It had been four days since Nick's arrival. Not a lot had changed between he and Sarah, but enough to make the household bearable to live in. They didn't talk to one another unless absolutely necessary, but when it was they were exceptionally civil. Sarah had calmed down a lot and didn't look at Nick with as much contempt as she had before.
Brittany and Freddy were just going day by day, not wanting to rock the boat in any way. Their current arrangement--friends having a baby--was working out just fine and the two of them had enough on their plates as it was ... they didn't need to add more by becoming anything romantic.
"No, it doesn't go like that," Brittany insisted as Nick and Freddy were attempting to put a crib together in the room that would serve as the nursery.
"Brittany, if you know how it goes, then YOU get on your hands and knees and you put it together!" Freddy finally snapped, tired of not being able to assemble what really should have been simple, but even more tired of Brittany's critiquing.
Brittany stared at him for a minute, Nick just watching as the two challenged each other with their eyes. Finally she fell to her knees and began to work and in fifteen minutes the structure had been erected. The two men stared at her in mild disgust. A silence filled the room for a minute, and finally Freddy growled, rolling his eyes.
"Just get out of here."
Brittany giggled before running out of the room to find Sarah. She'd leave the boys to decorate for a while. If she had to build a crib, they could do a little wallpapering.
Sarah/Brittany
"Britt, they could end up completely trashing your child's nursery," Sarah laughed as they listened to Nick and Freddy banging around upstairs.
"Eh, I'll just tell him or her that daddy and the blonde idiot did it with a lot of love."
"Hey," Sarah said defensively and immediately wished she hadn't.
Brittany sat there in a stunned silence. Had Sarah just defended Nick? What was the world coming to?!
Later That Night
Freddy/Brittany
Didn't your daddy tell you not to wear that little thing?...
-La Toya, by Paula Cole
"Wow," Freddy whispered as Brittany came down the stairs that night, dressed to kill. "You look ... incredible."
The two had dinner reservations at one of their favorite restaurants. After a lot of pushing from Sarah and Derek they'd finally agreed to go out and spend a little quality time together, since Freddy wouldn't be in town too much longer.
"Thanks," Brittany smiled, stepping from the last step in a simple, yet stunning dress that hugged her just right. The fact that she was pregnant and just barely showing made her look even more attractive, her face beautiful with a pregnant glow. "You look incredible, too, Freddy. I'm so excited for tonight. It's been so long since I've been out for the night. Not many want to take a pregnant woman out."
Freddy couldn't help but feel sick to his stomach. It just didn't seem fair; wherever Brittany went, dates and all, his baby went with her. The only thought that soothed his ill-feelings was what Brittany had said: not many guys were willing to date a pregnant woman.
Don't think about things like that, Freddy thought to himself as he ushered her out of the house and to his car. There's no reason to ruin a perfectly good evening.
Nick/Sarah
Sarah sighed as she turned the channel on the TV movie that had quickly turned unrealistic. She was so incredibly bored and lonely and all she wanted was someone who cared for her like Freddy cared for Brittany; someone to take her out and fuss over her; someone who wouldn't lie to her or use her or play mind games with her. She realized there was a very handsome man upstairs, watching movies in Derek's and Brittany's in-home movie theater ... but it was Nick. Nick, the guy who certainly had used her. She felt silent tears trickling down her face at the thought.
Her best friend was out with the man she was in love with, pregnant with his child, and more than happy. And even though Sarah was glad for her two friends, it made her feel even more alone. Why did it always seem like when her friends had blue skies, she had rain?
Sarah sighed again as she saw Nick walk by, out of the corner of her eye, and go into the kitchen. A moment later she heard the fridge opening, a glass being taken out of the cabinet, and the ice dispenser running. And then his footsteps... familiar footsteps of another being in the house. She wasn't alone. And the thought was even more frightening. She wasn't alone, and yet she felt so incredibly empty. Nick's presence wasn't making her feel better; it was making her cry. She just wanted a man who would love her for everything that she was made up of. And though Nick sure had been trying to make her believe he did, she was so afraid to believe him. He'd used her to fulfill whatever sick cravings he'd had that his girlfriend hadn't been fulfilling and Sarah would not be used. Especially for sexual reasons. She'd put up with it long enough and she was sick of it.
"Sarah?" Nick called out, before finding her in the family room, a sitcom playing on the television. He sat down slowly on the other side of the couch and wondered if she would talk with him if he were to try to strike up a conversation. "Whatcha watchin'?"
"I dunno. I've never seen this one before."
Nick nodded and wondered what else they could talk about. Usually when they talked, it ended in a fight, though lately they'd been doing better. With Freddy and Brittany out for the night and Derek hanging out with some friends, he and Sarah were the only ones in the house and Nick knew that eventually they would have to begin speaking with each other again. Life without talking was far too boring.
"I'm sick of this, Sar," Nick finally whispered as he turned to her, his eyes staring deeply into hers as she turned to face him.
Sarah's eyes turned cloudy as her eyebrows rose, "What do you mean?"
"I told you the first night that I came here that I wanted you back and you've made it quite clear that isn't what you want. I know that I hurt you, Sar, and I know I told you I'd be patient. I'm willing to show you just how much I care about you, by giving you time ... it's just ... I've never been a patient kinda' guy and I just ... guess I'm lonely or something," Nick paused, a sigh escaping through his parted lips. "It's hard for me to see you all day, every day and not be able to hold your hand or kiss you or even talk to you about things I want to talk to you about. I hate that I have to be so guarded with you."
Sarah looked at him, expressionless, silently. How could he just come into her life and turn her entire world upside down and expect her to want him around afterward? She sighed and stood from the couch, intent on escaping a detailed conversation and heading up to bed. "Nick, you hurt me, okay? You made me feel like I was only worth a good lay. When it came to being with your girlfriend, it was 'Sarah, don't call.' Well, I'm sorry, but that's just not me, y'know? Maybe I thought I could deal with it, but after a while I realized I couldn't and so I cut myself off from you. And then you just come parading back in here like some sex and romance god, like I should be able to just forgive you and accept you back, like I should feel any feelings for your sorry ass! Well, forget it, Nick. Just forget it."
Nick took a deep breath and swallowed, his throat dry and scratchy. He hadn't expected that and yet, he knew, in a way, he had deserved it. But she wasn't being entirely fair. "Well, you know what, Sarah? You slept with me, too. It takes two to f*ck around... you were there. How was I to know you were too weak to take the reality of our relationship?? You didn't let me know that it was hurting you until I get a phone call one night while I'm out with my girlfriend and you freak out on me and tell me never to call you again. Way to let a guy know. You couldn't have mentioned it one of those times you were shamelessly screwing around with me?? I have feelings, too, Sarah-"
"Oh, the pathetic and traumatic life of a pop-star!" Sarah snapped, her eyes burning with an anger she'd tried hard to conceal from him.
"It is hard, Sarah!" Nick's eyes clouded with tears and Sarah suddenly felt her stomach lurch. "You don't even know."
Sarah's breath caught in her throat as Nick turned to leave. Before then, and as foolish as it really was, she'd subconsciously thought that Nick was inhuman. He didn't have feelings, he didn't know what it meant to be hurt, he didn't feel the pain and anguish that she felt when life dealt crap. But she'd never seen such sorrow in a pair of eyes before ... he felt everything she felt, if not more so. Without another thought, Sarah grabbed Nick's hand and turned him back around, her hands moving up to his face and pulling him closer. Their eyes only meeting for a millisecond, Sarah kissed him. She could hardly believe she'd done it, and she hardly understood why she had.
"I'm sorry," Sarah whispered, regretfully, as she looked up at him, tears cascading down her ashen face. She felt as though she were going to faint. Wordlessly, she pulled away from him and ran quickly up the stairs to her bedroom.
How could she face him now? How was she supposed to look him in the eye and tell him she didn't want him ... when that kiss had told him so differently?
