A/N: So after a night full of no sleep, a day of school, a learner driver test AND a bus ride of mortal instruments, I give you the next chapter! Yeah well that was written two days ago so sorry about that, but I did drive yesterday for the first time! Anyway, I'm rambling, and procrastinating... I really hope you all enjoy it, I've been waiting to get up to this week in the book for AGEEEEES so that's why I'm uploading heaps! So yeah, read comment vote and ENJOY!!!!

Also just a quick heads up, I typed the first half of this on my phone so if you see an " *italics* " note can you please let me know so I can delete it! I wanted to give you guys this chapter before I crashed and I can't find the last *italics* thingy. So please point it out!! Thank youuu xx

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Jayden was still asleep beside me and I couldn't stop looking at him. My eyes scanned over his peaceful, sleeping features.

I couldn't take my eyes off him and my mind kept repeating itself of what was going through my mind on Thursday.

I can't believe I'd fallen for my best friend.

As he slept, I was thinking of different ways to tell him how I felt, but I wasn't coming up with anything that was... enough.

I needed this to be special.

Soon enough I gave up on planning anything because my stomach grumbled and I was too hungry to stay in bed.

I quietly rolled out of bed but without realising how little room I had left to 'roll', I actually fell out of bed and onto the floor.

Ow!!!

I pushed myself up slowly to make sure I hadn't bruised anything. Usually when I fell out of bed I bruised my coccyx, but when I moved I didn't feel any pain.

Yaaaaay!!! No bruised tailbone woohoo!!

Even though it was officially summer, the morning air had a brisk chill to it, so before I slipped out of the room I grabbed a hoodie off the top of my bag.

Luckily it was one of Caleb's old ones so it was a million times too big and it was super warm too.

Wait, shouldn't his girlfriend be wearing his clothes?

Maybe I should donate these to Suvi, make it a birthday present or something...

I'm sure she'd love that.

I closed the door softly behind me and padded down the hall, bare foot, to the living room.

Mackenzie was the only other person awake and she was sitting on the daybed beside the window with a cup of tea in her hands.

She turned when she heard my approach and smiled at me, no trace of sleep on her.

Among others, that was one of the reasons I was jealous of Mackenzie. When she woke up she looked just as she always did, not a hair out of place or a sleepy gaze on her face.

It was seriously annoying, especially since I looked like a freaking zombie in the morning; hair everywhere, eyes sleepy, voice always thick with sleep.

"Good morning!!" Kenzie exclaimed brightly, making me wince at the, well everything, of her tone.

No one should be that chipper in the morning.

"Tea?" was all I asked, making Kenzie hold back a laugh.

"I got you chai from the supermarket," she explained, still happy but not quite as loud.

I went into the kitchen and touched the kettle to see if it needed boiling.

OW OW HOT HOT FRUITLOOP THAT'S HOT!!!

Of course it was hot, Kenzie had just boiled the kettle to make her tea.

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity and got a mug out of one of the creaky old cupboards, along with a tea bag from beside the kettle.

My finger where I had touched the kettle had started to swell up when I remembered you always needed to run your finger under cold water when burned.

I raced over to the tap - the pain increasing with every passing second - and turned on the water, enjoying the cold feeling on the hot skin.

After two minutes I gave up on the cold water and went back to making my chai. I grabbed the honey out of the cupboard - which Kenzie thankfully remembered - and added some milk in, stirring the contents of the mug with a teaspoon.

I held it unbalanced in my left hand as to avoid burning my right one again, then walked slowly back into the lounge.

I took a seat on the end of the daybed Kenzie was sitting on, tucking one foot underneath me and enjoying the sun filtering through the window and onto my face.

"So did you have a good sleep?" I asked with a suggestive wiggle of my eyebrows.

I thought it would be strange to tease her about my brother but it was just too fun!!

"Oh and I could ask you the same," she responded in an equally teasing tone.

I don't know why this reminded me of the conversation Jayden and I had earlier this week when I hadn't come to school. 

"Hypothetically..." Jay started and I immediately became worried about the direction of this conversation.  "If you were to, y'know, have sex,  what would be the main," he paused, looking for the right word, "considerations you'd take into account?"

"Uhh..." I trailed, not really having thought too much into this before. "I guess I'd just have to trust them. Like, 100% trust."

Jayden nodded thoughtfully and smiled. "Yeah, same pretty much."

"Wow can we please change the topic?" I asked, covering my face with my hands.

"Awh... Katia getting a little bit embarrased?" He asked as if he were talking to a little kid, nearly crooning. 

"Shut up." My cheeks flushed. 

Jayden lifted my hands away from my face and was standing with his face only a few inches from mine. 

"Do you trust me?" He asked. 

At that point in time my body was screaming 'just jump him already' but I knew it wasn't the time...

"Yes," I said "but the difference is that I don't get all squirmy and embarrassed about it."

"Neither do I!!" Kenzie protested, earning a reproving look from me.

"Oh please," I scoffed, a second of silence then we both started laughing.

I blew carefully on the hot drink balancing on my knee then lifted it to my mouth and took a hesitant sip.

Thank God it wasn't extremely hot. I could deal with a burn on my finger because it went away after a day or so, but a burn on the roof of my mouth stays for weeks!! Tastebuds are killed because of it!

Poor tastebuds....

"So... What's the plan for today?" Kenzie asked, looking out the window while taking a sip of tea.

I thought about that for a minute. We had all unpacked and got enough groceries to last us until our parents came down next Friday, so I guess it was time to relax.

Or... "We could go down the river on an adventure!!!" I exclaimed, smiling at the idea.

The river went for about five kilometers before it hits the ocean and every time we go we discover something new, or just dare each other to do stupid stuff!

"Ooh that sounds like a great idea!" Kenzie enthusiastically agreed, nearly jumping up and down on the daybed.

I smiled and we planned on leaving after the boys woke up and we all had breakfast.

"So, really," I began, "did you have a good night?"

Not being able to contain the smile that appeared on her face - accompanied by a blush starting to creep it's way to her cheeks - she looked out the window and away from me.

"Yes," she finally said quietly, almost under her breath.

"Did anything-"

"God no!!! Katia, really??" Kenzie squirmed, putting her now empty mug onto the table behind her. In times like these she seemed much older than I was, more mature for some reason.

"Oh come on it's not like it's an unreasonable question!" I responded, raising my eyebrows.

Then I frowned. "Hold up. You wouldn't be squirming and avoiding the question if nothing did happen!"

It was all clicking in my head and unfortunately for Kenzie I knew her too well or her to hide it.

She sighed, the smile still consuming her face. "Yes now would you shush? I'll tell you later when there isn't a chance of a straggling boy dawdling into our conversation."

I laughed at that but I probably shouldn't have because she was mocking me.

A while ago - I can't remember when - we had been talking about Jayden. Kenzie is the one who guessed which is the only reason she knew. Anyway, we were sitting in the lounge room at my house and all the boys were still asleep upstairs. Kenzie was pestering me and I said the exact same thing. I didn't know where it came from but Mackenzie didn't stop laughing until the boys came downstairs.

"Fineee," I complied sounding like a three year old not being allowed chocolate.

I heard footsteps coming down the hall before I saw who it was.

Speak of the devil...

Tyler had walked into the room with only his sweats on, his hair completely disheveled as it always was in the morning.

He looked over at Kenzie with a sleepy smile on his face but she wasn't looking at his face, only at his shirtlessness.

"Jeez Ty would you put a shirt on?" I asked and he shot a small glare my way, but the smile was still there.

"Does that mean I have to as well?" Caleb groaned, still in the invisibility of the hallway.

"Yes," Kenzie and I said at the same time.

"Both of you, shirts on, now," I said for the last time and both of the boys who were standing next to each other silently walked back to the hallway.

Jay was the next down the hall and he appeared before the other two were back.

"What is with everyone and being shirtless this morning?" Kenzie asked rhetorically and I laughed.

As much as I didn't want Jayden to put a shirt on, I had to be fair.

Kenzie and I were always put 'in charge' so the boys were supposed to listen to us.

"Jay, go put a shirt on," I told him.

He was leaning against the wall beside the hallway to our bedrooms and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No." He was determined.

"Jayden Finn go put a shirt on right now." I said, putting my mug down and crossing my arms.

"No." He repeated, a small smirk working it's way onto his lips.

"Jay, now."

He raised his eyebrow challengingly, the smirk getting more prominent with every movement I made.

I had to stop my eyes from traveling away from his, because as soon as I lost eye contact he had won.

But damn, it was so hard to keep my eyes on his when he looked that... hot? No, that wasn't the right word for it. His sweats were hanging dangerously low on his hips with his hard, defined abs above that. With his arms crossed over his chest I could perfectly see the muscles in his arms. And with the smirk, the challenging eyebrows and the heartbreakingly green eyes, he was incredibly sexy.

If only...

No! Not going there.

Thankfully he wasn't there for too much longer as Caleb came back into the room, - with a shirt on I might add - rolled his eyes and pushed Jayden down the hallway.

"Thanks Caleb!" I sung out and when I turned back to Kenzie she wore a teasing smile.

"Well well well isn't someone quite the hypocrite." She teased.

I picked my mug back up and took a sip of the still warm tea, a smile spreading on my lips. "Hypocrite is my middle name."

Caleb strolled over to the couch and flopped down on the end closest to me, then Ty came back into the room and sat on the other end.

Jayden and Trenton both came into the room at the same time, Trent sitting on the floor and Jay sitting in between them.

"So what's the plan for the day?" Trenton asked from the floor at my feet.

"We're going to go on a river adventure!" I exclaimed excitedly, everyone else matching my enthusiasm.

"Are we going on a... Bear hunt?" Tyler asked and I laughed in recognition.

"We're going on a bear hunt," I started singing the childhood nursery rhyme.

"We're going to catch a big one," Kenzie joined in, then the rest of the boys caught on and I started laughing.

"I''m not scared!" Ty sang and then we all burst laughing.

"Oh the memories," Caleb smiled, getting up and going in the direction of the kitchen.

My stomach grumbled and I was reminded of how hungry I was. "Yeah, definetly time for some breakfast!!"

It took an hour to cook and eat breakfast, then another to get bathers and clothes on and pack some food lunch.

We ended up leaving the house at 10:30, Caleb with the backpack of food and the rest of us with our bathers, clothes and bare feet.

This was the kind of adventure that included walking in water and we had never bothered with those water shoes. They didn't keep the water out and they were more slippery than going bare foot.

And don't even get me started on crocs....

We walked down the same path Jay and I had the previous night when he told me about his fibro myalgia, which got me thinking.

Was he in pain now?

I looked ahead to him as he crossed the shallow part of the river, grabbing onto a tree to pull him across and help for balance. He was laughing and something Caleb or Tyler had said behind him.

I didn't look like he was hurting... Hopefully he wasn't.

It was my turn to cross over the river so I carefully placed one of my feet up on the first rock and pushed myself up. There was a bit of distance between the first rock and the second but it was easily done and soon enough I was safely landed on the second rock.

Underneath me was the rushing water and as much as I loved it, I didn't want to go in just yet.

With one more rock to go, I carefully jumped and landed graciously on my feet. Then, like Jay had, I used the tree for balance and support to get back to the ground from the rock.

"Off we go!" Trenton called from around the middle of the group.

Sometimes I felt bad for Trent, seeing as he was the youngest. Although he never seemed to mind and half the time he was more mature than Ty, the oldest.

We had very strange group dynamics now that I thought about it. We had all always been close, but because Tyler is just that bit older than the rest of us, he didn't hang out with us as much in primary school. Trent, being the youngest, was always a bit out of it as well, but he didn't mind and he fit in perfectly when we all started being together on our own time, other than just 'family friend get togethers'. Then there was Mackenzie, who is the same age but she was always off at her dancing school and missed out on being as close, purely because she was further away. Of course then there is Jayden, Caleb and I who have been as tight as a knitted wollen scarf from the day we were born; well technically since I was born because I'm the youngest.

That's why the dynamics are so strange, because there are three that are really close and the others aren't as close.

After about another hour of walking and talking and singing, we picked a good place to take a seat and eat some lunch.

Mackenzie and Tyler sat together on a large piece of driftwood that would have washed up from the water while Jayden, Caleb and Trent were sitting on a fallen tree trunk. There was enough room for me on either the driftwood or log, but I sat on the stony ground instead.

Where we were, the bottom of the river and side was stones, but as you neared the mouth where it opened to the ocean, it faded into sand.

Caleb threw us all individual sandwiches wrapped in cling wrap and we ate in silence, enjoying the peaceful sound of rushing water and the trees in the wind.

"So, are we swimming after this then heading back?" Caleb asked after he swallowed a bite of his sandwich that he was nearly finished with.

"Well," Trent started, pausing to swallow his mouthfull. "I was thinking that we could go to the waterfall we discovered last year. At the fork in the river up ahead we usually go right towards the beach, but if you take the sharp left then after only a couple of hundred metres there is the waterfall!!"

I frowned. "Why haven't I heard of this before?"

Trenton shrugged and finished his sandwich and everyone seemed to be in agreeance to go to the waterfall.

Tyler was leading the way this time with Kenzie following eagerly behind him. I was eager to see this new waterfall but I think Kenzie was eager for something else...

Trent was right though, the waterfall was only about a kilometer away from where we had lunch which was easy in the way of getting back home. We would only have to walk about 2km's back.

I first saw the waterfall as just a small speck at the end of a path, but now that I was at the bottom I saw the huge amount of water gushing from the rocks near the top, nearing one hundred meters high.

Surrounding the round pool that the water was falling into before it straightened out into the river were big boulders, some great to jump off and some nice to sit on and enjoy the sun that was now brightly shining down on us.

It was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen, and it was all ours. Kind of like a private, beautiful, tranquil hideout.

Caleb put the backpack down again and we all stripped off to our bathers, which for the boys were just their shorts. Kenzie and I had put our bikinis on under out clothes so we were all prepared.

The boys had already done their backflips and other fancy tricks into the water so when I had kicked my clothes to the pile of the boys' clothes, I stood on the rock next to Kenzie, with my arms folded across my stomach.

I hated my stomach but I couldn't find my one piece, unfortunately.

"Is it cold?" I screamed to the boys that were edging their way to the pouding water of the waterfall.

"No!!" Jayden screamed back at us.

"Just jump!!" Tyler added, closest to the rock we were on but still far away.

I looked at Kenzie and shrugged, running up and jumping off the rock.

As soon as my feet hit the water my heart stopped.

IT WAS FREAKING FREEZING!!!!!!!!!

When my head resurfaced I opened my eyes and searched around for one of the guys to yell at but they had all dissapeared behind the sheet of water travelling in a constant stream.

I turned to look at Mackenzie who had the exact same expression on her face.

I decided to let it go, there was no point in yelling at them and this time Kenzie and I could talk about what happened between her and Tyler last night.

"So.." I started, swimming back towards where Kenzie was with a bright smile on her face. "What happened last night?"

We were both treading water to keep our heads up so we were bobbing up and down. We looked like those bobble head figurines!

"Ugh not this again," she shook her head but then sighed. "We kinda-sorta-maybe made out a bit," she rushed, then took a breath and went under water to conceal the blush which had started to appear on her cheeks.

But she couldn't hold her breath forever, so she had to come back for air. "Finally! I told you he likes you!" I teased, smiling as she rolled her eyes and started floating on her back.

I didn't really want to follow her lead considering I didn't like my dark blue bikini and was uncomfortable with my stomach showing, but I did it anyway, wanting to give my legs a break from keeping me out of the water.

We stayed silently floating on our back until we heard the boys approaching, obviously bored and wanting to do something.

Caleb volunteered truth or dare so we played that for an hour, mostly just daring each other to do stupid flips and tricks off the rocks into the water.

Unfortunately though we had to get up and start heading back, because even though it was only three o clock it would probably take two hours to get back, especially with the boys walking in wet shorts.

It turns to have taken us just over two hours to walk back, some of the boys went back in the water and swam but the water was too cold!

When we got home we took it in turns to take nice, hot showers and get into fresh, dry clothes.

Caleb cooked us spaghetti bolognese and we all took our meals to eat in different spots in the house.

Usually we ate together but everyone wanted to their own thing.

After I thanked Caleb for cooking tea and took my bowl full of steaming pasta, I turned down the hall and to the end where there was the pale blue door that led to the garage which we had turned into a wreck room so long ago.

When I was about ten the parents had officially decided that they never parked their cars in the three-car garage and the lounge was getting too crowded with six children and six adults. So they tranformed the old, dingy garage into an awesome wreck room, with couches and a tv and the big speakers and last but certainly not least, the grand piano.

It was my favourite part about this room, especially since Mum, Louise and Lillian had gotten it just for me. Second hand of course but it still ran perfectly.

I closed the door behind me and walked over to the piano in the right corner of the room. I took my seat on the stool and ate my dinner before it got cold.

When I was finished I put the empty bowl on the chair beside the stool and turned to look down at the keys.

It had been a year since I last played and I stared at the keys wondering if I even remembered how to play.

I lifted my fingers to the keys and stroked them gently, testing them out. I then played the first chord of Pictures of You, then kept going. It was almost like I couldn't stop, even if I wanted to.

My fingers ran over the keys as if I'd never left, that's when I started singing. "This is the clock upon the wall, this is the story of us all. This is the first sound of a newborn child before he starts to crawl."

I smiled then continued. "This is the war that's never won, this is a soldier and his gun. This is the mother waiting by the phone, praying for her s-"

"Pictures of you!" A voice sung - well more like screamed - from the doorway. I turned to look at Jayden while I kept playing. He shut the door and continued singing, walking over towards me. "Pictures of me, hung upon your wall for the world to see!"

"Pictures of you," I sung again, falling in love with the song all over again. "Pictures of me reminds us all of what we used to be."

I slowly and smoothly ended the song there, moving my hands over the last few chords then away from the keys all together.

"Why did you stop?" Jayden asked, moving my bowl off the chair and taking it's place.

I shrugged, turning to face him. "I don't know."

"I love that song," he smiled down at me, the light perfectly emphasising his dimple.

"I keep forgetting how much I love that song..." I trailed off, smiling while singing the rest of the song in my head.

Jay nodded his head in agreement and we sat in there until late, me playing the piano and singing with Jayden singing along.

Eventually it came time for us to go to bed and considering it was just past midnight I think it was a reasonable choice.

We quickly got into our pyjamas and brushed our teeth, but when it came time to actually sleep I wasn't tired.

I sat on the end of the bed and when Jay came back into the room - shutting the door behind him - he sat facing me.

I felt like he was sitting closer than usual, as I could smell what seemed like cologne radiating out from Jay but was really just his smell.

And it was intoxicating.

The light was turned off but the dull lamp on the bedside table was switched on.

I looked into Jayden's eyes but he kept averting his gaze, almost nervously.

He needed to say something, I could tell.

"Spit it out Jay," I told him, earning a surprised look from him. He was used to Caleb and him reading my expression, not the other way around.

"Uh... I, uh.. Hmm," he stuttered, running a hand through his hair, completely dishevelling it.

Miam miam.

"You know how on Wednesday, Tristan was talking to you at your locker and I kind of, interrupted?" Jay started nervously, tripping slightly on his words and not looking directly at me. I nodded.

"Well," he continued. "I need to apologize for that."

Wait, what???

"Why do you need to apologize? He was being creepy and you helped me!" Confusion was making itself evident on my face and Jay tried again.

"I need to apologize not for what I did, but for why..." he trailed, then he finally looked up into my eyes. "I didn't stop him because I thought he was being creepy or was going to hurt you," he stopped, taking a deep breath. "I stopped him because I was jealous."

Again, what???

"Jealous? Of Tristan? Why would you be-" I stopped myself, everything clicking in my head. What he had said on Thursday night about caring about me, everything Caleb and Mackenzie have said, the time he asked me to kiss him at Lachie's. It all clicked.

Jayden hid his face in his hand so I grabbed his wrist gently and pulled it away from his face.

Not realising how close we were, I stopped breathing.

All it would take was the slightest move foward and my lips would be on his. We would finally sort out everything between us.

But Jayden beat me to it.

He leaned in and pressed his lips gently to mine.

When people talk about a spark they aren't kidding, but with Jay it was like the firework display on New Years Eve. My entire body was fizzing with the electricity that buzzed between us and the more we kissed, the more there was.

Jay's hand that had been wrapped around my waist slowly trailed up to my jaw, moving my face just the smallest angle to kiss me more deeply.

We had fallen back into the matress and I was on top of him, again.

Seriously how often are we not in this position??

I couldn't believe this was seriously happening, but when he turned us over so that he was on top I believed it.

Oh. My. God.

This was actually happening. I was actually kissing Jay after all this time we had finally sorted everything out!!

Jayden pulled back, panting a bit and I was about to ask but he had a serious but gentle look on his face.

His arms were on either side of me and his face was directly above mine.

Just above a whisper, Jay asked "Do you trust me?" and I knew exactly what he was really asking.