High - @((Y^!@ Allyvia (guided reading books .TXT) 📗

a couple of Aspirin.

 

"-telling Matt would be a pretty big blow to him and... ugh, I don't know.... Luce, what should I do? You've got a head on your shoulders," Nix sighed, running his fingers through his cropped hair. Lucy giggled, her fingers tracing the red squares on the gingham table cloth, and let her eyes meet his momentarily.

 

"I think...," she began, her voice drawling, a small smile crinkling the corners of her big brown eyes, "I think you shouldn't worry so much. At least, not for now. For now, we should just relax and let this hangover take its course."

 

Nick chuckled, a small smile breaking the agitation on his face like a shattered mirror, before letting the guilt eat at his stomach. Why did he feel like this was his fault? Why was he so darn irresistable, he wondered bemusedly. What did Amy even see in him?

 

The question burning the tip of his tongue, he turned to Lucy asked, in a voice so confused and sweet, "What is so great about me, anyways?"

 

"Excuse me," Lucy giggled over the rim of her coffee cup, arching a brow after a long sip of black coffee, bitter on her lips.

 

"Well, why does she even like me," he asked again, this time seriousness making itself known. Lucy shrugged, before really thinking about his question.

 

"Well," she drawled, her eyes flickering heavenward like she had to think long and hard about the question, "there's that rock solid bod of yours."

 

Nick chuckled, so absorbed in Lucy he almost hadn't noticed when Slater slithered out of the kitchen, and nodded. "Of course. I am probably the hottest guy you'll ever meet."

 

"And you're modest," Lucy added teasingly. "And... and you're kind of sweet, in an annoying, snoopy sort. You're not a total eyesore, either. I'd rate you a solid two."

 

"Why, that is such a confidence boost," he joked, nudging her arm playfully, "I might just take the paper bag off my face."

 

"You're funny, too," Lucy insisted, nudging him back before glancing at the empty cup in front of them. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she hopped from her spot and seemed to dance around the kitchen, cleaning up the mess they had left around the kitchen. Placing their mugs in the sink, she hastily mopped up the brown coffee rings left on the table and glanced at Nick. No, he wasn't an eye sore; he was pretty sweet; he made her laugh, more than she was used to.

 

"Hey, Lucy," Slater called from the other room, drawing her attention from Nick. He looked up, towards the doorway, and stood, only to freeze when Lucy shook her head and left the room. He stood there, taking her head shake as a refusal to let him follow, and yet just a bit of curiousity had already seeded itself in his brain. Interested, he lingered towards the doorway, until he could faintly hear their conversation.

 

"-have the money or not, Lucy? I'm running a business here," Nick heard Slater snap, which ignited an anger in him. In the moment, Slater sounded just a bit too much like Jack for Nick's liking. "I have the pills, now I just need you to cough up the eighty."

 

Nick felt a steel hand clamp onto his stomach. Was Lucy... buying drugs? Surely they're for Kingsley, he told himself, even though that idea only made him less settled.

 

"Relax, Slater," he heard Lucy sigh, like a tide rushing in, wiping away any anger he had earlier felt. "I'll have the money soon, I promise. I-I just need to tell my dad it's for art supplies or something."

 

It isn't your place to be involved, Nick reminded himself, despite the hurt he began feeling. Maybe not direct hurt, but... disappointment, for Lucy. The sound of footsteps nearing made him jump from the doorway, pretending to be interested in the dirty dished piling up in the sink. He turned, his shaking hands submerged in the bubbly dish water, grasping for the dirty dishes, just as Lucy entered the room, her curls bouncing.

 

"What was that about," he asked, trying to sound nonchalant as he placed a half-heartedly washed dish on the counter. Lucy just chook her head.

 

"Nothing. He, uh, lost his phone in the couch," she insisted, her eyes not quite meeting his.

 

 "Oh," he muttered, more disappointment rooting itself in his gut. She didn't seem to notice his sullen tone and went back to picking up dirty dishes.

 

"So, um, I can drive you home, if you want," he offered, licking his lips and trying to forget what he had just heard. Lucy glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled.

 

"That'd be perfect."

~~~

 

 

Amanda was not kidding when she told Kingsley her mother was the debutant of Hamilton. As soon as the supermodel Southern belle also known as Savannah Jane Nichols answered the door, revealing the gleaming marble floors of the entryway and the winding staircase, Kingsley felt as though this lying thing relied soley on him.

 

"Amanda, " she sighed in a thick Georgian accent that made an uneasy smile quirk on her daughter's lips, "where were you!? We tried callin' your phone last night, but you didn't even pick up."

 

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Kingsley insisted, jumping at the oppurtunity to explain, drenching his voice in a fake accent that sounded so uncannily convincing Amanda looked a little shocked. "It was my fault. We got home late, and all the girls wanted to sleep in. I simply couldn't wake them."

 

Savannah Jane, blinking and  flickering her eyes towards her daughter momentarily, let her brows furrow in confusion. "And who are you, darlin'?"

 

"Oh, where are my manners," Kinglsey cried, Amanda still staring at him, her mouth slightly agape, "I'm Erica's cousin, Blake. I just got in from Atlanta, and am visiting for a few months. I was the one who dropped the girls off at the party, and this morning I just let them sleep. They were all exhausted from cheerleading practice, and they only spent a good hour and a half at that party before callin' it quits." He chuckled, like this wasn't some imporvised lie he was spewing as soon as the thought came to mind. Amanda was very surprised at Kingsley's acting skills. She finally understood how he managed to stay in most classes while stoned.

 

 "Amanda," Savannah sighed, looking disappointedly at her daughter before smiling at Kingsley, "you're lucky such a curtious gentleman brought you home."

 

Amanda didn't even bother to mention that fact that he was the one who had basically drugged her, without her knowledge, and only nodded.

 

"Yep, Blake here is just the perfect gentleman," she said begrudgingly, glancing at a smug Kingsley out of the corner of her eye.

 

"Are you thirsty, darlin'? I think we have some iced tea in the kitchen if you'd like to come in," Savanah began, smilng down at Kingsley.

 

"Oh, no, Blake here has some errands to run for Erica-" Amanda began, glaring at Kingsley and hinting he should get lost within the next few nano-seconds. Ignorant to her annoyance, Kingsley smiled at Savannah Jane.

 

"Actually," Kingsley grinned, "I'd love some."

 

The Lunchtime Attack

 

 

Lunch, on Monday of the next week, couldn't be explained in words. 

 

It started out normal enough, for Amy Herring, who was regailing her tale of her drunken one-night-stand to Amanda. She had told Amanda of how she managed to barely avoid both Nix and Matt, up until Nix walked right up to their table. 'Darin Brighton, who?', Amy thought, trying her hardest not to stare. Nix's dirty blond hair was touseled like someone had just run their fingers through it; his Rolo eyes were lit with an amber fire that made Amy both confused and intrigued. He looked even hotter when upset.

 

"Amy," he snarled, Amy's syrupy sweet feeling diminishing from the pit of her stomach like water evaporating, glaring at her, "what does Matt know?"

 

"About what," she smiled, trying to act slightly seductive and trailing her ruby red fingernails down his arm. He ripped it away, the way you would to a spoiled child, and stiffened his upper lip.

 

"About that stupid plan you had Friday night. Does he know you wanted cheat on him," Nix snapped, his words hitting her like a blizzard. She glanced around the Quad, wondering if anyone had heard. A few people glanced over, busybodies, before catching Amy's glare and turning back to their lunch.

 

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she lied airily, the alarm rising her voice another octave.

 

"Oh, don't play that shit, Amanda told me," he insisted. Amy blanched, and glanced over at her friend, who embarrassedly ducked in her seat.

 

"Ames, you know I didn't mean to-" Amanda began, only to be cut off by Nix.

 

"You don't breathe a word about this to anyone. Especially not Matt. I don't want to hear from you. That means don't text, don't call, don't even fucking MySpace me," he continued, making Amy shrink like a cartoon character. As if to dig the knife deeper, Lucy Edwards walked over, plaing a hand on Nix's forearm.

 

"Hey, c'mon, let's just go eat," she offered, her wide brown eyes pleading with him. His eyes darted, from Lucy to Amy, before he gave his so-called friend another glare and stalked off after the petite brunette. The whole episode lasted five minutes, and yet it was enough time for Amy to stand from her spot and grab her purse.

 

"Ames, you know I never meant to-"

 

She didn't listen to what Amanda had to say, and only trudged off the Quad, hoping to find peace in the girl's bathroom. Once in a stall, locked and smelling of urine, Amy took a deep breath. It scraggeled out of her, leaving her shaken. Rejection hit her hard in the gut, tasting like pennies on the tip of her tongue. Five minutes, and she felt like speeding out of Hamilton in her BMW before word caught wind that Nix Keating had totally broken her heart. Amy sniffed at that thought, brandishing herself with an iron suit. No, she wasn't heartbroken, just hurt and surprisingly disappointed. How do you idolize someone for years and then suddenly stop having feelings for them, simply because they told you to, Amy wondered, her stomach tightening. What if Nix told Matt?

 

She wiped that thought from her head like cleaning a chalkboard. Out of sight, out of mind, she reminded herself, taking another deep breath. Her numb hands reached for gum or breathmints, something to keep her mind off the ringing in her ears, when she found a familiar slip of paper, a name scrawled across in big, bold writing. A smile involuntarily tugged at her lips, and before she could think things through, she dialed the numbers. He answered on the first ring.

 

"Hey, Darin," she smiled into the reciever, "it's Scarlette. I've had a crappy day, and I'm free later... I just wanted to know if you wanted to get drinks...?"

 ~~~

 

 

Lucy was acutely aware of all the stares directed her way. They felt like needles on her skin, the sneers of cheerleaches and pea-brained jocks burning her golden flesh.

 

Their table was a myriad of characters-- Amanda, in her golden uniform, looking surprisingly content as Kingsley teased her; Nix, peeling the purple flesh off his grape with his teeth, a goofy grin tugging at his lips; Kingsley, almost... was he...? Flirting? He rolled his eyes at Amanda playfully, teasing her