There were lips, pressed to my forehead.

Not kissing my forehead, but resting there. And there was nose placed in my hair, and a chest moving against me. I fluttered my eyelids, trying to clear my vision enough to see my personal heater. Nick's collar bone came into full view. I never noticed the small, jagged scar on it, a thin white line, barely visible. My eyebrows drew together.

I was about to jam my fingers into his side, like usual, when I realized, I told him he could cuddle with me. My eyes went wide. I was losing my mind. My dignity. This was horrible. I had build my own prison, and i wasn't allowed to dig out of it until the sorce of my capture woke up.

I pulled back my face slightly, to see Nick as he slept. There was no crease in his eyebrow now, just relaxed looking features, and a face that was enjoying what I hoped was a sound sleep. I couldn't avoid the pang in my stomach. Despite how much I disliked the boy, I had hoped he didn't dream of his parents again.

I sighed, and scooted into him, decided to wait until he'd wake up. A small smile crept over my lips. He had kept his promise.

Before, I had never put much thought to the way Nick woke up, whether it was instant or slow, mainly because I was too busy sleeping, or digging my fingers into his ribs. Watching him wake up was almost mesmerizing. If I looked up slightly, I could see the light filter through our window, and highlight all the messy strands of his dark hair, catching the tips of his eyelashes. His eyes opened slowly, the grey of his irises darkened from sleep.

He made no move to turn away from me. From what I could tell, he couldn't even see I was awake. He sighed, softly. before he looked down, I closed my eyes. Personally, I didn't want to find out what he'd do if he'd known I was watching him.

He buried his face in my hair faintly, and drew his brows together. I waited for him to do something, anything, to make a move and wake me up. Or rather, let me go. But he didn't. I could feel him tense slightly, like he was reluctant to let go.

So I made the first move, and mumbled, " what time is it?"

He pulled his face away from my hair, and yawned, revealing his pearly white teeth. Then, he unhooked his arms from around me, and moved to sit up. He took a deep breath, his chest expanding and contracting, before grabbing his phone and announcing, " it's 9:23 am."

I nodded, and threw the blanket off me. Standing, I reached my arms above my head, my shirt lifting slighty at the seam. Nick's eyes flashed towards me, before he looked away. I sighed, dropped my arms, and reached for my bag, " So what's the plan for today?"

" Well, it's your one free day in California, everything we do is up to you." He replied, pulling off his shirt. He stood, and started undoing the string of his sweatpants.

I gaped at him, " what the hell are you doing?"

He raised a brow at me, then continued to undo the knot, ready to pull his pants down, " i'm getting dressed."

" no, you're getting undressed." I replied, my voice hard.

He nodded, " yeah, that's what you do before you get dressed. You remove the old clothes, to put on the new."

" Could you at least wait till I turn around or something." I replied, clutching my outfit tightly in my left hand.

He sighed, rolling his shoulders back, then stretching his arms above his head and tilting his neck, morning stretches. I watched him wide eyed. Yes, he was beautiful, and yes, the sunlight was highlighting him quite nicely. The way his pants hung a little low was unnerving. I swallowed a lump while he said, " unlike you, Angel, I'm not modest. I have no problem standing completely naked, no matter how many people i'm in front of."

I shook my head, " um, well, I have a problem with it. I'm going to the bathroom to change."

I rushed to the bathroom, and slammed the door. My face in the mirror wasn't any better. My cheeks were flushed and my hair was tangled. I quickly changed into a loose, white tank top and a pair of light blue jeans, before walking out and cursing, " Damn Arson!"

He was just pulling his pants up to his waist, the belt line meeting his underwear line right as I walked out. His eyes still on mine, he zipped up his pants and bottoned them, then grabbed a white t-shirt that said "got milk?" in black letters and put it on. Against his black jeans, and his faded black belt, the shirt looked amazing, and when he put on his boots, I could have killed him. He smiled, " I know i'm hot, Angel. Just admit it, you know too."

I slapped my hand to my forehead, " I meant, get your pants on faster next time, could you?"

" I could. But that doesn't mean I will." He winked, and i let out an exasperated groan.

He chuckled, then shoved his phone in his pocket and put on his batman beanie. Opening the door, he said, " ladies first."

I shot him an icy glare, before walking out, raising my chin a little. Walking down the hallways, I was sad to admit, I'd gotten lost. He stepped up behind me, placed his hands on my waist, and turned me to face the right, " walk forward, then take a left, and the elevators should be there." He said, his breath minty and his overall body scent sadly amazing.

I reached my elbow behind me and hit him in the ribs, which he moved to the side to dodge. Then, I started down the hallway again, and turned left, to find the elevator. Clicking the down button, I waited. When the elevator opened, a familiar voice sounded behind us, " wait up!"

Gavin waved at me, " Hey Carter."

" Gavin." I smiled, with ease.

Nick moved past me to step into the elevator. Gavin and I followed suite. His voice was kind as he asked, " how are you?"

" I'm okay, and yourself." I felt the shift as the elevator started downwards, the drop making my stomach do a small flip.

" I'm pretty well, thanks." He replied. His tone was a bit gravelly, hoarse. I hadn't realized that was the natural sound of his voice last night, but thinking back on it, that was right. He had an interesting voice, to say the least, and it was pleasant to listen to. I almost caught the hint of an australian accent.

Nick's face was blank as he waited for the door to open. Gavin and I participated in a light conversation, smiling and laughing like people who just, sort of, clicked. It was safe to say I liked Gavin, but something about him spoke friend more than boyfriend.

When the door opened, Nick was out and walking, not stopping to look if I was following him. I shouted, " hey!" Then turned to Gavin, " sorry, gotta go."

He smiled, " it's alright. Talk to you later?"

" yeah. Bye." I waved, then ran down after Nick.

After I caught up to him, I leaned on his shoulder, a bit winded, and asked, " what the hell was that about?"

" what do you mean?" He asked, in his normal rich and innocent tone. I wasn't having it.

" You ditched me."

" I thought you were behind me."

" bull shit." I stated, flat out.

He sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, " I"m sorry Carter, next time, I'll wait for you and hold the back of your dress while you're walking outside so it doesn't get dirty, okay?"

He was aggitated. I blinked, " Do you not like Gavin or something?"

" Or something." He muttered, turning and heading towards the main room. We took part in their complimentary breakfast, then sat down across from each other, no words exchanged. After that, we headed out to the convertable, and hopped in.

" we should build a sand castle." I said, more to myself than to him.

He turned to look at me, " you know, Angel, I think that can happen. he turned on the car, and started driving, navigating the streets of California like a pro. To our luck, since it was later in the morning, the traffic wasn't as thick.

When we arrived at the beach, the sky had clouded over slightly, and the sea breeze rolled in with some strength. We went to the part of the beach that some rockier sections, where the sand was damper and it would be easier to build a sand castle. I looked at Nick, " I've never built a sand castle before."

He hopped out of the mustang, and moved around to open my car door for me. I groaned, " there is no need to be a gentleman, Arson."

He shrugged, " I know." Then he said, " it's easy. Come on, we'll build one together." I sighed, and got out of the mustang. I wanted to do this myself, but the big part of me knew I'd fail. So I let Nick lead me down to the beach, and watched as he started shaping the sand with his hands. I crouched down across from him, and did the same.

I laughed when his tower fell over, and he shook his head, smiling at me. The breeze swept my hair over my shoulder, and the sound of seagulls against the sound of the waves was so pleasant, i wasn't sure I wanted to leave.

After a good hour, we conjured what was sadly considered our sand castle. Nick's side wasn't that bad, while mine was toppling over itself, sliding apart and all lumping with fingermarks. Nick laughed, " we did pretty good, Angel."

I only shook my head, " sculpting isn't my forte."

" But a lot of other things are." He replied, standing and brushing the sand off his pants. I followed suite, and sighed, " now what?"

He started walking. I stood there for a minute, before following behind him. He leaned down and picked up a sea shell, " let's collect shells."

I smiled, like an idiot, " what makes you think I want shells."

" Your face."

I slapped his arm, before finding one myself. I took off my sandles, and walked in the water, feeling the sand move out from beneath me while Nick stayed ashore. he found some, and I found some, but I was too distracted by twirling in the water to actual notice.

" have you ever thought about what it'd be like to fly?" Nick asked, out of the blue.

I turned to look at him, " I've been in an airplane before."

He shook his head, and bent down to pick up another shell, before continuing. His eyes were trailed on a seagull, " no Angel, like, being a bird. Having wings. Have you ever wondered what it was like."

I stopped spinning, and let the water wash around my ankles. I shrugged, " I guess I've never put any thought into it." I thought about it, drifting on the air, being free. I smiled, " it would be pretty amazing though, wouldn't it?"

" Yeah, it would." He kind of smiled, but it was his dreamlike smile, when he was lost in thought. Then it transformed into a full, lopsided grin, " you can fly Angel."

And before I knew what was happening, I was in his arms, being spun around. I squealed, and couldn't stop laughter from bubbling out of my throat, " Nick, stop!" I laughed, struggling in his arms.

He set me down, his arms still around me, both of us facing the ocean. I looked out, watching a few seagulls bank, and dip into the water swiftly, before pulling back up with a fish in beak. Nick sighed, and rested his chin on my shoulder, " Can you imagine going over oceans, with nothing holding on to you but the air?"

" mmm." I nodded, tasting the salty breeze on my lips. I sighed, softly, " Birds have it good, don't they?"

" well, besides the constantly raw food, yeah."

I snickered softly, and shook my head. Nick then continued to say, " It's what I use to think about, when I was younger."

" yeah?" I said, softly, listening to his every word.

" It kind of helped, I guess. I thought about what it'd be like to be other things. thinking about being a tree kind of sucked... but my favorite was a bird. They could come and go as they please, go wherever they wanted, see what they want to see." He was so lost in his speech, like he really wanted that, wanted to go and do and not have to stop.

He sighed, " I've always been so stationary, I used to feel like I was stuck to New York, like there was nothing more out there for me."

" Proved that wrong." I said, with a nod. I then added, " You can do whatever you want to do, be a bird if you want to be a bird."

He chuckled softly, " I dont' want to be a bird. But I do enjoy being free."

" That makes two of us."

We stood there for a little while longer, before I poked him in the ribs. He jumped back away from me, and I stretched my arms over my head, " okay, okay. Next thing."

I left the sandy beach, and sat down in a patch of grass near the car to clean off my feet and put on my shoes. Nick returned and put on his boots, then moved to start the car.

My stomach grumbled, and I whipped out my phone to see it was already 11:56 a.m. I groaned, " i need food."

" well, then hop in."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick had already prepared for Lunch. I had to admit, he was smart at times.

Driving to small park, he opened the trunk of the mustang and pulled out a picnic basket, and a blanket. I followed him as he found a spot in the shade, and tossed out the blanket. He sat on one side, and I sat on the other. My voice showed my amazement as I said, " you really thought of everything, didn't you."

He smiled, flashing his perfect white teeth once more, and nodded, " well, I did prepare. I wanted you to enjoy your day in California."

" how.... thoughtful?" I tried, finding the strength to avoid a snarky comment. This was a nice gesture for him, so I shouldn't be rude back.

we both nibbled at sandwhiches and watermellon, laughing at things each other said. I found it sort of amazing how I had found it in myself to tolerate Nick, despite how little he's changed. He took a bite of watermellon, and sighed, " I didn't think of dessert."

My eyes went wide, and I shook my head, " Arson... Arson, Arson, Arson. How could you forget the most important part?" I teased.

He raised his hands in defense, but smiled non the less, " maybe there's an icecream shop in the small square right next to the park?"

" that sounds... awesome." i decided, standing. I helped him pack everything up, and we decided to walk to the little outlet of shops and cafes right by the park. spotting the icecream shot, I smiled, " there it is!"

We jogged across the street to it, and inside, were were graced with freezing air and an abundance of flavors. We each got two scoops. I got chocolate and cookie dough, he got moosetracks and peanut butter/choclate swirl.

After he paid, even though I bargained with him on it, we walked outside and strolled along the sidewalks. His moosetracks looked amazing. After taking a bite of my icecream, I swiftly reached over and snuck a scoop of his moosetracks. He pulled his icecream back, but I was already victorious, " hey!"

I smiled, and said, " what? I wanted to try it."

" you could have just asked."

" mmhmm. Cause you'd let me try it if I was nice about it." I replied, eating the bite of moosetracks I had obtained. It tasted as good as it looked.

He offered me his cup again, " wanna try the other one?"

Slowly I reached down, took a scoop of his second flavor, and stuck it in my mouth, all the while keeping my eyes on his. Then, I slowly reached out mind, and he raised a brow, " Angel."

" Try them, or i'll feel bad for eating part of yours." I said, flat toned.

" I doubt it." He replied.

I sighed, " your right, i feel pretty great about stealing your icecream from you. But, you have been paying for everything thus far, and you've been unusually nice, So i'm going to be somewhat nice back."

He smiled, but tried both of mine without complaint, and after that, we switched bowls while we walked. After we finished, we threw the cups away and went into a sunglasses store. In California, it was hard not to have a pair of sunglasses. It was time I joined the loop.

Mid pair of sunglasses, Nick said, " i look badass in aviators."

When I turned to look at him, he was checking himself out in the mirror, a pair of aviators covering his eyes. He was right, but I wasn't going to admit that, " they're not bad."

" I know you're lying."

" how?"

" because I can see myself as we speak."

Touche. I smiled, and shook my head. Then he threw me a pair of ray bans, and said, " try 'em."

I put them on, and instantly liked them. They weren't fancy, or stylish, just simple and they worked and, well, they were cool, " these are my baes." I declared.

He laughed, then took both pairs to the cash register. I said, " i can pay for my own."

He shot me a smile, " and I can pay for yours too."

" you don't have to."

" it's really not that big of a deal, Angel." He replied.

The guy working the counter gave us a once over, before saying the bill. I went wide eyed, but Nick payed for it like it was nothing. As we walked out, he took the tags off our sunglasses, and put on his aviators.

I took my ray bans, and slipped them on.

Then I saw a pac sun, " let's go in there." He shrugged, " alright."

We pulled a right, crossed the road, and entered the store. I always loved trying things on, but the price tags were such a big turn off. I first tried on a really cute pair of pastel pink shorts, they were higher waisted, with two buttons and a really cute flower design on one of the back pockets. Then I tried on a t-shirt that had a white base and a bunch of sunflowers on it. It also had a pocket.

Both items were horribly overpriced though, so I returned them to the rack. Nick grabbed them, and said, " why'd you put them back?"

I huffed, " because they're out of my price rang."

" you looked cute in them, Angel." He smiled, " you should get them."

" I can't pay for them."

" I can."

" Arson, no." I said, with a sigh, " I don't want you to have to pay for all my stuff."

He tossed the clothes and me, and said, " It doesn't matter. I want to buy them for you."

" you aren't going to accept no for an answer, are you?"

" Nope."

" Fine." I shoved the clothes at him, " then you be a man, walk up there alone, and pay for them." He went wide eyed, and I smiled, " hurry up."

He turned, and made his way to the desk. the lady working there smiled at him, " how may I help you."

" yes." He held the items up, then smiled, " I'd like to buy these for my-" he looked over his shoulder at me, " my girlfriend over there. Will that be alright?" He flashed his award winning smile, and I just gawked at him.

The lady giggled, " oh yes, of course." After letting him pay, she handed him a bag full of my clothes, and said, " You two have fun, bye!"

Nick walked text to me as we headed out, and I punched him in the shoulder, " I'm not your girlfriend!"

" damn, Angel, you have an arm." He made a face, and rolled his shoulder with a grimace, then he said, " i realize that, but I'm not putting myself out there as a cross-dresser. I have nothing against them, i'm just not one."

I sighed, and shook my head, " you're horrible."

" You don't really think that." He teased.

" I do." I muttered, " with all my heart."

He was quiet for a minute, before saying, " well, as long as you're honest."

We went into another store, and this time, i decided to dress Nick. I found a shirt that was white, with a circle of a picture in the center. It was a city, and inside it, it said " get LA'd." I laughed, and put it up against him, " this was made for you."