Now It's My Time to Strike Back

-Rose’s POV-
Eventually, I ended up at Nick and I’s tree, dropping to my knees as I broke down in tears. I didn’t care who saw me. I just needed to get them out.

I had been holding so much back that I didn’t know how to handle it now. I missed Nick. Even though what happened about an hour ago was so wrong, I desperately wanted to be in Vic’s shoes.

I mean, they were going to go public with the school about their relationship which was something Nick and I didn’t do since we were trying to keep Vic out of our private life. But look at where that got us now. We’re not even together and now he’s being forced to do PDA when he won’t want to.

Things were so messed up.

I was so messed up.

How could I stay away from Vic and now Nick? I shook the thoughts away as I felt arms wrap around me. I began to tense up, but realized the familiar scent as it filled my nose.

“N-Nick, l-let me go”, I got out.

“I know how difficult it is right now for the both of us”, he replied soothingly, ignoring my words.

“No, you don’t! You’re with Vic! She has you! She gets to do anything with you and-and I’m here-alone as though I never existed”, I cried, surprised at how I began pouring my heart out to him.

Nick did something I never expected him to do; his grip on me slightly tightened before he spoke.

“I could never forget you, Rose. Every day goes by yet not a thought escapes me that isn’t about you. I just can’t do it. I can’t stay with Vic knowing my heart belongs to you”, he said softly.

He gulped loudly as I heard a sniff from him.

“You can’t just leave her, Nick. You chose her, remember?” I sniffed.

Silence fell between us before either of us spoke again.

“J-Just stay with Vic, for my sake”, I said, feeling my words stab me more than necessary.

“H-how can you expect me to do that, Rose? I want-”, he began, but I cut across him.

“Don’t say it, Nick! Please”, I cried, my whole body heaving as my tears erupted from me.

I couldn’t stop them no matter how hard I tried.

“I’m going to do it, but please don’t cry. Please don’t cry because of me. I-I can’t take it”, he got out, restraining from crying himself.

Somehow, his words calmed me down a little. I turned to face him, forcing a small smile on my lips as I embraced him in a hug, but Nick didn’t want just that.

He lifted my face ever so gently, placing a sweet, tender kiss to my lips again.

But as soon as the kiss began, it ended ever so abruptly by one voice.

“Rose! What the hell are you doing?!” Jake exclaimed.

…
-Vic’s POV-
-Before Nick arrived to Rose-

I sat in shock after Rose left, me and Nick sitting in silence about a moment after she left.

“Do you know how she feels right now?” he asked, catching me off guard.

“I know my conditions are a bit much, but-”, I began, but he cut across me.

“A bit much? Is that what you call them? They’re ridiculous! What makes you think I’m going to kiss you all of the time like that? What makes you think I’m going to even stay in this relationship?” he asked, catching me off guard even further.

“Why are you so angry, Nick? Where is all of this coming from? You didn’t mind being my puppet four months ago-”, I began, but stopped after I realized what I’d said.

“Your puppet? I was never your puppet. I was just stupid-stupid for EVER choosing you. God, I don’t know why I did it in the first place, though”, he replied in a harsh tone.

“N-no, Nick. I didn’t mean that”, I tried, but he wouldn’t hear it.

“Screw you. Enjoy the year alone, Vic. We’re done”, he said, surprising me altogether.

He walked to the door, then exited it without a backwards glance more than likely to go after Rose. I stood, running a hand through my hair.

It was over. It was over that fast. My mind went swirling with thoughts as I tried thinking of a way to fix this. I’d agreed to be nice to Nick, Rose, and her friends. I’d even went public with my friends about who Nick and Rose were, but now it all backfired over one conversation.

How did that happen? The argument went through my mind for the second time as I paced the room for a few minutes.

I picked up the phone dialing Nick’s number hoping he’d answer, but instead I got something else.

”Hey, you’ve reached Nick. I’m unavailable to answer the phone right now, so please leave your name, number, and a message and I promise I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks. Bye.”

I waited for the beep before responding.

“Nick, it’s Victoria. I know I’m the last person on Earth you want to talk to, but please talk to me. I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean-The thing is I love you. I love you so much, but there’s something about you that makes me have this bad feeling like you still love Rose. I’m sorry. Just please call me back, OK? I’m sorry, again. Bye”, I concluded, hanging up.

I sat for a moment before grabbing a pen and paper as a song came to me. I thought of everything Nick and I shared, pouring my heart and soul onto the notepad as my hand swiftly moved across the paper until I finished, reading the final result.

I picked up my cell again, dialing Mrs. Thorne’s number waiting for her to answer.

“Hey, Mrs. T. Its Victoria. Do you have an extra spot for the performance tonight after Rose’s?..You do?...Do you mind signing me up?.. Great. Thank you so much. Bye.”

I walked to my closet, grabbing an outfit as I smiled at myself. Nick was going to get a taste of his own medicine.

…
-Rose’s POV-
“An answer would be nice”, Jake said, balling his fists up in anger.

Nick and I pulled away as we kept a little space between us. I decided to speak first.

“Jake, we-”, I began, but he cut across me.

“You what, Rose? You were kissing the enemy-the same guy who broke your heart for your sister!” he exclaimed heatedly.

I bit my lip knowing I couldn’t say otherwise.

“This guy falls in love with your sister, your arch nemesis and yet here you are kissing him as though he and Vic aren’t together!” he scolded coldly, glaring at me, then Nick and back again.

“And why does that bother you? What’s going on between Rose and I is none of your business”, Nick said in a threatening tone.

“It bothers me because you don’t deserve to be with her or to even have her as a friend or anything even remotely similar to that. She deserves better than you”, Jake replied, glaring solely at Nick now.

I saw Nick’s jaw tighten before he spoke.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Jake. You don’t want her to be with me because you want to be with Rose. Am I right?” he asked knowingly, catching me off guard.

I looked away from the two as I thought of when Jake tried to kiss me the same day I began writing more lyrics to the song I was going to perform tonight. I shook the thoughts away as Nick spoke again.

“That’s it, isn’t it? You’ve wanted to be with Rose since last year when the two of you became friends, right? You’ve been weaseling your way back into her life so she could trust you in hopes of her falling for you so she could forget about me, right?” he questioned.

How did Nick know all of this? I surely didn’t realize it, but it made sense after it was mentioned.

“That’s not the point. What matters is what’s going on now. You and Rose don’t need to be together regardless if you’re with Vic or not”, Jake answered coldly.

“And what makes you think that, Jake? Is it so hard to believe that I love Rose? Does it kill you that I’m not hiding my feelings from her?” he asked, scaring me a little.

He was ticking Jake off intentionally just like Vic would do to me. I stepped away from the both of them before speaking.

“STOP! OK, STOP!” I exclaimed, catching them off guard.

Jake and Nick’s eyes met my own and I shook my head at them.

“Stop it! Stop fighting over me! Stop fighting each other! Just stop, please!” I begged.

They both tried to approach me, but I held a hand out of them, speaking again.

“No! J-just-I need some time to think. I need some time to be alone”, I got out, staring from Nick to Jake and back again.

“What do you need to think about? I’m sorry for what I said to Jake, but-”, Nick began, but I cut across him.

“I just need to think about everything. This year, what I want to do with my life, my friends, my future-just everything”, I answered.

Silence reigned over us again. Soon, we heard the voices of other teenagers fill the air near the entrance of the school, gaining our attention.

Some of the Freshmen from yesterday arrived out of some cars as did some new ones. I took a deep breath, wiping my face from fresh tears as I walked over to them, getting ready to start the tours.

Footsteps indicated that Nick followed me as well, but I didn’t speak. We walked to the Freshmen, plastering fake smiles on our faces as our routine from yesterday began yet again.