Haha, I'm so sorry, it's not even funny. In case you aren't reading "Love Taps" and didn't get the memo (and shameless self promotion here: It's a different kind of Jeff!Abuse story, so, you know, for all of you who could die happy reading a protective Nick fic…) I have a one word excuse for not updating.

FINALS.

So I'll be studying like a crazy person. Accumulative exams are not fun, and I wanna cry, cause I'm stupid, and I can't handle this… Okay. Writing. Writing is happy time.

Nick wasn't happy.

And Jeff wasn't happy either.

He was completely sick of the blonde denying it. They shared a room together, and it's not like Nick was deaf; he could hear Jeff crying at night. He could see his puffy eyes and the tears on his cheeks whenever he came back from a date with Sebastian. Jeff was obviously not "alright" and not "fine" as he seemed so content to tell him each day, and Nick was ready to tear his hair out.

He was scared. He was scared for Jeff. Sebastian kept… he kept putting his nose into places where it didn't belong, and Jeff… Jeff was so clearly suffering. He was constantly wearing this worried expression on his face, especially when he was in the presence of Sebastian, and wasn't it supposed to be the opposite way around? Weren't boyfriends supposed to make you feel safe? Plus, worry wasn't a natural feeling for Jeff. The idea of it didn't sit right with Nick: worried Jeff… No. He couldn't stand to see things this way.

Nick hated Sebastian. He hated him. Didn't he understand that he was Jeff's first boyfriend? Didn't he know how perfect and innocent he was? Jeff… Jeff couldn't… Jeff wasn't going to get it. He didn't know what a good relationship was supposed to look like.

But Nick did.

And it clearly wasn't this. Relationships are supposed to be good, and from what Nick could tell, Jeff's and Sebastian's was everything but that. It made his skin crawl to hear some of the things Sebastian would say to Jeff. None of their conversations conveyed any sort of love… just lust and anger, and none of it from his roommate's side.

Nick was thinking heavily about this before Warbler practice. The unfortunate pairing was sitting across from him, making Nick sweat. Sebastian repeatedly bit at Jeff's ear, kicking him a little in the shin whenever his best friend tried to duck away. Jeff looked uncomfortable, and Nick couldn't take it anymore. He peeled himself off the couch he had fallen into, and crossed the room.

"Jeff?" he interrupted their PDA brusquely. "I just realized I left my sneakers in your gym locker cause I lost my lock, remember? And I need them for track this afternoon. I don't want to make you late for hockey, so would you mind running with me to get them real fast? I don't know your combination." The way Jeff's face crumbled in relief broke Nick's heart. He would always be there for Jeff, even if he wasn't always there for him.

"Sure, Three! Let's go!" he exclaimed, far too excited sounding for a guy about to stop spending time with his boyfriend. Ew. Boyfriend. That word never seemed to taste right when it was about Jeff and somebody other than himself. The taller boy grabbed his wrist and started pulling him out of the room, practically sprinting to the door. Nick ran with him, not slowing until he had realized that Jeff had dropped off behind him. He whirled around to see the blonde stopped only a couple feet from the door to the practice room. Jeff was biting his lower lip nervously, and Nick arched an eyebrow confused until the other boy's eyes met his own, more broken and scared than he had ever seen them. "Nicky…"

"Girls' bathroom?" he offered, trying to ignore the way his chest was constricting in favor of helping his best friend. Jeff nodded gratefully, and Nick took in how pale and thin he looked… How could someone older than him still look like such a little kid? Those huge green eyes…

"Yes, please," he answered, voice cracking a bit, and Nick hated how he didn't have to ask to know what was wrong. He laced fingers with the other boy, letting their arms stay completely connected, he was walking so close.

If there was one big benefit to boarding in an all boys school, aside from never having to worry about running out of something, it was the surplus of empty rooms to have real conversations in around the building. If your dorm was too far away, all you had to do was duck into a girls' bathroom. You know who used them on no-visitors days? No one. No one used the girls' bathroom during the week unless one of the teachers couldn't wait for a faculty one.

Nick led Jeff down a short hallways, pulled him into one of the more abandoned restrooms and sat him down on one of the very practical and very presentational waiting benches Dalton had stuck against the far wall, facing the sinks. He sat down cross-legged on the floor beneath him and grabbed onto his ankles. Jeff smiled weakly. Nick always held his ankles when he was upset and neither of them could ever figure out why… That was just kind of his thing…

"So…" he started slowly, looking up at his oh-so-very blonde friend hopefully and maybe just the slightest bit expectantly. "Are we finally ready to not be okay?" he asked, and Jeff's gaze fixed on the ceiling, but that was okay. Nick could wait. He had been waiting.

"No…" Jeff said quietly, and Nick sighed.

"Then what are we doing here, Jeff?" The blonde boy refused to answer, and Nick was starting to get impatient, surprisingly. This wasn't fair, and… and it wasn't healthy. Jeff couldn't keep this up anymore. Nick wouldn't let him. "We're hiding from Sebastian, right?" Nick questioned, his voice taking on a slightly angry tone. He didn't care. "AKA: Your boyfriend? Doesn't that not seem okay to you? When are you going to admit things aren't right?" Jeff flinched away from him slightly, his eyes shutting up against Nick's words, and he immediately felt guilty, he didn't want to be another enemy, but… but Jeff had to hear this… he had to…

"But they have to be, Nicky," he murmured, and Nick bit back his curiosity in order to be patient. He watched as Jeff took a minute to compose himself, blinking back a few tears and straightening out his person. "They have to be alright because… because things never are, and… and… something has to go right this time. I'm so sick of things going wrong."

Jeff had managed to keep his face expressionless, but his voice gave him away. Nick let his hand latch onto his roommate's. "What's gone wrong?" Jeff ran his nose along the back of his free hand. It was cute. Well, to Nick anyway…

"Everything," Jeff replied, voice cracking. He took a breath. "Nicky… Sebastian picked me, right? That means I'm special? At least to him?" Nick bit his lip. Shit… how do you answer that?

"Yeah, Jeff." Nick took a breath of his own, something heavy settling on his heart. "You're special."

Jeff's eyes only widened a little bit in response. He stayed still for a minute, unnerving Nick a little because –well- this was Jeff. He never stopped moving. A moment later, his eyes flickered up to meet Nick's, a smile fighting it's way onto Jeff's face. "So it'll be okay?" Nick squirmed.

"I hope so." Not.

Jeff beamed. "Good. Cause I still sometimes get those butterflies and stuff, and I don't want those to go away forever," he said, expression hopeful, and part of Nick honestly died. He couldn't do this… Not when there was so much wrong with whom Jeff was with…

"Right." He clapped his hands together. "Well, we should probably get back. Or get my shoes… or, you should just write your combo on my hand or something…" Nick suggested, grabbing the arm of his best friend to pull him up, but Jeff resisted.

"Or, you know… we could stay here. For a little longer." Nick huffed.

"Things aren't okay, Jeff."

"Yeah, but they have to be."

These have been short… I DON'T CARE! I'll write more words next time.

BTW, my birthday? Tomorrow! May 16th! If any of you would like to write or update, that's a really great reason to. Another great reason? It's Nick and Jeff. Let's be real.