Boys of Apartment 5

Chapter 30

***Nicole's P.O.V.***

I quickly took a sticky note from the desk in the corner of the room and jotted down a note that read:

"Sorry, love you.

~Coleo"

I set it on the bed, grabbed my suitcase, and quickly walked to the elevator, hoping no one would see me. I got all the way to the lobby without anyone stopping me.

Sure enough, Taylor was in the lobby.

"Hey Nicole, where are you going?"

She asks, and I sigh.

"Home."

I utter simply, and keep on walking towards the door. Taylor keeps up with me.

"But Nicole you are home. Home is where the heart is."

She says, and I stop for a moment.

"Then I guess my heart isn't here. And before you asked I am not fighting with Mikey its just... something else."

I say flatly, and walk briskly out of the hotel. I tell myself not to look back, at the hotel, at Taylor, at anything. I just keep going, straight into a cab.

I will myself not to cry. But the feeling is too overwhelming. My eyes water and I take a deep breath, swallowing the feeling. But leaving everyone isn't the only reason I want to cry.

Earlier this morning, I got a voicemail from my 13 year old brother, Chase. He told me that he needed me home. My Mom had got laid off from her job, and has been fighting a lot with my Dad. He said that the only way we could keep the family from falling apart is to be together again. Then he said he loved and missed me.

I needed to get to him. When I finally arrived at the airport, I already had 4 missed calls from Mikey. I went as fast as possible to my gate, I knew he would be coming to get me any moment.

All of the sudden, I accidentally shoulder checked a young woman with long brown hair in a blue coat.

I turned around to apologize, but before I could say anything, I realized the young woman was Ariana. We stare at each other in awe for a few seconds before I speak.

"A-Ariana?"

I stutter, and she smiles a bit, showing one of her dimples. She pulls me into a tight hug, and talks quietly into my ear.

"I've missed you so much."

She says, and I release her.

"What are you doing here?"

I ask, a bit confused.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

She replies, so I do the explaining first.

"Well, I was going home, to STL. I was with Brooke, Taylor, and Aubry."

I say, walking again. she grins widely at me, making me giggle a bit.

"Me too! I got a message from Chase this morning... I knew it was serious this time."

She says, as we take a seat at our gate. We are both silent for a moment, until Ariana changes the subject.

"So, where in the world have you been? We have a lot of catching up to do!"

She says excitedly. I smile and start to explain to her the chaos.

"Well, Taylor, Brooke, Aubry an I moved to Australia a couple months ago. While we were there, we met 4 boys, 5 Seconds of Summer. And well, we fell in love with them."

I say, keeping the story short.

"Well, pictures?"

She says, giggling. She hasn't changed a bit. I showed her one of the better selfies Michael and I had taken on the last flight.

"That's Michael."

I say, pointing to him in one of the group pictures we took.

"Looks like you take right after your sister."

Ariana says, showing me her left hand, with a beautiful diamond ring on her finger.

"Oh my god! That's amazing Ari! Who's the lucky guy?"

I squeal, inspecting the ring.

"We'll talk about that later, did you tell your boyfriend that you were leaving?"

She asks, and I am confused.

"No, why?"

I reply, and she points behind me.

"Because it looks like he is coming for you now."

Ariana says, an I turn around to see for myself. Sure enough, Michael is running straight toward me. I stand up as he stops in front of me and we stare at each other silently for a few moments.

"W-why did you leave?"

Michael asks, and suddenly I can't talk.

"I need to go home."

I choke out, and Michael still looks confused.

"My family needs me, I have to go."

I say again, my eyes watering. Michael looks up at the sign over the terminal.

"St. Louis? We will preform there in a bit."

He says, an Ariana gets up.

"Nicole, you should stay here. I'll go and take care of things until you come."

She says, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"But we all need to be there."

I answer, looking back at her.

"We will. Everyone will be there when you come."

Ariana pleads. Maybe this was a mistake.

"Promise?"

I say, turning to face Ariana.

"I promise."

She says, hugging me. Just then, a flight attendant announced all passengers should get on the plane.

"I have to go. See you soon, sis. I'll tell everyone you said hi."

Ariana says, handing her passport to a lady behind a desk, and walking down the hall into the plane.

I turn back to Michael, and he hugs me tight to his chest.

"I'm sorry."