Now It's My Time to Strike Back

The following night came and I was still disheartened by Jake’s words.

I laid in Nick’s arms as we stayed like that in silence. We didn’t speak; there weren’t any more tears, just silence.

I still hadn’t told Nick what had happened, but he knew Jake and I argued.

“I’m sorry,” he said suddenly, catching me off guard.

“For what?” I asked in confusion.

“For causing you and Jake to fight,” he answered simply.

“It wasn’t-,” I began, but he cut across me.

“Who did you argue about, then?” he asked staring at me as he waited for my response.

“It was about my decision,” I said being vague.

“Your decision about what?” he asked.

My heart began racing as I thought of what to say.

“My decision about wanting to be with you,” I answered slowly. My eyes uncontrollably met his as he stared at me for what seemed like hours.

It was so long to the point that I sat up and had to break eye contact first before speaking again.

“What?” I asked in confusion.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” he answered trying to joke, but I knew he was thinking hard about it all.

“Did I make the wrong decision?” I asked causing him to shake his head frantically.

“No, no, no, no, no. You didn’t-I’m just surprised,” he admitted with a small chuckle. I laughed lightly in return before he spoke.

“I’m glad you chose me, but we should start things slow again instead of rushing like we did last time,” he said in a serious tone.

I nodded in response before speaking as well.

“Definitely. I understand,” I said in a cheerful tone with a smile.

Chuckles escaped the both of us as we hugged one another.

…
-The next day-
“You and Nick are back together?!” Joe yelled through my cell phone which was loud since he was on speaker.

Nick laughed while shaking his head as he continued packing for us to go to his parent’s house again. It felt like ages since I was this excited about something.

Nick and I had spent the entire night confessing the things we did while we weren’t together, but I still didn’t have the courage to ask him if he and Vic had sex yet. I suppose I was just biding my time until I was ready, but other than that, things were complete bliss for us.

We’d decided to not care if any bad rumors were spread about us via Vic whom still had yet to approach us, but by this point I didn’t care. I was ready for whatever she was planning.

The sound of something landing as well as Joe’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. An outfit landed neatly onto my bed in front of me and I smiled at Nick as he smiled back before grabbing his own.

He quickly walked over to me, picking up my phone as we changed right then and there. There weren’t any more secrets and besides, it’s not like we hadn’t seen the other naked (or almost naked) before.

“Yeah and we’ll miss seeing you, bro,” Nick replied to him.

“It’s pretty funny that you guys are going home when I’m visiting Mel at the school this weekend,” Joe replied back.

“But remember not to tell anyone, right, Joe? It’s a surprise!” I said in a dramatic tone.

Even Nick shot me a look while an innocent smile played on my lips before I shrugged.

“Really, Rose?” Joe asked in a serious yet sarcastic tone.

Laughter escaped me at his words.

“Well, you kind of spill the beans a lot when there are surprises you create,” I pointed out.

“That’s true,” Nick added as we finished getting dressed. A content sigh escaped my lips as an annoyed one escaped Joe’s.

“Thanks a lot, guys,” he pouted.

“You’re welcome,” we said in unison.

“Alright. See you guys when I get there,” he said in a more cheerful tone.

“See ya,” we said in unison again before hanging up.

I stared at Nick as he walked over to our suitcases deciding to zip them up, grabbed his wallet as well as his key before waiting on me.

I ran a hand through my hair before grabbing a purse and the usual stuff before walking next to him. He opened the door and we exited it once more.

…

We made to the first floor holding hands taking our time walking to the cafeteria when Mel headed to us from her building.

“Hey!” she said in an extremely giddy tone smiling from ear to ear at our laced hands.

I blushed as Nick spoke.

“Hey, Mel,” he said in a kind tone. Without warning, she hit him on the arm causing me to laugh.

“That’s for not telling me, douches!” she scolded to the both of us. I smiled a shy smile before answering her.

“Sorry, Mel. We just made it official last night,” I admitted. Nick nodded in agreement as we sat there for a few moments before she waved her hand at us.

“It’s no big. I knew it was going to happen anyway,” she said nonchalantly.

“So you approve of us?” Nick asked nervously.

“Of course! I accepted it last night when Rose told me she was going to choose you and not Jake,” she answered with a smile.

That part, I hadn’t told Nick. His eyes whipped to me as he stared at me for a few seconds before Mel spoke again.

“But like I told her, if you hurt her again, I’ll hurt you,” she threatened causing Nick’s eyes to widen slightly.

She shrugged the menacing aura from her as another smile appeared on her lips.

“Let’s go!” she said cheerfully. Nick stared after her as though he were afraid.

“Oh, come on, Nick! I told her the same thing when she started dating Joe so it’s only fair if she does it to me,” I said in an honest tone.

He nodded before we proceeded to the cafeteria with Mel leading the way.

…

Seeing as she was in the lead, Mel opened the door first as all eyes from right side of the room landed on us, particularly Vic’s tables.

I gulped as I became intimidated by the staring as we walked to the McDonald’s line to order. We ordered our usual food, and then sat at our usual table before Mel spoke again.

“Don’t worry about them. They’re just jealous,” she said in a low tone.

I diverted my attention to my food as we ate, but when I glanced up at their tables, Vic’s hazel eyes met my own. She pulled out her phone before texting someone and I soon learned that someone was me.

I can’t BELIEVE you would date Nick like that! I thought you weren’t like that!

My eyes uncontrollably met hers again as I glared at her before responding.

It’s not like I planned all of this to happen. It just did, but I’m glad it did.

A minute later, I got her response.

So you’re just going to date Nick as though you and Jake didn’t have anything?

My fingers were like lightning on my phone as I quickly texted her for a final time.

You know what? Just stay out of my business and pay attention to yours. What I do or don’t do isn’t your business. It’s mine! And tell your cheerleading bimbos to stop staring at us.

After she received it, she huffed loudly before storming out of the cafeteria, her bimbos following behind her.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my knee, my eyes trailing to the person to see it being Nick. He smiled a proud smile at me as we finished eating.

Once we finished, we headed to our tree, a content sigh escaping Mel just as a breeze blew in the wind.

“We’re proud of you, Rosie!” she said after a second.

“Why?” I asked in confusion.

“For standing up to Vic like that,” Nick said as though it were obvious. I shrugged.

“It’s just Vic. She needs to let it go,” I said in a slightly harsh tone.

“True, but she’s the one who stole Nick from you so it’s natural for her to be upset about you guys dating again,” Mel replied.

Nick and I nodded as the cool grass felt amazing. He wrapped an arm around my lower back as I lay on his chest snuggled up next to him.

Mel smiled at us as her eyes drifted towards the parking lot just as a gasp escaped her lips.

“Joe?!” she exclaimed in shock before running to him.

It was cute how she jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around him as he held her, swinging her around. A chuckle escaped Nick and I as we soon joined them to greet Joe again.

After we spent at least half an hour with the couple, we had to leave to head to the airport. But I think it wasn’t the fact that Nick and I was a couple again that made me happy that day; no, it had to be the fact that we were happy together again officially without hiding it or anything.

The only people we had to tell now (besides the gang) were our parents, but at the current time, that wasn’t what was on my mind. What was on my mind had to be the feeling that went through me as I lay in Nick’s arms again on the plane ride to his house.

He kissed me softly on the forehead while stroking my hair as I soon drifted off into a deep slumber with a smile on my lips as I dreamed of us being truly happy.