"How many stars do you think there are?" Nick asked as he looked down at you. You were currently standing on the deck of the Abigail with him. It was the middle of the night but you decided it was too beautiful out to pass up an opportunity to stargaze. "too many to count." You replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Oh come on, if you had to guess, how many would you say there are?" Nick placed an arm around your shoulder and waited for your reply. "Again, too many to count." You blushed at his actions and continued to look up at the sky. "You're no fun." He teased as he removed his arm from your shoulder and gave you a playful shove. You two stood in silence for a while before you decided to make a bold move and tell Nick how you really felt about him. Something you had wanted to do for a long time but never had opportunity to. "Nick... Can I tell you something?" He didn't say anything as he turned to look at you with curiously evident in his eyes. "I... I don't know how to say this but I think I'm in love with you." You couldn't bring yourself to look at him as the words came spilling out of your mouth. He stared at you in awe for a moment before saying "Haha very funny, Y/N." Nick brushed off your confession as if it were a cruel joke. Hurt, you turned your face towards him. "What do you mean it's "very funny?" I'm being serious, Nick." He walked away from you and began to pace around the deck, a nervous habit he had developed but never seemed to notice that he did it. "You're confused, Y/N. You only think that you're in love with me because I'm the only other person on this boat who's around your age. The apocalypse doesn't give you many options for a lover, I get that, but there's no way someone like you could ever be in love with someone like me." He firmly stated. He was right, you were confused. Confused on why he thought that he wasn't good enough to be with you. "What do you mean someone like me couldn't love someone like you?" You walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder to get him to stop pacing. "I was an addict, Y/N. I was a low life... nothing. I slept around with girls and disappeared for days before I would show my face again, only to repeat the cycle over and over. I ruined my life. You on the other hand... You had your whole life planned out. You did so well in school and were even planning to study abroad next year. There was no way in hell I was gonna let you blow your chances at living a good life by letting you get involved with someone like me." He looked down at his shoes with tear filled eyes. You couldn't believe what he was saying about himself. "Nick... Nick look at me, please." You lifted his chin with your fingers, forcing him to look at you. "Who was there for you when you were in the hospital, huh? Who encouraged you to go to all those rehab groups to try and help you get clean? Even after all the times you relapsed, I never gave up on you and I stopped loving you. I've never left your side and I'm not about to leave it now." Nick pulled you into a tight hug and rested his head in the crook of your neck. You held him tightly and stroked his hair, reassuring him that he is the most important thing that has even happened to you.
