Cooking Lessons (Nick)

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick listened to her list off the different genres of music she listened to, knowing that she was definitely trying to get rid of the awkward feeling that now possessed the dinner. It wasn't a date or anything, so it was a bit strange that they had those moments. Nick's stomach was full of butterflies and pasta, but he couldn't help feeling a bit easier when they started talking about music. It was the safest subject that they could talk about without being too forward because at this point it was obvious that they felt some type of connection on a level above friendship.

"I like that you have a genre for every mood. For me, its more of a sub-genre for every mood. Both rock and electronica have tons of sub-genres if you didn't notice." Nick smiled.

Maybe he could push the topic a little further in to a risky direction.

"So you dance, you listen to a variety of music, you want to learn to play an instrument, and you cook delicious food. Is there anything you can't do?"

He caught himself looking at her from across the table with a look of romantic admiration.

[Sam Ballerino]

"Well," she said, easing up a little bit, "it's not even a genre for every mood. It's a song for every mood. Because every song has a different feel to it, you know? Even two songs in the same genre have completely different feels to them. It's..." She stopped herself. "I'm sorry, I'm probably making no sense at all." She laughed, blushing lightly, and shoving her mouth full of pasta and garlic bread to shut herself up as she listened to his next question.

She glanced up at him as he listed off the things they'd talked about already. This was definitely not staying in the safe zone. Not at all. And that look on his face proved it. Man, he was attractive. She giggled and blushed again before trying to turn her focus to the actual question he'd asked. What couldn't she do? Well...

"I can't fight." She didn't like admitting it. In fact, she hated admitting it, but after her fight with Damien on the first day of school, there was no point in even trying to deny it. It couldn't have even been called a fight, really; it was more of a pathetic beating. The sooner she accepted it the sooner she could move on, and work on getting better. That is, if Damien had been serious about his offer of getting her a trainer.

[Nicolas Constantine]

"Oh, come on, everyone can fight. Some better than others, and some are trained, but everyone can fight."

He was just trying to flatter her and make her feel better about not being able to fight. He knew that the school they attended was full of people who could kick her ass if she didn't know how to defend herself.

"Er... um, well aren't you taking Aikido? You should be able to defend yourself if you know martial arts."

That didn't seem to make it seem like she was weak. But, of course, Nick had to be forward again.

"And if you need someone to protect you, I could be there to do so."

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam's head popped up and she glared at Nick. "Well, when you get your ass handed to you in less than 15 seconds on your first day of school it tends to be a little disheartening to some people. So no, Nick, not everyone can fight." She snapped at him.

Immediately she felt awful for it. It wasn't his fault she was forced here, and she had no right or reason to take it out on him. She sighed, putting her forehead in her hands and sighing. She looked up at him, apologizing with her eyes and the tone of her voice.

"Yeah, I'm taking Aikido, but I've only been doing it for about 3 years now, and it takes a long time to really master. Plus, I only know how to spar. All that happens in class is we practice moves. Someone comes at you, you block their attack, you stop and do it again. But you know what the attack's gonna be. It's not spontaneous. And it's completely different in a real fight. The stakes are higher, there's actually an intent to injure. And I don't know how to deal with that." Her head fell into her hands again. "I'm going to die here..." She whispered.

She hadn't meant to talk that much, but all of a sudden the words just came pouring out before she could stop them. She felt her eyes tearing up, but she quickly wiped them away as she lifted her head, before Nick would have been able to see them. She smiled, a small, sad little smile.

"Thanks," she said. She was touched by his offer to protect her. "But you can't be there twenty-four/seven. I got an offer to help me train. One of the Pillars. So hopefully, if that pans out... I'm hoping he can help me."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick saw that the topic disheartened her. She seemed on the verge of crying after she surprisingly snapped at him. So she had been offered help from a Pillar. As Nick wondered which one, he also thought it was better for someone stronger than him to teach and protect her, no matter how much he wanted to be the one by her side, defending her honor.

Nick got up and swung the chair to position it next to her. He sat down and looked at her with large eyes, not caring about his almost finished plate of pasta. He put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting way.

"Don't worry, Sam. Everything will work out for the best. Cheer up." He smiled at her widely.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam was a little surprised to see Nick move his chair over to be next to her. But she didn't really mind. It was a nice gesture. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she covered it with her hand, taking comfort in it.

"Thanks, Nick." She said. "I hope you're right. I really hope you're right." She leaned her head on his arm, hoping he wouldn't mind; she needed the comfort right now.

"And hey, since we're on the subject, maybe I should just tell you why it is that I'm stuck in a school with a reputation for violence, and I can't fight?" Her voice had taken on a bitter, sarcastic quality. But at least she wasn't crying.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick was surprised that Sam reacted so well to his gesture. He liked it, a lot. It was comforting to feel that he had a comforting vibe about him.

"And hey, since we're on the subject, maybe I should just tell you why it is that I'm stuck in a school with a reputation for violence, and I can't fight?"

"Well I'd guess it was your father."

He didn't really need to guess. He kind of knew that's what it was from the start, he just didn't want to bring it up because it seemed to be touchy.

[Sam Ballerino]

"Good guess." Her voice was still hard, bitter. "I'm not aggressive enough for him. So I got sent here, where all the tough kids go. So I could get roughed up a little. Learn how to fight."

She left her head where it was. As long as it was resting on his arm, she didn't have to look at him. And right now she really didn't want to look at him. She'd probably end up breaking into tears if she did, and she didn't think her dignity would be able to take that.

After a moment though, she sat up, put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands, and just sat there, recovering. She hadn't told anyone else that yet, about why she was here. Part of her felt good to get it out, but most of her just felt vulnerable and scared. And she didn't like that. Not. At. All. But at the moment there wasn't much she could do about it, so she just sat there with her head in her hands, trying to pretend to care a lot less than she really did.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick could see it in her eyes after she sat up, that she was trying to hold in a lot more than she appeared to be. She avoided eye contact and seemed spaced out.

"Eh... Sam... are you alright?" Nick didn't really know what to say in this situation.

"I-I'm here for you if you need me. Just..."

Nick looked at her with sympathy. He felt bad for the torment this girl was going through mentally, and he felt it to be his job to make it better. He was the one who triggered her emotions in the first place, and he wanted Sam to be happy; he wanted her to think of him when she thought of comfort and compassion.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam rubbed her eyes, breathing deeply. She heard Nick speaking.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine." She looked up at him and smiled. Really smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I... That means a lot." She reached towards him and put her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. If he wanted to be there, this was the way to do it. That, and never speaking about this again. She rather wanted to forget how much this had affected her.

After a moment, she pulled away again. "I... I'm sorry," she said. She couldn't look at him. She didn't know what else to say, and she dearly wanted to get back to having fun, laughing about something, not being awkward. She wanted to laugh, and just forget about this moment completely.

[Nicolas Constantine]

She smiled a smile of absolute happiness when Nick told her he would be there for her. It made Nick smile and feel like a million butterflies were in his stomach. But he was surprised when she grabbed him and put her head on his neck. He could tell she felt comfort in him, which is exactly how he wanted her to feel. Nick spoke with a reassuring tone.

"Don't be sorry, I-I..."

He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but Nick decided that it wasn't the time to do so. Especially because she had that depressed, blank look again and wasn't making eye contact.

"...I brought a movie!" Nick smiled at her, lightly.

[Sam Ballerino]

Oh, thank God, he's got a distraction...

"Great!" She said, jumping up. "I, um... There's a DVD player in the living room, and we can sit, you know, on the couch, and watch..." She took a breath, and gave herself a mental slap in the face. "And I've got some ice cream, too, if you want some." She realized she was missing a crucial question.

"What movie is it?" She was hoping it wasn't anything romantic, unless maybe a romantic... comedy? Though she didn't know if romance was a good idea at the moment. They'd had enough awkward moments already that night.

[Nicolas Constantine]

"Well, I didn't know what kind of movies you liked so I brought a few."

Nick went over to his hoodie and took out a CD case from its pocket. He unzipped it and started flipping through the DVDs, naming them off as he went, but being careful to avoid anything but comedy.

"I have... Young Frankenstein, Airplane, Spinal Tap, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Big, When Harry Met Sally, Wayne's World, Ace Ventura, Forrest Gump, Austin Powers, The Wedding Singer, Harold and Kumar, Shawn of the Dead, Superbad, Hot Fuzz, and Tropic Thunder." He looked up at her, "You can look through the rest or pick your own movie if you fancy."

He held out the case for her to take if she wanted.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam took the case from him and began flipping through it herself. "I don't think that's just bringing 'a' movie," she laughed. Already she felt much, much better.

"Oh, man, Back the the Future. I haven't seen this since I was a kid. You wanna watch this one?" If he agreed, she'd walk into the living room, motioning for him to follow. She bent down for a moment to put the disc in the DVD player, and stood back up to look at him.

"D-did you want some ice cream?" She'd head into the kitchen whether he said yes or no. She wanted some, too. "I almost always have some on hand... It's kind of my weakness," she giggled.

[Nicolas Constantine]

"Hm, yeah, ice cream sounds good, what flavour?"

Nick took out the DVD and turned on the DVD player, pressed the eject button and stuck the disc in. He turned on the TV and set it to the correct channel within about 30 seconds. He was fast with home theater electronics, even though he wasn't a pro. He sat on the couch and turned to look at Sam fetching the ice cream.

Nick dazed off looking at her. He was glad that the suggestion of a movie had rid her mind of what was making her upset and now she would be in an even better mood once she had her ice cream.