42 | war of hearts

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AN: this is me appearing with the first part, not knowing when the second one will be posted. who knows? I hope you'll love this anyway <3 (look at this gif!!)








The Earth was still spinning but the world had stopped. I was standing like a statue, looking at my trembling hands and wondering if it was supposed to be a normal reaction. Probably. Probably not.

Glancing around at the provisions lining the shelves, my eyes settled on a few biscuit packets on top. They looked vaguely familiar, and an image of the same packet at Julian's place flashed before my eyes. I'd eaten like ten of them that day.

Great. Eating something I knew the taste of was safer.

I wasn't supposed to be there. The pantry was small and badly lighted, but it was the first door I'd opened when I realised he was most probably following me. Right on cue, I'd started feeling dizzy.

I knew I hadn't eaten enough that morning. After getting ready, I'd run straight to photograph Evie and Mark with my super 8, just on time. I'd been too excited about it to think about the long day laying ahead. I was convinced that the videos would turn out beautiful with a specific light, and it was time to deal with the consequences now.

I grabbed the packet and let out a not-so-feminine sound the moment chocolate touched my tongue. I rested my back against one of the shelves, my mind spinning in slow motion. My ears rang a little.

Maybe it was just because of him, though.

Then, the door suddenly opened on the other side of the room. My body twisted and I locked eyes with him.

There he was, in all his glory. And there I was, eating biscuits and hiding from everyone else in the low light of the almost burned-out lamp. I was fifteen all over again.

My breath hitched as Nick's confused eyes swept the room and settled back on me. He brushed his curls out of his face, a small smile spreading on his face. Smiling for me.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked, lowly so no one would notice.

I shifted to put the packet away and wiped my mouth with my fingers. "I'm just feeling a bit dizzy, that's all."

Nick closed the door behind him and came to stand before me. "Yeah? What's wrong?"

I swallowed, picturing the scene in my mind again. It hadn't been supposed to be like this. I wasn't sure it had been supposed to be at all.

"You were talking to my parents."

The moment my eyes had met his on the stairs had been enough to make me breathless. He was so fucking handsome in his tailored suit, and he was looking up at me like it was the first time we were meeting. I'd fallen in love with him again.

The next second, my mum–who had probably recognised him from some pictures I'd shown her–was trudging straight to him. My dad had followed in his wheelchair, the kind of look on his face that was searching for something bad to say. I could imagine a thousand things he could have told Nick. You didn't choose the best one. Have you lost your glasses, son? All the words he'd told the first—and only—guy I'd brought home.

And I could still see Nick's gaze drifting to them, realisation hitting him too. It wasn't like a casual meeting, I supposed. Nick knew about what I felt toward them—although my relationship with my mum had greatly improved. I couldn't imagine what shit I would have said if I were him. Plus, Nick was more than a boyfriend in my twenties, so the meeting was more serious than it looked.

He'd seemed composed enough, but I'd disappeared before he could wait for me. Selfish, yeah. But what was I supposed to do? Join them and stand silently on the side?

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