Never Again

I was bustling about the apartment's kitchen back and forth as I prepared dinner. Charlotte was out on the city social scene, invited to what was classed to be the hottest party of the month. Kellan had called earlier, inviting me out to a small social gathering that he and his co-stars were having. It was eight-thirty in the evening and I was entertaining Nick Jonas for the night.

"You asked Kellan Lutz to be your boyfriend." He stated incredulously, staring at me from his place on the couch. He was dressed in a pair of loose jeans and an old sweater that sat baggy on his chest. His hair was ruffled and messy, his eyes dark with sleep deprivation.

"Only as pretend," I countered, grabbing the home-made pizza and slotting it in the oven. Nick rolled his eyes at my reply, still staring. I shut the oven door and clapped my hands, sprinkling flour on the counter top.

Nick sighed. "Rose, seriously. Do you think this is a good idea?"

"Kellan's a good friend of mine, Nicky," I said, taking off my apron and setting it down. I left the kitchen area and came to sit with him on the sofa. "He's been really good to me since I left. And he's offered to help me. It's nothing weird, we're just hanging out more. It's nice. It makes me feel... needed, I guess."

"You are needed," Nick said seriously. "I need you."

"Nick..." I started, but the teenager cut me off quickly.

"No, Rose. You need to hear this. When I was younger, remember, it was always you I came to. Not Joe. And I was to young to realise what was going on when we left... I thought you'd always be with us. And then you came back and then you left and I had to find you. It's not right not having you here. You do matter. And you're needed. Like hell."

A smile tilted my lips. "You're quite the charmer, Nicky."

He laughed loudly and shrugged, looking at me. I couldn't describe the look on his face, it was a mixture of emotions. "Joe wouldn't shut up about you, y'know."

My eyes clashed with Nick's. "He wouldn't?"

"No. I thought he was going to lay into me at first. He wanted to know where you'd been, what your offices looked like, what the new apartment looked like. How you were. What you looked like. I told him to look in magazines," he gestured to the rack on the coffee table that my face currently filled. "But he argued that that's not really you. Just a media image."

I didn't know what to say.

"Y'know what's stupid though? He thought we were dating!" Nick laughed and I couldn't help the smile that crept across my face.

"Really?"

"Really really. I told him he was just being stupid because of Taylor."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that since being with her his IQ must've dropped seeing as he downgraded."

At Nick's words my jaw dropped and I stared at him, open-mouthed. "Nicholas Jonas!" I gasped, unable to keep the laughter at bay. Instead I giggled as he chuckled, and we both laughed until suddenly we smelt the stench of burnt bread and smoke started to fill the apartment.

Alarmed, we looked at one another.

"Shit."

Mega designer Rose Fletcher, head of Flecture Designs & Fabrics, was caught in a housefire that emerged from her New York apartment. Firefighters emerged on the scene at 11:05pm on Friday night as Fletcher and family friend, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, were enjoying a quiet night away from the increasing press surrounding both them and their families. Fletcher and Jonas left the apartment building safely as the fire was put out. The cause of the fire was said to be neglected electrical and gas appliances that reacted with one another causing the fire to spread out. The apartment, shared by close friends of Fletcher's, is said to be completely ruined, rendering the friends homeless. Recent rumours say that the Jonas family have offered a place to stay for Miss Fletcher. We wish Miss Fletcher the best of luck at getting herself back on her feet.