"Soooo. You and Winston haven't gotten off to the greatest of starts."
Jess, in typical Jess-style, had mercurially gone from grieving the exit of Coach, to eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new roommate. But Winston didn't seem quite as excited to return to the loft and find that there was a GIRL living there with them now.
Especially one as...well...Jess-y...as Jess.
Jess buried her face in her hands. "Niiiiiick, what else can I do? I really want him to like me, but it feels like I've BLOWN IT every time I've been around him."
"I'd disagree if I could."
Nick and Jess were eating grilled cheese sandwiches together, and she let her head fall forward against the table with a loud and dispairing *thunk*, just as Winston walked in.
"Hey Winston."
"Oh hey WINSTON," Jess popped up like a jack-in-the-box, "Let me get you some lunch. Do you like tomato soup?"
"No thanks, I spent the morning at the DMV, and all I really wanna do right now is lay down on my bed and cry."
"Ohhh, okaaay then," Jess demurred softly, not knowing Winstion well enough to know whether he was joking or not.
As soon as he disappeared into "the little bedroom", Jess hissed, "See Nick, he hates me!"
*thunk*
"Number one Jess, you're going to give yourself a concussion, and besides...oh geez...here...just..." Nick reached across the table and retrieved a curled tip of her hair from her soup bowl, and pinched it dry. He looked around for a napkin, and not finding one, just unceremoniously licked the red liquid off his fingers.
Oblivious to Jess's disgusted look, Nick continued, "Besides, you have to understand, Winston's going through a lot right now...you know...inside. That place you like to talk about all the time. Playing professional ball has been the goal of his entire life, and now that that's over, he has no idea what to do with himself, or where his life is going next. He has to start completely over, and it's not always easy to know how to do that, or to find the will to do it."
Kinda like him. Dammit, why did talking to Jess so often turn into what felt like a therapy session, whether she even realized it or not? But Nick was in no mood for self-realization, and he stuffed that thought back where it belonged, in the corner of his mind where he didn't ever think about that disasterous date with Katie Goodberry in the 11th grade, or the week he spent pursuing a professional skate-boarding career.
Meanwhile, Jess was talking, saying something about closed doors and open windows, and blah blah blah...
"JESS. What you have to realize is that when someone like Winston, or, you know, let's just take for example, ME...is having bad day, we may just not be in the mood for, you know, someone with your particular level of degree of...I'll just say 'perkiness'."
"But Nick, I am a joy and a pleasure to be around!" At his look she explained, "My seventh grade math teacher told me that one time, and I'll never forget it. Oh, sure, there were some kind of charges for inappropriate touching with students or something like that, later in his career...but I'm sure he still meant it at the time."
"Yeah, ok, granted, there are times when you're a joy and a pleasure to be around. And then there's the rest of the week, when you're pretty much just a pain in the ass."
Jess pouted prettily, and Nick continued, "Look Jess, just get us a TV...ANY TV...and that will go a long way towards endearing yourself to Winston, I promise."
"I'M ON IT!" Jessed jumped up and smoothed down her red dress.
She looked cute, Nick observed with part of his brain, while he continued, "And in the meantime, DON'T TALK TO HIM! Just...don't! talk to him!"