Wrapped

Chapter 22

Twenty-Two ~ Zack

I already read this page, I think to myself and flip a page in a random book that I picked off the shelf.

Since there wasn't any paperwork for me to bring home, there's nothing to do. But, now that Nick is over here and is with Pierce, I'm just distracted. They have been seeming a little distant from each other. Pierce keeps giving me excuses that he's sick or too sore to go to dance class, so I let him stay home. Plus, when Nick calls, Pierce always makes me answer the phone. Why is he acting like this? They used to be so happy together. I wonder what happened to them. . . .

Making me lose my train of thought, I hear yelling in the bedroom a few minutes after Nick went in there to talk to Pierce. What could they possibly be yelling about? Is something on the television? Or are they in a fight together?

"I can't believe you did that to me!" Nick screamed as he ran out of the room in tears.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I ask while setting my book down on the coffee table.

"I'm going home," He grumbles and storms out of the apartment, leaving the door open as he started to walk away.

I get up from the couch and walk over to the bedroom. "Pierce, what did you do?"

"Nothing," He shrugs and falls down on the pillow face first.

I huff and leave the bedroom, while slamming the door. I can't be angry right now, I have to find Nick and see what happened to make him scream and cry then just try to walk home.

Walking out of the apartment, I look around where all the possibilities for where Nick could be. Luckily, he's not too far away, just the starting of the street. Clearly, he's walking pretty slowly.

"Nick!" I call out and jog towards him, "Why are you leaving?" That's a stupid question; I should have thought this out more through before trying to become the hero at this part.

"I don't want to be around Pierce, alright? I just want be alone my home," He grumbles and picks up the pace on his walking.

I grab him arm, making him spin around, "What did he do, Nick?" I frown when I see the sadness in his eyes. What did my brother possibly do to Nick? It must have been something bad since Nick is trying to get away from us, well, him.

Nick has more tears fill his eyes and his lips tightened into a straight line. As he blinks, a rainfall of tears race down his cheeks.

The only feeling that fills my chest is guilt and worry. Why am I feeling like this, anyway? I shouldn't be guilty, but Pierce should feel it. Maybe it's because I let Pierce do whatever to Nick and let them have no boundaries together. I'm a horrible person.

"Did he hurt you?" I ask and step closer to him.

He shrugs and looks down.

"Tell me what happened, Nick," I sigh and tilt his head up so his eyes meet up with mine.

"He broke up with me," He mumbles and takes a shaky breath.

They broke up? But, I thought they were really happy together, even though they weren't talking a whole lot, and haven't been getting along, I thought they would have made it through together.

"Why did he do that?" I ask and hug Nick gently.

Once I did that, he buries his face into my chest and sobs while hugging me closer. Poor Nick, this must have been his first relationship he's ever had if he's taking this so hard. Maybe the two were even serious. But, they lasted for about a little over a month. Was Nick really that attached to Pierce?

"He said he got bored with me," Nick mumbled into my chest, and cried some more.

Bored? Why would Pierce get bored of Nick? Nick is extraordinary, unique, and different. Plus, Nick is adorable with his look, the way he styles his hair, his small body frame, and the way he dresses, how could Pierce get bored with him?

"Well, did something happen between you two?" I ask softly and rub his back gently.

"I don't know," He begins and pulls away from the hug, "I thought everything was just fine until our one month anniversary. . ." He pauses.

I have knots creating in my stomach, my heart races, and my ribs feels like they're tightening together. I hope that he won't say what I'm thinking. . . .

"Nick, what happened?" I ask sternly, trying to not let my voice shake.

"We did it, okay? It's no big deal, alright?" Nick says shakily and wipes away his tears.

"Did what? There's a lot of stuff you two could have done," I chuckle, trying to hide the pain that wants to come out of my body.

"Sex, alright!? It's just sex!" He yells and tries to walk away again.

"Nick," I sigh and grab his arm again and hold him firmly so he can't get away again. "Sex is a big deal, you know. Were you even ready for it?" I sound like a parent; I bet that his mother would ask the same things if he told her about what happened.

He shrugs and more tears build in his eyes, "It doesn't matter. I just wanted Pierce to be happy," He mumbles.

"Were you happy with it, though?" I ask sadly.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," He sniffles and looks down at the ground.

He wasn't happy; everyone could tell if they asked that question. If he couldn't give me a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer, then obviously he didn't want to go through with the whole thing. Pierce couldn't have really forced Nick to do it . . . right?

I place my hands on the side of his face and make him look up at me. "Well, I want you to know you can talk to me about anything, okay?"

He nods and smiles slightly, but the tears keep falling down. "Okay."

A smile creeps up on my face and I lean my head down close to his. This isn't so wrong, sure, he just got out of a relationship, and he's so much younger than me, but oh well. For some reason, I know that there's a connection between us.

Finally, I break the space between our lips, and kiss him gently. He doesn't pull away this time. The tears stop falling, and his lips move in sync with mine. This is blissful.

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