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» CHAPTER FIFTEEN «

Celeste sat on the couch, deep in thought.  Nick had disappeared upstairs nearly twenty minutes ago.  Her guess was he'd fallen asleep. Well, whenever he decided to come back downstairs they could start their talk.

Thinking to herself, Celeste began to recall the events that had taken place only minutes ago...

Celeste stepped closer, her shadow casting over him.  In a gentle tone, she asked quietly, "Why? Is it true?"

Nick was silent for a moment, then he looked up and nodded, "Most of it."

Celeste knelt down beside him, gently resting her hand on his shoulder, "But you want to change, right?"

Nick nodded, "What do you think?"

Celeste took a deep breath, "I'm not sure Nick...that's why I asked." As she spoke, she gently laid her other hand on his leg.

Nick looked up at her, his cheeks moist and his eyes glistening with unshed tears.  Sniffling a little, he asked, "You just don't give up...do you?"

Celeste shook her head, gently wiping away his tears with her thumbs.  "Not when it means something for me to persist."  She then softly ran her hand through his unbrushed hair.

At her touch, Nick immediately relaxed.  Taking the opportunity, Celeste whispered, "I'm sorry I hurt you."

Nick shook his head, "No, I needed to hear it. And better to hear it from you than anyone else."

Celeste looked at Nick oddly, "Why me?

Nick sighed, "I'm not sure yet.  There's just this thing...it's something about you...it makes reality hurt less."

Celeste nodded slightly, standing back up. She offered her hand to him and when he took it, she gently pulled him to his feet.

"You know Nick...you're a lot sweeter than the media portrays you to be."

Nick looked away, "Well...they don't know the real me...they don't know about the good parts of me..."  He lowered his voice, though Celeste could still hear him, "...or the bad."

Celeste smiled slightly.  "But I want to know the real you..."

Celeste snapped back to reality as she heard her name being called.  After listening for a few moments, she realized the voice was coming from upstairs. Standing up, she followed it, which led her to Nick's room.

She poked her head in the door and asked, "Yeah?"

Nick smiled and motioned her in, "Come on in...again.  I hid the undies this time."

Celeste returned the smile, "Cute...just make sure there's no footrests that might jump out at me."

Nick nodded, "I put him on a leash..."  Then he patted the bed beside him.

Hesitantly, Celeste sat down beside him. "Um Nick...what is all this stuff?"

Picking up a large book, Nick replied, "Everything you could possibly want to know about me...you'll find it in this stuff.  These are my pictures albums, journals, stuff like that.  Feel free to explore anything you wish."

Celeste shook her head slowly, "I...I couldn't go through your stuff Nick."

Nick laughed, "You said you wanted to know the real me..."

Celeste nodded, "Yeah, I know...but how about the condensed version?"

Blushing, Nick smiled, "That I can do."

He turned down the radio and began, "Well, I was born in New York, then I moved down here permanently when I was about eight.  I have an older half-sister named Ginger, and four younger siblings.  BJ, she's 19, Leslie, she's 15, and then there's Aaron and Angel, they're twins...they're both almost 13."

Celeste kicked her shoes off and pulled her feet up onto the bed.

Nick continued, "I have blond hair and blue eyes.  I started singing professionally when I was about nine.  I sang for the Buccaneers half-time show, I did Show-Stoppers, tried out for the MMC.  Then I landed the gig with Backstreet when I was twelve. After that, everything was just a blur of promotions, singing, autographs and screaming girls."

Nick took a deep breath, "And then I met Alissa.  She was perfect.  She liked me for me...she didn't care that I was famous.  We were together for a little over two years actually. Then I screwed up and slept with a fan.  It's a long, complicated explanation, but truly, there was no excuse for it.  I don't blame her for leaving me."

Celeste could feeling herself getting misty-eyed.  "So you still miss her?"

Nick nodded, "Not as bad anymore, but I still feel like I'm not complete...like I'm a 500 piece puzzle, but only 499 pieces are in place.  I feel like I'll never be whole."

"Do you still love her?"

Nick closed his eyes, a single tear rolling down his cheek.  "Very much so...I'll always love her...but I know that me and her will never be together...I made sure of that with my wanton ways in the past six months.  Any chance I had with her is now completely squandered."

Celeste sighed quietly.  "Nick..."

He looked up, "Yeah?"

She opened her arms up towards him, offering him a hug, "Only if you want it."

Nick nodded as the corners of his mouth peaked into a slight smile.  He wrapped his arms around her tightly, not wanting to ever let go.  He had finally found someone who could help him overcome his past...

¤ Chapter 16 ¤
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