Klaus and I were by the pool again, mostly because we weren't sure what else to do. Considering we had spent the majority of our time together recently discussing Quigley and Violet, finding out they had secretly been together all this time was sort of jarring, simply because it meant we didn't have anything to talk about. That had never happened before, but it was as though setting up our siblings had taken over everything and now that our little set up plan was over there was nothing left. It was a weird feeling to say the least.

I had planned on spending the morning using up the rest of our coins in the arcade with Duncan. But, to my surprise, when the two of us had gone over there after breakfast, the doors were locked. And, after peering through the window, it became apparent that it was Carmelita's fault (as things often were when she was around), as we could see her inside, playing all the games to her heart's content. And, knowing Carmelita, she had probably convinced the staff to let her play for free too.

So with our plans squashed, Duncan had joined Liam, Violet and Quigley in the pool for some volleyball with some of the other camp goers, and I had joined Klaus on the loungers, where he had been reading a book. Now, the book sat on the small table between us, showing that he was open to talk. But the two of us hadn't said a word to one another yet. We were just sat side by side, watching people splashing around in the pool or drinking colourful juices garnished with paper umbrellas. And despite our silences usually feeling comfortable, this one felt spring loaded for reasons I could only guess at.

I decided that I had to go for it and just say how I was feeling. Otherwise, who knew how long things would feel awkward between us? And I didn't want to be the reason that we drifted apart. I knew Klaus well enough to know that he valued honesty, so I would be honest, no matter what happened, and if we came out the other side as close as we had always been then I would consider it a win.

"I'm sorry," I told him, breaking our silence. "I haven't felt like myself since we got here. And I don't know what I was thinking with the whole Carmelita situation. I shouldn't have stayed at the party, but I did because..." I took a breath. Klaus had turned his attention to me now, and suddenly everything was harder to say, having him staring at me like that. Still, I forced myself to continue. "I was just nervous and I needed a distraction and to sort of drag out the evening... because I was scared of sharing a bed with you and what it might change between us."

Klaus didn't say anything for a long time, and I almost wondered if I had just said all of that in my head, or that he hadn't heard me, or he had completely short-circuited and I needed to be calling a first aider instead of just sitting there, staring back.

Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "And did it?"

I blinked, confused. "Huh?"

"Did it change anything?"

I broke eye contact, simply because his gaze suddenly felt piercing, as though he was trying to see the answer inside my head before I could say it. Good luck, I thought to myself, knowing my own mind was an entire mess at the moment. I had been trying to untangle everything myself and had still come up short. But, weirdly, as I sat there on the lounger with him next to me, awaiting my response, I found it came all too easily. If I thought about it too hard- considered every possibility, overthought every conversation and every word exchanged between us- then yes, it got complicated. The truth got mixed together with my own reservations and self deprecating tendencies. But if I didn't let myself get that deep and think too hard, then there the answer was, untouched by my own second guessing. It was clear as day, and I almost laughed with how easily everything revealed itself to me when I just let it happen instead of forcing it to come to light.

So I looked back at Klaus, who was still waiting patiently as I thought, turning everything over in my head, and smiled softly. "No," I said. "It didn't change a thing."

Klaus gave a nod, looking back over at the pool ahead of us. "Right," he said. "Of course."

But I wasn't finished. "It didn't change a thing because I knew already. I already knew I liked you, Klaus."

He was silent for a long while, and as the seconds stretched out and he still wasn't reacting, both my mind and my stomach went into turmoil. I knew I would still be his best friend if he didn't feel the same- I wasn't the sort to admonish him for simply having different feelings- but I wondered if it would ever be the same for me, now that I had admitted to myself how I felt about him. If it came down to it would I be able to shut that door and force myself to only see him as a friend again?

I couldn't bear the silence any longer so I reluctantly broke it. "It's okay if you don't feel the sa-"

"Hold on," Klaus said abruptly, cutting me off. Then he got up and beelined for the pool, crouched at the water's edge and beckoned Violet over.

That was when my heart well and truly sank. Not only did he not feel the same but he couldn't even find it within himself to tell me that. He couldn't even be honest with me, and that was the worst part. No, actually, I corrected myself, the worst part is that he couldn't even look at me. Was the idea of me liking him really that awful? 

I looked away from the siblings, looking at my own instead, where they were messing around in the pool with Liam, none the wiser to the heartbreak that had just happened mere metres away from them. And good- if I had it my way then no one would ever find out. If I had it my way, then Klaus and I would go back to being best friends, just like it had been before all of this, and I would shut my feelings away tight, never to be seen again. But deep down, I knew that things would never quite be the same, because I would never stop replaying Klaus' reaction, and I would never be able to get his expression out of my head when I said I liked him and he looked like his world had ended. 

Suddenly everything around me was too much. There were too many people (how many had overheard and were now making pitying faces to their friends or snickering about the clear rejection?) and there was too much noise, so much so that I felt like I had to go somewhere quiet- maybe the bathroom so I could sort myself out, see how much of a train wreck I looked like and at least try to compose myself. 

But before I could go anywhere, Klaus was back in front of me. And to my complete surprise, he looked like he was biting back a smile. "Isadora," he said softly, and when I stayed silent, looking at him confused and hurt, he said it again and reached for my hands. He pulled me to my feet gently and then finally let the smile out that he had been holding back. "I thought you were pranking me. I'd been telling Violet all summer how much I liked you and-" He laughed slightly. "I just had to make sure she hadn't been meddling."

"What?" I said, thoroughly confused. Just moments ago it had felt like my entire world was coming crashing down, but now the disaster was suspended, frozen in mid-air as I worked through what he was telling me, trying to make it make sense.

Klaus continued on. "Poor Violet. Literally all summer I've been going to her for advice, trying to decided whether to tell you or not. We're so close already and I love that; I didn't want to confess and ruin everything. Violet kept telling me to have faith and just let it happen. She said if it was meant to happen then it would." He looked down a little, smiling to himself. Then he shook his head and looked me in the eye again. "Then you go and say that and I just... I don't know. I had to make sure Violet hadn't told you to say something."

I finally let myself smile as well, coming to terms with what he was saying. "No way," I said. "I very painstakingly came to that conclusion on my own." Then I thought about part of Klaus' confession that had stuck out to me and looked past him to Violet, who was still in the pool but trying to subtly watch the two of us. "Violet said the same thing to me as well, you know. About just letting things happen."

Klaus grinned. "Why do I feel like she's been setting this up since the beginning?"

"God, we thought we were setting them up when it was actually Violet this whole time, setting us up instead."

"And knowing your brothers, they probably had a hand in it too," Klaus added. 

We shared a laugh, and it felt so effortless, just being like this. It seemed like I had got my wish after all- everything had changed between us but it felt like nothing had changed at all. 

"So what happens now?" Klaus asked.

"What happens now?" I repeated, and I felt my heart flutter as I thought about it. Of course, the natural progression would be to make things official, but just the thought of trying to form the words to ask him felt impossible. Even though I was sure I knew what his answer would be, it still sent my nerves soaring.

But it seemed Klaus had a different idea. He gently pulled me closer until I was against him, wrapping his arms around me. Not quite knowing what to do with my hands, I ended up resting them on his chest and, beneath my palm, I could feel his heart thundering away, beating so hard it almost felt unnatural. That helped to set me even more at ease, knowing he was clearly nervous despite his smile, and I relaxed into him. He dipped his head towards mine and my eyes darted down to his lips of their own accord. Everything felt like it was going in slow motion as we got closer and closer and then-

"Woo! Get it!" Duncan yelled, completely breaking the moment. 

"Duncan!" Quigley and Violet scolded at the same time, sounding eerily like our parents, and it was then I realised that the three of them had been watching our entire exchange. I felt my face burn up and I buried it in Klaus' chest, trying not to think about how awkward it was that they had watched us almost kiss. 

"Maybe we should go somewhere more private?" Klaus said to me, and then we were walking away from the three trouble makers.

I noticed we weren't walking anywhere in particular but it didn't matter. Just the fact we were walking together, hand in hand, with all of our thoughts and feelings out in the open was good enough for me. And even though our whole summer plan had fallen through and our set up had been for nothing, it didn't matter anymore. Because this was an outcome I had never imagined but one I now knew I couldn't have lived without. 

The End

A/N: And we're done! Sorry for all the breaks between updates, especially the extra long ones. I feel like I always say that but I really do mean it. Time seems to run away from me these days, especially when there's so much going on. If I write another (and I do have a few ideas tbh) I think I'll try and write it in full before I start posting, so that I can post consistently, but we'll see what happens!

I hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for all the support, whether it's with votes, comments or simply just reading. It's so lovely to pop onto wattpad and see you guys interacting with my work and with each other as well, not just on this story but on stories that I've had out for years that I've previously suspected of going stagnant. It's so nice to see and I appreciate it so much!

If/when I do another one, I'll announce it on my profile, so look out for that! 

Anyways, thank you again for reading and I'll see you again soon! ❤