This is the last chappie guys. I hope you enjoy!

Kaika Switched: I know you might not get this message for a while, since you're only on chapter one, but thanks for your review and I really appreciate the comments on my writing style. :0)

Katelyn Devaney: I know poor Jesse! Thanks for the compliments. I'm glad it worked out, I was really worried. I love Jakey too! You're welcome for everything! I love helping! Thanks for the review. Love ya so much! I'll update as soon as I can. I'm really busy today, but maybe tomorrow. Love your forever friend, fan, fellow author and reviewer, Lisa!

Shadowgirl618: You almost cried? For real. Aww! I know it was sad. I will update soon. Promise this last one is happy.

Ashlita: Ya, you really have to voice your feelings, that's one thing I've learned in highschool, or learned in highschool, since I just graduated. Ya, there is only one more chapter! Thanks for you reviews.

PinkPanther18: Ya, I feel bad for Jesse too! But hey, lucky Jake. I'll update soon, I swear.

Luckynumba7: think of it this way. She ditched Jesse, so now you can have him. :0) He's all yours. Your welcome for dedicating the chapter to you. You are the biggeset Jesse fan who's stayed true the whole time, so I thought it was only fair to you. Hehe, I'll tell him you're free, but I dunno, he might still be crying over Nicole *cough cough wimp cough* hehe, j/k. Thanks for the long review. I got really excited when I saw the length. It's ok, I'm hyper almost all the time. I don't know how I find the patience to sit down and write. And although I do think you're weird, I am too, so we can be weird together. We'll have a party. Ttyl. Thank for the great review ~Lisa~

Beautifuletdown: You know, I really like Billy a lot too. He started out as a nothing, but I started to like him, so I integrated him more and more. He's really important in this last chapter. So go Billy fans! Hehe, he is sensitive, but hey, we can't all be super tough guys. I'll think about that Billy spinoff…I don't' know what I would write about for that. If you have any ideas, please…be my guest. Next I'm going to work on "coming Undone" though. That's going to be really long. But I like that idea. Ok, thanks for the review.

Nikki5: Be patient my reviewer. The update will come soon, I promise! Hehe.

Pandapotato: Ya, he was heartbroken, but that's the way of the world.:0( Ya, the honesty was one of the main issues in that chapter that I was trying to cover. My wisdom teeth are feeling better thanks! ~Lisa~

Jaden Anderson: Hehe, ya, she was tough, finally. Took her long enough. :0) Thanks for taking the time to review, even though you have work! I loved your new chappie with Gerardo. Awesome. You nailed that bugger good. :0) ~Lisa~

L.N.Y. Wun: Ya, there's action. Lisa did it! Haha. I'm officially part of the romance genre now. :0) And yes, it was sad. I felt really sad while I was writing the chapter. But, you do what you have to do *sigh*. Ok, ttyl girlie. ~Lisa~

LPScissorhands: Aw! I know it's sad. It's a difficult decision, but one her heart made for her. It's the way the cookie crumbles. But he'll get over it. Thanks for your wonderful review. ~Lisa~

All Over a Boy

Chapter 15: Happily Ever After

Recap from chapter 14:

"Is it him?" His voice cracked and he had trouble breathing.

"Jesse, please don't ask me," Nicole sobbed, tears flowing freely.

"Please tell me, I need to know," he whispered, stepping closer so that their faces were inches apart.

"I can't, please, don't," she pleaded, not wanting to hurt him because in some way, she still loved him; just not in the same way.

"Nicole," he chided, dreading the answer, and yet anticipating it.

Taking a shaking breath, Nicole tried to ignore the tears slipping down her cheeks and the kind finger under her chin.

"Yes, it's Jake," she said after a long and strained pause. He dropped his hand, feeling like a thousand bricks had just been dumped into his stomach and that he'd had a boulder lodged in his throat.

Nicole turned away, tears streaming down her cheeks and sobbed, "I'm so sorry, Jesse. I'm so sorry." Then she slowly walked away, missing the tears trickling down his cheeks.

Billy walked away from the scene truly touched. He'd over heard the whole thing between Nicole and Jesse, because he was too curious to walk away once he'd heard them talking. Hiding behind a garbage can, he'd listened to Jesse pour his heart out only to have Nicole break it.

'I feel so bad for the guy. But at least it's off her shoulders…and his. He'll get over it. I hope she's ok, though,' Billy thought, looking in the direction that Nicole had gone. Then he went after her, exchanging his usual loping gait for a jog. After leaving the hall and going downstairs, he spotted her small figure sitting on a bench near the parking lot.

"Hey kiddo," he said, sitting next to her and putting a long arm around her shoulders. "Need to talk?"

She turned her tear-streaked face his direction and gazed into his eyes for a minute. Then she collapsed into his embrace and sobbed into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and rubbed her back as she cried her pain into his chest.

"Shh," he said making soothing circles with his hand on her back. "It's ok Nikster, it's ok."

She suddenly broke into laughter and pulled away from him, gripping his shoulders. "Nikster? You called me Nikster at a time like this?" she asked incredulously between hiccups. He gave her his infamous off-center grin and wrapped her in his arms again.

"I would only do it for you Nicole," he said, rubbing her back again. She just nodded her head against his chest, sniffed and cuddled closer to him, her laughter clearly gone.

"Are you ok now?" he asked a few moments later. Pulling away from him, she studied his face with his green eyes and freckles, and smiled slightly.

"You already know what happened don't you?"

"Ya, I kinda watched it happen."

She only nodded. "I'm glad I wasn't alone….I hope he's ok. Will he be ok?"

"Not right away Nikki, but he will be. Don't worry. He's a strong guy."

"Ya, I guess. I just, I don't know. I liked him for so long that it kinda left my heart ready to like someone else. There's only so long that you can wait. And then…Jake came along. He's so wonderful to talk to and he's amazingly hot." Nicole stopped, her eyes wide. "Oh, I shouldn't have said that, how embarrassing!" She buried her face in her hands. Gently removing her hands from her face Billy just smiled reassuringly.

"You know, a change of heart is normal. You did wait and your change of heart couldn't be helped. It's not your fault. He'll feel bad, but he'll get over it. Now you have the affections of a really cool guy who's "amazingly hot"," Billy ended with a smile.

"Billy," she said, hitting him gently. Then she looked up at him again and smiled. "I guess you're right."

"No, I know I'm right. Now, give me that million dollar smile," he demanded, smiling his own infamous grin. She flashed the grin his way.

"That's my girl. Now, shall we get out of this hellhole or what?" he asked standing and extending a hand to her.

"Definitely," she said, accepting the proffered hand.

Nicole was lost in thought when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Beach, we're going to the beach, like now. So pack your stuff and stand by the door. We're coming to pick you up," proclaimed Beth right before she hung up.

She looked at the phone incredulously, but went to get her beach stuff. Donning her green bathing suit, Nicole then gathered all her stuff. Just as Beth blared her horn, Nicole found her shades. She emerged from the house completely decked out: hair in a ponytail, shades covering her chocolate eyes, shorts covering her flowered suit, and sandals on her small feet.

"Hey chica," Beth said as Nicole took shotgun.

"Nice way to warn a girl," Nicole said caustically, as she deposited her things on the floor.

"Oh, what jumped up your butt and died?" Mel questioned from the backseat.

"Nothing, sorry Beth. I was just deep in thought when you called and you kinda broke the flow."

"You, thinking?" Beth remarked with a sly grin.

"Oh shut up," Nicole said, smacking her friend on the arm.

"Hey, hey, hey. No harassing the driver of a 5000 pound vehicle."

The girls just laughed as Nicole turned up the music and Beth rolled down the windows.

"Where do you think they are?" Mel asked Beth as they trudged alongside the water.

"They said they were going to set up near the lighthouse I think," Beth replied as she shielded her eyes to search for the boys.

"Who else is coming?" Nicole queried.

"Oh, no one," Mel replied with a sly smile.

"What's that supposed to mean," Nicole asked with mock annoyance.

"Do you think we're dumb, Nikki? Don't you think we've seen how you make cow eyes at a certain blue-eyed hunk? Have two people conversations during the whole lunch period? How you, um, ahem, MAKE OUT with him in the friggin' hallways before fourth period."

Nicole just stood and stared at Beth with her mouth hanging open.

"I don't sleep the WHOLE period, babe," Beth said, pushing Nicole's jaw upwards. Mel sniggered.

"But, but, what are you saying then?"

"I knew she wasn't thinking when I called her. See this here Mel? This is stupidity in action," Beth said, sporting a wide grin as Nicole stood gaping.

"But, Nikki dear, I'll explain it to you anyway, since I'm such a good friend; even though you didn't tell us about this new crush of yours."

"It's only really been going on since prom…I didn't realize I had it, I didn't know I liked him 'till just recently," Nicole explained in hurried words.

"Ok, you're forgiven," Beth said, receiving a grateful smile from Nicole before she continued. "Anyways, we'd figure we'd better help this little romance of yours along because we all know you guys want each other. So we engineered this little set up here. I bring you, Billy brings Jakey-Boy, and voila, a match made in heaven. It was actually Billy's idea though."

"I can't believe you guys, jeez. You better not embarrass me," Nicole replied, smiling like an idiot with the knowledge that Jake was going to be there.

"Your welcome. Now if you don't mind, can we get moving so I can begin working on my tan?"

Nicole and Mel rolled their eyes and followed their friend in her search for the ultimate tanning spot.

"Hey! Nikster! Mel! Beth! Over here."

"Who said that?" Mel asked.

"Who else?" Nicole said. "Billy. He's the only one who would call me "Nikster"."

"Ya, you're right," Mel laughed.

As they drew closer to him, Nicole scanned the area for Jake, but saw no sign of him anywhere. When they reached Billy, he said hey to each girl before taking Nicole off to the side.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

"Sure, I'm ok," Nicole said softly. Billy removed her sunglasses and looked into her eyes.

"You're lying. You were thinking about what happened, weren't you?"

"Ya," she replied sadly.

Then he draped his arm over her shoulders and said, "I know you feel like shit, but it's gonna be ok. I brought you a present anyway that I think will take your mind off of things." He ended with a lopsided grin.

"What?"

"Another fish from the sea," Billy replied, pointing out into the water where Jake was horsing around with a couple other guys.

"Oh," Nicole breathed, taking in the site of Jake's beautiful body. Well tanned and muscular, he was any girl's dream. With his ocean blue eyes and shaggy brown hair, he was any girl's fantasy. When he glanced up and saw Nicole, he was only for her.

Their eyes met and he straightened from where he'd bent down to splash some water onto his friend. He turned his head for a moment and said something to the guy next to him and then headed out of the water. Nicole's heart began to pound as she deposited her things on the sand and stood waiting for him to meet her.

"Oh, he looks so good. Gimme a piece of that any day. Look how all those girls are ogling him," Beth said while pointing out the skimpily clad girls following Jake with their eyes.

"Hey Nicole," Jake said as he neared her, smiling broadly.

'I love when he smiles like that, and he looks so good dripping wet.' She thought as her eyes slowly perused his well-built body. She blushed as she realized that he saw what she was doing and knew what she was thinking.

"Hey Jake," she said, ready to smack herself.

"You want to go in the water with us," he asked as he jerked a thumb back towards the water.

'I hope she says yes.'

"Sure," she said as she took off her shirt and shorts to reveal her one-piece suit.

'Yes!'

"You look good," Jake then said without thinking and Nicole blushed furiously. "Oh, um, I mean,... you look beautiful and, I really like you Nicole," he finished feeling strangely elated at being able to tell her that. She looked up at him and gave him a radiant smile.

Beth and Mel watched unobtrusively from their towels and giggled at the sappy scene.

"I like you, too," Nicole said, once she'd found her voice, looking into his mesmerizing eyes. Her gentle look dispelled his embarrassment. He leaned down to kiss her softly and melted at the touch of her soft lips. Nicole, suddenly invigorated, broke away from the kiss reluctantly (because she knew Beth and Mel were watching them), and grabbed his hand and began jogging towards the water. "Let's go before we hear something from the peanut gallery." They heard the girls giggle in response as they made their way to the water.

"Hey Billy! Toss that ball over here," Nicole called when she was waist deep. He chucked it her way and she caught is as she looked around at the various people who were involved in the makeshift game of beach volleyball. Nicole and the boys goofed off for a while, playing volleyball and splashing each other.

"Hey Jake," she called and he looked over at her from a few feet away. She splashed a load of water at him and then began to frantically swim away.

"Don't think you're going to get away with that," he called as he dove underwater to catch her. The rest of the guys had halted their activities and stood watching the chase ensue. They all knew what the trip to the beach was planned for and enjoyed seeing it work out nicely.

Nicole turned over and began to back stroke as she search the gentle rolling waves for Jake's handsome figure. She stopped swimming when she couldn't find him. Suddenly, she felt something grab her by the ankle and pull her underwater. Her yelp barely escaped her lips before she was completely submerged in the salty liquid. Resurfacing a moment later, she found herself staring into the Jake's laughing blue eyes and was caught by them.

'I could stare at him all day…but, he has to be punished first!' With that thought she threw a handful of water at him and he brought his hands up to protect his face.

"Nicole, do you ever learn?" he asked laughing as he grabbed her wrists and pulled her to him. She struggled a bit to free herself from his grip, but he was much stronger than her and he chuckled at her efforts.

"Jake," she whined. "Let me go!"

"Ok," he said, releasing her wrists for a moment, before grabbing her waist and drawing her close.

"Is that better?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Bet you ten bucks he's gonna kiss her," Beth said, drawing her sunglasses down her nose to watch the unfolding spectacle in the water.

"You're on," Mel said, knowing she was going to lose.

"Better? Hmm?" she questioned, bringing her forefinger up to her chin in a thinking motion. "No, that's not better. This is," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her body on his muscular one.

"Oh, you're right, that's much better," he replied quickly.

"Jake," she whispered as she lay her head in the crook of his neck.

"What Nicole?" he said, holding her close.

"I think I love you."

He pulled her away from him suddenly and searched her eyes seriously. His pulse was racing and he found it difficult to breath.

"Do you mean that?" he said, desperately wishing it to be true.

'Why did I say that? Do I really love him?...I do.'

"Yes. I love you, I'm sure," she replied, worried he didn't feel the same. She knew he liked her…but love was a different matter altogether.

"Oh," he said, hardly able to force the syllable from his throat. Then he looked into her beautiful brown eyes and noted the fear in them when he didn't say anything more.

'She thinks I don't love her,' he thought incredulously. 'How could I NOT love her?'

"Nicole," he said, cupping her face in his hands. "I've always loved you."

She smiled as only a woman in love could smile and she took his breath away. Then he leaned down to the face tenderly cupped in his hands and kissed her pouty lips. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she had, running her hands through his hair and sending shivers down his spine. It took him a moment to respond, but when he did, the kiss that followed was a kiss to be remembered for a lifetime. Everything they felt for each other came out in that one kiss.

When they finally pulled away, breathing hard and flushed, all they could do was look at each other. Then they heard catcalls and sounds of "ooooh" coming from the beach and they both looked over to see Beth, Mel, Billy and the boys cheering them on. They looked at each other and blushed simultaneously, then back at the beach with their screaming friends.

"I guess we better get back to the beach so we can shut those idiots up," Jake said.

"Ya," Nicole replied, disappointed that their moment was broken.

Holding hands, they made their way out of the water and back to the beach.

"Pay up, Mel," Beth said as they approached.

"Dammit," Mel said halfheartedly. She knew she was going to lose. "At least the kiss was good."

"Haha, ya. I would love to be kissed like that."

"Oh ya."

Nicole and Jake stared at one and then the other during this exchange.

"You bet on us," Nicole inquired, slightly annoyed. The two girls just grinned sheepishly. "Whatever," she said, too happy to stay annoyed.

Jake sat down in a foldable chair and pulled Nicole with him. She said between his legs and leaned back onto his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So, looks like everything is A-ok over here, huh?" Billy said as he sat Indian style next to Jake and Nicole.

"Everything is perfect," Nicole said with a smile. "Thanks Billy."

"Anytime kid."

The End