"Not that funny," Noelle agreed. "But it's still funny. Nick, you've got to admit that you're not the greatest skater in the world."
"I never said I was, but how am I supposed to get better if no one will practice with me?" He put on the sweetest puppy dog face that no one would ever have the will power to resist.
"Aww..." she said, studying his expression. "Okay, if it means that much to you. I was just assuming that after yesterday you wouldn't want to come skating."
"I used to like skating and I want that back. It's worth the work," he raised an eyebrow as he looked between them. "Isn't it?"
Brian shrugged while Noelle nodded. "If you really like skating, then of course it is."
Nick smiled with satisfaction as he watched Brian roll his eyes. Yeah, that's right. It was HIS turn to get the attention, and he would be a fool to not use his power correctly. "So," he started, finally getting his feet planted firmly on the ground. "How was your little skating escapade with your hockey player last night?" Sure, if he asked about her male interest, it would seem like he wasn't interested in her, but didn't some girls like that? Didn't they like playing hard to get? Of course they did.
Noelle sniffed, looking down at her menu and shrugging. "Okay, I guess. I mean, he wasn't all I thought he'd be... but it was nice. Skating was fun."
He tried not to smile. So it seemed that she wasn't as tight with this guy as he had previously thought. That was a good sign. "I'm glad you had fun," came out unintentionally. What an idiot he was! I'm glad you had FUN? Why would he say something like that?
A smile appeared on Brian's face. He had obviously been looking over the menu while they were chatting and with his finger pointed to the shiny, laminated surface, he opened his mouth and got ready to announce what he wanted to order. "I think I'm going to go with a burger and fries."
"Interesting," Nick said in the most bored voice he could get out as he looked down at his own menu. As his eyes scanned over the items, he could literally feel Brian's cold glare.
"And what's wrong with THAT?"
Nick looked up at him with an innocent, defensive look on his face. "What are you talking about? Who said anything was wrong with a burger and fries? Seriously, Brian, you need to stop thinking that the whole world is making fun of you. You're becoming paranoid."
As he watched Nick look back at his menu, he didn't stop glaring. What was Nick trying to pull? Did he honestly think that Brian didn't notice that sarcastic tone in his voice? "Whatever," he mumbled before turning to Noelle. "What are you going to order?" he asked, putting on brilliant smile.
"Same thing I always do," she replied, pointing to an item near the bottom of the menu. "A salad with French dressing."
Neither of them knew what to say. Yeah, salad, great... Nick looked down at his menu again. "I think I'm going to get... a club sandwich."
Brian narrowed his eyes at Nick. "Nice selection," he said sarcastically through clenched teeth.
Nick matched his glare. This girl was putting a rift between the two of them and he wasn't sure if he liked it. 'It hurts though,' he thought as he stared at Brian's piercing blue eyes. Brian didn't understand how he felt. How could he? He didn't know what it was like to feel like no one cares about you, like you're all alone in the world and there's nothing left to live for. He didn't understand what it felt like to finally be getting REAL attention for the first time in almost forever. He just couldn't know. Nick let his eyes soften as he looked away from Brian's glare. He was starting to wish that Brian would just disappear so he could be alone with Noelle.
Who was he kidding? With Brian gone, things wouldn't magically get better. He just couldn't admit to that Brian wasn't his problem. HE was his OWN problem. IT was all in his head. It was a perspective that was latched onto every cell of his brain, controlling his thoughts and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling.
"Are you okay?" he vaguely heard Brian's voice say. "You look..." and then it faded into the background of his cluttered thoughts. He was thinking too much again and he was definitely not in the right place to go into such a state of mind.
His eyes clouded over as he stared down at the black letters on his menu. His mind was racing, yet he still couldn't seem to figure anything out. He was starting to get a headache.
"Nick!"
His head shot up to see both Noelle and Brian staring at him with concerned expressions on their faces. "What?"
Brian pulled Nick's menu out from under his hands and stacked it on top of the others, not taking his eyes off of Nick's sullen face. "I asked if you were okay and then I said that you were acting withdrawn." He watched as Nick's eyes glazed over again and he wondered what was going through his friend's mind.
"Fine," he answered. "I'm fine." A lie. A straight out lie. Sure, he was fine... if fine was the equivalent of getting buried alive.
God, how he hated falling into these moods. His head was full of self pity and he hated it! He hated being alone, he hated being crowded in by people who didn't care about him and most of all, he hated himself.
Chapter 6
The Loneliness Inside
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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