The song in this chapter is "Lovely Traces" by Krystal Meyers.
Chapter 9
Nicolas' POV
Man, am I stupid! I can't believe I didn't hear a word she was saying! She must think I'm a huge jerk now, and will never want to pursue her feelings for me, if there are even any left. I never thought I'd love someone enough to ignore them. All I wanted was for her to feel better, more at ease. I just can't believe myself.
It was the day after the argument. I was sitting against the wall in the hallway, my face in my hands, when I heard Aunt Jenny calling. "Everyone get upstairs!" When I got upstairs, Karen was already there. Selena came up shortly after I did, openly avoiding me.
"Look what I found outside!" said Aunt Jenny, dragging Duncan in by the arm. She turned to him. "Tell them what you told me."
"No, I don't want to," said Duncan.
"Tell them, or else I'll have you arrested," Aunt Jenny threatened.
"You can't legally do that, but whatever," Duncan sighed. "I had a job as a drummer in this punk-rock band. The guys and I shared an apartment."
This certainly explained the hair and the edginess, but why did we need to know this?
Duncan continued reluctantly. "They kicked me out of both the band and the apartment."
"Selena, your band was looking for a new drummer, weren't they? And we still have like three bedrooms open downstairs." Aunt Jenny was clearly hinting in a specific direction.
Selena caught on quickly. "Duncan, you can stay here if you want. I can also get you an audition to my band."
"I don't accept help," Duncan said coldly.
"Well, this time you're going to," Aunt Jenny told him forcefully. "Nicolas, I'll have you fill him in on the mission stuff. He is not a member, but if he's going to live here, he needs to know what's up."
"I'm in," I said. Selena turned and went downstairs. "Selena!" I called to her, but she didn't respond. She's so bent on avoiding me and hiding away in her room.
I went ahead and led Duncan downstairs, explaining the squad as we went. "Selena, Karen, and I are on one of many special teenage squads with the sole mission of taking down Team Rocket. I'm sure you've heard of Team Rocket; their very notorious. We also have something that none of the other squads have: an inside agent. You'll meet Maya during our weekly video chat."
"So what's going on between you and Selena?" Duncan asked.
"Why do you care?" I replied, shocked that he would even ask such a question.
"I just feel like I should be in the know," he shrugged. "It looks like there's a lot of tension between you two."
I sighed. If I was gonna talk to somebody, it might as well be him. He wasn't gonna pay attention, anyway. "I fell in love with her a while ago. We kissed once, but she doesn't seem to have any interest in a relationship yet. She doesn't know quite how they work. I just sit back and wait. Yesterday, we got into a fight, and she's been avoiding me."
Duncan was silent for a moment. Then, he suddenly grabbed me and pulled my down in romantic embrace. His hair fell a certain way over his face and he put on a charming smile. "Sitting back and waiting seems like the gentlemanly thing to do at the time, but in reality, it's the stupidest thing a guy can do. Waiting around makes a girl think you're uninterested." His voice was sweet and smooth. "You have to show a girl that you want her, otherwise she'll think you don't care. Be a little forceful."
I had absolutely no idea how to react... "Get off me, dude! This isn't some yaoi!" I pushed him away.
Duncan laughed. "I always knew I could charm women, but men too? Ha! Don't worry, dude, I'm not that persuasion." I glared at him. "I'm serious about the advice, though. You might want to follow it."
I had never thought about the situation that way before. I'd always taken for granted that Selena understood my love for her, but what if she didn't? What if the reason she didn't seem interested in pursuing a relationship was because she thought I didn't actually care?
"Thank you, Duncan," I said to him.
"No problem," he replied. "I know everything about getting girls to sleep with you. Virgins need gentle touching and pros need a full-out push."
"Dude!" I exclaimed. "I'm not interested in sex."
"But what else are girls good for?" Duncan asked.
This guy was just begging to get beaten up. The eternal battle between the player and the gentleman. I didn't have time to deal with him right now, though, so I just pointed him in the direction of his room and went off to find Selena.
She was in her room and the door was locked. I could hear gentle strumming on her guitar. I couldn't blame her for feeling the way she did. I tried knocking. The strumming stopped for a moment, but started back up again right away. She must've known it was me.
"Selena, please talk to me," I begged.
A note slid under the door. I picked it up and read it. "Why should I talk to you if you won't listen anyway?" is what it said.
"Oh, real mature," I said sarcastically under my breath. Now I felt worse than before. Did I really drive her to childish measures such as these? "I promise I'll listen to you from now on. How can I listen if you stop talking to me? I'm really sorry. Please believe me."
I heard the lock unlatch, but she wouldn't open the door for me. I figured she wanted me to walk in on my own, so I did. I slowly opened the door and saw her sitting on her bed looking down at her fiddling hands. I moved over and sat down next to her.
"Look, Selena, I know I was really insensitive before. I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now. Not knowing anything about where you come from and finding a long lost sibling is almost unthinkable for me. Even coming from a family of police officers, I've lead a sheltered life. Even still, I can't stand the sight of you so upset and torn apart. I care about you a lot, you know. Don't obsess over the past. Just think of those empty memories as lovely traces; what it took to get you to me and others who care about who."
She stayed silent and kept her eyes averted, until finally, "We could write a song like that."
I smiled, happy that she was finally talking again. "Yes, yes we could."
And we did. We wrote a beautiful sing. I sat back and listened to her sing it for me.
I was consumed
By a life that I made
Destined to crash
Beat up and bruised
By the flashbacks of my own past
I tried to hide away
Till I heard you say
Lovely traces fall behind you
Turn around and you will see
Lovely traces to remind you
Everything that you've been through
What it took to get you to me
All my mistakes
Regrettable choices I'd like to forget
But somehow you make
All that I wasted useful again
I thought I fell from grace
But you can't erase
The lovely traces behind you
Turn around and you will see
Lovely traces to remind you
Everything that you've been through
What it took to get you to me
I lost my direction
'Cause I couldn't see
What a beautiful picture
You would complete in me
The lovely traces behind you
Turn around and you will see
Lovely traces to remind you
Everything that you've been through
What it took to get you to me
I was so happy all had been forgiven. Duncan's advice came back to me. Should I give a gentle push? I decided to go for it. I leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek...
End of Chapter 9
A/N: How will Selena react when she realizes Nicolas is trying to kiss her again? (Remember the kiss on the lips in the end of the first story? That's ok if you don't, I didn't remember either until now...) How will Duncan fit in with the others? Sorry it took so long to update... Stupid schoolwork! I didn't mean to leave another cliff-hanger because it will be a long time before I can get another chapter up, but please be content with this one for now. Toss me a review and tell me what ya think!