by Jack Parker
"A…plane?" Chad sputtered before swallowing.
Nicky lifted her head to frown at him as Jared only continued typing. She nudged his arm and when he looked at her with wide eyes, she nodded to silently ask what was wrong. He only shook his head before looking back at what Jared was doing.
"What's your credit card number?" he asked and Chad frowned, leaning over the younger boy's shoulder.
"Don't have one," Chad replied. "What are you doing?"
"Getting your ticket," Jared replied simply, not looking away from the screen.
"Here," Nicky suddenly chimed in, leaning on the other side of Jared with a small card in her hand. "Use mine. I have enough."
"Nicole," Chad called and she looked up to meet his warning glare. "Don't."
"Chadworth," she replied in the same tone. "It's my money, and I'm going to."
She set the card in front of Jared, whispered something into his ear and patted his shoulder before standing tall and smiling cutely at Chad. He stood tall as well, gritting his teeth as he marched around Jared to grip her arm and pull her away to the other end of the room.
"What are you doing?" he growled, staring her in the eye.
"Helping you," she murmured. "And don't tell me you don't need it, because I knowyou do. I want you to catch this guy too, and if I can help, I will."
"You don't want me to find him," Chad retorted. "And I don't want you to help me. I know I need help, but if this guy gets to you through you helping me and hurts you, I—"
He swallowed and glanced toward Jared before looking at his and mumbling, "I don't wanna lose my first girlfriend to a psycho killer."
Nicky couldn't help but smile as she stepped close enough to slip her arms around his chest and set her head on it. Chad straightened and swallowed before glancing to Jared to make sure he wasn't watching so he could wrap his arms around Nicky.
"That's the nicest thing you've said to me, Chad," she murmured with a small smile.
"Don't get used to it," he warned, making her giggle and he couldn't help but smile at the sound of her giggle as he set his cheek on top of her head.
"I should warn you," Jared suddenly called, drawing their attention to him as he continued, "the walls here are thin. So anything you guys might be planning to do will definitely be heard."
"Who made you the relationship zebra?!" Chad spat as both he and Nicky pulled away from each other blushing. "We weren't even thinking it!"
"Right," Jared smirked as his printer activated, printing out a boarding pass. "And I don't think in a string of programming software."
He pulled the paper from the printer once it was done and handed it to Chad who snatched it from him with a glare.
"You'll need that with your ID. Since you're sixteen you shouldn't have too much trouble getting through security, but if they ask, you'll have to tell them a relative is picking you up or something."
"Oh, that should be fun," Chad muttered, looking over the paper but frowned when he noticed another paper coming out of the printer and asked, "What's that?"
"I accidentally hit print twice," Jared shrugged. Chad was doubtful, but he didn't bother with it. "Is that bag the only one you're taking?"
Chad nodded, mutely.
"You'll wanna go through it and make sure everything's ok to take on the plane."
"Yeah," Chad muttered. "Gotta practically undress and unload to get through security."
"Imagine how the foreigners feel," Jared agreed. "Anyway, if there's anything you can't take, just leave it here. My guess is you'll be back again."
"Why can't Nicky just take it home with her?" Chad wondered.
"Because I'm not going home," she chimed in, making Chad shoot his gaze to her. "I'm staying here until you come back."
"That could be a while, Nicky," he warned. "I may not be back for days, maybe even weeks or months."
"Until this creep is dead or locked up, it's safer here, don't you think?" she replied.
"Well, yeah, but Jared—"
"Has no problem housing your Skater Fox until her knight's return," Jared cut in, standing and stepping next to Nicky to hug her shoulders for a split second. "We never have guests. She can stay in the guest room until you get back."
Chad glanced between the two before sighing in relief. Good. Nicky would be safe. Even if Nemo knew about Jared, he was in Washington and had no qualms with him, or Nicky. It was Chad who was dangerous to be around.
"Thanks, Jare," Chad smiled, setting a hand on the teen's shoulder. "I mean for everything."
"When you find him, you should tell him how you found him," Jared smirked. "You know, before you kill him."
That earned him a punch in the gut from Nicky and he gave a small grunt as he almost doubled over completely.
"We're not using the 'K' word in the presence of the Princess," Chad explained as Jared quickly recovered.
"Forgive me, Your Highness," the sophomore retorted as he gave a mocking bow to Nicky. "I was unaware."
"Oh, stuff it," Nicky grumbled as Chad folded up his boarding pass and shoved it into his pants pocket. "Where's the guest room?"
"This way, my Boarding Addicts," Jared replied, gesturing grandly toward the door and leading the way into the hall. He stepped next to a door, opened it and waved grandly into the room as the couple approached.
"You'd make a great actor, Jared," Nicky muttered, entering the room.
"Closing curtain bow is spot-on," Chad grinned, following her in.
"Enjoy your stay at the Walker Inn," Jared grinned. "I will inform the Inn keepers to set two more plates for dinner and breakfast, tomorrow."
"Two for dinner, one for breakfast," Chad corrected, tossing his bag on the bed with Nicky's. "I'll get mine on the fly tomorrow."
"Should I call Brandon and Nicky's parents?"
"No!" the couple almost shouted in unison, making Jared take a step back in surprise.
"Tapped lines, remember?" Chad reminded him and the younger teen nodded.
"Right. Sorry. I'll let you guys alone now. Dinner's in an hour."
"Thanks again for everything, Jared," Nicky smiled.
"No problem," he nodded, starting to close the door behind him but added, "Remember…thin walls."
"Shut it, ya virgin!" Chad spat as they both blushed again.
"Oh, and you're not?" Jared smirked and ducked out of the doorway, shutting the door before hearing Chad's reply.
"Damn…hormonal…computer rat," Chad muttered.
"Chad?"
He whirled toward Nicky, hearing her tone as she sat at the foot of the bed.
"You'll come back, right?" she wondered, softly. "You won't…forget about me?"
"Forget about you?" Chad echoed with a frown as he stepped toward her and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "How could I forget about you? You've been there for me when no one else was. You're my Skater Fox."
She looked up at him with wide, emerald eyes and breathed, "Really?"
"Yeah," he grinned, seeing her give a small smile. "And let me tell you, if I find out that little Software Junkie out there tried to make a move on you while I was gone, I'm gonna—"
His threat was cut off when Nicky planted her lips to his. One of her hands flew to the collar of his jacket to pull him closer while the other leaned on the mattress and Chad groaned before sliding a hand to her knee, the other holding the hand on the mattress. Chad deepened the kiss and his hand slid up her leg just a touch but she placed her hand on it before it could go further as they broke the kiss to breathe. They sighed as they rested their foreheads against the others, their eyes locked for a moment before they both laughed, slightly.
"I could get used to this," Chad murmured, lifting his hand from her leg to brush a strand of hair from her face.
"Me too," Nicky grinned as they shifted, letting her rest her head on his shoulder as he gathered her into his arms. "I don't want you to go."
"I have to," he replied. "No one's safe while this creep is out t
here." He gave a small chuckle before reminding her, "You always said you wanted a hero."
"A hero for me, not everybody else," Nicky retorted and he chuckled again.
"Well, your knight in shining armor has to go slay the dragon," he smirked, twirling a piece of her hair. "Will my princess be waiting in the tower?"
"Yes," she sighed, hugging his chest, tightly. "I will."
CHAPTER 8
"That was a good dinner," Nicky called from the bathroom as Chad sat back on the bed, propped up by his elbows. "Jared's mom sure can cook."
Chad hummed out an affirmative noise as he watched her from his place. She was brushing her teeth and was about to start changing, but she caught Chad staring at her. She quickly shut the door to a crack and chuckled when Chad sucked his teeth in disappointment.
"Come on, don't be so righteous," he called, scooting toward the foot of the bed, closer to the bathroom door. "I've seen you change before."
"We were ten, Chad," she laughed. "Things are a little different now."
"I don't think so," he smirked at the door and moved to stand.
"Stay where you are, Blondie," she called, guessing what he was doing and he froze with a sigh of exasperation.
"How do you do that?" he smirked, sitting back on the mattress again for a moment.
"I can read you like a book, Chad," she replied and he heard the smirk on her lips as he moved forward to kick off his shoes, then stripped off his light jacket, followed by his shirt, leaving on only his pants.
The door opened to reveal Nicky in pajama shorts and a tank-top and her eyes widened at the sight of Chad in nothing but his pants. He only smirked at her reaction, watching her cheeks redden.
"I—" she choked and cleared her throat before trying again, "I thought we weren't thinking of…that."
"We're not," he shrugged. "This is how I sleep."
He couldn't help but smirk as he stood to step toward her and take her hands into his as she looked away from him.
"Besides, you've seen me shirtless before."
"Don't get cute," she muttered, but let him hold her hands.
"Too late," he retorted, suddenly pulling her toward him. "What's wrong? You don't like what you see?"
"Chad, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Nicky snapped, pulling her hands from his and marching around him to sit on the bed as Chad frowned and turned to her but said nothing. "You're leaving to find a murderer, you won't be back for days and you expect me to act like nothing's wrong?! You could die!"
Chad gave a sigh as he stepped toward the end of the bed where she sat and sat next to her. He sighed again and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her closer.
"I know you hate me for this," he murmured, turning to speak into her hair. "But this is something I have to do. No one else can do this but me, not even the cops."
"I know," Nicky sighed, setting her head on his shoulder. "If I were in your position, I'd probably do the same thing. I just hate that it's you."
"Believe me, I'm not all thrilled about it either," Chad retorted.
Nicky couldn't help but giggle, making him give a small smile and brought his hand from her shoulder to play with her hair as she snuggled against him.
"So, what's your plan?" she wondered, breathlessly as he swallowed nervously at her cheek and breath against his skin.
"I-I don't really know," he sputtered, his hand falling to her shoulder again. "Right now I'm just thinking of getting there. I'll think of something on the way."
"Flying by the seat of your pants, as usual," Nicky chuckled, looking up at him and he smirked down at her.
"You know me," he replied. "Always flying by the seat of my pants."
She smiled and stared at him for a moment, her gaze falling to his lips.
"Chad?" she breathed.
"Yeah?" he murmured.
"I don't care how thin the walls are," Nicky replied and Chad's face contorted to several emotions before he settled on a small smile.
"You sure?" he asked. "I wouldn't want you to wake up next to my mug and regret it."
"Well, I'll just pretend you're someone else," she retorted, then added, "But seriously, I won't regret it, Chad. I want you to have something to think about when you get yourself into trouble."
"This'll only distract me," he smirked, bringing a hand up to brush some of her hair from her face. "But I know what you mean." He slid his fingers down her neck to fiddle with the strap of her tank-top. "Still…You're positive."
"Shut up and kiss me, Chad," Nicky ordered before planting her lips to his, pulling him on top of her as they landed on the mattress, deepening the kiss simultaneously.
* * *
The Next Morning...
Chad quietly slid on his shoes, sitting at the foot of the bed. His flight left at seven. If he left now, at four, he could get there on time. He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out the fifty dollars in small bills Brandon had given him. He hoped that was enough for a cab ride to the airport.
"Chad?"
He turned back to look at Nicky as she sat up with the covers up to her neck, shoving the money back into his pocket as he stood.
"You're dressed," she noticed. "You were gonna leave without saying good bye?"
"Well, we pretty much said our good byes last night, didn't we?" he smirked, shifting to crawl toward her on the bed. "That was great, by the way."
"Yeah, for our first times, huh?" Nicky couldn't help but smile dreamily as he leaned over her.
"Oh, I refuse to believe I'm the first guy you were with," Chad blurted. "You know way too much to be inexperienced."
Nicky gripped her pillow and hit him on the side of the head with it, making him grunt and laugh as he fell onto the bed again and she continued hitting him. Chad grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, grunting when she landed against his chest and wrapping his arms around her over hers.
"You're a dog," she muttered through a smile.
"Woof," he retorted, grinning deviously and Nicky gave a small giggle before gracing him with a few sweet kisses.
"I gotta go," he murmured and she nodded, solemnly as he stroked his hands up and down her back. "And I was gonna say good bye, but you woke up."
"I tried to cuddle with you, but it's kinda hard to cuddle air," she retorted.
"I hate cuddling."
"Really? Because you seemed very cuddly last night."
"I was comatose. I wasn't aware of what I was doing."
"You are such a liar."
"I really have to go," he murmured, disappointment in his tone.
Nicky's smile slowly slid away as she nodded again and rolled off of him to let him get up from the bed. He picked up his skateboard and set it next to the door with his bag but didn't walk out. Instead, he leaned against the wall and watched Nicky get dressed. When she caught him watching she blushed but shuffled toward him and he held his arms out to her. She slid herself into his arms and he hugged her close, burying his face into her hair.
"Last night was really great, babe," he murmured. "I won't be forgetting that any time soon."
She didn't respond and just let him hold her for a moment before she gave a sniffle and began shuddering with quiet sobs. He didn't ask what was wrong, or pull away to look at her. He didn't need to. He just hugged her closer and let her cry.
"It's not fair!" she snapped, pulling away enough to stare wide, watery eyes at him. "As soon as I finally have you, some creep is gonna take you away from me!"
"Nicky, he's not gonna take me away from you," Chad insisted, taking her face gently into his hands. "And you always had me, my little fox. You just never knew it."
"But, Chad—"
She was cut off when he planted his lips to hers, pulling her close again to deepen the kiss and make her moan against his mouth before pulling away for breath.
"Stay safe, ok?" he murmured. "Don't answer your phone if he calls. I'll text you on the prepaid cell when I get it."
"But won't he know you have
a new phone if you do that?" she breathed.
"Yes," he nodded. "That's what we want."
Nicky nodded and pressed a tender kiss to his lips before he leaned over to shoulder his bag and pick up his skateboard.
"See ya later, Blondie," she smirked as he opened the door and he smirked at her over his shoulder.
"Later, Foxy," he nodded, making her smile widen before he turned and walked into the hall, shutting the door behind him.
She wiped her tears from her face and hurriedly ran to her bag, pulling out a set of clothes. She was about to change when there was a soft knock at the door and she hurried toward it. She opened the door to reveal Jared.
"Your boarding pass, Miss," he smiled with a nod, handing a folded piece of paper to her.
"Thank you," she replied hastily, snatching the paper from him and hurrying back to her clothes to pull them on over her pajamas.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Jared wondered, stepping into the room and shutting the door. "I don't think Chad wanted you to go."
"He didn't," she confirmed, pulling on a shirt. "But whatever he says of thinks, he can't do this on his own."
"Well, since you're so determined to follow him, I suggest you take this," he said, holding a hand out with an envelope in his hand as she pulled on her shoes.
She frowned and stepped toward him to see what was in his hand, took it and asked, "What is this?"
"Cab fare," Jared shrugged. "I called one for you. It should be here in ten minutes."
"Aren't you sweet?" Nicky smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You really didn't have to."
"I know, but I figured it would save time for you," he shrugged, blushing wildly. "You may even get there before he does."
"Let's hope," Nicky smiled, heading back for her bag and skateboard. "Thanks again, Jare."
"My pleasure," he grinned, opening the door and bowing grandly as she passed him with a giggle.
"Acting, Jared," she said. "Definitely acting for you."
"Oh, by the way," Jared called to her before she got too far down the hall and when she turned, he smirked, "Bravo on last night."
Nicky's face turned beet red but she said nothing as she turned to head down the hall and toward the stairs. But even as she blushed, she couldn't help buy grin. She didn't regret it one bit.