"Did you guys find anything interesting?" Ashton asks Michael and I when we make it back.

"Nope. Just some empty tide pools." I tell them with a casual shrug, as I sit down to stare at the horizon with everyone else. "It's almost sunset." I whisper to myself, a small smile creeps onto my face. I turn to Mason, "Can we stay just a little bit longer. I really want to watch the sun set."

"I don't know. It's kind of late, and I'm sure everyone wants to get back." Mason sighs as he bundles up the stuff, but the guys all contradict him saying they want to stay. I look up at my brother with pleading eyes, knowing he always falls for it. "Fine. We can stay for a little while longer." He sighs as he drops the stuff on the ground, and all of us cheer.

I bury my feet in the warm sand as we watch the sun fade into the ocean. "I wish this day could have lasted for a little while longer." I sigh, leaning my head on someone's shoulder. I feel them tense up, but quickly take a deep breath and relax after a moment.

"Y-yeah, me too." Luke replies. "Just think of it this way, we still have a whole month of summer left ahead of us."

"That's true, but it won't be the same when we go back." I sigh.

"How so?" Luke asks looking at me with a tinge of worry.

"You guys will be busy finishing the album, and I'll be back to feeling miserable around John, while I'm constantly running errands. Things won't be so simple and fun. I'm not ready for it to go back to how it was."

"Not necessarily." I look up at him as he continues. "Things can still be fun. It might just take a bit of effort, but not everything has to change."

"Promise?" I ask him hopefully and he wraps his arm around my shoulder comfortably.

"I promise, and if you need me to, I'll even try to keep John away."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Hemmings." I chuckle at him, putting my head back on his shoulder. We watch the sun disappear and the stars take its place before Mason ushers us back toward the car. "Or on our backs under the stars, as we sing--as we sing. What's another night on mars, with friends like ours anywhere is home." I quietly sing as we walk to the van.

"Are you singing the Maine?" Calum asks me with a small laugh. I just nod my head in reply as I sting louder and he joins in.

"So you like the Maine, huh?" I turn to ask Calum as Mason starts driving us back to the hotel.

"I've liked them ever since Luke showed me their music."

"Luke?!" I shout at the blond as I jokingly hit him. "You never told me you liked the Maine!"

"You never asked." He drowsily shrugs.

"Really? So countless conversations about music doesn't count?" I sass back in reply.

"Good point." He laughs leaning back in his seat, and the rest of the car ride I continually catch him looking at me.

"What are you looking at?" I tease him when he takes a moment to look away.

"You." He replies with a smirk.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for clearing that up." I tell him as I roll my eyes.

"Oh my gosh! Will the flirting never end?" Michael groans from behind us, shooting me a wink.

"Luke, stop flirting with my baby sister." Mason pretends to scold Luke, but he starts laughing halfway through his sentence.

Neither Luke nor I say anything. I face out the window hoping no one will see me blushing. "Andy's blushing. Andy's blushing." Ashton sing-songs from the front seat.

"Shut up, Ashton." I laugh shaking my head.

"She really is! Did we make THE Andy Parker blush?!" Calum practically shouts as he pokes my cheek. I swat his hand away, but by then there's no stopping the teasing. I do my best to ignore them as they continue to poke fun at Luke and I about it for the rest of the night.

When we get back to the hotel, Phil waits for us in the lobby. "Enjoy the beach?"

"Yes! It was amazing." I tell him with a hug. "Plus it was completely empty, so we had it all to ourselves."

"I know. I'm surprised more people don't know about it." He replies, pulling away from the hug.

"What? What's that look for?"

"So you and Luke?" He asks me seriously. I start to panic wondering what he's talking about, until he continues speaking. "Mason tells me you two were flirting?" I look around for Mason, but Phil stops me. "They went upstairs all ready. I wanted to talk to you for a minute though."

"About what exactly?"

"Andy," Phil starts as we walk over to a couple chairs and take a seat. "I know you like Luke."

"How do you? I didn't even realize it until recently!"

"You're my little sister, I know you better than you think. Plus, I noticed the way you've looked at him while you've been here." I open my mouth to say something, but Phil stops me. "It's the same way he looks at you."

I sigh, resting my head in the palms of my hands. "How is it everyone else realized my feelings for him and vice versa before I did?" I question.

"Because, you're you. You're too self-deprecating and guarded to have seen it." Phil tells me honestly, and I know he's right. "I just wanted to let you know-- I approve."

"What?" I ask him, genuinely confused.

"I approve of him. He seems like a really great guy, and he genuinely cares about you." Phil pauses taking a deep breath. "I felt like I needed to tell you that as your oldest brother. Especially because it's something a dad would do, but I don't expect ours to take that--or any responsibility." I can hear the bitterness in his voice as he speaks, which surprises me.

"I thought--" I pause before tentatively continuing. "--I thought you and he got along."

"We may not argue, but I have no respect for him. There's no way I could after everything that happened. None of us do, not even Mason."

"Really? I always thought Mason--"

"No. Mason won't easily admit it, but he doesn't respect him. Him and Mason may have a decent relationship, but that's only because Dad thinks he can control him. None of that means Mason really likes Dad."

"Are you saying what I think you are? That Dad is only nice to Mason because he thinks he can control him?" I ask as the pieces all start fitting together.

"Yeah. Why do you think you and Nico always had problems with him? Both of you have always been too independent and stubborn for his liking." Phil pauses as the realization hits him. "Wait, you never figured that out?"

"No." I shake my head and my eyes start watering up. "I always thought I was the only one he pushed away. I never realized or said anything because I thought it was just me." My voice drops to a whisper as I say. "All this time I thought it was just me or something I did. I thought I was alone."

"Andy, you're never alone." Phil says his face twisted in pain as he hugs me and lets me cry into his chest. "You have never been alone. We all were hurt by what he did, but I'm so so sorry we didn't talk to you about it more. Although, it did take us a while to figure it out." He mumbles, and I can hear his voice becoming shaky. "Don't worry. You'll never, ever be alone."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me realize I've pointlessly blaming myself for stupid things all this time, for showing me I'm not alone, and for being my big brother."

"You shouldn't be thanking me for that."

"Yes, I should." I insist and tighten the hug as I say using our nickname for him. "I love you, Philtastic."

Phil shakes his head, laughing as he replies, "I love you too, Ducky."

We spend the next hour just talking about all the time we missed in each others lives, and laughing at each others crazy stories. When I make it back up to the suite, I feel free and light. I sit down on the living room couch with a smile. "Someone looks happy. What's gotten you so cheerful?" Calum asks with a playful nudge.

"I just had a nice talk with Phil."

"Really? That's good." He replies, and I notice him trying to bite back a smile.

"What are you up to?" I question warily. "Please, tell me you're not up to something."

"Don't worry, Andy. I'm not up to anything." He replies with a smirk.

"Why does hearing that not make me feel any better?" I ask no one in particular as I stretch out on the couch, draping my legs over Calum's. Ashton, Calum, and I all watch tv for a bit, when we suddenly hear Mason calling me from the balcony. "Coming!" I voice back as I get up and follow his voice out there.

The moment my feet hit the concrete balcony, I feel a hand pull me forward. Michael simultaneously starts screaming, "GO! GO! GO!" I turn around to see him and Mason laughing as they close the sliding glass door.

My stomach drops when I hear the tell-tale click, but I pull on the door anyway. "What in the world are you guys doing?" I shout at them through the door, but they mime that they can't hear me.

"Just so you know, I had nothing to do with this." Luke informs me as he stands by me.

"Do you have any idea what they're doi--" I start to ask, but stop when my phone starts ringing. I put it on speaker so Luke can hear it too. "Michael, what are we doing out here?"

"Well, you two are going to talk, and you know what about." He winks at us from the other side of the glass. "We're all tired of you two not just admitting it to each other. So, we're not letting you two back inside until you do." He walks away as he continues. "There's blankets, food, and water out there if you need it."

Michael hangs up before either of us can say anything. Even though he's far out of sight, I know he and the other guys all must be laughing at our situation. "So--" Luke says, dragging the word out and avoiding eye contact.

Well, Andy, there's no avoiding it now.