This is something my roommate did for me! She had to create a book jacket for one of her graphic design class and asked me if it was okay to use the story and I, of course, said yes! Oh and even though I know it's pretty obvious, my real name isn't Jocelyn Fairwright, it's simply my pen name I go under so it's not my real identity. Song used in the chapter: Have I Told You by Matthew Mole. (It's a beautiful song, I'll put it in the next chapter)
Julian felt pleasure when his fist collided with Jack's face and heard the crack of his nose breaking.
"You ass!"
Mark and Cassie both intervened and Mark kept his hands on Julian's chest as Nate ran over to help the manager with getting him away from Jack who was bent over holding his nose, blood dripping through his hands.
Julian struggled against Nate and Mark's arms, "I should've known it was you!" He grunted and still felt satisfaction as Jack lifted his head and he visibly winced. Julian looked to Nova felt a bit of regret at the sight of his wide eyes and frozen stance.
"Cassie, find someone in the hotel to help him or take him to the ER," Mark said glancing at the stylist who nodded her head quickly.
Julian didn't take his eyes off the pair until Cassie had turned a corner with Jack and out of sight. He then looked to Nova who was still standing there frozen, his fingers twitching at his sides.
"Nova," Julian said softly but Mark cut him off.
"Nova, why don't you go up to your guy's room," Mark then turned to Julian with his lips in a thin line and continued, "you, with me, now."
Julian chewed on his lower lip and glanced to Nova, who seemed to have broken from his trance when Nate gently called his name. He watched with a heavy heart as his boyfriend was lead away towards the elevators.
"Julian."
Julian looked back to Mark and sighed at the disapproving look on his face. Mark didn't say anything as he led him toward a dining area that was currently deserted by guests.
Once they sat down across from each other Julian spoke up, "I know, I shouldn't have done that-"
"You think?" Mark snapped with a frown on his lips.
"He's been the one leaking my location Mark," Julian slammed his hand on the table with a hiss of breath whistling between his teeth. "He's the one who's been causing Nova to be in danger these last few days with me. I guess it makes me an idiot for not realizing sooner that it was him." Julian shook his head.
"You weren't completely sure it was him and even if it is him, that was no reason to break his nose."
Julian snorted and fell back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Who else could it have been? He's been out to ruin Nova and I's relationship since he got here."
"You know that you scared Nova with what you did right? Julian, after everything he went through with Jack, did you even think about how seeing you hurt someone would affect how he looks at you?" Mark looked at him with a steady gaze.
Julian flinched back at his words and whispered, "I would never, ever, think of hurting him."
"I know that, but with someone who's been through abuse like that," Mark rubbed a hand over his jaw. "It's probably his worse fear. He's afraid to be put in that vulnerable of a situation again."
"I don't want him to think that even for a second I would lay a hand on him." Julian felt his chest tighten in anxiety. He's supposed to only show Nova love and affection, not violence.
"If you didn't love him so much, you wouldn't have hit Jack. I know that." Mark reasoned as Julian nodded his head quickly.
"When I realized it was him," Julian chuckled, "I don't think I've ever wanted to punch someone more in my life." He looked down at his hands, his fingers folding over themselves. "It drove me crazy knowing Jack put Nova in danger like that."
Mark looked Julian over. He's known him since he was sixteen, seeing him grow into the young man he was in front of him, someone who protected the ones he loved with everything he had, made him insanely proud.
"Are you calm?" Mark asked and Julian looked up at him, furrowing his eyebrows.
"I was only angry at Jack."
"I know, but your emotions were also pretty high, maybe you should take some more time to relax. I think it goes for both of us when I say you don't want to go up there still in this mindset and say something you regret.
Julian sighed and slumped back in his seat again, "yeah, you're probably right."
"Ow," Jack winced as the first aid nurse of the hotel prodded his nose. "I don't think you need to keep doing that," he grunted.
The nurse rolled her eyes as she turned to look at Cassie who's been waiting in the doorway with blank and spaced out eyes.
"His nose isn't broken, just badly bruised."
Jack rolled his eyes at her diagnosis. He knew his nose wasn't broken, it just hurt pretty bad at first, it still hurt now, but he just didn't want to admit to himself that he let Julian get to him.
"Jack?"
He looked up from his fisted hands to Cassie who hadn't left the doorway since they arrived. It was like she was making sure he wasn't going to run when her back was turned.
"Yes?" Jack asked raising an eyebrow while crossing his arms over his chest.
"Why don't I walk you back to your room?" There was an underlying meaning to her question and Jack could see it from a mile away.
Cassie wasn't giving him any chances to see Nova. It irritated him but he wasn't going to go against her, especially since he was more than sure he was getting fired soon.
"Julian!"
Jack looked up from the ground once he saw Cassie lead him toward the elevator, clenching his jaw at the sight of the singer standing next to it.
"Are you okay?" Cassie asked a soft frown on her lips.
Jack watched Julian closely as he gave her a soft smile in return, nodding his head. Something he'd become pretty good at is reading the body language of people. It was how he was able to tell how Nova felt when they were together.
He didn't look away from Julian's eyes once they locked onto him, both of them staring each other down. Jack ground his teeth together as Julian took a step toward him and he took one closer as well.
There was a clearing of a throat and Jack looked down to Cassie who was smiling nervously while looking between the two.
"The elevators here," Cassie said just as the doors slid open. They all stepped in and Cassie quickly pressed the button to their floor.
Jack felt the tension in the air as clear as day and could cut through it with a knife. The silence was only broken when Julian spoke.
"How's your nose?"
Jack snorted then winced slightly at the action. He could see Julian smirking out of the corner of his eye and the only reason he kept still was due to Cassie standing between them.
"Fine, how's your hand?" Jack asked looking at Julian then down to his bruised knuckles.
Julian shrugged his shoulders meeting his eyes, "Fine, it was more than worth it."
When the elevator dinged to let them off on their floor, Julian walked out then stopped and turned around just as Jack stepped off with Cassie.
With a bright smile on his face he said, "by the way, you're fired."
~
Nova bit his lip as he let his hand methodically run through Smudge's fur, trying to ignore the millions of thoughts running through his head. Of course, it shocked him to see Julian punch Jack in the face, but deep down he felt kind of elated.
It made Nova feel happy to know Julian did it in reaction to realizing Jack had put him in danger.
Still, it scared him to see Julian extremely angry, he couldn't help but think back to the only serious fight of their relationship. It made him flinch remembering Julian's raised voice.
"Why are my thoughts so conflicting," he sighed scratching behind Smudge's ears, who in response, rubbed her head against his stomach, purring loudly. Nova smiled lightly, "get used to my ramblings to myself, though I guess it's not to myself anymore since you're here huh?"
When Smudge meowed sweetly at his words Nova chuckled and leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of the kittens head. A knock to the door caused him to look up.
He gently lifted Smudge from his lap and set her on the couch before walking over to the door and opened it to a sheepish looking Julian.
Nova tilted his head, confused as to why Julian knocked, "you have a key right?"
Julian rubbed the back of his neck and nodded his head. "Yes, but I didn't know if you were upset with me or not over, you know, what happened."
Chewing on his lower lip Nova thought to himself and felt ashamed for his next words but he couldn't help it. "It's okay, if I'm honest...," Nova trailed off. "I thought he deserved it." He looked down to his feet.
Julian cupped Nova's face and lifted it back up so their eyes met, taking a step forward to take his face in both of his hands, rubbing his thumb over Nova's cheek. "I'm so sorry he put you through that Nova and that I didn't see it sooner. I'm an idiot," he sighed with a shake of his head.
Nova frowned and shook his head back, "what are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything."
"I shouldn't have punched him," Julian said. "Even though he did really, really, deserve it," Julian breathed out with a chuckle.
Nova giggled softly causing Julian to grin and pull him closer and press his lips against his, not being able to help himself.
Nova kissed him back resting his hands on his chest, moving his lips in sync with Julian's.
Julian slowly pulled back and kissed his forehead, "I love you."
"I love you," Nova said with a smile on his lips.
"Oh," Julian pulled back fully but wrapped his arms around Nova's waist. "I fired Jack."
Nova's mind went blank for a second but then he looked up at Julian with wide eyes, "R-Really?"
Julian hummed happily while nodding, "yep, Mark agreed that it was time considering he doesn't have anything to blackmail me with anymore." He shrugged, "I was more than happy to comply."
"When is he leaving?" Nova asked curiously.
"As soon as possible, so most likely tomorrow. He'll finally be gone, and I promise you that he will never be near you again."
The serious tone of Julian's voice made Nova feel a sense of security. Though something else was still in the back of his mind about the situation, about Jack.
Julian could tell his boyfriend's thoughts were somewhere else instantly and called his name gently. When their eyes met he smiled softly, "what's going on in there?" He tapped his finger gently on the side of Nova's head, feeling happy when he heard him laugh.
"I don't know if you'll like the idea."
"If it involves who I think it is then probably not."
Nova gave him a sheepish smile and Julian groaned slumping his shoulders.
"What is it?" He asked sighing.
"I wanna talk to him."
"Why do you wanna do that?" Julian asked but then saw something in Nova's eyes he's only seen when he's taken pictures. Determination. "Okay," he took Nova's hand and kissed the back of it, "do you want me to come?"
Nova shook his head, "I think this is something I want to do alone."
Julian sighed and squeezed his hand, "I'll be waiting for you."
Nova stood in front of the door to Jack's room with billions of thoughts bouncing around in his head. Now that he stood in front of his door he didn't know if he could bring himself to knock.
He didn't know why he wanted to do this, but he knew if this was the last time that he would see Jack, he needed to do this.
With a deep breath in, slowly letting it out, he lifted his hand and knocked lightly on the door. Jumping back in surprise when it was opened so quickly and he stood there looking up to Jack with wide eyes.
"What?"
Nova tried to hold back the wince he was close to showing and took in Jack's appearance. It was one he remembered from the deepest and darkest parts of his mind.
Jack raised an eyebrow at the sight of Nova and repeated in a clipped tone, "what do you need Nova? Kind of packing to leave tomorrow," Jack ground his teeth.
"I-I wanted to talk to you," Nova swallowed the lump that formed in his throat.
"Is your boyfriend okay with that?"
Nova inhaled sharply and did his best to shake off Jack's words. "He's fine with it, can I come in?" He didn't back down from eye contact with Jack's dark eyes like he usually would.
Jack moved aside and Nova straightened himself up and walked past him and into Jack's room, glancing at the half-packed suitcase and various clothes strewn on the bed.
Nova turned around to face Jack when he heard the door shut and tried not to feel intimidated as Jack crossed his arms over his chest moving closer to him. Jack's tall stature was always something that made Nova uneasy in their past relationship.
"So, you wanted to talk, talk," Jack said looking him over. He knew Nova was nervous, not just by his twitchy fingers at his sides but also from the tension in the rest of his body.
"We probably won't see each other again after you leave," Nova said the sentence like it was a promise.
One which Jack immediately challenged, "I wouldn't say that."
"I would," Nova snapped back which surprised them both. He's never been so brave with Jack before. He knew that this was his last chance to say everything he's wanted to for the last few years. So with what little confidence he had in him, Nova turned to face Jack directly and stared him straight in the eyes.
"When we first met, I thought you were the sweetest guy I knew," Nova started, breathing out shakily. "I'd never been with another guy before you, and when someone as beautiful as you gave me attention it excited me."
Jack stood still, keeping his eyes trained on Nova's, also not breaking their eye contact.
"I was so happy to finally have someone who I thought was going to love me," Nova sighed and finally broke their stare when he shook his head but looked right back to him. "I even ignored things that should've been red flags to even the most oblivious person."
"I thought you forgave me-"
Nova cut him off, "I'm not done, Jack."
Jack blinked in shock and tried to beat back his annoyance at Nova interrupting him. Letting him continue
"I trusted you." Nova curled his fingers inward. "You were my first everything, and I trusted you enough to tell you all my secrets and insecurities. Then, when you first got angry with me I tried to brush it off, rationalize it to my friends who said what you did wasn't right."
Jack's anger was building inside like a slow-burning fire but he knew that even trying to lay a single finger on Nova would get Julian and his team to call the cops on him. Doesn't make being talked down to by Nova any easier.
"I thought that I was doing something wrong." Nova laughed while resting a hand to his chest, looking at Jack with a look of disbelief. "That it was my fault that you yelled at me, that it was my fault you beat me."
Jack pursed his lips, shoving his hands into his pockets, it was all he could do to keep himself from using them.
"In some twisted way, I guess I should thank you," Nova shook his head. "I don't want to give you the satisfaction of it, but you did help me. After you were kicked out of the country," Nova knew it was like rubbing salt in a wound, but he couldn't help it. "It took a while before I could even think about doing something I loved again, but once I did, I had never been more motivated to do anything in my life."
"It shouldn't have come to me beating you to motivate you into finishing getting a degree," Jack sighed.
"No, it really shouldn't have." Nova looked Jack in the eyes again before saying, "I hope I never see you again in my life. Even a second glimpse of you would be too soon for me. Goodbye Jack." Nova turned to walk away, feeling a small ounce of pride blooming in his chest.
It pissed Jack off to watch Nova turn his back on him; he lunged forward and grabbed Nova by the shoulder and spun him around, grasping the brunette's wrists tightly in his hands.
Nova stood there for a second, eyes widening as flashbacks ran through them. Even as Jack started spouting off about how he couldn't talk to him like that it was like Nova's hearing disappeared. He couldn't let this happen again, not when he was so close to being free of Jack forever. He couldn't let this happen.
He wouldn't let this happen.
Yanking his wrists forcefully out of Jack's hands, making him cut off his own words. Nova took a step back shaking his head. He glared with as much anger as he could muster while looking at Jack.
"You don't scare me anymore and you never will again." Nova curled his fingers into his hand, as much as he wanted to reach out and slap Jack it wasn't who he was.
Jack just stood there. Speechless for the first time and watched as Nova opened the door to his room and shut it firmly behind him.
Once out of the room Nova let out a long breath opening his eyes and jumping with a little yelp. Nate had been standing across the hall from Jack's room, listening in the whole time.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Someone came to me worried about something possibly happening so I've been here the whole time." Nate gave him a nervous chuckle before smiling sheepishly.
Nova shook his head with a small smile, "I figured, thanks."
Nate waved off his thanks, "it's technically my job, so no thanks needed."
"Well, thank you for being vigilant with your job."
Nate grinned and thanked him, he heard Nova stand up to Jack and couldn't help but smile proudly to himself when heard it, happy to not hear an ounce of fear in it.
"You should probably get back to Julian, he seemed pretty worried when he got me, " Nate chuckled as Nova rolled his eyes playfully but smile nonetheless.
"He's worried about me when I leave his line of sight," Nova said. He couldn't help but keep a wide smile on his face. Nova can't remember the last time he felt this happy. His chest had never felt so light. Of course, he knew his anxiety and fear for Jack wouldn't go away overnight, but he was telling the truth in what he told Jack.
He wasn't going to let his fear for Jack take over his life anymore. He had a reason to be happy now.
Nova had barely let his hand brush against the door in a knock before it was opening and Julian was in front of him.
"You're okay," Julian sighed in relief before pulling Nova into a tight hug.
Nova wrapped his arms around Julian's waist, still smiling softly as he rested his head on Julian's chest.
Julian ran his hand through Nova's hair, "what happened?" He looked down to Nova, surprised to find him smiling and tilted his head. "What is it?"
"I love you," Nova leaned and pecked Julian's cheek.
Julian didn't give it a second thought before smiling himself and pressed a sweet kiss to Nova's lips then pulled back and kissed his forehead.
"I love you." He grabbed Nova's hand in his own, lacing their fingers together before squeezing his hand. "Come on, let's spend the last day of my break just watching movies together yeah?"
Nova squeezed his hand back, "sounds good to me."
~
Nova stood in audience with his camera poised in front of his face. Nate situated directly to his right, the crowd was a lot for just him to keep back but Mark had suggested tonight that the stage crew rope of a section for Nova so he can just be by himself.
This made him feel better in the sea of fans and with Nate and even a few other guards watching him, he felt even safer.
He snapped a few pictures of the empty stage and then switched to his record function before turning around to slowly to record the fans. As soon as some of them noticed Nova they all shouted and waved their arms as he panned over the venue.
When the screaming got louder Nova grinned to himself and turned around to see his boyfriend walk on stage waving at everyone.
He watched as Julian's eyes searched for him and when he found Nova his own smile turned into a grin.
Julian stopped in front of the microphone, his guitar resting against his chest. "Helloo there everyone. I have a new song for you all," He laughed as his fans screamed louder.
Nova recorded some of their reactions again before focusing back on Julian.
"I think we all know who this song is inspired by," Julian smiled widely at Nova who's cheeks tinted pink but he rolled his eyes playfully, knowing that he would never get over his embarrassment when Julian pointed him out.
Julian started playing the first few notes before leaning into the mic and beginning to sing. "The clothes that you wear. The color of your hair."
Even if the fans were loud Nova still tried his best to listen to Julian's every word.
"The music that you share. I guess that I like you," Julian sang with a grin as his band started to join in.
"And the way you pronounce an S is, like the feeling I have next to you is, beautiful. You are, beautiful." Julian moved the microphone and himself closer to the audience as they screamed his name.
"You are the puddle of mud in the pigsty of my life. And I hope that you know what I'm trying to say to you. I guess that I love you." Julian sang while staring directly at Nova with nothing but love in his expression.
Nova looked back with just as much love as Julian continued to sing about how much Nova meant to him.
When the concert ended and Nova made his way backstage again with Nate following close behind he heard his name called and turned around just as he was picked up and swung around.
"Julian!" He laughed and held onto his shoulders just as Julian set him back on his feet.
"What? I just missed you," Julian said grinning.
"You were staring at me the whole concert," Nova chuckled.
"It's hard not too."
Nova shook his head smiling and wrapped his arms around Julian's torso, pulling him closer.
"I like that your getting more comfortable with initiating affection in front of everyone," Julian hummed wrapping his arms around Nova making sure he was as close as can be.
"I don't feel as awkward about it anymore," Nova admitted looking up to Julian, resting his chin on his chest.
Julian thought back to what Mark had said the other day and brought it up. "Do you remember what Mark said the other day?"
Nova raised an eyebrow, "is it bad if I don't?"
Julian chuckled and shook his head, "no, I was just thinking about it. Uh, remember he asked about marriage?"
Nova felt his face burn red and it caused Julian to laugh. "Y-Yeah I remember, what about it?" He asked with a small pout as Julian teased him for blushing.
Julian pressed his forehead to his and said in a soft voice, "you know I'm going to marry you someday right?"
Nova closed his eyes trying to control his blushing face but knew it was hopeless and opened his eyes as Julian pecked his lips.
"I love you so much Nova, more than I've ever thought I could love someone. And I promise that one day I'll marry you."
Nova smiled softly and kissed Julian back, their lips moving in sync with each other. He slid his arms around Julian's neck and smiled into the kiss. After a while, he pulled back and opened his eyes to see Julian already staring at him with sparkling eyes.
Nova kept his arms around his neck, only answering him with two words.
"I know."
THE END