Enigma

Arcade

Nico groaned and muttered some inaudible curse words to herself as she noticed a kid had spilt some soda on the Pacman arcade game. She pulled a cloth out of her back pocket and marched over to it, immediately wiping off the drink before it could ruin the circuit board. She looked over at the 'No Drinks in the Arcade' sign and rolled her eyes.

As she finished wiping up the game, another kid walked in with a slushie that was spilling over the sides with every step. Nico pointed a finger at him, and then at the sign. "Don't try me, kid." she said threateningly in her best Tracie-like tone. She laughed to herself, imagining what Tracie would think if she heard her speaking with such attitude like that. Tracie had been assigned to ride duty for the night, so Nico wouldn't get to see her that shift.

Meanwhile...Julian had somehow made his way to the carnival grounds in one piece. He looked up at a huge red and white tent, which seemed to be the main focus of the carnival and shook his head with a laugh as he walked past it, searching for the arcade area. He stumbled past a few game and food stalls, dodging numerous kids carrying cotton candy and abnormally large stuffed animals.

Nico tugged on the end of a loose thread from the ugly orange T-Shirt she was required to wear. It was 'uniform' apparently, which Nico thought was funny. It didn't even have a print on the front or anything. It was just a plain T-Shirt. The only thing staff had on them to prove they worked there was a poorly-made name tag with the companies logo on it.

As Nico watched people walk in and out of the arcade, she wondered if Julian would show up like she'd asked him to. He would definitely make her time at work more interesting.

She checked her watch and sighed. Only a few more hours to go.

"Nico?" A timid, but somewhat deep voice behind her spoke.

Nico turned around and her face instantly lit up with a smile. "Julian! You came!"

"Yeah, yeah...I did." he said, lazily leaning up against an arcade game.

Nico studied his face. His eyes were more droopy than usual, and his posture was that of a drunk person-wait! "Julian...are you drunk?" she asked with a quizzical, but unimpressed looking raised eyebrow.

Julian jolted up and cleared his throat. "N-No." He looked at her face. She looked angry at the fact that he thought he could lie to her so easily. "Maybe...yeah." he sighed, looking away. "A little..."

"Dude, how?! You were so hungover this morning!" she gawked.

Julian ignored her remark as he took in her appearance, baggy obnoxious shirt and all. "Nice shirt."

"It's so ugly, right?!" Nico grimaced, tugging on the edges. "They force us to wear them." She had bunched up the shirt and tied it at the back so it would seem less baggy, but it just looked like a poorly made crop top that exposed about an inch of her waistline.

Julian thought she looked quite hot in it. As she rambled on about how ugly the shirt was, Julian found himself lost in her gorgeous green eyes. They had flecks of brown in them, and they crinkled up in the corners a little, along with her freckled nose when she laughed. He then caught a glimpse of her exposed waist and thought he was doing a good job at unnoticeably peeking when a voice interrupted him.

"Uh...Julian?" Nico waved a hand in front of his face, giggling when he snapped out of his daze. "Earth to Julian?"

Julian looked away as he could feel his face heating up. Was he blushing, or...?

"Oh, shit!" Nico gasped as Julian grabbed the edges of a nearby trashcan and started to puke his guts out. "Oh my god, dude!" She ran over to pat his back. "How much did you fucking drink before you came here?!" A few people were staring, making Nico start to feel a little anxious, but she hid that quite well with a roll of her eyes.

Julian pulled away from the trashcan, his forehead glistening with sweat and his hands shaking. "I, uhh..." he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Four...five? Six..?"

"Julian! What were you thinking?" Nico yelped as she started scanning the area. She grunted when she saw someone in an orange shirt similar to her own and she waved. "Hey! Marcus!"

The guy she called out to looked over at her and mouthed a 'what'.

"Tell Neil something came up and I've gotta go!" she yelled to him. The guy nodded and walked off.

"What...what are you doin'?" asked Julian, still hunched over the trashcan.

"Taking you home." replied Nico, pulling on her jacket.

"No, no! We can't go to my place." he slurred, shaking his head.

"Why not...oh!" Nico tapped a finger to her chin. "Parents?"

Julian's parents had seen him drunk too many times to scold him for it, so that wasn't the case, but he nodded anyways. He couldn't tell Nico he didn't want her seeing where he lived.

Nico snaked an arm around his waist and hoisted him up a little. "Alright, let's go." She was much smaller than Julian, but somehow managed to walk him out.

"I'm soooo sorry!" Julian cried out as Nico steered him onto the sidewalk.

"It's okay, Julian." Nico sighed. "I'm sure you had your reasons."

"Call me...call me Jules." he slurred, leaning into her as they walked.

"Okay, Jules." she giggled.

"Are you gonna get fired because of me?" asked Julian with a worry-stricken face.

"I doubt it," she replied.

"You look pretty in the moonlight." he blurted out. "Pretti-er...I mean."

"You're so funny, Jules." Nico laughed. His compliment didn't phase her, because she didn't know him well enough to know what alcohol did to him exactly. Did it make him speak his mind truthfully...? Or simply blurt out lies. She would have to get to know him better before making a decision.

"Can we go see Fab?" asked Julian, wandering a little too close to the road. "Where's he live?"

Nico grabbed his arm and linked it with hers. "If you stay on the sidewalk and make it to my place alive, then I'll take you to see him tomorrow."

"Aww, tomorrow?!" he whined with an adorable childish pout.

"Take it or leave it, buddy." she said.

"Fine!"

"You're so lucky my dad's away for the weekend," Nico explained as she pushed Julian through her front door. "...where would you be right now if he wasn't?" she laughed.

"I'm sleepy." Julian groaned, rubbing his tired eyes. He then fell onto his knees at the bottom of the stairs and slouched against the railing.

Nico sighed and grabbed his arm. "Julian, it's just a few stairs!" She tried to pull him up, but to no avail.

Julian's eyelids became heavy, and quite quickly, Nico's words sounded fuzzy and everything became a blur to him as he drifted into unconsciousness.

"For fucks sake!" Nico cried, marching over to the kitchen. She picked up the phone off the counter and dialled up a number. "Hey, are you busy? I know it's kinda late, but I could really use your help with something."