Mixed 'N' Matched Love

Drew's POV:

I groaned and rolled over onto my back and then start pushing my hands underneath me, trying to get myself up and into the best seating position that I could manage without hurting any part of my body – which, for some reason, has been aching like crazy for the whole goddamn night!

Finally, I was able to do so, but I almost ended up falling back due to that killer headache that had woken me up in the first place.

‘Damn,’ I thought to myself. ‘What the hell happened last night?’

I looked around the room as best as I could through my half opened and half closed eyes. Finally, they stopped on the small table sitting next to me. On it, to my great surprise, was a bottle of who knows what.

“That’s weird,” I muttered. “I don’t even drink…well, not as much as I used to before.”

I picked it up. It was empty. For whatever reason then, I brought it up close to my face to get a whiff of whatever drink it was and it was then when the smell of it drifted into my nostrils and harsh memories of last night started to flood back into my mind faster than I could realize it.

It struck me hard like lightning and pushed me off of my bed and onto my feet.

“Oh shit!” I cried.

I started to pace back and forth, back and forth, in front of my bed. One hand still held the bottle, while the other was too busy raking my fingers feverishly through my full head of hair.

I replayed the events that occurred last night in my mind a few more times – each one hurting me more and harder than the last one did. But, I started understanding it more and also regretting it at the same time.

Finally, my mind triggered over something important. Johnny! He was the one who got me into all of this and now maybe he’s the only one that can get me out. I searched frantically through the piles of clothing and all the other stuff that I had strewn across my room, looking for my cell phone.

I was like this close to giving up. I even sat back down on my bed, dumping my head in front of me. When, I felt something odd in the back pocket of my jeans. I stood up quickly then and patted it. There was something in there. My phone!

I started to punch in the numbers, but I kept getting messed up since I was going too fast.

I knew for a fact that the faster that I worked, the harder the things would be and the longer it would take for me to accomplish what I wanted. It was Nick herself who had taught me that.

“Do things slow and at your own pace,” she had said. “If not, you’ll surely mess up in the end and lose in the end.”

That was her own quote. She had made it up and while saying it, she had giving me this great wide smile from beneath her hair. It was as if she knew that one day it would be a great use to me.

And she was right. It is a great big use to me right now! I needed to get to her. I needed to know where she was – what was wrong!

And I needed to this one at a time – at my own pace – before I let it all blow up in my face.

‘Cause she means more to me than anything and if was gonna get her back, then I needed to follow that rule all the way through.

‘And I’m not gonna stop until I get that right!’ I promised myself.

So, I slowly and carefully punched in the numbers to Johnny’s phone. Hopefully, he was still there.

“Hello?” I heard his sleepy voice groan in my ear.

“Johnny, wake up!” I yelled at him. “Where’s Nick, huh? What the hell did you do to her?”

“Ah,” I could practically see him grinning in that stupid way of his. “I only did what you said to do. But…I couldn’t finish-” he was probably frowning right now, or probably even scowling. “-But, hey, I can still say that it was awesome! She’s so frickin’ hot, man, where have you been hiding her for so long? She’s-“

I hung up on him before he could continue speaking. I didn’t want to know anymore. That was enough to drive me insane already, anymore and I would be there slamming his head into the window of his apartment until I saw blood and even then who knows if I would have the control to stop myself there. I might even go all the way and end him right there and then.

I started pacing again, running my sweaty hands through my hair. I was ready to pull it all out and-and…and? I don’t know. All I do know was that I needed to find her and talk to her right now!

“Oh, no, no, no,” I muttered endlessly to myself. “Please! Please, please, be ok, Nick! Please, please be ok.”

‘Where could she be?’ I wondered. ‘She’s probably in even more trouble if she’s spending the night dressed like that and running around to who knows where!’ I had to help her! Somehow, someway, I just had to! But, then something dawned on me. ‘What if…but, what if, she somehow made her way home and she’s there, sleeping in her room right at this very second now?!’

Then that’s great! I can go into her room and talk to her. Talk to her and explain myself. Explain her why I did what I did and that I forgive her and that I hope she can do the same.

Sure she’s probably really mad, pissed, upset even, but she’ll get over it. Just like I’m over what she did and-and then we can live happily ever after, finally married and together.

‘Right?’ I asked myself.

“Right!” I answered back.

I did it all in one swift movement then. Without even bothering to change my clothes or even think of washing myself up first, I dumped the bottle of beer that was still surprising in my hand into a small green trashcan that I kept in the corner of my room and then climbed out the window and onto my balcony, then jumped over and onto Nick's balcony and in through her own window.

“Ugh, this girl,” I could hear Nyla muttering to herself while she stood in Nick’s room, cleaning up after herself. “Before she never even used to leave her room and now she leaves it in such a mess that I’m forced to clean it for her while dad’s away. Such bitter luck!” I saw her make a face as she started picking up a pile of Nick’s clothes and began folding and draping them over her one arm. “And how she can even survive in a pigsty like this? I have no idea.”

“Hey Nyla!” I called to her before she could continue on with her endless ranting about Nick and all her ways.

She looked up then and dropped the clothes from her hands.

“Drew, what are you doing here?!” she questioned.

“Look, there’s no time for this.” I told her.

“What do you mean?”

I opened up my mouth to ask that question that’s been burning a hole in my head all the while now, but at that same time, Nyla did the same: “Where’s Nick?!”

“What do you mean, ‘where’s Nick’?” Nyla questioned me.

”She’s with you, isn’t she?” we chorused together again.

“No!” Nyla exasperated and I kept quiet this time, so she could explain to me her story and then I could add in the few parts of what I knew. But, maybe not the whole thing. Nope, definitely not the whole thing! “She didn’t come home at all last night! So, I figured she was probably with you as always. But, I always knew you two were fighting, so-so I was like really confused. I tried calling the other guys, but only Dex picked up and before I could ask him what was up, Pat grabbed the phone from him and told me not to worry about it and then hung up on me! I mean the nerve of that guy!”

I thought over what she had just now said and then accidentally opened up my mouth and cruse aloud.

”Shit!”

I wanted to so badly go and slam my against the window in front of me repeatedly, just like I had imagined doing to Johnny.

“Why? What’s the matter, Drew?” Nyla looked up at me then with worried eyes.

I couldn’t let her know what happened or what I did. She couldn’t find out about this. No way, not now, not at all, not ever!

”Nothing. Nothing!” I insisted. Before turning back and jumping back onto the balcony, I looked into her eyes and said, “Hey, if she ever comes back home, can you please tell her that I’m looking for her? Please? Thanks!”

Then as quickly as I had leaped over, I turned and returned back to the comfort of my own room.

“Wait, Drew!” Nyla called out behind me, but I just chose to ignore her. “What happened?”

I could tell she was really upset by now. I mean, I did just use the words ‘if’ and ‘ever’ and those were probably the most stupidest things I could possibly have said at a moment like this, but just like the curses, it escaped through my mouth before I could even think of stopping myself.

I was in a hurry. I needed to get out of here and go save Nick for whatever it was that she needed to be saved from at the moment. And I had no time to think over the things I had just said and analyze and explain them all perfectly for Nyla to understand and comprehend the right way.

There was just no time! No time at all!

‘God, I feel like that stupid white rabbit from that little kid’s book: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ or whatever.’ I grumbled to myself.

Without sparing anytime to waste, I rushed through the bathroom, changing my clothes and brushing my teeth extra hard, hoping to get rid of the smell of beer. I didn’t bother taking a shower, it would take too long with all that shampooing and scrubbing my whole body with soap, and then rinsing all that out and then finally drying myself.

I didn’t even bother with brushing my bird’s nest of a hair; I just splashed my face with some water and added some to my hair as well, before turning and taking the stairs two at a time down. I even jumped down a few of them to save time.

The last time I did that, I ended up slipping and almost breaking my whole leg. Thank god, it was only a sprain in the ankle, or else who knows how long it would be before I could get to play soccer again? I would be letting my whole team down and that too for such a stupid reason as beating Nick to the kitchen for ice-cream sundaes that my mom had prepared for the both of us.

‘Ah, those were the good ‘ole times,’ I smiled as the memory flashed through my mind. Nick’s stuffing the ice-cream into her mouth faster than she could swallow it down and then belching loud and long to show off just how manly she could be. And me, laughing at her and trying to smother her clothes with the strawberry and chocolate ice-cream that I loved like crazy, but was too full to finish. But, then I frowned as I remembered what was stake right now and what I had to do. I cleared my mind and focused on one thing and one thing only. ‘Nick. Just Nick and nothing else.’

My mind veered back into reality as my left foot almost slipped past the step I was supposed to stop at. I grabbed quickly onto the railing to steady myself and let out a breath I had no idea I was holding. My heart was beating quickly and it hurt inside my chest.

I shut my eyes for a little while, before snapping them open suddenly and pushing myself forward and down the rest of the stairs. After I had fallen the last time, I was suddenly very frightened of stairs. Whether I was going up or down, I decided I’d rather use the elevator – which was an even worse option, since people often got stuck on those – or just not use them at all.

Nick found my fear stupid and idiotic and was always trying to help me conquer that fear and one day, she finally got me out of my shell and back out to have fun. I loved her for that. For being perfect and caring. For knowing everything about me and still loving me for it. She didn’t care what I was like or was about; she only cared about what I did and how I acted around her.

I love her and she loves me just as much and for just as long. Surely, our love would win in the end. Just like it did in all those Disney movies.

I smiled, then ignoring my mom’s lectures – I had no idea what she was going on and on about this time; probably about the stair thing or the not listening to her thing, or perhaps even something I did a long time ago, like say last night, but I just didn’t remember what it was and to be honest, I really didn’t give a fuck – and ran out of the house and past the driveway, towards the park before she could chase after me and pull me back inside.

Yep, she’s done it before and I’m sure as hell she can do it again.

I decided to call the guys as soon as I got there and ask them for help too. I wasn’t dumb; I knew this was a job that I could never accomplish on my own. Jersey was just too big for me to search through and that too all in one day.

I could’ve called Johnny back and asked him for answers as well, but I really wasn’t in the mood to hear all about the pleasures he’s experienced with her and besides, he did say that she had left before he could finish, so there was no idea he knew where she could be. Only I could find her now and only I…plus a little help from the guys wouldn’t hurt. Heck, maybe even Nyla could help out.

But, when I called them over and told them that Nick was missing, I forgot that they had no clue what had happened between us over the past few days. They had so many questions and I knew that all just by looking into their eyes. And what was worse was that I had absolutely no answer for any of them. I mean, if I can't even answer myself as to why I even did it or where that stupid idea even came from, then how the hell was I supposed to answer any of their questions?

It was impossible. I couldn't do it. Not alone and certainly not with anyone else either.

‘Why did I do this?’ I wondered miserably to myself. ‘Why did I let Johnny do this to her?’

For God’s sake, I just let my friend rape the love of my life, my best friend, my girlfriend, my fiancée and wife-to-be! I should frickin’ be in jail for that right now and so should Johnny! He shouldn’t be allowed to just be let go scot-free and neither do I!

I swear to God, any minute – any second, actually – I felt as if a police car was going to drive up and arrest me right here and right now in front of my friends. I would be guiltier in front of their eyes now and I wouldn’t even get a chance to explain myself, because one: who would listen? And two: I had no explanation!

“I’m so sorry, Nick!” I whispered aloud to no one in particular and up to the sky, hoping somehow, somewhere, she could hear me and in some possibly way she could forgive me for all my mistakes. “I’m so, so frickin’ and terribly sorry! Please, please, somehow please forgive me!"