Nate gave Vin a 'fuck you' smile as Vin commented that he hated him. He didn't much care but he had a feeling Vin liked him more than anyone else in the group did. It was an odd thought that the person who liked you the most still hated you. It was almost enough to make a person cry. A less awesome person.

He gave both Vin and JJ a weary look of vague annoyance as he watched their exchange. He wished they'd just get on with it already. Being stuck in the middle of a will-they-wont-they rom-com was ruining the fun of his adrenaline fuelled badass spy adventure.

[I]"Thoughts like that are why you have no friends."[/i] he heard a voice in his head say.
[i]"I have lots of friends!"[/i] he thought back at the voice.
[i]"Name one."[/i]
[i]"...Michaels."[/i]
[i]"Hates you."[/i]
[i]"Eli."
"Hates you."
"Bobby."
"Dead. You killed him."
"Jake."
"Dog."
"Steve the unicorn."
"Imaginary. Doesn't count."
"...Fuck you."[/i]

"Nate? Are we fine?"

Nate snapped out of his own thoughts as he heard Vin ask him a question. "Well I'm fine." he replied "But you're liable to take a shotgun to the face at any minute." He didn't wait around for a response to that. Instead, he wondered into the mouth of the mineshaft and again yelled "Eric!"

"Stop yelling!" came Eric's response as he wandered up, rubbing his temple. "In fact stop talking. Stop even thinking."
"I wish." replied Nate with a low voice. "I need one of your guns."
Eric looked confused and slightly annoyed by that comment and asked "Why?"
"Because I want to set up a perimeter and it's harder to do that with the stupid shotgun Opie gave me than it would with a rifle."
"No offence" said Eric "but why would I give another gun to someone who's just as likely to shoot me with it as he is the bad guys?"
"That's a valid point, kid." admitted Nate. "But what do you think is going to happen if you don't give me the gun?" He then thought really hard at Eric.
Eric paused for a moment before thrusting one of the rifles at Nate. "Just take the stupid thing." he complained.
"Thank you." said Nate before turning back around towards the others.

As he did, a clone split off from him which in turn spawned another, which spawned another and so on until there were five of them. A veritable conga line if obnoxious. Each of the clones spawned with a duplicate rifle. All except the fifth one, who looked down at his empty hands and said "Awwww."
The fourth turned around and in a chipper voice, said to him "Don't worry, buddy. You can still provide moral support for the rest of us."
Five looked at Four with an annoyed expression and said "Shut up, Donut." before barging past him.

Nate turned to Vin and JJ and as he passed them, he said "Don't go anywhere while I'm gone." He and his clones spread out and began heading into the woods but one shouted over his shoulder "You know I'll find you"

Four was the last to leave and he flashed the others a genuinely friendly smile before he left. Eventually though, they were all out of sight, leaving JJ and Vin to babysit the kids. Or, more accurately, leaving Christi and Eric to babysit the adults.