A/N: So, I just wanted to leave one final note for you all. I hope that through reading this, you have all learned a little about chemistry (All the information I presented was 100% accurate. I'm a complete science nerd.). I also hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

xxx, Elizabeth

Without further ado, here is the epilogue.

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One Month Later

Nick was at lacrosse practice when Dean walked up to him. "Hey, Duval, you still dating that Barbie?"

Nick rolled his eyes and began to walk away to join some of his other teammates—the ones he was actually friends with. "Yes, Dean. And his name is Jeff, not Barbie."

"Whatever, dude. He's still ugly and really annoying. You could do better."

Nick turned sharply on his heel. "Look, dude," he practically spat at the tall lacrosse player, "Jeff is the most amazing person I've ever met in my entire life. He's gorgeous, and if you can't see that, you must be blind. He's not annoying in the least, but you wouldn't know that since you can't even see how fucking annoying you are. And, no, I can't do better because Jeff is the best out there. Okay? Just leave it."

Thad came running over, "Hey, what's going on here?"

"Dean thinks insulting Jeff is amusing or something," Nick said flatly, shooting daggers at the tall, muscular boy in front of him.

"Dude, that's not cool," Thad defended.

"Yeah, easy for you to say when you're dating the biggest fatass at this school."

Thad lunged forward, but Nick held him back. "Don't you dare insult Trent. If you have a problem with him, I have a problem with you. And if Duval wasn't holding me back right now, I would gladly punch you in the face. And Trent? His ass is perfect. And it's mine. You're just jealous because you've never had a stable relationship in your life."

"Oh, whatever. You guys are such girls," Dean complained as he walked out to the field.

Nick turned to Thad in annoyance. "So much for the zero-tolerance bullying policy. Is that guy ever going to stop?"

Thad shrugged, but his face broke into a smile when he saw a tuft of blonde hair running across the field towards them.

Jeff walked up behind Nick, motioning to Thad not to let on that he was there, and wrapped his arms around him, catching the smaller boy by surprise. "Hello, love," the blonde whispered into his ear.

Nick grinned as he turned around in Jeff's arms to properly see his boyfriend. "Hey, stranger." He leant up to quickly press a kiss to Jeff's lips before cuddling into the embrace.

"I—I'll just go out to practice then. Nick, you don't have to stay if you don't want," Thad mumbled. He was pretty sure that neither of the boys heard him either way.

"I just got my Chemistry midterm results back."

"Yeah? How'd you do?"

Jeff grinned, "Aced it, believe it or not."

"Six! That's amazing!" He pulled the taller boy tight in his arms before looking up at him with a grin. "You are amazing."

"Nicky," Jeff said slowly, pulling slightly away from Nick's embrace, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

The way the blonde was biting at his lower lip from nerves was enough to get Nick's heart racing. He knew he shouldn't have, but his mind automatically jumped to the worst case scenarios. Had Jeff come to his senses and realized he didn't want Nick after all? Had he cheated? "Wh-what's wrong, Six?"

Jeff's eyes widened at the scared look on Nick's face. "What? Oh, God! No! Nothing bad. At least, I hope not. I just—um, come with me." Jeff grabbed Nick's hand and began to pull him in the direction of the choir room. No one was inside, but Nick was honestly waiting for Warblers to just appear. It was very rare that none of them were sitting around practicing this song or that harmony.

Jeff sat Nick down on one of the couches and walked over to grab his own guitar which had taken up residency on a shelf in the room. "I remember Blaine telling me that you're a big Reliant K fan." He flashed a crooked smile as he slid the guitar strap over his shoulder and walked back to sit on the couch beside Nick. "Three, I heard what you said about me back there. The way you stood up for me made me realize something.

"Six, of course I stood up for you. I-I really care about you. You're my boyfriend, and Dean's an ass that deserves every bad thing that's coming for him.

The blonde smiled and pressed his lips to Nick's cheek for a moment before pulling away and adjusting the guitar so that he could play it comfortably while sitting cross-legged, facing Nick. "I—I need to tell you something. But I want you to hear this song first."

I've given up on giving up slowly

I'm blending in, so you won't even know me

Apart from this whole world that shares my fate

As Jeff sang, he thought back to a month ago. Back to when Nick barely even talked to him. Back to before he was a Warbler. Back to when he was failing chemistry because he was too lost in his daydreams to focus on reality.

In that moment, he realized just how much everything had changed for him. Nick and he talked several times a day, he was one of the lead Warblers—right next to Kurt, Blaine, and Nick—and Kurt had been tutoring him in chemistry to get him caught up. Everything was so different, and he had no intentions of going back to that time.

This one last bullet, you mention

Is my one last shot at redemption

Because I know to live, you must give your life away

Nick watched in awe as Jeff sang to him. Any doubt that he may have had about his feelings towards the blonde vanished as he saw the care reflecting in those bright brown eyes.

And I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity

And I've been locked inside this house, all the while you hold the key

And I've been dying to get out, and that might be the death of me

And even though there's no way of knowing

Where to go, I promise I'm going

Nick couldn't believe it had already been a month. It seemed like it was only yesterday that he was singing with the blonde for the first time. It had been the shortest month of his life, but it was also the best. All the memories, things he had learned, and all of the things to come just made the smile on Nick's face widen as he continued to watch Jeff sing to him.

I gotta get outta here

I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake

I gotta get outta here

And I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you

To be my escape

As the last line to the chorus left Jeff's lips, he realized that Nick was what he had been looking for, what he had needed to find. And now that he was with him, he could be the person he had been hiding away because Nick would never judge him for being who he was.

I'm giving up on doing this alone now

'Cause I've failed and I'm ready to be shown how

He's told me the way, and I'm trying to get there

Nick smiled at that verse because it reminded him of the relationship that was slowly but surely blooming between Kurt and Blaine. His friends had been seeing each other—officially, at least—for about a week now. Blaine had grown tired of waiting, and Kurt had grown tired of pretending he didn't feel the same. His hesitance was purely an effort to not hurt Sam's feelings, but he couldn't deny himself the one thing that was making him happy. Sometimes, you have to be a little selfish.

I am a hostage to my own humanity

Self-detained and forced to live in this mess I've made

And all I'm asking is for you to do what you can with me

But I can't ask you to give what you already gave

As Jeff sang, Nick realized that that was exactly what he was doing. The doubt he had in the back of his mind was from the fear that Jeff would leave him. The fact was that Nick needed reassurance, but he hadn't realized that that was something that the blonde gave to him with every kiss, every hug, every smile and knowing glance, every song or dance they shared, and in every moment that they spent together.

'Cause I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity

And I've been locked inside this house, all the while you hold the key

And I've been dying to get out, and that might be the death of me

Jeff never broke eye contact with Nick as he sang, realizing the truth in the words. He had been hiding all of his insecurities under a mask, but he knew that if he wanted this to go on longer, he would have to let Nick in. It was hard to allow him as close as he already was, but as he sang he could feel that last wall crumbling down in front of him.

I fought you for so long

I should have let you in

Oh, how we regret those things we do

Jeff had been alone for too long now, and he was finally ready to just be. He was ready to completely let Nick in, to surrender to the love that was in front of him. He couldn't believe that it was happening, but he knew that it was something he would never regret, and he knew that Nick felt the same—especially if that awestruck look in his eye was any indication.

He looked away to focus on getting the last few chords right, knowing that they were important because they explained everything Jeff had been feeling.

Any doubt was based on the fear that Nick wouldn't be there when he woke up in the morning or that he wouldn't love him back, but Nick was experiencing the same problem. Any hesitance was merely based around fear, but Jeff was done being afraid.

And all I was trying to do

Was save my own skin

But so were you

So were you

As the last note was strummed, Jeff cleared his throat and looked up again to meet those perfect brown eyes in front of him. "So, what I wanted to say was—"

"I love you."

Jeff cocked his head to the side and slid the guitar off, placing it gently on the floor. "How'd you know what I was going to say?"

Nick smiled softly at the endearing boy in front of him. "No, Jeff. I," he slid closer to the blonde, adding emphasis to the word, "love you." Nick pressed his lips to Jeff's lightly, pulling away, but keeping their foreheads touching.

Jeff blushed and looked back into the brown eyes in front of him. All he could see was pure honesty and affection. "Oh," he grinned with a sparkle in his brilliant brown eyes, "well, in that case, I love you, too."

Be My Escape- Relient K [ Jeff ]

Complete