GUITAR PICKS & PENCILS | on hiatus

Chapter 6.

"Rain, I don't mind

Shine, that weather's fine."

--Rain (THE BEATLES)

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The thing about Boots Pharmaceuticals is that it's always bright and clean in there. Also, Ren heard this thing at school about how the staff at Boots are all ex-nurses. This makes the pharmacy pretty much the safest place to be if she were to have a sudden heart attack or something while shopping. Nick had wandered off to another part of the store as she hunted for the last item on her shopping list: anal wart cream.

Ren rolled her eyes when she watched him trudge towards the razors and shaving cream aisle. Nick was such a boy. She knew the cream made him feel uncomfortable, which was why he was slinking away. It wasn't even for her or her mum, anyway. It was probably for one of mum's friends or something. She quickly paid for it to spare Nick the torture of watching the supplier-to-consumer process when the tube passed through the bar code scanner.

"All done," Ren said and tapped Nick on the shoulder. He had shifted from razors to Men's Health magazines now.

"Finally," Nick sighed, putting the magazine back. "What's left?"

"Nothing else," Ren said. "We can go off now if you want."

"Nah," Nick said. "Hey, you want to grab a hot drink?" he asked, turning his green eyes towards the sky. For now, it looked clear but there's no telling if it chooses to rain again. England was funny that way. The good thing was that the after-rain chills made it perfect for a warming cup of hot chocolate.

"Yeah, let's get some hot chocolate from McDonalds," Ren said. The hot chocolate there was pretty damn good and cheap, too. Plus, it was a favourite of hers.

"Come on then," Nick said and slung a brotherly arm around her shoulder. He also took her shopping for her, to her surprise. They walked out of Boots and into the town centre. Ren was feeling happy. The sky looked dreary and it was a little cold but the idea of sipping hot chocolate at the bus stop was something to look forward too. Plus, she liked the feel of Nick's arm around her shoulder. It felt comfortable and protective, like a little sister with her big brother.

They walked towards McDonalds which was right in the town centre. The streets were somewhat empty because of the rain so the only ones walking around were school kids. Ren recognised some of them. It's not difficult spotting schoolmates sometimes. You just look at them and you immediately know. It's part of this psychic link everyone has. Gabe, however, felt that it has more to do with the subconscious recognition of a person's face. Ren didn't care though. She knew psychic links exist.

Right now, as she and Nick walked past them, Ren could tell that they recognised her too -- or rather, Nick. She cautiously watched how their eyes flickered from Nick to her and then, the both of them. Some kind of emotion flashed on their faces. It was like a mix of horror and also interest. It didn't take Ren long to realise what they were thinking.

"Nick, those girls are looking at us like  we're dating or something," Ren said. Nick looked back at her with a blank, impassive face.

"So?"

"But we're not dating."

"I don't really care what they think, Ren," Nick said. "Do you?"

"I guess."

Nick sighed. "Oh, you," he rolled his eyes. "Look, you really shouldn’t bother, you know? It's pointless."

"I just don't want them to have the wrong idea of things is all."

"So you don't want me walking next to you?"

"What? NO!" Ren's eyes widened. She held her hands up, protesting. "That's definitely not it at all." But it was too late. She felt Nick's arm slide off her shoulder as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and sauntered away from her. She jogged after him, reaching for his arm.

"Wait!" she pulled him back and Nick cast her a sideway glance.

"You know, I was going to treat you to that hot chocolate before but now I am seriously reconsidering after hearing that."

When he said that, his face was hard and serious but Ren knew him well enough to catch that hidden twinkle in his eyes. She gave him a soft slap on the cheek.

"Right, I'm sorry," she said. "Just that, for that moment, I was seriously wondering if we were really behaving like a couple there."

"Oh, please," Nick scoffed. "An arm around your shoulder isn't a couple thing."

"Well, hey, you had your arm around my waist today," Ren retorted, snappily. She didn't like the condescending way he spoke. "What was that all about?"

"That was just for fun, Ren. Seriously." Nick said. "Just to get Hazel off my back."

Ren's eyes widened. Was that how Nick does it then? Use her as a fake girlfriend to get other girls off his back? Ren couldn't believe him. He could have at least let her in on the trick or something.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked.

"What's wrong is you're making me a total show, Nick!" she cried. "No wonder Joey thought we were dating."

A little flash of anger burned in Nick's eyes. "Joey? Huh." Nick scoffed. "That pansy doesn't know shit about relationships, if you ask me. If you're upset that I didn't inform you about the Hazel thing, then I'm sorry. But really, so what if people think we're dating?"

"Because we're not, Nick! And I don't like you implying that we are either because that just makes this a ... a ... charade."

"For fuck's sake, Ren," Nick grabbed her shoulders, startling her. "Hazel aside, we are far from behaving like a couple so there is no fucking charade either. Do you know why? Because if we really were going out, I wouldn't be having my arm around your shoulder ... no, in fact, I'd be doing this!"

It was then Ren heard a loud gasp -- or maybe it was a scream? She couldn't see who it came from because suddenly, she found Nick hovering uncomfortably close to her face. His eyes were closed and his breath was cold.

She felt their noses touching.

And so were their lips...

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 thisstory © tehgoldfish'12

A/N: I'd like to reprimand myself publicly for updating only after a year. Yes, that was very bad of me, I know, and I'm sorry for letting people down. This chapter is fresh from the writing oven and I hope it manages to impress because hey, it took me a year to cook up this chapter. Wow. What is with me and culinary puns today? 

That said, thank you for reading and please do comment, if you like / dislike my writing. Comment as well even if it's to say "hi". I promise I'll say "hi" back.

Tootles for now!