Eyes In The Night

     *****
          “ So they’re leaving for Seattle?” Nick asked surprised as him and April sat in his
car, eating lunch up at one of the scenic mountainside overlooks.  The rain hadn’t let up
at all and it was still thundering, even at 1:00.
“ Yeah.  Their plane’s taking off at five am.” 
“ Tomorrow?” 
“ Yeah...” Her face darkened and Nick picked up on it.  
“ How long are they going to be gone?” 
“ They’re not positive.  At least a week,” He thought for a moment before turning back to
her.
“ How about you come stay with me for awhile then?” He offered, thinking of how lonely
his house was and knowing she didn’t like staying alone.
“ That’s really sweet but I don’t know...” She trailed off, her tone thoughtful.
“ Oh, come on.  It’s only me.  We need to catch up anyways,” He pressed.  
“ Why does everyone swear I’ve changed,” He muttered, annoyed.
“ What?” April opened her mouth to disagree but he cut her off.
“ April, you’re not talking to me like you used to.  Everyone we grew up with is acting as
if I’m some big hotshot asshole who doesn’t wanna waste his time talking to them,” He
sighed, taking a sip of his drink.
“ Nick, that’s not true-,”
“ Yes it is,” He insisted, looking out his window, his food forgotten.
“ Nick, the only reason they look at you differently is because you’re a...celebrity.  Not
too many people actually know famous people.” 
“ Well what about you?  We’ve known each other all our lives.”
“ I’m not treating you any different,” She rejected,  meeting his eyes and judging he was
analyzing her.
“ If you’re not treating me any different, you have to come stay with me,” He said,
dropping the subject and his irked tone.  
“ I see, an altimatum,” She smiled lightly and he cracked a grin, knowing he won this
argument.
“ Fine,” She gave in and he gave a satisfied nod.
“ Good.  Now you can finally meet the guys,” He said, picking up his hamburger again. 
They returned to their food and talked about what had gone on while he was away...


                                                     *****
             “ Are you positive you’re going to be okay for such a long time?” April sighed
again as she focused on her parent’s faces.  Both looked slightly concerned and this
irritated April.  She hatd it when they made a plan to do something and felt guilty for
leaving her alone.  It got her impatient. 
“ Mom, Dad.  You’re going to miss your plane.  I’ll see you when you get back, Ok?” 
“ Are you going to Nick’s?” Mike asked, checking his watch.
“ I might, I don’t know yet,”
“ Well you should, I know you don’t wanna stay here all alone,”
“ We should get going,” Mike interrupted Beth who nodded before giving April another
hug.
“ I’ll see you guys,”  She stood in front of the doorstep and watched them get into the
taxi.  They had left the car because of airport parking and supposedly so she could go do
some shopping and stuff.  She shut the door after she walked inside and wasn’t sitting in
front of the tv for more than a few minutes before the doorbell rang.  Thinking it was her
parent’s with forgotten luggage again or something, she answered the door and came face
to face with a grinning Nick.
“ Nick, how delightful,” She joked as they hugged.
“ April, darling you look gorgeous.  Digging the slippers especially,” He smirked at her
fluffy pink slippers.
“ God, Carter.  I didn’t even know you were up this early,” She tosssed back, indicating
how the time was 1:45.  
“ Funny.  Are you gonna invite me in or make me stand here all night?” She moved
inside and he walked in.
“Ok, where are your bags?” He inqiured purposefully, looking across the foyer.
“ Bags?  I didn’t really agree,” She started but his look of disappointment cut her off.
“ April,” He whined.
“ Fine, fine...Now you’re gonna  have to wait until I pack and that takes forever,” She
muttered, turning to go up the stairs.  Nick watched as she walked up, an unreadable look
on her face.  He couldn’t tell if she even wanted his company anymore but he didn’t want
their friendship to just deteriorate and not do anything about it.  He made his way up to
the second floor and stopped at her doorway, just watching her pack, his presence
unknown to her as she carefully folded a shirt and placed it into the open duffel bag.
“ You know, we should move in together,” He spoke up, dropping noisily onto her bed.
“ Yeah, right.” She glanced at him.
“ Yeah, it’d be fun.  You could cook and clean...Maybe do my laundry,” She cracked a
smile and shook her head.
“ Same old Nick,” 
“ I haven’t changed any,” He laid on his back, looking around the room and stood up
before walking to her bulletin board.
“Who’s this?” She looked up and squinted at the picture he was pointing to.
“ Previous flame,” 
“ Does he live here in Orlando?  I hadn’t seen him before we left,”
“ Yeah.  He moved here from Washington,”  Nick nodded and sighed restlessly.
“ Are you done, April?” He asked, moving to sit next to her bag on the floor.
“ Not yet, Nick.  I told you it was gonna take awhile,”
“ To pack for three weeks?”
“ Three weeks?  Nick, hun.  I’m coming back at the end of next week,” He poked
through her bag and held up a lace bra.
“ Why is it that everything you own has some sort of lace or frills or something?”  She
grabbed it back and tossed it back in.
“ Because they’re not bought for you to look at and besides, I like that kind of stuff,” 
“ Typical girl,” He muttered, getting up and walking to her computer.
“ Ooh...Flamers?  What the hell is this e-mail about?” He asked, peering at the computer
screen.
“ Nick!  You’re  so nosy,” She clicked out of her mailbox and looked expectantly at him.
“ I’ll just wait downstairs,” He nodded and turned to leave the room.  Ten minutes later,
she came down, holding her bag and rifling through her purse for her keys.
“ Finally, Hannigan,” He stood up and turned off the tv.  
“ Let’s go,” He said, putting an arm around her and taking the bag.
“ Did I tell you I arranged for us to have dinner with the rest of the guys?”
“ What made you so sure I’d be coming?”
“ Because you love me.” He flashed her a grin and she laughed as they got inside the
car...






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