Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! It totally makes me what to keep writing! i've got such a great plan for the story and can't wait to share it with you guys!
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
Chapter Eight
Monday morning, Nicole arrived an hour early to school as she always did to confirm things were in order to find her locker broken open, books and papers strewn down the hall and fat wads of gum peppering the inside. One clump of gum held a note: Make me. Nicole's first thought was Carla, the second, she was glad she decided against keeping a salt-round loaded gun and silver knife in her locker. With a sigh, Nicole dropped her bag by her locker and began picking up the books and papers. When she came across paper that had writing on it – her notes and assignments – permanent marker marred the pages and made it impossible to read or turn it for a grade.
Angry, Nicole slammed the pages into the garbage and ripped a hand through her hair, pushing the strands from her eyes and wishing she could pull her hair into a pony tail. Gathering the books and binders, she piled them by her locker before heading for the janitor's closet down the hall by the bathrooms. It was child's play to pick the lock and find the paint scraper. The janitor wasn't due for work until later, so Nicole didn't think he'd miss it. She stomped back to her locker and began scraping the gum.
She had the bottom half and the door cleared of Juicy Fruit when more kids started filling the halls and Adam appeared, Nathan followed closely behind.
"What happened?" Adam asked, taking in the wads of gum and the stack of books.
"A pack of Juicy Fruit exploded in my locker," Nicole seethed. She bent down and slapped the most recently freed wad onto the larger ball of already freed pieces in the garbage can.
Nathan picked up the note and furrowed his brow, "Carla must have figured out it was you."
"What was you?" Adam asked, looking from Nathan to Nicole as Nicole grabbed the note from Nathan and shot him an annoyed glare.
"Of course she did," Nicole growled, "I'm the only one in this stupid school that doesn't bow to her every whim."
"What did you do?" Adam asked again.
Nathan grinned, "Man, it was awesome." But before he could continue, Carla appeared, her airy laughter causing Nicole to clench her fists.
"Good morning, Adam," Carla said warmly before turning to Nicole, her warm voice becoming cold, "Nicole."
"Carla," Nicole shot back.
"I hope you like Juicy Fruit," Carla smirked and showed off the wad of gum in her mouth, "I know I do."
Nicole stepped up to Carla, getting in her face and keeping her voice low, "I just love Juicy Fruit, almost as much as you love potatoes."
The girls glared at each other for several minutes. Adam and Nathan held their breath, afraid to make a move and disturb the tension mounting.
After a minute, Nicole took a step back, "I'm not going to fight you, Carla. I wouldn't waste my time."
Carla looked triumphant as Nicole turned and picked up her backpack. As Nicole stood up, Carla pulled out her gum and slapped the back of Nicole's head, "Just remember who runs this school, Nicole."
Adam stepped forward before Nicole could lunge for Carla, "Hey, Carla, come on. Don't be childish."
Carla smirked as she walked away, disappearing into the crowd of students. Nicole touched the back of her hair, where the wad of Juicy Fruit was now tangled. Clenching her jaw, she bent down and angrily slammed her books onto the bottom shelf of her locker before slamming the door closed.
"Are you ok?" Adam asked, placing a hand on Nicole's shoulder.
"Damn it all if that girl doesn't get under my skin more than a shapeshift-" Nicole caught herself and took a deep, calming breath. "I'm fine." She turned to Adam and Nathan, who watched her wearily. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get the gum out of my hair."
Nicole didn't know the first thing about getting gum out of hair. It was sticky, messy and only got worse the more she tried to get it out. The bell for first period rang and still, Nicole was stuck in the girl's bathroom struggling with the wad of gum and hair. After about fifteen minutes, she gave up, grabbed her bag and headed for her truck.
There was a hair salon several blocks away and this early in the morning business was slow. The ladies took one look at Nicole when she came barreling through the door and cringed.
"I need help," Nicole choked out behind clenched teeth.
"You sure do," A large woman in a lime green smock with heavy makeup and hair five inches above her head agreed. "Come have a seat and I'll get you cleaned up."
As the woman whose nametag read Bethany worked, Nicole explained, "I got into a disagreement with a girl at school. The little skank keeps coming around, waving her stupid body in front of Adam and giggling like she's something special. Ugh, makes me so mad."
"Looks like someone's jealous," Bethany worked furiously at the gum, "You really got it stuck in there."
"No kidding," Nicole growled. "Nathan says that too, but how can I be jealous? Adam and I are just friends. I can't get emotionally involved, I'm here to look out for him and make sure he stays out of trouble, not go to dances and fight off other girls."
Bethany shook her head, "Isn't that the way it always goes? Take it from me, Honey, if you want to get rid of this skank, you gotta fight her at her own game."
Nicole glanced at Bethany in the mirror, "How do I do that?"
A wide grin spread across Bethany's round face, "Honey, leave it to me. I'll get you hooked up."
…
Nicole made it back to school just in time for lunch. She stopped by the office, dropped off a forged doctor's note to explain her tardy and ran off to the cafeteria. As she walked through the halls, several guys turned to watch as she passed; a few even waved and said hi. She tried to be nice but she was nervous and all the looks were making her self-conscious. As a hunter, she wasn't supposed to stand out. She had to blend in, sneak up and strike. This plan of Bethany's was so far out of her comfort zone, she didn't even know if she could pull it off.
As Nicole reached the cafeteria, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass. Her hair was now short, falling just above her shoulders and framing her face nicely. Her long lashes were swiped with mascara and her cheeks lightly dusted to bring color to her face. It's just a hair cut, Nicole thought impatiently as she pushed through the doors and marched through the cafeteria, determined not to let it get the better of her.
She purposely entered from the opposite side where they usually sat so she had to pass the jocks and cheerleaders. All the stares made the butterflies in her stomach worse until she saw Carla's scowl when the quarterback forgot about her and approached Nicole.
"Hey," He grinned stupidly.
Nicole smiled politely, "Hey, Donnie,"
"Wow," He grinned wider, "You know my name. Carla doesn't even get it right."
"Imagine that," Nicole shot a look to Carla before excusing herself and reassuring Donnie they could talk later.
All self consciousness disappeared when she sat across from Adam and he smiled at her, "You got a haircut. It looks great."
"Thanks," Nicole forced herself not to run a hand through it, "I couldn't get the gum out so I ran to the parlor down the road and they helped me out."
Nathan shoved his sandwich into his mouth, "Why didn't you just use peanut butter? That's what my sister uses."
"How does your sister get gum in her hair?" Nicole asked, baffled that he knew this bit of beauty secret advice.
With a shrug he replied, "I put it there."
Nicole rolled her eyes and Adam laughed, "You're so mean."
With a grin, Nathan finished off his lunch and made an excuse to leave. After he was gone, Adam slid his tray across the table, "Fries?"
"Sure," Nicole helped herself, falling into the comfortable companionship of Adam.
After munching down a few fries, Adam said, "We got the rest of the gum out of your locker. And somehow the principle found out Carla broke into the school last night. She's got detention for the next two weeks."
Nicole couldn't help but smile, "Thanks, Adam."
"No problem," he reached across the table and layer a hand on hers. It was warm and comforting, enveloping her hand, making her feel soft and feminine like she never had before.
"Adam, I-" the ring of the bell make them both jump and Adam pulled his hand away. Nicole cleared her throat, "Guess we should get to class."
Adam looked disappointed as they stood and followed the crowd.
...
"Hey, Nicole," Donnie was waiting at her locker after school, leaning up against it with a charming smile on his face.
"Donnie," Nicole returned his smile as she opened her locker and put her books away, "What's up?"
"Let me get straight to the point. Do you have a date to Homecoming?" Donnie didn't wait for an answer, "See I was going to take Carla but now I wanna go with you."
Nicole wanted say yes just to piss off Carla but she was hoping someone else would ask her, "Gee, Donnie, that sounds great but you see-"
Suddenly, Nathan appeared at her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Sorry buddy, too slow. She's got a date already."
"Oh," Donnie hung his head, "Guess I'll take Carla then."
As he walked away, Nathan moved to face Nicole, "Can I have the key to your apartment?"
Nicole's hunter instincts suddenly kicked in and she was instantly on guard. Her eyes narrowed as she assessed Nathan and their surroundings. Subconsciously, she noted possible weapons: the fire extinguisher across the hall, the books on the shelf of her locker, the knife hidden in her bag. "Why?"
"So Adam and I can get in," Nathan replied like she should already know.
"Why do you need in?" Nicole asked, her hand tightening on the strap of her bag.
Nathan laughed, "Oh my young Padawon Nicole, you have much to learn yet about foolhardy tradition. When a guy asks a girl to Homecoming or Prom or anything like that, it's customary for him to do so in an extravagant display of machismo, much like peacocks in the wilds of Africa."
Nicole nodded, "Ok but that still doesn't tell me why you need to get into my apartment."
Nathan hung his shoulders, "Don't make me ruin all of the surprise Nicole that will take all the fun out of it. We just want to sneak in, plant the question in a grandiose fashion and leave. I promise I won't let Adam rummage through your underwear drawer or steal your perfume. Oh, and you'll need to be gone for an hour or so around eight o'clock tonight."
Nicole mulled it over for a minute, "Fine. But I only have one key."
"Great!" Nathan punched the air, "Just leave the key under the mat or something. We'll put it back so you can get in."
Nicole reached into her bag and pulled out a key chain. She pulled off her apartment key along with the key chain it was attached to: a caricature o Bill Murray as a Ghostbuster. "Don't lose it."
Nathan took the key, "Are you sure? Don't you need to get in before then?"
Nicole shook her head, "I've got some errands to run and I don't trust leaving my key under the mat. Just leave it on the counter and lock up when you're done."
Nathan shrugged, "Cool. See you later."