Back To Our Roots, Book One

XXXI. It's A... Voluntary Kidnapping

"Jeff, we're stealing your boyfriend," Sarah declared the next morning, walking into their room without a morning.

"You're what?" Jeff mumbled sleepily.

"You're what?" Nick repeated. He was already dressed and had been reading.

Sarah giggled. "We're kidnapping you for the morning."

"Who's we?" Nick asked cautiously.

"Me, Stephanie, Emma, Clara, and we're meeting my friend Jay on the way." She ticked the people off her fingers.

Jeff sighed, rolling over so he could look at Nick. "I apologize in advance. They're ridiculous, but harmless."

Nick chuckled, standing up. "Does this make it a voluntary kidnapping or not a kidnapping at all?"

Sarah paused. "Voluntary kidnapping, because you can't back out."

"That's fair."

"Try not to torture him too much," Jeff called after them.

Sarah laughed, putting her arm around Nick. "Oh, I'm so excited! This is going to be great."

She lead him downstairs and outside, where Stephanie, Emma, and Clara were waiting in the car.

"You got him!" Clara exclaimed.

"Successful kidnapping!" Sarah called back.

Nick shook his head, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

Emma was in the driver's seat, Clara in the passenger's. Nick paused, realizing if he got in before Sarah he'd get trapped between two people.

"Something wrong?" Sarah asked, noticing him stop.

"Oh, nothing. Just, can you get in before me?" He hoped it didn't sound egotistical.

"Sure," she said, doing so without asking why. She looked a little curious, though.

He sat on the end, trying to get as close to the door and as far from the others as possible. The car was packed.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Nick asked as they started driving.

"The mall. We are giving you a bit of a makeover," Stephanie said proudly.

Clara must have caught him glance down at himself in the mirror. "Nick, honey, you're adorable. But if you wore some less loose and more, well, stylish clothes, you could be H-O-T-T hot."

"Jeff's going to love it," Emma added.

That's what brought a smile on Nick's face.

"And don't you dare even worry about the price of anything. We've got it all covered," Sarah added.

Nick's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You aren't asking," Emma said simply.

"Yeah, this is a kidnapping, you don't get a choice," Clara added.

Emma pulled up to a house, keeping the car running. "Someone bang on the window until he comes out."

It didn't prove to be necessary, though, as a boy walked out of the house and towards the car. He had a navy blue trench coat on and oversize round sunglasses on. His shoes were black combat boots, looking beat up.

Everything about him screamed 'GAY!' His look demanded attention.

He pulled open the car door, Nick realizing too late that he'd have to be in between two people. He moved over, finding Stephanie and Sarah had already done the same.

"Thought we'd have to break down the door to get you to wake up," Sarah teased.

He scoffed. "Bitch, I live to shop."

She laughed. "I should have figured. You practically teleport whenever someone mentions shopping."

"You're one to talk." He tilted down his sunglasses, looking at Nick. "So you're Jeff's boyfriend? Nick?"

Nick nodded nervously, not sure what to expect.

"I trust his taste." He pushed his sunglasses back up, looking away from him. "Break his heart and I'll stab you."

"He's joking," Emma shot Jay a glare through the mirror.

They carried on a conversation, but Nick could hardly pay attention to it. It sounded like they were underwater.

The car was really small, and there were too many people in it. They were too close for comfort.

Normally Nick would look out the window to give himself the illusion of not being in such a small space, but he couldn't.

"Nick?" He blinked, realizing someone was waving their hand in his face. "Earth to Nick."

"Sorry," he mumbled. He realized that he breathing was uneven and tried to straighten it out.

"Are you okay? You're really pale," Sarah said worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he said. He just tried to calm himself down, which made him even more anxious.

Why did he have to have a panic attack in front of his boyfriend's sisters, of all people?

"Oh my god, he's claustrophobic," Sarah said suddenly. "Emma, pull over."

Emma did so, looking back. "What's up?"

"Jay, get out," Sarah said.

Jay did so, knowing not to make a remark with her tone.

Nick instantly climbed out as well, realizing what she was doing. He had to steady himself on the car, letting his breathing be as ragged as it should have been when he stifled it in the car.

He felt someone rubbing circles in his back, calming down almost immediately. That's what Jeff did when he had a panic attack. It made him feel safe.

"Nick, why didn't you tell us you were claustrophobic?" Sarah asked him softly.

"I didn't want to make a fuss," he said softly, which he was fully aware sounded stupid. Look at him, making a fuss.

"You aren't making a fuss, Nick. You just gotta tell us these things."

"I guess I've kind of been conditioned into sucking it up and dealing with it," he admitted. "I'm not really used to people caring."

"Your family isn't...?" she trailed off, not wanting to assume.

"If you mean I could die tomorrow and they wouldn't care, then yeah."

"Nick... Can I hug you?"

"That'd be nice," he said softly.

She gently pulled him into a hug. "Hey, if you want to talk about it, I'm here. We're here. I'm not going to force you to, but I want you to know that you can talk to us."

Nick laughed softly. "You sound like Jeff. But thank you."