Went and saw Wicked last night!

Best. Show. EVER!

This one's for you guys!

(Short one.)

Nick's POV

I had just finished a show about a half hour ago, and was getting ready to hit the sheets, when Olivia burst into the room, a huge smile on her face, her eyes wide with excitement.

"You have to come see this!" she yelled, grabbing my hand and yanking me off.

She took me to a back hallway and started up some stairs. Five flights up, I was getting tired and stopped. Her hand still in mine, and her grip like steel, she went to keep running when her feet came out from under her. She caught her balance and twisted at the last minute to stand up straight and face me.

"What?"

"Where are you taking me?"

"Someplace amazing!" she gushed.

"Why did you even come over here in the first place?"

"Because I'm a curious person!"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"If I'm a cat, then I've got nine lives and I'll take my chances!"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, smiling despite myself. She smiled and tugged on my hand again, throwing me off balance and dragging me up another flight of stairs.

After climbing at least another six flights of stairs at a run, we reached a heavy metal door. Olivia hesitated outside it, breathing deeply and grinning like an idiot. I looked from her to the door and back again.

"I hope... what you're... showing me is... behind... the door," I puffed. She ignored me and shoved it open.

We stepped out onto the roof of the theater, and into a painting. It was picture perfect. The buildings and trees were black shadows against the brilliant reds, oranges, and pinks that splashed across the sky. The sun was a flaming orange half circle, sinking beneath the city. Looking up, there was a ring of clouds, tinted pink, showing a patch of magenta sky, with little, barely visible, pinpricks of white scattered here and there.

We stood there and watched the sun go down, not daring to look away for fear of missing a single magical moment. The colors changed constantly and made for a different picture every time I blinked. The oranges burned red, and the reds flamed pink. The pinks hazed purple, and eventually the sun left and the sky swirled into a warm, blue twilight, with stars sprinkling the sky, like little lights trillions and trillions of miles away.

Slowly, each window in each building lit, and there seemed to be stars both above and all around us.

Olivia and I didn't dare speak, for fear of disturbing the amazing atmosphere. We savored the moment and I slowly became more and more aware of her hand wrapped in mine.

I finally exhaled and nodded slowly.

"That was amazing," I whispered.

"Incredible," she softly agreed.

"I've never seen such a beautiful sunset," I admitted.

"Neither have I."

I looked down at her, the lights of the city and the stars reflecting in her eyes. She felt my gaze and looked up at me, a small smile stretching her lips.

"Told you," she whispered. I smiled and chuckled.

"Yes, you did."

There was another silence, though it was peaceful. I glanced down at our hands again and focused on how I felt about it. After a few seconds I realized that it really didn't bother me. That it felt... natural. As if I'd held her hand many times before. As if I'd always held her hand. But it wasn't like holding Maya's or Demi's hand. It was different. Tingly. Warm.

"Olivia?" I whispered, feeling the blood drain from my face. She looked over.

"Yes?"

"How have you been? You know since..." I trailed off, feeling awkward.

"Better," she said, then laughed a little. "No, that's a lie. I feel a lot happier. Nobody's constantly smothering me, and then making excuses when I try to make plans with them." She laughed again.

"Well, I'm glad you're in good spirits about it," I smiled. She nodded and squeezed my hand before walking over and leaning on the fence lining the edge of the rooftop. I followed her over and gathered my thoughts. I would do it. Right now.

"Olivia?" She looked up at me and I exhaled, nervously. "I think I've developed feelings for you."

I stood there waiting for her to say something, and when she didn't, I grew worried. She finally smiled and shook her head.

"What?" she asked, as if she was sure she'd heard me wrong.

"You are one of the only people who understand me, Olivia. And I feel a strong connection with you, and I wanted to tell you that, since you came back into my life, which was, what? A year? A year and a half ago, now? I've been happier. I've had someone to talk to whenever I needed them, even if it was at two in the morning. I've had someone who would talk for hours on end just because I needed a distraction. I've had someone who will bicker with me. I've had someone who'll slap me across the face and say, 'Wake up, Nick! You're being a jackass!'"

I expected her to smile at this, but she was staring at her feet. I took a breath and opened my mouth to continue, but hesitated when I saw Olivia shake her head, a tear landing on the toe of her shoe.

"You've been that person, for me, Olivia," I rushed, feeling as though I was loosing her even before I'd even had her. "You've taken me away from the world when I needed to be, and you've thrust reality in my face when I had to face it. When I was ready to face it. You saw me cry and you didn't back down. You held my hand and listened. You saw me smile and you didn't think that was good enough. You weren't satisfied until I'd laughed."

"Nick, I-"

"Let me finish," I said, softly. "Everyone loves you. My friends love you, my coworkers love you, my family loves you. My mother loves you. That's pretty special, right there."

"And I love them, but-"

"Please," I asked, holding my hand up to stop her. "Just hear me out."

She looked at her feet again and exhaled. I took her hand in mine and waited for her to look up again.

"Olivia, you're so amazing. I don't know why you can't just..." I trailed off and examined her face carefully. "You don't even realize it, do you?"

"Look, Nick," she sighed. "I understand that you're taking a big risk here, and that you are a blunt person, so these are in fact your true feelings..."

"But?"

"But, I just don't think it's going to work," she admitted, another tear sliding down her cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Why not?" I demanded.

"I just don't think-"

"This is about Selena and Miley, isn't it?"

"No, its just-"

"Olivia, will you just think about yourself right now? I know that you're good friends with them and that you care about them a lot, but can't we come first?"

"This isn't about them."

"Then what is it about?"

"It's about you, okay? The last guy I dated was a lot like you, and I don't want to go through that again."

"But, that was him, Olive. I'm different!"

"Nick, I know the story, okay? You've told me, Miley's told me, Demi's told me. I'm not trying to blame you for anything, but I've done the math and it doesn't add up. We're just not compatible."

"But I've grown since then! I've changed!"

"Yes, I know. But you're still you."

"No! I'm not! I'm so different from who I was yesterday, I must be an entirely new person from then!"

"Nick, just stop," she said quietly, shaking her head, another silent tear sliding down her cheek.

"No! You're special, Olivia! I'm not giving up on you!"

"Nick-"

"I don't care if I have to fight for you, or wait for you!"

"Nick, stop-"

"I need-"

"STOP!" she yelled. The tears finally came pouring down quickly, instead of drop by slow drop. "I CAN'T! I JUST CAN'T!"

She turned away from me and ran towards the door. It slammed behind her and I stalked to the top of the stairs, listening to her footsteps echoing off the cement walls. I heard another door slam and lowered myself to sit on the step.

I'd done it. And it blew up in my face.

BAM!

Hit him like a ton of bricks!