You Complete Me - 18. Chapter 18 - Plan A

Arnie brought a blunt to his lips and took a long, slow drag from it before passing it along. Nic gave the roach a moment of consideration, but ultimately declined, passing it over to Shiv, who was sitting to his right.

“You’ll probably feel better,” Arnie protested. “I certainly do.”

“Not in the long run,” Nic replied. Getting high would calm him down, but it would be a slippery slope from there. He was agitated, so that meant he’d then want to drink, and drinking often led to other forms of trouble. Now that he was on probation of sorts, that would be the worst outcome.

Venting to his friends seemed to have taken most of the wind out of his sails, though, especially since a lot of the past hour was repeating himself after the baggie of weed emerged. Now Nic just felt empty and tired, which was an improvement after wanting to break things for the last two days.

“So,” Arnie said, settling back into the couch with his arms crossed, “You’re saying that your mom doesn’t trust you around Joey.”

“Apparently.” Nic threw his hands up and placed them behind his head. Aunt April had been very careful about her wording, but Nic could read between the lines. His mother believed that she and Amos “had a lot of things to talk about without the kids around,” but she also felt that Nic was a loose cannon. The last part was Nic’s interpretation, but it felt pretty accurate.

“That’s bullshit,” Shiv said, cozying up against Nic’s shoulder in a gesture of sympathy. She got affectionate when she was stoned.

In front of them, some reality show played on a low volume on the TV, long abandoned by the teens. Nic had never had free access to TV before, but he had barely touched it since moving in. The one-bedroom suite wasn’t much smaller than the entire apartment he was coming from, but it felt like living in a mansion. He felt bad for being unhappy here, but he couldn’t ignore it either.

It was only Nic’s second night here, but the amount of uncertainty he’d been stewing over made it feel more like an eternity. That first day had been an exhausting blur. He had arrived at the Ensings’ emotionally drained, only focused on getting himself and Joey settled. There had been of conversations to and about him that just seemed like a rush of white noise, and he’d said very little. All Nic had cared about was keeping Joey safe, but when he was helping the kid unpack in a room twice the size of his old one and much more than a hallway away, it finally dawned on him: he wasn’t being fully trusted, and now he had to adjust to this abrupt change of scenery alone. The silence of that first night had been eerie; Nic hadn’t realized just how thin the walls in his old room had been until he could no longer hear shuffling movements all around him. He hadn’t slept, even resorting to talking to Jake, and as soon as he got home from school that day, he called his friends over for some relief.

“What happens if your mom decides after a few days that everything’s good and wants Joey back?” Arnie asked him.

Nic had asked himself that question multiple times, but he took his time answering. April seemed confident that her sister would eventually see sense, but after seven years of slowly losing his mother, Nic wasn’t so sure. “I’m going to steal a car, grab Joey, and move across the country under a new name,” he said.

Arnie gave him a long look, and Nic let him see the truth in his eyes. His friend nodded serenely, apparently satisfied with what he saw. “I could probably get you a fake ID,” he offered.

“Thanks.” They smiled at each other. Arnie looked good today, dressed in a shirt with the sleeves cut down to waist, showing off almost every tattoo he had. Nic thought he would feel a flutter of arousal from all the exposed skin, but all he felt was distant admiration, as if he were casually perusing an art catalogue.

Shiv seemed to realize that she was being left out of something, so she poked Nic in the side to get his attention. “I could…dye your hair as a disguise. How about red? It would go well with the freckles.”

Nic grimaced in distaste. As sparse as they were, he hated having freckles. “So I go living a second life as Raggedy Anne? I thought we were friends.”

Shiv laughed, and then group lapsed into silence. They seemed to be lost in separate thoughts for a few minutes, until Arnie stretched his long limbs with a groan. “Is there anything to do around here?”

Nic sneered. “If my aunt thinks I can be trusted for a few hours, we could go downtown, maybe.”

At least Kathy didn’t really care where he was as long as he was back before curfew, but April took her position as temporary guardian very seriously. Nic had to be accounted for at all times now, and he wasn’t used to that. He’d done a decent enough job staying out of trouble in Greendale without sanctions, so why was he being treated like a criminal now?

Normally, Luke would have been around to keep him company, but he was off on a date with his new girlfriend that afternoon. Joey was talking to some specialist that April had recommended, one that she was trying to get Nic to talk to as well. To avoid getting roped into mock therapy, Nic was avoiding his aunt and the main house as a whole for the rest of the evening.

“Yeah, how about Flaming Amy’s?” Arnie said, perking right up. “Maybe seeing someone there will cheer you up.”

Nic gave him a sharp elbow in his exposed ribs, but the asshole just laughed it off. Shiv was blinking as the wheels churned slowly in her weed-induced haze. Before she could file that information away towards her ongoing investigation of Nic’s newest fling, Nic quickly distracted her.

“I’ve got a better idea,” he announced. Once he got both his friends’ attention, he looked back and forth between their faces. “I wanna do something illegal. You guys in?”

*** 

A few hours later, after Shiv and Arnie had gone, Nic heard Luke’s car pull into the driveway and bolted to the door. He waved emphatically at his cousin from the doorway to summon him over.

Body spray was coming off Luke in waves as he approached. He was wearing pressed pants, a button-down, and the dopey smile of someone that had had a good time with his date. Before Nic got a chance to tease him about it, he sniffed the air inside the cabin and scowled. “Really? You smoked without me?”

Nic sighed: he had opened the windows and endured the occasional mosquito bite for nothing. “Wasn’t me, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve got something to tell you.”

With ever-growing excitement, Luke perched on the edge of an ottoman as Nic told him what he’d learned about Megan Watts and Bryan Neumann from Shiv just days ago. “So...you’re telling me that Jake’s hypocritical bitch of an ex was fucking with that oversized gorilla way before all this shit went down?”

“Something like it, yeah. Sucks for Jake, though.” He wasn’t as easy to read through text, but Jake had seemed more surprised than anything else. Nic had warned him not to tell Luke before he got a chance to, though, and he appreciated that Jake had apparently kept his word.

Luke laughed. “You kidding me? He’ll jump for joy! Wait until the rest of the school finds out.”

Now it was time for Nic to reveal the second part of his plan, the part that even Jake didn’t yet know about. As Luke started to reach for his phone, Nic stopped him. “Who’s going to believe you?”

That gave his cousin pause. His grin relaxed a little, but didn’t completely fade. “Some people will. That’s all it takes – just a few seeds of doubt and she won’t be such a big deal around school anymore.”

Luke didn’t seem that certain, so Nic pounced on it. “Some proof would help your case, though.”

Luke quirked an eyebrow at him. “What are you suggesting?”

“That…maybe someone could steal her phone or laptop.”

Luke held his gaze for a second before he snickered. “And then what? It’ll be locked, it’s not 2005. Daddy Watts will buy her a new one, and that’s that.”

“I’m not saying we try to break into it, I’m thinking we could just…fuck with her a little.” Arnie had bragged about unlocking a phone once when the three of them had talked about this earlier, but Nic kept this to himself for now; Arnie wasn’t exactly the most reliable when he was stoned, and finding dirt wasn’t the primary goal.

“Meaning?”

“If she’s got something to hide, she’ll freak out if her phone’s missing. Especially if we leave hints about what we know.”

“You watch too many movies.” He looked intrigued, though. “But I do like the idea of tormenting her I Know What You Did Last Summer-style.”

Nic shrugged. “If all else fails, we could factory-reset it and pawn it or something.”

It sounded like a good idea to Nic, but the intrigue on Luke’s face was staring to turn into suspicion, and he braced himself. “Why do you care about all of this, anyway?”

Nic gave nothing away as he answered crisply. “I don’t like her, she hurt you, and I’m bored.”

Luke kept staring at him, still not completely buying it. “What do you want in return if we pull this off?”

Again, Nic had an answer ready. “Cover for me next time I want to go out.”

Nic...it’s been literally two days,” Luke groaned, deflating with exasperation.

“So? I don’t deserve to be on probation, and you know it.”

It took some negotiating, but eventually Nic wore Luke down. “Fine. But only once, and you’re on your own after midnight. Where do you want to go, anyway? Mom won’t care if it’s just to a friend’s house or something.”

“Or something,” Nic replied, looking away. In truth, he wasn’t even sure what he’d use his one hail Mary for. He just knew himself, which meant there was going to be a night in the near future that he’d want to escape from.

When Nic didn’t get any further elaboration, he slowly let it go. “Be all mysterious, then.” He took out his phone and started texting. “I’m asking Jake to come over.”

Nic froze. He hadn’t planned for any more visitors today, let alone Jake. “Why?”

Luke didn’t look up from his screen. “It’s his ex we’re talking about,” he pointed out. “He should probably be in on it.”

After that very weak attempt, Nic was fresh out of arguments, and it made him uneasy. Having Jake, a new and perplexing addition to his life, in this new and perplexing situation felt like a terrible combination. His rule for a month now was to keep Jake at a distance until he figured out what to do with him. It was safer for everyone that way; Nic’s heart picked up speed at the thought for a reason. “I’m going to bed, then,” he said, once he’d run out of other excuses to not be around.

It was barely nine o’clock and it was common knowledge that Nic was a night owl, so Luke gave him a look. He didn’t bother calling him out on it, though. “You should probably be around to tell us how you’re going to orchestrate this grand master plan of yours. He said he’ll be here in fifteen, which means it will be more like thirty.”

Nic was a little more curious than he wanted to admit, so he eventually succumbed to his fate. That didn’t erase the nerves, though. As he sulked on the couch with Luke, he sipped on room-temperature beer from Luke’s secret stash. It wasn’t his favorite way to mentally check out, but it took the edge off as he counted down the minutes until Jake arrived.

True to Luke’s prediction, almost half an hour on the dot had passed when they heard another set of tires crunching against the driveway. Luke went for the door while Nic remained seated, nursing his second beer.

Nic got the impression that Jake was frequently late, but the reason was immediately made obvious. He had grown well-acquainted with Jake’s favorite soap in recent weeks, so his nose picked it up from clear across the room as soon as Jake walked in. He was freshly showered, his damp hair in glistening waves, and he greeted Nic with a shy smile and a little wave. “Hi, Nic.”

Nic lifted his can in greeting. “’Sup, Abercrombie,” he returned, on reflex.

Luke snickered. “Abercrombie?”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he thinks it’s funny. I…got used to it.” Nic avoided his playful glare by taking such a big sip he choked a little.

“It suits you. Maybe I’ll start calling you that.”

“Please don’t,” Jake said, sharply. “One person doing it is more than enough.”

“If you insist. You got a date after this or something?”

Jake glanced down at himself as if he had just noticed that he had put a lot of effort into his appearance for just hanging out with a friend. “Oh...no, I’m coming from work and didn’t want to smell like grease – so what did you want me here for?”

Luke shrugged off his weirdness and motioned towards Nic. “Guess who might have a solution to your redhead problem?”

Jake sat on the furthest corner of the couch from Nic, who crossed his arms and tried to look petulant. It wasn’t hard. He was still annoyed about having the sanctity of his new home disturbed, but the mild buzz of alcohol – and possibly Jake’s close-fitting shirt – made him feel a little better about it. Jake leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, trying to look appropriately clueless about what was going on.

Having repeated the gossip three times now, and for the second time to Jake, Nic was in no mood to beat around the bush. “Your ex was probably cheating on you,” he said bluntly. Luke prodded him, so he added, “Sorry to tell you.”

Luke turned to Jake, eager for a reaction, but his friend was just blinking calmly at Nic as he appeared to process. “I see.”

“You see!?” Luke squawked. “That’s all you have to say to that?”

Jake shrugged. “She’s been dead to me for a while, man.”

“It was with Neumann,” Nic supplied.

Of course, Jake already knew this, but he seemed genuinely annoyed to hear it again. “That’s the best she could do? That’s offensive.”

“I find your lack of response offensive,” Luke snapped. “Tell him what this means, Nic.”

They both turned to Nic again, who shifted underneath the scrutiny. His scheme suddenly seemed a lot more juvenile when repeating it to Jake. “Um...we could shut her down if we stole her phone. I know we probably won’t be able to get into it, but it might – ”

“I think I know her pin,” Jake interrupted, his eyes wide.

Neither of the cousins knew what to say to that at first. They exchanged surprised looks, but it was Luke that found his voice first. “You mean to tell me you knew the pin number to her phone and didn’t use it against her?”

Jake started to fidget, his knee bouncing in light speed. “I didn’t say I definitely know it, just possibly. Or I could probably guess it in five tries. I just never had a reason to – ”

“Does she know your passcode?” Nic asked him tightly.

Jake seemed to know where Nic’s surge of panic had come from. “No, she doesn’t,” he assured him. “I’ve got biometrics on. Anyway, I didn’t think it was relevant since it’s not like I can snatch the phone off her and make a run for it.”

“Yeah, we haven’t gotten into the ‘how,’ yet,” Luke said, deferring to Nic again.

“Shiv,” Nic said, as if it was the most obvious solution in the world. “She’s got P.E. with Meg. She lifts the phone from the locker room and we figure it out from there.”

Jake mulled it over, but Luke shot it down right away. “She’s got the early morning P.E. class. She’ll probably figure out it’s missing and lock it before we get to do anything with it.”

“Could Shiv steal it while she’s at cheerleading practice?” Jake asked. “You could bring it to me, I try the pin, and if it doesn’t work we just return it before practice is over. No harm, no foul.”

“She won’t be happy about staying after school,” Nic said. “I won’t, either.”

He’d said the second part mostly to himself, but Jake still heard him. “I think I can make it worth it,” he said, winking at him. Nic felt a slight shiver, and, greatly disappointed in his own body, he turned away.

If Luke noticed the subtle flirting, he didn’t say anything. He was far more focused on the developing plan. “Are we really going to do this? Because I’m dying to tell Jazzy we’re onto something.”

He and Nic looked at Jake, the deciding factor. Jake made a show of hemming and hawing over it before making the final verdict. “Can’t hurt. Even if I can’t unlock it, I wouldn’t mind making her sweat a little.”

Nic opened his mouth, but Luke beat him to it. “Making her sweat is what got you in trouble in the first place.”

Jake casually shoved Luke off the ottoman he was sitting on, but he managed to catch himself, laughing. He stood up to avoid any further attacks, clutching his phone. “I’m going to call Jazzy – be right back.”

He practically skipped to the bedroom, leaving Jake and Nic alone. At first, they avoided looking at each other, preferring the blank TV screen across the room. Nic took a last swig of beer to clear out the lump in his throat, which seemed to remind Jake that he was still there. The athlete stood up and stretched, and from his low perspective on the couch, Nic felt incredibly small.

Jake walked over to Nic’s side. He tensed, but Jake merely reached for the pack of beer hidden under the end table and pulled one out. When he returned to his seat with his drink, he took the middle cushion this time, much closer than he was before, their knees a respectful six inches apart.

“Thanks for...you know.” Jake gave the can a vague, all-encompassing wave.

Nic huffed dismissively. “It’s something to do.”

Jake rested his elbow on the back of the couch, which brought his long body just a smidge closer to Nic. This didn’t go unnoticed by Nic, but he wouldn’t give Jake the satisfaction of squirming. “You bored here?”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“Why’d you decide to move in, anyway?”

“Long story, so I’ll give you two words: asshole stepfather.”

Jake was listening for more, but he seemed to know better than to press, opting to just fill in the blanks. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “But isn’t that technically four words?”

Nic tried to tell if he was serious, but Jake’s earnest expression made it impossible. “Your poor English teacher.”

Jake chuckled. “She finds me charming, actually. I was joking, by the way, so you can relax.” He motioned towards Nic’s face, not quite making contact. “Ah, there it is.”

“What?”

“I made you smile.”

Nic replaced it with a scowl. “Congrats. You can be amusing when you play dumb. Happy?”

“Immensely. But that’s because you’re staying here, though.”

Nic tilted his head. “Why’s that?”

Jake smirked. “Easier access.” He reached out with his elevated arm and started playing with the fabric of Nic’s shirt on his shoulder, again toeing the line of touching him but not quite.

Nic wasn’t sure if Jake was being restrained or purposefully teasing him, and either way he was annoyed. “That’s almost as presumptuous as coming over here straight from the shower just for me.”

Jake didn’t blush as much when Nic called him out anymore, which he kind of missed. Instead, he took it like a champ, confirming Nic’s accusation with a cheeky grin. “Maybe I’ve missed you a little. Maybe I wanted to make a good impression.”

Nic didn’t answer, listening until he heard Luke’s muffled voice from the other side of the bedroom door. His attention was snatched back to Jake when he felt warm breath against his skin, and he turned to find the jock nuzzling his neck with the tip of his nose, crossing the touching boundary at last. Far from feeling intrusive, it was nice; so nice, in fact, that Nic felt his body sinking into the embrace of its own accord, his empty beer can slack in his hands.

“Can I kiss you?” Jake murmured into his ear.

Almost every part of Nic was screaming in the affirmative – all but the one, stubborn part that refused to just relax and enjoy the moment, likely because it hadn’t forgotten that Luke was just in the next room. “Asking kind of ruins it.”

In response, Jake’s fingers found the back of Nic’s neck and gently coaxed him to tilt his head back. The last thing Nic saw were a flash of white teeth and half-closed dark eyes before he closed his own and waited for those lips to descend upon him. But that moment never came.

Tap tap tap.

Nic’s eyes snapped back open and Jake threw himself back into the couch cushions. They stared at each other for a few tense heartbeats, until the soft rapping at the door continued. Nic ran a hand through his hair and sighed, but he got up to answer it anyway, knowing who it was without having the check.

Joey, clad in space-themed pajamas, invited himself in. He opened his mouth to let out his typical stream of consciousness, but clammed up when he noticed Jake. “Who are you?” the boy demanded.

Jake, looking completely flustered, not-so-subtly interlocked his hands over his crotch. For some reason, he looked at Nic for help, who just shrugged at him, so he turned back to the kid. “I’m Jake?” he said, with an upward lilt. “Who are you?”

“I’m Joey. Are you Nic’s boyfriend?”

Jake gaped at him, which prompted Nic to drop the observer role. “No, he’s Luke’s friend. Why did you ask that?”

Joey shrugged. “Saw you kissing through the window when I walked up.”

Nic was too busy glaring at the partially open blinds behind the couch, angry at his own recklessness, so it was Jake’s turn to save them. “He had something in his hair and I was trying to get it out for him.” Again, he looked at Nic for approval, and Nic confirmed this with a stiff nod.

Joey stared suspiciously at the two of them, unconvinced, but evidently he decided he didn’t care enough to insist. “Whatever. Jake, do you want to play Fortnite?” He reached into the waistband of his pants and pulled out his Switch.

“I should get going, actually.” Jake brushed invisible specks of dust off his lap and stood up.

Joey nearly tipped backwards to take in Jake’s full height. “Wow. Do you play basketball?”

“I’m not that tall,” Jake protested, but he was unmistakably flattered. He gave Joey an awkward pat on the shoulder as he passed him on his way to Nic. He paused in front of him, looking briefly conflicted as their eyes met. Then his face relaxed to its usual placidness, the moment gone. “’Night, Nic. Catch me at practice tomorrow?”

“If everything goes well, yeah.”

Jake still looked like he was waiting for something, and Nic wasn’t giving it to him. He visibly snapped out of it and saw himself out, tossing a last-minute “Bye, Joey!” over his shoulder.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Joey was back to whining. “Can we play now? It’s so boring in the house!”

Feeling a little blue-balled, Nic was fresh out of sympathy. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” he growled. “And does Aunt April know you’re here?”

“One hour, she said.”

Nic highly doubted the veracity of this and began the grueling process of teasing out the truth with his searing gaze alone. Joey was starting to crack, but the standoff was interrupted when the bedroom door burst open and Luke re-entered the scene.

He took in Joey and frowned. “What are you doing up, Joey? And where’s Jake?”

“Jake left, Joey’s your problem now, and I really want to go to bed now,” Nic let out in a rush. He brushed past his cousin and marched to the vacated bedroom, ignoring the questioning looks that followed him. He had a lot of confusing emotions to explain away, and more importantly, an equally confusing boner to take care of.

*** 

On Wednesday afternoon, Nic found a quiet corner to stand in a few feet from the gym hallway, pretending to be engrossed in something on his phone to look less suspicious. Not that were many people around to judge them, that is. He didn’t participate in any extracurriculars – why be at school longer than he needed to? – so he’d never been in these hallways after hours before. He’d never seen them this empty, and the eeriness of it put him more on edge.

There had been more than twenty-four hours since he’d committed to this convoluted plan, and Nic still couldn’t quite believe it. And for Jake, of all people! He couldn’t even deny that it as for anyone else anymore. Nic hated people like Meg, the type of girl that had knew she had her entire world wrapped around her finger and screwed over anyone that slighted her. This was the same Meg that had been a thorn in Luke’s side long before Nic arrived in town. Those were very valid reasons to want her taken down a few pegs, but he didn’t act until he saw her chip away at Jake day by day. Luke wasn’t as personally involved, Nic reasoned. He’d do this for any of his friends that were being directly targeted by her.

Although, Nic thought, shifting uncomfortably, did that mean he and Jake were friends now? He liked sleeping with him, of course, but this went beyond just getting laid. When it came to revenge, Nic was more of a slashing-tires, set-things-on-fire type of guy. Even just a simple punch to the face would do to get the message across. This felt like it came from a different place, though; he wanted to put Meg through what she put Jake through. It would require finesse.

Shiv appeared from around the corner, rescuing Nic from the direction his mind had gone. She was dressed casually in simple jeans, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of an unadorned black hoodie. She didn’t speak as she walked past Nic, but she caught his eye and pointed her chin at the exit doors ahead.

Realizing that she was trying to avoid the hallway cameras, Nic followed her from a distance. As soon as they were outside, though, he pounced on her. “Did you get it?”

Shiv pulled out a phone in a glittery pink case. It couldn’t have been a more obnoxious fit for its owner. “Easy as pie. I can’t believe that article we looked at was legit.”

When they were in the planning stages, they’d found a tutorial on picking combination locks. It seemed so deceptively easy that everyone was skeptical, but Shiv had been up for the challenge. “Maybe next time, we’ll try a bank. Thanks, I owe you one.” Nic held out his hand for the phone, but Shiv took a few steps back, grinning impishly.

“You certainly do, Nicky.” She dangled the phone in front of him. “I’ll let you have it when you admit that you’re fucking Jake Ferguson.”

Nic let out a half-choked laugh in an unsuccessful attempt to hide his panic. “Abercrombie, seriously? I told you I’m doing this for Luke.”

Shiv rolled her eyes. “Funny how that bullshit almost made sense when I was stoned. You really expect me to believe that sober? Messing with Watts seems pretty personal for something Luke is barely involved in, and who would benefit from this more than Jake?”

Nic paused for just a second too long, and knew he lost as soon as he opened his mouth. “Uh – Luke wanted me to do it for Jake. Duh.”

Shiv stared at him in absolute disbelief for a solid three seconds. “Wow. Alright, Nic, come find me when you’re done lying to yourself.” She promptly turned her back on him, taking the phone with her.

Nic watched her go, frantically weighing the consequences. It didn’t take him long. “Fine, you got me,” he called after her. “We’ve been hooking up since the start of the semester.”

Shiv stopped walking and slowly turned to face him. “Was that so hard?”

Nic bit his tongue against a thousand expletives that could potentially end their friendship as he marched over to her and snatched the phone away. “Yes. Happy now?”

“Not really,” she said, frowning at him. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have done this for you whether or not you were fucking Jake.”

“Because – ” Nic began hotly, but he suddenly couldn’t remember why, or at least concisely explain the reason. Shiv was judgmental about his hook ups, and she made a big deal of things whenever Nic went back for seconds. Let alone thirds or more. He didn’t need or want anyone questioning him about that right now. “You wouldn’t get it,” he finished. “I don’t even get it.”

With that, he started the long trek to the rugby field. To his dismay, Shiv followed him, still chattering. “I mean, it’s obvious, isn’t it? Hell hath frozen over and you’re starting to actually like someone.”

“No, that’s not what’s happening,” Nic sighed. “You don’t have to come with me.”

“I don’t, but I’m not going to miss this.” She gasped suddenly, making him look at her. “Holy shit, I’ve seen his penis! Fuck…you’re so lucky.”

Nic closed his eyes, praying for patience or something diplomatic to say. He settled for an exasperated, “Shut up, Shiv.” Unfortunately, that did nothing to deter her from accompanying him all the way to the rugby field, brimming with questions.