Crossroads → Nicholas Scratch [CAOS]

xiv. unity

He scratched his chin in thought before responding. "You can take me to him, right?" When Nick nodded he continued, "alright... you wait by the car. Calum, help me get everything to the car."

"Okay." Dani nodded, immediately starting to walk away with Nick. She knew her dad had only been talking to the warlock, but she hoped he'd been to distracted to notice that she was inviting herself on the trip. Of course, though, with her luck, Dani was pulled back by the arm. She closed her eyes momentarily before turning around to face her father.

"Not you, young lady."

"But Dad, I want to help," she pleaded, biting her lip hopefully.

"We agreed that you wouldn't hunt," her dad said firmly.

"I'll be safe, I promise. I won't get involved," she assured as convincingly as she could. "We can't waste time arguing about this, Dad!"

"Let her come. I'll keep an eye on her," Calum said, patting his dad's shoulder. Dani smiled at her brother gratefully when their dad nodded, giving in.

"Fine. Go wait in the car," he handed Dani the car key after pulling it out of the back pocket of his jeans. He leaned in closer to Dani to whisper, "and Dani, if he lays a finger on you, stab him in the jugular," but it was clear by the volume he used when he spoke and the way he glared at Nick that he wanted to boy to hear. Dani rolled her eyes and motioned for Nick who had uncomfortably shifted toward the door to follow her outside.

Dani sighed when she sat in the car, taking in the coolness of the air and the strong scent of leather. She hadn't realized how tired she was until she touched the cushioned seat, but the soreness of her body and the droopiness of her eyes couldn't compete with the burning desire in her gut to help her friends. She watched Nick bounce his leg. Like some sort of a tick, he continued to do it incessantly, his hands bound together in his lap with thumbs playing thumb war. Without thinking, she reached her hand out over Nick's lap and picked up his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. So shocked by her own actions, Dani almost snapped her hand back, but the way he tightly squeezed her hand stopped her from retreating. "We'll fix this, okay? Sabrina's going to be fine."

Nick nodded, still looking down at his lap. He looked so unconvinced and hopeless. Dani couldn't imagine how guilty he must have felt. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

"It's okay. This is all going to be sorted out."

"I meant about us," Nick mumbled, slowly raising his head up to his left to look into Dani's eyes. "I know you don't want to talk about this, but I really am sorry." He looked back down to his lap, shaking his head shamefully.

"It's fine," Dani squeezed his hand reassuringly, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. A part of her did accept his apology. She was seeing more and more how difficult it was to be a witch or warlock. Between the academy, Amalia, the Dark Lord and who knows what else, Dani couldn't have imagined how hard it must have been for Nick. It was probably even worse for Sabrina. Still, Amalia's breath on her skin and the painful wound on her face that still hadn't wound wasn't something Dani could forget with such ease, and the fact that Nick had lied to her– that she'd kissed him thinking he was something that he wasn't– was still engraved in her brain. "I mean it, Nick, it's okay," she promised, staring at him although he refused to look at her. "Something tells me I would've gotten myself into this mess on my own eventually," she mentioned, trying to lighten the mood. She grinned contentedly when she saw a small, side-smile appear on his lips.

"Knowing you, you're probably right." Dani chuckled lightly, glancing down to their intertwined hands fondly. "But I should have done something sooner," Nick said. Dani felt responsible for the way he continued to beat himself up for it. "It's not just that. I shouldn't have lied to you about so much. I shouldn't have watched you suffer with the confusion after seeing your father and brother doing that exorcism in the woods when I knew exactly what they were doing." He ran both his hands over his face before looking straight ahead with empty eyes at the headrest of the seat in front of him and shook his head. "I almost got you killed before and now it's Sabrina's turn–" his voice was silenced when Dani's lips met his. She tried not to smile against his lips at how he froze in surprise at the unexpected sensation of her lips on his. She herself was beyond nervous by her own actions, but Dani only began to realize it when Nick's fingers came up to caress the skin of her neck, leaving a line of goosebumps in their wake. This time, it was Nick who smiled into the kiss when Dani shuddered at his touch. Her arms snuck around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She was faintly aware of Nick smiling into the kiss, evoking her own euphoric grin. She'd craved his touch, his smile, his reassuring hand in hers, anchoring her to reality. She had needed his comfort as much as he needed hers and it became clear to Dani that this was the exact same Nick she had always known. The same Nick that wouldn't let her wander around in the woods alone. That kissed her atop that ferris wheel. She hadn't realized how much she needed to be reminded of that.

The loud slamming of the front door of the house pulled them apart, the two of them hurriedly sitting themselves as far away from each other as possible, gluing themselves to the car doors in fear of Dani's father having seen them being even a little bit close to one another. Nick cleared his throat awkwardly and Dani looked down to her fidgeting hands as if they were the most interesting thing she had seen. While the trunk was being opened and something abnormally heavy was being loaded inside, making the entire car dip backwards slightly, Dani and Nick still refused to move a finger. She seemed even more drawn to her hands when her dad opened the door to the driver's seat, climbing inside while Calum climbed into the passenger's seat.

"He try anything, Dani?" Matthew turned around in his seat to look between the teenagers intimidatingly. Dani unthinkingly glanced at Nick before looking at her dad and shaking her head. Was her difficulty in making eye contact with her dad telling?

Relieved, Dani let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when her dad turned back around and began driving. She looked at Nick who carried an identical sheepish smile on his face. She chuckled softly and gazed down at the space between her and Nick, pursing her lips as her hand and his snaked toward each other, intertwining once again. That warm, comforting feeling of home that Dani had longed revisited her chest. A feeling that no one could give her better than Nicholas Scratch could.

_____ ♔_____

→ author's note

i really loved writing this chapter!! i hope you enjoyed reading it. let me know what you think!

also be sure to check out the new cover for the book!! VRPond made it and it's stunning as always. i'm sooo in love with it!

again, i hope you liked this chapter. votes, comments and follows are more than appreciated!