right to him, and Nathan started walking toward her. His stolen apple, which was turning brown and icky anyway, got pitched to a bush before he meet her in the middle and taking her up in his arms for a few seconds. Brit wasn’t a touchy person most days, this he knew, but she looked like she needed a friend right now, and a hug couldn’t hurt. He pulled away from her, holding her at arms’ length as his dark chocolate brown eyes looked at her tear stained face.

”I’m going to take a wild guess and say that these aren’t tears of joy because you two made up.” That was something that was safe to say, because Kade and Brit weren’t going to make up just like that, and Kade wouldn’t have been that ticked off if they had made up. That, and Brit would most likely be more smiley if they had made up instead of looking so hurt and upset. Nathan let a short sigh pass through his lips before he moved to Brit’s side, letting one arm drape over her shoulders as he eased her forward into a walk. He thought that maybe if he could get her away from Yellowstone cabin that maybe it would help. He wouldn’t make her go far, but just far enough. Or, if she wanted to walk, that was fine, too. Whatever made her feel better made him fell better too. ”So, today hasn’t been the best day for you, has it?” he asked, already knowing the answer, but hoping that would get her started on talking about it. Nathan knew that she would tell him, but the sooner she got it all out there, the better it would be. He didn’t know how much he was going to be able to help her with her problems, but at least she wouldn’t be keeping it all bottled up inside and letting it eat at her. When it came to Kade and Brit, Nathan was pretty well stuck in the middle. Nathan had known Kade much longer and was one of his closest friends, but when Nathan had met Brit, he couldn’t help but to like the girl. Kade hadn’t been upset about it, but had made it perfectly clear that Nathan would keep Kade’s secrets or else bad things would happen. Nathan didn’t doubt it, so he did what he was told and stayed out Kade and Brit’s problems. The only thing he did was listen to them and offer what little advice he could. Kade had Brooklyn to go to now, so Nathan was trusting her take care of Kade while Nate took care of Brit.

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

Brit was slightly surprised when Nathan took her in his arms. She had only known him for a short time, and it hadn’t take him long to figure out that you didn’t touch Brit unless she wanted to be touched. Still, she welcomed the comfort his hug offered her, and so she let her arms wrap snugly around his waist and rested her forehead on his shoulder. The hug didn’t last long, and soon Nate had pulled away and held her at arms length, looking down into her face. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that these aren’t tears of joy because you two made up.” He had just stated the painfully obvious. Brit didn’t like to cry in public, she didn’t like people to see her weak and vulnerable; at least that’s how it was nowadays. So if Brit was crying, then you knew that something had really gotten to her. Not that she could control her emotions to save her life. At the moment, looking up into her best friend’s face, she was trying so hard to stop her tears, and failing miserably.

Nate was right in saying that her and Kade hadn’t made up. From where Brit was standing, it didn’t look like they’d ever be anything except enemies. Their first meeting hadn’t actually been friendly, and the argument that had just taken place had to be the worst fight in all history. Brit had no doubt that, had she been a guy, Kade would have started throwing punches from the very start. Of course, had she been a guy, they wouldn’t have even been having that argument in the first place. Still, that wasn’t the point. The point was that it had been bad, and she knew that Kade had been furious. Honestly, though, that had been the whole point. She had wanted to make him angry, and it hadn’t taken much at all to get him fired up. Of course, at this point it didn’t take much for Brit either. Mostly, though, she was hurting. She was hurting terribly, and it was mostly because of Kade. It wasn’t fair, and she didn’t want to admit it, but she knew that it was mostly because of him. In the end it always seemed that everything came back to him.

Brit heard the sigh that escaped Nate’s lips, and she felt his arm slide around her shoulders. She didn’t really want to walk, but at this point she was beyond refusing to do anything. She didn’t realize he was taking her away from the Yellowstone cabin, and she didn’t see his intention behind it either. She wasn’t ready to understand what had just happened, or that Nate was there to hear what she had to say. Kade’s words were still ringing in her ears, echoing like a raised voice in an empty room. “You really cared about me didn’t you?” If only he knew. If only he knew what she was really feeling inside. If he knew that, then he would never have said those words. It was those words that had hurt her; no amount of yelling and screaming could ever hurt her that much.

“So today hasn’t been the best day for you, has it?” Again, he had stated the painfully obvious. It wasn’t just today, though, but everyday for the past three years. Everything seemed that it just went completely wrong. After Kade had left, things had been so hard, and there were people in Fate that didn’t talk to her anymore. She couldn’t really blame them, but it would have been nice to have her friends around when she needed them. They had all deserted her, all of them except Matt and Brianna. They had understood how she was acting, and why she was acting that way. She doubted that she would ever be able to repay them for everything they had done for her. “You could say that.” It was the best answer that she had for him at the moment; it would have to do.

Brit didn’t want to walk, and she showed that by slowing her pace and then stopping completely. She turned to face him, her eyes still misty from the tears she cried. They were still falling, but not as hard. “What is happening to me, Nate?” It was a question that she herself could answer, but she didn’t know it anyone else could. “I knew what would happen when I went in there. I knew that it would make him angry and I just didn’t care.” It just didn’t make sense anymore. It was like she was in destructive mode; going after everyone around her. She did things that she knew made her look like a horrible person, but she just couldn’t help it. Who she had been would hate who she was now, but she just couldn’t find a way to not be how she was.

Brit looked at him for a few more moments, then sighed and looked down. Why Nathan chose to be around her, to comfort her, and to calm her down was beyond her. He had to have better things to do than put up with her, but for some reason he chose to hang around her. She was glad that he did, very glad, but she just didn’t understand why. “A part of me doubts that Kade and I will ever get along again.” To Brit it just didn’t seem likely at all. It was clear that he didn’t want to forgive her, and Brit certainly didn’t want to forgive him yet. If given the choice, she would have left a long time ago. Being in the same area with Kade for an extended period of time was too hard. Seeing him everyday was too hard most of the time, and she knew it was so much easier to hate him when she didn’t have to see him.