Happy New Year folks! Hope 2017 has been treating you well so far.

Second Chapter is here! All mistakes are mine, don't be shy to point them out to me. And thank you for reading!

...

A few hours later, the gang stumbled into Nick's basement, shushing each other and giggling uncontrollably. In attempts to not wake up Nick's parents, they were trying not to make too much noise, but Nick knocked over a vase right at the entrance and Kim had a terrible fit of hiccups, which was only making her giggle more. Lindsay was the quietest of them, trying to navigate through Nick's house and pulling Kim behind her, who was pulling a sleepy Daniel by his sleeve. Finally reaching the basement the three of them fell on the sofa in a lump of tangled limbs, laughing, while Nick shut the door behind them and turned on the dim lights. Finally untangling herself from Kim, Lindsay moved over to make room for Nick to join, feeling slightly awkward for reasons she did not care to understand right now. Everything was so great and she loved her friends so much, she wanted to fit them all on one bed and… cuddle? At least that's what she saw Kim and Daniel apparently doing, and she kinda felt like joining them. Wrapping her arms around Kim's back, she closed her eyes just for a minute and suddenly felt very warm, like a big, heavy, hot blanket was laid behind and around her.

The next thing she knew it was morning. It came in harsh – someone was screaming, people were jumping around her… Slowly things came into focus and she realized: they fell asleep last night. They fell asleep on the bed in Nick's basement, all stoned, and his parents found them – a tangled mess with chips and empty beer bottles around them. Worse than that – she was lying on top of Nick, her arms wrapped around him, while Daniel was putting on his pants – wait, what the hell?! and Kim yelling at him. Nick's father's voice resonated across the hallway and disappeared upstairs, followed by a loud bang – he shut the door to the basement so hard all four of them jumped. Lindsay sat down, horrified.

"What time is it?" Nick asked, rolling off the sofa and picking up the chips on his way.

"It's just quarter to 6," Lindsay checked her watch, "Wow your parents get up early."

"Oh yeah. I gotta go talk to them. Shit," he got up, straightened his shoulders, preparing for the storm, and walked up the stairs into the house, closing the door behind him.

"Shit," Daniel agreed, picking up his jacket and car keys, "I gotta get home, Mom's gonna freak out."

Kim stretched and looked into the mirror in the corner of the room.

"You need a ride, Linds?" she asked casually.

"Er, no, I'm just gonna walk home and hope my folks aren't up yet. They usually get up around half past 6, so… fingers crossed."

Loud voices were heard from upstairs, arguing.

"Shit, Nick's in trouble," Daniel headed towards the staircase. "Do you think I can sneak out without them noticing me?"

"Hey, we need to go, too," Kim whispered loudly as they approached the top of the stairs. Lindsay frowned. She didn't want to leave Nick to deal with his parents all by himself. After all, it was their fault, too. But she also needed to get home before she got busted and grounded even more than she already is.

"We can't just sneak out, Daniel," Lindsay whispered. "His Dad is a psycho!"

"Yeah, that's exactly why I am outta here," Daniel opened the door carefully and peeked outside, "All clear!"

They squeezed through the door quietly, listening to the heated conversation in the living room.

"I thought I made it perfectly clear that you cannot party all night and drag your friends down with you, too," said Mr. Andopolis, "Do you not remember the conversation we had about this girl?"

"I remember, Dad," Nick's voice was barely heard, but Lindsay could not help trying to listen. "We didn't do anything, we just fell asleep by accident, I swear."

"And what am I supposed to tell her father if he asks me why I am letting you have her over for the night?"

"Actually," Lindsay stepped into the living room all of a sudden, surprising everyone, including herself, "I'd appreciate if you did not tell my father anything. He is dealing with some, er…" she stumbled, "Health problems, so I don't want him to worry too much. It was an accident, and I assure you it will never happen again."

Behind her, Kim and Daniel froze, gaping. Nick, too, was shocked to see them upstairs, but lowered his gaze immediately, realizing they must have heard at least the last part of his conversation with his father.

"Well, young lady, I do not approve of such behavior, and I expect to never see any of you young people in my house after 9 pm. Is this clear?" Mr. Andopolis did not look quite as angry anymore and Nick looked relieved. Obviously, he expected more of an outburst from his father.

"Clear, clear," all four nodded, staring at their feet, Kim and Daniel slowly moving towards the exit.

"Thank you, Mr. Andopolis," Lindsay said, looking at Nick briefly, "Goodbye."

She turned around and followed her friends out of the house. It's not even 6 o'clock yet, and this is already a hell of a day. She HAD to get home as fast as possible.

...***...

Luckily, Lindsay managed to sneak back into the window of her bedroom unnoticed just minutes before her parents' alarm went off. Throwing her clothes into a pile under her bed, she quickly put on her pajamas and slid under a blanket. Her head was buzzing, her bed felt too cold and, unable to believe her luck, she was exhausted, but could not even close her eyes. Although there were things that worried her more, she could not get rid of the smile on her face and could not make the memories of Nick's arm around her disappear. His sleepy smile and untidy hair. She's never seen him so vulnerable and adorable at the same time. Wait, did she just mentally call him adorable? Urgh, she turned over on the other side, tucking her blanket under her chin. Why was he always on her mind? Even when they weren't hanging out, somehow she always thought about where he was and what he was doing. Wasn't she over him? Can you really be over the guy who was your first love? Wait, was it love? He definitely wasn't her first crush. He wasn't even a crush, come to think of it. He just stormed into her life, so big and loud, with his drums, and his… body and his bear-hugs. Stormed into her routine, scared her half to death and got kicked out… wow, that sounds meaner than it was, but essentially yes, he did get kicked out. But he left only warm and sweet memories of their time together. How was it possible? Was she blind? Was it stupid to break up with him? But then, she didn't really do it, he broke up with her. Why in the world did Mom have to interfere?

"Lindsay, honey… are you up yet?" the voice behind her door said. Her Mom opened the door a little and peeked in.

"Eeer yes, I am… kinda," Lindsay tried to get up without revealing the pile of clothes underneath her bed.

"I am thinking maybe we could go get breakfast at Grainfields today? Your father has been so miserable whole week about that work stuff, maybe it'll cheer him up," Mrs. Weir smiled hopefully.

"Yeah sure… let me just take a quick shower," Lindsay dropped a throw over the side of her bed, totally inconspicuously.

"Don't you usually shower before bed?" Mrs. Weir seemed a little surprised, but turned away and started walking towards the kitchen, not really waiting for her daughter's reply.

"Yeah, yeah… hot night," mumbled Lindsay and suddenly realized how true it was, in a way.

Nick was back in her thoughts all through her shower, and she could not really understand that foreign feeling it gave her. Was her stomach upset? Was she still a little stoned? Hearing her parents in the living room getting ready to leave the house, she did not have much time to think about anything. Quickly pulling her hair in a low ponytail she took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the day.