Chapter Seven:

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Three and a half hours in, and I already didn't want to be there. And I was kind of mad at Nate, since he was pretty much the reason I was there at all. I hated school. I had just forgotten how much. And after being away for so long, it just made it that much worse coming back. Not that anyone noticed. I never really realised I was actually that invisible. My teachers didn't look up when I answered my name for attendance, and nobody so much as took a second glance my way the whole day. No 'Welcome back Mitchie!'s or 'Where have you been? We missed you!'s. Infact , the only person who acknowledged me at all was Alex, and he probably only felt the need to talk to me because he felt some sort of strange obligation due to his past friendship with Nate. Who he thought was my boyfriend, by the way. How strange. Boyfriend just sounded like such a juvenile phrase when applied to Nate. I couldn't picture him really being anybody's 'boyfriend' in the flowers, chocolates and romantic dates sense of the word. He would probably be more than that, like- well I can't explain it, but that doesn't really matter anyway. I hadn't bothered to correct Alex's hasty assumption. Actually, he probably thought I was rather quiet and dull, since I hadn't bothered to say much at all.

The day went on, I had a surprise pop quiz in Spanish that I had obviously not at all been prepared for, a ton of reading to catch up on, and to top it all off, I had tripped and grazed my elbows on the way to Calculus. I could feel the tears beginning to brim, the tight clench of my throat, and I felt angry - that a simple 'bad day' was enough to make me want to cry, after all I had been through. So for the sake of my humility (really, bursting into tears in the middle of class was not the way I wanted people to finally notice me), I just decided to skip my last two periods and sit outside by one of the old oak trees. I was probably visible from the windows, but I didn't really care. I pulled out my English Lit book, figuring if I was missing class I should probably try to catch up on something, only to throw it down beside me about two minutes later. Because George Orwell wasn't a boring, depressing guy or anything, no, not at all (I was being sarcastic, if you hadn't guessed). I heaved a sigh, resting my head back against the oak. Hadn't I been happy that morning? For such a short time, I had actually been happy, and Nate had been happy, and Mikey had been happy. We had smiled and laughed and joked. But now... I just really didn't want to be there right now. I let my eyes close, and imagined I hadn't given in and come back to school. I imagined I had gone back to Nate's, back to his room, back to his bed. I could almost feel the soft sheets against my skin, with that familiar scent that always lingered, telling me that everything was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.

I jolted awake when I heard footsteps and loud voices surrounding me. I had fallen asleep, wow, and school was over for the day. I shoved my novel back into my bag, and stood up, slinging it across my shoulder and rubbing my neck a little. Really, I don't recommend ever sleeping agaisnt a tree. I tried to rake my fingers through my slightly dishevelled hair as I began forwards, thinking about the true horribleness of my day. I didn't ever want to come back. I was way behind, completely invisible, and- Nate was right there waiting for me. He stood with his hands shoved in his pockets, scuffing his shoe against the pavement as he stared lazily at the ground. He was there, and suddenly everything was okay. Every bad thing about my day just lifted off my chest as I made my way slowly towards him.

He looked up, and after a few seconds of scoping, his eyes landed on me. He smiled, and when I was just feet away, he gave me a soft "Hey. How was it?"

I didn't answer, though. I just dropped my bag to the ground and threw my arms around his neck, clinging to the back of his collar and resting my head against his shoulder as I leant my full weight into him. His arms wrapped around me gently.

"Oh, was it... bad?" he questioned, concerned.

I shook my head against his shoulder. "No... it was okay," I explained. It was the truth, because it just didn't seem like it had been all that bad anymore.

He held me for a moment longer, and I kind of just wanted to fall asleep there. It was kind of a strange thing, to describe someone as comfortable, but he really was. Or maybe I was still just really tired. But then he gently pulled me away, and he did that thing where he would stare into my eyes like he was searching for something. I don't think he found anything though, because he just sighed softly and looked away. "We should probably..."

"Mikey," I finished for him.

He nodded slowly, "...yeah".

He shoved his hands into his pockets again, and I picked up my bag as we turned to walk away, but then-

"Hey, Nate! Patterson!"

Nate swivelled his head around and stopped to wait as Alex ran forwards to catch up with us.

"Hey, man. There's a party tomorrow night at Wilson's. You should come. We haven't seen you in a while."

Nate just paused for a moment, and then he slowly began to nod, "Uh... yeah, I'll think about it."

I knew Nate, and I knew he wasn't even considering it. I wondered why.

"Okay... well... bring Torres, if you like," he glanced at me and then back to Nate, "Whatever, just think about it, man. Hopefully we'll see you there."

And with that he was already walking over to some other guys who were loudly catcalling him or something.

Nate didn't offer an explanation, but just touched his hand to the small of my back to guide me forwards. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder, and his hands disappeared into his pockets again.

"So, you're not going?" I smirked knowingly.

"Huh?" he said, being pulled from his thoughts. Then he shrugged, "I said I would consider it."

I just chuckled, ignoring his answer, "Why don't you want to go?"

He shrugged again, "It's just not my thing anymore."

"Not you're thing," I teased, "What, Nate, are you too cool?"

He was slightly amused, but he just rolled his eyes and didn't answer.

"I think we should go," I stated, "You need a break from everything, and I think you might actually have fun."

He shook his head. "Even if I wanted to go, there's no way I'm leaving Mikey alone."

I thought for a moment.

"I'll look after him," I said suddenly, desperate to help out in any way possible. "You go, and I'll stay with Mikey-"

"Mikey's not your responsibility," he stated immediately, "I wouldn't put that on you."

"Well, Mikey's not your responsibility, either," I exclaimed back, feeling frustrated by the fact that he always seemed to think he was. But as the words really hit me, I stopped walking, biting down on my lip. I wished I could take them back.

Nate's step had faltered for only a moment, but he just kept on walking slowly ahead.

"Nate, I'm sorry," I said, running a little to catch up with him. He didn't answer, he seemed a little lost in his own thoughts. It was a tense and slightly awkward silence.

"Nate..." I tried again. I wanted to say something, it was on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn't sure if I should. Biting my lip apprehensively, I decided I just would. "Its just... you work so much, you look after Mikey... after me. You barely sleep, and you never have time to do anything just for you. I just... I'm just worried about you."

His eyes softened a little at that and he turned his head to look at me. "Don't," he said softly, "I'm fine."

"But-"

"Just- trust me when I say I won't have fun at the party, okay? Don't get worried about me... just... I don't want you to worry. Please?"

"...okay," I said, only because I felt obligated too. Truth was, I would never stop worrying about Nate.

AN: I'm so sorry that this was a really short chapter, I just wanted to get something up. But hopefully the next chapter will be a lot longer. There is some stuff in there that I am really psyched about writing, and one scene in particular that I've had in my mind almost since I started this story, so hopefully I will be able to write it really quickly so that it can be posted soon. So... wow... it's been like, over a month since I have updated. I am soooooooooo so sorry, and I feel like I owe an explanation, so here it is:

1. My new best friend forever who seems to think that there is nothing better than talking to him every single freaking waking moment of my life. You would think somebody who talks to me so much would know how much I despise talking over the phone, but he just likes to talk about himself, so...

2. Okay, so I don't know how many people are into the whole RPF thing, but I just got into jonas brothers fanfiction, and it is pretty awesome, and there are some truly great authors and stories on that site. I don't know if anyone else reads jb fanfiction here, but if so, is anybody reading '364 days of woe'? It's a pretty darn popular story, lol, so I'm seriously wondering if anyone reading this is reading it. Is it not like the complete and utter shiz?!! TEAM PEP!! If you're not reading it, freaking google it, because you have no idea what you are missing out on (and read her other stories, too, like, dang!). Anyway, that story sort of brings me to my next point.

3. Reading other people's awesome stories makes me feel like mine is nothing but a complete waste of space, and sometimes I wonder if it's even worth continuing.

4. My last point. Two words. THE OFFICE. Jim and Pam. Pam and Jim. Jam. The awesomeness never stops.

Okay, I'm done wasting you're life away with my pointless rambling. Please review!! :D I want to hear from you all, and hopefully you haven't all abandoned me!!