Release the Rage (Nick)

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam felt the tears coming again, and bit her lip to try to keep them from pouring out. It didn't work. What she really wanted to do was slap him again, but he' probably just block her. Again. Stupid bastard Nicolas.

"For hooking up with one guy?" She shouted. "Besides," she added, getting angrier by the second, "I'm not the one who tries to get a date with every girl who looks at him. Tell me, Nick, how many girls have you tried to hook up with since you got here?" Her words were sharp and accusatory. How dare he criticize her. He had no right.

[Nicolas Constantine]

How did she know about his escapades? Nick looked at her, anger burning in his eyes. She was definitely now trying to turn the tables on him and he wouldn't let her. Except she had caught him in a weak situation and also Nick never liked to lie, so he had no choice but to answer her.

He thought in his head for an adequate answer. There was Sara, Kayna, Alexis, Tash, Olivia, Bastille, and well... Sam.

"Seven that I can think of..."

Yeah, probably not the best time to be boasting, but Nick wasn't going to lie to Sam. He was, however, going to throw it back at her.

"One of them being you. Now tell me how many guys you've hooked up with and we'll call it even."

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam scoffed. "And you call me a slut..."

Let's talk about turning tables. If this had been a boasting battle, Nick would have had it in the bag. Unfortunately, he'd just called her a slut, and he was going to pay.

She stood up, crossing her arms and leaning her weight onto one hip. "I've hooked up with Damien," she said. "Kissed a couple of guys - one of them being you -" James and Mathew flashed through her mind here - "but I've only ever hooked up with Damien."

She raised an eyebrow at him, making a huge effort to control her anger, at least for the moment. "Do you call that even?"

[Nicolas Constantine]

"Oh, well I thought you meant girls I've tried to hook up with. Out of those, I've only 'hooked up' with one as well."

Right now Nick wasn't showing his anger towards her as he tried to defend himself.

"So it looks like we are even."

He stuck his tongue out at her like a little child to mock her. So they were even it seemed and Nick unvalidated his point. He had to rethink as to why he was calling her a slut other than the reason that she hooked up with her fighting teacher.

"And mine was only once."

[Sam Ballerino]

He stuck his tongue out at her as he pointed out that in terms of successful hookups they were actually even. She sighed. Very mature, Nicolas. Under any other circumstances she would have laughed, but right now, she just let out a groan of frustration. This wasn't a freaking competition.

"Fine. So we're even. But what I want to know is what makes you think you have the right to call me a slut for expressing feelings for someone I'm attracted to, while you're just after every piece of ass that walks by." She shook her head. "I would think it would be you that's the whore here."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Oh, so he was a whore now, was he? Nick's brow furrowed as he looked at Sam with dismay.

"You know what? Maybe its just that I feel as if Damien is taking advantage of his position. He's the experienced teacher, and you're the poor innocent student, and you let him take advantage of the situation, that's why I call you a slut."

Hopefully that would prove his point. He kind of wanted to get away from the fact that she was calling him a whore, and get back to what the problem was. Her.

[Sam Ballerino]

She made a confused face at him. "What's he taking advantage of? I can't help it if you're not the only person on this planet who's attracted to me. You're just being paranoid. Our teacher/student relationship has absolutely nothing to do with any other relationship we choose to have." She glared at him, clearly indicating that it was none of his business either. "It's not like I'm giving myself up to him as a bribe to teach me to fight. I did it out of my own free will."

Why was she defending herself to him? He'd proven that he wasn't about to change his point of view because of anything she said. The only way to do it, she supposed, was to just prove to him that Damien was a good guy. Which would take time. Lots of time. She sighed, her shoulders slumping dejectedly. She was tired of being angry, she was tired of being frustrated, she was just... tired.

"There's nothing I can say to make you change your mind, is there?" She said, her voice completely devoid of emotion. "Maybe I should just go. Have fun napping." She made to grab her things and walk past him, out the door.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick sighed as she tried to leave. He had an idea that might work.

"Sam... I'm sorry. If you like him that much, then go ahead. I just really don't trust him is all. If you think that you can trust him, and if you're happy, then I guess I should be happy for you."

He looked at her, his dark blue eyes shimmering in the light of the classroom.

"I just don't want him to hurt you. If he ever did, I don't know if I could face him to defend you."

It seemed like they were going in circles now, but Nick would prove his point one way or another.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam stopped at the door, turned around, and watched him as he spoke to her. Her face softened. Had he finally gotten the point?

"Thanks, Nick," she said softly, a small smile appearing on her face. She took a step back towards him. "Don't worry," she said. "I don't think he's gonna hurt me. Just when we spar." She grinned. She was glad he finally understood. She hated to have two people, both so close to her, who couldn't get along.

Hopefully Nick really understood now, and would make more of an effort to not make Damien his enemy. For everyone's sake - so she didn't have to choose between friends, so Nick wouldn't end up getting his face bashed in, and so Damien... well, Damien would do what he wanted to anyways.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick could tell that the anger had dissipated from her face. He told her what she wanted to hear. Excellent. Nick was still not satisfied and he would push her buttons all he could until she realized what kind of a person Damien was and what he had done to her.

He walked over to her and put a calm soothing hand on her shoulder as he looked down into her eyes with his own, which were flickering night blue in the poor fluorescent lighting of the room.

"I'm glad, too. Just tell him to be nicer to me, I'm sure he has it in him."

Nick thought for a brief second, leaning in towards her and kissing her softly on the lips. Other than him getting much better since their last kissing encounter, Nick would be able to tell much more from the way she reacted versus them yelling back and forth at each other if she leaned into the kiss deepening it, right now not mattering whether there was a feeling between them or not.

[Sam Ballerino]

He walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, and she was suddenly reminded of how nice his eyes were. Especially in this light.

Sam smirked. "Stop letting him catch you ditching, and maybe-" She was interrupted by his lips on hers. There was a second-long pause as Sam froze, not kissing back, but too shocked to move, either. But she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed. Her eyes were wide, darting around his face in shock and confusion.

"What the hell was that?" She said slowly. Damien's warning came flooding back to her again, but this time the door was right behind her, and she took a step back, towards the exit.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick was pushed away forcefully. The look on her face was priceless.

"What the hell was that?"[/i]

Nick shrugged and turned around, walking back towards the center of the room.

"Reassurance. Have to make sure I'm not making a mistake by trusting you or your so called teacher."

He turned around to face her, the light bouncing off his face making him look completely serious. Well, he was, even though a smirk creeped across his face.

"Sam, I'm just hoping you're not making a mistake that you'll regret later. Because I won't be there if something happens." the smirk disappeared.

"I'll put it plain and simple, our friendship is over until you decide whats more important."

Nick left it general so that she could come up with the decision herself.

[Linda Osako]

Linda entered the room just as she bumped into a girl that was walking backwards to exit.

"Oops, excuse me." She said to the girl she had bumped into.

The atmosphere in the room was rather blah, and negative. Something was up, but Linda didn't know either of these individuals.

"I hope I am not intruding."

[Sam Ballerino]

"I won't be there if something happens..."
"Our friendship is over..."

Sam couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was willing to give up their friendship because he didn't trust Damien? Her jaw clenched involuntarily, and she allowed one, then two lone tears to trail their way down her cheeks. But no more. Not until she could get out of here and find a place to be alone and let it all out. All of it.

But she steeled her resolve. She knew what her decision would be. Whether or not she got to see Damien or Nick ever again, she knew what her answer was.

"No real friend would give an ultimatum like that," she said coldly. "It was nice knowing you, Nicolas." she started to turn to leave the room, but ran straight into another girl. Looking up, Sam recognized her as one of the faces on Damien's wall in the waiting room of his Jester's Court. One of the contributors. She couldn't remember if he'd told her the girl's name or not, but either way, she didn't know it.

"Oh - no - no, it's ok," she stuttered, wiping her tear stained face. Her eyes darkened and she looked down, not wanting to meet the girl's eyes. "I was just terminating a friendship."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick watched as a few tears streamed down Sam's face, his look never faltering or showing sympathy.

"No real friend would give an ultimatum like that, It was nice knowing you, Nicolas."

He could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"And likewise, Samantha. It was nice till the end."

Sam turned around to face a girl who had just stumbled into the room in which they were arguing.

"...I was just terminating a friendship."[/i]

Nick knew she would come around one of these days. All he had to do was wait. She was now no more than an acquaintance to him, if even that.

"It's alright, she was just leaving." he said harshly, more targeted at Sam then the new girl.