"This has to be the strangest coincidence that I've ever heard of," Cairo said a little while later. Somehow, in their surprise, they had managed to shuffle the rest of Cairo's boxes into her house, including the ones in the trunk, and had surveyed the damage done to the ones she dropped.

"It's a good thing for bubble wrap," Cairo said, after unwrapping her DVD player, finding no physical damage.

"Bubble wrap? No way!" Nick said, jumping up and grabbing the wad from her, snapping it with a boyish pleasure.

"If you think you're getting all of that, think again!" Cairo said, jumping up and chasing after him.

"You...have more...in the rest of your boxes," he said, between breaths, as he dodged her and she chased him around the living room.

 "I don't want the rest. I want THAT bubble wrap!" she said, cutting him off.

"I'm bigger than you," he said, looking down at her menacingly.

"So?" she said, standing on her tiptoes. He was right about being taller than her; he was 8" taller! He was standing there, holding the bubble wrap high over his head, and she started jumping for it. Finally, she decided to play dirty.

She poked his side, a known weakness in all guys, and when he bent over instinctively to protect himself from a tickle-attack, she grabbed her bubble wrap.

"HEY!" Nick said, chasing after her. They ran around her empty dining room, and back into the kitchen. Cairo pulled a chair behind her, blocking his way. Nick not noticing it, tripped over it.

"Ha! You have learned! MY bubble wrap!" she declared, turning to face him, laughing as he pulled himself up. Then he caught her off guard and lunged at her, snatching the sheet out of her hands. But he misjudged the distance, and they both went flying, him landing on top of her, face to face.

 "Oops," he said, managing to keep a straight face as she was laughing and groaning at the same time. Then she stopped, and looked deep into his eyes, remembering the feel of his lips on hers. Snapping out of it, she pushed him off, and stood up.

"Well, I think nothing's broken," she declared, stretching a bit.

"I say again, oops," Nick said. They broke down laughing; realizing that two grown people had been fighting over a sheet of bubble wrap!

"Hey, you cheap ass! It's already all snapped!" Nick said, glaring at Cairo. She laughed even harder at the whole situation.

After a few minutes they managed to calm down, and made their way back to the living room, which was a mess of boxes and electrical equipment and sheets of instructions.

"So, what do you know about putting together this?" she asked, motioning towards the debris.

"You mean, you bought all this stuff and don't have a clue how to assemble it?" Nick asked, feigning horror.

"Listen Nintendo-Boy, you must know something about this crap. I just use it, I don't care how it's put together, so long as it works!" Cairo said.

"Is that a request? Or a plea for help? Do I hear groveling?" Nick asked, pretending ignore her.

"Nick, please, oh please, help me put together this stuff," Cairo said sarcastically.

"I'm still not hearing groveling!," Nick said.

"And you never will. But if you help me, I'll buy pizza!" she said enticingly.

"Oh, I can't be bought," he said.

"Sure you can. C'mon," she whined.

"Oh, I supposed I'll see what I can do!" he responded.

* * * *

"Oh, Cairo! I have a question for you," Nick said, after a few hours, in a sing song voice.

"Yes, what might that be?" Cairo asked, curiously. She was sitting on her couch, watching as her living room was transformed into the electronic center of the world.

"What, might I ask, is this?" he asked, accusingly, holding up the box that contained her new Nintendo system. She blushed.

"What can I say, you started something. Seriously, after three days of arcade games, I was actually suffering from withdrawal," she said, shaking her head. The truth is that she couldn't resist buying it, in memory of her friend, Neil. But, she thought, I have my friend Neil now. He lives next door! It was almost impossible to believe this incredible coincidence.

Laughing, he set up her system, and she was already to turn on the TV.

"Now, Carter, if anything blows up, I hold you responsible," Cairo warned. He looked at her with a mischievous face, and flicked on the TV. All that happened was the snowy off-air screen.

"See, now all you need is cable," he said, bemused. Cairo sighed, she had completely forgotten about that.

"Well, let's play some Nintendo instead," she said, pulling out the games she had picked up.

* * * *

The next few weeks passed really quickly, and Cairo was perfectly happy. Her and Nick spent so much time together, that she was never lonely, and their friendship was growing a lot deeper with each day.

Nick seemed to understand her so much more than anyone ever had, other than Lacey. When she was writing, he knew not to bug her, to let her just write and write until she couldn't anymore, and after she had slept off the fatigue caused by days of writing non-stop, then and only then was it okay for him to come by.

They had many deep conversations, debates on different subjects, some really serious, and some that were so ridiculous that they found themselves laughing until tears streamed out of their eyes. They were very different people, but they had a lot in common.

The rain in her sunny sky was Brad. She phoned him a few times, always being greeted with absolute silence, until he gave in and hung up. She pleaded with him to say something, anything, but he never did.

One day, she was having yet another one-sided conversation with Brad, pacing around her back yard with the cordless phone.

"Brad, say something. You know it's me, I know you're there. Please say anything. Tell me you hate me; you never want to see me again. Just stop playing this game," she said. After a few seconds, she heard an audible click, turned off the phone in disgust.

Screaming in frustration, Cairo ran to the edge of her lawn and tossed the phone as far as she could, into the water.

"Remind me never to hang up on you," she heard a familiar voice say. She turned around and saw him standing in his yard, looking over at her.

"I've had it. I've tried, I really have. But he's like a stone, unwilling to give anything. He won't even say hello! I can't stand it anymore," she yelled.

"Kay, if he doesn't realize what he has, then he's an even bigger idiot than the one who just threw her phone in the water," Nick said. Cairo glared at him and walked into her house.

He came over later, carrying a box. She watched him out her window, scale over the fence, catching his shirt then struggling to release himself. After a few minutes he was free and he walked tentatively to her patio door and rapped softly. Smiling to herself, she walked over and looked at him through the glass.

He made a puppy face, and she pretended to debate whether or not to let him in. After a minute, she decided that he had sweated enough and opened the door.

Wordlessly, he handed her the box. Startled, she opened it and laughed after she had moved the tissue paper aside to reveal...a brand new cordless phone.

"You are a riot!" she said. Then they debated the best place to put the phone and ended the evening battling out their differences on Nick's driveway, with a basketball and a net.

"Uh, Kay, I was wondering if you're busy on Saturday?" Nick asked, after he had tossed the ball through the hoop effortlessly.

"Carter, between writing and kicking your ass, I hardly have any time," she said, good-naturedly as she retrieved the ball and aligned herself with the basket, eyeing out her next shot.

"Sure, you like to think you can. But if you're free, I'm having a few of the guys come over to hang out, you know, guy stuff, and it'd be cool if you would come over," he explained.

"If it's guy stuff, then why do are you requesting the pleasure of my company?" as she threw her jump shot.

"I have to prove to them that I actually do have friends, that I don't live in my house 27/7," Nick said.

"It's because you're shy. For a super-singing-star, you don't seem to like people," Cairo said, critically, getting set to block him.

"Super singing star? What will you think of next?" Nick said, shooting her a glare for the mention of his fame.

"Alliteration, three words or more that begin with the same letter. My favorite technique in writing. Couldn't resist the opportunity," Cairo said, jumping up, and missing the ball completely.

"Well, after living in the spot light forever during tours, it's great to have privacy, and I take advantage of it."

"To think, if you hadn't k.o.ed me with a basketball, we would have never met, because you wouldn't have talked to me," Cairo said, gearing up for her next shot.

"I didn't knock you out!" Nick protested.

"Yeah, yeah. All I'm saying is that you are way too shy about meeting new people, which would explain their suspicions," Cairo said, tossing her ball then groaning as it bounced off the backboard.

"So, are you going to come or not?" Nick said, grabbing the ball before she could reach it.

"Depends on whether or not you get this next shot in," she said. He grinned at her and executed the perfect jump shot, smiling when it sailed through the hoop.

"What can I say, I'm amazing. So you're coming?" he said, turning.

"I said it would depend on your next shot. I didn't say if you got it in or not!" Cairo said, picking up her basketball and walking towards her house.

"Kay!" he roared, chasing after her. Giggling, she ran through the door and slammed the door shut, Nick banging at it for a few minutes then giving up on her.

"Stupid artistic temperament," he muttered, walking back to his house.