Kid in a Locker (REWRITING)

18. The Fault in Our Stars

She has manic energy. Watch out." Romul warns Nick, climbing out of the car. It was Thursday night, which meant that Nick had a hockey game. Romul, Peter, and I have been trying to go to a lot more games while they still lasted. Our new found willingness to go to these games had nothing to do with Nick and I, though that was sometimes a plus when we got to meet him after the game.

Like tonight. Currently we were at a small burger joint that Nick had showed us after one of the first few games we went to. It became almost tradition to go there now, regardless of whether he was there or not. Most night there was no problem, but other times he had something to do involving Troy and he had to ditch us.

His anxiety levels dropped since Troy showed up all those days ago. He was still worried of what could happen to him as he searches for his mom, but at least he knew he was safe for now. As these few days turned into months again, however, I felt like he would be singing a different tune.

I jump into the air and wrap myself around Nick, laying a head on his shoulder. Momentarily he is caught off balance but he soon recovers, wrapping his own arms around me in a hug.

"How many coffees did she have today?" He asks, looking back and forth between Romul and me.

"Six!" I answer for my brother, laughing.

"Oh Lord." Nick sets me down on the ground, opting to grab my hand instead. We all head inside and over to our favorite booth. Our favorite waitress comes by and gives us our drinks, already made and waiting for us.

I sip on my hot chocolate while the boys talk about the hockey game. I like at the candy-cane marshmallows with the stir stick and watch as they sink down into the brown liquid before springing back up to the surface.

"How are you and Montana?" I hear Nick ask. I perk up at the mention of Peter's new girlfriend. They had moved a lot faster than Nick and I had and he seemed to be genuinely happy. It always bounced around from girl to girl, but this one seemed different somehow.

I had walked in on them playing our old Just Dance 3 game at four a.m. one morning. I didn't know how long Montana had been there, if she had stayed all night or not. It seemed so, since she was in pajama pants covered with the cookie monster as she tried to mimic the dancer on the screen.

"Pretty good." He answers, adjusting his glasses. "Her birthday is coming up soon. I have to figure out what to get her."

"A Starbucks card." I offer, slurping at my drink through the red and white swirl straw.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Peter churtles.

"Yeah." Romul laughs. "So she can steal it for herself."

"Nonsense. I have a Nick now." I smile over to my boyfriend, scrunching up my nose in an innocent way. He slings his arm acrosd the bath of the booth and around me, rolling his eyes as he does so.

"You're going to be the death of me."

"Indeed." I kiss his cheek and then go back to my hot chocolate, ignoring my brother's looks as they watch Nick and I's exchange.

After he officially asked me to be his girlfriend, I couldn't contain my excitement. I had pulled him by the hand into my house and forced him to meet my parents, introducing him as my boyfriend. That one world brought me enough joy to last a lifetime when it rolled off my tongue.

They had all been happy for me, as I believed they would. Dad was over the moon, mainly because he was never a fan of Ben and was glad to know that I was finally done with him once and for all. He hadn't wished for the boy to be dead, but he did think he was a rich and entitled brat.