Chapter 18
Harvey and Nick quickly got in the middle of the action. They shoved the group of Billy's friends that were surrounding Theo away and stood between them and their friend. Both men were prepared to fight if they needed to. They would defend their friend no matter the cost.
"You guys better back the hell up!" Harvey yelled. Nick got in Billy's face, shoving him right in the chest. "Nick, hey, cool it."
"What's your problem?" Billy nearly growled.
"You are, asshole," Nick spat back. "You put your hands on my friend. He's half your size."
"Nick, dude, calm down," Harvey said, trying to pull him back.
Nick just shook Harvey off. "No. You wanna pick on someone, huh? Well I'm right here pretty boy. Let's go." Nick took his jacket off and tossed it to the side as Billy stared him down. Behind Billy, his friends were encouraging a fight. "This is how you wanted it to go down? After everything you said, this is how it's gonna end."
"What's he talking about, Billy?" someone asked from the crowd.
"Shut up," Billy yelled, not taking his eyes off of Nick. "And you don't know what you're talking about."
"Nick!" There was a fluster of voices calling his name, but he wasn't listening to any of them.
"Nick," a softer voice called. He felt a tugging on his arm. When he turned, he saw Theo trying desperately to pull his friend back. "Stop. It wasn't him. Carl hit me." Theo's voice broke. Everyone could tell Theo wasn't ok - physically or emotionally. "He hit me because…"
"Because I kissed Theo," Billy interjected. Loud whispers filled the corridor.
"Dude, no," Carl said. "We saw him."
"I said I kissed him," Billy said to his friend angrily. "Theo didn't know I…just I did it, ok? It's not his fault."
Billy moved to leave, but Nick caught his arm. "Hey, I'm sorry," Nick said.
"You know, I wouldn't have done this. None of this would have happened if you didn't threaten to tell everyone earlier."
"I didn't…"
"'We don't want anyone saying anything we'd regret.' That's what you said, right Nick?" Nick let go of Billy's arm and took a step back. "I wasn't going to let someone else out my secrets out there. And now I'm out when I don't even know if I'm g…" Billy couldn't finish his statement. He just shook his head. "Go to hell, Nick."
"If I tell you something, I need you to swear never to repeat it. Not even to Sabrina."
Nick contemplated what was being asked of him. He didn't really know Billy. From what Sabrina had told him, he used to be a pretty big jerk. It made Nick wonder how someone like Theo could be friends with him. Especially since he was the subject to much of Billy's abuse.
"Alright, Billy, what's up?" Nick asked.
"I, um, I think I like Theo."
The confession genuinely shocked Nick. Billy was a good looking guy. He was tall, athletic, blonde hair, blue eyes. Nick didn't have a hard time imagining women flocking to the teen, vying for his attention by any means necessary. Nick had even heard from Sabrina and Prudence about a prank they pulled on Billy and his friends years ago that infuriated him for threatening his masculinity. Then again, you never know what someone is trying to hide.
Nick cleared his throat and shuffled his feet a little. It was also a bit unnerving. He didn't know Billy at all, yet here he was telling him one of the most intimate details about his life.
"I didn't know you were…" Nick started.
"I don't know that I am," Billy interrupted. "I just know I really like hanging out with Theo and it feels…different. Like I can tell him anything and I constantly want to be around him."
Nick scoffed, "It didn't seem like it in there. How can you say you like someone, but you don't want your friends to even know you hang out."
"You're not from around here are you?" Billy laughed to himself. "Greendale isn't like the rest of the world. We're stuck in time. A lot of people around here have been here their whole lives because their families have been here since the town was founded. Old families come with old ways of thinking."
"'Old ways of thinking' is just a shit way to hide bigotry." Nick sighed. "Listen, I get it. It isn't easy letting go of something you were taught your whole life. Prejudice is like a disease. It will spread and infect as many people as possible. By the time you start looking for a cure, it'll be too late. Theo had the guts to be who he really is. You should probably think about who you really are."
Go to hell, Nick.
The words just kept repeating over and over in his head. No one was surprised that the words had triggered Nick. It was a common saying mortals used to insult each other, but there was no way they could have known Nick actually had gone to Hell. The warlock could feel a fluster of emotions flowing through him. The strongest of those was rage and he knew he needed to get out of there. So while his friends tried to defuse the situation, Nick had snatched his jacket off the floor and walked outside.
The hall the prom was being held at was in a resort, so there were plenty of places for someone to walk off to be alone. There was a grassy area that was surrounded by wooden posts, each post connected to the next by string lights. At one end was a singular bench and that was where Nick took camp. He sat alone with his jacket beside him as he stared up into the night sky.
The silence around him only amplified the sounds in head, reminding him of what he tried desperately to forget. But he knew he would never be rid of these thoughts. He could pretend all he might that it never happened, but every once and a while, mostly when he was alone with his own thoughts, he was reminded in some way of having imprisoned the Dark Lord within his flesh. The pain and anger consumed him, slowly driving him mad. He feared that one day he would no longer be able to control himself. He feared that the remnants of Lucifier within him would be too much to bear and wreak havoc on all that he loved and held dear to him.
But there was something that always anchored him - a tether to his humanity. The same thing that he feared losing the most.
"There you are." Nick looked up at the sound of her voice. There his tether stood, always pulling him back to the world of the living. Sabrina Spellman, the half-witch, half-mortal he would give anything in the cosmos for. "I was worried about you," she said as she sat beside her boyfriend.
"You don't have to worry about me, Spellman," he said with a half-smile. He could feel her shiver a little. "You shouldn't have come out here. It's cold. Here, put this on." He lifted his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. He put his arm around her, pulling her close to him, hoping that his body heat would help to warm her.
"I should be telling you the same thing. What are you doing out here, Nick?" she asked, looking up at him.
She worried about him often. Though he tried to pretend as if everything was fine, she could see his inner struggle. He tried so hard to pretend as if everything was ok, but she heard his screams at night. The nights were fewer and further between, but they still pierced the night air. When they came, she held him and prayed for anyone to relieve him of his pain.
"I just need a minute to myself," Nick said.
"Do you want me to go?"
Nick shook his head. "Never." They sat in silence for a few minutes. Much like when the night terrors came, Sabrina held him - keeping him from losing himself. "Sabrina?"
"Hm?"
"Am I a terrible person?"
Sabrina sat up and looked at Nick. He looked so lost. Desperate for an answer, but to what question, she wasn't sure. The best she could do was answer the one put before her now.
"Of course not," she said. She shifted to face him. She placed her hands on the sides of his face, keeping him from turning from her gaze. "You, Nicholas Scratch, are a good man. A great, amazing, loving man."
"But I'm not Sabrina," he said as he shook his head. He grabbed her wrists and gently removed her hands from his face. "I knew. I knew Billy has feelings for Theo. Not only did I keep that from my friend, I used it as a threat to Billy."
"Is that what you meant earlier? When you said something about not saying something we'd regret?" He couldn't even respond. He just nodded his head, ashamed. "Would you have actually told everyone his secret?"
"I don't think so. I just wanted him to leave us alone. I didn't want him to ruin the night for you guys, but it looks like I did that all by myself."
"No, Nick, you didn't ruin tonight. Carl ruined it when he hit Theo."
"But he wouldn't have hit Theo if I didn't say what I had to Billy." Nick let out a long, heavy sigh. "I still feel it, Sabrina. That rage in me from the time with the Dark Lord in me. The line between what lingers from his presence and my own anger is starting to blur and that scares the heaven out of me. What if one day I do something I will regret? What if I hurt you?"
"Nick, I know you wouldn't hurt me."
"But what if I can't help it? What if…"
"Hey," she interrupted. "No what ifs. If there is anything I learned from all this, I don't want to live a life full of what could happen. All that matters is what is happening here and now. You and me, Nick. We're all that matters. I will be here right beside you for anything and everything. There isn't anything we can't get through together." Nick nodded. "And no more secrets ok?"
Nick chuckled a little. "No more secrets." He leaned down to place a soft kiss on his girlfriend's lips. "I'm crazy about you, Spellman. I hope you know that."
"I'm well aware you're crazy," she teased.
"Hey Nick!" Billy called from across the yard.
Nick jumped to his feet as the blonde boy started waving in his direction and jogging over. Sabrina got to her feet as well, holding on to her boyfriend's arm to keep him calm…or hurting Billy. "What the heaven is he doing?" Nick asked through gritted teeth.
"I don't know, but try to stay calm," Sabrina whispered. "I'm right here to support you."
"Hey," Billy said in a sigh as he approached the couple. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you guys. I just…I just wanted to apologize for earlier. The guys can be jerks. Right, Sabrina?"
"Yea…" Sabrina nodded, slightly confused.
"They shouldn't have called you guys freaks, because you're not. I honestly think you guys are pretty cool. I mean, I liked hanging out with you all. I should have stuck up for you guys, but I just didn't want to start something, you know?"
"What do you mean you didn't want to start something?" Nick asked, completely confused by the conversation.
Billy cleared his throat and took a step forward, Nick instinctively took a step back, his body tensing up prepared to protect Sabrina. "Whoa dude, relax. I'm not trying to kiss you or anything," Billy laughed. He put his hand on Nick's shoulder. "I just wanted to thank you for not telling anyone about, you know, what I told you. You totally could have and, if it were me, I probably would have. I don't deserve your loyalty, but I know that you're keeping it quiet for Theo, so thank you."
Billy held his hand out to Nick. The warlock and Sabrina shared a confused glance before Nick slowly turned back to Billy, shaking his hand.
"You're welcome," Nick said.
"Cool. Well, I'm headed back in. I just wanted to say…that. And I'm gonna talk to Theo. I promise." Billy patted Nick's shoulder then took off back in the direction of the dance hall, leaving an utterly confused Nick and Sabrina behind.
"Ok, what was that?" Sabrina asked.
"I…have no clue," Nick responded. "It's like he forgot what happened earlier."
"It's because he did. They all did," Ambrose said. Sabrina and Nick looked up to see Ambrose and Prudence approaching them.
"Ambrose? Prudence? What are you two doing here?" Sabrina asked.
"We are, what is it that Hilda called it? Chaperones?" Prudence replied. "Apparently, mortal children cannot be trusted to behave."
"Auntie Zee was supposed to be chaperoning tonight, but was called away on…church business, so Prudence and I decided to volunteer," Ambrose explained.
"Church business? What kind of busi…?" Sabrina started to ask.
"What do you mean they all forgot?" Nick asked, quickly interrupting Sabrina. She shot a quick quizzical look.
"In an attempt to salvage the evening, Prudence and I casted a memory spell," Ambrose explained. "As the entirety of the Baxter High senior class listened, danced, and sang to their beloved pop music, they forgot about everything that happened within the last hour. We were called over to handle the situation with Theo and Harvey and Roz filled us in on what happened."
"Including Nicky's ominous threat from the beginning of the night," Prudence added. "Bravo, by the way. I thought you had forgotten how to blackmail someone."
Nick shot Prudence a glare. "So everyone will forget everything that happened in the last hour? Not just anything related to what happened with Theo and Billy?" he asked
"Just the mortals," Prudence replied. "Their minds are very easily bent and molded."
"I'm not so sure I like that," Sabrina said.
"Be that as it may, but it does ensure that tonight will be a memorable night and for the right reasons. A second chance," Ambrose insisted. "Cousin, take it. I'm sure Nicholas here would like to put this all behind him. Let him have this, Sabrina."
The younger witch and warlock looked at each other. "I would rather not have ruined your senior prom," Nick shrugged.
"Fine," Sabrina sighed. "But we will remember. No memory wiping spells for Nick or myself, got it? And no more magic tonight."
"Why would you want to remember this?" Prudence scoffed.
"No more magic," Nick repeated. He put his arm around Sabrina, causing her to smile. "Sabrina wants tonight to be a mortal experience so that's what she is going to get. Got it?"
Ambrose and Prudence looked at each other and nodded in resignation. "If that is what you wish," Ambrose said.
"It is," Sabrina smiled. She put her arm around Nick as her smile grew. "Ok, come on. It is freezing out here."
"Come on, Sabrina, tell us the truth," Theo laughed as he shouted over the noise so his friends could hear him. "That playlist you gave Nick…there were joke songs in there weren't there?"
"What makes you think I would try to trick my boyfriend?" Sabrina asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"Oh you are terrible at hiding secrets," Roz teased. "You are so tricking him."
"Yea, plus I've heard that playlist," Harvey added. "There are definitely trick songs in there."
Sabrina couldn't hold it back anymore. She started to laugh as a big smile crept across her face. "Ok, ok. So there may be one or two songs on there that I added just to see if he would actually listen to the playlist."
"Called it," Theo laughed. "I mean…Taylor Swift?"
"Yea, we heard a Taylor Swift song on the way to your house and he looked like he wanted to stick needles in his ears," Harvey half-joked.
"Hey," Nick called as he rejoined the group. The group of teens immediately stopped talking. "Sorry about that. I needed to talk to Ambrose about something really quick." He put his arm around Sabrina and looked around at his friends. "So what were you guys talking about?" Everyone looked around at each other, but remained silent. "Well that's not suspicious at all."
"We weren't really talking about anything," Harvey shrugged, avoiding eye contact.
"Yea, nothing important," Roz added.
Nick looked over at Theo. The smaller man's eyes widened when they made eye contact. "I gotta go…over there. Bye!" Theo turned and took off into the crowd.
"Yea, very reassuring that you guys aren't up to anything," Nick said, rolling his eyes.
"Ok, ok. Enough intimidating my friends," Sabrina teased. "What were you talking to Ambrose about?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to be sure that he didn't spike the punch. Prudence said she wanted to have a little, ahem, fun."
"Oh, well thank you for stopping them."
"Anytime. Come on, let's go dance." Sabrina smiled as Nick held her hand and found a clearing for them.
"Three," was all Nick said as he turned to face Sabrina and pulled her into his arms.
"Three?" Sabrina asked. "What does that…" She trailed off when the music started playing and a familiar song filled the air.
Her day starts with a coffee
And ends with a wine
Takes forever getting ready
So she's never ready on time for anything
When she gets that come get me look in her eyes
Well, it kinda scares me
The way that she drives me wild
She drives me wild
"I figured it was a test to see if I was actually listening to your playlist," Nick smiled, "but this one grew on me."
Beautiful crazy
She can't help but amaze me
The way that she dances
Ain't afraid to take chances
And wears her heart on her sleeve
Yea, she's crazy
But her crazy's beautiful to me
"Nick," Sabrina said, tears filling her eyes. She started to chuckle, "I can't believe you like this song."
She makes plans for the weekend
Can't wait to go out
Til she changes her mind
Says, "Let's stay on the could and watch TV"
And she falls asleep
Beautiful crazy
She can't help but amaze me
The way that she dances
Ain't afraid to take chances
And wears her heart on her sleeve
Yea, she's crazy
But her crazy's beautiful to me
"How can I not? You make me crazy, but I can't get enough of you," Nick said softly. "From your little quirks to your fierceness all the way down to your unrelenting selflessness, it's beautiful. You're beautiful, inside and out. And I will do what I can to continue to be part of your beautiful, crazy life."
She's unpredictable, unforgettable
It's unusual, unbelievable
How I'm such a fool
Yea, I'm such a fool for her
Their lips met in a soft kiss, but filled with every emotion they were holding in. It was no secret that Nick's love for Sabrina was a new, intoxicating experience, but it was for Sabrina also. Her love for Nick was nothing like what she had with Harvey. She didn't have to hide from Nick. He knew and accepted every part of her. He didn't care that she was half-mortal. He didn't always fully understand that part of her life, but he wanted eagerly to be part of it. He never gave up on them, even when she told him that she wasn't sure about their future. He waited, patiently, for her to decide she wanted to be with him.
Beautiful crazy
She can't help but amaze me
The way that she dances
Ain't afraid to take chances
And wears her heart on her sleeve
Yea, she's crazy
She's crazy
She's crazy
But her crazy's beautiful to me
Her crazy's beautiful to me
They swayed slowly to the music as it slowly faded away in the background. All Sabrina could think of was how perfect this moment was. It was all she could want.
"Do you want to get out of here?" Sabrina asked.
Nick raised a brow. "Why Sabrina Spellman, are you trying to take advantage of me?" he teased.
She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Call that fancy car of yours and we'll see when we get home."
***Author's Note: Alrighty folks, I should probably note that the next chapter isn't for the faint at heart. It will contain adult scenes and themes in detail, so please skip over it if you're squeamish.