Nick gently eased his body down on top of Hannah’s and he gently stroked her hair.

"I don’t ever want to hurt you again." Nick whispered before closing his eyes and letting his lips touch hers. Hannah closed her eyes too and put her arms around his neck. The kiss was the best kiss Nick had ever experienced…and the only kiss Hannah had ever experienced. The kiss finished and they gazed into each other’s eyes once more. "Am I squashing you?" Nick asked, and they both burst out giggling. Hannah let Nick gently roll her over so that they were laying side by side.

"This is very weird." Hannah whispered softly into his ear.

"I know." Nick whispered back. "But I kinda like it."

"Good. Me too." They exchanged smiles as they both closed their eyes once again and let their lips meet. As they were kissing, Hannah gently rolled herself on top of Nick. He put his arms around her, stroking her back. The kisses became more passionate as Nick let his tongue slip into Hannah’s mouth and touch hers. As Hannah had never kissed anyone before, she’d never ‘gotten off’ with anyone either. Everything to her was new…and she liked that. She pulled away from Nick again and licked her lips. "Mmm, you taste good." she whispered, and this made her and Nick giggle again.

"I’m so glad!" Nick replied sarcastically, grinning at her. Hannah got up from laying on top of Nick, and stood up, stretching and yawning. "Where’re you going?" Nick asked, his expression saddening.

"It’s late." Hannah told him simply, smiling. "We have a concert tomorrow. You’ll be yawning your head off the whole way through if you don’t get some sleep soon."

"Then sleep with me." Nick smiled at her. But Hannah took it the wrong way, and didn’t smile back.

"You don’t mean…"

"No, of course not!" Nick laughed. "I meant that as in, fully clothed!" Hannah relaxed and finally smiled back at him.

"You mean, be asleep together." Hannah rephrased it, laughing.

"Yeah, I guess! Your bunk or mine?"

"You know, the others will get totally the wrong idea if we get out of the same bunk bed tomorrow morning." Hannah pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. Okay, we’ll sleep in here, and when people ask why we were in here together, just say that we both got up early to play computer games."

"Yeah, that sounds okay."

Nick removed the seating cushions from two of the couches, making two makeshift beds. He squidged them together to make one big bed, and locked the door and turned out the light. Hannah, meanwhile, made herself comfy on one half of the bed. Nick laid down next to her and turned to face her.

"There aren’t any covers, so if you feel cold, wake me up and I’ll hug you real tight." Hannah melted at Nick’s sweetness.

"Same goes for you." Nick moved closer to Hannah and slipped his arms around her waist, placing his hands on her lower back. Hannah moved closer to Nick, putting her arms around his neck. Then Nick brought her head up to meet his, and they kissed. Nick once again let his tongue slip into her mouth, touching her tongue. Nick twirled his tongue around Hannah’s, and this made her giggle. Hannah giggling made Nick giggle, and soon they were both giggling a lot, but it wasn’t loud because the other’s mouth muffled the sound.

"Why did we never do this before?" Nick asked Hannah when he’d pulled away from the kiss, but still holding her close.

"’Cos I thought you were a meanie who wanted to hit me!"

"I did want to hit you." Nick told her honestly.

"Charming!" Hannah was slightly insulted.

"But only because I wanted to touch your face."

"Well, that’s one way of doing it I suppose. You know, when I drew on your neck, you started to stir slightly…so I stroked your hair gently and you went back into a deep sleep. I liked stroking your hair."

"When I pinned you up against that wall, I wanted to kiss you but I knew I couldn’t."

"If I’d thought about it I probably would’ve wanted to kiss you too…but I was a little scared at the time! I hope I didn’t damage anything." Hannah stifled a laugh.

"No, everything is fine, thank you." Hannah moved her hand from Nick’s neck and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Your hair is so lovely, you know." she told him honestly. "It’s so soft and touchable. And your eyes…even though I can’t see them now…they are the most beautiful colour, Nick. You can look deep into them and feel that you’re seeing Nick for the first time."

"That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me." Nick told her. And he was telling the truth. "I hope you can forgive me for all that shit I told you…"

"It’s already forgotten. I hope you can do the same." Nick clicked his fingers.

"There it went." Hannah put her arm back around Nick’s neck, pulling him as close to her as she possibly could. Then she kissed him, and this time, let her tongue do the wandering. As they kissed more passionately, Nick slipped his hands up the back of her vest-top, stroking her skin. Hannah knew he wasn’t gonna try anything on her, so she let him…and it felt good.

"You’re a really good kisser." Hannah whispered to Nick, once they’d stopped kissing. They were both a little short of breath.

"Ditto." Nick replied simply, before kissing Hannah again. When they’d pulled away from that kiss, Hannah yawned loudly.

"I’m tired, Nick, I’m sorry."

"I’m tired too, baby, so no worries." Nick held Hannah close, letting her rest her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her like a blanket. He kissed her forehead lightly as she drifted off to sleep…before he also fell asleep.

~~The Next Morning~~

At around 7am the next morning, Hannah awoke to the sound of the toilet being flushed…the first person was up. She looked at Nick…and he looked so peaceful, like an angel. His breathing was steady, his lips were curved up ever so slightly into a smile, his hair was all dishevelled and sticking up. It was a shame to wake him…but sadly, Hannah had to. She sat up and leaned over Nick, stroking his hair gently.

"Nick? Nick, we’ve gotta get up." Hannah whispered softly. Nick stirred very slightly, but didn’t wake up. "Nick? Nick, c’mon, we’ve gotta get up…now!" Hannah hissed. But it was no use, Nick was completely dead to the world. The only way she could think of to wake him up was by kissing him. She leant over him even more and placed her lips firmly on his. Suddenly, with a jolt, Nick woke up and started to kiss her back. He sat up, his eyes still closed, and put his arm around her waist, drawing her nearer. They continued to kiss for a little while, before Hannah pulled away, once again stroking Nick’s hair. "Good morning." she whispered, smiling at him.

"Good morning to you." Nick replied, also smiling. Nick went to kiss her again, but Hannah pushed him away slightly.

"Nick, if we don’t get up soon, everyone’s gonna know what we’ve really been doing."

"Actually Hannah, they’ll know if we get up now. It’s 7am! Neither of us ever gets up for at least another hour." Nick grinned.

"Oh…well that’s good then." Hannah grinned back and the two laid back down in each others arms, and continued to kiss.

~~One Hour Later~~

"Isn’t this sorta, ‘Hannah and Nick’ waking up time?" Brian asked Charlie through a mouthful of toast.

"This is ‘Nick’ time. ‘Hannah’ time isn’t for another three and a half minutes." Charlie said with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I guess you’re right." Brian said, smiling to himself. "I can’t believe they can both sleep through the amount of noise we all make, though. I mean, they’re like bloody wooden logs once they hit their pillows. They don’t move, stir, wake up…" they all laughed at that.

Meanwhile, back in the TV room, Hannah pulled away again from her and Nick’s kissing.

"Baby, we’ve gotta make an appearance now." Hannah said sadly. "I won’t be able to see you for another twelve hours."

"You’ll be able to see me…you just can’t be nice to me or kiss me!" Nick laughed.

"I know!" Hannah said, pouting. "Anyway, let’s turn the Nintendo on and play for a few minutes. Then, someone yell really loudly, ‘Yes! I won again! You’re really crap at this…’ like that."

"Well I was champion last night so I can be champion this morning." Nick said.

"I’m not in the mood to argue with you for real, I need to save my energy for our pretend arguing later!" Hannah turned the console on, and they did actually play a game. Nick won, but he would’ve cried out anyway, whether he’d really won or not.

"YES! HA! I WIN AGAIN! MAN, YOU TOTALLY SUCK AT THIS GAME, HANNAH!" Nick yelled.

"You’ve won twice, I’ve won THREE times! So, actually, I’m better than you!"

"I don’t think so!" Nick and Hannah pretended to quarrel like that until Laura knocked on the door.

"Hannah, Nick? Are you guys in there?"

"YES!" they both replied in unison.

"What’re you doing?"

"NINTENDO!" they said that in unison too. Laura just rolled her eyes and walked off back to the dining area.

"They’re playing Nintendo, and from the sounds of it, have been playing for a while. I can’t believe they’re playing together." Laura was confused. A few minutes later, Hannah and Nick ‘stormed’ out, glaring at each other.

"How long have you guys been in there?" AJ asked them.

"Long enough for me to beat him TOTALLY!" Hannah cried triumphantly.

"Hardly!" Nick retorted. "That was so a draw."

"Was not!" Hanna cried indignantly.

"Was too!"

"Okay fine. Rematch, tonight, after the concert." Hannah said.

"Deal." They shook on it. (They’d planned the whole ‘deal’ part, too.)

"Since when do you two play together?!" AJ asked them, looking very confused, as did the others.

"Since no-one else was up." Hannah told them. This seemed to satisfy AJ and the others, as they all nodded.

"So, rematch huh? I think we need an umpire for that sorta thing." Jessica said. Brian nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, Jessica can be umpire, and we’ll all watch and cheer you guys on. Let’s say…midnight in the TV room?" Everyone nodded and grinned, agreeing that it was a good idea. Hannah and Nick subtly exchanged annoyed expressions. So much for their plan working…they wouldn’t be able to spend any time with each other that night.

"Hey, guys, this is our match, okay? Why do we need all you guys to join us?!" Nick asked, and he was really annoyed.

"I thought you’d like the support, bro’. Sorry…"

"No, Brian, it’s okay. But to make it easier, we’ll play best of three, that way it won’t last too long, okay?" Hannah suggested, and Nick obviously thought that this was quite a good idea.

"Yeah, sure. Nick, is that okay with you?" Brian asked Nick, who was looking less sulky.

"Yup." Nick then walked off to grab some clothes and get changed in the TV room while Hannah got some clothes and went to the bathroom.

"I still can’t quite believe they were playing together." Laura marvelled.

"I know, I think it’s so strange." Kevin agreed, giving Laura a shy smile, which she returned.

~~After The Concert~~

"Okay, this is Hannah versus Nick!" Brian called as he strolled onto the bus ahead of everyone else. "Everyone, head straight to the TV room, and we can get this game started."

"It doesn’t matter how long it takes, there’s no concert tomorrow." Howie added.

Nick and Hannah played, and actually got quite into it. But they had to keep throwing insults at each other, when all they really wanted to do was hold each other close.

After about half an hour, a winner emerged.

"Wow, Hannah, it looks like you’ve won!" Brian told her, slapping her on the back amiably.

"Yeah…great." Hannah said with barely any enthusiasm.

"Well done." Nick congratulated her unhappily and held out his hand for her to shake.

"Thanks." They both felt absolutely miserable, not being able to show their affections for each other at all. As they shook hands, Hannah gazed longingly into Nick’s eyes. She looked and felt truly upset…because she couldn’t spend any time with her new boyfriend. And Nick felt exactly the same way.

As their hands parted, they both let out a deep, sad sigh.

"Nick? Hannah? What the hell is wrong with you two?" AJ asked them. "Man, you both look so totally upset, it’s almost comical!"

"Yeah, really funny." Nick told AJ sarcastically as he got up and left the room, throwing a glare in AJ’s direction.

Hannah just sat in her place on the floor, not saying anything.

"Hannah? C’mon, honey, what’s wrong?" Kara asked her gently, kneeling beside her.

"Nothing." Hannah snapped.

"Yeah, right." Charlie told her sarcastically. "I know this look, Hannah, I can tell when something’s bugging and upsetting you."

"Leave me alone." Hannah stormed out of the room, and immediately crawled into her bunk. She was angry at the others for keeping her from seeing Nick in private. The ‘midnight rematch’ was the perfect plan…the pair just hadn’t anticipated the presence of an audience. Hannah knew in her heart that it was their own fault for keeping the relationship a secret, but they’d agreed not to tell…after all, what would the others say?

The next day, Hannah and Nick desperately tried to sneak private meetings, just for a quick comfort hug, to let each other know that it was okay, that they’d be together again. But they had no such chance. That morning through lunch-time it was a TV performance, and as there was no concert that night, a movie and dinner trip was planned for the afternoon and evening. In the movie theatre, the others immediately gave Hannah and Nick seats at opposite ends of the row they sat in, knowing that they’d not want to sit anywhere near each other. How wrong were they?! And that night there was just no time. So where in this hectic schedule did a secret relationship between both bands’ youngest members fit in? Basically, it didn’t.

~~The Next Day~~

There wasn’t a concert that night either, so at breakfast, everyone was eagerly planning how they were gonna spend the day.

Brian wanted to take Kara out for the day; Howie, AJ, Charlie, and Jessica were gonna go shopping (with a couple of bodyguards); and Kevin and Laura were gonna hit a water-park. Nick and Hannah were hoping that they’d be left with the tour bus to themselves, but no such luck.

"Oh man, you two are gonna be stuck on a tour bus together. What’re we gonna do with you then?" Brian asked, furrowing his brow in thought.

"It’s okay, Nick and I will just avoid each other." Hannah told them, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Yeah, it’ll be okay." Nick agreed, also trying to sound as if he’d just about ‘manage’ to put up with Hannah.

"No, it’s hardly fair of us to abandon the two feuding enemies. Hannah, you could go shopping, and Nick, you could go to the water-park." Howie suggested. Kevin shot him a glare - the water-park was a chance for him to get Laura alone for a while. "Oh, well, you could both come shopping." Howie quickly added. Nick and Hannah exchanged desperate glances. How could they get around this one? Basically, they couldn’t. At least at the water-park they could sneak off and no-one would notice, but Kevin and Laura didn’t want them to go. Shopping was much more public, and there was no chance the others would believe them if they asked to go to a shop together. So, their only option was to go shopping and avoid each other - the last thing they wanted to do.

They both had a miserable day, not being able to converse with each other, or hold hands, or kiss when no-one was looking. ‘Cos someone always was looking, and in shops, they couldn’t exactly hold hands secretly.

By that evening, they were just yearning for each other. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Should they reveal all and risk disapproval and maybe a ban (from seeing each other), or should they try and keep it secret a bit longer?

At dinner, neither of them said anything, and they both excused themselves for bed fairly early, Hannah a little before Nick.

Nick pulled back the curtain on his bunk, intending to collect his bed-clothes and change into them in the bathroom. But instead, he found Hannah in his bunk. She was already changed for bed, and she handed Nick his clothes.

"Go change quickly." she hissed, smiling gently at him. Nick delightedly smiled back and hurried off to the bathroom to get changed. When he got back, Hannah was still in his bed. He climbed up and into the bed, pulling the curtain shut.

"How did you get in here without them seeing you?" Nick whispered.

"I just changed in my bed, and when no-one was looking, sneaked into yours. I hope that’s okay."

"Of course it’s okay!" Nick exclaimed. Hannah shot him a look and placed a finger on his lips.

"We have to be quiet." she warned him. Nick nodded and kissed the finger she’d placed on his lips. He laid down beside her and slipped his arms around her, pulling her near.

"I’ve needed you so much over the last couple of days." he whispered.

"Ditto." she told him with a smile, before kissing him gently and pulling him on top of her. They kissed passionately for a long time, until well after the others were all in bed, asleep.

After they’d been kissing and cuddling in each other’s arms for a couple of hours, Hannah decided it was time she left.

"Nick, I should go now." she whispered gently, pulling away from Nick’s arms, away from his loving touch.

"No, Hannah, please. Don’t leave me, I need you. I…I…I love you." Nick confessed just as Hannah was about to pull the curtain back. She whirled around, looking deep into his eyes as if searching for the truth. And she saw that he wasn’t lying.

"Oh Nick, baby, I love you too." Hannah was almost in tears. She hugged Nick tightly, as tight as she could. Nick wrapped his arms around her, happy that she felt the same way.

"I’ll never break you heart." Nick sang the one line quietly to Hannah as she held her body close against his. Hannah looked up and smiled at him.

"You won’t?"

"No." Nick told her honestly.

"I need you tonight." Hannah sang softly to him.

"That’s my song!" Nick whispered, grinning at her.

"My ones are all about breaking up with someone…which is the last thing I want to do with you." Hannah whispered truthfully.

"I’m glad you sang my song then." Nick bent his head nearer to hers and nuzzled his cheek against hers. He then nibbled her ear lobe gently, making Hannah giggle quietly. Laying on top of her again, Nick moved his lips up to meet hers, and they kissed for the last time that night, before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

~~The Next Morning~~

"Oh…my…God." Hannah groaned under her breath as she awoke in Nick’s arms. She hadn’t planned to spend the night in Nick’s bunk…because it’d be impossible for her to just get up and explain what she was doing in there with Nick, her arch enemy.

"Huh? What is it?" Nick asked her sleepily, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"How the hell am I gonna make it out of your bed without getting spotted?!" she asked him desperately.

"Easily." Nick replied.

"Huh?"

"Hannah, it’s 5:30am!"

"Really? Oh, thank God for that!"

"Why did you wake up so early anyway?"

"I dunno, I guess something told me that I had to wake up, and I did. I should go now, before anyone wakes up." Hannah whispered gently into Nick’s ear, kissing him softly on the cheek.

"I want you to stay with me forever." Nick replied, sadly.

"Ditto. But I can’t, Nick." Nick’s expression saddened, as did Hannah’s. "I love you, baby." she told him, kissing him on the lips.

"I love you too." They kissed for a minute or two, before Hannah reluctantly left Nick’s loving arms, and crept out of his bunk bed as quietly as she could.

No-one else was about, and Hannah was pretty sure they hadn’t heard her get up, either. She crawled into her own bunk, irritated by how cold it was. Nick’s bed was warm and, most importantly, had Nick in it. She dozed, thinking of Nick, for a couple of hours until she heard the sound of people moving about the tour bus.

Hannah and Nick met up in Nick’s bunk bed practically every night for two weeks. No-one suspected anything, and Hannah always managed to sneak out at around 5am. But then it was ‘hotel night’. They had two whole nights in a hotel…but them staying in a hotel made it even more impossible for Nick and Hannah to see each other. It was two to a room, so neither of the pair could sneak into the other’s room. They couldn’t meet secretly anywhere…there was a swimming pool and a restaurant. Hardly the most private places ever. So Hannah and Nick were totally separated from each other with no way of them ever getting together secretly, even for just a second.

"Nick, c’mon man, cheer up! You’re making me feel depressed." AJ told Nick. But Nick didn’t respond at all, he just continued to think about Hannah and how he wanted to hold her tightly in his arms. "Nick? Ni-ick? Earth calling Nickolas!" AJ waved his hand in front of Nick’s eyes, and Nick finally turned to look at him.

"Huh?" Nick had been miles away in his thoughts of Hannah.

"What the hell is with you? You’ve been all grumpy since we arrived. But just think how wonderful it is to have a proper bed, and a nice big bathroom with a bath, and a swimming pool just a few floors away. And room service!"

"Yeah." Nick muttered, going back to thinking about Hannah.

"Man, you have the attention span of a goldfish." AJ sighed in exasperation. But again, Nick didn’t hear him. AJ had tried his best at snapping Nick out of his pensive mood, but it obviously hadn’t worked. So AJ just grabbed his bag containing his bathers and a towel, and left the room, heading down to the swimming pool.

Jessica had also had it with Hannah. She was in exactly the same type of mood as Nick, so Jessica headed down to the swimming pool, where it seemed everyone other than Nick and Hannah had gathered.

"I’ll call, and if it’s not Hannah, I’ll hang up." Nick said aloud, alone in his room. He was planning on calling Hannah, and as he dialled her room number, he prayed that it’d be her who answered the phone. As Jessica wasn’t even there, it was Hannah who answered.

"Hello?"

"Hannah?"

"Nick! Hi!" Hannah cried happily.

"I’m so glad you picked up." Nick told her, grinning at his end of the phone.

"I’m so glad you called! Is AJ not there?"

"No, he’s down at the pool."

"Oh, Jessica’s there too."

"You wanna come over?"

"Sure…but what if AJ comes back?"

"He won’t, don’t worry. But I need to see you. I really miss you."

"I miss you too. I’ll be over in a second." Hannah left a little note to Jessica, explaining that she was going out for some fresh air. Then she grabbed her room key and crept along the corridor until she reached Nick’s room.

She knocked gently on the door, and Nick answered it, grinning. She hurried inside, and Nick quickly shut the door behind him. To make sure AJ couldn’t just walk in and surprise them, he put the chain across. Nick turned around and grinned at Hannah. He rushed over to her and took her in his arms, kissing her passionately, letting his tongue immediately slip into her mouth. The kisses were insistent, and earnest, as if they couldn’t get enough of each other.

When they pulled away, they were totally out of breath.

"Nick, I love you so much."

"I love you too, Han." Nick hugged her as tight as he could. She savoured his every touch, his every kiss, his every movement. Nick breathed in her sweet scent, held onto her loving touch.

"I can’t do this anymore." Hannah told him suddenly.

"What?" Nick was surprised. "You want us to split up?!"

"No," Hannah shook her head. "I can’t go on being away from you. I need to be with you every minute of every day."

"I feel the same, but…the others."

"I know, I know. What’re we gonna do?"

"Let’s just keep it secret for a little while longer, okay?"

"Okay, but if I hug you in public without thinking, please don’t hate me for it."

"I could never hate you Hannah. I never have."

"I’ve never hated you, Nick, and I never will." Nick kissed her again, and picked her up in his arms. Hannah laughed and Nick tickled her slightly. This made her laugh even harder, and before they knew it, they were tickling each other on Nick’s bed.

Nick was leaning over Hannah, tickling her, when she suddenly stopped laughing. Nick stopped tickling her, and looked deep into her eyes, Hannah looking deeply back into his. Nick moved his hands to the bottom of her shirt and started undoing the buttons…

Chapter Seven "Nick? Nick! C’mon, man, open this fucking door!" Nick and Hannah were woken by AJ banging heavily and angrily on the door. He was also trying to peek inside, but as the chain was short, he couldn’t quite make out who was in the room. He couldn’t see anyone, in fact.

"Oh my God!" Nick cried, laughing slightly. He and Hannah jumped out of bed, both searching for their clothes. They both laughed as they hurried into their clothes. When Hannah was ready she kissed Nick quickly on the lips before hurrying into the bathroom and locking the door behind her.

"NICK! OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR!" AJ was losing his patience and his temper.

"Coming!" Nick called, slipping his t-shirt on. He did up the flies to his jeans and put his trainers on. Then he ran his fingers through his hair and hurried to the door. Opening it, he was faced with a not very happy AJ.

"What the hell took you so long?!" he asked angrily. "And why was the chain across?"

"I was taking a nap and I didn’t want to be interrupted. Sorry man." AJ just rolled his eyes and walked into the room. Hannah had left no trace of her being there, so AJ didn’t suspect anything.

"I’m starving." AJ told Nick, sitting down on his bed. "You wanna order room service?"

"You know what? I’ve been stuck in this room for too long, why don’t we eat in the restaurant?"

"Oh…okay then." AJ agreed and Nick hurried him out of the room, leaving the room clear for Hannah to make her exit.

Hannah laughed to herself as she made her way back to her room, thinking of their near discovery.

"Where in the hell have you been?" Charlie demanded as soon as she’d entered her room. She looked around and all of her band mates were giving her questioning looks.

"What’re you all doing here?" she asked, a little miffed.

"We all came over to cheer you up," Laura told her, annoyance clearly in her voice. "But when we arrived - nearly two hours ago - you weren’t here."

"I said in the note…" Hannah started, but was interrupted by Kara.

"Where did you walk around for two hours or more?!"

"Just…around." Hannah tried to sound as convincing as she possibly could.

"We were really worried about you." Jessica told her. She was annoyed, but also concerned. "We couldn’t figure out where you’d gotten to."

"I’m sorry, I just strolled about…thinking."

"Thinking?!" Laura asked her with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah. There’s not a law against that is there?"

"Hannah Bierowic doesn’t just go walking about for two hours ‘thinking’." Charlie said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well this Hannah Bierowic does. And I’m perfectly cheered up, thank you. It’s surprising how fast Mother Nature can work her magic." Hannah practically skipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"She’s not telling the truth." Jessica declared. "I can tell. She hasn’t been wandering about for two hours, she’s been somewhere else."

"Where, though?" Kara asked.

"That…I have no idea."

That evening, all of the girls went down to the restaurant for dinner, and sat with the Backstreet Boys. Nick and Hannah were sitting opposite each other, but this was not intentional. Hannah just chose a seat, and was pleasantly surprised when she found Nick returning from the bathroom and sitting across from her.

As they were eating their dinner, Nick gently extended his foot so that it brushed against Hannah’s leg. She looked up at him in surprise and he gave her a very slight smile. He wanted to grin at her and mouth ‘I love you’, but of course he couldn’t do that. Hannah intertwined her leg with Nick’s and smiled very slightly back at him. No-one knew that they were doing this, so they were safe to sit like that.

Nick had given Hannah his cell-phone number, and that evening when her and Jessica were back in their room, she excused herself, saying she wanted to check out the pool, but wasn’t gonna swim. Jessica bought that, and Hannah went down to the lobby and used a pay-phone.

"Hello?" Nick answered the phone.

"Hey, baby."

"Oh…hi." Hannah could sense that something was wrong, Nick didn’t sound very happy to hear from her.

"Nick, is AJ in the room with you?"

"Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like I didn’t wanna talk."

"No probs. Can you meet me somewhere?"

"Yeah, I reckon."

"How about outside the hotel?"

"Yeah, that’s fine."

"When can you get away?"

"Um…" Hannah realised that Nick couldn’t really say a time.

"Oh, sorry. Can you meet me in around five minutes?"

"Sure. Okay…Aaron…speak to ya soon."

"I love you, Nick."

"I love you too, buddy." Nick replied, stifling a laugh. Hannah laughed down the phone and blew him a kiss before hanging up.

"I gather that was Aaron?" AJ asked Nick as he finished the call and put his cell-phone away.

"Yeah. Um, AJ, I’m gonna go take a walk, okay?"

"Sure. See ya." AJ smiled at Nick as he left the room.

"Hannah?"

"Over here!" Hannah hissed. They were outside the hotel, and it was pitch-black. Nick crept around the side of the building and found his girlfriend sitting on a bench.

"Hey!" Nick exclaimed, and sat down next to her. The night was a warm and humid one, so neither of them felt at all cold. Nick slipped his arms around Hannah’s waist and Hannah’s arms went around Nick’s neck. She grinned at him and pulled him close, sensuously kissing him.

"Today was great, wasn’t it?" Hannah asked Nick with a sly smile.

"You bet!" Nick smiled back and continued to kiss her. As they continued to kiss, a couple walked past them - hand in hand - but as Hannah and Nick were so engrossed in each other, they didn’t notice. But the guy walking past took a double take.

"Oh my God!" he cried, nudging his girlfriend. "That’s Nick!" It was Brian, and he could see Nick kissing a girl. But as it was so dark, and Nick was blocking her from view, he couldn’t make out who the girl was.

"Really?" Kara looked closer, and saw Nick, kissing someone quite passionately, running his hand up and down her thigh. "Wow, looks like Nick’s found himself a girlfriend!"

"Yeah, you’re telling me!" Brian was quite surprised, but also amused. Nick was kissing her pretty passionately!

Later that night, Brian called Nick on his cell-phone.

"Hey buddy." Brian said to Nick when he answered.

"Hi Brian."

"Can I just ask you something?"

"Sure." Nick replied a little warily.

"When did you get yourself a girlfriend?" Nick’s jaw dropped open.

"What?!"

"I saw you getting passionate with a certain young lady, earlier this evening. When did you start dating her?" Nick was in absolute shock.

"Uh, Bri, do you know who she is?"

"No, I couldn’t see her." Brian replied truthfully. Nick let out a deep sigh. "But now you mention it…who is she?"

"Um…er…no-one special."

"Well did you just meet her tonight or what?"

"Look, what’s with all the questions?!" Nick didn’t wanna answer any of Brian’s questions as it would surely give the game away.

"Hey, Nick, chill. I was only asking. I mean, when my best friend gets himself a girlfriend, I thought he’d wanna tell me a bit about it."

"Brian, I’m sorry. But I can’t."

"Nick, c’mon. I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything, you know I won’t tell." Nick realised that he was just itching to tell someone about him and Hannah. It was the first time he’d fallen in love, and the first time he’d had sex. He needed to talk to another guy about it.

"Okay, okay. But somewhere private."

"Kara’s gone round to see Jessica and Hannah, the other girls are going too. Kind of a ‘girls’ night in’ I think! You can come over now if you want."

"Yeah, I’ll be round in just a minute." AJ was having a shower, so Nick left him a note saying he was at Brian’s room, and left his hotel room.

"Come in, Nick." Brian told his best friend as he opened the door. Nick went and sat down on one of the couches, Brian sitting opposite him. "So, tell me…who’s your girlfriend?"

"You promise you won’t tell?" Nick asked him, knowing already what the answer would be.

"Cross my heart." Brian smiled kindly at his younger best friend.

"Okay. You won’t hardly believe this!" Nick informed him. "I’m dating Hannah." Brian’s jaw dropped open.

"Omigod! Really?!"

"Yes, really." Nick started to smile slightly. He was really pleased about dating Hannah.

"Wow, that’s so cool!" Brian was genuinely happy for him. "But how did you get together?"

"You know when we were playing Nintendo that morning?" Brian nodded. "Well Hannah and I had kinda gotten together the night before, and slept in the TV room all night."

"Woah. Did you…y’know…?"

"No, of course not!" Brian was still a little taken aback.

"But Nick, are you still a virgin?"

"Uh…no." Brian was shocked. Nick just sat there.

"Wow…when did you…?"

"Today."

"TODAY?!" Brian cried.

"Brian, keep your voice down!" Nick warned him.

"Sorry bro’. I just can’t believe it, you had sex with Hannah… today!"

"I needed to tell someone." Nick told his best friend honestly. "I dunno if I did everything right, you know? I need to talk to ya, Bri."

"I understand, Nick. You wanna tell me, then?"

"We were in my room and we were kissing and stuff, and then one thing led to another. It was so incredible. Man, it totally blew my mind. And I really love Hannah. She’s just amazing." Nick was smiling now, thinking fondly of his girlfriend.

"Did you use protection?" Brian asked Nick, concerned.

"No, we didn’t. That’s been bugging me a bit, but I can’t do anything about it now."

"You didn’t wear a condom? And I guess Hannah’s not on the pill."

"I wouldn’t know, but I doubt it. I think I’m her first."

"She’s only sixteen, so you probably are. You’d better hope that she doesn’t get pregnant, buddy."

"I know, I know. It was stupid, but I just didn’t think. I wasn’t expecting to make love to her today. I wasn’t expecting to be alone with her today. Usually it’s so hard, but today it was just so easy. AJ went out, I asked her over, and the rest you know."

"Nick, do you want me to give you some condoms for the future? You shouldn’t have unprotected sex with her again."

"I know. Yeah, that’d help, thanks." Brian got up and fetched some sachets from a box and handed them to Nick.

"So, how was Hannah with the whole thing?"

"She promised me she was ready. And afterward, she told me how amazing it was and how much she loved me. Was that a good reaction then?"

"Yeah, definitely! I’m really happy for you, bro’. Does it feel better talking about it?"

"Yeah! But I’m never gonna have the chance to be alone with Hannah again for ages. I need to be with her so much."

"I’m sure she feels the same. Look, I reckon you should tell everyone else. They’ll understand. And then, you can be with her as much as you want."

"I guess. Hannah wants to tell ‘cos she hates being secretive and not being able to see me whenever she wants to. I feel the same, but I’m just worried all the others will think I’m just using Hannah and stuff."

"They won’t think that! And Nick, everyone will see how much you love her. I can see it now…if you’re in love with her, then it’ll be fine. Okay? Tell everyone when you’re both ready to."

"Okay, thanks a lot Bri."

"No problem, buddy." Nick left then and went back to his own room.

"Hey AJ." Nick greeted his buddy as he walked through the door of his room.

"What’s up Nick? You’ve been gone a while."

"I know, I just had to talk to Brian."

"Anything I can help you out with?" AJ asked with a friendly smile.

"No, it’s okay. But thanks anyway." Nick returned the smile and then went into the bathroom and had a shower.

"Kara? I need to talk to you." Hannah told her friend later that evening as Kara opened the door to her hotel room.

"Come on in, honey." Kara gave her a friendly smile. "I’m afraid Brian’s here at the moment, but he’s taking a shower right now. We’ll be alone for a few minutes."

"Okay." Kara and Hannah sat down next to each other on one of the couches.

"What did you wanna talk to me about?"

"Uh…well…you can’t tell a soul, okay?"

"I promise to keep it to myself."

"Okay…uh…Kara…I’m not a virgin anymore."

"What?!" Kara was shocked. "Oh my God, Hannah. You weren’t raped were you?"

"Huh? Of course not!"

"Thank God for that. But…uh…you’re all right, aren’t you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I’m fine."

"Okay…uh…so you’ve had sex with someone?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Who was it?"

"Are you ready for this?"

"Yes…" Kara replied a little warily.

"I had sex with Nick."

"Nick?!" Kara cried.

"Shh! Be quiet or Brian will hear you!" Hannah whispered worriedly. "It’s a secret, you have to be quiet."

"Nick?! But why?!"

"Because he’s my boyfriend and I love him." Hannah told Kara honestly. Kara softened slightly.

"You’re dating him?"

"Yeah, for nearly a month."

"A month?! Man! And you love him?"

"I really love him, Kara."

"And does he love you back?"

"Yeah." Hannah smiled, and Kara melted at how her young friend had fallen in love.

"Oh, Han, that’s really wonderful." But Kara soon stopped being mushy and faced reality. "You had protected sex, right?" Hannah looked to the floor and shook her head. "Oh no." Kara was really concerned for Hannah. "If your next period is even slightly late, tell me and we’ll get you tested, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I’m glad you confided in me…but I still can’t believe it. You’re underage, and you weren’t safe."

"I know, but it wasn’t intentional, you know…if we’d had protection we would’ve used it…"

"It was the heat of the moment, right?" Hannah nodded. "I’ve been there, done that. I know what it’s like to find someone you really love and then suddenly, you’re doing it and you’re not protected."

"But you were all right, weren’t you?"

"Yes, luckily I was. And hopefully you will be too. Look Hannah, you don’t have to worry. You should be absolutely fine." Kara smiled reassuringly at Hannah, Hannah smiling a little worriedly back. Kara then went a bit gossipy. "So…how was it?" Hannah grinned.

"Really amazing! Wow, Nick’s just so wonderful. I love him with all my heart, and I know he loves me back just as much. He’s so gentle and caring, and he asked me several times if I was sure and if I was ready. I asked him, too. I just can’t ever imagine being without him now."

"I know how you feel." Kara smiled.

"Have you…you know…with Brian?"

"Yes." Kara admitted.

"And?" Hannah prompted.

"He was good!" The girls both grinned and giggled as Brian emerged from the shower with a towel around his shoulders and waist.

"Who was good?" he asked with a friendly smile. Hannah and Kara burst into a fit of giggles on the couch, confusing Brian who just raised his eyebrows, shook his head and walked into the bedroom to get dressed.

Once they’d both calmed down, Kara asked Hannah, "When are you gonna tell everyone else?"

"I don’t know…" Brian walked back out then, dressed, and Hannah sat up straight, worried that he’d overheard. And he had.

"Hannah, it’s okay, you don’t have to panic. Nick came and talked to me earlier. I know you’re dating each other." Hannah let out a sigh of relief. "I think it’s really good you’ve found each other…and I can tell how much he loves you." Brian smiled.

"Well I really love him, Bri, I hope you know that."

"Well I do now. So, when are you gonna tell all the others?"

"I have no idea, I mean, we’re worried that they won’t approve or that we won’t be allowed to share rooms and stuff, you know? It’s just easier to keep it a secret."

"But how will you and Nick continue to see each other?" Brian asked.

"I don’t know…I guess we’ll just have to take chances and try and see each other as much as possible."

"Well Brian and I are going out tomorrow, so if you two can both convince the others that you’ll be all right in your hotel rooms, you are more than welcome to have this room while we’re not around."

"Really? Oh thank you so much!" Hannah gave Kara a hug, and grinned at her and Brian.

"You can have my key." Kara handed Hannah her door key, and Hannah took it gratefully.

"You guys are so wonderful, wait ‘till Nick hears about this!"

"And when exactly are you gonna tell him?" Brian asked her, obviously realising before Hannah that there was no way she could get the message to him.

"Oh man, shit. I dunno." Hannah sighed unhappily, and folded her arms across her chest, annoyed.

"Want me to call him?" Brian offered kindly.

"Would you? Oh, thanks Bri!" Hannah cheered up instantly. Brian picked up the phone and dialled the number for AJ and Nick’s room.

"Hello?" AJ answered the phone.

"Hey, AJ, is Nick there please?"

"Yeah sure, hold on." AJ called Nick and handed the phone to him.

"Hey Bri." Nick said cheerfully.

"Hi Nick. I have someone here who wants to speak to you."

"You do?" Nick was a little confused. Brian handed the phone to Hannah.

"Hey baby." Hannah said happily.

"Han…" Nick started, then realised that he couldn’t say her name in front of AJ.

"I know, you can hardly talk, so just listen, yeah?"

"Sure." Nick agreed.

"Okay, if we can manage to stay in our hotel rooms while the others all go out tomorrow, Brian and Kara have offered to lend us their room while they’re out."

"Really? That’s brilliant!" Nick exclaimed.

"Okay, I’ll go now, but tomorrow when AJ leaves, come to Brian and Kara’s room, ‘cos I have a key and then we can spend the day together."

"That’s great!"

"Okay, baby, I’ll hopefully see you tomorrow. I love you." Kara and Brian swapped ‘aw, they’re so sweet’ looks.

"You know what I wanna say in reply to that." Nick told her.

"Yeah, I do. And I’m gonna say it again. I love you, Nick."

"Bye." AJ went in the bathroom then. "AJ’s in the bathroom," Nick whispered. "I love you, honey."

"Bye, Nick." Hannah blew him a kiss and Nick blew a quiet kiss back.

"Bye." And with that, Nick hung up the phone, as did Hannah.

"Hannah, you guys are so adorable!" Kara gushed, giving Hannah a hug.

"Leave if off!" Hannah told her, blushing slightly. "I’d better head back to my room now, see ya later. And thanks again you guys, you’ve been great."

"No problem, sweetie." Kara told her.

"Yeah, it’s nothing." Brian smiled at Hannah as Kara saw her out of the room.

"Bye." Hannah left then, walking happily back to her own room.

~~The Next Day~~

"We’re all going shopping, you wanna come?" Jessica asked Hannah late next morning.

"No, I’m gonna stay here, I don’t feel all that great. I can just lounge around all day, watching TV if I stay. You guys go, and have a good time."

"Well, if you’re sure?" Jessica asked Hannah.

"Yeah, you go have fun."

"Okay, you take care, and I’ll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya Jess."

"Nick, you coming shopping with us?" AJ asked as he put his shoes on.

"No, I’m gonna stay here playing my console, is that all right?"

"Of course, but are you sure you don’t wanna come?"

"Yeah, I’ll just chill here with my games. See ya later, you have fun."

"You too."

About ten minutes later, Nick and Hannah met outside Kara and Brian’s room. Hannah looked up to see Nick walking toward her, and grinned. She ran over to him and enveloped him in a huge hug. Nick hugged her tightly back, and kissed her forehead.

"You managed to get away then?" Hannah asked him as they walked hand in hand to the door of the room.

"Yeah, I told AJ I wanted to play computer games. What did you tell Jessica?"

"That I was feeling a bit under the weather." Hannah grinned cheekily. "Well I’m not sure about under the weather," Nick told her, grinning slyly. "Under me, more like." Hannah rolled her eyes and unlocked the door. They both walked inside, shutting the door behind them and putting the chain across.

"I just can’t believe how lucky we are!" Nick exclaimed happily. "I mean, having the entire room to ourselves for a whole day!"

"I know, it was really good of Brian and Kara to give up the room."

"Well, it’s all for a good cause." Nick said, giving Hannah a sly smile.

"Oh is it really?" Hannah asked him, putting her arms around his shoulders.

"It certainly is." Nick slipped his arms around her waist and moved his head down to meet hers. Their lips touched and moved together in a loving kiss. "So you wanna move this into the bedroom?" Nick asked her with a grin.

"Well what’re we gonna do in the bedroom?" Hannah asked, pretending to be all naïve and innocent, grinning back at him.

"I’m gonna do things to you that will blow your mind."

"Such as?" Hannah gave her boyfriend a coy smile.

"I’m gonna make love to you as passionately and lovingly as I possibly can." he whispered shyly into her ear, his hands leaving her waist and wandering about up her vest-top.

"I love you Nick." Hannah grinned at him. She went back to kissing him gently, before taking his hand in hers and leading him through to the bedroom.

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