DISCLAIMER- ALL HUSH HUSH CHARACTERS BELONG TO BECCA FITZPATRICK :)

THIS CHAPTER- LIMITED PATCH/NORA...SORRY GUYS, BUT NEXT CHAPTER IT'S OFF TO COLORADO SO HANG IN THERE, GOOD STUFF IS COMING AND...IT'S BEING POSTED RIGHT AFTER THIS, YEP, IT'S A TWO FOR ONE (MAYBE THREE TODAY) SO I'M MAKING IT UP TO YOU. MY INTERNET ISN'T WORKING AT MY HOUSE SO UPDATES MIGHT NOT BE AS RAPID AS THEY HAVE SOMEWHAT BEEN UNLESS IT GETS FIXED QUICKLY. (WAITING ON A TECH...GRRRRR) ANYWHOO...HERE IT IS :) REMEMBER READ AND REVIEW IT FEEDS MY MUSE AND MAKES MY DAY:)

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE REVIEWED/FAV/FOLLOWED THIS & MY OTHER STORIES!


CHAPTER 8

NORA'S POV:

A few weeks have passed since that kiss Patch and I shared in front of my father, everything seems to be back to normal. We're going to visit Rixon next weekend, and my parents are still going out-of-town so everything has been set in motion. Travis has even agreed to cover for me in case mom calls the house or asks questions, and luckily my dads feigning disinterest in his family means he'll have the intention of checking up on us. Things in that department have gotten increasingly worse these past couple weeks. My dad has slept in one of the guest rooms every night, him and mom aren't speaking at all, and there's even been tension between him and Travis. Vee asked me to spend the night at her house tonight, which I'm a little unsure about. I haven't been to a sleepover since junior high, I couldn't count sleeping at Patch's a sleepover since his house might as well be my second home. I have my own toothbrush, drawer and half of his closet as mine, but I haven't been to Vee's in years. I think she needs a friend right now since all of hers have completely shoved her aside. My mom is absolutely ecstatic that I'm spending time with someone beside Patch, and of course Vee comes from one of the respectable founding families of Coldwater Creek.

"Nora, I'm so happy you're here!" Vee greets me excitedly as I walked into her house later Saturday evening. I follow her up the stairs and into her bedroom which I see she has redone since last time I was here in various shades of purple. I love it. She motions for me to set my stuff down.

"So...how's everything going with you?" I ask as we take a seat on her bed.

"Ugh, it's all a total mess. Marcie has practically turned the entire cheer team against me, and I'm still a social pariah at school. It's so ridiculous that I'm being blamed for the breakup with Chauncey when he cheated on me the entire time we were together."

"I know, people really suck." I say sympathetically. "They will get over it eventually when something else happens to grab everyone's attention."

"I just wish I had an ally. All I ever wanted my whole life was to be a cheerleader. I'm on the team, but now nobody will talk to me and it's miserable. Everyday I go to practice and they all treat me so bad it makes me not want to do it anymore. I think they're purposely trying to get to me, I bet Marcie told them to make me as miserable as possible so I would quit on my own. If you quit the team in the middle of the year you can't try out the next year, that's the rules. Maybe I really should just quit, god knows everyone wants me to. I always hoped to be voted captain my senior year, but at this point nobody would vote for me."

"Vee, if cheerleading is something you genuinely enjoy you shouldn't quit." I gave her an encouraging smile. "Stay on the team just to spite that bitch, don't give her the satisfaction of taking that away from you. Marcie graduates this year, which means next year this will all be completely behind you, I bet it'll be over and done in a few months and most of them will be fine with you."

"You're right, quitting would make her too happy and I won't do that."

"Why were you ever friends with her in the first place?" I never understood that.

"I guess I always idolized her. She's so beautiful and confident and popular. She's like the queen of high school, I wanted to follow in her footsteps, I wanted to be friends with 'The Great Marcie Miller'. Now I realize how vapid and ridiculous that was, she's a horrible person. I've spent the last two years watching her bully and belittle people who didn't deserve it, and I did nothing to stop her. I backed her up every single time, and then one day the mayor's son dumps me and I'm trash to her. Now I see her for what she truly is, and I can't believe I was so blind to it."

"Maybe this whole situation is a wake up call. Being friends with Marcie was damaging to your life, now you realize that." I choose my words carefully.

"That's one way of looking at it. I'm glad I have Scott. He's been there for me through all of this, I really love him." She gave a small laugh.

"That's good." I smile. "I still can't believe Scott is in a committed relationship. Love really does a number on people."

"Thank you so much for everything, Nora. You're basically the only person besides Scott whose really been there for me, the reason I invited you here tonight is so we can really get to know each other again. I remember when we used to play Barbie's everyday after school in the 1st grade, and go swimming in the summer; I'd like to be your friend again. I'm sorry I bailed on you when we got into high school."

"I wasn't just you who bailed on our friendship. Patch and I kind of ended up in our own crowed, then the Parnell's moved back here so we hung out with them, you became a cheerleader, and we drifted apart. I could use a few more people in the friend department so I'd be happy for us to get closer again, just don't expect me to play Barbie's with you." I smirked at her.

"I think I can deal with that." Vee laughed. "I'm sorry I've dumped all my problems on you; it's nice to have someone to talk to. I love Scott and he's been great through all of this, but you know how guys are."

"I know." I smiled. "Really, I don't mind. It's kind of nice to hear I'm not the only one whose life is going every way but right."

"What's going on with you?"

"For starters my family is a complete mess." I sighed before proceeding to tell her all my issues with my mom, the fights with my dad, and the obvious issues with my parents. It's nice talking to Vee; just having another person to listen to me helps me more than I would have thought.

"I get all that family stuff. It's not exactly a town secret that my dad left my mom for another woman last year. I barely see him now. Family can be so complicated, and no matter what you're stuck with them. Maybe if they get a divorce it could end up being a good thing. I mean, if they're unhappy it creates a shitty environment for everyone."

"I've considered that." I nodded. "I think Travis would be upset about it, to be honest I don't really care. I just want to turn 18 and move out on my own away from them."

"At least you can escape to Patch's whenever you want." She gave me a mysterious smile. "Scott was telling me how often you spend the night there."

"When his mom would hurt him growing up he used to sneak into my bedroom and sleep at night to get away from her." I thought about those memories. "Now he returns the favor. My parents have never physically hurt me like his mom did him though."

"I hadn't realize it was that bad for him." Vee's expression was sad.

"You know Patch's good at the tough guy act so he kept most of it to himself and acted like everything was fine." I shook my head at the memories. "But he always came to me and told me the truth. His mom was never a very warm person, but when she drank she would become this whole other violent person. I only saw it for myself once when I was about twelve, and she started punching Patch so we ran away all the way back to my house. I think that was probably the most frightened I have ever been, she was like a monster. I'd heard about teenagers getting emancipated when they had bad home lives, so when we were fifteen we did all the research and on his sixteenth birthday he filed the papers and used the money his dad left him to get his house. I think it was the happiest day of his life."

"It all kind of makes sense." She frowned. "Why he's so guarded and sarcastic, it's all a cover for the pain."

"Yeah it is. He's gotten a lot better since she died and he's on his own, now he's helping me sort through my family issues. Sometimes I feel bad because I know mine don't even come close to his, like I said, my parents don't ever hurt or abuse me like his mom did him."

"Mental trauma can be just as bad as physical trauma, maybe even worse sometimes." Vee looked at me seriously. "Bruises and injuries can heal, but feelings and emotions can sometimes never go away and other people don't see them so they don't understand."

"I'm starting to realize that. Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, you can ask me anything." She gave me a perky smile.

"It's about Scotts' party a few weeks ago when you told me you thought Patch loved me." I said slowly. "Why exactly do you believe that? I mean, how do you know when it's real for you?"

"Oh please, I can see it. Look, I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone." Vee looked right at me. "But I can tell you what it is to me. Love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person. Love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be most ashamed of. Love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak in the knees when they walk into the room. They should completely consume you whenever you're together. You should want to be with that person ever second you can, and when they're gone you miss them more than anything, even if it's only five minutes. You love all of their perfect imperfections. So you tell me, does that describe how you feel about Patch?"

I had to think about it for a minute, but I knew the second she asked that it's completely applicable to how I feel, but am I really in love with him?

"Look, Nora, I won't tell anyone about this stuff. I think you need some time to get on the right track, then maybe you and Patch can be together."

"It's just really hard for me." My eyes filled with tears.

"Oh my god, Nora, please don't cry." Vee pulled me in for a hug.

"Sorry." I pulled away and wiped my tears as I took a deep breath. "It's just that he's always been the most important person in my life; I honestly don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for him. I can't lose him."

"Nora, just because you decide to be with him doesn't mean you're going to lose him. Why would you think that?"

"Because look at everything in my life." I say bitterly. "My parents hate each other, they're on the verge of a divorce, the only boyfriend I've ever had dumped me on my birthday a week after taking my virginity, and Patch has never had a girlfriend. All of those things put together equal one giant explosive ending ruining our friendship."

"Nora, you are not your parents and Patch is not Elliot. He loves you, I can see it. Have you ever thought that maybe the reason he's never been in a relationship before is because he's always loved you? He uses all of those girls as distractions, and you've been guilty of it too. I mean there's Elliot, Seth, Angleo, Gianni, and Scott of course-"

"Yeah thanks Vee, I don't need a list of people I've slept with." I interrupted her.

"Right, sorry sometimes I don't think before I talk." She said embarrassed. "Anyways, you get my point, right?"

"I do." I nodded. "Still, I just, I'm really scared. I couldn't bare the thought of us having a bad breakup or something and then he's not a part of my life anymore."

"You have to stop looking at the negative. There's a chance of that, there's also a chance that you'll be happy together, you'll grow up to travel the world, make gorgeous Cipriano babies, and buy the perfect house for your family far away from your parents."

"Cipriano babies?" I laughed.

"Whatever, I'm just saying your kids would be cute." She giggled. "And you guys could be so happy together."

"It's just complicated." I nervously ran my fingers through my curls.

"Well that's love for you, but once you get past the complicated and admit the truth it's pretty great." She smiled.

"Sometimes I wonder if my parents ever really loved each other." I shook my head. "They're so obviously not in love. It's nearly impossible to come across a family that hasn't been through a divorce these days, that's how it is. Love is great in the moment, and I know that sometimes it really does last forever, but most of the time it ends badly. At least by being Patch's friend I don't have to risk any of that and he'll still be in my life. In all honest I don't know what love really is, I don't get it like you do."

"I'm going to end this conversation before you over think yourself into a brain aneurysm." Vee sighed. "But life is about risk, it can lead to amazing things. It's something to think about, I'll leave it at that."

"I know you mean well, it's just such a difficult situation." I give her an apologetic look.

"I know, that's why I said to think about it. I say we end this sad fest and do something fun." She said cheerily.

"Do you remember when our moms set us up for a slumber party and we literally spent the entire night watching Disney channel." I laughed.

"Back when it was still good. I think I could recite every line of every Hannah Montana episode made. I think that was the night you and I tried to become friends again."

"That's right because that next Monday at school Patch was jealous because I sat down next to you instead of him." I laughed at the memory.

"I'm pretty sure that was when our second little feud started." Vee smirked. "He never has liked me very much."

"Yeah well, don't worry he doesn't like a lot of people. He has a lot of trust issues, and the fact that you're a cheerleader only increases his reasons for dislike, just don't take it personal."

"I don't. At least he doesn't treat me like a whore, I mean everyone else is."

The room quickly went from happy to miserable in a matter of seconds, I can tell that everything going on with Vee at school is hurting her a lot more than she acts like it is. I think after being in a two-year loveless relationship she's gotten good at pretending, and I feel like it's my responsibility to cheer her up.

"Hey, I have an idea." I try to sound excited. "They have all our old Disney shows on Netflix, why don't we kick it old school and have a marathon."

She nodded enthusiastically and flipped on her TV before we went downstairs to make popcorn, that's how we spent the rest of our night. It felt really good to hang out with Vee. She's actually a really fun person, not nearly as neurotic as I had originally thought. We fell asleep in the early hours of the morning and her mom made us breakfast when we woke up. It was the first time I had truly felt at ease in forever when I wasn't with Patch, I had forgotten how pleasant her mom is too. I'd generalized the majority of Coldwater Creek, but it's not all quite as bad as I had thought. I'm finding that some of the people I'd tried so hard to get away from are actually good, and it's kind of scaring me that I've had such a change in perspective. Now granted, I'm not becoming a cheer-leading pageant winning founding family trophy daughter, but I've learned that maybe they aren't all as bad as I had originally thought. When I got home in the early afternoon I heard arguing coming from the family room next to the kitchen and quickly made my way upstairs to get away from it. I passed Travis's room and noticed through the open doorway that he was laying flat on his bed staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, why are you staring at the ceiling?" I ask with a small laugh as I walk into his room.

"Mom and dad are having a really bad fight. Worse than any other one, and I'm just lying here waiting for it to end." He said glumly.

He had barely quit talking when I heard something smash downstairs, it sounded like a vase and when Travis's expression went from bad to worse I closed the door.

"You don't need to hear that." I sit beside him on the bed and flip on his TV.

"I know they've never been madly in love, but something else is happening lately." He says, still staring at the ceiling. I want to disagree with him and say it's simply normal marital problems because I know that's what he wants to hear, but that would be lying. Something is going on with them, and I don't foresee a positive ending anytime soon, if ever.

"I know." I aimlessly flip through channels and settle on a Big Bang Theory rerun because I know it's his favorite show. I notice him start to perk up and laugh as he got more and more into the show, it was a relief to see he wasn't laying in his bed like a coma patient anymore.


PATCH'S POV:

"Nora, we're going to be gone for two days only. Honestly, this is enough shit for two weeks." I put her giant suitcase in the back of Scott's car. I lift weights and it's a good thing I do or I wouldn't be able to lift the thing.

"What can I say, I'm an over-packer." Nora shrugs before getting in the backseat.

"Thanks for driving us the airport man." I thank Scott as he starts the car and we head off.

"Not a problem." He starts to flip through radio stations

"Since we're going to the city he promised me a fancy dinner after we drop you guys off." Vee says excitedly from her spot up front.

"How...fascinating, Barbie." I say sarcastically.

"Don't be an ass." Nora playfully hits me on the arm.

"Yeah, what she said." Vee squeals from her seat, making me roll my eyes.

"So what are you guys going to do while you're there?" Vee asks.

"We're going to visit my brother Vee, how do you not know that?"

"No shit captain obvious." She shoots me a quick glare. "I meant when you aren't with Rixon. Nora said visiting hours only go for a few hours. You guys have to do something in your down time besides sit in your hotel room and do nothing."

"I guess we haven't really thought about it." Nora shrugged.

"It's Colorado, so unless you want to fling yourself down a snowy hill and call it a sport there's not much to do." I say with a smug grin.

"Ugh, so now you're hating on snowboarders too? Is there anyone you don't hate?" Vee asks.

"I don't hate them, I just think it's a stupid hobby." I say defiantly.

"More like you tried it and feel on your ass so now you make fun of it to mask the fact that you just plain sucked at it." Nora giggled.

"I didn't fall, I just didn't feel like doing it so I didn't try." I defend myself.

"Oh please, Cipriano." Scott laughs. "We all know you just don't want us to know you aren't as cool as you pretend to be."

"I can attest to that." Vee smirks.

"Yeah well, nobody asked you Blondie."

"Hey, you ought to be nice to my girlfriend." Scott says with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Yeah, we are driving you an hour out-of-town so you can get to the airport. The least you can do is be nice." Vee says, sounding annoyed.

"If I had known you were coming I would have walked."

"Okay, let's all calm down and get along. How about Patch and Vee stop talking to each other." Nora intervened.

"Sounds peachy." I smirk at her and she rolled her eyes. The rest of the drive was spent listening to Vee and Scott argue over the radio like an old married couple, so I kept sneaking peeks at Nora when she wasn't looking. I'm not sure if it's possible, but I swear she's getting more beautiful by the day.

I've spent the majority of this past week stressing about seeing Rixon again, mainly because I don't really know what to say. We haven't seen each other since our mom's funeral when he was still using and we got in a screaming match that Nora had to break up. I wrote him one letter while he was away at boarding school so I could apologize, but with his drug induced haze I don't know if he ever even read it or remembers getting it. Scott pulled up to the loading zone and waved goodbye as Nora and I grabbed all of our bags and made our way inside.

"God I hate airport security." She groans as we take our spot in a long line. "Like I'm a sixteen year old suburban white girl whose proudest achievements are a few very successful school pranks and a gold card at Starbucks. I highly doubt I'd have the slightest clue about how to get a bomb on an airplane."

"Angel, you've seen Meet the Parents, you can't say bomb in an airport." I tease her.

"We aren't technically on the plane yet." She gives me a smug grin. "He only got in trouble because he was on the actual plane."

"You got me." I playfully roll my eyes at her. After we finally make it through security and to our gate we are able to take our seat to wait to board the plane.

"I'm so tired." Nora rests her head on my shoulder. "I just want to get to our hotel and sleep."

"It's a few hours behind us there so you'll get extra time tonight." I smile down at her, secretly enjoying being so close to her. A half hour later we board our flight and sit down. I look over at Nora who's smiling up at me, I think this is going to be a good trip.