XO, Joanne

Deception

*Nicole POV*

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. I never even heard Gaga get up. I turned over to see four missed calls from Chloe. I hadn't talked to her since the night of the show.
Once I gathered my thoughts, I called her back.

Chloe answered right away. She was freaking out.

"Nicole?! Holy shit, I haven't heard from you in two days. I was worried sick about you! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I promise!"

I tried to keep it cool. She didn't need to know anything just yet.

"Thank god, you scared me! I'm glad you're alright though. We need to go on a coffee date soon!"

"Definitely!"

As Chloe was talking, there was a knock at the door.

"Sorry Chloe, I have to go." I said, cutting her off.

"Oh. Uh, okay, I'll talk to you later I guess."
She sounded kind of suspicious. I felt bad for keeping secrets, but the whole situation was still fresh in my mind. I could barely comprehend it myself.

I hung up the phone and was greeted by Gaga's smiling face when I opened the door.

"Good morning! Did you sleep good?"

"Yeah, I guess so."
I was still a bit embarrassed from what happened the night before.

"Well, I hope you're hungry. I just made us some breakfast."

"Sounds good, I'll be out in a minute!"

I shut the door and flopped down on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a slight grin on my face.
I really don't deserve her.

I made my way to the kitchen and we ate the avocado toast Gaga made. It was delicious, she's a really good cook.

Gaga got up and cleared our dishes.
"So I was thinking we could do some shopping today." she said excitedly.

"That sounds like fun!"

I couldn't remember the last time I went shopping. I barely left the house after my mom died.

I went to the guest room I was staying in and got ready for the day.

Just before we left Gaga's apartment, I got another call from Chloe. This time, she sounded a bit mad.

"I know you're keeping something from me Nicole, what is going on?"

"What are you talking about?" I lied.

"Did you not see the news?"

I ran into the living room and turned on the TV, and there it was. My uncle's mugshot was on the screen for the whole world to see.

"Uh.. I can explain."

"Good, because you've got a lot of explaining to do."

A feeling of intense panic shot through my entire body. I wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, but now I had no choice.
I knew she wouldn't believe me unless I had visual proof.

"FaceTime me and I'll tell you everything."

I couldn't keep myself together, and ended up bursting into tears. I felt like I was reliving the moment as I told her.

Gaga came running into the room. I assumed she had heard me crying.

"Honey are you okay?"

"Who's that?" Chloe asked, confused.

"Um that's just-"

Gaga grabbed my phone before I could finish my sentence.

"Who's this pretty girl Nicole?"

"NO FUCKING WAY!!" I heard Chloe yell from the phone.

"That's Chloe. She's my best friend." I chuckled.

"It's nice to meet you Chloe. I'd introduce myself but I'm guessing by your reaction that you already know who I am."

"HOLY SHIT NICOLE WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU'RE AT FUCKING LADY GAGA'S HOUSE?!"

"She saved me from... from him."
I couldn't even say his name.

Gaga took her eyes off the phone and gave me a huge smile.

"Thank you for saving my best friend Gaga." Chloe said once she calmed down.

"Of course. You don't need to worry anymore, she's safe here with me."

Gaga handed my phone back to me.

"I'm so sorry I freaked out on you." Chloe said.

"It's okay. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon."

We hung up and Gaga was waiting at the door.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked me cheerfully.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I said, making my way out of the apartment.

Gaga stood in the doorway, looking at my sweatshirt.

"Nicole, it's almost 80 degrees out, you're gonna die in that!"

"No it's fine." I lied. "I always get cold anyway."
I was sweating.
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

Gaga followed me out and shut the door behind her.

*Gaga POV*

Nicole is the worst liar.

It's the end of August and she came out of the bedroom with an oversized sweatshirt on. I wished she would've just told me what she was hiding. It's not like I didn't already know.
I questioned her, thinking maybe she would spill the beans.

"No it's fine. I always get cold anyway."
A classic.

I was a bit annoyed that she didn't tell me the truth, but I wasn't about to question her any further. She seemed happy and excited. I didn't want to ruin the mood.
I thought to myself.

"We'll talk later."

A/N
Hi guys! I just rediscovered this story and realized that I haven't worked on it in almost two years! I don't want to leave you all with an open-ended unfinished story so I've decided that I'm going to keep going from where I left off and eventually finish it! I hope you all enjoy what I have so far. Thanks for reading!! :)