Cold ash

Chapter 6 - Nicolette

This cannot be happening.

Does fate hate me? Is that it?

 Because there has to be some reason why the car wrecker from a week ago was standing in the doorway, twenty minutes late for the start of the lecture.

 He strolled in, interrupting the Professor mid-sentence. A cigarette in his mouth, smoke rising above his disheveled being, a bag hanging loosely off one shoulder. He raised an eyebrow when his eyes landed on me, and I frowned at him, turning back and facing the front. The Professor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his index finger and gave him a stern look.

 “You must be Connor.” He said, staring straight at him. Connor stared back, chewing the end of his cigarette. It was a tense stand off, a mental challenge, and completely unnecessary for what we were supposed to be doing. The Professor smiled a little, “Okay, well put your cigarette away, and sit down.”

 Connor just gave him a look, and walked towards the seats, “Okay.”

 The Professor lowered his pointing hand and closed his eyes, smiling. “You’ll put your cigarette out or you’ll leave.” He said. Connor stood perfectly still, blowing hoops with the smoke. “Permanently.”

 Sighing, Connor dropped the cigarette, crushing it with his shoe and walking over to the seats. The Professor gave a nod and went back to his lecture as Mr Car Wrecker came over and squished past Doug and I, sitting next to me.

 “Hi.” He said curtly, and I said nothing in return. The picture on my phone tells me to never speak to him again. I’m determined to keep to it.

 “Dayum, he’s pretty hot.” Doug whispered to me, pointing at Connor, who proceeded to take an mp3 player out of his bag and plug in the earphones, putting them in and closing his eyes. He smirked, letting me know that he’d heard Doug. I smacked him on the arm, and Doug pouted. “Whaaaat? He is.”

 To be honest, he was right. Dark hair, dark eyes and generally a hottie. However, considering he scraped my car and treated OCD like a fairy story, I don’t see him that way. I’m pretty sure I never will.

 I frowned, turning my attention back to the board, which was straight this time. Wait. It’s a fraction to the right. Damn, that’s going to bug me.

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 I’d spent the rest of the lecture agitated and annoyed, which does not bode well when I’m trying to get through exams with high grades. I knew he was still there, watching what I was doing as I practically begged the Professor to let me sort out the projections, so I could set my mind at ease. I frowned as Connor waved a goodbye to me, and Doug was practically drooling over the guy. Sighing, I grabbed Doug’s arm and dragged him away to the coffee shop we always go to.

 We stood in the queue, and he nudged me with his elbow. “What’s with that mood?” He hissed quietly. I groaned, hanging my head.

 “You know that guy, who smashed my bumper and scraped the side of my car, then went and scraped the other side?” I said, Doug nodded, smiling. He knew what I was getting at, but wanted to hear me say it.

 “Yeah, go on.” He urged, putting his thumbs in his jeans pockets. I sighed.

 “And then that guy, that I saved from being beaten up, took him back to his house, then found out he was an a*shole?” I said. Doug sniggered, and nodded. “Then the smoking ‘hottie’ in the lecture this morning?”

 “Yeeeessss.” Doug said, almost laughing. We got to the front, and he ordered a frappuccino.

 “One latte with cream and chocolate sprinkles please.” I said. The cashier, Ami, rolled her eyes and smiled.

 “Are you ever going to get anything else?” She said. I shook my head, smiling. “What’s the hap?”

 “There’s this new guy that popped up in the middle of a lecture today, smokin’ and not giving a damn about stuff, and he’s reaaal hot.” Doug blurted. Ami laughed, and slid Doug’s drink over the counter.

 “New boyfriend for you?” She asked. Doug reached over and tapped her nose.

 “Plus, Nikki’s going to reveal a big secret.” He said mischieviously, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

 “It’s not a ‘big secret’ if you already know what it is, and you just want me to say it out loud.” I said. Ami leaned in, grinning. Here’s the gossipy side of her, this’ll get around quickly. However, she won’t let me leave until I tell her. “Okay. Well, car wrecker, the a*shole I saved, and the new guy?”

 “Yeeess?” The two asked in unison, leaning in and grinning like cheshire cats.

 “They’re all the same guy!” I said, throwing my arms up in the air for dramatic effect. Ami laughed, passing me my drink. I passed her the money, and she flicked my hair to the side.

 “You’re going to have fun then, aren’t you?” She said in a merry sing-song voice. I sighed, picking up and the drink and walking off.

 It wasn’t long before I felt a tap on my shoulder and I spun to find the car wrecker, of all people, staring at me. Did he follow me here? No. Maybe.

 “You know, it’s not nice to spread rumours about people.” He said. I frowned, pushing him away.

 “It’s not made up though, is it? It’s also not nice to crash into people’s cars, but I’m not stalking people to get my point across.” I said, moving over to the sofa and sitting down, leaving him stood there, before joining the back of the queue. I glared at him, as Doug came and sat opposite me.

 He followed my line of vision, and sniggered. “Well, Ami’s going to have fun, huh?” He said. I took the spoon and scraped off some of the cream with the sprinkles on, putting it in my mouth.

 “Let’s just finish before he reaches the counter.” I said. Doug took a sip of his frappe and licked his lips.

 “Are you going to review today? Or study? Or are you going to sit here looking like you hate the world?” He asked, taking another sip. I took another spoonful of cream off the top of my latte and shrugged.

 “I do hate the world, so I think the last one is appropriate.” I said, licking the cream off the spoon. Doug sighed.

 “Reaally?” He asked. I frowned, thinking, and nodded.

“At the moment, I do.” I said, glaring at Connor’s back.

 “All right then.”

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I got home, at about eleven pm. and unlocked the door, before locking it behind me.

 “Bro? You home?” I called out. I dropped my keys on the tabled beside the door, and walked over to the kitchen, putting my bag on the counter. I peeked around the doorways of each room, and heard some swearing in the other room.

 “God-f*cking-dammit!! Don’t you f*cking shoot me, you son of a b*tch!! I’ll kill you!! I swear I will, you a*shole!!”

 I sighed, rolling my eyes. “HEY!!” I yelled. The noise from the other room stopped, and Zach popped his head out of the door. “I got chinese, want some?”

 We sat in front of the TV, wolfing down well earned food. Well, for me it was well earned, for Zach, not so much. I asked him whether he’d had any luck in the interview, he asked me how classes were. I told him about Mr Car Wrecker, he told me he’d beat the sh*t out of him. He talked about the interview, and how many times he messed up, I told him not to be so nervous, and that he probably got the job.

 We finished up, and I checked every lock on the windows and doors, before checking the stove and taps. We said goodnight, and I slept with my pillows over my head, trying to block out the sounds of Zach being killed on CoD.

Just a normal day. Well, for me anyway.

 By SummerBlues :3