He Who Moved the Sun

Chapter eight: Study Date

Sorry for the wait! Been a busy bee....here you go!

Chapter Eight

J.R put the cap back on his cologne and pulled the hair wax Nick had given him out of his backpack. He worked it through his hair smoothly; the way Nick always did, trying to give it an Edward Cullen appearance. Girls seemed to like that.

When he was done he smoothed a wrinkle in the shoulder of his polo and leaned forward so that his nose was close to touching the nose of his reflection.  He looked different today because he needed to impress her. His usual snapbacks and cut-out t-shirts wouldn’t be enough. Staring deeply into his blue eyes, he tried to pretend he was Escher. “Wow,” he said after some examination. “I look pretty damn good.”

“So humble,” came a familiar voice across the bathroom. J.R whirled around and rolled his eyes at the sight of Nick, leaning against the wall and smirking at him playfully. “That’s what I’ve always admired about you Milligan.”

J.R glared at him and put the lid back on the hair wax. “How long have you been there?”

“The whole time, I have an invisibility cloak,” Nick said and rolled his eyes.

“Alright Harry Potter, cut the sarcasm and take your damn hair product back. I’m never using this again, it’s not my style,” J.R snapped and tossed the container to Nick, turning back to the mirror to adjust his buttons. “Do I look like a presentable young man?” he asked seriously, shooting Nick a worried look.

Nick crossed his arms and stood behind J.R awkwardly, peering into the mirror along with him. “You look more mature,” he said finally then sniffed J.R’s shoulder. “Is that Armani Mania I smell?”

“The very scent. Plus I’ve brought out the old minty fresh breath spray, just in case the occasion calls for some one on one time with Escher’s mouth,” J.R told him matter-of-factly and leaned over to breath into Nick’s face for proof.

Nick grimaced and pushed him away, raising an eyebrow. “I thought we agreed kissing wasn’t going to be apart of phase one.”

J.R shrugged and zipped his backpack up, slinging it across his shoulder and heading towards the exit. “You never know, she may plant one on me.”

Nick scoffed, following closely behind his friend. “That’s bordering on impossible. But tell yourself whatever you have to, as long as you’re feeling confident.”

J.R opened the door, and then froze, turning to face his friend. “Oh Nicholas. I don’t need to try to be confident. It just comes naturally. As for your remark about her lack of desire to kiss me…well, I only have one thing to say about that. One can never rely to heavily on assumptions when it comes to Escher Griffith. She’s proven to be pretty unpredictable so far.” 

Nick stared at him for a second then smiled darkly. “Let’s just hope she likes your hair, because the way you’re acting right now, she probably won’t like the rest of you very much.” He winked and strutted through the door, slapping J.R on the back on his way out.

J.R watched him go with a sour expression. “Thanks for the moral support!” he shouted to his friends back sarcastically. “Anytime brother! Happy manipulating,” Nick replied as he rounded the corner of North Denver High School chuckling.

“Happy manipulating for sure,” J.R whispered.

                                                                             ~*~

J.R was sitting outside of Escher’s home in a state of fear. He was gripping his history textbook so hard his hands were white and he was quietly humming Jesus Take the Wheel to prepare himself to get religious if things got rough.