Author's Note: This is a Chloe outtake. It takes place between the chapter's 17 & 18, I believe. This is after Chloe leaves Nick to go to work in the 17th chapter, which is the chapter after Jasper leaves for Forks. This is what all happened up to the time Nick went to her apartment and she said she was 'sick'. Hope you enjoy it!

Chloe's POV...

Work was slow since the minute I walked in this morning.

Aurelia and I were the only two working the whole day shift. She was the sweetest old lady, about my grandmother's age, only nicer. Aurelia had noticed my mood the minute I walked in to where she stood at the cash register.

"Morning, Aurelia," I said softly as I walked behind the desk with her. I reached down to pick up the list of the latest shipments to see what books still needed to be stacked.

"Good morning. You feeling okay today, dear?"

Her wise, old eyes looked over me, taking in my long, messy, braided pigtails with bobby pins galore, plus the light make up that was just what was left over on my face from the night before.

I hadn't planned to stay with Nick overnight, so I hadn't brought anything with me to Jasper's apartment. Result: quick hair and make up, same jeans as yesterday, and the first shirt I could grab when I stopped in at my apartment for five minutes this morning on my way to work. I had just enough time to grab the shirt, change into it, grab my stuff for my night class, and then leave again for work.

"I'm okay. Just a little tired. I was in a hurry this morning," I explained with a smile. She had started working at the book store with me a few months after I had started, and ever since, she had become the official Grandma on staff. I adored her.

She patted my cheek with her soft, wrinkled hand. "Don't overwork yourself, sweetie. You're young. I hate to see you so worn out at your age."

I shot her a grateful smile before getting ready to stack the new shipment of books. "No worries, Aurelia."

She was perceptive, I'd give her that. She had always picked up on when I pulled an all-nighter studying, or when I had had a bad night because Bryce would call incredibly late to check to make sure I was home, safe in bed.

Speaking of Bryce...

I grabbed the first box that needed stacked and retreated to the shelves. After disappearing to the furthest corner, I slid my phone out of my pocket, hidden in the book shelves. We weren't supposed to check our phones at work, but no one was in the store yet, and it had been off since last night.

Last night... wow. I had never seen Nick so down. He was almost like an entirely different person. I could only catch glimpses of the guy who had bumped into me a few weeks ago and knocked me off of my feet-- literally and metaphorically.

Nick was gorgeous, but what really attracted me to him was his determination and genuinely caring demeanor. He was so set on making sure I was happy, making sure he was doing what was right by me, making sure he was treating me okay, making sure I felt like I was special... I had never met a guy like him before. He had no idea. He just made me feel so much... lighter. Like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

I didn't have to try to hard to please him... he just seemed to love the fact that I was there. And even though I could feel myself slipping into some of my old "Bryce" habits sometimes, Nick never judged me for my shyness or my uncertainty. He actually did the opposite and tried to assure me that whatever I was doing was right...

He didn't talk a lot last night, though. It was as if he was afraid of opening up to me... I was guessing that he was afraid that I'd leave him. Especially after Jasper had headed out and told him that he wasn't coming back.

My heart broke for Nick when he told me that. I had been catching hints of some of that pain when he'd let his eyes slip a little. A few times, the sheer velocity of the pain I saw in his eyes scared me. It made me just want to hold him and make it all better...

But I could only do so much. And I could only help what he'd let me see. So... the best I could do for him last night was try to make him realize that Jasper would come back and then stay with him through the night in case he needed me.

But I digress.

I reluctantly pushed thoughts of Nick away for a second and turned on my phone, bracing myself for the texts and voice messages that were bound to be there as a consequence of me ignoring my phone last night.

I had to ignore him last night, though. Nick had needed me so much more than Bryce...

Oh, yeah. I was right. Eight new text messages. Ten missed calls. Three new voice mails.

I checked the texts first.

One. 11:38pm:

what r u doing... u didnt answer?-b

Two. 12:38am:

ok, its been a while, theres no way showering or dinner takes this long. y didnt u call back?-b

Three. 12:48am:

i know ur not ignoring me...-b

Four. 1:00am:

what r u doing? u said u'd be up doing hw for a while. y's ur phone off?-b

Five. 1:03am:

u knew id be calling. u better not be ignoring me chloe, i swear...-b

Six. 1:35am:

wtf chloe? u know i hate not being able to get a hold of u...-b

Seven. 1:59am:

fucking pissed that im still up waiting for u 2 call back. ur keeping me from sleep...-b

Eight. 2:03am:

going to bed. im not happy. i better hear from u asap 2mrw.-b

I sighed and bit my lip as I sunk to the floor. I pressed "1" to listen to my voice mails, bracing myself again.

Message One at 11:37pm:

"Chloe, just tried calling you, you didn't answer. What are you up to? Call me back. Love you, baby."

Message Two at 12:54am:

"Okay, seriously, what are you doing? I know you're not out, you have to work early tomorrow. You'd better not be out this late. Nothing good happens on the streets of New York after midnight, Chloe. I know you know that... call me back."

Message Three at 2:00am:

"I don't what the fuck happened, but I expect to hear from you asap tomorrow. You'd better have a good reason for not answering me, Chloe, I swear to God. I know we're not 'technically' together, but it's only because of school. I still care about you and you need me, so I expect to talk to you everyday. It highly upsets me when you ignore me like this, and it's not a nice thing to do. I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't understand why you're treating me like I don't matter anymore. It's rude, Chloe, and it's a really unacceptable thing to do to someone who just has your best interests in mind. Think about that."

I flipped my phone shut in anger and squeezed my eyes closed, breathing deeply. I hated when he swore at me. Bryce only swore when he was really mad...

I opened my phone again to call him back, but a shadow suddenly loomed over me.

Looking up cautiously, I saw Marcy, the manager, standing there.

"Chloe, I'm surprised. You never break the phone rule..." she said, giving me a look.

I swallowed hard and slid my phone into my pocket.

"I-I'm sorry, Marcy. I... there was a family emergency. I just got a text about it," I lied. Now Bryce had me lying to my manager along with Nick.

You're not lying to Nick. You're just... omitting. Nick never asked you if you had a boyfriend, and even if he did, you don't. Bryce isn't technically your boyfriend right now.

"Do you need to step outside and take a call, then?" Marcy asked me, her features softening at what I told her.

"Um... yes, please. If you wouldn't mind. I'll only be a second, I promise," I told her.

She looked over me and then nodded. "Take the call, and then if you need to leave, leave. But if you're staying, put the phone away."

"I won't need to leave. I'm sorry. I'll be quick," I said, hurrying to the front.

I went outside and pressed a number to dial Bryce's speed dial and called his phone. After three rings, it went to his voice mail, so I left a quick message.

"Bryce, it's Chloe. I'm so sorry for all the hassle I caused you last night. I fell asleep doing homework and my cell shut off because the battery was low. Which was my fault. I should've made sure it was charged. There's no good excuse to why I missed your call last night. It's my fault... it could've been prevented. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I'll... try to call you on my lunch break around one, okay? Bye..." I whispered the last word and hung up.

I took a deep breath of the crisp air, but it just made me cough. It tasted like traffic.

As I slipped back inside, I slid my phone into my pocket again, just in case he decided to call back. Then, I started working.

---

It was twelve fifty in the afternoon. I'd grab lunch down the street in ten minutes, but right now I was writing.

It had just sort of happened. The store had not been busy at all today, so I had grabbed a notebook from my backpack and just started writing to see what I could get.

I was deeply involved in writing about Nick. I had started wondering, via poetry, what kind of stories his scars could tell. Now I was writing about the pain that I had seen in his eyes...

The bell above the door rang and I straightened up quickly. "Hi, can I help...Nick!"

Well, speak of the devil. The grin spread across my face without me having to tell it to. Nick was here!

"Hey, Chloe." He smiled warmly at me. I liked that smile. His eyes didn't match it yet, but they came close.

"What are you doing here? You don't read..." I teased, coming out from behind the desk to hug him.

He held me close to him, hugging me tenderly, almost desperately.

"I read..." he pretended to be offended, "...sometimes."

"If you say so," I said lightly. I was just so happy to see him....

He tugged lightly on one of my braids. "You look adorable. I've never seen you wear your hair like this. It fits you," he complimented, leaning in to kiss my forehead.

"Thanks. I did it on the way over," I said, feeling my face get warm at his compliment.

"You doing paperwork or something?" he asked, looking past me to see my notebook on the desk.

I blushed more and grabbed it, closing the notebook.

"Not exactly..."

"What were you writing?" he asked curiously, "homework? I didn't keep you from doing it last night, did I...?" His face suddenly turned guilty.

"Oh! No... no. I was... well..." What do you have to lose, Chloe? "I was writing about you... actually...."

"Me?" he looked shocked, but then excited. "Can I read it?"

"Mmm..." I wanted to let him, but I was very self conscious about my writing... and it was about him... nothing would be more nerve-wracking. What if he didn't like it?

"...when it's finished?" I stalled, finally.

He held out his pinky suspiciously. "Pinky promise?"

I grinned and curled my pinky around his. "Pinky promise." Well, now I'd have to work and make it perfect.

"Chloe, you're taking lunch at--oh--well, who's this gentleman?" Aurelia came out from the back with a gentle smile on her face.

I took Nick's hand and he squeezed mine as I brought him over to Aurelia.

"Aurelia, this is Nick. My...boyfriend," I introduced them, suddenly shy again. I couldn't help but wonder what she'd think of him. Not that it mattered... I'd like him no matter what she thought....

Nick let go of my hand to shake hers gently. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," he said politely. Nicely done.

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine," she answered, winking at me. She liked him. How could someone not?

"I was going to ask Chloe if she wanted to go to lunch. Would you like to join us, or have us bring something back for you?" Nick offered her. He never failed to impress me.

Aurelia waved her hand at him. "You kids go on your lunch. Have fun. I'll see Chloe when her lunch break's over... and I'll cover for you if you're a little late," she promised, her eyes shining.

I blushed as Nick took my hand. "Thanks," I whispered to her as he led me out of the door.

---

Seeing Nick sort of cheered me up a bit. He still wasn't back to how I was used to seeing him, but he was trying, I could tell. And he looked a lot better when he was leaving.

I was supposed to be off at four, but I worked until five because Marcy needed some paper work done and she said I had better handwriting than Aurelia. I thought that was impossible, because I had seen Aurelia's handwriting, and it was flawless. But I stayed because she asked me to.

After work, I didn't have time to go back to my apartment again. Luckily, I was slightly ahead in this class, so I had already finished my homework for it and had grabbed everything I needed when I was at my apartment for five minutes this morning.

I raced over to the building that class was in, grabbed a bottle of water from one of the soda machines, and got settled in class right as it was starting at five thirty.

Five thirty until seven fifteen, and then I was done for the day. Finally. But I was used to the fast pace-- it's my life.

I walked home through the busy streets of the city, keeping my eyes open, but not worrying about muggers or anything. There were still a lot of people out and the sun was just starting to think about setting, so it was light enough to feel secure.

I made it to my apartment and headed to the elevator. I rode up to my floor, exited the elevator, and started thinking about giving Nick a call to see how the rest of his day had went.

The lock of the door clicked and I pushed it open and turned around to lock the dead bolt behind me.

When I turned around, I breathed out with surprise and pressed my back against the door, eyes wide.

"Did I scare you?" he asked. I'd know the voice anywhere, but my mind was taking a minute to get over the shock of seeing him here.

"Bryce..." I managed to gasp out with the last of the air that was in my lungs. Why was he here? Why?

My thoughts were racing. Bryce couldn't be here. He couldn't be here. What if Nick saw him? Especially now? Oh, God, that would break him...

Bryce smirked and started to come closer. "When you didn't get back to me, I got worried. I only had one class today, so I decided to skip it and come pay you a visit," he explained.

He looked exactly the same. His short hair was gelled into the same preppy style. Two eyes. Grinning mouth. Average. Muscles, but not muscular. No where near Nick...

Now that I knew Nick, Bryce didn't even compare.

"H-How did you...?"

"Get in?" he finished, now standing in front of me. "Your parents gave me a key when you first moved in, remember?"

I could only nod, still speechless. I didn't want him here...

I didn't want him here. That was the first time I had ever let myself think that. What was wrong with me? He might be mad, but it was Bryce. It should feel normal to have him here...

He reached forward and tugged at one of my braids. "You look a mess. Did you really go out like this today?" he asked disapprovingly.

I looked down, not sure how to answer. I didn't want to make him angry...

He sighed and pulled the hair ties from the braids and then ran his fingers through them so that my hair fell loosely to my shoulders.

"I like the pins, though. They're holding your bangs out of your face so I can actually see your eyes," he said, tilting my chin up with his finger so he could look at me.

"Not enough make up to cover the circles under your eyes, though. I guess that means you've been working hard, but you've still got to keep up with your appearance, Chloe. What would your parents say?" he asked, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

His smile was sickly sweet. "Just like you're sorry you didn't get back to me last night?"

I nodded. "I left you a voice mail message--"

"--I know," he cut me off, "I got it as I was leaving to come down here."

I was trying to keep my breathing under control as he ran his fingers through the waves that the braids had left in my hair.

"So did you miss me?" he asked, brushing his fingers across my cheek.

"Of course," I said, my voice low. Lie. Even if I wanted him here, he didn't give me time to miss him. I talked to him on the phone every single day...

He smirked. "Of course."

I swallowed hard and tried to think clearly.

"H-how long are you, uh, staying?" I managed to get out.

"Just until tomorrow, unfortunately. I have a class tomorrow night that I have to attend," he explained.

Good. Only one night. I could get through one night....

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Probably Nick. Mini panic attack. Don't let Bryce notice...

I nodded, "Did you eat yet?"

"Nope. Figured you'd probably offer me something..." he said with a smile.

"What would you like?" I asked, trying to stop my hands from shaking. I hadn't been this nervous around him in a while....

"You know what I like. I want to eat by 8:30. Figured I'd take a quick nap before dinner. You'll wake me when it's ready."

"Yes. I can do that... I'll wake you just before 8:30," I told him obediently. Just go to sleep already...

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek and I mentally winced.

"See you soon."

And then he retreated to my bedroom.

I slid down the door, breathing heavily, trying not to freak out.

As long as he didn't kiss me, I wasn't cheating on Nick. I'd insist on sleeping in a different room tonight, because it wasn't proper to share the bed with him and he knew that. He had to be okay with it....

I raced to the kitchen and started cooking, making this special type of chicken that I knew he enjoyed. I'd throw together a salad to go with it....

After about a half an hour, around eight, there was a knock at my door.

Crap.

Oh, God.

Crap.

Nick?

He had texted me...

I pulled my phone out and looked at the text from earlier.

Hey sweetie. How was class? Dinner tonight?

Not good not good not good....

I sprinted silently to the door, praying that Bryce wouldn't wake up.

I cracked it open and peeked out to see him. Nick. God, how I wanted to be with him right now instead of Bryce....

"Hey... you didn't answer my text, but I thought I'd just come by and surprise you..." he trailed off as he looked closer at me. "Are you okay?"

I stepped out of the apartment and closed the door almost all the way behind me.

"Y-yeah. Fine... why?" I stuttered, crossing my arms in front of me.

"You look... pale... that's a little unusual for you, right?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in concern.

Looking sick! Perfect!

"Yeah, umm... I wasn't feeling a hundred percent after class. I was actually thinking of going to bed early..." I said, trying to sound apologetic. I could feel my voice shaking.

His face fell, but the worry in his eyes didn't go away.

"I'm sorry you're feeling sick. Do you want me to stay with you...?"

I shook my head. Stupid Bryce.

"No..." I replied, a little too quickly. "No, I... I don't want you to get sick if I'm contagious."

"I don't care...?" he tried, almost desperately.

I shook my head, trying to hold back the tears. He couldn't know about Bryce. Bryce couldn't know about him... I was making myself light headed at the thought.

He nodded slowly. "Okay..." he said, hesitantly. "Well... call if you need anything, okay?"

I was hurting him. I could see it. Oh, Nick....

My lips met his suddenly, trying to assure him that I wanted him here more than anything, but that he just couldn't stay....

He kissed me back, softly, apparently honestly not caring if I was sick.

"Feel better, sweetheart," he said quietly before turning away and walking down the hall to the elevator.

It took everything in me not to chase after him. Instead, I shakily turned around and went back inside. Back to Bryce.

"Who was that?" he asked, coming out of my bedroom.

My knees were weak. I honestly thought I was making myself sick over all of this.

Get it together, Chloe.

"Just... my neighbor...." I whispered.

He came over and put his arms around me, bringing me close against him. "Dinner ready?"

He smelled all wrong. He felt all wrong. His embrace was cold, rough. It wasn't warm or tender... He wasn't Nick.

"Just about ready..." I whispered against him, my voice flat.

He nodded approvingly and let go of me. "Hope you managed to make it the way I like it."

I didn't care if he liked it. Just don't try to kiss me, Bryce. Please.

My heart ached throughout dinner. Apparently, it was good enough for him, because he didn't complain... or compliment. He chatted with me, and I responded appropriately.

After dinner, he went into the living room to watch T.V. while I cleaned up. After a few minutes, Bryce yelled in to me.

"Chloe? You joining me?" Bryce called from the living room.

"Yes, Bryce! I'm coming!" I answered immediately, like I knew he wanted me to. I hated to feel this way, but I was terrified about spending the rest of the night here with him.

I managed to sneak a quick text to Nick before shutting my phone off for the night and heading to the living room.

Thinking of you. Goodnight.

Author's Note: How'd you like the first Chloe POV we've posted? Likeee it? Leave a review! I believe this was also written by my beta, LucyAlyce. Right, lucy? Yes... I think so. lol! I don't remember writing it ;). So big shout out to my beta for this one! She can really write Chloe, huh?