I dislike pineapples

It was late at night, and dinner was settled comfortably in the stomachs of two very content people. Brian Holden, who had had a long day of nothing and boredom, had greeted his girlfriend, Meredith Stepien, very enthusiastically at the door with a plate of spaghetti that he told her (very proudly) that he'd made himself. She had had a long day of babysitting, and had responded with a quick kiss to his cheek, followed by a long shower. By the time she finished, he was pouting about how the food had gone cold, and she'd apologised and given him a proper kiss. (He'd forgiven her immediately, and the couple enjoyed a lovely dinner of staring into each other's eyes and drinking a bottle of Meredith's favourite brand of root beer).

By the time Brian had finished his shower and changed into a comfortable pair of pyjama pants, Meredith was already sitting up in their bed, her back against the headboard, and her glasses on as she read by lamp light. He smiled at her and turned off the lights as he entered the room, finding his way over to the bed by the light of the lamp that Meredith still refused to turn off. In all actuality, she was in a very exciting section of her book and simply couldn't stop now.

Brian climbed under the covers and lay down, his eyes closed as he attempted to go to sleep. When this attempt proved to be futile (probably due to the fact that every now and then, Meredith would let out an excited or shocked gasp with what she was reading), he sat up. He mimicked Meredith's position against the headboard and turned his head to the side to read over her shoulder for a little while. He hadn't read the book, nor did he even know what it was about - he wasn't even sure if he knew the title. Something about cats, or hats, or maybe even a rat.

Meredith continued to ignore him, and Brian continued to sit there, boredom taking over. He took in her whole appearance, thinking to himself that he secretly preferred it when she wore her glasses to when she wasn't. His eyes fell on her exposed neck - her pyjama shirt was really only an almost-see-through camisole, and he was definitely not complaining about the way it clung to her body, nor was he complaining about the baggy, comfortable pants she wore underneath the quilt. Licking his lips slightly, he couldn't help but lean forward and press soft kisses along her exposed skin, a hand resting on her thigh and a stupid smirk on his face. Her neck simply looked too delicious, he would argue, to not ravish whenever possible.

This produced no response from Meredith, who would normally giggle, sometimes blush, and crane her neck further for him to have more access. He continued to kiss up and down, slowly and lovingly, and every now and then she would imitate the noise of a kiss to let him know that she was aware of what he was doing. Her eyes continued to scan the pages, though, and after a few more page turns, Brian sighed and gave up on his adventure.

He decided that the only thing to do now, would be to go on the internet. That's what most people did when they couldn't sleep, right? He logged onto Twitter and decided what witty, funny, and sarcastic thought he should pull out of his witty, funny, and sarcastic brain. All of them were golden to him, and he eventually decided to go with a tweet on Sherlock - most of his fans enjoyed that show, didn't they?

This didn't turn out quite as he had planned. It wasn't easy to deal with all the hate he was receiving - sure, he had received the odd comment here and there that said he was absolutely awful, but never had he received so much at the same time. He ran a hand through his hair worriedly, a nervous habit that usually prompted Meredith to wrap her arms around him and comfort him.

She didn't even budge.

Brian's bottom lip stuck out in worry, and he resisted the urge to let out a cry of frustration. Where were all his diplomacy skills? The smooth, suave, savvy Brian Holden that could charm his fans back into believing he was the best thing since sliced bread? They all hated him now. He knew that. The pout only grew bigger, and the crease between his eyebrows continued to deepen. This was stage two of Brian's normal ways of being sad and grumpy without admitting he was sad and grumpy. Normally, Meredith would get the picture now, if she hadn't before, and would set to work immediately on getting that smile on his face again.

Yet again, she made no movement toward her clearly distressed boyfriend.

Finally, Brian gave up in defeat. His eyes stinging, he closed his laptop and set it on the bedside table. He slid down the headboard until he was lying down again, his hand draped over his eyes, as though the slight pressure there would stop the tears from spilling out. Brian let out a loud groan, and it was only now that Meredith seemed to notice that he boyfriend was having a little bit of trouble. She would let him believe that she was finally paying attention to him instead of the book, but the real reason was that she'd finished the chapter and was ready for bed.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked, her voice soft and hesitant as she shuffled toward him until her thigh was pressed against the side of his head.

"They all hate me," he announced. "I'm a failure of a man and an actor, my so-called fans hate me, my girlfriend is ignoring me, and I'm really unattractive and whiny right now."

Meredith bit her lip. He wasn't entirely wrong on the 'really whiny' part, but he was quite wrong on the 'unattractive' part. She wasn't sure how to get this message across to him without accidentally making him more sad. Instead, she sighed and ran her fingers through his hair - she'd noticed, that lately, his hair had been quite messy from her constantly messing with it, and him being too lazy to fix it. Her thoughts continued to roll away in this random matter, until she forgot what they were talking about, and she looked back down at him in confusion. "Wait, what were we talking about?"

He laughed. That was a good sign, right? Brian's hand was still draped over his eyes, because he absolutely refused to let Meredith see that some (manly) tears had wormed their way out of his (manly) eyes and were attempting to streak all over his (manly) face. "You're cute," he informed her. "But that doesn't change the fact that they all hate me, now." He groaned again and rolled onto his side to rest his head against her thigh. One arm lazily found its way around her hips and held on to her while she absently ran her fingers through his hair in a comforting motion, back and forth, back and forth...

It was almost easy to fall asleep there, with her gentle humming and delicate fingertips running through his hair. Her breathing was calming, too, and he could practically envision her with his eyes closed; hair bushy against the headboard, eyes closed beneath her glasses, which were probably not on properly, a serene smile on her face... He couldn't help but open one eye and sneak a glance up at her, to find the image just as he had imagined.

"I love you," he muttered, half sitting up and offering a smile to her.

"I know," she giggled, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug so that his head came to rest on her chest. Her steady breathing calmed him again and he closed his eyes.

"Do you think they'll get over it?" He asked, eyes still squeezed shut. "Or am I just destined to be failed as an actor and a man?"

Meredith laughed slightly and silently; he could feel her shake and hear the silent laugh on account of his ear being pressed between her collarbones. "You're such a drama queen. You're not a failure."

With an amused smirk, Brian looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What don't I fail at?" He challenged, his tone playful.

The little smile on Meredith's face told him that she was accepting his challenge, and she giggled before pecking the top of his head silently and sliding down the headboard until she was lying down, and shuffled about until her head was on the pillow. She tugged at him until he got the picture and lay down beside her. "Well, I like to think you're pretty good at being a sarcastic jerk."

"Gee, thanks," he muttered, lacing and unlacing his fingers through hers absentmindedly. "You make me feel so good inside."

"See! Classic example." She grinned at him and snuggled in a little closer so that he could wrap his arms around her. She'd taken her glasses off at some point (Brian wasn't really sure when) and now squinted at his face. "You're also really good... at being a boyfriend."

To this, Brian snorted. "How so?"

Another little secretive smile, followed by a bashful glance came from Meredith, and she looked down at their interlaced hands in embarrassment. "Well, firstly, I have no complaints about what happens in this bed," she joked, grinning up at him with that grin that made his heart pound and gut twist. "You're really good at making me feel loved..." She pecked his lips. "And precious..." Another quick kiss. "And you always make me smile..." This kiss lasted slightly longer, and was slightly less chaste.

And that's when Brian realised something quite important. It didn't matter to him that all of those fans hated him, because right then and there, in his arms, the only person whose opinion he cared about was telling him that she loved him, and he was telling her that he loved her back. He kissed her forehead and bade her goodnight, a thank you, and a 'you're cute, too,' before the pair fell asleep, both in each others arms.

Empty bags of chips littered the floor, and a half-empty bowl of popcorn sat on the coffee table. Empty cans of coke and sprite were scattered near the bin as though someone had tried (and failed) to throw them in, and two half-empty cans stood proudly on the coffee table with drops of condensation steadily sliding toward the coasters. The ending credits of High School Musical 3: Senior Year were rolling, and snuggled on the couch were two people that were often mistaken for as a couple. The pair, however, had been best friends since college and had been recently reacquainted several months ago, and were currently a part of the newest project of Team StarKid; The SPACE Tour.

Brian sat near the arm rest of the couch, his legs strewn aimlessly in front of him, and Meredith sat with her back against the arm rest and her legs across Brian's lap. Her knees were bent slightly just in the middle of his lap, and his arms were draped across both her knees. Personal space was something neither of them really cared for, at least not when it came to one another. If Brian was asked to get this cozy with any of his other friends, it would be likely that the asker would lose a limb. Meredith, however, was quite the cuddler and was not disturbed at all by the thought of close proximity with any of her friends.

In public, Meredith enjoyed to pretend to be all cutesy with Brian, to encourage the fans into believing that 'Breredith', the ship she'd discovered over Twitter (and Eric's adventures on Tumblr) was romantic, instead of strictly platonic. She would be lying if she said she didn't have just the slightest crush on Brian, however small. Brian, however, was already aware that he had developed a very large crush on his female friend, and had recently been contemplating the best way to let her know that when she held his hand or leaned her head on his shoulder, it sent butterflies aflutter in his chest.

"So," Meredith said, reaching for the half-eaten bowl of popcorn and resting it on her perfectly-flat stomach, before popping a few in her mouth and continuing without finishing swallowing. "What now?"

Brian looked at his watch, and let out a little sigh before leaning his head back on the back of the couch and squinting at her. "It's like, one in the morning, Mere. I should go home." He settled in more comfortably into the chair, however, contrary to his words, and Meredith frowned.

"You can stay here for the night," she pointed out, shovelling more popcorn into her mouth in an unladylike fashion. Brian felt a smile worm its way onto his face at her utter lack of grace, and had to wonder just how she managed to look so amazing whilst being so gross. His gut twisted as his mind leaped to the sexual connotations behind her words, but he knew she didn't mean it in that way.

With another shrug, the brunette sent a smirk Meredith's way. "Aw, is Merfyderfy getting worried about me?"

Meredith flicked him and rolled her eyes, giggling slightly. "Shut up! You rode your bike here, didn't you? I just don't want you getting jumped or anything."

This led the smirk on Brian's face to grow even wider as he poked his friend teasingly in the stomach. She giggled and flinched, grabbing onto the bowl of popcorn to prevent it from flying everywhere - she'd have enough 'fun' tomorrow trying to clean up the rest of their garbage. Trying to appear casual, and return her cheeks back to their original colour, Meredith took another handful of popcorn and asked him, mouth full, "truth or dare?"

Brian rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Really?" He quizzed, raising an eyebrow and trying not to laugh at how silly she was.

Meredith shrugged and shuffled slightly, so her legs were splayed across his lap in a slightly more comfortable way. "What would you suggest?" She teased, tapping his nose, and picking up a piece of popcorn, holding it as though she was aiming to throw it in his mouth.

He opened his mouth, and Meredith threw it. It bounced off his nose and landed on top of her pyjama shorts. The pair stared at the piece before bursting out into laughter, at the utter failure of it all. With a determined look on her face, Meredith picked the piece up between her index finger and thumb, and very carefully pressed it against Brian's lips until he opened his mouth and accepted the popcorn.

After he swallowed, he realised Meredith's finger was still pressed against his lips. Both stared at each other, unblinking, chocolate brown eyes searching grey-blue, until the tension was cut by Brian's unnaturally loud voice.

"I have a proposition."

Meredith tipped her head to the side, gesturing that he expand, and moved her hands back to the popcorn bowl. She unceremoniously shoved more into her mouth as she waited for him to gather his thoughts and explain his proposition.

"How about we... kick it up a notch?" He sang, a cheeky smile lighting his face.

"You ass," Meredith grinned, shaking her head and laughing. "I thought you were serious there, for a second." She didn't add that she had secretly hoped he would kiss her, or confess some sort of undying love and affection for her, like the men in her Jane Austen novels did. At heart, Meredith was really just a big romantic.

"You didn't let me finish!" He whined, his voice resembling a child that didn't get his way. Another giggle from Meredith elicited another eye roll from Brian, and prompted the rest of his proposition. "I was thinking, we're basically boyfriend and girlfriend already, so we may as well just kiss and get it over with." He shrugged and winked at her, his heart thumping so hard in his chest he was worried she would hear it. The only thing that indicated that he was nervous about suggesting this to her was the way his teeth found his bottom lip and tugged on it slightly.

He leaned forward to kiss her, and Meredith giggled, leaning back with a raised eyebrow and a playful expression on her face. "Oh we are, are we? How so?"

Taking up the challenge, Brian scooched a little closer to her, his hands now resting on her thighs and his eyebrows raised impossibly high. "Do you sit like this with any of your other friends?"

An almost inaudible gulp was the only thing that reassured Brian that Meredith was feeling the same way he was, and a coy smile lit his face. Meredith grinned back at him and shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe. I sit like this with Denise."

Brian rolled his eyes and leaned forward to kiss her. She intercepted him with her fingertips. "Uh, uh, uh, Mister," she giggled. "You have to prove your worth."

Another roll of the eyes, and Brian placed a hand behind her head gently, and smiled at her softly, his eyes sparkling slightly. "I like you." He told her, and leaned forward again.

Although most people saw camping as a fun way to bond with your friends or family, this was not always the way it was for those of a theatre troupe commonly known as Team StarKid. It was more of a challenge, of sorts - who could stay the longest without hopping onto their phone or other sources of technology? More importantly; who could last the longest without a warm shower? It was generally Jaime or Nick Lang who won the most often, with Holden and Walker winning the least often due to their tendency to always have to make sure everything is clean and tidy.

The camp had lasted longer than most, with none of them wanting to give up and lose yet, but soon it was down to just Joe, Lauren, Brian, Meredith, and Jaime. Somehow, Meredith had managed to convince Brian to stay a little longer, and ever determined to beat Brian in everything, Joe had stayed as well. To say the least, they were all in desperate need of a hot shower (bathing in the river wasn't quite the same.) It wasn't long until Meredith gave up and Brian did too, and the two went home, leaving just Joe, Jaime, and Lauren.

Jaime and Lauren were sharing a tent, leaving Joe all alone in his own tent. They had just put out their campfire for the night and Joe was just falling asleep when a earsplitting shriek awoke him.

He knew it was Lauren. He wasn't sure why he knew it was Lauren, not Jaime, but it was definitely Lauren. The brunette jumped to his feet, his sleeping bag causing him to fall over again before he finally managed to get out of that contraption. He fiddled with the zipper on his tent and quite literally fell out, blue eyes bright and unblinking as he scanned the scene for danger. Lauren was clinging to a bleary-eyed Jaime, who carried the petite brunette girl with a confused expression.

"What the fuck?!" Joe asked, rushing over to the pair and still looking around as though he expected some sort of woodland beast to burst into the open and explain why Lauren was shivering in Jaime's arms.

"Spi-spi-spider!" Lauren managed to get out, pointing frantically at her tent.

It was this sentence that both calmed Joe's heartbeat entirely, and maddened him at the same time. She had let him think she was in danger! If something had happened to her... Gosh, Joe didn't know wht he would do. Lauren was his best friend, but when he thought she was getting mauled by a bear, his fear for her drove much further than just platonic affections. He had been far more worried for her safety than Jaime's.

"She got bitten," Jaime added, for Joe seemed to have an unimpressed look upon his face. Immediately, he went back into protection mode.

"Do we have any first aid shit?" He asked Jaime, bending curiously to inspect the bite. There was a small red bump on her shin - the stupid girl always did have a tendency to sleep with her limbs splayed all over the place.

Jaime shook her head and set Lauren down, stifling another yawn. Despite the fact that she was quite clearly very tired, her blue eyes were wide with alarm as she regarded her best friend, and Joe sighed, rubbing his eyes.

He contemplated his options. He had very little knowledge on what to do with spider bites, and considering the amount of time they'd spent out camping, none of their phones had any battery. The only logical thing to do would be to get Lauren to the nearest hospital or doctor's practice, meaning this little camping trip had come to it's end. With barely a grunt, Joe lifted the brunette bridal style and carried her to the car, which was parked nearby, before dumping her there unceremoniously.

When he returned to their makeshift camp, Jaime had already started packing up, having clearly picked up on what he was doing. Joe squinted at his watch in the moonlight - one in the morning. He was beginning to wonder where that nice, calming music was coming from when he realised that Jaime was humming cheerfully to herself as she packed up the tents and rolled up the sleeping bags. Somehow, that steeled Joe's nerves somewhat; if Jaime could stay calm, why couldn't he? It wasn't as though spider bites were normally fatal - it wasn't as though they bloody lived in Australia. He highly doubted that any spider hanging around could've been that poisonous, and she wasn't showing any classic symptoms of poison, at least not yet. Her muscles weren't spasming, she wasn't breaking out in a rash, and she wasn't shaking.

"You'll be fine," he told her in as reassuring a voice he could muster as he slid into the driver's seat, now wide awake. He could hear Jaime settling down more comfortably in the backseat and upon looking in the rearview mirror, he saw her eyes were closed and she seemed to be trying to get back to sleep.

"Thanks, Walks," Lauren mumbled back, almost too quietly for him to hear.

Hearing that familiar nickname spread a calm through him and he smiled at her before starting the engine. Somewhere along the blur of the ride, he stopped at a red light and rested one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the little cubby between the driver and the passenger seat. He was about to move his hands back to the proper ten and two position when he felt Lauren's tiny hand latch onto his and he spared a glance at her. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide with fear and her mouth was twisted in a frown, but still, she looked beautiful, especially with the moonlight hitting her like that.

"It'll be fine," he promised softly, ignoring the light as it turned green. At this time of night, he was the only one in his lane, anyway. "You'll be fine."

Lauren nodded nervously but continued to hold his hand, looking down at the red patch on her leg. Joe turned his attention back to the road and continued driving in silence, one hand in Lauren's and one hand on the wheel.

Several hours later, Lauren, Joe, and Jaime all walked out of the hospital, with a very happy Lauren. Joe had many promises of ice cream to fulfill, and the three friends drove to the nearest ice cream parlour before they were kicked out for how bad they smelled.

"I'm going to shower," Jaime announced, since she and Lauren lived quite close to the ice cream parlour. Joe shrugged and began to walk toward his car again while Lauren and Jaime walked off in the opposite direction, when suddenly there was a small hand tugging at his wrist.

He whipped around, knowing instantly it was Lauren, and for a moment, the two just stood there, staring at each other. Her hair was slightly tousled, her eyes were bright, and her smile was even more so. Breathtaking. Then, she was standing up on her tiptoes, and without thinking, Joe leaned down and kissed her.