The two of them lay on their backs, staring up at the wooden ceiling of the tree house. A few boards were missing, allowing them to gaze up at the clear, starry, late June night. He was laying in one direction, his legs sprawled out, almost touching the walls.

Katie lay the oppisite way, and her head was right beside his. They were both staring up at the evening sky, listening to the light wind rustle the leaves on the trees around them.

"It's nights like this that I think about him." Katie said.

Zac turned his head to look at her. He knew immediately who she was talking about. Katie hadn't spoken more than twice about the whole incident that had taken place nearly two months ago.

"Sometimes, I don't know what to think. If I could do it over again, what would I do? Would I treat him nicer, or ignore him completely? Would this have happened if I ignored him? Did I lead him on in some way? Did what he did have anything to do with me?" She sighed. "It's confusing."

"I agree." Zac said, turning his head to look at her. She glanced at him a moment, then looked back up at the sky.

"It's hard to believe he's gone, ya know?"

"Yeah." "Sometimes I wonder if he's watching."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Zac murmured.

Katie smiled. "Yeah." She was silent for a few minutes.

"Nick took all those pictures of us. Jeramy loved his brother, he really did. He tried to cover the whole thing up. Just for him."

Zac listened intently. After Katie had read the letter, she had explained briefly what it was about, and Zac was able to piece the entire thing together.

Nick and Jeramy were obsessed with Katie. Nick was mentally sick, which caused him to do things he might not normally do. That is, lash out at people. The way he had lashed out at Zac one day almost a year before, causing a fight. It caused him to obsess about things, like he had Katie. Jeramy had tried to cover it up, and had developed his own crush on Katie.

"I feel strange about it now. He told me never to think of him again if I didn't want to. It's not that I don't want to. Everytime I think about the whole thing I get shivers down my spine. What if he had gone really crazy Zac? What if he had gone so crazy that he tried to kill me?"

"But he didn't." Zac said calmly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She was silent a few moments. She reached up and took his hand. She lightly traced the tips of her fingers across the back of his hand and his palm, making his body shiver slightly.

"Sorry I haven't been paying much attention to you latley. I know I've been hard to deal with." She said.

"That's okay." Zac said. "It's not an easy thing to deal with."

"yeah." Katie agreed. She had gone to the visitation and funeral for Jeramy, Nick, and their father. After that, terrible rumors had flown around school, making it hard for her to concentrate on anything or anybody. It had been a draining two months.

"We have all summer to hang out." He said.

"Yeah. I'm going to take advantage of it." She said. She turned her head to smile at him. He laughed and playfully yanked his hand from hers. She giggled and swatted at his hand. Zac pointed the flashlight so that it shone on the ceiling. They started laughing at the shapes their hands were making in the beam of light. She grabbed at his hand, and he dodged hers. He finally let her hand catch his, and they were laughing hysterically.

They watched their two hands on the ceiling as their laughter eventually died down. Zac touched her hand and watched as they automatically entertwined in the light. It was so quiet in the tree house that he could hear his own breath and hers. Keeping a hold of her hand, he sat up, and she followed.

She blinked a few times, watching his face. He appeared very calm, and very patient.

"Sorry for all the shit I've dragged you through." She started.

"I'm sorry for all the shit I dragged you through." He said.

"I never meant to hurt you." She said.

"I never meant to hurt you either." He replied. "But don't be sorry, because it's in the past. It's done with, and we can't go back. You don't have to dwell Katie."

"I know." She said with a sigh. Zac squeezed her hand.

"You'll never grow if you don't let it go." He said.

"Yeah."

They stared at each other for a moment, then Zac grinned. "What a year."

"Yeah. What a year." She agreed, laughing.

"We've been through a lot." He admitted.

"Yes, yes we have." She smiled at him, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones. He smiled back at her. He fiddled with her hand that was still in his. Slowly and a little unsure, he lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing it lightly. He lowered their hands, then looked up at her to see what she would do.

Katie looked at him, shocked, the heat rising in her cheeks. "Oh....how...how romantic." She said finally.

Zac grinned. "Nah, just friendly."

Katie smiled at him, the heat in her cheeks growing hotter.

"You're blushing." He pointed out.

"So are you." She said.

"Oh." He said.

"Why are we so nervous?" She asked, laughing.

Zac laughed back. "I don't know."

"Neither do I." She said. "Do...do you think we're more than friends?"

Zac looked down at their hands, and started to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb. "I don't know...are we?"

"I don't know."

"Well...." He took a deep breath. "It's up to you."

Katie's blushing face was impossible for him to read. For a moment, he thought she was going to bolt fromt he tree house, then he finally saw a smile rising in her cheeks.

"Okay." She said. "We're more than friends."

Zac breathed a sigh of relief. "How much more?"

"I don't know." She laughed. "Can I call you my boyfriend?"

"I'd love you too." he said truthfully.

"Then I will." she said with a smile. He smiled, then leaned over, and they shared their first kiss as a couple. They pulled apart, and both of them grinned. He scooted back against the wall of the tree house, and he pulled her back against him, inbetween his legs. She leaned back agaist his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her body, resting his face against hers.

"You've made me so happy." He said, kissing her cheek.

"Same here." She replied. "This whole year was just stupid. I was stupid. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." he said.

"But I can't help it. You didn't do anything. I know that now. But all that time, we could have been together, and then I panicked and screwed everything we had up."

"Katie, lemme ask you something."

"What?"

"Are you here?"

"Yes."

"Am I here?"

"Yes."

"Are we together?"

"Yes."

"I'm not too sure about you, but it appears to me that everything is perfectly fine." He said.

"I guess you're right." She said, playing with one of his hands that rested on her stomach.

"Besides, there's no sense in dwelling on the past when I know we're going to have so much a future."

"You think so?" She asked, looking at him.

Zac smiled, moving a curly strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. He kissed her mouth quickly, then rested his forhead against hers. "I know so."