I know it's been forever….I'm just getting back in the right frame of mind to write this, but I want to wrap a few of my stories up before the end of august.

Happy Reading!

TBS

CH 13

Nick pulled into the circular pathway of the Pope estate late that Monday evening. He had one idea in mind- he needed to check on his Harper. His love. NO matter what his step mother said to him, no matter how many threats she made against him and his livelihood, his mission had changed. He was no longer in the business of taking advantage of Harper.

When he was first introduced to the idea of befriending her for his stepmother's revenge, he didn't really care. Honestly he was kind of jealous of the early teen for accomplishing what he had only just now accomplished at age sixteen. She was already a Grammy award winner and more popular on and off social media than he and his buddies ever dreamed to be. When he first laid eyes on her at that after party, there was no going back from there. As he put his BMW in park, he began to relive that memory as if it were yesterday.

FLASHBACK

It was almost midnight and the party was in full swing. Nick had somehow managed to get away from his manager and buddies long enough to go toward the drink section for the youth in attendance and grab himself a drink.

After several pats on the back and "Good job, maybe next year!" statement's later, he managed to make it to the bar. He wanted so badly not to be upset, but sadness had a way of creeping up on you when you least expected it. He wasn't a mean guy. He only wanted to please everyone, which was why when Mellie had informed him of her scheme, he immediately jumped on board.

Mellie and his now deceased father had fallen in love. If you ask Nick, he felt like Mellie had fallen for his father's account balance before she actually fell for him.

Nevertheless, Nick wanted to feel as if he belonged like her awful brunette daughter, Quinn, did and he did almost anything and everything he could to fit in. Needless to say, it was never enough.

Nick was in a daze until he felt a coolness on his hand. He glanced down at the table where his hand rested as he drank his punch and saw a much smaller perfectly manicured hand grabbing paper towels. His eyes followed the dainty fingers, admiring the smooth light mocha skin and finally landed on the most beautiful pair of cerulean blue eyes he had ever seen.

"I'm so sorry! This was totally my fault…" The voice chimed in. Nick barely noticed as he was frozen in space.

"Excuse me? Are I'm sor-" The brown haired beauty seemed to stop talking as she finally locked her blues with his hunter greens.

"Uh- I'm Nick." Nick put on his best smile and he noticed how she blushed.

She's so beautiful…..

God, I'm in trouble.

PRESENT

Nick jumped out of his memory as something tapped on his driver side glass. He glanced up and into the very same pair of eyes he was dreaming about only minutes ago. He quickly gathered himself and stepped out of the car.

"Hey, Harp." Nick said as he extended his arms to hug her.

"Dang, did I scare you, Nick?" she smirked.

Nick smiled down at her and fully engulfed her for a hug. He was happy to see her, but the way he hugged her, Harper could tell something was off with him.

"Are you…are you alright?" She asked as she pulled back.

Nick smiled at her and kept her hand in his, kissing her knuckle and causing her cheeks to tint. The two teenagers seemed to be lost in their own world until an unnecessary cough interrupted their stay.

"Ms. Pope. It's nice to see you again."

Olivia made her way down the few steps and toward Nick. She was fuming. No way did this little boy decide he was going to show up at her house WITHOUT permission and everything be ok.

"I wish I could say the same, Nick, but it seems like I didn't have much of a heads up on this visit." Liv said through gritted teeth and a quick angry glance toward Harper. Harper looked like she was about to fall over from fear, but Nick quickly recovered.

"Ms. Pope, I know I should have called first and I'm-"

"Yeah, you should! You know I don't mind you visiting, son. Why on earth…" Nick cut her off.

"I needed to see you." Nick blurted out.

Liv stood there like a statue. She squinted her eyes as she studied his demeanor. He looked as if something was seriously bothering him. He shuffled his feet nervously and even though he made eye contact with her all the time, he barely could today. When he did meet her chocolate eyes, she could see fear flashing like lightening.

"Livvie?" Fitz appeared at the door.

Liv jumped a little bit at the sound of Fitz's voice. She looked over her shoulder and was met with exactly what she expected- Fitz in full daddy mode. She quickly turned back around to Nick and Harper, her gaze dropping to their hands intertwined. They caught the hint quickly and released each other's grip, and Liv's gaze now raised to Nick's eyes. She genuinely felt bad for the boy, but if something was wrong, she needed to find out ASAP.

"Nick, I can see something is wrong. Come on, let's go inside."

She ushered both teens inside, her hand resting on Nick's shoulder. As they passed Fitz, Nick nodded his head at Fitz and Harper kept her gaze down. Liv winked at Fitz and gently nudged her head in the direction of the house.

Fitz was a bit lost, but he decided to go along with it-at least they were not keeping him out of the loop. He closed the door and made haste behind his makeshift family, hoping to God that he wasn't about to have to commit a crime.

/

Fitz was worried. Olivia had begun pacing about 2 minutes after Nick began to spill his guts. Deep down Fitz wanted to be angry, but the fact that the kid had come forth with the truth was enough to calm him….

For now.

"So, let me make sure I'm understanding this right," Liv started. "Your job was to 'woo' my daughter, get to know her mechanisms and way of life, and then set her up to be kidnapped!?"

Nick just looked at Liv through sad hooded eyes as he barely raised his head up and down in a nod.

"Yes ma'am."

"Ok…and the reason for all of this is because your step mother, Molly, wanted to try to pocket some quick cash; however, once she realized who Harper was biologically, it became personal…right?" Liv said as her gaze then fell on Fitz.

"Yes ma'am."

"So, why now? Why are you telling the truth after all this time? How do I know this isn't another part of your little twisted plan?" Liv hissed.

Nick looked at Liv dead in the eyes as he began to speak.

"I stopped being a part of this from the moment I met her. Harper is…she's….everything. She's beautiful and smart and stubborn and she makes my heart dance for hours at a time and…I can't…I WON'T do anything to harm her. No matter who says to…Ms. Pope, I came to you because as irrational as it may be right now, I love Harper. I don't want anything to happen to her…" Nick finally stated.

Liv kept her stare emotionless. She had to push her mama bear instinct away when it came to her daughter because in her line of business she knew all too well the mistake of letting your heart make the important decisions.

Nick continued, "Look, I know I am basically signing my death warrant by coming here, but I would rather take the heat than anything happen to her." Liv noticed how Nick had yet to look Harper in the eye ever since he began his story, while Harper was completely silent and shooting daggers DIRECTLY through his head. She inwardly wondered how long it would take Harp to come unhinged.

"What exactly are you looking to gain from telling us this information?" Fitz boomed as he walked over to a now still standing Liv to comfort her.

Nick stood and moved directly in front of Harper's parents when he spoke.

"I have nothing to lose except Harper. To be honest, I don't think me saying I love her or care for and don't want to lose her will make much difference. With all due respect, I will continue to see Harper whether you want me to or not because we love each other. I treat her with nothing but the utmost respect. The only thing that can keep her from me is…well, her. I don't care about the trouble or consequences that I will face from this because as long as she is ok at the end of the day, I'm fine. I just want what's best for her."

Liv and Fitz both tried to hide the sadness in their eyes from his words. Both knew all too well how it felt to be without the one you love.

Liv moved to sit next to her daughter. She grabbed Harper's hand, which was now clammy, and stayed silent until she looked into her eyes. Fitz knew Harper's wheels were turning and he stood beside a now nervous wreck looking Nick.

Nick wanted to talk to Harper in private so badly, but he had never seen the look on her face that was there now and he was a bit scared.

"Harp, you asked to be treated as more of an adult. What do you want to do with this?"

AN: Sorry for the delay! Let me know what you guys think of this….I might do a time jump sooner or later to move the story along, but I promise, this part was necessary in the plot.

Any Ideas?

Happy Reading!

XOXO