Darlings(BxB)

Chapter 1 First Airport Visit

Nick Darling was a lot of things, but above all, he was late, always. And today being late can be the death of him. To be clear, Luke was not going to kill Nick because he had already expected him to be late. He would kill him because he had not expected him to be extremely late. 

On the sweaty afternoon of the glorious New York Summer, Nick was running on the street to hail a cab to get to the JFK Airport before his best friend leaves for a wedding in Alaska. He checked his watch, it was half past one already. 

Luke's flight would leave at half past two. If you ask Google, it takes thirty-two minutes to get to JFK from West Village. But, if you ask New York, it takes forever. It would be 10 July tomorrow and he would be eighteen. And that's why it was so important to get a hold of Luke before he goes away for a whole week. Nick was not very stoked about seeing his best friend leave him alone for the wolves on his eighteenth birthday, but he didn't have any other options.

He finally got a cab, forty minutes past one. For the lack of a better word, he was fucked. And not in a good way. 

"JFK, please quick" Nick managed to say, panting, before figuratively collapsing in the cab seat. 

"You seem to be in a hurry kid" The cabbie spoke in an accent that Nick knew, but guessing it would be pretty weird of him. And his cabbie was one of those. You know, the ones that like to talk. Nick was indeed having a bit of a bad day. And the sweaty hallucinations that were making him relive his day were not helping. 

I mean it's not every day that you have to skip breakfast. Because today, out of all days your mother decided to teach you about the importance of discipline. "What discipline Mom? It's summer break." The sadder part is that no part of this summer break felt like a break for him. He was tired of hearing that now that he is going to be a legal adult, he has to start being more responsible.

Nick's philosophy in life consisted of what would be going on in the mind of Pikachu and Snorlax. He wanted to relax, eat junk food, be hyperexcited about things, post his random pictures on Instagram, and live life as anything but an adult. It wasn't that Nick wanted to be a kid or a child, he just wanted to be carefree. He didn't like the idea that everyone suddenly expected him to be all grown up about things.

The worst part came when his father suggested that he should go get a job this summer instead of relaxing in the house. I mean did the parents realize how much pressure high school was? This break was supposed to be a means to get his sanity back. But to be honest, Nick was going insane in his own house. 

This internal monologue and guilt went on for another half hour before the cab screeched to a halt. Nick paid the cabbie and ran through Terminal Four to find Luke. He checked his watch, ten past two. He had to hurry.

To his immense relief, Luke was easy to find. He was right where he told Nick he would be. Holding a Starbucks cup in his hand with the name "Lucy" written on it. Luke did not look pleased at all. 

"Well, look who decided to show up!" Luke said, sarcastically. He didn't look so worried for someone whose flight was leaving in fifteen minutes. 

"You're from New York too Luke, you know the traffic!" Nick said, just stating the facts. Luke didn't need to know how much of a shitty day he was having. 

"Exactly, I would expect better from someone who also lives in New York," Luke answered back.

"Ok, we can fight about this later, you are leaving for a week," Nick said and lunged himself to hug Luke. Luke was a big guy. They had been friends since their childhood. But Nick always saw Luke as his brother. Even if their confusing early teenage years did consist of some "moments" that led to Nick realizing that he is gay.