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Left and Leaving
Chapter Eight

Once Camille and Nick were able to somewhat fix things with each other, there was a much happier atmosphere in their home. Of course, they still had the matter of packing up the place. That was a huge chore in itself. Camille didn't have that many things, just a dresser of clothes and some random textbooks. But Nick had a ton of things he'd accumulated over the years. Downsizing his possessions so that everything would be able to fit into the smaller sized place he was getting in California was proving to be quite the daunting task.

So, Nick and Camille spent the next few weeks packing up the place and getting everything prepared for their moves. Camille tended to drag her feet a little, knowing that once everything was packed up and done, there was no turning back. Nick was really leaving.

Nick did the majority of packing himself, since Camille still had school to attend. He found it to be somewhat relaxing. It allowed him to be alone with his thoughts, and look back on old memories he'd long forgotten.

Like the boxes of tour memorabilia back from when they were first staring out in Europe. Or all of the copies of the videos that Kevin liked to take as he “documented their journey”. Nick smiled as he looked over those things, hoping that with this new album they would be able to relive that experience and create new memories.

Of course he'd stumbled upon a few things he'd rather have forgotten. A large box of Willa's things that could be promptly thrown out. Likewise with some of the God awful outfits he'd worn over the years. Just what had he been thinking? He laughed a little to himself as he dug through those old memories.

He really was going to miss Florida, and had almost started to reconsider selling the house. Though, he really did want to get a taste of the life in LA. Though he'd spent a lot of time there over the years, he hadn't actually lived there. He figured that it would be nice for a change, and ease him back into the celebrity life that he'd somewhat ignored in the last year.

He wondered a little about how Camille was going to adjust to that. Since he'd started dating her, he'd been laying low in Florida. He didn't do too much, just relaxed at home and occasionally went out on his boat. He really didn't know how she was going to deal with him being busy most of the time and possibly ending up in the media once again. Nick cringed at the mere thought of the tabloids. What were they going to say once they caught wind of their comeback?

Those thoughts were quickly dismissed when he heard Camille walk in through the front door. He figured she would be in a good mood. It was the end of the week, and she'd finished all of her midterms. Soon enough, Nick's thoughts were confirmed.

“Hi Nick!” She said happily, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Did you have a good day?” She asked, kneeling down beside him as packed the last few things into boxes.

Nick shrugged. “I guess.” He said. His day had been fairly average. However, looking at Camille, he could tell she was just itching to tell him about her day at school. “Did you?”

She grinned, shoving some papers in his face. “I got an A!”

Nick glanced at the papers for a second before he realized what Camille was talking about. Of course, the essay that she'd had to write and had been so stressed out about! “See? I told you you'd do fine!”

“Mmmhmm...” She said, kissing his lips softly. The realization was starting to hit her. Come Monday morning, Nick would be gone. She would be able to take advantage of moments like this any longer. She would have to rely on phone calls and the occasional weekend visit. “You want to go upstairs?” She asked seductively.

Nick didn't have to be told twice. Without wasting any time, the two of them were making their way to the bedroom, stopping every couple of seconds to kiss one another.

Nick pushed Camille down onto the bed, quickly crawling on top of her. Just as he leaned down to kiss her once again, the phone rang.

“Leave it.” Camille instructed, pulling Nick down and kissing him forcefully.

“I can't.” Nick said reluctantly, getting up. “It could be the Realtor.” He explained, hurrying out of the room.

“At four in the afternoon on a Friday?” Camille called after him, but it was no use, the moment was gone. “Ugh.” She groaned, pulling a pillow over her face. Nick could be so frustrating sometimes!

Nick rolled his eyes when he looked at the Caller ID. For a second he thought about just going back to Camille. Then again, he'd already left her. He figured he may as well answer the phone. Even if it was just Chris calling. “Hey man, what's up?”

“Not much.” Chris answered. “Just wondering if you wanted to go out with some people tonight. You know, sort of like a goodbye party thing.”

Nick chuckled to himself. “And you couldn't just come inside and ask me this when you dropped Cam off because...”

“Because she was so excited about the mark she got on her paper I figured I'd give you guys some time alone.” Nick could practically hear Chris winking on the other end of the line.

“Yeah, thanks for those five minutes.” Nick said bitterly, beginning to walk back to the bedroom. “I'll have to ask Camille if she wants to go.” He said, entering the room and sitting down beside her.

“Who's on the phone?” Camille wondered, knowing that it couldn't be the Realtor.

“Chris.” Nick mouthed, causing Camille to grin.

“Ooh, gimmie!” Camille said, snatching the phone away from Nick. Nick sighed, so much for Camille being upset about the phone call. Leave it to Chris to ruin any chance he had of getting laid that afternoon.

“We're totally up for going out tonight!” Camille grinned, looking at Nick for approval. Nick shrugged. He wasn't exactly going to turn down a night of drinking with his buddies. Especially since he was going to be leaving them shortly.

“Great, I'll pick you guys up in a couple of hours.” Chris replied.

“Thanks, Chris!” Camille giggled, hanging up the phone. And, just like that, she walked out of the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Nick called after her, annoyed that his chances of sex had been thwarted for the time being.

“To get ready for tonight.” She called back, then poked her head into the bedroom. “You want to join me?”

“Why would I want to-” Nick began to ask her, and then stopped mid sentence, realizing what she had been implying. “Oh! Yeah!” He said, jumping off the bed and following her to the bathroom.

**

“What time does your flight leave on Monday, Nick?” Mike, Brittany's fiancée asked him. A few of them had gathered in a small bar in downtown Tampa. As stressful as the next couple of days were going to be, Nick was grateful to be able to have one last get together with his and Camille's friends.

“Nine in the morning.” He said, rolling his eyes. If he would have had it his way, he wouldn't be leaving until much, much later in the day.

“That's early!” Brittany exclaimed. “Why didn't you take a later flight?”

Nick shrugged. “Not my decision. Kevin wants us all there bright and early.”

Chris laughed and patted Nick on the back. “Good old Kevin. Aren't you excited to have to answer to him again?” He joked.

Nick frowned, he didn't even have to think about that answer. “No.”

Throughout the evening, Camille found herself growing more and more quiet. All the conversation did was remind her time and time again that Nick was leaving her. When it was just the two of them, she could ignore it, and pretend it wasn't happening. She could stay late at school and not have to help with the packing By the time she did get home, she would spend most of her time in the bedroom, which was the least cluttered with boxes.

When there had originally been a month left, there was now only a matter of days. Though she was happy things had seemed to get better between the two of them, she regretted the fact that they'd wasted so much time arguing. Her only hope was that with Nick being gone, he would being to realize how much he missed her, and either come back home or put forth more effort into the relationship.

One could only hope.