Chapter Two
Claire Sterling opened the door of her apartment in New York City and squealed loudly, hugging onto her nephew. "Jeeeeeff!" she chimed excitedly, wiggling from side to side with her arms wrapped around Jeff's stomach. The top of Claire's head only reached the middle of Jeff's chest, and her curly blonde hair bounced as she squeezed him tightly. "Aunt Claire, you're going to break my ribs!" Jeff chuckled, hugging her back. Claire slowly released him, smiling and staring up at him with large blue eyes. "Well, I haven't seen you in three years! I think I need to catch up on some hugs!" Jeff smiled brightly, feeling warm. He'd always felt like he could be himself around his Aunt Claire and his Uncle Trevor...
Claire grabbed Jeff's hand and led him inside, giving him a tour of the apartment and leading him to the guest room. She and her husband were artists, and their apartment was decorated with their work. There were charcoal drawings on the white walls, half-painted canvases scattered about the living room, and small sculptures across the dining room table. Even in the guest room, the walls had a few of Trevor's paintings hanging on them, and several of Claire's sculptures were sitting on the furniture.
Jeff smiled, admiring every piece of art work that he could as they walked through the apartment. He felt inspired here, already... "Well, this is going to be your room for the week. I'll probably run and get something for dinner before Trevor gets home tonight, so... You go out and have fun, alright?" Claire told him, gripping his arm with a smile on her full pink lips. Jeff nodded, leaning down to give his aunt a tight hug. "Thank you, Aunt Claire..."
"You're welcome, Jeff."
Once Jeff had placed his bags on the floor and used the restroom, he quickly made his way outside and onto the streets of New York City. He'd been here before, but it had always been with his parents, and it had been so long... There was no way that he could remember where anything was. He grinned to himself, deciding to wander around for a while and hope he could find his way back. If not, he could call his aunt or uncle, and certainly one of them would come find him.
Jeff began walking down the road with his hands in his pockets, his cheeks flushed from the cold weather. He wondered what sort of people he would meet, what amazing places he could... Suddenly, the blond stopped in his tracks, his eyes locking onto a certain brunette across the street. No way... There was no way that was him. What were the chances? He'd been in the city for only an hour, and there he was... Nick Duval. He was chatting with a couple of people outside of another apartment building, looking as friendly as ever.
Jeff chewed on his lip and looked away, his heart pounding roughly. What was he supposed to do..? There was no way that this was possible. He had to be imagining it, right? He turned his head back toward the direction in which he'd spotted the man, and sure enough, it was Nick. Jeff could never forget that smile... Instead of going to talk to him- what his heart was begging him to do- Jeff turned back around quickly, walking back to the apartment he was staying in. He wasn't ready for this. He hadn't expected to actually see him before the show...
Honestly, he didn't know what he would even say to Nick right now. 'Hi, I'm madly in love with you, and I came all the way to New York to see your show even though we haven't spoken in six years'? Yeah, right. There was no way. No way in hell... Jeff's plan had been to go see the show, and if Nick confronted him afterward, he would have known what to say. He would have been ready to tell Nick that he just wanted to support him, and that he'd done an amazing job... There was no doubt in Jeff's mind that Nick was going to be amazing. He wanted to talk to his old friend, but under these circumstances he was completely tongue tied.
As Jeff slipped back into the apartment building he was staying in, Nick glanced up, his eyes growing wide as they caught a glimpse of blond hair. Nick would know that hair anywhere... Was... Was Jeff really here?