Chapter Three

“Nick?” Liam and I said in unison. I looked at Liam with a questioning look. “You know him?” I asked. Liam nodded and replied with, “Yeah, he’s my best friend… wait… you know him? How?” I just stared at Nick, scanning him over. He hadn’t changed since I last saw him, which was the summer about two years ago which I had spent at Felicity’s family townhouse in Koggsville here in our Charmed little island of Rubyhoggle.  The summer in which Felicity pointed out that I never wore sweats. The summer that I thought I’d thrown those ratty clothes away. Why did my premonitions fail to inform me that not only would Mr. Lopez lose his life, but Nick would come to be my Guarder? I didn’t answer Liam’s question, instead I directed my speech to Nick. “You don’t look like a Guarder.” I accused.     

“Yeah, man.” Liam agreed. “I’ve been your best friend forever, and never knew you were one.” Nick just rolled his eyes. Same old Nick. “Just because I’m not scary and muscular looking doesn’t mean I can’t be a Guarder.” Nick declared. I pursed my lips together, and stayed silent. “Take care.” Professor Jermanski called before walking out the door, escaping from the tension hanging in the air.      

“So… you’re Juliette’s new Guarder, huh?” Felicity asked, with a tone that implied she was up to something. I glared at her, warning her to cut it out. I knew what she was up to, and it was not in any way going to work. “What!?” Felicity asked innocently, catching my glare. Everyone turned to me, and Nick answered Felicity. “Yeah, it’s part of my training.” I looked at my feet and I could feel Nick’s eyes on me. My face heated up, but I hid it. I wasn’t going to let him know that he had the same effect on me as he had that summer.                                 

“And how do you know Juliette?” Liam asked, bringing the dreaded subject back up. I looked up to Liam with pleading eyes, asking him to drop it for now. “Never mind.” Liam said, thankfully taking the hint. “We’ll leave you two to talk, since you know, you’ll be spending every waking minute with each other.” Liam gave Felicity a look, and they left me to suffer. Some friends. I sighed, and continued to focus on something other than Nick’s gorgeous face that I remembered clearly.                                  

“So, in order for this to work out, I’m pretty sure I would have to explain myself, wouldn’t I?” Nick asked after a long moment of dead silence. I finally looked at him, and I mean really looked. I could see the Guarder side of him. He stood to at least 5’ 11” and his gray sleeveless shirt accented his toned and sun-kissed biceps. I scanned over him, moving up to his rounded jaw-line, and plump, inviting lips. His cheek bones were perfect, and his chestnut bangs flowed smoothly over his forehead, cutting off right above his eyebrows. Then, I looked in his eyes. They were the first thing I had ever noticed about him. I could spot eyes like those across a room crowded with people. The glassy shine that glistened under the light, and the deepest, most beautiful brown that you could ever imagine. Those eyes had always been my favorite thing about his body. Nick had always been perfection. Until he bailed.                              

I remained silent, as he studied me the same way. With my brown hair to the middle of my back, and my awkward, but slender body, I was completely average. Nothing compared to his beauty.          

“Well?” I heard from his mouth. I snapped out of my silence and looked at him again. I debated on what I could say, but I decided it wouldn’t do any good to lie about it. He’d have to stick with me anyways, why not get it all out now, right? What could he do… besides break me into pieces? He wouldn’t do that. I know Nick well enough to know he wouldn’t ever hurt me… physically. I answered, my voice shaky at first, but stabilizing as I continued to speak. “Yeah, you do need to explain yourself. Actually, I deserve more than an explanation. I deserve an apology. After all you said, and all you ever told me, and then you can just bail on me like I’m nothing and you expect no consequences? Screw that, Nick. Why did you leave? Tell me that now, or I will find a way to go get another Guarder, because I will not tolerate not knowing why you broke my heart into tiny little pieces after promising me you wouldn’t.” My heart was pounding faster as every word came out. My head was pounding in anger, and a tear escaped down my cheek. I hated that I cried when I was angry. It showed too much vulnerability. Nick’s face fell, after I stopped talking.                                           

“You act like I wanted to leave, Li!” He said, using the nickname he made for me. “It was the last thing I wanted to do! I wanted to come here and be with you, but I couldn’t! You know I would have in a second.” At that moment, I burst into tears. When it came to Nick, I wasn’t Miss Unbreakable, anymore. I was as fragile as the thinnest piece of glass, and he knew that. I saw him hesitate to take a step towards me, but he did, and he took as many as it took to abridge the distance between us.                                      

  “But why? Why did you leave if you didn’t want to?” I questioned, my voice becoming more inflicted. His lips turned down at the corners, and his beautiful eyes showed a sign of pain. “I had to.” He admitted. “You’ll know why, one day, Li, but I am forbidden to tell you. You have to understand this.” I shook my head, and buried it in my hands. “I still love you, Li. I never went a day without thinking about you – without missing you.”                    

   I sniffed, and immediately stopped crying, more angry, now, than upset. “You can’t just come here because I have a death threat on my head as my Guarder and think I’ll automatically take you back, Nick! How the hell do I know you’re not lying?”                                 

He had made his way to his knees in front of my bed, to become eye level with me. He looked into my eyes, and I felt as though he could see through my strong act, but I didn’t give up. “I’ll prove it to you.” He proclaimed, brushing a lock of hair back behind my ear. “If it’s the last thing I do, I will prove it to you.”           

   I couldn’t look at him anymore without my stomach twisting, so I looked toward the clock. It was a little early to sleep, but it was dark outside, and I was a majorly overwhelmed with today’s events. “I need to get some sleep, Nick.” He removed his hand from my face, his fingertips tickling my skin. “Yeah, of course.” He agreed. He stood, and crossed his arms across his stomach. “I’ll just be outside, if you need me. I can make myself comfortable on the floor.” I looked at him, and shook my head. As much as I was upset with him right now, I wasn’t going to have him sleep on the floor. “No, you’re not going to sleep on the floor, Nick.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “And why’s that?” He asked.                                      

“Because I will not let you. There’s a pretty comfy cot in the closet. Grab it, and you can sleep in here.” I offered. He didn’t argue, just gave me a simple nod, and walked over to the closet. I took the advantage of having his back turned and changed into a loose t-shirt to sleep in, then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I may be a Charmer, but we still had the same simple hygiene as simple mortals did, and I needed to brush my teeth. I did so, and walked back to my bed, tucking myself under the covers.                “Goodnight, Li.” I heard Nick’s soft voice say. “Goodnight, Nick.” I whispered, before turning off the lamp next to my bed, and laying my head on my pillow to drift off to my precognitive dreaming session that never showed me the events I should have known.