Disclaimer: I do now OWN all the cast members of Saved By The Bell! I bought them off of eBay, and I should be receiving a certificate of possession in...hang on...two weeks...ago? Oh...I don't own any of the places, people or events mentioned...sob
P.S. That reminds me - Last chapter, there was an in there. I put it in there to say that, the reason I said that, was 'I'm a boy. If girls are angry, this is what my genes tell me to put it down to'. Very sorry. My friends are trying to beat that last bit of masculinity out of me.
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At almost exactly the same time Zack was musing in the kitchen, Slater was standing in the backyard in the shadow of a tree, watching Nick and a couple of his friends sitting on the steps of the summer house. He wasn't being his usual vigilant self, but he could still hear the pants, groans and muttered instructions of the couple, or possibly threesome, in the bushes behind him. Trying to block it out, Slater squared his shoulders, and stared harder at Nick.
Even with the back-lighting from the summer house wall light, Nick still looked great. His hair was great, and his teeth were great, and his smile was great, and his eyes were great, and...well, generally everything, y'know, facial was...great. Slater grinned stupidly, glad that it was dark enough for no-one to see him. Especially not Nick. Who was, right now, leaning back laughing, his T-shirt stretching up to reveal a toned, slim waist, well tanned, and a glimpse of Calvin.
Slater was suddenly glad of the darkness for another reason too, as he tried to rearrange himself to hide the bulge in his jeans. Shifting it about, he paused for a moment, before slyly rubbing it through the denim. Something about the whole situation, the whole hiding in the dark pleasing himself while watching some unsuspecting boy, really freaked Slater out, and he knew it was wrong.
Still, he didn't stop. He just kept on going, gazing at Nick, imagining undoing his combat pants, pushing them down as he kissed the other boy, and feeling him respond, running his hands over Nick's ass, pulling him closer to him, the other boy grinding his hips against his, feeling a wave of pleasure rushing downwards, not being able to hold on for any longer, only a couple...more..-
-"BREAK IT UP RIGHT NOW!"
Slater jerked in shock, and grazed his elbow against the tree. Gasping in pain, he pulled his arm back into him. Punching himself in the crotch while doing so. He curled up in agony. And smacked his head on a low branch while going down.
Jessie pulled a girl off a girl, and then threw a guy into a rose bush, pants still around his knees. Looking around, she spotted another boy hunched over by a tree. "You dirty little..."
"Jessie, it's me, it's Slater, it's me!"
Jessie let go of the handful of collar she'd grabbed. "Oh my God, I'm sorry! What are you doing out here?"
Slater froze. "Erm...well, I was just going to...sort those kids out too...but then you shocked me, and I bashed my elbow, and hit my head, and...well, y'know, injured myself. Generally."
Jessie narrowed her eyes at him, then unfocused and looked past him, past the tree. "Ohhhhh...I see." She smiled at Slater, looking sidelong at him. "So, when are you going to introduce us to gorgeous over there? You know, if he's not a fudgey, I'll be perfectly happy to take him off your hands."
Slater gently punched Jessie on the arm. "I don't think so, darlin'. If I can't have him, no-one can."
"Well. Thank you, Godfather. I'll be sure to check my bed for horses heads in future."
"Awwww, Jessie. Just so long as it's not his bed you're checking."
Jessie and Slater smiled at each other, before Slater looked back over his shoulder at Nick and sighed. "He's so gorgeous...Jessie, go get him for me." He looked back at Jessie with a pleading puppy-dog look on his face, and Jessie wanted to kiss him.
"Oh, Slater. You've no idea how cute you look when you do that. But no." She held up her hand as Slater redoubled his efforts to pout sweetly enough at her. "And no more pouting! Or else I'll bite those lips off! It's up to you. I mean, how sexy is it for the ex-girlfriend of a closet gay to come tell you that you're hot? He'd jump up and run off in a second. And you did throw this party entirely for him, too...yikes, I honestly think you should chill on the crazy, Slates."
"I'm not crazy! I'm just...worryingly desperate!" Slater sighed, and slumped his shoulders. "I really need to get laid."
Jessie threw her hands up in despair. "Oh, boys! One thing on your minds! I'm going back inside. I need to find Lisa."
"Shouldn't be too hard. Follow the smell of aerosol and the trail of bodies."
Jessie grimaced. "Don't make jokes about that. She was out here a while ago, and according to Screech she's pretty trigger happy this evening. Don't jump out at her, if you do see her. Even if we aren't going out, I still don't want those lovely eyes being just decoration."
"Yeah, I'll make sure to hold out both hands if I see her, and not to make any sudden movements. If you see her again, maybe mention not hitting the backyard again. I don't wanna get caught and..." Slater looked over at Nick. "Well, let's just say him writhing in pain is not going to turn me on, ya know?"
Jessie laughed. "Yeah, sure. Happy hunting!"
As Slater watched Jessie walk towards the house, he felt momentarily guilty. For a minute there, the guy he'd used to pretend to be, the chauvinist tough stud, had come out again. The crack he'd made about getting laid was so familiar, so natural, that for a moment, Slater had considered going back to it. He could tell Jessie and Zack it had been a joke, or madness, or a curiosity that had been quickly finished with. Even if they didn't believe him, he'd go back to girls, and live a happy, long, normal life.
Then he turned and looked at Nick, and decided normal wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
---------------------------------------------------
"Hi! Are you AC Slater?" Nick looked up at the guy who'd just walked up to them, and smiled up at him, while Gemma waited for an answer to her question.
The guy shifted about. "Uuuuuuh…yeah. I am. This is my house."
Gemma lifted her eyebrows. "Well…cool. Great party. Although there's some chick going round macing people. Is that like, a party trick or something?"
Slater only heard half of what she was saying, because Nick had smiled again, and he'd been thinking of the house they'd live in one day. "Huh? Uh, yeah, sorry. That's Lisa. She's a friend of mine."
Andy sat up then. "Wait, that crazy girl with the itchy fingers is your friend? Does she have a vendetta against anyone wearing flannel, or is she just certifiable?"
"Andy! Don't be so rude! Slater, I'm sure she's very nice when you get to know her." Gemma shrugged. "Ignore Andy, he's just bitter today."
Slater chuckled, forgetting his nerves for a moment. "Naw, don't worry about it. She doesn't present the best image sometimes, specially not tonight. And actually, Andy, the flannel vendetta is just one of many. Those people should just think themselves lucky they hadn't decided to wear polyester. Or worse, lycra."
The other three looked up at Slater for a moment, before they cracked up. "Oh my god, I hope she's caught R-J. Even blind people look disgusted at that shell suit he wears, and he still doesn't get how gross it is. He's got what's coming to him." Gemma doubled up again, as the other two laughed even harder.
Slater sat down, more relaxed now he seemed to have been accepted. "Anyway, I've seen you around sometime. You don't go to Bayside, though, do you?"
Nick looked up. "Naw, none of us do. I live near-by, real close, and we noticed there was a party here tonight, what with the flyers put up around my school. Weird thing was, I even got a flyer through my door. I mean, I didn't even know who you were, and it seemed like someone wanted me to come."
Slater smiled nervously. "I guess my friends just put flyers through random doors. Hey, maybe you know one of them?"
Nick shook his head, as he scratched one eyebrow. "Don't think so. I don't really know anyone at Bayside."
Slater smiled. He'd thought Nick wouldn't really know anyone he himself went to school with, but it was good to get some confirmation. If something did happen with Nick, and then Nick told someone, hopefully the number of people it would have to go through before it got back to Bayside would ensure the story would be completely unbelievable. Not that it already wouldn't be. A.C Slater, the wrestling champ, involved in some extra-curricular wrestling of a different sort? Anyone who told that story would be laughed off the school grounds, or worse, beaten to a pulp and kicked off.
Now he just had to figure out whether or not Nick was interested, which would be the tricky part. And Slater didn't think that asking 'So, do you like boys?' would be the right way to do that.
"Hey, does anyone want another drink?" Andy stood up and stretched. "I'm feeling the need to get pretty wasted, and I'm only a little of the way there."
Slater and Nick both nodded, and Gemma sighed. "You'll need a hand with those, Andy. I'll come with you."
Andy looked at her. "Gemma, I can carry four drinks, jeez! I'm not a total dumbass."
"Yeah, you can carry four drinks. But who's gonna help you get through to them and then bring them back? Have you seen the crush around the keg any time recently?"
Andy opened his mouth, hesitated, then shut it again. He looked at Nick and Slater. "I'm going for a walk. I may be some time."
Slater laughed. "I like Andy. He's funny."
Nick smiled at him. "I know what you mean. He's got a sense of humour that could kill. He's always the guy pulling pranks and making jokes. But he's a genius as well. He wins the school chess championship every year. Last year, he did it while reading The Lord Of The Rings, too."
Slater laughed. "What about Gemma? She seems really nice."
"Yeah, she is. Makes up for the fact that she's a bit ditzy. No, Gemma and Andy are almost totally different, but they've been best friends forever. Sometimes I still feel like the new guy."
"The new guy?" Slater frowned. "How do you mean?"
Nick shrugged. "Well, I've known them for years, just as long as they've known each other, but they've always had a deeper connection. Around them, I feel like a third wheel, and they're not even in a relationship or anything. Sometimes I wish I could find someone who'll be like that with me." He looked off into the distance for a second, then laughed. "Sorry. I've known you for what, five minutes? And already I'm pouring my heart out to you."
Slater blinked. He'd been getting lost in Nick's words. "No, don't worry about it. I'm like the new guy in the gang at my school, and I know what you mean, sort of." He hesitated, then looked away from Nick, trying to imitate his far-away look. "They have all this history, you know, and –"
Behind him, Nick suddenly swore.
Slater's head spun around so fast he felt vertebrae click. "What's up?"
Nick scrambled to his feet. "I'm not drinking beer tonight, and I bet you anything Andy won't remember. Hang on, I'll be right back."
As he raced off, Slater felt the anticlimax hit him like a brick wall. "Oh…okay."
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"1-2-3 HAH! I win again!"
Gemma crossed her arms and pouted. "I swear you're cheating at this game. No way can anyone win eight games in a row!"
"Gemma, I've told you this before. You can't cheat at Rock Paper Scissors. The only reason I keep beating you is because you keep doing rock, paper, then scissors. It's a pretty simple pattern." Andy sighed. "Look, shall we play Noughts and Crosses instead?"
"Nuh-uh! You cheat at that too!" Gemma crossed her arms. "You cheat at all the games we play! Else how else would I always lose?"
Andy dropped his head, and rubbed his eyes. "You lose because you suck at all of them, Gemma. All of them. When we played Risk, you put all your men on Madagascar because you said they 'needed a tan', when we played Monopoly, you spent all your money in the first round, then got too distracted to play, when we played chess, you insisted on having the queen as the most important piece, and then pushed her in front of my attack. I'm sorry Gemma, I love you, but I'm never ever playing games with you again."
Nick raced around the corner, then screeched to a halt as he spotted the two sitting on the floor, the pen and paper between them. "Ooooh, trying to play Noughts and Crosses again? I thought the last time was enough to stop you from trying again?"
"Well, it would have been, except for that we needed something to do while you move in on that guy."
Nick grinned. "I was worried you wouldn't remember the signal. The scratching the eyebrow thing works, so long as one of you is looking at me."
"Remember the signal? You use it almost every time we go out! I mean, we don't mind, anyone who's interested in you isn't really what either of us are looking for, but come on. What are we supposed to do?"
Nick spread his palms. "Anything! It's a party, guys! Go have fun. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, then do whatever you want. I'll tell you how it went in the morning." He winked, and walked back around the corner to Slater.
Gemma looked at Andy, eyes wide. "'Do whatever we want'? But…we always hang out…"
"Come on Gemma, it's easy…we just need to find something else to do." Despite Andy's confident words, he was nervous. Whenever they all went out, Nick would usually just ask them to leave him and his target alone for a couple of minutes. That was usually enough to have the guy entranced for the rest of the night, until Nick either got bored, or went home with him. If Nick was going to spend all night with this guy, he must be very special…or very fragile.
"But what? Nick always decides. He's like, the leader." Gemma started to bite her lip. "Should we…go get a drink?"
Andy scratched his head. "Isn't that what Nick usually does at parties? Should we see if we can find some?"
Andy got up, and held a hand out to Gemma, who took it and pulled herself up. As he turned away, Gemma held onto his hand. Andy looked back at her, and she shrugged. "I…don't want to get lost, you know?"
Andy smiled, and squeezed her hand back. "I won't let you go, don't worry. We'll be fine."
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I've been researching Saved By The Bell, and actually according to Wikipedia, there are so many continuity errors that you can play quiz games about them! So, from henceforth, any errors in the past/present/future are simply me sticking to the traditions of Saved By The Bell! Hurrah!