𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦

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When Nicole got to school that morning she didn't sit in her brother's truck like usual. Instead she took a deep breath and got out, watching the other students pull into their spots. Nathan still gave Nicole the keys to his truck, just in case she needed a second. But she was fine, surely enough, she just felt like she needed to try more that day.

In the back of her mind the only thing she could think of was the people around her. Nicole couldn't drive away the thought that people saw the cracks in her exterior. As if she lacked the usual barrier she put up. A hand snaked part of the way up her shoulder causing her to shriek and turn around. Immediately her hands came up until she noticed Baker.

"Baker!" she huffed, once again he had scared her. "Woah there jumpy I called your name like three times, didn't you hear me?" he laughed. Baker looked at Nicole for a moment before his eyes hardened and his brows furrowed. His hand reached up to her chin, loosely holding it.

"Nicole? What the hell happened to your lip?" he questioned. His tone held something unusual, it held aggression. Nicole pulled away slightly and Baker let her, his grip loose enough.

"I went to grab a glass of water and slipped on Nathan's jersey." She lied. Too easily, the lie sitting on the tip of her tongue, prepared to deceive everyone. Surely she was convincing enough or so she hoped. Baker hesitated to believe her, his eyes studying her cracked lip. A small smile lifted at his lips as he sighed. "You should be more careful Nikki, you had me worried there." He chuckled as he rested his arm around her shoulder. His eyes still watched her carefully, wanting to believe the sugar coated truth but he could see her eyes avoiding his own. She was lying to him, of all people.

"So hey, are you doing anything after school?" Baker hummed, pulling her along as he began to walk toward the doors. Nicole followed his movement, walking with him, her gaze finally meeting him. "No? Why?"

"Ma's been asking for you" Baker started, Mei Yang, one of the sweetest people on earth. She was a professional baker, technically she made cook books for a living but that's basically the same thing. Nicole always made jokes about Mei naming Baker after her profession but Mei would only say that he was fated to be her son from the moment she heard his name.

"Wanna come over tonight? We can pig out and watch a few movies or somethin" Nicole smiled at Baker, the thought of that sounded amazing. And it would solve her current problem. "I'd love that actually" she hummed, stopping at the entrance once she realized she left her bag in Nathan's car. A heavy groan left her lips as she turned around dragging Baker with her.

"I left my stupid bag in Nate's car" she grumbled. Along the way, the pair intercepted Haley. The girl immediately steals Nicole from Baker's grasp. "Good morning Nico." she sang as they were now linked, arm in arm.

"Good morning Hales" Nicole chuckles as she accepts Haley's arm.

"How come we're heading opposite of the school, are you skipping?" Haley gasped as she turned to Nicole, frowning once her eyes landed on her lip. "Oh sweetie, what the hell happened to your lip?" Haley took Nicole's face inspecting it, not caring that they were standing in the middle of the parking lot.

"She fell," Baker interjected. Haley shook her head and let go of Nicole's face. "You really gotta be careful Nicole, what if something worse happened?"

Nicole frowned at the lie but once you run with a lie, there's no reason to take it back. "Blame Nathan, he's a slob"

"Boys usually are." Haley scoffed at the mention of Nathan. Nicole looked at her and hummed. Baker clicked his tongue as he piped in. "Uhm there's a dude right here." he pouted. Nicole and Haley laughed as they looked over at Baker.