Running In Circles || Nicholas Ruffilo

twenty

Cassidy

I huffed out a breath before stopping Nicholas. He halted his hand on the handle of the back door of the shop with his brows knit together in confusion.

"Are we sure we want to bring them into this?" I ask again.

"What, are you gonna miss sneaking around?" he asks playfully.

"A little," I admit. "But also they're never going to let us have our privacy ever again."

"As long as I can tell you I love you wherever and whenever I want, I don't care what they do. They're a bunch of bozos that I love with my whole heart," he says as he pulls me into a hug. I breathe him in deeply before letting go and giving him a nod to open the door.

"Good morning!" Davis calls out, swirling around in his chair. He brought coffee, and me and Nick grab our orders. Vincent is working on a drawing very diligently.

"Good morning," Nick starts, leaning against Davis's desk. Even in just a Deftones t shirt and jeans, he's a sight to behold with his sunglasses resting on top of his head, making his hair look voluminous. His eyes lean more blue in this light. He looks at me before looking at Davis again. "I have something to tell you."

"Oh God, where's the body? Who did you get pregnant? Are you moving to a different country?" Davis pesters, anxiety exuding off of him as he stands up.

Nick gives him an actual laugh, tipping his head back. I feel myself smile involuntarily at the sight. "None of the above," he reassures, resting a hand on Davis's arm for a second. "Cassidy and I are dating."

Davis looked at both of us like he was a deer in the headlights and Vincent turns around to do the same. They meet each other's eyes before they start laughing, doubled over in their respective chairs. Nicholas and I make eye contact, letting out our own nervous chuckles at the sight of it. I find myself shifting my weight uncomfortably in my spot.

"Okay, seriously, what did you have to tell me?" Davis says to Nicholas, wiping tears from his eyes from laughter.

Nicholas gets off of Davis's desk and comes over to me, giving me a smile before standing at my side with his hand resting on the small of my back. I feel a tiny bit of the anxiety melt off for a moment. "I was being serious. We've been seeing each other for a little while."

Davis is now pacing like he doesn't know what to with himself. "I thought you guys hated each other!" he exclaimed.

"At first," I admit with a small smile at Nicholas, my gaze not leaving his face, that's just watching Davis lose his mind.

"Oh my God, that one night I popped by, that was you?" Davis asked incredulously, looking a bit green at the thought.

"What do you mean?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"The-the paint! There was paint everywhere and lights and all that stuff!" Davis stutters out.

"Oh, yeah!" I answered back excitedly, but Davis was pale. "You threw us off for a little while, I'll have to admit."

"Yeah, we had to reevaluate some things after you almost caught us but we are very much in love," Nicholas says with full confidence, smiling down at me in adoration; I feel my cheeks flush at him saying it to someone other than me.

"Well, I'm happy for you guys," Vincent says sincerely from his seat, turning to finish his drawing.

"I don't know what's real anymore," Davis says dramatically, plopping back down into his seat.

"You'll be okay," I reassured him, patting his shoulder as I walk to my station.

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