*i'm sorry for the previous chapter guys. I'll clear it up in the following ones, I swear. Omg, BTW, wish I could've added Nikki Reed in this story, but I can't anymore. Probably in the sequel. Or wherever. Anyway, though I am a #NIanShipper all the way, I'm happy for Nikki and Ian. They deserve to be happy, right? So, maybe we should stop the hate and just allow our dear, dear baby Ian to live his life and love who he wants to love. Stop bashing, okay? It's not doing Ian, Nikki, Nina, or yourselves, any good. Also, btw, this story is my way of showing you guys how I wanted our NIan to end. Love you all ❤ Also, listen to the song that inspired this title by Jesse Ware. Sam Smith helped me discover her and now I am OBSSESSED.*
Ian's POV
"I'm getting back together with Nicky Hilton."
Hearing the words come out of my mouth was like trying to cough up my own liver. It felt disgusting, awful, uncomfortable, and impossible.
It hurt.
Seeing Nina's face fall, looking completely defeated, hurt me more than saying what I did.
"I don't want to talk about this here," she said softly. She stood up and wrapped her arms around herself. "Not right now."
"You asked me what I wanted to tell you," I said. "So, I told you."
She nodded and bit her lip. "Can we talk about this when we get to your house?" she asked, avoiding my gaze again.
I got up and reached out to take her hands. She stepped back slowly and said, "Please, Ian."
"Nina, just let me-."
"I'm not saying I'm not letting you explain," she answered. "I just don't want you to do it now. I can't do this to Clive and Sebastiano. They need us to be here, enjoying their engagement. Not making it about our twisted lives."
"Nina," I whispered again.
She held her hand up and breathed in heavily. She shook her head and scratched the space between her eyebrows. Before saying anything else, she stepped forward and reached for my collar. She straightened it out and ironed out the wrinkles of my shirt with her hands. "Let's get inside," she whispered, kissing me on the cheek.
She took my hand and intertwined her fingers with mine. I looked at her, confused. "Nina, please let's-."
"Baby," she sighed. I felt the hairs on the back of my hair stand up on end. "Let's not, okay? We can wait until we get home-. um, get to your house."
"It's still your home," I retorted.
She nodded calmly and kissed me on the cheek again. "Okay," she whispered. "Let's get inside, okay? We don't have to do this."
"Yes we do," I said, holding her back. She bit her lip. "Nina, I need to know what you're feeling. Pretending that you're okay with what I told you isn't helping me."
"I'm not okay with it," she said. "But, right now, I have to be. I don't want our friends to worry about us when there are better things happening for them. Know that I'm not okay, but let me pretend that I am in front of our friends, alright?"
I bit my lip and nodded slowly. "Okay."
She tried to crack a smile, but her mouth just wouldn't let her do it. Instead she smirked and said, "We'll be okay for tonight. Just don't make anyone think otherwise."
With my hand still in hers, we made our way inside to join the party. Before we could even look around for our friends, Clive made his way to us and hugged us both tightly.
"Oh God, you two look so adorable," he said. "You are the most adorable couple I have ever seen, honestly."
Nina smiled and said, "Thank you. I can say the same about you and Sebastiano."
"Well, the Universe has been good to us," he said, channeling some sort of philosophical air. "Anyhoo, enjoy the party. Ashley, Evan, Maggie, Ben, and Nila are here too. They've been looking for you everywhere."
"Well, here we are," Nina said. "Where are they anyway?"
Clive smiled and pointed towards the tables closest to the huge stage. It was only then that I realized how they completely transformed the Griffith.
"Well, Derek and I have the Griffith, like we have the Walt Disney Concert Hall," Nina told me once. It was when we were fighting about something I can't even remember. She always used to say that Derek would never hurt her the way I always do whenever we fought.
What if she's realizing that now, too?
Add the fact that Derek's just a few months away from permanently leaving. What if she realizes she wants to spend the rest of his living days with him, not me?
"Ian, are you coming?"
"Huh?"
Nina waved her hand in front of my face. I nodded stiffly and said, "Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that."
She smirked and said, "Ian. Let's just enjoy the night, okay?"
"Well, you'll do more than enjoy it, that's for sure!" Clive shrieked. He was about to say something else, when the lady hosting the party called out his name. He airkissed me and Nina, before sashaying off to the stage.
Nina stood there awkwardly and said, "Ian, I thought we talked about this."
"I just have a question," I said.
"Okay," she said, turning to face me.
"Why were you here with Derek in the first place?" I asked. "How exactly did this become your place?"
"Why does that matter to you all of a sudden?" she asked.
"It matters because I care," I said. "I care about the past that you two shared. I care about the fact that you might be weighing your options now that I told you what I am about to do. I care about the fact that he may be the reason why you're okay with me being with Nicky."
"Options?" she asked. "You think I'm leaving you to be with Derek, just because he's sick?"
"It's not an entirely insane concept," I said.
She shrugged and said, "Let's put it this way. You're leaving me for Nicky Hilton without any sane reason. At least Derek means something to me. It's not like I'm the one who's okay with this relationship not going the right way."
Before I could say something back, she swallowed hard and fixed up her hair. She plastered on a fake smile and said, "Like I said, let's not talk about this right now."
"Nina," I sighed again.
Instead of answering me, she turned around and made her way to our friends' table. "Ashley! Maggie! Nila!" she yelled, rushing towards them to give them the tightest of hugs.
"Ian!" Evan and Ben yelled together.
I plastered on the same fake smile and made my way towards them. "Here comes the groom, here comes the groom," Evan sang cheekily. I punched his shoulder and gave him a one-arm hug.
"What's going on?" Ben asked, giving me a hug too. "We haven't seen you since you got engaged."
"Which was yesterday, I presume?" I said.
They both rolled their eyes. "Come on, when's the wedding?" Ben asked.
"We haven't really settled on a date yet," I said. "I mean, we got engaged yesterday. It's not like we've been planning our wedding overnight."
"Of course," Evan said. "There were other things they took care of overnight."
Ben waggled his eyebrows suggestively and I rolled my eyes. "You guys talk about our sex lives like you didn't even sleep with her," I said. It came out of my mouth wrong, just as Nina and the three other girls were coming towards us.
"Nice," Nina commented. She smirked stiffly and said, "Well, Ian's right. You guys make sex jokes like you didn't sleep with me. Isn't that the tiniest bit awkward? I mean, it's not like you haven't had me in bed with you. Same goes for Ian with Ashley and Maggie."
Everyone stood there quietly, basking in the awkwardness of this conversation. That's when Nina giggled loudly and said, "Guys, it's a joke. I'm messing with everyone."
Ashley and Maggie shared a nervous laugh, that eventually burst into crazy giggles. Ben and Evan laughed along, and Nina was smiling genuinely. "You really got me there, I honestly thought this was going to blow up into another huge fight between the two of you," Ashley said. "Thank God that's not the case."
Nina took that opportunity to smile and look at me. "I know. Isn't she right, Ian?"
I swallowed hard and took Nina's hand. I pulled her closer to me and kissed her on the cheek. "Yup," I answered.
"The man's already learning to just say yes without complaint," Nila commented. "Nina, you have yourself a keeper."
"Hey!" Ben said. "I can learn how to say yes without complaints too."
"Right, sweetie," Nila said, making her way over to Ben. She wrapped her arm around him and kissed him on the cheek. "The difference being, you still need to LEARN. Ian's already learnt how to."
"Well, I'm going to learn soon," Ben said. "Anyway, we should really have a joint bachelor party, don't you think?"
I just nodded and said, "That sounds fantastic."
"Just, no strippers, please," Nila said. "I'd like you to spend your last amazing day of being a bachelor with a little class. Don't you agree, Nina?"
She smirked and said, "Strippers are a no-no. It's already hard enough as it is with every other girl in the world ogling the two of you."
"I think you're the only one with that problem, Nina," Ben commented. She rolled her eyes and held onto my hand.
"Mister Humble," she sighed. "Anyway, I didn't actually hear about it, but how in the world did Ben over here propose to you, Nila?"
"Well, that right there is the shortest story in the world with this guy," she said. "When you guys got back from the Philippines, well, I mean, when we got back, he just didn't let me get home as soon as possible. I was tired, jet lagged, everything. It was making me so pissed off. Instead of driving us straight home, he brought me to the UCLA Medical Center, where we first met. I was there because my nephew's non-rabid-totally-safe dog bit me on the leg and he was there because his niece accidentally pushed him down the stairs. It was an awkward first meeting, but all I remember is that we sat there waiting for the doctors to call us back. He asked for my name and all I said was, 'You're Ben Hollingsworth, right?' and he said, 'Well, I never thought Nila Myers would know my name.'. We hung out over chocolate chip cookies and apple juice, until it was time to leave." She cleared her throat and ran her hand throug her hair. "Anyway, when we got there, he just stepped out of the car and made his way inside. Being the sane one, I ran to follow him in and asked if he was sick."
"And what did he say?" Ashley asked, giggling like a giddy teenager.
Nila sighed and shrugged, putting a hand to her heart. "All he said was, 'I'm just sick of not calling you my wife,' before he got down on one knee. He asked me to marry him right then and there, while the nurses and doctors and other hospital staff circled around us and began singing something I didn't hear. I was too overwhelmed. Then, I said yes and the rest is still ahead of us."
"That is so sweet!" Maggie giggled.
"But, of course, not sweet enough to trump the NIan engagement," she said. "Come on, I love Ben, but honestly, Ian's engagement proposal was the sweetest I have ever seen in forever."
"Great, thanks for that, honey," Ben sighed. "I hate you Ian."
I chuckled and said, "Aw, I love you too man."
Everyone laughed at my comment, even Nina. I took her hand and kissed it right in front of everyone. She smiled softly and pulled me closer to her, wrapping her arms around me. She kissed me on the lips and rest her head on my chest.
"See? This is why NIan is forever," Ashley said. "You guys are the cutest couple. I don't even know why you considered letting each other go back then."
"Hey now, Ash," Evan said. "If they didn't let each other go at least once, they wouldn't have found each other again."
"You mean, if tons of people weren't ripping them apart every now and then," Maggie said. "You know, assholes like Derek - well, sorry, redeemed asshole - or Nicky."
Nina swallowed at the mention of Nicky's name. "Well, Nicky was unsuccessful," I said cheerily, trying to sound like I was confident in what I was saying. "Nina and I are never going to be apart."
"That's what every single teenage girl in this world was dying to hear," Evan commented. "You were just responsible for a million teen hearts breaking, Nina."
"I understand that," she said. "But, hey, it's pretty much Ian's fault for being the most gorgeous man on the planet."
"Says the girl who could easily be crowned as the most beautiful girl in the Universe," I said.
"Well, that's just about my share of too much cheesiness," Ben said. "Sorry, I love you guys, but I'm internally puking from all this sweetness."
Nina rolled her eyes at him and said, "Well, this sweetness is about to end."
I shot her a look and she smirked. "Because, Clive and Sebastiano are up on stage, looking like they're about to say something important," she said.
We all turned to face the stage, just to see the beaming faces of Sebastiano and Clive. They were holding hands and looking extremely pleased with the turn out.
"Good evening everyone!" Clive said. "Well, I'm Clive Burton, and -."
"Soon to be Clive Vistiviano," Sebastiano commented.
Clive smiled giddily and said, "Soon to be Clive Vistiviano. Welcome to our engagement party. Thank you so much for being here!"
Everyone burst out clapping and Clive hushed them down. "Listen, I'm not going to make this incredibly long and boring. I'm also over the storytelling, 'How did he do it?' part. I just want you all to know, how happy I am. I've gone through a lot growing up, you know. I always felt like I could never ever be loved by someone. And now, here I am, about to marry the most spectacularly amazing guy I could ever dream of. It was hard, but it's worth it. Sebastiano, my love, I don't know what else to say but I love you and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. We're going to get married and we're going to be the happiest, most fabulous couple in this world."
At that moment, Sebastiano was already tearing up. He took Clive by the hand and kissed him in front of everyone. It was perhaps the sweetest thing I've ever seen.
Once they broke off, Sebastiano came up to the mic, hiccuping a little. He cleared his throat and said, "I'm not going to go on about me and Clive right now, especially since I can't think straight because of the excitement. I just want to raise a toast to the other engaged couples in this room who took the time to celebrate with us, even though they could be doing something else. So, to Ben and Nila, and of course, to Nina and Ian, thank you. Thank you for being a part of this. Thank you for showing the world that true love really exists, even when other people refuse to believe it."
Everyone turned to face us and raised their glasses. Nina held onto my hand and raised her glass back at them. I wrapped my arm around her and we toasted everyone back. Nila and Ben shared a kiss in the middle of the dance floor.
Nina shifted uncomfortably as she watched them. I simply tried to smile at everyone who was congratulating us.
"Nina, Ian! What are you doing? Don't we even get to see a kiss?" Clive suggested. "Come on."
Nina smirked and kissed me on the cheek. She pulled away and did a little curtsey for Clive. Clive wagged his finger at her and said, "No. Uh-uh, child stop playing. Give your man the kiss he deserves!"
Nina rolled her eyes and turned to face me. She was smiling, but her eyes were looking at me like she wanted to stab me with a fork.
She leaned in close to me and gave me a kiss, a soft, lingering, Nina kiss.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer, but she pulled away and broke it off. She cleared her throat and everyone clapped wildly.
"That's more like it!" Clive said. "Now, everyone, please enjoy the party and dance the night away!"
The band started to play a soft song. It was Say You Love Me by Jessie Ware. I heard it once when I was driving to a shoot.
Before Nina could walk away, I grabbed her by the waist and spun her around to face me. I took both her hands and placed them around my neck. I held onto her waist and started dancing with her.
"Please stop this," I begged.
"Stop what?" she said.
"Nina, I don't like playing games," I said. "Please talk to me."
"I don't feel like talking right now," she said.
"So you'd rather plaster a fucking fake smile on your face?" I whispered.
"It's better than punching you in the face," she said, as we twirled around.
"You not speaking to me and acting like everything is okay is worse than having you punch my face," I said. "Nina, can we please just leave and talk at home?"
"No," she said. "I need a little more time to think of what to say to you."
"And you can't do that at home?" I said.
"No," she said.
"Nina, you kissed me and pretended all lovey-dovey with me in front of everyone," I said. "Instead of me feeling like it's the best thing in the world, it's like you're trying to torture me."
"Well, Clive did say that I should give you the kiss you deserved," she said. "I guess I achieved the point. You deserved that kiss."
"Nina," I sighed, twirling her around again. I pulled her closer to me and said, "I don't want this. If you could just let me explain at home, I could-."
"You could what? Make it better?" she asked. "Because, it's terrible right now."
"I know, babe," I whispered. "But please, just let me explain."
She kept silent, just as the singer got to the part of the song where she sings "And babe, it looks as though, we're running out of words to say. And love's floating away."
"Did you hear that?" she asked.
"Nina, no," I said.
"Yes, you did. It's true," she said. "I'm out of words. I don't know what to say to you. I just feel like, what we have is drifting away all of a sudden just because you want to get back together with-."
"Shh," I sighed. "Please, please don't say it out loud."
"Why?" she asked. "Does it make it more real now that I know?"
"Please, let's just go home."
I felt my insides slosh around in my stomach. She was making me wait, she was torturing me the same way I was torturing her. I cradled her cheek in my palm and she leaned into it softly. I traced her cheek with my thumb and whispered, "Nina, please."
"Let's go home," she said, nodding stiffly.
---
I held onto Nina's hand as we said our goodbyes to everyone. She plastered that fake smile on her face for what felt like hours. I had to do exactly the same thing without any complaints.
Before we left, Evan and Ben whispered something to Nina. She smiled faintly and shrugged her shoulders. Each of them kissed her on the cheek and I hugged them awkwardly.
"We'll see you guys in a few days, alright?" I said.
Clive rushed to our side and squished us both in a tight hug. I ended up kissing the top of Nina's head and I saw her close her eyes softly.
"I'll see you guys in a few days, okay?" he said. "We'll be having our first ever pre-screening for Lights with the network's producers."
"No place we'd rather be," Nina said. She kissed him on the cheek and reached out to kiss Sebastiano on the cheek as well.
"We wouldn't miss it for the world," I said, hugging him.
"Well, I wish you could stay longer," he whispered. "But I know you have other NIan things to attend to. So, take care, okay?"
"I've got Ian," Nina said, wrapping my arm around herself. "That's all the care I need."
Clive placed a hand over his heart and squirmed giddily. "See, this is why you two always win those Couple Awards. Always. All. THE. FUCKING. TIME. Not that there are any complaints, because honestly you two are perfection."
"It's a NIan thing," I said, kissing Nina's temple.
Clive smirked and said, "Okay, okay. Enough. Your sweetness is giving me a toothache. Go on ahead and get home. We'll be seeing you."
Nina and I both smiled, entwining our hands together. I looped my arm around her and we walked to the parking lot like that. Tons of people were still on their way to the party and others were leaving just like us. It was a charade that Nina was keeping. She was acting all lovey-dovey with me until we reached the car and got away from all these people.
All these people who were expecting a Dobrev - Somerhalder wedding soon.
As soon as we reached the car, Nina looked around and shrugged out of my grasp. She flicked her hair away from her face and walked to the opposite side of the car. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked away from me as she waited for me to open the car.
I closed my eyes and swallowed hard, bringing out the keys. I opened the car and Nina popped open the backseat door. She slid inside and closed the door harshly.
She leaned her head on the window and I stared at her from the outside.
That's when I knew for sure that I did what I promised I'd never do again.
I broke her heart.
I ran my hand down my face and got inside the car, closing the door loudly. Nina looked unfazed and stared outside.
"Babe, please sit in front with me," I said, refusing to look at her again.
She kept silent.
"Nina," I whispered, looking back at her. She refused to look at me and stayed focused on the window. "Nina, baby please. Talk to me. I'm dying over here."
She looked as if she was about to break, but she swallowed hard and said, "Just take me home, Ian."
"Nina, do you even know how hard this is for me?" I heard myself ask. "I'm dying here and you're acting like an immature child. Goddamit, just talk to me! Stop being such a bitch over something you don't understand!"
Her eyes shot up to look at me. She looked at me as if she hated me so much. She still didn't speak, but she looked genuinely hurt by what I said.
"Nina, I didn't mean that," I said, shaking my head. I ran my hand down my face again and looked away from her. "I'm sorry."
"Forget it," she said. "Just get me home, Ian."
The way she said my name sent shivers through my spine. Not because it sounded so good coming from her, but because it was colder than I've ever heard her say my name.
"Nina."
"Get me home," she said. "Because if you don't, I'm stepping out of this car."
I closed my eyes, sighed, and opened my eyes again. I raked my hand through my hair and revved up the engine. I started to drive and stopped myself from looking at Nina.
This late at night, it was surprising that the traffic was still as heavy. Now I had to be trapped in this silent treatment torture chamber for an hour or so.
I tried honking the horn a couple of times, but it was impossible to get out of this traffic right now. I buried my face in my hands and shook my head. If only Nina was talking to me, it would feel like seconds being stuck here.
I turned my head around, just so I could think of how easy it would be to talk to Nina.
Before I could get a word out, her stupid phone rang. Without looking up, she answered it. "Hello? Is everything okay?"
I heard some mumbling on the other end of the line. Nina's eyes grew wide and she swallowed hard. She shook her head and said, "You don't understand. I can't stand that-."
The person on the other end cut her off and she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Do you even know what you're talking about?"
More mumbling.
"No, you're crazy," she said. "It's not that easy. No way in hell is it as easy as before."
Blah blah blah.
"I just can't stand that anymore," she said, reaching out to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. I wanted to reach out and run my thumb across her cheek. It took every inch of my willpower not to do that. "Listen, I can't talk about this anymore. I know what I want to do. Bye."
She ended the call and looked up to wipe away the tears that were making their way out of her eyes. Out of nowhere, she turned to look at me.
Shocked, I turned to face the road again. She wanted me to fix this. She wanted me to fight for this, even if it was something as simple as yanking my seatbelt off and leaping to the backseat.
Which is what I did.
I took off my seatbelt and leapt right into the backseat. I grabbed Nina by her waist and nuzzled her neck. She sat as stiff as board, even with me sprawled across that whole seat, my head buried under her hair.
"You're going to forgive me," I whispered, planting a kiss on her neck. "We're going to work this out together, because we're together now. You're not going to run away from me or ice me out."
She tried to squirm away from me, but I held onto her tightly. "I'm never letting you go. You're stuck with me."
She cleared her throat and said, "Ian, we're in the middle of a traffic jam. You should be in the driver's seat."
"And you shouldn't be mad at me, but we all can't get what we want, can we?"
I looked up at her and she was smiling, just the tiniest bit. I smirked and ran my fingers up and down the lines of her waist. I shifted and laid down on her lap, reaching out to touch the lines of her jaw. Her hair fell in front of her face and I tilted my head, blowing upwards to blow them away. I exhaled again and again, blowing her hair out of her face like I would, blowing a dandelion.
She rolled her eyes and brushed her hair off of her face. She faced the window again and refused to look at me.
I sighed heavily like a child and placed my hands over my chest. Then, I just blurted out, "Talk dirty to me!" and wiggled my entire body like they would on those upbeat dance videos. "Tra la la la la la la la la, tra la la la la. Talk dirty to me!" I wriggled my butt and squirmed like a worm with my head on Nina's lap.
I could sense her trying to choke back her laughter. I looked up and saw her biting the tip of her thumb.
"Please, stop being mad at me," I said. "Please?"
"Why?"
"Because you know that you can't stay mad at me forever," I said, leaning my cheek on her shoulder. "It's going to kill you, just as much as it's killing me."
"Well, that's not my fault, now is it?"
"Yes it is," I said. "Because you can always choose to hear me out, but somehow, you love that you can drive me crazy by choosing otherwise."
She swallowed hard and looked away. I sat up and placed my fingers under her chin. I tilted her face to look at me. "Will you please just listen to me?"
"Will you please stop breaking my heart?"
"I never wanted to," I said.
"What do you want?" she asked. "What did you expect? That I'd be happy with your declaration?"
"I just expect you to listen," I said.
"I'm never going to understand why you do what you do," she said, pushing me away.
Before I could say anything else, the car in front of us started to revv up. Nina crossed her arms over her chest and looked away again.
"Nina..."
"Ian, get in the driver's seat and drive me home. I told you I'm not going to talk about this until we get home."
At this point, I was getting incredibly frustrated. I rolled my eyes, launched myself back in the driver's seat and started driving as fast as the traffic would let me. At first, it was too slow, but the Universe was on my side this time, because the traffic cleared up pretty quickly.
In a few minutes, we got to my house. I parked the car and stepped outside, rushing to Nina's side of the car. Before she even understood what I was doing, I opened the door and grabbed her by the waist. I carried her, my arms wrapped behind her legs and her back, inside the house. She didn't say a word until I locked the door behind us.
I set her down and she shook her head. "Your charm isn't going to work this time," she said. "You have to know that nothing hurts me more than knowing you want to leave me for another woman."
"I don't want to," I said. "Do you know that I don't WANT to?"
She shook her head and said, "If you don't want to, why do you have to?"
"Because I love you," I said.
She stood there wordlessly and looked up at me.
Before I knew what was happening, she ran towards me and wrapped her legs around my torso. She looped her arms around my neck and kissed me, her tears dripping down my face. I hugged her closer to me and kissed her back.
She slowed down and kissed me, one soft kiss at a time, before she stopped and set herself down. She kept her arms wrapped around me.
"Say that again?" she asked. "Say you love me."
"I love you," I sighed. "Please believe that."
"I do," she said. "More than anything else in this world."
I smiled softly and trailed my fingers on her cheek. "Please forgive me?"
"Only if you tell me why you're doing this."
"I need to find a way to make Nicky stop."
She stared at me silently and said, "Why?"
I took her hands in mine and kissed both of them softly. "It's the only way I'm ever going to get my dream of marrying you."
"I don't understand," she whispered, her head turned away from me. She was looking away, trying to make sense of what I just told her.
"It wouldn't even make sense if I explained," I answered.
She shrugged. "Try," she whispered. "Because I don't want you to leave me believing that you left me because you still love her." She stared at me silently and wrapped her hands over mine. "Because I would rather die than hear you say that."
"You know that's never going to be the reason," I sighed, pulling her closer to me. "Nina, I don't want you to be in the middle of this, not again."
"I don't want you to protect me anymore, remember?" she asked. "If we're ever going to get what we want, we have to fight for it together. You can't just keep on being Superman, Ian. You don't always have to go through it alone. I want to be here for you."
"And that's all I can ask for," I whispered. "But, if you get in the middle of this, Nicky will never let Charlie, Trish, or Ian be happy again. You need to let me do this alone."
"I just want to know why you have to get back together with her," she said. "Because I'm going to start imagining things. I have a pretty vivid imagination."
I cracked a smile and she smiled back, shrugging. I wrapped my arms around her and let her rest her head on my chest. We sat like that for a few seconds, until I had the guts to say, "She's ruining their lives, just as much as she's ruining ours."
She looked up at me. "What do you mean?"
"Nina, she's-."
Then her phone rang.
She leaned her head on my chest and sighed. She brought out her phone and said, "It's Julianne. I'm sorry, I have to take this."
I nodded softly and let her go. Before I let her answer the phone, I hit the SPEAKER button on it. She rolled her eyes at me. She answered the phone and said, "Hello? Juls, what's going on?"
"Nina... I-. I, Nina, he's- oh. I can't," she cried, stopping after every word.
"Julianne, what is going on?" she asked, her eyes wide and worried.
"Derek's in a coma, Nina. They said he may never wake up."
*Well, no long A/N here. I'm sorry. It's such a sad note to leave on. I know it's Valentine's Day and you were expecting a cheesy chapter. I'm sorry if this got you in a foul mood. I'm a very dramatic person. I can write about hearts and flowers, but I like writing about what makes me sad more. I know it's masochistic. Anyway, HVD. Love you guys!*