"I can't believe you're finally here!" I exclaimed as I jumped into my best friend's arms and he spun me around. "It seems like it's been forever!"
"You have no idea," he commented looking at me. I noticed a strange look in his eyes that I never saw there before. It was…intense.
"So how was the North American leg of the tour?" I asked him after he put me down.
He shrugged. "It was great as usual, but it would've been better if you had been there," he said and touched the tip of my nose with his finger.
I laughed and hugged him again. "You know I have school, but I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too," he said softly. "Listen Chloe, I gotta tell you something," he said seriously and led me over to the couch to sit down.
All the laughter disappeared from my voice. "Nick what is it? Is something wrong? Did something happen? Are the other guys okay? Are you okay?"
"Hey, whoa," said Nick holding up his hands. "Slow down, it's nothing bad, well, I don't think it is. I mean, it really depends on how you look at it and from whose point of view you see it as and I don't know how you will see it but I see it as a-" I covered his mouth with my hand.
"Nick, you're rambling. Just tell me," I said.
He took a deep breath. "Okay here goes," he said nervously.
I had no idea what he was about to tell me. I just hoped that it was nothing horrible and that no one was dying.
"Chloe, I…I…I can't do this," he said running his hands through his blond hair in frustration.
I took his face into my hands. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll get through it, just like we always have, and just like we always will," I said looking into his blue eyes, which were now clouded over with an emotion I did not recognize.
Nick put his hands over mine and brought them down onto his legs. "I don't know how to tell you this. I mean I practiced it so many times in my head and I thought it would be so easy, but it's not."
"Nick, you're scaring me," I said, my voice very soft.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to, I just really don't know how to say it," he said shaking his head. He let go of my hands and got up from the couch. "Dammit, why can't I just do this?" he exclaimed pacing in front of me.
I got up and stood in front of him, forcing him to stop. "Do what?"
Nick looked into my eyes. "This," he said, and all of a sudden I felt his lips on mine.
When the kiss was over I just stood there, my lips parted from shock. I couldn't believe the guy I had known since we were both in diapers had just kissed me. It was surreal.
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I seemed to have lost the ability to speak.
But nothing prepared me for what came next.
"Wait, don't say anything yet," pleaded Nick and walked over to my stereo. He put in a cd that he had produced from his pocket. The familiar melody of "How Did I Fall In Love With You?" began to flow from the speakers, and as soon as Nick's sweet voice filled the air, I began to cry.

It seemed like everything began to swim in front of my eyes. "I need to sit down," I mumbled and lowered myself onto the couch.
I placed my elbows on my knees and rested my chin on my hands.
I looked up at Nick. "Are you sure?" I asked in a barely audible voice.
"More sure than I have ever been of anything in my life," he told me. His voice held so much emotion it was overwhelming.
I felt awful, really awful. I couldn't believe this had happened. I never thought in a million years that Nick would fall in love with me. I didn't think something like that would happen to me. I mean, you read about best friends falling in love, but you never really think it would happen to you.
"Nick, I am so, so sorry," I finally said.
"Why?" he asked cautiously.
"I'm engaged," I whispered.
Nick's eyes widened at my words. The pain on his face was too much for me to bear and tears began rolling down my cheeks once again.
"I am so, so, so sorry," I kept repeating. "I never wanted to hurt you. You are my best friend and I could never forgive myself if I hurt you. You've been gone for six months and so much has happened in that time. You remember Brad? The guy I was dating when you left for the tour? Well, three months after you left, Brad asked me to marry him…and I accepted. I love him with all my heart and soul but, God, I never suspected that you were in love with me. All I can keep saying is that I'm sorry for not returning your feelings and if you'll never want to speak to me again, I'll understand."
"Now I need to sit down," uttered Nick in a muted voice and took a seat beside me. "I gotta tell you, I never saw this coming," he said with a short laugh.
"I never meant to hurt you, Nick…I…I am so sorry," I sobbed.
"Chloe, it's okay," said Nick, although I knew it wasn't okay. I could hear the pain in his voice. I looked at him and saw that his eyes were filled with tears.
"I just…I can't believe I hurt you so much, you are the one person in this entire world that I would never ever want to hurt," I continued to cry.
Nick could no longer hold his tears and a few of them escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

Nick's point of view

I felt like someone ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it repeatedly. Then picked it up and shattered it into a gazillion tiny pieces never to be put back together again.
I never suspected for even a millisecond that Chloe would be engaged to Brad. It didn't seem real to me.
Sure I knew that they were dating for four months before I left for the tour, but I didn't think it was anything even remotely serious. All throughout the tour I kept thinking about how I would sing the song for Chloe and then she would run into my arms and tell me that she loves me and everything would be okay.
But everything was not okay.
Chloe wasn't in love with me and she was engaged to Brad.
I never thought that I could experience the tremendous pain that was ripping its way through my body at the time.
I turned to look at Chloe. My wonderful perfect Chloe with her deep brown eyes and honey blond hair. She was absolutely beautiful in every sense of the word. Her delicate features were so perfect she almost seemed like an angel, someone who was out of reach.
But she is out of reach, at least for you, I thought bitterly.
Nothing mattered to me then. Not my fame, not my fortune, and not my career. I would give it all up in a heartbeat if it would mean that Chloe would love me back the way I loved her.
"Nick," she whispered and jolted me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah?" I whispered back, wiping away my tears.
"I am so sorry," she said for what seemed like the millionth time.
"I know, but it's not your fault, you can't control who you love," I said with a deep hurt down inside.
Chloe nodded as her chin began to quiver and fresh tears appeared in her eyes.
"Come here," I said softly and held out my arms to her. She fell into my embrace and cried. I cried with her.
"I never meant to hurt you," she told me, her voice muffled by my shirt.
"I know," I murmured. "I know."