The Ache That Never Heals: Nero/Skye

[findingnemo]

Nero woke up that morning with a sort of heaviness. Ok so it's been about a week since the shooting but... it still felt like he could have done something to prevent Maxim's... demise. He also needed to find Skye... someone he had been thinking about since the shooting. He wondered if she ever got his text message. But things were so crazy he doubted his cell phone even sent it. He went toward his locker but made a slight detour to hers.

Skye was in a ..decent mood. Things had been interesting for the last week. reconnecting with Nate was fun. She'd belying to herself if she said that she wasn't feeling something for her old friend from Salem. She ha before, but his illegal habits had kept her at arms length. Brian had kinda left her alone for the last couple of days, so she was almost relaxed. Clad in a short white dress, bare legs and a pair of heels, skye twisted the combo on her locker, smmiling when she saw nate's stuff. It had been fate that they ended up at different schools, but shared her locker.

Nero came up behind her. "Hey." he said softly and put a hand on her shoulder.

To her credit, Skye did not jump at the hand on her shoulder. Hearing the voice, she turned, raising an eyebrow.

"I know... you probably don't want to see me." he told her. "But.. I just want to... I don't know. Apologize." he said. "For everything."

"You are a big boy Moore...you ill date who yu want to...and if that is that Russian girl...that is your choice..I have no say in it." She replied cooly.

Nero lifted a brow. "Look... I've been hurt through this thing before, Skye... you left... With my heart." he told her. "How am I even supposed to... explain things like that?"

"it's over, done with...end of subject." she shrugged, shifting through her books. "You never bothered to contact me when I moved to Salem..oh well..means we were not meant to last..ce la vie."

Nero lifted a brow. "Wow, so that's it?" he asked her. "You come walzing back in here after I was JUST trying to move on after what seemed like a million years and you just.... brush me off like that?" he asked snapping his fingers. "You're amazing, Skye." he told her. "Truly amazing." he shook his head. "Here I thought we could just try to fix things and be at least friends... but it seems like you don't want me in your life at all... is that right?"

"Did i say that? NO I did not. Please do not put things into my mouth." Skye snapped. "I cant stop you from being my friend Nero, there will always be part of me that cares for you...but like you..Im trying to move on, since you didnt want me."

Nero's eyes lit up at that particular comment. "I'm sorry?" he asked as if he didn't quite hear her right. "I didn't want you?" he asked then took a deep breath. "Skye... I wanted to fucking marry you." he told her - all truth coming out from the day he met her til today. "You left... I tried to call you. Maybe you didn't get the messages because guess who I spoke to?" he asked. "Your father..." he said. "'Sure I'll be sure to give her the message', he said... he told me that every time. And I didn't believe him at all... I never got a call or even a letter from you to know whether you were safe... Every call I made fell on deaf ears." he told her. "You wanted the truth... there it is."

"I emailed you..so don't accuse me f never trying to get in contact with you." Skye told him. "What i dont get...this thing with Anna..you'd just like met her the night before we met up at the coffee shop...so things could not have been that tight...but yet..you still went with her over me." Skye shifted her bag to her front and slid the books she needed for the first half of the day.

Nero shook his head. "I don't check my email you know that." he told her. "For the longest time my dad even disconnected all the friggin computers in the house." he said honestly. "Ana and I didn't know each other all that well but there was a connection. I was trying to get back on my feet after pitying myself all that time once you left." he told her. "You couldn't have expected to come back after that long and just... everything would be ok. I was the shell of a man when you left, Skye... I had just now gotten my self-esteem back." he told her. "You destroyed me."

"And here I was, having a good morning...and I get told I destroyed you...you knowwhat...I cant do this anymore...I love you..I will always love you..but I will not get dragged into this anymore...you made your choice, what do you want me to do about it"

"I don't want you to do anything about it, Skye." he told her. He pulled her to him gently, quickly kissing her... that spark would always be there. Once the kiss was broken he looked into her eyes, not taking a step back and not worried about flying hands. "But you know what I do need? I need you to be there for me... as a friend..." he told her. "I don't want to be enemies over this, Skye. I want you to be my best friend. Someone I can spend time with.. someone I can talk to." he whispered. He felt tears stinging his eyes. He still held her to him. "But I need you to just.. let it go." he said gently. He reached a hand up and caressed her cheek gently. "I need this grudge to just... disappear." he said gently. He kissed her once more... gentle... loving. "But I can't live without you." He knew what he was doing was wrong in almost every way possible. But he knew Ana would understand. Skye was his and always would be... but this was more of a... final touch.

A week ago and she would have kissed him bck, but now, she just held still until it broke. "I will be there for you..in all other things..but her..I can't. I jsut...I don't like her Nero..I'm sorry." She said softly, closing her locker. "I need to move on...so as long as we don't discuss this..we should be ok."

Nero lifted a brow. "Why don't you like her? Is it because she's... new?"

Skye sighed, banging her head on her locker. "because I think you deserve better then some two bit female who couldn't keep her legs shut...and I know you are gonna get mad at me for saying it..but that's how I feel."

Nero shook his head. "Skye you don't even know her... how do you even say something like that?"

"She's my age and her son is what...2? 3?" She asked lightly. "You knew how i felt about sex...I believe in love...I guess that makes me stupid." She shrugs.

Nero shook her head. "No, Skye. That doesn't make you stupid. Love is a beautiful thing." he said. "But you have no idea what she was going through in order to even be in this predicament." he told her. "She was going through some things." he told her. "And I'm not going to put her life out there - that's not my place. And since when do you judge people?" he asked her.

Skye shook her head. "I guess Im not the same girl you knew." She said softly. "I just think you deserve better then that.." She slid her bag onto her back. "You were my safe hold..my white knight..the one thing that kept me going..so I guess its someone elses turn to have you save them. "

Nero looked down at her and then back up at her. "Skye... I'm still your whie knight." he told her.

"No...you aren't...you can't be in two places at one time..it's not fair to anyone."

[findingnemo]

Nero was unsure how to even answer that. He knew he couldn't be in two places at once but he also knew he wasn't going to sit there and feel guilty over something that any other guy would have done years go. And that was move on. Skye had his heart and she did since the moment they met. But maybe it was time to take it back from her. He needed to let it heal a little at least... he wondered if Ana would help the healing process. That was the hopeless romantic side of him talking. He wasn't sure, after he tells her this, that she would even want him anymore. This was time number two that he and Skye had kissed - and this time it even seemed to be a one-sided kiss. To him, the kiss was to get Skye to believe his sincerity... and to see if that "spark" they always had reignited anything inside of him. But there was no luck there.

The new Skye seemed to turn him way off anyway. Skye never used to be so... judging. The old Skye would look at someone like Ana and possibly feel bad for her. But... not this time. He wondered if it was just because Ana and Nero were a thing now that she was judging her solely based on hate she might have for her at this point.

"I can be, Skye. But you need to remember that Ana and I are a thing now..." he said. "You're not alone, Skye... you will always have me but... I kind of need to let my heart mend right now... and for that to happen I kind of need it back." he said shaking his head.

He took her hands and kissed them gently and let them go gracefully.

"You're always going to be mine, in my eyes. You don't like Ana. I get that. Sort of... But don't expect me to like any new boy toys that come around, either." he told her. "Call that my jealous side... or maybe even my protective side. But... I can be civil as long as you can." he told her of her and Ana and he and whatever guy Skye decided to date. "I have to go." he told her as he looked down and then back at Skye. "Text me or something." he told her gently as he leaned down kissing her forehead like he always did.

He walked away. He had to get out of the school... he had to see Ana. He walked outside and to his car leaning against it. He took out his cell phone and texted her.

*Hey baby... I wanna see you* he sent to her.