Wow, guys! The feedback was incredible! Special thanks to Sammie, who I got to be the secret santa for last year and is one of the sweetest people I have met on tumblr. Rose Coloured Glasses, thank you for your always nice messages, it means a lot! ImJudyGarland, hello tumblr friend :D Janemarie14, I'm glad I could make your day better, this is really good to read. And to everyone else: Thank you thank you thank you again! I hope this second chapter is as good as the first one :) Have a nice reading!
x x
Nick Miller was not what you can call an observant guy, but he was slowly realizing that interactions between 4D and 4C were becoming a daily thing. Mostly because Schmidt had challenged himself to woo Cece, who was at Jess's apartment almost every day, but also because Jess was subtly becoming friends with the gang. One day, she knocked at their door wearing a yellow apron and a chef hat (or toque, like she later corrected) that read "Chef of the day".
"Wow that's a really yellow apron." Nick said as he checked out her outfit.
"I know, isn't it pretty? I wear it to cooking class every Thursdays with the kids" Jess looked down at her apron and then back at Nick "Do you have sugar?"
He frowned.
"I thought this only happened in the movies but yeah, we have sugar."
"Hi, Jess!" Schmidt's head appeared behind Nick's shoulder "What's the menu?"
"A rainbow cake!" She replied with enthusiasm "I had it saved on my Pinterest board since forever and just now I had the decency of baking it."
"See how she's wearing an apron and toque?" Schmidt said to Nick "These are the first signs that someone cares enough to not poison people who are gonna eat their food. Learn a little, Nicholas."
"The only thing I cook is bacon, butter and my special sauce! And apron is something people wear to avoid getting stuff on their clothes, you nut!"
"It's still valuable. Jess" Schmidt turned to her "Come on in! Let's talk about hygiene in the kitchen."
And Jessica Day, being the extremely observant girl she's always been, failed to realize that her little adventures at apartment 4D could cause her some injuries. Like when she sprained her ankle. Hard. And it all happened because of a beer can.
Here's the thing: True American was something that was happening a lot at the loft. The guys had been playing this game since they all moved in together, but with Jess and Cece bringing extra beer and acting as special characters for the team, things seemed to be funnier with them around plus, Jess got drunk a little too easily and was the "funny and reckless" type of drunk. So, with couches moved aside and a pool of imaginary lava right in the middle of the living room, they started drinking and climbing every possible couch and table to play True American.
"Jess, are you serious right now?" Nick slapped his own forehead, standing on the dinner table "You died ten minutes ago! You should be down there in the lava!"
Jess frowned at Nick. She just played the wrong signs with her hands and screwed all her game, but that didn't mean she died. Sticking her tongue out, she replied:
"I have my secrets, Miller. I made you all believe I played a 2 instead of a 3 and now here I am, queen of the couch!"
"This rule doesn't even exist!" Winston protested, throwing his arms in the air.
"Jess!" Cece shouted from the opposite side of the living room. "Watch out, there's an empty beer can... No, Jess! JESS! THERE'S AN EMPTY CAN -"
Jess wasn't paying attention to what Cece was saying and ended up stepping on an empty beer can, sliding down the couch and falling on the floor. A piercing scream cut through the air and, as Schmidt stood paralyzed and Winston covered his face with his hands, Nick ran up to Jess and kneeled down next to her.
"Are you okay?" He asked, alternating his eyes between Jess's face and her crooked ankle.
"My ankle" She whimpered and pointed to her feet " My ankle, my ankle, my ankle, oh my god!"
"Someone grab a pack of ice!" Cece said as she sat next to Jess and checked her now pink ankle. Schmidt immediately run to the freezer and after looking through every item in it, he shouted:
"THERE'S NO ICE! How come there's no ice? I filled every ice cube tray TWO DAYS AGO!"
"I thought you were going to refill them!" Winston shouted back.
"Are you kidding me, Winston?!"
"Ferguson was thirsty for some cold water, man!"
"wHO THE HELL IS FERGUSON?"
"SHUT UP YOU TWO!" Nick yelled. Jess started sobbing and her ankle was now worse than it was one minute ago: it was swollen and red, indicating it was about to get even uglier if they just sat there waiting for ice to magically appear.
"I think we'll have to see a doctor. Jess, do you mind if I pick you up? Do you think it will hurt more or..."
"Screw it." She sniffed and laced her arms around Nick's neck. "I'm ready to die."
"Oh my god, it's so red. Oh god" Schmidt made a vomiting noise as he saw Jess's foot hanging from Nick's arms and Cece smacked him on the head. They all rushed down the stairs, Nick being extra careful while holding Jess, and used Schmidt's car to go to the nearest emergency, with Jess seated on the back seat and her injured ankle resting on Nick's lap. While Schmidt and Winston started another argument about the ice cubes and Cece googled an hospital near their location, Jess tugged at Nick's shirt lightly:
"If you were Mrs. Rhonda, you would have told me to screw myself."
Nick stifled a laugh. "Who is the hell is Rhonda?"
"My 'ex' neighbor. One day she was sweeping the sidewalks and left her broom there, so I tripped over it. Instead of asking me if I was okay, she checked her broom for any damages. "
"Not the nicest person in the world."
"Nope, not at all." She chuckled "But thank you, Nick, you didn't have to bother."
Nick rolled his eyes and pointed at her ankles.
"You don't have an ankle anymore, you have a mushroom and we have to take care of it. Look at this thing, it even has a face and everything. "
"Ew, it doesn't have a face!"
"It does and it's smiling, it's right here..."
"Ooooouuch, don't touch it!"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, I regret everything!"
"Hey, mushroom lovers" Cece, who was sitting on the front seat next to Schmidt, turned around and poked Nick "Get Jess and let's go, we're here."
Nick muttered "Yes ma'am" and carefully took Jess's feet off his lap. She circled his neck with her arms and, like they did back in the loft, he took her out of the car and carried her bridal style. Cece narrowed her eyes at the scene and Jess pretended she didn't notice her best friend's giggle as she walked past them to ask for information to the first nurse she saw. Jess didn't care about what Cece was thinking, but one thing she knew for sure: Nick was actually a really sweet neighbor
