Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Chapter Soundtrack: Interpol- Obstacle 1

Lindsay lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling as Kim sat on the bedroom floor painting her toenails. The blonde burnout was droning on about the latest fight she was having with Daniel, it was always the same with those two but the brunette had to admit that she was unable to imagine them with anyone else. Kim and Daniel's arguments seemed to excite them and keep a special spark in their relationship. Lindsay had to admit that she was not paying much attention to what her best friend was saying, her thoughts taken hostage by a certain six-foot-four boy who she was unsure if she even wanted to actually be with. It had been obvious to everyone but Lindsay that Nick was still in love with her even when he was with Sarah, but now that the two had broken up he was back to his saccharine sweet self. She had to admit that something had changed since before she left Chippewa with the deadheads, though she was unable to pinpoint what it was exactly.

"Are you even listening to me, brain?" Kim rolled her eyes and gave Lindsay a snarky look. Lindsay blinked a few times as she realized that the blonde on the floor was addressing her and she gave Kim a sheepish smile and rolled over onto her stomach.

"Sorry, Kim…there's just a lot on my mind," she confessed. There was never any use trying to outright lie to Kim Kelly, she always had a way of figuring out the truth and putting two and two together.

"Yeah, what's going on with you two? I thought for sure you'd kiss and make up after Disco Bitch left," Kim shook her head and rolled her eyes. Lindsay may have been repressed before, but she had seen a distinct change in her and Kim was confused as to why her best friend was still playing coy with a guy who obviously loved her.

"Kim!" Lindsay whined and threw a pillow at her friend. "We're just friends, that's all," she stated in a matter of fact tone. "Besides, he doesn't even like me like that anymore," she snorted indignantly which was countered by another roll of Kim's blue eyes and an exasperated sigh as she turned her attention back to her toes.

"Daniel says he's been carrying that note you sent him in his pocket like a sad puppy since he got it," Kim stated. She had never been one to keep her mouth shut about anything with the exception of the time Lindsay was thinking of breaking up with Nick.

"No way! He really cared about Sarah, I mean come on! You know he stopped smoking pot for her, right?" Lindsay arched an eyebrow as she tried to deny the implications of Kim's statement.

"He quit smoking pot for you, stupid," Kim snorted and shook her head. "For someone so smart you sure can be dumb, Linds," she chuckled. "I mean, seriously, the guy was obviously just dating her to make you jealous, and then he stops smoking pot to get your attention and make you think he changed or some shit," Kim set the bottle of nail polish to the side and turned her attention back to her friend who lay on the bed speechless. "Honestly I think he's a little different now," she shrugged her shoulders and rested her head on the edge of the mattress.

"What do you mean? He seems like the same old Nick to me," Lindsay wrinkled her nose. He had been giving her the cold shoulder before she left town and while he had let up a little bit, Nick Andopolis was far from the overwhelming person he had been before.

"I dunno, he's just…different," Kim shrugged her shoulders and inspected her fingernails.

Meanwhile in the Andopolis basement, Nick, Daniel, and Ken sat on the couch and listened to The Who. Nick had been almost surprised at his own behavior since Lindsay's return. He did not feel the urge to lay his feelings out in the open like he had before, but his affection for her was still as unwavering as it had been since he met her. She was still his muse in songwriting, but nothing so terrible as "Lady L", which the guys had yet to let him live down.

"Gotta hand it to ya, Nick, I'm a little proud that you've managed not to jump down Lindsay's throat yet," Daniel smiled sleepily as he leaned back into the couch. After reading the letter that she had sent him and seeing the way the two exes had interacted in the weeks since Lindsay and Kim had been back in town, Daniel was a little surprised that the former mathlete had not come crawling back to his friend yet.

"I just wish I hadn't messed up so bad the first time around, y'know?" Nick shrugged his shoulders sadly. "There's no way she'll give me another chance. We're just friends," he added in a defeated tone. Ken rolled his eyes and let out a groan, burying his face in his hands.

"I am so sick of you two," he confessed. "Just fucking…I dunno…do something, anything," Ken advised, he hated watching soap operas on television and hated watching them unfold in real life even more. At least on television he could change the channel to something more interesting, when his friends played this constant game of cat and mouse he just got annoyed.

"Like what?" Nick arched an eyebrow and leaned forward. He had a feeling that despite her insistence of the contrary, that Lindsay still cared about him. He was completely at a loss as to what to do about it without making her run away again.

"You could start by asking her to hang out?" Ken suggested in his usual deadpan.

"But no singing," Daniel added and pointed a finger at Nick. "I'll stop hanging out with you for real if you pull that shit again," he chuckled lazily. It all seemed simple enough to Nick, but he had to make things right this time. If he was even afforded a second chance he doubted Lindsay would give him another if he screwed up again.