3Note; I am incredibly sorry about such a long wait. School is finally over, but I still have work, babysitting, and piano and such to work with. I plan on putting this chapter up today, and perhaps another later. Sorry for the wait, yet again. Also, there is a bit of language in this chapter. Not much, though. I tuned it down a bit. Please review. : Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the songs mentioned in this story.
Nicolette lay on her bed, thinking of the crazy events that had happened that day. She closed her eyes, trying not to fall asleep.
"Nicolette! Come to the top of the stairs, please. Quickly!" her mother yelled up.
Nicolette groaned and stood up quickly. She walked to the top of the steps, stopping where she could see her mom. "What's up, mom?" she asked, yawning. "Nice of you guys to finally show up."
"Nic, sweet heart, dinner is here for you and Luke. Your father and I are going to dinner and a movie. We'll be back by eleven-thirty, alright? You guys help yourself to the food, and I suppose you can get a movie off of On Demand, if you really want to. Try not to stay up too late, though, darling. You can take Luke sight-seeing tomorrow," she said, pulling her keys out of her purse.
"Mom, we live in Indiana…not L.A. or some where nice and filled with…sights," she said, shrugging. "A movie off of On Demand sounds good, though. I'll ask Luke about it."
"Just remember to get changed before you come down, alright? I don't want you getting food on your nice outfit," she said, heading towards the door. "Well, your father is waiting. Have fun, I suppose." Mrs. Stevens opened the door. She turned her head before leaving. "Just remember, dear. Stay in your own rooms." She turned and left, locking the door behind her.
Nicolette tried not to crack up. She walked into her room, pulling an American Eagle hoodie over her shirt. She kicked off her stilettos, and pulled on a pair of DC sneakers her mom had bought her. She walked through the bathroom, and knocked on the open door.
"Dinner has arrived," she said. She walked away from the door, and down the steps, heading for the combined kitchen, dining room, and family room. "Kitchen is this way," she yelled back.
Luke had been writing back and forth with Lola, describing his flight, his room, and just talking back and forth with her over the internet. Lola told him what was going on back home, how everything was going with their school, over all just making him feel better about the move.
Eddie, his other friend, even came on once, sending pictures of home. Luke sighed as he looked at them, but there was a little bit of a smile on his face, something that happened rarely now, something that he, and just about everyone around him, had taken for granted before. It was one thing that hadn't changed in the four years since he'd last seen Nicolette: his grin. Only now it barely ever happened.
It vanished when he was brought back to present when Nicolette came towards his room, and he looked up at her, shut down his computer, and then followed her down the hall and stairs, heading towards the kitchen after her.
When he walked in he looked around for a moment. "What's for dinner?" he asked after a moment.
"Chinese food. Sweet and sour chicken, some of that delicious soup, rice, and well. Pretty much half of the restaurant. Mom and Dad are crazy when it comes to picking out food," she mumbled, pulling out plastic plates and silverware. She tossed the plasticware onto the table, and pulled out to glasses. "What would you like to drink? We have milk, tea, iced tea, water...," she trailed off.
Nicolette sat the glasses onto the countertop, next to the fridge. She pulled napkins from the tray, and set them down next to the plates and food. She pulled the remote from the drawer next to the couch, and turned on the TV. "Mom actually let me pick a movie off of On Demand. What would you like to watch?" she asked, jumping onto a stool, next to the table. She turned to face Luke. "Oh, and help yourself to the food." She nodded at the two paper bags on the table.
Luke nodded, surveying the food from behind his glasses. It did look good, complaining about her parents or not. He took one of the plates and then moved over to the food, slowly finding what he would want to eat and setting it down on the plate. "Water would be fine, actually," he said to her question, looking up from the plate. Then he grabbed a plastic fork and a plastic knife, setting them down on the plate.
As for what movie he wanted to watch...well that was a different matter. "Well, whatevers fine," he said after a moment, setting his plate on the table and sitting onto another stool, picking up his fork. He hadn't really been paying attention to what movies had come out in the last month or so, and, to be completely honest, he didn't really care what they watched. At least they were watching a movie, which meant that they probably wouldn't have to talk that much until the movie ended, which meant that he wouldn't have worry about anything other than eating.
Now he speared a piece of chicken with a fork and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly and keeping his eyes on the screen. He had long since gotten used to wearing sunglasses inside, and it didn't even bother him watching the television screen.
Nicolette grabbed a plate and shoved food onto it. She set it on the table, and got up from her stool. She walked to the fridge, holding the two glasses in her hands. She pulled out a water pitcher, and poured some into Luke's glass. She grabbed a Propel from the side of the fridge, and put some into her glass. She walked the glasses over to the table, and sat back down.
"Let's see. We've got The Bourne Identity, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, She's the Man, and, get this: The Spice Girls Movie," she said, scrolling through the 'New' List on On Demand. "Pick one." She looked at him, and then down at her dinner. She stuck a piece of chicken into her mouth, wishing it wasn't so awkward.
She sighed, thinking to herself. "What's with the glasses, Luke?" she asked after a minute. "Are they all that you wear, or something?" She poked him in the side. "You haven't taken them off since you got here, have you?"
Luke took the water with a, "thanks," and then took a sip before setting it down on the table next to his plate. Then, after swallowing the rice that he had been eating while she was reading off the list of movies, he thought it over. It wasn't really much of a choice, considering the movie options were an action movie, a musical, and two chick flicks.
"The Bourne Identity, I think," he said after a moment. "Unless you'd rather watch something else, because anything's fine with me." He continued to eat for a while, until he next question. At that, he stiffened and set down his fork, finishing his bite and then looking over at her.
"No, I haven't taken them off," he said slowly, his voice emotionless.
Nicolette sighed. What could she do to make it less awkward? She thought to herself. "Uh..., The Bourne Identity is perfect," she said, selecting the movie. She pressed the four-digit code in, accepting to buy the movie for the next twenty-four hours. She sat the remote down, after turning it up a bit, letting the movie start.
She chewed her dinner silently, and wished things would be like old times. Suddenly, she had a flashback from the past. She started thinking of the day before she had told Luke that she was leaving to move. They had had so much fun, and then the very next day. Everything had changed. He had oddly kissed her, which she still didn't understand; she had told him she was moving away. She thought about it. Now, everything was even more different than that day.
She couldn't talk to him any longer. It wasn't like emailing. He was actually sitting next to her, in her parent's kitchen. That was something she never would have dreamed of. Her parents had told her that they loved Luke like a son, but they refused to bring him with them when they moved.
She turned back to the movie, shaking the thoughts from her mind. She loved this movie. She had first seen it with John, back when it had first come out. Ugh, she thought to herself. She didn't want to think about John. She realized she had to do something about him, but she just wanted to avoid it for the time being.
Luke nodded, glad to be able to turn back to the much safer topic that was there for them: the movie. He turned back to his dinner, keeping his eyes on his TV and plate, no where in between. Because so much had changed between him and Nicolette over the past four years.
Maybe if he had come to visit before, back when his parents were still alive and they were still emailing each other at least, maybe it would have been better then. But he knew that even before that happened; it would probably have been awkward between them. It just happened to be harder now. Even his friends at home, he knew, had been having a few problems dealing with him, going through the hardest part of his life with him.
And as for the sunglasses...He didn't really know how to explain those to her even if he had wanted to. He had found them at the mall while shopping with Eddie and Lola for the suit that he had worn to his parents' funeral. The suit that was now tucked away in the corner of the closet in his room at home. He had found them and tried them on, liking the idea that no one could see his eyes when he wore them. His face had already gone down to a few simple emotions, smiles were already rare. But when he played with the idea of just hiding emotions, it had seemed so perfect. Because if you didn't let people in, they couldn't bother you. So he had bought them and had been wearing them ever since.
He was just about to risk looking up at Nicolette, and see what she was doing, when a knock came to the door and he looked up at her anyway. "Should I get it?" he asked, already setting his fork down.
"Yeah, go ahead," she said, distracted by the movie. She threw her paper plate out, and headed to the couch so she could watch the movie from a closer view. She vaguely thought, who could be at the door? But she didn't think twice about it. She wondered where she had put her phone, and paused the movie. "Luke, I'll be right down. Going to check something in my room!" She yelled back to him.
She walked up the steps, checking around her bed for her Sidekick. "Where is it?" she asked herself angrily. She remembered putting it somewhere near her bed...or maybe it was on her desk. She leaned under the bed, checking to make sure it hadn't fallen. She found rhinestones next to her desk, and figured it was in the vacinity.
Nicolette checked everywhere, even in her filled trashcan. "Oh, jeeze," she mumbled.
She clambered down the steps, angrily. "It couldn't have gone far! It doesn't have legs," she said. She didn't know what she was saying. She just knew she needed her phone. Movie or phone? She thought to herself. She knew she wanted to watch the movie. A lot. But she also knew she'd be dead if she couldn't find her phone.
She stopped in the hallway, letting the thought of whoever was at the door seep into her thoughts for just a second.
Luke nodded, standing up. After all, he was going to be living there now. It was his house, too. Maybe not for an extremely long time, but that didn't make it any less his house. So he got up, tossing the plate in the trash as he left, and walked over to the door, pulling it open.
There was a guy standing there, which, to be honest, surprised Luke a little. Then he remembered. Nicolette had been talking about wanting to have a guy over for dinner, because he was leaving or something. "Yes?" he said a bit impatiently to the guy that was standing there. John, he finally remembered that was the guy's name.
John finally seemed to come back to the present, getting over what was obviously his surprise at finding a guy answering the door. "I'm here to see Nicolette," he answered, and Luke nodded, though he didn't move right away. He was looking the guy over. Of course he should have expected her to have a boyfriend. After all, she was pretty. It wasn't like...well, obviously the kiss that had happened four years ago never amounted to anything, especially considering the fact that she had moved.
And it wasn't as if Luke hadn't had any girlfriends since then. He'd had a few. Nicolette hadn't even known that he would be coming, Luke hadn't even known he would be coming here. And even if he had...it was just awkward. "Yeah, sure. Let me go get her," he said, and then turned to go up the stairs, leaving the door open for John but not exactly inviting him in either.
Then he headed up the stairs and to Nicolette's room, where he knocked on the door. "John's here," he called through the door.
Nicolette sighed, wondering where her phone was still. She opened the door when Luke knocked, and stared at him. "John?" she asked, confused. "What's he doing here?"
She walked down the steps, closing her door behind her. She wasn't expecting John to show up. She had told him that she'd hang out with him the next day, after things calmed down.
"Nic, baby!" John said, smiling. "I didn't know if you were home or not. Who's your er...friend?" John opened his arms, expecting a hug.
Nicolette smiled tightly. "Hey, John. What are you doing here? I told you we had company over and stuff." She ignored his question, giving him a quick hug, and sliding away from his grip.
"I wanted to see you. I told you I'm leaving soon. Maybe your ma and dad will let me eat over tomorrow night?" John said, shooting a questioning glance towards the guy who had let him in the door.
"Yeah, maybe," Nicolette said uncertainly. "Look, why don't you go? Mom won't want people over."
"What about him?" John said, shooting the guy a glare. "Why doesn't he have to leave? Are you hiding something, Nicolette?"
Nicolette glared at him. "He is an old friend of the family's. He just arrived by plane earlier. And he doesn't want you around, either," she said rudely. "I'm not hiding anything, not that you would care. I think it's time for you to leave, before my parents get back. We're in the middle of our movie. Wouldn't want you being late for like...your curfew or whatever."
John stood there, his smile gone. "I'm not leaving, Nic. Not until I find out what's going on."
Leaning against the wall on the stairs, Luke watched silently from behind his sunglassess. He had followed her downstairs when she went down to go see the guy that was obviously her boyfriend, and had been watching since, saying nothing, simply taking it in.
The first thing that he decided was that he didn't particularly like John. He had nothing against the guy, to be totally honest, considering he hadn't known him for more than five minutes, but that didn't mean that he couldn't dislike him. Frankly, Luke thought that he was a bit of a jerk. Of course that may have been because Nicolette didn't seem to be too happy to see him there either.
But Luke didn't say anything until John refused to leave. He let them deal with their own problems, even when John was clearly challenging his being there. Until he was completely and totally brought into it. When that happened he straightened up off of the wall, walked down the rest of the stairs, and walked over to the door.
He stopped when he stood right in front of John, looking the other directly in the eye. Not that John could see that from behind the mirrored lenses, but he was still doing it. "Look," he said in a low voice, one that was not totally rude but certainly not kind either, just a low, level voice.
"I don't really want to be here any more than you want me to be. But I'll tell you one thing. I'm not here to steal your little girlfriend. I'm here because her parents were the ones that my parents chose to take care of me in their will. And, guess what, they died. So I'm living here now. And if you have a problem with that, take it up with their corpses, you bastard." By the last word anger had seeped into his voice, and he shoved John out of the door, slamming it in the other guy's face before turning away.
"Sorry about that," he said levely to Nicolette, and then headed back to the stairs, walking up them and then down the hall, going to his room, where he closed the door calmly, grabbed a book from his still mostly unpacked duffle bag and began to read.
Nicolette stood there, confused and surprised. She walked into the kitchen, and grabbed the remote. She shut off the movie, annoyed that her movie had been interrupted. She shouldn't have told Luke to open the door. She should have just let the doorbell keep ringing.
She found herself walking up the steps, forgetting about her cell phone worries. She finally realized, after feeling mixed emotions, that she was annoyed and a bit angry. She didn't realize she was angry, until she thought back to what had happened just two minutes ago. She walked up to Luke's door, and sighed. She stood there, unsure of what to do. She finally pounded on the door loudly, then walked away. She walked to the door of her bedroom, and opened it. She slammed the door shut, and walked to where her door was open, leading to the bathroom.
She quickly slammed it shut, too, and sat on her bed. As she put her head down on her pillow, she felt like screaming. "Ouch," she said quietly. She rolled over, and found her cell phone underneath of her. She sighed. "I'm not little," she protested to herself.
He didn't want to be here, so what else was new. She could understand that. But everything he had said, especially the little part had hurt her. She didn't want to admit his words hat hurt her, but they had.
Luke stayed in his room for a while, fuming. He heard Nicolette go into her room, but he didn't move to get up. He just stayed where he was, staring at the ceiling. Maybe slamming the door in the guy's face was a bit harsh, but who the hell was that guy, even. Other than Nicolette's boyfriend, of course, and that was understandable, but still. It was perfectly acceptable for Luke to have lost his temper in said situation. So Luke told himself.
Still, after Luke had calmed some, he realized that he may have unintentionally hurt Nicolette's feelings. The guy, complete idiot or not, was the guy that she was dating. So he stood up, pushed his sunglasses up his nose some, and walked over to the bathroom that their rooms were connected by. He walked through his door to the bathroom, rapped hard on the door that lead to her door twice, and then opened it, poking his head in.
"Look, I'm sorry about that. I mean, that guy was a jerk, and I don't take back anything I said or anything like that, but I guess he's your boyfriend. So if I hurt your feelings or anything..." He shrugged. "Sorry." Before he added a 'but' in there and said something else that she might consider completely and totally offensive, Luke pulled his head back, walked back through the bathroom, and went to his room.
He'd totally abandoned her in the middle of a movie as well.
Nicolette stood up, adjusting her hoodie. She stomped towards her bathroom door, and walked towards his room. She stopped in the doorway, glaring at him.
"I don't care that you were rude to John," she said. "He's just John. No big deal." She leaned against the doorway and closed her eyes. She used to defend John, but she was getting tired of it lately. He was going away in a few days, and he'd be gone for a while. She was actually looking forward to him leaving. Of course, she couldn't tell him that.
"But look," she started slowly. "You were seriously rude to him, but that's like...whatever. You were rude to me, though, too. Seriously, what's up with that? You've been in a bad mood since you got here, which I can kind of understand. But you've been keeping to yourself, staying in your room with your little sunglasses on."
She stopped, taking a breath. She hadn't talked to this guy for years. He had been her best friend, and yeah, she had missed him. But it was weird; now that he was here it was like...they weren't friends any longer. She knew she wasn't the same person she was all those years ago, and obviously he wasn't the same person, either. She just wished things were back to normal.
"You know what?" she said. "Just forget about it. Forget I said anything."
Luke looked up at her, a bit surprised that she'd come after him. He was even more surprised when she left her boyfriend to be berated. Obviously there were a few relationship problems there. Maybe. It wasn't like it was Luke's place to have an opinion on any of that.
"Look," he said slowly, a little steel creeping into his voice. "I'm sorry I was rude to you, and I'm sorry that I've been in a bad mood for all of the seven hours that I've been here, but do you seriously blame me? I have nothing against you or your parents. You were still my best friend for a long time. But...I didn't want to come here. I made new friends back home, you know. And you made new friends here. We've changed. God, we changed a lot over the last years. Not to mention the fact that my parents just died a month ago, right in front of my frigging face," his voice had gotten bitter in the end, but now he cleared his throat and straightened.
"All I'm saying is, it's...it's going to be hard, ok? We can't just jump right back into being friends. And I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. So maybe we could kind of...start over tomorrow morning or something? I'd say right now, but I'm tired." He tried on a smile. It was a weak attempt, and it didn't reach his eyes. If it had, she wouldn't have seen it anyway, though, so it didn't really matter.
"Do you really think that I don't know it's going to be hard? Because I do. Seriously, Luke. Do you think I'm stupid or something? Obviously it's going to be hard," she sighed. "If you didn't want to come, then why did you? You could have stayed with your new little friends."
She said the world little disgustedly. "Starting over would be good, I guess. And yeah, we changed, I guess. At least my parents think so," she said slowly. She turned to leave his room and head back to her own. Pausing as she was about to close the door, she turned back, a wry smile on her face.
"Other than the fact of the...incident, and those ugly glasses, you've barely changed, y'know?" she started closing the door quietly. "And the fact that your smile isn't worth a thousand words any longer."
She closed the door and headed back to her own room. She sat next to her desk and sighed. This was tiring her out. She didn't even feel like getting changed out of her clothes. She pulled her shorts off and pulled on a pair of sweat pants. She turned off her phone without even looking at it for new messages. She sat on her bed, switching on her iPod's speakers. The song Apologize came on, and she smiled to herself slightly.
She lay down, clapping her hands to turn off the lights. She tried to fall asleep because it had been a long day.
Luke sighed and shook his head. He hadn't had a choice, that was why he had come, being completely honest. Until he was eighteen, he was here, with his new legal gaurdians. Her parents. Obviously he would be counting down the days until his birthday, and when his friends could come to visit. He needed them. A lot. But for now he had a friend here, even if it was going to be a bit awkward between them. Nicolette was still his first friend, his first best friend. They would just have to work harder to get things better. Not the way that it was before, he knew that too much time had passed for that. Things would be different, but they could probably still be as good.
He ran a hand through his hair, giving up. He was exhausted and didn't particularly want to think about it much longer. They would start over in the morning, sort everything out, get things back on track. He glanced over at the photos that he had already put up on the wall. The ones of him and his friends. Him with the boy and the girl that were now his best friends, older pictures that he still had of him and Nicolette. And, of course, the picture that she'd given him before she moved. Of course he still had that.
He nodded at them. They could do it, he was sure. It would just take a lot of work. Work he wasn't sure that either of them would put out right away. For now, though, he pulled off his shirt and pants, instead grabbing a pair of plaid pajama pants that his mom had given him for Christmas the year before. After running his hand over the worn material, he slid into bed, reaching over to the light switch and turning off the light, closing his eyes behind his sunglasses. To the sound of Nicolette's music drifting through the bathroom that connected their rooms, he fell asleep.
Emily's Hideout; Okay, I'm happy to say: A) This chapter is a bit longer. B) Apologize, -One Republic, ft. Timbaland is an amazing song. C) Another new chapter is on it's way. In a few days, if not today. I have a piano recital Saturday. D So I won't be updating until after then, if I don't update again today. Please review. Thank you very much. :