Nick was content with his life. Every morning he'd watch as the sun rose with its same orange coloring, casting its dull glow over the small town that he called home. He got to live with his best friend, he worked with him, he loved him. The two were inseparable, neither having a family to call their own, so they became each other's family.
Clay was always slightly suspicious about the town's officials, the ones that oversaw the wellbeing of the citizens, but Nick always brushed it off. He found comfort in believing that everything was fine, because it was.
He hummed softly to himself as he walked along the path that led to his work. He'd gotten up earlier today because he wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather, though it was no different than usual. A blissful mood sat in his mind today, though he was always happy. After all, why shouldn't he be? He wanted for nothing, he hoped for nothing, he had everything he wanted. Everything he wanted and more, and Nick wasn't picky.
As some birds flew overhead, a chilly breeze flew over the deserted street, though it wasn't cold, it was perfect. It messed up his shaggy black hair and he ran a hand through it to straighten it out before tucking the hand back into his pants pocket. He was wearing a comfortable outfit, his work wasn't specific: black sweatpants and a long sleeved white shirt, along with his favorite pair of shoes.
The only other people out this early in the morning were Darryl and Zak, and they were sharing a muffin at one of the few restaurants in town. They waved to him kindly and Nick returned the gesture, offering a smile as well.
"Morning, you two! What prompted this little date?" he asked, walking over to them. He had plenty of time to spare and he'd always liked the couple.
"Oh nothing much," Darryl said, "This muffin just decided to take me to breakfast," he finished, taking Zak's hand and gently squeezing it. Zak rolled his eyes lightheartedly and finished his bite of muffin before turning to Nick.
"He makes me sound much better than I am," Zak answered, watching Darryl affectionately.
"Well, I'll let you get back to it, enjoy!" Nick said, beginning to continue walking.
That interaction lifted his spirits impossibly higher and he had a slight bounce in his step as he neared his work. The weapons shop was hardly ever used, the only people that ever visited mostly came for lessons in fighting, but never for any particular reason, just because it was fun. No one had problems with another person here, if they did it was always solved easily.
But because of his place of work, Nick did know how to fight and how to wield a sword, knife, and bow and arrow, as did Clay. The owner of the shop, Hannah, taught both of them how to fight and they practiced when business was slow, so they'd both become pretty good at it. Nick enjoyed his job and fellow employees, though that only consisted of Clay, Hannah, and one other boy, Luke.
He had to admit, Luke was a little cocky, but it's what Nick loved about him, he was always a good time. Besides, Clay was pretty good at putting him in his place.
The front door of the shop swung open as Hannah peered out at Nick, surprised but not really at him being early. Nick gave her a smile, stepping inside and savoring the pleasant feeling of the shop. It always smelled clean, like the stuff they used to clean the blades of swords. The polished wood floor was always spotless, even over near the mats they used for training. There wasn't a speck of dust on any surface, and the clear windows allowed the sunlight to stream through and give the shop a welcoming feeling. He loved it here.
"Hey, Nick. Any particular reason you're early today?" Hannah said as she walked behind the counter, resuming in shining her favorite dagger.
"Nope, just felt like it, Hannah," the black haired boy answered truthfully, sitting at one of the stools belonging to a table with the things needed to make bows.
She used one of her hands to flick her long, brownish-red braid behind her back, and the other to set the dagger down before looking up at Nick with green eyes. She then directed her gaze down to what Nick was doing, tying the bowstring onto the recurve wood. She made a tsk sound and stood up, walking over to him and taking it out of his hands.
"You're doing it wrong, stupid," she laughed, showing him how to tie it the proper way. Once she was done, she grabbed a premade arrow off the table and set it in the bow, pulling back and releasing, letting the arrow fly into the target on the wall. She hit a perfect bullseye.
"You don't gotta show off, I know you're awesome," Nick joked, though it was true. "Lemme try." He took the bow out of her hands, yanking the arrow out of the target before nocking it, lifting his elbow slightly above his shoulder, and staring straight down the shaft of the arrow. He took a breath and let it go, calling out slightly as the bowstring came back and hit him in the forearm.
"Nice. Shoulda been wearing an arm guard," Hannah commented, pulling back the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a leather material around her arm.
"Right, I'll keep that in mind next time," Nick laughed, rubbing his arm as he set down the bow and retrieved the arrow. It was about an inch away from the center, which was better than he'd honestly hoped.
He froze as a knife landed in the target, scarcely missing the top of his right shoulder, plunging into the red center of the target. He spun around to see a tall blond standing there with a smug expression and Hannah laughing at Nick's surprise and fear. He glared at Clay as he pulled the knife out as well and set it down on the table with the arrow.
"Not cool," he grumbled, more mad he hadn't seen it coming than anything.
"Hey, at least I missed," Clay teased, causing Hannah to laugh harder.
"Dick," he muttered under his breath.
"Huh! Did Nicky poo just say a no-no word! I'm disappointed in you," Clay said, tousling Nick's hair. Nick glared at the blond, giving him the finger.
"Screw you, dude. I was having a great day."
"Love you, too," Clay replied, hitting him lightly on the shoulder before grabbing a few more knives off the table and practicing his aim.
The day continued on like that, lighthearted teasing and practicing, which got even worse when Luke finally got there. But it was all just them having fun, and everyone enjoyed it.
As Clay and Nick walked home that night, the sun illuminating the city with a color similar to that of the morning, they joked around like they usually would before agreeing to get dinner. They ate at the same place Nick had seen Darryl and Zak that morning, and they talked about nothing serious until Clay changed his tone.
"Okay, listen, Nick. Today was fun, but now we need to have a serious discussion."
"If you're gonna do the whole 'this place is sketchy' routine, I don't wanna hear it. Our lives are fine, man, why do you have to find a problem with everything?" Nick said. He'd grown quite irritated by the constant pestering from Clay ever since Clay had met one of the officials in a store when he was getting food.
"I don't have a problem with everything, but I have these things called instincts. They're telling me something's off, you didn't see that guy, Techno. He was weird, really closed off and antisocial, spoke with a monotone voice and didn't portray any emotions."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Clay, maybe that's just the kind of person he is. Why you gotta read so far into it?"
"I don't know, Nick, I just have a gut feeling that something's off and I want you to-"
"Stop," Nick interrupted him, growing impatient. "I'm not doing anything, I'm happy here and this is all I need. If you wanna keep being suspicious and always look over your shoulder, be my guest, but I want no part of it."
With that, the ravenette stood, leaving a ten dollar bill on the table and walking back to the house. Clay didn't follow, but Nick could feel his eyes on his back as they watched him walk away, but he didn't feel bad for leaving him there. He knew how Nick felt, and he would get over it eventually.
Right?
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Word count: 1,457
A/N: this is my third time writing a fanfiction, but i can easily say this story has been my favorite. it took me a little over a week to finish, and i searched up a lot of things you shouldn't search on a school computer, so i hope you enjoy!
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Remember//(Karlnap)
FanfictionThe thought that something could be wrong never crossed Nick's mind. His life was simple, easy, and the town he lived in was quiet, a place where nothing ever happened. But his best friend, Clay, had always thought it all suspicious. Nick never agr...
