Title: The One That Takes Place
In The Library Author:
Pairing: TimberNick Part: 1/1 Series: The One Series Rating: PG Disclaimer: Fiction for
entertainment purposes. I don’t know them, what they do or do not do in
their personal time and am making no suppositions. Deal. Warnings: AU warning. Slash
warning. Spoiler for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Yes, I tell
the ending, if you haven’t read that and care, don’t read this. Or go
read that, dude ...what are you waiting for!?!?! Notes: So I totally pimp the
Harry Potter series in this story. July 15 can NOT come quick enough
for me. I say the 15th because the bookstores are open past midnight to
get it right at 12:00 July 16th, so PARTY!! WOO. Got this idea on the
subway. Not sure if it ended up just how I'd pictured it in my head.
But the thought of Nick and Justin in a library *thud*. And I’m all
about the schmoop right now. And herein, Lance’s birthday is not in May
(as it doesn’t fit in with the storyline). Picture it earlier in the
year ...like March-ish.
~*~*~*~*~
Nick looked at the clock, he had fifteen minutes left before he had
allowed himself to take a study break. He hadn’t intended on being at
the library this late on a Friday night, especially when all of his
friends were out at some keg party or another, but knew that if he
wanted to keep his scholarship, he was going to have to make some
sacrifices. Not that being at the library was a sacrifice, not at all.
Especially when he knew that ‘he’ was going to be there. Just as the
person in question’s face appeared in Nick’s mind, he appeared directly
in his line of sight. Nick looked up to see Justin pushing a cart of
books to be reshelved through the stacks. Nothing could stop the jolt
of excitement, rushing through Nick’s veins. Screw the fifteen minutes,
he was taking his break now.
Nick was in his third year at the University of Tampa. So was Justin.
They’d been in a few classes together, enough for Nick to know that
besides his small group of friends, Justin didn’t talk much to anyone.
He barely looked up in class, unless it was to look at something on the
overhead, and he surely didn’t pay attention when he was outside of
class, because Nick had tried desperately to get his attention. With
all thoughts of studying gone, Nick’s eyes were focused intently on
Justin as he pushed the cart a few inches, shelved a few books, only to
repeat the action. He must have felt someone’s eyes on him because
Justin looked up, his blue eyes piercing Nick’s.
Nick gasped at how beautiful Justin was. He always had this reaction
when he saw the other student. Nick could have very well been doing his
studying at home the past few months, there was no justifiable need to
haul his ass to campus and study at the University library, except for
this beautiful man. At the beginning of the year, Nick had gone into
the library to photocopy a list of journal articles he needed for one
of his classes. Justin had been behind the counter and retrieved the
desired journals. Nick had instantly fallen in love.
It was unclear how Nick had missed him before, how he’d never once laid
eyes on this gorgeous, shy, timid creature. It might have been because
up until this year, he’d been happily involved. Nick had been certain
that he and Billy were going to be together forever. They’d met on the
first day of classes two years prior and from there, proceeded to fall
in love. Somewhere over the past year, they’d fallen out of love and
during the summer both agreed to call it quits. Now it was as if Nick’s
eyes were open for the first time in what felt like forever. And Nick
wasn’t blind any longer. From that first moment, Nick had fallen for
Justin. Hard. So hard that he did all of his studying at the library,
in hopes of seeing and possibly getting to talk to Justin. So far, he’d
had no luck. He’d seen him, nearly every single day, but as for talking
to him, he’d still yet to crack Justin’s hard outer shell.
The two men watched each other warily until finally Nick smiled. "Hey,"
he greeted softly, not wanting to disrupt the peaceful, quiet
atmosphere. His smile faltered when Justin showed no reaction.
He didn’t smile.
Didn’t return the greeting.
Justin simply stood there, hand gripping a large book tightly, eyes
fixed on Nick. And before Nick could say anything more, Justin set the
book down on his cart and wheeled it through the stacks, away from
where Nick was sitting.
It was a routine Nick was familiar with. He would smile and say hello,
Justin would stare blankly at him and walk away. At first it confused
and annoyed Nick, but now he saw it as a game. A game to see how long
Justin could pull off the ‘ice prince’ act. He knew Justin spoke
English because there had been a few times in class that he’d offered
answers. And he’d overheard Justin talking to his friends, the only two
people he really talked to, Lance Bass and Britney Spears. So it wasn’t
a language barrier. It was a Justin barrier. One that Nick was
determined to break through.
At ten to twelve, the lights in the library flickered three times. It
was a warning that students had ten more minutes before they were
shutting down for the night. Nick had twenty minutes before the bus
would be arriving outside, in front of the library. He groaned as he
stood up, smiling at how much he’d accomplished that night. As much as
his house mates teased him for chasing Justin and spending most of his
free time at the Library, hoping to get a glimpse and start a
conversation with him, they had to admit how impressed they were at his
grades. He packed his knapsack, cleaned up the small litter he’d
accumulated and headed down the stairs. Justin sat behind the desk,
checking out books for students that hadn’t been finished with their
work for the night.
Just as Nick was passing by the desk, Justin looked up and straight
into his eyes. Nick gave him a small smile and a wink. "See you later
Justin."
Nick anticipated the hard, searching look Justin gave him and the
absence of a smile. Everything was normal.
~*~*~*
It was a rainy, cold day, the last thing Nick wanted to do was be on
campus, but he had just a bit more work to do on an assignment that was
due the next day. He would have done it at home, except that he needed
a few things from a book he’d been looking at the week before and
hadn’t realized that he should have just taken the book out. It was a
Tuesday, Justin didn’t usually work on Tuesdays, which made going to
the Library even more pointless. Without even checking the desk, Nick
headed to the stairs and up to the fourth floor where he knew he’d find
the book. An hour later, Nick slammed the book shut, sighing with
relief. He just had to get home, type it up and slap a cover page on it
and it was finished.
One glance out the window showed that it was raining even harder than
it had been when he’d gotten there. Nick definitely didn’t want to go
out in that. Instead of getting soaked, he figured that he might as
well just spend some time there, waiting the rain out. Nick threw his
things down on his usual comfy chair and headed down to the main floor
where there was a Starbucks kiosk. Armed with a venti hot chocolate and
a pumpkin scone, Nick headed back up to his chair and settled in. He’d
just recently started reading the Harry Potter series and was already
on the fourth book, The Goblet of Fire. He was maybe fifty pages in so
far, and eager to find out what was in store for Harry this year. So
engrossed in the story, Nick hadn’t realized that he wasn’t alone. He
had just finished a chapter and needed a break, it felt as if he’d been
pulled right into the story and lost all concept of reality or time.
Looking at his watch, two hours had passed since he’d sat down and his
eyes were
starting to water. Which was why when he looked up, he was
surprised to see Justin, standing a few feet away, watching him
curiously.
Again, Nick checked his watch to see it was Tuesday. Justin never
worked on a Tuesday. He did a double take and looked up to see Justin,
eyes still focused on him. Before Nick could react, Justin was gone,
pushing his cart down the aisle. After that, his concentration was
pretty much shot and all Nick could think about was Justin and why he
hadn’t noticed him earlier.
The rest of the week ran similar to Tuesday. Nick would arrive at the
library after his last class, do whatever work he needed to do, check
for Justin and then curl up in the corner to attempt at finishing Harry
Potter. He still had the fifth book to read before July, when the sixth
would be released. And Nick knew that it was going to be even longer
than the previous two, which was saying a lot. By far, this had been
his favourite of the series and Nick couldn’t focus on anything except
the book.
A gentle shaking roused Nick from the unexpected nap he’d taken. One
minute he’d been knee deep in the TriWizard challenge, and the next he
was being lightly nudged. His eyes fluttered open and closed a few
times before he realized where he was and what must have happened. It
was as he stretched out and sat up that he fully opened his eyes,
surprised to see Justin hovering over him.
"You fell asleep."
Nick wondered if he was still sleeping. He wiped his eyes and looked
again, Justin was still there. His watch read eleven forty five,
fifteen minutes before close. With his eyes closed, he wouldn’t have
noticed the flickering lights and thus would have slept right through
the library’s closing. "Sorry," he yawned. Nick noticed Justin still
hadn’t moved. In fact, his eyes were riveted to the book that had
fallen to the floor. Nick watched in shock as Justin leaned down to
pick the book up. His fingers stroked the front and a small smile
formed on his lips. Nick felt his pulse quicken at the sight of
Justin's smile and felt renewed hope. The hope was short lived.
Justin presented the book to Nick without saying another word. He
stared long and hard into Nick’s eyes and turned on his heel, walking
away. It wasn’t rude, just polite, yet Nick couldn’t deny the fact that
it had been the first words Justin had ever spoken to him. He felt a
rush flow through his body.
It was a week later when Nick was thrown for another loop. He was in
his usual chair, working on his statistics assignment when someone
joined him, sitting in the chair directly in front of him. For the most
part, chairs were paired up, so that the individual sitting would have
enough space to fully stretch out. Where Nick sat, there were two sets
of chairs, the second barely ever was occupied. Until that day. When he
managed to tear his eyes from the calculator on the seat before him, he
was surprised to see Britney setting up her things in front of him.
Never had he ever seen her on this floor. He felt a jolt of excitement
churning his stomach and quickly looked around for Justin. He knew that
when Britney or Lance visited the library, Justin was almost always to
be found wherever they had set up camp. Unfortunately, Britney was
riding solo that evening. After watching the blonde for about fifteen
minutes, Nick decided to get back to his own work. The quicker he got
his stuff done,
the quicker he could get back to Harry and the magical world of
Hogwarts.
The dramatic sighs were distracting. Nick ignored the first dozen, but
the second Britney started growling and tossing books to the floor,
Nick couldn’t concentrate any longer. He took a quick glance at the
books she’d been carelessly throwing on the floor and immediately knew
what she was working on. It was a course he’d taken the term before,
one that not many people ventured towards. With a smile, he cleared his
throat and spoke. "You might want to try this book.." Nick tore off a
scrap piece of paper from the back of his binder and scribbled down the
title of a book that he’d found tremendously helpful when he was
writing that exact paper. He had found it by mistake while looking for
something else and was surprised at how useful it had been. And in that
book, he’d found references to other books that were good for secondary
sources.
Britney simply raised her head and gave Nick a look he couldn’t
decipher. She wasn’t glaring at him, but at the same time, her
expression wasn’t kind. More of surprised. Cautious. When Britney
didn’t reach for the paper, Nick leaned over and tossed it onto her
empty chair. Her expression did not change, he could only chuckle.
"Why do you both look at me like that?"
His words snapped Britney out of her thoughts. She blushed slightly and
looked down at the sheet of paper Nick had given her. "Like what?"
Nick cocked his head to the side, trying to describe in his mind what
their expression could possibly mean. "I don’t know. Like I’m crazy. Or
I’m stupid." He shrugged and flashed her a smile. Her blush was kind of
cute and Nick laughed when she averted her eyes, obviously embarrassed.
"I mean, Justin looks at me like that too, and I can’t figure out what
I’ve done to make you both so ...cautious of me."
Picking up the sheet of paper that Nick had given her, Britney studied
the neat, block letters of his handwriting. She let her fingers trace
over the ink before looking up, she had no answer for him as to why
they both looked at him the way they did. "I don’t know what to say."
It was obvious that the conversation was over. Nick could see Britney
retreating into herself and he sighed, glad for at least that little
bit of contact with Justin’s friend. He returned the shrug she had just
given him and sat back in his chair, raising his book to begin reading
again. Before he slipped entirely back to reading, he looked up,
surprised to see her watching him. "Check out that book though. I took
the course last semester, no one would even think about using it. I’m
probably the only person whose taken it out in the last fifty years.
Good luck."
Again, Britney looked down at the book and decided that it was worth a
try. She nodded and stood up, stretching her cramped legs. "Uhhh, yeah.
Thanks. I’ll check it out."
And with that, Nick was alone. Britney had gone to the second floor,
all the way to the back in a section that Nick knew not a lot of people
visited anymore. By the time she returned, he was so engrossed in his
book that he hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t alone.
It was an hour later that Nick was afforded his next break. He had set
the book down and yawned, stretching his legs when Britney’s voice
startled him.
"That one was my favourite," Britney said softly. She saw Nick jump
slightly and give her a strange look. The expression on his face caused
for her to giggle. "Now who’s looking at who funny?"
Nick blushed and cracked his neck. He was in desperate need of some
coffee and was just about to go downstairs to Starbucks. "Everyone says
that Prisoner of Azkaban is the best."
Britney nodded and leaned back. She too felt like taking a break. "You
going down for coffee?"
It was as if he’d fallen asleep and woken up in a bizarro world. Just
an hour ago, she was looking at him like he had three heads, and now
she was readily starting a conversation with him? Nick looked around,
hoping to find Justin somewhere nearby but unfortunately, he hadn’t
been seen all afternoon. Nick knew he was there, as Justin had been
working the front desk when he’d come in, but since then, Nick hadn’t
had the pleasure of seeing him reshelve books. Which meant that he was
probably in the basement, sitting at the journals and periodicals desk.
"Uh, actually yeah."
Britney’s face broke into a mask of relief and she stood up quickly,
bouncing to her feet. "Awesome, can I come with?"
"Uh.. Yeah?" Nick said, still confused. He waited for her to pull out a
pink change purse and they headed down the stairs towards the exit.
They were waiting in line when Britney resumed their conversation.
"Yeah, everyone I’ve talked to liked Prisoner best too, and it was
good. But I found that Goblet was my favourite. I couldn’t wait to get
to the end, but at the same time didn’t want it to end."
Nick’s eyes opened wide and he nodded enthusiastically. "I know. It’s
like, I’m skimming parts to find out who wins, but at the same time I
know that when I’m done, I’m going to be so upset because it’s so good."
Britney ordered a coffee and a muffin and waited for Nick to do the
same. They got their beverages and headed back up into the library,
making their way to the mess around their chairs. Discussion was mainly
limited to the series, the movies and what part they both loved and
hated throughout the duration of the books so far. After they’d been
talking for a half an hour, Britney groaned and announced that she had
to get back to work.
"This essay is killing me, and I promised myself I couldn’t leave until
it was finished."
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Promised? Sounds more like punished!"
"Okay bookworm. The library? Punishment for you? I don’t think so."
Nick blushed. She must know how much time he spent at the library,
probably from Justin commenting on how the crazy blonde guy was always
stalking him. Looking into Britney’s eyes, he could see that she was
teasing and was glad that he’d interrupted her earlier to give her the
title of the book for her essay. "Yeah well... There's just something
about a library that I can’t ignore. I don’t know if it’s the books,
the quiet or the calm atmosphere. I’ve always loved spending time in
libraries."
Britney’s eyes softened and she smiled. "Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I
like the loud, rambunctious atmosphere of a pub, or even a coffee shop
when I’m doing my homework. Or even just getting to know someone."
Nick wondered if she was directing that at him. For a moment, he
sincerely hoped not. At least not for her own personal reasons. He saw
her smile and smiled back.
"But J on the other hand, he’s like you. He loves the library, which is
why he got a job here. There were hundreds of other places that he
could have worked, but as soon as we got here and he saw this library,
he totally knew he wanted to work here. It’s just him."
Nick’s pulse raced and he fought to keep the blush from becoming too
noticeable. He knew it was for naught, she had already seen and was
smirking at him.
"But enough chit chat, I’m so damn close to finishing this thing."
Nick nodded as he tried to control the nervous churning that his
stomach was currently doing. "Yeah, I should get back to this."
A few minutes of silence had passed and Nick was just getting back into
the book when Britney’s voice caught his attention.
"Watch out for the end though, it’s killer."
~*~*~*~
The weekend was extremely busy for Nick and as much as he wanted to go
to the library, he knew that he couldn’t ignore his other friends
completely. He wasn’t getting anywhere with Justin and although tried
to convince himself he was fine with how things were, he wasn’t.
Despite his conversation with Britney, Justin still didn’t return any
of his greetings or smiles. It was the following Wednesday when Nick
would have any interaction with him.
Nick went to the library without any pretense of studying. He’d just
gotten out of his afternoon class early and headed to the library,
knowing that Justin wouldn’t be working until at least seven o’clock.
It was just before five and as Nick set up in his usual spot, he
realized how busy the library was for a Wednesday afternoon. Rather
than get involved immediately in the book he was reading, he decided to
check his e-mail first.
Nothing surprised him more than an e-mail from Britney. It was short,
but sent the butterflies in Nick’s stomach in a frenzy.
So? Finished it yet? Let me know what you think when you’re done.
Nick shook his head. He’d known that Britney, Lance and Justin were a
little weird from the start. They all had come to U Tampa from the
south, accents thick and clique tighter than tight. Not a lot of people
penetrated their group and for the most part, people stayed away from
them. Which from what Nick noticed, they didn’t mind. They were as
happy to be secluded from people as people were to exclude them. So
Britney’s e-mail didn’t make sense. It didn’t stop him from responding
though, informing her that no, he wasn’t finished and he would
definitely let her know when he was done, what he thought.
After another dozen emails, Nick logged off of the system and made his
way back up to his chair, pleased when he saw that he was virtually
alone in his section. He had perhaps, a quarter of the book left to
finish and knew that whatever it was Britney had warned him about,
would be happening soon.
Time passed quicker than Nick noticed and before long he was
practically on the edge of his seat, tears streaming down his face.
It was definitely not something he would have liked to expose in
public, but he was so engrossed in what was happening that he hadn’t
even realized he was bawling. The sound of someone clearing their
throat caught his attention and with red eyes, brimming with shed and
yet to be shed tears, Nick looked up. He quickly wiped at his cheeks
with the sleeve of his tee shirt, shocked to see Justin looking down at
him, face expressionless. He had a box of tissues in his hand.
Nick searched Justin’s features for any hint of mocking. He was
surprised when he found none. In fact, if he was reading it right, he
saw curiosity and respect there. Definitely not laughter. Through his
embarrassment, Nick set the book down and reached for the tissues.
"Thanks," he said softly, giving Justin a watery smile.
The smile Justin gave him in response nearly knocked Nick on his ass.
He was so shocked he dropped the box of tissues, scrambling to pick
them up. As quickly as Justin approached, he was gone, leaving Nick
sitting there, watching him in absolute shock. When Nick had composed
himself, used half of the box of tissues and taken a few deep, calming
breaths, he continued reading. The overwhelming urge to cry had
lessened, although Nick did feel a few rogue tears slide down his
cheeks.
A friend of his who had suggested he read the series, warned Nick that
in the next book, The Order of the Phoenix, someone died. Someone
important. Nothing was said about Goblet of Fire. Nick had eagerly read
through the book, surprised at every twist and turn. Not only had the
TriWizard Challenge taken place at Hogwarts School of Magic and
Wizardry, but four contestants were chosen to compete, something that
was supposedly impossible seeing that the name indicated that only
three were to compete. Although he was too young, Harry’s name had been
put forth, defying the rules that no one under the age of seventeen
could compete. Someone had wanted Harry dead, and thus felt that this
was the way to do so.
Except Harry didn’t die. Cedric did. And nothing could be done to save
him.
It wasn’t that Nick was overly fond of Cedric. In fact, he had thought
the boy who had beaten Harry at Quidditch unfairly the year before and
had stolen the girl Harry had a crush on right from underneath him, was
egotistical, cocky and a bit of a jerk. But it didn’t mean Nick thought
he should die. Especially right in front of Harry who had been forced
to witness the whole thing. Just like his parents. Nick just hadn’t
expected anyone to die, and hence the overwhelming emotion.
Nick took a few deep calming breaths, wishing he’d thought ahead to
bring the next book. He hadn’t expected to get so much reading done
that night and now wanted to start the next book to see what was in
store for Harry in his fifth year.
Nick watched Justin disappear into the stacks at the far end of the
floor and felt his cheeks flame with embarrassment. It was definitely
not what he needed, Justin walking by to see him sobbing over a damn
kid’s book. But at the same time, Justin hadn’t mocked him. He hadn’t
said anything, only given him a box of Kleenex.
And a smile.
Nick had seen Justin smile countless times, but never was that smile
aimed at him. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever witnessed. And
if it took Nick bawling like a baby to get him to do it, he’d have to
practice making himself cry.
Within minutes, Nick had all of his belongings piled neatly in his bag
and the seat he’d taken refuge in all afternoon clear. He headed back
down to the e-mail terminals and logged on, pulling up Britney’s
message. Minutes later, he had composed his e-mail.
Finished. Bawled like a baby. Should I admit that? Not fond of Cedric,
but hated that he died. If I reacted like this to his death, I hate to
think how I’ll be next book when someone else dies. From what I hear,
it’s someone important and someone I like. Are we sure these are KIDS
books?
Just as he clicked send, the lights began to flicker. Nick grabbed his
bags and headed for the exit. It was a nice night out and some fresh
air would do him good. Especially with the crying he’d done earlier.
The second Justin joined him outside, Nick could feel the air around
him change. Most often, Justin didn’t take the bus downtown after work.
Nick wasn’t sure what he did or how he got back to wherever he lived,
it was often something he would think about on the ride home. Where
Justin went, what he did, that sort of thing. There were times that he
did take the bus, but whenever Nick would try to catch his eye, Justin
would be so engrossed in the book he was reading or listening to his
iPod that he wouldn’t notice anything around him. Or he would pointedly
ignore Nick.
Tonight, he walked over to where Nick was sitting on the ledge of the
mini garden and sat down. It wasn’t close to where Nick was, but it
wasn’t far away. Close enough so they could talk, and Nick noticed he
didn’t have his earphones in. There were a few other people waiting for
the bus, but the silence between them was heavy. Finally, Justin spoke.
"We don’t get you."
Nick’s head snapped to the side as he turned to look at Justin with a
look of shock on his face. Only once had Justin spoken to him, and that
was to wake him up, which couldn’t really be considered a conversation.
"Huh?" Nick wanted to bang his head on the concrete beside him. Justin
finally approaches him to talk to him and he can’t form a single
coherent word.
"We don’t get you. That’s why we look at you like that. We’re trying to
figure out what you’re doing." Justin looked nervous, Nick could see
the way his hand was trembling. His fingers picked nervously at the bag
he had over his shoulder and Nick gave a small smile. He liked that he
was having this affect on Justin, unless it was a bad sign. The fact of
the matter was that he still had no idea what Justin meant and why they
stared at him like they thought he was a moron.
"I don’t get it. I’m guessing you talked to Britney," Nick suggested.
He nodded when Justin nodded.
"Yeah. She said you asked why we look at you the way we do."
"I did. I was telling her about a book she could use for her paper and
she looked at me like I was a moron, or speaking another language."
Justin laughed, he could just picture the look on Britneys’ face.
"Yeah."
"So why? What don’t you get? I’m not understanding you." Nick held his
breath and watched as Justin slowly slid closer to where he was
sitting. His gaze was fixed intently on Justin’s face, memorizing every
single aspect of this moment. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get this
chance again, so he had to make it last.
Justin took a deep breath and tried to organize his thoughts. He ran a
shaking hand through his short curls and gave Nick a small smile.
"You’re always so nice to me. We don’t really know each other, but
you’re always smiling at me, saying hello. I know that sometimes you
leave me a coffee or cookies from Starbucks..." Justin paused. Even in
the dim security lights at the bus stop, he could see Nick’s cheeks
turn a slight pink. "I know it’s you. The other girl I work with,
Alicia, she told me it was you."
Nick nodded. He averted his eyes down to his sneakers which were
drawing random patterns on the pavement. "Yeah."
"But you're always doing stuff like that. And in class, I see you
watching me, looking at me. And ...I don’t know why. We don’t get it."
"Oh," Nick breathed. He took a few nervous breaths in and out before
speaking. This was his chance, he wasn’t going to waste it. "I thought
it was obvious."
Justin shook his head. "No. Not obvious at all. Most of the time you
come to the library, you’re just reading. And I know how smart you are,
so you don’t need to be spending that much time studying. What’s the
deal?"
The bus was late. It was past ten after twelve and the crowd of people
at the stop was growing. Still, there may have been maximum twenty
people, but Nick was suddenly hyper aware of everyone there. Mostly
though, he was aware of Justin and the fact that after months of
lusting after him, he was about to confess everything he’d always
wanted to say. "I go to the library to see you. You are the only reason
I go. Yes, there are times when I actually do need books, or
photocopies, or periodicals. But most of the time, and I know this is
lame, but I go to see you."
Nick could see the surprise on Justin’s face and noticed how adorable
he was. How his mouth formed a small ‘o’ of surprise and his eyes were
wide with wonder. Nick nodded.
"Yeah. And I sit in class purposefully so I’m facing you, so I can
watch you. How you get so involved in the lecture that you don’t
realize you're practically on the edge of your seat. Or sometimes, when
you’re bored, you doodle and write something in that baby blue
notebook, and I wonder what you’re writing and to whom. I’m practically
stalking you because I have the biggest fucking crush on you and
totally thought you knew. I’m not exactly subtle."
They sat in silence. Nick decided to stop talking, to give Justin a
chance to react. His reaction was no reaction at all and Nick felt his
stomach drop. In that moment, the sound of a motor running could be
heard in the distance. Nick looked up to see the bus approaching. He
was relieved for the distraction. "Bus," Nick said, standing up. Justin
failed to move. He simply sat on the ledge, staring into space. "You
coming?" Nick asked as he got in the line. Justin only nodded. Didn’t
move.
Nick pulled his student card from his back pocket and flashed it to the
driver before heading towards the back of the bus to grab a seat.
Looking out the window, he could see that Justin had finally gotten up
and was waiting to get on. He assumed that Justin had waited to make
things less awkward, so by the time he got on, the bus would be filled
just enough that he’d have to sit somewhere else. Silently Nick berated
himself for being so stupid in confessing all of those things. Of
course Justin wasn’t interested, he was probably dating Britney and
happily straight.
"Uh, actually, I’m sitting there," Nick heard Justin say to the girl
who was about to take the seat next to him. He looked up to see the
girl flash Justin a strange look. She shrugged and moved back another
seat to sit with someone else. Justin quickly sat down beside Nick so
no one else could take the seat first. "Hi." Justin said shyly.
"H..hey." Nick stuttered, unable to believe that Justin was looking at
him so earnestly. He’d assumed he’d gotten the big kiss off. Clearly
not. "Wh..what’s going on?"
"So you caught me off guard, right. And I had to make sure that what
you said, was what you said. Not what I heard."
Nick didn’t understand. His brain wasn’t functioning. He thought they
were sitting close on the concrete outside, but it was nothing compared
to being pressed tightly against Justin in the small seats of public
transportation. He could smell Justin’s faint cologne, feel the heat
emanating from Justin’s body and the tingles from where their shoulders
and thighs were pressed tightly together.
"Huh?" He said, obviously confused. His eyebrows were furrowed together
and he was shaking his head in disbelief. He smiled when Justin giggled
softly.
"You’re really cute when you’re confused," Justin whispered. The
admission sent white heat through Nick’s body and he bit back a soft
gasp. He searched Justin’s eyes for something. Anything that would give
him an idea of whether Justin was joking. He found none. Nick blushed
and ducked his head down. Justin leaned in closer. "Were you joking?"
Nick shook his head. "No."
"You really want me? Like, want me?"
Nick looked up, Justin’s face was only inches away. He could feel the
other man’s breath against his cheek and his own breathing hitched. He
could barely nod. "Yeah. Sorta, yeah. Maybe not forever, but at least
for a date to see if we click."
He watched a range of emotions cover Justin’s face as he thought about
something. Finally, Justin sat up straight and turned to face Nick, a
warm, welcoming smile on his lips. "Good."
"Good."
Nick was surprised when Justin held out his hand to shake. "Hi, I’m
Justin Timberlake." Nick couldn’t help but laugh. Justin followed suit,
but kept his hand extended, which Nick took and shook heartily.
"Hi, Nick Carter." They didn’t let go of each other’s hand immediately,
enjoying the feel of the other’s hand in theirs. It was a few minutes
later when Justin giggled softly under his breath. Nick nudged his
shoulder lightly. "What?"
Justin shook his head and looked deep into Nick’s eyes. Eyes that he’d
come to memorize the colour of, how beautiful they were and just what
type of reaction they elicited within him. He knew that every time Nick
had smiled at him and he’d stared at him blankly, it had confused the
blonde. Justin could read that in Nick’s expression, and hated how
sometimes there was a flash of pain there. But he’d never in his life
expected Nick to be interested in him. Where he came from, boys just
weren’t open and forthcoming with other boys, not like that. Years of
self control had taught Justin not to react, no matter how desperately
he wanted to. But what Britney and Lance had pointed out earlier that
week when they’d been out for coffee and talking about Nick and
Britney’s conversation, was that they weren’t back home anymore. They
were in Tampa and things were different.
"Just you," Justin answered softly. "This."
Nick smiled and tightened his hold on Justin’s hand. He still hadn’t
let go. Unfortunately, he had to untangle their fingers to pull the
notebook out of his bag. There was a pen already attached. Quickly,
Nick scrawled his name and number down on a piece of paper and handed
it to Justin. "I know how to find you, but if you want to find me..."
Justin looked down at the sheet of paper and smiled. He nodded and slid
the paper in his pocket. He watched as Nick pulled the cord to signal
his stop.
"This is me."
"I’ll call you," Justin promised. Nick could see in his eyes that he
wasn’t lying. Justin would call. That thought made his stomach flip and
the smile on his lips intensify.
"Good."
Just as the bus was slowing down, Justin grabbed for Nick’s hand. "I’m
off tomorrow. I won’t be there."
Nick thought about something and nodded. "Good. Maybe we’ll meet up
somewhere else for a change." He flashed Justin another smile and
exited the bus.
Justin’s stomach did nauseating flips until he closed his eyes and took
a few deep breaths. The weight of a loosely folded piece of paper
weighed heavily in his pocket and he slid his fingers in to carefully
extract it out. Seconds later he’d flipped his cell phone open and was
dialing. After two rings someone answered.
"Hello?"
"Uh, hi Nick? It’s Justin." He could practically hear Nick smiling
through the line.
"Oh man, good to hear from you. I was already missing you." It was
Justin who smiled this time.
"Me too. So, I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow night? I mean,
it won’t just be us, because it’s Lance’s birthday and Brit and I are
taking him out to get drunk. It’s his twenty first and she can’t drink
because she doesn’t turn 21 until December, but I turned in January so
I can drink... And I don’t know if you’re ...."
"I turned 21 in January," Nick said. He was thankful that Justin
couldn’t see the wiggle in his step. He was practically dancing up the
street to his house.
"Awesome," Justin sighed. "So ...did you maybe want ...I know it won’t
be the perfect first date since we’ll be with Lance and Brit ...but ..."
"I’d love to," Nick admitted. "Are you sure it’s going to be okay
with..."
"It’ll be fine. They won’t mind, trust me."
Both men held their breath. Finally Nick exhaled.
"Okay. I’d love to. Call me tomorrow with more details. And if you
don't call, well I’ve got your number now, so I'll call you."
Justin smiled into the phone and rang the cord for his stop. The
butterflies in his stomach were making him antsy. Just as the sound of
Nick’s voice in his ear did. "Sounds good." He paused for a second.
"And Nick?"
"Yeah?"
"I’m really glad that I came by tonight. To say something. I was going
to say something when I saw you reading Harry Potter and ...well I knew
what part you were at when I saw you crying.."
"I wasn’t..." Nick tried to argue, knowing it was futile. They both
knew he was bawling like a baby.
"It’s okay, I didn’t cry when I read it either."
Nick pictured Justin reading the book and crying. The thought made him
want the other man even more than he already did. "Good."
"Good."
They both broke out into soft giggles. "But I'm glad that I came by.
Both times."
Nick opened the front door to his house and braced himself for what he
was going to find. Thankfully, it was relatively quiet. "Me too."