Nick lay in his bed, lost in thought while gazing at the ceiling, an uncomfortable feeling building in his throat. Every muscle in his body had groaned in protest at his resistance from wrestling the mug out of Jess's hands when she'd dropped it in the trashcan. He'd seen it leave her hands, almost in slow motion, and fall into the bin with a clunk and felt a dull ache.

Was this it?

The fact that she'd put it out on the table a couple of days ago had made his heart pound, and he wanted to punch himself for not having noticed it. A thrill ran through him at the thought of what would've happened if he'd seen it. He sure as hell would have stormed to her bedroom, no questions asked, and kissed her senseless and probably have taken her then and there. He wasn't one to question things when it came to her and especially not the confidence that seemed to appear out of nowhere when she was involved.

Their first kiss, the first time they'd made love... the first time he'd told her he loved her.

Ever since that godawful night he still sometimes had nightmares about, he'd been bitter towards himself. Resentful that his confidence had abandoned him when he'd needed it the most. The one day where even an ounce of it would have helped him salvage the best thing that had happened to him, but there he'd been. Standing mutely as she'd slipped through his fingers, and one second they were fighting over that stupid kid's gift and a whirlwind of questions later, they'd been standing in the hallway, heavy-hearted, hugging like their lives depended on it. And it then it was goodbye.

He'd never really believed that though. That it was goodbye. As he'd watched the mug fall in the bin, he'd realised that somewhere deep inside, he'd been subconsciously nursing a hope that Jess and him would eventually get back together. Unwelcome, the thought of how he'd always been sure that irrespective of the Ryans and Kais, they'd find their way back to each other settled itself in his head. The image of the mug, nestled in the trashcan with the other garbage, resonated with a finality that hurt.

A part of him couldn't believe at how Jess had so easily thrown it away, especially given how sentimental she usually was. She kept things that still held some value to her, and he'd always thought that the mug meant something to her; it still meant something to him. Was this really a clean break? He knew it wasn't for him. The mug maybe in the garbage, but his feelings were, unfortunately, not attached to the mug. Just because the mug was gone, didn't mean his feelings would.

As he tried to sleep, he couldn't get the image of the mug out of head. With a frustrated groan, he opened his eyes to frown at the ceiling.

Fuck clean break.

He swung his legs off the bed, throwing the covers off of him. He walked to his door and opened it softly, peeping into the hallway to make sure no one was aroud,d He tiptoed towards the kitchen and stopped at the trashcan, scanning his surroundings one last time to ensure everyone was in their beds, he bent over and started to put his arm into the trashcan towards exactly where he'd seen the mug, and froze.

The mug was gone.

A/N: I know it's short, and the next part is coming up very very soon... Like today soon. I just wanted two different chapters for each of their perspectives.

The reunion WILL happen in this fic. It should be finished by the end of today.

Going to be a LOT different than in the show.