Crossroads → Nicholas Scratch [CAOS]

vi. little things

LITTLE THINGS
CHAPTER SIX

The happy cheers that leaked through Dani's sealed windows were patronizing. It seemed as though the sounds of joy that other kids her age were making as they talked and laughed, walking around happily, were being amplified just in spite of her. Instead of being out with Nick like they had planned, she was stuck at home on a Friday evening, stressing about how he was probably going to think she'd stood him up. Not only was she bored in her room, tortured by the sound of happiness, but the ceaseless, unabating suspicions she had about her father and Greendale refused to release its grip on her mind.

She kept trying to force her focus into the homework that wasn't even due until next week. She was doing it anyway because, thanks to her dad, she had nothing better to do. When she found no luck in doing so, she stood, walking toward her window with the hopes that maybe she hadn't shut it properly and she'd have something to distract her from her misery. Dani heaved it open, playing around with the handle a little bit for good measure. As she was about to close it, her hand was suddenly struck with something small and sharp, leaving a keen sting in its wake. Gasping, she wrenched her hand away and tried to shake the unpleasant tingling away.

"What the hell?" she muttered to herself, leaning forward to poke her head out of the window.

"Sorry!" Dani frowned in confusion at the unexpected voice that sounded from below. Turning her attention from straight ahead to directly underneath the window, her eyebrows rose in shock when her eyes landed on none other than Nicholas Scratch standing in her backyard, knee-deep in her rose bushes. He held a hand full of pebbles, which is what she was assuming her hapless knuckles had been attacked with.

"Nick?" she staggered, eyebrows raised in shock. "What are you doing here?"

The apologetic expression on his face was quickly replaced by a toothy grin as he gazed up at her with wide, excited eyes, that never seemed to tire. "I was with Sabrina. She told me that your father grounded you." He was with Sabrina. The minuscule bit of information stood out like a neon sign.

Seeming to notice Dani's disappointed frown, Nick chuckled. "I don't like Sabrina anymore in that way if that's what you're thinking. I don't think you've noticed but there's this other girl I'm really interested in." Dani stepped back from the window to hide the huge smile that formed, her heart palpitated as the words played in her head like a song. "Are you coming?" She could practically hear the smirk when he called out to her. He knew exactly what he did to her.

"I want to but I'm on house arrest."

"Is your father home?"

"No-"

"Then come on, Leesha," he urged, motioning for her to come down, "when does he get back? I'll have you home before then, promise."
Sighing, she leaned against the windowsill that Nick was still standing patiently underneath.

"Fine, my dad comes home at around seven." She informed him, pulling away from the window again and shutting it tightly. She hurriedly replaced her childish pink pyjamas with blue jeans, a white shirt, and a jean jacket.
Nick was waiting at the porch steps with a triumphant smile plastered across his face when she walked out of the door, the moonlight shining upon her. "Is goody-two-shoes Dani Monroe really rebelling for me?" His voice was thick with amusement.

"Don't make me change my mind, Nicholas," she threatened, using his full name for extra emphasis.

His charming laugh was the last sound that was made between them for the next few minutes. Dani soaked in the cool air that caressed her skin as they ambled down the twilight path. The pair lapsed into silence, and like always with him, it was soothing to Dani. She hadn't known him for too long, but even so, it felt like they had been friends for months. She felt like she had been friends with Sabrina and the others for a long time too, but she didn't feel the impossible combination of adrenaline and serenity, she got with Nick when she was with the others. Around him, her heart would beat fast but at the same time, she didn't feel anxious. Not a word could be said between the two of them, and while most would say it was an awkward silence, to Dani it was pleasant. They could be the only two in the room, but to Dani, it would feel like it was packed with the energy of a crowded concert.