Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. The song "I Think I Love" belongs to some old band (I don't know who) but the version that I'm listening to now is sung by Less Then Jake.
A/N: I confess, I'm a romantic (duh). And, I'm also a big fan of the Scream trilogy, especially the scene in Scream 2 where Derek sings to Sidney in the school cafeteria. Gets me every time. So, that scene inspired the story you're about to read. I know the title's kinda stupid but it's all I could come up with. And, as always, it's dedicated to my friend and favorite internet buddy, fantastic writer Chase's Aces.
As he always seemed to be doing, Terry was wandering the mall, looking for his favorite redhead, Nicole, to see what she was up to and simply to spend time in her company. Though they had kissed once, everyone at Crossroads Mall was calling them the couple of the group, something that he certainly didn't have a problem with. However, Nicole was nowhere to be found at that moment; he had checked for her in all of her favorite stores, then looked for her on the roof but had only found Kenneth and Steve giving Andy from across the street more celebrity-look-alike creatures to shoot. Ana and Michael, who in the electronics store watching some horror movie or another (why, Terry just didn't understand, since their lives were enough like a horror movie for his likely) and hadn't seen the redhead in question. Neither had Norma or Glenn; Andre and Luda weren't around to ask and Tucker didn't know where to find Nicole either.
So, Terry was wandering around Metropolis for what felt like the tenth time, still on his search, when he bumped in Monica, who was carrying an arm full of clothes, which obscured her vision and made it impossible for her to even watch her feet. Monica grumbled to herself as she hefted the mound, trying to peek around the skirts and dresses and nearly dropping her pile in the process. "Monica," Terry's voice caused her to stop and try to peek around the clothes once again, "what are you doing?"
Monica rolled her eyes, figuring her was about to give her some security guard bullshit about how it was still wrong to steal even though no one was going to be buying the stuff anymore. "I'm shopping." She snapped. She thought he was cute but he was clearly interested in that redheaded kid, Nancy or something, which showed that he had poor taste, as far as she was concerned.
Terry studied her for a moment. "Have you seen Nicole?" He questioned and Monica sighed, dropping the mound of clothes onto the floor.
So that was the redhead's name, not that she really cared. "No, I haven't seen her." She answered, which wasn't entirely true. They had been in the same clothes store, picking out outfits to wear sometime in the future and Nicole had taken one of the shirts she had wanted. "You wanna give me a hand with this stuff?" She questioned, gesturing toward the pile on the ground.
Terry considered for a moment, eager to find Nicole but he sighed and agreed; it wouldn't take too long to help Monica take her pile of stolen goods (not that it really even mattered anymore) to whichever store she had claimed for her own. Since they had been living in the mall for almost a month now, everyone had pretty much chosen a room that they slept in and "kept house", for lack of a better term; for Andre and Luda, it was the Carousal Baby Store, from which they almost never emerged from. He, Nicole, Ana, Michael and Kenneth had been sharing the "Home" section of Sears. "Sure." Terry agreed and bent down to give her a hand.
Monica glanced behind her and saw Nicole still browsing through the store, going through the racks closet to the entrance and a devious smile crossed her face; here she was, with the perfect way to pay Nicole back for stealing the shirt she had wanted and she would be an idiot not to go for it. Forcing the smile off her face, Monica bent down as well and reached for some of the clothes Terry was trying to lift and made sure that their hands touched. Terry almost looked embarrassed at the little interaction and Monica knew that her job was all too easy.
"So, you were a security guard huh?" She questioned and Terry looked over at her. "I've always had a thing for cops." She smiled seductively at him.
"I'm not really a cop." Terry said and resumed gathered up the clothes. He stood and waited for Monica to get the rest of the clothes; he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was planning something and he didn't think it was going to be a good something.
Monica sighed under her breath; by the time she got Terry to actually act like a red-blooded American man, Nicole would be gone or, worse, he would have seen the little redheaded bitch and she'd have to come up with a less devious way to get back at the girl. So, instead, she dropped the clothes she had picked up and grabbed Terry by the shoulders, pulling him toward her and kissing him as passionately as she could muster. She'd given her fair share of forced kisses in her time and Monica knew that the kiss would look real to anyone who happened to see it, preferably Nicole.
Terry was so surprised that he dropped the clothes he had in hands and tried to pull away from Monica, but she held onto him, not allowing him to break the kiss. He put his hands on her shoulders and tried to push her away.
Unfortunately for Terry, Nicole happened to look over at that moment and saw him put his hands around Monica's shoulders. Her eyes went wide as she watched the man she was beginning to fall in love with the woman she already hated locked in what looked like an extremely passionate make-out session to her. Nicole felt tears prick the corners of her eyes and she could do nothing but stare at Terry and Monica.
Monica finally allowed Terry to push her away; surprised, Terry looked at the blonde, only to see Nicole standing in the entrance of the clothes shop, staring at them with a look of complete betrayal on her face. Monica saw a look of almost guilt flicker in Terry's eyes and she knew that Nicole was standing behind them; better make this good. "Terry!" Monica snapped and gave him a little shove, almost knocking him over since he was so preoccupied staring at Nicole. "I can't believe you just did that. I thought you were going out with Nicole." As she spoke, she turned and saw that Nicole was indeed watching them. She had to keep from smiling when she saw the redhead, shocked and betrayed, looking close to tears; some people just made being a bitch so much fun.
"Nicole, I can-" Terry stared, taking a few steps toward her but the redhead would have none of it.
Forcing her tears down, Nicole pushed past him; he tried to grab her arm to keep her from leaving so that he could explain but she wrenched away from him. "Don't touch me." She hissed and ducked into the nearest store.
Terry turned to look at Monica, who looked completely innocent. He wanted to say something but his mind seemed frozen, and he was unable to think of anything other then the look on Nicole's face. Finally, he turned away from her and headed in the opposite direction, leaving Monica standing alone with a satisfied smile on her face. He wanted to say something to Nicole but once again his mind seemed locked and he didn't think she'd listen to him anyway. She had rushed into the sports store, which made he worry for his safety since she had looked hurt enough to throw a couple of basketballs at his face.
Instead, he wandered around the mall, much like he had done only minutes before, looking for the very same person he had unintentionally hurt. Terry walked into the electronics store, where Ana and Michael were still watching the movie, seated on a couch they had moved out of one of the furniture stores a few days ago. He recognized the movie now, because of the lead actress, Neve Campbell, sitting in a college cafeteria; it was Scream 2, a movie he had watched with his older brother when he was younger.
Ana looked over at him when he entered. "What's the matter Terry?" She questioned and Michael looked over as well. "Girl trouble?" She guessed when he didn't answer.
"It's complicated." Terry muttered, since he couldn't think of anything else to say and sat down next to Michael, who offered him a sympathetic smile.
"Dealing with women always is." He said and Ana looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Michael quickly changed direction, "Why don't you just tell us what happened."
Terry sighed. "I was looking for Nicole," Ana and Michael nodded, like over-eager school consolers, "and I found Monica, who was stealing a whole bunch of clothes and she wanted me to give her a hand taking the stuff back to wherever she was going to keep it." Another round of nodding. "After that, I don't really know what happened; I guess Monica was mad at Nicole or something because she grabbed me and kiss me and the next thing I know, Nicole is standing there and she saw the whole thing."
Ana pursed her lips; she had never really liked Monica either, she was too devious a girl for her liking. "What did you say?" She questioned.
"She wouldn't let me say anything." Terry answered and shrugged helplessly. "She's probably never going to speak to me again and I don't blame her. Even though it wasn't really my fault...the look on her face..." He trailed off and Michael knew exactly what he was going through. Cheating was the reason wife number one had handed him the pink slip.
"Maybe there's something you can do to let her know how you really feel about her." Michael suggested.
"And to let her know that Monica's a real bitch." Ana seconded and Terry looked over at her. He could tell that Ana's words were an attempt at humor but it didn't do anything to cheer him up. Only Nicole would be able to do that.
Terry knew that they both had a point but he didn't know how to get Nicole to even look at him, let alone listen to him; they had gone through something like this when she had found a picture of his old girlfriend in his wallet. He mentally cursed himself; couldn't he do anything right?
His gaze shifted from Ana and Michael and to the television, where the movie was still playing, now unwatched. Terry remembered the scene that was playing well, since he hadn't really seen the point when he had first watched it, when he had been ten. Neve Campbell's boyfriend was singing about how he loved her, standing on top of the tables in the cafeteria, singing off-key in front of everyone and embarrassing the girl. Back when he had been ten, all he had wanted to see where the blood and guts but now, Terry understood the romance in the scene; he had heard somewhere that the only way a girl really knew whether or not a guy really cared for her was if he was willing to publicly humiliate himself for her.
Ana followed his gaze and saw how intently he was watching the scene. "You know," Terry mumbled to himself, finally looking away. "That just might work."
* * *
It took Ana fifteen minutes to convince Nicole to emerge from the sports store and join their little survivalist group for dinner in front of Hallowed Grounds, just as they did every night. But Nicole meant that going to dinner almost meant facing Terry and that wasn't something she was too excited about. But Ana finally convinced her to leave the store and sit down at the table with the others, though Nicole made a point of sitting as far away from Terry as possible. Even if that meant sitting next to Steve.
Terry kept trying to catch her eye throughout dinner but she stared down at her plate the entire time; Monica watched the both of them, pleased with her work and realized that her years in high school had been well spent. As Terry watched Nicole, he hated himself for ever allowing Monica to trick him into the position she had gotten him into; he hated himself for hurting the one person he truly cared about, again. He didn't blame Nicole for hating him but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try and make it right.
Ana looked over at Terry, decided the time had come and nudged Michael; earlier in the electronics shop, they had promised to help Terry carry out his romantic idea and she was going to make sure that neither guy backed out.
Michael cleared his throat and Terry looked up and several others looked over at him. "Hey, Terry, you look preoccupied. What's on your mind?" He questioned, reciting the lines that the characters had used in the movie.
Terry looked over at Nicole and said, "This morning, I woke up with this feeling, I just didn't know how to deal with." Nicole glanced up, looking at him like she thought he was crazy. Terry cleared his throat. "And so I just decided to myself, I'd hide it to myself, and never talk about it." He didn't have the best singing voice but that didn't exactly bother him at that moment. "But then I go and shout it when you walk into the room: I think I love you." Terry looked directly at Nicole as he continued to try and sing, standing up.
Nicole's cheeks colored. "Terry, what are you doing?" She questioned, looking at the others around her. Ana and Michael were watching with smiles on their faces, Steve was staring at Terry like he had really lost his mind and Kenneth didn't look like he knew what to think.
"I think I love you, so what am I so afraid of?" Terry continued, pushing the dinner plates aside and standing on the table. "I'm afraid that I'm not sure of the love there is no cure for. I think I love you, isn't that what life is made of? And though it worries me to say that I've never felt this way."
Nicole's cheeks got a darker shade of red and she stared down at the surface of the table; it was difficult to be pissed off at someone when they were standing on top of a dinner table trying to sing a love song.
"Believe me, you really don't have to worry, I only want you happy." Terry sang, stepping over the plates as he walked across the table. "And if you say go away I will but I think better still I'd better stick around and love you." He stepped on Monica's plate on purpose, acting just as innocent as she had earlier when she glared at him with a look of disgust.
"I think I love you, so what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for." Terry stopped when he reached where Nicole was sitting, hopping off the table and almost kicking Steve in the face in the process and standing next to her. Nicole didn't meet his gaze, staring down at the floor, but that was mostly because she was more embarrassed then upset with him.
"Nicole," Terry began, taking her hands in his and forcing her to look up at him, "I know that I hurt you and how it happened doesn't matter. What does matter is that I love you," Monica's mouth dropped open, "and I'd really like it if you gave me another chance."
Nicole felt tears well in her eyes again and this time she didn't bother to blink them away. "Okay," she relented with a smile. "But this your last chance." She smiled and rolled her eyes to let him know that she wasn't exactly serious but it was something to keep in mind.
Terry smiled as well and pulled her to her feet, kissing her and wrapping his arms around her waist. Nicole smiled as she returned the kiss, blushing even more and laughing when Ana and Michael started clapping, like audience members pleased with the cheesy end to a sappy romance movie. But Nicole didn't really care; she was pretty pleased with the end herself.