Miles Away | Nick Mara

Fifty Nine

I woke up in the morning and panicked, forgetting where I was. I looked down at my shirt and didn't recognize it, but the bed and the walls looked familiar. I climbed out of the duvet and nearly walked on top of Nick, who was sleeping on the floor with a single pillow and thin blanket. I grabbed the duvet off of the bed and pulled it over his body. He flinched a little but didn't wake up. I tip-toed out of the room, closing the door as I walked downstairs.

Austin was sitting on the sofa, eating cereal while scrolling through his phone.

"Hey." He smiled, looking up.

"Hey." I ran my fingers through my hair. "Did I come here yesterday?"

He laughed. "Yeah. You were wasted."

I groaned. "Damn it."

"So does this mean you guys are back together?" He asked.

"What do you mean."

"You kissed him." He looked up blankly.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows.

"He said you kissed him. You asked him to stay with you until you fell asleep and you kissed him right before passing out."

"Oh no." I sunk into the sofa, slumping down next to him.

"You regret it?"

"I mean, no, but-"

"So you still have feelings for him." He smiled.

"Well duh." I laughed a little. "I never told anyone I lost feelings."

"That was the drift."

"Really?" I played with the ends of my hair. "He said that?"

Austin shrugged. "He said you hesitated with the ring. So I guess we just assumed you didn't feel that way about him anymore."

"I don't think I can ever stop loving him." I mumbled.

"Well then that's good." He smiled. "Cause I'm pretty sure he can't either."

I laughed. He patted my knee before standing up and walking to the kitchen. I watched with a smile as he watched back up the stairs.

I kissed him. I kissed him? Ugh, I kissed him. I groaned, grabbing a cushion from the other end of the sofa and squeezing it close to my chest. What if he automatically thinks we're back together? Without even talking about it?

My thoughts were interrupted by footsteps coming towards me. I looked up to see Nick walking up with an awkward smile.

I laughed. "Why're you smiling like that?"

He laughed too. "I don't know."

He sat next to me, keeping a little distance. Some part of me wanted him to be closer, to touch my skin, but another part was relieved that he kept the boundaries.

"So," he said with a slow nod, holding back a smile. "What's up."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He pulled his hood up, hiding his pink cheeks. "I'm good. We should talk, though."

"Yeah." I nodded.

"So what happened yesterday?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I drank a little, I guess."

He looked at me with his eyebrows raised. I laughed. "Okay, yeah. Maybe a lot."

"So how come you ended up here?" He smiled.

"I don't know." I said slowly. "I can't remember most of it."

"What do you remember?"

"You carrying me up the stairs, putting me in bed, and I think we talked a little but I can't remember what I said." I tried to recall.

He nodded. "That's basically it."

"And we kissed." I said quietly.

He paused. "That too."

"So how do we feel about it?" I picked at the frayed fabric on the cushion.

"You know how I feel about it." He said with a hopeless smile. "How I feel about you. But I'm not sure you feel the same."

I looked into his eyes for a moment before talking. "I do."

"Really?" His eyes lit up a little.

"Yeah." I blushed. "It just took me a while to figure it out, I guess."

Suddenly, all the guys ran out towards us, crashing down the stairs.

"YES!" They all yelled. "LET'S GO."

I laughed as they threw pillows and socks and underwear at Nick. He tried to defend himself, pulling my arm to use my body as a shield. I laughed, falling on top of him.

"It's a happy ending." Zion grinned, slapping the back of Nick's head.

"Yeah." I smiled, leaning over towards Nick.

He placed his hands on my cheek, looking into my eyes with a smile before we kissed.