I ended up not having a match that night at the house show. I stayed around to watch Nick's match but after he finished, I waited to get Jojo and Nate and we headed out from the arena. We headed back to the hotel and decided to order from a nearby Chinese restaurant that would deliver to the hotel. While we waited for the food to be delivered, I headed up to my room to change into some more comfortable clothes.

I couldn't help but smile when I walked back into Jojo and Nate's room. They'd taken the extra comforter from out of the closet and laid it down on the floor like a picnic blanket, the comforter from the bed was laid out on top of it. Jojo was sitting, his back leaning against the bed, changing channels on the television. I dropped down next to him, pulling the comforter from the bed up over my and Jojo's legs.

"Where's Nate?" I asked.

"He went to get the food," Jojo said. "He should be back in a minute."

"I've been thinking about this all day, ya know," I said, giving his shoulder a playful shove. "You guys just left me hanging about this and I've had my guts all twisted up about it."

"Why, Serah?" Jojo laughed. "You're nervous? What are you so afraid of?"

I shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know."

"I think you do and you're not telling me." Jojo said.

"Why wouldn't I tell you?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Because you don't like it," Jojo said. "You're my baby sister, Serah, I know you. There's something going on inside that head of yours that you don't like and you don't want to face. So you're not trying to talk about it. "

I sighed, but didn't get the chance to respond. The door opened and Nate walked in with our food. For the moment, I was relieved. I didn't want to start the night off with talking about my feelings when the two of them were supposed to be talking about how they felt about Nick and Mike. We spent a few minutes sorting through the cardboard containers and dishing out food onto plates and another few minutes laughing when Nate accidentally snapped off the top of his chopstick trying to break them apart and sent it flying across the room. Finally, we were all huddled under the blanket to eat, the television turned off, waiting for one of us to bring up the subject that gathered us. I poked at my food with my chopsticks, nerves stealing my appetite.

"Well I suppose one of us has to address the elephant in the room," Nate said. "Since our little Serah looks scared out of her wits."

Jojo chuckled. "She's uncomfortable as hell right now."

I rolled my eyes at both of them, resting my plate on the floor beside me. "You guys left me on a cliffhanger all day long and I've been sweating it a little."

"I don't know why," Nate said calmly. "It's just our opinions. You're gonna do whatever is in your heart, Serah."

"I know," I said softly. "But your opinions are really important to me."

"Well then let's get right down to this," Jojo said. "So we've talked to Mike and Nick, individually and there's a little... discord if you will. Differing opinions."

"Like what?" I asked.

"I like Mike," Nate said plainly. "He's an interesting dude to talk to. He really seems to like you a lot and what he wants to do is get to know you. He respects you and I think that's really important in a budding relationship. He's a nice guy and Nick just seems too cocky to me. And not in that way that's just a little more confident. I don't dislike him but I think I like Mike a little more."

"And see, I feel the opposite way for the same reasons, essentially. I like Nick, I really like him a lot. He's a nicer guy than I thought he would be. He gushed about you when we talked," Jojo said. "And not in a lame kind of way, but a way that's just really sweet. Mike seems really... competitive to get to you. He's got a lotta mouth."

"So what's wrong with being a little aggressive when it comes to trying to be with someone you're interested in," Nate asked. "At least he's willing to put in the effort and not just sitting around and hoping for things to come to him."

"But Serah doesn't like it when boys are too aggressive," Jojo said. "Which is why Nick is good for her. He's not pushy, he's not being a wimp about how he feels about her, and he's not just having sex with her for fun. He waited until there was really something strong between them and I respect him for that."

"Alright, I'll give you that one," Nate drawled. "Mike might have jumped the gun with that, but it takes two to make that magic happen."

"True," Jojo admitted. "You have a point. But I think we also need to factor in the fact that Serah is more into Nick than I've seen her into a guy in a very long time."

"So does that mean you're not into Mike?" Nate asked.

"Not the same way I am Nick," I admitted softly. "I like Mike as a friend, and I mean he's a really good friend. There's just something about Nick and I don't really understand it. I feel a different type of connection with Nick than I do with Mike."

"I'm not saying that either of us know these guys very well when we've talked to them maybe twice in so many days," Nate said. "Obviously you know them better than we do, we're just gonna give you our honest opinions. I think you've got two pretty decent choices depending on what you're looking for."

"I don't know what I'm looking for, really," I said, sighing. "I'm afraid of getting into a relationship again at this point. It's not like I want to get married and have kids or anything so I'm not waiting on my 'biological clock' or something. It's not one of those cases of I'm not getting any younger."

"Do you think either of them feel like they're in that position?" Jojo asked.

I shrugged. "It's never really something I've talked to either of them about. Never really been concerned with it."

"So just, hypothetically speaking," Jojo started. "What if you were to get into a relationship of some sort with one of these guys and that comes up?"

"I don't know. I know that's probably one of those deal breaker things for a relationship at this age. But if that's something they want then... I just don't know," I said, raking my fingers through my hair. "I don't want that."

"Not even a compromise?" Nate asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea. It would already take someone really special just to even make me want to be in a serious relationship. That person would have to be triple special to make me take a step that far."

"We know that, Serah," Nate said. "We're just trying to see where your head is at with this situation. We also know that it's a big part of your life that you don't deal with more than one man at a time and that this situation is causing you a lot of grief. It's coming down to the time for you to make a decision."

"It's been time for me to make a decision," I sighed. "Especially now... after this morning with Nick. There's no way I can carry that around. It's gotta be one or the other and I already know Mike is going to be upset about it but..."

"But I think your heart is with Nick, sweetie," Jojo said. "Maybe you should give it a try. I know you're afraid and I know things that have happened in the past weigh heavy on you but you can't let that hinder now."

I shook my head. "I don't know guys. I'm afraid to tell Nick about things that I've done. I'm not some innocent little princess. I'm afraid to tell him about what's happened. That it'll push him away and he won't want anything to do with me anymore. I'm scared to get into this but I don't want to lose him. Nick is such an amazing guy and... despite myself I really think I've grown to care about him. I just don't want to ruin it."

"Let's be blunt about this, because I know you can handle it," Nate said, resting his hand on my knee. "If he can't accept you for your past, present, and future, he isn't good enough for you. If he can't support you and understand and be patient with you and the reservations you have then he isn't good enough for you. If he can do those things, then you've got a real catch on your hands and should hold onto it."

"He couldn't be more correct," Jojo said. "If you think Nick could be that person, there's no reason you shouldn't just try and explore it."

"We'll see what happens, I guess," I said, sighing.

"Serah, don't deprive yourself of the chance for something that could make you really happy," Nate said. "I know that you're doing a lot of great things and you don't need a man to make you truly happy but I think, even if I may prefer the other guy a little, that Nick could be a good person for you. If he's good to you and patient and loving, that's what matters."

"And if he's not, I'll knock him on his ass," Jojo said, smiling but all seriousness behind his words. "No one hurts my Serah."

"No, but what happens if your Serah hurts someone else, again?" I said, frowning.

"That isn't going to happen again. You've got to start letting that go, Serah Dahlia," Jojo said firmly. "I know you've done things you aren't proud of but you're not stupid. To repeat that mistake again would be foolish and that's something you aren't. You've grown up from there, girl."

I leaned my head on Jojo's shoulder and he wrapped and arm around me, kissing my forehead. Nate crawled over to us, sandwiching me between the two of them and kissed me on the cheek. I wrapped an arm around each of their waists and squeezed them both tightly. I'd truly be lost without the two of them. Their help, opinions, and guidance were invaluable to me, and everything they'd said about the situation I was in couldn't be more true. It'd been far too long that I'd trusted myself with being in a relationship, but maybe, if I were lucky, Nick could be that person to make the change, to restore my confidence in having a partner in this life.