You Complete Me - 15. Chapter 15 - Shiv's House

As they waited for their mother, Nic set Joey free on one of his blank canvases while he got dressed. He tried to further distract the kid with conversation as Amos continued stomping around and swearing to himself in the next room.

“Is Dad mad?” Joey asked at one point.

Nic shook his head, unsure of how to explain drug use to a seven-year-old. He settled for some version of honesty. “He’s not mad, just…stupid.” He had calmed down by now and stared at the hole he made in the wall with a mixture of wonder and shame. He was prone to outbursts, but usually not in front of Joey. It felt as if someone else had done it, but his stinging knuckles told a different story.

Nic ended up moving one of his posters to cover the damage for now, then started haphazardly throwing some clothes into a duffle bag. He would have to pack Joey’s things later, along with telling him that they were going away for a while. He didn’t want him blabbing to Kathy when he wasn’t around; this had to be handled delicately.

Someone rapped sharply on the door, making both boys jump. “Mom?” Nic called out.

A much gruffer, slightly slurred voice said, “Nic, I need to talk to you.”

Nic exchanged a look with Joey and that cemented what he already knew: that door would remain locked for the foreseeable future. “I can hear you fine.”

Amos was quiet for a moment, then his heavy footsteps retreated. Nic had almost started to relax again when they quickly returned, followed by a much more urgent knock. “You know I was just joking around earlier, right?”

“I didn’t find it funny.”

“Obviously, and I’m sorry for that, but it doesn’t have to be an issue, does it?” His voice had taken on a cajoling tone, with an edge of laughter to it. Nic figured Amos was trying to sound reassuring, but the abrupt change only came across as deranged. “I was just messing with you.”

For one wild moment, Nic really wanted to believe he was overreacting, and he almost convinced himself. Amos had never behaved that way towards him before – insults or just general avoidance made up most of their interactions. However, he wouldn’t have been this anxious about Nic’s overreacting if it really had been just a “joke.” Normally, he’d just tell Nic he was being a bitch and go about his day.

“How about you go fuck off?” Nic said to the door. “Mom should be back soon,” he added, pointedly.

“Swear,” whispered Joey, who was sitting on Nic’s stool, his eyes wide.

He spoke too soon, since Amos responded to Nic with a torrent of verbal abuse. Nic tossed Joey a pair of headphones, and the boy put them over his ears without hesitation. The two of them quietly waited for Amos to finish his rant, which ended with a violent kick at the door before he stormed off. Nic half-expected him to come back with a screwdriver to remove the hinges – he'd done that once before – but then he heard the front door slam.

Nic let out a long sigh of relief and motioned for Joey to remove the headphones. “Now your Dad’s mad.”

“What happened in the bathroom?”

Nic almost gave a reflexive “Nothing,” but that would have been an insult to Joey’s intelligence. They hadn’t been holed up in Nic’s room for the better part of an hour over “nothing.” “He did something gross to me in the bathroom. Something that made me really uncomfortable.”

“What was it?”

Nic tried to craft the perfect answer, but quickly decided that starting a conversation about consent and inappropriate adult interactions with a seven-year-old was way outside of his pay grade. “Something gross,” he repeated, and would not answer any more of Joey’s questions about it.

By the time Kathy arrived half an hour later, Amos had still not returned. He’d left disaster in his wake, though, with the urine drying in the bathroom and food pulled from the fridge and cluttering the counters. Nic found his mother standing in front of the mess, looking exhausted and frazzled as she shook her head. Joey ran forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, and she absently ruffled his hair.

“Amos called and said he’s not coming home tonight,” she said, her voice faint. “You have any idea about that?”

“Vaguely,” Nic said dryly. “He started something with me earlier, and – ”

She interrupted him with a groan. “Not again. Can’t you two just try to work this out? He’s your father, for God’s sake.”

Some of their fights in the past had resulted in quite a mess, so Nic figured that’s where her mind had gone. Instead of defending himself, however, he was compelled to refute something else that seemed much more important in the moment. “He’s not my father.”

“Well, he’s Joey’s father and the closest thing you’ve ever had to one,” she shot back. “He’s a part of this family, Nic, and you’re going to have to learn to live with that. Or at least pretend until you go to college.”

Nic sneered at her. “I can’t wait.”

Kathy ignored him, throwing food remnants into the trash with force. “When Amos comes back tomorrow morning, we’re all going to sit down and hash out our differences.”

“But - ”

“This is non-negotiable, Nic.”

Nic stared down at her, speechless, until he remembered that she had a blind spot when it came to Amos. Kathy had worked hard for some semblance of stability since Nic was born and, admittedly, Amos had helped her achieve that. He would probably have to kill someone before Kathy gave up on trying to make it work. Would she even care if Nic told her what happened? The fact that he even wondered took the wind out of his sails. “Fine. I’ll help you clean.”

It ended up taking nearly an hour with the two of them working together, exchanging few words. Nic was still fuming and his mother seemed to be mentally checked out for the day. She didn’t even ask about the mess in the bathroom, probably assuming Joey had an accident, and Nic didn’t bother explaining it to her. Afterwards, she made Joey do some schoolwork while she dozed on the couch, and by that time Nic was itching to get out of there.

Nic took his stuffed duffle bag with him into the car, where he pushed Amos, his delusional mother, and plans of moving out of his mind for now. It wouldn’t do any good to dwell on it, and he didn’t want to arrive at Shiv’s looking like he was coming back from a funeral. That would be tomorrow’s problem – tonight, he was just going to get drunk, watch movies, or whatever else Shiv had planned.

Shiv’s parents, immigrants from Ireland, were both university professors. They made good money – like seemingly everyone in this town. Nic watched in mild awe as the houses grew larger and more elaborate with every block he passed. He had been surprised there was even a section cheap enough in Glendale for his family to move into. Shiv lived in a nice part of the area that was very close to the high school, in a big, split-level house on a beautiful lawn. Her older sister was away for college, so she had the house completely to herself tonight. For Nic, who was still getting used to having a room to himself for the first time, the concept of having that much space even temporarily was strange.

Shiv was in a rare state of dressed down when she answered the door, makeup-free and her hair in long, black pigtails. True to form, though, her matching set of pajamas were black with moons and stars on them. Crossing her arms petulantly over her ample chest, she pouted at him. “I’m surprised you still remembered how to get here, stranger.”

“Easy. I come bearing gifts.” Nic held up a bag of pickle-flavored potato chips, which he’d snagged at a convenience store on his way here. He didn’t really see the appeal, but Shiv was obsessed with them.

She let a smile slip. “Forgiven. Get your arse in here.” She grabbed his arm and dragged him over the threshold, which was when she noticed his freshly-scraped knuckles. “You get into another fight with someone?”

Nic had almost forgotten about them and gave his hand an appraising look. “Yeah, with a wall. I think it was a stalemate.”

Shiv still looked concerned, but she took it in stride. “Hardcore.”

The modern, open living room they were standing in was the size of Nic’s entire apartment. The smell of freshly baked cookies emanated from the kitchen and she had apparently been in the process of building an elaborate pillow fort in front of the giant TV. It was a good effort, but as the sibling of a seven-year-old, Nic could tell that his expertise was required. He assigned himself as chief of construction while Shiv browsed the movies available across their many subscriptions.

“Smells good in here,” Nic commented. “Oatmeal raisin, by chance?”

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy that. Snickerdoodle.”

“I can accept that.”

“How about Hereditary?”

“Seen it, like three times. I even wrote a paper on it.” His English teacher had been slightly disturbed, but he did receive an A for it.

“Well, excuse me, Mr. Horror Connoisseur. I’ll just pick the bloodiest thing I can find, then.” She found a slightly older movie called Splinter, which Nic had never heard of, and saved it for later.

Nic hadn’t eaten dinner and was starting to get hungry, so he took a break to devour a cookie. Meanwhile, Shiv flitted downstairs, where Nic knew they kept an honest-to-God wine cellar. Until Shiv showed it to him once, he thought they only existed in mansions. She remerged a few minutes later with two bottles, one red and one white. Her parents didn’t mind her drinking at home as long as she didn’t touch the expensive stuff, which Nic surmised was highly subjective. He doubted he’d find any of those brands at a local grocery store.

She was about to hand Nic a glass of the red, but pulled back suddenly, nearly sloshing some on herself. “Nuh uh. Who wears jeans to a slumber party? We should be on equal playing field before things get fun.”

Nic sighed, but he complied, trudging off to the nearby guest bathroom. When he returned in sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, Shiv tsked at him. “What now? It’s either this or I’m naked.”

“Better than looking like a slob. You can’t show up in TikToks like that.”

Nic wasn’t aware that making TikToks was on the agenda, but he wasn’t surprised. He shrugged. “I can’t be on TikTok naked, either. I can just film you.”

She relented for now, finally letting him have his drink, but Nic knew it wasn’t the last he’d hear of it. He’d probably be more compliant if he wasn’t sober, though, so he took a long sip. “Thanks for abandoning me at dinner the other weekend, by the way.”

Shiv hopped onto a kitchen barstool. “Arnie said I didn’t miss much. That either means it ended in a threesome or you and Harry got in a fight over Arnie.”

Nic scoffed. “He wishes. No, Harry’s cool; I like him.”

“That’s a glowing review coming from you, so there must have been a threesome.” Nic gave her the finger, and she grinned toothily back at him.

Nic appreciated Arnie in that moment for not mentioning the mystery waiter he had hooked up with. Shiv already suspected him of having a secret lover, and that knowledge would leave one too many breadcrumbs. She’d never let it go. “I heard SLIME finally convinced Arnie to do a house show next weekend. You wanna be my date?”

“Hm, I don’t know. The twins have a party in a few weeks, and I might have to pick.” Shiv’s parents may have been lax about drinking, but they still prioritized her studies; she was allowed only a few large social functions per semester. Contrary to her exterior, Shiv wasn’t much of a rebel.

Nic frowned, still unfamiliar with this schools’ elite. “What twins?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard of them yet?” She launched into a summary of the many scandals of the Lombardi twins, a pair of rich brats that hosted blow-out parties every year. By the time she was done, Nic was even more confused.

“That...doesn’t sound like your scene.” Half of their conversations since the semester started revolved around Shiv snarking about her fellow rich brats.

She made a show of looking covertly over each shoulder and lowered her voice to a whisper. “It’s not, but I don’t know if you know this about me, Nic...” She beckoned him closer, and when Nic eventually humored her, she shouted, “I’m a whore!” in his ear.

Shiv was probably the only person the planet – besides Joey – that could get away with that. Nic laughed, pushing her away. “That’s obvious, but what does that have to do with the party?”

She got up with her drink and walked over to the couch before gracefully falling into it with a dramatic sigh. Nic, who had followed, plucked the glass out of her hand as she went to prevent an accident. “Lots of boys, duh,” she said, her voice muffled into the pillow. She turned her face to the side to speak my more clearly. “And no offense, most of the guys that show up to Arnie’s shows aren’t into girls. Or they are but they don’t have dicks.”

Nic couldn’t argue against that. SLIME attracted a decidedly queer sort of audience. “Hey, don’t knock on someone that’s good with a strap-on.”

She gave him a long look. “When you say stuff like that, I remember why you make a shit wingman. No one is safe from you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He took another sip of his wine. He wasn’t even halfway through it and his face was already starting to get warm. It paid to be a lightweight sometimes.

“It was, you insatiable little queen.” Shiv started the movie, so they moved under Nic’s pillow castle to watch. They were only about ten minutes in, getting progressively tipsier, before it ended up becoming background noise. Nic munched on cookies as Shiv chatted about the latest gossip in the senior class. “That stuff with Meg Watts? Brutal. A lot of people aren’t happy about her exposé.”

“Really? I thought everyone took her side.”

“Most people did, but not the girls she linked to Jake. That really crossed a line, and they’re pissed.” Shiv shrugged. “It’s not like they can say much, though, without looking worse. If it were me, I’d just own it.”

“What do you think about all of it?” Nic asked, out of genuine curiosity.

“Oh, she’s full of shit. Jake just seems too nice to do everything she said he does, but he probably does get around. I wouldn’t kick him out of bed, at least.” She paused to daydream for a moment, until Nic elbowed her. “Right. Anyway, I think Meg’s just a nasty hypocrite.”

That was enough to make Nic slowly lower the cookie he was holding. “Wait, you think she’s the one that’s cheating?”

“Think? No, I know it. Remember that big caveman, Neumann? The one you decked?”

Nic made a face. “Yeah, I remember him, all right.”

“He moved to my P.E. class a few weeks ago, and I think he and Meg are talking. They sling insults at each other every class. But not in a hateful way, like in a ‘I want to rip your clothes off and teach you a lesson’ kind of way.”

Nic had a lot of experience with that lately. “I see. Doesn’t prove anything, though.”

“No, but seeing them making out after class does.”

Nic’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding. You mean, before the breakup?”

“Oh, at least a week before. I just happened to go back to the locker room because I forgot something and saw them going at it around a corner. They were so into it, they didn’t see me.”

“Wow.” Nic was tempted to text Jake all about this. He stopped himself, though – they weren’t friends. Their correspondences were strictly sexts and meeting requests and he wanted to keep it that way. “The head cheerleader and the quarterback,” he said, chuckling. “How typical. And she’s got everyone thinking, um, Ferguson is the bad guy. That’s pretty devious.”

Shiv nodded. “It’ll blow over eventually, but yeah, he looks pretty down lately.”

“Hm,” Nic said noncommittally. Jake seemed like a perpetually happy-go-lucky type of guy; Nic didn’t know it had been affecting him that much since he and Luke made up. Nic drained the rest of his glass and reached for the bottle, hoping that alcohol would drown his guilt over not asking about it. “That sucks for him. Wanna do TikToks now or something?”

“Sure. But make me look like a model first.”

They abandoned the fort and Shiv ran off to get her extensive supply of makeup while Nic got rid of a lot of notifications on his phone. Luke was at the rugby game and live-tweeting pictures and short clips. Most of them were from too far away to really recognize anyone, but he kept tagging Jake. Nic didn’t know much about the sport, but it looked violent. And kind of hot.

They set up an impromptu studio in the kitchen so they could keep an eye on the movie still playing, but neither of them were paying much attention to it anymore. Nic was on his second glass and starting to feel a little swimmy, so it was going to take most of his concentration to keep his hand steady. He reached for a well-used smokey eyeshadow pallet, but Shiv shook her head.

“I want the good stuff you put in your IG stories.”

Nic gave her a skeptical look. “Do you even have anything with color?”

She rummaged around in her bag, eventually coming up with an unopened Jeffree Star pallet that was full of bright shades. “Found it on clearance at TJ Maxx,” she announced proudly. “Never pay full price on that guy.”

Nic wasn’t caught up on the latest beauty guru drama, so he set to work without comment. Shiv filled him in anyway, which didn’t make his job any easier, but he had managed to zone out of her chatter until she asked him a direct question. “You wore any of your looks on a date yet? Maybe with that jumpsuit?” She wiggled her light-brown eyebrows at him suggestively.

“We’ve been over this. I don’t go on dates.” Nic stopped to drink.

“Oh, stop denying it, Nic. You’re sneaking off every day, and I know you’re not that passionate about studying. There’s got to be someone.”

“Doesn’t mean we’re dating,” Nic said without thinking, then slapped a hand over his mouth.

Shiv sat straight up in her seat. “I fucking knew it!” she shrieked. “Who is it? Is he a senior? Is it Vince?”

“God, no.” He tried to figure out a way to get out of this, but his brain was slow. All he could think about was how much he liked Shiv. This was the longest he’d been friends with anyone besides Luke. Why was he keeping this from her again? Maybe the wine was to blame.

As Nic pondered, Shiv grew beside herself. “Just give me a hint! I love mysteries.”

Nic finally relented. “Alright, fine, just to get you off my back, I’ll give you two hints. He’s a senior and he’s an athlete.”

“Oooh!” she squealed, and immediately whipped out her phone. “That narrows it down to…fifty people, maybe? This will take no time. Now, who seems gay?” She was talking to herself now, scrolling through the online yearbook for ideas.

“I’ve hooked up with guys that seemed straight,” Nic pointed out, again oversharing. What was wrong with him? He was turning into Joey. Or Jake. The two were remarkably similar; he wondered how they’d get along if they ever met in some alternative universe. Nic shook his head, watching the world swirl around around him and coming to the realization that he was drunk. It had been so long he had almost forgotten what it was like.

Shiv was laughing evilly. She’d had about as many glasses as Nic had, but she didn’t seem too affected – it was terribly unfair. “My, someone’s forthcoming. What’s your straight boyfriend like?”

“I’m not telling you anything.” Nic tried to regain his composure, tilting her head back up from her phone to finish the makeup. Shiv only had to wait about two minutes. “It’s just sex. But he’s weird.”

“During sex?”

Nic ignored the question. “He’s...nice, even when I’m being a dick.”

“Oh, honey.”

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s awful. I’m miserable—”

“You’ve been in a good mood lately.”

“We’re not dating,” Nic continued, “and I’m probably going to drop him soon.” He’d been telling himself that for a week now. “Maybe I’ll tell you after it’s over.”

“Sure thing, Nic,” she said, her voice dripping with as much doubt as she could muster. She stopped pressing for now, though, allowing Nic to finally finish his masterpiece.

Once he was done, Shiv admired her reflection in her compact mirror and showered Nic with praise. He’d gone for a warm, summery look, with vibrant shades of pink and orange to resemble a sunset. He’d even gone a little artsy with the eyeliner, drawing tiny crows disguised as freckles on her cheeks. It was very unlike Shiv, but it complemented her pale, round face nicely. She looked younger, kinder, and remarkably less intimidating than usual.

After taking a series of selfies, she turned to him, rubbed her hands together excitedly. “My turn now.”

Nic groaned. “I didn’t know that was part of the deal…”

Shiv’s house, Shiv’s rules – though Nic wasn’t that reluctant. He obediently took her place in the chair, curious about what she’d come up with. Splinter continued to play in the living room, but the only thing Nic could glean from it at this point was that there was a spiky black substance that was attacking everyone. Shiv was apparently done with it, though, since she muted the movie and connected her phone to the surround sound speakers instead. Heavy metal blared throughout the living room, just low enough for them to hear each other.

“Not too raccoon-y, alright?” Nic warned her as she prepared to start. Shiv was competent, but a bit heavy-handed for his taste.

“I can dial it back. I was thinking we could switch looks, you know? You made me the sweet summer child so you’re going to be subtle vampire.”

Nic was a little too drunk to create a clear vision of that, but figured it (probably) wouldn’t hurt. When Shiv finished about twenty minutes and a third glass of wine later, he was pleasantly surprised. “Subtle vampire” was a perfect way to describe it. The corners of his eyelids were a shimmery shade of white that smoothly blended into grey, then black across the rest of his lids. She’d even darkened his brows and applied some falsies. It was just an elevated smokey eye, but Nic was easily impressed in his state.

“Oh, shit,” he gasped.

“I know, right?” Shiv handed him her phone. “When you’re done being amazed, TikToks await.”

Hilarity quickly ensued. What resulted over the next half hour was a lot of yelling, Nic dropping Shiv’s phone at least twice, and very few TikToks being filmed. Nic couldn’t remember the last time he laughed so much, and he was glad he’d come. The events of what happened earlier seemed a lifetime ago, growing fainter and fainter as the night dragged on.

In the end, Shiv banished Nic from cameraman duty and set up a makeshift tripod on the dining room table. Nic lounged on the couch and attempted to take upside-down selfies. He really did look good; he wanted a record of it for posterity.

Shiv finally finished her own project and approached him with a plate of the cold-but-still-delicious snickerdoodles in hand. She shoved his legs out of the way and dropped into the space next to him.

Nic held his phone out to her. “Do me.”

“You don’t have TikTok.”

“No, a selfie. For Instagram.”

“It’s not a selfie if I’m -- ”

“Just take the picture, Shiv.”

She smirked at him and complied, still not half as drunk as him. He struck a few poses, and they went through a cycle of taking a picture, directing, and deleting until they were both satisfied with a few of them. “You always look so angry,” she chided, giving them one last scroll.

“Your fault. You did my brows.”

“Don’t blame me for your genetics,” she said, busy editing the pictures for him. Her own eyebrows shot up suddenly. “Oh my God!”

Nic who had been on the verge of dozing, snapped into alertness. “What?”

Grinning, Shiv turned his phone to face him, and Nic sobered up significantly as his stomach dropped to his feet in horror. He was looking at a picture of a very familiar penis, taken from above, the owner holding it in a tight grip to show off how thick it was. Jake had sent it to him a few nights ago and Nic had saved it for...future use. It must have been the last picture in his gallery, and he’d completely forgotten about it before handing his phone over to Shiv.

Shiv turned the phone to give it another, very lingering look. “I definitely see the appeal. Now...who could it belong to? Too tan to be Arnie, at least...”

“Give it back!” Nic finally fought through his mortification and snatched his phone from her. Shiv didn’t fight him, laughing at his panic as he frantically deleted it.

“Don’t you have a special folder for that stuff? Amateur.” She took out her own phone and reclined into the couch. “Relax, a dick pic doesn’t tell me much, unless I sneak into the boys’ locker room next week and start doing process of elimination. Which doesn’t sound terrible, actually...”

Nic half-heartedly threw a pillow at her, confused about why her discovery bothered him so much. He’d gotten a lot of dick pics in his life, and he and Shiv had even compared them from time to time. Jake shouldn’t have been any different; it was just a disembodied cock. Something about it felt more private for some reason.

Shiv seemed to sense his change in demeanor and mercifully changed the subject. “What’s this game everyone’s talking about on Twitter?”

Nic shrugged. “Rugby, probably,” he muttered. He kind of wanted to go to sleep now, but it wasn’t even seven-thirty yet. He should have paced himself.

Shiv stopped her aimless scrolling and looked up at him. “There’s a rugby game tonight?”

Nic quirked an eyebrow at her. “Yeah?”

“Ooh, I didn’t know the season started yet! We should go.”

Nic narrowed his eyes at her. “I know it’s a European thing, but I didn’t know you were into rugby.”

“I’m not, but I am into fit guys in shorts rolling around with each other. You’d like it, too – come on, get dressed.” She was already getting up. “When did the game start?”

She was actually serious, Nic realized. “At six-thirty,” he said, and luckily for him Shiv was too excited to ask how he knew so much about this. How did he remember that, anyway? Jake had only mentioned it in passing yesterday. “The game’s probably over by now,” he added, watching Shiv cork the nearly-empty wine bottles.

“Not rugby. They have forty-minute halves and fifteen-minute halftimes. If you move your ass, we can catch the end of it.”

Nic still didn’t move. “But neither of us can drive right now.”

She looked at him as if he’d said something profoundly stupid, which he had. “We’re a ten-minute walk from school at best.”

“But...” Nic scrambled for an excuse before resorting to manipulation. He pouted ever so slightly. “I thought tonight was for bonding time.”

She stopped and moved to stand over him, hands on her hips. “Something tells me you’re hiding something.”

“Not enough, honestly.”

“If you and tanned-senior-athlete guy aren’t serious, you’d humor me.”

She had him there, and she knew it. Shiv pinched his cheek affectionately and whisked away again.

Nic could tell there was no getting out of this. “I doubt any of them are gay,” he grumbled.

Shiv wasn’t listening. She had already skipped off to her room to change. Nic grudgingly changed back into his previous outfit as well. When Shiv returned a few minutes later in combat boots and a lacy black ballerina dress, they both realized he was severely underdressed at the same time.

“That face,” she began, gesturing emphatically at his person, “deserves more than that outfit and I’m almost insulted that you tried to get away with it.” She marched back to her room and came back with a top.

“Oh, fuck no,” Nic said at once.

As usual, he was far too lenient with her. The shirt was black, like everything Shiv owned, with a ram skull and flower embellishments. Nic was taller, so the shirt was boxy and revealed an inch or two of his lower stomach. It wasn’t a bad look, he had to admit. His nose stud completed the edgy, androgynous vibe.

Shiv permitted him to wear a flannel shirt over it as a condition, and they stumbled out into the humid night, arm in arm.