Here is chapter two!

Get Real is a 1999 movie about a secret gay romance. I chose it for the chapter name just because it focuses in on a lot of Nico's thoughts (i didn't know the subject of the movie beforehand but now it fits even more!)

If you haven't deduced this by now, yes, I named all chapters after 90s era movies, and I would highly recommend you watch them!

...

Nico exhaled, back rigid as steady hands sunk into the steering wheel. Pre school traffic was the worst breed of traffic. He was barely-awake and pissed and too impatient to deal with other teenagers who were likely hungover from weekend parties.

'Oops, I Did It Again' played from his car radio, in all of its staticky glory. He always forgot to put in one of his CDs before he started driving, so he was stuck listening to fucking Britney Spears. It wasn't a bad song, but it had gotten overplayed to death and wasn't something he was interested in listening to early in the morning while stuck in traffic.

Nico slammed on the brake suddenly, lurching forward in his seat. He had barely missed the pack of freshman jay-walking across the street, giggling as though their presence wasn't a nuisance to everyone else around them. They walked as slow as possible, taking up more room than the crosswalk allowed for. He ran a hair through shaggy black hair and sped off as soon as the freshman finished their trek across the street, regardless of the traffic light color. A honk likely directed at him blared, but Nico couldn't even give two shits at that point.

He turned into the school's parking lot, picking a spot near the back and under a tree. Nico frowned, knowing that at the end of the day, his car would be covered in bird droppings. It was better to park in the back in the long-run, though. Last time he parked in the front, some asshole keyed a dick into his car. His lips tightened as he exited the vehicle and grabbed his backpack. His signature Blockbuster uniform was balled up in the backseat. Nico gave a toothy grin. He took solace in the fact that he wouldn't have to work until Wednesday, which was a pretty dead day. Friday would suck, but that was a problem for future Nico.

Nico walked into the school's cafeteria, where all the students usually stayed until class started. He had left his Algebra homework to the last minute, as always, so he took the time to finish it up before class started. His mind wandered as he filled in problem after problem, and he found himself listening in to the Verbs that were sitting behind him. Everyone called the popular crowd the Verbs because that's what they were- Drew, Dawn, and Dash. It was sort of dumb, but Jeremy Canalave coined the term a few years ago, and it had unfortunately stuck.

"...Saturday was so cool. I can't believe you scored us tickets, Dash!" Dawn's stereotypical Californian drawl was teeth-gritting-ly obnoxious. Half of her personality consisted of being Californian.

"It was no problem, babe." Nico cringed. Dash was not smooth. He was deepening his voice to sound more manly, like a little kid trying to impersonate Batman.

"I still have a hangover, though," Drew complained. She liked to bitch. That was what she did.

"I don't!" Dawn chirped happily.

"Yes, but that's because you and Dash were too busy fucking to come to the afterparty!" Drew scorned. Nico could envision the little smirk she had on her face.

The freshman that idolized the Verbs oohed, as though Drew had made some sort of elaborate joke. It was a cheap shot, even Nico knew that, but the freshmen weren't smart enough to figure that out for themselves yet.

Nico's eyes flickered up, noticing a sharp movement in the corner of his eye. Something was speeding through the cafeteria. He gave his eyes a second and refocused them onto a blurry figure off in the distance. Everyone else's focus transferred after shortly after Nico's did, one person's sparked interest creating a wildfire of turned heads.

The curly-haired bastard who frequented Nico's blockbuster sped through the cafeteria on his skateboard, a grin splitting his face as he ollied onto a table and maneuvered around the security guard chasing him. A slew of cheers erupted, egging the boy on to make more complex moves.

Nico didn't realize that boy went to the same high school as him, but it was something he probably should have realized sooner. He watched in amazement as he evaded capture. The brown-haired roller skating girl and the windbreaker-wearing blond guy cheered the loudest until the Vice Principal glared at them and caused them to skitter off.

The guy looked to be a junior, but appearance-wise he could have passed as the same age as him. He drowned in his skater garb, the baggy clothes consuming his skinny frame. He was outrunning the security guard pretty well. The way he manipulated his skateboard was perfectly controlled, as though he were on his feet. He landed every trick- Nico would have loved to see him eat shit, but alas, luck was not on his side that day.

Eventually, the security guard caught up to him, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and plucking up his skateboard. The room dissolved back into the state it had been in before immediately, with a few conversations about the skater boy catching the wind in the aftermath. Nico bit his lip and returned his focus to his homework. "Ugh, Leo is so obnoxious," Drew complained. So that was his name. Leo. It sort of suited him and his elfish look.

"Oh, I know! I'm so done with skater boys, anyway," Dawn exclaimed. Nico shot a look at Dawn- she was leaning into Dash with a moony look in her eyes. The image was ridiculous, frankly- Dash was on the fast track to peaking in high school.

"Jason is hot, though…" Drew said thoughtfully. "I wish he didn't hang out with them. He could do way better."

"Yeah!" Some freshman yelled out, her voice high-pitched and shrill.

"Shut up, Becky. You're lucky we let you sit here in the first place," Drew responded quickly. "I might just scoop him up from that Piper girl…" The rest of the table snickered, despite Drew's lack of a humorous statement. Nico rolled his eyes.

The bell rang a second later, and Nico was free from the torture that was listening to the Verbs. Everyone was carted off to class by teachers who wanted to get the day done as fast as possible. Nico blended into the crowd, taking his regular trek. He walked alone, ducking his head to avoid stares and weaving around groups of kids.

He thought about the Verbs' and their conversations. They were dry, sure, but a part of Nico wanted to be with them. Well, not them in particular, but just any group of friends.

He didn't fit into a crowd, per se.

The school was cliquey as hell. There were the jocks, the nerds, the loners, et cetera. But there wasn't a clique Nico felt he could slot into. He never really tried to put himself into any of the groups, but part of him wished he did.

Now that he was a sophomore, it felt like it was too late to join in on everyone else's long-standing friendships. He wondered how different life would be if he had put himself out there—stepped into the sun and made friends.

But it's not like he even deserved friendship in the first place. Nico would be alone forever, and there was nothing he could do. It felt like Groundhog Day, where every single day was just repeating itself day-in, day-out.

Nico sighed wistfully and settled into his seat, preparing for history class to start.

…

Nico walked in through the back of Blockbuster, adorned in his oversized polo and his tight khakis. Friday already- weeks were blurring by. He fastened his nametag to his left breast as he walked.

And, of course, his assistant manager was there. Nico closed his eyes, preparing himself for the tortuous shift that was to come.

Sarah was an insanely intimidating woman. She was a goddamn bodybuilder and was an intimidating one at that- not a fun combination, especially considering Nico's flimsy build. She nodded a greeting to him, apparently not deeming him worthy of a verbal one.

Nico felt on edge for the entirety of his shift, back rigid, and a fake smile plastered on his face as he recommended new arrivals and peddled slightly-stale sour candy and made it clear that "Yes, we're hiring!". It was ridiculous how desperate Sarah was to hire new employees.

After nearly every customer, Sarah would chime in from the other counter with her critiques. She was nitpicking at best, but Nico didn't want to call her out on it. Pissing off your buff boss was not a good idea.

The bell chimed, signaling another customer had walked in. Nico flinched and spoke his greeting at reflex- "Welcome to Blockbuster!"

"Hey, Neeks!"

Fuck.

Leo waved wildly with one hand, his skateboard tucked under his other arm. Piper grinned from behind him, white smile contrasting against dark skin. Jason smiled, hands tucked into his jeans, and eyebrows upturned.

He watched as they maneuvered around the store. Nico organized the 'New Releases' section as he waited for the trio to check out. He was supposed to trail them and ask them if they needed help finding anything- but there was no way Nico was going to embarrass himself doing that, even if his boss was there.

Leo approached the counter a few minutes later, wielding a copy of Jumanji and the four-day-late copy of Clueless he had rented the previous week. "Fancy meeting you here, Nico. Looking hot as ever." He winked, sliding over his two VHS cases.

Nico put on his The Customer Is Always Right smile, ignored Leo's statement, and scanned the cases, followed by Leo's card. "I'm sorry, sir," Nico said forcefully, noting his assistant manager's presence. "But you have unpaid late fees; thus, you cannot check out Jumanji. I apologize."

Leo laughed, the sound too loud and forced to be genuine. "Hilarious, Nico. I don't see why a few 'late fees'-" he rolled his eyes and made air quotes with his free hand (as though the concept of deadlines made no sense to him). "-should hold me back from the constitutional right to watch Jumanji-"

"Is there a problem?" Sarah cut in, no doubt as sick of Leo's shit as Nico was. Jason and Piper shared wide-eyed looks, afraid of being guilty by association.

Leo's eyes finally settled on Sarah's face, then her buff arm, then her badge, which read 'Ass. Man.'

"N-no, I just wanted to check out Jumanji, but apparently, my fees are withholding me from doing so." It was clear Leo would do whatever he could just to rent a copy of fucking Jumanji. It wasn't even a good movie.

"Step aside," Sarah hissed at Nico. She clicked her nails against the store's computer keyboard, eyes widening when she got to the page she was looking for. "Sir, you have over one hundred dollars worth of late fees. The fact that someone even allowed you to rent with this much debt-" she gave a glare towards Nico. "-is absurd." Nico braced himself for the chewing out he was going to get after Leo left.

A beat passed. "So, can I rent Jumanji, or…"

"No!"

"When can I rent it, then?" Leo countered, resting his board against the counter and folding his arms. He seemed dead-set on challenging Sarah.

"You can rent it when you pay off your debt. If it's not paid off in a month, I'm going to have to revoke your membership and report this to your parents," Sarah said firmly. Leo gave a pleading look to Jason and Piper- who exchanged a glance, nodded, and sped out the door.

"Well, the problem is, Sarah- beautiful name, by the way, is it-"

"You're already on thin ice here, bud." Nico watched on. It was almost cathartic to see Leo get his comeuppance.

"I don't exactly have a job, so it's going to be hard for me to pay off my debts...can't you just pardon me, miss?" Leo asked, batting his eyelashes.

"That's not how it works. If you're going to just argue, I'm going to need to ask you to leave." Sarah rubbed her temples. "Nico, do we still have aspirin under the register?" Nico nodded. "Perfect."

Leo looked around, searching the store for an answer and landing on the laminated sign on the counter. We're Hiring! It read, typed in comic sans font, and positioned off-center.

"What if I worked here? I mean, I don't have experience, and I'm pretty irresponsible, but like, it's a start."

"...fine. But only because we're severely understaffed, okay?" Sarah admitted, fetching him a piece of paper and thrusting it in his hands. "Fill this stuff out, bring it back, and we'll train you up as quickly as possible."

"Awesome!" He made a grab for Jumanji, but Nico swiped it away. "Rude. Not the way you should be treating your coworker!" At the sound of the word coworker, Nico groaned.

"Joy."

"Hey," Sarah said. "You're not off scot-free either. You get to train him up since you let him rack up all that debt in the first place. Lord knows I'm not training that motherfucker."

"Goddamnit," Nico muttered, grabbing the aspirin and downing a pill at once.

…

Leo burst into the basement, where Piper and Jason were watching a VHS copy of Heathers that belonged to Thalia. It was their go-to movie every time they couldn't rent something. "Thanks for the help, assholes!" He pouted, slumping into his armchair. "Now, I'm working at this stupid Blockbuster to pay off our debt." Leo pouted.

"Well, let's look at it this way," Jason said. "Only you got in trouble. We're off the hook. Why get all three of us in trouble?"

Piper nodded, unapologetic. "Yeah, I didn't wanna be lumped in with you. You understand, right?"

"No! Piper, you're rich. Your dad could buy out the entirety of fucking Blockbuster. Can't you just lend me a hundred bucks?" Leo begged. Piper shook her head.

"I'm cut off, dude, remember? After I crashed that bus, my dad got pissed." She rolled her eyes, like her crashing a bus was on par with forgetting to do the dishes.

"I think it'll be good. Teach you responsibility," Jason said, trying to make Leo see the good in the situation. Leo sighed.

"I guess you're right." He grabbed a can of soda from the six-pack on the carpet and snapped it open. "It would be nice to get some pocket money if this job-thing works out."

"Instead of relying on me for money?" Piper snarked.

"Instead of relying on money you stole from your dad," Leo agreed, sipping his soda and leaning back in his chair.

"Potato, pah-tah-toe," Piper responded, glancing back at the television for a split second. Her face contorted into a smirk after a beat. Watching Veronica and JD make out seemed to have awakened something in Piper.

"Did you have some sort of epiphany?" Jason chuckled, watching Piper's expression change.

"Yeah, what gives?"

"You're gonna start working at Blockbuster."

"Yes. That's...that's what I said when I walked in here?" Leo said.

Piper grinned. "Well, who goes to Blockbusters? That's right, teens our age. Possible love interests. Hot people." She emphasized her point with her hands.

"Oh!" Leo said. "Oh…" Leo realized. "That's...that's good news. Great news."

"You two are such idiots," Jason said, shaking his head. "You're going to try to pick up chicks at the Blockbuster? With that manager girl breathing down your neck?"

"I'll make it work," Leo dismissed. "Maybe she'll just assume I'm extra friendly towards all the hot guys."

"Yeah, or she'll fire you for being bisexual," Piper snorted.

"I'll start a union about it. Social justice!"

"Right," Jason snorted, looking down. "You go do that. I'll sit here and watch Heathers. God, they remind me of the Verbs or whatever you call them."

"Veronica seems cool though- even if she's a murder accomplice," Piper added. "And she's kinda hot."

"Yeah, shit, young Winona Ryder and Christian Slater could both get it!" Leo whistled. "Sorry, Jason. You're the only straight one here."

Jason gave him an odd sort-of smirk. "It's fine." He loved his friends sometimes.

They were so queer (literally), and it almost made him feel like he wasn't cool enough to hang out with them- he was just some blond, athletic dude who happened to be a class president. But they were friends, and Jason loved it.

He felt like he could just be himself around Piper and Leo. Being the 'perfect blond guy' stereotype opened him up to manipulation most of the time. Teachers would push him to make new friends or sign up for some new sport or club that would make the school look better.

Jason didn't really like being pushed into a mold.

His stepmother, Julia, had been the worst at it. Archery. Sparring. Leadership programs. Most of his childhood was spent being herded around to different places, like he had to become some sort of prodigy just so other people could reap the benefits from it.

Piper and Leo weren't like that. They teased him for making dad jokes, stole his glasses, and just viewed him as who he was. Jason. He was a person, not something that could be improved or expanded upon. Just Jason. He didn't feel pressured to be someone society wanted him to be when he was around his best friends.

A part of him didn't want to ruin that by being honest about his feelings towards Piper.

...

this chapter is kinda short: it's only 2.8k words, but i promise this is the shortest chapter you'll ever get!

see you next Friday!

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