If Nikki had been upset the day before, Rodrick hadn't noticed.

You see, while signs of pure heartbreak are evident to the naked eye of a woman, they certainly aren't see that way through the eyes of a teenage boy. Or Rodrick, anyways.

The way her smile had just collapsed and folded into a strict, thin line had gone unnoticed. The way her eyes slightly widened with just the tiniest bit of tears growing in the corners were practically invisible. How she caught her breath and fumbled with the lock on her locker was considered normal to Rodrick. He wouldn't have ever thought he would have been the one to cause her such distress, for the time being at least. He knew he was capable of doing so, having made one of his ex-girlfriend's cry because of his naivety in the language of girls, but would never think of himself as the culprit in this case.

And this all explained why it was so easy for him to just take the guitar from Nikki with ease after school, the day after he had asked her if he could borrow it. Once again, Nikki had stepped into his van and off they went to her house. The car ride, unlike the past couple of times, was awkward and extremely claustrophobic. Even Rodrick could feel the disturbed aura in the van, but he couldn't exactly tell what was causing it.

He cleared his throat, "How about some 'Jimmy Eat World'?" He questioned, ready to click the play button to initiate the band's CD. He glanced at Nikki, who was sitting in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest and her bag sitting on her lap. Her bottom lip stuck out, just a bit more than her top one, forming a pout. Come to think of it, Rodrick thought, she hadn't really talked all day.

Rodrick wasn't sure what to say to coax her into spilling the beans. He was never entirely too good at situations like these and he hated awkward silences. Merge the two together and you have a VERY uncomfortable Rodrick. He turned back to the front of the car, muttering an "oookay", and pushed the play button. The volume had already been turned up all the way from this morning's jam session.

Rodrick and Nikki were friends; they had established that already without being so direct about it. It had just happened. Yet, Rodrick wasn't sure if he had the right to ask her what was up. Could he do that? He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to her what was bothering her unfold in front of him.

Turns out, he didn't have to. Nikki was quiet for most of the way over to her house, only muttering along the lyrics to whatever song had been playing on the CD. Still, the awkward silence stuck, creating a heavy, horrible atmosphere inside the van. Rodrick was eager to leave, slamming the door shut and following Nikki to her room. She had snaked her way past her mother, who was in the kitchen already preparing dinner. Nikki walked in fast strides, as if she had wanted the exchanged to be over with as soon as possible.

Nikki had wanted Rodrick to see her the way she saw him- hell, she still wanted him to. But, like Rodrick, she wasn't sure how to approach the idea. She had never been with a guy like Rodrick before. She had only been in one serious relationship before, but the two were complete opposites. Besides, anything Nikki could possibly say would probably be taken as a joke by the male. But for the most part, she was still upset at the wrenching thought that he wasn't feeling the same way. It was painful, to watch the person you like go on oblivious to your feelings. Hearing him attempt to crack a joke in class just wasn't working, not this time. It just made her realize that she was stuck in the friend-zone. Guys are right, Nikki had thought, the friend-zone does suck!

Nikki led Rodrick inside her room, grabbing her guitar from its leaning position on the corner of her wall. She awkwardly stuck her hand out to give it to him. "You don't need an amp right?" A couple of strands of her fringe fell in her face a she asked him. She brushed the intruding hair away from her face as he grabbed it and shook his head.

"Nah, Chad just broke the guitar." Rodrick informed her, taking the guitar in his hand, making sure to hold it carefully. The two stood there, silence hanging in the air. Nikki looked from Rodrick, to the carpeted floor. She wasn't sure what else to say.

Rodrick cleared his throat. He had a habit of doing so to break any situations that were.. uncomfortable, to say the least. "Well, I'll show my way out." He nodded turning around to walk towards the door. Maybe had hadn't thanked her properly? Maybe that's why she was upset. He stopped at the doorway of her room. "Thanks Nikki." He told her, avoiding eye contact with her. Apologies and thank you's weren't his forte. "I'll bring it back.. uh.."

"Just go." Nikki commented, a small smile on her features. There was a hint of pink stretched across her wan cheeks, but Rodrick wouldn't have noticed that- at least, Nikki thought so.

-x-

"All right man, you scored!" Chad cheered, taking the guitar from Rodrick's raised hand.

"What did I tell you guys?" Rodrick laughed as he stood in the middle of his house's garage. His whole band was there, ready to practice. They had to be ready to perform and without a guitar, they wouldn't be able to get anywhere.

Chad eyed the guitar. "Not as good as Bessy, but," Chad gave a satisfied nod, "it'll do."

Rodrick eyed Chad with a raised eyebrow but shook it off as he walked over to his worn out drum set. "Okay, let's start with 'Diper Bomb' and then we'll go with 'Train-Wreck Diper'." The fellow teens nodded in response with their respective instruments in hand.

Rodrick slapped his wooden drumsticks together to count down to the beginning of the song. After four hits, Chad slammed his fingers against the strings of Nikki's guitar as he made the way for the other's to play their own instruments. It was a messy display. After Chad, the singer murmured words into the microphone and the bassist plucked at his bass's strings. Rodrick had followed in suit, his foot hitting against the lever to hit the bass drum and his drumsticks lightly tapping the cymbals besides his drumset's toms.

Everything went well, as well as things could get for a unorganized garage band. The singer hadn't coughed through the entire song, or mispronounced some of the words. The bassist stayed on rhythm. Rodrick had kept his beat up rather nicely.

Everything was sounding perfect- until the end.

Chad had apparently NOT learned from last time's little "adventure". As soon as Rodrick had stopped hitting the mid-tom of the drums, signaling the end of the song, Chad brought the guitar above his head and then dropped it to the cement floor. The guitar screamed out in utter pain with clang, its strings snapping apart as the neck broke into two. The amp only amplified the noise to the point where it rang static in everyone's ears. The guitar was broken- unfixable.

Chad only stared, dumbfounded at what he had just done. "Wait, what?" He asked, looking around, only to see his bandmates with their jaws wide open in utter surprise.

Rodrick stood up from his spot in front of his drums. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung ajar. He stepped away from his drumset, unsure of what he was actually seeing. "D-Did you j-just.." His voice trailed off as he stumbled over to Chad's spot in the garage. The guitar was there all right. In pieces, at least. Rodrick looked at the broken instrument and then at the guitarist, who continued to hold the guitar.

The room was quiet, save for Rodrick's stuttered mumblings.

Then, the singer, Ben, yelled, "All right, Chad! Way to break that guitar!"

Rodrick spun faster than he thought possible. "Way to go Chad?" He repeated the male, his voice accusing and raw with anger. "You're seriously congratulating him?" Rodrick turned back to Chad, "Dude! That wasn't my guitar!"

"But I've seen guys on TV do it all the time." Chad argued weakly.

"They have extras, Chad, extras." Rodrick strained out his words, speaking as if he was talking to a little kid. "Guys! We have to practice! What are we going to do without a guitar? We're dead, done for, over!" Rodrick gripped at his hair, already stressing out over the fact that they wouldn't get any better for any hopeful gigs. Rodrick's eyes, having already gone back to their normal state, widened again. "What am I going to tell Nikki?" He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular.

What WAS he going to tell Nikki?