Cookie: Yo! Long time no see...again. >_< Well here's chappy 4!
Pic of Hunter! YouTube link is "The heart wants what is wants" by Selena Gomez.
Warning! Unedited. As usual. lol.
Shout out to Onionluvsgarlic!! Author of "Half Loved". I dedicate this chapter to you :)
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~Giovannie's POV~
"Natalie!" Nick sounded shocked, his eyes rounding and cheeks turning red. He glanced guiltily my way before stepping up and giving the blonde he called Natalie a one armed hug since he held the popcorn with the other.
Natalie? I thought, confused and just a bit wigged the fuck out. Who the hell was this Natalie and what was she to Nick?
"I can't believe it," Natalie laughed with glee, her arms automatically wrapping themselves around Nick's waist into a tight hug. "We just saw each other and then we run into each other here of all places!"
"Uh, yeah," Nick replied uneasily, darting nervous glances at me. "Um."
Natalie released him and stepped back but she was still way too close in my opinion. She smiled at Nick like he was the best thing since sliced bread. "When you left my house, I thought you were in a hurry but you said it was because you needed to babysit your sister. What happened?" Natalie's eyes landing on me and Hunter with a thoughtful look on her face
"I...uh." If possible, he turned even redder.
I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Yeah, Nicolas, what happened?"
He had apparently lied to her about his whereabouts and lied to me as well when he said it had been his sister in the background when I had called him. But why would he lie?
"Giovannie," Hunter's voice broke through me. That's when I noticed that I had been staring at Nick for a while as he stood there looking guilty as hell.
"What?" I snapped, turning to Hunter with my arms still crossed.
"Let's go." Hunter switched the large soda to his left hand and latched onto my arm with the right.
I tried to shrug him off but his fingers tightened on my flesh. "Hunter, let go."
He didn't. Instead he dragged me to his side, curving my body against his. His right arm looped around my waist and held me posessively in place. "He'll catch up with us," Hunter said, looking at Nick right in the eyes. " It looks like they have things to talk about."
Something heavy weighed down on my chest, causing my heart to skip a painful beat. Talk? Why would they need to talk in private? No. I shook my head. No. Nick needed to come with us. I didn't care who this girl Natalie was.
I reached out to Nick but Hunter prevented me, tugging me back just before my hand touched Nick's arm. Natalie blinked at us, a confused look crossing her pretty face. Nick on the other hand tried to look everywhere BUT at me. That really hurt.
"Nicky?" Natalie slid her dainty hand into Nick's free one and held on like it was her right to touch him. "What's going on? Who are they? Your friends? If you wanted to hang out with them you could have told me. I wouldn't have minded going on a double date to the movies."
She laughed, wrapping both arms around his arm and leaned into him. "Nicky, you must have felt left out. I didn't know you had gay friends. Hi," she smiled at me and Hunter. "I'm, Natalie, Nick's girlfriend."
Oh...oh. I gulped. Girlfriend. GIRLFRIEND.
"Girlfriend?" I whispered hoarsely, "like...a girl that's a friend?" I know. I was grasping at a deflating life boat.
Natalie laughed again. She had the kind of laugh that made people want to laugh with her. Any other time, I would have but this was no time to laugh. It felt like my insides was shriveling up. It hurt to even breathe.
"No," Natalie confirmed, beaming up at Nick. "Girlfriend as in GIRLFRIEND. We're dating each other."
Dating. I stared mutely at Nick, who still wouldn't meet my eyes. He wasn't red now. He just looked as sick as I felt.
"How long?" Hunter surprised me by asking. By the look on Nick's startled face, he was surprised too.
Natalie looked thoughtful before answering. "About a month, right Nicky?"
A month? A freakin MONTH he kept this from me? How? Why!?
"Huh," Hunter said, " I didn't think you had it in you, Davis." Hunter made a habit of calling Nick by his last name like Nick called me by mine. I looked up at him and found a light smirk playing on Hunter's lips. A look passed between them that I didn't get.
"You're right," I said suddenly. I took a step back and grabbed Hunters hand, entwining it with mine. "We should go inside now. I hear the movie starting." And I needed to get away from Nick and his girlfriend. Like yesterday.
"Moretti," Nick began but I cut him off.
"Go talk to your girlfriend, Nick," I said without looking at him. "We'll be inside."
"No." Nick surprised me by grabbing my arm to prevent me from walking away. He tugged, looking determinded. "No, we need to talk first."
"Nicky?" Natalie looked confused. Join the club, I thought bitterly.
"I'll talk to you later, kay?" Nick told her. "I'll call you." Not letting go of my arm, he tugged me towards the men's restroom and since my hand was still entwined with Hunter's, he was pulled as well. Surprisingly, he didn't protest. Hunter remained silent all the way into the empty restroom. Nick locked the door behind him before letting me go.
I let go of Hunter's hand and crossed my arms. Nick placed the tub of popcorn on the sink counter and sighed. "I was gonna tell you."
"Tell me what?" I fished. I wasn't about to make this easy for him.
Nick faced me with a grim look on his face. "Moretti, you're not being fair."
I lifted my chin up. "I have no idea what you're talking about." It was all bullshit of course. I just really didn't want to talk about this. I'd rather avoid it now and cry over it later. Much later where no one could see me.
Clearly feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable, Nick stuffed both hands in his pockets and stared at me with a look in his eyes that I never wanted to see again, He looked so pained and defeated. "Moretti, you know I love you right?'
His question startled me. I wasn't expecting it. I swallowed, kind of thrown off now. I wanted to stand in front of him and pretend that his little secret love life didn't matter to me but it was hard to do with him looking at me like that and asking questions like that. What did he want me to say?
"Moretti?"
I blinked. "Y-yeah. We're friends."
Nick continued to stare at me. Funny, earlier he couldn't meet my eyes but now he suddenly looked serious, Like a man on a mission and I had a feeling that I wouldn't like the end.
"Is that what I am to you?" He asked slowly. "A friend?"
"Of course," I answered quickly.
Nick smiled sadly, knowing I was so full of monkey shit. He looked behind me to Hunter before his eyes met mine again. "Well, I like you a little more than that."
I opened my mouth but of course nothing came out. I didn't see that confession coming.
"I think we all know," he glanced at Hunter again, "that I'm in love with you."
I licked my lips, mouth dry. "Nicky-"
"Moretti," he cut me off. "I think it's time to lay everything out on the table. I love you but you're with Hunter and it's time for me to move on."
Why the hell did it sound like he was saying goodbye? "Nicky-"
"Moretti," he cut me off again. "I know it's my fault for spoilin' ya and I know I owe Hunter an apology-"
"There's nothing to apologize about!" I snapped. "Maybe for lying to me."
"I didn't lie to you."
"Okay." I threw up my hands. "You lied by omission! You didn't tell me that you have a girlfriend."
"And if we were just friends it wouldn't be such a big deal." Nick took a step forward. "Admit it."
"There's nothing to admit," I replied stubbornly.
"Admit that you like me too," he insisted.
I gaped at him. What? He wanted me to admit that I liked him? But why? How would that solve anything? It would just make things worse between us! I looked back at Hunter to get his reaction to all of this but his face was a blank mask. At some point, he had placed the large cup of soda on the counter. His hazel eyes studied us with an alarmingly lack of emotion, hip leaning against the counter and arms crossed.
"Hunter?" My voice broke.
He cocked his head at me but didn't answer. What was he thinking?
"Moretti," Nick's voice tried to get my attention but I continued to stare at Hunter, feeling really sick to my stomach. "Giovannie." Startled, I looked at Nick and blinked,. He called me Giovannie. He never called me that.
He took the final step forward and reached out his right hand to cup my cheek, :"Don't look at him. Look at me. I know I'm asking a lot right now but it's just for now. Please."
I stared into his eyes and waited.
"Giovannie, do you love me?" He asked, "Even a little? As more than friends?" Nick lowered his gaze to mine and I couldn't lie.
"Yes." I whispered, throat clogging. "Yes, okay? Yes."
His smile was beautiful and sad at the same time. "See, was that so hard?"
I shook my head. "Why would you ask me? It's not gonna solve anything. I love Hunter too." I blinked back my tears. "Is this some kind of cruel revenge for not choosing you? Make me say how I feel in front of Hunter before you what? Walk off into the sunset with your girlfriend?"
"I'm not cruel, Giovannie. That shit ain't me." He leaned his forehead against mine. "But I just wanted to be selfish for a moment to hear you say the words. Wanted to know that the tention between us wasn't all in my head. That someone like me could get a guy like you to love him."
"Huh?" Okay, I was confused.
"I know it doesn't make sense but for me to let you go, Giovannie, I needed to hear you say the words."
"That I love you?" He's right. It made no sense to me.
"I just want everything out to be in the open." He kissed my forehead. "Now I can let go."
"Let what go?" My voice sounded as confused as I felt.
"You."
"Nick, why do you sound like you're saying goodbye to me?"
He stepped back and released me. "Because in a way, I am. We can't keep up the relationship we had before, Moretti. It's not fair to Hunter, to you, to me, Not fair to Natalie."
"Nicky?" I didn't understand.
"Moretti," Nick looked away. "I think we should take a break from seeing each other for a while."
"We go to the same college," I said numbly.
He took another step back. "I never said that we wouldn't run into each other now and then. I'm just saying that we shouldn't hang around each other for a while."
"Why?" It seemed like he was breaking up with me which was crazy since we weren't going out. But it felt like it. My heart was certainly breaking with each step back he took away from me.
"Because we need it." Nick smiled that sad smile of his. "I need it. I can't focus on my relationship with Natalie if I'm always with you. When I'm with you, everyone else stops existing and Moretti that's got to stop."
"Nick." I took a step towards him but he threw a hand up to ward me off. He shook his head and unlocked the door.
"I'm gonna leave," he said. "Kay?" And just like that he left.
I stared at the closing door, completely godsmacked. "WHAT. THE. FUCK."
What the hell just happened? I turned around to face Hunter and froze. I didn't know what to expect from him. He looked completely shut down. The day started out great and now I somehow lost Nick. I couldn't lose Hunter too.
"Hunter?" I grabbed his shirt and held on tight. "Hunter? Talk to me." I shook him gently. "Say something."
Hunter cupped my cheeks just like Nick had earlier and stared into my worried eyes. I probably looked panicked too. He kissed my forehead and released me. I didn't stop him when he walked around me and walked out the door.
He didn't see the tears that fell seconds later.
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Cookie: No idea what just happened. This chapter didn't turn out like I wanted it too. O.O *sits in the corner*