Carrie liked Flynn for a reason. She was confident. She knew herself and she was always sure of who that person was, like when she came out as lesbian in middle school. She was smart. She was running a 4.0 GPA, taking all AP courses. She was loyal. She stuck by her friends no matter what they were going through. And she was brave. She stood up to anyone, and for anyone, even Carrie herself, on both sides of that.
Willie liked Alex for a reason. He was awkward. Not terribly so, but even that it triggered a protective feeling. He was compassionate. He volunteered at the senior center, at least with the ones that didn’t dismiss him for being gay, but he never let those ones discourage him. He was smart, too. He tutored kids in middle school that had issues with ADHD and dislexia, to keep them from falling behind, and he always knew how to talk to them. And he had courage. He had anxiety, but he still pursued the things that were important to him.
Luke liked Julie for a reason. If you asked him, he’d talk about how beautiful she is, which is true. But she was also determined. If she wanted to achieve something, she did. She was steadfast. Nothing could sway what she knew was right. She worked hard. She strives for her position as top of the class, but never let being there make her complacent. And she was kind. She helped anyone, and everyone she could.
And Nick liked Reggie for a reason. He was funny. He never used humor to hurt others, but Nick could tell he would use it as a smokescreen. He was smart, of course he was. He never thought so, and would always say he got lucky if he ever did well on something. He was friendly. He didn’t like to approach someone first, but if they approached him, he always made them feel welcome. And he was passionate. Anyone that met him could see it, whether it be in his music or his friendships he was the most passionate person Nick had ever met.
Nick sat with his head against the wall. His car died, and he had to wait for Carrie to come back and pick him up. Which of course would be the ending to a day that was going so well. He saw Reggie wearing his jacket. They got their projects back in English, and when Reggie saw the A, he gave Nick a hug and thanked him for being such a good partner. Reggie grinned at him every time he passed him in the hall, and Nick got to hear him sing more of the country song on his way to practice. It had been a good day. And then Nick came out of practice and his car wouldn’t start. He could’ve gotten a ride from the others, but he told them to go ahead cause he had to stop at his locker to grab his calculus homework. He rubbed a hand down his face before sticking one hand into his hoodie pocket, the other scrolling through random trending videos on his phone. He would have to start wearing his other jacket soon.
The door next to him opened suddenly, startling him. He thought everyone had left, but now he realized there were two other cars in the student lot. Laughter filled the air, it was a laugh he recognized and felt like he could listen to forever, but this time just made Nick infinitely more embarrassed.
Reggie was walking out of the school with Flynn and Alex, Julie hadn’t stayed for cheer practice like she usually would because she had a history paper due. As the door swung shut behind them though, he saw a familiar head of dirty blonde hair staring down at their phone. “Nick? You okay, man?”
Nick looked up at his name, he was secretly hoping Reggie wouldn’t see him. “Yeah, just waiting for Carrie. She had to run Willie home, I didn’t realize my battery was dead until after she left.”
Reggie smiled at him, “Come on, I’ll give you a jump.”
“You sure? Cause I got no problem waiting.” Flynn and Alex just gave Reggie a hug, Flynn promising to text him when Alex dropped her off.
“I’m sure, man. It’s really not a big deal, I have a whole break down kit in my car that I never get to use anyway.” Reggie laughed as he said it, holding out a hand to hoist Nick off the ground. After he was on his feet though, Reggie pulled him along instead of dropping his hand. If anyone asked about his pink cheeks, Nick would just blame it on sitting in the cold air. Reggie insisted on driving Nick the thirty feet to his car when he was going to walk over, and unfortunately after a few tries, the battery wouldn’t hold the charge. Nick groaned, pressing his head to the roof of his car, because of all the people he could deal with this in front of, it had to be Reggie, who was still under the hood of the car for some reason. “Uh, Nick? Hate to tell you this, but it’s not your battery.”
“What do you mean?” Nick asked, standing up to duck under the hood beside him.
“You see this?” Reggie pointed at a piece of something that Nick didn’t know, “Your distributor cap is cracked. Generally when that happens, even after you fix it, you’re bound to run into more and more problems.”
“Oh, shit.” Nick ran a hand through his hair. “Whelp, my dad kept saying he wanted to get me a new car. Guess now I can’t really argue with him.” Reggie laughed, nudging Nick’s shoulder.
“Come on, I’ll give you a lift.”
“You don’t have to go out of your way, Reg. Carrie is coming back to help me.” Nick rubbed the back of his neck, he didn’t want to make Reggie help him when he probably had other stuff to do.
“Nick, I wouldn’t have offered if it was a problem. Besides, we’ve already been fucking around for over twenty minutes and she still isn’t back.” Reggie grinned again. “Come on, man. Grab your stuff.”
Nick grabbed his back pack out of the back seat of his car, hopping into Reggie’s SUV. “I really appreciate this.”
”It’s really no trouble.” Reggie had an easy smile. It was Nick’s favorite thing to look at, and he had to force himself not to stare. “Soooo, you gonna tell me how to get to your house?” Reggie laughed, “Or are we just gonna drive and see where we end up?”
Nick thought about going home to sit in front of his computer, wishing he had the courage to send Reggie a friend request. “To be honest, I’m up for either.” Nick hadn’t meant to say it. But Reggie beamed at him and it was worth it.
”Okay, sport-o. I’m gonna take you somewhere that you are gonna love.” Reggie reached into the back seat, throwing a leather jacket at Nick. “Put that on. You’re gonna catch a cold.”
Nick felt his face heat up. Reggie wanted him to wear his jacket now? This was a lot. But Nick obeyed, pulling his hoodie over his head first. As he fixed his t shirt, he could’ve sworn he saw Reggie looking at his abs. He shook off the thought, blaming it on his imagination, before putting the jacket on and buckling his seat belt. Reggie cleared his throat, pulling onto the road. ‘Maybe not my imagination.’ Nick thought, as he looked at the blush dusting Reggie’s cheeks. ‘This is an interesting development.’