𝐎𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬 ☁︎ 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧

two. the muted messages

CHAPTER TWO
alexa play midnight love by girl in red

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          THE PAST FEW DAYS HAVE been an odd time for Bear, she couldn't tell if it was from her new form of communicating with Joseph — the harsh, silent treatment — or from the niceness of Nick Nelson.

At first, it started with him trying to make conversation and try to crack a few jokes. That jumped to actively saying 'hi's to her in the hallway and small waves if they were in the same room.

Truthfully, Bear wanted to be nice back and she had tried. She gave small 'hello's and nods of acknowledgment, she would even grin a little at his jokes. However, she couldn't forget about Joseph's opinions on him and how most of the popular athletic students have targeted Charlie.

The only reason she considers Joseph's words was because (despite their current situation) he was her boyfriend and she would always take his words to heart. That's just her natural tendency, if her friend told her that 'this person is rude and I don't like them' she would dislike them too.

Now, Joseph was also an exception to the athletics rule because he made sure no one on his team would bully Charlie. Bear had told him to do so, even if it wasn't Joseph's year or his sport that was picking on him; none of the cross-country runners picked on Charlie after Joseph's serious lecture.

Now, here she was struggling to read a Jane Austen book that Nick and Bear had to present and explain parallels, themes, and whatever else Bear didn't pay attention to, in the next coming weeks.

She could read the words, but her understanding of it was completely out the window. It also didn't help the multiple buzzes from her phone, in her pocket, from Joseph.

Nick could see her struggle. He couldn't blame her, he understood some of what the book says, but there will be times when the language is just too advanced.

He scooted closer to her and nudged her arm, gently. "Are you doing okay?"

Bear looked at him with the most bored expression. "This is completely bullshit."

"I'd take it you're not much of an English type of student."

"The only book I can excel at is probably something by Dr. Seuss."

Nick chuckles, "Really, Dr. Seuss?"

"Totally. His complex take on rhymes should be studied."

Maybe she was too tired to care about Joseph or maybe she was too tired of pretending to act like Nick was a bad guy, but Bear decided to open up a little more today, which was a blessing in Nick's eyes.

The girl closed the book and rubbed the upper crease of her eyelid,
avoiding her eyeliner. "I can't take reading this anymore."

Nick closed the book. "Do you at least have an idea of what we're reading?"

"It's about two sisters..."

"Okay, and..."
"That's all I've got."

The boy gave a downturned smile and joked, "Does this mean I'm doing all the work?"