The scalding water hit Amber's back and she sighed. High school sucked. Who knew that it wasn't all what your primary teachers made out to be? Of course, she had two older sisters and they complained so much when they first started so she should have guessed that it wasn't going to be smooth sailing. But the weekends were horrible, your day taken up by homework or assignments. Thankfully, this weekend wasn't like that.

They were at the pools. The advantage of living up the coast was that it was never too cold to go to the pools. By they she meant her older sister, her boyfriend, her friends, his friends and the friends they made while in America. Needless to say, it was a lot of people.

Sure, she was close with all of them, except the ones from overseas. Ashlee was only two years older then her so they were very close. Her boyfriend, Mark, had helped her over come anorexia when she was in year six so she owed him a lot. Ashlee's best friends, Clair and Alexis, were so nice that is was impossible to not like them. Clair's boyfriend was quiet but really smart and on more then one occasion had helped her with homework. But it was Alexis' boyfriend that she really liked the most.

Cameron, or Cam, was every girl's dream boy. Funny, sporty, good looking, musical and smart (although ADHD slightly hindered that in his case), he knew how to make every girl feel special. And he was hopelessly in love with Alexis. The two of them were absolutely adorable together. And his cousin wasn't that bad either.

Robbie, Becca, Adi, Mary, Chad and Diana were the Americans. Cam and Robbie, the closest people Amber had ever met. She almost cried when Cam told her how shattered they were to find out that he was going back to Australia. And the six of them were like an American version of her sister's group. It was slightly scary.

Robbie and Becca fought a lot like Ashlee and Mark. Adi and Mary were quiet about their relationship like Clair and Daniel. And Chad and Diana were totally wrapped up in each other but still knew what was going around them and didn't neglect their friends. Exactly like Alexis and Cam.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice asked from next to her. Amber bit back a smile and shook her head.

"We don't have pennies in Australia."

"Damn," Becca mumbled. "So what, a cent for your thoughts?"

"Don't have a cent. Smallest is five cents."

Becca sighed, shook her head and turned off her shower. "Well, you're the last one in here. Ken wants the last person to lock the door. We'll be at the food court and Ashlee says that Nick is still in the boys' room so wait for him if you're out before him. He'll do the same for you."

Amber nodded her head and closed her eyes. "Got it."

She had forgotten about Nick. Cam's other cousin. Her age. Part French, part Greek. Amazing singer. Very quiet and shy. Very, very cute. Also her major crush despite only knowing him for a few weeks.

Smiling, she rinsed off and went into a cubicle to get changed. This could actually be a really good chance to talk to him. And flirt. Maybe. No, perhaps talk to him first. He was extremely shy for a boy of his age.

Packing her bag up and tying her hair into lose pigtails, she left the change room. There was no one around and most of the lights were off. Glancing at her watch, she noted that there was only twenty-minutes until the pools closed. Hitching her bag more securely on her shoulder, she walked then few steps to the men's change room and pushed the door open.

It was empty. Mostly. Amber could hear the sound of faint humming from one of the shower stalls. Shrugging, she settled herself onto one of the benches and pulled out a magazine and began flicking through it. He'd come out soon enough.

A small yelp jolted her up from the magazine five minutes later. It was followed by a curse in French.

"Nick?" she called out tentatively. "You okay?"

A dark haired head popped out from the occupied stall. He gaped at her for a few seconds before frowning. "You're not meant to be in here."

Amber shrugged. "Have to wait for you and there's no one else here. Are you okay?"

"Stubbed my toe," he told her, stepping out. She was mildly disappointed that he already had jeans on. At least he was shirtless. "You still shouldn't be in here."

"We've got fifteen minutes before we get locked in," she told him. "I would have come in here anyway. Your toe okay?"

He looked down at it and shrugged. "It'll bruise. Why do you care?"

Idly, he noticed that she hesitated before answering. She seemed to be having an internal battle with herself. "You're my sister's boyfriend's best friend's cousin. They would kill me if something happened to you."

Nick blinked once before sitting down on the bench. "That's… strange."

He felt her get up and move closer to him. He leant over to inspect his toe but stopped when he saw purple painted toenails in front of him. Slowly he sat back up and almost yelped again when she straddled his legs and sat on his lap. He noticed his breathing had gone a little erratic.

"I might also have a bit of a crush on you," she murmured, looking down slightly.

Nick let that sink in and received a bit of a shock. He wouldn't have thought that Amber would have liked him. He remembered Ashlee telling him about her last year in America. Something about her being a bit of a flirt and liking blondes. Well, he certainly hadn't dyed his hair and she had never flirted with him before.

He bit his lip to prevent a small sigh leaving his lips as she fingered the hair on the nape of his neck. Then realising what was happening, he jerked back. Probably not his best idea as she yelped and tightened her arms around his neck. His breathing was really erratic now.

"Why?" he managed to get out after slowing his breathing slightly.

Amber shrugged. "Dunno. Just… you seem like a really sweet guy. The type of person that would care for anyone in his life. Plus you're really cute. And you have this kind of innocence air around you. Like I said, cute."

Once again, Nick let this sink in. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to learn a few things about relationships. Amber was right. He didn't know much about things like that. And from the sound of things, Amber perfect to learn from. He then frowned.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "Look, if you don't want me to or if you don't like me-" she began to get off his lap.

He surprised both of them by placing his hands on her hips, holding her in place. "It's not that. Just that… well, you're Ashlee's sister. And well…" he looked away, a faint blush staining his cheeks.

"What?"

"I wouldn't know what to do. I haven't a clue about mmph!"

Slowly he realised that she was kissing him and he should probably kiss back. Hesitantly, he began moving his lips against hers. They were really soft. And tasted really nice. He could feel her body heat against his chest and let out a small sigh of content. Gently, she pushed him so they were lying down. He moved his hands up her sides and around on her back. She gave a small moan and bit his lower lip softly. Surprised, he arched up before lying flat again and pulling away.

"Didn't like that?" she asked, sitting up and placing her hands on his chest.

"No, it was… nice," he mumbled. "Just a shock. Can I tell you something?"

"Go ahead."

"I'm not ready for something like this. Kissing you was… amazing but I'm only twelve. You might be ready for something, a relationship, whatever, but I'm not. Sorry."

She was quiet for a few seconds before smiling. "That's fine. Most guys wouldn't have been able to admit that. And I guess I was a bit forceful. Come on, you need to finish getting dressed." She jumped off his lap and held a hand out for him. "I'll wait outside for you."

Before he could say anything she was already making her way out. Shaking his head he turned to get his shirt but stopped when seeing his reflection in the mirror. Slowly he made his way over to examine himself closer.

His cheeks were red, wether from blushing or having her so close to him he wasn't sure. His lips were swollen and he could see the mark from where she bit him. His eyes were darker then normal and his hair was messier then normal. Frowning, he splashed a bit of water on his face in hopes to cool it down. Grabbing his towel, he scrubbed it then dried his hair. Looking for his shirt, he thought over what had happened in the past few minutes.

He couldn't deny that Amber was pretty. She was gorgeous. And she was really nice as well. Most girls would have gotten huffy if he had said that to them. But she took it really easily. He did feel kind of bad though. But he wasn't ready. At least she accepted that.

Finishing dressing quickly, he packed his bag and made his way outside. Amber was leaning against the wall, looking in a compact mirror and re-applying some lip-gloss. She looked up when he came out.

"That was quick," she told him, smiling. She pocketed the small tube and began heading to the food court.

Nick shrugged and fell into step beside her. It quiet for a few seconds before she spoke again. "I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"Did you taste my lip gloss?"

Nick stopped walking and could feel the blush staining his cheeks again. Amber turned around and cocked her head to the side. "So?"

"Well… yes," he struggled to get the word out.

"And?"

He frowned at her. "And what?"

"Was it nice? Did it taste good? Should I keep it? Try a new flavour?"

Nick hesitated before answering. "It was… nice. Very, very nice. It suits you. Sweet."

"Thank you. Let's go, we've got five minutes."

They began walking but didn't get very far before Nick tugged her sleeve and pulled them to stop. "You're not mad at me are you?"

"Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Well… I kinda sorta rejected you. Aren't girls meant to get devastated at that sort stuff?"

Amber let out a laugh. "I wouldn't get at mad at something like that. Plus you're too nice and sweet to stay mad at." With that she placed a quick kiss on his lips before pulling on his arm. "Now we really have to get going."

Daniel looked up from his book and grinned. "Oi, everyone owes me five bucks."

"For what?" Ashlee asked from Mark's lap, flicking through a magazine.

"I won the bet."

Everyone turned to him and he nodded to the door of the food court. Nick and Amber were walking in, close together and laughing. They all groaned and started digging in bags for money. Except Cam.

"You don't know if they kissed," he said, leaning backing his chair.

"I can give you three give aways that they did," Dan retaliated.

Becca leaned forward and the table, smiling. "Go ahead. I'll hand my money over when you do and at least one is solid. No loopholes around it."

He cleared his throat and held up one finger. "One: his hair is all messed up."

"Towel dried," Adi, Mark and Alexis said together.

Dan nodded. "Fair enough. Two: he has the most noticeable blush on his cheeks."

They all looked at the pair who were at the counter and ordering something. Nick still had a blush on his cheeks, not as pronounced as before but still noticeable. However, Clair and Diane could shoot this one down as well.

"He's shy," Diane begun and Clair continued. "He's always blushing around girls."

"And my sister is very pretty," Ashlee added. The boys nodded their agreement.

Chad and Robbie were grinning like crazy now. "Come on Dan, last one. Can't have any loopholes."

"This one doesn't. Any reason you can think of, other then them kissing, would be stupid," Dan replied, smirking now.

"Okay, go ahead," Cam urged him on as the two being discussed neared their table.

Dan looked at Nick, still smirking before turning back to the rest. "He's got lip gloss on his lips."