S2 Episode 2: Nick Nagged, Pally-wagged, Give a Dog a Bone.
Episode 2: Nick Nagged, Pally-wagged, Give a Dog a Bone.
It was a dark and stormy night...
.... When the vampires awoke from their slumber...
A high-pitched, female scream splits the air, the vampires all swarming a small village where a number of the folk seemed to be extremely squeaky-voiced women. “I’m telling you, Henry, humans might have the technology to make all these movies, but they don’t have the character! That’s why it’s those with a talent for acting are actors, instead of just any old pony. The only play put on by ponies who aren’t full-time actors is the Hearth’s Warming pageant. And, of course, school plays, but still.”
Octavia kept muttering and rambling and generally being unamused with the terrible “horror” movie they had found while surfing the TV’s channels. It seemed that vampires were legendary in both worlds, and thankfully, they didn’t sparkle in either.
A knock sounded from the door, and Octavia got up to see who it was, using the peep hole like she’d been told to. “Hello? Who is it?”
A muffled “It’s me,” came from the other side and, with a twist of a lock, a ruffled Nick walked in. After angrily kicking off his shoes at the door, he plopped himself on the couch.
“What brings you over, Nick?” Octavia asked as she sat down once more. “I don’t think we were expecting company.”
Nick shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno. Don’t feel like being at home, though.” Henry reached over and gave Nick a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Nick and his mother tended to get into heated arguments over menial issues and nothing was helped if alcohol was involved.
Octavia didn’t, but she knew enough not to ask. Nick would either get mad or depressed, and she and Henry couldn’t afford to patch another wall this month. “Would you like some popcorn, Nick?” She held out the half full bowl, and he reached in, pulling out a small handful.
“Thanks,” he murmured as he brought the food to his mouth, eyes flicking to the TV and back to Octavia. “What’s this?”
“Oh, I don’t know, some old vampire movie. It’s complete rubbish. Dreadful not for what it has, but for what it lacks.”
“Sounds like almost every movie from the 60’s.”
Henry gave him a half-lidded look, Fortissimo barking in agreement with his silent master.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Fortie,” Nick said as he scratched the small puppy behind the ears.
Fortissimo, for his part, tried to look angry, but instead cooed and leaned into Nick’s touch, his small tongue lolling out as he enjoyed the attention.
Octavia giggled and shook her head at the pup’s antics. “Only you, Fortissimo.” She chastised playfully, picking up the dog and sitting him in her lap, rubbing his chin.
It was quiet for an hour or so, with just the occasional mutter about how poorly executed a shot in the movie was or how bad the actors were when “dying.” Octavia was on her third trip to the kitchen for more popcorn (and the three of them were on the second movie in the marathon), when another round of knocking came from the door, prompting Fortissimo to jump off Nick’s lap and run to the door, barking happily.
“I’ll get it,” Octavia called as she quickly made her way from the kitchen to the door.
The moment the door opened, Fortissimo jumped up eagerly, surprised to be caught in the waiting arms of Jackie. “Howdie there, Forti!” She gushed. “How ya doin’, pup?” Jackie asked, rubbing his belly as she carried him back into Henry’s home.
“What brings you here, Jackie? You’d usually call ahead if you were dropping by.”
“Ah’ came by to say hello, and to drop off your check. Why have ya wait when it’s better to just bring it to ya since I know where ya live.” She gave a low chuckle as she pulled out a small envelope and handed it to Octavia. “Happy Pay Day, ‘Tavi.”
“Oh, thank you! I’ve been saving up for a while, but I’ll need to go shopping soon.” Octavia motioned into the house. “Why don’t you come in and visit for a while?”
“Reckon I’d enjoy that,” Jackie said, kicking off her boots and giving Octavia a friendly hug. “What do ya’ll got goin’ on in here?”
“You’re offering a very welcome distraction from a variety of atrociously amateur actors!” Octavia giggled as they entered the living room.
Jackie chuckled as well. “That sounds just dandy,” she said as they made their way back to the couch, Jackie looked up to see a young man she didn’t recognize. He was tan skinned, wearing glasses and had a look of pure hatred in his eyes. His body, while not toned like her’s was after her years of exercise, was well-kept and light of fat.
Jackie squinted at the young man and offered her hand with a smile on her face. “Tha name’s Jackie, pardner! What’s yours?”
“Nick.” He made a small motion towards her hand and then seemed to twitch, instead putting his hands in his pockets. “Henry’s friend.”
Jackie raised her eyebrow at the gesture but didn’t think much of it. “Shoot, Ah’ ain’t seen ya ‘round b’fore,” she said, gaining a curious expression.
“I saw you at the New Year’s party,” replied Nick.
“Really?” Nick merely nodded in response. With that, Jackie joined Octavia on the couch. “Anyway, whatcha savin’ up for, ‘Tavi?”
“It may seem silly,” Octavia replied. “But I love classical music and I’ve decided to take up the cello.”
Jackie started laughing and even Nick managed a small chuckle. “Well shoot, girl! That’s pretty neat! Maybe ya’ll get in the college band with Henry here.” Jackie sat back and after gratefully taking a handful of popcorn, began to speak in a slightly wistful tone. “Plus it’s good for a girl ta’ want somethin’ of her own.”
Octavia rejoined her friends on the couch. “Did you ever have something like that, Jackie?”
“Yea,” Jackie half groaned, half chuckled. “When Ah was younger, Ah wanted ta take over fer me Mom n’ Dad when they passed on.”
“Well whatever happened to it?” Octavia asked.
“Y’see, we lived on a farm down south, but we were a poorer family. Our farm got bought up by some big-wig company, an’ we was all replaced by somma those fancy-schmancy self-operatin’ tractors an’ all that hooey.” She reached out for another mouthful of popcorn before continuing. “Our dog, Willus, got ran over by the guy who bought our farm’s pretty little Rolls Royce. An’ you know what he said? ‘Yer dog scratched up my new car. You’re paying fer it.’ He didn’t give a damn that he’d ran over mah dog! I wanted ta get inta ‘is car an’ see how he handled bein’ turned inta pancakes!” Jackie snatched another handful of popcorn and glared down the floor, tapping it loudly with her foot as she shoved the popcorn into her mouth.
“Wow, what an incredible dick!” Nick shouted, the few muscles he had bulging as he made motions as if squeezing someone’s neck. “I... hate fuckers like that. If anyone tried to hurt my dogs, I’d... I dunno. I’d probably kill them. Definitely, if they did so.” His breath rattled as he shook with rage before relaxing as Fortissimo placed his front paws on his leg, keening slightly to get the man’s attention. “Yeah, you too, buddy. I’m sorry...”
Ignoring Nick’s burst of rage, Octavia looked back at Jackie. “Whatever did you do next?” she asked sympathetically.
“Ah’ ended up Ah’ movin’ out here. Ah found that li’l pet shop up in tha mall. It was havin’ trouble ‘cause the last employee that wasn’t Michael finally upped and quit. Ah’ love animals, an’ my goal is ta one day be able to take care of any animals Ah’ can. Maybe explore the world, or somethin’. Ah’ wanna make sure animals get treated as somethin’ more than a nuisance. Stupid, Ah know, but that’s what Ah aim ta do.”
Nick gave half-hearted chuckle. “That’s not stupid at all,” he said with a smirk. “I think everyone should want to help out animals that way.” His statement earned a smile from Jackie as Fortissimo barked happily and jumped up on the couch only to settle in Henry’s lap.
A bang and some canned music came from the TV as a futuristic city-scape began to crumble like tin foil as the air was sucked out of the city’s protective dome. A man, perhaps the main character of the movie, panned onto the screen and wavered around without really changing his stance other than waving his arms and giving a very bored sounding “aaaaAAAAAaaaAAAAHHHhhhhHHHhhh” that was out of sync with how he was zoomed in and out from on camera, before he finally panned away and was sucked out into space.
“This is possibly even worse than the last movie we watched, Henry!” Octavia groaned. “What is with all these movies? Were these really considered good theatre? Seriously, while a marvel in and of itself because of the fact I can watch it from your living room, I must say that an actual play would be better!”
The man once more was shown on screen, but this time he looked to be growing in size compared to his surroundings, until he ‘popped’ with a flash of white light and was gone from view.
“I’d say that I’d not like living on this planet any longer, but I fear that I might find one with even worse entertainment. Henry, is there nothing better we can do?”
Henry thought for a moment before a thought struck him and he looked over to his game collection. ’I wonder if she’d find The Beatles Rock Band interesting...’ While he proceeded to set up the X-Box, Jackie and Nick had struck up a small conversation about their dogs, which seemed to improve Nick’s mood. Henry smiled at them and pulled up his copy of The Beatles Rock Band. Showing the game case to his friends, he awaited their input.
Jackie whistled. “The Beatles, huh? Been a while since Ah’ve listened to their music. Ah’ wouldn’t mind it!”
Nick, same as ever, just shrugged. “I bet you still haven’t beaten my high score, Henry.”
Octavia looked a bit unsettled. “Eww, they make movies about bugs?” Henry’s shoulders shook with mute mirth so much that he took a seat on the floor, Fortissimo bounding over to make sure he was alright. Octavia, face reddening with embarrassment sputtered. “Wh-what? I don’t like bugs! They’re... eugh... They’ve got too many legs!”
‘Says the one-time pony,’ Henry thought.
Jackie laughed deeply. “Oh, Tavi, that’s a good one! Ya’ll gotta know The Beatles! After all, they was one a’ the greatest bands around.”
Nick nodded his head in agreement. “Lucy’s one of their best songs, though Eleanor Rigby will always be my favorite.”
Jackie chuckled. “Shoot, an’ Ah had you pegged as an Avenged fan. Maybe even Disturbed.”
Nick shrugged. “What’s wrong with liking more than one genre? It’s like saying Doberman are better than Labradors. It’s just not true. Dobs are good for guarding, but Labs are better as pets. There’s no one dog that beats the rest, just as there’s not one band that is better than every other.”
Soon, the group was underway reliving the highlights of the band’s career, all the while teaching Octavia about the band whenever the game couldn’t fill in and— almost as importantly— teaching her the basics of playing a guitar.
Henry nailed a glowing drumming section, helping the group activate Beatlemania for the fourth time in “Hello Goodbye”. By now Octavia had gotten to grips with the guitar and was doing quite well on Medium. Everyone else was playing on either Hard or Expert, but she didn’t mind.
“Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa.” Sang out Jackie, Nick, and Octavia in harmony while Henry nodded along as the song ended on a cheery high note before suddenly ending.
“Good’n, ‘Tavi!” Jackie clapped Octavia on the back a little too hard, making her almost drop the guitar.
Henry lightly drummed on her arm, nodding his approval at her quick and excellent progress at rhythm games. “You already know music so I'm not surprised.” He wrote on his slate.
“Yeah, what instrument did you play again? A violin or whatever?” Nick asked lamely with a small yawn.
“No, Nick, I played a Cello.” Octavia corrected, her eye brow knitting slightly in annoyance.
“Same difference, right? I mean, both can sound pretty kickass in classical music.”
The Cellist looked at him oddly before carefully wording her response. “I might not know about the kicking of Donkeys... but I would wager a guess that, yes, they both... “kick ass”... in classical music. ...I much prefer calling myself a contemporary, though,” she muttered.
Nick decided to shrug it off with a small chuckle. It seemed to him as though the girl did not have much of a sense of humor.
“Well, as fun as that was, Ah’ need ta get on home.”
Nick sighed as he put down his instrument. “Yeah, me too. It’s still a bit cold out at night.”
Jackie looked at Nick, her eyes a bit intense. “... Nick, ye’re walkin’ home?”
“Eh, yeah. Why not? It’s not far....”
Henry just looked at him with a flat expression. ‘No, not far at all; only halfway across town...’
Jackie looked outside. At some point during their time together, it’d begun to rain. “Well, that settles it. It’s rainin’. Ah’ cannot, in all good conscience, let a friend a mone walk home in tha’ rain if Ah’ can help ‘im out.”
“No, really, it’s fine. I’ve walked it before, and haven’t gotten sick...” Nick shuffled his feet and looked away.
“:... Yeah. Right. Welp, time ta go!” Jackie grasped his hand tightly, and Fortissimo growled playfully as he grabbed onto his pants and started for the door. “See, Nick? Even the pup’s got more sense than you, he knows Ah’ll take good care a’ya!”
Octavia stepped out momentarily before returning with a raincoat for Nick, holding it out towards him. “I think you’ll be needing this, Nick.”
Nick stared at the raincoat with hesitance, a small blush creeping up his neck. “I- well... thanks, I guess, but—” He was interrupted before he could argue further.
“Ah-ah! The only ‘but’ Ah’ wanna see is yours as it heads out that door an’ to the passenger seat of mah Jeep, ya hear?”
“I....” Nick let his statement hang for a moment before he sighed in resignation. “Yes, ma’am....”
“Don’t you ma’am me, mister,” Jackie playfully chided with a wink and a light smack on the shoulder. “You’ll call me either Jackie or Jacqueline, whichever ya’ll prefer, mmkay?”
“Right,” he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with the hand that wasn’t held captive in Jackie’s grasp. “Jackie then...”
“Right! Less’ go!”
With that, Jackie forced him out the door, ignoring how he stumbled over himself in his effort to keep up with her as they marched through the rain and into her bright orange Jeep Grand Cherokee.
“Ya buckled in, Nick?”
“Uh... y-yeah?”
“Good! There’s only three rules in this here Jeep, ya got that?”
“Okay?”
“The rule’s like this: Get in, sit down, shut up, an’ hold on, hooowie~!”
Nick was only able to scream loudly in fear as she peeled off from Henry’s parking lot, leaving skid marks in her wake before the wheels caught traction again.
“Are you trying to kill us!?” He yelped, eyes dilated as he felt his heart pump hard against his chest.
“Eenope!” She yelled back, her tone bubbly with barely suppressed laughter. “By the way! Where d’you live?”
“Kind of far, actually. Sure you wanna drive me—”
“Yup! Ah’ already told ya! Ah’d never leave a friend out in tha’ cold!”
“We... only just met, and you’re already considering me a friend?” Nick looked at her, bewilderment and shock evident on his face.
“Well, yeah! How long do y’all think it took fer me n’ ‘Tavi ta become friends? One argument on the cuteness of Tabbies versus the fierceness of Terriers! Ah’ still don’t know who won that argument!”
He couldn’t suppress his laughter at her comment, as he wondered if this girl acted like this with every new person she met. Something told him that that might not be the case...
But maybe that was just the hunger pangs he was feeling. Almost as if sensing his stomach’s unvoiced cries, Jackie slowed down and came to a stop at a corner with a Burger King. “Hm? Why’d we suddenly stop?”
“Ya sound like ya’ll haven’t had a bite to eat in days!”
“Ehh, you heard that over the engine?” Nick’s face contorted between a mixture of confusion, curiosity, and embarrassment.
“Naw, I heard yer stomach growlin’ b’fore we set off. Why ya think Ah’ went so fast without knowin’ where y’all lived? Ah’ still need ya ta tell me where ta go from here,” she said with a giggle as she pulled into the drive-thru.
“I... guess I just blamed women’s intuition.”
“Oh-ho-ho, you callin’ me a lady now?”
Nick spluttered. “No- I mean, I dunno, I just—”
“Pfff, don’t worry, sugah, Ah’ understand. Ah’m juss’ teasin’s all. Now, what’d ya like ta order?”
“Just a burger will suffice,” Nick grunted.
“Mmkay, if yer sure. Oi, I’ll take a Whopper with a large fry, large Coke, an’ a burger, please!”
“Okay, anything else?” the cashier asked over the crackling speaker.
“Naw, that’s all.”
“Alright, your to—-teen cents. Please pull up to the next window!” Neither of them could understand what the cashier said as the speaker broke down further.
“Sounds like the darn thing’s busted again,” Jackie commented as she pulled a twenty out of the center console. Sighing to herself, she pulled up to the drive-thru register.
“That’ll be fifteen dollars and seventeen cents,” the cashier said as she waited for the payment.
Nick pulled his wallet out and grabbed a twenty dollar bill. “Here you go, Jac—”
Jackie shoved his hand away as she handed her money over and took her change. “Put that away, mister. Ah’ already told ya that Ah’m takin’ care of ya, so allow me.”
The cashier smiled and winked at Jackie. “Ooohh, on a date, Jackie?”
Jackie chuckled and shot the cashier a wink. “Maybe Ah’ am, Tiffany; jus’ maybe~” The two of them giggled as Nick flushed, looking away from the two girls and scratching his head.
Tiffany leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially, “he’s pretty cute! If you’re not going out with him, gimmie his number!”
Nick twitched a bit and shifted in his seat, still staring away from the two girls resolutely.
Jackie gave her a snarky grin. “Hey, Tiff, y’know that if ya hang out the window like that, people can see down yer shirt, right?” Tiffany gasped and blushed, yanking herself upright again while Nick continued looking away, determinedly not paying attention.
Jackie guffawed. “Hee, Nick, yer pretty cool, not takin’ that chance, y’know?”
He sat quietly, ignoring her as he looked out the slightly fogged windshield.
“Wazzat?”
“I said, I’m not interested,” Nick muttered a little louder as he turned back around, face a deep scarlet despite the small frown tugging at his lips.
“Ya don’t gotta act like a prude ya know. Tiff flashes ‘em tits all the time!” Jackie said proudly, much to the embarrassment of her friend.
“Will you two please move up? There’s a, uh...other customer coming up, yeah!” Tiffany said quickly, trying to hide from the thorough shaming Jackie was putting her through.
“Yeah, yeah, get that speaker fixed, it’s on its last legs.”
Tiffany saluted her before power walking away, most likely to get away from her and get in touch with the manager. Jackie pulled up to the second window, got the food, and went around the block to find a parking space away from the Burger King.
Jackie turned to look at her companion and lost her smile when she saw he was once again turned away and hunched over. “... Why’re ya mad, Nick?”
“Hmm?” He looked up, seeing concern, or maybe worry in Jackie’s eyes. He shrugged and looked away again.
“Ya looked mad when me n’ Tiff were teasin’ ya. Y’know y’all can juss’ ask me ta stop, right?”
“I’m... not good with girls. Or words. Shut up.”
“Ah’ am not gonna shut up if one a mah friends is upset! If Ah’m the cause, then Ah’ wanna fix it, an’ make sure it won't happen again, that’s all!”
“L-Listen, Jackie,” he stuttered, a hint of blush still lingering on his face. “You’re being awfully friendly to a stranger. So.... thanks.”
“Shucks, ya ain’t no stranger, Nick... You’re a friend o’ Henry’s, so yer a friend o’ mine. If ya weren’t able ta hang an’ play nice with Henry of all people, then we mighta still been friends, but we might not’ve ever met. Henry needs our help an’ protection, an’ even some tough love every now an’ then. If yer helpin’ him out, then by golly, you’re a good guy, an’ I wanna know ya better.”
She picked up her drink and took a sip, before grabbing the food from the back seat. “Want yer burger?”
“Yeah. Thanks again...”
“No problem. Next time we go on a date, Ah’ll let you pay, ya hear?”
“Uh-wa-hey!” Nick sputtered, his face turning scarlet once more.
“Heehee, sorry, couldn’t help it!” Jackie laughed as Nick took a bite out of his burger, glowering at it as he did so.
“But in all serious...Ah’ consider this a date...” She said as her cheeks tinted lightly.
“WHAT!?”
“Well, we’re sittin’ here, eatin’ tagether, all alone,” she leaned in closer. “... Nobody around to hear me if Ah’ screamed...” Faster than she could blink, Nick’s door was open, he was on his back outside the car, scrambling to his feet. “Oh no ya don’t!” Jackie shoved her door open and bolted around the car. Nick was on his feet and fleeing the scene with a brisk stride. “Hang on just a cotton-pickin’ minute!” she shouted, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket.
“What are you doing!?” Nick shouted, trying to struggle out of the coat while being pulled back to the jeep. Jackie put an arm around his waist and with just her shoulder strength, butted Nick against the car.
“Didn’t Ah tell ya’ ya’ll ain’t walkin’ home in the rain if Ahm’ around!?” she shouted. “Ahm-a tryin’ ta be a friend an’ help ya out and ya’ll bailin’ like that is extremely rude. Ya’ll wanna tell me just what in Sam Hell your problem is?”
Nick’s teeth clenched for a moment before he barked back, “I told you I’m not good with this type of thing! What did you think was going to happen if you kept it up?”
“Ah thought ya’ll would learn a little innocent fun. Didn’t think you’d run off like a headless chicken and get us both wet! This is what I was tryin’ to avoid!”
“Well you did a damn fine job of it, didn’t you?” Nick yelled, the rain shooting off his face and out of his mouth as he spoke. He gave half an attempt at moving again but Jackie held him fast against the car. She was staring sternly into his eyes through the rain. Lightning flashed and loud thunder followed a moment later, somehow bringing even heavier rain. Just the few seconds spent out here, they were both thoroughly soaked.
Not able to handle Jackie’s stare anymore, Nick shifted his eyes in search for anything else to look at. Finding nothing, he looked back at Jackie, who’s expression had finally softened and her grip relaxed. “Okay, look, buddy. Ah’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make ya’ll uncomfortable.” Without a word, Nick got his back off the jeep, only to be gently pushed back against it. “But I still ain’t lettin’ you walk all the way home in this weather. If you don’t get hit by a car you’ll catch a death of cold.”
“Like I care...” Nick muttered as he averted his eyes, earning another shove from Jackie.
Jackie looked at him curiously, her brow furrowed and her head slightly cocked to the right. Eventually, she chose to ignore his statement. That could be dealt with later. “Can you just get back in the car? Even just for me?” She asked with her best attempt at puppy-dog eyes.
“If it’ll get you off my case, fine,” said Nick.
“Shake on it?” Jackie took her right hand off his shoulder to hold it up to his chest. This time, Nick rolled his eyes and accepted the handshake. Jackie gave him a firm shake before pulling him into a friendly hug. Nick resisted for a moment, but she held him fast. “It’s alright ta be nervous gettin’ close ta people, ya know? That just means ya’ll need practice. But ya can’t get it if yer running away...Believe me...Ah know.” Nick relaxed slightly in her embrace and she released him. “Now get in the car, ya big fool,” she chuckled.
Nick got into the car as quickly as he could and closed the door. Jackie casually got back into the drivers’ seat. Soaking wet and uncomfortable, she started up the car and drove off. Nick spent the remainder of the ride in almost complete silence, only speaking when a direction was needed and occasionally taking bites of his meal. He kept his eyes out the window and his body pressed against the door, fidgeting more and more as the drive continued. Not helping anything was Jackie being forced to slow down to make sure she wouldn’t hydroplane on the nearly flooding roads.
Eventually, they arrived at Nick’s driveway. “Go get yourself dried off and have a nice night, ya hear?” Jackie said as he opened his door.
“Yeah,” Nick replied shortly.
“Can’t wait fer next time!” she called out with an innocent wink.
“Yeah...sure...whatever...” Nick said, sounding unsure of himself. “Thanks for the ride,” he said before shutting the car door and sprinting into his house.
Nick panted as he stood outside his house, rain-slicked jacket pulled tight around his body. “What... what the hell... God... dammit.... Ugh...” He put his hands on his knees, and took a moment to calm down before walking inside.
Slamming his bedroom door behind him, Nick threw off the jacket, pulled off his damp shirt, and flopped down on his bed.
Closing his eyes, he started breathing deeply, trying to force himself to sleep. ’... tagether, all alone...’ Nick jerked suddenly, eyes opening with a gasp. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes tight, but all he could see was her smile, and her face as she leaned over. “Dammit... fucking hell...”
Jackie paced outside the front door of the small, somewhat shabby house on Barker Street, muttering to herself. “C’mon, Jackie, you can do it...” Jackie was outside of one of her newest— and possibly, her shortest-lived— friends’ house. “All ya gotta do is ‘pologize ta Nick. Tha’s all... Can’t be all that hard, right?”
It was almost three days after the... incident... between them, and not even Henry had seen Nick roaming the halls of the college. He was worried, and his worry made her feel even worse. It was her fault. She was the one that did this, but how could she just hope for him to accept what she had to say? Biting her fingernail, she once again tried to form something well worded in her mind, and—
“Hey.”
“Gya!” Almost falling over as she turned around, Jackie saw Nick standing there, leash in hand and a dog sitting next to him. “O-oh. H-howdy. Uh...”
Nick shrugged and looked away, but his face was tinged a bit red. “So.... what’re you doing here?”
Jackie sucked in a breath, eyes widening as if she’d been hit... and then she let it go. ‘It’s mah fault, after all..’ She looked up again. “H-hey, Nick... Can Ah’ talk to ya? A-as friends. Or acqu— acquain-ugh. As people who know each other?”
“Well... if you really want to, I don’t see why not.”
Jackie sighed in relief, her body losing tension she hadn’t noticed was there. “Great, great! Ai’ight, where you wanna talk? Here? Inside? Anywhere’s fine.”
“... Let’s go for a walk.” As he said so, he lightly tugged on the leash, and the dog beside him stood up, trotting happily down the street and sniffing here and there as they went.
After walking for a few minutes, and enduring the silence for as long as possible, Jackie finally spoke. “So... A-about... about a few days ago...”
“Whatever you’re about to say, I forgive you.” Nick sighed, waving his hand to demonstrate the fact. “I’m the one who should be apologizing for overreacting back then....”
Jackie shook her head. “No, ya’ll weren’t in the wrong at all!” Jackie jumped in front of Nick and put her hands on her hips. “Ah’ was the one who kept bein’ funny after ya’ll said ya didn’t like it! Ah’ was the one who was teasin’ ya, even though you asked fer me ta stop!”
“... I didn’t ask,” Nick muttered as he looked away from Jackie.
“An’ besides! Ah’ said Ah’d take care-a ya, an’ you ended up walkin’ home anyways! Tain’t your fault fer none o’ that, so... so... Ah’m takin’ full responsibility, an’... an’...” Jackie panted, her face red from either embarrassment or her yelling fit. “.... Ah’m sorry. Maybe Ah’ ain’t that good a friend, after all...”
“Jackie, you only met me once and you offered to buy me food and drive me home. You’re probably a better friend than I could ever be...” Nick gave a self-depreciating grimace and put his hands in his pockets before looking away once again.
Jackie reached out a hand, hesitated, and dropped it back to her side, clenched in a fist. “Ah’m gonna make it up to ya, anyhow. So... please, let me treat ya to lunch again. Anywhere’s fine, as long as it ain’t that hoity-toity place Henry works at. The other custa’mers always give me the look.” So saying, she threw a wide-eyed glower towards Nick, before tempering it with a giggle.
“I know where you’re coming from,” he chuckled. “But I guess I have no choice but to accept.”
“Great! When should Ah’ swing by? How’s Tuesday?”
“Three in the afternoon okay with you?”
“Eeyup!”
Nick nodded, giving Jackie a faint smile. “Okay, then it’s settled.”
Nick and Jackie said goodbye, Jackie heading back towards her Jeep. “Yes, he accepted! Yes... yes... yes!” Prancing back to her jeep, she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face, not even when Michael made a lewd comment about her at work. ’Ah’m gonna be the best me possible, or mah name ain’t Jacqueline Abigail Smith!’
A couple of weeks later....
Nick bounced a ball off his bedroom wall, thinking to himself. It wasn’t unusual of him to partake in the activity as he always went through the nagging thoughts that grabbed onto his attention every day, but today was different. So was every day for the last week or so. Someone had become important to him and it irked him to no end. Not because he disliked her, but because he couldn’t understand why he did.
“What is it about her that has her stuck in my damn mind every fucking day?” He thought out loud, throwing the ball with more force than necessary. “She’s just some fucking girl. What makes her any different from most girls my age? Granted, she’s not a stupid slut like most of them....” He bit his lip and threw the ball at a higher angle, twisting his face to the side and narrowly avoiding connecting his face with the ball.
“What makes her different? I mean, she really has a passion for animals. She could probably snap most girls like they were twigs. And she’s funny.... She’s nice. She has a pretty cute accent. Plus she is.... attractive, I suppose....” Nick caught the ball one final time in his hand before resting his back against the backboard, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“She’s.... cool. And I really wouldn’t mind hanging out with her some more, I guess. I don’t see this becoming more than a friendship though if I’m lucky, she probably goes after meatheads anyway.... I need to stop thinking about her, it’s.... she’s really messing with my head.” He pulled out his phone and scratched the back of his head, looking through his contacts list.
“Henry’s probably busy, Rami’s.... well, Rami. Screw it, if Mac can talk, or cry to me about his shit, I don’t see why I can’t take up his offer to have a normal conversation to get this crap off my mind.” Nick rationalized, tapping on Mac’s contact info and calling him.
Mac smiled and parted a loose strand of Tara’s strawberry blonde hair, kissing his way softly down her jawline as she cooed quietly and leaned into his strong, warm body. He grinned slightly as he pressed their lips together, his hands cupping her firm rear end as they begun to make out in the back of his spacious pick up truck.
“Mmmm...” Tara moaned into the kiss, parting her lips and licking his as she begged silently for entrance.
Wordlessly, Mac allowed her tongue to meet his as they fought for dominance, his breath becoming shallower as her hands pressed roughly into his chest, feeling the definition built from all the intense labor he had put himself through as a farmer, and had continued working on in the gym since moving to town.
Just as his hand groped one of her perky, clothed breasts, his phone rang loudly much to their annoyance. He pulled away and sat up, huffing at the interruption.
“Mackie!” Tara cried out, wanting nothing more for him than to ignore the phone call and shower her with affection.
“Ah’ know, Ah’ know, but Ah’ gotta see who it is at least.” Mac replied with a sigh, running a hand through his flat blonde hair. His eyebrow rose as he noticed who was calling him.
“Nick?”
Nick stayed quiet for several moments before replying, “Do I really want to know what I just interrupted?”
Mac sighed again, his nostrils flaring as he tried to calm down. “For ya information, Ah’ was spendin’ some time with Miss Sterlin’.”
“I’ll bet,” he said rather sarcastically.
“Har, har, partner. Why don’t ya cut the attitude an’ get to the point. Ah’ got an upset lady to please.” Mac said in a hushed whisper, looking over his shoulder at Tara who merely crossed her arms under her chest and gave him an annoyed glare.
“Well.... may as well get this off my chest. I can’t get this chick out of my mind and I really haven’t a clue in the fucking world why.”
“Ah’ think ya fancy her.” The photographer said in a teasing voice.
Nick grunted in annoyance at his friend’s antics. “Get your mind out of the fuc—sorry. It’s just.... all this is pretty foreign for me, and I’m not sure how to make it stop.”
“In all seriousness, it sounds to me that ya like her.”
“But... but I’m not even sure I want a relationship in this lifetime! On top of all that, I barely even know her! I know she’s great with animals, a bit on the loud side, and I think she would have tried to wrestle me if my view of animals challenged her own, but other than that....”
Mac chuckled deeply. “Heh...She sounds like my big sis, Jackie.”
“Huh? What’s wron’ Nick?”
The only thing he heard before the call ended was the sound of something hitting the ground.
“Well, that’s strange?”
Tara wrapped her arms around his chest. “And what would that be, [i[Mackie?” She whispered in his ear.
He shuddered at the seductive tone she whispered his pet name. “A-ah’m not sure...coulda sworn he uh gave me the impression he likes mah sis.” Mac said in confusion, rubbing his chin in thought before he felt a pair of firm, naked breasts against his back.
She giggled as he sat stock still, tracing a finger over his chest. “Ah’ reckon ya’ll should think about it after we have a round in the rodeo, pardner.” Tara said in a downright sexy southern belle accent.
“E-eeyup!”
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I...I like Disturbed...
2227588 Who doesn't?
YES, a new chapter.
Hoped for another Vinyl past but I guess we have to wait for that. Cool chapter, can't wait for more.
2228732 Yeah, Vinyl will have small snippets every now and then, but not every chapter, and possibly not every other chapter, either.
And now this story is starting to get creepy.
2228998 We could totally fuck with you guys and make it sooooooo creepy it wouldn't be funny. For you.
2229228 ...this story's off my fav's if you do.
2229264 I am one who says "Oh well, your loss." I think Henry, Mac and Nick would likely do the same if they so desired. I'm not sure since I don't know them enough in that context.
2229228 Pfft. Is that a challenge? I've gone through the entirety of Metro 2033 and didn't even blink.
I've slaughtered countless zombies, read Sweet Apple Massacre, Cher's Garden, Cupcakes without batting an eyelash.
You gotta do better than that boy.
2229432 *chuckles* *chuckle turns into a luagh* *luagh turns manical* *sobers slowly before responding* All those examples are so lame. Creepy doesn't describe those lame excuses for horror. Creepy is living your life but having Slender himself follow you. And you have no idea why he is. Or if he is actually there for someone else. Or if he won't actually do anything to you. Or if you are going insane. Or if you are insane. Or if this is all just a lie, a dream, an illusion. But it's all real.
2229527 Uh huh...Tell me boy, have you ever confronted by a goddamn hornet? Have you?
2227588
As do I. They're one of my favorite bands. But, I can kind of see where people come from making fun of them. Plus, Jackie never said anything bad about them, just that she figured he'd like them.
Aaaaaaaaaaaanyway, yeah, me too.
2230212 Well, she was right that I like Disturbed.
Well that escalated quickly...
hahaha!~ A7X, Fuckin-A.
Ahem, Great chapter! Like the Nick and Jackie couple. Only thing that I'm iffy about is that Henry seems kinda chill with the whole rejected thing from last season. I'd probably be more uncomfortable then anything
Keep up the great work either way! Waiting patiently for next update!
Was kinda hoping for more of Vinyl's POV. But the newest chapter was still great!
*Falls over and dies laughing*
2237333
Vinyl can go to hell for all I care, but I still think it's kinda important to have her..
2248601 Well that's kind of harsh. I like Vinyl and feel that she is important to all of this too. There is no way that everything is going to happen without her being important, and overall, she's a big softie deep down and she needs some love too.
dudes got class
2251596
You make big heavy feel bad.
I don't really like her that much as a drunken piece o' crap, but seeing her character progress is interesting.
By the way, I didn't mean Vinyl could go to hell -
I mean the drunk as shit one.
2229527 Scary is when you're alone in your house, with all the lights out. The boards are creaking. It's raining, hard. Thunder racks the night. There is a knock on the door. The floorboards moan as you walk to the door. And when you open the door, there is a clown staring at you.
2268684 Nah, that was actually rather boring. I nearly fell asleep as I stared at the clown and asked "Really? This the best you can do?" as he pulled out a cleaver stained in actual blood.
2270519 Oh, you guys talking about Frank? Yeah, me and him go waaay back, y'know? I gave him an axe for Christmas last year, but he never uses it.
Okay, this is interesting and all, and I can genuinely relate or at least sympathize with Nick, but why are we suddenly following Nick and Jackie? Did you post a side-story here by mistake?
2293989 Nah, they're importantish characters. There are parts of books where instead of following the titular character, they instead follow a foreground character. For example, numerous books in the Star Wars Continuity do this. They'll take a side character and follow them for a while. Most comics do this a lot. Even Webcomics like Menage a 3. That followed Yuki and Sandra's paths instead of Gary or Zii for a while each. It's just a way to keep things from going stale.
2295938 Yes, yes, but there's no warning. No cutaway, no transition, the scene just chugs along at the same speed, never stopping, and then you suddenly realize that now you're on a different train.
2295971 Hmm... no, don't see it that way to me. We started the chapter with Tavi and Henry. Then, Nick came by, and later Jackie. Jackie and Nick both got up to leave, Jackie only doing so because it was raining outside, and Nick would be walking, otherwise. The 'camera' very clearly followed them out the door from there. I don't see how you didn't see that coming.
You guys really need a British character. I honestly don't know why but, almost every group of friends in a story has either the information master, or the British character who also hands out buckets of wisdom and tends to help smooth tension. Either of these characters tends to be a bonding force in the group without really being considered a main character. Though they usually tend to be called up when questions are asked.
In MLP:FIM for instance the Information master character archetype is actually filled by Twilight Sparkle and subsequently Princess Celestia. But, that's only because she's been there much longer knowledge-wise and having information on old, powerful, and potentially dangerous stuff is pretty much in her job description.
2296162 Yeah, a British character would be fun. Tara Sterling kinda fills that role, since she's good at changing her voice, but yeah, we could use a full-time Brit. I think that's where the guy and his son from Henry's job as a waiter might come in.
2297659
Sounds reasonable. I wish you guys the best of luck. Keep up the great work.
2298111 Thanks! And don't worry, we plan to, though our update schedule is probably gonna widen a bit, so I have more time to not be stressing.
2295971
That's like saying,
"oh they're focusing on someone else
this story fucking sucks so bad now"
2298320
If you'd paid attention to my first comment, you'd know that I said exactly not that. Granted, this is an Octavia story and I'd prefer to follow Octavia, but I have absolutely no problem with focusing on someone else for a while.
My problem is with the transition.
2298336
I thought it was fine.
2298336>>2301270 I'm curious about that too. He's the only one whose said the transitions are awkward and believe me, I've had this thing read repeatedly.
2173074
It does make me feel better. Thanks!
2302276 Its out though XD
2302114
Oh fine, maybe it's just me. I still enjoyed it, it's just--
I think it was the fact that we went from... Henry's perspective to Jackie's(?) and Nick's without... something... not saying... um... hold on......
Okay. My problem is that we start out following Henry, then Jackie comes in and we follow her out of the apartment without any warning, not even a break to indicate switching perspectives.
I don't know, it just distracted me how quickly we left Henry and Octavia behind.
Needs more spetsnaz....
OI! What's wrong with liking Avenged or Disturbed, eh Jackie? I'm a heavy fan of both bands, but I can enjoy good music when it comes around, I.E. not rap or dubstep.
2229228 "read a creepy fic about humanized octavia living with a mute twenty-something."
Something i never thought i would even have on my bucket list.
This is a good story. It really is. I find myself enticed in it whenever I have time to read. *Sets aside Mack Bolan for the time beind* Sorry Mack, I know how this story will end. You kill the bad guy then everything is fine, minus all the dead bodies.
2343484 You can say that again...