She turns around to see Nick standing behind her and gives him a sour expression. "Jerry?! What the hell are you doing?!"
He looks at her with pleading eyes. "I need your help."
She snickers angrily and crosses her arms. "Oh really? Let me guess, you're in need of a brain donor? Sorry...no can do." She turns to walk out of the room.
He grabs her arm to stop her from leaving the room. "You're such a bitch. Besides, if I was in need of a brain, I sure as hell wouldn't come to you."
Her jaw tenses and she can feel her anger building but instead of hitting him, like she so desperately wanted to do, she stands there glaring at him with daggers.
He sighs and shakes his head in regret. Damn it! Why the hell was this chick so infuriating?! He had planned to go all Saint Nick on this girl but all she did was make him want to use every smart ass comeback in the book. It was like playing ping pong, one smart ass comment after another until someone drops it. It was a game and he found it almost impossible to quit. He looks up with apologetic eyes and gives her a pleading expression. "Look, I need your...academic help."
Dani chuckles and crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Looks like you really do need my brains after all. Forget it, I'm not going to help you cheat." She begins to turn around but is once again stopped by his hand on her arm, only this time he walks to stand in between her and the door.
"Would you just shut up and let me finish?"
"Maybe, if you weren't such a dick."
"Mrs. Smithson is going to get me kicked off the team if I don't bring my grade up in her class. She says you're the best in the class."
"I am but that doesn't mean I'm going to help you. Why should I?"
"Anything, anything you want...just help me keep my spot on the team...please."
Why was it that the first person who came to mind after he said that was Joe. She shakes her head, trying to erase the stupid idea and smirks at Nick. "Wow, I never thought I'd see the day Nicholas Jerry pleads for my help."
He continues looking at her with desperate eyes.
She gives him one last scrutinizing look. Having Nick in your debt seemed like a pretty good place to be. He had connections whether she wanted to admit it or not, he was popular but people also hated him; Joe in particular hated his guts. So why would she even consider tutoring this dick that her best friend hated? Because whether she wanted to admit it or not; she wanted to make Joe feel the same pain she had been feeling for the past month. "Fine."
A small smile shows at the corner of his lips in relief.
"...but I have a few conditions..."
"A witch with conditions...shock." There it goes again. He could swear it was like fucking word vomit when he was talking to this girl.
"Three days out of the week, that's all you're getting of my time. I'm not going to help you cheat and I won't be treated like a servant...and you owe me. Sooner or later I'm going to need a favor, whether it's lifting the body bag out of the car or burying it...you can't say no."
Nick looks at her with wide, scared eyes as she snickers in amusement at the affect her joke had on him. "Deal?"
He nods in agreement. "Deal."
"Okay, so...tonight?"
He gives her an unsure look. "Tonight?"
"Yeah...is there a problem?"
He quickly shakes his head. "No."
"Great. So, we'll meet at 4:30 at the coffee shop?"
He nods and watches her walk out of the room. Once the door closes behind her, he throws his head back with a loud, agonizing groan.
Joe walks up just as Dani exits the room and he looks at her confused. "What were you doing in the art room?"
She looks back at the door, thinking of an excuse then begins walking. "Oh, uh...you know, just painting."
He begins walking beside her and looks over at her with a smirk. "You don't paint. Believe me, I've seen your interpretation of a tree with brown paint...it ain't pretty."
She chuckles and playfully smacks him in the arm. "Hey, I happened to think that tree was very life-like."
He laughs and quickly jumps to stand in front of her with a large smile. "I have something I want to show you."
"Okay...?"
"Can you come over tonight?"
She bites her bottom lip and gives him a conflicted look. "I can't really-"
"-It will only take a minute, I promise. I wrote a new song and I wanted you to be the first to hear it. Your opinion means everything." He smiles at her sweetly and gives her a hopeful look.
She pushes Nick to the back of her mind, not really caring if she makes him wait a few minutes...especially for Joe. She nods and smiles at Joe. "Of course, I'll be there."
He smiles wide and wraps his arms around Dani tightly. "You're the best, Landon." He eventually drops his arms and begins walking backwards. "Right after school, okay?" She nods with a smile, watching as he walks off down the hall.
~~~
Mia's standing outside the school letting the fresh air engulf her. She closes her eyes and sees the landlord demanding rent. She can't help but feel herself getting tenser at the thought of trying to find the money to pay it. She pushes the thought to the back of her mind but as soon as she does, another memory...her worst memory gets pulled to the front. She begins breathing heavier and she quickly opens her eyes, trying to erase the memories of that night.
She can still feel how scared she was, she can hear the screams, and smell his over bearing cologne swirl around her making her feel uneasy and light headed. It was her most unbearable memory and yet, she knew it would be one she was destined to remember. As soon as she opens her eyes her breathing becomes louder and she can feel her chest tighten and her legs become unsteady. She lowers herself to the ground, leaning her back against the school building. She puts her hands out in front of her, noticing the intense shaking. Her breathing becomes heavy and she stares straight ahead, trying to calm herself by taking long deep breaths. She sees Logan in the distance, walking towards the school with his hood on and starring at the ground. As she focuses on him, she can slowly begin to feel herself calm down. Her hands stop shaking and her breaths become easier as Logan walks closer to her.
Logan walks up the steps to the school and takes off his hood, pulling the headphones out of his ears and smiling over at Mia. "Hey."
She smiles up at him in a sad sort of way and runs a hand through her hair.
He steps closer to her and looks down at her with concern. "You okay?" He takes her hand and helps her to her feet. He pulls her up so she is just inches from his face, he smiles at her with a look of joking flirtation. "Come here often?"
She laughs and gently pushes him away, bending down to grab her bag off the ground. "So, you decided to come to school today?"
He shrugs with a smirk. "For some reason it didn't seem like as much of a headache." He smiles sweetly at Mia and she smiles back before turning to walk in the school, feeling her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.