I clutched her in a tightly possessive hold as I lifted her through the doorway of the cabin. My eyes still burned from the remnants of tears, my body still not quite processing that she was truly safe, alive, and hadn't left me.

Images of her lifeless body flashed to my mind from just a few minutes ago, gnawed at me, and made me hold on to her tighter. The images never made me want to let her go.

She'd made it clear a while ago with her words, she'd never accept me as a boyfriend, but I'd take any other damn role she'd give me – friend, neighbor, her annoying sidekick whatever. As long as I got to keep seeing that smile of hers, I'd be okay.

Once shrouded in the warmth of the cabin, I made quick steps towards the sofa and gently lowered her down onto the surface. It's not exactly where I wanted her. If there was no risk of looking insane, I'd probably have tucked her straight into my bed for the night and climbed in right after her.

Once I quickly propped a pillow behind her, I leaned back to look at her. She shivered slightly as I moved away from her, and as my eyes darted up and down her body, I remembered she was still soaked to the skin.

I immediately rushed off to the bathroom and quickly returned with a towel in hand. She looked up at me wide-eyed, and I wasted no time before wrapping the towel snuggly around her.

"What about you?" Mia asked with a frown, as she tugged the ends of the towel more snugly around herself.

"I'm fine," I said immediately.

Mia's eyes went all soft. "But...."

"I said, I'm fine," I stated more firmly this time, cutting her off. I refused to let her worry about me after she literally almost died. She should be worrying about herself and herself alone.

Before Mia could debate me any further, the doors to the cabin burst open. Chloe and May immediately came barrelling into the room and ran full speed towards Mia, and nearly body-tackled me out of the way in their urgency to get to her.

Throwing themselves down on the ground, they engulfed Mia in a tight hug that immediately had the corners of my lips tugging up into a smile.

Mia let out a light giggle and just as eagerly hugged them back.

They soon all pulled away. "God, that was so scary. I thought you were dead," Chloe said as tears started streaming freely down her face.

Mia's face fell, guilt swarming her features. "I'm so sorry for worrying you guys, I'm such an idiot," she mumbled.

I bit my tongue, holding myself back from agreeing with her that what she did was stupid. Anything that even mildly risked her life, was stupid.

May, clearly a lot less salty than me, threw Mia a soft smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "We're just glad you're okay," she mumbled as she squeezed her hand.

Okay, that I more than definitely agreed with.

Mia smiled once more before swinging herself up into a seated position. "I think I'm going to have a shower, I smell disgusting," she laughed as she stood to her feet.

Woah, woah, woah, no.

My brain might as well have started chanting danger, danger, with flashing lights as soon as Mia mentioned shower. Slippery floors, her recent loss of consciousness, and being alone all screamed danger.

I quickly intercepted her once she had got her clothes from the bedroom and was on her way to the bathroom door. I blocked the door before she could reach it, forcing her to come to a stop.

"Don't lock the door, Mia you could faint, and nobody would know," I explained quickly.

I bit my tongue, knowing I was itching to also ask her if I could come into the bathroom with her. Not to perv or anything, but just so I could monitor her and get to her quicker if she needed it.

And, I mean having a good view to look at while I monitored her wouldn't exactly be a bad thing....

"Fuck no! Anyone could just walk in," Mia stammered out, bringing me back to the present conversation. Her brown eyes flew up and down me like I was crazy.

Realizing this was just her reaction to just leaving the door unlocked, I quickly killed the whole staying in the bathroom with her idea. It was very clearly not happening.

I lazily rolled my eyes. "Relax, I'll guard the door for you and make sure nobody goes in," I sighed.

Have fun guarding the door from yourself, you delusional boy – the annoying, and inappropriate part of my brain decided to pipe in.

"Okay, fine, whatever," Mia finally said with a tired sigh before stepping around me and entering the bathroom.

Mia's shower took approximately fifteen minutes which meant fifteen straight minutes of anxiously pacing outside the bathroom door while getting odd looks from my friends as they passed me by. Particularly Lucas who stopped upon seeing me and smiled before annoyingly suggesting, "I assist Mia to bathe in the shower if I was that desperate.'

Due to that comment, I briefly left my post, to throw a blanket at a cackling Lucas before quickly returning back outside the door.

I couldn't help but worry, and pathetically every time I heard too much silence I'd knock, and Mia would no doubt roll her eyes and reply back with a light laugh, and sing back 'Still alive, Ethan.'

Finally, just as I was about to knock again, the door suddenly creaked and the old wooden door soon flew open. My eyes widened locking eyes with her, as I took in her short shorts and cropped cami top that was just exposing the perfect amount of skin.

At that moment, I definitely, didn't let my eyes sweep up and down her body. And I certainly, didn't think about how hard it was going to be to sleep tonight in my own bed, knowing she was in the bed beside mine wearing that. I didn't think any of that, because I'm a respectable gentleman who was simply guarding her door.

I cleared my throat once, then twice, as she awkwardly stood in the doorway.

"I'll grab a quick shower as well," I stuttered quickly. Smooth, real smooth.

Turning around, I quickly marched to the bedroom to grab some clothes. On my way back, I didn't at all let my eyes roam over her body for a second time as I passed by her on my way to the bathroom.

The moment I'd closed the bathroom door behind myself, I took two clean breaths to try and calm myself. I suddenly paused, realizing Mia was potentially going to be sitting in the bedroom alone. I briefly considered inviting her into the bathroom with me, then quickly shut down the idea as quickly as it came.

Mia would immediately slap me for even suggesting the idea. Also, let's face it I didn't have enough self-control to just casually be naked in a bathroom with her, and not try and start something up.

After I'd successfully scrubbed off any last remains of dirty lake water from my body, I threw on some old basketball shorts. I decided to leave my chest bare, preferring to sleep that way. Besides, since Mia was deciding to show so much skin tonight, there was no harm in me doing so also.

Heading out of the bathroom, I trailed my way back into the bedroom while using one hand to towel dry my still-damp hair.

I spotted Mia sitting cross-legged on her bed as I entered, and I threw her a gentle smile. I wanted to do much more than smile, I wanted to jump her and then kiss her, still so relieved that she was safe, but I figured that would inevitably scare the shit out of her.

For whatever reason, Mia sat up straighter as I entered the room as though an electric zap had just sparked up her spine. Her eyes were large and piercingly heated as they followed me on my path around the room. Once I'd hung up my damp clothes on the radiator in the corner, I turned around to face her curiously, wondering if something was wrong.

Once, I'd turned around I immediately identified the 'issue' and I tried hard not to smile too hard.

Mia's eyes were trained on my lower torso, with an amusing intensity. I saw her throat work over as she tilted her head, still completely oblivious to the fact I was looking straight at her.

Finally, her eyes dragged back up to mine, and when she locked eyes on me, she let out a weird choking sound in surprise, realizing she'd been caught.

A harsh redness broke through her cheeks, and she ripped her gaze away from me fast, clearly embarrassed.

I refrained from teasing her, knowing full well she had nothing to be embarrassed about, considering the number of times I'd looked at her, in worse kinds of ways.

My smile slowly slipped from my face as I observed her again from head to toe. I wonder if she felt sick, or needed further help. I'd asked her through the bathroom door if she wanted me to go find a camp nurse to have a look at her, but she shot down the idea and got weirdly aggressive.

Well fine, I had asked her fifteen times and on the fifteenth time, she got aggressive. At the time, I let the nurse idea go, deciding to trust she was okay, but now I wasn't too sure if that was a good decision.

"You're a hero, you know," Mia spoke up softly, interrupting the franticness of my mind. I locked eyes with her in surprise and saw her smiling at me in a way that made me weak. Her eyes continued to rock between mine. "It was cool what you did, so thanks," she mumbled, her eyes layered with a genuine kind of gratitude.

I didn't say anything for a second, knowing full well I was nothing close to a hero. There was nothing selfless about what I did. I'd saved Mia for my own sake, for me. Yes, I did it, so she'd have a long life, and get all the opportunities she deserved in life, but that wasn't the only reason. I did it so I wouldn't go insane every day from missing her, so I could be happy. I did it so my ridiculous dream of one day marrying her wouldn't disappear. I did it so she wouldn't leave me.

I saved her for my dreams.

Unable to help myself, I slowly approached her and took a seat by her side at the edge of the bed.

I reached my hand out, and slowly stroked the side of her cheek. I selfishly wanted closeness and was no doubt soothing myself no doubt more than I was soothing her.

She leaned a little closer to me, making the corner of my lips twitch upward. For a moment, I imagined she wanted me the way I wanted her.

"I'm just happy, you're okay," I whispered, my eyes gently rocking between hers. "I was...I was so scared, Mia. When you wouldn't wake up, I felt like I was dying as well," I choked out, my eyes starting to once more burn with tears as I processed the honesty of my words.

Mia quickly placed her hand over mine that still lay on her cheek, and gave me the kindest and comforting of smiles. The kind of smile I wanted to bottle up and consume and keep just for me.

"But I'm fine now, thanks to you," she whispered.

I slowly nodded my head, knowing I had to start believing her. As scared as I was, she was safe now – warm and breathing.

"And hey," Mia suddenly said, her eyes flashing amusedly. "Look on the bright side, it must have looked funny when I rolled down the bank," she joked, in between a chuckle.

I didn't laugh, instead, my jaw tightened, not at all too fond of making fun of one of the scariest things I'd ever had to witness in my life. I pulled my hand away from her face sharply.

"Funnily enough, Mia, I didn't find any humor in watching you fall to your death." My voice came out harsh, and vulnerable.

Mia's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't mean to..."

"Mia, I don't think you fucking understand. I almost watched you die right in front of me, you stopped breathing!" I cried. "I can't believe you would risk your life for some stupid scrap of silver."

I knew I shouldn't have been mad at her for what was merely an accident. In the back of my mind, I knew it was ridiculous but damn it, I couldn't help it. I needed to be mad at something for almost taking her away from me.

Mia looked at the bed sheet in embarrassment and fiddled with it aimlessly. "It was really expensive, Ethan...," she muttered weakly.

I scoffed, unable to help myself. "I don't care if it was worth a billion fucking dollars, don't you ever risk your life," I lectured.

"But...," Mia started to say weakly.

"You're not allowed to die, Mia," I snapped. My voice trembled as I spoke. I wanted to say so many things about how I felt, but this was the crux of it.

I didn't want her to die when I was still supposedly mad at her. I didn't want her to die thinking I hated her. And that's the reality I had to face for seven agonizing seconds as I waited for her to breathe again.

Mia let out a sigh. "I didn't exactly do it on purpose, Ethan, I already feel bad enough," she mumbled, her voice weak and her eyes still barely continuing to meet mine.

My eyes immediately softened, guilt twisting my chest as I realized, I was making her unfairly feel bad for something that wasn't her fault. In reality, it was nobody's fault. I knew the sad truth of life was that bad things could sometimes happen and there was often nothing anybody could do to prevent them.

My shoulders sagged down slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get mad. I'm just feeling a little on edge after almost losing you," I mumbled honestly as I hesitantly met back her eyes.

"Yeah, I understand, don't worry," she smiled weakly. She adjusted herself slightly on the bed so she could sit up properly then she winced.

"Crap, are you alright?" I said immediately, my eyes drawn down to her waist. A frustrated groan escaped my lips. "I'm so stupid, I should have checked to see how bad it was," I grumbled, annoyed at myself for not attending to her better. I was an idiot.

Mia shrugged. "It's fine. Just a couple of scratches that's all."

I narrowed my eyes and scanned my eyes over her one more time. "Take your shirt off," I ordered.

I genuinely meant it in an innocent, prove it then way before I processed what I'd truly just said.

Mia's shocked and flustered expression was more than evidence enough of the fact I'd fucked up. She repeatedly opened and closed her mouth as though unsure what to say, and a deep blush spread over her cheeks.

"Not like that!" I rushed out quickly, no doubt blushing myself now. I blinked rapidly. "I just want to see how badly you hurt yourself," I explained as I gestured to her injured side.

"Oh," Mia said simply, something oddly similar looking to disappointment crossing her features.

After a handful of awkward seconds, where she continued to stare at me and not take her shirt off, I eyed her over with a confused smile. "Well, what are you waiting for?" I said, looking over her expectantly.

Did she want me to take her top off for her or something? I mean, I was more than happy to assist....

Mia looked away, nervously. "You'll see my bra, Ethan, it's embarrassing...," she mumbled, her face once more starting to heat up a little.

I tried to hide my smile, but it soon crept onto my face against my will, finding her embarrassment cute. It was ridiculous that she was even embarrassed in the first place when she had a body like the one she did. I could genuinely write poetry about that body of hers.

"I've seen you without a top on before Mia, so it's not like I would be seeing anything new," I lightly teased, referring back to the time she got high at Lucas' party.

She seemed to pause on that. "Yeah, I suppose that's true...," she mumbled slowly.

With a sigh, Mia threw me one last red-cheeked embarrassed look, before reaching for the hem of her top and slowly pulling it over her head.

Suddenly forgetting where I was, I stopped breathing as I watched her remove it feeling like I was being hypnotized.

Sitting now shirtless before me, I watched with widened disheveled eyes as she crumped her shirt into a ball and threw it onto the bed beside her. I was only a weak man, so my eyes naturally flew to her breasts to stare hypnotically at her tiny little white bra that was presenting her cleavage in a way that was making a mockery of my self-control not to jump her.

My hands itched to touch her in ways that made me ashamed.

The sound of an awkward cough, snapped back my attention. I jolted my head up sharply to look at her, quickly remembering where I was.

I nearly died in my own shame as I locked eyes with her, realizing how shamefully obvious I'd just been about staring at her boobs. I threw her a guilty smile.

"Erm..sorry...," I said with a nervous laugh. "I was just deep in thought," I mumbled in excuse as I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. Mia's brows plucked up slightly, clearly picking up on my lies.

Well, It wasn't a full lie. I had been deep in thought imagining all the things I wanted to do to her.....

Finally, remembering my original mission, I let my eyes fall past her breasts and to her upper stomach. The moment I saw all the scratched-up, sore and still bleeding skin underneath her bra line, my jaw tightened in annoyance. My eyes snapped back up to meet hers, knowing full well she'd been lying to me.

"A couple of scratches my fucking ass. Mia, you're literally still bleeding," I snapped.

Without another word, I leaped off the bed and started rummaging through my luggage. Mia sat up further on the bed, with a confused smile.

Soon enough I located my mini first aid kit and stood up with it in hand.

Mia immediately snorted upon seeing it, as I laid it down on the bed beside her.

I threw her a curious look. "What's so funny, Chubs?" I said with an arched brow as I started pulling out some anti-bacterial wipes and bandages from the box.

Mia bit her lips lightly. "Nothing," she laughed. "It's just funny to see you like this," she said, her eyes shining in a way that tugged at a knot deep in my belly. She always found ways to make that damn knot tug.

"Hmmm," I hummed dismissively, while the corner of my lips once more edged up against their will. She was an impossible person to be serious around.

Just as I was about to press the wipe to her side, I hesitated, looking up at her. "Sorry, this is going to hurt like a bitch," I said. Then as carefully as I could, I started to dab at the skin.

She recoiled a little back at the first touch. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts," I apologized as I continued on with my cleaning.

Once I was done, I chucked it away before reaching for the bandages I'd picked out.

"Don't you think a bandage is a little extreme," Mia chuckled, still seeming to get a kick out of making fun of me. She was lucky, she was the only one who could make fun of me and get away with it.

I scoffed at her. "It's very necessary, Mia. There's not a size of plaster that would cover this entire fucking thing. Just trust me, okay," I explained with a frown.

Mia rolled her eyes at me, but wouldn't stop smiling. I soon got to work and started wrapping the bandage snugly around the small part of her waist. Her breathing sharpened as I got closer, and I tried to not let the reaction get to my head. I also tried not to let myself enjoy the feel of my hands brushing against the skin of her waist. It was wrong that I was making this feel intimate when it wasn't.

"All done," I finally said, as I tucked the last bit of the bandage in.

I shouldn't have done it, I really know I shouldn't have but as her eyes locked on mine, I lost all sense.

Drawing my eyes back down to my handiwork, I bent down to her waist and placed a soft kiss on the bare skin right above her bandage. She stiffened under my touch, then shivered ever so slightly.

I straightened back up, and once more let my eyes fall back on hers. "There, that's the magic kiss of healing," I joked, my eyes sparkling amusedly.

Before I could find anything stupid excuse to kiss her, I quickly picked up her tank top from the bed

and started pulling it gently over her head.

"Ethan, what are you doing? I'm not a three-year-old," she laughed as she helped me get it on.

"Well, princesses have someone to dress them, and I don't see why you shouldn't have the same treatment, hmm," I mumbled as I looked her up and down. I was shamelessly flirting with her at this point, but I deserved it after almost losing her.

Her brow plucked up, at the word princess. "I'm a princess, am I? Well, if I'm the princess, what does that make you?" she teased, with the cocky tilt of her head.

I smiled. "Your knight in shining armor, of course."

"Really?" Mia teased. "I pegged you as more as the grumpy troll that lives under the bridge," she laughed, clearly unable to resist the perfect opportunity to bully me.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Well, I don't care what I am as long as you're in my story," I mumbled honestly as I slowly reached out and stroked her cheek.

Mia's eyes softened, and her expression soon changed and took on something much more solemn. She swallowed harshly. "Ethan, I'm so, so sorry for the things I said to you a couple of weeks back. I know you've said you've forgiven me, but I still feel so awful," she groaned.

I gave her a warm smile and took her hand. "Don't be, you can say whatever the hell you want to me as long as you promise to stay in my life. I need you Mia," I whispered as my eyes flickered gently back and forth between hers.

Mia squeezed my hand back firmly and then smiled. "I promise."

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Hope you enjoyed xx