*Nick’s POV*
*Damn it. I’m so stupid. Of course I’m gonna be part of her problem. I’m coming back into her life again after 2 years. It’s not like she was supposed to welcome me with open arms.* I thought. I got up and walked inside. I started to walk towards the stairs when I was pulled into the den. I turned around to see Brian.
“What do you want Rok?” I asked. I was kinda on mission and didn’t want to have to talk to him.
“What the hell did you do to her? She never comes bursting through the door and running up the stairs like that.” He sneered.
“Damn Brian I didn’t do anything. I only tried to talk to her.” I replied.
“Damn it Nick! Why do you make her talk when she doesn’t want to?!” He yelled.
“I didn’t!” I yelled back.
“Yea right Nick! Damn if you’d just leave her alone she’d be fine! I knew that there was a reason that I, at first, had a bad feeling about you two being together. I said she’d get hurt and she has! Why do you have to do that to her!” He yelled. I had seen we had an audience and I was sure Katie could her from upstairs. Brian was being none to quiet.
“Brian are you listening?! I didn’t do anything! I asked her a simple question!” I screamed back.
“What did you ask her to make her come running in here like that?” He asked his voice still pretty loud.
“I asked her if she was ok. She said she was fine but I knew better.” I stated.
“Nick that’s when you give her time and let her come to you on her own.” He said. He had finally stopped yelling and everybody had left.
“That’s just it Brian. I know her like the back of my hand. I love her, she’s everything to me and I knew deep down she really needed to tell somebody exactly what was bothering her. You want to know what it was she told me?” I asked. He nodded his head slowly not real sure if he wanted to know or not. “She told me it was everything. School, basketball, your surgery, me. She said it was everything.”
“She’s more worried about me than she let’s on then. We’re giving her more stress than we know. I mean look at what she said 2 out of the 4 she mentioned included one of us or both of us.” He said.
“I know that’s why I was going up to talk to her but I got interrupted.” I smirked.
“Sorry, I’ll let you go talk to her. I think I’m gonna do the same thing tonight. Take her somewhere quiet and try to talk to her.” He stated. I could see the worry in his eyes. I knew he was wishing he could talk to her before the game but by the way he talked he might upset her with everything he would say and he had to think of what to say to her.
“Yea that’s probably a good idea.” I said. I started to walk past him but he stopped me again.
“Nick, I’m sorry. I over reacted and I had no right what so ever.” He stated.
“It’s ok Bri don’t worry about it.” I shrugged.
“I also wanted to say that I really didn’t mean what I said about not liking you two being together. I love seeing you two together. Katie is never any happier than when she’s with you. I want you two together.” He stated.
“Thanks Rok. Now that I’ve got your blessing to date her, do I have your blessing to go talk her.” I joked.
“Yea get outta here.” He replied. I smiled and walked up the stairs to Katie’s room.
*Katie’s POV*
*Well sounds like Brian and Nick stopped yelling. Thank God* I thought walking into my room from the bathroom attached to it. “Oh my god!” I screamed when Nick suddenly barged in. I quickly grabbed my towel that was about to fall.
“Sorry.” He said embarrassed, he covered his eyes and walked out the door shutting it behind him. I started giggling a little. The look on his face was priceless I had never seen him get that red before. I grabbed a dark green tank top and a white pair of denim shorts out of my closet and got dressed. I opened the door and looked out to see Nick leaning against the wall across the hall banging his head whispering “I’m an idiot.” Over and over again.
“No you’re not. You can come back in now.” I said. I watched as he jumped and turned around looking a little embarrassed and walked in.
“Can we talk?” He asked sitting down on the bed.
“I guess.” I shrugged and walked into the bathroom grabbing my hairbrush and walking back out sitting in the middle of the bed facing Nick. I started brushing my hair waiting for him to talk. He gently grabbed the brush then motioned for me to turn around. I did as he wanted and he started brushing my hair. I waited for him to start talking but he never did. He just sat there brushing my hair, so I let him hoping there was a reason he was up here. I felt him set the hairbrush down when he was done and he unexpectedly put his arms around me. I jumped and tensed up just a little not sure what he wanted.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered in my ear. “I didn’t mean to upset you and I’m sorry me just being here upsets you so much and I’ll understand if you don’t want me sleeping here, if you don’t want me here at all.”
“Nick we went through this. I don’t care if you sleep in here. If I cared I’d have told Mom the arrangements and that I didn’t like ‘em and you’d be in B’s room. And I don’t mind if you stay, Brian needs you you’re his best friend. He’d be really upset if you left.” I said.
“Ok I just don’t want you upset.” He said. It was quiet for a couple seconds before he spoke up again. “I still love you Katelene. I don’t want to let you go.” He whispered.
“Don’t do this Nick.” I exclaimed jumping off the bed and out of his arms. Oh how I wanted to be in his arms again but I couldn’t let him in. I knew I wanted to but for some reason I was scared to. More scared than I’d realized. I had been so hurt, more heartbroken than I’d let on, when he stopped calling. I had kept trying to call but when I did he was always busy. I had held so much back from then that it was in my way and couldn’t connect with him like I used to. I was so cautious anymore, I didn’t want to get hurt like that again.
“You know Katelene you can be so stubborn, so… cautious. Why can’t you just let loose a little?” He said getting off the bed.
“Yea I may be stubborn but being cautious is what keeps me from getting hurt.” I replied.
“Getting hurt? God Katie you think I purposely stopped calling. I got busy and so did you. Then when I did get the time it’d been so long since we talked that was scared. Scared you’d be mad, that I wouldn’t know what to say. But I made a mistake in not calling just like you did!” He yelled
“Yea I made a mistake too! God I made the mistake of falling in love with you! Look at us, were not even friends anymore. We can’t even hold a civil conversation for more than 2 minutes!” I yelled back.
“I can’t believe you said that! You know falling in love with me wasn’t a mistake! Because I sure as hell know that when I fell in love with you it wasn’t a mistake. If it was, it was the best mistake I ever I made!” He yelled again. I stayed quiet not real sure what to say. I felt the tears stinging the back of my eyes and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold them back to much longer, I wouldn’t be able to hold in everything that I’d been holding back to long. “And we could be friends again Katie! God be lovers if you’d just let me in!” He yelled. And that did it the tears came rolling down my cheeks, it was time to let everything out and I was gonna have to hurt him and myself more than I’d ever want to.
“So now this is all my fault?! If I remember correctly it takes two to tango Nick!” I yelled back.
“You’re right and it’s seems that I’m tangoing with out a partner!” He screamed.
“It think that’d be the other way around Nick. I seem to be the one dancing alone!” I cried.
“God Katie what happened?! It was only a couple hours ago that you let me kiss you and now you’re pushing me away! What’d I do so wrong in that short amount of time?”
“That’s what got me thinking again! That kiss! It reminded me of everything! What a wonderful summer that was and how painful it was when it ended!”
“My lord I think your blind too, or I’m not sending the right signals! Is it really that hard to see that I love you?! To see that you’re my world?!”
*Downstairs with Mom & the rest of the guys*
“I’m going up there.” Brian said standing up.
“No you’re not.” Jackie said pulling him back down.
“But Mom he’s hurting her.” He said.
“No he’s not Brian. They’re both hurt, this is how they’re gonna heal.” She stated.
“But it hurts to hear her in so much pain. To hear Nick in so much pain.” He said as the rest of the boys voiced their agreement
“You’re right it does, but they’re each others lifelines they keep the other ticking.” Jackie said. The rest of the boys nodded and sat there listening to the screams of pain, the screams that would heal the two.