CHANCES ↠ NICK MARA

FIFTEEN

Aimee barges into my room. "What's going on between you and Nick?"

"That's different from the last time you ask?" I question, raising an eyebrow at her. "Which was yesterday, by the way." Aimee just looked at me with her pointed glare. "Nothing!" I say, hurriedly, afraid that she might just start whacking me. It has happened before.

"Okay, you may have a point that I do ask you that a lot." I gave her a pointed glare of my own because may? However, she just shoots me down with another glare of her own. I guess it's just her thing. "I was waiting for when you were comfortable enough to tell me the truth, but I'm seeing that you're still in denial with yourself so it was just getting ridiculous. And here I am."

I open my mouth to say that Nick and I really are just friends when she slams her hand over my mouth. "I don't want to hear you say that you guys are just friends one more time," she commands, all stern and stuff.

"But it's true," I speak from under her hand. It all sounds mumbled, but I can tell she heard what I said because there was that infamous glare again.

"You guys may not be boyfriend and girlfriend, but just friends don't do what you guys do," she points out. She removes her hand from my face. "Friends, even best friends, don't hold hands every chance they get. They don't fall asleep together, all cuddled up together. They don't kiss each other's noses. At least not friends who aren't in love with each other. You guys are basically a couple without the kissing and the sex."

"Aimee!" I yell.

"What?" She shrugs with an innocent look on her face. "It's true. Just friends don't look at each other the way you and Nick do."

I cave in. "I guess we aren't strictly just friends," I agree and her face lights up, "but we aren't dating either! It's too soon for that. I need some space between us as friends and us as a couple."

"But why?"

"It didn't work last time with us as a couple," I say, looking down at my intertwined hands.

"I know you love him, and it's obvious that he still loves you. That's all you need."

"We loved each other last time too, maybe even too much, and that was a problem," I point out with regret because I want to believe her, but I just can't.

"You're right," she whispered. "I know he hurt you last time, and my job as your best friend is to immediately hate his guts and swear that he isn't good enough for you. But your guys' in-between state is just going to hurt both of you or one of you in the end."

"I don't want to lose him again," I say, admitting my insecurity. I feel quite bare all of a sudden.

"Did you even watch his last interview? This is obviously a rhetorical question because we all watched it together in the living room, but he said he's your person. That basically translates to him wanting you in his life forever. He's saying that he's your soulmate," she urges, lightly flicking my temple. "He will never leave you. Will you ever leave him?" She questions softly.

"Of course not," I answer immediately because it's second nature. It's something I don't even have to think twice about.

"Then, there's your answer."

"You always said that maybe in a different time, you can be happy with him. You guys reunited, in a different time Lex, this is your chance. He's your person too," she says softly and slowly like she doesn't want me to forget what she just said.