The second period began, but Nick and Raine were still in the cafeteria, eating and talking about their math scores. In the middle of their conversation, the principal walked in to buy a coffee. He spotted the only two students in the room, talking loudly while everyone else was in class. He approached them immediately.
"Hey, both of you! Why are you still here? You have a class, don't you? Both of you, to detention, now!"
They both nodded and walked toward the detention room. Raine was disappointed and upset, while Nick remained as calm as if he were used to it. When they reached the room, they found it empty. They picked their seats, and the atmosphere became awkwardly silent. Raine leaned her head on her hand, looking miserable. She glanced at Nick and saw him closing his eyes.
"Nick? Are you asleep?" she asked. Nick just gave a slight nod. Raine sighed, wondering how she would explain to her parents that she had ended up in detention.
"That principal is an asshole, not gonna lie," she muttered. She noticed Nick didn't react or nod this time; he had actually fallen asleep. "Great. An asshole fell asleep in this situation. How is he so calm? I hate it."
She leaned on her hand, watching the world through the window. As the school day ended, the principal still hadn't come back to release them. Raine eventually fell into a sleep even deeper than Nick's. When she finally woke up, she realized a heavy, warm weight was draped over her shoulders, Nick's hoodie was being used as her blanket. It smelled of expensive cologne mixed with a soft hint of vanilla. She looked around and saw him leaning against the wall, playing on his phone.
"You're finally awake," he said without looking up.
Raine pulled the hoodie from her shoulders and held it out to him. "Here's your hoodie."
"Yeah. Keep it on," he replied, finally glancing at her. "You looked cold as fuck earlier. Wear it as long as you want."
Raine rolled her eyes, but she didn't argue. She slipped the oversized hoodie on, feeling the warmth of it. "Thanks... and by the way, the sun is setting. Why hasn't the principal let us go home?"
Nick scoffed. "Because he forgot us. His old man model brain is being shitty on forgetting things all the time" he said.
"Why didn't you wake me up so we could leave this boring room?"
"I waited for you. I didn't want to bother you," Nick said. He glanced at her, she was still 'loading' and groggy from her nap. He smirked. "You look out of it. You'll probably trip and fall if you try to walk. That would be funny."
"Whatever. We should leave now." Raine stood up and grabbed her bag, with Nick following close behind. As they walked through the halls, Raine wasn't paying attention and accidentally bumped into someone.
"I'm so sorry about—Lex?" Raine was stunned, then smiled brightly.
"Raine? What are you still doing here?" Lex asked. He saw a her wearing a hoodie, that is probably not from her. Lex smirk.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. We're just leaving. And by the way..." She looked back at Nick. "This is Lex. And Lex, this is Nick... my friend."
Nick looked at Lex coldly, his expression unreadable. He reached out to shake Lex's hand. "I'm Nick."
"I'm Lex. Nice to meet you, Nick."
"So, Raine... since we know each other now, we should exchange numbers," Lex suggested. Raine agreed. As they swapped numbers and chatted like old friends, Nick checked his phone, clearly waiting for this conversation with a 'stranger asshole' to end.
"Nice to meet you, Raine. You look cute on that hoddie, by the way." Lex added. Raine smiled at the compliment. Once Lex left, she continued walking toward her house with Nick.
"'Friend'? That's new," Nick said, his voice flat.
"Huh? Anyway, Lex was so kind when I met him at the terminal. He's a total gentleman," she said, thinking about all of Lex's 'green flags.'
"So, you have a crush on him?" Nick asked.
"What?! No!"
Nick saw her blushing and scoffed. "He looks like an actor to me."
"Huh? What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"He seems like he's acting kind. He's probably a dick."
"No. You're just jealous," Raine teased, thinking Nick was just bitter because they were opposites.
"Nah. Why would I be jealous over you?" Nick said. When they reached her house, Raine went inside, leaving him on the sidewalk.
"That asshole," she muttered to herself, but then she noticed something.
"Um, wait. How will I give this hoodie back to Nick?" She glanced out the door to see if he was still there and, fortunately, she saw him lighting a cigarette.
"Nick!" she called out. Nick noticed her, and she walked over to him.
"What about your hoodie?" she asked.
"You can keep it. I have more hoodies in my closet, by the way. I need to go now. Bye, idiot."
Raine raised both her middle fingers at him.
"Fuck off, nerd!"
Nick smirked and raises his middle finger to her too. Nick watched her door click shut, the smoke from his cigarette curling into the evening air. A small, genuine smirk tugged at his lips.
"Too damn feisty," he muttered to the empty street.