"I don't know how I can even be surprised by you, anymore," Alex huffed as she leaned back against the brick wall just outside the theatre.
Nicky, arms crossed, leaned next to her. She had the biggest grin on her face, feeling the victory despite not actually achieving the ultimate goal yet.
"And now, thanks to you, I have to do my English Lit. project with some stupid kid I've never even talked to before."
"Hey man, you started this thing," Nicky chimed in, "Now you're just a pawn in my little game."
"What, and Morello's the Queen?"
"Y'know, when I win this, I think I should have you stand up and announce to everyone in Central Park that 'Nicky Nichols is the sexiest, coolest person alive who can have any woman she desires while I, Alex Vause, am not.'"
"You're pretty fucking cocky for someone who hasn't actually won yet. Just because you're forcing her to hang out with you doesn't mean she's down to fuck. Not with her pretty pretty boyfriend running around."
Nicky pushed off from the wall and turned on her heels to look back at Alex; her arms uncrossed and held out in the air as if they were going to stop Alex from talking.
"Don't doubt me, alright? There's a method to my madness. It's easy sailing from here on out. And y'know if Chapman was in our class I would've got Luschek to partner you two up," she tried to reason.
"Thanks," Alex added, unimpressed.
Just then, the theatre door swung open and a group of students poured out. Nicky tried to look as casual as possible as Morello finally made her grand entrance.
"Oh, Nichols, you're here," Lorna said as she caught the sight of her project partner.
"Told ya I'd be, didn't I? How was your drama thing?"
"Oh, it was good! Ar-" she paused when she saw Vause, who was still leaning against the wall behind the door. "Is she comin' with us?"
"Nah nah, she's just leaving. She's got her own shit to do, right Vause?" Nicky shot her friend a sharp look.
"Yeah," Alex grinned, shaking her head slightly as she pushed off against the wall. As she walked passed Nicky, she couldn't help but lean in and whisper, "Like throwing up," in her friend's ear, just loud enough that Lorna was able to catch what she'd said.
"What, is she bulimic or somthin'?" Lorna had asked when Vause was out of hearing distance.
"Nah, she just had too many tacos at lunch, y'know?"
Lorna gave Nicky an all-knowing look accompanied with an 'egh' that escaped from the side of her red lips. Nicky couldn't help but chuckle a little.
They started to casually walk to Lorna's locker, Nicky automatically assuming she needed to put something away or take something out.
"Hey, you ever been to Red's?" Nicky glanced to the girl who was walking beside her.
"You mean that little Russian joint in Queens with the scary chef lady?"
"Yeah – Red."
"Oh sure, whatta 'bout it?"
"Well, you said we should go hang out somewhere after class, figured we go there. I gotta special little discount there, so if you're hungry we could eat too."
"Hungry? Oh," Lorna had placed a hand on her stomach, "I'm starvin'! I'm so hungry I could eat like a horse."
Nicky furrowed her brows, "You mean, you're so hungry you could eat a horse?"
"No, no," Morello pointed a finger in the air and methodically tapped the empty space with each 'no', "I think it's eat like a horse. 'Cause they're so big, they gotta eat a lot, y'know?"
They had arrived at Lorna's locker and she started to open it whilst Nicky leaned her shoulder against the neighboring locker.
"Yeah, they're so big, so you're- y'know what? Nevermind. This wouldn't even be a question if we had an actual English teacher."
Lorna giggled and Nicky swooned.
"So what do ya say? Wanna go?"
"Yeah, sure," Morello pulled out her purse and tucked it under her arm.
"Hey, ma!" Nicky shouted as she and Lorna entered the small restaurant.
"Nicky!" Red had joyously shouted as she began to make her way out from behind the counter.
Lorna leaned over to Nicky and whispered, "She's your mom?"
"Figuratively," she responded.
Red approached the pair with open arms and once the gap between them was closed, rested her hands down on Nicky's shoulders. "My daughter, how was school today?"
Nicky shrugged, "Eh, same old same old."
Red nodded her head as her eyes shifted to Lorna.
"Oh, uh, ma, this is Lorna Morello," and as Nicky spoke those words a sly smile tugged at Red's lips (she had heard of Lorna Morello and her daughter's admiration of her from Alex, of course). Nicky noticed the look on her mother figure's face and figured she'd better explain before Red made anything too apparent.
"We're partners," no that definitely didn't sound any better, "In a project. For school."
Red tilted her head back but refused to wipe the smile away, "I see," she mused.
"Yeah, so uh, we needed a place to come… talk about our project. And I thought, y'know, Red's. And maybe you'd make us some of that awesome Russian bread thing I love so much but can never pronounce."
"Vatrushka."
"Yeah, that."
"Ooh, that sounds yummy," Lorna piped in. "I was just tellin' Nichols how I'm so starved I could eat like a horse!"
Red raised an eyebrow at the small girl, but dare not question it. "My food is very filling. You will be full horse in no time. You two, sit. I'll get you something."
"Thanks, Red, you're the best," Nicky winked at her as she began to walk back to her kitchen.
"Come on, kid," Nicky tapped Lorna's shoulder and directed her over to an empty table where they sat down.
Lorna put both her arms on the table and leaned in toward Nicky, "What's figuratively mean?"
"It means the opposite of literally, which me-"
"I know what the word means!" Lorna interrupted Nicky, who began to grin ear to ear. "What's it mean in terms of she's figuratively your mother? You don't got a real ma?"
"According to the DNA results, I do, but it sure as fuck don't feel like it."
"So how'd ya meet Red?"
"My nanny-" Lorna's eyebrows shot up and a smirk snuck its way onto her lips, the idea of Nicky Nichols with a nanny was too brilliant to picture.
"You had a nanny, Nichols?" her voice was low, trying to poke fun at her.
"Hey, you want the story or not?" Nicky shot back, her grin still spread over her face. Lorna pressed her lips together hard, making it clear for Nicky that she wasn't going to do anymore talking or interrupting.
"That's better. So, my nanny would bring me here when I was younger on days when I exhausted her too much she didn't feel like cooking-"
Lorna's eyes grew soft as Nicky told her this story of herself. Nobody really knew much about Nicky, other than she had a good track record with girls, would occasionally get high, and had a skill to bite back with the quickest, snarkiest remark at any point in time. Lorna almost felt proud of herself for being the person that Nicky told this story to.
"She was trying to get me to experience 'all the foods of the world' or something like that. For Russia, we ended up here. And then I guess Red and I hit it off or somethin'. I've been coming around to see her nearly every day since I was like eight."
"Hasn't she got kids of her own?"
"Yeah, she's got three boys. But they're a couple years older than me and total morons. Even Red'll admit to that."
Lorna laughed into the side of her hand, which was now propped up by her elbow on the table top. Nicky laughed too, but purely because Lorna's was contagious.
"And your mom don't mind?" Lorna asked after a few seconds.
"Yeah right, she's probably so fucking grateful to Red for taking me off her hands half the time. Now she's justified for takin' off with her dumbass boyfriend to Brazil every week 'cause it's not abandonment if someone's paying attention to your kid, right?" Nicky's words cut harsh through her voice, but she tried to act like it didn't matter or she just didn't care.
Lorna's eyes got sad, however. She didn't know how or why, but she was able to see right through Nicky's cover up. She knew that even if Nicky acted like it wasn't a big deal, it was.
She reached across the table and grabbed Nicky's hand, giving it a light squeeze and flashing a comforting smile. "At least ya got someone, right? You've got Red and Vause. Everybody's gotta have someone."
Nicky wasn't sure how to react to Lorna taking her hand. She had felt a shiver run down her spine, but she attributed it to being cold. Even if it was unconditionally hot for this time of year and Red didn't believe in air conditioning. Something felt nice about it though; being touched so softly and gently by someone. And Nicky smiled. But not her normal half smile half smirk that was so strictly Nicky Nichols. This was the most genuine smile she had ever had. And she knew how obviously ridiculous it was of her because she looked away, knowing that if she didn't look at Lorna she would be able to wipe it off.
"Two Vatrushkas!" Red broke the tender moment between the two to bring them their plates and a couple glasses of milk.
Nicky was actually a little thankful for Red's untimely return. It gave her a chance to get back in her head. She had been floating on air for the last few seconds.
Morello pulled her hands back to make room for the plates, as did Nicky.
They had spent the next few hours talking and eating. Neither of them had noticed how fast time was flying or that they hadn't even began to discuss their project. They talked about themselves, their friends, school (Lorna gave Nicky the whole rundown on all the gossip), the food (which Nicky couldn't help but notice Lorna shoveling in. She teased her; "Damn, kid, you could've eaten two horses." And Morello had to reply with, "Like two horses."). They talked about music and TV shows and movies and Lorna managed to lay down the entire plot of West Side Story (no spoilers, she needed Nicky to see it for herself). It didn't feel like long before Red had come over to redirect their attention to the clock.
"It's late. You two run home. You're parents must be worried sick, Lorna. And Nicky, you know I don't like you walking around the city at night. Go!"
The two followed Red's instructions and left, but they did not go home. They walked around in the park for a little bit. They went and got ice cream (because somehow after their hours of snacking, Lorna still had room for ice cream). They went into a couple of stores and looked around a bit.
It was well past dark when they finally decided they'd better call it a night. Nicky offered to take Lorna home, but she refused.
"No, it's so far away for you. You don't really wanna go all the way to Brooklyn and back tonight."
"Who says I gotta come back? We could have a slumber party," Nicky flashed her a devious smirk as she pushed out her bottom lip with her tongue. Morello squinted her eyes and shot Nicky a look.
"Alright, alright. No slumber party. Look, I really don't mind taking you home. I've got nothin' else to do tonight, anyway."
It was a mix of wanting to spend just a little more time with Lorna and not wanting to go home to an empty apartment that had inspired Nicky's act of chivalry.
In the few hours they had gotten to know each other, it had become very apparent to Lorna that Nicky was stubborn beyond belief and she would never win this battle. And really, she wasn't sure she wanted to.
"Alright. I gotta admit, I get kinda nervous on the subway at night, anyway."
Nicky smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Don't worry, kid. I've got your back."
They were just a few blocks from Lorna's place.
"Oh! We didn't talk about our project!" Lorna had exclaimed out of nowhere.
"Eh, we'll do it next time. Maybe tomorrow."
Lorna turned her body toward Nicky, a taunting smirk on her bright red lips. "Nichols, are you askin' me to hang out with you tomorrow?"
"Well, we gotta figure something out for this project, don't we?" Nicky attempted to defend herself, but was chuckling lightly at how obvious her cover up was.
"I'll let ya know tomorrow at lunch, okay? I probably won't be allowed outta the house after comin' home so late tonight."
"You gonna get in trouble?"
Lorna nodded.
"Shit, why didn't you tell me? I would've brought you back a lot sooner."
"No," Lorna's hand jumped to place on Nicky's arm and she was now slowly walking sideways as the two continued on, "I don't regret bein' out this late with ya! I had a lotta fun with you today. I've never had this much fun before."
The way Lorna's voice sounded, desperate when trying to convince Nicky she didn't regret staying out, but sad when she mentioned never having a day like this before, it was clear to Nicky they suffered a similar fate. She was lonely.
Nicky nodded at her, giving her a weak smile. She didn't want Morello to think she suspected anything of her, but deep down Nicky had never felt more connected to a person. She would never admit it, but something about being with Morello was just so simple and comforting. Nicky always felt the need to impress people, even Alex, but with Lorna she didn't. She could just chill, which was a strange feeling for her.
"This is it," Lorna had said, pointing up to a light blue house. Few lights were on, which told Nicky just how late it actually was.
"Hey look, if you really think you're gonna get in trouble, I'll come in and help ya explain things. Maybe they 'd feel better about you being gone so long if they knew someone was with you, y'know?"
"No no!" her voice reached a pitch so high it almost made Nicky jump. Lorna realized how abrupt that was and tried to recover quickly, "I mean, everybody's probably asleep already, so there's no reason to wake 'em up. It's okay, really. I'll see ya tomorrow at lunch, okay?"
Nicky could see right through Lorna's mask. Between the way she reacted and the few lights that were still lit, she could tell the smaller girl was lying, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe she just didn't want her family to know who she was hanging out with. Nicky knew she could come on quite strong, but it stung a little bit. Lorna could sense it, no matter how hard Nicky tried to act cool with it. The brunette took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Nicky, embracing her in a tight hug.
"I'm so glad I got to know you, Nicky."
With that, all of Nicky's self destructive thoughts disappeared as quick as they came. Lorna took a step back and gave the sweetest, gentlest smile and Nicky was thankful she was close enough to be able to see it in the dark.
Nicky wasn't sure where it came from, but something about this quiet moment forced her to ask the question that repeatedly shoved its way into her head.
"Who've you got, Lorna? I mean, you were right. Everybody's gotta have someone. You've got someone, right?"
"Oh," Lorna said quietly, her head tilting down so she was no longer looking at Nicky. "Well, sure, I mean… I've got Christopher."
Those words tore through Nicky's body, her head, her chest. Trying to keep herself from sounding hurt, she decided to play dumb.
"He's your boyfriend?" Nicky's addiction to mentally harming herself was kicking in again.
"Sorta. I mean, not yet," Lorna's voice was soft.
"What does 'not yet' mean?"
"It means the opposite of yet," Lorna cracked a small smile and so did Nicky, remembering back to hours before when she had pulled the same joke on Morello.
"Ah, I got you!" Lorna proudly chirped. "It's gotta happen. Me and Christopher, I mean. It's meant to be. I knew it ever since we looked at each other at Winter Formal last year. Just like Tony and Maria."
"He's been runnin' you around for a year?" Nicky asked, suddenly feeling angry.
"No, it's not like that. He's shy. I know, I know, most people think football players are tough and outgoing, but Christopher's the exception. He's really sweet and romantic."
Nicky didn't say anything, just nodded. She was afraid if she spoke, her big mouth would end up making Lorna upset. She clenched her jaw instead.
"Goodnight, Nichols. I'll see ya tomorrow," Lorna rubbed Nicky's shoulder before turning around and walking up the first couple steps of the stairway to her building.
"Hey, Morello," Nicky called out after her, causing Lorna to stop dead in her tracks and turn around, looking for the face to match the voice through the shadows. "If it were me, I would've asked you the second I saw you at that dance."
Lorna looked down, trying to hide her face; hoping that it was too dark for Nicky to see her blush.
"She's fucking crazy," Alex said through the phone. Nicky had called her the second she got home from Morello's, the incessant need to rant about Christopher and what Lorna had told her. "One glance from some guy at a school dance and suddenly they're soul mates? Kid's got issues."
"She thinks its West Side Story."
"She's got issues and she watches too many romance movies. You're so fucked."
"No, Alex, it isn't her fault. This Christopher guy is playing her."
"Well, you of all people should know. But I think you're overreacting. There's no way fucking Christopher cares enough to play someone around for a year."
"He's an asshole!"
"Yeah, the thing with asshole's is that they typically don't care that much. Exhibit A: Luschek. Exhibit B: You."
"Exhibit C: You."
"I'll give you that," Alex shrugged on her end of the line.
"I'm gonna have a talk with Christopher tomorrow."
"Jesus, Nicky, that's by far the stupidest idea you've ever had. And that's saying a lot given your choice of friends. Just, fucking calm down. Lorna Morello is a big girl. She can handle herself."
"Not when she's got her head in the clouds and knows every fucking lyric to One Hand, One Heart."
"The fact that you even know the title to that song makes it abundantly clear you've lost your goddamn mind. Get some sleep, you'll be over it in the morning."
"I'm still gonna talk to him, Vause."
"Okay, if you're so bent on doing something you'll obviously regret later, at least wait until after lunch so I can take one last crack at trying to put some sense in your head. Deal?"
"Fine."
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to post today! I'd also like to note that this is really my first time writing for Lorna, so if I'm doing horribly, please feel free to yell at me. Morello, next to Nicky, is my favourite character, so I want to do her justice. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned, the game has just begun, my friends.