Strange, that's what is was.

To Cherish, it felt different and strange, this new dynamic between them. Technically, they had had conversations, just the two of them, and had hung out just the two of them, but there had always been tension. Tension that Cherish had found at times so cumbersome that it stopped her from saying, or doing, or even smiling.

Somehow their conversation the night before had released them from a fog, like a strong breeze dissipating the discomfort they both felt.

Seven wasn't as careful around her, and it was kind of nice, to not freeze up with paralyzing fear every time they touched, intentional or not. She still felt an uneasiness that would probably hold on a long time. But, Seven didn't feel the need to monitor what he said, to curb comments and jokes he felt might cause her discomfort. And though she was still apprehensive, it wasn't because of what might happen, it was because of what might happen.

That tiny acknowledgment, that tiny admittance that she wouldn't run, had somehow changed the charge from agonizingly nervous to hopeful. It made her made her feel less breakable. Or maybe it was that, in Seven's eyes, she seemed less fragile. It was almost as if her asking him out had given him free reign to tease her as mercilessly as Ian and Delia did.

Truth be told, Cherish found it unbelievably refreshing not to be looked at and treated like she were made of eggshells, especially by Seven.

"What?" Seven was smirking at her with that expression that said she'd been staring at him again. "Is there something on my shirt?"

Cherish fought the urge to blush, and brandished the bottle of chili infused oil at him, "No, but I can help with you with that!"

"Ha!" he hijacked the bottle easily. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? You just want me to take of my shir- did you just flick me?"

"I had to do something before your ego inflated head floated away."

"How thoughtful of you."

With a grin, Cherish fidgeted with the take out box on the table, doodling on the lid. They sat in the pizzeria overlooking the pond they'd been skating on not too long ago. It hadn't been too busy when they'd got there, but now as the lunch rush was really in swing, it was filling up. The waitress was eyeing their table every time she passed. They'd finished eating and had settled their bill some time ago and were simply avoiding going back out into a cold. Not without a plan anyways.

"So, Ian and Deals went back up to the room to sleep," Cherish mused.

"I bet you anything they are on opposite ends of the room."

"You think so? You're probably right, but I kind of think they're not."

"Delia? She's so..." Seven searched for he right word under Cherish's sharp gaze, "innocent."

Cherish laughed. "She's had boyfriends before."  She clarified at Seven's questioning look, "She's, um... it's not like she's me when it comes to relationship stuff."

"Okay," Seven ignored Cherish's awkward blush. "So maybe Delia's not so innocent, but Ian's too scared to make a move, so they're on opposite ends."

"Either way, we are going to make this as awkward for them as they're doing to us."

Seven raised a brow at her, shaking his head, "Payback? Cherish, Cherish, Cherish, you've come to the right place!"

"Hey, let's go do something."

Seven shrugged his jacket on, "Sure thing, Boss."

Cherish rolled her eyes as him and led the way, back to the chalet and her car. As Seven slid into the passenger seat, he glanced at her a little uneasily, "Where we going?"

"I dunno," Cherish shrugged and put the car in drive, "Does that matter?"

When Seven said nothing, she drove off, trying to remember a route Quentin had driven several times a few years ago when they had all come up in the summer. Everything was different- winter did that to fond full summer memories- but she eventually found it.

She pulled into the parking lot of the deserted beach and smiled at the tranquil beauty. There wasn't too much snow, as it hadn't really been a snowy year, but what there was, was pretty much pristine, and the lake was partially iced over. She got out of the car and headed for the path that led to the shore.

"Cherish?" Seven was hesitant. "Are you sure?"

"About what?"

"Um..." he pointed down to the beach, "Ian said-"

"Ugh! Ian said!" Cherish sighed, walking back to where he stood. "I'm beginning to hate those words... What did he say, Sev?"

He was uncomfortable and tense under her steady gaze, and he shuffled avoiding her eyes until he finally sighed.  "That you wouldn't even go anywhere alone with Jeb or Cash after..."

It wasn't quite what she'd expected him to say. Turning away from him, she retraced her steps toward the beach. Behind her, Seven followed with slightly unsure steps, "Cherish, I know technically we've been alone before, but there have always been people around. Are you sure you want to go down there?"

She didn't answer for some time, walking instead to the sand. "I'm not some fragile doll, Seven." She threw the words over her shoulder eventually. Her tone was sharp, annoyed, full of edge and he quickened his step to her side, and settled into the freezing sand beside her.

"I..."

When she turned to him, her mouth set in a hard line, holding his gaze evenly for what seemed like too long, he felt like an idiot. With a sigh, she tilted her head and broke her intense glare, "You won't hurt me, will you, Bunny?"

If he had thought she would ask him that, he might never have questioned her. Those whispered words stung a little, left him feeling scorched by the tiny bit of apprehension and doubt he thought he heard.  "You know I would never, Cherish."

"And that's why we're here."

Her body pressing into his side with easy familiarity, made him release a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Calm down, Sev."

He grunted a chuckle at her words, ones he'd normally be saying to her, and put his arm around her. "Sure thing, Boss."

"Please stop that."

"Sure thing, Boss."

"Sev!"

He laughed as he evaded her playful slap, "Sure thing, Boss!"

Given his larger size, subduing her- when the single slap turned into a barrage of slaps- was a breeze. He caught her hands easily in one of his and wrapping his free arm around her waist, he yanked her up off the sand and into him. With a surprised squeal, Cherish tried to throw her weight forward to avoid falling backwards into him.

It didn't work at all; she only managed to free one arm which she waved wildly behind her head in an attempt to hit him. Ducking his head away from her hand, he lost his balance and rolled back into the sand, taking her with him. Cherish had the upper hand now, poking her elbows back into his stomach, but Seven only lifted her again as he sat up with little to no effort and set her down in front of him.

"Give it up, Pumpkin!" he murmured into her ear, his warm breath sending a pleasant tremor through her. She let him pull her back against his chest, and sighed when he hugged her in place.

Smirking up at him, with a teasing glint shining in her eyes, "Sure thing, Boss."

"Oh for fuck's sake," he mocked annoyance and leaned down toward her, bringing their faces closer. It was at that moment her phone buzzed and she twitched, moving immediately to dig it out of her bag.

He didn't have to fake being annoyed when he muttered the same words a second time as the phone continued buzzing.  Dropping a kiss onto the top of her head instead, he peered over it at her phone when she stiffened, "What?"

She held the screen out so he could read it too, it hadn't been a phone call, but a bunch of messages, all from Harper.

Hey Rish, sorry to bother you...

I know you and Sev are on a date or something,

I kind of saw you guys heading out after breakfast. I won't say anything.

Audrey is wondering where you are. She told me to tell you to be back by 6.

She needs Sev for her fireplace bonfire thingy.

Also...

Juss and I are locked out of the room 'cuz E and Deals are still sleeping.

Seven sighed, and separated himself from Cherish, "I guess we're heading back."

Cherish offered him a small smile as she stood; it hadn't been a question, more an assessment of the way he knew she wouldn't leave Harper and Juss hanging.

Seven bumped her shoulder as they reached the car, "So, do you think he'll say anything?"

"He said he wouldn't..." she shrugged, nonchalant. "What?" Cherish glanced at him when he was quiet, "So what if he knows, Sev? Everyone will know soon enough."

"I guess so, but I kind of liked this being our secret."

"More fun, huh?" she winked teasingly. "Silly Bunny, we can have other secrets."

"I'm sure we can. That's not really what I meant though. I just don't want to have to deal with all the questions, and the speculation. Because you know they'll drive us nuts trying to figure out exactly when and how and if we hid it from them."

"What did we hide from them?" Cherish grinned as she got out of the car and slammed the door shut. He watched her run up to the chalet, her hair swinging out behind her. With a smile, he followed as she disappeared through the door.

"Hey guys, you seen Harp and Juss?"

"Hey Rish, they were here a while back, but I think they went down to the village."

Clearly not in any rush to find her friends anymore, Cherish stepped over the person she'd been talking to and plunked herself down, without even a backward glance at Seven. "Deal me in, Cash."

Seven lingered in the doorway, "Do you want me to go find them?"

"Nah, sit down." she commanded shoving someone over to make space for Seven. Cash raised an eyebrow as he watched Seven fold himself into the empty spot beside Cherish.

"Seven? Puis-je demander...?"

"Non," they answered in unison and Cash snickered, dealing them both into the game.

-.-

"Okay, this is just rude," Seven grumbled under his breath as he set up his cards. Cherish peered up at him questioningly, wondering what he meant. "Where are they? They called us back from our date and now they're not even here!"

Cherish couldn't help but smile, but instead of teasing him, as they were under the watchful eyes of so many of her friends, she looked down at her phone. "I was just wondering the same thing."

It had been the better part of an hour and Harper and Juss hadn't returned. She had texted them on discovering they were no longer at the chalet, but they had merely said they would be back later and would find her when they got there. She wondered if they, or rather Harper, knew that they had ruined her afternoon.

Maybe ruined was a strong word. Instead of sitting quietly on a deserted freezing cold beach enjoying some alone time with Seven, she was now sitting in a cozy living room with Seven and several others. Technically, he hadn't ruined things on the temperature front.

But, on the date front? Well, Cherish could do without the eyes watching her and Seven interact; it was frustrating to say the least. It was the reason they had stopped playing cards with the other guys and were now playing Slap! by themselves in front of the fireplace. Still though, she could feel the eyes, and longed to be able to talk to him without the added benefit of being entertainment for her friends.

"Okay, go!"

Their hands flung and slapped cards around in a dizzying flurry, and she laughed as she tried to slide her cards under Seven's so she could win.

"No. Uh uh!" he tossed her card aside and continued slapping his own cards down. When it looked like she was going to win, he grabbed one of her hands and did his utmost best to keep it away from the game.

Across the room, Cash and the others were eyeing them with interest, but Cherish ignored it. "I win!" she proclaimed proudly.

Seven released her hand, and lifted the card he'd tossed aside raising an eyebrow, "One card left."

"Whatever," Cherish rolled her eyes and pointedly turned on her other friends, who were still watching their exchange. They all scrambled to look away or make it seem they weren't staring. With a roll of her eyes, Cherish stood and set the cards aside, "Let's go check on Ian and Delia. It's too annoying down here."

Seven laughed at Cash's indignant expression; just like an older brother who got caught spying on his younger sister. Seven ruffled Cash's hair as he passed. Cherish didn't feel the need to be as nice and Seven heard the sound of slaps.

"Ay oy!"

"Mais pourquoi!"

They were quiet as they approached their room, and sure enough the door was still locked. With a smirk, Cherish unlocked the door and slowly opened it; it was dimly lit inside, and it would take their eyes a moment to adjust. Cherish had no desire to creep around in the dark and reached out to flick the lights on, but Seven grabbed her hand away.

She turned to question him and he silenced her with a finger to her lips. The sound of her heart thumping wildly in her chest filled her ears as Seven slowly slid his finger down over her lips and under her chin. Some part of her mind noticed his other hand closing the door behind them, the click seemed so loud in the quiet that she feared it would wake her sleeping friends.

Seven lifted her face a fraction and brought his down to meet it, crashing their mouths together. Cherish felt the air rush out of her as Seven kissed her, leaning down into her with such gusto she almost toppled back. It was unconsciously that she grabbed the hem of his shirt in her fisted hands to steady herself, pulling his hips toward her.

She blinked in confusion into the suddenly bright light of the room, feeling lost and bewildered as Seven's mouth was no longer there. In fact Seven wasn't near her at all, he had stepped away and the only evidence that the kiss had happened was the crumpled hem of his shirt, still holding the shape of her fists.

"You were right," he nodded at her bed as he straightened his shirt. Cherish followed his gaze with mild annoyance, as she tried to catch her breath. There on her bed, curled up in a tangle of sheets were Ian and Delia, peaceful, serene and completely unsuspecting. A terribly mischievous grin cracked across her face.

"Wakey Wakey!" she screamed and shoved Seven onto the bed, jumping down beside him. There was a flustered rush of limbs, as Ian and Delia woke flailing, and Seven and Cherish tried not to fall off the bed. Seven caught her as she fell back, cackling wildly at the red startled faces of their friends.

"What the hell, Cherish!?" Delia squealed as she thumped onto the floor, quickly tugging the blanket down with her. Ian flushed, clearly very embarrassed and glared at Seven and Cherish, grumbling under his breath, pulling the sheets around his naked torso. At that, Seven lost his tiny bit of composure, throwing his head back and breaking down in loud gasping guffaws.

"Oh my God, you guys, that was priceless!" Cherish giggled, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Guys!" Delia whined. "That was so not fair!"

"Seriously, so embarrassing," Ian mumbled.

Cherish cocked her head at him and raised an eyebrow, "We came to wake you up because Audrey's bonfire thing is going to start soon. And, how is this any different than what you do to us?" Her laugh died in her throat when both Ian and Delia suddenly eyed her where she was, still on Seven's lap after he caught her. "See! No different!" she said, as both of them beamed like it was Seven and Cherish who had been caught in bed.

"Where are Harper and Juss?"

"Don't know," Seven shrugged as he got up and sat on the other bed. "Did you really want them to be here too, Deals?"

Delia flushed as she straightened her tank top while hugging the blanket around her bottom half. "I was just wondering..."

"I'm wondering why it was just you two that came to get us," Ian asked as he pulled a shirt over his head and sat on the bed beside Delia. "As in why don't you know where they are... as in why aren't you two hanging out with them?"

Cherish gave him the most cutting look she could manage; even if she and Seven were to announce it to the whole chalet, they would still be treating them this way. She didn't get it. "We're friends, Ian, we can't hang out? Do we need adult supervision? Or permission to be on our own?"

"I didn't mean that, Rish."

"She knows what you meant, E." Seven interjected. "We both do, but how many times can we tell you to drop the issue?" He crossed the room, grabbed his toiletries bag and headed for the bathroom.

"Since when am I not allowed to tease friends?" Ian shot at his back and then sighed. "Fine, fine! But it's just that, as both of your friends, we get a little excited... "

Delia nodded beside him and then cocked her head at Seven, an all too massive smile spreading on her face; Cherish knew no good would come of it.

"Seven, is that lipstick?"

*Title song by Ritchie Valens

TRANSLATIONS:

Puis-je demander...?  - Can I ask... ?

Ay oy! - the french version of Ai ai ai!

Mais pourquoi!? - But why!?