Train Tracks // Nick Wilkins x OC

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"Huh?" I woke up, my head spinning. Alyssa looked down at me. She looked like an angel.

I realized what had happened. I had blacked out at my own party with people I was trying to make a good impression on. I hadn't even had anything to drink.

"I'm so sorry, I–" we both said at the same time, then, still simultaneously, "What are you sorry for?"

I sat up. I had flushed the toilet. Or had she? That would be terrible– I–

"I know just what to do." She left the room and returned with Tibby in her arms. Tibby was a more cuddly cat. She took a paper cup and filled it with water at the sink. "You haven't eaten this entire party. What's wrong?"

"I–" I couldn't tell her. I had a stupid eating disorder that wouldn't go away, no matter how unhealthy it tricked me into being. I–

"I took a medical class in high school," she finished my thought. "Your blood pressure is really low. Your blood sugar, too, probably. Can I get you a cookie?"

I thought of Nick with his plate the first night we met. "Okay," I answered. Alyssa told me to not black out again before she left the room. I chuckled pathetically, noticing Tibby's oddly brown ears with the rest of her ginger fur. Her eyes were the same shade of green as Millie's, and a bit darker than Alyssa's. "Yeah, she isn't feeling well," I heard Alyssa say softly to the others, referring to me. "If anyone were to help with that, it'd be you," Millie responded calmly. I laid my head on the cabinet door.

"Here," she handed me a chocolate chip cookie. It wasn't as good as the ones Nick made. "I found this in your grocery bag. I– I thought it would help," she said. I nibbled on the crunchy, tasty object, not a piece of guilt in my mind.

Tibby turned her head up. "No, girl," I scolded, "Not for you."

Scarlett entered the room. "I contacted Troy and told him no," she said. Alyssa didn't ask. I nodded, wanting to object, but I knew she was only looking out for me. "What time is it?"

"9:42," she said, looking at her olive-green watch. "You've only been out for ten minutes."

Suddenly, the sheer amount of embarrassment filled my face. Nothing could revive my friendship.

I decided to go out there and be honest.

"I–" I paused. "I have um–"

"Go ahead," Scar told me. "We're your friends."

"I have uh, uh, low blood sugar problems."

Crap. Half-truths were not being as "honest" as I wanted to be.

"Oh, that's okay," Casey said. "So does my little brother. I totally understand how you have to pause sometimes. If you need any help, let me know! I know just what to do for those situations."

I smiled. "Thanks, Case. You're the best."

I sighed and sat down. "Do you guys want to be on a stream?"

"YES!" Casey and Scar said. Millie smiled softly. Alyssa looked nervous, but excited. "I mean, sure, how many people will be watching?"

"Who knows?" I asked. "Maybe at most 1,000."

"I– Okay, I can handle that."

I wrote out my announcement. "Late night stream! 10:00pm MDT! Come see us!"

Casey stopped me before I posted it. "It's a really bad time zone, don't you think? No Europeans would come, and any other Americans would be at 10-12pm, so not many there, and maybe some people in Australia, but it's probably sort of early there."

"You're totally right. We can plan another time. Sorry, I wasn't thinking," I said, and put another sweet into my mouth.

._.

"Okay, bye!" I waved them out of the door. It had been a great night.

._.

Today, Nick knocked on my door and asked if he could take me to the gym. He was finally back from his cruise trip so I was excited to see him, and I agreed wholeheartedly. It had been a week since the girls' night.

"This is my favorite treadmill. The other ones stop sometimes if you use them for too long." He pointed to an empty treadmill by a mirror. "If you need some water, there's a machine over there," he said.

I looked around. I had been wanting to work out for a while, so I may as well give it a shot.

I did not want to weightlift, though.

He paused his tour. "We do have to change, though– Did you bring extra clothes? Sorry, I should have mentioned it–"

"Actually, yeah, I thought I might have needed some," I told him and stepped into the ladies room.

._.

After I had finished changing, I walked out and noticed Nick had left his backpack on the bench outside the door. It was a singular room, so I knocked on the door. "Nick, you left your–"

The door opened and I glanced up at him and casually played off the fact that he was shirtless.

"Aha– you, uh, left your, um, thingy out here." I puffed up my cheeks

Great job, Liv. Don't look at his abs. Stop looking at his abs. Agh, you ruined it.

"Yeah. Uh. Thanks." He took the backpack and closed the door. I'm gonna have to come to this gym more often.

._.

I had been on the bicycle for about half an hour, silently, next to him. I felt bad, almost. I had never seen– some part of me hoped it wouldn't be the last time.

Nick stopped suddenly, pausing my train of thought. He looked toward the door. I blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman walked into the door. She was the pinnacle of beauty. She had perfect curves and high cheekbones and large lips. Her nose was even the perfect size. And her sense of fashion rivaled Casey's.

"That's my gym crush."

A/N

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936 words