What Brought Us Together- 10

Nick's P.O.V

"Just do it," I hear Lani whisper from behind her door. "In movies, girls like it when boys do that."

"I know," I hear Joe reply. "I'm just so scared."

My eyebrows furrow at the sound of Lani and Joe's "private" conversation, and I dump the rest of the dirty laundry in the washing machine to wash, before politely knocking on Lani's door.

"Come in, Nicky," I hear her say.

I open the door, seeing Lani and Joe seated Indian style on her bed, innocent expressions on their faces.

"What are you guys talking about?" I ask, immensely curious at this point.

Lani shrugs her shoulders, her hands curved downwards in the air. "I can't 'member."

I look over at Joe, and he gives me the same gesture. "Me neither."

I almost would laugh if it isn't for the fact my curiosity is getting the best of me. I cross my arms over my chest, eyeing them suspiciously. I stare at them for a good two minutes to see if maybe I can get them to spit out whatever they're hiding from me under pressure, and I can see Lani struggling to suppress a smile. Joe, however, looks back at me, indifferently.

"If you say so," I tell them, finally. "I'm going to go get dinner started."

After I walk out, I keep my ear close to the door, listening as both of them let out an audible sigh of relief.

"That was a close one," I hear Lani say, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

"I know," Joe agrees. "We can't let him find out what we're doing."

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The next few days, it's the same exact thing. Joe and Lani spend most of their time in these "secret meetings." When they're not, and all of us are actually spending time together, I take notice in the way they exchange glances, smiles playing on their lips as they look from my suspicious expression to each other.

I don't really know something truly fishy is going on until I notice Lani dragging in what looks like 300 hundred sheets worth of computer paper and a large supply of moon sand that I remember Joe getting for her, into her room. I follow her, watching her try to stuff it all under her bed.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

She quickly turns around, her blue eyes wide, and shields the paper and play sand with her arms out-stretched as far as they'll go, as if I haven't seen it already.

"Nothing," she says a little too hastily, but I drop it after that.

The same night, I find Joe on the phone talking to someone about a show or something. But when he notices me standing there, he quickly hangs up the phone, a smile that seems too wide to be genuine spreading across his face.

"Who was that?" I ask.

He shrugs his shoulders, and stands up from his spot on the bed.

"Nobody," he replies, quick and suspiciously.

Talk about Déjà vu.

But this time, I don't drop it…at least not mentally, anyway.

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"I don't know, Lans," I hear Joe say, using the nickname he had chosen for Lani. "What if he doesn't want to do it?"

I sit directly outside her closed door, unrightfully, listening in on their conversation. My back is to the door and my knees are pulled up to my chest, my heart beating faster as I wait for them to say exactly what "it" is.

"Why wouldn't he?" I hear Lani ask, and I can picture her putting her head off to the side, like she always does when she hears something she doesn't understand.

"It's different between us," Joe remarks. "We're not the same as we used to be."

I hear shuffling, and I'm guessing Lani's taken the initiative to wrap her arms around him in a hug for comfort. It's silent for a long while, before Lani finally speaks.

"What did it used to be like?"

There's more shuffling, followed by the sound of Joe sighing.

"It was everything," he says, simply. "We were so care-free and playful and in love. There wasn't a single moment that we were apart from each other, and even if we were, we were still together in spirit, 'cause we just couldn't stop thinking about each other. I remember how when I first started going on serious missions, I'd call him just about every 5 seconds, just to hear his voice and to know he was okay."

As the memory of what Joe is talking about floods my mind, I feel a smile paint over my expression, and there's a warmth in my chest.

"What else?" Lani presses. "I like fairytales."

Joe and I seem to chuckle at the same time, the only difference being that he can't actually hear mine.

"This isn't a fairytale, Lans," he tells her. "But I used to think it could have been…"

His voice trails off and I can hear the sadness in it…the disappointment. I can't help but think that half of it is my fault; the reason why our fairytale didn't have a happily ever after…or doesn't.

"So what happened?" Lani asks, her voice small and unsure because she knows Joe probably doesn't want to talk about it.

Joe lets out a long heavy sigh, and I'm just as eager as Lani to hear his response. "I don't know."

My heart sinks a little, but it's not towards Joe. It's mostly because I still don't know the answer of why we're the way we are now. I still don't know what caused this type of invisible shift in the world that took us from happiness and love to anger and hatred.

When I hear that their conversation about it is over, I stand up, wiping away the tears that are threatening to fall down my flushed cheeks, and then walk towards the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, I rest my hands against the counter, leaning down on it for support.

And now I've decided…

Whatever this thing is Joe wants me to do, I'll do it. Even if it's something seriously crazy and stupid and outrageous and idiotic and something I'll absolutely hate, I'll do it. I'll do anything he wants me to.

I'll do anything to fight for our love.