A little Late

AN: This chapter is the first meeting between Nick and Lorraine (my OC). Enjoy. If you're confused by the style, I was trying to have it so that Lucas or Toby was narrating it. Decide for yourselves.

Lorraine was always late. Not massively, like three hours, just a little. Perhaps that's why people of the opposite gender tended to stay away from her; she was massively disorganized. Plus, she had a fiery temper to match her flaming red hair. How does this tie in with Nick, though?

When Nick started at Venture Falls University, nobody warned him that he would be partners with the most volatile female in the building. They also neglected to tell him that Lorraine liked things doing her way, and woe betide anyone who tried to challenge her. Let's take a look at their first meeting.

Nick's POV

I stood awkwardly at the front of the class, fiddling with my sleeve as Mr Casten looked for my assignment partner. It was bad enough being the new guy, but having to stand up there in front of everyone, it was simply terrifying. Now I understand why Jessica hates giving speeches.

"Mr Tripp?" I hear Mr Casten say enquiringly. I walk over to him and see that he is stood next to an isolated work station.

"Sorry, I'm late, sir!" A voice calls out breathlessly. Turning around, I see that the voice belongs to a pretty red haired girl who is approaching my- well it's not really mine- work station. She stops and looks from Mr Casten to me with a dark frown marring her features.

"Lorraine. This is Nick Tripp. He will be your lab partner for this year." Mr Casten says this gently but firmly as though he is speaking to a wild horse he wants so badly to tame. She looks at me incredulously and I smile in greeting. However, her intentions were quite different. She picked up pieces of equipment and started hurling things around the room, all the time screaming about how she didn't want another partner. Then she grabbed her bag and left, but not before giving me a nasty glare. I noticed that she had cut herself in the process of throwing things.

Mr Casten looked incredibly harassed. "I'm sorry, Nick. Lorraine is a bit- how do you say?- highly strung. I owned a horse like her once. Beautiful mare. Fantastic jumper, but she had a temper like nothing I'd ever seen before. I managed to tame Onyx in the end though, and I'm hoping you'll be able to tame Lorraine. You see, she always gives her partners grief. None of them ever last; longest was four weeks, I believe. I've given her plenty of chances. If she doesn't improve now, I'll have no choice but to exclude her. It's a shame because she's a really good student when she's not losing her temper every five minutes. So I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on you here, but I believe you can reach her. I'm counting on you, Nick."

I nod, just as the bell rings. As I leave, I hear people whispering.

"What's Casten thinking putting the new guy with Lorraine?"

"She'll tear him to pieces!"

"He won't last one day, let alone one year."

I ignore them and walk out the classroom. I immediately head in the direction of the library which is the only place I can remember on the overly-complicated map. However, when I arrive, I see I am not alone.

Lorraine's POV

Ugh. What's he doing here? He does know that he doesn't have to follow me around, just because we're partners? I stand up to leave, nodding to Mrs Brillby as I do so.

"Wait!" He hisses. I turn and regard him with disdain. I feel a certain satisfaction run through my body when he visibly shudders under my glare.

"What?" I snap. I don't have time for this. "If you don't know where anything is, I suggest you ask Reception 'cause you won't get any help from me."

He looks at me before saying, "Actually, I was going to ask if you were okay?"

Say what now? He wants to know if I'm okay? He doesn't want to call me a freak or punch me to a pulp or try and trip me up? I look at him and see that he is giving me an earnest look.

Reluctantly I reply, "Yeah, I'm okay," even though I'm not completely. I don't feel comfortable. He should be making my life a living nightmare by now. Everyone else does.

I walk to a shelf and select my favourite book. I can relate to it, because it's my life in book form. Unfortunately I've never learned the title of the book; the cover is old and worn. He's still there, and he isn't glaring. Why isn't he glaring?

He approaches me, and I instinctively back up into a defensive position. Who does this guy think he is?

"What are you reading?"

A book, duh! I want to say, but I don't want to incur his wrath. Instead, I reluctantly show him my precious book. His brow furrows when he notices that the title is illegible.

"What's it about?"

What is this? Twenty questions? Still, I suppose it would be rude of me not to reply. "Me. It's about me."

"Then you should call it the story of your life."

That...could actually work. I look up and feel myself smiling for the first time in years.

The story of Lorraine Jones.