We entered the cabin, and Ethan walked over to the sofa and placed me gently down onto it. I shivered slightly, feeling cold from the loss of his warm body.

He immediately noticed and rushed off to the bathroom before returning with a towel, which he wrapped around my shoulders.

"What about you?" I said as I observed his equally soaked clothes.

"I'm fine," he said.

"But..." I started to say.

"I said I'm fine, Mia," he stated more firmly this time.

Before I could say anything else, the rest of the cabin came bursting in. Chloe and May immediately rushed towards me and wrapped their arms around me, to envelope me in a tight hug.

I giggled as I hugged them back, but then, I was hit with a wave of guilt, knowing my carelessness had caused my best friends so much pain. After a while, they finally pulled back.

"God, that was scary. I thought you were dead," Chloe said as tears streamed down her face.

"I'm so sorry for worrying you guys, I'm such an idiot," I groaned, thinking back to how foolish it was for me to stand on a slippery bank.

"We're just glad you're okay," May said as she looked up at me with a soft smile.

"I think I'm going to go have a shower, I smell disgusting," I laughed, as I stood up to go grab some dry clothes.

I was just about to enter the bathroom when Ethan stopped me by blocking my way. "Don't lock the door, Mia, you could faint, and nobody would know," he said in a serious tone.

"Fuck no! Anyone could just walk in," I exclaimed as I eyed him up and down like an idiot.

He rolled his eyes. "Relax, I'll guard the door for you and make sure nobody goes in," he sighed.

"Okay, fine, whatever," I grumbled, deciding it was the easiest way to get him to shut up.

After I had finished with my shower, I returned to our room, all ready for bed, wearing my matching tank top and shorts pajama set. I had sprawled myself out on my cabin bed, and I was staring up at the ceiling deep in thought.

Ethan was currently taking his shower, and it was the furthest he had been from me since he had pulled me out of the lake. He didn't seem to want to let me out of his sight! To be honest, I was surprised he hadn't asked me to sit in the bathroom with him so he could monitor my breathing or some shit.

Soon I heard footsteps draw closer from the corridor. The door swung open, and Ethan walked in.

Correction, a shirtless Ethan walked in.

I swallowed harshly, and my eyes trailed slowly over his naked torso. I couldn't help but linger in particular on his shorts, which hung teasingly low on his hips, revealing a deep and delicious looking V-line.

I knew there was going to be a positive side of sharing a room with him...

With much struggle, I finally managed to drag my eyes back to his face. I let out a weird choking sound in surprise as I found him staring right at me.

Shit, he had totally just seen me check him out.

I immediately broke eye contact in embarrassment and internally kicked myself for being so obvious.

When my shame has subsided some, I snuck another look at him. He was still staring at me, with a tilted head, and a far-away look in his eyes. He seemed to be deep in thought so I decided to break the silence.

"You're a hero, you know," I said simply. "It was cool what you did, so thanks," I smiled softly. I realized I hadn't thanked him properly for basically reviving me from death.

He didn't say anything for a while before he slowly walked closer to me and took a seat by me on the bed.

He reached out his hand and slowly stroked the side of my cheek, and I found myself leaning into it involuntarily. I couldn't help it, he made me feel warm and safe.

"I'm just happy you're okay," he whispered. "I was...I was so scared, Mia. When you wouldn't wake up, I felt like I was dying as well," he choked out as his eyes started to well up with tears.

It made my heart bleed to see him in so much pain. I overlaid my hand over his, on its position still on my cheek, and gave him a comforting smile. "But I'm fine now, thanks to you," I whispered.

He slowly nodded his head, but I could still see fear swimming wildly around in his eyes.

"And hey, look on the brightside, it must have looked funny when I rolled down the bank," I joked, in an attempt try and lighten the mood.

Ethan's expression turned hard, and his jaw clenched tightly. He ripped his arm away from my face. "Funnily enough, Mia, I didn't find any humor in watching you fall to your death," he shouted.

My face fell as I realized I had upset him. "I didn't mean to..."

He cut me off. "Mia, I don't think you fucking understand. I almost watched you die right in front of me, you stopped breathing!" he yelled. "I can't believe you would risk your life for some stupid scrap of silver," he snapped angrily.

I looked away in embarrassment. "It was really expensive, Ethan..." I muttered weakly.

He scoffed. "I don't care if it was worth a billion fucking dollars, don't you ever risk your life," he lectured.

"But..." I said pathetically.

"You're not allowed to die, Mia." he snapped. I didn't miss how his voice trembled slightly at the end.

"I didn't exactly do it on purpose Ethan, I already feel bad enough," I cried, as I flung my arms up in the air in frustration.

The anger in his eyes faded slightly, and his shoulders sagged down. He sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get mad. I'm just feeling a little on edge after almost losing you," he mumbled.

"Yeah, I understand, don't worry," I smiled weakly. I adjusted myself slightly on the bed so I could sit up properly. I winced as I stretched the skin of my injured waist.

"Crap, are you alright?" He said as eyes drew down to my waist. "Ugh, I'm so stupid, I should have checked to see how bad it was," Ethan grumbled.

"It's fine. Just a couple of scratches that's all," I shrugged.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Take your shirt off," he ordered.

And that ladies and gentlemen was when I nearly had a heart attack.

I repeatedly opened and closed my mouth like an idiot. The shock had seemed to rob me of my ability to speak.

He observed my reaction, and a deep red blush spread over his cheeks. He must have only just noticed how his words could have been interpreted.

"Not like that! I just want to see how badly you hurt yourself," he said gesturing to my injured side.

"Oh," I said simply, feeling oddly disappointed.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He said looking at me expectantly.

I looked away nervously. "You'll see my bra, Ethan, it's embarrassing...," I mumbled as my face heated up in shame.

He tried to hide it, but a smile crept its way on to his face. He clearly found my embarrassment amusing.

"I've seen you without a top on before Mia, so it's not like I would be seeing anything new," he teased.

I furrowed my brows in confusion before I realized that he was talking about the wonderful night where I accidentally got high on the cannabis cookies and humiliated myself.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true...," I mumbled in defeat.

With a sigh, I reached for the hem of my top and slowly pulled it over my head. I immediately looked down to check what bra I was wearing, and I let out an internal cry when I saw it was one of the boring white cotton ones.

Are you fucking kidding me? It couldn't have been one of my sexy lace ones?

I looked up nervously, expecting him to see a look of judgment in his eyes, but instead, I saw a whole different kind of look in his eyes. Ethan was staring hypnotically at my breasts like he'd forgotten where he even was.

I coughed awkwardly, to gain his attention. Ethan's head suddenly jolted up.

"Erm..sorry...I was just deep in thought," he nervously laughed as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

He then finally glanced down at my side, and his jaw clenched as he took in the sight of the injury. He snapped his eyes up to meet mine angrily.

"A couple of scratches my fucking ass. Mia, you're literally still bleeding," he yelled.

Without another word, he leaped off the bed and rummaged through his suitcase. I watched him in confusion before I saw him return to my side with a first aid kit in hand.

I couldn't help but snort, finding it hilarious that someone like Ethan had brought a big ass first aid kit to the camping trip.

"What's so funny, Chubs?" he said arching an eyebrow up at me, as he pulled out some anti-bacterial wipes and bandages from his box.

"Nothing, it's just funny to see you like this," I said biting my lip to contain my laughter.

"Hmmm," he hummed dismissively, but the corner of his mouth lifted slightly in amusement.

"Sorry, this is going to hurt like a bitch," he said as he carefully started to dab at the skin with the antibacterial wipe.

I recoiled in pain, feeling the sharp sting of the liquid against my skin. "I'm sorry, I know it hurt," he apologized, as he continued to clean up the wound some more. Once he was done, he chucked away the wipe and reached for a bandaging kit.

"Don't you think a bandage is a little extreme," I chuckled.

He scoffed at me. "It's very necessary, Mia. There's not a size of plaster that would cover this entire fucking thing. Just trust me, okay," he explained with a frown.

I let out a huff of annoyance as he began to wrap the bandage around my waist. I felt a strange feeling in my stomach, at having him so close to me, and every time his fingers accidentally brushed up against the bare skin of my waist, I felt my heart jump. He clearly had to do very little to affect me.

"All done," he smiled as he tucked in the last piece of the bandage in.

He then shocked me as he lowered his head down to my waist, and placed a soft kiss on the bare skin, right above the bandage.

"There, that's the magic kiss of healing," he joked as his eyes sparkled in amusement.

He then managed to surprise me even further, when he picked up my tank top and gently pulled it over my head.

"Ethan, what are you doing? I'm not a three-year-old," I giggled in amusement.

"Well, princesses have someone to dress them, and I don't see why you shouldn't have the same treatment," he smiled with a toothy grin.

"I'm a princess am I? Well, if I'm the princess, what does that make you?" I teased.

"Your knight in shining armor, of course," he smirked.

"Really? I pegged you as the grumpy troll that lives under the bridge," I laughed.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Well, I don't care what I am as long as you're still in my story," he whispered as he stroked my cheek.

His beautiful blue eyes shining down on me with so much affection that it made my heart shamelessly flutter. It was undeniable that I had scared him tonight, and someone as kind as him didn't deserve a fraction of that pain.

"Ethan, I'm so, so sorry for the things I said to you a couple of weeks back. I know you said you've forgiven me, but I still feel so awful," I groaned.

He gave me a warm smile and took my hand. "Don't be. You can say whatever the hell you want to me as long as you promise to stay in my life. I need you, Mia," he whispered as his eyes flickered back and forth between mine.

I squeezed his hand. "I promise," I smiled.

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