GUITAR PICKS & PENCILS | on hiatus

Chapter 2.

"Baby, you are my sweet demise."

**Lyrics from : Chasing Butterflies (BLACK MONDAY)

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"Guys, I finally know what a beaker is!" Ren announced excitedly to the car of guys as they drove from school to a nearby café for an after school snack -- also known as pre-practice snack. "And I know what are crocodile clips, and carbon electrodes, and a voltmeter, and a--"

"Did you enjoy making voltaic cells?" Gabe interrupted just to shut her up.

Ren clutched the back of the driver's seat, incredulous. "Whoa, how'd you know?"

"I study, Ren," Gabe replied shortly, eyes fixed on the road. "But the question is, how did you suddenly get so interested in Chemistry?"

"Because of her pansy Chemistry partner, that's what," Nick snidely supplied.

"Joey's not a pansy!".

"He is."

"Who's Joey?" A.D. piped.

"He's my--"

"Pansy." Nick quipped.

"Is this Joseph Reid we're talking about?" Scotty asked from the passenger seat. "He's in my Maths class. Nice guy. Doesn't like people calling him Joseph because--"

"--because it makes him sound like a dull, old fart." Ren expertly completed the sentence.

"So a dull, old fart got you interested in Chemistry, huh?" Nick smirked at her.

"Joey's not a dull, old fart, Nick," Ren declared, shuffling in her seat. "And he's not a pansy, either. You are."

"Oh, really??" Nick exclaimed. He grabbed hold of her and chucked her head in a headlock under his arm and began to tickle her until she screamed. A.D. put up his hand.

"So, Nick ... why's the dude a pansy?"

"You see him and you'll know why," Nick muttered, still holding down the struggling Ren, who was fighting fiercely to resurface from under Nick's hold. "He acts gay, talks gay--"

"He doesn't talk gay," Ren argued. "And I think he's got a nice voice. You're a vocalist too, Nick, you oughta know."

"Oh, shut up, you."

Gabe, trying to concentrate on driving and listening at the same time, couldn't help chuckling at the pair in the rear view mirror.

"I think you're jealous, Nick," he said, causing A.D. and Scotty to pucker their lips and gasp, "Oooh!"

Nick's emerald eyes glittered like the gem itself.

"Jealous? That's hilarious, Gabe. Really." he said, sarcastically. "But seriously, there's something about Joey I don't trust. He's fake, like he's hiding something. I just can't pinpoint what."

The buoyant mood in the car dropped to a cold silence. Nick had an uncanny sense about people; his sentiments about a person were always accurate and the gang knew, from experience, that when Nick doesn't feel right about someone, they usually don't turn out right.

Scotty touched his lips, frozen. "Shit." he murmured. "D'you think maybe he's Hannah Montana?" He was serious.

The entire car groaned. "Scotty!"

* *

Joseph Reid sighed contently as he lay on his back on the bed of a friend. The sky outside that window sure looked pretty and the white, cottony clouds were absolutely fluffy. He sighed aloud again, smiling to himself.