Call The Clock- discouraging players from taking an excessively long time to act.
Saturday afternoon
Nick clenched his fist and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as Jess turned toward the hotel room door. She laid the box down on the tv stand in the bedroom, before running through the living area to answer it. Nick quickly grabbed the box and shoved it back into his suitcase. He left the bedroom just as the door swung open and Schmidt ran between them into the room.
"I think I'm having an anxiety attack." He started breathing heavily, one hand on his head, the other on his hip and he bent over slightly.
"Say what, now?" Jess narrowed her eyes at him, hands on her hips. She took a few steps toward the seating area and glared at Schmidt.
"I think," Schmidt started to frantically pace and forth across the room between Nick and Jess. He was rambling an incoherent string of words. "I can't ...I don't know if...I don't think I can...Oh, God."
"You don't think you can what?" Jess crossed the room towards him, her face tinging red with anger. "What are you trying to say, Schmidt?"
Schmidt sat down on the edge of one of the stuffed chairs, leaning onto his knees. He took a few quick breaths, then growled and threw back his head, eyes squeezed shut. "Maybe we shouldn't have come here. Maybe we rushed this." His eyes darted open and he turned to look at Nick. "What if we rushed this? What if one of us runs away again. What if this was a mistake?"
Nick looked at Jess, who he could tell was seething with anger and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. He walked across the room and sat down in the chair across from his best friend. "This was your idea...Why are you talking about all this now?"
Jess' eyes went wide and she started breathing heavily. Taking a deep breath, she raised her voice through gritted teeth. "I swear to GOD, Schmidt, if you leave her at the alter too, I will kiiiiiiiill you." Her hands were clenched, as Nick held his hand out in the air motioning to calm down. Jess just glared at him.
"Really Nick?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, her damp hair hanging limply around her face. "We all drop everything to follow these two idiots out here to elope and now he decides it was a bad idea?!"
"I mean, I think I'll probably be okay..." Schmidt started to say something, but his voice was drown out by Nick's voice. Schmidt shrunk back in the chair, helpless.
"Listen to what he's saying, Jess!" Nick jumped up and starting frantically motioning with his hands, as Schmidt just sat their glancing back and forth between them dumbfounded. "Would you rather he admit all this after the ceremony?"
"But now is better." She nodded, rolling her eyes. "Not yesterday, or before we drove here..." Her voice was louder now. "You can't seriously stand there and tell me that he didn't know this before RIGHT NOW?" She gestured toward Schmidt as he quickly averted his gaze to the floor.
Schmidt winced, muttering to himself. "Guys really, I think I'm..."
"What I'm saying Jessica, is that if he has any doubts, now is the time to lay them all out there. What happens when he finally decides to put that ring on her finger to propose? Once that happens it's too late." The whole room went silent as Jess' eyes widened. Her head snapped back and Nick's expression fell. What had he just said? He watched Jess' arms fall to her side as her mouthed gaped open. Inhaling sharply, she suddenly seemed unsteady on her feet. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"Propose?" Jess' eyes darted back and forth between Nick and a completely confused Schmidt, as a knot started to rise in her throat. "But Schmidt already..."
She shook her head slowly from side to side, staring wide-eyed at both of them. The gravity of what he had let slip out of his mouth and how it would sound to her after everything that had happened, finally sunk in.
Suddenly, none of this was about Schmidt, or her best friend, or a single reason why they ended up here. This was about Nick, and she knew it.
"Oh, God." She held up her hands and stared straight at Nick, her voice a quiet gasp. "This isn't about them... is it?"
Nick began to shake his head furiously. "WAIT. Jess, I...I didn't. That's not what I meant. You can't...That's..." He took a few steps towards her, but she backed away from him. She shook her head, a tear falling down her face, and turned toward the door. "Jess, STOP!"
He tried to run after her, but just as he reached out to grab her arm, the door flew open and she was gone. He froze in the doorway, afraid to step outside. He wanted to run after her, to explain everything, but he was too ashamed.
How could he have said something so horrible?
His hand wrapped around the handle to the door, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He took several deep breaths, closing his eyes and clenching his fist, before slamming the door. He spun around and walked toward Schmidt, sitting down slowly. He was able to remain calm for only a moment before his voice grew louder, his jaw clenched. "Why would you do this, Schmidt! Why?!" His voice boomed across the room, Schmidt staring wide eyed at him. "Why do you always do this?!" he growled.
Schmidt just stared at him, leaning his body backwards slightly, afraid to speak. "Do what?"
Nick's arms fell to his knees, his shoulders slumped. "That wasn't supposed to happen. With Jess. I didn't mean to say..." His voice trailed off.
Schmidt's eyes narrowed, confused. "What wasn't?"
Nick's eyes filled with anger again. "What I just said ya idiot, it wasn't supposed to come out like that."
Schmidt sat in silence for a few moments until he slowly nodded, realization coming over his face. "OH... Wait. You were actually planning to..."
The friends locked eyes for a moment and then Nick's head collapsed into his hands as he moaned. "Damn it. DAMN IT. What have I done?"
Schmidt leaned back in his chair again, looking at the ceiling. "You mean, what have WE done. What the HELL is wrong with us?" Schmidt shook his head, rolling it from side to side along the back of the chair. He sighed, before lifting his head toward Nick and frowned. "Listen man, I didn't know. But please don't blame me in all of this, my own mess is bad enough. Why would you even say something like that?"
"I don't know...I DON'T KNOW!" He ran his hands forcefully through his hair and sat up. He glanced at Schmidt's forlorn look and his voice softened slightly. Nick nodded towards Schmidt, clasping his hands together. "Why'd you really come down here, man. What's going on? I know you don't want to cancel this wedding..."
Schmidt looked him right in the eye and frowned. He was silent for a minute, before he shrugged his shoulders. "Cece is...Cece's always going to be that woman that really shouldn't want to be with me. What happens someday when she finally realizes that."
Nick shook his head. "You can't really believe that?"
"Well why not?"
"Maybe because she said yes?!" Nick paused, staring once again at his friend, clearly still insecure. He shook his head again. "Is that why you came here to elope? Were you afraid she'd change her mind?" Nick squinted his eyes, confused.
"You mean if she had time to plan a wedding?" Schmidt looked at Nick and shrugged sadly. "Honestly? Maybe I did. She's done it before..."
Nick sat up suddenly, leaning back on the chair and pointing towards him. "Whoa, that's not fair. She did that for you, remember?"
Schmidt sighed dramatically. "I don't mean it that way. I mean...I want her to really want this. What if I rushed her into it and she runs away? She rushed into an arranged marriage and look how that turned out."
Nick let out a laugh. "Wait, aren't YOU the one that just ran away?" Schmidt just glared at him, but the realization that Nick was right could slowly be seen coming across his face. "You always push her away the second she realizes she wants you...why?"
Schmidt just raised his eyebrows and shrugged. They sat in silence as Nick nervously began to run his thumbs over his fists.
Schmidt nodded towards him, "What about you, man? What made you say something like that to Jess? I know it's not true."
Nick shrugged, running his hand through his hair and leaning back on the chair, defeated. "I don't know. I just... I'm always going to be that guy that screws it up. She deserves so much more."
"More than what? You?"
Nick shrugged. "Maybe."
"She's crazy in love with you, you know that right?" Schmidt let out a laugh.
A small smile came across Nick's lips, but quickly dissipated. "But I'm a screw up Schmidt." He sat up and looked at Schmidt, leaning his elbows on his knees once again. "You know what she wants? She told me today that she wants us to find a place together."
Schmidt shook his head, confused. "And you don't want that?"
Nick sighed. "More than anything. But I can't give it to her. At least not right now." He looked at Schmidt and swallowed hard. "What if I never can? What then? If I can't give her something like that, something that made her eyes just light up talking about it, how am I supposed to make her happy?"
Schmidt laughed again. "So you don't think she's been happy this past year? Are you insane?! I LIVE with both of you, remember?"
"But it's not enough."
"Who says?"
"Well, I..."
Schmidt nodded towards him, leaning a hand on his knee. "No really, Nick. Who says it's not enough? You think someone like Jess wouldn't be the first to tell you if it wasn't enough? That woman hasn't ever been anything BUT honest with you."
Nick took a deep breath. "I really want to marry her, Schmidt."
Schmidt shook his head with a huge smirk across his face. "It's about damn time, man. What the hell have you been waiting for?!"
Nick shrugged, shaking his head, a small laugh escaping his lips. "Remember when we were in college and we were just those weird guys that never thought we'd find anyone?" They both started laughing. "How'd we end up so damn lucky?"
Schmidt ran his hand across the back of his neck. "Hell if I know."
"You know we have to make this right. I can't lose Jess, she's...she's everything."
"You think they're plotting to kill us both right now?" Schmidt shook his head, grimacing.
Nick just nodded. "Probably... Can't say I blame them either."