If You Needed Me
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee (if you haven't caught on by now)
A/N: A huge thanks to cuteasklaine07 for being amazing and helping me with some dialogue for this. Also, this story is dedicated to the amazing lendmeyourcomb who's been an amazing friend to me. She also got her wisdom teeth out today, so go send her some love for being brave and letting people cut teeth out of her head.
"Kurt, I can't. I feel like I'm going to throw up. Please don't make me," Jeff begged.
Kurt let out a sigh. "Honey, you're working yourself up. Just go talk to Nick, he'll understand."
Jeff shook his head. "He's going to be mad I didn't tell him sooner," he insisted.
"No Jeff, he won't. Just go tell him."
Just then, as if on cue, Nick popped his head around the corner. "Is him me? If so, tell me what?" he questioned.
Jeff started to become more panicked now, what if Kurt just told Nick? Nick couldn't know. Jeff looked to Kurt pleadingly.
Kurt put his hand on Jeff's shoulder. "Jeff, he's your boyfriend. You can do this. Remember, he loves you and won't be mad," he coaxed before walking out and leaving the two alone.
Nick sat down next to Jeff. "What's wrong honey? You look like you're going to be sick. What's gotten you so worked up? You know I won't be mad."
Jeff looked up at Nick with teary eyes. He would find out eventually. He'd been through this talk a thousand times in his head, it was just Nick. He could do this. "Nick," Jeff started. "I have to tell you something. I promise it's not bad, I didn't cheat or anything. I'm just making it worse than it is."
Nick nodded, looking at Jeff with concern.
"Oh gosh," Jeff said, he was shaking. Nick wrapped his arms around his boyfriend to help calm him down. "Okay. I can't say the word, I don't like the word. I just... Uh... Nick. What you do, what you're training to do in better words," Jeff paused. He took a deep breath. "It scares me, like really scares me. I don't like talking about this so bear with me. Recently I've had a problem that's causing me pain, and I know I need to tell someone, probably you because you're my boyfriend and I trust you. I just don't want you to be mad or angry. I don't want to be in pain anymore, but the idea of getting it fixed puts me in a bad place."
Nick tightened his hold on Jeff's waist. "I'm not mad Jeffy, I'm glad you came to me. I won't make you do anything, we're just talking. I know you don't like to talk about it but I need more information," Nick started. "Why are you so scared? You're trembling right now, why is that?"
Jeff took in a deep breath, cuddling in closer to Nick for comfort. "Because I'm embarrassed. On top of having this phobia I'm really insecure about my smile. That makes everything so much worse. You're my boyfriend, and that part of me is ugly. I don't want you to see; but at the same time I need you to help."
"Awe, Jeff. It's not like that. You don't need to be embarrassed. I've noticed to a certain extent, but I didn't say anything because I wanted you to approach me with this. I'm glad you did. I can help you if you let me. You don't have to do anything you aren't comfortable with, but it would help if I could see what's going on. I know you feel like that's the worse part, but it's information I really need to know."
Jeff shifted when Nick mentioned that he needed to look.
Nick glanced at Jeff and started to speak again. "If you're going to let me eventually fix it, then you'll have to get used to me looking in your mouth. This will be good practice for you; we're taking it slow. It'll be really easy. It's just like we're playing doctor. Is that okay?"
Jeff looked at Nick incredulously. "Don't ever use the term 'playing doctor' because 'playing' makes me think of, you know. However, 'doctor', not so much. So can you not?" Jeff said through a nervous laugh.
Nick smiled a little. "Okay, would you rather me speak clinically? The patient seems to be experiencing some discomfort, I feel that a thorough examination will be needed to properly assess the situation."
Jeff shook his head. "Don't do that," he warned seriously.
Nick gave Jeff a questioning look. "Honey, would you let me look? Please? I just want to peak at what's going on in there so I'll have an idea of what we're dealing with," he pressed.
Jeff got tense again and his face burned red at the request. He knew this would happen inevitably, but he felt it was happening too fast. "Nick," Jeff started.
Nick frowned a little. "Don't 'Nick' me like I'm doing something wrong. I want to help, Jeff. I know you're scared, and I can work with that. I just need to know you're willing. You came to me for help and that's what I'm trying to do."
Jeff thought for a second, took in a deep breath, and nodded.
"Okay then. Where is it hurting? In what area?" Nick questioned.
"On the bottom right side in the back," Jeff responded with a fearful undertone.
Nick nodded. "Okay." He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and flipped on the light. "Okay Jeff, put your head in my lap and let me see."
Jeff slowly moved his head to where it was laying in Nick's lap. Nick was holding the light right above his mouth. He felt his chest tighten, was he actually doing this? He felt himself start to panic and he pushed himself out of Nick's lap.
Nick frowned and gently pushed Jeff back down. He could tell that was making it worse though. "Baby, I won't make you. Please just tell me why you're panicking, help me understand. I'm just taking a look, that isn't scary. Talk to me."
Jeff shook his head and was starting to cry. "What if it's really bad? I just don't want you to get angry, Nick. When you see you're going to make me get it fixed."
Nick smiled a little. "Of course, silly. That's the only way to get you out of pain, you know. I won't get mad, I just want to help. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." He leaned over and pecked Jeff on the lips. "Now open up so I can see what we are dealing with, and then help you. It won't hurt and I won't get mad. I'll be happy you let me look, okay?" He wiped Jeff's tears away. "I love you, don't be afraid of me."
Jeff shook his head. "My teeth are ugly though. You're going to laugh at me," he protested.
Now Nick was the one who shook his head. "No, they aren't ugly. I won't laugh, I love you. Your smile is beautiful it its own little way. Please, Jeff. Let me look."
Jeff gulped. "Okay... I trust you. Just don't think I'm gross."
"You aren't gross, I promise. If anything you're adorable. Now please, open up."
Jeff kept his eyes open, but let his mouth fall open uneasily. "Wider please. I can't see anything," Nick coaxed, taking Jeff's chin in his hand. Jeff still seemed unsure, so Nick pressed down on his lower jaw so Jeff's mouth fell open wider. Jeff let out a small whine.
"It's okay, baby. I've got you. Just relax. Try closing your eyes," Nick said gently. Jeff did as told and closed his eyes. Nick then turned his attention to the right bottom area in the back of Jeff's mouth. He took note of a tooth that seemed to have a cavity in it, and it was rather deep.
"Okay Jeff. You can close," Nick said gently, letting go of Jeff's chin. "That was great. You did really well and I'm proud of you. It doesn't look that bad, I don't want you to worry."
Jeff shut his mouth and looked at Nick questioningly. "Are you sure it's not bad?"
Nick shook his head. Even though it did look extensive, he knew telling Jeff wouldn't do any good. "I said not to worry. You did good, and that was the first step. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Just relax now," Nick whispered. He started rubbing Jeff's shoulders and head gently, trying to get him to relax. Jeff naturally melted into Nick's touch with an adorable moan. Nick smiled a self satisfied smile.
"Here Jeffy, sit up and sit in my lap. I can get to your shoulders easier that way." Jeff obeyed and let Nick rub him. Nick slowly unbuttoned Jeff's shirt and the massage got more intense. Jeff letting out quiet, yet pleased, moans. While Jeff was in a good mood Nick opted to bring up the discussion about his teeth again. Nick spoke as he rubbed Jeff's scalp soothingly. "Tomorrow you're going to get up with me and come to school. You're going to be a good boy and let me clean your teeth and fix the tooth that's hurting you. No arguments," Nick whispered into Jeff's ear.
Jeff grew noticeably more tense at Nick's statement, but he wasn't going to protest with Nick's amazing hands bringing him all this pleasure.
"I don't want you to worry. For the work I'll give you some gas to help you feel calm. I might even give you a little extra so it will feel really nice. You have to be good for the cleaning though, okay? That part you're going to be sober for, but I know you'll be able to do that. It won't hurt you, and it will be good practice. That way you'll have positive memories. I'll make this as comfortable as possible for you and I won't let you feel any pain," Nick went on, using a slight seductive whisper to put Jeff in a good mood. "Okay?" he whispered into Jeff's ear.
"Okay," Jeff said softly.
"Good," Nick said gently, pecking Jeff on the lips and rubbing him more.
The next morning Nick was sure to get up early and make coffee. He even took to making Jeff's favorite breakfast and putting it in the microwave. Jeff never ate first thing in the morning. He put a pain reliever on the side table along with the coffee. He gently shook Jeff awake. "Jeffy, I made coffee. I'm going to start the shower now and make sure it's warm. I want you to come crawl in the shower with me when you feel awake enough so we can start the morning together. Breakfast is in the microwave for when you feel hungry. Wake up and greet the morning with me," Nick said gently. He followed through with his actions and soon Jeff crawled in the shower with him. The morning was rather easy going and romantic.
Jeff knew what would be happening today, but couldn't bring himself to feel stressed out with Nick being so sweet. A little while later he sat at the table and nibbled on the breakfast Nick made for him. More time passed and soon he found himself in the doorway of Nick's school. The calm feeling gone as he realized that this really was happening. Jeff dug his feet into the pavement and refused to move. He was crying and trembling terribly.
Nick rubbed his shoulders soothingly. "Shhh, don't cry. I know you can do this. You're brave and strong. This isn't hard, just please trust your boyfriend."
Jeff still continued to cry sadly. "But I'm scared. I don't want to be under anyone's scrutiny, especially yours. You will be so grossed out, Nick, please," he went on.
"No baby, I told you. I'll clean things up for you so everything is nice and clean and then I'll look around to see what's going on. I'll fix it today but I'll give you some gas for that. You won't care, if anything the gas could be fun."
Jeff still didn't like the idea of any of this, and was overall really stressed out. He felt like he might actually pass out, but he ended up giving into Nick's pleads. "Okay," Jeff whispered. Only agreeing because he didn't have the energy to fight Nick, at least not at the moment.
"Good. See? I won't make you do anything, but you know this has to happen. It won't be bad, you're in good hands," Nick coaxed, taking Jeff gently by the shoulders and pushing him into the building while he was being compliant.
Jeff walked into the building with a terrified expression written all over his face. He looked incredibly stressed out and was only moving because Nick was pushing him. He wasn't sure what Nick was doing, he only saw him grab some papers and explain something to someone who looked like a receptionist, and they went into the directed room. Everything felt unreal, like this wasn't happening. It was though, and that realization made Jeff feel sick.
Nick pushed Jeff into a room and gently lead him to the chair. Jeff froze before Nick was able to push him down into the dreaded seat.
"Jeff, it's okay. First I'm just doing x-rays and then an oral cancer screening. That's all easy, okay? Can you do that?" Nick asked gently. "I'm not even leaning the chair back yet," he coaxed.
Jeff sighed, but sat down anyway. He still didn't like this, and ended up letting out an angry huff when Nick placed a heavy apron over him.
"Oh hush, this is one of the easiest parts." He put on gloves and picked a bitewing off of the tray that he grabbed a few minutes prior. "Open up Jeffy, I need to put this in between your back teeth. It goes all the way in the back where your bad tooth is, so just bite down gently," Nick directed.
Jeff opened his mouth and let Nick place in the bitewing. "Okay, bite down gently," Nick explained.
Jeff tried to, but it hurt. He let out a whimper and shook his head. "It hurtsh," he whined, not closing down anymore.
"I know honey, but I need to get this information. Please, bite down for a second. Be still and don't move," he coaxed, adjusting the x-ray machine.
Jeff looked sadly back to Nick, but bit down anyway with a pained expression.
"Great job, just stay still and you won't have to do this again," Nick said before quickly taking the x-ray and coming back in the room. "Great job, Jeff. Let's do that one more time. On the other side it won't hurt," he explained before repeating the process one last time with Jeff only being mildly stubborn.
Jeff dramatically took the bitewing out of his mouth the second Nick told him he was done with a look of disgust written on his face.
Nick laughed a little and took the bitewing from Jeff, and pecked him on the lips lovingly. "You're still alive, so it couldn't have been that terrible," Nick cooed. "Okay, next is the oral cancer screening. This is really easy. I'm going to do that by feeling around on your neck, can you deal with that?" he explained as he took off the heavy apron and switched it out for a thin paper one.
Jeff nodded.
"Okay, I'm going to lean you back now. Don't panic, I'm just going to touch around on your face," Nick warned before he started to recline Jeff's chair.
Jeff visibly tensed up, but didn't say anything.
Once he was adjusted, Nick started to feel around on his face. "I'm just feeling around for any abnormalities," Nick explained. He felt around for a little bit, and seemed to be satisfied with everything. "Okay Jeff, open and close your mouth, please... Again... Good. Okay, now here comes that part where you have to open your mouth. I need to check your tongue among other things. I'm not looking at your teeth yet, so you can relax."
Jeff looked to Nick questioningly. He didn't like the idea of having to open his mouth.
Nick moved the mask to cover his face. He flipped on the light and moved it over Jeff's mouth, then picked up the mirror. "Okay Jeff, open your mouth for me."
Jeff opened his mouth. This wasn't the part that bothered him.
"Okay, everything looks good. I see no sighs of oral cancer. Normal, normal, normal. Okay, now I'm going to touch your face some more." Nick did a few other things that didn't really bother Jeff, and finally finished up. He pecked him on the lips, pulling down his mask temporarily. "You did great, hun. No oral cancer for you. Now we can move onto the fun stuff," he said, pulling his mask back up.
"Oh yeah, fun. Fun meaning now you stick sharp things in my face?"
He put on a mask and his loupes with a chuckle. "Okay Jeffy, are you ready to start? You have nothing to worry about, I won't hurt you. I'll be using a explorer, but I won't poke at anything to cause you pain. It's mostly to look at the areas I'm not sure about. The x-rays will tell the full story, but I want to get a visual idea first. Don't be embarrassed, okay? Open honey."
Jeff felt his cheeks burn red. This time he knew Nick would be looking at his teeth, and that made him feel uncomfortable. "You swear you won't get grossed out?"
"Jeff, honestly. You are a cocky little shit if you think you have the worse mouth I've ever seen. You can't gross me out. Your mouth isn't that bad. Now open up."
Jeff sighed, "Okay."
When he opened his mouth, Nick started looking around, starting at number two. He started making mental notes, knowing he would have to chart all of this later. He noticed Jeff watching him uneasily and sighed. "Jeff, I won't hurt you. Just close your eyes and relax."
Jeff let out a small huff, but shut his eyes.
Nick went back to the examination. Things weren't nearly as bad as Jeff made it out to be. "I don't know why you're so insecure about your teeth, honey. They're a little bit crowded and there is a little discoloration, but that's all pretty normal. You have a cute smile, Jeffy."
Jeff started to squirm at Nick's words. He didn't like being under his critical observation and it was even worse given that the conversational topic was his teeth.
"Relax. I'm sorry, I know you're uncomfortable. Don't think about it and try to stay still," he soothed.
Nick went on and saw a few other problems, but nothing too bad. Though, when he got to number 31 he did notice that one looked bad. There was a considerably sized cavity on the distal surface of the tooth. It looked like it was deep and he was almost positive this wouldn't be an 'easy' fix like Jeff was hoping for.
"Okay Jeff, nothing looks too bad. Let me check a few other things. I'm going to check your existing fillings really quick. I'm just going to see how resistant they are, let me know if you feel any pain. This shouldn't hurt though. Just stay relaxed." He took to taking the explorer and gently scratching at a few fillings, and most of them seemed to be in good shape. Though, one on number 18 didn't look like it was in very good shape. It clearly needed to be replaced. When he scratched at it the filling appeared to be clearly unstable. It was fractured.
Jeff felt Nick scraping at a few of his teeth, and if made him feel really uncomfortable, but he just squeezed his eyes shut and tried to forget about it. Though his eyes shot open when he felt Nick messing around with a tooth that was sensitive. "Ack, kawk," Jeff tried to say. He was trying to say 'ouch, stop' bit it wasn't coming out right.
Nick quickly retracted his tools. "I'm sorry, honey. I'll stop. I won't mess with that one. I didn't know it was sensitive."
Jeff frowned. "It wasn't until you messed with it," he argued.
"Jeff, that filling is fractured. Are you sure you didn't feel any discomfort leading up to now? That looks like it would have been painful to chew on."
Jeff averted his eyes from Nick's now, clearly caught in a lie. "I didn't think it was a big deal. I also didn't think you would notice..."
"Hun, that's silly. I'm not mad, just know that there is no point in lying to me. I'll find the problem regardless. Besides, why would you want to leave something that was causing you discomfort? Again, I'm not mad. Just please be honest. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about?"
Jeff looked down at his hands. "A tooth second from the back on the left side kinda hurts sometimes..." he admitted.
Nick nodded. "Yeah, I saw how that one could cause you pain. Thanks for being honest. Do you think you can open back up so I can finish up? I only have one more section to do."
Jeff nodded and open his mouth back up.
Nick finished the exam, making mental notes to himself. When he was done he retracted his tools and allowed Jeff a few seconds to breath.
"Yeah, I'll skip the gum mapping. You floss really well, and I'm not even seeing any bleeding. Your gums are healthy and pink. So, okay, do you want to know what's going on?" Jeff nodded reluctantly. "Okay, so I see a filling that needs to be replaced, a few small cavities, the one bigger cavity. That's it. It's really not that bad."
"How many cavities?" Jeff asked, unsure of if he wanted to know or not.
"Only three. That's four teeth that need to be fixed, which really isn't bad at all. That can all be done in a sitting, maybe two depending on how fast we do this... Let me take a peak at the x-rays." He scooted away and pulled up the x-rays. When he took a closer look at number 31, his heart ached for his poor boyfriend. He wouldn't take this well. That cavity was extensive. No way I'm telling Jeff about this. He'll just freak out even more than he already is, and it's not like he'll know the difference. Telling him this will cause us both unnecessary stress. It will be better if I just keep this to myself.
Jeff nodded at Nick's words, that didn't sound too terrible. He could deal with that. He honestly thought it was worse. "But what about the weird colored area here?" he asked, pointing to an area but not opening his mouth, basically pointing to his cheek.
Nick looked up from the x-rays. "Hum? Oh no that's just a little discoloration, nothing to worry about. I'll clean that off for you." He clapped his hands together. "Good news, everything will be an easy fix. We can do this today."
Jeff felt his chest tighten at Nick's words. He wasn't ready to start yet.
Nick noticed Jeff's clear distress. "Don't worry, now we are just doing a cleaning. Besides, I'll get you some gas for the other work. You'll be too high to care. Just trust me for now, okay? I'll get all the nasty stuff off of your teeth so they look shiny and clean. No more weird discoloration. Sound good?"
"No, that doesn't sound good... But I guess I can deal with it," Jeff mumbled.
Nick smiled. "Of course you can, you're my brave little Gryffindor."
Jeff looked at Nick with a serious expression. "Today has had me rethinking my house. I'm pretty sure I'm a Hufflepuff now. I'm not brave."
"Nonsense, you're still a Gryffindor. You're here and facing your fears, that makes you brave. The thing is, bravery is a choice. Like right now, you're choosing to sit here and trust me even though you're scared. Of course you're a Gryffindor." He leaned over and pecked Jeff on the lips.
Jeff smiled at Nick. "You're right, I can do this. I'll be okay."
"I know you can," Nick agreed. He picked up the ultrasonic scaler. "So first I'm going to use this to get the hard nasty stuff off of your teeth, and this gets it off better than my hand scaler. Sound good?"
Jeff nodded, opening his mouth without being asked.
"I'm so proud of you, honey. You've already come so far," Nick praised. He then started to clean Jeff's teeth.
Jeff thought this would be really easy, but it didn't feel nice. His teeth felt so sensitive and the cold water felt uncomfortable. He raised his hand to get Nick to stop.
Nick stopped when Jeff raised his hand. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Jeff had tears in his eyes and Nick was concerned.
"It's just that i-it hurts. It feels too cold."
Nick nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry. I should have warned you. I can use topical to help with that. That will make it where you can't really feel it, okay? It will help." He got the topical and brought it over. "Just breath honey, I'll make this comfortable for you. Let me show you, this will help a lot."
Jeff shook his head, not wanting to do it again. He was freaking out right now.
"Shhh, no. It's okay, this will help," Nick said, rubbing Jeff's shoulders soothingly. "Calm down, honey. I know you're stressed out, just breath. I won't allow you to feel any pain."
After a while, Jeff agreed to let Nick try again. The topical helped a lot and made the cleaning way more comfortable. Though, when Nick got to the hand scaling Jeff crinkled his nose dramatically at the scraping sound.
"Oh, you're okay. It's not hurting you. That's the sound of your teeth getting cleaner," Nick teased. Jeff, who was feeling less tense now, smiled a little at Nick. "Yeah, I see you smiling at me, cutie. Stop being so cute."
The rest of the cleaning went without a hitch. Jeff didn't even mind the sound of the polisher.
"My teeth feel so clean!" Jeff exclaimed happily.
Nick smiled at his adorable boyfriend. "Well I'm glad you like it. They look a lot cleaner too. You did so well, I'm really proud of you, honey." He paused to type something out and quickly paged his professor.
"Now, we just need to fix up the main problem here. The only thing is, I need to get permission to fix your tooth... My professor has to come in and agree with my diagnoses. Meaning, he'll need to see..."
Jeff shook his head quickly. "I didn't agree to this. What do you mean? I have to deal with someone else messing around in my mouth?" Jeff squeaked.
Nick sighed. "I have to have my professor assess the situation before I can proceed. Jeff, I'm still a student. He just has to look around before I can fix your tooth. It will take a few minutes and then we can get started."
Jeff shook his head. "But I'm not even okay with you looking around yet, more less someone I don't even know. Nick, I don't even know this guy! I'm not okay with this. I didn't agree to this. Please, I can't."
Right on cue, there was a firm knock at the door.
Jeff was silently freaking out now and looking at Nick with an expression that showed nothing but terror.
"Professor, hi. Please, come in," Nick called softly.
"Hello boys, Nick did you need me to check over your diagnosis before getting started?" Hunter greeted as he walked in.
"Yes professor Clarington, that'd be great."
Jeff looked to Nick with pleading eyes. "Nick, I'm not ready for this. I don't know him," he fretted with tear filled eyes.
"Hey now, let's not get worked up over something before we've even started. My name is Hunter, and you must be Jeff," Hunter spoke, trying to calm down the frightened patient and make him feel more comfortable.
"Nick, I hardly trust you yet. I don't want this guy messing around in my mouth. I'm not ready. Everything is still all messed up. You know how I feel about this," Jeff said, ignoring the greeting. He knew he was being rude, but he knew what Hunter wanted to do and that put a sour taste in his mouth.
"Jeff, this again? Nobody is judging you. You're here to get this fixed, we fix teeth. Nobody is expecting things to be perfect, and that's okay that they aren't," Nick tried to reassure.
"Jeff, really we're not here to make you feel bad, we're here to help. Do you mind if I take a quick look at Nick's diagnosis?" Hunter asked patiently. He washed his hands and threw on gloves. "I mean obviously we can't make you, but if you want to live with your problem then that's your decision."
"Jeff, it will be quick. Please just let him look so I can get you out of pain."
"Nick," Jeff whined.
"You will be in pain forever if you don't let him look. I have to get approval. If I don't get approval then your pretty little face will never get fixed."
Jeff huddled in on himself, but nodded fractionally in agreement.
Hunter scooted closer. "You won't regret this Jeff, well I'm sure you already regret this, but you'll stop regretting it when you're out of pain, am I right? Anyway, let me take a quick look so I can allow Nick to do his thing."
Jeff looked to Nick fearfully. Nick took his hand and kissed it. "It'll just take a second," he reminded. Nick was able to coax Jeff into laying back down flat in the chair. From there Hunter took Nick's place, readjusting the light and moving the chair up a bit so he had better access. He moved the mask over his face and picked up the tools he needed.
"Okay honey, just open your mouth really quick and keep it open long enough for him to look," Nick coaxed, holding Jeff's hand tightly.
Jeff looked over to Nick and shook his head fearfully, not wanting to open his mouth for this stranger. "Nick, I'm not ready. This is too much."
"Yes you are. Don't think about it, just close your eyes and let your mouth fall open. I'm right here and nothing is going to hurt you, and nobody will laugh at you. Please, don't think about it. Just open," he coaxed, rubbing circles on the back of Jeff's hand.
Jeff shut his eyes tightly and took a few more seconds to regain himself, but obeyed and opened his mouth. He just couldn't let himself think about this or he wouldn't be able to do it.
"Great job Jeff. I'll just take a look, and as long as you don't punch me in the face, I say you're doing fantastic," Hunter praised comically.
Jeff laughed a little despite his situation.
"Do you see what I'm talking about professor? I think the needed procedure is clear. I have x-rays if you need further evidence. The tooth in question is number 31. It can be saved from what I've seen on the x-rays." Jeff was getting squirmy at this point, but Hunter seemed to be able to work with it.
Hunter took a look at the tooth and nodded, then retracted his tools. "Yes Nick, I can see that. I agree with your diagnosis. Have you informed Jeff yet or shall we discuss it now?"
Nick bit his lip awkwardly and shook his head. "Are you sure it's necessary to give him all of the information? I could hardly get him to agree to come in."
"Just as sure as I am that I will be forced to throw you out of my clinic if you don't keep your patient informed. Mr. Duval, is that understood?"
Nick felt his cheeks burn red at the reprimand. He was one of the lucky students that had avoided getting scolded by Hunter, at least up until now. So much for being a perfect student. Nobody could escape Hunter's wrath. Though he nodded in understanding, he was kind of asking for that one. "Yes sir, I understand. I will fully inform the patient about the procedure," he spoke in defeat.
Nick then looked to Jeff with an apologetic expression. "Jeff honey, don't freak out. You need a root canal if you want to keep your tooth. It's not bad, and sounds way worse than it is."
Jeff was clearly about to protest.
Hunter stood up and started to walk out before the argument could go down. "I'll leave you two to the argument now," he cut in. "Mr. Duval, you're cleared to do the procedure. I'll be back to check in later. You're a 4th year, so I trust that you know what you're doing. Page me before you seal everything up. Have fun you two."
As soon as Hunter left, Nick grimaced. He knew an argument was about to go down. Nick couldn't tell if Jeff was about to scream or burst into tears. "Jeff," he started. "I know you–"
"Easy fix my ass! You lied to me! A fucking root canal isn't an easy fix," Jeff yelled with tears pouring down his face.
"No, Jeff. Please, don't be upset. A root canal is easy. I can save the tooth, good as new, it's easy."
"No, I'm not doing this. I can't trust you anymore! You asshole. I'm not letting you do this. I'll go to someone who won't lie to me. Someone who knows how to treat me."
Nick's jaw dropped. "Jeff, I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react like this. I won't hurt you. I thought I was doing the right thing," he whispered.
Jeff shook his head, tears falling down his red face. "No, you didn't." He stood up and was about to walk out. He was sobbing and could hardly breath. Nick had never seen him so upset.
Nick ran over to Jeff and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Please don't leave," he begged. "I love you. I love you so much. I'm sorry I lied, I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I know I wasn't. I just want the best for you."
Jeff's anger melted away at Nick's words. He was still crying. "I'm sorry. I love you too, so much. Gosh, I'm a asshole. You were only trying to help..."
"Yeah, well you're my asshole."
A/N: Don't panic, I have more coming.