HE NEVER MENTIONED YOU WERE COMING OVER
DO YOU TELL HIM EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO IN THE DAY?
[2.02]
Parent teacher interviews were something Venus hated. Every year she sat on the edge of the gym, staring at all her peers while waiting for Charlie's parents to wrap up their interviews with Charlie before moving onto her. Her own mother had never once turned up for an interview, despite Venus leaving a note on the fridge every year. No matter what sort of praise her teachers gave her, it was never enough to make her feel okay about how little her mother cared for her.
"Venus," a voice spoke kindly.
She looked up, seeing Nick and Sarah standing above her. She gave them her best smile, feeling a little embarrassed to be sitting and waiting all alone.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Where's your mum?" Sarah asked, "I'd love to have a chat with her. Tell her what a gorgeous girl she's got."
"Mum," Nick elbowed her, giving a look.
"She's not here," Venus told her, "Charlie's parents sit through these interviews with me. It's their favourite time of year apart from report card day. Mine's the only one that lives on their fridge."
"I'm so sorry," Sarah said, "I had no idea. I shouldn't have asked."
"It's whatever. Charlie's parents have always been there so I'm alright," she smiled, "How'd Nick go? Anyone have anything bad to say?"
"That's none of your business," Nick grinned, sitting down beside the girl, "I am very delightful in class."
"His science teacher mentioned that he gets easily distracted," Sarah smiled, "I can't imagine what's distracting him though."
"I have no idea," Venus shrugged her shoulders, "Probably some pretty girl who doesn't give him the time of day."
"Wow," Nick shook his head with a smile, "Well, we should get going but I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," she smiled, "I'll tell you all about my five star ratings."
Nick smiled before standing up, leaning towards his mum, "I've got a superstar girlfriend."
"Bye, Venus. Come by soon," Sarah smiled, giving her a small wave before her and Nick disappeared.
Venus let out a deep sigh, looking back down at her phone. It wasn't long until the Spring parents would have to make their rounds again, but her interviews were generally a lot shorter than Charlie's. She scanned the room, spotting some of her friends getting their interviews as well as some other people from classes she shared. She felt very tired, getting barely any sleep from the night before. Venus began to pinch at her leg, doing her best to keep her eyes open and alert.
"Vee!"
She turned her head to where Charlie had called her name. He looked a bit disheartened so she had a feeling he hadn't gotten his normal good news. He approached her before his parents could reach her, giving her a hug.
"Please be a superstar, my parents are so annoyed with me," Charlie whispered.
"I'll do my best," she assured him. She turned to his parents, a tired smile on her face. "Ms Singh wants to talk to us first."
"Venus?"
There it was. The last voice she expected to hear today. The brunette froze in her spot, but by the looks on Charlie's parents faces, she knew exactly who was standing behind her. The girl felt stuck, unable to bring herself to even turn around to face her mother.
"Jane and Julio!" Ms Singh called out happily, "Great to see you again! Want to come take a seat over here for me and we can get started?"
"Um, actually, I am Venus' mother," Lucy cut in, stepping forward and holding out her hand, "Lucy King."
Ms Singh blinked, her eyes flickering between the two girls. They were practically the same person just different ages. They had the same hair, same eyes, same nose. It was like seeing double. Ms. Singh hadn't expected to meet Venus' actual mother as she was used to doing everything with the Spring parents.
"Right, of course," Ms. Singh spoke, "How great that you could join us today."
"Yeah," Julio crossed his arms over his chest, a dark gaze set on the woman, "I'm surprised you even showed up. When was the last time you came to one of these again?"
"I'm here now," Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, "Shall we start?"
"Is it possible for us to still sit in for VeeVee?" Jane asked Ms. Singh.
The teacher turned to Venus, who was staring at her mother blankly, not even moving from her spot. She looked lost, like whatever she had been thinking about was just wiped from her mind. She let out a shaky breath, turning to the teacher. With everything she could, she nodded her head.
Julio took Venus' hand, gently pulling her over to where the teacher was situated. Venus felt as though she couldn't breathe. Her head was spinning and the only thing convincing her that this wasn't a dream was that every pinch she gave to her leg was not waking her up. She looked at her mother with an expression of hurt and confusion.
What was she doing here?
"Well," Ms Singh begam, awkwardly glancing between the three parents placed in front of her, "I'm sure you know that Venus has exceeded just about every expectation ever placed on her. Academically, she's brilliant. She's aced all her P.E assignments and has never handed me something late."
The words echoed in Venus' head, as though Ms. Singh was calling to her from across the room and not seated in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get back to normal but it was no use. Her mother was already in her head.
Not good enough. Not good enough. Not good enough.
"She's got her extra curriculars that set her above the bar as well," Ms. Singh continued, watching Venus wearily, "Captain of the track team, she helps out during rugby trainings and she's been tutoring some of my boys to keep them on the team. She has great leadership qualities and despite some mischief, she doesn't let it distract her from her studies. You've got a great daughter."
There was a silence. Venus slowly turned to her mum, waiting for her to say something. To say anything. But she didn't.
"Well," Julio said in an annoyed tone, glaring at the woman beside Venus, "Our VeeVee has always been great. She's a high achiever and will do anything to get what she wants."
"I'm sorry," Venus muttered, "I gotta get out of here."
Venus stood up, her chair screeching across the floor as she fled out of the gym. She panted heavily, feeling as though she couldn't breathe. It was all too much for her. She hadn't seen or spoken to her mum in weeks. She didn't even ask her about why Venus had gone to the hospital and now she just showed up to her school? Venus felt as though she could be sick.
Venus made her way outside, sliding down a wall as her tears began to roll down her face. She covered her mouth as she began to cry, unable to stop herself from thinking about her mother. All the insults thrown at her. All the times she showed her report card just for her to dismiss it. Every single time she ever did anything good just for it to be treated like nothing. No matter what Venus did, it was never good enough for her mother. What cruel joke was she playing on her to show up and act like she cared about whatever the teachers thought of her?
It hadn't taken long for Charlie to find the girl, immediately pulling her into his arms as she cried. He hated Venus' mother just as much as she did, if not more. He hated how she always did this. Neglected Venus for weeks or months just to show up for one thing, act like Venus should be grateful for her doing the bare minimum and then get upset that Venus didn't appreciate it before the cycle continued. It wrecked Venus, who always held onto the tiniest bit of hope that each time would be the change in her mother. But it never was and Charlie was always the one to pick up the pieces.
"Dad is on the verge of losing his shit," Charlie told her softly as she held onto the boy tightly, "I think when the interviews are over he might actually smack her."
"Why is she here?" Venus choked out, "I didn't even put it on the fridge this year because I knew she wouldn't come. How did she know?"
"I don't know," Charlie mumbled, "You can't let her get to you though. At the end of the day, you're coming home with the parents who actually love and appreciate you. You're coming home with me. I'm your family. Not her."
"I just want her to stop trying," Venus muttered, "I want her to just commit to being my mom or being the person who gave birth to me. She can't pick and choose when she's either."
"I know," Charlie sighed, holding her closer. "Do you want to come back inside or stay out here? I can get my parents to come meet us here."
"I just wanna go home," she mumbled.
"Want me to walk you home?" Charlie asked, "Might save me from getting in trouble with my parents."
"If you needed help with your school work you should of just asked me," Venus sniffed quietly, "You could come hang out when I tutor Shawn and do your work then. That way you could still see him."
"I know, it's just," Charlie sighed, "I study with him but it ends up with me helping him rather than us both doing work, you know? He's the best and I like him so much, but he's not great at school."
"I know it's hard to hear from me but you need to put your school work first, Charlie," Venus said, wiping at her eyes, "It'll make your parents happy and then you'll have the freedom to do more with Shawn. They're not going to be as easy going if you keep this up."
"I know," Charlie nodded, "I wish I was as smart as you."
"Being smart is less fun when there's pressure to always be this smart for the rest of your life," Venus told him, "Please come to me if you need help, honey. I don't want to see you suffer because you couldn't balance school and a boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend," Charlie sighed.
"Not yet," Venus smiled, "I'm not allowed to say anything but Shawn's really, really looking forward to the Paris trip."
"He's not going to ask me," Charlie rolled his eyes, "He probably won't do anything until he comes out to his mum and who knows how long that will take. Probably never."
"You'd be surprised at what people do for love," Venus said.
The two stayed out there until the interviews finished up. Charlie's parents found them and they all went home together. They had a lot to say about Lucy showing up, neither of them happy about it and that it was harmful to Venus to spring it onto her. But, all her teachers raved about her and other then a few skipped classes, Venus was basically an angel.
Charlie ended up getting banned from seeing Shawn until his coursework essay was done, so there was some negative tension looming in the air when they got out of the car. The ban annoyed Venus, only because when Shawn came over they hung out too. Shawn wasn't only seeing Charlie when he came to the house. Now she would have to wait until it was his dad's week to see him.
Charlie ran up to his room when they entered the house and it wasn't long until he started banging on his drums. Even with his headphones on, the dark haired girl could hear it from downstairs. Tori made her way out of her room and stood at the top of the stairs with raised eyebrows.
"He's banned from seeing Shawn," Venus explained as she climbed the stairs.
"Wonderful," Tori muttered sarcastically as the two girls entered her bedroom.
"Mum came to parent teacher interviews," Venus told Tori as they got under the covers. Tori paused, watching Venus curl into her side and try to disappear, trying to figure out what Venus needed. Tori wrapped an arm around the girl as Venus shut her eyes. "I cried."
"Fuck her," Tori stated plainly.
"Fuck her," Venus agreed softly as she pulled out her phone. "Do you wanna hang out this weekend?"
"Don't want to see Nick?" Tori questioned.
Venus rolled her eyes, "Just because I have a boyfriend doesn't mean you've been replaced. He knows he'll forever be stuck in third place."
"Well, aren't you a loving girlfriend," Tori smirked, "I bet he loves that."
"He..." Venus paused. Tori raised her eyebrows, as though she knew the word Venus almost let slip. "He likes me enough to know that you and Charlie were my first and forever loves."
"Sure," Tori rolled her eyes, grabbing her laptop. As she began to type on it, Venus brought her gaze down to her phone where she began to text Nick.
Venus:
need an extra long hug from you tomorrow
Nick:
me too
my brother got home from uni today
he's a dick
Venus:
my mum turned up to parent teacher interviews
I hate her so much
Nick:
she did???
did she say anything to you
Venus:
no
just sat in the interview with ms singh
I got super overwhelmed so I left but charlie's parents said she stayed the whole time
but didn't have anything to say
apparently she had no clue that I even took Spanish
Nick:
are you okay???
I'm guessing your at charlie's now
Venus:
not really
but yeah I'm at his house now
I just really really wish I was with you right now
why does she have to do this to me?
Nick:
I don't know
I'm sorry
Venus
not your fault
I'm just so tired of her
it's like she picks and chooses when she wants to be a good mum
but it's pointless because no matter how much she does
it doesn't make up for the past twelve years
Nick:
you deserve better
do you wanna have lunch in the music room?
I know you like to write music whenever your feelings are getting too much
Venus
yes please
I just want to be near you
Nick:
I know the feeling
you should try sleep
don't let your mind think about this for too long
Venus:
I'll try
see you tomorrow < 3
~~~
"It's perfect!"
"Way too short."
"Don't be a prude!"
Venus raised her eyebrows at Elle, "Did you just tell me not to be a prude?"
Elle laughed. They were in her room after an afternoon of shopping. Venus was stood in the room with her new skirt sitting on her hips. It was a pretty blue pleated skirt, identical to most of the skirts she had in her closet. But she didn't have this colour so really her purchase was perfectly justified. Elle was crouched down as she sewed the hem of the skirt to make it shorter. Only, it was a lot shorter than she usually wore.
"It's fine," Elle assured her, "If you want, I can sew in shorts. That way you actually won't flash anyone."
"Would you?" Venus beamed.
Elle nodded, holding out her hand. Venus shimmied out of the skirt with a grin, handing Elle the skirt before stepping back into the jeans she had been wearing. Pulling them up with a smile, Venus flopped onto Elle's bed with a sigh.
"How's your studying going?" Venus asked her, staring at the ceiling.
"Fine," Elle shrugged, "You should come study with the girls and I."
Venus sighed deeply, "Between tutoring Shawn, track and studying with Nick, I barely have any time."
"You and Nick good then?" Elle smiled softly.
"More than," Venus bit back her own smile, "God, he's perfect."
Elle fell back into the bed beside Venus and looked over at her. It was written all over her face. Venus was so hopelessly head over heels in love with Nick. Even if she didn't know herself, there was no denying it.
"I've never seen you so happy," Elle told her, "I'm glad you two have each other."
"What about you and Tao?" Venus asked, turning her head to look at her, "Tara mentioned that you were giving up."
"I just... I don't think he does like me back," Elle admitted.
"Have you asked him?" Venus questioned. Elle didn't respond. "Elle, I know it's scary but boys are super dumb. Like, shockingly stupid. And they get super nervous around girls who know exactly what they want."
"I don't want to talk about it," Elle told her, "You've known Tao longer than me. I know you're just trying to help him."
"Just because I've known Tao longer doesn't mean I love you any less," Venus told her, "I want you to be sure of what you want. If you really want to move on and forget about him, I can set you up with a hundred different guys, I can watch terrible chick flicks with you and I'll get you all caught up on my how to get over a guy starter pack."
"No hair dye please," Elle smiled gently.
"A poor lapse of judgement, I'll admit," Venus smirked, "I still rocked blonde though."
"You did."
"What I'm saying is," Venus sucked in a breath, "If you want Tao you should go for it. Kiss him stupid or write a dumb letter for him or just tell him. Another good thing about people is that if you show interest, they usually become interested."
"I think..." Elle sighed, "I think I should move on. My friendship with him is more important."
"Are you sure?" Venus asked.
"I'm sure," Elle nodded, "But if he wants to do anything... I don't think I'd be against it. It's all in his hands now."
Venus smirked, "Noted."
~~~
Over the forty days leading up until exams, Venus had never felt time move slower. The pressure was finally cracking down on her and she was not completely sure if she would survive. The amount of sleep she got, which was already not a lot, became even less. Some nights she wouldn't even sleep and just stay up all night hunched over her textbooks. Coffees and concealer became her best friend, along with the purple bruises on her upper thigh from continuously pinching herself to stay awake. Her anxiety about her exams was clear on her face and she was often being asked by Sai if she was alright.
Venus, a known liar, always said yes.
Her days did have some good parts too it. Nick began to put flowers in her locker every day along with plenty of snacks due to learning that she was a stress eater. Rumours had now been going around about her new secret admirer, no one seeming to care that Venus looked and acted as if she was on the verge of a mental break down.
But as she stared up at Nick with sad eyes, she felt that she might cross that line over into a full on meltdown.
"What?" Venus asked, staring up at Nick with sad eyes.
"Imogen is going out with Ben," he told her gently, "I just wanted you to hear it from me instead of seeing them together. I know how much you care about her and I just didn't want you to get upset."
"She's going out with Ben?" Venus repeated as they walked towards the school gate.
"Yeah," he nodded his head.
On cue, they walked past the picnic table, where Ben and Imogen were standing. Ben pulled the girl in for a kiss, Venus feeling as though she was going to be sick again. Her best friend, her Imogen, was going out with the person she hated more than Harry. This couldn't be real.
"Vee, don't!" Nick said but Venus was already walking towards the two.
She grabbed Imogen's hand, pulling the two away from the group wordlessly. Imogen stared at her in confusion, having no idea what was going on. Venus bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to think of what to say. How was she even meant to approach this situation?
"You're going out with Ben?" Venus asked her.
"Yeah," Imogen nodded, "What's the problem with that?"
"Look, I'm going to say this to you because you're one of my best friends and I love you," Venus told her, "I can't be your friend if you date him."
"What? Why not?" Imogen asked.
"I can't tell you," Venus said seriously, "But you need to trust me. He's an asshole and you deserve better than him."
"What do you mean you can't tell me why?" Imogen scoffed, "Look, Ben is one of my oldest friends and he has always been lovely to me. He's known me longer than you have and he's always been my friend, even when you weren't. So, I don't wanna hear that "I deserve better" bullshit! Whatever Ben's done in the past is over now. He actually likes me, Vee. You might be used to boys liking you but I'm not so I'm going to take it."
"I'm not going to have this argument with you," Venus told her in a hard tone, "If you wanna date him then that's fine. But you'll lose me. And I thought you would trust me a little more to know when I say I can't be your friend if you date him then I have a damn good reason."
"You don't get it!" Imogen groaned, "I'm not like you. I don't have boys waiting to date me or people dying to be my friend. He's one of my oldest friends. Don't you think I'd know if he was a bad person?"
"No, I don't think you would," Venus told her, "And in case you haven't noticed, Imogen, I am your friend. But if you want to throw that all away for a boy then fine. Go ahead. Don't come running to me when you realise he's an asshole."
"Fine!"
Venus hadn't meant for her words to be so harsh. She really didn't. But with the lack of sleep and the caffeine running through her veins, her brain was working on overdrive and she was not thinking straight. She turned on her heel and stormed away from the girl, tugging on the roots of her hair as she pushed past students in a rush. Venus was losing whatever battle was going on in her head and she didn't know what to do.
She forced the bathroom door open and sat on top of the toilet lid, rummaging through her bag. Her hands were shaking and Venus knew that she needed to eat or sleep. She grabbed the granola bar that Nick had given her a few days ago, tearing it open and biting down quickly. She felt her tears roll down her cheeks as she did her best to breathe. She stared up at the ceiling and did her best to focus her thoughts on the words written up there with the intention of no one seeing. Her eyes landed on a heart with a V+C inside of it and she wanted to roll her eyes at how cliché she had been about a three month relationship that she knew wouldn't last.
Venus shut her eyes as she heard the bathroom door open and shut. It wasn't long until her own stall door was pushed open, the girl bringing her gaze away from the ceiling.
"This is the girls toilet."
"I'm like eighty percent sure I've been in here more than you have, if you know what I mean," Shawn grinned. Venus stared at him blanky. "Becuase I made out with people in here. God, am I losing my touch? Am I still funny?"
"You're an idiot," Venus told him.
"I'm not the one munching on a granola bar sat on a toilet," Shawn teased. He sat on the floor below her, leaning against the stall door. "You looked like you were going to be sick so I followed you."
"I've gotten a total of four hours of sleep in the past three days, my anxiety is getting so bad that I can't think straight and I just got into a fight with Imogen," Venus sighed, "I just... Everything is so bad all the time."
Venus took another bite of her granola bar, putting her head in her hand. She looked and felt exhausted. Shawn was slightly convinced that if she blinked for too long she might actually fall asleep.
"Why are you so stressed about these exams?" Shawn asked, "Who are you trying to impress? Everyone knows you're the smartest girl in school. Your dumbest day is what my smartest days look like."
Venus sniffed, "What if they don't think I'm good enough if I fail? All I've ever gotten is straight A's. They expect it from me now."
"Who?" Shawn asked.
"Charlie's parents," Venus' voice cracked, "What if they don't want me around Charlie or Tori because I'm a bad influence. If my grades slip it'll no longer make up for the fact that I'm not exactly a good girl. I sneak out, I drink, I wear things that would send their grandma into a coma. What if they start to not like me because they realise my grades were the only good thing about me."
"Pluto," Shawn said softly, kneeling so he could pull her in for a hug, "You are the best friend those two could have ever wanted and they see that. They've known you since you were five years old. They know that you've got the biggest heart and love deeply. And have you ever thought about the fact that they know all those things about you and still love and show up for you?"
"I don't want to mess it up," she told him, "I don't want to let them down."
"You're not going to," he told her, "Do you want me to take you to the nurse to go have a nap?"
She shook her head, "I just need to eat. I'll sleep when I get home."
"Are you sure?" Shawn asked.
"Yeah," she sighed, "I told Sai I'd give him some of my math notes for today."
Shawn gave her a small smile, helping her up. He held the door open but Venus glanced back up at the ceiling. She dug through her bag and found a marker before standing on the toilet. Shawn watched in amusement as she crossed out the heart with her and Christian's initials in it. She smiled softly as she began to draw a new heart, putting her and Nick's initial's in it.
"And I thought Charlie was corny," Shawn teased.
"He is," Venus smirked as he helped her down, "Try looking up in the boys toilet."
Shawn rolled his eyes as Venus stood in front of the mirror. She looked like a mess. She only had her concealer on to hide her dark eye bags but it had been slightly smudged due to some of her tears. She tapped at her undereyes to try and blend the makeup out again, not wanting to give her other friends more reasons to worry. She then ran her fingers through her hair to flatten the mess and reapplied her lip balm. Shawn kissed the top of her head with a smile, taking her bag in his arms.
The two walked to study hall together, Venus staring at the messages Nick had sent her. She sighed as she shut her phone off, scanning the gym for the boy. She took her bag off Shawn and approached Nick's desk.
"I'm okay," she assured him, fingers tapping on his desk nervously, "Just a little upset about Imogen."
Nick gently rubbed his pinky against hers, giving her a concerned look, "Are you sure?"
"I promise," Venus smiled, "I'll call you after track, okay?"
"Okay," Nick said gently.
Venus nodded her head with a small smile, making her way to her own desk. She slid her notes over to Sai, opening her own textbook. She sighed deeply, grabbing a pink pen and beginning to write down some notes, struggling to keep her writing straight as her hands shook. She swallowed the lump in her throat, clenching her fist together tightly before releasing it.
This was going to be a long day.
~~~
Having track training didn't do much to help Venus as it only made her more tired. It got the the point where Ms. Singh sent her home early, worried that the girl would fall asleep mid run. The girl decided that the only thing she really wanted to do that afternoon was see her boyfriend so instead of getting off the bus near her house, she took it to Nick's house. Venus glanced down at her skirt, noticing that her purple bruises were poking out from beneath her skirt. She gave her skirt a small tug to hide it before turning her music up louder to drown out the guilty feeling creeping in.
She got off the bus at her stop and approached Nick's door. She knocked before taking a step back. After a few moments, a boy opened the door and looked down at her with a surprised look, not expecting to see a girl like Venus standing there. He was older than she was and looked very similar to Nick. Her mind went back to Nick mentioning that his older brother was home from uni and her guard went up, remembering the things he said to her about him.
"Well, hello," he smiled, "Who are you?"
"I'm Nick's friend," she answered carefully, "I'm a tutor at the school so I said I'd help him study for math."
"I see," he smiled, "I'm David, his older brother. He never mentioned you were coming over."
"Do you tell him everything that you're going to do in the day?" she asked him innocently.
"Touche," David shrugged, "What was your name again?"
"Venus," she replied.
"Oh?" David smirked, leaning against the doorframe, "The same Venus that texted my brother three love hearts before? Are you two dating then?"
"I send all my friends love hearts," Venus replied cooly before tilting her head with raised brows, "Don't you love your friends?"
"Right..." David said, sounding unconvinced, "Well, he's in his room. I'm not surprised you guys are just friends. There's no way he's pulling a girl as pretty as you."
Venus rolled her eyes, pushing past him, "I'm sixteen."
Venus made her way up to Nick's room, ignoring David's eyes that followed her up the stairs. She was quick to knock on Nick's door and poke her head in. A smile appeared on her face as she spotted him on the floor, surrounded by notes.
"David, seriously, get lost!"
"Wow," Venus teased softly, making Nick's head snap towards her, "First you ignore me when I surprise you and now you yell at me? Am I doing something wrong?"
"What are you doing here?" Nick asked with a smile, standing up. He shut his door behind her before pulling her in for a tight hug.
"I wanted to see you," she answered quietly, "I had a really shitty day."
"Me too," he murmured, "Wait. Did you meet my brother?"
"Yeah. He's a bit of a creep," Venus told him, "I told him I was your tutor though. I figured you wouldn't want him to know about us."
Nick sighed, resting his forehead against hers, "Thank you."
Venus felt nervous under his gaze, feeling as though he was unpacking every little detail she had to offer. His nose brushed against hers softly as he stared at the girl in front of him with a small smile. Up this close, he could see the dark circles under eyes beneath her concealer and her swollen eyes from constantly rubbing them. He brought a hand up to her cheek, gently running his thumb against her soft skin as swallowed the lump in her throat nervously.
How the hell did she let a boy make her feel so vulnerable by just looking at her?
"Do you want to go to the park?" Nick asked her softly, "And take a break from the studying and the drama?"
"Can I borrow some clothes then?" she asked, "I just want to get out of my uniform."
"Well, you've left a few skirts and shorts here from when you come around and change into my joggers because they're more comfortable," Nick smiled, "But feel free to take any shirt you want."
Venus rolled her eyes, moving to his closet to grab some clothes. She grabbed a pair of shorts she had left and pulled them on before unzipping her skirt and shimmying out of it. Nick always tried not to stare when she was changing in his room ― a habit she picked up when she stole his clothes ― but the boy in him couldn't help but watch as she unbuttoned her white shirt before letting it drop to the floor. Her hair was pulled into two dutch braids, allowing his eyes explore the soft skin of her back that was exposed. He gazed at the scar that started by her shoulder blade and disappeared under her sports bra, wondering what had happened to her to receive such a scar. Before he could ponder it, she had pulled his shirt over her head, leaving Nick with nothing but his imagination.
"You done staring, perv?"
Nick blinked, not even realising that Venus had joined his side again. She was smirking up at him since she caught him staring at her while changing. It didn't bother her, but she liked it when he got flustered.
"You really need to go to the bathroom when you change," Nick told her, clearing his throat slightly.
"You need to go make sure your brother isn't around," she told him, "To him, I am just your tutor. He'd get very suspicious if he found out your tutor wears her clients clothes."
"I heard it helps with focusing," Nick whispered, leaning down and giving her a soft kiss.
"I'm not so sure about that," she murmured, letting her hand slide to the back of his neck as she attempted to deepen the kiss.
Nick smiled before pulling away, enjoying the whine that left Venus mouth ― she hated it when he pulled away too early. He stepped away from her and poked his head out his door. He nodded his head, the two quickly moving down the stairs. Venus made her way outside while Nick went to get Nellie so she could come with them. It didn't take long until Nick joined her and the two headed off to the park.
Once they got there, Nick set up the picnic blanket for them to sit on. Venus let out a small sigh as she laid down ― she was exhausted. Nick stared at her with a small smile, reaching out and grabbing her hand. He linked their fingers together, eyes stuck on the pretty girl.
"Shawn told me about today," Nick said softly.
"He's such a snitch," Venus rolled her eyes, "I promise that I'm fine."
"You can talk to me, you know?" Nick said softly, "I'm not going to leave or look at you any different just because you tell me that you're not doing okay."
"I know," Venus said softly, "It's just anxiety about my exams. It'll pass when they're over."
Nick didn't look convinced but didn't want to push her any further. He knew that Venus had a hard time opening up about her life and felt like a burden most of the time. It would only be a matter of time until she realised that she could never burden him. He was willing to wait for her to be comfortable enough to open up, not wanting her to ever feel as though she couldn't talk to him.
"Okay," he said quietly. He glanced down at their intertwined hands with a small smile. "Your hands are so cold."
"It's a weird thing I have," Venus explained, "I'm always cold."
"Well, I guess it's my duty as a boyfriend to give you this," Nick grinned before taking off his hoodie and handing it to her. Venus laughed as she took it, sitting up and pulling it over her head, letting Nick help her adjust it. It was definitely too big for her but that's what Nick liked about her wearing his clothes. They always seemed huge on her. "You look adorable."
"I'm stealing this, just so you know," she told him.
"Oh, I know," Nick shrugged with a wide smile.
He stared at her for a moment, brushing some of her hair out of her face. She smiled shyly at his touch, letting her own hand rest on top of his. She turned her head, kissing his hand gently before picking up Nellie's ball. She stood up and began to play with Nellie, throwing the ball for her to chase. Nick grabbed his phone and began to take some photos of the girl. It was nice to see her relax and just be herself without the pressure of other people's opinions. She always just seemed happier when there was no pressure on her to live up to other's expectations. With him, she could just be Venus.
She eventually joined Nick again, dropping onto the picnic blanket and smiling as he immediately rested his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair as she looked down at the boy.
"You okay, Gorgeous?" she asked him.
"Yeah. Uh, just, um..." Nick sighed, "Just stressed about GCSEs. I'm definitely gonna fail maths on Monday."
"You are not," she told him, "I don't date people who fail their exams."
Nick sat up with a chuckle, "I've got some bad news for you then, Vee. You're gonna lose a boyfriend on Monday."
She rolled her eyes, "Want me to help you revise? I can come over tomorrow and we can go through my notes together."
Nick smiled, leaning forward and connecting their lips together. Venus smiled into the kiss as she felt Nick's hands grip her waist gently in an attempt to pull her closer. She moved her lips with his slowly, smiling as he tried to deepen the kiss. She leaned back every time he came closer with a giggle; she loved to tease him.
Her teasing didn't last long as he slid a hand to the back of her neck and pulled her against his front. He pulled a little too hard as his back hit the ground and brought the girl with him. It didn't stop Nick as he brought her lips back to his, wanting nothing more than to just kiss her right now. Her hands ran through his hair as she finally gave in and deepened their kiss.
If Venus could feel like this forever, she would take whatever deal the world had to offer. She loved having Nick's hand rested on her jaw as he kept her close and she loved how his other hand ran up and down her back, occasionally clenching around the fabric of the hoodie she was wearing. She knew making out in the park ― the public park ― wasn't really a good idea but in the moment she couldn't bring herself to even care. She pushed herself closer, deciding to test her limits and slid her tongue across his bottom lip, letting one of her hands continue to move through his hair while the other was planted on the ground to keep her steady.
Nick could sense her hesitancy, nodding his head slightly to let her know he was fine. She let her mouth get tangled with his, fingers threading through his hair as she kept him close to her, doing her best not to get too ahead of herself.
It wasn't until Nellie let out a small cry, not happy to no longer be receiving any attention, that the two stopped. They both turned red, pulling apart and putting some distance between them, shy chuckles and heavy breaths leaving their mouths.
"We should head home," Nick spoke, "Do you want me to walk you?"
"It's not dark yet so I'll be okay," Venus smiled softly, "I'll come over tomorrow and help you study, okay?"
"Okay," Nick nodded his head. The two packed up everything, getting Nellie back onto her leash, ready to part ways. Nick leaned down and kissed her again, keeping it soft and slow this time. "Please get some sleep tonight, Vee. Please."
"I will," she whispered, "I promise."
"Okay," he mumbled, kissing her forehead before taking a step back, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye," she waved at the boy, watching him begin to walk away.
Venus walked home by herself, hugging Nick's jumper closer to her. As she walked, she used her phone to open Instagram and clicked on Nick's profile. She saw the most recent photo he posted ― a picture of her and Nellie ― smiling as she read the caption. I think Nellie loves her.
She rolled her eyes as she looked through the few comments. She covered her mouth as she read Shawn and Charlie's comments. Her best friends were so dumb.
shawnwilliams: nellie doesn't know what love is nick she's a fucking dog
charliespring: this is totally not suspicious at all and the opposite of private! do better <3
She walked into Charlie's house, immediately heading to the kitchen to get something to eat. She grabbed a packet of strawberries before sitting at the table. She watched Jane and Julio walk in cautiously, glancing over at her nervously. Venus pulled a face as she watched them, continuing to eat her strawberries.
"What's happening right now?" she finally asked.
"You were at Nick's?" Jane asked her.
"For like five minutes before we went to the park," Venus shrugged, "Why?"
"We were just thinking..." Julio slid into the seat opposite the girl as Jane joined his side, "...Maybe it's time we had a talk."
"About what?" Venus asked slowly, "My grades are fine, I'm home before curfew most nights and—ohhhh."
There was a beat.
"Oh!" Venus' face scrunched up in disgust, "I am not having this talk with you because I am not having sex! I've dated Nick for like a month and a half!"
"Venus, please," Julio sighed. Venus sat back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "We just want to make sure that when you eventually do take that step further in your relationship and in your life, you're ready and know all about being safe."
If this was an episode of Modern Family, Venus would have looked right into the camera.
"Right...." Venus nodded her head as her lies began to flow, "Because it'll be my first time having sex. Of course, I need to know these things. I should know these things!"
"Exactly," Jane nodded her head, neither of them picking up on her shocking delivery of her lie, "We just want you to know that it's okay to say no if you don't feel ready or he's pressuring you—"
"Nick wouldn't," Venus cut her off.
"But if he did, or someone else you ever date in the future," Jane continued, "You can say no. It's your choice. We just don't want to see you hurt yourself for a boy. Even though we definitely don't approve of it happening so young, we still want you to come talk to us if anything ever happens, okay?"
"And obviously, you know the basics," Julio added, "Consent, use a condom, pee after. I'm sure your sex ed class at school has gone over this many times."
Venus' eyes flickered between the two, her cheeks glowing red. She really had not planned on ending her day with a sex talk from Charlie's parents and yet here she was. She had never really opened up about her past experiences with sex with anyone other than the Spring siblings so it was weird to be given a talk she certainly needed a year ago.
But they didn't know about what happened with her past boyfriends and she had no idea how to tell them.
"But VeeVee," Jane placed her hand on top of Venus', "If you aren't ready, you don't have to do it. Even if you're twenty five and you've been going out with them for nine years. It's your choice. No one gets to take that away from you."
Venus felt tears come to her eyes. She felt sick as she thought about where she was only a year ago. How she was so in love that she had said yes despite everything in her begging her to say no. How desperately she needed to hear the words Jane was telling her right now. How things might have been different.
"I'm sorry," Venus whispered, "I'm not... I've had... I'm sorry."
"Oh," Jane breathed out, realisation setting in. They were too late.
"Which one?" Julio asked her, scanning her face as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"First two," Venus admitted, "Both also dumped me after."
"I'll kill them," Julio told her.
"Don't bother," Venus muttered, wiping at her eyes, "I'm over it, I swear. It's just... hearing what you said made me a bit emotional. I wish I had been smarter back then. I wish... I wish I had known then what I do now."
"I'm sorry you had to do that alone," Jane whispered, "You should of come to us."
"Would you have been thrilled?" Venus spoke, "I had Tori and Charlie. I survived."
"Stop thinking about it," Jane told Julio.
Julio grabbed a strawberry out of Venus' pack and squashed it, "I can't."
"I'm not currently having sex," Venus told them slowly, "But when Nick is ready I will probably do it with him because I know that I'm ready now. I promise that I will be safe. Consent, condom, pee after."
Julio stared at her sadly, "We just want to be there for you if anything were to happen."
"But please don't influence Tori and Charlie," Jane added, "We'd prefer them to wait until they're older."
"I'll do my best," Venus smiled, "I'm gonna go to bed. I've been having trouble sleeping recently because of the stress."
"No dinner, then?" Jane asked.
"If there's leftovers I'll eat them tomorrow," Venus smiled, "Um, this is kinda weird, but thanks for being the parents I never had. Who knows where I would've ended up if I didn't have you."
"It's out pleasure, VeeVee," Julio grinned, "Go get some sleep."
AUTHORS NOTE: this chapter is shockingly long and i do not really know how it ended up this way but i hope you enjoyed it anyways.
lots to unpack here so i will let you all unpack it. let me know ur thoughts in the comments hehe!!! i hope you all appreciate my modern family line because i've been watching modern family and the eye contact with the camera has me dead every time.
vote, comment and follow!!! i love u all!!!! let's all pretend we're venus making out with nick nelson at the park!!!!