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Left and Leaving
Chapter Two

Camille awoke the next morning with a sick sense of dread. She had two papers to write, and she was definitely feeling the effects of the night before. Rolling over, hoping to maybe catch another few minutes of sleep she noticed that was alone in the bedroom. This was quite unusual, as Nick usually slept in rather late.

Feeling as though she may well get up and start her day, she trudged out of bed and walked down to the kitchen. Upon entering, she noticed that Nick was on the phone. Not wanting to bother him, she quickly grabbed an apple off the table and went to go sit in the living room.

When Camille had walked into the room, he'd stifled his conversation. He knew that when he told her about his plans to move she'd be less than impressed. The last thing Nick wanted was for Camille to stumble up on that fact without him bringing it up to her first. Of course, he really had no clue how to approach the subject.

Once Nick was sure he was out of earshot, Nick continued his conversation. “Yeah, I'm probably going to just buy a place in LA or something.” He continued, peeking out of the kitchen, making sure that Camille couldn't hear him.

AJ, who was on the other end seemed to agree with Nick. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Well, my family mostly lives out there, and we'll be there all the time recording anyway.” Nick rationalized. It seemed like a logical move on his part.

“Is Camille going to move with you? You guys have been together for a while now.” Camille had been Nick's first serious girlfriend since he'd broken up with Mandy, and as far as AJ knew things were going quite well between them.

“Um.” Nick hesitated. Camille moving down to LA actually wasn't a thought he'd considered. He'd figured she'd want to stay in Florida on account of school and all of her friends. Though, now that Nick thought about it, Camille didn't really have too much of a choice. She'd either have to move with him to LA, or she'd have to move back to Boston to stay with her family. She didn't have a job, and Nick had been supporting her for the last year that they'd been living together. Not that he minded at all, he enjoyed living with her. “I haven't asked her yet.”

“Oh.” Was all AJ said in return. He knew better than to pry into Nick's personal business. “Well, I guess we'll see you in a few weeks.”

“Yup.” Nick replied. “Later, J.” He said before hanging up the phone. Getting up from his seat, he wandered into the living room where Camille was sitting in front of the TV.

“Good morning.” He said, sitting down beside her.

“Hi.” Camille replied, glancing at him. She knew she was supposed to be working on homework and such, but first thing in the morning she really just wanted to relax before getting down to work.

Nick looked at her. She didn't seem happy at all lately. The smile that she usually wore on her face had been replaced with a dull pout. She looked overly stressed lately and it bothered Nick a little that he was going to have to add to that stress by asking her to move. However, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Besides, he really did want to go to LA. He's been waiting for quite a while to get back into the studio with the other guys, he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

“I love you.” He said, trying to make her perk up a little. He moved over and started to kiss her neck, but before he could move up to her lips she pushed him away.

“I love you too.” She replied, getting up from the sofa. “I have a paper to write for Western Civ.” She explained, walking towards the bedroom.

Nick sighed. Once again, his attempt at getting intimate with her had failed miserably. Understanding that she was under a lot of stress because of school, he hadn't pressed the issue. However, he was starting to get quite impatient.


Camille sat hunched over her computer with her elbows on the desk and her fingers nearly digging into her skull. She'd been working on the paper all day, and she felt as though she was getting nowhere. She'd written it twice already, and both times she'd felt as though it wasn't good enough.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Nick knocked softly on the door. “Cam?”

She sighed, and reluctantly got up to answer him. “Hey.” She said, opening the door and the promptly sitting back down at her desk. “What's up?”

Nick shrugged. “You've been working on that paper all day.”

“I wrote it twice.” She said sadly. Ever the perfectionist, she wouldn't give up until she felt it was exactly the way she wanted it.

Nick's eye widened. He'd never been to University, but to his understanding a paper only had to be written on time. “Why?” He asked.

He sighed and glared at him, it was quite obvious he didn't understand the stress that school was dealing her. “Because it wasn't good enough the first time.” She said. “And it wasn't good enough the second time either. So I have to write it again.”

Nick nodded sympathetically. Though he didn't quite get Camille's undying need to overachieve in school, he understood the fact of wanting something to come out the way it was envisioned. “That sucks. Can I read it? Maybe I can help you.”

“Sure.” She said, though she didn't quite think Nick would be able to help very much. “I'll e-mail them to you.”

“Oh, also, I know that you're busy but Chris called and he wants to know if you want to go see a movie or something tonight.”

Camille thought about that for a moment. She'd been working for well over eight hours, and felt she deserved a little bit of a break. Plus hanging out with Chris always seemed to cheer her up. “Yeah, that sounds like fun.” She said, grinning.

Nick couldn't help but feel a pang of jealously. Camille was always up to hanging around with Chris, yet she couldn't find an hour of time to dedicate to their relationship. “Okay, I'll give him a call.”


“Ugh, I just slaved over it all day!” Camille exclaimed when Chris asked her how her paper was going.
The three of them had gone to see a movie, and were now just sitting around in a local coffee shop. Nick had suggested this, knowing that once he and Camille got home she would just lock herself in the bedroom again.

Chris chuckled. “I'm sure it's fine. You should just hand it in how it is.”

Camille shook her head. That was definitely not an option. “Uh, no.”

“I'm sure it's better than you think it is. Besides, the more you work on it, the more you'll get burnt out. I think you should just hand it in.” He said, trying to offer some insight into the situation. He understood where Camille was coming from, being in University himself.

“I guess that makes sense.” She muttered, taking a sip of her iced coffee. She looked up and flashed Nick a small smile. She really was glad he'd offered to take her out with them, it had helped immensely with getting her mind off of her school stresses.

“See! That's what I've been telling her, but of course she doesn't listen to me.” Nick said to Chris. His voice had a joking tone to it, but there was some truth in what he said. Camille always listened to Chris and took in his advice. Whenever Nick offered his opinion Camille usually got offended and frustrated with him. It was starting to get to the point where he barely tried any more.

“Well Chris is in University.” Camille explained, draping her arm around Nick's shoulders and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “He knows these things.”

“Plus she likes me better.” Chris joked, blowing Camille a kiss.

Nick laughed. Chris's constant flirting with Camille never bothered him as he knew it was only joking around. Camille had stated time and time again that she and Chris were only friends. Besides, Nick held a large amount of trust in the two of them. Chris was his best friend, and had been long before he and Camille had started dating. There was no doubt in his mind that the two of them wouldn't do anything behind his back.

Camille pouted. “Hardly.” She said, giving Nick a kiss on the lips as if to show Chris where her affections truly lied. Though she was beyond stressed out because of school and the fact that Nick wasn't willing to take things any further in their relationship, she really did love him (more than she liked to let on). After her conversation with Nick about him not believing in marriage, she'd really been less affectionate with him. She hadn't felt any desire to be physical with him, because she really was still harboring some resenting over the issue. Though she'd told Nick she understood and could deal with the matter, she wasn't quite over it yet. She figured with time she'd come to terms with it, but as it stood she still felt rather annoyed with the whole situation.

Although, she knew how Nick's mind worked. She hadn't slept with him in nearly a month. Sooner or later, he was going to start asking questions, and if she didn't start giving him what he wanted she worried he would go find it elsewhere.

For those reasons, Camille forced herself to go through with it and have sex with Nick once they got home. The thought crossed her mind that she should talk to Nick and tell him why she hadn't quite been up to it lately, but she'd quickly dismissed it. She didn't want to start another argument that would just lead to nowhere. Besides, Nick had been overjoyed and quite enthusiastic when he'd realized that his attempts were not going to go without reward. Still, as they went to fall asleep, Camille couldn't help but lay awake and wonder if she could somehow talk to Nick without it ending in a screaming match.