I promised/I'd never sing of love/If it does not exist

Nate froze for a second. "I just didn't think you did because of the whole 'I'm not gonna date you' thing," he said, pursing his lips. "Sorry if it made you mad or something."

Maddy nodded, showing the her the mucus like mixture in the bowl with a giggle.

"It didn't make me mad." Vikki shook her head. She looked up at him. "I shouldn't have assumed, anyway. Who says you were going to ask me on a date, anyway?"

Lydia wrinkled her nose. "Ew. But I bet it tastes good. Should we pour it into the crust?

Maddy nodded. "Of course it will tatse good," she grinned, her optimism contagious. She poured it into the crust slowly and started to settle it. "Now to bake it," she said, sing-songy.

(why didn't you post for Nate?)

Lydia nodded. "Can you put it in the oven? I'm afraid of fire." And excessive heat. And heights. And drowning.

Nate stayed quiet as she talked, occasionally looking up. He wasn't really sure what to say to that.

(Tee-hee... I forgot.)

Maddy nodded, carrying the pie plate over to the over and sliding it in, setting the timer. "Okay, now we just to wait."

Him not saying anything made Vikki uncomfortable. She looked at the floor. "Maybe we should skip the walk. Maybe we shouldn't even talk anymore." She was starting to get embarrassed that she had blabbered all those things, and that he said nothing in return. It wasn't part of the image she had tried so hard to create for herself. At all.

(it's okay)

"Okay." Lydia waited patiently, thinking about Ollie.

Nate looked at her in disbelief for a second. "If that's what you want," he said. Dammit! He always screwed these things up. That's why he never had a meaningful relationship. Maybe one that lasted more than two weeks... And that was pushing it.

Maddy watched the rest of the groups and sighed. Why couldn't she find a boyfriend? That was the main question she had in her head. Even Lydia, a weird, germaphobic type of girl had a guy... She thought.

"No, I don't /want/ that, but it seems like you... sort of want that. I don't know, I think I was stupid to think you liked me. We made out one time, I shouldn't have thought it meant anything," There was a bitterness to Vikki's voice.

(lol, nice Maddy xD
I prolly have a guy that can talk to her I have a billion on this chat, haha)

It was cooked soon. "Can you get it out, please?" Lydia asked Maddy.

Nate shook his head. "It seems we're having a moment of miscommunication. I do like you. And I don't want that to happen, either. I just want you to come out on a wak with me. We can forget about this whole thing," he suggested.

Maddy nodded, taking the hot quiche out of the over, setting it on the counter with the other finished products. She smiled. "Done," she said.

"Well...okay," Vikki said slowly, then nodded. "Yeah, let's do that."

Lydia clapped her hands. "It's great! I bet we'll get a good grade~"

Nate smiled a little and they walked off school grounds. He looked both ways down the street, trying to figure out which way would be the quickest and then decided to turn left. "It's not that far down the road," he assured her.

Maddy nodded as the teacher walked over and started her inspections of the many pie plates. "I think we will," she said.

What wasn't far? Vikki wanted to ask, but would feel stupid if she did. She assumed he meant it would only be a short walk down that way, so she nodded and tried to think of something to talk about. She seemed to be out of words after her little outburst.

Lydia bit her lip nervously. "I hope so."

Nate smiled a little, looking back at her. "Do you like water?" he asked, cocking his head. Maybe he'd take her to the beach. That sounded like a good idea right now.

Maddy does something that pertains to waiting.

"Like the ocean, you mean? I /love/ water." She smiled up at him. "Do you?"

The teacher made her way to Lydia and Maddy's quiche and inspected it. "A -," She decided. Lydia frowned. A minus? Grr. She wanted to have straight A's first quarter.

Nate nodded with a grin. "Yeah, so you wouldn't mind if I brought you to the beach?" He asked, wearing a straight smile.

Maddy's smile lit up. She hadn't gotten anything lower than an A- before, so this made her happy.

"That would be awesome! When?" Vikki's face lit up.

The class ended, and Lydia packed up her books then headed out.

"Right now," Nate laughed, his voice breaking through the air. It was dusk, now, and the sun was setting. It would be the perfect time to go to the water, which would still be warm.

Oliver's mind snapped awake when the bell rang and, nursing his hurt arm, rushed out of the classroom. He met Lydia with a wide smile. "How was class?" He asked.

"Oh, okay!" Vikki smiled. She wondered if she'd need to get a bathing suit...hmm.

Lydia beamed when Oliver showed up. "It was good, I guess. But I got a bad grade on my project." For Lydia, anything below an A+ was bad.

Oliver smiled, half heartedly. "Did you fail?" He asked, taking her hand as they walked down the hall. She didn't seem like the type to fail. Either that, or she seemed like she'd be taking a failing grade much more dramatically.

Nate smiled. "Cool," he said, nodding up toward the parking lot by the beach. "You've been up here, right?" He asked.

Lydia intertwined their fingers after he took her hand. "Well, I got an A-. Which is so close to a fail."

"Mmhmm, once or twice. For parties." Vikki nodded.

Ollie chuckled and pulled her closer, to put his arm around her and still keep their hands together. "That's not bad at all," he said. "That's better than three quarters of the student body here," he smiled.

Nate nodded. "Cool," he said as they finally got to the beach. He slipped off his shoes and stepped into the sand. It was still warm from the earlier sun. The soft roar of the ocean nearly induced laughter and the briny air felt good in his throat.

"But I like A+'s better," Lydia pouted, but smiled at his arm around her.

Vikki smiled and followed his lead, taking off her flip flops. She let the sand sift through her toes. The sun would set soon.

Oliver smiled, too. "I think everyone does," he said as they stepped outside.

Nate glanced back at her and smiled disarmingly at her. "I should apologize for my previous awkwardness," he said, aprroaching her.

"Yeah, well that's my first A- this year." Lydia frowned.

Vikki shrugged. "Apology accepted." She shrugged. Her blue flip flops dangled from her fingers behind her back. "I guess I should apologize for bursting on you like that, babbling about all that...stuff."

Nate smiled. "Apology accepted. But let it be known, that if you start dating again, I want to be notified immediatel," he chuckled, his eyes looking away from her.

Oliver nodded. "But it will probably be the last," he smiled.