blurring the lines

Who: Caleb and Nic
Where: her room
When: late night

Like clockwork that was shifting constantly towards a repeating punishment, the dreams were coming. Nic knew it, would have to be an idiot to think tonight was going to be any different, but the knowledge didn't help. Maybe she would've stressed over it less if she'd just been able to remember something, anything about what happened every Tuesday when she shut her eyes. She never did, she just tried to prolong the inevitable and wore herself out for as long as she could before sleep claimed her. This Tuesday? Well, it wasn't any different.

Nic had laid out some clothes and makeup on her dresser for tomorrow, planning her costume's preparations in advance. She'd done her homework, watched a couple of movies, and even snuck a look at her mom's work access through their computer, though what she saw was limited. She'd cooked a pizza, eaten a few slices, and was finally just sitting in her room with the music down low, staring at the cordless phone in her hand. The idea was there to call Caleb, she'd said she was going to. But she still worried about being one of those girls who dumped all their problems on a guy and needed things taken care of by him. She didn't want that, and Caleb didn't deserve it. So I just... won't tell him, she vowed silently, raising the phone and dialing his number.

Caleb looked up when Soundgarden started to play, and smiled faintly. Setting his book down, he leaned over and grabbed his cell, flipping it open. "City Morgue." he answered, laying back on his bed and regarding the ceiling. He didn't add any cute quips on the end of it, just greeted with that.

She laughed softly, sitting forward to rest on her knees and grabbing her stereo remote. "Yeah, I'm looking for a good stiff to hide in the principal's office, what are your rental policies?" Nic quipped right back at him with a grin. Why had she been nervous about calling, exactly? She needed to stop expecting him to get sick of her, or that she'd bother him too much. If that was the case, she would've just gotten his voicemail.

"Depends. I mean, if you're going to take it off of ice, it starts getting all dodgey, stinking up the place. We aren't responsible for any mess or drycleaning. We expect to get back all parts, though understand they won't be in the same condition as when you picked it up. Internal organs are extra." Caleb said, eyes tracking down from the ceiling, towards the painting he'd done of her, which was propped up against the wall on top of his stereo speaker.

"Can I just get organs?" she asked thoughtfully, playing along for a while longer. "If I wanted to, say... hide hearts around his office like he'd been murdering hookers? Or do I have to rent a full body first? And do you take credit cards?" She flopped back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she grabbed an ashtray and let it sit on her stomach. "Oh, how much extra does delivery run me?"

A smile spread over Caleb's lips and he shook his head slightly. "Well now you're getting complicated. Because if you want organs that don't exactly come in multiples in the human body, you're talking about renting several ex-people, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically. "So that's going to run you a lot extra. Though I could throw in an extra liver with every three hearts, just to sweeten the deal for you, if you wanted. I suggest if you really want to go for volume, however, you go for kidneys. People generally have two. It's double for the price of one there, can't beat that." he continued. "Delivery...not sure, most people come pick up their corpse bits themselves. Oh and we don't provide coolers, you'll have to get those on your own."

"God," Nic groaned dramatically, throwing her free hand up in dismay whether Caleb could see it or not. "I think I'm gonna have to call you back. I have to go over my entire budget again, and I need to figure this out before tomorrow. Is there any way you could send a salesman over with some price quotes? I'd feel a lot better about this investment if I did it face-to-face." There. She'd asked without directly asking. The hard part was over, unless he said no. Then it wouldn't be over until tomorrow morning.

Caleb paused as she said that, thinking this was just a bad idea. But that didn't mean he turned it down. "I believe someone's free to do that. Never let it be said that we aren't all about customer satisfaction." he told her, just having to put it like that. No two ways about it, it needed to be worded exactly in that manner.

She had to stop herself from more than one reply that sprang to mind, and Nic realized that while she didn't want to? It was good that she did. If she followed suit, he'd say something else, and she'd have to just grab him and kiss him when he crawled in. Kiss him and not stop or... Nic sighed softly, shaking her head at herself. She'd been maintaining thus far, hadn't she? Why not test the limits? She could keep herself within them, right? "Well, I hope you send someone good. I can be... demanding," Nic warned him, injecting a sultry note in her voice that made her want to laugh at herself.

He stopped just as he was putting his shoes on, and had to give himself a second before answering there. "Well, we'll keep that in mind. Remember, the customer is always right." he told her. They were meant to be holding off on things, right? That was the main plan going on here? Holding off, ignoring, not at all in any way flirting all over the place and such....right. Sure. And...right.

Nic wondered for a self-conscious moment if he'd had the same doubts and listened to them, but hey, he was still coming over, right? Couldn't have taken it too badly. Plus, like she'd told him the other day? They were both at fault in little ways. "Then of course I'm right to suggest your salesman use the side window," she said with a little chuckle, cradling the phone for a moment. "Uh... see you soon." Nic hung up without another word, figuring Caleb would've otherwise. He wasn't the type to indulge in goodbyes, after all. Hopping up from her bed, she moved to return the phone to the cradle and search out both her left-over pizza and some sodas.

Caleb hung up, pocketed his phone, and decided to head out. He was also still in the middle of a really awful debate with himself by the time he got there, having parked a block away around the corner. Why, he didn't necessarily know. Maybe because he was going to be going to her window, and not, say, meeting her mother. He was actually going to have to do that at some point, since Nic's mom was actually pretty important to her. That much he could just see, no explanation needed on that score. He vaguely wondered what it might be like, but didn't dwell on that for long. Parental discussions of any type usually left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. So...right. He ghosted up to the window, actually going so far as to sneak around the house and coming at it from the opposite side, just in case she was watching for him. It never hurt to keep people on their toes.

She was watching for him, in fact. Nic had stepped into her slippers and pulled on a sweatshirt before tugging her window open, settling down on a pillow to watch the yard and street beyond as she puffed a cigarette. Her arms were crossed in the windowsill, smoke bouncing from an awkward grip to her lips again as she hummed to herself, exhaling a drag and raising a soda can for a drink. When she wasn't filling her mouth with smoke or soda? She was singing. Granted, it was quiet, and it wasn't exactly good, but it was on-key at least. "...reminds me what to do before I'm dead," she murmured into the night air, "To see you.. to feel you..."

He stopped when he rounded the corner, and just watched for a few long moments. He had to smile, because he liked the image of her there, and, of course, she was singing. Which was kinda priceless, considering the source. It was a good thing though, it kind of added. And, there was the part where it was just something really normal and human about it. Which he appreciated in other ways. So, he gave himself time to appreciate. Then, he started to sneak up closer. He made sure he did it as silently as possible, wanting to get up close to her before he announced his presence. Then he just leaned his shoulder against the house, eyes on her, and waited. She'd notice him soon enough. He was close enough now that altering her gaze at the street should alert her. So...probably when she went to get another drink or something. He was patient. He wanted to hear more of the song.

The stereo inside was too low to clue him in, but she was singing along, and kept doing so for the rest of the chorus until a drum solo picked up. Nic raised her smoke towards her lips, head tilting slightly to keep the smoke from drifting into her eyes, and that's when she spotted him. Her eyes widened as she pushed up on both elbows, obviously starting to form a curse just for him when, not remembering her own pose, she cracked her head into the bottom of the open window. Nic's eyes went wider, jaw dropping open as she stifled a yowl of pain and faltered back from the open window into her room, reaching up to clutch the back of her head with a grimace and half a thought that she needed to not set her head on fire with her own cigarette.

And really, Caleb should have thought that that might happen. He winced, squinting one eye shut, and he moved immediately, stepping to her window and looking in. "You okay?" he asked, waiting for the shouting to start. That and probably the swing his way that might in fact, be that punch in the eye that she kept threatening to give him. This time he might actually deserve it... "I didn't mean to cause blunt force trauma or anything..."

His expectations were totally valid. She wanted to scream about how many dicks he sucked on his way over, or to give him a nice, bloody nose. But Nic was, surprisingly, being prudent tonight. She knew how light her mother slept on Tuesdays, just waiting to hear her start screaming. Not a week went by where Emily wasn't here for her, ready to come in and soothe away the night terrors. So she just stood there, eyes staring daggers down at her feet as she clenched her jaw shut tightly, sucking in a few seething breaths. "Get inside before I shut the window on your head," she muttered finally, glancing up at him and moving to stub her cigarette out.

He did as she said, climbing in through the window, and he walked up to her, sort of reaching up hesitantly to turn her head a little, so he could try and get a look. "How bad did you knock yourself?" he asked quietly, automatically keeping his voice lowered in reaction to her own volume, as well as the low tones of the music. It was just cues that he should keep quieter than usual, so he was.

Nic tensed a little when Caleb approached, jaw knotting as she fought her own volatile temper and worked to keep from flinching, smacking his hand away, or just smacking him. He's concerned, bitch. Be less of a bitch. "Not... not too bad," she muttered, reaching up from the opposite side and feeling into her own hair. No slick wetness meant no blood, so she'd probably just have a good bump. Which was actually almost a shame, she could've used the blood for her costume. "Just stung a little, made me feel like a first-class retard." Forcing the knot from her jaw, Nic sucked in a deep breath and ticked her eyes sideways at Caleb. "Brought you some pizza, homo," she added in a low murmur, giving a faint smirk that was almost apologetic for how close she'd been to lashing out.

He was paying attention to if her fingers came away bloody as well and also couldn't tell whether or not he was disappointed that there wasn't any. And then he just reminded himself just how messed up he was. Nothing like something that creepy to give yourself a mental shake. "I'm sorry." he said. "I didn't figure you'd jump that bad. Next time I promise I'll let you see me coming..." he told her, and he let go of her and took a full step back. He did that because he had the urge to just turn her face towards his and...right. Do things that they were very clearly not doing, and she probably wouldn't appreciate in any manner. "And....thanks..." he said to the pizza thing.

"It's okay," Nic assured him, stepping back as Caleb did and jabbing her hands into her hoodie pocket. Some part of her still wanted to hit him, though by now she wasn't sure if it was just as an excuse to touch him or not. Her temper was still lurking, but it tended to surface when she felt awkward or tense, two things that Caleb definitely brought out in her in unusual ways. "Serves me right for singing. Somewhere in L.A. the Kidneythieves feel better now that I've stopped, guaranteed," she joked self-deprecatingly, moving to sit on her bed's edge. nic grabbed one of the sodas she'd brought in, tossing one Caleb's way lightly and stopping her hand halfway up to her head. If she kept rubbing it, he'd think she was still hurt. Which she was, faintly, but she could deal with it.

"Well if you want to take a swing at me for retaliation, I promise I'll hold still." he told her. "...and I didn't think it was bad." he added, to the bit about her singing. He caught the soda, but didn't open it right away. He noticed the whole almost-reach to her head. "Why don't we get you some ice?" he suggested. "Can't hurt anything..." Okay so he officially felt bad about it now.

Nic shook her head a bit, bringing her own soda to the back of her head and scowling darkly at the first contact of the cold can. "Trust me, I'll be okay," she reiterated, "And I don't want to chance waking my mom. She's probably not too out of it yet." Leaning over to the window, Nic grabbed the pillow she'd been sitting on when he showed up and dragged it to the floor near her bed. "Just grab a seat, give me a sec and I'll be good. Bed or floor, your pick." Dangerous options? Definitely. But she was going to prove to herself that she could do this, odd bouts of flirting or not. "I'll save the chance to crack you for a later day. Rain check or something."

Yeah, definitely he was feeling bad about her head-knock. Shit. He also opted for the floor, because the bed was just asking for way too much trouble, and while he knew he had a hell of a lot of willpower...he wasn't a saint. Hell he didn't even think he qualified as a boy scout. All he had was that willpower, he didn't really have the morals to back it up and shore it up well enough to stand up to a whole lot. Morality and he didn't get along as well as they probably should have. "Anything I can do to make it up to you?" he asked, figuring that was the best option.

Somehow, Nic didn't think that what had happened was quite big enough to ask for the things Caleb still wouldn't tell her, so that option was off the table. As were several other somewhat inappropriate ones, what with their understanding. What did that leave? "Just... buy me a pack of smokes and we'll call it good," she teased with a smirk, lowering the can and cracking it open, then taking a drink. "Or not even that. You came out, that's cool enough. I'm easy like that, y'know." What else could she say? A headache might help her stay awake, and Nic wasn't the sort to think she could really demand any sort of compensation from someone else.

"Somehow I don't find my presence that rewarding." Caleb muttered. "Still...sorry." he added. "Let me know if you change your mind." he continued. "Anyways...what're you up to beyond singing to yourself?" he asked. Now he opened up the soda she'd given him, and he took a drink.

"That's probably because you're with you every day," Nic pointed out wryly, shaking her head at him, "For me it's a treat. But I'll let you know. And hey, rain check to pop you one, remember?" She could've understood him feeling bad if Nic had yelled like she wanted to, but this was the first time she'd seen someone guilty without her saying 'fuck' even once. But his question made her shrug uncertainly, not really wanting to directly explain. "Just... not sleeping. Gotta get myself nice and tired for tomorrow at school."

He watched her, nodding a little. "You showing up even?" he asked. Since he didn't know if she would. Wasn't tomorrow Halloween? Then he was wondering what she was doing for Halloween if anything, and if it was going to be considered weird if he asked her, or saw if she wanted to do something together, because wouldn't that be considered something resembling date-like activities? Or maybe not and he was just blurring the lines and didn't know where they were supposed to be anymore. "Isn't tomorrow Halloween?"

"I have to," Nic told him, nodding a little and bringing her legs up to one side for a partial lounge on her bed. "My mom calls the office now and then, I have a tendency to bail." In truth, Emily mainly called on Wednesdays, when she knew Nic was likely to leave, walk around town for an hour, then come home and crawl back in bed. "Yeah, it's Halloween, we're gonna be surrounded by the skankiest costumes imaginable. Or maybe not, if everyone's still in group-hug mode." Her costume was going to be anything but skanky, though. With luck? She'd get in trouble for grossing people out.

"Yeah, generally speaking I see more pretend animal costumes that aren't really anything of the kind on halloween than anything else." Caleb agreed. It was free license for girls to wear as little as possible in public. "You dressing up for it?" he asked, not sure if he thought she would or not. Part of him thought she would be a little too 'whatever' about it to, another part thought that she'd of course latch onto the occasion to go over the top in her own way for perfectly valid reasons.

She had to keep from glancing to her dresser where the makeup was all laid out along with an amateurish sketch of some details she wanted. Giving Caleb a chance to figure it out wouldn't be half as fun as just getting the whole thing put together, though Nic wasn't sure she'd have much enthusiasm for the day itself. "Hell yes I'm dressing up," she confirmed with a grin, stretching languidly and stifling a yawn with a swig of soda, "I have every year, no sense in changing the routine yet." Every year she could remember, at least. "What about you? I could see you as... Raggedy Andy. Maybe a teddybear."

"I hadn't planned on it." he said. And he tried not to twitch about the teddybear thing. He knew she was kidding, it just touched a nerve a tiny bit. People liked to assume things about him sometimes, and that had been on the list. That he was a teddybear, or something like it when he was nothing of the sort. "So you're dressing up. What are you going to be doing?" he asked, watching her. He focused his attention in on her like he tended to do, eyes heavy on hers, concentration fully narrowed down. He crossed his arms on the foot of her bed and rested his chin on them, settling in to do that watching her thing.

"What, like, costume? I can't tell you, that'd ruin all the fun!" she protested with a light laugh, eyes twinkling. Her head was a dull ache by now, and the company had gone a long way towards helping Nic forget both the pain and her impending dread. "Or did you mean on Halloween itself? Because I figured I'd probably just rent some movies, stay in. The warden doesn't make exceptions for holidays," she reminded Caleb with a shrug. And she didn't expect her mother to, but it was harder to bother wanting to dress up when she'd just be taking off her makeup after school. "You got plans?"

"I meant activities that possibly or not pertain to the holiday." Caleb clarified. He'd want to see for himself what she dressed up as. He was willing to bet it would be good. He'd liked her at the masquerade. "And no, nothing in particular. I'm not much of a holiday guy, generally speaking." Being his family weren't really into that kind of shit. He didn't know what he'd be doing, if anything at all. Part of him wanted to be out, though. Just...walking around. Seeing what he could see. See if he could pick out what was a costume, and what was not.

Nic shrugged again, sitting forward and leaning off the bed to snag a piece of the pizza she'd brought in. "Yeah, my holiday activities are just going to involve a late night of bad movies. Maybe if I cook dinner or something, my mom'll let me hide outside and scare kids. You're welcome to join in on either activity, y'know," she offered, biting into her slice and chewing thoughtfully. Company would be a good thing, her mother could only stomach so many horror movies after all.

He eyed her for a few moments. "If I did, would that mean I'd have to meet your mom?" he asked lightly. Again, he was struck with the thought that he was going to have to eventually. He just didn't necessarily want to. He was fairly positive that he wasn't at all the kind of guy anyone would want their daughter around for any length of time. And sure, he could probably play it well? But he didn't really want to give Nic that glimpse of just how good a liar he could be when he wanted to be. So there was a double edge there, ways he couldn't win.

"Most likely, yeah," she informed him with a wistful smile. "She's going in to work early, so she'll be home sometime in the afternoon. She might crash out early if there's no trick-or-treaters, though. And I kinda doubt there'll be a lot, after this weekend. But I can't promise you anything." Really, she expected him to lie to some degree. Nic knew enough about Caleb that if the tables were reversed, she'd lie her ass off. There was just too much true knowledge of the nasty side of things out there for him to be honest. "If you don't want to, that's okay y'know. I'm sure there's better shit going on than sitting around watching Re-Animator and Frankenhooker with me."

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Fuck off." he told her. "Enough with the self-depricating bullshit. Give it a rest now and then. You know I like spending my time with you." he said, in an irrational little slide off the beaten path. "Plus, I already said I didn't have anything to do. So unless you expect that I'm about to have a complete personality change and become a social person, and find some party to crash...I think it's safe to say that there isn't anything better going to be going on with me tomorrow." Then he stopped, and sort of recognized that he'd gone off on her there. "...sorry." he muttered, glancing away. He knew after he said it where it had come from. He just didn't like the connotations, and it really would have been helpful if he'd felt irritation building up on that as opposed to a snap outburst there. Shit.

Nic flinched, genuinely surprised by the verbal outburst. They gave each other grief plenty of the time, but that? That had been real. She'd hit a nerve. And she felt one of her own twitch in response. She looked down at the slice of pizza in her hand, shaking her head a little at his apology. "You, uh... already said that tonight," she pointed out in a murmur, unwilling or unable to look up at Caleb yet. Most of the time, she would've told him or anyone else to fuck off in kind, but he'd called her on a real issue. "It's just a reflex? Me talking shit about me. Makes it easier to know other people do or something, I dunno. I just figured you might actually get an offer to do something cool tomorrow, so I was giving you an out if that happened." But really, had that ever happened for her? Nic couldn't think of any time, ever, when someone beyond her mother had told her not to beat herself up so much. "But don't apologize, okay? You haven't done shit to me to be sorry for yet," she reiterated, glancing his way briefly and setting her pizza aside.

He didn't say anything for a few long moments, jaw set as he tried to get better control of himself. See, this was what happened. He did things like this, and it wound up being just that first chip in things, before everything else started to break down. He couldn't quite shut down the twitching, though. "Well, you do it a lot. And it gets...difficult to listen to when it's on repeat so much. Especially since you know I've--" he didn't know how to word that, so he skipped over it with a vague gesture. "So it comes off like you're blowing off shit you know is true about me. Or like you just flat out don't trust me on it. Like you're waiting for me to decide to go back on everything I've said. That or it sounds like you're fishing for someone to disagree with you. And I know that isn't what you're doing, but..." he trailed off and sighed, dragging his fingers through his hair. "I don't think I've met a female I've spent significant amounts of time with that didn't have that same tendency. I really--would rather not see it in you."

As much as he was trying to explain that the problem wasn't Nic directly, that it was a behavior he'd seen, and her perception of herself? Some part of her wanted to twist it to be her, some unwanted part of her that was bound to spoil things eventually. There's a reason you roll solo, she reminded herself, grabbing her cigarettes again and fidgeting with one before lighting up. No matter how this went? At least it was taking up time, keeping her awake. Though she wondered if she'd be more miserable asleep? Or waiting for this to crash and fall apart. "You--" she started, faltering and forcing a cough to clear her throat, "You told me before, when I saw your painting, that what I saw wasn't what you saw. Remember? And that's it, it really is, I think. It's not that I want to butt heads with you for real, it's not that I think you're just going to bail, it's... me. I want to see what you do, I think I'd like that girl a lot, and I'm trying? But I fuck it up."

She smiled humorlessly, blowing smoke towards her window and shaking her head. "And that's not me talking shit about myself again, for real. Just... when I see you looking at me, and I get close to you? And one of us stops... I know I said I wanted you to feel like you could tell me anything before..." she trailed off like he'd done, waving a hand dismissively. "It's hard not to think it's me. It's crazy and stupid, but it's there."

Again, he was quiet for a long time before he answered her. He was studying her again, taking in details. How her hair fell around her face. The curl of the smoke from her cigarette. The shadows and light, and how they obscured some features and brought others into focus. All the little things that went into imagery, to make it something more than just a flat picture. "You think that I'm not telling you because of you." he said. "In that deep down you know it's probably not valid but it still bothers you sort of way." he repeated, wanting to be sure he had that right.

"I think you're being honest when you tell me it'd scare me off," Nic replied, though she was nodding slightly. "But... yeah. I believe you, Caleb. I know you have your reasons, and I bet they're good ones? But part of me insists that it's me, and it just... gets this knee-jerk defense reaction going. I can tell you I'm trying not to, I can do the fucking best I can to fight it? But I'll probably still mess up, whether you tell me or not. And if I do, it's not you. It's never been you, and it's probably never going to be. I just need you to call me on it, and hope you don't get sick of it before it finally stops, if it ever does."

Watching her eyes as she spoke, he took in everything she said. Filed it all away, even if he had something to say back to it. "Nic, I figure when you find out, or when I tell you, that I'm never going to talk to you again. Or...you'll never want to talk to me again. And not because I expect you to react irrationally. Because I expect you to react rationally. To do the sane thing. So me not telling you? Honestly, without anything added on to pretty it up? It's me being selfish because I don't want this to be over yet." he told her. And he couldn't be sure why he did. Was he trying to crash and burn things here? Or was he trying to warn her again? He didn't know what the hell he was doing. Maybe he should take up that idea that not talking was best. It got him into far less trouble.

She hadn't been thinking about this hard enough, obviously. He was serious. If and when he told her, he would be saying goodbye at the same time. What could be so terrible? she thought with a queasy feeling, either from that thought or from the words Nic just wasn't sure she could honestly say out loud. "I'm glad you're selfish," she murmured with a nervous smile, reaching up to twist one braid between her fingers, "I don't want this to be over either. It's... seriously? It's the best thing for me in a long time, and I hope that doesn't make you feel weird." Though she had the impression that both of them already felt pretty strange about everything. So just say it. How much worse can you make this? "Caleb... if that ever happened? I..." she trailed off, chewing her lower lip nervously as she stubbed out her smoke, gripping the legs of her pajama pants determinedly. "God dammit," Nic muttered in frustration, squeezing her eyes shut and sucking in a breath. "If I got up right now, if I kissed you? Would you stop me? Because if you really believe I'm going to be gone? I want to know."

Hearing that he was the best thing for her in a long time didn't so much make him feel strange, as it made him feel guilty. Because really, there were whole worlds of bad connotations that could be drawn from that idea after the fact. Like what that said about her. And she had a mind that would look for the rawest points. It wasn't fair to do to her. But then again, none of this was especially fair. Like that question. Or his answer, probably. "I wouldn't stop you." he told her.

She needed to become psychic if only just to disarm his worries. It was more the two of them together that made her feel so strangely good than anything else, but Nic didn't know enough to feel the need to say so. What she knew right now was that she'd felt strained beyond the point of breaking for a while now, that she kept depriving herself of what seemed so natural to want for both of their sakes. He'd been doing the same, they'd both been torturing themselves for the sake of their friendship, and maybe they didn't need to. Nic knew she wasn't going to let things change for the worse. She dropped bare feet from her bed, rising without a word, shoulders hunched nervously as she padded across the few feet between them and settled down on her knees to one side of him. Reaching out slowly, Nic slid one hand around to the back of Caleb's head, fingers weaving into his hair to feel for where she'd cut him once as she leaned in close. "Last chance," she whispered, her eyes lit up as she moved in, expression shy at first. All at once it changed, the shyness breaking in the wake of a hungry smile that carried relief just from the decision to do this. Then she closed the gap and she was kissing him hard, fingers knotting tight in Caleb's hair as she felt her blood rush with the thrill of contact.

Having the move made on him was something a little new for him. Generally speaking--with one clear exception--it had been on him. But then that was something he appreciated about Nic to begin with. She wasn't exactly the same as all the other girls. He'd shifted when she'd threaded her fingers into his hair, liking the feel of that. And then? Everything else got shut out because he was being kissed. And not just kissed, but pretty much kissed exactly how he liked being kissed. Caleb had a habit of skipping over sweet and gentle for first kisses...probably because most of the time he held off until a certain level of desperation leaked through. And really, right now, that wasn't different. It was there, rising up immediately as he kissed her back. Of course he also reached forward to pull her in towards him, onto his lap. Being they were dispensing with anything light or sweet...he didn't really feel the need to curb that urge.

Why the fuck did we wait? Nic wondered silently as she was drawn into his lap, her contact with Caleb's lips breaking just enough for a half-gasp, half-laugh to escape from her mouth. She pressed back in before the sound had fully formed, eager and hungry for that rush again as her free hand clenched at the collar of Caleb's shirt, her other digging nails into his scalp to press him harder against her lips. Nic wanted to bite as she kissed him, fighting off the urge aside from a scrape of teeth on Caleb's lips, but only barely. It was everything she'd thought it would be, but somehow more as well. And now? Now Nic had no fears about falling asleep, or about anything at all for that matter.

There was part of Caleb that was seriously wondering why he'd been holding off on this. Of course, he knew why. He wasn't meant to get involved, it was just going to make everything worse later. There were reasons. Good ones, too. But that didn't really weigh in at the moment. Later? Oh, he'd be feeling pretty bad about all of this. Guilty, everything else. But right then and there, it wasn't mattering. He felt a thrill through his system at the little things. Like the scrape of teeth, her nails biting in. All things he appreciated in ways one generally didn't come right out and say. Or, not until someone was doing it to you and you were obviously liking it. Like around nowish. When he nipped at her lower lip it was more substantial than just a scrape of teeth. It was sharp, if short, and he used his hands which had found their way to her hips to pull her in closer against him.

Nic couldn't have said before now that she liked that sort of thing, but she'd definitely add it for future reference. She gasped appreciatively at the short bite, fingers twisting Caleb's hair slightly as Nic's hips rolled under his touch, grinding her into him. It was a reflex, a gesture of pure enjoyment she would've flailed over if she was thinking about it, but right now? She just wanted to be closer. He was warm against her, and an old shirt and thin pajama pants left Nic aware of far too many details. Sadly, or maybe luckily, the need to breathe forced her to break away from Caleb's lips with a shudder. "Jesus," Nic gasped, eyes wide and shining at him as she slid her fingers through his hair.

Caleb wasn't so sure he was ready for that to be done with. Particularly since she'd pushed against him and while she'd already had his attention? She had it even more now. God did she have it now. All of that she'd just done, was pretty much tailored to how he liked it. So...he was a little distracted. His eyes were up on hers, dark, very clear in the fact that she's sparked up a really heavy desire in him. He should probably let go of her now. Or...look away, or something. He was just barely keeping himself from doing anything further, though whether or not he'd manage to keep curbing that impulse he didn't know. The likelihood of that was kind of dwindling the longer she stayed where she was. He leaned a little closer to her, aware his heartbeat was thudding in his chest, that his breathing wasn't the steadiest it had ever been. He was aware of the fact that he still had a grip on her hips, and hadn't let up on that at all. She either needed to move? Or let him continue. And yet he wasn't making any sort of move to get her further away, or even give her that ultimatum.

She smiled brazenly at Caleb's lack of words, loving the dark edge his eyes had as they lingered on her every bit as much as she loved the feel of his hands. Nic reached back behind her as she leaned into the scant distance between them, her eyes narrowing as she tried to read his expression. "Now I know. Should I stop?" she murmured, her hand settling on one of his. Nic's grip closed over Caleb's as she leaned in, fighting the urge to bite his lip like he'd done, wondering if it'd make him shiver, wanting to close his hand tighter at her side. They were sharing a mind in that sense; she knew she probably should move, but Nic just didn't think she was going to of her own free will. Not yet, at any rate.

God, what an unfair fucking question. Should she stop? Fuck no. No, she shouldn't stop, because he didn't want her to. He didn't want to stop either, like he was wondering just what kind of a sound she would make if he bit into her neck, just below her ear there. And just how hard he could do it where she's still like it. He was willing to bet he could get away with a lot on that particular score. That he'd be able to get away with enough that she'd be well marked for the effort. "Do you want to stop?" he asked, finally getting speech back. He leaned closer, breathed in along her neck, though didn't do more than that for the moment. He just took in her scent--which granted, was mostly 'smoke' at that point, but still. It was hers. He got in closer towards her ear, and exhaled into it, just to see what kind of an effect it might have. ...it was that or bite her again, and since he needed an answer to his question first, he just went for the tease.

The effect? She shivered, her hands tightening both on his hair like she was urging Caleb forward and on his own hand at her hip, pushing both of them into each other as she shivered helplessly. "I haven't wanted to yet," she whispered breathily, leaning forward to let her mouth fall on the bunch of muscles in his shoulder, "I don't think I'm gonna any more.". His sweatshirt was good padding, and it gave her much less hesitancy about doing exactly what Caleb wanted to. She bit down against the fabric, somehow satisfied just by the solid feel of him beneath it combining with the mesh of their bodies where they sat on the floor.

Caleb shuddered, the bite sending sparks through his system that were probably not good to be encouraging right now, but fuck, was she ever doing that. His hand on her hip tightened, and he pushed up against her, a rather unconscious gesture as opposed to something he thought out. What he did think out, albeit for no longer than a heartbeat, was the bite he laid on her. It was right where he'd thought about it, just below her ear on her neck, and he bit hard. Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough that she would have a bruise to explain to her mother. He just couldn't be bothered to dial it back at that point, not with her doing that to him.

Nic cried out in a soft voice, barely restraining herself from getting much louder as she wrenched at Caleb's hair. Through it all there was an undercurrent of thought; don't wake her mother, because she thought she just might lose her mind if this was suddenly interrupted. She'd never been bit that hard before, and the edge of pain was there? But it was just the tip of a wave of pleasure, and she very quickly realized just how great those two things could go together in the heat of this moment. "Don't stop" she groaned plaintively, grinding down into him as he pushed up. Of course, one of them would have to eventually, it wasn't like she'd see this through entirely, but right now? Nic didn't want to back off enough for her wits to return, and she didn't want him to either.

That? Was a nice sound. Both the cry she gave, and what she said. The tone in her voice, that reflected want that he knew rang true through him at the moment. And if she kept up pulling his hair like that, he'd be perfectly happy. Because he liked that. She could do that all she wanted. And of course, when she pushed down against him, that just encouraged him to do it again. So he did, nipping at the bite he'd just given her, before he started to trail kisses and bites intermittently down her neck, though none of them was quite as hard as that first bite. That was the one he wanted her to keep, to have marked on her person as a reminder. Or maybe just as a fucked up little claim. He wasn't really of a mind to analyze his own intentions at the moment, however.

Nic would've been quite happy with the idea of being claimed, but she wasn't exactly sad at the moment anyway. She laughed in low enjoyment, head tilting to one side to give Caleb all the access he might want to her neck and guiding his claimed hand from her hip up to her side. Even with the heat of the moment, Nic didn't think she could say it out loud, but she wanted to feel him touch her. Her own hand finally left his, traveling up his arm and neck, fingertips ghosting across Caleb's cheek as Nic teased his already-busy lips with a thumb.

Since she wasn't holding his hand to her hip anymore, he took that as free license to explore. Which he did. And the first thing he did was slide it right back down--but that was just to slip it beneath the hem of her shirt. There. That was what he'd wanted. To feel her skin. She was soft, and he made a really slow progressive slide up her side and ribs, wanting to take his time with that. He smiled a little when she touched his cheek. And when her thumb came in towards his lips, he bit at that too. But it was just a short thing, right before he shifted enough to kiss her properly again. He'd gotten enough breath back to do so, so he was going to take advantage. He wasn't sure how far this was going to go, so he wanted to get as much of that in as possible before a halt was called.

That kiss came just at the right time, too. The slow crawl of his hand under Nic's shirt and across bare skin had made her cheeks flush and bunch in a nervous smile, though the nerves died when she found herself locked in with Caleb again. She kissed him bruisingly hard to make up for lost chances to feel his skin under her teeth, goosebumps racing along her sides and back from that and Caleb's hand. She might've seemed rushed, but Nic wasn't thinking about how much time they might have. She just still had a mountain of repressed urges where Caleb was concerned, and this contact was the beginning of chipping them down.

Caleb ghosted his hand up over one of her breasts, squeezing lightly. He kind of wanted to harder than that, but didn't quite yet. This was all going pretty fucking perfectly, and he wasn't about to do anything that she might not be okay with. Or that might get her mother coming in here. Even if he ground back up against her again, and nipped at her lower lip. He was trying not to think about getting up, picking her up with him and finding the nearest wall. Sure, he was leaning back against the bed and everything but that just kinda didn't enter into his mind. He liked walls. And he had unfinished business with Nic and a wall.

Nic was dying to return the favor, to feel his bare skin, but somehow she didn't think that would fly. She still had room to think about his scars, if only because she knew that trying to get rid of his sweatshirt might shatter the moment. Her back curled to give him access wherever he might want, there were few lines she wouldn't let Caleb cross right now. She reached down low to his hip, pulling him up into her as Nic growled heatedly at the bite on her lip and felt herself drowning in the heat of the moment.

What he wanted to do was get her shirt off. He was aware of that. Really. He wasn't sure if she'd let him, but that's what he wanted. The little growl from her? Was something that sent little thrills through him. That was a sound he could get used to. Very used to. Fuck. And alright, if she was going to be pulling him up like that? He was finding a wall. He very abruptly broke everything off, got to his feet, taking her with him, and the wall right next to the window was the closest one. So he shoved her back against it, not bothering to be very gentle about it, and he was right back in again, kissing her hard, and reaching down to slide a hand down her hip down past towards her knee to hike that up off of the floor towards his hip.

The impact against the wall was thrilling in a way Nic finally understood; it was the rush of anticipation she'd felt in the orphanage without the maddening breakaway. She followed his unspoken demands easily, sliding her leg up around Caleb's hip and hooking him in against her with another little growl, abruptly grabbing his hair to yank his head back. Nic turned her own, breaking free of the kiss and grabbing his jaw with her free hand. "Quietly," she hissed at him, eyes burning and matching her wicked smile that curled around pants of breath. "If my mom comes in and breaks this off? I'm going to beat you purple." Was that... dirty talk? At least for them, where rough play seemed to be Caleb's thing (and her own, apparently), it might've been. And the commanding edge of her voice definitely gave Nic a personal thrill as she yanked him back in for another burning kiss.

Intentional dirty talk or not--it worked for Caleb. After all, one of the most intense sexual experiences of his life had started when the girl in question had sliced the back of his leg with a knife just to prove she could have hamstrung him if she'd wanted, and then she shoved him down to tease the living hell out of him. So, yeah, a little taste of that struggle for dominance? He could appreciate. He might have answered her. About all he did do was give her a smirk that matched hers in that darker, wicked bent to it. And, since she'd done that, he pushed her up the wall just a little, pulling back a tiny bit to pull her other leg up so he could prop her against the wall fully, then he ground hard into her. He liked walls. They didn't have any give to them like a bed did. So as much force as he put into it was as much force as she was going to get the impact of. And if she was bruised in other places tomorrow? Well, she'd just have to deal with that.

She felt her ribs compressing as Caleb ground into her, and Nic couldn't help a proper moan spilling past her lips as she wound her legs around his waist, squeezing him as tight as she could. She was definitely becoming a fan of walls as well; the way she got pushed higher with every grind of his hips and Caleb's head would tilt slightly to keep the kiss held between them. Her arms looped around his neck, one hand seizing his hair tight again as the other delved under the collar of his shirt, raking at his upper back. She knew there had to be scars there but didn't give a damn, she wanted to feel his skin burning as hot as hers was and to get half of the reaction he was coaxing from her.

It was his turn to let out a growl, and he broke the kiss just a moment, to hiss "quiet" into her ear. Then he was back to her. Or, he was until he felt the bite of her nails. He broke off the kiss as she scratched him, digging in over the scars there--because of course there were scars there. Raised, crisscrossed patchworks of scars. He gasped with it, little bright sparks of pain there, but that wasn't a bad thing for him. His head dropped in against her neck and all he said was "God, fuck, do that again--" that, right before he found the spot he'd bit her hardest in the first place and did it again.

Nic's teeth closed on her own lip to keep from crying out as he bit her. Her eyes snapped shut as stars blossomed behind her eyelids, her whole body shaking against Caleb. It was too much, she felt like she could pass out from sheer enjoyment of this moment, and dimly Nic realized she could taste blood on her tongue. "Don't you dare fucking stop," she gasped into his ear in a rush, intent on doing just what he'd said. Nic strained to reach deeper into Caleb's shirt, pointedly digging her nails in deep on his lower back and dragging them up achingly slow. She'd wonder about the speed-bumps of scars later, right now she just wanted to see which of them was going to break first.

He listened--he didn't stop, but god, it was hard not to at least pause with the scratching she was doing. And dragging it out like that, god god god. This was just going to end in frustration. And sure, he knew that when he'd started, but getting the taste of things? And finding out first hand that she liked it like he did? Fuck. That was going to make that frustration even worse. He could feel stinging welts left in the wake of her nails, and was fairly sure that he'd have light dots of blood on the inside of his shirt later. Which was fine by him. After biting into her neck a few more times, down her neck but still leaving the really hard bite for that same spot, he wrenched her face back over by reaching up with one hand to grab her by the jaw to do that. And then? He tasted blood. Hers. Which sent a shudder through him and made him groan as he bit at her lip to make it bleed a touch more.

She let her head bump back into the wall, drawing him there to fully pin her as Nic's breath hitched in her throat and she choked on a moan that would just get both of them in trouble. She snaked her tongue out, licking at his lips as he bit at her lower one and wondering where all of this had come from. Even in the past, Nic had never been like this when she'd fooled around with guys. Maybe that was why she'd never really cared about dating; she'd never found someone to match the appetites she was just now realizing she had. She didn't care that she was bleeding, she just wanted more, the next delicious rush he'd give to her. Grabbing Caleb's wrist, she yanked his hand from her jaw and guided it back down to her breast, pushing it into place with another throaty growl.

There really was only one problem with all of this that nagged at the back of Caleb's mind. And that was this kind of thing? Wasn't really like messing around in a normal, vanilla kind of fashion. This was the sort of thing you did that built up and built up until...well. And he was fairly positive that Nic had lines there. Surely, there had to be lines somewhere. Even if he hadn't happened to have hit any yet. Which was in fact, thrilling in it's own right. And yet, witness him not even trying to dial it back again. She'd told him twice now not to stop. So--he wasn't. Not yet anyways. When she repositioned his hand, he squeezed hard, like he'd wanted to do initially but hadn't just yet. He still wanted her shirt off. But then if he was being honest he wanted the rest of her clothes off too. If he was being honest, he flat out wanted her. Where exactly had that bit gone where he'd been meant to not get involved? Nowhere in sight right now, it was buried pretty damn deep in the back of his mind, overwhelmed with everything else to even play in.

He was right, there were definitely lines to eventually run into. She was a virgin still, she'd never had this sort of intensity to make her bemoan that fact or even think it might change. But now? Well, Nic wanted to try everything she hadn't yet. She wanted somewhere private to be as loud with him as they possibly could be, to make him bleed and taste it on her lips, but that wasn't happening tonight. Despite the ache and joy of him squeezing at her and pushing into her like it was what he was built for, she knew they had to stop. They had to wind down, breathe, separate enough that they wouldn't just mesh back together a few seconds later. They needed to, but she didn't want to. She twisted away from Caleb's kiss, tongue running over her lips as Nic panted for breath and leaned into his ear. "Slow down," she whispered, biting his earlobe and tugging at it. "If we just stop I'm gonna fucking explode, so just... slow down with me," she explained, fearing he'd take that wrong and grinding into him to try to emphasize that it wasn't a bad request.

There it was. The word stop, even if she made it clear that she didn't want him to stop just yet. Slowing down wasn't really what he wanted to do, but he could. And agreed that it was better than just an abrupt cut off. So he slowed down. He didn't push quite so hard into the wall, and pulled it back a little bit each time, concentrated on catching his breath, while adding kisses and softer bites to her neck. He nuzzled at the bruises already forming high up by her ear. That? Was actually gentle in nature. When he got back to kissing her again, it was slow. Slow, but not really that much less intense, which he kind of knew from experience he should dial back too. Because that could lead to just as much trouble as the urgent, hard and fast sort of activities. A slow burn was just another way to really, really feel everything. But he couldn't help it, he had to kiss her like that. At least the once.

The slower pace was every bit as enjoyable, even if Nic still just wanted to leave trails of gouges in his skin and let him bruise her everywhere he could. She missed being crushed against the wall by him, but the trade-off was that Caleb's kiss was a wholly different kind of enjoyment. Nic savored the nuances of it, the contours of his lips and how he paced his breathing, how both of their mouths tasted like her blood now. Which was creepy of her, but she would've sworn Caleb liked it too. She ran her fingers up across his head and through his hair again, trailing a scratch much more gently down Caleb's neck to his collar again and silently hoping she'd marked him up. The intensity wasn't a problem in her book, Nic was every bit as committed to it as Caleb, apparently.

A last little shudder went through him with the light scratch, and he finally brought things to a stop. It took a few more kisses, before he finally truly made himself set her back on her feet. And he didn't so much step back as he put his palms against the wall above her shoulders and pushed extended his arms out, so he had her caught there, but wasn't touching her anymore. Which was a shame. And he'd need to move, but he'd do that in a minute. Or something. whatever. He was busy watching her expression, her eyes. Liking that flush and the way her lip was just that tiny bit swollen, with the touch of red on her lower one. He brought his own lower lip in between his teeth to get the last taste of her off of it, gaze ticking between her eyes.

Her legs felt shaky as her feet touched the ground, and Nic sucked in a soft breath as Caleb cleaned his lip. Nic smiled brazenly up at Caleb as she reached out for one of his outstretched arms, running her hand down the length of it to rest on his shoulder to end up with her own outstretched. "I can see why you're a fan of this," she murmured, eyes still shining with the heat they'd just shared, and she almost tugged him right back in. But hey, there was that whole need to stop, which she'd just initiated. She reached up with her other hand, fingers ghosting across the spot where he'd left a mark on her neck, then brushing her swollen lip. "Good thing tomorrow's a dress-up day," Nic added, feeling her legs tremble again from just the memory of his teeth on her skin.

That had him smirking at her. It was a purely evil sort of look. "That'll only give you an excuse for a day." he pointed out, eyes trailing down from hers to the mark on her neck. He took that hand off of the wall, and lightly brushed his fingers around the ring where he'd left teeth marks in her skin. It was definitely bruising nicely. Yeah, that wasn't going to be gone in twenty-four hours. Fingers still lightly there on her skin, just a gentle brush of his fingertips, he ticked his gaze back to hers. "So what are you going to say after that?" he asked, tone innocent even if he was still giving her that evil look.

Nic's head turned towards his hand, eyes fluttering shut from the cool brush of Caleb's fingers. She leaned out to bite fleetingly at the base of his thumb, not lingering despite wanting to, because that'd just put them right back where they'd been. Right back where she wanted to be. "Maybe after a day I can just cover it up," she suggested, looking back to Caleb thoughtfully. She didn't want to cover it, that was the problem. Let people stare at the mark, let them speculate about who it could be from. "If my mom sees it? I dunno. Anyone else who asks can just kiss my nonexistent dick," Nic murmured, her tone far lighter than the content of her words.

He shook his head the slightest bit. "I don't want you to cover it up." he said. Because he didn't. And they used to talk about reputation anyhow, stories getting spread around. He imagined her coming to school with something like that might give people something to talk about. He also had some hard, immediate possessive sorts of urges kick up there. Like she wasn't allowed to cover it up because it was his. Because he'd marked her, and she was staying that way. Or he wanted her to. But really, hadn't this started because she'd wanted to know what it was like to kiss him, just in case everything crashed and burned? It wasn't like he was going to make the assumption that they were now Together. In fact, he had no idea where this put them. They should probably figure that out.

"Just around my mom, then," Nic agree, smirking at him and giving Caleb's shoulder a light punch. "The rest of the world? Let 'em stare." Because even if she wouldn't say as much to him or anyone else, she was just fine with showing it off. It was her nice, unignorable reminder of just what it felt like to do what she'd been wanting to. "But I know she's going to wonder why I'm wearing my hair down whenever I'm at home," she added, figuring that'd be the best way to really hide the bite marks when she absolutely had to. The comment was just filler, though, something to say because their thoughts were running parallel. What did this mean for them? Were they an item? As much as Nic liked the thought, she didn't at the same time. She couldn't help thinking that it'd threaten the understanding they'd had before she kissed him, and Nic didn't want to sacrifice one for the other.

"I like your hair down." Caleb said, because he did. He paused, unsure he was able to do this, but he did anyhow. He reached up, tracing his fingertips along her cheek and down towards her chin. Then he tipped her chin down a touch, to part her lips so he could give her one last soft, mildly invasive kiss. Then he finally stepped back entirely, because he needed the space. He also really still needed to convince himself he couldn't do anything more. Seriously now. They'd probably need to talk, and decide what the fuck they were playing at... Because he didn't necessarily want to declare themselves a couple either. He'd not meant to get involved, because when he got involved, things went south incredibly fast. Record speed, it seemed. And god did he not want that to happen with her. He'd...really developed issues about this, hadn't he. He guessed two breakdowns would do that.

As much as that gentle kiss thrilled her, and as much as Nic wanted to keep him close? She could see the uncertainty in his eyes. It was probably reflecting back from her own, really. They were both worried and confused, she guessed. She knew she was, because as much as Nic wanted to know how his lips felt in case he was ever gone? Now she didn't want to think he would be. But she couldn't say that, she wouldn't let herself cling to him desperately and ruin anything they had. "Don't push," she said eventually, staying against the wall and watching him, her fingers curling and uncurling to fight the urge to touch him. "Okay? When I see you next, if it's school or on the street or over here? Don't push. Don't feel like you have to do anything, just... do what you want to do. I know what's here, with us. I don't need you to show me every time I see you. I won't complain if you do," she pointed out with a smirk, "But I won't cry if you're just you. I like 'just you', no reason to change it."

Caleb wasn't sure if he thought that was the best deal ever, or if it was going to wind up frustrating the hell out of the both of them. Possibly a little of both. He nodded, though. "Alright. Deal." he said. Because at least it gave him some leeway. Free license to not have to curb every urge she sparked up in him--and there were many, especially now--but no real pressure to take things to a next level neither one of them were sure they were good to handle yet. ...sounded suspiciously like friends with benefits to him, but it had a different feel to it. Like a holding pattern until they figured things out, as opposed to just a 'well whatever' for the duration thing. Or, maybe that was just how he wanted to interpret things. Which...he wasn't sure what the fuck that said about him, he was fairly certain most other guys his age would jump at the chance for something entirely without strings. He just...wasn't necessarily wired that way.

Nic's offer only lacked strings because by now she understood that Caleb had brought his own. What he said and how often he'd held back in the past told her plenty about how much he worried that he was going to mess up what they had, or her, or himself. She couldn't rightly give him extra hoops to jump through, now could she. Besides which, what she'd said once still held true. If they were going to possibly give anything a real shot? She wanted to know what he couldn't say, and assumed Caleb knew as much. But she wouldn't lie or ruin what was so intense because he couldn't do it yet. "So..." Nic trailed with a playful, inviting smile, "Can I take tonight to mean you're in for Frankenhooker and pizza tomorrow? We could even rent that Silent Hill game."

He laughed a little, shaking his head and glancing away, attempting at the moment to picture spending significant amounts of time with her without getting himself into trouble. But he nodded. "Yes, I'm in. Skip the movie, get the game." He'd need something active to concentrate on, a movie he could tune out a hell of a lot easier. With a game, he'd actually have to be paying attention. He'd need that.

She nodded, finally stepping away from the wall and moving in close, then reaching up to pat Caleb's cheek lightly. "I can do that, I think my mom'll skip hanging around entirely if we're doing games." Which was probably a bad idea, given the smoldering attraction between them. But Nic didn't want to put them in a weird spot, which she figured would definitely happen if Caleb and her mom were in the same room for too long. Damned if you do... "Which Silent Hill again? Two?"

"Yeah, two. Two was the best one." Caleb told her. "A giant, faceless guy running around raping plastic mannequin monsters and carrying a knife so big and heavy he's got to drag it on the ground. What's not to love?" he asked, flashing a grin at her. He also started to head towards her window, which brought him a little closer to her again, but he should probably leave before he did something stupid.

She bit her lip as he moved in, one eye flinching in surprise at the tenderness of it. Nic didn't want him to go, but that was as much because of her impending dreams as it was what had happened with them. Still, what had she just promised? I'm not going to twist him, she reminded herself, moving her hand from Caleb's cheek to his chest and lightly hooking her fingers there, just enough to press her nails in with a little grin. "That's a happy thought to leave me with," she teased, withdrawing her hand and stepping aside to give him a shot at the window. "Get home safe, punkass. I'm not playing this game by myself tomorrow."

He quirked a little half smirk at her. "Don't worry, I'll be here." he promised. "And you know me. I'm always careful." Yeah. Right. More he looked for trouble whenever he could, but that was hardly the point. He reluctantly dropped down out of the window, but didn't move away immediately. "C'mere." he said, turning back towards the window.

Nic shot him a skeptical look, arms crossing over her chest as she moved for the window. "Forget something?" she asked lightly, leaning down to rest on the sill and pointedly pushing the window open as far as it'd go.

He didn't say anything. He just stepped in closer, grabbed her by the hair at the back of her head, and kissed her. It wasn't nearly as drawn out as he wanted it to be, but he wasn't that masochistic. He just...felt the need to do that. So he did. and she'd told him he could...which she might wind up regretting at this rate. Then he walked backwards a few paces, flashing her a wicked grin. "Night, Nic." he said, for the first time in forever, not having any awkward trouble with this particular goodbye.

She'd kissed him back all too eagerly, expecting the gesture from the moment he'd turned around. And really, Nic had been happy to return it. Him grabbing her hair like that was just an unexpected bonus that had earned a soft whimper of delight into his lips. When he pulled back, she definitely looked disappointed, but she was smiling too. "Sleep tight, asshole," she teased, watching him head off and sighing in frustration. My kingdom for somewhere private and three hours or so, she mused, waiting for him to disappear from sight. Which'd leave her alone with the dreams. Or... "Maybe I just won't sleep tonight," Nic murmured to herself, "I'll be about as coherent tomorrow either way."

Caleb looked back a lot more often than he would have on any other night. And realized it, and rolled his eyes at himself, and told himself for the hundredth time that he wasn't meant to be getting involved. This? Was going to be tricky. Very tricky. This was going to be fucking brutal, probably. But he wouldn't trade it, really. Not right now, anyhow. Right now he'd take it. He could worry about the rest tomorrow when he was attempting to keep his hands off of her. Good times.