Disclaimer: I do not own anything that does not have my name written next to it in pretty pink pen. I only own my own fictional characters, this include my OFC Nicola Andrews and her family. I also do not own any of the songs used to write this story…except on CD.
Reviews etc. are always appreciated and adored.
Summary: "Do you remember that time I fell out your window and you came jumping out after me?" There was a twinge of humour to her husky voice and Leon smiled for her benefit. For three years he let himself believe that he would always save her from everything, until he was the reason she was in that ambulance, a broken back and their baby was gone.
Another few songs for this chapter:
Reflections- Bliss n Eso
Holy Roller Novocaine- Kings of Leon
Make This Go On Forever- Snow Patrol
As always thanks for the reviews- Gingermegs and keep 'em coming!
July 1997 - Holy moley, me, oh my
Vince ground the gears and Nicola winced.
"Easy on the gears, Vince!" she hissed and Vince glared at her.
"I don't know why you have to teach me." He muttered as he finally got the truck in reverse and a loud beeping sound filled the cab.
"Because I spent a summer with my father driving trucks which makes me awesome." Nicola replied as Vince pushed in the clutch and put the truck into first. "Now remember while you're within city limits you're not allowed to use the air brakes."
Vince nodded before changing gears without the grinding and looked over at Nicola.
"Pretty good huh?" he nodded and Nicola smiled.
"You're a natural. Now eyes on the road coyote." She gestured through the windscreen and Vince laughed.
"So you excited about your hot date tonight?" He asked before pulling up at the traffic lights.
"How did you even know about that?"
"You know how Letty gets when she's excited." Vince said as he put the truck into first again and the light changed to green. She reminded herself to tell Letty to keep her mouth shut in the future. "So who is this guy?"
"Some guy I met at a party. Racing type- I think you'd like him. He's very pretty." Nicola smirked as Vince ground the gears again and went to hit the indicator but hit the windscreen wipers instead.
"Fuck!" He quickly hit the indicators and let out a deep breath as they turned at an intersection. "So first date- nervous?"
"Why are you so interested?" Nicola asked.
"Because in all the time I've known you, you have never gone out with some guy you met at a party." Nicola bit her lip. He had a point. The main reason she had agreed to going out with the guy was because Leon hadn't so much as mentioned the kiss.
"I'm trying something new."
"Letty also said you got accepted into that Ballet thing in New York." He changed gears a lot more smoothly this time as they started to leave the city limits.
"Well Letty is a crappy friend." Nicola muttered.
"Were you just not going to tell any of us and disappear at the end of the summer?" Sometimes Vince could surprise you with his sensitivity.
"No…I would have told you eventually."
"What about Leon?" Nicola glanced over at Vince and realised he was asking because her and Leon were best friends, not because he thought something was up.
"He knows."
"How'd he take it?" Vince sped up more as they hit the highway and Nicola glanced over at him.
"Don't go too fast. He said congratulations."
"And then he went all moody like Leon does?" Vince asked and Nicola smiled.
"Pretty much."
"So when do you leave, kid?" He glanced her way and she bit her lip nervously.
"In a few weeks. I've got orientation and to get set up and everything." Vince smiled over at her, nodding before turning his attention back to the road.
"Well congrats, Lala. I'm proud of you." She nodded, not really in the mood to keep talking. It was still bugging her that Leon hadn't really been excited about her getting into the school.
Vince got the hint and quietly kept driving.
By the time they got home after parking the truck at the garage it was starting to get dark. Vince noticed the lack of enthusiasm she had as they walked up the pathway together.
"You want me to text you the address when we hear from Hector?"
"Yeah, that would be good, thanks Vince." She jogged up the stairs as Leon swung the door open and stood there not looking the least bit amused, Jesse was jumping up and down behind him.
"What?" Nicola said angrily as Leon blocked the way.
"Letty said you've got a date." Leon raised an eyebrow and didn't move as Nicola and Vince stood on the porch.
"What's it to you?" She couldn't help the bitterness that slipped through. If it had been any other guy in the world that had kissed her then ignored her she would have ignored it. But this wasn't any other guy, this was Leon.
Leon looked hurt and Nicola quickly shoved past, making her way up to Letty's room as quickly as she could.
After showering Nicola managed to find one of Mias more respectable dresses and pulled it on, pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail and running her fingers through her bangs until they sat perfectly. After a small dusting of make-up she appraised her appearance and decided it would be good enough.
It was warm enough to go without a coat so she pulled on her grey pumps and made her way downstairs.
"Aw, La, you look so pretty." Letty said as her friend walked down the staircase.
"Thanks." Nicola replied, forcing a smile on her face as she tried to ignore the memory of the confrontation with Leon earlier.
"What time are you going?" Mia asked, bringing out a few beers for the boys and Nicola glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
"Um now." There was a beep from outside and six pairs of eyes went to the door.
"Hm, classy guy." Dom voiced Leons thoughts. Nicola ignored their comments and left as quickly as possible, feeling a little embarrassed.
He was still sitting in the car when she got there. He didn't even get out and open the door and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
They had dinner at a little Cuban place with tiny red candles and music playing. Nicola's first impression of Tyson slipped slightly as they laughed their way through their meal before Vince sent her a text telling her where the race was. He then took her for icecream before they went to the races.
The silver hotted up Camero stood out in a crowd of imported plastic cars as they cruised up the street. There weren't that many people looking at them and Nicola realised that Tyson had been around this scene for a while. They drove past the Toretto team who all turned and looked at them, Jesse and Leon both with a cigarette in their mouth as they leant up against Vinces Maxima and Letty shaking her head.
"Your friends don't look so impressed." Tyson said sheepishly as they parked and Nicola stole a glance back at them.
"Just ignore them." She stepped out of the car and made her way towards Hector who greeted her then gave Tyson a large handshake.
"How was dinner?" Vince appeared beside her and Nicola let a small smile show.
"It was good- thanks for the recommendation, old man." She slapped him on the shoulder before introducing him to Tyson.
"You'll have to come by after the race, man." Vince said shaking Tysons hand and Nicola smiled. At least someone was friendly.
Nicola and Tyson got to the party late after going to a bottle shop and picking up Coronas. The sound of the Camero pulling up on the curb had Jesse sprinting out to them.
"La! Its Leon." Nicola glanced up at Tyson who smiled.
"This is my cue to leave. I'll call you." He leant down and kissed Nicola on the cheek before leaving. Nicola let Jesse lead her down to the basement where Leon was wrapped around the toilet in nothing other than a pair of checked boxer shorts.
"It think his drink was spiked or something." Nicola groaned, Leon had a serious allergy to vodka. She fell down beside him and stroked his hair making him look up at her, looking a bit green.
"Are you alright, Le?" She asked softly and Leon nodded.
"'M fine La."
"I can see that. Come on." She grabbed the bucket that was stored under the sink for this exact reason and pulled him off the floor and took him to his room, laying him down and touching his head where and realised he was sweating. She went back to the bathroom for a wet washcloth and crawled onto the bed, sitting up so his head was resting on her lap and he curled up into a ball and she put the cool cloth on his forehead. "It's alright, go to sleep, sweetie."
Through the night she sat with him through the hot and cold sweats as he continued to throw up. In the early hours of the morning he was shivering so she pulled the duvet up and over his almost naked form. She dozed off resting her head on the wall behind her when Mia snuck in with a large mug of coffee wearing her pyjamas.
"Is he okay?" She whispered and Nicola shook her head.
"Someone spiked his drink. With vodka I'm guessing." She took the cup of coffee and sipped at the hot drink before thanking Mia.
"Dom's fuming that someone would be spiking drinks in our own home." Mia shook her head and left the room.
Nicola resumed running her fingers through Leons hair. She felt him move, drawing his knees closer to his chest and she grimaced. He must have been in so much pain.
"Are you okay?" She said softly and he nodded again.
"Just cramps'all." He mumbled into her stomach and she felt him relax a little bit as the cramp eased. "Who went and got you?" he continued speaking.
"Jesse came looking for me. You think your drink was spiked?" She said softly and he nodded into her stomach again before another cramp struck him and he groaned.
"Vodka." He replied before rolling off her stomach and reaching for the bucket beside the bed as quickly as possible. Nicola rubbed his back patiently as he continued to retch and when he was finished she slipped from the room to find him some water and a clean bucket.
When she got back Leon quickly curled up next to her and went back to a restless sleep. Nicola rested her head on the wall again and continued to run her fingers through his hair as he continued to spasm. It wasn't long after that he kicked all the covers off and muttered something about being so hot. When he woke up slightly Nicola dragged him to the bathroom and turned the shower on. Once she adjusted the temperature she looked at Leon who was standing there slumped over.
"You'll feel better once you shower, Leon." She checked the temperature again before glancing at him, "Do you need me to undress you?" She laughed and Leon groaned and she was pretty sure he told her to fuck off before she left the bathroom and went back to his room, falling down flat on her face.
She must have dozed off because she jumped at someone touching her leg. Looking up she saw Leon standing next to the bed, still looking very seedy, wearing a pair of sweats.
"How was your date?" he asked softly as she moved over and he lay down beside her.
"Good, he's really nice." She thought she saw him wince but put it down to him being sick.
"That's good." He mumbled and his knees started to curl towards his stomach. Nicola sat up and pulled him onto her lap. His hands resting on the bare skin of her thigh as her dress bunched up.
"Leon?" His reply was muffled so she continued, "Do I need to call a doctor?" He shook his head and went quiet and she realised he'd gone back to sleep for the moment.
Mia came in again and Nicola glanced at the clock and saw that it was eight am.
"Any better?" She asked sitting down beside Leons unconscious form.
"He started cramping up after you left. What time was that?" Nicola asked, still running her hands through Leons hair.
"About three. That's when Dom kicked everyone out. I was getting ready for bed when Letty told me what was going on." Mia rested her hand on Leons shoulder and shook him gently before looking up at Nicola. "Do I need to call a doctor?" She said softly.
"I don't know. It's never been this bad." Looking down at his prone form and sighed. "Should I get him to eat something?" Nicola asked and Mia shook her head.
"If he gets hungry get him some toast, and maybe something fizzy and water." Mia reached over and grabbed the empty coffee cup off the table beside the bed. "You know they say your true friends are the ones that are still there when you come down. I think Leon owes you one." Mia said before she left and Nicola shook her head.
"Nah, now we're even." She said to nobody in particular and closed her eyes again drifting off to sleep.
Someone woke her up later and she looked down quickly, making sure Leon was okay before looking up at Dom.
"Mia said you might need some coffee and I brought you a chocolate croissant. Do you want to go and have a shower or something?" Nicola looked reluctantly down at Leon sleeping on her lap before looking at the dress she was wearing and nodded.
"Just if he starts cuddling you, roll with it." She laughed as she slipped out from under Leon and snuck upstairs to shower.
When she came back down in a pair of sweats and a tank top she found Dom sitting on the bed, his arms behind his head as Leon was curled up in a ball on the other side.
"Guess you worked out how to keep him at bay?" Nicola raised an eyebrow and Dom laughed.
"I think he knew it wasn't you so he kept his distance." Dom climbed off the bed and pointed to the food on the bedside table before disappearing. As soon as she was sitting on the bed again Leon sat up and rubbed the back of his neck, looking over at her.
"Hey…" he said softly and Nicola smiled back before holding her pastry out to him. He shook his head and lay back down again. He still looked awfully pale, Nicola noted.
"Is there anything I can get you? I'm worried Leon." She said and he moved over beside her and curled back up, his head resting on her lap once again.
"No, 'm kay. Just feel like shit." He closed his eyes and Nicola continued to eat her food. "You can go if you want." He said softly into the fabric of her sweats and Nicola raked her fingernails across his scalp making him relax immediately.
"I think I'll stay." She replied and sipped at her coffee.
"Thank you, Lala."
"Yeah, yeah." Nicola finished her coffee and looked around the room, suddenly wishing Leon had a tv in his room.
But he didn't fall asleep he lay there as she ate her breakfast, a cramp occasionally causing him to groan in pain before he went back to being silent.
"I was a prick earlier." He finally said and Nicola chuckled.
"Yes you were."
"I don't like him." Leon said and she knew who he was talking about and rolled her eyes.
"Of course you don't." She replied and went back to running her fingers through his hair, knowing it would calm them both down.
"Then why are you going out with him?" His voice was still muffled by the fabric of her pants and Nicola sighed.
"Because every decision I make isn't really based on what you think Leon." She tried to say it as lightly as possible so he didn't think she was trying to pick a fight. Leon was silent then and she knew he wanted to say something, but when he didn't she shrugged it off. "Trust you to get sick when I was having a date."
"You didn't have to help." He said softly and hand slipped off her thigh as he drew his knees up closer to his bared chest.
"Yes I did. You're one of the most important people in the world to me. It kills me to see you in so much pain."
This seemed to reassure him and he closed his eyes again, going back to sleep.
A/N: Aww poor Leon. Anyways review review review PLEASE x