Jeff rolled over in his bed, only to have sunlight beat on his face. He scrunched his eyes closed as tightly as possible to block out the brightness. He yawned, then turned his head. He almost jumped straight out of bed when he saw Nick facing him, peacefully sleeping with a smile on his face. Suddenly, the memories of the day before rushed through his head and he smiled a huge smile. He had been so afraid to admit his feelings, knowing Nick wasn't gay. When he admitted his feelings the day before, he had felt nauseous and he knew his whole face was red, but Nick listened without interrupting or walking away, which gave Jeff the courage to say everything he needed to.

Nick moaned a little in his sleep and pulled Jeff close to him, making Jeff laugh quietly. He gently ran his fingers up and down Nick's chest, noticing the small smile on his face while he slept.

"That feels wonderful." Jeff jumped when he heard Nick's voice, stopping his fingers quickly. "That doesn't mean stop." Jeff felt Nick's hand on his arm and smiled up at him. He let his fingers continue their movements and kissed Nick's chest, which he noticed was quite warm. He cuddled closer, hoping it would help him stay warm. He really didn't want to get out of bed. He wanted to stay there with Nick all day long.

"Can we just stay like this all day?" Nick looked down at Jeff when he spoke, brushing the bangs out of his eyes. He smiled fondly and kissed Jeff's forehead. Jeff heard him sigh, and when he opened his eyes to see why he did, he saw Nick frowning. "What's wrong?"

Nick sat up, pulling Jeff with him, somehow managing to hug him closer to his side in the process. "I have to go home today. It's my mom's birthday and my dad is basically forcing me to come home." Nick rested his head back against the headboard of the bed. Jeff leant up, kissed his neck, his jaw, and finally his cheek, which made him smile.

"That's alright. I mean, you'll be back tonight. I can just finish up some homework and clean, maybe have Wes over to keep me company." He squeezed Nick close for a second, then got up from the bed. "What time are you supposed to leave?" Nick looked at the alarm clock on the table by his bed. He jumped up.

"In about ten minutes. Shit. Can I shower first? I have to hurry." Nick was scrambling to get his things together and Jeff stifled a laugh. He let out a loud snort, then covered his mouth. Nick looked over at him quickly and smirked. "Something funny?"

"Not at all. Go take a shower. I'll get your clothes ready." He walked over to Nick's dresser, pulled out his favorite outfit on the young man who was now showering quickly in the adjoining bathroom, and then knocked on the door. "Your stuff is ready. Do you want me to leave the room?" He had never had to leave before, but then again, he had tried really hard not to pay attention before. Now, he wasn't sure if he could resist a peek if the boy changed in the room. The water shut off and he heard Nick grab a towel from under the sink. The door opened and Nick walked out with the towel draped loosely around his waist, his hair dripping water everywhere. Jeff gulped loudly.

"You can stay. Just no peeking." Nick winked at Jeff, which caused a blush to creep up his neck and to his face. Nick started to dry off, Jeff sitting on his bed, looking down at his lap. A moment later, Nick came to stand in front of him, pulling on his hands until he stood up. He pulled Jeff close to him, breathing in the nice smell of his shampoo. "I'm really going to miss you. I wish I didn't have to go." Jeff nodded into his chest in agreement. "I'll be back by curfew, Jeffy." Nick pulled him away enough to kiss him, and then let him go while he grabbed the rest of his things. He got to the door and turned to wave before leaving and his heart broke at what he saw. Jeff had put his books on Nick's bed which was where he was sitting, hugging Nick's pillow close to him. "I love you." Jeff looked up and smiled.

"I love you too. Have fun at the party. I'll wait up for you." Nick nodded and walked out the door, leaving Jeff to study and find things to occupy his time.

After lunch, he called Wes and they played cards until dinner. After dinner, David came home, so Jeff was once again left to find something to do with his time. He took a shower, cleaned up any messes Wes had made, and laid down on Nick's bed. He looked at the clock. Two more hours. Time was going by so slowly. His eyes started to droop, and he gave in to the sleep that he needed desperately.

He woke up to strong arms holding him close. He turned his head enough to see that Nick had come home safely and was now sleeping behind him. He looked to the clock, which read three in the morning. He had to be up in four hours for class, but he wasn't sure he could fall back asleep. He turned gently to look at the boy in bed with him. He noticed that all of his clothes from the day before were still on, but he had a black eye and a cracked lip. Jeff tried to take a closer look, but Nick jumped awake when he moved.

"What happened, Nicky?" Nick touched below his eye carefully, hoping it wouldn't hurt him. He flinched a little, but let Jeff examine his face.

"My dad didn't exactly like the idea of me having a boyfriend. He cornered me after the party and punched me a couple of times. It's not a big deal. It'll heal. Don't worry." Jeff did exactly that.

"You can't let your dad do this! You should file a report with the police. You don't have to see him anytime soon right? I don't want you to see him alone anymore." Jeff was shushed by Nick's lips meeting his fiercely.

"I don't care about this. I only see my dad about four times a year, and the next time will be his birthday over Spring Break. He probably won't even invite me home. Please don't worry. I really am fine. I put ice on it the whole way here." Nick smiled sadly down at Jeff and pulled him closer. "Did you have a good day?" Jeff kissed his shoulder before replying.

"I guess it was okay. I finished what I needed to. I missed you though." Jeff cuddled closer to Nick, closing his eyes and trying to relax as much as possible. Nick was rubbing his back slowly and humming quietly.

"I missed you too. Let's get back to sleep. I set the alarm for school." They both fell asleep rather quickly, only waking up when the alarm went off hours later.

Nick rolled over to hit the alarm clock, but Jeff had already crawled over him to get to it. Jeff had always been more of a morning person. He had no problem with getting out of bed and going to school. In fact, most days he loved school. It was a quality Nick loved and hated. He opened his eyes, only to close them again when he felt the pain shoot through his left cheekbone and up to his forehead. He moaned, hoping Jeff wouldn't hear, but he felt an ice pack a moment later.

"Keep that on for a little while. I already packed your stuff and got your uniform out so you can rest a little longer. I got us some coffee and bagels too, so we don't have to go down to breakfast." Nick smiled at his boyfriend lovingly.

"You're the best. How did I ever survive without you?" Jeff rolled his eyes.

"You haven't had to for a while. I put extra sugar in the coffee just like you like it and there's cream cheese on the bagel for you." Jeff handed him the stuff and held the ice pack away from his face to look closer. "Your lip already looks much better than a few hours ago, but your eye is more swollen. He must have hit you pretty hard."

Nick nodded and ate his bagel quickly, not realizing how hungry he really was. He hadn't eaten anything except a few bites of mashed potatoes the previous night. He was too nervous about the reactions of his family members to eat.

"Everything alright, Nicky?" Jeff looked at him with a concerned look on his face, but Nick just nodded again. "Do you want to talk about last night at all?" Nick shook his head, but then changed his mind. He didn't have to hide anything from Jeff. Jeff would understand what was going on. He swallowed some coffee and then started.

"I showed up and everything was good for a while. I mean, as good as it can be when your parents think you're a failure and your older brother clearly knows he is the favorite child. Once the rest of the family got there, I just was shoved into a corner, barely ate anything, and tried to stay out of the way like usual. My grandfather came over to ask how school was and then asked about a girlfriend." He paused, sighing, but looked up when Jeff gasped. "I didn't even hesitate to tell him about you. I certainly don't regret it either. He…well…he walked away and told everyone else. My dad just glared at me through dessert and when everyone left, he cornered me and thought he would beat the gay out of me. Apparently, that doesn't work though because as soon as I walked in the door and saw you sleeping, my heart started to race and I couldn't help but cuddle with you." He smiled at the end of his spiel and Jeff grabbed his hand. Nick wiped a tear from Jeff's cheek and pulled him close. "I have no time for them if they don't want to accept me and the person I love." He pulled back from Jeff, wiping another tear from his cheek. "Hey. Shhhh. It's okay. I'm fine, you're fine, we're both fine. I love you." Jeff smiled and took a deep breath.

"I love you too. I just wish that didn't cause all of this." He gestured to Nick's face. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." He looked down, holding in more tears.

"I'm not sorry at all. I was honest and that's all I can be." He got up, pulling Jeff with him, and they stood holding each other for a few minutes. Nick looked at the clock. "Shit! We have to be in class in five minutes!" He pulled his uniform on, not even realizing that Jeff was watching him change. They ran out of the door and into the hall, running down the stairs, almost falling numerous times. Nick grabbed Jeff's hand, pulling him in for a kiss before walking into his classroom and letting Jeff get to his.

Classes seemed to drag on much longer than usual. American History, Marine Biology, and Creative Writing were Jeff's lonely classes. After lunch, all of his classes, French, Trigonometry, and Philosophy, were with Nick. Those would be much more fun and since he sat next to him all the time, he could hold his hand and write notes to pass the time.

When the lunch bell rang, Jeff ran out of his classroom and smacked into someone. He looked up to apologize and saw Nick smiling down at him.

"Hey there, handsome. Ready for lunch?" Jeff blushed and nodded, moving next to Nick, who put his arm around his waist and started to walk towards the cafeteria. "How has your morning been?" They stood in line, waiting for the special that day, which was chicken and broccoli alfredo.

"Boring without you. Yours?" Nick laughed and answered.

"About the same." He stopped for a second, seemingly contemplating saying something, then shook his head.

"What were you going to say?" Jeff was curious, and he knew Nick told him everything, so he found it shocking that he would try to hide anything.

"Nothing. It's not important. Let's just enjoy lunch, okay?" Jeff hesitated, but nodded, knowing that if it truly mattered Nick would share it with him.

They ate lunch with Wes and David, who were so involved with a discussion about some new video game coming out, they hardly noticed their presence. Every once in a while, Nick would rest his hand on Jeff's leg or Jeff would lean against Nick. They enjoyed each other's company, even though they didn't speak much.

Throughout the rest of the day, Jeff found it hard to concentrate in class. There were many things occupying his mind. For one, Nick kept running his fingers up his leg and speaking to him in only French. Also, he was noticing Nick getting paler and colder throughout the day, which usually meant he was getting sick. He tried to mention the nurse a few times, but Nick just ignored him and turned towards the teacher.

After the final bell, they made their way to Warbler practice. They were stopped in the hall by a senior who Jeff had never seen that wanted to talk to Nick about some party. Jeff just walked into the practice room and waited patiently by the window. A few minutes later, Nick joined him on the window seat and smiled at him. Jeff noticed he was even more pale and looked like he was sweating.

"You need to go to the room and lay down. You look sick." Jeff touched his forehead and pulled his hand back, shocked at the heat. "I'll tell Wes you had a fever. It's not a lie. I'll be there as soon as I get done here, okay?" Jeff kissed his head and watched him walk out of the room. He hoped Warbler practice would go by quickly.

Two hours later, Jeff rushed into the room to find that Nick was in the bathroom. He knocked on the door and spoke gently. "Are you alright in there, Nicky?" He waited a moment and then heard water slosh around. "Nicky?" He started to panic.

"I'm fine. Just taking a bath. I'll be out in a minute." Jeff sighed and sat on the bed. He had homework, but it could wait. He was really worried about Nick, mostly because he had only seen him sick one time, and that was just a cold. This seemed much worse. Nick came out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing only a pair of sweatpants. He immediately got into his own bed and turned to look at Jeff.

"I don't want you to get sick. You should stay in your own bed tonight. I love you Jeffy." His voice was crackling and Jeff tried to smile.

"I love you too Nicky. Feel better so we can sleep together tomorrow night. I miss not being next to you already." He smiled and went to the bathroom to take a shower and get relaxed for bed. He came back into the room to see Nick's bed empty and a note on the mini fridge next to their bedside table.

I decided to go down to the nurse's quarters for the night. I'll be back in the morning. Sleep well, handsome. Don't worry about me. Love, Nick

Jeff sighed and got in bed, throwing the note on the bedside table. He was so tired, he didn't even notice Nick's sweatpants on the ground or the fact that his best outfit was missing from where it had been laid out on the chair at the desk. Jeff fell asleep clutching at his pillow that smelled like Nick, hoping he would be okay.

Jeff woke with a start to hear his cell phone going off. He groaned, rolling out of bed to get it where it fell on the floor.

"Hullo?" He yawned.

"Is this Jeff Sterling?"

"Yeah. Who's this?" Jeff suddenly woke up, knowing that something couldn't be right.

"This is an EMT. You were the first person on Nick's contact list. He's been in an accident and is currently on his way to Westerville Memorial Hospital. You aren't a parent or guardian are you?" Jeff jumped out of bed, pulling a shirt on and quickly replying.

"I'm his boyfriend. His parents should be in his phone. I'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up before there was a reply from the EMT.

If Nick ended up being okay, Jeff would kill him.