the next day at lunch, the group resided out on one of the benches as they waited for howie to meet them. eventually he approached, a handful of cards between his fingers. "there we go, you're all of age" he dished them out swiftly.
once kate had the card in her hands, her eyebrows furrowed at the picture on the front. it was an older woman with red hair and blue eyes. "you've gotta be kidding me" she sighed aloud. "who the hell is– jesus h garcia?" ken asked, waving his card in front of his face. a laugh couldn't help but leave kate's lips.
"it's jesús. it's your new identity" howie informed, seeing absolutely no problem with the situation. "so my new identity is a ginger grandma with blue eyes?" kate questioned, showing the card to howie unimpressed. "it looks just like you!" he defended.
"yeah well it's gotta be better than mine. mine looks kinda chinese" daniel stared at his photo with a puzzled expression. "yeah mine looks chinese too! what's going on with that?" nick questioned from beside kate. she peered over to take a look, a photo of a long haired asian man was displayed there on the card.
another laugh erupted from kate, a hand flew up to cover her mouth as nick watched her with a smile. he didn't find the situation, or his id card too amusing, but he enjoyed seeing the girl happy even if it was at his expense.
"woah woah woah, there's a big vietnamese community up there in alberta!" howie protested as if he was really making the issue any better. "mine says i'm twenty nine" lindsay stated, kate leaned over to take a look at her's now. "mine says i'm thirty four. it's not a problem" howie waved his hand.
"just give us the money back" daniel stood up, sighing in disappointment. kate had still been trying to hold back her giggling at nick's id photo. "that's top grade stuff, you don't get refunds man" howie set his hands on his hips.
"give us the money back" nick stood up, displaying a serious expression. oddly enough, this caused howie to crack as he began to hand back the crumpled up cash. "you know it's hard to find people who look like you in canada" he sighed.
"you know what! i think i'm gonna go with jesus here, i think i can pull it off" ken smiled to himself as he analyzed the photo closely. "finally! a sane man" howie smiled, taking back the last of the cards. "oh by the way guys, tomorrow we're having a sale at silvermans. half off on all dress shirts, i could hook you up" howie nodded.
"hey thanks man!" nick smiled as the black haired man began to take off. "yeah thanks for nothing" daniel muttered under his breath. "wait, so that's it? now what are we gonna do?" kate questioned after realizing the plan had just been ruined. "i don't know.. that's my only connection" daniel shrugged.
"hey wait... i might know someone!" lindsay grinned, evidently coming up with a great idea. the group shot her enticing looks, curiosity filled kate as she eyed her best friend.
later
"i heard the drinking age in idaho is like.. ten" nick laughed as the four of them walked down the desolate road, daniel swung a stick at the hanging branches like a child.
"god that's terrible" kate scoffed, eyes settling on a strange looking house. "how did you say you know this guy?" daniel questioned hesitantly, a weird tension fell over the group as the home stared back at them.
"he's millie's cousin... i used to know him when i was really little but...i think he's kinda scary now" lindsay crossed her arms, a weird expression coming over her. "well i think we can handle it..." daniel cleared his throat, not sounding too reassuring.
nick shoved kate's arm lightly in an attempt to turn her attention toward a chicken, she smiled at the sight of the animal. "look pharamacy's closed. i got no stuff, nothing" a man announced as he stepped out onto the patio.
"we're here for the ids?" daniel scrunched his face up as he stared at the man strangely. "oh the ids... alright well.. only one person is allowed at one time– you! mcmurphy! come with me, you three stay" he ordered the four of them. lindsay sported a worried expression as the brunette trailed into the house hesitantly. nick subtly moved closer toward her, the action was small but it gave kate a strong sense of protection.
eventually it was kate's turn, nick insisted on going in with her thankfully. she most definitely didn't turn down the offer.
as she watched the man snap his machine into place, essentially creating her fake id– kate sent worrisome looks up to nick who stood by her side. the cramped room smelled of old furniture and the looks of the man sent an uneasiness through her. "you know.. you're a beautiful girl... woman.." the man broke the silence.
kate's eyes flashed down toward her mary janes before finding the black haired man again. "thanks..." she swallowed. he attempted to make small talk with the girl about mckinley, expressing his life story of how he almost graduated but ended up dropping out. kate had zero interest in whatever he spewed. she was more intrigued about what was going through nick's mind as they stood there.
"hey, i'd love to take you out for a bite to eat after this or something.. there's a real good pizza place around the corner" the man stood up in front of kate, the scent of cheap deodorant filled her nostrils. she took a step back immediately, a sheepish grin appearing on her face. "no thanks, i'm fine" she gritted her teeth.
"is this gonna take a long time or what?" nick finally opened his mouth. "be cool, man! the laminating process is an art, it takes time" he eyed nick. "you're not even supposed to be back here, you broke my one person at a time rule" he scoffed.
nick rolled his eyes, "whatever" he muttered. it didn't take long for the older man to get under nick's skin again as he began to pester kate for her phone number. "listen man, i'm her boyfriend so it would be great if you could stop hitting on her" nick raised his voice a bit, narrowing eyes at the man in front of them.
"no you're not" his eyes found kate's quickly. "is he?" he asked her. "yes! he is" she squinted her eyes at him, her arm locking around nick's. millie's cousin watched the two for a quiet moment before rolling his eyes. "let's just get this over with"
the rusty nail.
as the group walked up to the entrance of the bar, kate's heart was pounding out of her chest. she had never done anything like this before, and the thought of being caught practically made her sick. yet, it turned out all her worrying was ultimately for nothing. the bouncer let her, kim and lindsay in without batting an eye. the boys however had to show their id for the man.
"it's fun being a girl isn't it!" kim smiled in kate's face once they got in, she popped her gum obnoxiously as kate let out a laugh. once the boys met up with them, kate and nick found a table for themselves by the bar.
the two looked infatuated with one another as they sat real close, simply taking in the fact that they were there together. "this bar lighting really... highlights how pretty you are" he smiled in an attempt to be romantic. she was so smitten with him that she didn't really care how dorky the statement sounded. a giddy smile found her face as she looked down at the candle on the table.
"you're sweet" she leaned in slightly, inches away from his face before they were ripped from their intimate moment with the sound of applause. "they're starting!" she heard someone yell from behind her. kate had almost completely forgotten they had went to go see a band, she was too caught up in other thoughts.
feedback was the band, they had received a pretty grand introduction before the lights on the stage came up. the group of men became illuminated, but six of them quickly became horrified when a familiar face was seen leading the band.
"is that..." kate muttered as the alice cooper song filled the bar. nick couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as he slapped the table. "i knew that guy ruled!" he smiled. kate sent the boy a confused glance, yet she enjoyed the fact that he never took anything too seriously.
as the show continued, the only thing kate prayed for was that the dim lighting hid the six of them from mr. rosso's view. of course, her prayers would go unanswered. after their third song, the man grabbed the microphone and looked out into the crowd.
"thanks for coming out to support, guys! but uh, i'd like to give a shout to some very special guests in the audience tonight. all the way from mckinley highschool, we haveee kim kelly, daniel desario, ken miller, nick andopolis, kate montana and their manager– lindsay weir. give em' a hand!" he smiled widely.
the moment was beyond humiliating, kate couldn't help but lean into the crook of nick's shoulder to hide her face. as the bartender began to place a beer in front of kim, mr. rosso exclaimed into the mic. "woah woah! i'm afraid i can't let you serve them beer. why don't you bring them some of your best pop!" the man boasted happily.
it was safe to say the night was a miss, but as kate looked back on the journey– she couldn't deny the fact that it was fun. if her parents found out she spent a hundred dollars on a fake id, she was sure she'd be disowned. there was something about that thought that strangely enticed her.
a/n: hi guys i didn't proof read this at all so if there's mistakes i'm sorry !!! i'll get around to re reading it hopefully later today lol ⭐️ also thank you so much for all the reads and getting my story to #1 in the freaks and geeks tag !!! ily all so much 😽
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