<b><u>Nate's POV</b></u>

I walked down the wide, elongated length of the park once more, clutching the umbrella in my hand as the rain continued to pour. It was now two thirty in the afternoon, meaning school would be let out in less than an hour. Seeing as the exams were only trials, the observing teacher decided it'd be alright to let me leave early. I managed to finish with plenty of time to spare.

I flipped open my phone and searched down the contact list, pushing call when his name came up on the screen. I continued to walk down the path as the tone rang, breathing a sigh of relief when it finally stopped.

"Hello?" A deep voice inquired.

"Matt?" I asked.
"Yeah, where are you?" He sounded slightly annoyed, but that could only be expected after waiting in the rain for ten minutes.
"I'm walking down the path again for the hundredth time. Where the hell are you?" I asked back.
"I told you to meet me at the fountain, couldn't you have just waited there instead of wandering off?"
"I was at the fountain! But you weren't there, so I thought that maybe you were at the other fountain and started walking there instead. Which fucking fountain are you at?" I almost shouted at him, equally frustrated with this rain as he was.
"The one with the naked men everywhere. And the random turtles."
I rolled my eyes. That was the fountain I was first at!
"Alright, I'll be there soon." I mumbled, shutting the phone, turning around and starting my trek back to the first fountain.

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"Took you long enough." Matt growled as I finally joined him on the bench besides the fountain.
"Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Here." I almost dropped the small box he tossed into my lap. I picked it up and opened the lid, happy to find that familiar pink diamond ring we had given him a while back.
"Thanks."

Matt shrugged in response. "No problems. Not ours in the first place."
I smiled at him, "You're right. Not mine either. I've gotta give Chris a call to get him to come down here and collect it. I haven't seen him in a while, but what with all this drama going on, it's hard to find time to contact him. Besides, I don't want him and Daine meeting."
Matt quirked an eyebrow at me. "Aren't you allowing Daine visitors or something? A little harsh big brother."

I shook my head. "No, it's not that, it's just I don't want him to meet her in case it triggers memories." I winced as I thought back. "I don't want her remembering the things I do."

"Don't you think she deserves to get her memories back though?" Matt questioned, staring out up at the sky from under his umbrella. "It's not your choice whether or not she should remember. If she does, she does and if she doesn't, she doesn't."

"Maybe I'm just being overprotective." I said clearly, expressing my recent thoughts. "But I'm her big brother, it's what I'm meant to do. No doubt she'd kill me for not telling her.

"Well big brother," He clapped me heavily on the back. "Tell me how she's doing since you seem to be watching her twenty four seven. I was meant to drop in last week, congratulate her on getting out of hospital, but some things came up and I couldn't. Mind if I go back to the dorms with you later?"

I was about to say no, mentioning the whole triggering memories again, before I realised that he was there the day she woke up. "Sure, that's fine. She's been good lately. Actually, better than usual, what with less to deal with. Surprisingly, she's caught up with her studies, and she's a lot more focused on them than she used to be. She's different to what she used to be though." I whispered the last part, fighting to keep my voice under control. "Even though I'm still her big brother, it's not like it used to be. I'm glad that she's happy, but it still bothers me that I don't hold the same spot in her heart anymore."

Matt nodded sympathetically, offering no words of condolence.

"But then again, at least I still am her brother. Jace has had a heck of a lot worse." I stated. And it was true, even though I thought Cameron deserved his chance as well.

"What do you mean? Aren't they back together?" Matt questioned.

I shook my head. "Nah, she fell for Cameron. You know how Cameron looked after her those first few days when everyone was having... problems? They grew a bond there before Jace could bounce back up. Not that I blame Cameron, I just feel bad for Jace."

"Makes sense." Matt mumbled roughly. "But how are they together? Cameron and Daine I mean."