BLOODSTREAM, NICK ROBINSON SHORT

teenage years

age 16

It was nine thirty when he got a call from his best friend. They hadn't talked in days, even though they lived right across from each other. Nick knew that they were starting to drift apart.

"Hello?" Nick said into the receiver. He turned his attention away from his books for a moment so he could focus on her voice.

"Nick," Aria sounded relieved. He could sense that something was wrong, but he didn't want to address it. "Can I sleep over?"

"Um, why?" Nick looked around his room and grimaced at the mess. He hadn't taken the time to clean it. "Something wrong?"

"I want to talk about it when I get there," Aria mumbled. She wondered why Nick hadn't just said a simple yes instead of asking why. She remembered when she didn't even have to ask, she'd just walk across the street and knock and everything was okay. "Can I?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Nick rushed. He stood up off of his bed and balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder. He grabbed all of the dirty clothes and threw them into his closet. It didn't matter where it went at this point, he just needed to make his room more presentable for her. "When do you want to?"

"Now," Aria said. She ran a hand through her brown locks as she looked at her reflection in her mirror. She was noticeably pale. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course," Nick struggled to keep his overflowing closet closed. Once he heard the doors click, he stepped away and sighed. "Whenever you're ready."

"Okay," Aria looked at her empty duffel bag on the ground and went to pick it up. She didn't start packing for her overnight stay, so she might as well get started on it. "Bye, Nick."

"Bye," Nick said back. She hung up on him and he threw his phone onto the bed.

They hadn't had a sleepover since they were twelve. It's been four years since she's come over for a proper stay. Nick wanted to pretend that he didn't know that Damon was the reason for that.

Their relationship was going one year strong. Nick knew for sure, he counted the days that he had to pretend to be okay. It was hard but he knew that if he didn't he'd just be putting himself through more pain. He wondered if anyone knew what it felt like to watch someone they loved fall in love with someone else. It hurt, and it was even more painful to stay close to them.

He remembered the night after he fought with his dad. Aria hadn't texted him at all, he didn't even see her. It was a Saturday night and he was on his laptop.

"What do I do when the girl I love loves someone else?" Nick typed into the Google search bar. He knew he was being stupid. It wasn't like he could change her mind, he knew how she was driven to things. If she wanted something she'd work for it. There was no stopping her. Although it was something he admired about her, it was also something that kept them from being together.

Thousands of results popped up and Nick held his breath as he scrolled down the page. Everything he read was depressing.

He stopped on one of the WikiHow pages.

"How To Stop Loving Someone Who Doesn't Love You," it read. Nick stared at the title before closing the page all together. It was easier to not acknowledge his feelings. It made him feel like he was weak and that he was overreacting.

Was it really his fault for falling for his best friend? They grew up together. He knew her like the back of his hand. Everything about Aria was like one of the novels. She was so determined, and so, so beautiful. But she wasn't Nick's. She was Damon's. There was no point in changing it.