The Story of Us (Book 1 of "The Story of Us" Series) [Completed]

Chapter 8 - Starts With Goodbye

[Harley]

I couldn't take the partying and drinking any longer. After Nick acted like he didn't even remember being with the blonde the night before, and then telling me to leave, I left. After I knew he was at the arena, I packed my stuff up, got my things off his tour bus during the show and I hopped on a train. I hate flying, so I decided to go old school and take a train.

I took the first train I could find, which was to Providence, Rhode Island. I got a room at a small bed and breakfast just outside of Providence and I stayed there for a few days. I turned my cell phone completely off. I didn't want to talk to anybody. I needed the break from everything – Nick, my career, the fans, my parents, the media, everything. I needed a break.

But I knew eventually I was going to have to talk to Nick. I knew I was going to have to tell him that I was going to move out of his house. It was for the best. I needed some independence. I went from living with my parents to living with him and on a tour bus with a manager and a band. I was going on 20 years old and I had never once been on my own.

So after three days, I booked a flight to Tampa. I had everything all planned out in my head. I was going to go home, well Nick's home, call him and explain what was going on. I was hoping this would be the wake up call he needed.

[/Harley]

[July 2001]

Harley stepped out of the taxi, thanking the driver as he helped her get her bags out of the trunk. She tipped him and looked up at Nick's house as the taxi pulled off. She did love the house. It was right on Tampa Bay and they would always go out on Nick's small boat. They had even talked about getting a dog together.

As she walked up to the door to unlock it, she realized it wasn't locked. She opened the door slowly, pulling her luggage in and heard music blaring from the huge stereo system in the living room. She pulled out her small can of mace from her purse and walked over, turning the stereo off.

"What the fuck?!?" she heard Nick yell from another room. She jumped, seeing him walk in wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks.

"Nick, what the hell are you doing home?" Harley asked as he stared at her. "You're supposed to be in, where, not in Boston, the Boston shows are done... What..."

"Maybe you should check one of the thousand voice messages your parents and I left for you," he hissed, glaring at her. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"I needed to just get away for a few days," she said, noticing the bandage on his hand. "Oh my God, what happened to your hand?"

"Did that little trip involve ignoring every form of communication or media? Did you not turn on a television?" he asked, watching her as she turned her cell phone on. "The tour is postponed. AJ's in fucking rehab and I could have really used my girlfriend the past few days." Harley looked up at him in shock. "Yeah, you were right. Too much partying. AJ's in Arizona right now in treatment and I came home to an empty house, going the fuck out of my mind wondering if you were kidnapped or something after leaving the hotel."

"Nick, I didn't know..."

"How could you not have known?" Nick asked. "It was in newspapers and on television. You didn't get online?" Harley shook her head. "So what made you come back now?"

She stared at him. He hadn't shaved in days and he looked as if he hadn't slept. She didn't know if she could even tell him what she was planning after hearing what he had just been through.

"So?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"I... I want to move out," she said as Nick started to laugh. She didn't think it was very funny. "I did a lot of thinking and I just, I really think we need to live apart. I need to live on my own for a while."

"Fine, move out," he said, sitting down on the sofa. "I'm tired of all the girly shit around here anyway. You weren't around when I needed you."

"Nick, I didn't know...."

"But why the fuck did you leave?" he yelled, not even looking at her. "You know I love you and didn't want you to leave! I was just in a fucking mood!"

"Well when your mood involves partying with other girls, then I'm sorry, I don't want to deal with the fucking mood!" she yelled back.

"Just pack your shit and leave," he hissed as she stood there looking at him. "I did fine without a girlfriend when I needed one the most. I could do fine without one for good."

"So you're breaking up with me?" Harley asked.

"Isn't that what you're moving out for?"

"No, but if you put it that way, maybe I can do better in the boyfriend department," she hissed, marching upstairs to their bedroom.

"You are never going to find someone else who puts up with your shit like I do," he yelled back. He stood up, walking up the stairs and followed her into the bedroom. "You know that's the truth!"

"And you think you're going to find someone who puts up with you being all needy, 'Oh boo hoo, I need my girlfriend to hug me and tell me everything is going to be okay.' Fuck you, Nick," she hissed, throwing all of her clothes out of the closet and into a bag.

"Fuck me? Fuck you," he snapped back, watching her. He couldn't believe she was actually packing her stuff. He didn't know why but he was getting turned on by the fighting. "It'll be better not having a girlfriend. Then I won't have to fucking worry about taking up for every stupid mistake she makes in her career to the fans."

"No, you won't, will you?" she said as Nick walked over to her. "It's over, Nick," she said, walking into the closet to pack the last of her clothes.

Nick walked over to the bed and sat down, watching her as she finished the last of her clothes. She went into the bathroom, grabbing what few things she had in there and shoved them in the last available bag that she had. He watched her grab a photo of them off of the table beside her side of the bed and put into the last bag before zipping it up.

"You really leaving?" he asked as she started to pull the bags off of the bed and onto the floor. "Harley..."

"I can't deal with it anymore, Nick. I can't deal with these fucking mood swings of yours," she said, dragging the bags out of the bedroom. He listened to her as she walked down the stairs and he could tell she was starting to cry. He walked out of the bedroom, following her down the stairs and watched her as she dragged all of her bags out of the front door. "If you want, you can pack up the rest of my stuff that I don't take and send it to my parents." Nick nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

He walked to the front door, leaning against the door frame as he watched her stuff her bags into the back of her Expedition. Then she walked back towards the house and he grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"I can stop, you know," he whispered, watching her shake her head. He let go of her arm, watching her as she walked into the office that they had sat up. He stood there, watching her as she walked out with her awards in a huge mail bin that some of her fan mail had been in.

Then she went back in to get a few of her plaques off the wall and put them in the back of the Expedition.

"Harley," he said as she opened the driver's side door of her Expedition. He ran out of the doorway and up to her, taking a deep breath. "I can stop."

"I just want the Nick I fell in love with back," she whispered. "You're not him anymore."

"He was an 18-year old kid," Nick said as she looked away.

"Just don't get as bad as AJ where you have to go to rehab, okay?" she said as Nick looked away. "Maybe we just need some time a part. I might be starting another tour soon and you've got your own stuff to deal with. Just promise you that you'll look at what AJ's going through and not go down that road."

"So it's really over?"

"For now, yeah," Harley whispered, leaning up to kiss Nick's lips softly. As she backed away from the kiss, she quickly got into her SUV and shut the door. Nick watched her as she pulled away while fastening her seatbelt at the same time.

He just couldn't believe that she left. She left him and it was his own damn fault.

[/July 2001]

[Nick]

I sat in my house for two weeks not believing that Harley had actually broken up with me. Then my parents dragged me out and made me go on tour with my little brother. I guess in a way that was good so I didn't sit around my house, eating everything in sight and gaining a hundred pounds, but it was hard... especially when the media found out about it.

It seemed like every time I turned the television on, Harley was on there. She was right, she was going on another short tour and made stops on all the major talk shows to talk about it. Then it would lead to talking about me which most of the time she refused to do.

Except for once.

She told the women on "The View" that we had grew apart and both of us had changed. It was true. She started changing the moment her second album was released. I... I don't know when I started changing. But she was right, we both had changed. I wasn't sure if I agreed with the growing apart thing, but she was right about a lot of other stuff.

I had cheated on her when she wasn't around, which deep down made me feel like a total dick. But it was hard to be in a relationship when you don't see your girlfriend for months at a time and all of these girls are throwing themselves at you. I didn't cheat on her until the last few months of our relationship but I'm proud of myself for holding out as long as I did. I'm just not proud of myself for cheating on her.

But once AJ was out of rehab, we filmed a new music video that was going to be released with our Greatest Hits package in a few months and the tour was getting ready to start back up.

It was September, which only meant one thing – MTV Video Music Awards. It would mark three years since I first met Harley and would be the first time seeing her in person since breaking up.

I just didn't know if I could fathom seeing her. There were rumors that she was already dating some guy in a country group but I didn't know if they were true. AJ had kept in contact with her and hadn't mentioned anything about a new guy.

Thankfully I wouldn't have to stay to see her perform. We were only making a quick appearance and then back over the river to New Jersey for a concert. Or at least that's what I thought.

I was hoping like hell I wouldn't have to run into her at all.

[/Nick]

[September 2001]

Nick sat in the back of a limo, listening to their on the road manager discuss their short itinerary at the VMA Awards. They would do red carpet interviews, pose for photos, then inside to present the award. There would be two performances with an award to be given out before they give out the award they were presenting.

Then it was back to New Jersey.

"Anybody know when Harley is performing?" Brian asked as Nick looked at him. "Sorry bud, just wondering."

"Second," AJ spoke up, looking at his cell phone. "She's after 'N Sync, the intro, and an award presentation. We go on after her."

"They planned that well, didn't they," Kevin smirked. Nick rolled his eyes and looked out the window. The limo stopped and the door opened. "Here we go boys."

"You gonna be okay, Nicky?" Howie asked as Nick nodded. He walked down the red carpet, standing behind the majority of the other guys. He didn't really feel like talking to anybody because he knew she would be brought up.

Then he saw her.

Nick looked at Harley, standing a few feet away from him talking to someone from E! News. Her hair was a lighter shade of brown, with blonde highlights. She had on a short black dress and he sighed. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Then she looked to her right, seeing him and smiled.