( in his less charitable moments, nick hates them all a little for the way they look at him. he never fully understood the details of what happened, some convoluted ritual to seal some opened rift that resulted in nick waking up surrounded by people that he knew intimately, staring at him like he was a stranger. the going theory is that they traded places, that this nicola is running around in his world, just as displaced as him.
( in his even more uncharitable moments, he hates her a little too. )
they're no closer to figuring out how to fix things, so for now nick is resigned to his life here. he does't know how to act around these people that are supposed to be the best friends that he's ever had, but he can't pull away either — and he thinks they probably can't either, even if it's clearly hurting them all.
he looks at august and the scar on his palm aches. he wonders if their nic — if august's nic — has a matching one on her palm. he doesn't ask. it's another night of trying to figure out a way to get them back, just as fruitless as all the ones they've tried before this, and after a moment nick sighs. he digs his thumb into the gnarled scar that's never going to heal, looking at the painted symbol on the floor instead of the person in the room with him. )
So like, does your town lake have a mermaid in it too?
( that's a safe question, at least. they all remember the lake, there's nothing in this town that they don't all have weighty memories scattered across, but at least those were mostly happy ones. lazy summer afternoons, when they were all still in school together and blowing off classes anyway. it's less of a minefield than some of the other places around here, at least. )
[ the thing is, it's not like nick hasn't thought about it — he's not blind. august was a kind of cute kid that has grown into a hot teen, and nick has done his fair share of gawking when they've swum in the lake over the summer, traded showers. he's not secretive about it, wolf whistles and downright salacious comments pouring forth as they grow into the kinds of friends that make these sorts of passes at each other. it's all a joke though.
sort of.
the real thing is, nick has generated his own fair of interest in the last year. he's not had the same dramatic kind of a glow up, just grown into his body a little more in a way that's started to turn heads, and god knows nick loves to tease. he always has, even if his reputation is getting a little ahead of itself. nick knows that people call him 'easy' when they think he isn't paying attention, he just doesn't particularly care.
anyway, that's not what he's focusing on right now. they're tucked away in one of the empty upper rooms of the moreau house, passing a joint back and forth while nick waves his hand and sends the smoke spiralling quickly out of a cracked window. if there's anyone around to complain about the smell they haven't made themselves known, so he has to assume that they have the house to themselves for now. the evening has gone much the way these evenings always go, with nick smoking a lot and august smoking a little, and still entertaining nick's rambling spirals even if he doesn't have quite the same level of buzz.
nick has been quiet for a while now though, contemplating some unknown thought that he hasn't put a voice to yet, and watching august with a keen interest. comments--jokes, sort of--were one thing, but there's a bit of a leap between hugs and handholds and the occasional smattering of kisses pressed across a friend's face and--whatever it is that he's contemplating now. ]
Hey.
[ nick finally speaks after what feels like hours of silence — what was probably only a few minutes, actually — and his head tilts as he keeps just...watching august. maybe it's a bit of a weird pitch. maybe he's being weird. maybe when august makes the jokes they actually are just jokes, and this whole little notion that nick has been captivated by all evening actually is just a deep swing and a miss. maybe nick shouldn't smoke so much weed.
he shifts up off his position sprawled on the floor and onto his knees, shuffling over closer to august and parking up next to him. ]
Can you hold this?
[ he holds the joint out for the taking, though there's hardly anything left of it by this point, and once august complies with the request, he'll lean in and press a soft but lingering kiss to his cheek, not quite close enough to touch his lips but near enough that it could with just a little more effort, and he'll just...stay there, until august reacts one way or another. ]
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» » do you call her, almost say my name?
( in his even more uncharitable moments, he hates her a little too. )
they're no closer to figuring out how to fix things, so for now nick is resigned to his life here. he does't know how to act around these people that are supposed to be the best friends that he's ever had, but he can't pull away either — and he thinks they probably can't either, even if it's clearly hurting them all.
he looks at august and the scar on his palm aches. he wonders if their nic — if august's nic — has a matching one on her palm. he doesn't ask. it's another night of trying to figure out a way to get them back, just as fruitless as all the ones they've tried before this, and after a moment nick sighs. he digs his thumb into the gnarled scar that's never going to heal, looking at the painted symbol on the floor instead of the person in the room with him. )
So like, does your town lake have a mermaid in it too?
( that's a safe question, at least. they all remember the lake, there's nothing in this town that they don't all have weighty memories scattered across, but at least those were mostly happy ones. lazy summer afternoons, when they were all still in school together and blowing off classes anyway. it's less of a minefield than some of the other places around here, at least. )
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» » i'm a fool for that shake in your thighs
sort of.
the real thing is, nick has generated his own fair of interest in the last year. he's not had the same dramatic kind of a glow up, just grown into his body a little more in a way that's started to turn heads, and god knows nick loves to tease. he always has, even if his reputation is getting a little ahead of itself. nick knows that people call him 'easy' when they think he isn't paying attention, he just doesn't particularly care.
anyway, that's not what he's focusing on right now. they're tucked away in one of the empty upper rooms of the moreau house, passing a joint back and forth while nick waves his hand and sends the smoke spiralling quickly out of a cracked window. if there's anyone around to complain about the smell they haven't made themselves known, so he has to assume that they have the house to themselves for now. the evening has gone much the way these evenings always go, with nick smoking a lot and august smoking a little, and still entertaining nick's rambling spirals even if he doesn't have quite the same level of buzz.
nick has been quiet for a while now though, contemplating some unknown thought that he hasn't put a voice to yet, and watching august with a keen interest. comments--jokes, sort of--were one thing, but there's a bit of a leap between hugs and handholds and the occasional smattering of kisses pressed across a friend's face and--whatever it is that he's contemplating now. ]
Hey.
[ nick finally speaks after what feels like hours of silence — what was probably only a few minutes, actually — and his head tilts as he keeps just...watching august. maybe it's a bit of a weird pitch. maybe he's being weird. maybe when august makes the jokes they actually are just jokes, and this whole little notion that nick has been captivated by all evening actually is just a deep swing and a miss. maybe nick shouldn't smoke so much weed.
he shifts up off his position sprawled on the floor and onto his knees, shuffling over closer to august and parking up next to him. ]
Can you hold this?
[ he holds the joint out for the taking, though there's hardly anything left of it by this point, and once august complies with the request, he'll lean in and press a soft but lingering kiss to his cheek, not quite close enough to touch his lips but near enough that it could with just a little more effort, and he'll just...stay there, until august reacts one way or another. ]
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