Innocent

I stared at Nick as he sat his guitar on its stand. I watched mesmerized as his stomach muscles caved in on themselves, then went back to their normal position as he stood. I bit my lip to avoid smirking. Nick smirked at me, however, knowing exactly what I was doing. He opened his mouth to laugh slightly as he walked over to me.

“I forgot you haven’t seen me in over a year,” Nick grimaced as he stood about a foot away from me. “You can tell me if I look bad, you know.”

I finally moved my mossy green eyes from his chiseled chest to his chocolatey brown eyes. “You could look better,” I joked, pushing him out of the way to lay on the bed. Dasher bounced up, laying down on my stomach.

Nick threw his head back in defeat, staring at the ceiling and shaking his head. “I knew this was going far too well,” he sighed, walking over to sit beside me.

“Oh, no,” I stated. “You aren’t sitting beside me just yet. We are going to have a serious adult conversation about a serious adult issue, Nicholas. I know you haven’t done that very much these past few years, but you will, starting now.”

He sighed again, moving to the foot of the bed. He gave me a look as if to ask, “Far enough?” I nodded in confirmation, sighing again. I was not sure where to start, so Nick did it for me.

“How about I tell you everything that has happened since I left a year ago?”

I contemplated the offer, not sure if I really wanted to hear if any of the rumors were true. Against my better judgement, I nodded in agreement.

“Before we begin, you have to promise to let me finish before hitting me, got it?” he asked. Again, I nodded. “Also, you need to stop biting your lip,” he smirked. I hadn’t even noticed it before.

“Why? Is it a turn on for you?” I joked.

He gave me a look, then turned his head away laughing. “When you do it, yeah,” he stated simply, causing blood to rush to my cheeks. “Let’s get serious, though, okay?” he asked, patting my leg. I sighed, lifting my chin to signal him to begin.

He sucked in a breath. “After my drunken conversation with you last November, I woke up next to a model.”

My breath caught in my chest. Nick looked up when I hadn’t reacted. “It’s not like that, though, Maddie,” he clarified. “She assured me we did nothing. Apparently, she was there when I said those stupid things to you. After you hung up on me, she said I walked out of the party and ended up laying in a pile of trash.”

I laughed slightly, and so did Nick. “Anyway, she took me to her place and made sure I didn’t vomit myself to death. When she told me what happened, I felt terrible. I wanted to call you back right away, but I knew that wouldn’t make up for the way I acted. So, I looked on your school’s website for your graduation date, since I didn’t remember, obviously. I was there Maddie.” I stared at him. “I had to disguise myself a bit to not make a scene since the press was there to cover your story, bu-“

“What story?” I asked, confused. I had not taken the proper precautions to hide from the media since Nick left.

Nick rose from the bed and moved to the walk-in closet. When he returned, he had a magazine in his hands. He sat back on his imprint on the bed, sighing as he stared at the cover. He reluctantly handed me the thin material. The corner of the magazine showed a picture of me receiving my diploma in a small circle. The title under it read, “Graduating Without Her Jonas (Page 32).” I flipped to page 32.

“Please, not now, Maddie,” Nick begged, but it was too late.

Inside, a picture of myself with my family and the Jonas family, except Nick, stared back at me. I read the subtitle out loud. “’Nick Jonas does not attend his fiancé Maddie Uhler’s graduation. Maybe she won’t attend their wedding.’ What kind of shit is this?” I yelled.

“It’s just stupid tabloids, Maddie,” Nick calmly stated. “Can we get back to the real conversation?” He held out a hand for the magazine, which I handed him.

“Anyway, I was there. I didn’t have the best view, but I saw you graduate. I can’t tell you how proud I am, Maddie,” he smiled, touching my shin, making me smile. I mouthed, “Thank you.” Nick nodded. “I’m so glad you fulfilled your childhood dreams. You’ll make such a huge difference to so many children, and a great mother to your children.”

I cocked my head to the side. “What do you mean? Won’t they be our children?” I laughed slightly, trying to hide my pain.

Nick sucked in another breath. This one much deeper. “I talked to an attorney. He found some loopholes in the arrangement.” I stared at him, my eyes boring holes through his angelic face. “Maddie, if you do not want to marry me, you don’t need to.”