Over the next month, Demi and Nick talked every single day. Demi couldn't go to sleep until she heard Nick's voice. Nick called Demi as soon as he woke up. They'd talk for hours, about nothing at all. They were falling more in love with every conversation. And Nick loved it. But before he knew it, it was time for him to go back to school.

"Are you ready for this, man?" Joe asks his brother as they ride in Joe's car on their way to school.

Nick swallows a little but then looks over at Joe and forces a smile. "Yeah," he says, without much conviction. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Joe looks at him for a second longer before nodding, not believing him for a second. "Okay," he finally says after a long moment. "Okay."

They get to school a few minutes later and Nick gets out of the car after Joe parks.

"Hey," Joe says, getting out himself. He walks over to Nick and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

Nick frowns. "Lunch? But we have lunch at different times–"

Joe shakes his head. "I had my lunch period changed so we could have it together." He smiles reassuringly at Nick. "And if you need me, for anything, just text me. I have my phone on me, so yeah. Just text me."

Nick nods. "Okay. Thank you, Joe," he says sincerely.

Joe smiles again. "What are brothers—and best friends—for, huh?"

Nick smiles that time, a real, genuine smile. "Yeah." Then his smile fades as the bell rings. "See you at lunch," he says before taking a deep breath and walking off to his locker.

Joe watches him walk away for a second before walking to his own.

"Hey," a voice says as Nick opens up his locker to get his books out.

Nick looks up at the sound of his voice. "Oh," he says surprised, giving his friend a smile. "Hey, Taylor–"

But Taylor scowls at Nick. "Zac's in jail because of you."

Nick frowns. "What?" he says. "You're blaming me for Zac going to jail? He raped Demi!"

Taylor rolls his eyes. "Whatever," he replies. "She needed a good banging, anyway."

Nick's hand forms into a fist as he grabs Taylor and shoves him against the locker. He leans in close to Taylor, nothing but pure hatred in his eyes.

"He didn't bang Demi, he fucking raped her," he spits at him vehemently "She said no, she didn't want it, and he still kept going! He raped Demi, and now he's in jail, and he's getting what he deserves."

"What happened to you, man?" Taylor wonders, pushing Nick away from him. "Since when do you care about her?"

He says that word with such disgust it makes Nick's blood boil.

"I love her," Nick tells him. "She's one of the nicest girls I've ever met, and I've fallen for her. Hard. And I swear, if you say one more word about her–"

"You'll what?" Taylor challenges. When Nick stays silent, Taylor starts laughing. "Yeah, that's what I thought. All bark and no bite."

Taylor starts walking away from him but Nick grabs him again and turns him back around, punching him hard in the face. Taylor staggers back a little and glares at Nick when he catches himself from falling. With a scowl, he lunges at Nick, tackling him to the ground. Nick pushes on Taylor to get him off of him, but Taylor just shifts his weight and doesn't budge.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Taylor growls at him, raising his fist to hit him.

But before he can bring it down to hit Nick's face, Joe's there. He grabs Taylor's raised fist and practically yanks Taylor off of his brother, sending him flying backwards. He kneels down to Nick's side and then looks up at Taylor.

"If you fucking touch my brother again, I'll kill you. Do you understand me, Taylor? I'll kill you!"

Taylor must see the murderous look in Joe's eyes because he immediately nods and hurries off. Joe glares at everyone who gathered around to watch the fight. They all back away, and Joe turns to Nick.

"Oh, God," he breathes, bringing a hand to Nick's curls. "Are you okay?"

Nick nods slightly but tears threaten to fall from his eyes. Joe nearly chokes up just looking at him.

"Oh, Nick." Joe grabs Nick's hands and, very slowly, eases him into a sitting position. Then he throws his arms around his baby brother. "Oh, God," he says again.

Nick holds onto him just as tight, burying his face into Joe's neck, starting to cry.

"It's okay, it's okay," Joe says soothingly, trying to reassure Nick as well as himself.

"Can you please take me home?" Nick asks quietly after a few minutes, sniffing as he wipes his eyes and nose on Joe's shirt.

Joe nods almost immediately. "Okay, buddy," he replies, pulling away from Nick, wiping his brother's tears away with his thumbs. "Let's go home. I'll text Mom and let her know."

Nick nods, standing up shakily with Joe. "Can you—can you stay home with me too?"

Joe sighs. "Nick–" he starts.

"Please," Nick nearly begs him, looking up at him with wide, sad, scared eyes.

Joe closes his eyes for a second but then nods again. "Okay," he says. "Okay, Nick, okay."

As soon as they get home, Nick drops down onto the sofa in the living room. Joe sits down next to him after making a quick phone call.

"Do you need anything, bro?" Joe asks him, looking over at him.

Nick shakes his head. "No, thank you."

"Okay. Well, I just called Mom and told her what happened. She's worried about you, and she wanted to come home, but I told her I was with you, that I'd look out for you. Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"I'm fine, Joe," Nick says with a small smile. "I just want to talk to Demi."

"Nick." Joe sighs, and then glances at his watch. "It's only eight-thirty in the morning here. It's only five-thirty in California."

Nick sighs heavily. "But I need to talk to her. Please, Joe. I just need to talk to her. She'll answer if she sees it's me. I know she will."

Joe sighs again. "Nick," he starts. But then he sees the look Nick's giving him. "Okay, buddy. I'll give you some privacy."

Nick smiles a little more as Joe stands up. "Thank you," he says quietly. He waits until Joe is out of the room before dialing the number he knows by heart.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answers after a few rings.

Nick closes his eyes and smiles widely at the sound of her voice. "Hi, Demi," he says quietly.

He can imagine Demi sitting upright in her bed. "Nick?" she says just as quietly. "What's wrong?" Her voice is so full of concern that Nick almost starts to cry. "Are you okay?"

"I'm—I'm...fine," he says. But he knows that Demi can tell that he's not fine. He's not fine at all. "I just needed to hear your voice, that's all."

"What's wrong?" she asks him again. "And please, please, please don't tell me that it's nothing. I know you, Nick, just as well as you know me. I know when something is bothering you, so please tell me what's bothering you now."

Nick sighs and then finally manages to tell her what happened earlier that morning.

"I'm sorry," he says when he's finished. "I know it's really early there, and I'm sorry for waking–"

"Stop," Demi says, cutting him off. "I love that you called me, Nick, and I love that I can be there for you for a change instead of the other way around."

"I love that too." He sits back against the sofa and closes his eyes again.

"That guy's a jerk, Nick," Demi tells him matter-of-factually. "He's always been a jerk. It's just now, for the first time, you can finally see that too."

"Yeah...I know. You're right. He's an asshole. I've known him for ten years, and he's always been an asshole."

"You're better off without him," Demi comments.

"Yeah," Nick agrees. "Yeah, I am."

After that, they fall into a comfortable silence, both of them content to stay on the phone and not say anything at all. It was Demi who breaks the silence first.

"I really miss you, Nick," she says sadly.

Nick sighs softly. "I really miss you, too, Demi," he replies.

"When are you going to come visit me?"

Nick sighs once more. "I don't know, sweetie," he starts, but then he stops as an idea comes to him. "Soon, okay?"

Demi sighs that time. "Okay," she reluctantly agrees, and then yawns loudly.

Nick can't help but laugh at that. "I'm gonna go, okay?"

"But Nick–"

"You're obviously tired, honey," he says, cutting her off. "I know you want to talk to me—I want to talk to you too—but we can talk later. Okay?"

There's a silence on Demi's end of the phone. "Okay," she says after a long moment. "You promise?"

"Yeah, sweetie, I promise." He pauses a moment before clutching onto the phone. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Demi replies a second before Nick hangs up the phone.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Joe wonders, watching his little brother from the doorway to the living room. He furrows his brow when Nick stands up. "Where are you going?"

"To pack," Nick answers simply.

"To pack?" Joe echoes.

Nick nods. "Yep." He looks at Joe for a second before heading to the stairs. "I'm going to California."