While the Sun Shines

5.

For two glorious hours, Nick had the peace and quiet he craved. He sat on his bed rewatching season one Lucifer episodes, and all was good in the world for a fleeting moment in time. Then a key turned in the lock and several excited voices sounded in the hallway. 

Blake, and two girls whose voice Nick didn't immediately recognise. He grimaced and reached for his keyboard to turn the volume of his headphones up. Before he could, however, he caught one of the girls asking, "Is Nick home too?"  

Nick frowned. How did a girl he didn't know, in another country, know his name?  

"If he's here, he's probably in his room," Nick heard Blake reply. The statement was swiftly followed by a knock on Nick's door. 

Nick flinched but sat up on his bed. He quickly threw the sheets off of himself to make it look less like he was moping long before bedtime in case someone decided to enter his bedroom. He considered playing possum for a moment, but then sighed and responded. "Yes?" 

"We'll be using your place to get ready for tonight, Nick," one of the girls said, giggling. "Hope that's okay. And nice to meet you!" 

Nice to meet you? She hadn't even said her name! 

She wasn't going to either, it seemed. The group moved on to the living room without awaiting Nick's reply. Their words faded to indistinct but excited murmurs as one of them closed the living room door. 

Nick rolled his eyes, put his headphones back on properly, and resumed the episode of Lucifer. It was already too late to get back into it, though. Since Nick knew Blake and his new friends, entourage, whatever, were in the apartment, he could no longer focus on watching shows. 

That wasn't all of it: they had to remind Nick of their presence every few seconds too with loud, screeching seagull noises and laughter. Nick had no idea what Blake and his new friends were doing in the living room, but evidently it was hilarious and it wasn't going to stop any time soon either. 

Nick turned up the volume until it almost hurt. It didn't prevent the excited seagull noises penetrating through the dialogue of Lucifer entirely, but it was close enough. He stared at his computer screen, comforting himself with the thought that Blake and his posse would be leaving for the party in an hour; Nanda had told them all to meet at the university at nine. 

Sudden movement in his peripheral vision made Nick jolt. He yanked his headphones down as his bedroom door slowly opened and a blonde girl peeked around the corner before opening the door further. 

Nick knew her. Well, no, he didn't know her, but he'd definitely seen her. She was the model sitting a few rows below him in the lecture hall. The desperate dude from his introduction group had said her name was Lara. 

Lara smiled at Nick apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I tried knocking but you had your volume up rather... loud." 

That generally means people do not want to be disturbed.

Obviously, Nick didn't tell Lara that. He would save his snarking for deserving parties like Blake, not for the girl he barely knew and who looked like a model. 

"You didn't startle me," Nick said, setting his laptop aside. 

Lara smiled like she didn't believe him, but didn't comment on his lie. "Are you going to stay in here all night watching shows then?" she asked. 

Nick shrugged. He had been planning on exactly that, but the pitying tone in which Lara had asked made him reluctant to tell her she was right. 

"That's too bad..." Lara tilted her head to the side slightly. "But I guess not everyone likes going to bars and drink. That's cool." 

"I do like going to bars," Nick quickly corrected Lara. It was the truth, for the most part. He did enjoy going out to drink. He just wasn't interested in going right here, right now. 

It didn't seem Lara bought what he said. There was something akin to pity in her gaze now. "Okay," she said. "Just not tonight then. But you don't have to sit here all alone while we're all in the living room. Do you want to at least have dinner with us in the living room?" 

No. The answer was no. He didn't want to have dinner with Blake and two girls who probably already adored Blake to bits, because every girl in existence seemed to adore Blake to bits. But Nick didn't want to say no to Lara. She already seemed to think he was a hermit loser who never left his bedroom. He didn't want to leave her with that impression. 

"Sure," Nick replied. "I could eat." 

Lara smiled. "Awesome!" 

Lara waited until Nick had gotten up from the bed and walked to the door before moving to the living room. The scent of onion, garlic, and other vegetables immediately entered Nick's nose and made his stomach growl. 

Blake and a girl Nick didn't know were sitting on the couch. Blake leaned in with a focused frown as he applied some makeup to the girl's face. The moment Nick walked in, Blake looked up and the girl jerked away from his hand. 

"Blake! Ow!" she whined. "You're poking me in the eye!" 

"Oops. Sorry babe." Blake quickly turned his attention back to his work. 

"The whiner on the couch is Mia," Lara introduced her 'friend' with a teasing smile. 

"Hey!" Mia protested, stretching the word, which didn't make her sound any less whiny. 

Lara looked at Blake with a beaming smile.  "I got Nick to join us for dinner!"

Blake stopped applying makeup to Mia's face to dart a glance at both Lara and Nick. A small smile tugged at his lips. "Yes, I bet you did." 

 Nick scowled at Blake. He seemed to assume Nick, after all these years, still couldn't say no to a pretty girl. He could've said no. He wasn't some hormonal teenager anymore, and his experiences with Emma had taught him it was never a good idea to place anyone on a pedestal. Nobody liked that shit in the end, and nobody would genuinely like you  as a person for doing that. 

Blake kept his eyes trained on Nick while he spoke to Lara. "And I bet you also convinced Nick to go with us tonight, Lara." 

Lara laughed. "No." She turned to Nick. "And that's okay. Not everyone likes going out drinking." 

Blake's smile broadened. "Yeah, it's okay, Nick," he added. 

Somehow, Lara and Blake ended up double-teaming Nick into a corner. At least, that was what it felt like. Nick knew he should just let their teasing slide off his shoulders. Who cared what they thought? Nick knew he'd probably drank more, and had entered more places with a fake ID, than the other occupants of the living room had ever done. While still in high school. 

If Nick really meant what he'd said earlier about how he wasn't going to care about anyone's opinion abroad, he should shrug and smile. But why did it feel like the last remaining shred of his reputation was on the line here?

Nick's jaw clenched. "Fine," he said. "I'll go out with you all tonight too."