-

Right when Nicole came home after school, she ran up the stairs to her room and grabbed her purse before hurrying back down the stairs. She was almost out the door until her older brother stopped her.

"Where do you think you're headed?" Drew leaned against the wall and gave her a questioning look, wondering why she was in such a hurry.

"Uh, out?" She blinked, hoping he wouldn't start asking more questions.

"Where?" Drew raised an eyebrow.

"I'll be back soon," she rolled her eyes, knowing her brother was just being an older brother and wasn't really about to pester her.

"Better be," he warned in a joking manner but still sternly at the same time.

Nicole rolled her eyes at her brother and quickly headed out the door before he could say anything else.

❀

"Why is it necessary for her to always be the topic of our conversations?" Jason groaned as he threw a basketball in the air, then caught it, and repeated.

The boy's sat in Parker's room after school, just hanging around.

"Dude, you're the one who brought her up," Parker muttered, laughing a bit at what he saw as Jason's stupidity.

Jason looked over and narrowed his eyes at his friend which resulted in him missing the ball which then hit him on the head. Parker smirked while Logan snickered, shaking his head lightly.

"Whatever, where's Seth anyways?" He changed the subject, rubbing his head.

"No idea, he said he had to take his sister to dance." Parker shrugged.

"Why didn't -" Jason caught himself as he shook his head. "Anyways," he coughed, wanting to get off that topic as well.

"The fall fling is soon," Logan brought up casually, not thinking much of it as he said it.

"And?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, rolling his eyes a little.

"Then why'd you bring it up?" Jason asked.

"To get into a conversation," Logan shrugged again.

Jason sighed. "We always go as a group so there's nothing new." The guys never really thought of these things, didn't have to plan anything so it wasn't a big deal.

"No, actually, we don't always go as a group," Parker rolled his eyes but keeping them on the TV screen as he and Logan played video games.

"Fine. Minus Seth who decides to bring some chic." Jason shrugged.

"- and you," Logan mumbled. "Don't forget to mention you bring some random, clueless girl as well."

"Come on, we all still go in a group, just with dates," Jason shrugged, feeling a little defensive.

"Well technically Logan and I are always each other's dates," Parker chimed in, joking.

Logan scrunched his noes at the comment.

"That's because you always say no to the line of ladies ready to ask you," Jason rolled his eyes, retorting back to Parker.

"That's because I don't want to go with some money or popularity digger," Parker shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on the video game he was playing.

Logan nodded in agreement. "Or some girl I've never talked to before who is only talking to me in hopes to score a date." Neither Parker or Logan cared enough about that. They much rather go solo than with some obnoxious girl from their school. Jason and Seth on the other hand would always bring some annoying, quirky girl just because they could.

"But it's the chance to get laid so who cares?" Jason rolled his eyes, clearly on a different page about the idea of bringing a date.

Both Parker and Logan scoffed. "There's more to life," they said in unison causing Jason to narrow his eyes at them.

"Maybe you guys are meant to be..." He mumbled awkwardly which caused the other two to burst out into fits of laughter.

"That was obviously planned," Parker told him.

"I knew that," Jason muttered under his breath though he didn't.

"I'm sure you did."

❀

When Nicole got home, she very slowly and quietly opened her house door in attempts to be as quiet as possible so she could avoid her brother. It was late so she assumed he was asleep but if he wasn't, she wanted to make sure he wouldn't notice her coming home so late. She sighed in relief when she saw that he wasn't in the living room, assuming he was in his room asleep. She tip-toed up the stairs and safely made it to her room with a clear path.

She got into her room and quietly closed her room door, leaning back on the door and sighing. When she opened her room light, she let out a sudden scream in surprise.

"Shhhhhh! Mom is asleep!" Drew said quickly, in a quiet voice, hushing his sister.

"What are you doing in here?!" Nicole asked him, quietly yelling as she lighting punched his shoulder for scaring her.

"You said you'd be gone a few hours and now it's past midnight. It's also a school night." Drew crossed his arms over his chest, giving her a questioning and stern look. He wasn't mad, just protective and wanting to know what she was up to because he worried about her.

"You're not my dad, you ugly ass noodle head," Nicole muttered, rolling her eyes at her brother as she placed down her bag and walked past him.

"You did not just quote a vine," her brother muttered in disbelief, grinning though.

Nicole turned to face her brother and gave him an innocent smile.

"Whatever," he shrugged casually. "See you tomorrow," he grinned, ruffling her hair before heading out of her room leaving Nicole shaking her head at her insane brother.

❀

"Why do you look half dead?"

Nicole glared at her best friend, Serena. "Because I feel half dead. Of course I'm going to look the part."

"She always looks half dead," Jason commented, smirking as he walked by the two girls. Nicole glared at the back of his head as he walked off.

"How do you deal with him?" Serena asked in disbelief, rolling her eyes as she watched him walk down the hall. In response, Nicole just shrugged.

"Jeez, why are you so glum lately?" Serena quirked an eyebrow as she looked at Nicole, noticing how tired and irritated she had been seeming lately.

Nicole shrugged again, not having a response and feeling too tired to bother anyways.

"Are you mute?" Serena narrowed her eyes.

Nicole shrugged.

"Nicole, are you in there?"

Shrug.

"I give up with you!" Serena exclaimed in annoyance before she stormed off to her first class causing a small chuckle from Nicole - which Serena obviously didn't hear.

The halls started to clear as the bell was about to ring. Students headed off to their classes, making sure they had whatever they needed from their lockers.

Nicole was walking to her first-period class which happened to be algebra 2. This was also the one subject Nicole was horrible at. She was walking down the mostly empty halls when suddenly a voice from behind her caused her to stop dead in her tracks.

"I know where you were last night."

She spun around, gulping, when she came face to face with Seth Lee.

Nicole furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as he started walking closer to her. He crossed his arms over his chest, wearing his signature smirk on his face.

"W-what are you talking about?" She blinked, sudden panic rushing through her whole body.

"You know what I'm talking about," he said to her, awfully calmly compared to her. Nicole felt a lump in her throat and her hands start to sweat because she knew what he was talking about but hoped she was wrong about it.

"Now Nicole," Seth started. "Let me repeat myself," He spoke slowly.

Seth took a step closer to her causing her to take a step backwards to get further away from him. He took another step closer and she took another back and that kept going on until Nicole's back hit the lockers.

Nicole gulped again, her chest starting to feel heavy.

Seth moved even closer to Nicole so their chests were touching and their faces were inches apart. He moved his face so his right cheek rubbed against her left one.

Her stomach felt un-easy as her feet felt frozen to the ground and her body felt numb against his.

"I know where you were, and what you were doing last night," he whispered into her ear causing shivers to go down her spine.

He moved his face back, making sure their cheeks rubbed against one other as he looked her dead in the eye. "Now," he whispered, his breath fanning her face. "It could stay between us," he paused. "Unless, I decide to spill your little secret, angel"

And just like that, he disappeared from her sight.