nathan dawson's pov

It felt like it was ages ago when we sat on that swing in the deserted playground in the middle of the night. It had been much more fun than I thought it would have been and Gray Eyes seemed like a nice guy, but I had no idea where we stood now. Were we friends? Speaking acquaintances?

"A-allergies." I shrugged, turning away swiftly. One thing was for sure: if I hadn't opened up to Liam, Lava or Jacob, I surely didn't know Gray Eyes well enough to open up to him.

"Allergies?" Gray Eyes echoed, clearly not buying my explanation. He followed after me and started walking by my side. 

"Yeah." I mumbled, avoiding his gaze. Something about him being so close to me made me hyper aware of my breathing, like out of the blue I had forgotten how to carry out such a simple body function.

"Want to do something after school?" Did Gray Eyes really just ask me that? It seemed to take him by surprise too, like he had blurted out something rash.

"I'm grounded." 

"Oh, that bad?" Gray Eyes made me halt by placing his hand on my shoulder. I was taken aback by the touch and for a while I just gaped at him like an idiot.

"Mmh." Sadly that was all I could get out of my mouth. Then I gave him some sort of an awkward half-smile, before turning away and almost managing to trip on my own feet. Movie industry would truly gain a fortune, if they decided to make that tragicomedy about me.

Mom gave me hell for showing up late at night and smelling of alcohol, but I can't say I was too heartbroken when she told me I was grounded for a week. I never go anywhere anyway, so it wasn't like I was going to do so now. The real fun began after she took away my computer and Xbox, telling me I should spend the week studying. So, it was just me, homework and Crime and Punishment. 

°°°°

"Hungry?" Nicholas offered as soon as I slammed the car door shut. Whenever I get stressed out or feel like there's a rain cloud hanging above me, I start craving for all the sugariest and greasiest high-carb stuff. 

"Not really." I still shrugged. You bet I was hungry, I just wasn't eager to do anything to that with Nicholas. In fact, I didn't even want to be in the same car with him. 

After the weekend I had had, while Nicholas dodged the bullet with no punishment whatsoever, I got pissed off even by the sight of him.

"Okay, so C&B's it is." Nicholas decided while starting the engine. C&B's was a local diner owned by Charlie and Bessie, who had been together longer than I had been alive. It was also a place to get the best milkshakes of the town and to see more Frostford High students than I cared to see.

"I'm grounded." I stammered. Nicholas gave me an apologetic glance before turning his focus back on the road.

"I'll talk to them. They won't mind, I promise." He smiled then, tapping the wheel with his forefinger. "Oh, and didn't mom say you should find a job? We can ask if C&B's hiring."

I grimaced and thought: What a horrible idea. I didn't say it out loud, I just turned my gaze to the window. We didn't have to pick Jonathan up today, so it was going to be just me and Nicholas in the diner. Oh, how I just wished I could go back to being grounded and stuck at home with the book I couldn't read even if I wanted to.

Soon enough we were sitting in a booth near the big windows. We had milkshakes in tall glasses, strawberry for me and vanilla for Nicholas, burgers the size of our heads and more french fries than either of us could finish. I could already see the disapproval on Jeffrey's face when he found out we had stuffed our bellies with fast food instead of the nutritious dinner he was undoubtedly planning to cook for us.

"What's going on with you?" Nicholas asked, his eyes studying me more intently than I would have hoped for.

"Me?" I scowled, staring back at him. "What's going on with you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nicholas was already starting to get defensive. He leaned his back against the backrest, fixing a pointed look at me.

"You've been acting weird even before you and Audrey Grace broke up. Then you drag me to a party and disappear, so that I have to leave with Gray Eyes and.." I complained. It wasn't just trying to keep the conversation from me, because I was genuinely baffled and pissed off by Nicholas' behavior. 

"I didn't tell you to leave with Gra.. Clarke." Nicholas cut me off. "Did he try to do something to you?"

"Like what? He already punched me and it's not fun to pick a fight with someone who falls on his butt after one hit."

"I could think of many non-violent things." Nicholas shrugged. Then, when I clearly wasn't following, he tried to explain: "Well, you're not bad looking —" 

"That's like saying you think you're handsome." I pointed out.

"But I am." Nicholas smirked, looking like he was only half-joking. "And you've got this.. vibe. Everyone thinks you're adorable."

"Adorable? Me? I'm clumsy and awkward, isn't that like the opposite of adorable?" I wanted to slide down on my chair to hide how embarrassed I was.

"That's exactly what makes you adorable." Nicholas chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning like an idiot.

"Shut up." I grumbled and started wolfing down my hamburger just so that I had something to keep myself busy with. 

Nicholas was a douchebag most of the time, but he had his moments. He could be considerate and fun to be around with if he wanted to. I didn't agree with the adorability thing and to think Gray Eyes would think that way about me was even more ridiculous, but it was nice to talk like we used to.

Nicholas wasn't wrong assuming something was going on though. It wasn't the allergy season. It wasn't not being allowed to go out. Believe me or not, it wasn't even the fact I couldn't play games for a week.

"I o-overheard mom and Jeffrey talking a-about.." There was a lump in my throat and despite my effort, I couldn't finish the sentence. 

"About what?" Nicholas' eyes bored into me, when he set down his milkshake and leaned on his elbows. 

"I know it's probably n-nothing, but.." I cleared my throat, looking down at my hands that were resting on my thighs. "Jonathan had bruises on his legs and he's not just going for a regular physical examination."

Nicholas stared at me in a loss of words, but after a while he shook his head: "You're right, it's probably nothing."

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Um, so, I'm writing two stories (that couldn't be more different) at the same time. Currently the other one is somewhat easier to write, but I'm still trying to update perf*ct once or twice a week. :)