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Nevada stepped into the tour bus. Ryan was nowhere to be seen, but Jon, Spencer and Brendon were sitting on the couch. They exchanged polite 'hellos', and Nevada felt somewhat shy.
"Where's Ryan? He said we'd go for lunch..."
"Ah...he's in the bunkroom." Spencer said, gesturing towards the bunkroom door.
"Ok..." Nevada crossed the small room and knocked on the door. "Ryan?"
Ryan heard Nevada's voice and dropped the picture he was holding. He scrambled to pick it up and he stuffed it under his pillow. He opened the door and stepped out.
"Hey."
"Lunch?"
"Oh, yeah. Lemme grab my wallet..."
As Nevada and Ryan scrambled to get ready to go, Brendon watched Nevada from the corner of his eye, only half paying attention to Jon and Spencer's conversation. He loved the way her black hair fell into her piercing blue eyes. She was so petite, much shorter than the rest of them. As her and Ryan started out the door, she caught Brendon watching her and smiled shyly, and Brendon returned the smile. The door closed behind the new couple and Brendon sighed sadly, not even realizing he had done so.
"Bren, why so sad?" Jon asked teasingly.
"Hmmm?"
"You just sighed."
"Ah..."
Jon and Spencer laughed and shook their heads. Brendon rolled his eyes and stood up, crossing the room to the door.
"I'm gonna go for a walk, guys." He said, and without waiting for a reply, he left. It had started to rain again.
"Damn weather, we need some sunshine." He murmured. He kicked a rock along the pavement as he walked, hands in his pockets, thinking. He was confused. He barely knew Nevada, and he felt fluttery whenever he looked at her. Miranda had screwed Ryan up so bad...this new relationship was good for him. Why was Brendon so jealous? It was weird, though. He'd always been the 'ladies man' of the group. Ryan always had his share of flirtatious girls, but he usually shrugged them away. Nevada was the first girl Ryan had shown any interest in since Miranda. Brendon knew he had to back off and let his friends be happy...maybe he didn't even like Nevada...it had been a while since he'd had a girlfriend, anyway, so maybe he was just longing to be with someone, anyone.

Ryan and Nevada were sitting at a table in a fancy café in uptown New York. Even though it was lunchtime, the dinning room had a dim, romantic lighting.
"So what was it like for you growing up?" Ryan inquired, leaning dreamily on one hand, playing absently with his salad.
"My parents divorced when I was 12. I went kinda emo...my parents didn't like that. I'm a natural blonde, bleach blonde. I lived with my dad 'cause my mom and I don't get along. I've always been quiet...hardly any friends." Nevada said quietly, not making eye contact.
"My parents were divorced, too. My dad was a total alcoholic."
Nevada looked up at Ryan, understanding in her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand.
"Camisado." She whispered.
"Yeah."
Nevada laughed.
"Wow, your songs are personal!"
Ryan laughed too. They stared into eachother's eyes, smiling.
"I assume you've been to strip clubs, then?"
Ryan blushed and nodded.
"What about 'Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off?'" she asked curiously, "Some girl screw you over?"
Miranda flashed through his mind...he wanted to snap at Nevada, but she didn't know any better.
"Ah...long story." He muttered, looking away.
Nevada studied him curiously in the dim light.
"I don't wanna know, do I?"
"No, not really."
An awkward silence filled the air, and the couple ate theirs meals quietly. When the food was scrapped clean off the plates, Ryan paid the bill and they stepped outside the café into the damp afternoon. Holding hands, they headed off down the street towards the camp.
"Brendon, what's his story?" Nevada asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he's always quiet, never says much around me."
"Well, he doesn't really have one. He gets moody."
"He was staring at me today."
Ryan didn't answer, but decided to observe Brendon closely when they got back to the bus.

"We're back." Ryan announced, stepping into the bus. He pulled off his coat and shook out the raindrops. "Sunshine would be nice."
He flopped down in an armchair, and Nevada placed herself on the arm of the chair. Brendon was reading a magazine, and Ryan watched him peek over the top and glance at Nevada with interest. Jon was dozing in the corner of the couch, and Spencer looked bored out of his mind.
"Do you wanna go rent some movies? We don't have another show until Wednesday, there'll be nothing to do." Spencer asked, a whinny edge in his voice.
"Sure." Ryan replied, standing up. He shook Jon awake.
"You wanna come, Nevada?"
"Nah, I'll stay here."
"How about you, Bren?"
"No thanks."
Spencer, Jon and Ryan all left. Nevada stood up and opened the closet door, finding her suitcase. She pulled out a copy of Peter Pan and flopped down on the couch opposite to Brendon. He looked up and smiled when he saw the cover of the book.
"You like Peter Pan?"
Nevada looked up and grinned.
"It's my favorite."
"Me, too. The guys tease me about it."
Nevada laughed and set the book down on the side table.
"It's one of those things from my childhood I could never let go of."
"Same. My parents didn't like it much, though, because of all the magic in it. I was raised Mormon."
"Really? My mom was Mormon!"
"Wow, we've got a few things in common."
"I'm not Mormon, though. I was raised mainly by my dad, my mom and I don't get along very well at all."
"Oh, that's too bad. Hey, you must be from Nevada!"
"Good guess. It's pretty obvious, huh?"
"Yeah. Where from?"
"Las Vegas. I know you guys grew up there, I was one of the first in line to buy a copy of your record."
"Wow. I didn't think after all those years Ryan would go out with a fan!" Brendon blurted out, immediately regretting it. He tended to speak his mind.
"What do you mean, 'after all those years?'"
"Ah...well, I don't know if he told you about Miranda..."
"It has something to do with 'Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off,' doesn't it?"
"Yeah...you might not even wanna know."
"We were sitting in the café at lunch, and we were talking about his songs. I asked what that one was about, and he went all shy and said I didn't want to know. I do, though."
"You can't tell him I told you."
"Promise." Nevada scooted closer, her small frame now right next to Brendon. He felt fluttery again. Brendon told her about Miranda, the baby, and the suicide attempt. When he was done, Nevada had a delicate hand raised to her mouth, her eyes filled with shock.
"I take it this isn't common knowledge."
"He's never mentioned it to the press, let alone new friends we make. Jon just found out last night. We know Ryan doesn't like to talk about it."
"So, I'm the first since...?"
"Yeah. That's why it's kind of shocking when he just brings home a girl. That usually the kind of thing I do."
Nevada was staring at Brendon with shock, her eyes burning into his. The door opened and Jon, Spencer and Ryan trooped back in.
"We got 'The Others'." Spencer announced.
"I've never seen it." Nevada said, standing up and crossing the room. She took the case out of Spencer's hand and read the back.
"Sounds good. Let's watch it after dinner, when it gets dark."
"Do we have to wait that long?
"Horror movies are always better in the dark." Nevada said with a grin.