Enigma

Business

Nico woke up with her head in Julian's lap. Rather than questioning it and weirding out, she shrugged it off and sat up, looking around with tired eyes.

"You guys are cute." Fab's voice startled her.

Gasping and placing a hand over her heart, she giggled seconds after. "Fab, you scared the hell out of me!"

"Good morning!" Fab chuckled, leaning over the kitchen counter. "May I make myself a cup of coffee, please?"

"With manners like that, of course!" Nico stood up and dusted herself off. "The coffee is in that cupboard," She pointed. "...and the milk is in the fridge...obviously."

"Is the water in the tap?" Fab asked with a goofy grin.

"Don't mock me, I just woke up." She flattened her hair as she walked over to Fab. "My brain isn't fully functional until ten o'clock at least!"

"Is Nick still here?"

"I'd presume so." she said. "I'll go check. Get Julian up while I'm gone, okay?"

Fab looked down at Julian, who was surprisingly still asleep. "Sure thing."

"Before you go...what do you think of Nick?"

Nico stopped at the bottom of the stairs and hummed to herself. "He's nice."

"Is that all..?"

"Sheesh, Fab! I know he has a girlfriend! I think he's cool and all...nothing more."

"Chill! I'm just kiddin' around!" he exclaimed, raising a hand up in defence. "I've never seen you with a guy before, though...you're always hanging around Tracie. Are you..?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but no." She rolled her eyes. "Just because a girl doesn't want a boyfriend, it doesn't mean she likes girls."

Fab sighed. "Sorry, it's not really any of my business, is it?"

"It's okay, Fab. The truth is, I just wanna focus on school and don't need any major distractions."

"Oh, okay...I get that." He nodded, then smirking. "Do you have the hots for anyone though?"

"I'd like to postpone this conversation, thank you." Nico shook her head and grunted as she walked up the stairs.

"Just curious!" Fab laughed to himself and turned back to the kitchen, where he pulled a mug out of a cabinet. He gently nudged Julian with his foot on the way over to the fridge. Julian slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Fab. "You want some coffee, man?" asked Fab.

Meanwhile...Nico had tiptoed into her bedroom, contemplating whether or not to wake Nick. She quickly decided to change her clothes instead and pulled out some jeans and a Pink Floyd T-Shirt. She was feeling quite lazy that day and couldn't be bothered piecing together a flashy outfit.

After changing, she walked out of her bathroom to see Nick eyeing her bass guitar in the corner of the room.

"You play?" she asked, making her presence known.

Nick looked slightly shocked to see her, but quickly played it off with a warm smile. "Just guitar."

"Cool!" She sat on the end of her bed beside Nick, looking at her bass. "I can't play yet. I got it as a birthday present. I've been meaning to pick it up and try, but something else more important always comes up."

"What's more important than music?!" Nick asked with a grin.

"At the moment," Nico stood up and walked over to her vanity. "...good grades and shit." She picked up a brush and began to tame her curls.

Nick huffed. "Boring."

"Precisely..." she chuckled. "Fab's making coffee if you're interested? I can get started on breakfast."

"Hell yeah!" Nick jumped up and quickly exited the room. Nico laughed again, hearing his fast-paced footsteps racing down the stairs. She tossed her hairbrush down and walked out to join the guys in the kitchen.

Nico was happy to see that Julian was awake and not looking as bad as she thought he might. "Morning, Julian. You all good?" she asked with a warm smile.

Julian put down his mug of coffee and nodded. "The guys just filled me in on what happened last night and I just wanna say I'm so sorry. I'm really embarrassed and-"

"Julian!" Nico cut him off. "It's okay. We all make mistakes."

"Why are you so cool?"

Nico smirked and shook her head. "I'm really not."

Just before she could make a cup of coffee of her own, the phone started to ring. She shooed Julian out of the kitchen and into the living room to watch T.V. with the other two and picked up the phone. "Hello-"

"Nico, sweetie!" Her father's somewhat sarcastic voice rang in her ear.

"Hi, dad. How are y-"

"Look, honey..." he cut her off. "I don't have much time to talk, but I'm calling to say I've had a couple setbacks and my trip will need to be extended. I'll be back next week."

Nico gasped. "You're gonna be gone for a whole week?!"

"Sorry, honey but you know it is...work is work."

"Yeah, whatever..."

"I'm sure I've left some money around somewhere..." he trailed off. "Try on top of the refridgerator. There should be about a hundred and fifty bucks. Think you can last on that for a week?"

"Sure, dad." Nico sighed.

"That's my girl! Just call if you need anything."

"Okay, bye! I'll miss y-" Her father hung up, leaving her to sigh some more and form a sour expression on her face.

Nico knew her father was lying to her. She thought he'd probably have met some woman to have an affair with. It wouldn't be the first time. Not feeling too phased by the all too familiar situation, Nico quickly made up her coffee and joined the guys on the couch. "What are we watchin'?" she asked, squeezing in between Julian and Fab.