on an unrelated note, does anyone have a tumblr? I would love to follow you. C:


Rodrick was a reckless, inconsiderate, and irresponsible youth. He rarely ever followed orders and when he did, he did it begrudgingly. He could never be taken seriously because he always had a sneaky grin on his features and a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. He had completely crazy goals and would talk about the strangest things. He wasn't as big as a playboy as he would make himself out to be.

Despite all these flaws, Nikki still couldn't help but feel a rush of fluttering butterflies twirl around in her stomach when hearing his name. Her heart would beat louder every time a small smile would appear on his features. The part of her that fought her feelings was slowly losing the battle against the part of her that was growing to "like" Rodrick. Something had just drawn her to him. To her, it felt like the two really did have chemistry because their conversations flowed so perfectly. Of course, she couldn't tell him anything deep or personal but that didn't matter- at least not as much as it should. She thought that there was a slight chance of hope for her and Rodrick. He had smiled at her and would even wink from time to time. Her brain figured that she was taking these gestures out of context, but her heart had to believe.

Nikki's fingers grazed her locker's provided lock before twirling her fingers around the knob. The rusty locker door squeaked as she pulled it open. She unzipped her backpack and emptied two books and two spirals into the faded green locker. Her mind would usually be focused on what she would need for her upcoming class, but this time her thoughts were fogged with Rodrick as the topic. She wondered what their conversations would consist of and if she could get him to smile.

Before she could go even further into her thoughts (nothing perverse, of course), she felt a clanging noise emit from the locker next to hers. This caused her to quickly shut her locker and twitch in reaction to the sudden noise. Standing right before her was the young male she had been gushing about in her thoughts just seconds earlier. He had a grand smile on his face, as if an idea light bulb had blinked on inside his mind.

She couldn't hide her own large, goofy smile that played on her lips. She tried to tone down the smile, but her lips wouldn't let her. Thoughts of how embarrassing she probably looked quickly coursed through her mind. "What's up?" She asked, her tone surprisingly casual. If she couldn't keep her smile under control, then she might as well try to sound normal in her tone.

"Hey." Rodrick replied, equally nonchalant. His elbow rested against the locker as he stood in front of Nikki. He chuckled lightly at whatever he had been thinking and gazed at the floor. A grin grew on his features and he looked back up to Nikki. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

Who knew seven words could make her heart speed up so quickly? Her mind raced to the conclusion of this conversation. She was certain that he was going to confess his own feelings to her. While it seemed a bit out of character for Rodrick, she still had confidence that that was what would arise from the conversation. She could barely contain her excitement and it showed in her voice as it cracked, "What is it?"

Rodrick's hand lifted to ruffle his messy locks. He stepped an inch further, but that was a stumble on his part. However, to Nikki, it looked like he was bringing his body closer to hers. Her heart beat and beat and beat until it pounded against her chest with such fury.

It seemed like almost forever until he responded. He drew his body back and dropped his arm to his side before jamming both hands in his jeans' pockets. Then he spoke with a persuasive tone in his voice as well as a light burst of excitement, "See, you know Chad?"

Rodrick went on to tell the story of how this Chad fellow broke his guitar while trying to perform a trick he saw on TV, but Nikki hadn't really been paying attention. Her heart had just sunk what felt like a million miles below sea level. He hadn't been confessing anything! He was just telling her some stupid tale of a dumb friend she could care less about. She tried not to show her disappointment, but it was pretty hard. Her once bright smile deteriorated to a straight line. She nodded and looked down, avoiding his eyes. She didn't feel like crying but she could feel her throat tighten up as if she was going to. "So, your point is?" She didn't mean to sound as harsh as she did, but that's how it came out.

Rodrick didn't seem affected by this though as another charming grin appeared on his features. "Well, I know you have a guitar and well, we need a guitar.. so.."

So that's why he had even approached her. Nikki turned back to her locker, furiously turning the knob to gather her correct combination numbers. In her swift motions, she had skipped her middle number three times and thus led to her trying to budge her locker door open. She sighed turned to Rodrick. "Sure, sure you can borrow it." There was a tinge of annoyance in her voice as everything was just going wrong at that exact moment. She really just wanted him to leave so she could gather her things and focus on something other than the Heffley teen.

"Great, so I'll pick it up after school? Six?" Rodrick suggested as he stepped back with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Before she could even respond, a clicking sound emitted from his lips and he pointed at her with a grin. "Awesome, see you then." Then he turned around and headed off to the class the two shared.

Nikki didn't bother to wave. She turned to her locker again and finally opened it once more. She pulled out a book and a binder and slammed her locker shut. She clutched her supplies to her chest and followed in the same path he was on, but only because they had the same class.

She was bitter about the situation, but as she thought about it, she could use this to bring the two closer to the point where he would feel the same. It wasn't exactly a plan, but she hoped that if she lent her guitar to him that he would soon feel the same.

It was worth a shot.