He was roused from a deep sleep by her persistent nudging. “Toby!”

                He moaned angrily, refusing to open his eyes, reaching around for under pillow to put on his head. She simply laughed and flipped him over.

                “Toby,” Spencer whispered urgently. “Wake up. We need to talk…I know where to go.”

                Barely opening his eyes, he groggily turned his head to shoot her a glare. “What…time is it?” he mumbled. He could barely hear Spencer sigh as she slid off the bed.

                “Eight in the morning,” she replied coolly. Toby, who was just about to open his mouth and complain, was immediately interrupted. “Please, Toby. It’s important.”

                “Why right now?” he pleaded.

                “Because it’s raining,” she said with a nervous edge to her voice, making Toby wonder if she slept at all. “There won’t be any cameras outside. Come on. We need to talk.”

                How on Earth could he say no to her?

                Within a few minutes, Spencer was dragging Toby outside, to the sandy shore of the beach. Finally, both standing underneath a large palm tree, they stopped and Spencer stared at Toby. “What is this about?” he finally asked.

                He gazed at Spencer in confusion for a long, silent moment. He made a note of every spasm and quirk: the way she bit her bottom lip in anticipation, the way she shifted weight between feet, until she finally spoke. “We’ve both been keeping secrets from each other. Maybe me more than you. But, it’s time to get them off our chests.”

                He swallowed thickly. “What are you talking about?”

                She let out a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding, reaching in the pocket of her leggings to grabbed the ripped out letter from his diary. “You were writing in your journal,” she started. “You looked unsatisfied, upset. I didn’t know at the time, so I went to find you, but you had already gone. Then, I found this and everything started to make sense. The way you set up homecoming for me…every single kiss…”

                Toby’s eyes widened in panic as he quickly snatched the letter from her and ran his eyes over the page urgently. When the realization hit him of what exactly had been written and what she had read, his heart dropped into his stomach. No, this couldn’t be happening. He felt as if all the walls that were holding him up were suddenly caving in and he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t explain.

                Spencer frowned deeply after seeing his reaction. “Toby…”

                It took him a few seconds to actually get himself together and speak. “We should both just go back to bed, Spencer. I-I can’t have this conversation right now,” he stuttered out, quickly turning his back on her, stepping out from under the palm tree and into the soaking rain. He sighed heavily as the cool water pelted down on his skin, though it did not help to relax him. Despite his words, he walked towards the shoreline, instead of the house, running his hands through his already wet hair, an attempt to keep his cool. How could this have happened? He’d never felt angrier with himself! How stupid was he, leaving the page in the sand? Now, along with the saddening ache in his chest, he was afraid to even look at Spencer. What would she think of him now?

                He didn’t dare look back, but he knew she was staring at him. When he heard her voice right behind him, it was no surprise. “I shouldn’t have even read it,” she confessed. Spencer’s words were soft, a sharp difference from the booming voice in his head.

                Toby kept his head down. “But you did,” he said quietly.

                Spencer simply watched him, hoping that he would turn around and say more, but he didn’t. “So that’s how you’re going to deal with it? By shutting me out?”

                Finally, something inside of him snapped and he turned around as the rain began to pour down his face. “How am I supposed to react, Spencer!” he demanded bitterly, though she could see right through him. He wasn’t mad at her; he was caught off guard. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this way! It’s never going to be the same. Yes, I’m crazy about you, but I know I can’t be because that would be wrong. I can’t even remember a time when I wasn’t thinking about you. But you were always my best friend and I couldn’t mess that up. I tried, Spencer! I tried so hard to move on and stop thinking about you, but I couldn’t! It drove me crazy…it still does. No matter what I do, there’s nothing I can do to stop-“

                Suddenly, he was cut off from his babbling. Yes, Spencer had interrupted him, but not in the way he had expected.

                She silenced him with a kiss. In the midst of his endless rant, Spencer grabbed him by the hair and crashed her lips against his and he, a helpless victim to her touch, instantly kissed back. The passion she had displayed made him both overjoyed and confused as he raised a hand to cup her cheek. His mind was telling him that it wasn’t smart, that he needed to know what was going on, but his heart and body simply wouldn’t listen. Every single time he attempted to pull away, it seemed he wouldn’t physically be able to or she would not let him.

                Sooner or later though, the kiss had to come to an end. They both unwillingly pulled away, breathless and staring into each other’s eyes. Toby’s fathomless pools of green shone with desire and confusion, while Spencer’s were full of joy. She laughed, the pouring rain still drenching both of them and brought her hands up to both sides of his face.

                “W-why?” he finally asked.

                “I don’t want you to try and make it stop.” Spencer grinned softly. “I feel the same way.”

                His eyes flashed with awe and shock. “What?” He chuckled softly, a quick sound of amazement.

                Spencer laughed, grabbing his face and resting her forehead against his. “I’ve had the biggest crush on you since we were in the fifth grade.”

                He was in complete and utter shock; this felt almost too good to me true. “Then why have we been pretending to be in love this whole time?”

                Spencer and Toby stared at each other for a long moment, soaking wet but not seeming to notice, too caught up in this surprisingly incredible moment, their lips meeting again. There was nothing to watch them, no cameras, and no people, except for the moon that brightly loomed overhead.

                They kissed until everybody else woke up.