Places, places, get in your places
Throw on your dress and put on your doll
faces
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the
curtains
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“Clara! Let’s fucking go!” Nico shouted, getting disapproving glares from his dad and an amused laugh from his mom. He grabbed his keys off the key holder, spinning them on his index finger and tapping his foot impatiently. “We’re gonna be late. Again!”
Clara fumbled down the stairs, fixing her hair and sliding on her hairband, straightening out her dress. “I’m ready, let’s go.”
Nico scanned her outfit, letting his displeasure show on his face at the fact that her shirt was unbuttoned halfway down her chest. “No, you fucking aren’t. Button that shit up. No one wants to see it.”
Clara groaned, buttoning up her shirt and following Nico when he turned around and walked out the door. She scrambled to catch up with him while still fixing the buttons. “Who even taught you how to dress like that?” Nico groaned, shoving his keys into the lock and twisting them, opening the door.
“Eden.” Clara answered, getting a scoff from Nico and sliding into the passenger seat. Nico got in opposite of her, putting the keys in and twisting them, the engine roaring to life.
Nico pulled his phone out of his pocket when it started to ring, rolling his eyes and mumbling “speak of the devil…” He slid the answer button, pressing it to his ear. “Eden. You really need to stop giving my sister fashion advice.”
“Eden!” Clara practically screamed, taking the phone out of Nico’s hand and pressing it to her ear. “Hey Eden!” Nico could hear amused laughing on the other end of the line, and a couple mumbled words he could understand. “She says she wants a repeat of last night. What’d you two do last night?”
Nico rushed to take the phone out of Clara’s hands, looking over at her before turning his eyes back to the road. “We went bowling,” he lied, pulling the phone to his ear and whispering, “What the hell, Eden, are you trying to scar Clara for life?”
Eden laughed on the other end, and Nico knew she was probably enjoying this way too much. “She thinks way too highly of me, honestly. I think her finding out that we’re fucking would probably make her happy.”
“Mhmm. I’m sure it would.” He rolled his eyes, pulling off the main road and on to the smaller one leading to their school. “I’m almost at school. I’ll see you later,” Nico hung up before Eden could get in a goodbye, sliding the phone back into his pocket and driving into the parking lot, parking in his space and twisting the key, the engine cutting off.
“Why do you talk to Eden so much?” Clara asked when she got out of the car, curiosity shining in her eyes. She rushed to catch up with Nico, clutching her books tightly to her chest.
“She’s my friend. Besides, we don’t talk any more than I talk to any of my other friends.” Nico sighed, pushing open the front doors that lead into the school. “What does it even matter? You like Eden.”
“Well, yeah…” Clara began, trying to formulate a sentence. “But what if you date her! I don’t want her to be my sister.” Nico laughed, and Clara shot him a glare that made him laugh even harder.
“Me? Date Eden?” Nico tried to catch a breath, leaning on his locker for a moment before trying to open it. It was ridiculous; Eden was nothing more than a friend to him. A friend he slept with, maybe, but he had a lot of those. “Don’t be silly.” Nico turned around, twisting in the numbers and pulling open the locker, grabbing his backpack and slamming the door.
“Whatever. I’ve gotta go.” Clara said, walking in the opposite direction he was headed and waving back at him. She joined up with her group of friends, chatting and gossiping and giggling before walking away.
“Jesus Christ,” Nico muttered, turning around and walking back out the front door. He pushed them open, scanning the parking lot before finding a group of people smoking a good distance from any windows or exits, and he walked towards them. “Hey, guys.” Nico said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, taking one and holding it out for someone to light it.
“Hey, Nico.” The red-head said first, looking behind him for anyone-or someone. Venus Wright, the school’s resident out-and-proud lesbian. Product of a rich, single mother and some singer her mom produced. Her smile was unfaltering most of the time, and Nico’s decided that if he ever sees her cry, he’s assuming the world is ending. “Where’s Clara?”
“Inside.” Nico answered, letting Thomas light his cigarette. Thomas was the polar opposite of Venus; he hid his emotions so well that sometimes Nico doubted he had any. He probably would be convinced he was completely emotionless if Nico hadn’t seen them himself. He had to hide his emotions; his parents were lawyers, and emotions weren’t their strong suit. Still, something bugged him constantly, and sometimes, it worried Nico.
Everyone had their walls. Thomas’s were just stronger than most.
“Liza’s throwing a party.” Thomas said shakily, sliding his lighter back in his pocket. He warily made eye contact with Nico, and Nico smiled at him before Thomas quickly averted his eyes again.
“Liza’s always throwing a party.” Nico took a drag of his cigarette, letting the toxins soak in his lungs for a moment before blowing the smoke out.
“Hey! Not true!” Liza jokingly hit Thomas on the shoulder, and Thomas laughed a little bit. “I only throw parties when my parents are out of town.”
Liza’s parents were always out of town, and they even paid for most of the alcohol that she bought. They were rich old-money who spent most of their time at an expensive country club and practically only ever saw Liza when she needed money. It was a nice arrangement, and they all seemed pretty happy with it.
“Which is every weekend.” Venus pointed out, resulting in an eye roll from Liza.
“Most weekends.” Liza corrected. Venus began to make a comeback, before her eyes landed on something behind Nico.
“Hey there, Blondie…” Venus laughed, and Nico turned around to see a blonde girl walking, holding her books tightly to her chest and looking at the ground when she walked.
“Hey, I know her…” Nico thought, recognizing the face. He knew she looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it.
“You should. She’s in your art class.” Venus commented, and suddenly it clicked.
“Oh, right! Alice or something?” Nico said, turning away so that he wasn’t looking at her anymore.
“Alicia. Her father’s the headmaster.” Thomas said.
“I bet she’s an uptight bitch.” Liza commented, laughing at her own joke. Nico took another drag of his cigarette, scrunching his face in thought. The smoke circled in the air around him, and Thomas waved it away.
“Right. Why didn’t I know that?” He asked, stomping out his cigarette when he heard the bell ring.
“Because you’re an idiot. Let’s go.” Liza joked, turning around and leading them back to the school.
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Nico slid into his seat, late to class again, opening up his sketch book and lingering his gaze for a moment. “Hey, what’re we doing in this class?” Nico asked, turning toward the person next to him and pausing. “Hey, Blondie…” Nico laughed lightly, a mix of shock and satisfaction forming on the features of his face.
“You’re not funny.” Alicia rolled her eyes at him, sketching something on her paper. It was turned so that he couldn’t see it-no doubt to keep him from “copying her work”-and it was so early in the drawing process that he probably couldn’t make out what it was supposed to be, anyway.
“I didn’t know you sat by me.” Nico said, looking up at the chalkboard and seeing the project was to “draw your favorite item.” He thought for a moment, he’d never really had a “favorite item.” He decided to draw his favorite facial feature instead.
“You’d know if you ever showed up to school.” Alicia quipped, turning her paper so she could get a better vantage point to add some more details. Nico smirked, laughing at her joke.
“Yeah, that’s true.” Nico started to sketch out the shape of the eyes he was drawing, trying to glance over at Alicia’s picture to get a good look at it. “But why would I waste my time at school when I could be exploring what the world has to offer?”
Alicia actually laughed at that, and Nico was taken aback by how nice her laugh was. He smiled, looking over at her. “You have a nice laugh. You should do that more often.”
Alicia moved her hands in front of her face, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing. The bell rang then, saving her the embarrassment of having to answer.
“Hey, Alicia?” Nico said, as she was packing up her stuff to leave. “That was a nice flower you drew. You really have some talent.”
“Thanks, Nico.” Alicia smiled and scurried off, leaving Nico to gather his books. He thought for a moment, thinking that, maybe, Liza was wrong about her.
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“Clara! Let’s fucking go!” Nico shouted, getting disapproving glares from his dad and an amused laugh from his mom. He grabbed his keys off the key holder, spinning them on his index finger and tapping his foot impatiently. “We’re gonna be late. Again!”
Clara fumbled down the stairs, fixing her hair and sliding on her hairband, straightening out her dress. “I’m ready, let’s go.”
Nico scanned her outfit, letting his displeasure show on his face at the fact that her shirt was unbuttoned halfway down her chest. “No, you fucking aren’t. Button that shit up. No one wants to see it.”
Clara groaned, buttoning up her shirt and following Nico when he turned around and walked out the door. She scrambled to catch up with him while still fixing the buttons. “Who even taught you how to dress like that?” Nico groaned, shoving his keys into the lock and twisting them, opening the door.
“Eden.” Clara answered, getting a scoff from Nico and sliding into the passenger seat. Nico got in opposite of her, putting the keys in and twisting them, the engine roaring to life.
Nico pulled his phone out of his pocket when it started to ring, rolling his eyes and mumbling “speak of the devil…” He slid the answer button, pressing it to his ear. “Eden. You really need to stop giving my sister fashion advice.”
“Eden!” Clara practically screamed, taking the phone out of Nico’s hand and pressing it to her ear. “Hey Eden!” Nico could hear amused laughing on the other end of the line, and a couple mumbled words he could understand. “She says she wants a repeat of last night. What’d you two do last night?”
Nico rushed to take the phone out of Clara’s hands, looking over at her before turning his eyes back to the road. “We went bowling,” he lied, pulling the phone to his ear and whispering, “What the hell, Eden, are you trying to scar Clara for life?”
Eden laughed on the other end, and Nico knew she was probably enjoying this way too much. “She thinks way too highly of me, honestly. I think her finding out that we’re fucking would probably make her happy.”
“Mhmm. I’m sure it would.” He rolled his eyes, pulling off the main road and on to the smaller one leading to their school. “I’m almost at school. I’ll see you later,” Nico hung up before Eden could get in a goodbye, sliding the phone back into his pocket and driving into the parking lot, parking in his space and twisting the key, the engine cutting off.
“Why do you talk to Eden so much?” Clara asked when she got out of the car, curiosity shining in her eyes. She rushed to catch up with Nico, clutching her books tightly to her chest.
“She’s my friend. Besides, we don’t talk any more than I talk to any of my other friends.” Nico sighed, pushing open the front doors that lead into the school. “What does it even matter? You like Eden.”
“Well, yeah…” Clara began, trying to formulate a sentence. “But what if you date her! I don’t want her to be my sister.” Nico laughed, and Clara shot him a glare that made him laugh even harder.
“Me? Date Eden?” Nico tried to catch a breath, leaning on his locker for a moment before trying to open it. It was ridiculous; Eden was nothing more than a friend to him. A friend he slept with, maybe, but he had a lot of those. “Don’t be silly.” Nico turned around, twisting in the numbers and pulling open the locker, grabbing his backpack and slamming the door.
“Whatever. I’ve gotta go.” Clara said, walking in the opposite direction he was headed and waving back at him. She joined up with her group of friends, chatting and gossiping and giggling before walking away.
“Jesus Christ,” Nico muttered, turning around and walking back out the front door. He pushed them open, scanning the parking lot before finding a group of people smoking a good distance from any windows or exits, and he walked towards them. “Hey, guys.” Nico said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, taking one and holding it out for someone to light it.
“Hey, Nico.” The red-head said first, looking behind him for anyone-or someone. Venus Wright, the school’s resident out-and-proud lesbian. Product of a rich, single mother and some singer her mom produced. Her smile was unfaltering most of the time, and Nico’s decided that if he ever sees her cry, he’s assuming the world is ending. “Where’s Clara?”
“Inside.” Nico answered, letting Thomas light his cigarette. Thomas was the polar opposite of Venus; he hid his emotions so well that sometimes Nico doubted he had any. He probably would be convinced he was completely emotionless if Nico hadn’t seen them himself. He had to hide his emotions; his parents were lawyers, and emotions weren’t their strong suit. Still, something bugged him constantly, and sometimes, it worried Nico.
Everyone had their walls. Thomas’s were just stronger than most.
“Liza’s throwing a party.” Thomas said shakily, sliding his lighter back in his pocket. He warily made eye contact with Nico, and Nico smiled at him before Thomas quickly averted his eyes again.
“Liza’s always throwing a party.” Nico took a drag of his cigarette, letting the toxins soak in his lungs for a moment before blowing the smoke out.
“Hey! Not true!” Liza jokingly hit Thomas on the shoulder, and Thomas laughed a little bit. “I only throw parties when my parents are out of town.”
Liza’s parents were always out of town, and they even paid for most of the alcohol that she bought. They were rich old-money who spent most of their time at an expensive country club and practically only ever saw Liza when she needed money. It was a nice arrangement, and they all seemed pretty happy with it.
“Which is every weekend.” Venus pointed out, resulting in an eye roll from Liza.
“Most weekends.” Liza corrected. Venus began to make a comeback, before her eyes landed on something behind Nico.
“Hey there, Blondie…” Venus laughed, and Nico turned around to see a blonde girl walking, holding her books tightly to her chest and looking at the ground when she walked.
“Hey, I know her…” Nico thought, recognizing the face. He knew she looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it.
“You should. She’s in your art class.” Venus commented, and suddenly it clicked.
“Oh, right! Alice or something?” Nico said, turning away so that he wasn’t looking at her anymore.
“Alicia. Her father’s the headmaster.” Thomas said.
“I bet she’s an uptight bitch.” Liza commented, laughing at her own joke. Nico took another drag of his cigarette, scrunching his face in thought. The smoke circled in the air around him, and Thomas waved it away.
“Right. Why didn’t I know that?” He asked, stomping out his cigarette when he heard the bell ring.
“Because you’re an idiot. Let’s go.” Liza joked, turning around and leading them back to the school.
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Nico slid into his seat, late to class again, opening up his sketch book and lingering his gaze for a moment. “Hey, what’re we doing in this class?” Nico asked, turning toward the person next to him and pausing. “Hey, Blondie…” Nico laughed lightly, a mix of shock and satisfaction forming on the features of his face.
“You’re not funny.” Alicia rolled her eyes at him, sketching something on her paper. It was turned so that he couldn’t see it-no doubt to keep him from “copying her work”-and it was so early in the drawing process that he probably couldn’t make out what it was supposed to be, anyway.
“I didn’t know you sat by me.” Nico said, looking up at the chalkboard and seeing the project was to “draw your favorite item.” He thought for a moment, he’d never really had a “favorite item.” He decided to draw his favorite facial feature instead.
“You’d know if you ever showed up to school.” Alicia quipped, turning her paper so she could get a better vantage point to add some more details. Nico smirked, laughing at her joke.
“Yeah, that’s true.” Nico started to sketch out the shape of the eyes he was drawing, trying to glance over at Alicia’s picture to get a good look at it. “But why would I waste my time at school when I could be exploring what the world has to offer?”
Alicia actually laughed at that, and Nico was taken aback by how nice her laugh was. He smiled, looking over at her. “You have a nice laugh. You should do that more often.”
Alicia moved her hands in front of her face, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing. The bell rang then, saving her the embarrassment of having to answer.
“Hey, Alicia?” Nico said, as she was packing up her stuff to leave. “That was a nice flower you drew. You really have some talent.”
“Thanks, Nico.” Alicia smiled and scurried off, leaving Nico to gather his books. He thought for a moment, thinking that, maybe, Liza was wrong about her.
