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Nicky when Neil asks about friendship

It was like that one word punched all the joy out of Nicky, but the look that crossed Nicky's face next was too fast for Neil to decipher. Nicky's smile was back a second later, but it didn't reach his eyes. ← I'd love to know what Nicky is thinking!

"Are we?" he asked, because hadn't Betsy said it just a few days ago? He hadn't understood it then and hadn't even tried, too angry and upset over everything else that was happening. Tonight it almost meant something, though what, Neil didn't know. Realizing Nicky couldn't follow his twisting train of thought, Neil forced himself to say, "Friends?"

It was like that one word punched all the joy out of Nicky, but the look that crossed Nicky's face next was too fast for Neil to decipher. Nicky's smile was back a second later, but it didn't reach his eyes. Neil might have apologized, except Nicky reached out and scrubbed a gloved hand through Neil's hair.

"You are going to be the absolute death of me," Nicky said. "Yeah, kid. We're friends. You're stuck with us, like it or not."

There's definitely a bit of hurt in there, because Nicky holds his friends in such high regard and loves them so dearly, and he's just found out that Neil doesn't feel the same for him. So it's primarily startled hurt, with an afterthought of pity. Nicky has to remember who he's talking to before he can understand that it's not an intentional slight. Then he just feels bad for his poor bruised friend who doesn't understand such necessary & basic concepts.