Hey, thanks for the reviews, guys! Here's chapter six! Any and all reviews are welcome! :)

Nick explained to his friends that he hadn't attended school the previous day because his mother had kept him home. Apparently, he looked 'pale' so she automatically assumed he was ill, refusing to listen to him when he told her he felt perfectly fine.

He blamed her paranoia on his 'panicked state' from the day before. At the first sign of a panic attack from him, she went into protective, motherly overdrive. But it was tough to relax when she was drowning him in questions and concerns. Also, she always threatened to take him to the doctor, which was one thing he desperately avoided. He had a bit of a phobia of the hospital, among many, many other things.

He was worried that Lewis might still be angry with him over the coffee spill. He was prepared to apologize to him again when he went to Warblers' practice the next day, but there was no need. Lewis wasn't angry at all. In fact, it seemed to be the opposite; he actually seemed a little concerned for Nick, since he'd missed school.

When he saw Nick, he greeted him instantly with, "Oh, Nick! You're back today." He hugged Nick. "Were you sick?"

Nick smiled shyly. "Um, not really…My mom said I 'looked' sick when I got home the other day, so she made me stay home," he answered.

Lewis nodded thoughtfully. "Oh…I feel like that's my fault," he mumbled. "You seemed really upset when I left the coffee shop, not to mention a little green in the face. I felt bad for snapping at you, especially since it was hardly your fault in the first place. I just didn't know you were that scared of thunder, but that's no excuse for snapping."

"No, its fine…most people don't," Nick assured. "And it wasn't your fault at all. Don't worry."

"I feel like I just made it worse, though," Lewis went on fretfully. "Jeff is right to be pissed off at me."

"Jeff is still mad at you?" Nick frowned.

"Actually, I wouldn't know. He was pretty much sulking all day yesterday. But I did catch him glaring at me once or twice. So I think it's safe to assume he's angry."

Jeff was sulking? Huh, that didn't sound like him. He was normally the perky and energetic one, although he did sometimes have his off days. Nick wondered what had been upsetting him. He hadn't spoken to his friend since the Lima Bean. He shook it off for now. Jeff never seemed to tell him what was wrong when he was upset, so it was pretty pointless to even wonder.

"Trust me, Lewis, you didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault, and you reacted how any normal person would, I suppose," Nick assured sternly. "And I'll see if I can't talk to Jeff later."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, positive. Don't worry about it."

Nick and Jeff met up after school, more as a force of habit than by plan. The two of them almost always hung out right after school before either going their separate ways home or going to the Lima Bean together. For now, they were just lingering on the school grounds.

"So, a little bird told me that you were pretty sullen and bitter the other day," Nick brought up casually.

"Erm, y-yeah. I was just having a bad day," Jeff mumbled, shuffling uncomfortably. "Why? Who told you…?" He sounded a tad bit paranoid.

He didn't want to sound like a gossip. "No one in particular," he said. "Anyways, you're usually in a good mood. What's up? I don't suppose you'll tell me?"

Jeff frowned and dropped his eyes to the ground. "I'd really rather not," he said.

Hm. It didn't look like that sullen and bitter mood from the other day had worn off quite yet. He seemed genuinely upset. "I can't help at all if you won't tell me."

"Oh, trust me," Jeff said, looking at Nick. "You wouldn't be able to 'help' even if I did tell you. So it's pointless either way. And, um, I'd really like to please change the subject now."

Nick sighed with exasperation and dropped the subject. "Alright. Well, earlier today, Lewis told me that he thinks you're angry with him," he mentioned.

"Well, he's correct to think that," Jeff affirmed. "And let me guess. You are not angry with him?"

"No, I'm not," Nick answered. "And I never was…So why are you? Is it because of the coffee incident?"

Jeff was silent for a long moment. "He had absolutely no right to speak to you like he did," he muttered.

"Look, Jeff—I'm not mad about it at all. Why don't we just put this behind us?" Nick suggested.

"Because he's done it once. Who's to say he won't do that again? Or, as far as I know, he could possibly act like that all the time!"

"He doesn't, I already told you," Nick said with slipping patience.

"And that's believable," he muttered.

Nick narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean? You don't trust me?"

Jeff bit his lip. "I just…can't be sure that you're not just saying that to cover for him," he said quietly.

"I'm not," Nick insisted. "Jeff, I can take care of myself, you know. What do you have against Lewis, anyways?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Then why in the world can't you just be happy for me, just this once?" Nick demanded. "Why do you have to bring me down when I'm finally happy for once?"

Jeff seemed to flinch at that, but quickly recovered. "Because I can't stand seeing you with him!" he snapped.

"Why?" Nick demanded. "You just said you had nothing against him."

Jeff faltered for a moment, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. "I...he…um, I just think that…you deserve better than that. He acted like a jackass at the Lima Bean and you know it." He seemed to get it back under control.

It seemed to Nick that he just came up with that on the spot. Did Jeff truly care about Nick's feelings, or was he just out to get Lewis for some reason? "Why the hell can't you just forget about that?" he snapped. "It doesn't have anything to do with you anyways! This relationship is between me and Lewis; there is no place for you to cut in and tell me what I should do or think."

Any light in Jeff's eyes seemed to suddenly vanish. "No place for me…You're right. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry." He swallowed hard, backing away. "I—I've got to go." His voice broke and he quickly turned away, walking briskly down the parking lot.

"Jeff—" Nick began, but broke off. He could be mistaken, but he could have sworn he saw tears in Jeff's eyes. In the six years he'd known Jeff, he'd only ever seen him cry once or twice. But Nick hadn't said anything too hurtful, had he? Nothing that would make Jeff that terribly upset. It was a strange reaction for the blonde.

Something else must be wrong, and Nick had probably just sent him over the edge. He didn't regret anything he said, but now he couldn't help but worry about what was really bothering Jeff. It had to be serious since he'd left so abruptly with tears in his eyes, that was for sure.

For now, though, he couldn't really do anything to help. After that fight, it wasn't likely that Jeff would even listen to Nick, let alone open up about his feelings.

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