Alec was more than eager when the final bell rang. He quickly put his things in his bag and got up, ready to run after Nick, who was already heading for the door. Alec jumped up, but the moment he got to the door, someone stood in front of him, blocking his way.

"Felicity." He groaned.

He had hoped he wouldn't have to see her. But she had a different idea.

"Hey, Alec." She smiled at him. "Can we talk?"

"Why?" Alec looked past her to see where Nick had gone. He was still in the hallway, heading for the stairs. "We don't have anything to talk about."

"Oh, come on, Alec." Felicity reached for his arm. "Don't be like that."

Alec wasn't paying attention to her, though. He couldn't keep his eyes off Nick. Just as Nick was going to turn to go down the stairs, his eyes looked up and locked with Alec's. In that brief moment, Alec felt like he was holding his breath. As if for those few seconds, he was seeing him for the first time. His small build, light brown hair, piercing green, round glasses, and plump pink lips.

Nick looked at him for three seconds before leaving. Alec wanted to run after him, but Felicity was blocking his path. Alec swore under his breath and looked at his ex. He never harbored any hate for anyone before, not even for her after everything she'd done to him, but at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to tell her to fuck off.

"Sorry, Felicity, but today is not a good day."

Alec gave her a fake smile and gently pushed his way past her. She stood there watching him as he went on his way. Once he was out of her view, he ran down the stairs as quickly as he could. He had to make it this time. He had to talk to Nick. It had been too long. He couldn't keep going like this.

He reached the bottom of the staircase and saw Nick exiting the building. Alec felt his heart clench, and he ran quickly to catch up.

"Nick!"

Nick stopped. He turned and smiled as a taller guy approached him. Alec had seen him around the school but never spoke to him before. He always thought he looked antisocial and mean. Alec stopped and watched from afar.

"Hey, Tate." Nick went over to him. "Were you waiting long?"

"No." Tate shook his head. He looked annoyed but not at Nick at something else. "But I can't go with you today. Something came up."

"Oh." A flash of disappointment appeared on Nick's face that vanished as soon as it appeared. "No worries. We can go another time."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, of course. Don't worry about me. I'll go home and study."

"Okay." Tate nodded. "See ya tomorrow."

Nick nodded as he smiled and went on his way. Alec kept watching from inside the school. There was this feeling in his chest he could not describe, but he hated it.

"Hey." Kyle came up behind him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Sorry." Alec sighed. "I forgot we were going to practice again."

"Well, let's go before the coach throws a fit."

"Yeah."

Alec nodded as he followed Kyle.

~*~

Alec went up the stairs to his room. He could hear his mother call out to him, but he just wanted to go up. He went to his room and closed the door behind him. He turned to the window and slowly walked further into the room.

The light in the room next door was open, and he could see Nick studying at his desk. Alec sat on his bed and stared at him.

He felt a bit like a stalker. Just watching him like that. But he couldn't help it. He and Nick hadn't spoken in years. At first, Alec didn't notice that they drifted apart. But when he did, he suddenly found it hard to try and talk to him again. It was like he didn't know what to say to him.

Nick rose from his desk and stretched as he turned around. He stopped, and his eyes widened slightly when he noticed Alec was staring at him. Alec nervously smiled and waved. Nick stared at him a moment and shyly waved back.

Alec's heart skipped. After so long, Nick was finally acknowledging him. He got up from the bed and opened the window. On the other side, there was a balcony that connected his room to Nick's. Their parents had it built when they were kids. Alec waited to see what Nick was going to do and was happy when he also opened his window.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"How have you been?"

"Okay." Nick wasn't wearing his glasses, and Alec could see his eyes perfectly. They were so green. "How are you? I heard you broke up with Felicity."

"Oh. Um... yeah. A few weeks ago." Alec lowered his head. "It wasn't working out."

"Did she cheat on you?" Alec looked up. Nick had his usual serious look on his face, but Alec could tell that there was a little anger in his eyes. "I knew she wasn't the one for you."

"Yeah. I should've known too. But I don't know. I really liked her back then."

"You didn't love her?"

Alec looked at him. He wasn't sure he could answer that question. He did have feelings for her when they were dating, but saying he loved her was too much.

There was a silence that followed that made Alec uncomfortable. He wanted to talk more with Nick, but he was so nervous that he didn't know what to say.

"Um... well, I should go back to my studies."

"Wait!" Alec cried out. "Um... could we walk home together tomorrow?"

Nick stared at him, and Alec was sure that his cheeks had turned red in that brief moment.

"Sure."

"Okay." Alec smiled. "See you tomorrow."

Nick nodded, and he quickly closed his window. Alec continued to look at him for a little longer before closing his window, a smile still painted on his face.