To: [email protected] (Anti-Princess)
From: [email protected] (Robert Harrison)
Date: January 28, 2003 (12:49est)
Subject: you�re killing my roommate, skye
You are an evil princess-hater, who stomps on innocent boys� hearts with your steel spiked stilettos. One day, no man will ever speak to you in fear that your cold gaze will turn him into a block of dry ice with no chance of recovering his human form. You�d be much kinder if you�d just turn them into frogs or black cats like a normal witch. But noooo! You have to wear them down day by day until their entire manhood is based on your existence in their lives, and then you never give them the pleasure of your company.
You are a cruel, cruel woman, Skylar Masterson.
Talk to the man before he loses his sanity. I can only live with a hopelessly in love roommate for so long.
And today is his birthday.
-Robert the Sentimental
To: [email protected] (Rob)
From: [email protected] (Anti-Princess)
Date: January 28, 2003 (23:12est)
Subject: Re: you�re killing my roommate, skye
What.
Are.
You.
Smoking?
-Skylar the Confused/Sickly/Tired
Tuesday � January 28, 2003 (8:59am) � Vaughn Center Dorms
A pounding on the door woke Nick and Robert up a mere thirty seconds before the alarm sitting next to Robert�s head went off, adding a violent beeping noise that made both boys jump out of bed. Glaring at each other as if the rude awakening was the fault of the other, Robert fell back into bed, slapping his hand down on the alarm in the process and leaving Nick to answer the door.
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Nick walked carefully around his books and assorted half unpacked boxes littering his side of the room. Before he had the chance to pull open the door, Robert looked up at him and said through a yawn, �Put some pants on, Nick.�
Glancing down warily, he saw the boxers he�d slept in the night before; sighing, he grabbed the nearest pair of pants and pulled them on, not knowing if they were his or not and not caring as the beating on the door continued. Pulling open the thin door, Nick fell against the wall sleepily before his eyes focused on the group of teenagers standing in the hallway, looking excited and too awake.
�Nick!� the two youngest squealed before jumping on him as if they hadn�t seen him in months rather than the two weeks that had past since he�d last gone home.
�Happy birthday!�
In celebration of the day, Nick and Robert had already spent the early hours of the morning shooting at each other in a dorm-wide Halo tournament that�d been held in the commons room on their floor. Falling into bed around three a.m., they�d planned to run that morning before falling back into bed and sleeping until Nick�s two o�clock class.
Groaning, Robert felt his pulse in his temples threatening to make his brain explode as he watched the scene before him.
�Hey guys, watch out. Let her in,� Nick said softly, pushing Aaron out of the doorway.
Despite living across the hall from her, Nick hadn�t really seen Skye very often outside the Modern Literature class they shared three times a week since their run in the week before. Even when he did see her, she was always studying or in the middle of something he didn�t feel right interrupting.
She smiled up at him gratefully before sticking her head inside the room and looking past him. �Hey Rob, are we still meeting with Shane for lunch?�
BJ started giggling as she watched her older brother stare at the unknown girl as if he�d never seen her before.
�Uh� I don�t know, Miss Skye. I sorta didn�t sleep very much last night. I�ll try to meet you guys, but don�t wait for me,� he replied.
Nodding, she glanced back at Nick for a split second before backing away. �I gotta go to class. I�ll see you guys later.�
As she left, BJ looked down the hall, watching the brunette in the baggy jeans and fitted navy blue t-shirt grab her backpack off the floor and strap it around one shoulder before she turned the corner and disappeared.
�So that�s Skye?� she asked, turning back to Nick with her eyebrows raised suggestively.
He shrugged, pretending he hadn�t been racking his brain to find something to say that wouldn�t make him sound like a complete idiot. �Yeah, she lives across the hall.�
�What? Was he staring at her again?� Robert asked, getting out of bed and running his hand through his hair while he grinned at BJ.
She giggled and tried to not be obvious as she ran her eyes over the shirtless twenty-something while he walked into their bathroom. �Yeah, he was.�
�I was not!� Nick declared emphatically.
�Who�s Skye?� Aaron asked in confusion, looking from Nick to BJ and back again.
�The girl he�s been keeping track of in his online journal since he moved here,� she replied smugly, smirking at Nick and ignoring the death threat written all over his face.
�I do not!�
Walking quickly out of the bathroom in a pair of jeans, Robert rejoined the conversation as his interested suddenly doubled. �Wait a second. You have an online journal?! Is it the same name as your screen name? Can I read it?� he asked excitedly.
Nick turned to his roommate, blinking in confusion. �Uh� yeah, I thought you knew. That�s what I do on my computer every night.�
�And you keep record of your daily Skye sightings,� BJ added.
Robert�s eyebrows rose as he walked towards Nick and flung his arm around the taller man�s shoulders. �Is someone finally ready to admit they have a crush on Miss Skye?�
Shrugging the arm off, Nick stepped away and hit him on the shoulder. �I do not! I�ve never even really talked to her before, and she doesn�t even know my name.�
�Suuuuure.� BJ laughed, winking at Robert with a flirty smile before he had the chance to debunk the misconception of Skye not knowing Nick�s name.
Defeated, Nick flopped on his bed and covered his face with his hands. �These are my siblings � Aaron�s the boy, Angel is his twin, Leslie is the middle one, and BJ is the know-it-all.�
�Hey,� he replied, shaking each of the teenagers� hands, �I�m Rob.�
Sitting up suddenly, Nick exclaimed, �Wait a second! Aren�t you supposed to be in school?! It�s Tuesday!�
Angel moved in hesitantly and sat on the bed next to her brother, batting her eyelashes up at him. �Don�t tell mom. We�re supposed to meet up with them for dinner at seven thirty, but we thought we�d spend the day with you.�
Rolling his eyes, he fell back onto the bed. �You guys are going to get me in soooo much trouble.�
_________
Tuesday � January 28, 2003 (12:31pm) � Campus
Stepping out into the sunlight, Skye slipped on her sunglasses and headed towards the spot where she was meeting Shane and possibly Robert for lunch. After spending over an hour organizing the baseball roster in the computer, her eyes were aching and she was looking forward to the break before she had to head towards her web design class where she�d stare at another computer screen for over an hour.
Sliding lazily onto the wooden bench that was acting as their meeting point, Skye sat her messenger bag at her feet, pulling out a notebook in the process. As she scribbled down ideas for upcoming articles for the school�s paper, she didn�t see the large group of people who were moving slowly towards her.
BJ shared a look with her two younger sisters before giggling quietly. For some reason, Nick had a habit of making friends with cute boys and then demanding that his sisters have nothing to do with them. The one that had called out to him as the five of them were walking around campus was no exception. Even though he was rattling on about baseball strategies in a language that only Nick seemed to understand, all three of the girls couldn�t help but notice the way his green eyes sparkled with his obvious excitement and the red hair that stuck up in every direction when he pulled off his baseball cap.
�How old are you?� Leslie asked, interrupting the conversation. He looked a lot younger than everyone else they�d run into with Nick that morning.
Shane looked at the girl before glancing at Nick curiously. �Um� I�m eighteen,� he replied skeptically, not knowing that Nick was glaring at his sisters over his head, mouthing �no� to them in an attempt to prevent any ideas from entering their minds.
Nick�s attempt at silently persuading his sisters ended when he heard Shane�s answer. �Eighteen?! But you�re a junior!� he exclaimed, stopping in surprise.
Feeling bashful as five pairs of eyes turned to him, Shane tugged on his ear as he tried to fight his urge to just leave, hating how people reacted when he explained why he was so much younger than everyone else. �Yeah, I�ve been in school for two and a half years, so I�m a junior,� he muttered, starting to walk again after seeing the sympathetic look in Aaron�s eyes as the girls started to ask him more questions before the glare on Nick�s face cut them off.
�Huh� that�s cool. I didn�t know,� he replied, shrugging.
Shane shrugged back as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and felt the blush diminishing from his cheeks. Glancing up, he grinned when he saw Skye sitting a few yards away, scribbling furiously in her spiral notebook, totally oblivious of her surroundings. �There�s my beautiful lunch date!� he called out to her.
Nick�s stomach twisted when Skye looked up from her work and smiled in their direction, instantly causing BJ to jam her elbow into his ribs. As they walked towards her, she closed her notebook and leaned over, digging through her bag to find the correct spot for it to be placed. He tried to turn his attention to something else, but found himself staring at the cleavage that showed as she bent forward, giving him a perfect view down her shirt.
�Rob managed to stumble out of bed long enough to tell me he isn�t coming,� Shane informed her, turning to Nick when he heard Aaron fighting back giggles at his side. Before he even thought about it, he hit the taller man�s shoulder, ending his stare down Skye�s shirt right before she looked up at them.
�Okay, I figured he wouldn�t,� she replied before turning to Nick. �You guys want to come with us?�
Nick�s brain went into a panic as one half of it was trying to determine why he was so nervous from one stupid girl and the other tried to come up with something intelligent to say.
�We�d love to!� BJ replied at the same time Aaron proclaimed, �We can�t.�
Standing up from the bench, Skye surveyed the group of unfamiliar faces, immediately deciding they were all part of Nick�s family, and nodded in confusion before turning to Shane, who shrugged.
�No, we can�t. I promised them I�d show �em around before class,� Nick managed to say, avoiding her eyes as much as possible while ignoring his sister�s groan of disbelief.
Nodding her head in understanding, she replied, �Maybe next time then.� Putting her bag around her, she slipped one of her arms through Shane�s and said, �We should go though before it gets too late. See ya later.�
Mumbled goodbyes were shared as the Carter siblings watched Shane and Skye walk towards the nearest parking lot, arm in arm as he began talking rapidly again. As soon as they were out of hearing distance, Nick became the recipient of multiple hits from all three of his sisters.
�I can�t believe you! She invited you to lunch!� BJ screamed. �You are so hopeless!�
Half-heartedly blocking the attacks, Nick rolled his eyes before pushing his younger brother in front of him as a shield. �I�m not hopeless. I just don�t feel like allowing you to tell her I have this thing for her when I don�t. And that�s all you would have done. That and flirted with Shane.�
Aaron�s shoulder slumped beneath the hand Nick had laid on it as the boy turned around to face him. �Wait a second. I was on your side to protect you, not to give you a reason to say you don�t have a crush on her. You so do. If you�d stared any harder down her shirt, I swore your eyes were going to pop out of your head.�
�That has nothing to do with having a crush. I don�t have a crush on her,� he replied, his voice becoming whinier than he�d intended it. �Man, go away. I need to take a nap before I go to class. I don�t want to deal with you four anymore.�
Throwing his hands up in a frustrated gesture, Nick backed away before turning around and heading back towards his dorm. �They�re insane. Why would I have a crush on her? I don�t even know the girl,� he muttered to himself.
_________
Tuesday - January 28, 2003 (1:39pm) � Pink Flamingo Caf�
�Today�s Nick�s birthday,� Shane mumbled around a mouthful of nachos as he waited for Skye�s reaction. �I think he�s turning twenty-three or something. I think that�s what Rob told me before he fell back into bed.�
Nodding slowly, she tried to figure out what type of reaction he�d expected from her before saying something. Taking a sip of her iced tea, she turned her attention back to her food before responding with, �That�s nice. That must be why his siblings were with him. Those were his right?�
Rolling his eyes with a hidden secret, he replied, �Yeah, he somehow manages to have four younger siblings. Who knew families had more than three kids nowadays? I thought that went out in the fifties or something.�
Skye laughed and studied the red blush that had colored the younger boy�s features. �The girls were hitting on you, weren�t they?�
Groaning, he nodded and scrunched up his nose in slight disgust. �Yeah, especially the oldest one. I think she�s actually around my age, if not older, but still... isn�t it in the rulebook that you aren�t supposed to date your siblings� friends? For some distinct reason I remember my cousin telling me that before.�
�Sorta like you don�t date anyone that might have gone out with any of your friends? Yeah, that�s probably the safest way to keep all your friends. If things got messy...� she replied understandingly before cringing. �That could turn out really bad. I remember a girl in high school dating her brother�s best friend. Totally screwed up the entire friendship even before the relationship went sour.�
�See! You understand! Why don�t other people understand you aren�t supposed to mess with your friends� family? Though Nick seemed to share the line of thought.�
�So you�re glad they weren�t able to come with us? Though that was a strange moment... the boy says no and the girl says yes? What was with that?�
Shane snorted and glanced out the window, hesitating before turning back to Skye with an amused smirk on his face. �Wanted to inquire about Nick�s crush on you. I guess to see if you were worthy, but more than likely she just wanted to mortify him enough that he wouldn�t ever be able to look you in the eyes every again.�
Sucking honey mustard off her thumb, she studied Shane. �What do you mean �see if you were worthy�? Worthy for what?�
His head hit the back of the booth as he groaned. �How many times are we all going to have to tell you that boy has the hots for you before you believe us? Or is he going to have to pin you to a wall and have his way with you before you see it? It�s pretty obvious...�
�Shane, I�ve barely spent five minutes with the guy since he moved in. I doubt he has a crush on me unless you guys have been planting fake ideas of me into his poor cute little head.� She held up her hand before he could reply. �Even if he did have a crush on me - which I seriously doubt - I bet he�d lose it after spending an hour with me and finding out what an over-achieving klutz I am.�
Watching as he crunched, Skye waited for the inevitable response. �You sell yourself short, Miss Skye. I know plenty of guys who�d be interested in taking you out if they weren�t scared of us.�
Her eyebrow rose against her will. �Us?�
Nodding, he stuffed another overloaded nacho in his mouth. �Yeah, us.� Chewing up the food, a funny look appeared on his face as he looked over her shoulder and continued. �Me, Rob, Alec, Pete... us. I�ve actually had guys come up to me and ask if they�d get their asses kicked for asking you out.�
A look of total mortification landed on Skye�s face. �And what did you say?�
He grinned wickedly. �No, we wouldn�t beat them up until they hurt you. Then their own mothers wouldn�t even be able to recognize them. Alec added that part.�
Skye gaped at him for a moment before regaining her composure. �WHAT?! You jerks! Why would you tell anyone that?�
Resting his chin in his hand, he stared into her eyes. �Seriously, Skye... would you have gone out with any of them? You rarely go out as is, even when we ask you to come with us to a party or something. You�re always studying. Figured we were doing you some sort of favor.�
Sighing, she shrugged. �Well, yeah... but it would have been nice to hear the offer. You know... to hear that someone actually wanted to spend time with me besides when they had to.�
�Skye!� he exclaimed the same moment a pair of blonde teenagers approached their table.
�Hey, Shane!� the older one exclaimed, sliding into the booth beside him as he stared at her in shock as she turned towards his dining companion. �And you�re Skye, right? Nick talks about you all the time!�
Blinking in slight confusion, she couldn�t reply as she tried to decide if she was more shocked that Nick�s sisters had just flopped down in the booths with them or that Nick had supposedly been talking about her.
�Please forgive my sister. She has a tendency to get ahead of herself,� the younger one began. �I�m Angel and she�s BJ. Our other sister, Leslie, and our brother, Aaron, are sitting over there.� She pointed across the restaurant at two other kids who waved at them. �Nick is our older brother.�
�Nick talks about me?� Skye asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
BJ stopped staring at Shane�s profile in order to move her attention to the girl across from him. �Oh yeah, all of the time. I�m glad to finally put a face to the name.�
All of a sudden the blonde boy ran towards their table and grabbed BJ�s arm. �What are you doing? You said you were just coming over here to talk to them!� he exclaimed, slightly red-faced.
�What does it look like I�m doing, Aaron? I�m talking to Skye and Shane. Am I not allowed to get to know my brother�s friends?� she replied coolly, telling him to leave them alone with the look in her eyes.
He glared back at her before replying through clenched teeth, �No, you�re not. You�re trying to embarrass Nick when he�s not even around to stop you.�
�Well, it�s his fault he told us to go away. He shouldn�t have played some stupid video game all last night, so he had to take a nap this afternoon. He told us to go away, and we did. It�s not our fault we ran into his friends when he left us alone,� Angel said, jumping into the conversation.
Aaron glared at his twin, and Skye had to hold back giggles at the expression on his face.
Never insult a man�s video games, she thought to herself as she glanced at Shane to find a similar expression of protest in his eyes.
�First of all, don�t ever say that staying up late at night to play video games is stupid!� Aaron began, only to be interrupted by Shane.
�It�s a fuckin� male bonding ritual, thank you very much! And Nick happens to be damn good at Halo,� he added, nodding supportably at the blonde boy.
�Exactly! Thank you, Shane. And second of all, we just sorta bombarded him this morning without giving him a chance to say whether or not he even wanted us to be here.�
Glancing down at her watch, Skye felt it was her turn to say something. �And third of all, Shane and I need to get back to campus so we can get to class on time.�
Before even giving the Carter siblings a chance to respond, Shane threw down some cash on the table as they both stood up in their respective booths, climbed over the backs, and jumped to the floor.
Nodding towards the two girls, Skye patted Aaron�s shoulder, catching his attention. �Thanks, Aaron.�
Turning away, Shane and Skye both tried to reach the front doors as fast as they could without appearing incredibly obvious to Nick�s brother and sisters. Waving at the manager, they slipped between the front doors and let out a collective breath before turning to each other and cracking up.
��Male bonding ritual?� I even know not to diss video games in the company of males, but what the hell was that?!� she exclaimed between her peals of laughter as she leaned against the side of her Ford Focus and attempted to dig her keys out of her pocket.
Laughing, he shrugged and looked up at the sky, allowing the sun to shine down on his freckled face. �I don�t know. It just came out. I wanted the girls to go away before they said something stupid and completely mortified Nick. Because he would have found out about it... we�re having a hard enough time convincing him to talk to you already,� he replied before giving her a toothy grin and turning his eyes towards the orange car.
Shaking her head and pushing this new tidbit of information into the �all a joke� file in the back of her mind, Skye unlocked the doors and slid in. �Get into the damn car, baby Shane.�