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Author's Note: Thank you to my first reviewers, brandy_d and nicksohiogirl!

CHAPTER TWO: Fire Eye'd Boy

Seven on the dot, Nick arrived as I was making the difficult task of making mac and cheese. Nothing can beat the good ole' microwave way. We sat in the living room floor exchanging stories and ate dinner. Call us crazy kids but that was always our routine when we hung out together. Tour life can be a little hectic so it's nice when he comes home, he can relax with me, boringly. He'd just returned from his tour and I hadn't talked to him properly for the past couple of weeks. Missed calls on our cell phones, text messages at 3am, running to the phone only missing it then calling them back and they're not picking up. Talk about bad timing. Now we won't have to deal with phone tag for a while. It was getting to 11pm but I knew he was leaving the interesting stories for last.

"Hook up with anyone while you were away?" I asked, sprawled across the couch.

Nick grinned across from me on the other couch as he answered, "In Mexico. This really hot girl had been eyeing me as soon as I walked in the club. I didn't see her until an hour later when she finally came over and started talking to me. It was weird, she went on about her feet hurt because of the shoes she was wearing and get this, how her dog can't stop shitting on her kitchen floor."

"Lovely," My face scrunched up. "The dog pooping got you hot?"

Nick grabbed a small pillow next to him chucking it towards me, I ducked just missing me, "No. I don't think I gave a shit because we were both pretty drunk by then. I just said, 'Ehh okay.'"

"Was she hot?"

"Oh yeah." Nick nodded.

"Did you-"

"Oh yeah." Nick interrupted and nodded again.

"Oooh you stud."

"It wasn't as good as you're making it out to be. She dug her fingernails into my arms." Nick's eyebrows furrowed at the thought.

"I thought you liked that."

"Not when blood is coming out of it."

"She might've been a vampire by night and wanted to suck your blood."

"From my arm?"

"The only vampire that has a fetish for arms."

"You need to stop watching those classic horror movies late at night."

"Hell no. It's not like I have better things to do, and they put me to sleep. I gave up on sleeping pills a while ago."

"Good. You took those things like Pez candy."

"Exaggeration." I mumbled.

"So, what about you, hook up with anyone while I was gone?"

I grabbed the pillow that landed on the floor, throwing it back hitting his face, "Shut up. That's an unnecessary question."

"I'm just playing around," Nick laughed then turned serious. "So you two are okay?"

"Yeah I guess," I shrugged. "It's finally getting to me that Casey has been gone for so long that we're both going crazy at each other. I can't believe we got in a fight over what color to paint the guest bedroom in. 'I want taupe', 'No I thought we agreed on tangerine', 'Well now I want taupe'. It's so ridiculous."

"Whenever you tell me stories about you two fighting, it sounds like an old married couple. Arguing about groceries and whose turn it is to take out the garbage."

I chuckled, "It does get like that sometimes."

"Have you talked since?"

"Not really. We've both been busy with work. It's understandable." I sighed.

"Don't worry, you guys will work it out, " Nick stood up, sitting beside me and gently taking my hand kissed it lightly, "And it's just another business trip but it's a little more this time."

"I know, I know."

"I'm away more than Casey and you're fine with it, right?"

"But that's different. I'm not fucking you."

"We can. Just say the word and I'll rip that skirt open."

I looked down, and looked back up at Nick, "I'm not wearing a skirt."

"When the situation arises, you will be wearing a skirt."

"Should I be worried that you've been thinking about that?"

"I'm just saying, be prepared."

"Keep dreaming, sweetie. It ain't going to happen." I cackled.

"I won't stop trying," Nick grinned and lightly kissed my lips. "I know you want it bad as much I do."

"Your words are just enticing me more and more," I rolled my eyes. "The reason we tell each other these things is because you gotta keep the eight years of friendship spicy."

"That's true," Nick quipped. "I can't believe we've been friends for that long. It seems longer than that."

"I know. I was 18 and you were 20, now we're in our late 20s and in a few years time we'll be 30," Pausing for a moment, a disappointed look took over my face. "Oh my god, that is so sad."

"The day it happens, we'll be wretched and old....."

"And be in wheelchairs and have arthritis."

"I kinda have that now anyway. I can't click on the mouse for too long otherwise my hand hurts." Nick replied as he massaged his hand.

"If you stop clicking on those porn sites you have bookmarked in Firefox, you wouldn't have such a problem." I burst into laughter while Nick just sat there pouting and turned red.

"I hit a nerve didn't I?"

"That's not the reason." Nick blushed.

I gave him a wink and changed the subject, "Fuck being 30 years old. I want to be forever young." I said spreading my arms out.

"Forever young lasts until you break a finger by something stupid like slamming it really hard against a table."

"Urgh, you're right."

"If it makes you feel any better, no matter how deteriorated you get, and I mean that in the nicest way...."

"Of course."

"I'll always remember the way you looked on the day that I met you."

"Aww that's sweet," I grazed my hand against his cheek. "Same goes for you."

"Thank you, I appreciate that," Nick then moved his hand down resting it on my ass. "Still don't want to have sex with me?"

"Oh geez," Shaking my head as I laughed and playfully slapped Nick's hand taking it off me. "Let's watch Brick instead."

"Again?" Nick groaned. "That movie's weird. They talk like they're in the '30s but they're in present day high school. No one talks like that in real life."

"That's the point, sweetie. It's called film noir like the movies back in the '30s. C'mon, it's not that bad."

Nick pouted still not convinced, desperately wanting to get out of watching the movie.

"Fine, I'll cuddle you."

"Yes!" Nick happily exclaimed sitting up.

Grabbing the remote, I pressed on for the TV and played on the DVD player, resting my head on Nick's chest as he wrapped his arm around me tightly. He smiled and kissed the top of my head lightly, lingering there for a moment to smell my scent and we both began to watch the movie.

Nick stirred his eyes open and tried to focus his gaze on the TV, which was rolling the credits. He looked down and saw that I had fallen sound asleep as well with my arms tightly wrapped around his waist. Carefully, he stood up carrying me into his arms as we headed upstairs to my room. He lifted up the sheets as he laid me down on my bed and putting the sheets around my arms. Nick smiled down and kissed my forehead lightly and whispered, "Night Aude." He quietly walked towards the door before heading out of the bedroom.