Disclaimer: I will not tell you people again!! Well, no, I probably will, but not right now, cuz I'm anxious to get on with this chapter!...You know who belongs to who, anyway.

Chapter 28: The Truth You Neglected To Tell Me pt. 2

Well you drive me crazy half the time
the other half I'm only trying to let you know that what I feel is true
And I'm only me when I'm with you

Shutting the library door behind him, Nick stepped out into the hallway and looked around for any signs of human life...or Vernon.

Not seeing anyone, Nick started down the hallway, walking toward the stairs that led up to the second floor.

But just as he neared the end of the hallway, he heard the sound of squeaky shoes coming down the hallway ahead of him.

He knew that sound.

He was about to come face - to face with Richard vernon.

Panicking, Nick quickly walked to the other side of the hall and flattened himself against the wall, holding his breath.

He finally saw Vernon start to come around the corner, but he was looking down at his watch and grumbling to himself, so fortunately he hadn't noticed Nick...yet.

"...I'm the principal for Christ's sake, I should have today off..." Vernon grumbled "...but noooo, that fuckin' janitor has to go home to please his damn old lady and fix his fuckin' water heater...!"

Suddenly, Vernon looked down at his tie.

"Ah, shit...! How did that get there?" he exclaimed. He grimaced at his tie, then looked around the hallway.

Nick stayed quiet, holding his breath, and trying to make himself get flatter against the wall, if that was possible.

With one more disgusted grimace directed at his tie, Vernon turned around and headed back in the direction he came from, mumbling something about heartburn and forgetting to bring Wet - Naps.

Nick waited about ten seconds, then breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, directly across the hall from him, the door to the janitor's closet opened and Nick saw Connie standing in the doorway.

She silently beckoned for him to come over, so, with one last glance down the hall to make sure Vernon was really gone, Nick quickly hurried over to the other side of the hall.

When he got to the janitor's closet, Connie stepped back so he could get inside, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he shut the door behind him.

"Oh man, you have no idea - "

But she didn't let him finish, she just slammed her fist right into his stomach.

With a loud grunt of pain, Nick doubled over.

Holding his stomach, he looked up at Connie.

"What the hell was - "

Again, she didn't let him finish. Instead, she grabbed his arm and pratically flung him across the small room, so he landed against some boxes that were sitting against the wall.

" - That for?" he finally finished, staring up at her with a look of confusion...and possibly some fear.

"You lied to me," she said.

"...What?" he asked, still clutching his stomach and trying to catch his breath.

Connie crouched down so she was eye - level with him.

"You. Lied. To. Me," she repeated, "and I wanna know why."

He stared at her for a moment, then sighed.

"Oh...that," he said.

"Yeah, that...!" Connie snapped. "How could you lie to me like that?"

Suddenly, Nick's expression seemed to harden.

"Well, it's not like it's really any of your business, anyway, is it?" he asked, glaring at her,"it's not like we're lifelong buddies and you need to know every single thing about me - "

" - You need to know everything about everyone else around you, so why can't you return the favor for the rest of us?" Connie asked, cutting him off.

Nick rolled his eyes and stood up, wincing as he clutched his stomach.

"You pack quite a punch, Bender, your daddy would be proud," he said.

"...Ya think so?" Connie asked,"well, what about you, would your daddy be proud of you and your lying, juvenile delinquant ass...perfect though it may be?"

Even though his stomach was still hurting, Nick managed to smirk.

"You like my ass now, Connie?" he asked.

Connie rolled her eyes.

"It was an insult, jackass," she grumbled.

"So, by telling me I had a perfect ass, you were attempting to insult me?" Nick asked, still smirking.

"I also said you were a lying juvenile delinquant - "

" - Well, that's nothing I've never heard before," he said, as he stepped closer to her. "But I gotta tell ya, nobody who's ever been angry with me has looked quite as adorable as you do."

Connie didn't respond at first, she just held his gaze.

"...What happened to your parents, Nick?" she asked.

Nick stopped for a moment...then plastered a smile on his face.

"...You're pretty," he said.

"Stop trying to distract me, Nick, and just tell me," Connie demanded.

Nick just smirked and reached over to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"No, but seriously - "

Connie grabbed his wrist and held it tightly.

"I'll hurt you again if I have to," she told him.

Nick just gazed at her, and said nothing...so, with a shrug, Connie bent his wrist backward as hard as she could.

Nick cringed in pain.

"Ah! Ah!...Alright, alright...alright! I'll tell you!" he yelped.

With a smirk, Connie let go of his wrist.

Pulling his wrist back quickly, Nick rubbed it with his other hand and scowled at her.

"You're a mean woman," he told her.

"...says the lying creep," she replied."Now tell me what happened to your parents."

Nick sighed.

"Why do you wanna know so bad?" he asked.

Connie shrugged.

"I just...I wanna know you," she said, "but I don't like liars. However, Kyle has assured me that that's not who you are, and that you only ever lie about one thing."

"...And now you wanna know the truth about that one thing," Nick finished.

"Wow...that's finally registered in your mind, huh?" Connie asked, sarcastically.

"You wanna know, or not?" Nick asked.

"...Are you gonna tell me the truth?" she asked.

"Yes."

Connie paused for a moment...then she held out her pinky finger.

"Ah. come on...!" Nick grumbled.

But Connie just glared at him and held her pinky higher, so it was right in his face.

Nick sighed, and wrapped his own pinky finger around hers.

They both let go, and Nick shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and sighed.

Connie rolled her eyes.

"Will ya quit it with all the dramatic sighing and just tell me, already?" she demanded.

Taken aback, Nick smirked.

"...And the smirking!" she continued, "stop it with the damn smirking! it's getting annoying!"

Nick quirked an eyebrow.

"...Is it really?" he asked.

Connie rolled her eyes.

"Fine, it's extremely adorable, but stop trying to distract me with it and tell me about your parents like you said you would!" she demanded.

Nick gave her a small smile and nodded.

"The truth..." he said "...is that my mother really is dead, she died in a car crash when I was eight, and my dad...my dad left me and my older sister when I was nine. My sister and I then went to live with my grandma, who died in her sleep about five years later. By then, my sister was old enough to be named my legal guardian, so we've been living together, just me and her, for the past few years."

Connie stayed silent for a moment.

"...So, that's it?" she finally asked.

Nick nodded.

"That's it...the whole truth, just for you, Connie Bender," he said.

She nodded.

"OK," she said.

Nick smirked.

"OK..." he said "...now what about you?"

"What about me?" she asked.

Nick shrugged.

"During that little game of yours you left a question unanswered," he reminded her "...and I'd like to know the answer to that question."

Connie frowned in confusion.

"Which question was that?" she asked.

Nick smiled and leaned closer to her.

"What's the one thing in the world that you want most for yourself?" he asked, in low voice.

Connie looked away and bit her lip.

"Connie..."

"It's totally embarrassing!" she said.

"Oh, c'mon," said Nick "when I wouldn't tell you the truth, you literally twisted my arm until I agreed to tell you about my home situation, now you're gonna hold out on me? That's a bit hypocritical, don'tcha think?"

"But it's totally girly...!" she whined.

"Well, you are a girl, so I won't hold it against you!" Nick insisted.

Connie smirked.

"OK, fine..." she said "...what I want, most in the world...is a prince."

"...A prince?"

"A prince."
"...Wow, that is girly," he said.

"I'm not finished yet," Connie told him.

"Well, then, by all means...continue," said Nick.

"Well..." she said, starting to pace "...in the middle of the night, my prince would scale the castle wall ...or the trellis on the side of my house, whatever...then he would climb onto my roof and sneak over to my window, knock on my window, then I would open it and he would tell me to pack a bag, which I would, then I'd climb out the window and we'd jump off the roof together, well, he'd jump first then catch me when I came down...then we would get into his '67 Shelby Mustang and drive to Vegas, and get married by an Elvis impersonator at the Little White Wedding Chapel."

When she finished, she stopped and looked over at Nick.

Nick was silent at first, but then he grinned.

"Wow..." he said "...that's...that's very...detailed."

"...You think it's funny!" she exclaimed.

"No!...No, I just think it's...well, yeah, it's girly..." Nick stuttered, still grinning.

"And...?"

"And, what...?" Nick asked.

"There's something else you wanna say, I can tell," said Connie.

"Well, it's just...well, how long have you been planning this, exactly?" Nick asked.

"Since I was six," Connie replied.

Nick nodded.

"That's cool," he said.

"And...?" Connie asked.

"And nothing...!" Nick exclaimed.

"I don't buy it," she said, "there's something you're dying to say, I can tell."

Nick shrugged.

"Well, you just..I didn't peg you for a 'Vegas wedding' type 'a girl," he said."You just kinda surprised me...you've done that a few times, today."

Connie frowned.

"So, what...?" she asked "...the minute we met, you already thought you had me pegged?"

"You sayin' you didn't do the same thing to me?" Nick asked.

Connie shrugged.

"I thought you were cute," she admitted.

Nick smirked.

"...Then your personality showed up and ruined it for me," she finished, with a smirk of her own.

Nick squinted at her, and smirked.

"You're totally lying," he said.

"Am I?" she asked, still smirking.

"You like me," he said.

"Do I?"

He nodded, smiling.

"You're crazy about me," he said, "you're head over heels for me - "

" - There's that lovely ego again," Connie remarked.

"Y'know, it'll be better if you just admit it," Nick told her, "just admit that you're totally crazy about me."

"Why?" Connie asked, her smirk had since grown into a full - blown grin "...so you can let me down easy and then buy me a cookie as an apology?"

Nick pondered this for a moment.

"...No," he said, "more like, so I can kiss you now, then take you out tonight and make sweet, sweet love to you."

Connie laughed.

"Well, I dunno..." she said "...do you drive a Shelby Mustang?"

"No," Nick replied, "But I have a pick - up truck."

"Oh, well, of course you do...!" Connie said, laughing, then she stopped laughing and gazed into Nick's eyes.

"I like pick - up trucks," she said.

Nick smirked.

"Yay," he said, smiling.

Then he wrapped his arms around her, leaned in...and kissed her.

I know Vernon wasn't in it for very long, but he'll be back, I promise!

And hopefully you guys liked it, cuz I know i enjoyed writing it. :)

And the lyrics at the beginning of the chapter are from the song "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" by Taylor Swift.

REVIEW PLEASE!!

- Ace's Buddy