By Rin
Summary: Drew comes to a decision in his life. Can Jeff take the steps necessary to rectify it?
Disclaimer: I do not know any of the members of 98°. I do not know their sexual orientation or preferences and what not. This is purely a work of fiction and any relation to real persons of events takes place in my demented little mind. ;)
Sitting in the car, Nick watched the house for a moment. The lights downstairs were turned off but there were some on upstairs and he could see people moving. Hitching his jacket up onto his shoulders, he climbed out into the warm rainy night and jogged for the porch. Hitting the steps, he stopped and rang the doorbell.
Standing back, he waiting for a moment, moving his shoulders around, feeling the tickle of water running down his back. Leaning forward, he ran his hands through his hair, trying to wring out as much moisture as possible.
Hearing the door open, he looked up and saw Lea standing there, smiling down at him. “Hey Nick, you look a bit wet. Wanna come in and dry off for a bit?”
“Yeah, thanks.” Nick grinned as he straightened up and walked through the door. Stopping just inside he shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to Lea, who hung it on a hook to dry. “I take it Drew’s here?”
“Yeah, he’s upstairs getting ready for bed. Look, Nick…”
Nick held up his hand, stopping her. “Lea, I’m not going to start anything. Promise. I just want to know what’s going on with him and Jeff, all right? I just came from their place and Jeff is lost. He has no idea why Drew left. So, I thought I would come over and see if I could find out what was up.”
Looking at Lea, he could tell that she was considering what he had told her. After a moment, she nodded and headed up the stairs. “Come on. He wouldn’t tell me much except that he thinks Jeff doesn’t love him anymore. Maybe he’ll talk to you.”
Following her up the stairs, Nick could hear Drew talking to someone. ~Must be on the phone.~ Lea stopped at one of the closed doors that lined the hallway. Knocking softly, she called out for Drew. “Drew?”
“Hang on a sec, J.” Nick could hear his brother walking across the floor. He opened the door and smiled at Lea. His smiled quickly faded when he saw Nick standing there. Raising the phone he was holding to his ear, he looked away. “J? I gotta go. Yeah, Nick’s here. Sure, I’ll call you tomorrow. Thanks. Bye.”
Hitting the cancel button, he looked at Nick and smiled shyly. “Hey bro.”
“Hey yourself.” Looking at him standing there, Nick felt his heart twinge. Standing in the doorway, dressed only in boxers and a tank, he looked so small to him. “Can we talk?”
“Yeah, come on in.” Stepping aside, Drew opened the door wider to admit Nick.
“Well, you two talk. I’m going to bed. Night.” Both men turned to Lea and watched her walk down the hallway to her bedroom. “Nick, make sure the door is locked behind you?”
“Yeah sure, no prob Lea. Night.” Nick stepped into the room behind Drew and followed him over to the bed. Drew sat down and pulled one of the pillows into his lap and looked warily at Nick. “I’m not going to bite, Drew. We’re beyond that stage.” Nick grinned at him, hoping to relieve some of the tension in the air.
Drew laughed softly and shrugged. “You sure? We can come pretty close to it at times.”
Nick smiled and sat at the foot of the bed. “So, you wanna talk about it? Please?”
Nodding slowly, Drew looked at him. “I take it you’ve been by the house?”
“Yeah, Jeff’s pretty upset and confused. What’s going on?”
Tossing the pillow aside, Drew leaned back and put his arms behind his head. “I don’t know anymore. I think I need some space.”
“Space? That’s what you call telling Jeff that he doesn’t love you anymore?” Nick tried to keep his voice level. “Drew, he thinks he’s lost you forever and doesn’t have a clue why!”
Looking up, Drew sighed. “Yeah, Lea pointed that out. We never talk anymore. Hell, we don’t even fight. The last fight we had was three weeks ago when I told him I wanted kids.”
“Yeah, I remember that one. You know, he was the one that called while you were over there.”
Sitting up, Drew looked at Nick with some skepticism on his face. “He was? You never told me that.”
“Sorry. I just didn’t think it would’ve been a good thing, ya know? I mean, look at it this way. You come over to your brother’s house to talk about a fight you had. While you’re there, your partner calls. You would have been pretty pissed.”
“Yeah I guess I would’ve been.” Sighing, Drew fell back against the pillows. Looking up at the ceiling he ran his hands over his face. “It’s just…” Drew let the comment fade.
“Just what? C’mon Drew! Talk to me! This is hurting me just as much as it’s hurting you.”
Drew looked up anger on his face. “Hurting you? Where the hell do you get off telling me it’s hurting you? Huh? Last time I checked you weren’t in this relationship, I was!”
“Wrong! I have been part of this since before the two of you ever decided to hook-up! So has Justin. Ya know there are some things you need to realize little brother. Something like this, considering who and what we are, doesn’t mean that there isn’t anyone else involved beside you and Jeff.” Nick rose from the bed and towered over Drew.
Drew could tell he was furious. Nick never yelled. He was always laid back and easy-going. “Nick, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Well then just how the hell did you mean it?” Stepping back, Nick glared at him. Crossing his arms he waited for Drew’s reply.
“I didn’t mean it the way you’re thinking. What I meant was that the problems that Jeff and I are having don’t involve you,” Drew snapped back. “Last time I checked you were engaged to Jess. I don’t remember being involved in that.”
Realizing that fighting with Drew wasn’t going to get him anywhere, Nick sighed. “Look Drew, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get upset. It’s just…I don’t want to see all of us torn apart over something that you can’t even identify. If you could tell us why you left, then maybe you and Jeff can patch things up.” Drew smiled softly and looked up at Nick. “I know you still love him.”
“Yeah, I do,” he whispered. “I think I always will. Come on, I’m going to go talk to him.”
Nick couldn’t believe what he had just head. “What, now?”
Drew glanced at him sideways. “Yeah…why did he find someone else already?”
“Well, no I just didn’t expect it to end this quickly” Heading for the door Nick turned and looked at his brother. “I’m going to go by and pick up Jess, that way the two of you can have some private time.”
“Nah, don’t worry about that. It’s cool. I promise, I won’t throw anything.”
Laughing, Nick told him he would wait downstairs while he got dressed. Walking over to his suitcase, he pulled out a pair of jeans. Stepping into them, he heard the door open.
“You going to go talk to him?” He turned to find Lea standing in the door, wrapped in her bathrobe.
“Yeah, I am. I don’t want to wait.” Buttoning his pants, he sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m so confused anymore. I don’t even know what I want, ya know?”
Laughing, Lea walked across the room and pulled him into a hug. Resting her head on his shoulder she smiled. “Drew, the day you figure out what you want is the day I know you have lost your mind.”