Nick sat up straight, gasping for breath. Sweat soaked the bedding and stuck to him as he shivered in the early morning light. He looked around the room trying to get his bearings as his breathing began to return to normal. He didn't recognize the room, but he could tell immediately that it was a hotel room. No Zak either. And no trace of him. The pillow on his side of the bed looked completely untouched with the covers still tucked tight under the mattress.

"Zak?" Nick called out. Maybe he was in the bathroom and just hadn't come to bed yet? But when did they even get here? Nick didn't remember checking in. He racked his brain, trying to remember where he was and why he was in this hotel room alone. But he was coming up empty - with the exception of the growing, unnerving feeling that something wasn't right. He needed to call Zak and find out what the hell was going on. He turned to the nightstand and found his phone and wallet. He picked up the phone, quickly scrolling through his contacts until he got to Zak's name. He couldn't help but smile as he was reminded that Zak had changed his last name in Nick's phone to Bae-gans months ago. Nick had rolled his eyes when he discovered it, but he had never changed it back. He waited as the phone rang, anxious to figure out what was going on, when he heard Zak pick up.

"Hello?" Zak said. But something was off about his voice.

"Zak, where are you? I woke up and you weren't here." Nick asked. There was a long pause and Nick could hear Zak breathing on the other end of the line.

"Nick, what do you want?" He finally answered back. The tone of his voice confused Nick. It felt much more cold and distant than he had expected.

"I woke up in this hotel room. I don't know where the hell I am... I can't remember anything. Where are you?" He asked, starting to panic about that sinking feeling he was having. There was another long silence and for a moment he wondered if the call had gotten disconnected.

"Are you drunk again?" Zak asked. And Nick could hear pain in his voice.

"What? No. At least, I don't think so." Nick felt confusion wash over him. "I'm really freaking out, babe. Will you please come get me?"

"You can't keep calling like this." Zak said seriously. "I'm sorry…" he added softly before Nick heard the line go dead. His head swirled as he tried to piece together what the hell had just happened. He closed his eyes, trying hard to recall anything from the past few days. He and Zak must have gotten in a fight about something, but he couldn't remember what. His head pounded as he tried to put it together. He rubbed his temples, frustrated with his lack of short-term memory. He needed to talk to Zak, figure out what was going on. But first, he had to figure out where the hell he was. He got up, noticing a hotel notepad on the desk across the room. Okay, so he was still in Vegas. That's good. But it didn't explain why he was sleeping on the strip instead of in his bed with his boyfriend. He sighed in defeat. He'd have to figure that out later. First, he needed his pants. He noticed his clothes draped over the chair next to the bed and quickly got dressed. He checked the room for anything that might jog his memory but found nothing. No luggage, no receipts, nothing. He grabbed his wallet and phone, stuffing them in his pants pockets before making his way to the hotel lobby.

"How can I help you today, sir?" The concierge asked brightly.

"Um...checking out, I guess." Nick said.

"No problem. If I can just have your key?"

"Oh. Right." Nick said, digging through his pockets and handing the card over. "You wouldn't happen to know if I valet parked a car?" The concierge smiled knowingly. Clearly this was not an unusual question on the strip.

"I'd be happy to check on that sir." He said, clicking away on his keyboard. "I'm not seeing a car on file for you. Would you like me to call you a cab?" Nick smiled, feeling embarrassed by the whole ordeal.

"That would be great. Thanks." he said.

The cab arrived 5 minutes later and Nick quickly gave the driver Zak's address. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves and his pounding headache. He woke with a start to the driver clearing his throat. "Excuse me, sir but we're here."

"Sorry." Nick quickly apologized, pulling cash out of his wallet to pay the driver. He made his way up the driveway, anxious to talk to Zak. He fished around his pockets and pulled out his key ring. He flipped through the keys one by one, unable to find the one for Zak's house. "What the hell?" he mumbled to himself. He must have lost it. Zak was gonna be pissed about that. He hated having to change the locks. He exhaled sharply, reaching out and ringing the doorbell. He heard Gracie barking followed by Zak's shuffling footsteps coming toward the door.

"Calm down, Gracie. What's the matter with you?" He heard Zak mumble to his beloved dog. The door swung open and Zak's eyes went wide in surprise. "Nick…"

"Hey. Sorry, I think I lost my key." he said expecting a frustrated groan. Instead he was met with shocked silence.

"What are you doing here, Nick?" Zak asked and Nick couldn't help but notice the nervous glance over his shoulder and back into the house. "You have to go."

"What? Why?" Nick asked, confused, his headache returning. "Zak, please. I don't know what I did. I can't remember. But I'm so sorry that I upset you."

"Nick…" Zak started. His voice broke slightly as he let out a ragged breath. Nick could see that whatever had happened, whatever he had done, Zak was hurting. He took a step forward, resting a hand on the older man's cheek.

"Babe, what is it?" he asked softly. Zak closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before taking a half step back and out of Nick's reach.

"We talked about this." He said. His voice more stern now that he had collected himself. "You can't keep showing up at my door. You can't keep calling me and texting me. This has to stop." Nick's heart sunk in his chest. Zak was talking as if they weren't together anymore. As if they hadn't been for a while. But just the other day...at least he thought...but the memory was just out of reach and he couldn't quite get to it. Still, he knew somehow that it was happy. At least parts of it were. The parts that mattered. He felt his stomach turn as he tried to grasp what was happening now.

"What happened?" Nick asked weakly. He swallowed back the bile that was attempting to make an appearance.

"You really don't remember?" Zak asked sadly. "Nick, I wish you wouldn't drink so much."

"Zak, please. I'm going crazy. Just tell me what happened." Nick's heart drummed loud in his chest as he waited.

"We broke up, Nick!" Zak said, exasperated. "Okay? That's what happened." Zak crossed his arms over his chest, unable to make eye contact with the younger man.

"No… that's impossible." Nick said, swallowing the painful lump forming in his throat. "I love you." he said in earnest. The words seemed to cause Zak physical pain and Nick ached to reach out and touch him. But he thought better of it. Zak looked like a wounded animal on the verge of darting off. "Don't you love me?"

"Nick, please. I can't... " Zak started. But before he could finish his thought, the door swung open and Zak jumped in surprise as he was joined by a man that Nick didn't recognize. He was tall with broad shoulders, dark hair and chocolate brown eyes. He stared intensely at Nick as he took in the scene.

"Hello again, Nick." he said, unsurprised. "You gotta go, man."

"Who the hell is this?" Nick asked, looking at Zak incredulously.

"Come on, man. You can't keep doing this. Let me call you a cab." The man said.

"I don't want a fucking cab! I want to talk to my boyfriend!" Nick was losing his temper now. Who the hell was this guy and what was he doing in Zak's house?

"He's not your boyfriend anymore!" The man said, raising his voice and taking a step toward Nick. Nick's hands balled into fists at his sides. This guy may have had a couple inches on him, but Nick had no doubt that he could take him if need be. Zak's arm flew out, stopping the dark-haired man in his path.

"Dave, No! Go inside." Zak snapped.

"Yeah, Dave. Go inside." Nick snarked.

"Shut up, Nick. You're not helping." Zak said, pointing at him sternly before turning his attention back toward Dave. "Please, just go inside and give me a minute." Dave nodded his head, placing a reassuring hand on Zak's lower back before going back in the house. Nick's fingernails threatened to pierce through his skin as his fists balled up even tighter. This couldn't be happening.

"Please tell me that you two aren't…" Nick started, unable to make himself say the words.

"Me and Dave have been together for six months." Zak said calmly. "Nick, you knew that."

"Six months? I don't understand." Nick said sadly. Hot tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Nick, go home." Zak plead. "You just had too much to drink. Please just go home and sleep it off. It'll all make sense when you wake up." Zak said softly.

"I don't want this to make sense." Nick said feeling utterly defeated. "Can we please go somewhere and talk about this?" he asked desperately as the first tears spilled over.

"You know I can't." Zak said sadly. The pain in Nick's chest was unbearable. He knew they were at an impasse. Clearly whatever had happened between them was not going to be solved today. He knew he should respect Zak's wishes and leave, but he couldn't. Everything hurt at the thought of walking away.

"But I love you." Nick said. And it wasn't a statement, it was plea.

"I'm sorry." Zak said softly. He stepped back, closing the door slowly. "Goodbye, Nick."