Chapter 3

Jeff had spent the entire morning staring at a wall. That was what he always had done whenever he was sad. Earlier on, Wes and David had been trying to get him to talk to them, but he just couldn't tell them this. It was too much, It would mean telling them about his new-found feelings for Nick, and he just couldn't do that. All he wanted was to just forget about these feelings. It was really hard though.

Come on Jeff, he thought to himself.

Think of something, anything but Nick, just don't think about Nick. Don't think about… his cute hair when he wakes up in the mornings, or how his eyes light up when he gets an idea, or how his lips fitted mine perfectly….

"Ugh!" Jeff moaned as he realised that he was failing again. He heard a gasp from the other side of the room and the other two heard him speak for the first time in hours. But nothing else was said as they realised that he still wasn't going to tell them anything. They went back to their homework. Jeff leaned forwards and let his head hit the wall. It made a loud noise and really hurt, but maybe if he kept doing it he would lose enough brain cells to forget about Nick. Or at least last night. Things would be so much better if last night had never happened. Maybe he would have never discovered his feelings for Nick, and never had to feel like this. Jeff could tell how concerned the others were, but they had given up trying to talk to him after about a thousand failed attempts. He didn't want to talk to anybody right now, he just wanted to be alone. He could have cried to himself in his own dorm, if it wasn't for the fact that he shared it with Nick. He wondered what Nick had done for the rest of the night. Probably laughed his drunk little head off at the fact that he had tricked Jeff. But this didn't sound like Nick. Jeff was so confused. Oh, Nick.

Jeff hit his head on the wall again. He could feel a bump forming as his forehead was swelling up. He knew he'd have a killer headache later. Hopefully enough to literally kill him. Life didn't seem worth it now. He had lost his best friend, the most important person in the world to him. The only reason he bothered to get up in the mornings and struggle through those difficult lessons. Maybe, he should just give up… It wouldn't take much… he could just…

"Err Jeff", David's voice broke the silence and put an end to Jeff's thoughts. "We're going out for coffee now, you're welcome to stay here" he said. Jeff didn't reply, so both boys exchanged looks and just began to leave quietly. Jeff stayed staring at the wall. When David and Wes had closed the door behind them, He sighed. David and Wes looked across the hall to see Nick leaning against the wall, with a very concerned look on his face. He had bags under his eyes, and his hair was extremely untidy.

"Nick! are you ok?" Wes asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah… I will be." Nick mumbled. He gestured to their door. "Still in there?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes" David said. "I think you'll find him staring at the far wall. We'll leave it unlocked" He half smiled. He obviously guessed that something had happened between the two. Nick sighed. Staring at the wall? He thought. That's what Jeff always seemed to do when something was deeply troubling him. This was not going to be easy.

"Thank you" Nick whispered, as the others began walking away down the hall. This was it then, he thought. He put his hand on the door handle, opened the door and stepped inside. He instantly saw Jeff where the others had said he would be, staring at absolutely nothing on the blank wall. He slowly closed the door behind him, being as silent as possible. He tiptoed over to Jeff, and saw Jeff shift slightly as he heard one of the floorboards creak. It had given him away, but Jeff hadn't turned around, so it was unlikely that he knew who was in the room. Nick took a deep breath, and walked over, sitting on Jeff's left. Jeff's eyes didn't move from the wall, so Nick knew that he would have to be brave. He put his arm around Jeff, resting his own head on Jeff's shoulder. He felt him quiver and his breath caught as he realised who was next to him.

"Hey Jeffy" Nick said quietly, practically begging in his mind for a positive response. He didn't get it. Jeff stayed silent. "We need to talk" Nick said, trying to make his voice serious, but caring at the same time. It wasn't very effective. He hoped that maybe Jeff would listen to him. It stayed silent for a moment, and then the sudden noise when Jeff began speaking made Nick practically jump a mile. But oh, how he had missed his voice.

"Still drunk, perhaps?" Jeff asked, his voice cruel.

"No" Nick answered, hurt. "I wasn't as drunk as you think I was, I promise most of it was just me trying to be funny" he protested.

"I noticed" Jeff scowled. "Like the last part? Bet that was your best joke yet. Did someone dare you or something? Because I didn't think it was that funny". He sniffed and a tear fell down his cheek. Nick watched sadly.

"Oh Jeff, no" Nick said, attempting to pull Jeff closer and wipe his eyes. Jeff lifted his hand and brushed Nick's arm away from him. "Listen Jeff, It wasn't a joke. I know that I was drunk and that's probably why I did it because I wouoldn't have had the confidence to do it at any other time. I thought that maybe if you thought that I was really drunk then if you didn't… you know… like it, I could pretend that it only happened because I was drunk, and you wouldn't hate me…" Nick began. Jeff now turned to look at him, eyes widening with every confession as Nick explained, tears still falling. Nick was staring to cry now too. "But I know that it was a mistake because you're straight and you don't feel the same way but, I can't just lie about it now because the truth is that I love you Jeff, and I just want us to be together. The timing was stupid and it was a really dumb thing to do and i'm so so sorry and…"

Nick didn't have time to finish the rest, as Jeff leaned over and kissed him. The same feeling was there for both of them, not cliche fireworks, but just a warm feeling and the sense that everything was perfect for once. After a few seconds, it was Jeff who broke the kiss.

"Do you ever shut up?" Jeff asked, and smiled for the first time in what had only been a few hours, but felt like years. Nick watched Jeff's beautiful smile and the way it made him look absolutely gorgeous. Soon, he was smiling broadly too.

"I'm sorry Jeffy" Nick said, as Jeff put his head on his shoulder, and Nick's arm went back around him. Jeff stayed quiet for a moment, before shifting slightly to get more comfortable in Nick's arms.

"You have no reason to be sorry" Jeff said, and kissed Nick quickly again. Nick looked up to Jeff's forehead and saw the bump from the wall. He put his hand on it.

"Is this ok?" Nick asked. "I can go back and get the first aid kit if you want?" He asked.

"No. Stay here" Jeff smiled, holding onto Nick's hand tightly. He wasn't going to let go for a long time yet. Nick smiled and felt truly happy, he had Jeff, he had everything. "I love you Nicky" Jeff whispered.

"I love you too" Nick whispered back, and lent down to kiss Jeff once more. He would never get tired of the way it felt. Nick held Jeff and knew that he was never going to let him go again. They were both perfectly in love and had eachother. They could easily fall asleep in eachother's arms. Nothing could ever ruin the moment.

There was a sudden knock on the door which caused the two to break apart and glare in the direction of the door. "Um guys, I know you're busy and all but we forgot our keys, can we have our room back now please?" David said through the door. Nick and Jeff looked at eachother, and burst out laughing.

"Are we letting them in?" Nick asked with a grin, already knowing what Jeff's answer was going to be. If he knew Jeff right, then it was clear that he would take advantage of the fact that Wes and David couldn't get in, and make them suffer until they gave in and Jeff obtained some sort of personal gain. Jeff was amazing.

"Hell no" Jeff replied, before leaning back into Nick's shoulder once more, giggling at the pleading that could be heard from the hallway. They stood up and Nick and Jeff walked over to the door and sat with their backs against it, their arms wrapped around eachother again. David and Wes would be waiting a long time to get their room back.