Nick! (Natalie)

Climbing out of the car I try not to stare at the “good looking man” at the pump across from me. As I’m trying not to look like a complete stalker while filling up the car I see a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning slowly I see a familiar car pulling in behind me. Oh no, Nick.

Okay, I know what you probably thinking. “Natalie, you have a crush on Nick!” Well that’s not true! The truth is, I use to have a crush on him when I was younger, but I’m over that now. Even though he is still pretty hot, I am over it, I swear. Nick is 18, one year older than me. As Nick gets out of the car I make a run for the cash register. I know Nick will recognise my Swift out the front and realise I’m inside. He will most likely come looking for me because we haven’t seen each other for one year, but I don’t want to see him right now. As I pay for the petrol I step backwards and bump into someone. I turn around and look straight into the good looking man’s deep brown eyes. At first I’m taken aback at how beautiful they are, but then I realise I’m staring so I take a step back and look at the floor embarrassed. He asks for my name,

“Natalie, what’s yours?” He looks at me for a while before replying

“The names Ash.” in a soft as velvet voice. Instantly I’m mesmerised by his voice, how could someone so masculine have such a soft voice. Then before I can move he grabs my waist, picks me up and turns around depositing me behind him. Then he just walks up to the register and pays. I’m lost in a sense of confusion, what just happened? But I don’t get time to think about it because a different figure appears in my peripheral vision. Before I can react Nick grabs me and pulls me into a big bear hug. As Nick hugs me he whispers into my ear

“Hello Nat.” there’s a short pause before he says “Long time no see.” in a seductive purr. Finally he releases his grip on me and I jump out of his reach before he can grab me again.

“Hello Nick.” I reply shortly and try to make a break for my car. Nicks got quick reflexes though and he quickly grabs my arm in a powerful but soft hold, making sure he won’t hurt me.

“What’s the rush, Nat?” he asks. Honestly the rush is if I stay here I’m scared about what I will say and do in his presence! So I simply mumble,

“Going to see Alex.” and walk away. Well that’s just great now he knows where I’m going, that’s nearly as bad as giving him my home address. While I’m brooding over these thoughts I don’t notice Ash sitting on the bonnet of my car.

“How dare you sit on my Swifts bonnet, do you know I had to work my butt off to pay for that. Do you? No you don’t! So get off right NOW!” Ash slowly gets off the bonnet and steps into my personal space

“Why sweetheart, has a boy never waited for you to come out of a petrol station?.”

Well how dare a stranger have the nerve to say that to me, right in my face? I lift my head up and look him in the eye

“The boys that do wait for me, don’t lean on my car, because they have manners, unlike you.” After that comment the look I get is priceless. His mouth forms a slight frown in the corners and his eyes widen in shock. Ha! Take that handsome stranger with bad manners!

He opens his mouth to say something when Nick appears again, great just what I need right now. Nick looks at me, then at Ash. A strange emotion flashes through his eyes. He continues to stare at Ash and says

“You know, any boy who is going out with Nat, never sits on her car. So I’m guessing you’re a new one.” During the short pause Ash’s eyes flick to me in a moment of confusion before he realises what Nick means, meanwhile Nick is still rambling on “But I guess you wouldn’t know that either because Natalie’s only ever had one boyfriend before. Isn’t that right Nat?” he looks at me innocently like he didn’t mean the offence but I can see straight through him, he’s being a douche bag, a very big one too.

So this is my choice, I can go along with what he is saying or punch him in the face. Which option should I take? That is the question. To make my decision for me Nick says

“Come on Nat, tell him the truth.” Well that confirms it, he’s being a gigantic douchebag so I choose the latter one. Before he even knows what’s coming I punch him right in the nose! After that everything goes crazy, Nick falls to the ground holding his nose screaming. I stare at my hand in amazement because I have always wanted to punch someone, but I never thought I would get the chance. Ash stares at me with a mixture of amusement and awe. With the adrenaline pulsing through me, I don’t realise that Nick is rising to his feet and before I can defend myself Nick punches me on the check.

Geez this guy is an asshole. I can’t believe I had a crush on him. This punch hurts, the pain shoots through my face causing me to close my eyes and when I reopen them slightly, it is just in time to see Nick pulling back to hit me again. As Nick brings his fist forward aiming to hit me in the throat, Ash jumps in front of me, taking the hit in the back. He quickly pivots around and Nick doesn’t even see the fist coming until it’s too late. It connects with Nicks jaw and he is instantly knocked out.

Slowly as the stars leave my eyesight I am able to see the damage that’s been done. Nick is still on the ground unconscious and Ash is just standing there staring at me. I know we have to leave before Nick wakes up because he will just continue to fight us because of his arrogant ego. I grab him under the armpits, which by the way smell really bad. I half carry, half drag Nick to his BMW, that’s when Ash notices what I’m doing, so he comes over and helps me stuff Nick into his own car. Surprisingly it doesn’t take too long to put Nick into the car, what actually takes the longest is finding his keys, which are shoved in the back pocket of his jeans. After getting Nick inside, we close the door locking it and pushing the keys through the slight opening we left in the window so he could breath. Ash slowly walks towards me and attentively reaches out a hand softly brushing the bruise that’s already appearing on my left cheek. At the physical contact I flinch, thinking he too is going to punch me, but that doesn’t happen. As I take a step towards my car a wave of dizziness takes over and I sway slightly, before reaching out and grabbing Ash’s forearm. Ash reaches out and grabs me by the waist before whispering in my ear,

“Here, let me help you to your car.” Gratefully I nod my head. Gently as though I am something fragile he lifts me up and puts me in the passenger seat of my car. In a calm voice he asks

“Can I please have the keys?” at this point I can’t think of any other way to get away from this place so I mumble something sounding like yes and hand over the keys.