Fire on Ice

Part 21

Disclaimer: This is very much unedited, we just didn't want to not get a chapter out this week. 

Nora POV

"He did what?" Gigi exclaims in the middle of the very busy café. She stormed in here demanding to know what happened between me and Nikolas after Sebastian told her Nikolas was uncharacteristically depressed. Apparently he was barely paying attention during their revenue meetings for the club and when Sebastian asked him what was wrong he didn't answer. Hence, Gigi screaming in my ear right now.

"Shhh keep your voice down Jesus". She seems to notice the heads turning in our direction because she lowers her voice, "Sorry, but he really said he wanted you guys to go back to normal? What the fuck does that even mean?"

"That's what I said!" I agree. "I don't know, he's hiding something. Something big that he can't tell me, and it's keeping from being with me."

Gigi nods her head in thought, "There is a lot more to Nikolas than what he shows." I think back to how Coach said the same thing when I first joined the gym and met Nikolas.

"Everybody says that, but what do you mean?"

Gigi shrugs, "He is just super closed off. I mean he has secrets he's told Sebastian, but Sebastian doesn't say a word about it. I'm pretty sure something happened when Nikolas was a kid." All this information, paired with mine and Nikolas' conversation a couple days ago only confuses me more.

"Well, I don't know, and I really shouldn't care. I joined the gym to get to the NIDC, and I don't have time for any distractions."

"I know, but it's fun to have distractions," Gigi wiggles her eyebrows, "Especially hot distractions." I laugh and put my head in my hands, "And you know what the worst part is?"

"Uh oh"

"I stood there in the gym practically begging him to give us a chance and he didn't budge. God, I feel so stupid."

"Aww honey," Gigi grabs my hands away from my face and takes them in hers, "If it counts for anything, and it should, he wasn't unaffected by this whole thing either. He clearly feels something for you, and even if you and him can't see it, everybody else around you guys does. You just need to give him time. I promise you, if he's anything like Sebastian, and I'm sure he is, he'll be worth it."

                                                                                               * * *

I am once again waiting outside my apartment at 5 in the morning, but this time I have a weekender bag at my feet, packed and ready to go to Arizona. It's been almost two weeks since mine and Nikolas' "talk" and surprisingly everything is back to normal. Our first practice the day after was awkward as hell, mostly because neither of us knew how to act.

Flashback two weeks ago

Nikolas pulls up to my apartment and I nervously get in not knowing what to say or do. I assume he'll be standoffish like he always is after something happens, so I decide to take that route too. He asks how I am and I barely mutter a "good". After that he doesn't try to talk again, but a few minutes pass and he's fed up.

"Nora?" He starts off.

"What." I say somewhat coldly.

"Are you mad?" Fuck, he sounds so defeated I can't keep up the act anymore.

I sigh, "No."

"Then what's wrong? I thought everything was fine." This gets me a little angry because fuck no, everything is not 'fine', but he was really clear on how he felt and where's he's at right now, and I have to respect that.