Hey so this is the 2nd and final chapter. Enjoy guys! It was fun to write
I don't own ANYTHING related to New Girl or much else for that matter
"come on!" Jess whined from the living room.
"We were supposed to be there! Schmidt is going to go ballistic! Which I'd normally find sort of funny but I need that money, man!" Winston, yelled
They were all waiting for Nick to go to this thing. They had no clue how he was so late, when he never took more than 2 minutes to get ready normally. In all fairness he did shower today so that took up some time.
"Okay Nick that's it! I am convinced now that you are just doing something super weird in there and aren't changing at all! We are leaving!" Jess yelled
"Don't rush me like this! I feel very rushed! I suddenly understand why you hate this, Jessica!" Nick yelled
"Whatever, man! We are going. See you there" Winston screamed before him and Jess left for Greystone Manor.
"You're all dead to me!" Nick returned, "Guys? Did you really leave? Are you just being quite to scare me into thinking you're gone?" If they had left he was going to be pissed.
"I have a shirt in my room that I use as a handkerchief which I haven't washed in 6 months!" he yelled, just to make sure they had really left. They would have to respond to that.
They didn't respond. He wasn't used to doing this whole tux thing and he didn't know what the cufflinks did. How did that clasp on? He just didn't understand! And how do you tie a bow tie? Is it like a knot? Do you tie it like shoes?
He decided to go with the tux because Julius Pepperwood was going to be a classy detective. If he was going undercover, he had to fit in and merge with the others. Just cause Pepperwood gets his hands dirty doesn't mean he has to dress dirty. But screw this bow tie! He threw it down, fed up. He was going open-collar on this bad boy.
He looked in the mirror, taking out his comb he was putting in his front chest pocket. "Pepperwood you slick son of a bitch" he murmured to himself in the mirror. He looked hot to trot.
"Now for the final look" he said, then got his aviators and put them on, turning to look in the mirror again.
"You glorious bastard"
He arrived at this club. He hated it already. The music was too loud, everyone was too pretty, and the place was too fancy. He felt insanely out of place. He felt like just leaving, not going through with this whole thing. But then he remembered, $350. He needed that money. He was behind in rent and he also wanted one of those remote controlled helicopters. Besides, he wasn't Nick Miller; he was Julius Pepperwood, Chicago extraordinaire and flashy detective.
He straightened up and pushed past the hoards of people towards the bar, hoping to find the gang. His lack of vision due to his aviators being so dark made him touch a girls butt as he pushed past her. He was about to apologize profusely but he was Julius Pepperwood. He was a damn cool cat.
"Sorry honey, can't help myself. Julius Pepperwood is a butt guy. Julius Pepperwood. From Chicago" he said in his Chicago accent
The girl looked disgusted, "Do you have like….a problem?" she asked
"Pepperwood. Chicago. Deep dish pizzas," Nick was panicking. The girl just walked away quickly. He needed to work on his character. But tonight was the night to do so.
He kept on going to the bar, this time careful not to hit anyone's butts. He finally got to the bar and looked around for Schmidt, Winston, or Jess. It was just too damn busy in this place! Even the bar was too much for him. A bar should be made out of wood. Solid oak or cherry. A man's bar. This one was made out of glass or something.
"Nicholas!" He turned and saw Schmidt. Schmidt walked up to him, a flavored whiskey in hand
"Here you go my friend, this is for you," he said and handed him the drink. "The bartender knows you're with me so just order these bad boys all night and push push push"
"We havin a baby here or sellin some whiskey?" Pepperwood asked, cracking a "cool" smirk
Schmidt stared at him for a good long while. He then reached up and slapped Nick in the face.
"Ow!" Nick yelped and held his cheek, "What the hell was that for?"
"I do not want your shenanigans tonight, Nicholas. Take off the aviators and just be Nick," He threatened. "Never thought I'd ever hear myself urging you to be yourself"
"Look, being Julius Pepperwood gives me confidence. Honestly, I think he'll do a better job of pushing this stuff" he said and then drank the whiskey before spitting it out all over the floor.
Schmidt jumped "You goon! You selfish selfish little goon!"
Nick wiped his mouth and made a disgusted face at his drink. "What is the flavor? Nana's perfume?" he argued
Schmidt slapped him again and leaned in, "You are supposed to be selling! Not repelling!"
"Well Julius Pepperwood would have handled that a lot cooler!" Nick argued and then chugged the rest of the whiskey before slamming it on the counter, "Reminds me of a cold one at the cubs game", he now said as Julius
Schmidt sneered and crossed his arms, giving in. "Make this work, Nick" he threatened, "Because I am so close to disowning you"
"Don't hafta worry 'bout that kid. Pepperwood's got this thing under wraps," Pepperwood said, before turning around and ordering another disgusting flavored whiskey.
He was whistling loudly as he waited for the drink.
"Julius?" he heard a sultry voice and wondered who the hell would know his alter ego's name? He looked to see Jess, smoking hot in her red dress with her red lips and curled hair. He looked at her up and down, and was about to let his Nick-ness ruin it. He then cleared his throat and whistled.
"Gotta tell ya honey, you are rockin that dress up down and sideways" he then winked.
She snorted almost with laughter but resumed her character. "Julius, it's me. Jessica Night", she said in her deep sultry Jessica Night voice
Nick straightened up a bit, still leaning against the bar. He started to smile now. He couldn't believe she was being his sidekick! And that voice. That voice was insanely hot. It wasn't okay for him to think that. But he was Julius Pepperwood, not Nick. So he didn't have to feel so guilty for thinking that. After all he was attracted to Jessica Night right now, not Jessica Day.
"What happened to that Stacia, chick?" Julius asked, wondering what happened to Jess's socialite character she originally had planned to be.
"Stacia? Stacia is my cousin. And I killed her"
Julius's eyes widened, a bit shocked. "You killed her?"
Jess realized that was a flawed character development. "K wait.. take.. take that one back. That was a misstep", Jess said, breaking character but then returning to Jessica Knight.
"What I meant was," she put on her sultry voice again, "She had to go to rich people meeting so sent me. Jessica Knight. Your loyal sidekick" she said with an exaggerated wink
Julius smiled. He was excited now for this night, no longer dreading it. This could genuinely be fun.
"Well Ms. Night why don't we getcha a drink and then we can go discuss our current case" he said, before turning and ordering another flavored whiskey. He turned and gave Jess the whiskey he ordered for himself before, as he waited for the new one.
Jess smiled at him, took a sip, and then spit it sideways and started coughing.
"Bahhh! Bah bah bahhhh" she spat disgustedly
Julius looked around, realizing him and Jess were really not selling this whiskey thing so well. "Hey, honey your no longer in France where they spit the alcohol!" Julius yelled. He thought that'd be a really smooth cover-up on why she had to spit out the beverage.
Jess looked at him, still recovering and realized they were supposed to sell this stuff. She then knowingly winked, way to obviously, and held her breathe and started to chug the drink, much to Julius's shock.
"Hey, uh Night, take it easy" he said, but secretly found it kind of sexy.
"Can't help it. This STUFF IS GREAT! THIS JACOBS FLAVORED WHISKEY IS REALLY GOOD! IT MAKES ME WANT TO DRINK IT ALL NIGHT! YUM! GOOD!" She yelled so people would hear.
Julius smirked and then took his whiskey that was just served to him, and he chugged it as well, holding his breathe.
"Damn you guys know how to drink" These couple of guys said next to him
Pepperwood and Night saw this as an opportunity to push some bottles of this Jacobs flavored bottle of poop.
"Sure do soldier" Night said, saddling up to the guy, giving her best flirtatious eyes. Julius watched closely.
The guy smiled back at her, "What are you drinking?" he asked
"Jacobs flavored whiskey" she responded
"Jacob's what?"
"It's a new brand. It's only the coolest new drink to hit clubs around here" she shrugged, nonchalantly before rubbing his arm smiling
Julius watched, not sure if he liked this approach too much. Flirting to sell drinks. It didn't seem right. And it wasn't just because Jess was doing it.
The guy nodded and then ordered a round of the flavored whiskey for him and his buddies and Jess. He turned to Jess, eyeing her in a way that was really disgusting to Julius. He was staring at her boobs a little too much and slinking his arms around her waist.
The drinks arrived and Jess grabbed one and said, "I gotta go doll, thanks for the drink" and quickly grabbed Julius's hand and ran away from the scene
Julius was now smiling. He was sure she would go off on her own, flirting her way to sell drinks and leaving their role-playing. But that magnificent witch was just pushing drinks and dashing! Brilliant!
They pushed their way quickly through the crowd to an area on the side of the room. "Night, you devious sleuth" Julius applauded
Jessica Night smiled and laughed, "Julius, this reminds me of our case in finding the man who stole the mayor's safe"
Julius nodded, "I remember dat one doll. We broke into town hall, took the secretary hostage, and used our laser beams in our watches to burn open the cabinets"
Jess looked at him oddly, breaking character once again. "Nick- we are detectives- not spies. Is that why you are dressed like James Bond?" she asked
He looked down at his attire and sighed "Damnit, yes. I always get those two roles confused. They are almost interchangeable," he argued and she tilted her head skeptically.
"Is the character ruined now?" he asked, wondering if he didn't separate spy and detective enough.
"No you're fine! Detective can look sexy too"
Nick smiled a little coyly, "Sexy? Does someone think I'm sexy?"
Jess blushed. "What? Shut up" she chirped
Nick smiled to himself and went back into character; "It wouldn't be da first time a gal's taken a likin' to ol' Pepperwood. You got some looks too, Night"
Jess smiled appreciatively, blushing slightly again. "Enough chit chat, Pepperwood. I'm really here to tell you some big news," she said and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "The president called. At midnight tonight there will be a man once considered very dangerous and dead….roaming the streets once again"
Julius lowered his glasses down to the bridge of his nose and looked over them, "You telling me, Night.." he paused for dramatic effect, "Dat there's a zombie criminal that's gonna walk these street's tonight?"
She leaned in again, putting her hand on his shoulder, making their bodies close to each other. Julius felt his heart beat a little faster.
"It's the zodiac killer" she whispered
Julius's eyes bulged. That was….brilliant. "My god, honey. You got direct word from the big man?"
She nodded, her face close to his. "It's up to you Julius"
His head was running a million miles per hour. Between her face being so close, him being able to smell her perfume, and this amazing idea now bolting through his head, he felt faint.
"I can't do without ya, Night" he insisted.
"I'm always there for you, Julius," she said. There was something in her tone of voice and the way she worded it that made Nick think she was talking to Nick and not Julius.
He felt himself swallowing thickly, and he saw Jess now sort of reacting to their proximity and her wording. She quickly pulled back and chugged the whiskey, already tipsy off her mind.
Julius chugged his whiskey as well. "Let's go sell some of this stuff," He suggested, just to break the air for a bit
A bit later, Nick and Jess were trashed. Their only way to drink the disgusting drink was chugging it while holding their breath. They somehow manage to push a lot of the drink though. Mostly to stupid frat boys and girls trying to act sophisticated by drinking whiskey. But every time they pushed it they dashed, which caused Nick and Jess- or Pepperwood and Night- to laugh.
They were having a lot of fun role-playing. Throughout the night they kept counting down to midnight, when the Zodiac Zombie would rise. But they had sort of lost track of time and were counting down to midnight past 1am. Nick still didn't know how to use this brilliant story idea to his advantage, but he was working on it. Just what would Pepperwood's character need to detect from the Zodiac?
Winston found them near 2am; they were pushed up against the wall, sliding across it. He stared at them
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Damnit kid we are in the middle of a mission, do yourself a favor and get lost. You could be at risk just bein' near us" Julius replied
"Winston get out of here! We're surrounded and we still haven't found the blue panther!" Jessica Night screamed as they still shifted along the wall
Winston was beyond weirded out, which was hard to do when it came to Nick and Jess. "Okay I have no clue what's going on here- nor do I really think I want to know. However, I am seeing now, that this crap we are drinking may have a slight risk of hallucinogenics" he said as he watched them
Julius shh'd him
"Don't shush me! I will shush slap you right off that wall. I came here to ask if you were able to push any of this stuff? The stuff tastes like dog breath"
"Night, watch it!" Julius yelled and grabbed Jess's hand and pulled her away from the wall, "The wall was giving away! The damn government must have planted small bombs inside them!"
Jess jumped to him and held onto him, breathing heavily as if she just survived a near death experience when in actuality they just jumped away from a wall near the VIP section of a fancy club.
Winston watched, becoming more and more confused "Man…..there is no way I am drinking this stuff" he said to himself quietly before walking away
Jess was still clutching Julius's chest, before looking up at him. They locked eyes, well through Julius's aviators. "You saved me Pepperwood"
"Damnit Night, you had me at Zodiac" he said huskily back.
It was all fun in games but they were crazy wasted and right now, holding each other, they were kind of entranced by one another. It was almost becoming too much for both of them, their breath hitting each other and everything.
"It's after midnight now," Jess decided to say to hopefully break this intense moment
Julius slowly unwrapped his arms from around her, somewhat reluctantly "I got some questioning to do. That zombie is mine"
"What are you going to ask him?" Night asked
This was the issue, the whole problem with his stories. What was he supposed to detect when his victims are already dead? All of a sudden, a light bulb went off.
"I'm gonna find out why he did this, who his victims are, and give justice to those effected" he said, suddenly feeling excited and enlightened. He figured out his story! He'd ask the zombie killers why they did it. And the zombie victims, he'd figure out who killed them. It was brilliant! It wasn't how they were dead; it was why they were dead!
"I'm Julius Pepperwood" he said and took off his aviators for dramatic effect, "And I find justice from the rising"
Jess was genuinely excited now. Not as Jessica Night but as Jessica Day. She knew he'd find what to write about! And she was so glad she could help any way she could.
"Nick that's it! That's great!" she encouraged
He smiled at her, so thankful for her help. It may have seemed silly, but all their role-playing sort of inspired him. He was Julius damned Pepperwood.
They locked eyes yet again. They were feeling drawn to one another but before they knew it Schmidt approached them.
"You sure know how to make a scene don't you?" He spat, before they turned to look at him. He continued, "There have been complaints of people pushing into others and screaming something about zodiac zombies and golden panthers?! I was approached by the manager asking me to escort you out for making others highly uncomfortable"
"It was the blue panther! And Schmidt, Julius solved the hole in his story!"
Julius smiled and shot a finger gun at him, "Julius Pepperwood. Rising Justice dead justice" he said. He couldn't remember the cool tagline he used before and he was just so drunk.
"You're talking coocoo bananas, Nicholas. Luckily you two pushed the hell outta this whiskey so I am only 60% disappointed in you two. I wish I could say 100% though" he shook his head like a father to his children.
He took both of their shoulders and led them through the crowd, having called a cab for the two of them. He escorted them into the cab
"Hey where's my money, kid? Da Bears tickets are really hikin up in prices" Julius smiled from inside the cab.
"You get it tomorrow when you're not literally secreting alcohol" he said and shut the cab door.
The cab ride got weirdly quite. After their numerous moments before, they knew something was up. And they were at the level of intoxication where the whole cab was spinning and the ride was upsetting their stomachs.
They finally got home and were stumbling up to the apartment. Jess kept tripping and Nick kept trying to catch her, which would cause him to trip.
"I have to….find….the golden castle" Jess said, apparently still in character, as she climbed the stairs.
"We gotta find out who fired the Pope!" Nick yelled, also still as Julius, as they stumbled in their hallway to the door.
They were giggling at this point as they fumbled, opening the door. They finally managed to open it and spilled inside.
"Tonight was funnnn" Jess slurred, "We solved so many important cases"
"Well we are the best detectives in the Southern California area" Nick replied
"You're the detective Julius, I am merely an aide"
"Couldn't do it without you honey," Nick said, using his Pepperwood accent again
Jess smiled widely, going back into Jessica Night for a second as well, "I got your back, Pepperwood"
Nick laughed softly and so did Jess. Tonight was sort of chaotic, but it was insanely fun. And he didn't think she got how much it meant to him that she sort of helped him with his story. He knew she intentionally helped too; it wasn't just a fluke of the game.
They smiled at each other, yet again. She looked so pretty and hot, Nick thought in his intoxicated mind. Without this entire chaotic club partying going on around him, he was suddenly aware of her and what she was in. There were no distractions.
And she thought the same of him. Standing there in his now disheveled tux, his aviators hanging on his open collar. The tension, once again, became too much.
Jess went into her defense mechanism by making a silly joke. "Well Julius, it's been real," she said before saluting him. "Jessica Night is going to go sleep this thing off"
Nick nodded, wishing she didn't go.
"G'night, honey" he said as Julius
He knew it was for the best, by her going to bed. It wasn't good to act on their attraction. They learned that the hard way. Nick knew it would further hurt loft dynamics if anything happened again.
But as he heard her bedroom door shut, and it broke him out of his trance, he suddenly hated skirting around it. And he wasn't Nick Miller tonight. He was Julius damn Pepperwood. And Pepperwood, wouldn't let a girl walk to her room after a night of eyeing each other, without doing anything about it.
Jess was getting out her pajamas when she heard a knock on her door. She looked up, and walked over before opening it and seeing Nick there. He looked different. His eyes were darker and he looked, determined.
"Did you forget som-"
He cut her off and collided his lips with hers. His fear was her not reciprocating it but within seconds she was hungrily kissing him back, clawing at his back and his hands all over her. They nearly looked like they were eating each other it was so frenzied and deep. He pushed her up against her wall, not breaking their kiss at all. Their breathing was so loud it was filling her whole entire room. They then heard a door open.
"Pitiful! Absolutely pitiful! Were you even trying, Winston?"
"The stuff tastes like gasoline Schmidt!"
Nick and Jess quickly pulled apart, breathing ridiculously heavily and wiping their mouths quickly to hide the evidence.
Schmidt and Winston continued arguing to their rooms.
Winston passed Jess's room but stopped and looked at them. They looked at him, terrified he would put 2 and 2 together.
"I don't understand…." He said and Nick was about to shout, 'she did it!' But he refrained.
"How you two weirdoes, managed to push about 14 bottles of that junk. And yet normal ol' Winnie pushed 1. This world makes no sense" he shook his head and walked to his room.
Jess and Nick looked at each other, relieved out of their minds.
"Look I um-" Jess, started
"It's fine, don't worry about it. That wasn't us," he said
She looked at him oddly
"We were just in character still" he reasoned, to make things easier.
She looked at him for a second, before smiling sadly, "Right" she nodded, holding her arm awkwardly. "Just in character"
He nodded, his hands now in his pockets. "Well….g'night Jessica Day" he said as Julius Pepperwood, before smiling weakly and leaving the room to go to bed
"G'night Julius Pepperwood"