Nina (The Next Day)

I bounded downstairs, smiling as I fixed myself a bowl of Cheerios. I sat down in the sitting area, and was preparing to switch on the TV, when Fabian came in angrily, throwing a magazine on the glass table. "WHAT'S THIS?!" he yelled, picking it back up and pointing his finger at a bad quality picture. I looked closer and saw it was me and that creeper Ian. "Oh, he was just a fan," I said, blowing it off and spooning honey flavored Cheerios into my mouth. "A fan that hugged you?" he asked, still pissed for some reason. "Well, yeah, but he asked for one," I said, still not seeing the point. "Nina, he wants to date you, and you met up with him at a coffee shop later?!" he asked, pointing to another picture. It was Ian grabbing my arm as Amber and I were leaving the restaurant.

"Fabian, I wasn't meeting him, apparently he followed me," I said, reaching for the magazine. "Nina…" "You don't believe me?" I asked, a little mad now. "Well, why should I? Is it because you're famous?" Was he seriously picking this fight? And what kind of comeback was that? "What is your problem?" I asked. "My problem is that there is a lot more guys like this, guys better looking and more charming and athletic! And sometime soon, you won't be able to hold back!" he snapped. "Fabian, we talked about this! I love you, and if you're too dumb to realize it, I'm not going to sit around calming you every five seconds!" I warned. "Why are you threatening me? I'm the one that has a right to be angry!" he shot back. "Oh, you're always right, aren't you Fabian? You know, I thought you changed. I thought that you weren't as low as to cheat on me like you did," I insulted. "That was a mistake and you know it!" he said.

"I know it? Fabian, most boys would've answered that text and tried to find out why I wasn't interested. Most boys wouldn't have immediately gone to his second choice and asked them out three seconds afterwards. MOST BOYS WOULD UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF 'I LOVE YOU'! But, you don't. You are suspicious and paranoid, and I'm sick of it. Paris is two days away, and you have until then to figure out what you want us to do. Until then, I'm out," I said, and left him in the loft, magazine still in hand.

oOoOoOo

I don't know where I went. Fog just clouded my mind, and a curtain of tears masked the world from me, so I didn't notice the dark figure following me ten steps behind.

I somehow ended up in Harris's studio. It was Sunday, so he was at home in his pajamas watching cartoons and eating ice cream for breakfast. (Trust me-I know.) Anyways, I just puttered around, until I ended up in the recording studio. I grabbed an acoustic guitar and took a deep breath. I always wrote songs when I was in a mood. I strummed it quietly, and sang a new song:

I see your face in my mind as I drive away

'Cause none of us thought it was gonna end that way

People are people and sometimes we change our minds

But it's killing me to see you go after all this time

Mmm, mmm, mm

Mmm, mmm, mm

Music starts playing like the end of a sad movie

It's the kind of ending you don't really wanna see

'Cause it's tragedy and it'll only bring you down

Now I don't know what to be without you around

And we know it's never simple, never easy

Never a clean break, no one here to save me

You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand

And I can't

Breathe

Without you, but I have to

Breathe

Without you, but I have to

Never wanted this, never wanna see you hurt

Every little bump in the road I tried to swerve

But people are people and sometimes it doesn't work out

Nothing we say is gonna save us from the fallout

And we know it's never simple, never easy

Never a clean break, no one here to save me

You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand

And I can't

Breathe

Without you, but I have to

Breathe

Without you, but I have to

It's two a.m. feeling like I just lost a friend

Hope you know it's not easy, easy for me

It's two a.m. feeling like I just lost a friend

Hope you know this ain't easy, easy for me

And we know it's never simple, never easy

Never a clean break, no one here to save me

Ooh

And I can't

Breathe

Without you, but I have to

Breathe

Without you, but I have to

Breathe

Without you, but I have to

Breathe

Without you, but I have to

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry

I stopped. At the end I let my feelings take control, and I realized it was my fault. I should've assured him. He was just afraid of losing me, of me falling for another guy. He was just afraid that I didn't love him as much as he loved me, and I blew up at him! I quickly stood up and walked out of the recording studio, intent on getting to Fabian before he made his decision.

As soon as I got out onto the streets of London, I could feel that something was wrong. So, I was only half surprised when I was dragged into an alleyway.

The person was wearing a black hoodie that concealed their face. They shoved me to the ground, and I hit my head. That hurt like hell, and pain blurred my vision for a second as I tried to keep my consciousness. When the pain had lessened, the person had already pulled down their pants, and they were tugging at my shirt. I wanted to fight them, but my head was killing me. All I could do was stare into their mask. Ian was a rapist.

oOoOoOo

Fabian

I was fooling around the loft, just trying to figure out what happened, when all of a sudden, my vision blurred. When it became clear, I saw an alleyway. Nina was feebly trying to push someone away, but it was obvious her bigger battle was keeping conscious. They had no pants on, and they were holding Nina up against the wall, their hands up her shirt and they had almost pulled it all the way up.

My vision cleared, but the first thing I did was leave the apartment. I don't know how I knew it, but Nina was in trouble and I needed to help her.

oOoOoOo

Nina

My top half was officially naked. Ian had touched the taboo places a little bit, and forced me to kiss him a couple times before he started fooling with my jeans. I just stared straight ahead, too weak from the pain to fight.

"Get away from her," a familiar voice said. Ian smiled, and yanked down my pants. "What're you going to do about it?" he asked, forcing me into a laying down position. All he had to do was pull down my last piece of undergarments, and he would have me naked. I heard a thumping noise, and Ian stumbled back, holding his stomach. Fabian came into view, readying another punch. This time Ian ducked, and came back to me and held me in front of him. "You don't want to hurt your little girlfriend, do you?" he snarled. He pulled out a switchblade and held it against my throat. "Interrupt this anymore and she gets it," he said, and, still holding the blade against my throat, he slowly sank back down to the ground, and pulled down my last article of clothing.

As Ian was trying to pull down his boxers, I tried to focus despite the stars going around my head. I noticed that he had taken away the switchblade to take off his underwear. I quickly bit the hand holding the switchblade. He on reflex dropped it, and in that time I rolled out from under him and grabbed the switchblade. I tossed it to Fabian, handle first. He just stared at it. I realized he was reliving what his father did to him. "FABIAN!" I screamed as Ian advanced toward him. Fabian instantly scraped the blade against Ian's arm. Ian yelled in pain, clutching his arm. Fabian, scared, dropped the blade, but he had bought me enough time. I pulled on my bra and underwear, and that would at least slow Ian.

Fabian and Ian fought while I struggled to get my clothes on. My jeans were around my ankles, but where was my shirt? I found it where Ian was about to step, and I lunged for it. Ian quickly wrapped his arms around my torso, and pulled me closer to him. I slammed my foot on his, and he yelped. I grabbed my shirt and pulled it on, and grabbed Fabian's arm. He quickly kneed Ian in the groin, and we started running. My vision blurred, and I collapsed.

"Nina?" I heard, but it sounded like an echo. I fainted, and the last memory I had before it faded to black was, "Don't worry, you'll be okay. Nina?! I love you!"

oOoOoOo

The next time I woke up, I was in a sterile white room. Fabian sat next to me, biting his lip. I groaned. I had a massive headache. "Nina, are you okay?" he asked. "Fine, except my head is killing me. How long was I out?" "One hour thirteen minutes thirty nine seconds," he instantly responded. "What do I have?" I asked. "Just a minor concussion, but a nasty bump on your head. You lost a lot of blood, and have to have gauze on your head for two days. "Well, at least it'll be off by the time we go to Paris," I smiled. He grinned, but then turned serious. "Fabian?" I asked.

"It's just…I'm sorry about our fight. I was being out of line," he said quietly. "No, I was out of line. You were right; it's just hard to admit that I'm wrong. Can we try again?" He smiled, but it turned into a frown. "Nina…I love you so much, but I don't know…we've lost our spark. I think we need a break. Just to let us see other people, and if we still want each other, than I think we'll know we're strong then." I took a deep breath.

I loved him so much, but if this was what he wanted, then how could I argue? I couldn't hold on to nothing. "I…agree. But can we still friends?" I asked. He nodded.

A nurse hurried in. "Hi, just here to check your head." I nodded assent, and she started asking questions about what year it was and who Fabian was and what the day was and stuff like that. After she questioned me for about fifteen minutes, she grinned and said, "You are free to go. Make sure to change the gauze twice a day for two days, and you should be good. Notify us if it starts bleeding or throbbing. Okay, you're good to go!" she smiled, and left.

Fabian and I were left in an awkward silence. I decided to try and stand up, but I wobbled. Fabian caught me. I smiled up at him gratefully. We both started leaning in…

"GET HIM TO THE E.R. STAT! HIS HEARTRATE IS SLOWING DOWN!" A woman screamed. I pulled away quickly, startled. "Call his parents!" someone screamed. "What's his name?" This time a too familiar voice responded, "Jerome. Jerome Clarke."

Ooh, cliffhanger! Leave a comment! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I got over 10 reviews on the last chapter!