"Nikki."
"No."
"Nikki."
"No."
"Nikki – "
"Am I going to have to call the cops or somethin'? Leave me alone."
Worn out boots smacked against the pavement with every single step, her bones rigid with an irate blood stream that rushed to her cheeks in a sweeping red flush. One hand clutched her backpack with enough forced to drain the color from her knuckles. She looked straight ahead, trying to ignore the gigantic mess of a van that was slowly following her on the curb. The wheels squeaked and whatever died in the van was leaking out its gruesome smell through the slits of its closed doors. What was the hardest to ignore was Rodrick droning out her name every ticking second.
"I just want to talk." He groaned, one hand lax on the steering wheel while the other gave him some leverage over the "center console" (which was really just a mini-fridge taped to the bottom of the van). "And er – apologize." He churned out the word with the nod of his head, almost as if it pained him to even say the word in the first place.
Nikki groaned right back, the guttural sound rocketing out her throat as she threw her head back in exasperation. "Well, I don't. Go home. I'm walking." She shrugged her bag back onto her shoulder. She could have popped in her ear buds and drowned Rodrick out but truthfully, she wanted to hear him apologize. It wouldn't make her any less upset but… It would be sort of redeeming. Maybe.
Rodrick puckered his lips, rolling his eyes away from Nikki and holding back a grunting snort. He was trying. Really, really trying. For the first time. Ever. And he was met with rejection. He continued to drive along her side for a few more seconds before finally shoving the gear in park and getting out of the van entirely. A passing by car honked at the sudden stop and he just threw his hands up, calling out, "Yeah, yeah, whatever!" He dashed around the front of the van towards Nikki, the puzzled girl with a quirked brow having stopped to see just what the hell he was up to. She'd taken off walking again soon enough, leaving Rodrick to catch up and try to attempt matching her pace.
"Stop. Go home. Now. Leave. Shoo." Nikki fanned him away with the waves of both her hands, still not breaking eye contact with the sidewalk ahead.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I was an ass. I should have told you and not just thrown it away." Rodrick mustered a jog around her, striding backwards so he could face her while he was a few steps ahead. "Can you just stop being pissed at me?"
She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes throwing daggers. "Do you seriously think that's going to just magically make everything better?"
"I'll buy you – I'll buy a new one! Maybe. I can't promise anything." He wasn't actually sure he wanted to commit to throwing cash – cash he DIDN'T have – away on a guitar he wouldn't even see ever again.
"It's not even about the guitar, Rodrick! Well, sort of. I don't know." Nikki sighed, running both her hands through her tangled hair before dragging her fingers down her cheeks. "It's about you lying, and yeah – about you being a complete and total ass." She was struggling to get her words out right. She didn't want to croak, not when she was too livid at Rodrick. "All you wanted was the guitar all along! You didn't care about going out on some stupid walk. It was just to 'ease the blow', right? Because poor old me couldn't bear the thought of my smashed guitar without a little romance!" There was a poison tint to her voice and she was losing control. She choked and sniffed, rubbing her nose with her back of her hand. "I don't care if you don't like me the way I like you." Lie. "I really don't." Lie. "I just – I thought we were friends, Rodrick. Friends don't do this kind of crap to each other." Her cheeks were hot and her eyes were glassy. She didn't know whether she wanted to punch him in his arm or scream. Maybe both? Nah.
Rodrick was silent. He couldn't think of a single word to say. He blinked dumbly, his mind still trying to get over the hurdle of Nikki having a crush on him. And how he messed it up royally. He didn't need a punch from her to feel like he'd gotten a swing in the gut. He felt nauseous and sick. His mouth was slightly parted, as if he was going to say something but he was oddly quiet.
Nikki shook her head, breezing past Rodrick but holding back from shoving him like she wanted to. "Just leave me alone." She mumbled as she walked away.
Rodrick grit his teeth, his nose scrounging up in frustration as he shook his fists to the sky. One of those very fists slammed into his van, rattling the vehicle just a tad bit and leaving the upset teenager with a rattling pain in his hand that he tried to shake off with the flick of his wrist. He hissed out and watched Nikki walk away, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she'd look back.
She didn't.