She was…weird.

Or maybe not weird, but…different.

She was very different from the girls he was usually around. She had her hair tightly in a ponytail, and small oval glasses perched high up on her nose that made her eyes oogly. She was 9, but acted like an old person, like 25. She seemed to be so serious. She never wanted to play games like tag or hide-and-go-seek, and when everyone went to the lake to swim, she sat on the dock, reading.

And ohh, did she read. Everywhere they went her eyes were glued to a book. At the lake, at each other's cabins, in the car, during the bonfires before it got too dark to read..etc .

But the fact that she was so different intrigued young, 11-year-old Jake.

So, Jake would bug her endlessly to do things with him every day, but no matter how many times he tried to coax her to join them in games or gave her wet-willies, she would not budge.

On the last day of summer vacation, resting his boney, little elbows on the window ledge, Jake dismally watched the tear drops race each other down the windowpane. It was raining heavily, forcing the young boy to stay indoors, leaving Jake bored out of his mind.

Behind him he could hear his parents and Mr. & Mrs. Edwards talking in the kitchen. They were currently at the Edwards' cabin, which meant Jake's toys weren't even around to occupy him either.

"Why don't you join Clare in the living room, Jake," Mr. Edwards booming voice suggested. He gave Jake a light, encouraging smile.

Jake shrugged at the idea because he already knew he was going to be doing the same thing in there that he was in the current room, since Clare never wanted to hang out with him. However, Jake walked to the living room anyway to please Mr. Edwards.

Slowly and quietly, he entered the room. Clare was nestled into the corner of the couch, a book clad in her lap. Her buggy, rimmed eyes looked up to pinpoint who entered, then immediately downcast when she saw it was him.

Jake sighed, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. He then sat on the opposite side of the couch as he let his eyes wander around the paintings and knit-knacks that decorated the room.

He looked over at Clare, who was still reading her book silently. He perched his head sideways to read the cover and noticed it had a picture of a frog on it. "What are you reading?" He asked curiously, scooting closer to her on the couch.

She looked up at him in surprise, but then looked back at her book. "A book on amphibians…" She quietly murmured. Jake's face formed into a floppy, lopsided smile, feeling some sort of an achievement by getting her to talk to him.

"Like frogs?" Jake further questioned.

"Yes, frogs and among others," She answered back firmly, never taking her eyes off the book.

Jake stretched his neck to get a better a view of the book. It kinda looked like the books he used in school. Lots of boring words, but with an occasional photo on the side.

"Do you like frogs?"

He watched her shrug. "They are interesting creatures…"

"I like frogs!" Jake exclaimed. "I like how they jump everywhere!" Jake then got on the carpeted floor to imitate the frog jump. Jake laughed, but Clare remained desolate and ignored him.

Sitting back down next to her he asked, "Have you ever seen a frog?"

"In books…" She answered.

"Really?" Jake said in astonishment. "I bet I could bring you one if you want. It's raining out so it'll probably be a lot easier to find one. There's tons around here!"

"I don't know…" Clare said uneasily, finally peeling her eyes from the book to Jake to give him a wary look. "It's raining out and our parents said we have to stay inside."

"It's just water," Jake said, already making his way to the sliding door they had in the living room.

Clare then got up from her spot on the couch to follow him to the door. "Jake, you really don't have to do that. You could get in trouble!"

"I'll be quick and by the time they're done the frog will be gone and I'll be dry from the rain," He reasoned, flashing a smile towards Clare, who then looked down at her feet in embarrassment.

Jake then darted outside in the rain. Clare stayed by the sliding glass door, watching his figure get hazier as he ran farther into the woods. An uneasy feeling spread throughout her, scared that he wouldn't make it back. However, once she saw his body come back into focus, she sighed out in relief.

He came back to the door, drenched from head to toe, but the smile was still etched out over his face. In his hands was a frog about the size of his hands. She stepped back as he entered the living room again.

"I got the frog," He told her, holding the frog out in-front of him.

Clare nodded. "I see," She said, peering at it from a distance.

"Touch it!" Jake insisted, shoving his hands out farther to get the frog closer to her.

Clare slinked back from the frog, but eventually stuck out her hand to touch the back. It was slimy, but she also noticed it wasn't moving. She quickly retracted her hand "It's dead! Put it back outside, Jake!" She softly hollered, trying not to get caught by their parents or Darcy, who was locked up in her room.

"Aww, it ain't too bad!" Jake said, holding the frog out. "Hold him!"

"Get it away from me!" Clare yelled, running to the other side of the room when Jake stepped closer with the creature.

"Maybe if you kiss him, he'll wake up and be your prince!" Jake joked as he rounded the couch, closer to Clare.

"Jake, I mean it! Get it away! I don't want to see the frog anymore!" She persisted, taking another step away each time Jake stepped closer.

"Oh, just hold it! He's not going to hurt you," Jake said, then threw the frog across the room at Clare.

Out of instinct, Clare threw her hands up to block the throw from hitting her person, but ended up catching the frog instead. In shock, Clare looked down to find the slimy, dead frog lying limp in her hands.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Clare ultimately screamed, dropping the frog and running out of the room. Jake could soon hear both sets of parents trying to calm Clare down in the other room. Then he heard Clare tell her mother, "Jake threw a dead frog at me!"

A moment passed before Jake heard his father yell, "JAKE!"

A/N: So, first fanfic for this fandom…Hopefully it wasn't too terrible. Honestly, I've always wondered why Jake threw a dead frog at Clare, so I wrote this. I'd love to hear what you guys think of this! :)