(one week later)
Nicole was sleeping in the downstairs bedroom when she heard a noise. Not a loud one, but she was half-awake already, so it was enough to wake her up the rest of the way. It was a creak. She sat up in bed and looked around.
She didn't hear the noise again but knew she'd be unable to get back to sleep, so she got up, wrapping her bathrobe around her, and headed into the living room, glancing at the clock as she went. Six-fifteen. She moaned. She was not a morning person, and really didn't want to be awake, but she had no choice now. She yawned, stretched, and headed into the living room.
And froze. There was no one awake yet, the room was still dark. But the back door was left open. Feeling her heart beat faster, she went to the door to investigate. Her first instinct was to immediately run upstairs and yell that someone had broken in. But she didn't want to seem like a helpless little child, so she went to the door. She looked out, peeking her head around the corner of the door. There wasn't anyone on the porch. She turned her head, scanning the scene, but saw no one. She stepped all the way out, and looked around. Then, the door shut behind her. Not noticing, she walked to the edged of the porch and looked around. Curious, she stepped off the porch and went on to the beach. She headed out a distance and then stopped and turned around.
And gasped. The sun was just starting over the horizon. Although there were buildings in the way, it was still a wonderful sight, and she stopped, mesmerized in the sheer beauty of it. Suddenly a voice spoke from behind her.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Peter asked quietly, trying not to startle her. She jumped, startled, and then realized who it was and relaxed.
"Yeah," she breathed. "It's gorgeous." He smiled sweetly, pleased, as if it was all his doing. "I've never seen the sun rise before."
He laughed. "Yeah, I noticed that you're not exactly a morning person," he observed, grinning shyly.
She laughed too, making him feel more at ease. "But you are," she pointed out.
"Yeah," he said. "I love it in the morning, it's always calm and serene." He paused and looked at her. "I'm not usually out here in the morning, but today I was just in the mood. Did I wake you up?"
"Yeah, I guess so. I heard this squeak, and got up to see what it was."
"Yeah, that was probably me," he said, hanging his head. "The bottom step is kind of squeaky. I'm sorry."
"Don't be," she said. "It's okay." He lifted his head and smiled sheepishly back at her. It was the kind of smile that could make her swoon, and she had to actively restrain herself from not becoming immediately giddy.
"Well, I guess we should go back in now," Peter said, snapping her back to reality. "I've got to make breakfast." She nodded, trying to hide her disappointment at having to return to the real world.
They headed back up to the porch, Peter leading the way. She wasn't really jumping to get back inside, and it was nice out here. Peter went to the door and tugged at it. It refused to open. He turned the knob, to no avail. He jiggled it a little bit, tugged on it, and pulled on it, but the door remained stubbornly shut.
"Aw, man," he whined.
"What's the matter?" she asked, jolted back to reality once more.
"We're locked out," he explained. He looked at her, his eyes becoming serious. She returned the look, her eyes also serious.
"How'd that happen?" she asked.
"It must have locked behind you when you let it close," he explained.
"So what do we do now?" she asked. "Shout and yell and wake up the others?"
"Well, if you really want to. But I figure we should just let them sleep. After all, it's not as if we're in a lot of danger. We can stay out here and enjoy the morning," he added, hopefully.
"All right," she agreed, and Peter felt his heart leap.
When I awoke that morning, it was ten o'clock already, and no one else appeared to be awake. I looked around the room at the other four beds and saw that only Peter's was unmade and empty. I got up and took my time taking a shower and getting dressed. When I got out, I noticed that the previously sunny sky was starting to darken. I didn't take much notice, however, and while the rain outside began, I stood in the bathroom, drying and combing my hair and humming 'Singing' in the Rain." As I headed down the stairs, a flash of lightning lit up the sky and illuminated everything nearby. It was followed by a very loud clap of thunder.
Peter and Nicole had been waiting outside on the porch for a good three hours, and were beginning to get impatient when the sky began to darken. They sat on the porch and watched as the soft, fluffy, friendly white clouds turned into dark, threatening monsters.
"Looks like a storm's comin'," Nicole observed as the wind picked up. Her voice sounded a little shaky, Peter thought to himself, but it could have just been because of the wind. It was hard to hear her clearly.
"Yeah," he said, nervously but trying to hide it. "I hope somebody wakes up and lets us in before we get soaked." But there was no such luck because at that very moment, a few drops landed on his head. 'Darn,' he thought. 'Somebody wake up and let us in.'
"Too late," Nicole said, echoing his thoughts. "Ain't there somewhere around here we can go so that we won't get soaked?" As she spoke those words, Peter found himself thinking of how much she was like Mike. Then he blinked, cleared his head, and began to think.
"Well, there's some kids that live down the beach a ways that have a tree house," he offered tentatively. "It's not much, but it has a roof."
"Better than nothin'," she said. "Lead the way."
The house was indeed 'not much,' she thought, as she followed Peter up the ladder into the small tree house. There wasn't much of it that could classify it as a house except for the boards laid across the top that made a roof. There weren't any man-made walls, just the tree branches and a few curtains hung to give privacy. There were, at least, a few boards to make a floor, but it still was very modest.
"I don't think it's finished," Peter said, apologetically as he helped her into the house. "But it'll give us some shelter."
'Some' was the perfect word for it, she thought. It was in no way going to keep them very dry, but at least it would eliminate the raindrops on their heads. At least there was enough room for them to sit comfortably.
Just then, there was a loud clap of thunder which jolted them both out of their skins, more due to surprise than fright. Then there was a bright flash of lightning. This brought on fright. She screamed and huddled her head into his chest, surprising him.
"W-what's the matter?" he asked, almost yelling over the roar of the rain and the wails of her cries. There was another flash of light, and she shoved her face further into him. Instinctively, he placed a protective arm around her and stroked her hair.
"The, the lightning," she said, half sobbing. "Oh, Peter-I.."
"It's all right, you don't have to explain," he said, secretly wishing she would but accepting that she didn't need to. "We're safe here, and the storm won't last long."
"I hope not," she said, words barely distinguishable through her sobs.
The storm continued on like that for another hour. Eventually, the thunder and lightning ceased, but not the rain. Peter began to wonder if they should brave the rain, get soaked and head back to the Pad.
Nicole had fallen asleep, her head still shoved in his chest. She hadn't been very tired, but his soothing voice and stroking of her hair had not only eased her fear, but also put her to sleep. Peter decided not to wake her and let her sleep. As the rain eased, he watched as the birds came out of the tree they were in and started to fly off. A squirrel nearby came out and shook itself off, and then scurried down the tree trunk to the ground, spotting a few nuts on the ground. As it ran down the trunk, Peter found it impossible to hold back a sneeze he felt. His sneeze startled the squirrel and several birds, shaking the tree. The ladder, their only way back to the real world, fell down and crashed to the ground, startling the squirrels and birds once again. He blinked, surprised at himself and then at the noise he heard. He got up and looked at the ground. He saw the ladder on the ground and felt fear run through him.
The ladder. Now on the ground. "Aw, man," he blurted before he could stop himself. Nicole lifted her head and looked at him, rubbing her eyes.
"What's the matter?" she yawned.
"The ladder fell over," he said, gravely.
"Oh," she said, about to go back to sleep. Peter turned and looked at her, barely able to hide his surprise. Then, her eyes jerked open and she blinked, as the true meaning of his words came through. "The ladder fell over?" she asked. He nodded. "How are we gonna get outta here then?" she demanded.
He shrugged and put on his best sheepish look. "We could, um, climb down the tree," he suggested shyly.
She looked down the tree and immediately dismissed the idea. "No way. I don't wanna get killed. "
"Well, then, I guess we're stuck," he said. "And we may be here for awhile. The people that live here are away on vacation this week."
She blinked, digesting the information. "Then, no one will find us," she said. She blinked again, and gulped. "We could be here a long time."
"Now, relax," Peter said, hiding his nervousness. He was most likely as nervous as she was but he couldn't bear to see her cry, and tried to assume the role of protector. "It's gonna be okay. They're bound to look for us. And the first place they'll look is the beach. And while they're looking, we'll shout, and they'll hear us and put the ladder up," he said. He himself wasn't so convinced, but hid it as best he could.
"O-okay," she said, wiping the not yet formed tears away from her eyes. Peter found himself thinking that no matter how much she looked like Mike and even sounded like him, she was a lot more vulnerable than him. Mike would never have allowed anyone to see him cry like that if he could help it. Usually it was Peter in that position and he felt odd to have the roles reversed.
