His Muse

I had the time of my life (until shit hit the fan)

Copyright © 2018. All Rights Reserved

The second Leo woke up, he went to his closet and stayed there for approximately fifteen minutes before Nic ever gathered the strength to leave the warmth of his loft. Kingsley had yet to turn on the heat—either that, or their room just didn't have a working heater. Either way, it meant that Nic dressed in layers of two socks, sweatpants, and a sweater over his sleep shirt. Leo had mounds of blankets he hid under, but now he stood with his bruise exposed to the mirror in his closet.

They hadn't drank anything at the party, but Leo looked seriously hungover with how pale he was. There was a glossiness in his eyes when he looked at Nic coming around to rifle through his own closet. Nic stopped and looked at him expectantly. Secretly, he was taking in the sight of the red and blue mark on Leo's cheek. It was faint, but blatantly obvious to anyone who so much as glanced at him.

Nic didn't want to admit he sided with anybody, and in some ways, that made him feel like the bad guy. They started the week by not talking about it, avoiding it, even at dinner when he and Sav went to the dining hall and she made a beeline for the other side of the sitting area. She and Sav sat at one of the smaller tables, so the entire Kingsley Gang couldn't sit with them at all.

She acted almost like nothing had happened, and if it weren't for the fact that they were on the complete opposite side of the dining hall from the rest of their friends, Nic was sure he'd agree that of course nothing happened.

"Seriously? Are you going to keep acting like this?" Nic complained. "Leo has a fucking bruise on his face. I'm kind of worried for when his manager asks what gives."

"He'll just say something about 'defending the honor of his residence' or something and his manager will brush it under the rug," she muttered with a flippant wave of her hand. She picked up a french fry and stuffed it into her mouth. "Whatever. S'not like I care."

Nic sat there, jaw slack as she continued to eat. She was staring at her food up until the point where she went for a drink, and pointedly made eye contact with Nic. "Are you serious right now?" Nic said, eyebrows raised. He nervously adjusted his position in his seat. "Like... sure, Leo's kind of an idiot sometimes. But you know how stupidly smart people are! They don't get social cues and shit."

"So you're calling me not-stupidly-smart."

"You know what I mean."

"Please, enlighten me." They stared each other down until Sav relented. "Sorry. I know I'm being a bitch, but I'm just blatantly avoiding that detail so I can go on and continue to be a bitch. Leo's an ass and I never want to speak to him again."

"Why though? You didn't need to punch him for trying to get you to dance with a guy," he remarked.

"It's not just that. He's been an ass to me for a while now. He's like... my parents," she hissed out, aggressively jabbing her hand towards Nic. She leant back in her seat, crossing her arms with a defiant look on her face. She frowned at the people around them, all chatting away and eating and having a good time. "Like the second he found out I don't like guys or girls he think's I'm some weird alien mutant that needs guidance. I don't fucking need guidance. I hate when people tell me what I should and shouldn't like, you know?"

"Reasonable."

"I know right? Is that too much to ask?" she muttered, glaring at her food for a moment.

In her silence, Nic said, "Do you want me to try and talk to him?"

"No, you're terrible with confrontation," she admitted, and as Nic was about to argue, she added, "Well, except for this time. Kudos on bringing it up. I wasn't sure if you had the balls to confront me on this."