Death, Admiration, and Cashews
By: hepburnettes
Nico di Angelo: the epitome of perfection. His jet black hair, the small smile he'd give her every time she'd try and crack a silly joke. A real smile. His –
His everything.
As much as Jen wanted to deny it, she was falling in love with Nico di Angelo.
The first time he'd caught her attention was in honors English. There were around twenty kids from her class there – one of them being Nico.
She'd definitely seen him around before. Never made eye contact or any type of contact for that matter, he seemed like the kind of person you wouldn't want to mess with.
Jen was a bit surprised at that. She never would have pegged him as poetic. Just bad. Or bad-ass.
But, low and behold, there he was. A desk behind hers.
The second time was a pure accident. She hadn't meant to run into him, but she did.
Jen was running a bit late, so she rushed down the empty corridors trying to get to class. Naturally, the hallways weren't as empty as they seemed. She had slammed into Nico di Angelo.
When she came back from the initial shock, she switched her gaze to the floor and quickly muttered a, 'Sorry', running off in the opposite direction.
A few weeks after that, Jen was sitting in the front row of Mrs. Dodds algebra session, when an idea popped into her head, that wasn't about reducing the factor of x.
She was going to do something bad.
She raised her hand, and asked for a slip to use the bathroom. Mrs. Dodds handed her the slip, and scowled at her as she was making her way out.
Hag.
Jen's heart rate sped up as she made her way to the front gate of the school, and snuck out to the back.
She rested her back against the wall, and shut her eyes.
"I never knew you were such a rebel, Jens."
Jen jumped and slapped the intruder in the face.
"Ow! What the hell is wrong with you?" He rubbed his cheek furiously.
"Me? I don't freaking sneak up on people!"
Nico chuckled, "Sneak up? So you didn't just happen to see me, standing in broad daylight?"
Jen froze. Nico di Angelo was chuckling.
She mumbled, "I was a little preoccupied."
He laughed wholeheartedly, and said, "Oh, that's right. I thought you were the all-studies type of person. What brings you here, Jensen?"
"Don't call me that."
Surprisingly, Mrs. Dodds hadn't asked about her during the lesson, which was probably a good thing.
Her parents wouldn't be delighted to know their straight-A daughter was sneaking out – or trying to – during an algebra session.
The next week, on her way to her Algebra class, Jen remembered Nico di Angelo in the back of the school building.
She stuffed her books into her locker, and grabbed a small bag of cashews she'd packed for lunch.
Just as she'd expected, she found him sitting by the back gate, this time smoking a cigarette.
"Ah, Jensen. I didn't think you'd show a second time." Nico coughed and she sat down next to him.
Her nose crinkled in disgust, "You really shouldn't be smoking that. It ruins your lungs, Bird Brain."
Nico shrugged, and threw the butt away, "I've got no alternative, Jens."
She handed him the sea-blue pack of cashews, and said, "Now you do."
It became a tradition. Every week, Jen would sneak out before third-period algebra, with a pack of cashews, and meet with Nico di Angelo.
He would abandon his cigarette-pack for her cashews. They would talk about anything, and laugh about everything.
Sometimes, she would see him smuggle a same sea-blue packet of cashews into honors English and laugh when his obnoxiously loud crunching kept her from focusing on anything but that.