Irish Eyes Don't Always Smile (2/4)
Brooke made her way up the stairs to Nicole’s room. Normally she would have waited in the formal sitting room until Nic came down to meet her, but the maid told her to go on up at the request of the younger Julian. As she neared the door, she could hear muffled voices raised in anger. She couldn’t make out what was being said, but she could tell that Nicole and her mother were having yet another argument. When they began to scream she knocked on the door loudly, knowing that the two had a history of becoming violent.
Nicole’s mother threw open the door, preparing to tear into whichever member of the staff had dared to interrupt. When her cold blue eyes fell upon Brooke, she replaced her snarl with a cool tight smile and looked back at her daughter. “We will discuss this matter later, Nicole.” She brushed past the silent blonde, who was still standing at the door, and walked down the hall.
“No we won’t, mother. There’s nothing to discuss! I’m moving out whether you like it or not!” Nicole pulled Brooke into the room before slamming the door. She walked over to the window, shoulders slumped, and stared unseeingly out of it. Brooke stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do.
She walked over to her friend, placing a hand on the shorter blonde’s shoulder. “Hey, are you all right?”
Nicole seemed to start at the contact, but turned around, smiling almost sweetly at the taller girl. “I’m fine, hun. It’s nothing a little retail therapy won’t cure. Are you ready to go?”
Brooke hesitated, but nodded. She followed behind her friend, not sure of how to process what had just happened. She was never really any good when things like that happened. It didn’t help that Nicole didn’t really open up to people when she was upset, even more so after the accident. Brooke was always at a loss when it came to helping her.
They rode in Nic’s car each caught up in their own thoughts. Brooke could feel her friend’s piercing blue eyes on her as she stared out of the window. “Okay B, you’re not still upset about that little scene are you? I promise, it’s nothing. My mother’s just a little upset that when I move out, her personal piggy bank will move out too. Since my father left her with nothing. But hey, that’s not really my problem. So don’t worry your beautifully highlighted little head.”
“Well no, I’m not upset. I’m…fine. Well…it’s just…” Nicole’s question threw her. She was still a little unsure of how to deal with what had happened back at her friend’s house, but there was more. There was the real reason she’d practically begged Nicole to go out with her. “We…need to talk.”
“What’s wrong, Brookie? Did Spam leave her mustache bleach on your side of the bathroom again?” The blonde shot her friend a wicked grin, her eyes dancing in mirth.
Brooke sighed. “That’s what we need to talk about. Nic, why do you hate Sam?”
Nicole’s smile faltered slightly, but didn’t leave her face. “Haven’t you spent five minutes in her presence, hun? If the bad clothes and rat’s nest she calls hair don’t do it, the moment she opens her hateful little mouth will.”
“Nic, I’m being serious.”
“So am I.” Nicole spared a glance at her friend, noting Brooke’s look of defeat. “Look, it’s not that I hate her…”she started. Brooke eyed her skeptically. “I don’t! I just think you could do way better than some arrogant, pompous, wish she knew it all, second rate journalist who is so far beneath you she’s not worthy of the ground you walk on.”
Brooke studied the other girl for a moment. “Then why did you do it?”
It was Nicole’s turn to sigh. “We’ve been through this. I couldn’t take you moping around. You were skipping practices and bailing on parties. You didn’t even care that Cherry Cherry got us appointments at the most exclusive spa in all of California. Action needed to be taken and I stepped up.”
“But why? Why if you think Sam is so wrong for me, did you go so far to get us back together?”
“Because even though I hate that the one person in the world that seems to make you truly happy is Spa…Sam, I hated seeing you so miserable. Especially when all it would take to change it all was to show Tippy Typewriter the error of her ways.”
Brooke nodded, smiling over at her friend. Nicole’s methods were always far from conventional, but she was always there for Brooke in a way most people never got to see. Maybe they wouldn’t drift apart after high school after all. “Nic, I just have one request.” She waited for the blonde to park and kill the engine. “Do you think you could lay off of Sam a little? It hasn’t been easy for me to be in the middle of this little war you two seem intent on fighting.”
“Oh sure thing, hun. I’ll get right on it.”
_______________________________________________
Sam walked out of the journalism room and down the hall towards Brooke’s locker. They’d agreed to meet up and ride home together. Brooke’s car was in shop, for a change, and the brunette had driven them to school. She was the only one in the hallway save for the janitor. She leaned against the lockers, resting her forehead on the cool metal. She looked down at her cell phone, checking first to see if she’d missed any calls and then the time. Brooke she should be there any minute. The door to the girls’ locker room opened, but it wasn’t the blonde she’d been hoping to see walking through the door. It was a different blonde, an angry blonde that sauntered up to the locker beside where she was standing and barely spared her a glance.
For the past couple of days, Nicole had been almost civil to Sam and for some reason that just made the journalist even more nervous. Gone was all the vitriol and vicious personal attacks, replaced by icy stares that sometimes made the journalist shiver. There was this anger that lurked just beneath the steel blue eyes of her girlfriend’s best friend, and Sam was certain that it wouldn’t be long before Nicole went back to being…well Nicole.
Sam opened her mouth, hesitant to ask the question. Wait, this is ridiculous. Why should I let Nicole intimidate me? Sam thought. “Did Brooke happen to tell you how long she would be?”
Nicole looked up from the magazine she was reading and gazed at the brunette thoughtfully for a moment. Sam wasn’t positive, but she thought she saw a devious smirk dance on the other girl’s lips before she cleared her throat. “Actually, Brooke and I decided to head to the mall. So you can run on home like the good little dog that you are. Your master will be home early enough to make sure you get to go for your nightly walk.”
The journalist tried not to bristle at the insult. It certainly wasn’t the worst thing the shorter blonde had ever said to her. Besides, that didn’t sound like Brooke. She would have at least texted Sam. “No offense, Satan, but I don’t really consider you a reliable source, I think I’ll just stand here and wait.”
“Suit yourself, Mucky. I guess if I were a pathetic loser that somehow managed to land the most popular and arguably most beautiful girl at Kennedy aside from myself of course, I’d want to be at her beck and call too.”
Sam tried to calm her anger. She was tired of Nicole telling her she wasn’t good enough for Brooke. She was even more upset that a small part of her was beginning to truly believe it. “First, I am not at Brooke’s beck and call. Second, it’s really sad that you call me pathetic when you’re the one that’s obviously jealous and that makes you pathetic. Must suck that no matter how hard you try you just can’t seem to step out of Brooke’s shadow. Even being with me hasn’t dimmed the light on her reign as queen and it must be killing you inside.” Sam smirked when she saw the blonde’s eyes flash in anger.
But instead of blowing up at her, Nicole smiled sweetly. “You know, Spam, I must say I’m a little disappointed. We’re back to the whole ‘I’m jealous of Brooke bit.’ Get some better material, hun.”
The lack of response actually threw the brunette for a moment. She watched as jocks from various sports began to file out of the boys’ locker room and moved towards their lockers. Still there was no sign of Brooke. “Maybe, but I didn’t hear you deny it.”
At that Nicole actually laughed, drawing the attention of several of the students next to her. “Please hun, there is nothing Brooke McQueen has that I can’t get for myself.”
“Except the complete adoration of most if not all of the students here at Kennedy. Though from what I’ve heard from the boys’ lacrosse team, you’re certainly working long and hard on gaining that aren’t you? Tell me Nic, how are your knees doing?”
The jocks were at rapt attention by this point; laughing and encouraging what they hoped would turn into a physical altercation. That made it impossible for Nicole to keep her promise to Brooke. No way could she let Sam get the best of her. “Wow Spam, you seem to be awfully interested in my sex life. Could it be that you’re curious on how to actually please your partner? I mean I must be doing something right to keep them coming back for more right? Which is way more than I can say for you, Mucky. But if you’re looking for a tutor I might consider it. Lord knows you could use the practice.”
Fear and apprehension settled in the bottom of Sam’s stomach as Nicole’s words began to sink in, but she didn’t want to believe it. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Now since you’re such a good journalist you might want to pull out your little tape recorder and take notes. I would rather be a slut than a frigid little virgin. Remember hun, Brooke’s my best friend, so I know all about your sad attempts at seduction. The lack of skill and ‘sense of direction.’ Judging from your lack of success at actually bedding a girl you’ve been with for almost three months, I’d say you probably couldn’t find a g-spot if you had a map. Haven’t you ever wondered why Brooke won’t sleep with you? If I were you, I’d waste less time worrying about who is in my bed and focus on who’s in yours because as soon as Brooke gets what she wants from you, she’s going to move on. She’ll realize that you just weren’t worth all the hassle she’s been putting up with. And I know there are plenty of other girls waiting in line to take your place that will show Brooke exactly what she was missing.”
Bile rose in Sam’s throat and tears burned her eyes as she heard the snickers all around her. The faces blurred as she looked for a way to escape, and when her eyes locked onto shocked hazel ones, tears began to spill over her cheeks as she rushed past her girlfriend and out to the parking lot. She heard Carmen call after her, heard her friend hurrying to catch up with her, but she didn’t stop until she reached her car and collapsed into tears in Carmen’s arms.
Brooke watched the two brunettes rush off and turned to go after them, but not before she met Nicole’s mirthful gaze with cold angry eyes. “Nic, how could you? You promised me! I guess your word means nothing anymore.” With that, she sprinted behind her girlfriend and didn’t stop running until she found Sam and Carmen leaning against Sam’s car, the journalist sobbing in the other cheerleader’s arms. Carmen silently transferred the weeping girl into the blonde’s arms and Brooke once again cursed staying behind to help Carmen work on a new part of the routine. She should have known that Nicole would wait until she wasn’t around before tearing into Sam again. She’d been stupid to believe that Nic would change. Though for a few days, Brooke believed that the shorter blonde had really meant what she’d promised Brooke days earlier. She’d been so civil to the journalist that Brooke had begun to hope. Nothing had prepared her for the scene that she and Carmen had walked in on.
“Hey, shhh, don’t cry. I’m so sorry, Sam. I didn’t know she’d say such awful things to you.”
Sam pushed against her angrily. “Of course you did! How could you?! How could you tell her those things, Brooke? I…I trusted you. How could you?!”
Brooke was taken aback by the sudden burst of anger. “Sam, I didn’t. I would never say anything like that.”
“Yeah right, you’ve said it yourself. She’s your best friend.” Sam yanked open the driver side door and slid into the driver’s seat. “Why don’t you catch a ride home with your best friend?” She started the engine and threw the car in reverse, drowning out Brooke’s pleas and she peeled out of the parking lot.
Brooke stared after her, before hanging her head. She didn’t even know where to begin to fix this. She wanted to throttle Nicole, but she’d deal with her later. First she needed to figure out how she was going to get home.
“Hey, need a ride?” Carmen’s cheerful face was just what Brooke needed. If anyone could help her, Carmen could. She nodded, walking over to the passenger side and climbing in the car.