Rachel picked up the new Chris Cornell cd and studied it, wondering if she would like it as much as when he sang for her favorite group Soundgarden. She knew she'd buy the cd anyway, that's the kind of music she always bought. Her mother worried about her and her "depression music", but Rachel had always been a pretty stable person. She just wasn't interested in pop music.

She wandered past a rack full of the latest, hottest music and glanced at it. Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat and she took a step back so that she was in front of the display. There, staring at her from the case of one of the cd's displayed there were the faces of the two guys she and her best friend had met the night before.

With a shaking hand, she picked up the cd to get a closer look. She blinked to clear her eyes, but sure enough, there they were. She braced herself against the display with one hand and leaned toward a young girl who was standing beside her.

"Hey, what are the names of these two?" Rachel pointed to the two she wanted to know, but she wasn't prepared for the enthusiasm of the answer.

"That's AJ, he's 21 and he's SO sexy. A little weird, but he's awesome, and he's got tons of tattoos. And that's Nick, he's the youngest, he's only 19, and he's SO cute, I'd just die if I ever met him, and I'm gonna marry him. He's cute don't ya think?" Rachel just nodded, and wondered when the girl breathed. Rachel checked her wallet to make sure she had enough money, and took her Chris Cornell cd plus the Backstreet Boys cd still in her hand to the cash register.

She walked out of the store, with her package in her hand and her mind in a daze, and immediately headed for the beach. She always went there when she needed to think. She kicked at a lump of sand as she walked, thinking about her best friend and the night before. She stopped and looked out at the water, noticing how deserted the beach was as the sun started to set. She took a deep breath and felt the damp air fill her lungs. Then she sighed, thinking of Nick.

He had probably expected her to instantly recognize who he was. Was he disappointed or happy that she hadn't? In a way, she was glad that she didn't follow pop music; things would have been so incredibly different. She probably would have screamed in his face. Her mind wandered back to her friend, wondering if she knew who she was having dinner with. It almost made Rachel laugh; it was so strange.

She stood silent, staring out at the water for a long time before her thoughts were interrupted by someone else's presence. She turned and gasped.

"Oh my gawd. Nick."

"Sorry, I didn't want to scare you. I didn't expect anyone to be here, and especially not you." Rachel reached up to nervously play with her hair.

"I didn't expect to see you, ever." She paused. "I mean, Well, I didn't know who you were, but now I do." She saw Nick stare past her at the setting sun and wondered if she'd screwed up by telling him that. She heard him sigh.

"Does it make a difference? Who I am, I mean?" Rachel shrugged. It didn't matter to her, but she didn't know why he'd choose her. She didn't know what to say, so she turned back toward the water.

"What are you doing out here?" Nick seemed to whisper as if speaking would make Rachel run away.

"I came out here to think." She turned to look at him again. "What about you?" He shrugged in answer to her question, and watched the sun's final reflection in the water. His eyes focused back on Rachel.

"What were you thinking about?" Rachel sighed, wondering how honest she should be.

"Nothing, and everything. Something about being here makes everything seem less important."

"I know that feeling. That's why I came here. And for the quiet." Rachel suddenly realized quiet was probably something he didn't get with all those fans.

"I was about to go, so you can have all the quiet you want."

"No. Don't go." Rachel was surprised by how quickly he responded. "Sometimes it's cool to share the quiet with someone who appreciates it like I do." Rachel hesitated, sure that he was just trying to be nice.

"Are you sure? I'm sure you don't get much chance to be alone, and ..." She didn't get to finish her sentence. Nick put a finger over her lips to make her stop talking.

"Quiet, remember." Rachel smiled, and turned to face the water, and Nick wrapped his arms around her.

They spent the rest of the night alternately talking and staring out at the water in silence, and both were surprised to see the hint of the sun as it rose. Rachel realized how tired she was when she saw Nick yawn.

"Oh my ...," she yawned herself and Nick smiled, "I have to go home, before my mom has a heart attack."

"Wait. Do you want to go out sometime? There's this thing, I have to go to, would you come with me?" Rachel smiled, wondering again, why he'd choose her.

"Sure, why not." She got up and looked around to figure out which way she'd come from. Nick took a couple steps away, and then turned back towards her and watched her for a second, before pulling her towards him into a kiss, that left Rachel surprised and breathless. They pulled away from each other and Rachel stood silent. She heard Nick say he'd call her and she turned to watch him as she heard him start to walk away.

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