Title: Carnival
Disclaimer: I own nothing, obviously, because if I did Cody Longo would have been bumped to series regular before Brothers and Sisters could steal him for a minuscule one-episode stint.
Rules of the Payson-Nicky-Forever's Challenge:
1) The two of us are going through the alphabet writing stories using a word that begins with each letter.
2) We both started with 'A', but now alternate. She does 'B' next and I do 'C' and on and on.
3) We get to pick each other's word.
4) All stories have to be at least 500 words in length.
5) We have five days after the other author posts to post the next one.
6) My stories will always be Kaylie/Nicky and hers will always be Payson/Nicky
Once the contest is over, we're going to each put up a poll on our profiles asking people to vote for their favorite story in the contest.
Notes: I never write happy Kaylicky because 1) I'm dark and twisty and 2) I'm not so comfortable balancing on that tightrope between fluff and cheese. Still, I'm taking myself out of my comfort zone because it's good exercise so let's pretend this is AU, a happy world where Kaylie and Nicky went through all the turmoil and conquered it and finally came to terms with how they feel? Cool?
Carnival
"I hate you."
"Nicky, quit it. You don't hate me."
"Oh, on the contrary, Princess, right now I really do."
Kaylie crosses her arms over her chest and scowls at how absolutely annoying her boyfriend is at times. Nicky stands on one side of the doorframe with his hand propped up against the other side. They're both glaring at each other and the only reason Kaylie breaks their intense, shared gaze is to duck beneath Nicky's extended arm and slip into the house without even being invited. Nicky just rolls his eyes and sighs. He really should be use to it by now.
"Nicky, it's for a good cause," Kaylie explains. "I don't know why you're being such a baby."
"You didn't even ask me!" Nicky growls. "I knew to expect trouble when Sasha chose Lauren and you to help Summer and Mrs. Keeler with all the planning. You just signed me up to help and you told me two days before the stupid carnival."
"Jeez, and you say I'm the dramatic one?" Kaylie laughs, paying no attention to his tantrum.
"Oh, don't worry. You still are," Nicky says. He sighs, but then that glare returns to his face. "And it's not like the proceeds for this stupid Rock Carnival are going towards finding a cure for diabetes or cancer. The money is going to buy the gym new equipment and fix the roof."
"Right. It's going to replace equipment we break quicker than it should and a roof that we train under six days out of the week. Plus, a fourth of the proceeds are going towards the Special Olympics," Kaylie argues. Nicky only grunts. "Come on, Android, what other booth would you have wanted me to sign you up for? Dunk a Hunk is perfect. You are the one Rock guy who looks the best in a wet t-shirt."
"See, now you're kissing ass," Nicky points out.
"Is it working?" Kaylie innocent bats her long lashes.
"No."
Kaylie frowns. "Damn it, Nicky."
"Why are you even here? Isn't your brother visiting this weekend or something?"
"That's exactly why I'm here," she says. "Real quick, we need to go over the rules."
"Rules?" Nicky hesitantly repeats.
"Yeah, for when we're at the carnival," Kaylie clarifies, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "My parents are going to be there and my brother and Sasha. None of them can find out that we're dating."
Nicky rolls his eyes. "Really, Kaylie?"
"Nicky, I'm serious."
"Babe, Lauren Tanner knows," he says. "It's Lauren. I'm pretty sure half the gym does too."
"No," Kaylie disagrees. "We still don't know if she actually knows about us or if she just thinks she knows. There's a difference."
"Whatever."
"Okay, so if we just stick to the Ts and the Fs when we're in a public situation then we'll be fine," Kaylie says, ticking her fingers, as she lists, "No talking. No touching. No flirting. No fighting."
"If we aren't talking then we certainly won't be flirting and fighting," Nicky scowls, always having to be the smartass, especially with her. "It's excess. Can't we just call it the Ts?"
Kaylie huffs and props her hand up on her jutted hip. "Are you trying to be difficult?"
Nicky smirks that godly, maddening smirk. "Yes."
"And you're wrong," she argues. "When you're mad, which I'm assuming you will be at the carnival, you look like a stupid bull about to charge and if my dad or my brother catches that it won't be pretty. Plus, I always see you looking at me when I'm trying to train and that expression on your face…definitely flirting, Russo."
"What? You mean this?" Nicky asks in a low, sexy voice. Kaylie tells herself to look away or close her eyes or do something, but it's like she simply isn't allowed to look at anything, but him. His eyes are a deep brown and his left eyebrow goes up just slightly higher than the other. His lips gently curve at the corners and he move forward until he has her cornered between him and the kitchen counter. His body presses into hers, just enough to make Kaylie bite her bottom lip to keep from saying or doing something she'll ultimately regret.
"Yes, that. Stop it." She smacks him lightly on the arm though Nicky doesn't fall back. If anything, he grows even closer. "I—I hope you know we're breaking all four rules."
Nicky dips his head low and chuckles, the heat from his breath tickling her ear. Whispering, he tells her, "I hope you know you just summed up our relationship in Ts and Fs."
Kaylie laughs and brings her hands up to lace at the nape of his neck. She smiles sweetly and looks up at him through her long, dark lashes. "Nicky, do you really hate me?"
"Sometimes," he replies, "But not as much as I use to."
Slowly, her expression fades and out of nowhere she hits him hard.
"Ouch!" Nicky yells, immediately backing away from her. "What the hell?"
"I hope you know, that so wasn't the answer I was looking for," Kaylie chides.
Nicky groans and scratches the back of his head.
"Jeez, Princess, why couldn't you have just signed me up for the Kissing Booth instead?"
…
The day of the carnival nothing seems to go as planned.
The staff does an excellent job transforming the Rock into a legit carnival. They clear the front parking lot and set up rides that spin in circles, jerk from side to side and shoot up into the air. There are little kids riding plastic horses that go in circles and families in line to ride the Ferris wheel, getting an amazing view over Boulder. There's a petting zoo and scattered carts selling fried foods and sugary drinks.
Inside the Rock, the walls are lined with different booths of more food and games. Gymnasts, parents and volunteers run each station. Bright lights blink from every direction and music sounds from overhead. Children are running around, clutching little stuffed animals to their chests. The smell of frying funnel cake and fresh popcorn hangs in the air.
When Kaylie goes on a well-deserved break from taking pictures of people sticking their faces into cardboard stand-ups of muscular men and beautiful women, she finds her family almost immediately. It sort of kills her to know that the only reason her mom and dad are giggling and talking quietly is for show, to put up a front that everything is okay. Kaylie feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks up and sees Leo smiling sympathetically. He feels it too.
"So are you guys having fun?" Kaylie asks.
"It's cool. Fried Twinkies are amazing," Leo brags, cramming a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "I'll totally buy you one if you want, Kales."
"Just the concept is disgusting. I think I'll pass," she says with a laugh.
"Suit yourself," Leo says innocently. "Hey. Who's the kid in the dunk tank?"
Kaylie can't fight the need to smile upon seeing Nicky. He's suspended above a tub of water, sitting on a little white board, surrounded by a chain link fence. Looking extremely bored, he's wearing a simple, white t-shirt and black shorts. He's so tall that his bare toes graze the surface of the water and he's surprisingly dry.
"It's the Russo kid," Kaylie says casually.
Leo laughs loudly, turning to his sister. "Whoa, you mean he's the 'icky' in Kaylicky?"
Kaylie sighs irritably. "Leo…"
"You mean that kid is the reason we had reporters on our lawn for weeks, asking whether you were engaged or not and when the wedding was?" Alex Cruz asks, unashamedly pointing over to where Nicky sits above the tank. Embarrassed, Kaylie looks up at the ceiling.
"Dad, it wasn't his fault," Kaylie says firmly. In her head, she adds it was mine. I kissed him in front of the reporters in California, but Kaylie's smart enough not to say it aloud.
"Why don't we go pay your little fiancée a visit, shall we?" Leo asks, grinning with that evil glint every older brother seems to hold. "Dad, what do you say about some pitching practice?"
"Good idea, son," Alex says as the two make their way over.
"Mom, make them stop!" Kaylie demands, both sounding and feeling helpless. Ronnie only smiles weakly, brings her arm to rest around her daughter's shoulders and ushers her over to the dunk tank where Alex and Leo are already paying for a basket of baseballs.
"Here, Kaylie, you're up first," Alex says with a grin, tossing her one. She catches it in the palm of her hand, but just looks at it uncertainly. "Make me proud, nena."
Kaylie gives Nicky an apologetic look as she tosses the ball up and down in her hand.
"You know, what? You two go ahead," Kaylie says, trying to give the ball back.
"Aww, c'mon, Kales. Your husband-to-be can take a little water," Leo says teasingly. Uncomfortable, Kaylie swallows hard and looks over at Nicky who tilts his head slightly to one side, obviously confused.
"Leo, shut up. He's not my…anything," Kaylie sneers, inwardly panicking.
"Just throw the ball, National Champ," Nicky says from inside the tank. Kaylie looks up and sees the way he's smirking, but it's different than the one she's grown accustom to. The softness is gone from his eyes. He looks like the guy he was before, the arrogant ass she used to hate. "It's not like you can hit it anyways. After all, you are a girl. You should probably stick to things you're actually good at like shopping and making yourself pretty for us guys."
Instantly offended, Kaylie glares and her fingers coil tightly around the baseball. She winds up and throws the ball, but doesn't even aim for the target. It hits the chain-link fence surrounding Nicky and he flinches for a second. If not for the barrier around him, the ball would have surely hit Nicky in the face.
"I rest my case," Nicky says coolly.
"Alright, take him down," Kaylie tells her dad and brother who trade excited smiles.
It's absolutely horrific if you're Nicky Russo, but entertaining for everyone else. Alex, being a professional baseball player and Leo, being a brilliant college student, argue about whether it's sheer power or careful calculations that can get the ball to hit the target and drop a nervous-looking Nicky. It seems that both are right because after the first few misses, they get the hang of it. After that, each time the ball hits the target, Nicky falls into the water. He surfaces with a gasp, slicks his fingers through his hair and gets back up again.
They go on like this at least a dozen times in a row. At first Nicky would smile and be a good sport, but by the fifth and sixth time, he just crawls back up onto the board, grumbling beneath his breath. And this is without the Cruz men even knowing that Nicky's dating Kaylie.
"Alright, I think he's had enough," Ronnie says, setting one hand on her son's shoulder and the other on her husband's. She smiles sympathetically at Nicky who sighs and peels the heavy, wet material of his t-shirt from his rock solid abs that easily shows through. "Sorry about that, Nicky."
"Mom, don't apologize to him," Kaylie tells her. "It's for the Special Olympics, something Nicky knows a lot about."
Mumbling something about trying out the Strongman game, Alex and Leo walk off while Ronnie follows close behind, complaining about how they'll probably swing the mallet and end up hitting an innocent passerby instead of ringing the bell. Kaylie just sends Nicky one last satisfied grin before she goes back to her booth to begin her next shift.
Hours later, the carnival is still in full swing. Kaylie goes back to the dunk tank, but Nicky is no longer there. She looks around and eventually finds him beneath the bleachers, nursing a large bottle of water. He looks worn out and dreary and Kaylie can't help, but smile a little as she walks over and sits beside him.
"Hey. My parents and Leo finally left. Here. I brought you something," Kaylie says gently, tossing him a bag of fluffy, pink cotton candy. "I know it's pure sugar and horrible, but I mean, it's cotton candy. How can you resist, right? I won't tell Sasha if you won't."
Kaylie smiles and Nicky's only response is to turn away from her.
"Now what is it, Nicky?" she asks, pouting.
Instead of answering, Nicky just pulls out his phone and starts fiddling with it. A moment later, Kaylie's phone buzzes and she fishes it out of the back pocket of her jeans.
You're breaking the rules. You're not supposed to talk to me.
"You're kidding, right?" Kaylie asks, looking at him with disbelief. "Okay, but it isn't like I'm breaking the rules because I want to. A camera crew just showed up and Sasha sent me to find you. MJ wants us to do some schmoozing for the cameras, you know, being the National Champion and the Men's Silver Medalist. It seems the media's still stuck on Kaylicky."
Kaylie's phone vibrates in her palm.
Gonna be hard with rules 1-4.
"Alright, Nicky, quit it," she says, starting to get annoyed. He starts texting again and Kaylie groans. "Fine. If you want to be an ass then be an ass. Just know that by not breaking rule one, you're pissing me off and we're breaking rule four."
"Is there a problem with our resident power couple?" Sasha asks jokingly, finding their little hiding spot. It's like the handsome Brit has eyes and ears all over the Rock.
"Sasha, he isn't cooperating," Kaylie says, sounding beyond frustrated. Her phone buzzes again and she tries hard to ignore it, knowing what she reads is only going to further piss her off. "And he's eating cotton candy in front of me! Stupid male gymnast!"
Kaylie rips the plastic bag of pink cotton candy out of Nicky's hands and throws it onto the floor. Nicky looks at her for the first time this entire conversation and his face is disturbed. Even Sasha takes a step back with caution. Kaylie's phone buzzes again and with an irritable cry, she gives in and checks her messages.
The first one reads: Bringing the man we're constantly trying to hide from into this? Nice.
The second is a simple: You crazy person.
"Sasha, I need to train," he says. It's typical Nicky Russo. "I'm tired of all this."
"I'd be tired too if I just got dropped into a tank of ice cold water about a billion times," Kaylie says with a little smug smile.
Nicky shoots her a look, sighs and looks back at the Englishman. "Do you see what I have to deal with?"
"I thought you two worked things out with the Open House routine? You know what? I don't even want to know. Look, I'd much rather have my gymnasts in leotards instead of face paint and everything back to normal too. You two just need to relax. It's only one day. Just stand in the same frame as one another. Show them around. And try to be civil, will you?"
"Try being the operative word," Nicky mumbles.
"Now go." Sasha sends them off. "And for God's sake, smile!"
Kaylie's phone buzzes again, but she refuses to look, especially after that last one.
"No. I'm done with the texting. If you have anything to say then you can say it to my face," Kaylie says sternly. Nicky rolls his eyes and her phone buzzes yet again. Kaylie ignores it and Nicky just sways from side to side as MJ comes over and briefs them on what they're supposed to do.
It begins with a short little introduction. They stand together and explain what they're doing, being future Olympians, making the Rock the top gymnastics training center, supporting the Special Olympics and bringing some fun to Boulder. MJ mouths 'laugh' or 'smile' and Nicky keeps texting beneath the frame and Kaylie keeps ignoring the hum of her cell phone.
When it comes time for the tour, the two walk by each booth and everyone working waves as they do. Briefly, they stop by the dunk tank and Nicky claims his moment of revenge. Making it even sweeter, it's Carter's turn to sit in the tank. Kaylie rolls her eyes and taps her foot as Nicky hurls baseball after baseball at the target. She does smile a little when Carter finally falls into the water and gets up, fully soaked, looking like a sad, wet dog.
When they go over to Emily, she's working skee ball station.
"What do you think? Should I give it a try?" Nicky asks, giving his most charming grin to the camera. Kaylie's eyes roll up and she mockingly makes a sickened face at Emily who just smiles back. "Don't worry, Princess, I'll win you something pretty."
"Please." Kaylie scowls. "An ego check would do just fine."
"What? You think you can do better?" Nicky asks, pumping a few quarters into the skee ball machine. "No offence or anything, National Champ, but I've seen you with a baseball. Sweetheart, saying you suck is like saying there's sand at the beach."
"Offense taken again," Kaylie says. She's pretty sure MJ is behind the camera, slamming her Blackberry against her head because this isn't the way this little stint for the press is supposed to go. At the moment, annoyed with her big jerk of a boyfriend, Kaylie can't bring herself to care. "Okay. Let's do this."
As Kaylie gets some change from Emily and feeds it into the machine, MJ tries to apologize to the cameramen, but they only smile and assure her that they're getting good footage. Nicky winks at Kaylie before he swings his arm and sends the ball down the ramp. The ball jumps into the 40-hole and Nicky smirks over at his competitor. Kaylie, playing the machine next to him, goes to roll her own ball and when it launches right into the 50-hole, the highest amount of points, the surrounding people cheer.
"Lucky shot," Nicky quips.
"Sorry, Nicky," Kaylie purrs. "You just don't have the finesse of a woman's touch."
They roll ball after ball and in the end Nicky beats her by a mere ten points. Kaylie just keeps to herself that she threw the last one a little crooked and let him win. Despite how upset she is with him, he's had a rough day and this is the least she can do. Plus, that oblivious smile of his is good enough of a reward for her. They win two stuffed animals, both the same size, being in the same point range, and give them to two little girls who have been watching the showdown with awe the entire time.
After they wrap it up with the cameras, it's time to help clean up. As Nicky goes around to help dissemble different booths, he slips his cell phone free from his pocket and keeps texting Kaylie. He sees her across the room with Payson and Emily at the face paint booth. She's still ignoring his texts and it provides even more incentive to keep doing it. At the end of the night, all the gymnasts go to Payson's house to celebrate their success, but Nicky declines, deciding to call it a night.
When he says his goodbyes to everyone before leaving, Kaylie looks like she wants to talk, but like all the other times when they're with other people (especially Rock people), she doesn't get the chance. Nicky just smiles weakly, gets into his car and goes home. He debates taking a shower and just going to bed, but being doused in more water isn't really something he feels up to at the moment. Plus, he hasn't exercised all day. That's how he ends up on the trampoline in his backyard.
The trampoline was a birthday gift from his parents. While other little boys wanted Nerf Guns and skateboards, eight-year-old Nicky Russo wanted a full, professional trampoline. If not sprinting or practicing the pummel horse, backflips are Nicky's adrenaline jolt of choice. He gets a medium bounce and tweaks his body, using his core strength to spin. Once he leaves the trampoline bed, he tucks his body into a ball, goes all the way around and then his feet come down to land perfectly.
"Impressive," Kaylie says, clapping her hands.
"Cork 7," Nicky says, grinning. Still bouncing, when he gets enough air, Nicky does a front flip like it's the easiest thing in the world. "What are you doing here?"
"I just had to ask you something," Kaylie says slowly. She walks forward until she's right at the foot of the trampoline, looking up at him, still jumping and throwing tricks. "So why is it we can't ever be a normal couple?"
"Because we aren't normal," Nicky says. He does a 180-degree back drop just to be launched back up to his feet. "We're nationally ranked gymnasts, Kaylie. We aren't even supposed to be a couple."
"Hmm, well, at least it seems like you're talking to me now," Kaylie says lightheartedly, willfully ignoring his pessimism. Nicky doesn't answer and this time does a backflip. "Come on, Nicky, can you really say you didn't have any fun today?"
"Dunking Carter was pretty fun," he says with the smallest of smiles.
"Yeah, well, watching you get dunked was pretty fun too."
Nicky groans. "Oh, and I bet I made a great first impression on your family."
"Eh. My mom thinks you're cute. Leo just uses the whole Kaylicky thing to tease me nonstop and my dad sees you as threat because, well, you're a boy and not related to me," Kaylie says. "And I don't think any of that's going to change even when they do find out about us."
"And when are they going to find out?" Nicky asks, looking so serious.
"You think we'll last until after the Olympics?" Kaylie asks playfully. Nicky scoffs and does another move that definitely defies gravity. "You know, I read all your text messages. I particularly enjoyed the ones about me having popcorn in my teeth and you accusing me of letting you win skee ball. Then there are the others. I'd hate to make your head any bigger, but I'll admit you can be really sweet when you want to be."
Nicky only shrugs, staring off across the yard. Seeing how he's ignoring her and not particularly liking it, Kaylie manages to sneaks up onto the trampoline. She tries hard to keep her balance especially with Nicky shaking the entire thing.
"Nicky, it's eleven o'clock at night. What are you doing out here?"
"What does it look like?" he snaps unnecessarily. "Training."
"God, does everything you do have to be about gymnastics? Can't you just jump around?" Kaylie asks. She starts randomly bouncing up and down and Nicky stills a moment, just looking at her. Kaylie smiles warmly and reaches for his hand, entwining their fingers and making Nicky sporadically jump with her. She giggles and he finally cracks a smile.
It doesn't take long for the two of them to grow tired, especially after the day they had. Dropping down onto the trampoline bed, they stare up at the vast night sky, dark blue and littered with stars. Kaylie's head rests on Nicky's flat stomach and he idly winds a lock of her dark hair around his finger. Sighing, Kaylie tilts her head so she can look over at Nicky, mesmerized by the way his lashes skirt over his deep brown eyes every time he blinks.
"I'm sorry," Kaylie says softly. "For everything."
"Don't be." Nicky looks to her and smiles faintly. "It was for a worthy cause, I guess."
"And you don't hate me, right?"
"Kaylie, I don't think that's even possible at this point. You irritate the crap out of me, sure," he confesses, "But I could never hate you. You know that, right?"
"I know. I just like to hear you say it," she cheerfully replies. Nicky looks up in irritation and Kaylie continues to smile, running her hand down the tight muscles of his arm.
"Please tell me we aren't going to have to go through this every time the Rock has some social event because, babe, being pissed off at you, it's exhausting," Nicky says with a sigh. He tangles their fingers and brings the back of her hands up to his lips for a kiss.
"I don't know, Nicky. Believe me, there's a lot of things that I don't know and majority of those things come with being with you," Kaylie says. In that moment she sounds so fragile and she looks so vulnerable. "But, can you imagine where we'd be if we made different choices?"
"If I went to Denver," Nicky says quietly.
"Yeah." Kaylie nods.
"No. I can't imagine it," he says. "I don't even want to. That must mean something, huh?"
"Yeah. Yeah, it does. I'll try to remember you said that next time you're a complete ass to me," Kaylie says. Her head rests on his chest and her hand on his heart.
"So what are we doing tonight?"
"Well, if you're up to it, it's the first night of the Denver summer carnival—"
"No," Nicky says sternly. "No way. Never again."
Kaylie giggles and Nicky gives her shoulder a little shove so she lies back down on the trampoline bed. He then carefully maneuvers himself to hover directly over her, a hand at each side of her head, pressed into the fabric of the trampoline.
Kaylie raises her eyebrows. "Let me guess, Android, you want me to push you up?"
Nicky chuckles. "Hey. Gymnastics isn't the only thing I think about."
Right then, he leans down to kiss her and his lips taste like I think about you too.
Fini
Author's note: Just a fun fact, Creatively Licensed B, the freak she is, pointed out that the show calls them "Kalicky" but I call them "Kaylicky." I never really realized, but I like saying Kaylicky more so I'm gonna keep spelling it like that. Just something to LOL about.
Btw, who would be seriously interested in reading a MIOBI-style Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? I spent the weekend at the beach and brought along my iPod and a notebook and inspiration hit me. I pretty much planned out the way the entire thing would go down. B is co-writing and it features all four girls equally. The only thing is that it means The Difference Between would have to go on a hiatus until we get this new story stable.
I really need your thoughts on this one. Review?