Surviving Elite High (6 page)

“Nick! Baby! Please! Stop it! Please! You're going to kill him! Please!” I shouted while I tried to get him off Matthew.

Honestly, he could have killed Matthew, but I didn’t want Nick to go to jail or become a murderer on account of me. I continued to push Nick away from Matthew until he finally heard me. He glanced at me and stood up. I was still hugging him when I looked down on Matthew. His face was swollen and blood stained his shirt.

“Motherfucker! Touch him again and I'll fucking kill you!”

“Nick, please! Let's go!” I shouted as I continued to hold him off.

In reality, there was no way I could hold Nick off when he went psycho. I was merely in his way. He could have easily pushed me aside, but Nick was not going to hurt me. He promised me that.

Nick nodded. He grabbed my wrist and we ran to his sports car. I turned to look at Matthew. He was trying to sit up. He was going to be okay; he was another jock like Nick. Matthew could take it like a man, even if he wasn’t one.

We jumped into Nick's car and sped down the street. We were a few blocks away from my house when Nick came to a sudden stop. I noticed that he was still fuming with rage. We didn’t say a word to each other. After a few minutes of complete silence, I glanced at him. He held his chin with his hand and stared blankly ahead, deep in thought. Suddenly, he punched the steering wheel. His action made me jumped. Nick turned to me.

“I'm sorry, John. I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at that lowlife piece of shit!”

Nick turned to face the end of the street again. I began to play with my fingers instead. I tried to come up with something to tell him, but nothing came to mind. Nick continued to breathe deeply for a few more minutes until he calmed down. He turned to me with a smile.

“You should try out for the football team. None of the guys try to tackle me when I have the ball.”

We laughed.

“I can see why,” I answered, smiling. Nick chuckled. “Thank you for saving me again, Nick.”

“You don't need to thank me. I just lose my mind whenever I see someone bullying someone else. I didn't tell you this before, but one of my friends was bullied in middle school. He lost his eyesight after his attacker hit him on the back of the head with a baseball bat. That led to his suicide a few months later. Ever since then, I've had zero tolerance for bullies. Eventually, I was bound to kick Matthew's ass. It was just a matter of time.”

That was the reason Nick protected me. In my own fantasy world, he would have done it because he loved me, but in reality, he did it because I was weak and pathetic. I sighed.

“I'm so sorry Nick. I can see why you beat him the way you did. You have a lot of anger inside of you. What they did to your friend was cruel. Nick, do you think that Matthew will be okay?”

“That fucking asshole will be fine! I just wanted to break his nose and bruise his eyes. That way, whenever he tries to bully someone, he thinks twice. Why do you even care about that fucking punk!?”

I sensed his temper rising again. I had to say something before he hit me.

“I don't give a shit about that asshole, Nick! He could drop dead. I care about you! I don't want you to get in trouble or end up jail because of me.”

Nick curiously looked at me for a few seconds. I got nervous again. It sounded weird for me to tell him that I cared so much for his safety. A smile developed on his face.

“Thanks for caring. Madison was right. You truly are an amazing friend.”

It seemed that was what they were talking about during class and I got the wrong impression. I wanted to hug Madison at that moment.

“Thanks.”

“Matthew should be thankful because if it wasn't for you, I'd have beaten him up real good.”

“Bring down your testosterone level, Mr. Hawking.”

“Yeah, I should go home and jerk off.”

I laughed, even though his comment made me a little uncomfortable. The topic of sex always made me uneasy. Nick laughed at my reaction. Suddenly, he froze.

“I'm such a fucking dick! Did he hurt you? Do you want to go to the hospital?”

“No! I'm fine. He just punched me once in the stomach. Don't worry, I'm okay.”

“You sure?”

“Positive, Nick.”

“Okay, let me take you home before Madison and Kitty kill me.”

I laughed. Nick started his car and sped down the street. When we arrived at my house, I realized that the lights were off. That meant that my mom wasn’t home yet. I stepped out of the car and thanked him for everything. As I turned to my house, he called me back.

“Wait! These are for you,” Nick insisted as he took out six grocery bags from the trunk of his car. “I don't take no for an answer.”

“Nick, you really shouldn't have,” I replied as I took them. “Please, let me know if Matthew reports you. I think I won't be able to sleep tonight.”

“Don't worry, I'll be fine. Give me your number and I'll call you if anything comes up.”

“We don't have a phone, Nick,” I admitted meekly.

“It's cool, take mine,” Nick replied as he took out his Blackberry from his right pocket.

“Nick I—”

“I don't take no for an answer. Don't you want to know if I'm going to jail?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then take it,” Nick insisted as he dropped it inside my front pocket. He quickly walked back to his car. “And you owe me a tutoring session. I'll call you to confirm when and where, okay?”

“Sure,” I answered him with a smile.

Nick jumped into his car and disappeared at the corner of my street. I ran inside to unpack the grocery bags. I was dumbfounded. Nick had bought everything a household needs for an entire week. Finally, after many empty weeks, the refrigerator was filled to the max. I admired it for a few seconds and headed to my room. I was ecstatic. The day turned out to be amazing! Nick dumped Allison, we got to know each other pretty well and he saved my life again. I could not wait for Monday so I could tell my girls everything.

When I dropped on my bed, I felt something inside my pants. It was Nick's phone! I took it out. I found forty-three missed calls and twenty-three texts from Allison. Nick also had over three hundred texts and calls from many other girls. I laughed at their puny attempt to contact him. His phone was on silent mode and that was the reason why I did not hear it throughout the day. I quickly opened his phone book. I was stunned. He had over eight hundred contacts. Nick had every teenager’s phone number within a fifty mile radius. He had a few sexy messages from many different girls, but no replies. I decided not to invade his privacy and placed the phone on my nightstand. I was exhausted. I slowly crawled into my bed and a few minutes later, I fell asleep.

A buzzing sound woke me up a few hours later. I rolled on my bed and sat up. I realized that Nick's Blackberry was ringing. When I glanced at the screen, the word “House” was flashing repeatedly. I quickly answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, what's up? Did I wake you up?”

It was Nick.

“Nah, I was watching television,” I lied to him after glancing at the clock. It was eleven thirty. I quickly remembered Matthew. “What happened with Matthew? Did he report you?”

“Nah! That pussy said that four guys beat him up because they tried to rob him. I just talked to Jacob. Can you believe that he apologized on his behalf?”

“Thank God! I was so worried.”

“You worry too much, Johnny Cake.”

“Johnny Cake?”

He laughed.

“Sorry, it's just that your nickname, Johnny Boy, reminds me of a Caribbean bread call Johnny Cake. I tasted them this past summer.”

“Oh, I see. I like that nickname!”

“Okay, Johnny Cake. Turn off my phone and get some shuteye. If you don't, you'll get at least a million calls tonight. I'll call you tomorrow after nine so we can decide where to meet and study. Cool?”

“Okay Nickelodeon! Good night and sweet dreams.”

Nick chuckled again.

“Good night to you too, Johnny Cake.”

After he hung up, I dropped on my bed and glanced at the clock. Nick was going to call me in less than ten hours. We were going to see each other again! I was so happy. I turned off the phone and drifted to sleep.

A small noise woke me up. I looked up. Nick was standing at the foot of my bed wearing nothing more than black pajama pants. I immediately sat up. Before I could say anything, he crawled on top of me.

“How did—”

Nick placed his hand on my mouth and whispered into my ear.

“Shh! You'll wake up your mom. I had to see you again. I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I want to make you mine right now.”

Nick leaned in and our lips met. It really was an out-of-body experience. I had never felt that shocking feeling that starts in your lips, travels throughout your entire body and rests in your heart. Once he stopped, he stared at me and touched my body.

“I love you, John. I love you John. John…John…JOHN!

I opened my eyes and came face to face with my mom. She was sitting on my bed with a perplexed look on her face. It was all a dream. Nick was far away from me.

“Mom? What happened?”

“Baby? Where did you get all that food?”

“Oh, Nick gave it to me.”

“Nick? Who's Nick?”

“The guy I'm tutoring. I didn't want to take it, but he convinced me.”

“And that phone?” she asked me as she pointed to Nick's Blackberry.

“That's Nick phone. He lent it to me last night because he wanted to call me today so we can schedule a study session.”

My mom nodded.

“Okay, I need to meet Nick so I can thank him for the food, but you have to return that phone as soon as possible. We don't take anything that's not ours.”

“Mom, I didn't steal it. He lent it to me because we don't have a house phone.”

“I know honey, but what do you expect me to think when I find the refrigerator full and an expensive phone on your nightstand? I know that you'd never steal. I'm just making sure that you're on the right path. I'm really surprised that you took those items. You never take anything from Kitty or Madison. Nick sounds like a silver tongue talker.”

“Believe me, he is. He's such a nice guy too.”

“You thanked him and his parents for helping you with school?”

“Him, yes, but I haven't met his parents yet.”

“Okay, when you do, you know what to say,” she instructed me as she stood up. “Now, I'm going to get ready because I'm running late. Help yourself to breakfast. Love you, sweetie.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

She walked out of my room and closed the door. I glanced at the time. It was 7:45. I dropped on my bed and turned on Nick's phone. Almost immediately, several messages flashed on the screen. It took the inbox a few minutes to process the information. He had sixty-two messages from Allison and seventy-seven from other girls. Those bitches must really be desperate for Nick's large wiener! I didn't read the messages since I didn’t want to cross Nick's line of trust.

I unwillingly crawled out of my bed. I hated cold showers, but I needed one after my hot dream with Nick. After my shower, I made my way to the kitchen with Nick's phone in hand. I opened the box of Frosted Flakes and sat on the sofa to eat and watch television. Suddenly, Nick's phone lit up. It was Allison. Believe me, I wanted to pick up and tell her that Nick was off limits, but I thought of the consequences. Allison was not worth losing Nick's friendship. The phone stopped flashing. A few seconds later, it continued. It was like that for the next thirty minutes. You would think that anyone would get the message after the first few rings, but not Allison. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the front door and I quickly glanced at the clock. It was a quarter to nine. I knew that it wasn’t my mom and Nick said that he would call. I headed towards the front door thinking that it was Madison or Kitty since they always dropped by unexpectedly. I slowly opened the front door and peeped outside. It was Nick.

“Morning, John.”

“Nick? I thought you were going to call me first.”

“Yeah, but I knew that you were home so I dropped by.”

“Oh, I see,” I remarked as I examined him from head to toe.

Nick looked amazing in a white singlet and blue basketball shorts.

“Aren't you going to invite me in?”

“Oh, God! I'm so sorry! Please come in!”

Nick chuckled. He stepped into my house and looked around while I closed the door.

“This way,” I stated as I directed him into the living room. Nick followed me. He dropped his schoolbag on the floor while he sat down on one of the sofas. I sat next to him while I pointed out the obvious. “Make yourself at home.”

“I like this sofa. I could see myself relaxing here,” Nick admitted as he felt the fabric.

“Thanks. Here's your phone.”

“Thank you,” Nick replied as he took it from my hand. He began to search for something inside his schoolbag. “This is yours.”

He handed me an identical Blackberry phone.

“Nick, I can't take it.”

“Yes you can and you will. I need you to take it.”

“Why? I can't afford a cell phone plan.”

“Don't worry about that. They'll charge it to my credit card. I really need to keep in touch with you. What if I've got a question about homework or need to talk to you about my addiction?”

“Addiction?”

“My sex addiction,” he added with a smile. Nick looked at me seriously and continued. “You did promise me that you were going to help me tame the beast.”

I had to laugh. Nick was funny. Madison and Nick would definitely have good conversations.

“Okay, but I won't abuse your generosity.”

“Okay, but you do have unlimited texts, calls and web browsing.”

“Really?” I asked looking at the phone while he nodded and handed me the charger. “Thank you, Nickelodeon.”

“You're welcome, Johnny Cake. Now, get me a bowl of milk because that cereal looks great!”

I smiled and immediately headed to the kitchen. We spent the entire morning eating cereal and watching television. We had an amazing time. At noon, he ordered a large pizza and gave Eric, the pizza delivery guy, the tip of a lifetime. He was so happy with his one hundred dollar bill that he gave us extra cheese, ketchup packs, and ground pepper. After Nick consumed three fourths of the pizza, he turned to me.