The fight between Nick and Johnny ended when I made Phillip get in between them to break it up. Both boys had bloody faces and knuckles. Johnny looked absolutely furious and Nick looked like he knew why Johnny did what he did and that reason was me.

Johnny stomped away from the crowd but before he could make his dramatic exit he gave me a stone cold gaze. Nick stood there for a few seconds then charged out of the room in the direction of the front door. I being the idiot chased after him but he refused to stop and hear me out. He walked to his car, got in and left without so much as a simple look.

Lacey and Phillip followed me outside, they tried to get me to tell them what the hell just happened but I didn't say anything. I was in shock from what just happened. Lacey knew me well enough to know that I wanted to go home so on the way out to check on me she grabbed my coat. Before leaving she and Phillip made me promise to let them know I was home safely.

I got zero sleep that night. I kept replaying what happened in my head and what I could have done to stop it from happening in the first place. The best solution I came up with was not inviting Nick to be my date to the party. That or not even having a conversation with him at all. Either way, what went down last night was all my fault and I needed to apologize to Nick. He deserved that much.

I had a plan to get in touch with him Sunday morning but my parents had other plans for me. My grandparents requested that Carter and I spend the day with them playing Bingo at the Senior Center. I normally enjoy those days but I didn't today. My mind was solely on Nick Ross. I sent him a few texts but he never responded, he didn't even read them. The thought of him no longer speaking to me made my stomach and heart drop.

When Carter and I returned at 4:30 that evening I told my parents that I needed to go visit a friend. They were suspicious at first but gave me permission to go. I went upstairs to my room to fix my hair and make-up. I was wearing a beanie but I needed to fix my braid since it had loosened from the day. I did a once over look in the mirror making sure my outfit looked decent. A long sleeve, jeans and pair of UGGs, perfect for this snowy day.

I was about to leave my room when I suddenly remembered that I had no clue where Nick lived. Well, this was a fail so far. I quickly thought of a way to get his number and Charlie Barron popped into my mind. Charlie and I exchanged numbers while we were camping but I haven't felt the need to contact him until now. And since Nick isn't responding to my texts I figured Charlie was the next best thing.

I sent Charlie a text asking for Nick's address and he almost instantly sent me a text back with Nick's address. I sent back a thank you and he sent me a good luck text. I was sure Charlie was aware of what happened last night but the only person I wanted to talk to about it at the moment was Nick.

Once I got in my car I put Nick's address into the GPS app on my phone and started the route.

Fifteen minutes later I arrived to my destination. A two story gray brick house with a white picket fence and a two car garage. In the driveway I noticed Nick's Jeep, that meant he was home. I parked my car on the side of the street and took several calming breaths. I was nervous and scared. I haven't met any of his family, they seemed nice according to the stories Nick has told me but how would they react to someone who got their son beat up.

I grabbed my keys from the egnition and my phone and slowly walked through the two inches of snow to the front door of the Ross house. The house looked homey and cozy. The Christmas lights and decorations only added to the picture perfect house. I finally made it up the three steps that led to the front door and knocked on the brown door a few times. Hopefully loud enough for someone to hear.

A guy who looked to be in his mid forties answered the door. The guy looked exactly like Nick. Warm hazel eyes and dark brown hair. "Hi. Can I help you?" He asked politely.

I cleared my throat, "Um...hi. I'm Taylor, Taylor Croft and I am a friend of Nick's from school. This is his house right?" I asked my voice shakey.

"Yes it is. I'm Nick's dad, come on in." He says with a smile.

I walk into the house and the smell of something baking floods my nostrils. The inside of the house looks just as homey as the outside. A living room to the left with a Christmas tree lit up along with couches and a very large t.v I saw the stairs in the corner to the right and a door that I was sure either led to the kitchen or dinning room, or both.

"What brings you to visit Nick?" Mr.Ross asks me.

"Oh." I hadn't thought of my reasoning for being here. I wasn't going to tell him I was the reason his son got beat up last night at a party I invited him to. "He and I are partners on a English paper. Nick said we could work on the paper here, it's due tomorrow." I lie.

"Oh, alright. Although between you and me, I don't think there will be school tomorrow if the snow keeps falling." Mr.Ross mentions.

"Yeah. I still prefer it to be finished, just in case." I tell him. Man, I am quick on my feet this evening.

"Understood. Nick is in his room. You can go on down." He says walking me to a door in an empty hallway.

"Thanks." I smile and he walks away.

I open the door and am met with a set of stairs. His room is in the basement? Oh boy. I hope this isn't some weird stunt to get me locked down here. I've seen one two many movies where the killer leads their victim to the basement then knocks them out and next thing you know you're tied up in a chair facing death. I may have watched several Crime Scene episodes last night since I couldn't sleep. Nick's dad seemed nice but that could have just been an act. No, stop it Taylor. You will not die here.

I walked carefully down the stairs making as little noise as I could. I stopped on the second to last step when I heard a sound. It sounded like someone was hitting something repeatedly and breathing heavy. I looked the far left corner to see Nick hitting a punching bag that was hanging from the ceiling. My heart ached knowing I was probably the reason he was going all Batman on that punching bag.

I leaned against the railing and crossed my arms over my chest. I may feel bad but watching Nick repeatedly hit the punching bag was a total turn on. He didn't have a shirt on and even though the lights were dim, I could see each movement his muscles made and it was mesmerizing. Not too mention, he had shorts on his ass looked very grabbable at the moment. Kinda like in the first Avengers when we see Captian America hitting the punching bag and his ass dosen't even jiggle. That is what Nick's ass was doing at the moment. And I couldn't help but bite my lip.

After about ten minutes Nick stopped torturing the bag and I took my chance to speak.

"So this is what the Bat-cave looks like." I say walking down the last two steps and over to where Nick was standing. His chest was heaving and covered in sweat, his hair was matted down on his forehead as well. I was swooning like no other.

"Cheerleader what are you doing here?" Nick asks in slight shock.

I sigh, "You weren't returning any of my texts so I took matters into my own hands." I confess.

"I haven't looked at my phone since this morning." He tells me and runs a hand through his sweaty hair.

I notice the bruise on his jaw, the black eye and the bruised knuckles with dried blood on them. My face falls at the sight.

I slowly raise my hand up to his jaw and caress it. Nick hisses but doesn't pull away from my touch and I let out a breath. "I'm sorry." I whisper. "Let me clean your wounds." I say looking into his eyes.

"I need a shower first. It will be pointless for you to clean them then me take a shower. Make yourself at home." He says then heads into the bathroom.

Make myself at home? Other than being in my brothers rooms the only other guy room I gave been in was Johnny's. And the times we spent in there weren't for talking, we mostly made out. I couldn't make myself at home here. So instead I walked around the very spacious room. At the back of the room was Nick's king size bed with black sheets and a night stand on each side. There was also a couch and a t.v. He had a pretty decent set up here.

If I was going to tend to Nick's wounds, I needed a first aid kit. So I started searching the cabinets against the wall near his punching bag.

I was so busy searching for a first aid kit that I didn't hear the door open or close. I did, however, feel someone right behind me, almost as if their front was pressing right up against my back. Judging from the minty smell, it was Nick.

"What are you doing?" He asked in very husky voice. I also felt his warm minty breath on the back of neck and it sent chills down my spine and to my toes.

I composed myself the best I could before responding. Deep breaths Tay. "I was looking for a first aid kit."

"Its on the top shelf." He says queitly.

I nod and stand on my tip toes to see if I can reach it and I already know I can't but I try anyways. I knew Nick was close behind me but when I reached up I knew right away that my ass was leveled with a part of him and I'm not talking about his stomach. After realizing what I was about to do I put myself back on my feet.

Nick breathed a laugh, "Let me." Instead of moving me out of the way he just reaches over top of me to grab the first aid kit from the top shelf. This time his front was plastered up against my back.

I turned around once Nick grabbed what was needed and instead of looking at his face I was met with his naked chest that still had water droplets on it, I might add. I swallowed and tore my eyes away from his sculpted chest.

Taking his hand in mine, I walked us over to the couch and set down. I took a hold Nick's knuckles and started cleaning. Nick let out a hiss when I applied the cleaning product but stayed quiet.

I not being able to stand the thick air between us, I spoke. "If you don't want to see me again, I will completely understand." I say not looking at him.

Nick freezes for a moment, "What are you talking about?" He eventually asks.

"Its my fault why you are injured. If I hadn't asked you to be my date, Johnny wouldn't have punched you." I say my voice cracking.

"It isn't your fault. I don't blame you for what happened last night." He tells me, he sounds honest.

"Nick. You have a black eye, a bruised jaw and knuckles. You are down here in the middle of the day going all Hulk on a punching bag. You used to not be bothered by anyone at school. You probably lied to your parents about how you got these wounds. I can tell them that I was the reason." I ramble quickly.

"Cheerleader." Nick says. I look up at him. "I often hit the punching bag. I did tell my parents that I got these wounds from sparring with Charie and I don't want you telling them it was your fault."

"You still lied to them." I whisper.

"I mean, Charlie and I do spar often so it is possible for me to get wounds. My parents understand since they are the ones who brought me the punching bag. What happened between Johnny and I was bound to happen sooner or later. I had the choice to walk away but I figured I would go ahead and get it over with. Stop beating yourself up over this." He explains to me.

"I am sorry." I apologize again.

"Stop." He warns. "And as for me never seeing you again." He pauses. Oh God, here it comes. He is going to end this friendship. "I'm not stopping. You are interesting and there are things I want to know about you." Nick says and it shocks me.

I can't help but smile. He actually wants to continue being my friend. I feel the butterflies in my stomach.

"I do need to ask you one question though." He blurts out and the butterflies suddenly stop.

"What's that?" I ask slowly.

"Has Johnny ever done anything to you? I still don't know why he is so determined to get you back." Nick asks.

"Let's just say, I broke up with him without giving him a reason." I say.

"Did you have one? A reason?" Nick continues.

I did. "I saw myself turning into someone I promised myself I wouldn't do. So I put a stop to it." I confess. I wasn't lying but there was a little more to it.

"Okay. So he never forced you to do something you weren't ready for?" Nick says.

"No. He asked me once but I said I wasn't ready and he respected me." I inform. "I told myself that I would do that with someone I really cared about and I didn't really care about him."

Nick smiles and seems to be pleased with my responses.

Nick and I go quiet after that and I finish cleaning his wounds. When I look at his black eye, I hold his not bruised jaw to keep him still. We stare into one anothers eyes for a long time. I seriously love his eyes. Warm hazel and I feel completely safe with them looking at me. I notice there is a fire building in them.

Next thing I know, Nick is leaning in and so am I. Our breathing overlaps and my lips are so close to his. Ready to kiss, ready to savor and taste. But we get interrupted.

"Nick?"

- - - - - - - - - -

Hey guys! So if you haven't noticed...I changed the name of the book to batman & cheerleader I felt it was a better suited title. I hope you like it :)

Also, I decided to split this into two chapters to prevent it from being to long.

See you later!!! :)