May 28, 1999

“Do you have to go?” Kayleigh asked, sitting outside on the deck of Nick’s newly purchased waterfront home. Nick handed her a glass of water and sat down next to her.

“Yes, I have to go,” he answered. “They can’t exactly tour without me. I am an integral part of this group you know.”

“Integral?” Kayleigh asked, an eyebrow raised. “Whoa Nicky. That’s a big word for you.”

“Shut up,” he retorted, throwing an ice cube at her.

“Serioulsy though,” she sighed. “Do you have to?” She glanced over at him and, for the first time, Nick noticed the tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Kayles?” Nick asked, confused by her behavior. She had never been this emotional when he’d left before.

Kayleigh wiped her eyes. “It’s just that I’ve gotten so used to having you here. I don’t know if I can handle you being gone for so long. I’m really going to miss you.” She buried her face in her hands as the tears overflowed.

Nick, now totally confused, tried to make light of the situation. “It’s not like I’ll be gone that long. It’s only for three months. And anyway, aren’t you coming out in July?” Kayleigh, instead of responding, kept on crying. By now, Nick was worried. “What’s wrong, Kayleigh? What’s really going on? You’ve never acted like this when I’ve left.”

Kayleigh got her sobs under control and wiped her eyes. “Nothing else is going on, Nick. Can’t I just miss my best friend?”

Nick wasn’t convinced. “Kayleigh, something else is going on here and I want to know what it is. You haven’t been yourself lately.”

Kayleigh was quiet for a minute, just staring out at the ocean. There was something else going on. But she felt so stupid because she had been too blind to se it. And she absolutely did not want to hear Nick say ‘I told you so.’

“It’s Tyler,” she answered, finally. “My wonderful, loving boyfriend of almost four years has been cheating on me.” Nick opened his mouth to say something but Kayleigh cut him off. “Don’t say it Nick. I swear to God, I will completely lose it if you do.” He closed his mouth and wrapped his arms around her.

“How’d you find out?” He asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Brooke told me,” Kayleigh replied. “She saw him at a party last Friday night, draped all over some stupid girl. After he told me he was going to Daytona for the weekend. After asking around a little bit, I figured out that it’s been going on for months now.” She paused, sensing the tears beginning to well up in her eyes again. She tried to blink them back but she was unsuccessful and they spilled down on her cheeks anyway.

“God, I’m so stupid, Nick,” she whispered.

“You’re not stupid, Kayles,” he told her, soothingly.

“Yes I am,” she insisted. “He’s been doing this right under my nose and I had no idea. Or I just didn’t want to believe it. Do you know how many times I’ve been left sitting alone in my apartment because he and I were supposed to do something and he never shows up?” Nick shook his head, his heart breaking at the crushed look on her face. “More times than I can even remember. He’s always had an excuse. And stupid me always believed him.”

“What’d he say when you confronted him?” Nick asked.

She looked down at her hands. “I haven’t yet.”

“Kayleigh?!” Nick exclaimed. “This happened a week ago. How many nights have you slept with him since?” Nick’s outburst only caused Kayleigh’s tears to fall even faster. He immediately felt bad. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean it like that. Kayleigh, you need to confront him about it. He has to know that he can’t hurt you like that.”

“I know,” she cried, nodding her head. “It just hit me that I’m about to lose him for good. I’ve been so in love with him for four years now. And now that I won’t have anyone. I’m not used to being alone, Nick.”

“You’re not alone, Kayles. You have me and the guys, Brooke, Leigh, Amanda, your mom, my family. You have so many people. You don’t need someone who’s deliberately hurting you.”

“And now you’re leaving,” she said, quietly.

“You know I’d stay in a heartbeat if I could,” he told her. Kayleigh nodded and buried her face in Nick’s chest. Nick rubbed her back soothingly as she cried.

“Hey guys,” they heard a quiet voice say from Nick’s back door. Nick and Kayleigh both looked up and saw Lauren standing in the doorway. Kayleigh quickly pulled away from Nick and wiped her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Kayleigh?” Lauren asked.

Kayleigh smiled, slightly. “Nothing really. I’m just going to miss this guy.”

Lauren smiled and walked over to Nick, kissing him hello. Nick threw an arm around her and kissed her forehead. She grinned up at him. “Yeah, I would too. That’s why I’ve decided to go with him.”

Nick’s eyes widened. “You did?!” He picked her up and swung her around in the air. “Oh my god, baby! That’s great!”

Kayleigh looked on longingly, a small pang of jealousy hitting her. She wished so much that she still had what Nick and Lauren had. “I should go,” She said, interrupting their moment.

Lauren looked apologetically between the two. “Don’t leave on my account.”

“No, don’t worry about me,” she explained. “I’ve got some things I need to do.”

She walked over to Nick and wrapped her arms around him. “Bye Nicky.”

“You’re not coming to the airport tomorrow?” he asked, pulling back slighlty.

Kayleigh shook her head, sadly. “I can’t, Nick. You understand don’t you?”

Nick shrugged. “I guess so. I’m gonna miss you, though.”

“Me too,” Kayleigh said, smiling. She wrapped her arms around him again. “I love you, you know that right?”

Nick nodded, squeezing her tightly. “Yeah. I love you too, Kayles. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.” Kayleigh reluctantly released him and disappeared around the side of the house.

“You okay, baby?” Lauren asked, wraping her arms around him from the back.

Nick turned around and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m just worried about her. I’ve never seen her so out of it.”

“Kayleigh’s a lucky girl to have you as such a good friend,” Lauren commented.

Nick sat down and pulled her down so she was straddling his lap. “And I’m lucky to have such a wonderful,” he planted a kiss on her forehead, “hot,” one on her nose,” loving,” one on each cheek, “girlfriend.” He captured her lips with his own.

Lauren pulled away, breathleslsy, a few minutes later. “Wow.” Nick grinned, loving the effect that he had on her. “I’m so excited to go on this tour with you.”

“So am I,” he said. “Baby, we’re going to have so much fun. And maybe it’ll give you an idea of what it’s like to live with me.”

Lauren looked at him curiously. “What are you talking about?”

Nick shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. “Oh nothing. Just thinking about how great it would be if you and I lived in here together.”

“Nickolas Carter, are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Maybe. That is, if you wanted to,” Nick answered, a hopeful expression on his face.

Lauren grinned and threw her arms around his neck. “I’d love to!” Nick smiled and pulled her in for a deep, passionate kiss, sliding his hands under the back of her shirt.

“I love you,” she mumbled against his lips.

“Mmm…me too..."

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