You're a Catch 22

I Love You's & Tea

Nova couldn't stop sobbing even as the boys set her down on her bed in the hotel room. Calum handed her tissues, and Luke gently stroked her hair by the bedside.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Nova's words were barely audible through her muffled sobs.

"Sorry about what?" Luke continued to stroke her hair.

"I'm sorry," Nova repeated.

The other 3 boys sat in Michael's room, feeling terrible. What had happened to Nova wasn't right, and she most definitely did not deserve it.

"I feel so bad," Michael mumbled.

"Me too. I think we all do," Ashton replied quietly.

"I feel like I need to do something, but I don't know what...." Michael's voice trailed off.

In the other room, Nova's sobs were lessening the tiniest bit. Luke was now laying next to her, cuddling her.

"What if we go out for tea later?" Luke offered.

"I don't think I can... Not like this.." Nova said, her voice muffled.

"It's fine. I don't care. He's just a jerk, Nova," Luke said gently.

Nova leaned into Luke, burying her head in his shirt. Everything seemed to be swirling, seemed to be unstable. She had just lost the boy that she had known for a long time. A boy who had helped her through the hardest parts of her life. Nova remembered the way the boys had been huffing when they entered the cafe, and a sudden thought hit her.

"You ran," She mumbled. The boys had ran to the cafe. For her.

"We did. I couldn't take it," Luke admitted.

"Luke, does Ashton and Michael like me?" Nova muttered.

"They love you. Why wouldn't they?" Luke asked softly.

"Dan said- Dan said that Ashton was just acting like he liked me. And Mikey only likes me for my looks," Nova's crying was slowly dying down.

"We love you because you're amazing. You're sweet, and you care about us. You have an amazing sense of humor, Nov. And most importantly of all, I love you more than any girl in the whole world. The things that he said were nowhere near true," Luke confirmed.

"I love you, too. I love you more than the world itself," Nova breathed into Luke's shirt.

"It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay."

Luke helped Nova get up very slowly, like an old woman. He handed her one of his sweatshirts, and she put it on. It went down to her knees, but she didn't care. She liked how it smelled like him. The rest of the boys quietly followed Nova and Luke down to the coffee shop in the lobby. After everyone had gotten their preferred drinks, they each sat down.

"We love you, Nova, and we would never want you to change," Michael reached out and squeezed Nova's hand from across the table.

"Thanks," Nova smiled weakly and sipped her tea. She knew she was lucky to have these boys.

"You really are amazing. I hate to say it, but if you weren't my sister, I'd have definitely had a crush on you. Sorry, Luke."

Cal let out a little smile. And so did Nova, surprisingly. Everything in her life seemed to be swirling at the moment, except for the four boys- they were firm and steady, something she could lean on. And she did, indeed, lean on them, because she loved them. 

I hope you guys like it so far! The last chapter was really intense! If you're reading this, then you've gotten fairly far! Thank you so much for reading, I couldn't do it without you guys. Please comment what you think about the book so far! Love you guys to pieces!

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