I didn't feel very great.

I felt kind of dizzy and hot, and I wished the people around me would just shut up.

"I can't believe it!" Emily cried out, pacing around the cabin. I continued to lay sprawled out in my bed, trying to look dead asleep so I wouldn't be bothered by any of them. I still couldn't really believe that I had kissed Jesse willingly, even if it was only to piss Aimee off. And it only put me in some kind of stupid competition with her to win Jesse's heart.

I didn't want it! She could have had it for all I cared!

But I didn't want her to win. After everything she had done to my friends, I couldn't have let her win. But that meant being with Jesse, and I definitely didn't want that. I wanted to be with Dallas, and that was it. Why did things have to be so complicated?

And I still wondered how Jesse knew Erica. She didn't seem scared of him when they had seen each other the night before, but she looked almost nervous. I didn't understand, because I thought nervous and shy were the last things that Erica Sanchez could ever be.

Maybe they were exes? No, probably not... Erica was the same age as Dallas, four years older than us, and I remembered Jesse saying how he didn't like older woman... He wanted a girl either  his age or younger than him. But not too young, he made sure to point out, stopping me from making a comment about him being a pedophile.

And it was a pretty good comment, too, so damn him for stopping me from saying it.

It was just so confusing. My foot continued to ache as I tried to think of how they would know each other. I hadn't told any of the girls, because I knew they would have made a fuss over the fact that I was alone with Jesse on the dock, and I was already getting a headache from them fussing over Yolanda, and it wasn't even directed at me. So, yeah, I wasn't about to get their attention anytime soon.

And anyway, they thought I was asleep.

"What do you think, Jordan?" Lexi suddenly asked me, causing me to almost jump in surprise.

I'm asleep! I'm asleep!

As much as I wanted to yell that out loud, I knew that I couldn't, because then it would have been obvious that I wasn't really asleep. So I just shut my eyes a little tighter and pretended to snore a little.

Lexi rolled her eyes, pushing my shoulder lightly. "Come on, Jordan, I know you're awake. You can't fool me."

I let out a long groan, sitting up slowly. Wasn't it obvious that I just wanted to sleep? I had stayed up late the night before with Jesse, and it was finally the weekend, so couldn't they just let me sleep? I was seriously tired, and my foot still hurt!

"I think he seems like a nice guy," I answered Lexi's question sleepily, rubbing at my eye. "He seemed like he was just as shy as Yolanda is, and that's pretty rare, since I've never met a guy that's as shy as Yolanda before. Actually, I don't think I've ever met anyone that was as shy as Yolanda..."

"But that's so weird!" Cindy piped up, and she continued to sit cross-legged on her bed as she stared at us. "Like Jordan said, I've never seen a shy guy before! Ever! It's, like, impossible, isn't it?"

"It isn't impossible," AJ informed them, waving a hand in front of her face. "I'm sure there are plenty of guys that are shy like Yolanda or Troy. We just haven't met them yet."

"We've also been in California all our lives, Cindy," Chelsea pointed out flatly, plopping down on her own bed. "Out of all the tan guys in our state, it's impossible to find a shy one."

"What does tan have to do with anything?" Lexi asked, one perfectly plucked eyebrow raised.

"Nothing, I just like tanned guys."

"Are you saying that because Dalton's tan?" Lexi asked now, sounding amused. I knew she was, because the rest of us were definitely amused now. "He's a lot tanner than his brother is."

"I--I'm not talking about Dalton!"

"Sure," Molly giggled, sitting down next to Cindy on her bed. "Just admit it, Chelsea! You have the hots for Dalton Carson!"

"I--I do not!"

Never in my life had I heard Chelsea Evans stutter, and I had known her for years, but now she had just done it twice. And it was so shocking that I didn't even believe it at first. I definitely wouldn't have believe it if I hadn't seen it... Chelsea Evans just didn't stutter.

So, she liked Alex's brother, did she? Huh. I never would have thought. It was true that he was a lot tanner than his brother, and his hair was brown and not blonde like Alex's. You wouldn't have even thought that they were brothers if they didn't tell you. In fact, I don't think people would believe them if they told them.

"Come on, Chelsea," Lexi smirked, sitting down next to our friend. "You have Dalton, I have Alex, Jordan has Dallas, and then AJ has Adam..."

"I have Scott!"

Lexi rolled her eyes, waving a hand in front of her face. "Same difference."

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

Lexi rolled her eyes at AJ once again, but didn't say anything this time. AJ didn't continue on either, she just continued to chew on her lip.

"Oh, I didn't tell you, did I, Jordan?" Chelsea asked, now turning toward me. "Dalton's in my ballet class. He said that he got kicked out of his old elective for being too loud and obnoxious, and his punishment was being put in ballet. He said he totally hated it until I got here. Does that mean something?"

I blinked. "How would I know?"

It sounded like he liked her, but there was no way I could have been sure. He could have just been flirting with her, but I didn't know. I hadn't even talked to Dalton before; I had only seen him a few times. Other than his appearance, I had absolutely no idea what he was like.

"Well, you have the manliest man out there! You have Dallas!" Molly squealed, a huge grin on her face as I stared at her flatly. I didn't get their fascination with Dallas. They sounded like I did four years ago... "And you also have Jesse groveling at your feet! I'm so jealous! Jesse's so dreamy! I wonder what it would be like to kiss him! Oh, I'm sure it would be amazing!"

"Well, I think Jordan here knows all about that subject," Chelsea teased, patting my head a few times. This action caused it to pound and ache for a few moments, causing me to stay silent for that time until the pain finally went away.

"I don't know anything about kissing Jesse, and I don't have him groveling at my feet," I snapped, shaking my head and getting under my covers once again. Now that they knew I was awake, I was sure that I wasn't going to be getting any sleep. But I could try, couldn't I?

"Actually, you kind of do, Jordan."

I snapped my head up to glare at Lexi, who was grinning at me in amusement now. Apparently I couldn't sleep, then. So much for trying.

"Jordan, don't you remember...? 'Please don't talk about you leaving,'" Lexi mocked overdramatically, causing all the girls in the cabin to start giggling and for me to shoot up from my bed into a sitting position. "He just can't bear to think about you leaving him!"

"How do you know about that?" I demanded.

"I overheard."

"You were spying!"

"Same difference."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Now you sound like AJ," Lexi informed me, waving a hand in front of her face. I felt my eye twitch, and I really wished that I was asleep. I felt my cheeks burn, and I didn't get why I was feeling so embarrassed. What Jesse had said to me had been private...

Wait. Why did I even care? Jesse was probably tired himself or something. He probably just wanted me to shut up so he could get me back to my cabin and so he could get back to his. He didn't seem scared of Erica or anything, but I  could tell that he didn't want to upset her.

"It probably doesn't even mean anything," AJ told me with a shrug, leaning back onto her bed. "He was probably just messing with your head."

"You're probably right," I sighed, propping myself up on my pillow. "And earlier that night he was pretending to be high. The stupid jerk scared me half to death! People die from drug overdoses, and he just goes off and pretends like it's nothing..."

AJ shook her head. "So careless... One of these days he's going to lose something important to him and he's not going to be able to do anything about it... It'll be too late then."

"I highly doubt that," I stated flatly, staring up at the ceiling now. "The only things that Jesse cares about are Marnie and Y--"

I clamped my mouth shut, biting my tongue a little too hard. I tried my best not to yelp as I sucked on the little blood that escaped my tongue. Jeez, I had almost let it slip to the rest of the girls that Jesse liked Yolanda. I couldn't let that happen just yet...

"And?" Cindy asked, blinking. "What's the other thing?"

"Um... I can't remember."

"You know Jordan, so forgetful!" Lexi giggled, obviously just trying to cover up for me. I let out a sigh of relief, still trying to think of the right way to tell Yolanda that Jesse liked--no, loved her. I could have always just used it against him for blackmail or something...

Yeah, I'd probably do that.

"You actually said yes!" Emily shouted suddenly at Yolanda, causing her to jump slightly. "You've never said yes to anyone before! I need to meet this guy; I just have to!"

I didn't get why they were all acting so excited. I mean, she was just asked out. It wasn't like it was anything special or anything. But I guess it was just shocking because Yolanda actually said yes. I was shocked, yeah, but I wasn't going insane about it. I actually wanted to go back to sleep, unlike the other people that I had to unfortunately share my cabin with right then.

Don't get me wrong, I loved sharing a cabin with my three best friends and four of my other friends, but not when I wanted to sleep. They could be in some cabin in Timbuktu for all I cared when I was trying to sleep. But no, they had to be three feet away from me.

"Y--you can m--meet him," Yolanda stuttered, sitting on her own bed. "I--I said y--yes because he s--seemed really n--nice."

I could tell that she was really nervous, because she never stuttered when she was around Emily. She had known her for so long that she had gotten used to her, and she just never stuttered. She stuttered around everyone else, but never Emily. But she was obviously embarrassed about how excited Emily was getting over the fact that she said yes to Troy.

"Isn't she terrified enough?" I asked, snuggling back under the covers and burying my face into my pillow. "I don't think we should traumatize her anymore. I think we should all just go back to sleep."

"Jordan, it's one o'clock in the afternoon," Lexi pointed out, and I didn't know if she had sounded worried or if she had said it flatly. "Everyone else is up."

"She was up really late last night with Jesse, remember?" Chelsea giggled, walking over and patting me on the back. "She needs all the rest she can get. Who knew what they were doing until two o'clock in the morning? I wonder if they got caught..."

"We were cleaning each other's wounds," I murmured, shoving my face into my pillow even more.

"So that's what you kids call it these days, huh?"

"I swear, Chelsea, if you don't let me sleep, I'll murder you."

She let out a laugh, but walked away from my bed anyway. "I guess we'll leave you alone for now then, Jordan. Enjoy the peace and quiet for now..."

Before they could leave the cabin, I sneezed loudly, causing them all to stop. I then coughed, and my throat felt scratchy.

No. No, no, no, come on! I couldn't be getting sick! Sure, it was cold outside the night before, but it wasn't like it was raining or anything.

"Are you sick, Jordan?" Emily asked, walking over and placing a hand on my forehead. Was that why I was feeling so much more tired than usual? It had to be, right?

Ugh, I hated being sick. And now it especially sucked because I didn't have my grandma's homemade soup that I always had whenever I got sick. It was as if that was the only thing that could make me feel better. I had had it every single time I had ever gotten sick, ever since before I could even remember.

I coughed, burying my head into my pillow even more. My face suddenly felt hot, and I knew that this time it wasn't because I was blushing.

I hated  being sick!

"Maybe it's menopause," Chelsea called amusingly from the door, letting out a snicker. I didn't find it very amusing, even though the rest of the girls in the cabin did, so I only coughed in response, and I hoped that she understood that it meant, "Get out or I'll skin you."

"How about we get Dallas to come and take care of you?" Molly suggested excitedly, smiling as if it was the best idea in the world. I didn't want Dallas seeing me when I was sick! Sure, he had when we were younger, but that was when we were younger! It was before we had kissed, and before everything that had happened four years ago. I didn't want him seeing me like this!

"That's a great idea!" Lexi cried, but I had to disagree. It wasn't a good idea at all!

"I don't need someone to take care of me," I coughed. "I don't need a babysitter. Don't get Dallas. I'm fine. I'm a big girl, you know."

"Oh, we know."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Chelsea turned on her heal, opening the screen door. "Oh, nothing."

I rolled my eyes, letting her leave without saying another word. I made sure to tell them once again not to send Dallas over to our cabin, and they all said that they wouldn't. I collapsed back down onto my pillow, letting out a long breath of air. Thank goodness for peace and quie--

"Oh, Emery!"

I spoke too soon.

I let out a loud groan, only opening one eye to glare at Jesse, who was now in my cabin after shutting the door behind him. What was he doing here? Wasn't it obvious that I just wanted to be left alone? How did he even know I was in the cabin, anyway? All the girls had left...

"What do you want, Jacobsen?" I demanded, rubbing at my eyes again. "I'm tired and sick. What do you want?"

"Your friends told me to come over and take care of you..."

My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "What?" I hissed, sitting up immediately. The quick movement caused my head to spin, and I clutched onto it tightly. I felt a hand on my shoulder, but my head hurt too much for me to slap it away.

"You told us not to tell Dallas to come over, but you never said not to tell Jesse!" I heard the familiar amused voice that belonged to Chelsea cry out by the door, and I was about to jump out of bed and chase after her until Jesse pushed me back down. I heard the door shut, and I growled. I should have known they were going to pull something as stupid as this.

"So you don't want to see your boyfriend?" Jesse smirked, pulling the blankets up to my chin.

"It's not that," I muttered, pulling them up even more so that they covered my mouth. "I just didn't want him seeing me all gross and ugly from  being sick."

Jesse rolled his eyes, turning away from me and toward the door. "You're not ugly, Emery."

I blinked, remembering how he had called me cute the night before. At first I thought he was only saying this because he was high, but then I learned that he was only tricking me and he was perfectly fine. So he was only joking, right? But he didn't sound like he was joking now... But just because he didn't think I was ugly didn't mean he thought I was cute. He could have just thought that I was alright.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked, sounding a lot more desperate than I had meant to. I didn't want him to think that I actually wanted him to stay there or anything... "Did you just come here to taunt me while I'm vulnerable and then leave me?"

Jesse rolled his eyes, only glancing back at me as he said, "I'm going to go get something for you to eat. Now shut it and rest."

When I heard the door close behind me, I fell back onto my pillow and let out a huff of air. Why was Jesse taking care of me? Wasn't he supposed to laugh at me when I was sick? Oh, I know, he was probably going to sabotage whatever he was giving me to eat... That had to be it!

When he came back with a bowl of soup an hour later, I thought I was going to kill him. How long did it take to get soup? Jeez! As he came closer to me, I couldn't help but eye the bowl it warily. What could he have put in there? I didn't even think I wanted to know...

He handed it to me, pulling over a chair and sitting at my bedside. I stared down at the bowl, fingering the spoon carefully. There had to be something in it... right? There was no way Jesse actually did something nice for me... He had to have put something gross in it.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"What did you put in it?"

Jesse blinked, obviously confused by my question. "What do you mean?"

"I know you put something in it," I informed him, placing the bowl carefully in my lap as my eyebrows furrowed and I glared at him. "There's no way you would have gotten me soup without putting something gross in it. Come on, I caught you. What's in it?"

Jesse rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh and reaching out for the bowl. He gripped onto the spoon, bringing it up to his lips and drinking the broth. "There's nothing in it," he told me. "Now eat it."

I blinked. He didn't put anything in it? Then why would he... Why would he get me soup?

"Who made it?" I asked, still a little unsure as I held a spoonful in front of my face.

"I did," he answered with a careless shrug.

My eyes went wide, and I stared down at the soup before me. "You did?"

"I'm not a terrible cook, you know."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"More like taste it. Now shut up and eat it, Emery."

I rolled my eyes now, and I stuck the spoon in my mouth and gulped it down. My face turned bright red when I realized that Jesse and I had just shared the same spoon... That was an indirect kiss, wasn't it?

"Why are you blushing?" Jesse asked, leaning closer as he smirked. "Falling for my good charms?"

I shook my head quickly, the spoon hanging out of my mouth. There was no way I was going to tell him that we practically kissed, even though we had already kissed twice before. I didn't want him to know that I was getting so flushed about it.

Jesse then smirked, as if he realized. "Oh... That was an indirect kiss, wasn't it?"

Damn it, he figured me out!

I pulled the spoon away from my mouth, dipping it back into the soup. "No, you idiot. I don't believe in that type of stupid thing." I then lifted the spoon back into my mouth, gulping down the contents and ignoring the fact that I had had an indirect kiss with Jesse. I now savored the taste, and my eyes widened when I found the taste to be familiar... Too familiar.

"How did you get my grandma's secret recipe?" I asked, eyeing the bowl carefully. It was almost terrifying how the bowl of soup that I held tasted exactly like the soup that my grandmother made when I was sick. I hadn't ever tasted anything like it before... How did he do it?

"What are you talking about?" Jesse asked, obviously confused. "It's just soup from a regular old can."

"No it isn't," I told him, taking another big gulp. "This is exactly like the soup my grandma always makes me when I'm sick. I've never ever tasted anything else likes it before. She has a secret recipe or something. And this tastes and looks exactly like it."

Jesse shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "I don't know, Emery. It came from a can. I didn't do anything special to it."

I stared down at the bowl in confusion. "Then how...? It doesn't make any sense... This is exactly like her soup! It's just like it!"

Before Jesse could say anything, his phone started to ring. I groaned at the loud noise that wasn't even loud at all, and he smirked as he looked at the caller ID. He let out a sigh, standing up and heading toward the door. "I'll be right back; it's Marnie."

Marnie had called me earlier that day and said that she and her friends had to go back to New York right away, but she didn't tell me why. I didn't question anything, but I told her that I'd keep in touch and I couldn't wait to see her again. The same with Delilah, too. They were really nice girls. I hadn't talked to the boys very much, but Rex was hilarious and I could tell that Seth and River were good guys.

I took this time alone as an opportunity. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and quickly dialed my grandmother's number, pressing my phone to my ear in a matter of seconds.

"Hi, Jordan!"

"What do you use for the secret ingredient in the soup that you always make me when I'm sick?" I demanded, getting straight to the point. There was no way she could have told Jesse about whatever it was. He didn't have her number, and she didn't have hers. It just didn't make sense, it didn't add up. How did he get it so perfect?

I could tell my grandmother blinked at my bluntness. "Secret ingredient?"

"Yeah," I pressed on, trying to get an answer from her before Jesse could come back inside. "Whatever you use to make it taste so good and different."

My grandmother chuckled, and I could hear the creaking from her rocking chair through the phone. "Secret ingredient? Jordan, I always just make you soup from a regular old can... I don't add anything special to it. I never have."

Now I was the one to blink, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Jesse as she said this. He had said it was from a regular old can, too... How was that possible?

"Then how did you and Jesse get it to taste so different?" I demanded, as if she would know. It had to be a coincidence, right? Maybe they just used the same brand or something...

"Well, now that I think of it, Jordan, there actually is something special that I put in it," my grandmother told me, as if it was an afterthought. "Maybe that's what you taste in Jesse and my soups."

"Really?" I asked, gripping onto the bowl of soup that stayed in my lap with one hand while I gripped onto my phone with the other. "What is it?"

I thought that I heard my grandmother smile.

"Love."

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The end of this chapter made me squeal. It's just so cute.

Oh, man. -_- I'm turning into a fan girl over my own story...

It's kind of hard not to, though. ^o^ Jordan and Jesse are just so cute!

I can't wait for the next chapter... :O It's the chapter I've been waiting to write ever since I started this story. Well, not counting future chapters.

It's going to be a long chapter, I'm sure... <.< >.>

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :D