Nikke had to raise an eyebrow, she couldn't help it. She had figured that Lillith would be in for her idea, but Grace? That had really surprised her. She had always had her pegged as a good girl. Then again, Nikke didn't know her all that well and had never really tried to do so.

She moved towards the sink, knowing where things were kept. It's what happened when your boyfriend was the best friend of the owner of the house and you spent a lot of time there, despite not really getting along with said owner. Nikke ended up knowing where everything in the house was located. She grabbed a bucket from under the sink and started to fill it with water.

"How does a waterfall sound?" she asked, grinning as water filled the bucket. The way it usually worked was you put the bucket on an entryway and as a person enters it falls, soaking the person. It was a bit childish, yet still effective. Nikke had also found it worked well with paint. At least with water all the victim had to do was go upstairs to change, compared to the mess paint caused.

She didn't wait for the other two girls to respond and went along with her plan. Listening wasn't one of her strongest skills and she was afraid that Grace might back out of it. She pulled the bucket over to the front door, leaving it open just enough to balance the water bucket. The door was usually left open during parties to keep people from being locked out. Nikke pulled a chair up to the door, being short, she couldn't exactly reach it without help. She stood up on the chair, not a simple feat with her heels, and positioned the bucket.

She hopped down off of the chair and went back over to the others. "There. Now who will be the first one through the door, any bets?" she asked the others. She took another sip of her drink just as her phone was buzzing. She looked at it, thinking it was Simon, as she hadn't heard from him all night. It was about time for her to hear from him.

Instead, she was shocked to find a text from Nick. Curious on what it could be, she looked at it was shocked, dropping her phone, her face red. "Oh my god," she said in half a whisper as she bent down to pick them up.

When the joke wasn't anything too awful, she laughed and nodded her head, even jumping a bit and clapping with excitement, her heals clicking on the floor adding to the sound. "Oh, a waterfall sounds perfect." She agreed, before following Nikke to help her with the bucket. Now she wondered why the two hadn't talked sooner, she felt even Carrie would get along with her pretty well. Hell if Nikke hadn't thought of his she was sure Carrie would have.

Thinking of the girl, she smirked, "Ooooh, I hope it's my snuggly wittle Carebear, then I can make dirty jokes to her boyfriend all night about her being wet." She said, giving a small laugh, but jumped a bit as Nikkes phone hit the floor. The girl looked as if she'd gotten either the worst or best text message of her life. Not thinking it was something she probably shouldn't see, she knelt down to pick up her phone for her, unable to help but glance at the message. Eyes wide, she did her est to not let on and just handed the phone to the girl. "Be nice to your phone silly, you're lucky you didn't get it wet, it would have fried the poor thing." She said, easily wiping the shocked look from her face before turning to pour Nikke a new drink after grabbing a towel to wipe up the old one.

"Well Grace, who's your bet on the first one to walk through the door? Mine's still on Carebear, but Nick might come back with Torr first, or William might walk in first, hell Simon isn't here yet and Torr's girlfriend isn't either. That's a lot of options. What about you Nikke?" She asked, figuring if both girls started focusing on their bets, they would easily forget Nikkes small heart attack, though she was tempted to punch Nicky when he walked in the door. What the hell was he thinking? She could understand not loving someone anymore, but cheating? She had thought he was better than that.

Grace smiled at the joke. She really wasn't one for jokes but then that was probably since she didn't really have anyone to play them on. "I think it will be Torrance. Nick will want to get his attention off her so he'll drive like crazy back here."

When Nikke dropped her phone Grace looked at her carefully. She looked very shocked because of that she didn't noticed the blush. Instead her mind jumped to what would make her that shocked, family. She ignored Lilith because all she could think of was family. "Is everything alright Nikke? No ones hurt?" She was in a near panic even though it was Nikke who had been called. She still had nightmares that her father would come back and hurt her mother. She still waited for the call.

It truly was a sight to see. Wet shirts and matted hair were just the beginning. If Nicholas hadn't shoved Torrence into the door first, Nick could have escaped what followed.

The bucket crashed down on his head, which triggered Nick's arms to reach in such a bizarre way. Rather than running away with arms flailing, he groped at the male before him. Squeezing him tighter than he would a Teddy Bear (if he had a bear, his was a cat), Nick began yelling muffled words out.

"WHORRENCEWWOIZUNDAATTTTTHACK!" Tilting the bucket up to reveal his eyes, he gave the woman at the bar a low growl. "Whorrence, did you... no of course you didn't hear me." Sighing, he let the bucket flop back over his eyes and mouth (might I add this was a dumb move that he would later regret). "Yes, she's the surprise. Thank you for leaving me behind so you can go glomp your sister. I really feel the love. Not."

Doing the robot, Nick marched over to the bar. He obviously missed it and toppled head first over a seat, which planted his body on both Grace and Nikke. "Gracey-Lou Free Bush. I can't get this bucket off anymore. I think I dented... oh... this leg. OH SNAP! You shaved recently. Soooooo soft." Purring like a cat, Nick stroked Nikke's leg.

When he realized it wasn't Grace's shoes (he could barely see through the opening at the bottom, which impaired his vision), he blushed. "Uhhhh, whose leg would this be?"

Grace watched the great bucket prank with a small measure of glee. She was glad that it was Nick who got hit by the bucket. He did have a good sense of humor. She giggled as Nick walked towards then and then fell against her and Nikke. She blushed when he started stroking Nikke's leg. Before she though she shoved him and jumped up. She glared down at him then grabbed the bucket roughly pulling it off. "Stop manhandling people Nick!" Now that he could see, her glare had more power. I hope I didn't hurt him. In the same moment her mind whipped around to, If I didn't I'm going to hurt him! Can't keep his hands to himself.

She knew she shouldn't worry. He wasn't the type of boyfriend to cheat. She knew she was being childish. He simply hadn't realized what he was doing. It didn't make her any less unhappy though. First he leaves me here alone and now this!

Torrance was so shocked, that at first he didn't move, but the moment he saw her smile, he knew the girl before him, though dressed dramatically different, was his baby sister. With the help of Nicks shove, he wrapped his arms around her ribs and picked her up, spinning her around a few times, completely oblivious to what was happening with the others as he practically crushed his sisters ribs before finally releasing the giggling girl back on her feet. "You are such a brat! How long have you been home!? Why didn't you say something?!" He asked, ready to smack her for not telling him sooner, but at the same time, as Nick had promised, it really had been a great surprise. He glanced over at the trio just in time to see Nick feeling up Nikke's leg, and Grace tackle him off before chastising the boy. He sighed and shook his head before looking back at his sister shrugging, "Welcome home?"

--------------

Lillith laughed, at least tried to, unable to breathe while he was hugging her, but his reaction had been worth it. Just like Nick being the one soaked was worth it. This was home, with her brother was the safest place on Earth, especially when you added Carrie to that list, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was around Nick and William so often that they were part of that home feeling. Smiling she followed her brothers gaze, ready to kill Nick. First that text, and now feeling up the girl right in front of Grace? What had gotten into him in the time she'd been gone?

Looking at Torr she grinned, "I got in today so I wanted to surprise you guys. Carrie's the last one I need to surprise, and I've only been home a few hours. Should we go save him before Grace murders him?" She asked, looking back at his best friend as her brother laughed but nodded, "Yeah."

Walking over, Torr and Lillith patiently waited for Grace to finish beating Nick while Lillith helped Nikke back to her feet.

[IMGLEFT]http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk238/NiKKiEtheNiNJA/149ac4c49949c9e438db49d3-1.jpg[/IMGLEFT]

» Simon | Zhou | Liu «
"Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it."

Simon dried his hair and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He had some serious cutting to do on his hair - he'd let it grow out to shoulder-length, and it was almost longer than his girlfriend's. Sighing, he went into one of the other rooms in his apartment and grabbed a new pair of scissors. 'It's now or never,' he thought to himself, raising the scissors to cut off one of the long locks of hair.

When he was done, some thirty minutes later, he had this Justin Bieber sort of haircut that - he admitted to himself - he was really liking at the moment. It went well with his russet hair. He cleaned off the sink and went to replace the scissors. He then went to his closets and pulled out an outfit for the day, dressing himself quickly. 'What am I missing?' he mused, going down to the kitchen to get himself a snack. After munching on a few grapes for a while (and making a mental note to get more from the grocery) he had a lightbulb moment and went to retrieve his phone. After turning it on, he found that he had over ten missed texts, but one which showed up as a high priority message - William was throwing a party. He erased his inbox and opened a new text message to send Nikke.

Ni hao, tangguo. Are you at William's party? I'm coming now.
He grabbed his car keys from the bowl he kept on the kitchen counter and left his apartment, turning off all the lights and locking the doors. He then turned to his grey Viper, which he loved so much, and hopped over the door into the comfortable leather seats instead of opening the door. After starting the car, he threw it into reverse and sped down the road, heading for William's.

x x x x

When Simon arrived at William's house, his mouth curved into the most dazzling grin before he sped up, then hit the brake and pulled on the wheel so that he drifted into a parking space between two other cars. 'I belong on Too Fast Too Furious, or something,' he chuckled, parking the car and punching a button to make the pull-top come up over the rest of the car, locking everything and closing the door just hard enough. As he walked to William's door, he wondered who would all be there, and hesitated just a second as he heard complete chaos inside the house. So they'd all gotten drunk without him? 'Great,' he frowned, stopping just short of knocking. He then shook it off and rearranged his face so that he was smiling, knocked on the door twice, then opened it and stepped inside.

"Hey, everyone," he said as he entered.

x x x x
TRAnSLATionS
Ni Hao - Hello
Tangguo - Sweetie

For once in his life Nick was glad he wasn't ticklish. He usually complained and said it would be fun to be weak to wiggling fingers, but this time he was overjoyed. The fingers that poked at him (rage much?) would have done the trick, but Nick was immune to that style of attack.

Using his legs, Nick pushed his girlfriend up into the air. Her arms dangled before him, and he reached up, while still on his back, to take her arms into his own. He liked to call this 'airplane' as her stomach was balanced on his extended legs.

With her weight pressing down on his legs, Nick could fell himself breaking into a sweat. By no means was she heavy, but, with gravity working against him, it was a tedious game.

Slowly bending his legs into his chest, he placed the woman back on the ground. Rolling up, he met her lips with his own. It was a quick kiss, but it hit the spot. He had been dying to smooth her with kissing for the past hour. Nick, however, was a male who wasn't a fan of PDA (public display of affection).

He pulled himself toward her ear. "I love you," he said almost in song. Brushing a strand of hair from her face, he planted another kiss on her lips. "Your lips are so sweet."

Eyes. He could feel them on him. Looking up, Nick looked from Torrence to Lilith. "What's up? Lilly Willy, you look... pissed?"

Releasing Grace, Nick rose and met Lilith. "Talk to me, what's wrong? What did I not do? I brought your brother! I thought I was going to earn some brownie points. But you will never love me like a brother."

Drama. It was just Nick's thing when it came to Torrence and Lilith. Nick called Torrence is blood-brother, but Lilith never seemed to believe so. Torrence was aware of this, but Lilith wasn't. Nick had sworn to his best friend that, should anything happen that could put Lilith in harm's way, Nick would take his own life to save her. Lilith wasn't his legit sister, but he picked her to serve that role on his own.

Nicholas pulled her aside and looked her square in the eyes. "Come on, you can criticize me. I'll take it like the baby I am."

Grace glared at her boyfriend. Now he makes me look like a fool. And still do something sweet. He hardly ever showed affection in public so it made her happy but she wasn't letting him off. When he turned to talk to others she kicked him in the leg. "I love you too jerk."

She walked back to her seat and righted it sitting down. She looked back to him and noticed he was still dripping. With a quick glare around at everyone else she realized that with her close contact to Nick she was now slightly wet too. She sighed and smoothed her skirt.

At first she thought he was just being himself, she and Torr were use to him making a scene, hell half the time they had to keep themselves from laughing about it. Then the comment about never loving him like a brother made her roll her eyes, she would never say that to him, ever, his ego would inflate so large he'd never fit through any normal doors ever again. Lilliith hadn't meant to make it obvious she was angry with him, and she barely had time to see if Nikke was all right before the boy dragged her off to the side. Sighing, she just looked at him. "I've been with Nikke since you left, she dropped her phone, I saw the message when I picked it up to hand it to her." She explained, assuming there was only one message today that he would know she was talking about. Glancing over at the group to make sure they were busy talking amongst themselves she returned her attention to Nick. "Seriously Nicky? What the hell. If you don't love Grace that's fine but don't go around flirting with other girls behind her back, especially ones that are in the same damn room. Either call it off and flirt all you want with whoever you want or be faithful." She was trying to sound angry, but all she could manage to do was sound disappointed, she really had expected better of him. Sure, he was known for being crazy, spontaneous, always doing whatever he wanted and didn't care what anyone said, but he was still a good guy, at least he had been.

-----

Torrance didn't think anything of Nick pulling Lillith away, if anything he assumed she'd be yelling at him for the same thing Grace had, to keep his hands to himself. Thinking of Grace, he looked over as she got up to go sit back down, now fairly damp from Nicks lovely performance. With his sister busy yelling at Nick, and not really knowing Nikke all that well; though thankfully Simon just walked in, so he was sure he'd rush over to keep her company; he walked over and sat next to Grace. "Hey Grace, sorry Nick ruined your clothes. You all right? He ran into you girls pretty hard. I'm sure Lillith is giving him a verbal lashing for it now."

Simon closed the door and moved to help his girlfriend up off the floor, but Lilith had beaten him to it. Sighing, he went and stood by her instead, feeling an itch to do something - put his arm around her (her waist? her shoulders?) - but couldn't bring himself to do anything. Instead, he gave everyone a questioning glance, and when he overheard Torrence talking to Grace, he was suddenly curious. "Would anyone like to tell me what happened?" he questioned, pinning his glance solely on Nikke. She was the one who was on the floor, after all... And suddenly, some totally different feeling came across Simon, something he couldn't pin down and label. Was he feeling protective? Jealous, even? 'That's weird...' he thought.

"You did get my text that I sent you about five minutes ago, right?" he said in a lower voice to Nikke.

x x x x

(( I just felt like Simon was getting passed by. xD ))

Grace watched Nick and Lilith talk in the corner. She smiled when Torrance walked over and sat next to her. "Hi." She looked back down at her clothes. "Oh, their not ruined just kind of damp. I've long since given up wearing anything that might be ruined so easily. Nick kind of makes anything like that pointless." She sighed wishing that she could go to a party and not have to think how durable something was. She wanted to be able to wear a cute little dress and not worry about it ripping or flashing way too much. "And you have nothing to be sorry for. You weren't the one who did it. I'm fine. He didn't hit too hard and really unless he tried he couldn't do too much damage." Her eyes clouded slightly thinking of her father. "Anyways, I've dealt with worse." As soon as she said it she realized that she had said it outloud and not just in her head. Her eyes immediatly refocused with the slight moment of panic. I hope he doesn't notice that comment. The only person she had ever told about her real father was Nick and she didn't think she was ready for anyone else to know.

She sighed again and looked over at Torrance. At least I have someone I know now. But when Lilith gets done yelling at Nick he'll go back to talking to her and Nick will probably stay there and I'll be alone again. Almost as an afterthought she spoke, "I'm wondering why I even came here. I only know you and Nick, and Nick seems to be doing anything not to talk to me." She started figiting with her skirt and feeling very out of place.

[[Awwwww. *cries eyes out* Grace is being so cute and emo. Nick's a jerk. Imma go kick his butt now. x]

O_O I'm totally getting a "Jar of Hearts" vibe off this couple.
"You're going to catch a cold, from the ice inside your soul.
Don't come back for me, don't come back at all.
Who do you think you are. Who do you think you are?"]]

Confusion. That was the word to use. Nick was so confused. Why was she talking to him about Nikke's phone. He rarely texted that girl.

Cocking a brow at her, Nick shook his head. "What are you talking about? The only woman I text is Grace. I text Torr if I need to get something from you." He paused, which caused his brows to shift into an angered stance. "What the hell, Lilith. I'm not cheating on Grace. I would never do that. I can't believe you would even have the audacity to say that to my face. You know me better. I'm not that kind of man. I swore that I would never take up that side of my brother."

Storming off away from the girl, Nick grumbled some unkind words under his breath. He saw Torrence sitting beside Grace.

"You need to straighten your sister out. She thinks I'm some scum. Tell her I'm not that kind of man. I don't even look at other woman. Grace is the only one I keep my eyes on. And that incident with Nikke was an accident. I had no idea it wasn't Grace's leg. They both feel similar. Sorry I'm not blessed with the brains of my brother. He was the doctor, not me. I don't know the difference in muscle structures. So I wouldn't know how to tell someone's legs apart from another."

Nick wanted to leave the party then and there, but he wasn't about to drag Grace away from it.

His skin was boiling. His eyes were filled with such hatred and rage. Taking in a large breath, Nick released it was a large exhale. Doing this two more times, Nick did his best to release his rage in the form of breathing. When he was finally able to clear his head, he picked up a stool he toppled over. Plopping it down beside Grace, he took the woman's hand into his own.

"Sorry, love. Looks like you didn't get my text." He pulled out his phone (with his free hand) and placed it in her empty hand. The text he sent Nikke appeared on the screen. "You were supposed to get this. Apparently I can't spell to save my life. I'm really sorry about it. I wanted to surprise you with this since I'm usually not the most romantic of guys. I figured, since we've been having some relationship issues lately, it would help set us on a path toward recovery. But, it looks like I managed to do more damage."

His eyes were sympathetic and were on the brink of tears. His sincere voice went hand-in-hand with the emotions he was portraying. He really was sorry, and he really did love Grace. He was just having a hard way of expressing his adoration for her.

He fell silent for a second. Opening his mouth, he said the only thing he could think of. "I'm sorry." Wanting to kick himself for saying that, Nick went back to being quiet. His heart wanted to say, "I love you," but his mind just couldn't form the words, verbally.

((Aw... that was so sweet and cute.))

Grace saw that Nick was walking towards them and he looked mad. She blushed when he started yelling at Torrance. They were talking about other women. What happened? But all she knew was that he was really upset and she hated to see him that way.

She smiled at him when he sat down next to her and took her hand. She looked at the text. "It is ok dear. We all make mistakes. You know I would be lost without spell check." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "So you sent it to the wrong person? You might want to explain that to that person."

She sat back and looked around. "I love you too." He didn't say it but she knew what he meant. He could do any brave thing but say that in public. "So you want to do something completely irresponsible and childish?" Her eyes twinkled as she tried to think of something. "Go for a swim? Go for a slide down the stairs?"

Torrance was mildly confused at Nicks temper. Lillian and he had never actually been angry with each other, argued yes, but he'd never seen or heard Nick sound sound mad at her before. It made him frown, he wanted to ask what he was talking about, but kept quiet as he talked to Grace. Even though he couldn't read the text message, he put together the pieces. Whatever he hadn't sent to Grace, he'd sent to someone else on accident, had it been Lillian? He didn't know, but either way, he felt like Nick should just tell her himself it was a mix up, he couldn't blame her for making an accusation after sending what he was saying was a romantic message to another girl. Sighing, he got up and shook his head, "You two are worse than we are with sibling arguments, you know that right? I'll go tell her, but you should be the one explaining yourself, she won't be too happy if you're just angry with her if she had a just caused for saying whatever she did, and you know damn well she would never compare you to your brother." Though he sure she hadn't actually called him scum, but accusing him of cheating would make him feel just as bad. He left to go over to his sister, who looked angrier than Nick had, and he had a funny feeling she was restraining herself from hitting him. Sighing, he lightly placed his hands on her shoulders, "I don't know what you guys said to each other, and he's too busy kissing Grace's ass at the moment, though I don't know why he didn't explain this to you himself before leaving, but he sent the message on accident. It was suppose to be sent to Grace, he even showed it to her. He's not cheating Lil, he's just..."

---------

"Dumber than a box of rocks?" She finished for her brother, her hands clenched into fists are her side, shaking slightly she was so made at the boy right now. He had no right to make her feel like an ass, when he should feel worse for making the dumb mix up. "I mean seriously? Grace and Nickke don't even start with the same letter so I have no idea how that jerk made the mistake. He's just as blind as he was." While her brother probably knew who she was talking about, the chances were he didn't know, but she wasn't about to explain it. Instead, she needed a drink, she needed to relax and just not think about it. Shrugging her brothers hands off she turned to leave, "Whatever, you deal with the jerk. I'll go explain everything to Simon and Nickke."

She grabbed her drink off the bar, not even looking at Nick and Grace as she did so, and moved to stand over with Simon and his girlfriend. "Hey Simon, sorry, Nick's just being an idiot like always. First he can't tell the difference between his girlfriends name and the others in his phone, though I'm pretty sure hers is the only one that starts with a G, and then we kind of dumped a bucket of water on him, and he just ran into Nickke and Grace." She was pretty sure that got them both up to speed, without giving away to Simon who he'd sent the text to, and at the same time, lightly breaking it to Nickke why she'd gotten it in the first place.

Sighing she shook her head, "So what's new with you rich boy?" She asked, teasingly of course.

--------

Torrance rubbed his temples, why couldn't his friends ever have a normal, issue free day? Because none of them understood how to just behave themselves apparently. He wanted to talk to his sister, reassure her that not all guys were like him, but she hadn't brought up that issue in so long he thought it best to let the small outburst pass and hope it was nothing. Sighing, he let his sister leave, knowing forcing her to stay or apologize first; since she wouldn't until Nicky did; would only make her angry with him as well. He settled for making his way back to sit next to Nick, letting him and Grace talk while he poured himself a drink.

[[Hope no one minds, I feel like it's time for William and Carrie to arrive.]]

Arriving when they did was apparently a bad idea. Her hands balled into fits as she puffed her cheeks out. Stomping over to Nicholas, she practically yanked the man from his chair. Shoving him into Lilith's face, she did the same thing with both Grace and Torrence.

"Welcome home, Lilith. As you can see, some people can't get along. Nick, apologize to Nikke, Lilith, Torrence, and Grace. Torrence, apologize to Nick and Grace. Lilith, apologize to Nick, Grace, and Torrence. Nikke, apologize to Lilith, Grace, and Nick. Oh, hey there Simon."

Crossing her arms over her chest, it was no wonder Carrie was the gossip queen. She had, single-handedly, pieced everything together.

Her scornful eyes glared at Nick. "You first, mister. You caused this issue, you fix it up. NOW!" Slapping his face with her right hand, she watched as the male toppled into the counter. "I'm sick of your shit. You make my friends feel like crap. You're worse than you dead brother! At least Deks never acted like the ass you are. He had some self respect. You're no better than some of the scumbags William's parents work with. Lowly, pathetic, and weak."

With the party now silent, as everyone feared the wrath of Carrie, Nick looked at his feet. She was right about some things, but who did she think she was? His mother? No, she wasn't and he had no intentions of apologizing. Then, she brought in his brother.

"I... I'm worse than... Deks?"

His heart sank to rock bottom. He could feel tears flood his eyes. Even though a room full of eyes were on him, Nick felt alone. Lost. He was in a world he didn't like. Life without his idol, his brother Deks, was hard. Deks was always there for him, always teaching him to be the better person.

Be the better person. Those words rung about his head.

Letting his balled up hands drop, he looked over at Nikke and Simon.

"Sorry Nikke, I never met to send you that text. Simon, don't think anything of it. You and Nikke, everyone here, knows that my heart belongs to Grace. I have no intentions of leaving her. We might not be the most ideal pairing, but she makes me happy and she gets me."

He stopped to breath. Looking at the two, he could see a look of disappointment play on Nikke's face. During the brief pause, he wondered what it would be like to date her. She seemed so high-spirited in fun. Perhaps, he could get to know her better.

"Lilith, I'm sorry I blew up in your face. But I'm not a fan of being called a cheater. I was out of place to yell at you. I know you were only looking to make things right among your friends. Torrence, buddy, you know I love you no matter what. Sorry I dragged you into my downhill spiral. Oh, and William, I think I broke your stool, so I apologize for that. I can make you a new one, or I can pay to get you a replacement."

Carrie smiled and directer her attention to William. "I don't forgive you, but William will. He's awesome like that."

"Grace," Nick said turning to look at her. "I'm sorry about everything. I can't imagine cheating on you. You're too magnificent of a person. Forgive me for my childish ways and inability to spell out silly nicknames?"

While Nick wrapped Grace in his arms, Carrie smiled. "Okay, next. Apologize. And be sincere. Nick, you're still an ass, but at least you can kiss ass in a nice way."

Nick pouted before burying his face back in Grace's hair.

Grace was getting really tired of people telling her what to do. She didn't really even know this girl and yet she was being manhandled. And what did I do wrong? What do I have to ask forgiveness for?

She balled her fists when Carrie slapped Nick. She carefully listened to her boyfriend. "You are a good person. You have problems but everyone does."

She turned to look at Carrie. "And you! Don't touch my boyfriend. He doesn't deserve that. This had nothing to do with you and would have been solved without you hurting him and manhandling us. And, by the way, I have nothing to apologize for. You don't even know what happend. The only person I did anything to that might deserve one is my boyfriend and he isn't getting one."

She hugged her boyfriend. "I already forgave you. Just don't leave me here alone again. I know you would never cheat on me. If something happens you'll come and tell me... or I'll trash your car."

Suddenly she realized that she had been yelling at the girlfriend of the person who had invited them to the party. Well it looks like I won't be invited back.

Nick blinked a few times before he opened his mouth.

"MY CAR! Don't trash my baby!"

Getting down on his knees, he looked pleadingly up at the woman he just threatened, dare I say it, his car. Nick sent a great many years working so he could afford to buy the car of his dreams. Granted, it wasn't the ultimate car he wanted, but it was better than waiting a million more years (he wanted a car from the future).

Throwing his hand behind his back, Nick gave a sheepish grin to the host and his girlfriend.

"I'm all for getting things off chests and all, but, uhhh, last time I checked this was a party, not Dr. Phil." A few people snickered in the background at his little remark. "So, can we just drop this? Those of us who are sorry have either expressed it or know the person has already forgiven them. I really don't think the others need to save face, so why don't we just make me look like the jerk, eh?"

Carrie rolled her eyes and walked over to Grace and Nick. "You're impossible, you know that, right? We grew up across the street from one another, and, to this day, I still don't know you. You're... a... uhhh... well, special."

Embracing Grace was a risky move, but Carrie felt she needed to show the woman he was done being hostile. "Sorry, Grace. I didn't mean much. I was just a little pissed that Lilith returns home and has to deal with this BS."

Patting Nick on the head, Carrie ran back over to William's side. "OH SHOOT!" Stomping her foot, she looked up at William with puppy-dog eyes. "Don't hate me, but I left the desserts I made in the park. Heeheehee."

Simon glanced at Lilith as she gave him a basic run-over. When she mentioned some text - and overhearing from some others about it - Simon guessed that Nick had sent a text to Nikke that was meant to be sent to Grace on accident. Even though Simon didn't have strong feelings for Nikke, that feeling that was there earlier came back to him that he now labeled as a slight case of jealousy with an undertone of protectiveness, especially when Nick said that he shouldn't think anything of it. He only sighed and then turned back to Lilith when she began to strike up a conversation with him.

"I cut my hair, if you haven't noticed. It's not as long as Nikke's anymore," he said.

( Poor Simon. All confused. xD )

Grace grabbed her boyfriend and dragged him back up. "Hey, I said if you cheated on me I would. So don't cheat. Simple as that." She knew how much he loved his car and she also knew it would be the easiest thing for her to take apart if it came to it.

She crossed her arms and looked back to Carrie. "Yeah, I don't think any of us want to deal with this." She nearly went over the edge again when Carrie patted Nick on the head like a dog. Happy thoughts. After everything all she wanted to do was leave, go home, put on something comfy, and read. Or at least get away from most of these people. Instead she simply walked to a corner of the room where everyone else wasn't and flopped down onto the floor. She carefully folded her legs then stared out past everyone. I should just go home. I'm not good with people. But I don't want to leave Nick alone here. He managed to upset everyone in this room and I can't leave him alone to that. But I need a break from the drama.

Torrance was one of the ones rolling his eyes at Carries demands, leave it to her to order everyone around the moment she walked in, without stopping to think of who actually needed to say sorry, and who didn't. Grace took most of her attention, which saved him from having to say he was sorry, when, well he actually hadn't said or done anything he needed to say he was sorry for. So he just let the others vent, say they were sorry, and deal with each other as Nick of course, added more drama to the situation. Shaking his head he sighed, "Dude, I know you make a lot on your knees, but I thought I told you not to be on them when I'm in the room?" It was a joke of course, so he laughed to make sure they understood that, especially not wanting Carrie to think he was serious. She may be Lilliths best friend, but he still thought she was a bit crazy, possibly bipolar, at least her intentions were good.

Nick wanted to turn it back into a party, which was fine by him. He'd let Lillith deal with her friend, though he had been expecting a bit more craziness from the two when Carrie finally got here, but apparently Nicks issue had ruined it. Which he hoped Lillith wouldn't completely blame him for, and as he watched things unfold, was glad his little sister took only a few second to forgive Nicky, not before threatening his life of course. "Yeah, screw this, let's party. We should start up a game Nicky-boy, preferably a drinking one."
---------------

Lillith was so happy when Carrie walked in, and then, in a second, it was crushed. She was hoping for a bit bigger of a hello than being told to apologize to a jerk. Frowning, she watched as Carrie went around making her orders and straightening them out, and then looked at Nick as he said he was sorry. She waited until he was done talking to Grace and she had pulled him back to his feet before figuring she might as well give him some form of apology. Walking over, she stopped about an inch from his face before pushing a finger against his chest, "You ever, yell at me like that again, and you won't have to worry about Grace trashing your car, cause I'll murder you." She said, a bit coldly, before she finally smiled, "And I really don't want to kill my big bros best friend, so use your head next time." She said, roughing his hair up a bit before leaving to continue talking to Simon. She wanted to glomp Carrie, but she was too busy hugging Grace.

Looking over Simons hair, she leaned forward to run a hair through it, as if not believing him at first, before nodding. "It is much shorter, though in my defense I haven't seen you in a while, so I'm not sure what's new for everyone or whats just new for me. I just got home, yet somehow my best friend would rather spend her first hug on Grace and pout at William instead of giving me the welcome home I think I've earned." Her voice was loud enough at the end for Carrie to hear, mostly because she was a bit jealous Grace had gotten hugged before her, and that desserts and standing next to William were more important in her mind right now than the fact that she was home.

Simon thought for a while before allowing a small smile to play at the corners of his lips. "I'm not sure anyone, even Nikke, would have noticed anything about my hair if I didn't tell anyone," he said softly when Lilith returned, and listened to her short rant. "That's right," he said, and then grinned, picking her up and giving her a bear hug. When he put her down, he gave her a pat on the head. "Does that make it better?" he asked, referring to Carrie ignoring her.

It was only then when he picked up on Torrance's last words. "Do I hear beer pong over there?" he said with a smile, beginning to feel more at ease. He let his shoulders drop slightly, relaxing himself. It was a party, after all.

((wow a lot happened...lets do some catch up with Nikke and Will))


Nikke was gleefully excited when it was Torrance who came crashing through the doors. The effect was exactly what she had been looking for. Plus it was funny to see Nick come crashing in behind him. It was not as funny though being tackled and fondled by the man, especially with his girlfriend being one of the ones in the pile. As much as she thought she liked him, it was wrong to act this way in front of her.

She was glad that Lillian was able to pull him aside, especially since Simon had just arrived. It felt awkward, as usual, to just stand next to him, but what could she do? Make him act more like her boyfriend? While she was sure she could, it wouldn't be the best thing to do. She blushed about the text, she had seen it, but the one from Nick

Nikke was relieved when Carrie and Will came crashing through the door. Carrie seemed to have this amazing ability to command a room and make people do as she wanted. As she was going through a list of people who should be apologizing, she sheepishly grinned and looked at the others. "Sorry guys, though I should all include Torrance in my apology, its my fault he got water spilled on him," she told the group, not afraid to apologize to others.

As Simon mentioned his hair, Nikke turned to take a good look at him, feeling very embarrassed that she hadn't even noticed his haircut. "Sorry!! Your hair looks sooo good!!" she told him, running her hand through it. Her eyes lit up at the words 'beer pong,' one of her favorite games. "I'll play! Be my partner?" she half-asked, half-insisted upon Simon.

----------

Will didn't answer Carrie's question. First, he wasn't ready to and second, the excuse he planned on using should she ask, they arrived at his house too soon.

And that was a pretty good reason, as when they entered, it was basically chaos. There was a mess in the front hall and everyone seemed to be arguing. The mess he figured was from a waterfall, most likely originating from Nikke, as usual. With Carrie taking care of yelling at everyone else, Will moved to talk to his best friend and his girlfriend.

"I thought I've asked you more than once, NOT to play your little games in MY house, Nikke," he told her in a half stern voice. He knew she'd never listen.

"Well, did you see who I got?" she asked grinning, pointing behind him. Will looked away and saw that she got Torrance, the one guy he could not stand, at all. Smiling he turned back and shook his head. "Alright, I forgive you, this time. So, Simon how's it been? Why the haircut?" he asked, turning towards his friend.

With things finally getting back under control, Nick moved past the people he was standing before. Before he could reach Grace, he was approached by Torrence. Curling a lip up in disgust, the male raised his hands.

"You know I can't drink. Remember what happened last time? I died for seven seconds. No thanks, I'm not going to worry Grace like that again. I've given up drinking." His eyes met with Grace's, but only for a second. Turning them back to Torrence, he sighed. "I think I should take my leave. I made things awkward for Grace. I think I'll see if she has any interest in going out to dinner with me. Maybe I can finally get her in a nice dress. Ha ha. Odds of me ruining it will be slim at a fancy restaurant, right?"

He heard Lilith's comments and thought about ignoring them. Rather than doing that, he piped up. "I actually enjoy near-death experiences. So go ahead and kill me, I don't care."

Ouch. Even that was a little below Nick. It was evident that he was having one of his emo mood swings. Grace was the only one that could drive him from this downward spiral, so dinner with her was more than ideal.

"Hey." His tone was dreary and oddly depressing. "Can we go to dinner before I decide to cut my wrists or join the mafia?"

----------

Carrie was a bit saddened when she heard Nick suggest leaving. Looking at Grace, she patted the woman. "Mend his heart, Grace. You're the only woman I know that can reason with this man. Get him out of his depressing state. Nick shouldn't be emo. Bad enough he dresses as one. Ha ha. Anyways, I'm really sorry about everything. Let me make it up to you both. William and I are going to a formal ball tomorrow night. Come with us, please? I'll pay for your tickets. It'll be fun. Maybe we can even get to know one another better. I know you and William don't see eye to eye, but you should learn to at least tolerate him."

Waving to them both, Carrie skipped over to her boyfriend. Someone disappointed, she tapped the male on the shoulder.

"I'm going to see if someone will take me to the park." She turned to Nikke and smiled. "Would you? The boys seem busy catching up. Maybe we can finally get some girl bonding time.

Torrance just looked at his friend, the look clearly saying he was over reacting again, and being a bit moody. He hated how if his girlfriend didn't want to go somewhere, Nick would run off, yet when Skyllar wanted to leave, Nick was annoyed. So he just shrugged, "Fine then, run off, leave me alone here to eat dinner, I'll just find someone else to be my pong partner." He answered, eyes already going to his sister, his best option for winning.

-------------

Lillith let out a small squeak when Simon picked her up to hug her, she wasn't very close with him and hadn't been expecting it. Even the pat on the head made her jump, but she smiled and laughed. "A little." She answered, looking over as Carrie finally returned to their group, only to pout at William and then ask Nikke to take her to the park....for girl bonding time. Now her jealousy was through the roof, her best friend doesn't hug her when she walks in, doesn't even say hello, then asks to go to a park with another girl to bond. She frowned and gave Carrie a small push. "I missed you to ya brat. Screw your desserts you just got here and I've only been home a few hours. I could have taken you, but go with Nikke, meany." She said, sounding hurt before she looked at William, "If Nikke goes with her, we'll need a fourth for pong, wanna play?" She asked, not sure how well she, Torrance, Simon and Will would divide themselves as teams, but it would be better than doing nothing while she waited for Carrie to get back.