Fade Away ↠ Paul Lahote

Eight.

Nelly's very first chemo session happens on Thursday. Jacob is completely healed from having his bones crushed, but Nelly is still very anxious and worried about him. It also probably has something to do with her pending doctor's appointment, but she doesn't want to get into that.

The night before her appointment, she stays up on the couch watching TV, flicking between the channels with no real interest in anything. She's too keyed up to go to sleep and had only tossed and turned before landing in the living room around eleven. She flicks to one channel without really thinking and nearly jumps at the loud screams of pleasure. She scrambles for the remote and succeeds in turning the volume up instead of changing the channel. She turns the TV right off and takes a minute to calm down, her face flushed. Nelly is absolutely mortified and she hopes to god that her dad hadn't heard that.

"Why are you watching porn?" Jacob asks. Nelly lets out a screech before she remembers that her dad is sleeping and that she needs to be quiet. Her face is flushed and she glares at Jacob.

"I wasn't," she mutters. "I was channel surfing."

"Yeah, but everyone knows what kind of movies are aired at this time of night," Jacob points out, sitting down beside her. "Even if you were channel surfing, you'd probably avoid going to that particular channel."

Nelly humphs and crosses her arms. "I wasn't paying attention. I have other things on my mind right now."

Jacob sighs and leans back, resting his feet on the coffee table. "I guess you would. Is that why you're out here instead of in bed getting the rest you need?"

Nelly nods. Jacob opens his arms up and Nelly falls onto him. She doesn't know how long they sit like that, silent in the dark living room, but they're broken out of it by Nelly's phone lighting up beside Jacob's bare foot. She leans over to grab it, assuming that it's Jordan wishing her luck for tomorrow's appointment, but the notification is from Paul.

PAUL (SENT AT 11:54PM): Are you still up?

Jacob watches as she answers back. She doesn't bother scolding him for being nosy.

NELLY (SENT AT 11:54PM): Are you???

PAUL (SENT AT 11:55PM): You should be resting for your appointment tomorrow.

NELLY (SENT AT 11:55PM): probably. But i can't fall asleep. i'm sitting on the couch with jacob rn

PAUL (SENT AT 11:55PM): Sounds boring

PAUL (SENT AT 11:55PM): :P

"Did he actually just use the p face?" Jacob sounds amused.

"He totally just did," Nelly snickers. "He's such a loser." She can't help the fondness that comes with that statement.

NELLY (SENT AT 11:56PM): he caught me watching porn and came to give me The Talk

NELLY (SENT AT 11:56PM): jk i accidentally flipped to a porno and he just stayed with me on the couch to keep me company. we're sitting in the dark now. he's watching me text you

PAUL (SENT AT 11:58PM): Lol.

PAUL (SENT AT 11:58PM): Tell him that he's being a nosy prick and should respect the privacy of his sister and her boyfriend.

Nelly freezes and stares down at that word. Boyfriend. Boyfriend. As in significant other. A romantic partner. A Boyfriend. Is Paul her boyfriend? Nelly doesn't know how these things work. They've only been on one date but they've kissed twice and they really care about each other. Does that make Nelly Paul's girlfriend? Is that how relationships work?