Bedroom Window View...

Oh...You're Back

"I have a better body than you."

He snorted and I was glad he was lightening up.

"What? You want me to prove it?" I asked.

"Dude, we've done this last year. And I won," he said smugly.

"That's because you bribed one of them," I frowned at the memory.

He laughed, "No Natt, you were the one who bribed them. I blackmailed them. And it proved to be a better method."

"Oh, right," I mumbled. "Anyway, Holly's cousin, Sana, she's hot."

He sighed. "Thanks for trying man, but I'll pass."

"Look, if you're done sulking by five you should come with me to hang out with Logan and Owen. They're going to buy me some food."

"And why would they do that?" Nick asked.

"Because I was bored and decided to use that old video to have fun," I shrugged.

"You blackmailed them?" Nick's eyes glittered. "Which video did you use?"

"The one where they, oh you know, got drunk and..." I grinned as Nick laughed.

"So, you comin'?" I asked.

He sighed, "I was planning on moping all day. But how come I got stuck in your pace?"

"'Cause I'm an awesome twin and you love me," I said slinging an arm over his shoulder.

"You're gross," he said but he didn't deny anything. Yup, all Nicky needed was a little comfort.  We sat quietly for a while, with Nick going dark again but promising to come with me later.

And then I remembered something; something that had been bothering me since Naomi's aunt left. "Hey, Nick," I began. "I know you're, well, in the process of gathering the pieces of your broken heart and all but..."

Nick glared at my teasing but listened still. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something that's been bugging me."

Naomi Carter

"Does it still hurt?" I asked sitting stiffly at my seat.

"Huh?"

"Your head."

"Oh. Nah," he said dismissively. He was lying. I've watched him far too long to be deceived by that. Still, I didn't say anything and sat there on my seat without another word. Watching West stare at the ceiling with an unreadable expression, I bit my lip at the wonder of what could be going on in his head. Nick had just told me he... well, likes me. And West had found out about the kiss. Guilt was eating me away. If I found out that West had kissed my best friend, well, I'd be pretty mad. And yet West didn't yell, didn't glare, only stared and had that annoyingly private conversation with Nick.

My fingers kept playing at the hem of my blouse as I brought my gaze down. Nick said something that sounded like he was giving up on me. I didn't like seeing him hurt, but I really, clearly, couldn't return his feelings no matter how much I cared for him. I mean, I do love Nick. I really love Nick. But not in the same way I love West. Nick was undoubtedly hot. But... he wasn't West. I want to tell Nick that I was really happy about his feelings. I know how hard it is to like someone and not know if they'll like you back. I've spent years feeling that way about West. Always thinking there's this unclosable distance between us. And to think that I was fortunate enough to have my feelings answered for some insanely, impossible reason.