Disclaimer: I don't own anything. What a shame that is…
A/N: Purely because #WeFaB AKA #LLD2 and the abundance of Kaylicky is driving me bonkers and I need some sweet Nickelly in my life. I think the unknown between the moment Nicky says he's leaving the Rock for Denver Elite to the moment Lauren says he left Denver is the most intriguing thing ever. It's my playground. Go on. Read it.
Little Spurt of Moments
It's like those airport scenes in movies they both deny they watch. Boy faces girl. Girl faces boy. Neither wants to say anything, afraid that if they shatter the tension that's keeping them upright, they'll shatter along with it.
"I don't even know why I'm here," she says. It stings.
Instead of using it to start a fight, to make the break even cleaner, he pulls her close like in those movies they both supposedly hate and kisses her. He kisses her like the world is ending and in a sense, their world is ended or being put on pause or something. She kisses him back and they both know the world won't wait for them, but damn it, for these last few precious seconds, they'll make it.
-XX-
Going to Denver Elite, Nicky collected a few nicknames.
The Rock Reject. The Spy. The New Guy. Mute Boy. Second Best. No Loyalty Nicky.
But he doesn't give a damn.
He came here to train, not to join their stupid DE wolf pack. He doesn't need to be over there with them, wasting time by the water cooler, kissing Kelly Parker's ass or hoping to get some Kelly Parker ass. He trains. He trains hard and Marty gives him the guidance he lacked at the Rock (apparently because Sasha was a little too focused on the girls) and it's good.
A little lonely, but good.
-XX-
The first time they actually talk is a month into his stay in Denver. He's sure Marty put her up to it because why else would Kelly Parker go out of her way to talk to him? She comes at him like a rabid dog. He can see why people are intimidated, manipulated and irritated by her. He knows her game. He isn't as clueless as he looks.
"As long as you wear the DE logo I'm obligated to own up to you and the rest of them and if you look bad you make the gym look bad, which makes me look bad. All I'm saying is nothing is going to change if you don't want it to. It's up to you, Nick."
"It's Nicky," he corrects.
"Yeah, I prefer Nick."
"Question," Nicky says. "Do you always make casual conversation sound like a threat?"
Kelly gives him a smirk that's equal parts adorable and frightening. "I don't do 'casual conversation.' Everything I do, I do with purpose. The quicker you learn that the easier it'll be around here. See you tomorrow, new boy."
"Wait!" Nicky shouts after her. "Who did you say you are again? A name? You don't look familiar to me, but there's this Ellen Beals in Training quality about you…."
"Fuck you."
He smirks with the arrogance of the Pre-Nationals Cortisone-hoarding gymnast he used to be and it kind of makes him feel like, damn, maybe he was meant to be a Slytherin rather than a Gryffindor after all. He doesn't know why, but it makes him feel something as he watches Kelly Parker walk away and he notices she's smiling.
-XX-
Nicky calls Marty out on this the very next day as they're working on his rings skills. Marty just laughs—guilty—and says, "Kid, it's not like she asked you to prom. If you didn't walk away crying or wanting out of Denver, that's as good as things get with her."
He shakes his head. "I don't know, Marty."
"Look, Nicky, I know Kelly can be, well, Kelly, but she isn't as bad as she wants people to think she is. Just promise me you'll go with it? Kelly could probably use a real friend just as much as you could right about now."
For the rest of the day, Nicky finds his eyes finding Kelly over and over again across the gym. He can't help, but wonder if she knows her life is as fake as it is and that everyone around her knows it.
-XX-
Nicky walks out of DE on a Saturday night after a long day and there's Kelly Parker on the hood of his car. She kicks her legs back and forth, waiting for him and Nicky doesn't know how to approach the situation. She tells him they're going to a party. He says no. But the second he unlocks the doors, she gets into the front seat and programs the directions into his GPS.
At first he thinks it's a joke, like she's the bait, luring him somewhere where the rest of the wolf pack have something humiliating planned for him. Nicky doesn't want that and so they just sit there, together, in silence. It's weird and Nicky would rather be home than whatever this is. Then he remembers what Marty told him and he starts to drive, hoping to hell he doesn't get screwed over.
They're all drinking and acting stupid like they don't have dreams of going to the Olympics and images to protect. Kelly walks through the party like she's Queen of the Universe and everyone just gives her the power to. Nicky follows, choosing to stare at the floor when the curious gazes rake over him, wondering what the hell the Rock Reject is doing here. He has half a mind to leave, but he's too much of a gentleman to just ditch Kelly when he's her ride.
"You aren't drinking," Nicky points out once Kelly finishes making her rounds, saying hi to everyone who matters. They're standing off to the side, watching a bunch of idiot in a drinking contest. The music is so loud he isn't sure she heard him.
But then Kelly shoots back, "Neither are you."
"I don't drink," Nicky says firmly. "Personally, I don't think drinking and gymnastics mix."
"Same here," she says. Kelly checks the face of her cell phone. She looks like she wants to leave as much as he does. "Another hour and we can get out of here."
"Why can't we just go now?"
"My mom," Kelly says, distractedly. "She thinks I need to be social, not make real friends with any of these pathetic excuses for gymnasts, but to stay in the circle and relevant and own them. It's beyond annoying, but it works."
Did Kelly Parker actually tell him something real about herself? Before Nicky can question it, Kelly's phone rings and she takes it into the next room, leaving him to fend for himself in the wolf den. People eye him out before finally asking why Kelly Parker is hanging out with him. Nicky plays it cool, reserved, aloof and it only makes them even more intrigued. Slowly, he starts to win over their approval without even trying or wanting it and the next thing he knows he's right in the middle of a game of drunken spin the bottle. This blonde girl he's seen once or twice around DE spins and lands him.
His heart slams in his chest because the last girl he kissed had been Payson Keeler back in California. That was long before he started to train at DE and even before he started fighting the urge to kiss Kaylie Cruz. The girl leans in and Nicky freaks out because he doesn't even know her name, age or level of intoxication. Before their lips meet, he feels a hand violently tug him away.
"I need to get home," Kelly says flatly, dragging him out of his seat. "Now."
There are whispers all around as they leave together. "Looks like our queen finally chose her queen," and, "He's been here weeks and already he's Parker's bitch." Kelly just ignores all of it, doesn't even care, and Nicky does his best to do the same.
-XX-
"Don't pout, Russo. I'm sure you'll have other chances at a cheap kiss with Michelle," Kelly tells him once they're sitting in the DE parking lot. Nicky shuts off the engine and Kelly is about to get out. Nicky is surprised she said anything especially after the completely silent drive back.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't really want to," Nicky says uncomfortably. "Like you said, it would have been a cheap kiss."
Kelly rolls her eyes. "So you're one of those people who thinks something as stupid and meaningless as a kiss has to be some big life-changing thing?"
"Yes," Nicky says. "You don't?"
"No," Kelly says. "It is what it is. Lips against lips. Why does it have to be such a big deal?" This teasing, almost evil look comes to her face as she leans in, lightly biting the tip of her tongue. "Aww, Nick, have you never been kissed before?"
"Of course, I have," he says quietly.
"And I'm talking about a real, conscious kiss, not some girl kissing you randomly when you were eight," she clarifies. "I mean a real kiss, full on the lips and with intent. You never have, have you?"
"Yes, I have," he says, getting angry. "Can you just go? I'm exhausted. I want to go home."
"Wait," Kelly says.
"What now—"
Taking him by surprise, Kelly slides her hand to the nape of his neck and she leans up as she pulls him towards her until their lips meet. Every muscle in his body tenses, but it doesn't stop Kelly from following through and kissing him. It's over quick and before Nicky even realizes, Kelly gets out of the car like nothing even happened. Nicky sits there, speechless, confused and only a little (that he's willing to admit) excited.
"Sorry to kill your girly fairytale dreams, but not everything has to mean something," Kelly says. She doesn't say more, just gets out, slams the door and goes to her car.
Once she's gone, Nicky sits in the empty parking lot for a minute longer, wondering, if it meant nothing then why is he so eager to do it again?
-XX-
Nicky expected things to be awkward the next day, but she just goes on like nothing has changed and after a while Nicky does too.
He doesn't know why it bothers him so much when DE's "king" big shot Flex Jordan is in the locker room, saying the only reason he hasn't fucked Kelly Parker yet is because she's a frigid bitch, totally turned off by the idea of letting any guy in her pants. It bugs him so much that Nicky can't just sit there and watch all the other guys buy into it.
"We got close to hooking up once, but she's totally unresponsive. I don't know what the chick's deal is."
"Has it occurred to you that maybe she just doesn't like you or you were doing it wrong?" Nicky blurts out. Everyone whips his head in Nicky's direction and he guesses he isn't making the best impression, but doesn't care. They get in each other's faces and size each other up like in the movies and wait for someone to pull them apart.
Then BAM!
Flex punches him right in the face and Nicky flops back against one of the lockers. Even as everything around him begins to spin, Nicky doesn't regret it. He said he didn't want any part in this world yet his first fight is over defending Kelly Parker's honor.
-XX-
The second time they kiss it's out by his car after she hears the reason behind his black eye. Neither him nor Flex breaks their silence when Marty has the two in his office for an interrogation. Of course, when Marty can't pry the truth out of anyone, Kelly Parker can.
His eye is swollen and an ugly shade of purple and he's on edge. Kelly takes him by surprise again (it's kind of her thing) but this time, after the initial shock, Nicky is better prepared, bowing his head to meet her lips and kissing her back. He didn't expect anything from her when he stood up to Flex, but this little thank you is nice too.
After a few minutes of straight up face-to-face action, he finally stops her to ask what they're doing, confused and more giddy than he's willing to own up to. Nicky purses his lips and tastes her on him, immediately wanting more. She twists her fingers in his shirt like she can't bear to let go and he doesn't even know her, but he doesn't want her to let go either.
Kelly calls it fun and when she lays down the ground rules for whatever-this-is she tells him it doesn't have to mean anything but that.
-XX-
This thing they're doing is stupid and reckless and so much fun.
Word spreads around Denver Elite quick. Nicky and Kelly won't admit anything is going on. The entire gym draws their own conclusions after seeing Nicky and Kelly eat lunch together every day or always leave a party at the same time in the same car. After all, she is their prized gymnast and he is their strongest guy. It only seems natural they'd couple.
"Your eye looks a lot better." Kelly's fingers brush along his cheekbone and right beneath his eye, across the fading discoloration. They're sitting at a picnic table at a nearby park, trying to escape the gym for at least a little while during the lunch break.
"Want to know something funny?" he asks rhetorically. "My dad didn't even notice. I was sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast, and he just breezed through. Either he didn't even look at me once or just didn't care."
"Sounds like my dad would get along great with yours," Kelly says. There's spite in her voice, and sadness she tries to conceal. "My mom would have had a bitch fit if I ever got into a fight. She'd probably threaten to sue," Kelly says. She motions around her face. "After all, this is the moneymaker or so she tells me. The pretty face and the gymnastics."
"She got one thing right," he says, running his fingers down the length of her arm. "You're gorgeous."
"You're full of it."
"Fine. I lied. You're alright looking, I guess," Nicky says with the hint of a smirk. Kelly playfully glares and bumps her shoulder into his. They don't do this. They don't talk a lot. Usually they're too busy making out. Exchanging words like this, talking about their parents, makes Nicky even more nervous than French kissing.
Kelly laughs airily. "Keep it up and I might think you like me or something."
"I don't even know you," he says.
She shrugs. "That's part of the fun, isn't it?"
"I don't do this," he says, nervously twisting and tangling his fingers. "I'm not this guy. I don't get into fights over girls or kiss and make out and say it doesn't mean anything. I never thought I'd want to be this guy, but then you…"
Kelly laughs again, pulls his face towards her and says, "I know. It's apart of your appeal."
-XX-
One night he drops her off at her house and she asks him if he wants to come in. Nicky fumbles and stutters but ends up walking through the front door.
"Is anyone home?" Nicky asks between kisses.
"No," she breathes out sharply as he peppers her neck with light, little kisses, pressed up against the stairwell wall. Her fingers are twisted in his shirt like always as she guides him the rest of the way up the stairs and down the dark hallway to her bedroom. They stumble in and Kelly drags him to her bed.
"I've never been to your house before…"
"Nick, you are so ruining this by talking," Kelly says, pulling him down with her. She takes a deep breath like she's going to continue and Nicky covers her lips with his to shut her up. He kisses her hard until she moans, but then she reaches for his belt buckle and he freezes. Sensing the hesitation, Kelly leans back and asks, "What's wrong now?"
"I just…"
"Relax. My mom's out of town. We have the whole house to ourselves."
"It's not that."
"Then what?"
"I…I've never done this before."
From her expression, Kelly had been ready for a fight, but then he says that and she softens. She presses her hand to his face, as if trying to feel the embarrassment, knowing if it weren't so dark she'd see it color his face. The boy is a blusher. He can't deny that.
"It's cool," Kelly says. He can tell she's picking her words carefully, being uncharacteristically sensitive, and he wonders why. "Just think of it this way, when you find some girl who you fall for, one who you actually care about, you won't have to worry about screwing it up by saying that to her and just rock her world instead."
Nicky nervously chuckles, sliding his fingers through her dark hair. "You really think I don't care about you?"
The obvious counter attack would be to ask if he does, but he watches her hesitate which means she isn't so sure she wants to know or not. Instead, she just tugs at the edge of his shirt and kisses him again, softer and sweeter than normal. Nicky then peels off his shirt and aims to get her out of hers.
-XX-
Sex with Kelly Parker had to be the most awkward thing ever.
So awkward in fact, once it was over, Nicky couldn't take the unbearably judgmental silence and took off. He managed to grab his pants, but left his shirt and shoes. He didn't even realize it until he was sitting in his car in his driveway with his bare feet on the floor. His next course of action is figuring out what gym will take him now.
He has no idea how he's supposed to face her and he's already expecting Kelly to have told everyone. Nicky Russo sucks in bed. She wouldn't even have to make it up because he's pretty sure the girl isn't supposed to say "ouch" and the boy isn't supposed to say "sorry" as many times as they both did.
Nicky walks into Denver Elite on Monday morning with his head held high, expecting the worst. He's genuinely surprised when people don't immediately starting pointing and laughing, but go on like it's just an ordinary day. Right when he's about to grab his hoodie and go get some lunch, Kelly unexpectedly pulls him aside.
"Oh…hey."
"So I put your clothes and your shoes in the backseat of your car. I thought you might want it back," Kelly says, going on like just standing here together isn't completely awkward.
"Thanks," he says. "Wait…you broke into my car?"
Kelly rolls her eyes. "Keep up, Nick. It's not breaking and entering if you have a key."
"You stole my keys?"
"Borrowed," Kelly says. With a mischievous grin, she pulls her hand out of the pocket of her DE jacket and tosses it to him. "Unless you wanted me to give it back to you in front of, oh, say, Marty."
"No thanks."
"Exactly," she says and easily starts to walk away.
"Wait," Nicky says, stopping her. "Are we going to, I don't know, talk about it?"
"Oh yeah. Next time you run out like that could you set the alarm? It's a pain in the ass having to go all the way downstairs to set it myself."
Nicky raises his brows. "Next time? There's a next time? There was no way you enjoyed that, right?" Nicky asks. He has to ask her or else he's going to ruminate and overanalyze and get nothing done in the gym. "I mean I, well, suck."
"Right. That was horrible, like, close to scarring horrible," Kelly tells him. Nicky feels like he should go straight to Marty and give him the required two weeks notice, but then Kelly smiles and touches his arm. "But I spy potential. You just need to stop overthinking it."
"And how do you suggest I go about doing that?"
"Practice," Kelly laughs, tracing her finger down his bicep. "Later."
Nicky doesn't understand this girl, not at all. Why does she even bother with him? She's Kelly Parker. She uses people and throws them away as easy as Kleenex. Why is she encouraging this? Nicky has no idea, but he doesn't want to disappoint her. Instead of going online to find a new, suitable gym, Nicky Googles sexual techniques, blushing the entire time and constantly looking over his shoulder. With his luck, this will be the first time his dad walks in and notices him and what he's researching. All the anxiety and apprehension isn't in vain, though, because the next time he indeed rocks her world.
-XX-
"So where did you learn that?"
Shit. He was hoping she'd never ask and he'd never have to explain.
"Wh—what?"
"That," Kelly says. The fucking awesome sex—pretty much goes without saying.
"I, um…"
"Are you hooking up with someone else?" She looks like she's on the verge of a bitch fit even though they aren't exclusive or anything. Technically, he's allowed to see other people or date other people and she shouldn't care, but the way she's about to rip his face off kind of says she does.
"No," he answers.
"Then what changed?"
"I…I Google."
It's silent for a couple seconds before Kelly burst out in shrieking, uncontrollable laughter. She's so loud she drowns out the sound of Nicky shifting uncomfortably beneath the sheets and scowling irritably, utterly humiliated. "Quit it," Nicky says, but she won't let up. "Kelly, stop."
"You are such a nerd, Nick," she says. It might be the dark or how late it is, but she almost sounds affectionate.
Nicky turns over, debating whether he should just grab his things and go, when Kelly closes the gap between them. She grabs his hand and moves his arm around her shoulders as she lays her head on his chest. Nicky tenses though Kelly ignores it, making herself comfortable, her bare legs tangling with his. After possibly obliterating his ego with her laughter, being Kelly Parker, she can't exactly apologize or even talk about it and so she gives him this.
Whatever it is, Nicky embraces it, holding her close and enjoying the moment rather than questioning it like he normally would. They fall asleep, entwined like that and nothing is the same from that point on.
-XX-
Kelly insists they aren't dating, but it kinda feels like they are.
There's the sneaking around and the sex and it's all just as exciting and fun, but then there are the other things. There's how they lie in bed for hours and hours afterwards with his arm around her and hers draped across his stomach. She wears his clothes and knows her way around his house. They watch movies together. She always chooses, but he doesn't really mind because she opts for war and horror and historical fiction with the occasional cheesy romantic comedy and he likes that.
Sometimes, when her mom is out of town, he'll drive to her house in the morning. Sometimes they fit in a quickie, but more often than not she just goes on making her breakfast as Nicky does the crossword and if he's lucky, she'll share both her food and the answers he can't seem to get on his own—usually pop culture references. Then they both get into his SUV and head for DE and they pay no attention to the way everyone stares when they arrive together and leave together at night.
Nicky has never had a girlfriend, but he thinks this is what it might feel like to have one.
-XX-
When things get too comfortable, the unthinkable happens.
Carter Anderson transfers to Denver Elite.
-XX-
Nicky feels Kelly drifting and it kind of freaks him the fuck out. They aren't hooking up and she says it's because her mom is back in town and when her mom is in Denver they can't risk getting caught or raising suspicion. He understands that. What he doesn't understand is why Kelly's hanging out more and more with Carter Anderson.
Nicky hates the guy. It doesn't even matter that he doesn't know him. Nicky doesn't intend to. There has to be something seriously wrong with a guy who cheats on Kaylie Cruz with Lauren Tanner (who's practically the devil) and then when Kaylie gives him a second chance he goes on to date Lauren Tanner afterwards. Apparently that relationship tanked because Carter is training in Denver and he makes it clear that he's single.
Kelly is all over Carter and it's painful to watch. Maybe that's her thing. Maybe she has a New Guy fetish and now that Nicky's no longer the new guy he's being replaced. She giggles and flirts with Carter like she never did with Nicky. She even calls him Car-Car and in front of everyone. What the hell is that?
Nicky can't take this. It makes him sick just thinking about the possibilities and it scares him to realize how his mind is always questioning and wondering when it should be focused on gymnastics. He never understood people who put personal issues before their sport and now he's slowly becoming one. He already knows he's tarnishing his reputation all over again, but Nicky considers gym hopping. And this time, wherever he goes, getting involved with a gymnast girl is not an option.
He's ready to call it a night, go home and get some sleep, when Kelly bounces up to him in the nearly deserted gym and drags him by arm, searching for a more secluded spot, but Nicky quickly pulls away. Kelly stops and narrows her eyes. "What's with the mood?"
"It's nothing."
"So my mom thinks I'm going to one of Joey's stupid parties tonight," Kelly says, "but I'd rather spend it with you."
"You sure? Carter will be there. You wouldn't want to miss him."
Kelly furrows her eyebrows and scrunches her nose and Nicky tells himself it isn't adorable, it's annoying. She firmly takes his wrist and drags him into the nearest empty room that smells like sweat and dreams.
"Nick, is this your boy way of telling me you're jealous?" Kelly laughs. "And of Carter?" Nicky doesn't respond. He doesn't want to be, but he also knows the uncontrollable fury that consumes him every time Carter says something and Kelly giggles. "Like I care about Carter Anderson. He just has good Rock Rebel dirt and you can't go to war without ammunition."
"Why do you have to do that?" he asks, frustrated. "Why does it have to be a war?"
"It's gymnastics. It is war."
"Why didn't you ever try to get Rock Rebel dirt out of me?"
"Do you want me to? Because I could. Easy." She gives him a sultry look and tugs on his fingers. When Nicky doesn't budge, Kelly sighs. "Because I know you'd take it personally and be a little bitch about it if I ever used it against them," she answers. "And I have no idea why, but you aren't bad to have around. You can stop freaking out. If Carter gets laid in Denver it won't be me."
"You're sure?"
"Have you looked at him?" Kelly says and it makes Nicky laugh. She pulls him by the edge of his shirt and Nicky lets her this time until they're pressed tight against each other. "Plus, I've already got my hands full."
They kiss and it's nice and all, but more and more Nicky starts thinking it's less about the physical and more about her, how she keeps everyone at a distance, but for some reason she lets him a few steps closer to the real her. He knows he broke their only rule because kissing her means something to him. She means everything to him and Nicky knows it'll kill him if she doesn't feel it back.
"I think I like you," Nicky whispers once they break for air. It just slips out and he can't take it back. His hands clench around her just in case this is the last time she lets him touch her before shoving him away and ending it all.
Instead, she smiles against his lips and says, "Good."
Nicky presses her into the wall behind her and captures her lips again. His house seems too far because they're here now and everything is quiet around them and no one has to know, except maybe the person who comes through the door behind them and grunts a grunt that could only belong to their favorite head coach.
"Hey! The gym is not a place to—JESUS! Parker? Russo? SEPARATE!"
His lips break from hers and they both see Marty standing in the doorway. This is not good.
-XX-
"I don't know how you two could be so irresponsible! How long has this been going on? What do you think you're doing and in my gym? Kelly, your mom is going to kill you! Then she's going to kill Nicky. Then, hell, she's going to kill me and I'm nowhere near retirement and the weather in Mexico is shit and Canadians, don't even get me started about Canadians! Jesus, how could you two be so irresponsible!"
They've been listening to Marty yell at them for the same things over and over again for the last ten minutes. Nicky gets lost in it because it isn't like Denver has a no dating rule like the Rock. Basically, Marty's rule is don't ask don't tell and out of sight out of mind. Now that he's caught a glimpse, he's asking a hell of a lot of questions.
"Don't just sit there! Answer me!"
"Well, you aren't giving us a chance to answer when you're babbling like that!" Kelly shouts back. "You know how much I hate babble, Marty."
"You," Marty says. He points a threatening finger at her. "Don't try to distract me with your sass. I asked you to be nicer to him, maybe acknowledge his existence once in a while or ask him to eat lunch with you and the others. I didn't mean!" He motions between the two of them and scowls. He doesn't even want to try. "Everyone's been telling me, oh, something's going on with how you two are always seen everywhere together, but I said nooo. They're just friends. Good thing I didn't place money on it. And the fight with Flex! This is what that was about, wasn't it!"
"You're babbling again," Kelly points out.
"I will damn well babble if I want to!"
"It's been going on ever since you told her to be nice to me, I guess," Nicky tries. He doesn't even think he should bother with Marty and Kelly locked in the death glare of the century, forgetting he's even there. Something tells him a lot of their conversations happen this way.
"I don't see what the big deal is!" Kelly says exasperatedly. "We aren't dating."
He knows theirs isn't a normal relationship and it isn't like they can date even if a tiny, tiny part of him wants to. It still stings having it constantly shoved in his face.
"Yeah," Nicky joins in, "she isn't my girlfriend."
Kelly gives him a sharp look like something he said was wrong, but all he was doing was agreeing with her. Nicky gives her a look in return. Marty grunts, stealing both their attention.
"You know you two are just asking for trouble, right?" Marty says. "I know it looks all fun and great in movies, but in the real world, things fall apart. Nicky, you'll end up distrusting women for the rest of your life, thinking they're all out to use you and forget you later. And Parker, you'll let yourself fantasize about being someone's girlfriend, have someone who actually believes and cares about you, but you'll drop him the second your mom finds out and tells you to. If I found out, walked in on it, then no doubt Sheila will too. It's only a matter of time."
What goes up must come down.
Kelly scoffs. "Please. Don't project your relationship issues onto us."
Marty paces in front of his teenage gymnast, stressed beyond recognition. It's late and he won't let them leave until they talk this through and they're losing precious mattress time. "I don't know what to do about this."
"Just let us leave and we'll forget this ever happened," Kelly suggests. "Easy solution."
"I'll leave," Nicky says. He finally looks up from the spot on the floor he's been staring at for the last ten minutes. "I'll leave Denver."
"What?" both Marty and Kelly say in unison.
"I'll find a new gym," Nicky volunteers. "I've been distracted here and it's not good for my career. I appreciate everything you've done for me, Marty, but maybe it's time I move on. I've been getting calls from Dallas…"
"No," Marty says. "Absolutely not. Forget I said anything. Don't make out in my gym and we can pretend none of this ever happened. You're good, kid, but you aren't ready. You aren't ready to dethrone Tucker. Don't go over to Dallas. Who's the head coach over there? Rodney? He won't be able to get you to the level you need to be at before Worlds."
"Are we done here?" Kelly asks coldly. Even without an answer, she walks out. Nicky stands to chase her, but Marty steps over to stand in his way.
"Think about what you're doing," Marty says.
Nicky looks Marty straight in the eyes and nods in agreement before he chases after Kelly. He finds her out in the parking lot, searching for her keys. Before Nicky can even begin, Kelly turns to him. "Tell me that was just something you pulled so we could get out of there and you aren't thinking of changing gyms again."
"I can't say I haven't been considering it…"
"Why would you do that?" she asks. "Making mistakes is one thing, but making the same mistake twice? Boo-hoo. Things didn't work out with Payson Keeler and Kaylie Cruz so you ran away from your problems and came here. Now because of Carter and Marty finding out, you're planning to run away again? That's just stupid, Nick."
"It doesn't mean anything, right?" Nicky says coolly. "There's nothing for me to stay for…"
She laughs this empty, miserable laugh that breaks his heart. "If you think that's true then you are an idiot. We were right to call you No Loyalty Nicky."
-XX-
He tries to talk to her a number of times after that night, but Kelly won't have it. She doesn't even look at him. All things must come full circle because he's back to being the gym loner. Word gets out about him leaving and he turns into the most hated guy at the gym again. Nicky doesn't really care what everyone else thinks, just what she thinks.
Nicky talks to his dad and to Marty again and he decides he can't do this anymore. He can't train when he can't take his eyes off of Kelly, can't concentrate when all he wants to do is go over, shove Carter Anderson away from her and tell her that they're dating. Period. Screw everyone else because they've been lying to themselves and he's her boyfriend and she's his girlfriend and that's that.
But he can't because he's Nicky Russo and he isn't supposed to do that and she's Kelly Parker and she isn't supposed to want that. In actuality, she distracts him from his training and he's hurting her in the same way. It needs to stop. Out of sight, out of mind.
After the sixths time he's sent to voicemail and the tenth unanswered text, Nicky gives up. He gives in to the idea that maybe their relationship (if you can call it that) is just another casualty in this war of gymnastics.
The night before he leaves for Texas, Nicky texts her one last time. First he sends her his flight information and what time he plans on being at the airport. Then he tells her he's sorry.
-XX-
He steps away from her, ending their movie-esque airport scene. He doesn't want to leave and she doesn't want him to leave, evident why the way her fingers play at the edge of his hoodie, holding on. "I'm still pissed at you for up and leaving like this and having to find out in front of Marty like that," Kelly says.
"I know," he says gently, running his hand down the back of her head. "But you get why I'm doing this, right?"
"No," she says, blunt but honest. "But I can't stop you from leaving either."
"We let things get out of hand, but I wouldn't take it back, not for anything. The last thing I want is to be away from you, but I need to figure things out for myself and I guess I can't do that here," Nicky says. He brings his arms around her in a hug and it surprises him when she lays her head on his shoulder, her fingers linking together around his neck.
"Want to know something funny?" she whispers close to his ear. "The first time we did it, when you were having a panic attack and, dear God, babbling…"
"And you were really cool about the whole thing," he says.
"Yeah," she says. "It…it was my first time too." Once she says it, Nicky feels her fingers dig into his shoulders, embarrassed, and he tries to sooth it away, curling his arms around her tight. It's like his feet are cemented to the ground. He has no idea how he's supposed to leave now. "Nick," Kelly whispers. "I think I like you too."
He meets her eyes without shame, smirks a little and says, "Good."
Ultimately, he doesn't want to, but he knows he needs to. Nicky gets on the plane to Dallas.
A/N: This turned out longer than I expected when I started it. Somehow that always happens. Anyways, hope you liked it and have an awesome Labor Day. Leave me a little love in review form. Holla!
xoxo