A Long Night Ahead

An hour had come and gone as the teens stayed locked down inside the cabin while the powerful storm raged outside. Juliet and Avery had made their way back to the others in fresh dry clothes, before heading into the kitchen to put together some sort of meal. Mindy had curled herself into a corner of the large couch, staying on her laptop, monitoring the snowstorm in between writing to help calm her nerves. As the minutes continued to tick and sun-faded away no one seemed to be more afraid than Devin, the teen hadn't left the large bay window once since returning, staring out at the snowy mountain, seemingly trying to will Nicole and Kenny to return and not remain outside all night long. There wasn't much conversation shared between the group, but the moment Brian chose to turn on the TV, Devin finally turned glaring coldly at the teen before storming up towards his room.

"Jesus," Brian scratched the top of his head, "I don't think I've ever seen Devin this tense," He glanced over to Anna who gave a light shake of her head.

"Nicole always said he had a hard time when things weren't in his control, he probably hates feeling so helpless like the rest of us," Anna slowly lowered her head, "You sure they are going to be alright out there in this Brian? It's freezing out there and --"

"Hey, they are going to be just fine. Kenny said the tower was solid, they had a fire burning, protection from the cold, and plenty of supplies in their packs. They will both be A-Okay." Brian said in a comforting tone as he put an arm around the blonde girl, pulling her close.

Anna instantly melted into his hold, resting her head against his toned chest, and Brian's brow slightly jumped, "I just feel so responsible...I let Nicole head off with him alone. I wanted to help her feel a little better, but now I could have caused --"

"Hey, none of this is your fault, and I swear, come tomorrow, we'll head out to get them first thing. And then we can all laugh about this later." Brian sternly reassured the blonde with complete confidence in his words, "It's all going to be alright, Anna."

"Yeah?" Anna let out a soft exhale, "You're right, panicking won't do us any good." She lifted her eyes, peering up at him, "Thanks, Brian."

"Anytime." He gave the blonde a little wink.

"Excuse me." Juliet stepped into the room, her eyes almost rolling as she looked at the duo, "Dinners ready, help yourselves. Ave and I already did." She offered before back into the hall. As much as Juliet loathed to admit it, Brian wasn't wrong, Kenny wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't have told Brian not to worry unless he was sure he and Nicole would be alright. That said, the last thing she was going to do was sit here all night watching Brian "comfort" Anna. "I think I'm gonna just go to my room and take a shower or something," Juliet called over to Mindy who gave her a quick thumbs up, "Call me if they show up," She said to the girl before looking over to Avery, "You coming with, or sticking out here?" The brunette asked with an easy smile,

"While you shower?" Avery's brow raised,

Juliet broke into a hearty laugh and reached down, taking Avery's hand and pulling him up, "There is a reason the bathroom has a door, Ave. You can still hang out in the bedroom while I do that." Juliet explained as she led Avery out of the living room and up the hallway to their bedroom, "Besides, I think this is a perfect time to continue this starting over, right?"

Avery let out a breathy half laugh, "Right, starting over. Sure," He pursed his lips as his eyes traced down Juliet's body for a moment but as the brunette glanced back at him, they swiftly snapped away.

With the duo gone, Mindy got up from her spot as well, "I'm gonna go eat. Should see if Devin will too." She hummed as she left the den, laptop in hand.

As Mindy made her way out, Brian sat up ever so slightly, looking back down at Anna who remained pressed against him. For years he'd dreamed of having a moment like this with the girl, and unlike what he used to think, he didn't even have to play any games to get her here. "Peace at last," Brian sighed while tightening his hold around Anna,

Anna hummed in approval, "I know, when everyone got back it felt almost...crowded." Anna's cheeks turned ever so slightly flush, "I guess I just enjoyed the one-on-one time we had today. You were so open and honest with me. And I think all those people at school really do have you wrong, you're not a bad guy at all Brian. You just made some mistakes that you're making up for now. And that's really...inspiring." The blonde girl wholeheartedly stated as Brian began to run his hand up and down Anna's arm,

The teenager let out a short chuckle "Means a lot coming from you, outside of Kenny and JJ, I don't know if anyone fully believes that I'm a changed guy. Juliet definitely doesn't, and I don't think Nikki does either." Brian let out a small sigh and his hand stopped, "But...for the sake of this honesty, you've been so impressed with, I guess I should come clean about something else." Anna slowly lifted her head off Brian, "You...know I have a thing for you right?"

"Oh..." Anna diverted her gaze, her cheeks continuing to glow as she tucked a few locks of hair behind her ear, "Yes...I did hear about that in school." Brian rubbed the back of his neck and gave a half-hearted grin, "And I'll be honest and say, I didn't know how that made me feel. Most people always blow right past me as soon as they realize I'm not like Nikki. That I'm not just going to be some casual hook-up." Her lips pursed, "

"Fucking assholes," Brian shook his head with dismay, "If we were ever to -- Not saying that's what I'm thinking about, but I'm past looking for some random ass hook up. I had my fill and you saw where that mentality got me. So when I say I have a thing for you, I mean it genuinely, not just because I want to get you into bed."

Anna couldn't help but find a small smile on her face, "That...does make it a little clearer in my head," She said warmly, "I think that's exactly how it should be too, I'm not a prude or anything, but just jumping into bed with the first person to show interest doesn't sound right. I want to know who I give myself to."

Brian reached out and gently brushed Anna's blonde hair over her ear and tilted his head, looking into her eyes keenly, "I want to know you, Anna, I want to know everything about you," Anna nervously gulped as she felt herself starting to lean forward, "And I don't care how slow it would go. I'd be more than willing to wait..."

"Brian..." Anna reached out, cupping the teen's face in both hands, and pressed her lips against his. Brian, in turn, smoothly pressed back against Anna and wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her close to him while taking control of the kiss from the inexperienced blonde girl.

In the meantime, Mindy headed out of the kitchen and upstairs, heading into the bedroom with a cup in hand, "You know there is food downstairs right?" Devin looked up from the loveseat in front of the television, "How come you're just sitting up here alone, doing nothing?"

"Brian," Devin muttered as he finally uncrossed his arms and sat himself up straight, "We're in there worried about our friends and he turns the fucking tv on, what a douche," Devin replied while looking over to Mindy before raising his brow, "Coffee?"

"Cocoa" Mindy smirked, passing it over to him, "I figure this might level you out a little since you're like steamed lobster right now,"

Devin couldn't help but smile as he reached out and took the mug from Mindy's hand, "Steamed lobster? That's a new one." Mindy nodded back and motioned to the couch, "Help yourself," Devin nodded while scooting to one side, clearing a space for Mindy next to him. As Mindy sat down Devin leaned back and began to silently sip on his cocoa which the brunette immediately began to follow along with. After a few minutes and half a cup, Devin let out a sigh and looked over to Mindy, "I'm sorry I've been such a dickhead, I'm really not a bad guy, it's just...this struck me like a bus, and I doing my best to put the pieces back together,"

Mindy finished the gulp of cocoa in her mouth and gently shook her head, "I know you're not a bad guy, Devin, we all know that. I also know that you loved Nicole, regardless of what happened between you two. So I'm not judging you for how you've been, I can't imagine what it's like to have a major relationship end so abruptly. And you can be mad at Nicole, Kenny, yourself, whoever you need to be, as long as you can pull yourself out of it eventually and get back on the horse,"

Devin let out a profound exhale, "I don't hate Nikki or Kenny at all, I don't blame either one of them for getting closer or whatever. Kenny's a good guy, we've been friends for a while now, and I know he's not really a prick. It's just...when I see them together, it's like...that's my girlfriend, you know? It doesn't make sense, I know that but it's so hard to see Nicole as anything else and whenever I see her with Kenny I just get so angry and jealous. It feels like Nikki is trying to use him just to get under my skin and it...it fucking works too fucking well." Devin hardly explained, "But even still, I'd give anything for them to walk out of those woods right now, just to know my friends are safe,"

"There, that right there," Mindy pointed out with a pleased smile, "That's how I know you're still a good guy. I know that doesn't mean when you see them together next you'll suddenly be okay with it, but the fact that you know that you're feeling irrational and genuinely care about them both tells me everything," Devin let out a short, uncertain smile, "Hey, you're hurting right now, and hurt people don't always do the nicest stuff, but that's okay, you'll get better with time,"

"Thanks, Mindy," Devin wholeheartedly replied, "It's nice to know I at least have one person on my side still,"

"There aren't any sides, dude," Mindy cheerfully replied as she took another sip of cocoa, "Still got a feeling we're gonna be out here for a while though," She cracked back open her laptop.

"No doubt," Devin set down his cup and let out a small sigh before glancing back to Mindy, "You ever...smoke?"

"Smoke?"

Devin smirked, "Yeah you know, just to chill out?"

"I, uh...well, I never really had a chance to." Mindy shrugged.

Devin let out a small scoff, "That's so fucked." He dug a hand into his pocket, "Well, I haven't in a while and I think it'd really calm my nerves. You're welcome to take a few hits if you're down. If not, totally cool, no pressure."

Mindy gave a silent nod as Devin lit his joint and after a few moments of thought she set her laptop aside, "You know what, why not? Sure."