The Movies Make It Look Easy

Chapter 77

Shannon’s P.O.V:

The first thing I did when I got home was accost Nick. Okay, so maybe ‘accost’ was too strong a word, but still.
He stumbled when I threw myself into his arms, not giving him a chance to get out so much as a hello before I was kissing him. He returned my kisses with an enthusiasm that made me smile, even as my back hit the closest wall. He picked me up and I obligingly wrapped my legs around his waist, my bag falling to the floor with an ominous bang.
Well, there went my art supplies.

Finally, Nick seemed to come to his senses, pulling far enough away from me that he could speak, oh and breathe, too. His eyes danced with amusement, his arms still bracing me against the wall.
“As much as I love this kind of welcome, Sweetheart” he drawled, “is there any particular reason for your fervour?”
I widened my eyes in feigned innocence, pressing another quick kiss to his lips.
“Would you believe me if I told you it was because I love you?”
He laughed, “Well of course you do, but are you sure there isn’t any other reason?”
As happy as he was, I knew he’d see right through me if I lied. Good thing I had no intention of hiding anything from him. I still owed him an explanation for what happened with Emma and now I had my run in with Natalie and Lee to add to it.
I’d been having quite the walk down memory lane as of late and I was happy that for the most part it hadn’t been too bad; some notable exceptions notwithstanding, of course.
“Loving you isn’t enough?”
I pretended to sound hurt, pouting at him.
He ran a thumb along my bottom lip before gently cupping my face.
“Not when I know there’s something else going on” he said gently.
I laughed, “I can’t get anything by you, can I?”
He frowned slightly, letting me slip down his body until I was on my feet again.
“Are you trying to get something by me?”

I’d wrapped my arms around him before I even realised what I was doing. I felt like I’d kicked a small child holding an equally small puppy.
“Of course not, silly. I’ve just had a very…interesting day.”
He pulled me closer, tangling his hands in my hair.
“Really? You weren’t even gone that long” he laughed.
I shrugged.
“What can I say? I attract weird things.”
“Cheers” He murmured, kissing me again.
I grinned against him, leaning back when there was a knock on the door.
Nick sighed as he stepped away from me.
“Why are we always interrupted?”
“Bad timing, I guess. I’ll tell you about my day later, okay?” I said as I skipped to the door.
“Count on it” he nodded.

When I threw the front door open, I saw Adrian standing, bag in one hand, the other raised to knock again. He barely caught himself when I forcefully wrapped my arms around his waist in a tight hug. Me throwing myself at other people was obviously becoming the theme of the day.
I heard his bag being dropped and then he was hugging me back and I couldn’t help the tears that sprang to my eyes. God, I’d missed him so much. He pressed a kiss to the top of head, and I just buried my face deeper into his chest, not caring that we were blocking the doorway.
I knew it was just my imagination, but he smelled like home.
He seemed about as willing to move as I was and I don’t know how long we stood there, half in, half out of the apartment, just holding each other. It was the sound of Nick and Katie awkwardly trying to say hello to each other around us that finally made us move.
We stepped inside and when I had shut the door, Katie pulled me into a tight hug. I barely remembered to hug her back, completely shocked by the one thing my eyes had zoomed in on when she walked over.
She hadn’t always had a sparkling diamond on her ring finger, had she?

Instantly, the memory of my conversation with my dad on the phone the other day came rushing back. He’d been so evasive when I tried to talk about Adrian, and now it all made sense.
“You’re engaged?” I croaked - my eyes wide with shock.
The family had been teasing Adrian about when he was going to pop the question for a long time. So just why the hell was I so surprised?
Because I didn’t think it would happen soon.
No, I didn’t think they would get engaged so soon after Ryan’s death.
An awkward silence fell over the room, three sets of eyes watching me, waiting to see how I’d react. Adrian stepped forward hesitantly, wrapping an arm around Katie.
“Yes, we are. It’s part of the reason why we wanted to visit…to tell you in person.”
I just stared at the ring, my body frozen in shock. I slowly saw Katie’s shoulders slump, the smile falling from her lips and I realised how rude I was being. They obviously took my silence to mean I wasn’t happy for them, or that I didn’t approve.
I forced myself to snap out of it and grinned, pulling Katie into another hug, my excitement making itself known in a strange half scream, half squeal that Katie reciprocated immediately in a way that only a girl could understand.
Both Adrian and Nick watched from a safe distance as we jumped up and down, inspected the ring, and started discussing wedding plans, both of us speaking over each other and at a speed that was hard to comprehend.

We both ran out of energy at the same time, a sudden silence descending over the apartment. The guys watched us with something akin to horror that made me want to laugh.
“Is it too late to change my mind?” Adrian joked, wincing when Katie and I turned to glare at him.
He raised his hands up innocently, backing away slowly.
I laughed as I walked over to give him another hug.
“Took you long enough, bro.”
Surprisingly, he frowned down at me, his features dark with pain.
“We figured that life is too short to wait around. We love each other, so why wait?”
The slight wetness around his eyes had my own suddenly welling up with tears. He was right; life was too short to wait around for things to happen.
I just wished we hadn’t had to learn that the hard way.
When we pulled apart, everyone ignored the fact that we were both wiping our eyes. I felt Nick slip his arms around my waist and I leant back against him gratefully.
“So this is where you live” Katie said, and I think we were all thankful for a change in subject.
I smiled lightly, my eyes scanning the apartment.
“Welcome to our humble abode. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

After they had dumped their bags in Nick’s surprisingly spotless room, I gave them a quick tour. It was quick because there wasn’t much to show them.
All I got was a raised brow when Adrian stepped into my room, and I wished it wasn’t so obvious that I wasn’t the only one who occupied it. It looked too lived-in and I knew he wouldn’t buy it if I told him it was just temporary while he and Katie were staying, so I didn’t bother with excuses. I just tried my best to hide my flaming cheeks and moved on to the kitchen.

While my brother and his girlfriend – sorry, fiancée – were nosily raiding our fridge, Nick wrapped me in his arms, a wide grin on his face as he kissed my hot cheeks.
“I love it when you blush, Sweetheart” he whispered in a tone that made me wish we had the place to ourselves.
I glared at him.
“I don’t know what you’re so happy about” I said a tad grumpily.
“You know Adrian’s going to pull you aside for the talk.”
His smile slipped.
“Fuck” he cursed.
I wished it weren’t true, but I knew my brother well enough to know at some point during his stay, he’d pull Nick aside and talk to him about his intentions, and other typically embarrassing topics. It was stupid really considering I knew that pretty much all the male members of my family had already ‘talked’ to him. Unfortunately, sometimes brothers weren’t the most rational of creatures.
All I could do was laugh when he pouted at me.
“Good luck” I told him sincerely.
“I’ll just tell him it was entirely your fault, that you forced me. Yeah, that’s it; you forced me.”
I laughed harder; “if you think that’s going to work then go for it.”
“Fine” he pouted harder, pulling away and turning to the kitchen.
He glanced over his shoulder and winked; “Just remember, if I go down, you’re coming with me.”
I narrowed my eyes at his back and followed him into the kitchen.

We decided that we weren’t going to go out, opting instead for a relaxing night in. We ordered in and just sat around, catching up on everything that had happened since we’d last seen each other. Adrian also gave me general updates on life back home and it made me realise how little I’d kept in touch with a lot of my old friends and acquaintances.
Yet another thing to add to my to-do list.
Just being able to sit, talking and laughing, with three of my favourite people was amazing. The night was absolutely perfect.
Adrian and Katie decided to head to bed fairly early because they were tired from travelling, and Nick and I followed not long after. Mark and Jay were coming over in the morning and I think we all needed the energy to deal with that. I just wanted to make sure that Mark didn’t scare my brother and my almost-sister off completely. Not the easiest job but I figured my karmic reward would be worth it.

When I finished brushing my teeth, I flicked off the all the lights except for the small lamp beside the bed, and crawled under the covers beside Nick. I made myself comfortable, tangling our legs and resting my head on his chest. He lay back, staring at the ceiling, hands behind his head.
We stayed in a comfortable silence for a while, until Nick looked down at me.
“So tell me about your day.”
I traced light patterns into his skin, wondering where to start. I looked up and locked gazes with him.
“First, I promised I’d tell you about my conversation with Emma.”
He nodded, a sudden wariness creeping into his eyes. I snuggled closer to him; thinking back to the moment Emma had walked over to our table and asked me if we could talk.
I told him everything we’d talked about, from her apology to her thoughts on Natalie. When I told him that, he stiffened; jaw clenching, eyes narrowing dangerously.
I knew he hated Natalie for everything that had happened, hated himself too if I was honest with myself. I knew he still blamed himself, at least in part for what had happened, and yes, he’d been drunk and made a stupid mistake but Natalie had just been vindictive. She’d targeted him on purpose. She’d known exactly what she was doing, which made it her fault in my opinion.

“And today?” He asked, repressed anger still evident in his tone.
I sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to be happy. Nick would never forgive Lee for how he’d acted. It just wasn’t going to happen.
“I ran into Natalie and Lee at Starbucks” I admitted, waiting for him to freak out.
He didn’t disappoint. He sat up like he’d been stung.
“What?” He practically shouted.
“Keep your voice down” I hissed, wondering if perhaps this wasn’t the best time to tell Nick.
Adrian and Katie were only a few yards away after all. Nick glared at me, but he lowered his voice.
“Were they bothering you? Because if they were, I swear I’ll-”
I clapped a hand over his mouth, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. I appreciated his protectiveness, but it would help if I could actually tell him the whole story before he stormed off.
“Relax, would you?” I said, exasperation leaking into my voice.

Glaring at me once more for good measure, Nick lay back down but he was as stiff as a board, hands clenched tightly on top of the duvet.
Wonderful.
I calmly and quietly recounted my meeting with Natalie and Lee and I saw his surprise when I told him that Lee had apologised.
“He seemed sincere, and the fact that he admitted that we could never be friends again made me believe him even more” I told him.
“If he’d told me he wanted to be friends again I probably would have been more suspicious.”
And it was true. I would have questioned the authenticity of his apology, would have wondered if he’d only said he was sorry to get back in my good graces.
Nick nodded slowly, “it does sound as if he meant it. Even Mark has said that lately he hasn’t been as hostile. They still don’t get on and they never talk but he apparently no longer feels like Lee is going to stab him in the middle of the night.”
I chuckled at the image that rose in my mind of Mark sleeping with a weapon under his pillow in case his roommate attacked him. He was so dramatic that it was probably a pretty accurate picture.
“I still personally never want to see him again” Nick commented mildly.
“I can’t forgive him, and I’m not going to try.”
“I didn’t expect you to” I told him.

Silence fell once more, and I couldn’t help but feel like there was a ten foot elephant looming over the bed.
“So, about Natalie…” I began.
Nick rolled over, drawing me tightly against him.
“The fact that there’s a very large chance that I never…went near her, makes me unbelievably happy.”
I smirked, pressing myself against him.
“Is that so?”
He nodded earnestly; “I wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot barge pole.”
I laughed so loudly I had to turn my face into the pillow to muffle the sound. When I’d calmed down enough that I was sure I wouldn’t wake anybody, I grinned at him, sliding a hand down his chest.
“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted you as much as I do now.”
“Is that so” Nick murmured, rolling so he was hovering above me.
He leaned down to kiss me and I quickly placed my hand between our lips, stopping him in his tracks.
“Sorry, dude, not happening” I told him.
“But you just said…”
I chuckled at the way he stared at me in utter confusion.
“I know what I said, but it’s not happening, not with my brother under the same roof.”
He groaned loudly like a man in agony as he slumped back onto his side of the bed.
“When are they leaving again?” He pouted, dragging a hand through his hair, still damp from his shower.
I laughed again.
“Don’t worry; once they’re gone I’ll make it up to you.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Promise?”
“Pinky promise” I agreed solemnly, extending my hand.
He linked our pinkies together and my lips twitched with the need to laugh.

As he gathered me tightly against him, Nick sighed into my hair.
“You know, I never thought I’d see the day that I was actually glad you ran into Lee and Natalie. It’s like a weight’s been lifted.”
I nodded against his shoulder.
“I know how you feel.”
It was like there were two less obstacles between us. No matter how small they’d been, they’d still been there.
“I love you, Sweetheart.”
“Love you, too” I murmured, feeling sleep pulling my eyes shut.
It had definitely been an interesting day.

I woke when something very heavy landed on my chest. The sound of the air violently escaping my lungs sounded loud in the room and for a few moments all I could do was wheeze pathetically. When I was able to take a breath without feeling like I’d been punched in the gut, I opened my eyes to see Mark grinning down at me, his nose almost touching mine he was so close. I was fairly sure my scream would have been more impressive if I hadn’t been winded less than a minute ago.
He ripped the covers off me and I immediately shivered as the cool air hit me, wishing for nothing more than to be warm again.
“Damn, I was hoping you were naked” Mark whined as he lay fully across me.
On second thought, I’d prefer to be cold.
“Get off me, idiot” I groaned.
“Nope” he said in an irritating sing-song voice.
I was just about to wage war when I made the mistake of looking up…and saw my brother leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. Aw, crap.
“Sup, bro” I grinned weakly.
“So I met Mark…” Was all he said.
Well if that’s not a loaded statement, I thought.

Mark raised one hand and waved enthusiastically in the general direction of the door. I say the general direction because there was no way he could know for sure with his face planted firmly in my chest.
It was sad that the position we were in seemed to be becoming a semi-regular occurrence.
“You could help, you know” I ground out, glaring at my brother as I pushed uselessly at Mark’s shoulders.
He just stood there and stared, the look on his face telling me he wasn’t quite sure what to make of what he was seeing.
Thankfully Jay made a timely appearance, slipping past Adrian into my room.
“Damn it, Mark” he growled as he came over.
“We talked about this. You’re supposed to be making a good impression.”

Grabbing him under the arms, Jay pulled Mark off me, keeping hold of him as he dragged him out of my room. Fully awake, I followed after them, refusing to meet Adrian’s eyes.
Nick and Katie appeared from the kitchen at that moment and I could feel my stress levels slowly rising. Nick came over to give me a kiss good morning and I could see his gaze straying to where Jay was pushing Mark onto the couch.
“What did he do now?” He sighed.
“I had to pull him off her” Jay said, glaring down at a pouting Mark. The way his arms were crossed, his head hanging, reminded me of a kid that knows he’s done something wrong but doesn’t want to admit it.
“Is that the first time that’s happened?” Adrian spoke up, an arm around Katie.
An awkward silence fell and I suddenly found a great deal of interest in the floor.
“Unfortunately not” Nick said, clearing his throat as he stepped forward and smacked the back of Mark’s head.
“And it probably won’t be the last either” he sighed.
I glanced between Adrian and Katie and their slightly disbelieving looks. They obviously didn’t know how things worked around here. We were like an extremely dysfunctional family, but we made it work. It was only when there were outsiders around that we realised just how strange the dynamic between us was.
I could tell just by looking at Adrian that he didn’t understand how Nick didn’t get angry at the thought of some guy – no matter that they were best friends – acting that way around his girlfriend.
“If you guys are planning on having kids, you might want to spend some time with Mark first. Trust me it’ll make or break any plans you may have. If you can manage a weekend with him I have faith you’ll be great parents.”
My attempt to lighten the mood just made my brother and his fiancée send Mark horrified looks.
So much for that.

“So how about we get back to making breakfast?” Nick supplied with false enthusiasm.
I grimaced before ushering our guests into the kitchen. Nick followed after me, entwining our fingers in silent support as Jay began to berate Mark for acting like himself. I couldn’t help but giggle, realising how ridiculous the whole situation was.
“So how about we just forget the last ten minutes ever happened” I suggested brightly as I nabbed some bacon from the plate Katie was loading with breakfast.

I was surprised we actually had so much food in the house. Nick must have really gone all out when he went shopping. She smacked my hand away good naturedly, glaring at Adrian and Nick until they made themselves useful and began to set the table.
“You’ll make a great housewife” I laughed, watching them carry plates and cups out to the table.
She snorted while simultaneously rolling her eyes.
“Not likely. I’m fully planning on making Adrian do most of the housework.”
“Good for you. I like your style, Mrs. Doherty.” I grinned.
Katie may have laughed but I could see the pleasure in her eyes at the thought of being Mrs. Doherty.
“I’m really happy for you, Katie” I told her quietly.
She smiled at me happily.
“I know you are. Thank you.”
I shrugged, taking another bite of bacon.
“No need to thank me. You make my brother happy.”
“Talking of such things” she began, stopping what she was doing to look at me.
“I’d like it if you would be a bridesmaid.”
My eyes widened as I stared at her in shock, bacon forgotten.
“Seriously?”
“Of course” she nodded.
“Hell yes, I will!” I practically shouted, throwing my arms around her and planting a kiss on her cheek.
She pushed at me weakly, giggling.
“Ugh, get away from me, Bacon Breath.”
I grinned; “welcome to the family, sis.”
She just rolled her eyes, grabbing the plate of food from in front of her and walking past me with a grin.

We all sat around the table and I was surprised when I saw just how much food Katie had made.
“We should have her over more often” Nick whispered in my ear, making me laugh.
Great minds think alike.
Feeling spontaneous, I leaned over to kiss him. It gained mixed reactions.
Mark rolled his eyes like he was watching his parents do something gross, Adrian and Katie smiled knowingly, and worst of all, Jay just looked upset.
It was obvious by the way he stared at his plate that his mind was full of Nikki and I wished there was something I could say, but I knew now was not the time. He wouldn’t appreciate me prying, and especially not in front of two strangers.
Nick slipped an arm around my shoulders and I leaned against him with a sigh, pushing thoughts of Jay’s love life from my mind. There was no point in dwelling on something that couldn’t be fixed; at least not here and now. I still held hope for two of my closest friends, though. Thankfully I’d watched enough TV to know that meddling on my part would only end in disaster.
Who ever said you didn’t learn anything from Rom-Coms?

I ate so much food that all I could do was groan and send longing looks towards the couch. It would be the perfect place to crash and fall into a food coma. Sadly, that clearly wasn’t on the cards.
“So what’s the plan for today?”
Katie’s perkiness didn’t seem to be felt by anyone else, though Adrian did smile at her fondly.
I shrugged when I realised no one else was going to speak up.
“Whatever you want to do, I suppose.”
“I’d like to see a bit more of the college?” Adrian spoke up.
I nodded, shrugging again.
“Sure, and it’s not exactly a far walk which makes it even better.”
“Still as lazy as ever, I see” Adrian said dryly.
I didn’t have much to say to that – he knew me too well.

It took much longer than it should have to get everyone out of the apartment. Getting six people ready and presentable enough to go out in public shouldn’t have been too difficult, but it ended up being about as difficult as trying to herd cats.
The tour itself was pleasantly uneventful. The campus was relatively empty and we didn’t run into anyone we knew, cutting down on the number of awkward introductions for the day.
I could tell Adrian and Katie were still a little wary of Mark, and even though he was definitely the weirdest of all my friends, I didn’t want to bombard them. They may never recover.
Jay on the other hand was getting on really well with my brother. I wasn’t particularly surprised. They were both really just old men at heart.
I let the others do most of the talking, content to walk hand in hand with Nick, letting my mind wander aimlessly.

Without even realising it, we slowly began to lag behind. I didn’t care. Having a discussion about politics wasn’t exactly what I considered riveting conversation.
I surreptitiously looked over at Nick and thought back to Adrian’s words from the day before when speaking about his engagement. He’d said that they loved each other, so why wait?
While I could understand the sentiment, was it really enough? I had no doubts that the two of them would lead very happy lives, but I had to wonder if they weren’t the exceptions. I sighed, not wanting to go down that route – too many opportunities to overthink things and make mistakes. Instead, I thought about my life; from everything I’d already done to all that I wanted to accomplish.
Sadly the list wasn’t too long.

Adrian was right when he said that life was too short; but for me that statement didn’t suddenly make me want an engagement ring. I wanted to be able to look back on my life and know that I accomplished things as an independent person, and not just as half of a whole.
So far my first year in college hadn’t given me much aim in life. I knew unequivocally that I didn’t want to be an artist – but perhaps I’d like to be a teacher? I just didn’t know.
I was sure of one thing though; I didn’t want to have to start looking for a serious job right out of college. I wanted to travel, to see new places, and try new things. Growing up I’d been lucky enough to go to a lot of different countries; but going somewhere as a child wasn’t the same as experiencing it as an adult.
I glanced over at Nick again, this time catching his eye. He smiled warmly, pulling me closer.

I loved Nick, more than I ever thought possible, and I knew he felt the same way…but part of me wondered if our, life plans, I supposed, were compatible.
Within the mostly introverted world of third-level education we lived in, we were perfect for each other. However, I had no idea what he wanted to do once he got his degree. I doubted he knew either. I did know that things like travel weren’t something he particularly wanted to do. He’d spent his whole life in London, and coming home with me to Ireland was a big thing for him, despite how close our countries really were.
I sighed, knowing that despite not wanting to, I’d just completely overthought everything. I was putting us into little boxes without even consulting him first. Not to mention the fact that Nick still had two years of college left, and me three. There was no point in worrying about the future.

I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind until they were no more than a slight niggle of discontent, just as Mark came skipping back to us. Grinning broadly, he pushed himself between us, slinging a casual arm around my shoulders. Cue the eye roll.
I glanced ahead to make sure the others were out of earshot before glaring at Mark.
“Mind toning down the crazy?”
He grinned cheerfully.
“No can do, Sweetcheeks. What you see is what you get with me.”
He ruffled my hair, deftly sidestepping the elbow I aimed at his ribs.
“Don’t worry; your brother loves me.”
He lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper; “I can tell.”

Nick snorted loudly with laughter.
“Sometimes I wonder how you can be so oblivious.”
Mark sniffed, literally turning up his nose at Nick.
“You’re just jealous that he likes me better than you.”
I sighed; ducking away from him to walk on Nick’s other side.
“I know that it’s pointless to even ask, but just how old are you exactly?”
Nick drew me close as Mark winked at me.
“Old enough. Remember that when Nick inevitably does something to mess up your relationship.”
“Hey!”
This time, Mark wasn’t quite quick enough to avoid the sharp elbow Nick sent his way. Wheezing, he stuck his tongue out at us before skipping back to the others.
“He really needs a time out” Nick said mildly.

Sometimes I wondered whether it bothered him when Mark made passing comments that he was going to fuck everything up. We both knew he didn’t mean anything by it, but still, it was a bit harsh. But then again, I wasn’t a guy; perhaps things were different for them? Who knew.
Also, best friend status tended to give people a bit of leeway with what they could get away with. I knew my school friends and I had constantly slagged and insulted each other, and we always just laughed about it.
I roused myself from my thoughts when Nick spoke.
“Do you ever wish you didn’t live here?” He asked randomly.
I frowned, not quite sure what he meant.
“What do you mean?”
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes distant as if his thoughts were far away.
“Do you ever wish you hadn’t moved here?”
I was lost for words, still feeling slightly bemused by the line of questioning.
“Where’s this coming from?”
He shrugged, squeezing my hand comfortingly.
“I know you miss your family and it’s obvious that you love having your brother here.”

I gazed at the brother in question, thinking over Nick’s words. He was right of course; I did miss my family and it was refreshing to have Adrian and Katie here, to say the least. But then there was everything I loved about living in London; my apartment, my job, my friends and boyfriend. I didn’t regret choosing to go abroad for college at all.
“Well of course I miss them. I miss a lot about my old life, but I still wouldn’t change anything. The good far outweighs the bad in my opinion.”
Nick glanced at me with a slight smile.
“Yeah?”

I hated the faint note of surprise I could still detect in his tone. I didn’t know how long we’d have to be together, and what more we’d have to go through, before he finally got past his insecurities. I wanted him to be happy; completely and without reservation. Most of the time he wouldn’t admit it to himself that he was holding himself back. We were in a good place, though, and I really didn’t want to jeopardise that. I knew that if I brought it up, he’d only get defensive.
“Definitely. I wouldn’t change a thing” I said instead.
He smiled brightly and any trace of doubt in his eyes cleared.
“You won’t get rid of me that easily” I teased.
He sighed dramatically, lips twitching.
“Damn, am I that transparent?”
“Like a piece of glass” I said solemnly.
Noticing for the first time that the others had stopped to wait for us, I sped up, tugging Nick along after me.
Chuckling quietly, he followed me willingly, both of us ignoring the impatient looks being thrown our way.