"One love that is shared by two, I have found in you. Like a rose under the April snow, I was always certain love would grow" -- Barbara Striesand's "Evergreen"

"Hey mom," Nick yelled as he and Sara walked into his house the next morning.

"Nickolas! Where have..." Jane's voice trailed off as she walked around the corner and saw Sara with him...his hand interlocked with hers. "Sara! How have you been?" She walked over to her, giving her a big hug, not able to believe how tiny she was.

"I'm okay, Jane," Sara smiled.

"I guess you two must've fallen asleep last night which would be the only reason for you not calling, right Nickolas?"

"Uh, yeah." Nick wasn't sure how to tell his mom about their feelings for one another, especially since he was planning on telling her about the housing arrangements. "Uh mom, I'm needin' to talk to you about somethin'. Hey Rhi, I'm sure BJ would love to see you," he said in a hopeful tone.

"Oh, yeah, it's been forever since we've talked. Is she in her room?"

"Yes dear, go on up."

Nick lightly tugged on his mom's arm and led her into the kitchen. Sitting down at the table, he seemed to muster up enough courage to say what he had to. "Mom, I need to do something."

"What would that be, sweetie?"

"Well, Sara and I had a long talk last night and I found out some stuff, some bad stuff. Her parents just don't care about her, but we already knew that." He could feel the tears coming. "I...I wanna take her away from all that," he said, not even looking at Jane.

"What are you saying?"

"I wanna get a place for Sara and me."

Jane sat back in shock. "Did you have sex with her last night?" she asked calmly.

"Mom! Geez, this girl's my best friend. I just wanna help her out." Nick was hoping that his face wasn't revealing the truth.

"That's not answering the question."

"Mom, I just think Sara needs to get away from there. She's been harming herself," he said with a trembling lower lip. "I know she has an eating disorder, I figured that much out."

"It's kind of obvious," Jane sighed. "Are you sure this is what you want? I mean, you're eighteen and I can't stop you, but I also want to make sure it's right for you. Handling a situation like that isn't going to be easy. She's not gonna be able to quit just like that."

"I know, but if doing this will help her just a little, then I'm willing to take it on."

"We're here for you, honey." She laid a comforting hand on top of his.

Nick stared at his mom, knowing he had to tell her the truth. "To answer your question from before, yes we did, and I love her more than anything. I couldn't bear to..." Nick couldn't bring himself to utter the last words.

Jane gave her son a huge hug. "I've always known you loved her," she whispered.

~* A month and a half later *~
Nick and Sara had found a beautiful beach house about twenty minutes from where they used to live. Not surprisingly enough, they decorated the bedroom in green (Nick's idea) and made the rest of the house into a semi country setting.

Nick hadn't noticed any change in Sara's weight, except for maybe being skinnier. He tried to make her eat, but she said she wasn't hungry most of the time.

On this day, Nick had given her some money to go out shopping for clothes, hoping that a new wardrobe would help to make her feel a little better about herself. He was planning a special evening for them. He couldn't believe how completely in love with her he was. She had always been important to him, but lately she was his whole world. He was so afraid of messing up though. He wasn't gonna think about that tonight. All he wanted to think about was he and Sara having a wonderful life together. He had ordered some Chinese food to be delivered, a food that Sara couldn't turn down when they were younger. He chuckled as he picked up the Kama Sutra video he had rented for them. He wanted everything to be perfect.

"I'm home!" called Sara.

"Hey," he said sweetly. "I missed you." He hugged her tiny figure, feeling a weak hug in return.

"I was only gone for an hour or two," she giggled.

"I know, and it was too long." He began kissing her soft lips, walking them towards the couch, never breaking the kiss. He lay on top of her, lightly kissing her neck.

Sara lay there, enjoying every minute. Her life with Nick was absolutely wonderful, but she felt badly for not being able to break her ‘habit'. It wasn't because she didn't care about herself or about Nick. She loved him more than he could ever know, but what she had started was addicting. She'd been doing it for a year and couldn't stop at the drop of a hat. Lately she noticed that she was getting sick without even trying. She was scared that her body was wearing down on her, but she tried not to think about it. She just wanted to enjoy every moment with Nick.

"I love you," he breathed in her ear.

Just then, Sara felt her stomach flip flop. She lightly pushed Nick off of her and ran for the bathroom.

He got up and headed for the bathroom. He lightly knocked on the door. Opening it slightly, he saw Sara kneeling down by the toilet, getting sick. He knelt down behind her, rubbing her back and just wanting to cry. Why was she doing this to herself? Didn't she know that she didn't have to be perfect for him?

Sara reached up and flushed the toilet. She looked behind her, tears in her eyes. Without saying a word she got up and began brushing her teeth.

"I thought you were gonna stop," Nick said softly.

She finished up and put her toothbrush away, kneeling down beside Nick. "Sweetie, I'm trying, but lately I've been getting sick automatically. Maybe my body's just trying to tell me something." She felt herself withering away slowly.

Nick felt the tears stream down his cheeks. He grabbed her face. "Don't say that. We're gonna get you better. You're gonna be around for a long time." He was trying to sound reassuring, but was beginning to doubt it himself. Getting mad at her would get him nowhere. Instead he would get unbelievably depressed.

"Yea," she said, trying to smile. "I'm gonna stick around as long as I can and annoy ya!"

"Tell me, what did ya buy today?" He wanted to change the subject. Thinking about losing her was too much or him to handle. He couldn't imagine his life without her.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that!" She was smiling now and that made Nick happy.

"Well ya gonna model for me?"

"You don't wanna see me model."

"You bet your sweet ass I do!" He pulled her up and carried her into the living room, making her show him all the outfits she bought.

After she was done, Sara decided she wanted to lay down. Not long after getting comfortable in the bed, she felt Nick slide under the covers beside her. "Hey sweetie," he whispered.

"Hey," she smiled. "I never got to return my ‘I love you' earlier."

"I know you do." He looked deep into her eyes, wanting to make love to her, but uncertain it would be the right thing to do after what had happened earlier.

"What did you put into the VCR?" she asked suspiciously.

"You heard, huh?" She lightly shook her head. "Well, I kinda got this video for us. I ordered dinner for us too." Her eyes danced but her face winced once she heard the word ‘food'. "Just eat a little, sweetie...for me."

His eyes were pleading with her. "Okay, I'll try."

"That's all I ask. Anyways, I got us a special video. Shall we play it now or later?"

"Well, what time is the food coming?"

"At about seven. It's only one o'clock," he said scooting closer to her. "I'm sure there's plenty we could get done in that time span," he smirked. He hit the play button on the remote, their eyes being greeted by cursive letters that read, Kama Sutra.

She looked over at Nick, completely surprised. "You're bad," she breathed into his ear. He started to kiss her neck, neither one of them paying much attention to the video. Sara kissed him lightly on the lips and turned her head towards the TV, curious as to what would be on the screen. Nick removed his shirt and rested Sara's head against his chest. They made little comments while they watched, but he noticed that she was extremely quiet during one of the more passionate love making scenes. Her hand lightly caressed his bare stomach. He closed his eyes and was in heaven as he felt her touch. She slowly moved her hand down, feeling his erection underneath his jeans. He began to breathe heavily. She moved her hand back and forth, applying just a bit of pressure, knowing exactly what she was doing. Nick moaned quietly. She looked at the TV and then at Nick. "I think you're more interesting," she smiled, leaning up to give him a kiss. She started undoing his jeans, slowly pulling them off along with his underwear.

He just watched, feeling content. She was about to begin when he whispered into her ear, "I'm not cummin' unless I'm inside you, so you might as well lose your clothes." He smiled as he lifted up her shirt and slid off her pants. She quickly went back to what she was going to do, feeling ashamed that her body was displayed. He watched as she took him into her mouth. He had always shut his eyes before and sat back to relax, but was now realizing what a turn-on it was to watch...almost too much of a turn-on. "Oh, Rhi. Mmm...that feels so good. Yea, just like that." Nick could feel his head spinning from all the excitement. "I want you, Rhi."

She slowly stopped, feeling Nick's hands cup her face to move her up. He gave her one of the most passionate kisses they had ever shared. He positioned himself on top of her, thrusting himself into her. She let out a pleasurable moan. As his thrusts became faster, she lifted her legs up, wrapping them around his waist, imitating what they had seen on the video.

Nick smiled when he felt her legs around him, making him thrust deeper. Before either of them knew it, they were climaxing simultaneously. His entire body trembled from the feeling. He leaned down, kissing her with all the strength he had left. He could feel her shaking beneath him. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

"I am absolutely perfect," she smiled.

Nick kissed her one last time before laying his head on her chest and falling asleep.