Work Text:
So High School
I feel so high school every time I look at you
I wanna find you in a crowd just to hide from you
And in a blink of a crinklin' eye
I'm sinkin', our fingers entwined
Cheeks pink in the twinklin' lights
Tell me 'bout the first time you saw me
Nicholas Scratch was going to lose a wrestling match for the first time, and it was all her fault.
And the worst part was that all of Baxter High would know.
After all, she had been the one who had kissed him in front of everyone at Prudence's party last weekend.
And she was also the one who had been avoiding him ever since.
She watched as Nick's opponent put him in a hold that was sure to be painful and shuddered a bit.
"Come on, Nick," she muttered under her breath. "You can do it."
It was as if, despite all the hubbub around them, he somehow could hear her, because in a swift movement, Nick had disabled his opponent.
The crowd erupted in cheers. Some began to leave the stands to approach the winner. Sabrina knew she should have done the same, but she still didn't feel ready to face Nick and answer the questions he would surely ask. So, like a coward, she headed for the gym exit trying to go unnoticed.
But she had no luck.
She tried to quicken her pace when she heard footsteps behind her.
"Sabrina, wait."
Stupid, stupid, she told herself, because she couldn't help but stop; there was something in his tone of voice that was simply too much to ignore.
He caught up with her in a few strides.
"Nick. Congratulations," she said; maybe feigning dementia would be a good strategy. "Great match."
His eyes shone with determination.
"We need to talk." Nick looked her straight in the eyes. She closed her eyes "About what happened at Prudence's party."
Sabrina let out a sharp breath.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." she began. "I was angry. This whole thing with... Roz and Harvey and me... I"
"You kissed me because you were jealous?" he asked. Was it pain what she detected in his voice? No, that was impossible. Nicholas Scratch, the great seducer of Baxter High, couldn't have been touched by her words. It was ridiculous.
"Basically, yes,” she lied “and I'm sorry. If I made you uncomfortable or..."
There was something vulnerable in his eyes, but it disappeared so quickly that hours later Sabrina would think it had just been her imagination. Nick let out a humorless smile.
"I see. Well..." he replied, "Feel free to use me again if you need to, Spellman. I'm always happy to be of service."
"Nick..." Sabrina called, suddenly feeling guilty.
"See you around," he said, before jogging back to the gym.
Sabrina felt like a sharp-edged stone had slid down her throat and landed painfully in her stomach. She felt bad about how she'd handled the situation, but truthfully, not even she knew why she'd kissed Nicholas Scratch last week.
She'd just done it, and it had been okay. More than okay, even, but she refused to think about it.
Feeling strangely guilty, she started toward the exit, the cheers coming from the gym still echoing behind her.
"Come on, Sabrina, it'll be fun. Everyone's going," Theo insisted on the phone.
"That's an excellent reason not to go."
"Is this for Harvey and Roz?" Silence on the other end of the line. "Or is it for Nick?"
Sabrina let out a groan of frustration.
"Yes, to everything. I think I screwed up, Theo."
"And that's an excellent reason for you to come to the party. And fix whatever it is you need to fix."
The problem was that Sabrina didn't feel it was possible to fix whatever she'd damaged with Nick.
He'd acted strangely all week, barely speaking to her in their shared class, avoiding her gaze as much as possible, and flirting more than usual with people she never thought he'd be attracted to.
And she didn't like how this made her feel in the least.
"Come on, Brina," Theo insisted, snapping her out of her thoughts. "At least do it for me."
"You just want to see Robin."
"It'll be fun."
"I don't know, Theo."
"Please."
Sabrina sighed in defeat. She knew Theo wouldn't leave her alone until she gave in, and while it would have been simpler to just hang up the phone, she also knew she couldn't do that to one of her best friends. As things were, her only friend.
"Okay, see you there."
"Great, see you later."
She hung up the phone and got out of bed to head to her closet.
Sabrina always wondered how Prudence was able to throw parties almost every weekend. It was probably because her father didn't care what she did, which was certainly sad, but apparently this didn't bother the captain of the cheerleading squad.
When she arrived, the party was in full swing, and she had a hard time finding Theo, who handed her a glass as soon as he saw her.
"You're here," he said by way of greeting.
"You weren't going to stop insisting until I agreed," she reminded him, taking a sip of her drink; it burned down her throat.
"Still, I thought maybe you would decide not to come."
"I'm here," she reminded him.
"That's right, and we're going to have a great time." he added, clinking his glass against hers.
Sabrina's gaze wandered around the room and then met Nick's eyes. He was on one of the couches, a girl she didn't recognize beside him, nuzzling into his neck. Once again, that unpleasant sensation made her stomach clench.
"Brina?" Theo asked, following her gaze. "Ahh."
"Ahh? What do you mean by ahh?"
"You know, you two should talk."
"We already did."
"And it was a complete disaster," her friend reminded her. "I mean, really talk."
"And what do we have to talk about?"
"For starters, you could start by telling him the real reason you kissed him."
"It was a mistake," Sabrina insisted.
"You keep telling yourself that lie." Sabrina looked at her friend, confused. "Anyone with half a brain would notice that Nick has had a crush on you since he arrived at Baxter High. And you are not indifferent to him "
"Nonsense. He flirts with everyone," she reminded him of the obvious.
"Just talk to him. But be honest."
To be honest? But she didn't even really know what she felt! The only thing she knew for sure was that Nick's distance over the last week had hurt her immensely. She'd grown accustomed to having him with her.
As a friend.
A friend whose kiss she hadn't forgotten, she remembered.
"I don't know what to say to him," Sabrina said suddenly.
"Did you like the kiss?" Theo asked.
"Yes, but I..."
"Would you like to kiss him again?" Theo insisted.
"No, yes, it's not that..."
"Don't give me the excuse that it was just because you saw Harvey and Roz. I'm sure deep down you wanted to do it just because."
"I'm scared."
"About what, Spellman?"
Sabrina almost spilled her drink when she heard Nick's voice behind her back. How much of the conversation had he heard?
"Nick! What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for something to drink," he replied. "But I think you and I should talk." he added with a shrug.
Sabrina looked at Theo, who was nodding enthusiastically.
"Can we go outside and talk?" Nick insisted.
Sabrina nodded. When they left the house, a breeze ruffled her hair, and she couldn't help but hug herself. It was a cold night. Suddenly, she noticed the heaviness of Nick's jacket on her shoulders. She couldn't help but hide her nose in the collar, smelling his scent.
"Thanks," she said with a small smile. "Nick, I..."
"Spellman, I..." Nick began as she spoke. They looked at each other and smiled.
"I'm sorry. I've acted like a jerk all week."
"No, I'm sorry, what I said to you..."
"It's okay, Spellman. I didn't have the right to treat you that way just because you hurt my feelings."
"I didn't mean it," Sabrina insisted. "I'm sorry."
"Friends?" Nick asked, reaching for her hand.
She leaned in close and placed her lips on his. It was so brief that Nick thought he'd imagined it.
"Maybe more than friends?" Sabrina asked.
Nick's smile was uncertain.
"Are you sure?" Nick sighed. "Despite what I said last week, I'm not willing to be a rebound for you." he admitted.
"And you won't be, it's just..." Sabrina lowered her head for a moment before looking back into his eyes. "I don't know what I feel."
"I can't tell you what to feel, all I can say is that I've had a crush on you ever since I met you, Spellman. And when you kissed me that night, I thought..."
"I'm sorry." She apologized again.
"Don't. It's okay."
"I want you to know that deep down, I just wanted to kiss you. And this week has been a nightmare. I miss having you in my life."
"As a friend?" he joked.
"I already told you, I want to see if we can be more than that. What do you say?"
He didn't respond, at least not with words, his arm wrapped around her waist and his lips took hers in a kiss.
“Yes, Spellman. Yes.”