A Good Guy & A Bad Boy

Ch. 3

The next day, Jake was walking to school, when he heard something from an alley. He went over to see a ladder from the fire escape come down. He looked up and saw Nick climbing down the ladder.

"Nick?" Jake called out.

"Oh! Sup, Boy Scout," Nick replied. "Didn't expect to see you first thing in the morning."

"You stay here?"

"Yeah, higher up. I'm on the sixth floor. I don't use the front door when I leave, so I use the fire escape."

"Well, now that I know where you stay at, maybe I can come over sometimes."

"I would like the company. I told my parents last night that I was with you and Goldilocks yesterday, and they didn't believe me. Said I'm too evil to have nice friends."

"Then... let's prove them wrong. After school later, I'll walk with you home and meet your parents. Maybe if you have me in there with you, they'll believe you."

"Good idea, Boy Scout. That'll show 'em!"

Later, after school, Jake and Nick walked out the main building and bumped into Trina and Sophie.

"Hey! Watch it, Pom-Poms!" Nick yelled at Trina.

"Nick! Stop it...!" Jake said sternly, before turning to Trina. "Sorry we bumped into you, Trina. You too, uh...?"

"Sophie. Nice to meet you," Sophie held out her hand.

"Same here. I'm Jake."

"Don't worry about it, Jake," Trina said. "So, uh, what you gonna do?"

"I'm spending the day with Nick at his place."

"Boy Scout here is gonna meet my parents," Nick added.

"He, uh, he's g-gonna meet y-your parents?" Trina asked, stuttering her words.

"You okay there, Trina?" Sophie asked.

"I'm f-fine, Sophie."

"Anyway," Jake said. "We need to get going."

"Later, Pom-Poms... Smurfette," Nick added.

The two boys walked away from the girls, leaving them at school.

"Did you hear what Nick said?" Trina asked. "He said Jake's gonna meet his parents. They're, for sure, dating!"

"They're not dating," Sophie replied. "Maybe it's not what it looks like. Maybe something happened, and Jake's tryna help Nick."

"They're dating... and I'm gonna prove it. Come on!"

Trina pulled Sophie by her arm and followed Jake and Nick. When they arrived, they saw Jake and Nick using the fire escape to get in Nick's appartment.

"Why are they using the fire escape?" Trina asked.

"Beats me," Sophie answered. "But one thing for sure, I'm not getting involved in this."

"Oh, yes you are!" Trina pulled Sophie by her arm again and pulled her to the fire escape.

They climed it to Nick's apartment and listened intensely. Meanwhile, Nick guided Jake to the kitchen, where they saw Nick's father sitting at the dinner table and Nick's mother cooking on the stove.

"Clair, Gerald," Nick called out. "This is Boy Scou- I mean, Jake, one of the friends I was hanging out with yesterday."

"Hi there," Jake said.

"Hi," Clair said. "So Nick was telling the truth? He was really hanging out with you?"

"He was. We were at the Twilight Cafe with Erica, our other friend."