A Shoulder To Cry On

It was only close to a minute before Nicole abruptly pulled away from Kenny, letting out an exasperated exhale, and wiped her wet face, "God, fuck, enough, Nikki. Get a fucking grip here," The redhead said under her breath as she did her best to gain control back over her emotions,

"Nicole, it's alright to feel this, you know?" Kenny softly reminded the girl, "I can't say I know how it feels or anything, but I know it must hurt like hell. Though, if Devin really is that big of a dumbass to wreck what he had with you, then you're better off," The teen added on, trying to sound as supportive as possible,

"Oh yeah, sure," Nicole scoffed back, "You don't get it, Kenny, Devin was my shot, my one fucking chance at something real, and it didn't work...I got no one else, he was supposed to be the one, and now...now I'm fucked," Nicole shot back, her eyes finally returning to Kenny's, holding nothing but anguish inside them, "I knew this was going to fucking happen," She added on in a whisper,

"Nikki, what are you talking about?" Kenny asked back without a second thought, "You have plenty more people then, Devin. You have your friends, your family; I mean hell, I can't even think of someone in the school that actually doesn't like you. You're the coolest person I know," Kenny finished with an honest, full smile,

"Yeah, yeah, I know, everyone loves Nicole Moore. Everyone loves to hang out with her. Smoke a joint! Fuck her all night long and then ditch out in the morning!" Nicole exclaimed with a toss of her hands before her lips tightened, and Kenny saw them tremble slightly once again, "Everyone likes me, Kenny, but No one fucking likes me, Kenny. Do you get what I'm saying? No one...fucking cares, as long as they have a fun girl to get high with or stick their dick into, they are happy..."

"Nikki...you can't --" Kenny began to reply before letting out a soft exhale and standing up. The teen took two steps around until he was planted firmly in front of Nicole. He stood in silence until the redhead meekly looked up at him, "Have we ever hooked up?" Kenny asked with a hard, expectant look down at Nicole until she shook her head, "Ever gotten high together?" Another shake of her head, "Shared more than, what, two beers together at most?" Another no, "Then believe me when I say I do like Nicole Moore. I think of you a hell of a lot more as the party girl that maybe I can hook up with. You're my friend, and I mean a real friend," Nicole's lips pressed together, and he saw her eyes lighten and curling forming in her lips.

Kenny took notice and let a smile of his own form, "So I don't want you thinking like that; we're all young, and you've got all the time in the world to find someone, and when they do, all they'll care, about is the fact that they are dating Nicole Moore and nothing else," Kenny continued on, feeling a surge of confidence overtaking him only reminiscent to when he'd give Mindy pep talks over the years, "Besides, just look at you, it's not going to be hard, Nicole, even you know that,"

Nicole let out the briefest of laughs, a few whispering past her lips before she looked up at Kenny with a sly look in her eye, "Look at what exactly?" She asked with an innocent tilt of her head,

Kenny's eyes widened, and all the confidence he had to support his hurt friend crumbled at the idea of suddenly being a guy trying to tell a girl she was hot. "I...uh...y-you, you know? You're...um, you have this great personality, a great...figure...uh, b-beautiful eyes...you're amazing," The teen stammered back, his voice almost cracking while his eyes held just a touch of fear,

“You missed my awesome rack, perfect fucking ass, and I'd personally say I have the more smokey, fuck me eyes,” She lazily listed with a dismissive sigh,

"I -- I'll be completely honest with you...I don't know how to reply to that," Kenny stumbled back as he lifted a hand and slowly rubbed the back of his neck, "Not to say that you're wrong!" He quickly added, "B-But, I'm not trying to say that's what I think of you either!" The teen finally let out a grunting exhale, internally slapping himself, "What I am very dumbly trying to say is, you're a good person with a great personality and an amazing look. Any guy would be lucky to be with you," Nicole let out a sudden squeak and bit down on her lower lip as she looked away from Kenny. The teen tilted his head in confusion as he watched Nicole bring a hand to her mouth and tried her best to muffle her giggles, "Nikki?"

“I'm- I'm sorry," Nicole apologized while squeezing her eyes shut, forcing her laughs away, "I couldn't help myself; I really, really do appreciate what you were saying for me, Clark, but the look on your face when I put you on the spot --" Nicole explained before another laugh came bursting out of her,

Kenny let out a little embarrassed chuckle and got up from the bed, running a hand through his hair as he tried not to look as embarrassed as he felt, “Well, at least I got you to stop crying."

Nicole took a deep breath, calming herself, “I’m sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I promise. I really appreciate everything you just said to me. Sorry for fucking with you like that; it's a nasty habit I just can't seem to break,” The redhead apologized, though Kenny noticed how nonchalantly it came off,

Kenny shook his head and raised a hand calmly, "No worries, even after all the years of knowing you, I guess I still fall victim to your teasing just like everyone else," He smirked before heading back to his bag, grabbing the last of his items and placing them on top of the dresser,

Nicole got to her feet and, with an easy smile on her face, moved behind Kenny and pushed up, planting a short, gentle kiss on his cheek, “At least you're cute about it,” She sweetly whispered with a quick, playful wink, "And thank you, I needed to get that all out, and you being here and talking to me really helped me,"

Kenny could feel his cheeks growing flush and quickly diverted his gaze away from Nicole, attempting to hide it, "D-Don't, uh, Don't mention it, Nikki," Kenny stammered back as the red-haired girl headed towards the bedroom door,

"I'll be back in a minute; I'm gonna go grab something to drink from the kitchen. And nooo, it's not liquor, " Nicole said to the teen, who silently nodded back without looking. Nicole couldn't help but smile at the sight before leaving, granting Kenny a few minutes to calm his nerves.

As Nicole walked down the stairs, she continued to feel her mood improving, her heart not aching as hard. Despite what she had learned about Devin, Kenny had been able to help her put it out of her mind, at least for a few minutes. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she headed down the hallway and peered into the den, catching sight of Mindy sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the television while Avery sat across from her, invested in a game on his phone. “Wow.” She sarcastically mused, “Up to some real fun stuff in here, huh?"

"We're on a mountaintop; it's cold out and lightly snowing. Isn't this what you sorta do when you're in one of these places? Keep inside where it's warm?" Avery replied, not even glancing from his phone,

Nicole looked over to Mindy with a raised brow of disbelief, causing her to giggle, “I’m probably starting my vacation tomorrow. Long car rides take a lot out of me.” Mindy explained with a little stretch, "How are you feeling, by the way? I noticed you didn't seem to be --"

"Tired as hell, you know? Just need a pick me up," Nicole instantly lied, not wanting everyone in the lodge to know her personal business, "Gonna grab myself a cup of coffee and then probably get lost in this giant fucking place; who knows what the White family could be hiding up here, right?" She lightly joked to the Asian while rushing towards the kitchen to avoid any more questions.

As Nicole moved into the kitchen, she let out a long, calming breath and shook her head, refusing to let any of her emotions overtake her once more. "Coffee...just get a cup of coffee," She said softly to herself, focusing on the task while starting to look through the cabinets,

After a few minutes, she heard the sound of a few footsteps behind her, followed by Devin's voice, "Nikki, what did I do?" The lanky teen meekly asked,

Nicole froze in place, and after a moment, she took a deep breath, “You have a brain; think about it, but try not to hurt yourself,” She muttered back with an icy tone,

“Nicole, please just tell me.” Devin begged as he approached her, “Whatever I did, I am so, so, sorry.” He said as he placed his hand gently on her shoulder,

Nicole shook Devin's hand off immediately and stepped past him before turning, finally looking him in the eye, “Don't!” Nicole harshly spat out, causing Devin's eyes to grow wide. "Don't you fucking put a fucking hand on me, you sonofabitch!" Nicole hissed while jutting a finger right at Devin's face, "Why don't you go call the last fucking skank you stuck your dick in to refresh your memory!" Devin stood slack-jawed as Nicole shoved herself past him,

The redhead made it three steps back into the hallway and immediately was met with Juliet, “Oh Nikki, sorry, you okay?” Juliet asked, seeing Nicole's flared-up eyes,

Nicole clenched her fists and eyed Juliet, “Just-Just leave me the hell alone! Everyone give me some fucking space!”

Juliet's eyes instantly went wide in shock while Nicole shoved her way past her, heading right for the stairs back down to her room, "Nicole, hey, are you alright?" Juliet gently asked again out of pure concern, though the girl ignored her completely. Juliet glanced over her shoulder at Devin, who shuffled out of the kitchen and into the hallway as well, "What is going on with her?"

"Uh..." Devin breathed back while nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "Beats the hell out of me..."