"California?" Joe's eyes are wide. "California. As in, the other side of the country, California?"
Nick sighs in annoyance. "No, California in the UK. Yes, California on the other side of the country."
Joe shakes his head. "Are you insane? You can't go to California!"
Nick frowns a little, turning around to face his brother. "Why not?"
"Because—because–" Joe fumbles for an excuse. But unable to come up with one, he shrugs and looks at Nick. "Just because."
"Wow," Nick says. "That's awesome. So I can't go to California just because?"
"Yes," Joe says indignantly. "Just because."
"Oh. Okay." He starts toward the stairs again, going up them. "I'm going anyway."
"Nick!" Joe says in exasperation. He follows him up the stairs and stops in the doorway to Nick's room, leaning against the door frame. "I'm going with you."
"What?" Nick looks up from his suitcase sharply. "No way."
"Yes way," Joe says, his arms folded across his chest.
"Joe–"
"It's either I go with you, or you don't go at all," Joe interrupted. "And I think I know which one you'll pick."
Nick groans and glares at his brother. Joe simply smiles and walks to his own room, packing his bags as well. Nick walks into his brother's room about an hour later.
"I just booked our tickets," he announces, sinking down onto Joe's bed. "We leave first thing tomorrow."
Joe nods, looking up at Nick from his spot on the floor. "And what are you going to tell Mom about where you'll be? Because there's no way she's going to let you fly to California, not even with me." He sighs when he sees the look on Nick's face. "Let me guess, you haven't thought about that, have you?"
Nick shakes his head. "I was just so focused on wanting to see Demi that I didn't even think about Mom or what she'd say if I told her." He pauses for a second, looking at Joe. "You come up with something!"
"Me?" Joe asks. "Why me?"
"Because you used to always be so good at lying to Mom about where you'd go," Nick replies. "Remember when you went to that party a couple years ago and got wasted? You told Mom you were going over to a friend's to study and she totally believed you!"
"Yeah, she did," Joe murmurs. "Until I came home at one in the morning totally trashed. Then she figured out I wasn't where I said I was. Boy, was she pissed."
Nick chuckles. "Yeah, she was. And after she lectured you about not drinking again, she lectured me about never drinking."
Joe chuckles too. "She did?" He laughs and shakes his head but then sighs. "All right, Nick—wait, how long are we staying in California for?"
Nick bites his lip slightly and looks away from Joe. He can hear his brother's loud sigh, though.
"Dude. How long?"
"Um," Nick starts, finally looking back at Joe, "a month?"
Joe's eyes widen and his mouth drops. "A month? Are you fucking kidding me?"
Nick swallows and cringes at Joe's tone. He looks down.
Joe sighs once more. "I know you love her, man, but don't you think if you stay there for a whole month that it'd be even harder to leave her when that month is over?"
Nick plays with a ring on his finger. Joe glances at it and his eyes widen once more, in surprise. But he doesn't say anything.
"I was thinking that I wouldn't go home," he says quietly.
Joe frowns. "Not go home?" he questions. "Nick...you can't be serious. You can't stay in California." He gets up and sits next to Nick on the bed. "What about Mom? What about me?"
Nick looks over at Joe for a second. "Yeah, but what about Demi? She's all alone out there. She doesn't have anyone, and she needs someone. She needs me."
"That's not true," Joe protests. "She's not all alone. She has Madison. And Demi is a sweet girl, she'll make friends in no time." He pauses that time. "I don't think you wanting to stay in California has so much to do about Demi, but more to do about you."
Nick frowns a little, looking at Joe again. "What do you mean?"
"You miss her," Joe says. "A lot. I see the look on your face after you and Demi hang up. She's all you've thought about since she left. I don't think you want to stay in California because of her needing you. You want to stay there because you need her."
"That's not–"
"Don't even try and deny it," Joe interrupts. "I know you, baby brother. But it's okay. It's nice to need someone like that, and having them need you back." His sigh is so quiet that Nick almost doesn't hear it.
But Nick cocks his head to the side, looking at him once more. "You miss AJ, don't you?"
"What?" Joe looks over at Nick then and quickly shakes his head. "No. No way. She cheated on me. She broke my heart. Why would I–?"
"Joe."
Joe sighs again. "Yes," he finally admits. "Yes, I miss her. Okay? A lot. And I hate that I do. And I can't stop thinking about her either."
Nick gazes at his brother as the truth hits him. "You loved her," he states.
Joe closes his eyes. "I love her. I know I shouldn't, because she hurt me, but I can't stop. I love her, and I hate that I do."
Nick chews on his bottom lip, thinking. "Do you want to get back together with her?" he asks after a second.
But the shrug Joe throws his way tells him all he needs to know.
"And does she want to get back together with you?"
"Yes," Joe answers immediately. "She told me she does. She apologized for hurting me, for cheating on me. She said she was drunk when it happened—which isn't much of an excuse, but I know it's probably true. She likes to drink, and I try to go to all of these parties with her so she doesn't go overboard. But I missed one because I had a game, and that's when she got drunk and slept with him." He pauses again. "I think he might have put something in her drink."
Nick frowns. "Why do you think that?"
"Because the guy she had sex with is known to put things in girls' drinks so they'll be so out of it, they won't fight when he...rapes them."
"Whoa, hold up. You think this guy raped AJ? Seriously?" He shakes his head. "If this guy does this, and everyone knows about it, why is he not in jail?"
"Because no one's filed any complaints against him. No one's accused him of rape." Joe's hands form fists. "But maybe that's going to change."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're going to accuse some guy of raping your ex-girlfriend—who was drunk at the time of this so-called 'rape'–without any proof?"
Joe glares at Nick. "I thought you, of all people, would be behind me on this. Especially considering what happened to your girlfriend."
Nick sighs. "I know, you're right. I am behind you on this. But you're going to need AJ to come forward, too. You know that, right?"
Joe nods. "I know that," he agrees. "That might be a problem, though." He stops then, shaking his head. He looks at Nick again. "Look, I might be able to get us a week away, but there's no way I'll be able to get a month."
Nick sighs once more. "Okay," he finally relents. "Okay. A week's okay."
"I think Mom just got home, so I'll go talk to her now." Joe stands up.
"What are you going to tell her?"
Joe shrugs. "I don't know," he admits. "Wish me luck." He shoots Nick a smile before walking out of the room.
Nick lays back on his brother's bed. "Good luck," he whispers.