Chapter Text
"All right guys, we're here." Tom grinned as he put the car in park. "Time to get wild and have some fu—" he paused and narrowed his eyes at the brunette. "Seriously, Carraway?"
Nick looked up, unfazed by his put off tone. "Yeah Thomas?"
"Why the hell did you bring a book to a party?" Tom narrowed his eyes. "You're going to lose it when you start making out with the ladies."
Nick snorted. "Who said anything about me making out with any girl?"
"Jeez, you really are gay."
Daisy Fay, Nick's cousin, hits her boyfriend's shoulder lightly. Good thing it wasn't the other girl in the car, Jordan Baker, Daisy's best friend, who had hit him. Because Jordan would've hit harder.
"Leave Nicky alone, Tom." Daisy chided. "He actually agreed to come tonight for once, let him take it all in with his own pace."
Jordan agreed, "and if you have something against queers, I'll remind you that you're gonna make an enemy of me too, Thomas."
"All right, jeez. Bunch of sensitive shits you guys are."
Nick rolled his eyes, wishing all the more he hadn't let Daisy's whims rope him into coming tonight. He just wanted to finish reading Hamlet so he can start on his book report. But his Aunt and Uncle wouldn't have allowed Daisy to go out if Nick wasn't chaperoning his cousin and her boyfriend. Which was ridiculous, with the two being older than him. But Daisy adored Nick, and Tom knew that if Nick finally puts his foot down with all of the drinking and smoking and whatnot then the girl would refuse the peer pressure as well and resist trying to do anything that would earn Nick's reproach.
If Tom wasn't so into Daisy, he really wouldn't bother sticking up or putting up with the guy or keeping his bullies in check every once in a while for the sake of maintaining her favor.
Nick honestly didn't know what Daisy saw in Tom, but if he spent his entire time questioning his cousin's choices he just might go insane.
"Whose party is this again?" Jordan asked.
Tom shrugged. "I don't know."
"What the hell?" Nick raised a brow. "You're attending a party with no knowledge of who your host is?"
Tom scowled, "Don't get snappy with me, scrawny." He hissed.
"Tom." Daisy reprimanded. "Well, Nick, the guy is new in town and he's going to be a student in our school. This is some kind of welcome party for himself. It's some kind of Open-invitation party. I heard he's some kind of heir, to a company or fortune, not really sure which."
"Please use variations of the expression some kind Daisy..." Nick narrowed his eyes, "Great, so any stranger can just walk in. This keeps getting better and better." He looked at Daisy and held her hand. "Maybe we should just go home."
"Oh, no." Tom huffed, getting out of the car and pulling his girlfriend out with him. "We're already here, and I didn't use up most of my gas just for you to chicken out as soon as we got here. I don't care if you want to be here anymore, stay here if you want with your book but you're not ruining this night for me." He dragged Daisy into the three-storey, pristine, white house.
"Well, we can't leave Daisy going along with that guy's whims." Jordan stepped out of the car. "You coming?"
Nick sighed. "Do I have a choice?" He stepped out with Jordan. "Why is she with him again?"
"Because she's the most popular girl, he's the school's number one jock, the student body thinks they should be together, so by default, Daisy thinks she should be with him."
Nick groaned. "Ugh. If she wasn't my cousin..."
"And my best friend," Jordan added. "Yeah, I know right? So, am I going to be your pretend plus one tonight or what?"
Nick waved a careless hand. "No, that's fine. Wouldn't want to get in your way of picking up guys... or girls." He said. "I'm pretty much out already, anyway. Just promise to help me drag Daisy out of this party as soon as things go south, whether or not you're making out with someone."
"You got it, bub."