Because I'm a Nerd.

Chapter 9- "Okay?"

"Okay?" she asked. I almost wanted to say it back, but then I noticed the others. I fought back that urge and merely nodded.

The atmosphere was tense. My head had stopped hurting the moment I saw her. She was okay. And for the time being, that would do. Evan led Scarlett and Allie outside and Emmett came in followed by Adrian. They were taking turns to go out and come in. Probably trying to hide something from me.

"Are you playing some sort of Relay?" I joked, trying to ease the tension. Receiving no smiles, I hastily shut up. There was a time and place for jokes, and, clearly, this wasn't either. The three came in, looking tense. I wondered what had happened. Surely more than met the eye, I supposed.

"Now we see what Lauren meant when she said she already knew you. Little did I know the familiarity was so great that she had to hug you tight and sob on your chest when you passed out. Little did I know that it was so deep that she had to keep on muttering "I love you, Nate." in your ears to get you to give some kind of reaction after your concussion. Little did I know...." Emmett trailed off.

His soliloquy explained many things:

A. The reason my head was hurting. I probably had a minor concussion.

B. The reason for their apparent lack of concern towards me.

C. The fact that my secret was out.

D. The reason for the bloodshot eyes.

I could make out Scar in the distance. Her face wore no expression. None at all. I guess she was also convinced that Lauren loved me. And probably the useless conclusion that we were dating. Sure, Lauren and I loved each other. Just not in the way it seemed.

"Guys, Em, you got it all wrong. Why don't you let Lauren and me explain?" I pleaded. They had to know the truth. Especially Scarlett and Emmett. Lauren really liked him. I couldn't bear to see her like this. Crying over him. We had both lost enough already.

"Isn't that right out of a clichéd book? Two people end up cheating and then beg for a chance to explain. Let me guess, you guys were bored and thought it would be nice to play with Emmett's and Scarlett's feelings?" Adrian demanded.

"Hey, wait a minute, what do you mean by us being bored and playing with their feelings?" I asked, just to make sure that my previous hypothesis still held ground.

"You know exactly what we mean. Why did you do it?" Allie asked, anger evident on her face.

"Why did I do what?" I asked, genuinely confused now.

"Oh, you know, just the general. Leading me on and playing with her and Emmett as well." Scarlett said. I couldn't believe she of all people was buying this! I thought and seriously hoped that Scarlett would believe me. Lauren was my sister for Christ's sake! Ofcourse we loved each other! Obviously she cried on seeing me like that! If only these people would let me explain. There was more to Lauren and me then just brother-sister love. We gave each other a sense of belonging, a purpose for living.

"It's not what it appears to be Scarlett. Let me explain...." Lauren chimed in.

"Ofcourse it isn't. There's more to you guys than what meets the eye, right?" Adrian butted in. God, they were so protective about each other!

"Okay, enough. I have had enough bad stuff being said about my sister and me. Now I want a chance to explain myself. So, just let me speak!" I said, eager to get this over with. I wanted it all out in the open now. I realized how wrong I was to keep stuff hidden from them. Had I been transparent about this right from the start, none of this would have happened.