Author's Note: Ok, I forgot that I made Nicole's apartment one room, stupid on my part really. I'm amazed that I even did that. So, from now on, it's two bedroom. Just go with it. ^^'
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
Chapter Nine
It was easy for Nicole to pick the lock of her apartment when she got home after school. She made sure all the guns were hidden, the dozens of bags of salt stashed under the sink, the charms and herbs shoved under the bed. She fought with herself for a good thirty minutes before sweeping the salt from the window sills. It was only for a few hours and there were no demons in town, she reasoned. As soon as they were done, she'd re-salt the windows and her father would never know.
As she left her apartment, a part of her felt naked and exposed. She was uneasy and on edge as she drove out of the lot and headed to the library to do her homework. The fact that it was only Adam and Nathan going into her apartment gave her some comfort, but only some.
Nicole ambled her way through the ancient Romans, surfed passed finding x in square roots and polished off an essay on the themes of Romeo and Juliet. By the time she was finished it was quarter to nine and the library was getting ready to close. She gathered her stuff and headed to her truck. Nathan had asked for an hour so Nicole decided to swing by Oliver's for a burger before she headed home.
When she pulled into the lot, she didn't see Nathan or Adam's car but when she glanced up at the apartment, her living room light was on. She was instantly alert and hoped that the boys just forgot to turn off the light.
She took the stairs cautiously and pulled the .45 out of her bag. The door was slightly ajar when she stepped onto the landing. Adrenalin surged through her veins as she crept up. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and swept her gun around the room.
At first, she was stunned. There was color everywhere. Big balloons in reds, pinks, blues, greens, some sparkled, some were glittery. The room was full of them piled high on the furniture and drifting lazily across the floor. The strangest thing, however, was seeing her dad sitting at the bar, an angry glare fixed on her.
"Dad?" Nicole asked instantly regretting taking the salt from the windows.
"Nicole Avalina Wesson," her dad's voice was full of dangerously controlled fury. "You have some explaining to do."
Nicole hung her head and joined her dad by the island, kicking the balloons out of the way and careful to hide the smile they brought to her face. "Where should I start?"
It was meant to be rhetorical but Carl answered anyway, "Start with why you let your guard down and didn't put salt on the windows. I trusted you with this job, if you can't handle it then tell me now before John's kid gets hurt."
Her father's harsh words stung. Nicole noticed the manila folder with the medical records on the counter. Her dad had found them. Also on the counter was her house key and a note. Will you go to homecoming with me? Pop the balloons to find my name. She read.
First, she had to answer her father, "Some guys from school were coming over to..." she gestured to the balloons. "I couldn't have them asking questions so I took the salt off but," she hurried on, "I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't one hundred percent sure there were no threats in this town. I've been monitoring all the signs for demons and spirits and there's nothing. Adam is safe Dad, I will not let anything happen to him."
Carl was impressed by the resolve in her voice. He didn't really think that she couldn't handle a case by herself – Hell, she did the job better than some of the guys he'd worked with that were twice her size - but that didn't forgive her slip up. "Next time, be creative. Lie. What's with the haircut?"
Nicole brushed her hair out of her face, "I had to cut it. There was…an accident at school."
"Accident?" Her dad reached over and tugged strand lightly, his voice light as he teased, "How do you expect to do your job with it in your face all the time?"
Nicole smiled, "I'll find a way."
Suddenly, her dad's eyes softened and his voice fell, "You look like your mom." Before she could reply, he got up and headed down the hall. "You better start popping." he called before closing the bedroom door.
Nicole let the grin she'd been holding in spread across her face as she reached out with the fascination of a child and grabbed the first balloon. It was a glittery green, her favorite color. She pulled out the knife her father had given her when she first started training in the hunter business from her backpack and stabbed the balloon. Surprise and delight lit up her face when glitter fell to the floor in a rain of scintillating light. Laughter burst out of her as she reached for another balloon and popped it. She made a game out it: whirling around as if in battle, stabbing the balloons as she leapt over furniture and kicked up glitter. Not all the balloons had glitter inside; those were the least exciting to pop. When she had popped them all and was sore from all the laughter and breathing hard, she frowned. None had held Adams name inside. She sifted through the piles of glitter around the room but found nothing. She reread the note, just to be sure. Yep, it should have been in a balloon but wasn't.
Disappointed, Nicole glanced around at the now glittering living room where remnants of the balloons now lay dead on the floor. With a sigh, she headed down the hall to her room where she kept the vacuum.
When she opened her room door, a single balloon bobbed in the air, tied to her bed post. It was green. Nicole's hand shook as she reached out and caught the sting pulling the balloon close. Without popping it, she read the name inside clearly.
"Adam,"
...
Nicole couldn't wait for school to start. She needed to talk to Nathan right now! She paced outside his locker and shot a glance done the hall every few seconds. As soon as he came around the corner, she rushed toward him.
"Nathan!" She practically screamed, "I need your help."
Nathan glanced around, his brow wrinkling with concern, "Sure, what's wrong? Is it Carla again?"
"What? No, no, it's not her. It Adam," Nicole fidgeted as she talked running a hand through her hair only to remember it was shorter, wringing her hands and biting her lip. "I figured sense there was a fancy peacock way of asking girls to the dance there might be some fancy peacock way I'm supposed to respond."
Nathan grinned, "Hey! You're learning!" Nathan led the way down the hall back to his locker. "And of course I'll help you I'm your foolhardy tradition mentor." As he rummaged through his locker, he thought, "It needs to be something fun, something original, something he won't expect and if he has to get dirty while looking for it, all the better. I'm thinking pudding."
Nicole blinked, "Pudding? How is pudding an answer?"
Nathan shook his head, "Nicole, Nicole, Nicole, you take your answer, yes, and write it on a piece of paper and put it in a Ziploc bag. Then, you put it in a little blow up swimming pool and fill the pool with pudding. He'll have to find your answer in the pudding."
Nicole cocked an eyebrow, "And that would be socially acceptable?"
Nathan grinned, "Yes."
"Ok," Nicole nodded. "Where do we get the pool?"
"Just so happens I have one you can use." Nathan closed his locker, "Meet me here after school and we'll get it done. Don't say anything to Adam about it. Don't mention the dance or the balloons or anything."
At Nicole's doubtful look, he added, "It would be socially unacceptable if you did."