killer

four

"hello, sunshine," chase grinned when nicole opened her door. "i got you something."
nicole beamed as he handed her a bouquet of flowers. "oh, thank you, chase! they're gorgeous."
"my pleasure," he told her, taking her hand and pressing a soft kiss to it.
she couldn't help but blush, taking his hands and pulling him inside. "come sit while i get my things."
harry was sitting on the couch, watching the brady bunch. chase couldn't help but glare at the man, who didn't notice it, quietly singing along to the show's theme song.
"here, sit. this is harry, harry, this is chase," nicole blurted, rushing to her room.
chase slowly sat down beside harry, still staring, who turned to him with a grin.
"hi!" he chirped, reaching an arm out. "'m harry."
chase snapped out of his daze and gave him a fake smile in return, shaking his hand. "my name's chase. can i ask how you know nicole?"
harry's grin faltered slightly. "we're roommates, coworkers, and cousins, actually."
"oh! that's good," chase told him. harry said nothing, quietly turning back to the tv.
"i'm ready!" nicole announced, returning to the room. her fluffy curls reached her shoulders, nearly covering the peace earrings she wore.
chase stood up with a huge smile on his face.
"wow, you look-"
"can i talk to you for a moment, nicole?" harry interrupted, causing the other two to turn to stare at him.
nicole gave chase an apologetic look, excusing herself and dragging harry out the room.
"what is it?" she asked irritably, arms crossed.
"are you sure this guy's safe? for all we know, he's the murderer," harry whispered angrily. "he was ready to kill me before i mentioned we're related."
"don't be such a downer, harry," nicole told him, rolling her eyes. "chase is such a sweetheart, he'd never lay a finger on anyone. stop dippin' in my kool-aid, cuz."
harry let out an irritated sigh, obviously wanting to add something but realizing it was pointless.
"bye, hazza." she reached up to ruffle his hair and walked out, where chase was waiting.
"ready to rock and roll?" he asked, making her giggle.
"yeah, let's go," she replied, grabbing his hand again as they walked out.

***

"ready?"
nicole let out a panicky laugh as she stood up on her skates.
"um, not really," she replied truthfully
chase had decided to take her to a roller skating rink, which she'd always wanted to do; however, her nerves were getting to her at the moment.
"c'mon, don't be scared," chase chuckled, smoothly skating over and taking her hand.
butterflies erupted in her stomach; he'd held her hand repeatedly, and his warm hand contrasted with her cold one.
"see, isn't this fun?" chase asked as they rolled around the rink.
"it...it actually is pretty fun," she admitted.
"'kay, now you try." he let go and she almost immediately face planted.
she caught the wall just in time, standing up on trembly legs like a baby deer.
"chase!" she shrieked, hearing his loud laughing from across the rink. using the wall for support, she skated towards him.
"what? you're doing great!" he lied, shaking backwards.
she managed to reach him and immediately collapsed into his arms.
"i hate you."
"come on, let's get our groove on." he placed a hand on her hip and swirled them around, making nicole tense up. she forced herself to relax and sway with him, closing her eyes and leaning on his shoulder.
***
"dinner was delicious," nicole beamed as she walked with chase into his apartment. they planned to sit and listen to a few records before he drove her home.
he nodded his head. "i've been coming to that diner for years, i love it." 
he unlocked it and she couldn't help but notice how clean it was; each surface had been neatly scrubbed and the smell of cleaning product lingered in the air.
"you have a nice apa-"
chase grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall, kissing her deeply.