Nick sat at the dining room table, waiting for Rae to return from checking on Zack. He suddenly wondered if Brittany was okay. Rae and him had heard them arguing upstairs, and then there was silence, and as they'd stood by the door talking to each other quietly Nick could hear the hurt in their voices. Zack was at least at home though - but Brittany was out driving. The thought left his mind as Rae came back into the room.
"Where were you?" Rachel laughed, having seen the dazed look on his face.
Nick smiled as she sat back down next to him, "I was just hoping Brittany's okay since she's driving and upset. How's Zack doing?"
"Well, he cried," Rae said, sounding somewhat surprised. "They broke up. They didn't want to ruin their friendship."
"That's sh*t."
Rae laughed in surprise at his comment, "Nick!
"What?"
"Well, maybe they felt it better for the two of them to go back to being friends before their friendship diminished. Who are we to judge that?"
"I know they'll be miserable without each other. You just wait and see."
Rae nodded, "Yea, you're probably right. We could go to a movie tomorrow night, all four of us, and try and get them to see that they need each other. You busy tomorrow night?"
"Nope, that sounds good."
She nodded, "Cool. C'mmon, wanna go watch TV in the living room? Or do you need to get home?"
He laughed, "Home?"
They snuggled down into the plush leather couch and plopped their feet up onto the coffee table, since Mrs. Larson wasn't home. They got cozy as they clicked the TV on and began looking for something to watch. As they got into the story line of a television movie, Nick gently put his arm around Rae's shoulder, and she smiled as she snuggled up against him.
"You know what, Rae?"
"What?" she looked up at him, worried slightly.
"I'm sorry I was always such a jerk to you."
Rachel grinned at his sincerity, "I'm sorry for punching you."
"Rae," Nick laughed. "That was two months ago, and you hadn't even meant to do it. Plus, you cleaned it up quite nicely," he smirked.
Rae smiled up at him, her head still resting on his shoulder. "Why are you here with me, Nick? I thought we weren't friends."
Nick lowered his face closer to hers, and whispered secretly, "I still don't think we're friends."
Rae practically fainted as Nick leaned in and kissed her.
~ * 2 Hours Later * ~
Nick sighed happily as he jumped from his Durango, at the gas station. He hadn't thought once of the group of "friends" he was about to lose, ever since him and Rae got together an hour before.
As he slid his card through the machine, he noticed Brittany putting gas into her car a few feet away. He thought that was odd, since she should have been home an hour and forty-five minutes before.
"You okay, Britt?" he asked, going and standing beside her.
"Oh!" Brittany jumped slightly. "Hey!" she suddenly sighed at his question, "Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Why aren't you home? It's been over two hours since you left."
"Went for a drive. How's Zack doing?"
Nick shrugged, "Cried."
"Oh," Brittany sighed again, feeling tears forming in her eyes. "You know I love him, right??" she wanted to make sure people knew it - that it was a known fact: Brittany loved Zack, and hopefully, Zack loved Brittany.
"Yeah, Brittany," he looked at her with a small smile. "Rae and I can both tell. So we were wondering why you two aren't together any longer?"
Brittany looked up at him with serious eyes, "Have you ever loved someone so much that you'd do anything to insure them staying in your life forever?"
"Yes, I did. And I did the same thing you did. And you know what happened? She didn't stay in my life anyways. You can't insure anything in life. So why not take a chance, on love?"
Brittany looked back at him, tears threatening to spill over her eyelids, "No one understands! I love him with everything in me. I'm not going to give that up, because I feel right now that if I continue the type of relationship that we have at the moment, I'm going to lose him all together. And I'm not going to let that happen."
Nick sighed, realizing he'd upset her, "Okay, Ritt, I'm sorry. Look, Rae and I were thinking maybe us four could go to a movie tomorrow night??"
"Are you guys, y'know..." a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, "...dating?"
Nick couldn't help but grin, making the smile on Brittany's face break through fully.
"Yeah... I guess we're pretty much together now."
"So you and Zack are alike, after all," she smiled, meaning the fact that they'd both given up their existing lives for relationships.
"Zack's a great guy, Britt."
Brittany nodded, "I know that. Trust me. I know that more than anybody."
"Then how about that movie tomorrow night."
"A platonic thing, right?"
Nick shrugged, nonchalantly, "Sure, if that's how you want it."
Brittany laughed at him, "You're full of it, Nick. Absolutely full of it."
