DAYLIGHT! chris sturniolo

vi. late night talking

chris walked out into his living room where his brother nick was sitting under a blanket watching civil war on their large flat screen tv. there had been something on chris' mind for the past couple of weeks since the debacle in the group chat that had been floating around and clouding his thoughts. he needed someone to talk to and knew nick was the best with this kind of stuff. he was the hopeless romantic.

chris walked closer to the couch and sat down in the singular chair beside the couch. "hey nick, can i talk to you?"

nick looked at chris and saw a look on his face that he had never seen on his brother before, and it worried him. "sure." he paused the movie before looking back at chris. "what's up?"

chris sighs and lays his head back against the cushioned back of the chair and stares up at the ceiling. "i don't know what to do nick." chris said, his voice breaking and crowded with emotion.

nick inched closer to the side of the couch so he could be right next to chris. "come on chris. whats going on?"

"i like anya. and i don't know how to tell her or if i even should tell her. i don't want to ruin things between us, especially when everything is going so good for her right now." a few tears rolled down chris' cheeks. "i want to be able to tell her exactly how i feel about her but what if she doesn't feel the same and what if that makes things awkward. i'm just so scared nick."

nick frowned and tears filled the brinks of his eyes. he had never seen his brother like this, and when he did it hurt. he knew right now his brother didn't need advice, he just needed someone. "come here."

chris stood up and sat down next to nick before being pulled into him and being held close. nick rubbed his back and told him everything was gonna be okay as chris cried. "it's all gonna work out in the end, i promise you chris. i have no doubt about that."

nick held onto chris as he cried and gently ran his hands up and down his back. "i'm so scared nick. i don't want to lose her."

"and you won't. let's give it a little so you can make sure everything you're feeling is sincere, and then if you know exactly what you're feeling, i'll sit with you while you text her. that way if she doesn't feel the same, you won't have to see her reaction and we can have a movie night. sound good?"

chris nodded and stood up, wiping his eyes. "i have to go. i promised anya i would meet her at the studio, she wants to run some lyrics by me and see if i would like them."

"are you sure you wanna go?" nick asked, standing up as well.

"yeah, i'm sure. i can't avoid her, especially if i want to figure my feelings out." chris said before pulling nick in for a tight hug. "thank you for listening nick."

nick smiled and hugged back for a moment. "you're welcome chris." nick smiled as chris pulled away and walked out of the room, before calling an uber and grabbing a bottle of water. when chris left, nick sat back down on the couch and resumed his place in civil war.

chris pulled up to the tall building before thanking the uber driver and walking inside. he walked over to the elevator and pressing the button for the 4th floor, where anya's recording studio was. he waited on his phone while the elevator took him up.

he took a deep swig of water before walking inside the studio where he saw anya sitting down in a small purple bean bag in the corner of the room. he smiled when he saw her writing in the small black song book, obviously lost in deep thought, and shut the door before sitting down in one of the chairs. "hi ny."

anya looked up from her song book before shutting it with a smile. "chris!" anya got up and jumped on top of chris, pulling him close and holding him tightly. "one, i missed you. and two, i'm so excited for you to hear this song."

chris smiled as the girl happily hopped off his lap and walked over to the table her phone was resting on and picked it up. "so i already recorded it, but i wanted to know if i should release it? you tell me true."

anya pulled her rolley chair over to the chair beside chris and nervously pressed play on the audio recording, the sound of the song playing loudly from the speakers of the phone. chris liked this song. the words made him feel happy, like there was hope for everything he was feeling in his heart.

your lips, my lips.. apocalypse.

all chris wanted to do was lean over and kiss the girl sitting before him and let her in on everything he was feeling. but he feared messing everything up, so he listened quietly to the song until the audio clip ended and the girl began to speak. "it's called apocalypse. i don't know, i was just feeling it. but if you didn't think it's good-"

"it's amazing, ny. you're so talented." and although chris thought everything anya did was amazing, he was truthful when he said those words. he had a deep appreciation for this song, although it made his stomach flip around.

"you really think so?" anya asked nervously.

chris leaned forward and took anya's hands in his. "i really think so, ny."

anya smiled widely before pulling him in for a tight hug. "thank you so much for being my friend. i love you so much."

chris smiled and pulled her closer, holding onto her tight. "i love you more stink. more than you'll ever know." he said quietly and held her close.

the two hugged for a while before pulling away and deciding to go to dinner together. the two went to the texas road house before anya drove chris home, kissing his cheek gently before driving home herself.

chris knew his feelings for anya were deeper than a friendship. he loved her.