That day, Nick and I went shopping for a couple of hours, then we got some lunch, and finally we saw a movie.
It was a really great day out. Nick’s such a nice guy, we just chatted and laughed and had a nice, fun, relaxing day together.
Later that evening, I went with Nick to Jamie and Lisa’s room, where Aaron and Jerry were staying until Nick and I collected them.
"Hey, you two!" Lisa greeted us with a friendly smile. "Have a good day?"
"Yeah, it was great thanks." Nick replied. "How’ve the little horrors been?"
"They haven’t been little horrors, they’ve been little angels." Lisa replied.
"Really?!" I asked, a little incredulously.
"Hallie, you know your sister is made of pure gold."
"She’s been annoying me all this morning." I pointed out.
"Why, what’s she been saying?" Nick asked me.
"Uh…nothing important, you know what seven year olds are like." Nick smiled and nodded.
"Okay, Lisa, can we have our siblings please?" Lisa went back inside the room and ushered out the two little kids.
"What do you say to Lisa and Jamie?" I asked them both.
"Thanks a million!" Jerry cried.
"Yeah, it was awesome!" Aaron chimed in.
"I’m glad you two had fun. Thanks again, Lisa. Thank Jamie for us." Nick told Lisa.
"Yeah, sorry, he’s in the shower."
"No problem, just tell him we said thanks." Nick picked up his little brother, and after saying goodbye to Lisa once more, we all went back to Aaron’s room.
"Nick, can Jerry spend the night in my room again?" Aaron asked Nick on the way back to his room.
"Uh…Aaron, where would I sleep?" Nick asked him.
"You could have the couch." Aaron suggested.
"Oh, yeah, real comfortable!" I commented.
"Oh c’mon Nick, just for one night. Please?" Aaron was giving Nick his pleading big-brown-eyes look, tugging on his shirt.
"I’m gonna regret this." Nick sighed.
"Yeah!" Aaron cheered. "Jerry, you go get your night-stuff, and bring your game, yeah?"
"Sure Aaron, see you in a couple of minutes!" Jerry ran off down the hall to our room.
"Nick, are you sure this is okay?"
"Yeah, I’m sure I’ll survive."
"Um…would you mind if I took the floor of your room? It’s nothing personal, I’d just rather be with Jerry, you understand…"
"Sure. But hey, you can have the couch, I’ll have the floor…"
"No way, this is your room! I can live on a floor for a night. I’ll grab some extra blankets and duvets from my room, we’ll be back soon. See you in a few." I ran after Jerry then and let her and myself into our room.
"Nick, maybe you should…you know…talk to Hallie this evening." Aaron suggested to his older brother once they were inside the room.
"What do I need to talk to her about?" Nick asked, feeling slightly confused.
"About how you feel about her." Aaron replied, a huge grin on his face. Nick sighed and knelt down beside his little brother.
"You know what I’ve told you already. I don’t like Hallie ‘like that’, okay? We’re…"
"Just good friends?" Nick nodded. Aaron sighed and pouted slightly. "Man, you two would be such a good couple. Jerry thinks so too."
"Yeah, but what you two think isn’t really the issue here. It’s what Hallie and I think. And neither of us wanna be more than just good friends."
"But you do…I can see it in your eyes. When you look at her…your whole face lights up and your eyes kinda twinkle. Hallie’s just the same. It’s only you two who don’t know it." Aaron frowned at Nick and walked off into his bedroom.
Back in our room, Jerry was giving me a similar sort of talk.
"Hallie, I reckon that tonight is the night for you and Nick to…you know…become a couple!" I looked up from my overnight packing.
"Jerry, there is absolutely no way that Nick and I are going to date. You have to understand that, honey."
"But just look at the signs! Aaron agrees with me!" she insisted as she packed her overnight bag.
"I don’t care what you and Aaron think! I’m sorry, but Nick and I dating…it’s not gonna happen, and frankly sweetie, it’s none of your business."
"HALLIE, WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!!!" Jerry cried at the top of her lungs, making herself go slightly red in the face.
"Jerry…I think it’s you who needs to listen to me…"
"NO! Listen to me!"
"Fine, talk, but be quick. And pack while you talk."
"Okay, okay. Look, Hallie, Nick really likes you. But more than ‘just good friends’, it’s so obvious that he likes you a lot more than that."
"Jerry…"
"LISTEN!" she interrupted me. I sighed and let her continue. "And it’s plainly obvious that you like him a lot more than ‘just good friends’ too. C’mon, Hallie…you like each other, you get on well, you look good together…please, please, just DATE THE GUY!"
"Are you quite finished yet?" I asked her, my hands on my hips.
"Well actually…"
"Tough, you’re done. You all packed up?"
"Yes, but…"
"Okay, we’re going now." I picked up my pack and several blankets and two duvets (with great difficulty), and opened the door, gesturing for Jerry to go first.
"I always thought you were smart." Jerry commented as we made our way down the hall, toward Aaron’s room. "But now I can see that you’re not." I gave her a stern look.
"That’s enough from you, thank you. One more word about this and we go straight back to our room, got it?" Jerry frowned and forced a nod.
"Okay guys, I think it’s time we made up the beds." Nick said at around 10:30pm.
"Well Jerry and I have the proper beds, right Nick?"
"Yes, you do." Nick told them. Aaron and Jerry hurried off into the bathroom then to brush their teeth.
"Okay, I brought several blankets along…but you have some extra in here, don’t you?"
"Yeah, they’re in the closet in the bedroom." Nick pointed toward the bedroom with a smile and I smiled gratefully back. I went into the bedroom, fetched the blankets, and went back into the lounge.
"How many blankets do you want for the couch?" I asked him once I’d returned.
"Oh, just one thanks." I handed him a gross-coloured blanket and proceeded to ‘create-a-bed’ on the floor between the couch and the bedroom. "Are you sure you don’t want the couch?" Nick asked me. My bed on the floor wasn’t too uncomfortable…I was gonna be sleeping on two duvets and three blankets, with a blanket over me.
"Nick…it’s fine. Okay?" I grinned at him and rolled my eyes. "I’ll be just fine."
"Okay, okay." Aaron and Jerry reappeared then.
"Okay, Jerry, you gotta put your PJs on. You go change in the bathroom, Aaron can change in the bedroom."
About a quarter of an hour later, Jerry and Aaron returned to the lounge, and they were both changed for bed. They were grinning from ear to ear, and Nick and I looked at them suspiciously.
"What?" I asked suspiciously and warily, fully aware of what Jerry was capable of.
"Once we head off to bed…what’re you two gonna be doing?" Aaron asked with a cheeky grin. Nick and I both raised our eyebrows at them.
"What’s it to you?" Nick asked his little brother.
"Well we just wondered how you’d spend the evening…once we leave you all alone." Jerry’s eyes twinkled mischievously. I’d had enough.
"Jerry, I warned you earlier about bringing this up."
"Yeah, but Hallie, c’mon…you and Nick would be so great together!" she whined. I was absolutely furious.
"Right, that’s it. I told you if you said another word that you wouldn’t stay over at Aaron’s. Now go and get your bag."
"You’re making her leave?!" Aaron cried. "But she’s not doing anything wrong! You like Nick, and Nick likes you!"
"Yeah!" Jerry chimed in. I sighed angrily and grabbed Jerry’s arm.
"Nick does not like me and you know it, we’re going." I dragged her toward the door, Jerry protesting all the way.
"Hallie, she doesn’t have to leave…" Nick started, but I interrupted him.
"You of all people should see where I’m coming from!"
"I know, but it’s not fair on either of them."
"Nick, I warned her earlier about making things up…"
"She’s not making anything up!" Aaron insisted. I opened the door and was just about to leave the room when Nick grabbed my arm.
"Hallie wait." I turned around and looked at him. "Maybe Jerry is right. Um…uh…I haven’t been completely honest…um…" Nick was blushing really badly and was stuttering.
"What?" I was feeling very shocked and confused.
"I think we need to talk."
Jerry escaped from my grasp and ran back into the room, giving Aaron a high-five.
"Yes!" they both cried.
"In private." Nick added.
"Oh man." Aaron grumbled as he and Jerry walked off into the bedroom. Nick smiled shyly and gestured for me to go back into the room with him. I nodded and went back inside, closing the door behind me, and sitting next to Nick on the couch.