for Gen
Nick waits until he's sure everyone is asleep before sneaking out into the kitchen. He hasn't been out of his room since the other night when Jess saw Caroline and they got into that stupid butt-shaking argument.
Needless to say he hasn't eaten anything other than the Cheez-its and potato chips he has stashed away in his room since then. He tried getting Schmidt or Winston to sneak him dinner last night, but they both refused and said he was being ridiculous and that he and Jess should just be grown ups about this whole situation and apologize to each other.
Well, he's not apologizing, Jess said some very mean and hurtful things. Maybe if she apologized first he would apologize for the whole shaking his ass at her thing. Maybe.
Nick tiptoes through the apartment and thinks about how ridiculous this whole situation is. How can this insane woman have so much pull over him? Like, she said she was disappointed in him and it made me feel horrible. And then she said that he wasn't living up to his potential and it made him feel even worse. And it's not like he's never heard those things from anyone before, he hears them all the time from Schmidt, but hearing it from Jess just made them seem … real.
He swears under his breath when he reaches the kitchen and sees Jess standing there in her stupid sushi pajama outfit, making herself tea. It's nearly three o'clock, what the hell is she even doing up?
He turns to leave, but runs into a wayward chair and swears loudly this time. He hears Jess gasp in surprise before he turns around.
"Sorry." Nick mutters before placing the chair back at the table.
"It's okay, you just scared me." Jess says softly as she comes to stand in front of the island. They stand there awkwardly for a second before they both talk at once.
"Look, Jess-"
"I'm sorry."
Nick feels a grin tug at his mouth, "You're sorry?"
Jess sighs loudly, "Yes, okay, I'm sorry. I … I overreacted. I was just upset because I had broken up with Russell and I was mad because I wanted you to be there for me, but you were with Caroline and I know that it's not any of my business, but you can do so much better than her and she's just … she's not good for you Nick."
Nick listens to her apology with an eyebrow raised and his arms crossed over his chest. Then he frowns, "Wait, you broke up with Russell?"
"Seriously?" Jess scowls. "That's what you're gonna focus on right now?"
He snorts loudly before moving to lean against the counter next to her. Jess turns so that they're both facing the same direction and Nick's shoulders slump tiredly.
"I'm sorry too. For … shaking my ass at you." he bites out and Jess laughs loudly. He grins a little before giving in and laughing with her. They quiet down after a minute and stand there in comfortable silence. It's nice, he thinks, just being able to not talk with someone.
"We are ridiculous human beings, aren't we?" she asks quietly before taking a sip of her tea.
Nick shrugs, "Yeah, I guess."
"I was just kidding, earlier." she says as she clears her throat and Nick cocks an eyebrow at her.
"About what?"
"About your turtle face, I don't hate it. I actually really like it." she adds with a little laugh. Nick still doesn't know what exactly his 'turtle face' looks like, but he does his best to make it. Jess grins brightly at him, so he thinks it must have done it right.
"I'm sorry I said all those mean things too." she continues and Nick shrugs. He doesn't really feel like talking about all the stuff she said.
"It's okay."
"No, it's really not. I mean, I don't necessarily agree with all the stuff you do, but I... I definitely shouldn't have said those things." She pauses for a second and Nick thinks maybe she's done, but of course, Jess is never done talking. "I mean, I like you Nick, a lot. And I want you to be happy and sometimes I'm so focused on what I think will make you happy that I don't think about what you might actually want. One of my many faults, I guess." she mutters as she stirs her tea bag around her cup.
"Well thanks, Jess. That means a lot."
Jess gives him a small smile before drinking the rest of her tea and nodding towards the couch, "Want to watch a Magic Bullet informercial?"
Nick perks up, "Yes. Totally."
"Is it weird that we've watched this at least a dozen times and still have not bought one?" Jess asks as they move to the couch.
"It is, because I want one Jess. I want one bad. It is amazing, it makes nachos in seconds." he says, completely serious and Jess rolls her eyes. Nick sits a little closer to her than usual, for reasons that he's not comfortable admitting yet and he almost jumps out of his skin when Jess leans her head against his shoulder halfway through the informercial.
He wants to say something important, like that he really likes her too and he's secretly glad she and Russell broke up because sometimes when he watched them he would get jealous. Just for no apparent reason. And maybe now that they aren't dating he won't have to deal with that anymore and come to terms with the fact that he may just like Jess more than either of them know.
Then it hits him, Russell is gone. Brilliant, magnificent, rich Russell is gone and Nick completely forgets about all his Jess feelings.
"So, does this mean Russell won't be coming over anymore?"
"Shut up, Nick." Jess says quickly and sits up a little straighter. Nick is quiet for a second before he shakes his head sadly.
"I'm gonna miss him, he was such a great man. He smelled really, really good too."
"Okay, I'm going to bed." she announces and pats him on the shoulder as she stands.
"What and miss them making the nachos? Come on, Jess!" he calls as she walks away. "It's nachos made in seconds!"
She waves good night as she shuts her bedroom door and Nick turns back to face the TV with a smile on his face.
"It's amazing."
Just a quick little ficlet I thought I'd write after this weeks episode. I had originally planned to write a one shot about Russell and Jess breaking up for my friend Gen, but then they broke up before I could finish it so, ta da! Never written anything for New Girl before so please let me know what you think. Kinda nervous about my characterization and stuff, but it was fun to write so I might try again!
-Nicole.