"thalia?" as soon as his voice came over the phone, i nearly sighed in relief.

"hey," i said softly.

"why are you calling me at three in the morning?"

i grabbed a fistful of sand and watched as it fell through the space between my fingers. "did i wake you up?" i was stalling for time because i didn't know how to broach the subject.

"no, i've been working on something all night. are you okay?" his familiar voice made my heart ache a little. i honestly hated talking on the phone. i liked to be face to face when i was having a conversation with someone, but of course i was only able to talk to him over the phone due to being at the beach.

"yeah, i'm fine. i just- i did something and now i'm confused about everything."

there was the sound of papers rustling and a loud scuffle before i heard him speak again. "was it something illegal?"

i couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "no, not something illegal. i kissed nick."

"oh?" was all he said at first. "why did you kiss him?"

"we were wrestling and messing around and he got me pinned and i don't know what came over me but i just kissed him," i explained.

"okay... was he upset or weirded out?"

"no."

"did he return the kiss?"

"yes."

"okay. so i'm assuming that you kissed him impulsively and now you have no idea if you actually like him or not because you've never really considered if you like him as more than a best friend," he guessed.

"how the heck did you know that?" i asked. he had a way of reading my mind in a scary way, but this was beyond weird.

"i'm just that good," he said. "so you want my opinion on your feelings?"

"yes. i don't know who else to ask," i admitted.

"well, i've seen you guys together and i've seen you guys apart. you've always complemented each other well and you guys are better together. but that doesn't mean you guys are romantically interested in each other. the only way you're going to know is if you be honest with yourself and talk it over with him. test the waters if you guys need."

"wow," i said, "that was actually good advice. thank you."

"anytime. i love you thalia."

"i love you too, dreamy weamy."

he groaned at that. "we were having a good moment and you had to ruin it."

"i thought it was appropriate." i smiled to myself as i started drawing little hearts in the sand.

"it was definitely not appropriate. i'm hanging up now," dream sang. "i've got to get sleep some before you and nick keep me up all night."

it took me a second to realize what he was insinuating. "is all you think about sex?"

"nope, not at all. apparently it's all you think about, though, because i was referring to the fact that it's almost the time of year when we stay up all night watching scary movies and you and nick scream like little girls the whole time."

"really?"

"no," dream said. "i was definitely referring to sex."

i rolled my eyes at that. "goodbye dream." i hung up the phone and slowly stood up from the sand, dusting it off of me before returning to the bungalow.

nick was still asleep when i laid back down. i simply laid on top of the covers and smiled at the ceiling like an idiot.

me and nick, i mused. thalia and nick- boyfriend and girlfriend.

"thalia?" nick asked, voice groggy. my heart skipped a beat and i nearly rolled my eyes at myself. i had heard his sleepy voice millions of times- this shouldn't have been any different.

but it was. because now i looked at nick and i saw all the things that made him who he was in a new light.

"did i wake you?" i felt his arm moving across the bed, and i reached out my hand to grab his.

"no, i've barely slept. too much adrenaline," he mumbled.

i giggled softly at that. "i understand."

"did you talk to dream?" he questioned.

we were both laying on our backs, on opposite ends of the bed, with our entwined hands linking us.

"yes," i answered honestly. "we talked about you."

"i knew you would call him," he said. his voice slowly started to clear as he woke up a little more.

"how did you know?"

"because i know you better than i know myself," he said.

"i know you do," i replied.

"that's also why i know you left the bed to be alone in the night and think. and i bet you sat out there for awhile thinking about what happened between us and trying to figure things out."

i didn't say anything for a long time. "i just confused myself," i finally said.

"i'm confused, too," nick admitted.

i untangled my hand from his and scooted across the bed to lay beside him. once i was comfortable with my head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around me, i continued the conversation.

"what are you thinking?" i asked.

he let out a long sigh. "you've been my best friend for so long, thalia. i mean, i'm not at all worried about our relationship changing or "losing our friendship" because that's all cliche and dumb, but i don't want you to feel pressured to make this into something more than friends. and i know we're perfect as we are right now."

"so is that what you want? to stay friends?"

nick stayed silent for a short moment. "well," he finally said, "i used to have a massive crush on you. and i've always thought that if i ever had to get married, i would want it to be to you. or at least have a wife who's almost as amazing as you are. you're a huge part of me, thalia. and i could easily let myself fall more in love with you."

i smiled to myself at that. my heart was beating a bit faster than usual, but there was a jumbled mess of nerves in my stomach. talks about feelings always made me anxious.

"what about you?" nick asked me.

in my gut, i realized i knew what i wanted to do. "nick, you've always been my favorite person on this earth. i love everything about you, even the things i hate. i think it's pretty obvious that we're made for each other. if you want, i want us to try dating. because i know if i let myself love you romantically, i would love you even more than i do now."

nick let his fingers slowly slide up and down my shoulder. i could sense the smile on his face, and i knew we hint felt giddy.

"so we're gonna do this?"

"oh we're gonna do this," i replied.

nick just laughed and pull me closer against him. i leaned my head up and pressed a long kiss to his lips.

"i've got to get some sleep now. goodnight, nick."

"goodnight, thalia."

word count: 1196