Tuesday - January 28, 2003 (2:38pm) � Edison Building, Rm. 413
As the teacher continued through a rambling lecture over the purposes of advanced java script, Nick suppressed a yawn and began messing around with the website he�d been keeping since his sophomore year in high school. The subject always changed, as did the layouts as his skills with web design became more advanced. Currently he was spending most of his time updating the page of girls who�d attracted his attention through the many movies he�d watched with his friends.
Some people waste the space of their bedroom walls with this stuff. Why not just put it on the Internet? he thought as he considered a picture of Angelina Jolie dressed up as Lara Croft from the first Tomb Raider movie. Clicking into the html codes, he started rearranging the pictures so he could fit captions in between them. What he�d use as captions, he wasn�t sure yet.
Glancing up occasionally as if he were paying attention to the lecture, Nick typed what would appear as jibberish to any normal person, but made perfect sense to him. Deciding he wasn�t in the right mood to make up captions for the various pictures - and making a mental note to rent Tomb Raider sometime soon - he clicked out of the page and read over some of his pathetic attempts at poetry he�d posted some time during a drunken stupor after he had to quit school a few years back.
There�s nothing worse than depressing poetry... except for bad depressing poetry. Going back, he tried to think up the name of the movie he�d seen that had caused him to post pictures of the allusive actress that now showed on his screen.
trickster8319 (2:54pm): you should get a picture of skye to put in that little gallery you have there
Nick nearly jumped out of his seat when the instant message box popped up over his website. Remembering that Alec had chosen a seat directly behind him in the row just above his, he wasn�t surprised at the eavesdropping message.
BaseballAce_8 (2:57pm): why would i�need a picture of skye?
He minimized the screen and went back to the main page of his website, clicking random links just to see if they still worked since he�d neglected the site for months.
trickster8319 (2:59pm): to put in that page of hot chicks. or should it be �page o� girls that make nick horny�? either way, skye fits.
Blinking at his screen for a second, he glanced up at his professor for a few moments, trying to collect his thoughts as strange images of Skye dressed up as Lara Croft floated into his head.
BaseballAce_8 (3:03pm): you�re sick and demented.
Staring at the blinking message in confusion, Alec tried to follow the invisible line of Nick�s thoughts, only to come up with one conclusion.
trickster8319 (3:05pm): dude, i meant with her clothes on, you fuckin� perv! though... if you find some naked pics of skye, I wouldn�t turn you in if you put them on the internet... *innocent face*
Biting the skin on the back of his hand to prevent himself from laughing out loud, Nick glanced across the room to see Skye staring intently at her silver laptop that sat in front of her. It was the wrong thing to do as pictures of her in short khaki shorts and a tight white t-shirt appeared before his eyes.
trickster8319 (3:11pm): jeez nick! are you ready to admit you have a complete and hopeless crush on her yet? or are you just going to stare at her for the entire class period?
Alec watched as the blue box blinked on Nick�s computer a few times, fighting back laughter while his friend stayed preoccupied with his silent observations of Skye. Having slid in moments before Professor Monroe had started talking about java script and it�s place in an html based website, she�d immediately opened up her laptop as if she was about to keep extensive notes in her computer. Instead she�d gone straight to the school newspaper�s website and started formatting articles she�d meant to post the day before only to have passed out early from the building head cold that threatened to keep her in bed.
Shaking his head, Alec gave up on Nick paying any more attention to him and decided to try Skye, hoping she�d pay attention long enough to entertain him for the rest of class.
trickster8319 (3:19pm): what�s your opinion on Tomb Raider?
Stopping her hurried typing of a thought-provoking journal entry she was going to lock from male prying eyes after getting sick of fighting with her web builder program, Skye glanced towards the other side of the room to see both Alec and Nick watching her. Giving them both a strange look - causing Nick to instantly snap his head back towards the front of the room as his ears turned red - she typed a brief answer before going back to her analysis of the run-in with BJ, Angel, and Aaron.
antiglitterprincess (3:22pm): the video game series or the movie? or actual archeologists who raid tombs?
BaseballAce_8 (3:22pm): i don�t have a crush on her! and i�m not staring! you just sorta led me onto a skye-as-lara-croft tangent of thought... i�m so tired from last night i�m becoming delusional.
A smirk crossed Alec�s face when the two messages popped up at almost the same time. This is going to be fun...
trickster8319 (3:25pm): well, i meant the... actually, i just meant lara croft. any chance you�d dress up as her for... say a costume party?
Trying hard to convince his brain to leave the thought of a Lara Croft, gun-toting Skye behind, Nick tried to return his attention to the lecture he was paying too much money to attend. Certain that paying attention would be a cure for insomnia, his brain decided he�d have to distract himself unless he wanted to fall asleep. Before he had a chance to start planning out his upcoming weekend and deciding what sort of celebration he wanted to have with his friends, Alec decided to respond.
trickster8319 (3:27pm): one day, my friend, you�ll wake up and realize you�ve been madly in love with her since the moment you first saw her. then you will get out of bed and take a nice long, cold shower. or you can just keep imagining her as busty video game babes and take a lot of long, cold showers anyway... now that i think about it, i might have to steal the fantasy...
Grinning, Nick knew the exact way to respond.
BaseballAce_8 (3:28pm): lara croft in her khaki shorts and white tshirts is our generation�s princess leia in the gold bikini
While the two boys continued with an argument on whether the unique way Princess Leia wore her hair was a turn on or not, Skye tried to decode the instant message Alec had sent her. A costume party? Lara Croft?
antiglitterprincess (3:30pm): lara croft kicks ass... i don�t have the breasts to pull off dressing up like her though... or long enough hair (even if i dyed mine black)
�Get out, all of you! None of you are paying attention anyway. I want to see a plan on the website you�re going to be creating through the semester,� Professor Monroe announced, breaking the coma that most of the other students had fallen into while pulling Alec, Nick, and Skye�s attention away from their conversations.
�Why would I dress up like Lara Croft?� Skye muttered to herself as she closed her laptop and stood up, leaving so abruptly that she didn�t see the strange look that was given to her by the girl in the chair next to hers.
Alec jumped up from his chair, eager to continue analyzing the pros and cons of the supposed Princess Leia fantasy with Nick before catching up to Skye and torturing the two with a innuendo filled Lara Croft conversation.
�So you seriously think the buns were sexy?!� Nick exclaimed, pulling his backpack around his shoulders. �Are you crazy?�
Nodding, Alec replied, �Yes, but I wasn�t the one who spent twenty minutes staring at Skye, imagining her dressed as a video game heroine. I just asked her if she would ever consider doing it...�
Nick stopped moving and slowly lifted his eyes up to his friend. �You did what?!�
_________
Tuesday - January 28, 2003 (6:53pm) - Vaughn Center Hallways
Panting as he reached the fourth floor landing, Nick found himself being overwhelmed by the noise of people talking in the common room after baseball practice. A group of girls were sitting in a circle in the middle of the floor with textbooks opened in front of them even though they were spending more time talking to each other or watching music videos on the big screen TV for the books to really have any purpose. Other people were lounging in the room in various chairs, some of them attempting to do something constructive while others were holding quieter one on one conversations. Above all the noise, a resonating bass beat was coming from farther down the hall.
�Kasey! Go tell that stupid roommate of yours to turn off that annoying music!� a redheaded girl called across the room to where Nick saw the familiar brown legs that belonged to Skye�s roommate hanging over the back of a chair.
Kasey pulled herself from where she was lying upside down in her chair and looked at the girl with a blank look. �Why don�t you go tell her if it�s annoying you so much?� she replied.
The redhead�s eyes rolled as if she�d just heard one of the dumbest things ever said rather than a simple question. �You know that girl hates me. Why would she do anything for me?�
Returning the eye roll, Kasey stood up and threw a magazine into the chair. �Well, if you�d ask her rather than walk in their demanding she turn it down, I bet she�d do it rather than throw her tennis shoes at you.�
This has happened before? Nick thought to himself as he forgot about the rush he was in. Practice had let out almost an hour late, and now he had to meet up with his family for dinner in less than half an hour. When Kasey glanced over the heads of the girls in the floor, she smiled at him; as a familiar song played faintly in the distance, she started laughing at him when he looked down the hall in confusion and squinted his eyes.
�Skye listens to Prodigy?� he asked quietly, not expecting anyone to overhear him.
Nick jumped when he felt an arm around his shoulders to find Kasey standing beside him while most of the other girls attempted to appear like they were preoccupied and not staring at him.
�What? Are girls not allow to listen to �Smack My Bitch Up�?� she asked him with a flirty sparkle in her eyes.
Before he could reply, they heard feet pounding up the stairs, which was soon followed by the many voices of Nick�s teammates. When Rob reached them, he looked at his roommate in confusion. �Dude, I thought you were in a hurry. Aren�t you supposed to meet your parents at seven thirty?� he question, glancing down at his watch. �It�s five after now.�
Glancing down at his own watch, Nick panicked for a second. �Fuck! I gotta go. See you later, Kasey.�
�Oh yeah, say goodbye to the girl! We aren�t here,� he heard Pete called after him as he jogged closer towards the electronica music.
Opening his door and throwing his bag into the floor, he stopped in the doorway and turned around, finding the door across the hall wide open and Skye typing frantically at her laptop.
�Hey, Skye, crank up the music!� he called over at her. When she turned around, she looked at him for a second before grabbing the remote that rested beside her keyboard and turned it up a few notches as Kasey came around the corner.
Smiling, Nick shut his door and headed off to take a shower. See? I can talk to her. I don�t have a crush on her...
Not bothering to look up as Kasey walked into the room, Skye continued to type out a character analysis of everyone in �Brave New World� until the music that was pounding around her suddenly became a quiet thumping in the background.
�Hey!� she exclaimed, looking up at the much taller girl who was standing over her. �Why�d you do that?�
�Because it was loud enough for everyone in Tampa to hear it,� she said, hesitating for a moment. �And Bridget told me to tell you to turn it down.�
Blinking in disbelief, Skye tilted her head to the side and sized up Kasey. �Bridget doesn�t even live in this dorm.�
�No, she doesn�t,� she replied, trying to hide the smile that meant she knew what was coming next.
�Was anyone else in the common room complaining about it?�
�No...�
�Was there anyone in the study room?� she went on, leaning back in her desk chair and putting her hands behind her head.
�Nope, I don�t think so. The lights were off.�
�Does she know that Nick just told me to �crank it up�?�
This was a new question Kasey hadn�t expected and before she answered she hesitated. Before she could say anything, the door across the hall opened again and Rob walked over to their room.
�Nick just asked why did the music quit... he�d probably come over here himself, but I warned him of what the two of you have done to unsuspecting boys in towels,� he dead panned, leaning against the door frame casually as he watched Skye turn to Kasey and raise her eyebrow as if to say �see?�
�Tell Bridget that if she wants the music down, she should come down here and ask me herself. My across the hall neighbor asked me to turn it up and his opinion counts a hell of a lot more than hers,� she announced, nodding to herself as she reached for the stereo remote and turned her Prodigy CD back up. Returning to her typing, she waved her right hand flippantly at Kasey and Robert in a sign of dismissal.
�She�s evil, isn�t she?� Robert commented as he moved towards his room.
Laughing, Kasey nodded before stopping him with a look. �You know what would be really evil?�
�What�s that?�
�Sending Nick over there in just a towel.�
Crossing his arms as if he were thinking the idea over, he asked, �But would that be more evil towards Skye or Nick?�
The closed door between them suddenly swung open as a flustered Nick appeared, pulling on a button down shirt. �What time is it?� he asked breathlessly.
�Why don�t you walk around like that all the time?� Kasey flirted, her grin becoming wider as the blonde boy suddenly turned bright red.
�You�re supposed to be there in eight minutes,� Robert replied.
�Fuck,� he muttered, sighing as he started buttoning up his shirt. �Why can I never be on time?�
Glancing into her own room, Kasey wasn�t surprised to see that Skye�s attention was no longer on her homework; her mouth gaped a bit as she watched Nick�s hands move up his shirt until he reached the collar, flipping it down self-consciously as Robert said something to him.
�Jeez, Nick, you�re going out to dinner with your family. It�s not a date with Skye,� he said beneath the music as Nick�s face became redder.
Shaking her head, Kasey started backing away from the two boys. �Boys, I need to go deliver a message to Bridget. Have fun tonight, Nick. Maybe we�ll run into each other when you get back and I can help you take all that stuff off,� she called back towards them, giving him a wink. �Or I can send Skye over. Which ever you�d like better.�
Closing his eyes, Nick pushed out whatever thoughts were fighting their way into his head. �Why won�t you guys give up on that?� he asked Robert, his eyes pleading with him. �I don�t have a thing for Skye.�
Snorting, Robert shook his head. �One day, man... one day.�
A high-pitched noise brought both their attention to the room across from them. �Bless you,� they called at the same time after Skye finished her series of sneezes. It appeared she said thank you, but they didn�t hear anything above the music coming from the speakers around the room. She met Nick�s eyes for a second before quickly turning back to her computer, causing both of them to turn pink.
Laughing, Robert pushed Nick towards the stairs. �Go meet your family. She�ll still be here when you get back.�
___________
Tuesday - January 28, 2003 (7:47pm) � Bonefish Grill
Keeping his head down, Nick glanced around the restaurant in hopes of finding his parents before they could find him, so he�d have the opportunity to gage his mother�s mood before having to deal with her. Walking slowly through the restaurant, he jumped when he felt someone grab his arm and start pulling him in the opposite direction.
�We�re over here, Nick,� Leslie informed him, �and you�re late.�
Because I didn�t notice... he thought, rolling his eyes quickly before he came in sight of the table his family was surrounding.
�You finally made it!� exclaimed Mrs. Carter, looking slight irritated at his tardiness. �We were starting to get worried.�
He allowed his mother to fuss over him and held his tongue to keep from informing her that he was twenty-three today, not thirteen. Giving both his parents hugs, he slid into the empty seat between Aaron and BJ, sharing a look of mutual understanding with his younger brother.
�Practice ran late, and I didn�t get back to my room until close to seven. Thought you�d appreciate it if I took a shower before I came,� he explained to no one in particular. �I got here as soon as I could.�
Once they�d ordered food and he�d tried to explain to his parents what he was actually learning in a web development class, Nick started to relax, figuring that nothing could go seriously wrong since everyone seemed to be getting along with each other fairly well.
As he listened to his youngest sister, Angel, tell him about how she planned on getting on her high school�s softball team, he tried to give some helpful advice before his mind wandered, but he was interrupted by a hand landing heavily on his shoulder.
�Angel, I think you should just do your best and have fun during tryouts. It�s going to be painful, but it�ll end up being worth it. Promise,� a familiar voice said from behind him.
Closing his eyes, Nick tried to pretend that he had imagined Alec giving his sister advice until his entire family began talking to him at once.
�I�m sorry I�m late. I guess Nick already told you about practice running late?� he asked Mrs. Carter as he slid a chair next to hers, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he sat down.
�Mom invited him a few days ago,� Aaron whispered into Nick�s ear. �I guess he didn�t tell you?�
Shaking his head slightly, he managed to not panic. Why does this even bother me? He�s like a part of the family. I�ve known him for over ten years.
But no words could comfort him when he saw his mom shoot him a curious look before turning to Alec and asking, �So tell me about this Skye girl BJ says Nick keeps telling her about. I thought it�d be better to ask you. He�s always so quiet about things like that.�
An evil grin lit up Alec�s face as he watched Nick stare in disbelief at his mom, squirming slightly when it dawned on him what she�d just asked.
�Well, Jane... I�ve known Skye for two years at least. What is it you want to know about her?� Alec replied.
Tonight�s going to be a long night... ran through Nick�s mind as he slumped in his chair, ready to declared vehemently that he didn�t have a crush on some girl who he barely knew anything about beyond the fact that she liked electronica, studied a lot, and would look really hot dressed up as Lara Croft.