Look at me, I'm on a roll. Having this outlined is really helping for when I end up with writer's block. Nigel is introduced in this chapter (sort of). I'm a little hesitant about actually writing him, because I'm not quite sure what his personality is like. I've always thought of him as being a little bit like Peter Pettigrew, but then I watched "For King and Country" again and now I'm seeing him completely differently. So he probably won't have much of a part just because I'm having a lot of trouble writing him. Anyway, Enjoy.
Disclaimer
It wasn't long before Spring Break had come and gone and the school was preparing for finals and the end of the semester. James had joined their little study group, even though he was a senior and they were only sophomores, he enjoyed spending time with them. He was older than most of the other students, so they generally stayed away from him, but he and Kiri seemed to have some sort of history, and so Kiri had invited him to join their group. The four of them had moved to sit under a tree; the bench was too small since their group had expanded. Every once in a while, they would be joined by one of James's friends, a man named Nigel Griffin. He was a junior, and shared a few classes with James. He became one of them fairly quickly, and by the time finals were over he had become a regular in the group.
Once finals were over, Nikola, Helen, and Kiri got together one last time at Helen's house. Gregory had given them the house for the night, going out to stay with a friend. Nikola and Helen were sitting curled up on the couch together while Kiri sat on the rug in front of the fireplace with Ellie. At almost sixty, Ellie had become like a second mother to Kiri, encouraging her in her reading and writing, as well as offering her life advice, even when Kiri hadn't necessarily asked for it. Currently, Ellie was watching while Kiri practiced her writing.
"What are you two doing for the summer?" Nikola asked finally, glancing from Kiri to Helen.
"I'm helping my Father with his work over the summer," Helen told him, her eyes not leaving the fire. "We'll be gone for most of it; Father needs help with some things in Europe." She tightened her grip on Nikola's hand, as though sorry she was leaving.
"What about you, Kiri?" Nikola turned to face the other girl.
"My employer is going to help an old friend with something, and wants me to come. I'll be leaving in two days and I don't come back until just before the autumn semester begins. The good news is I'll be able to visit Smiljan again." Kiri smiled with excitement.
"You both need to make sure you send me letters while you're gone, alright," Nikola demanded, looking at Helen and Kiri with mock severity.
"Of course, Nika!" Kiri exclaimed from the rug, grinning. She held up the small chalkboard she was writing on to show them that she had written her name.
"Good job," Helen congratulated, smiling. Kiri's grin widened, even as Nikola scoffed.
"Your handwriting is atrocious, Sestrice," he remarked, causing Kiri to stick out her tongue. They spent the rest of the night and most of the next day just talking. Kiri had to leave sometime around midafternoon, needing to pack before she left. Nikola and Helen ended up falling asleep curled up together on the couch; Helen's head resting on Nikola's chest while Nikola had his arms wrapped around Helen tightly.
They were woken up by Kiri early the next morning; she had stopped by to say good-bye. She bounced into the room and stood directly in front of them, staring at them for almost five minutes, before taking in a breath.
"TIME TO WAKE UP!" she shouted. Nikola and Helen both jumped awake, looking around before locating the source of the noise. Kiri remained standing in front of them, grinning widely.
"Was that completely necessary?" Helen questioned, glaring at her friend tiredly.
"Yup. I don't have much time and I wanted to say good-bye before I left," answered Kiri, nodding. Helen stood and drew the younger girl into a rare hug, kissing the top of her head.
"Have fun, Kiri," she said, pulling away. Kiri smiled.
"I will. And I'll write to both of you," she promised. Nikola ruffled her hair affectionately.
"You'd better, sestrice," he ordered. Kiri nodded.
"Good-bye!" she called as she bounced away, waving over her shoulder. Nikola went back to his apartment soon after she left. He and Helen didn't see much of each other over the next week; Helen was much too busy with helping her father. One night, at around mid-night, almost two weeks after Kiri had left, Nikola heard a pounding on his door. Opening it, he found Helen standing outside in the pouring rain.
"Helen, what are you doing here?" he demanded, stepping aside to let her in. He hadn't even been aware that she knew where he lived. She had certainly never been there before.
"Father and I are leaving tomorrow, and I've only just managed to get away to come see you," Helen told him breathlessly. "I couldn't bear the thought of leaving without saying good-bye." Helen wrapped her arms around Nikola, burying her head in his chest and holding on tightly. Nikola chuckled softly as he returned the embrace.
"Surely you will be back in a few weeks. It's not like this is good-bye forever," he remarked gently. Helen shook her head.
"F-Father's work can sometimes be dangerous. I might be hurt." She tightened her grip, and Nikola pulled away slightly to look down at her.
"Helen, I find it difficult to believe that Gregory would allow you to be seriously injured. I'm sure we'll see each other again." He smiled reassuringly, reaching up to stroke some hair out of her face. He led her over to the second-hand couch sitting in what passed for the living room, sitting down next to her and pulling her close. They sat like that until just before dawn, when Helen stood again.
"I must be going. Father will be worried," she stated, her hands fiddling in front of her. Nikola stood as well, taking Helen's hand and bending down to pass his lips over her knuckles.
"Very well, Miss Magnus. But I would be remiss if I allowed you to walk home alone," he told her. Helen giggled and slapped his chest lightly.
"Stop that right now, Niko. I am perfectly capable of walking myself home." She nodded emphatically, and Nikola chuckled.
"Of course you are, Helen. But at least allow me to show you out." He took her hand again and walked her with exaggerated majesty, as though it was the most important task he'd ever had. When they were at the door, Helen turned to him, pulling him down to kiss him chastely, and when she pulled away, she was silent for a few seconds.
"Good-bye, Nikola," she finally said before disappearing out the door. Nikola sighed as he closed the door, returning to his couch to sit in silence.
I don't often do these at the end, but I need your advice. The next chapter is about the summer, and I can't decide between coming right out and telling you guys what happens or having the next two chapters be letters from Helen and Kiri to Nikola (Helen's summer is kind of important, so I have to do something about it, and I just love writing Kiri, so having too many chapters without her doesn't seem right). Anyway, drop me a review or something to let me know what you think.