"L A B E L S"

Episode 49

"Done." Nick drops his pencil and sits back with a smirk.   

Dani leans forward and picks up his paper, looking it over. "All of this looks right." She drops the paper back on the coffee table and turns to look at him. "And you need a tutor because...?"  

He smirks and leans closer to her. "Maybe you're just a really good tutor."  

She rolls her eyes just as the doorbell rings and puts her hand over his face, pushing him back before walking over to the door. Her eyes widen in worry when she sees Joe standing on the other side.  

"Hey. I tried calling you last night, didn't you get my voice mail?"  

Nick recognizes Joe's voice and a devious smirk appears on his face as he tries to get a glimpse of the door from his position on the couch.  

Dani nods and talks quickly as her words begin to run together and she begins to stutter. "Oh, uh, yeah...I was actually just about to call you. So...you should go home so I can call you." She chuckles nervously and makes the opening of the door smaller, trying to keep Joe from seeing Nick.  

"Can I come in?"  

She glances back quickly before turning back to Joe and giving him an unsure shake of the head.  

He gives her a strange look. "Who's in there with you?"  

"N-no one. Why would you think someone's in here?" She smiles big, trying to hide her panic. He ignores her insinuations and pushes open the door, walking inside. Nick's laying on Dani's couch and when he sees Joe walk in he smiles smugly and gives a small wave.  

Joe's face turns to complete shock and anger when he sees Nick lying on Dani's couch. "What the hell?!" He turns back to her in fury. "Why the hell is Dick laying on your couch, Dani?!" She cringes at the sound of her first name. She finally realized he only seemed to use it when he was monumentally pissed.

She bites her lip and walks further into the house, smiling over at Joe to lighten the mood. "Well, he was sitting." She snickers nervously, trying to make a joke out of the whole situation. Humor was her way to deal with things but she could tell Joe was getting tired of it.  

He looks over at her seriousness. "Dani!"  

She holds up her hands in defense. "Okay, okay, sorry. I'm...tutoring him."  

"You're what?!"  

Nick sits up with a smirk still obvious on his face as he begins talking to Joe slowly, purposely trying to belittle him. "She's tu-tor-ing me...did you need her to spell it for you?"  

Joe and Dani both turn to him with frustration, speaking the same thing at the same time. "Shut up, Jerry!"  

Nick puts up his hands in defense and leans back on the couch as Joe looks back at her in anger. "Why would you even consider giving this...ass any kind of help?! He's a complete douche!"  

"Adam, I don't need you to tell me what someone is."  

Nick smiles over at her. "Thanks, Dani."  

She ignores Nick. "I already know he's a douche."  

Nick looks over at her in defense. "Hey!"  

Joe ignores Nick and continues talking to Dani. "Then why are you tutoring him?!"  

"Why not?! It's not like I have anything better to do, not since you started dating this ass's ex girlfriend!" She looks down at the ground in regret, all of a sudden she downright hated her big mouth.  

Realization suddenly hits him as he stares at her in surprise and speaks with a soft voice. "Is that why you're tutoring him? To get back at me for dating Taylor?"  

Her eyes widen and she quickly shakes her head, trying to dissuade his assumption. "What? No-"  

He quickly looks past her to Nick with a glare. "-or is that why you asked for her help?" He walks towards Nick with anger. "I swear to God, if you're messing with her to get back at me for dating Taylor..."  

Nick stands up and gives him a smug look. "You'll what?"  

He stands in front of Nick with a clenched jaw and fists, extremely tempted to use that clench fist on his jaw.  

Dani could tell by Joe's expression this wasn't going to end any better than it started so she quickly steps in, standing between then and putting a hand on either chest. "Stop." She looks at Joe for a moment in seriousness before glancing back at Nick. "Nick, go home."  

Nick looks down at her with shock. "What?! Why?"  

"Just go home, Nick. You've caused enough trouble for one day."  

He shakes his head and grabs his stuff, walking to the door. He turns around and looks at Joe with a sarcastic smile. "She really is tutoring me, man. You know, not everything is about you." He smirks before turning and walking out of Dani's house.  

Joe glares at Nick before looking at Dani who's still standing just inches from his chest. "What are you doing?"  

"I'm just helping him pass physics, Mrs. Smithson recommended me."  

He stares at her with disbelief, not even bothering to listen to her reasoning. "What are you doing, Landon?"  

She glances at the ground one last time before shaking her head and looking back up at him. "I don't know."  

He puts his hands on either side of her arms. "Is this because of Taylor?"  

All she could concentrate on were the sparks flying up her arm at the touch of his hand, words were coming at a very slow rate all of a sudden. "No."  

"Is it because of me?"  

This whole thing is about you! It's about you and Taylor and how you should be with me instead of her. I'm the one that sees you, I'm the one that has been here the whole time. She doesn't even know you, she will never know you the way I do. Why can't you see? I'm right here! Deep down I knew he could never see me, he would never love me the way he loves her. "No."  

"I just don't want you to get hurt."  

Too late. "I know."