After Chloe ran away from him Nick went and walked up from Andrea who was almost falling on the ground from laughing so hard. "I think we need to talk.' Nick said, grabbing her wrist a little tight but not tight enough to hurt her. He dragged Andrea into a closet and closed the door after turning on the light.
Andrea just stared at Nick waiting for him to speak. Her face was still slightly flushed from laughing.
Nick was mad. No he was more than made he was furious. Andrea tripping Chloe on purpose and then laughing at her for about five minutes straight made him want to punch a brick wall.
The two of them stood in silence for a little bit, until Nick finally decided to start speaking. "Why did you trip Chloe?" Nick asked calmly. Andrea snorted. "You shouldn't be hugging a rat like her. She's not a part of your team anymore so, why are you even here is a better question." Andrea sassed.
Nick gave her a funny face. "You do know that there is a dance competition going on just down the hall in this same building, right? I only knew you guys were here because I saw Chloe when you guys got off the bus." Nick said.
"Why does it seem like you only care about her Nick? Did you forget that I was the one you were dating before she came into the picture?" Andrea asked, raising her voice.
"Yes, I realize I was dating you. But YOU were the one that was mean to Chloe and I am very protective of her Andrea. That's what you have to learn. Chloe and I had been through a lot together last year, before you even came into the picture." Nick yelled, hoping no one could hear them through the door of the closet. "It's not about you Andrea. The world doesn't revolve around you. And with that stunt you just pulled out there, by tripping Chloe. You just dug yourself deeper into the hole so now I may never forgive you if you keep causing her pain on purpose." Nick yelled, before opening the door and storming out trying not to attract attention.
Nick looked at his watch it read 10:45 a.m. He walked back over to where Christi was still standing talking to Chloe's cheerleading coach, Nick assumed. Nick caught the very end of their conversation. "Well the rest of the girls are going to sit in the audience and watch the rest of the performances before awards." The coach said before walking away.
Nick walked up to Christi and stood in front of her. Christi gave him a look of confusion. "You can go watch the other performances. I'll go find and talk to Chloe." Nick said. Christi gave him a nod of approval before walking away and towards the doors leading into the gym.
Nick looked around and then started running in the direction Chloe had run in after Andrea had tripped her. While he was running down the hallway, Andrea was just now walking out of the closet. She glared at Nick as he ran by and glared back at her. He hated her with all his being right now. She had hurt Chloe again and he wasn't going to let it happen again.
Nick continued running down the hallway until he came across a door that read "Flip City Flyers" that was the cheer team Chloe was on so he pushed open the door and ran inside. He saw Chloe sitting in a corner with her head resting on her knees. Her back shook slightly as she let out sobs that had been building up inside of her. Nick immediately felt bad and put the blame on himself for how Chloe was feeling. If he had never dated Andrea, none of this would have happened.
Chloe picked her head up from her knees when she heard the door close. She looked towards the door and stood up wiping away the tears that were falling from her eyes and down her cheeks.
When she saw that the person in the door way was Nick. She ran over to him and jumped on him wrapping her legs around his waist crying into his shoulder. Nick caught her and wrapped his arms around her torso and with one hand stroked her hair. "It's okay Chlo." He whispered into her ear. This caused Chloe to cry even harder. She missed Nick and the other girls so much, and to think that they were all just in a walking distance and she couldn’t see them made her so upset it was almost unbearable.
Nick walked over to a chair and sat down with Chloe in his lap. She still had her legs wrapped around his waist and crying. Nick just sat their whispering sweet things in her ear and stroking her back. "I'm sorry." Nick whispered into Chloe's ear causing her to pick her head up off of his shoulder. "For what?" Chloe whispered back, her voice hoarse from all the crying. "For all the horrible things Andrea has done to you. You didn’t deserve any of that Chloe and don't let Andrea tell you otherwise. You are an amazing girl and dancer." He said before kissing her lightly on the forehead. Chloe blushed and looked down. She had finally calmed down and managed to stop crying.
"It's not your fault." Chloe whispered, looking back up meeting his green eyes with her brown ones. It was the first time in about two months that they had looked into each other’s eyes like this. "But it is. If I had never dated her, none of this would have happened." Nick said, still looking into her eyes.
"It doesn't matter though, because I forgive you." Chloe said, giving him a hug. Nick hugged her back wiping away a slight tear that had begun to fall down his face. If he didn't have Chloe in his life or if their friendship had been ruined because of him dating Andrea he wouldn't know what to think anymore. The bottom line was Nick almost lost Chloe and he promised himself that he would never take that risk ever again.
