Nick was in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was two in the morning, and he’d been tossing and turning ever since he climbed into bed at eleven. He wouldn’t get any sleep. That much he knew. He brought the toilet paper home, and he needed to get rid of it fast before some snide comment of his caused Walt to tear apart his room again.
It would happen tonight. He already formed his escape plan. Evelyn was asleep, and their characters were all at Alejandra’s and Rafael’s. Grizzizzik, too, decided to stay after giving Nick a look.
Everyone was asleep. He could have climbed out his window an hour ago and already been back. He was simply enjoying this last night of freedom. Relative freedom. Even if he never got caught, Walt would still blame him. This first attempt at chaos would be the easiest. Even though they got a ton of experience points today, they were still at level four. The thought of getting level three in the warlock class in a week was laughable. Which meant he would have to do something else chaotic next week. This felt impossible.
Nick closed his eyes, though sleep was far from him. This entire thing made him nauseous. He knew what this would do. He’d be grounded all over again. Probably grounded from CCNC until he actually turned eighteen.
He had a breakthrough today, though. Evelyn understood what he said if he didn’t talk about it directly. Nick wouldn’t tell Grizzizzik. He had tried everything he could think of on the ride there. He told everyone, twice, about what Grizzizzik had done. The rogue was the only one who heard, and the only thing he did was smirk. Nick had finally screamed his lungs out, and the only one who reacted was Grizzizzik. No one else heard his screams. Though seeing how badly he startled Grizzizzik, it was almost worth it.
But this. If he could set down breadcrumbs and wait for his friends to follow? He could do that. He refused to tell Grizzizzik about this discovery. It wasn’t something he wanted the rogue to catch on to. Grizzizzik frustrated him, anyway. Fighting all these creatures and never using eldritch blast. It almost felt insulting.
Somehow, he knew Grizzizzik would never use his warlock powers, and that alone made Nick want to force his hand. He couldn’t possibly give up three whole levels of a new class and only use the sword. He didn’t know what story Grizzizzik was planning on telling the others when he finally got the sword. Grizzizzik was more of a seek forgiveness after the fact kind of guy. Which was incredibly annoying, now that Nick knew he existed in real life.
Either way, he and his character were at odds. Grizzizzik was planning on telling no one, and Nick was making sure his friends knew about it. Right now, he had a plan, but he also was aware of the deadline. He had to do something chaotic, and it was better to do this now.
Nick eased himself out of bed, slipping into darker clothes that he would have to put in the washer first thing in the morning to clean them. He kept coming back to that thought. Walt would always accuse him, and his father would be a better detective than the police force once news spread.
Nick slipped on some gloves before placing the toilet paper in his backpack, carrying the extra in a plastic bag. He then eased the window open. His window had rarely been opened, so he did his best to clean off any residue that might show he’d opened it. He then eased the screen open, placing it against the small rocks. He reminded himself to make sure the screen’s impression wasn’t left in any dirt, because Walt would definitely check.
Nick grabbed his dark hoodie, easing it on before placing the hood over his head. He then grabbed his backpack and the plastic bag and eased out the window. With gentle hands, he partially closed the window before making his way across the small rocks that made up their yard. He thought about his bike, but he couldn’t risk it. It was in the garage, and he didn’t dare go past the front porch in case he activated the doorbell camera.
Nick tightened his grip over his backpack and the plastic bag as he tiptoed off the front lawn. As soon as his feet touched the road, he started running. Every minute he spent outside his house was a minute he’d more likely get caught. He hadn’t done this in years. He didn’t think he’d ever do this again. The adrenaline kicked in, the one that four years ago would have made him giggle. Now it filled him with dread.
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It took him ten minutes to run to the park. He grabbed his supplies and started throwing two at a time. It was not great. This TPing was far less impressive than even middle schoolers could come up with, but it didn’t matter. All he needed was chaos, and him being outside, throwing toilet paper into the trees of a public park would be enough. Mainly because most of the chaos would come from his father finding out about it.
It was hastily done, and over in less than twenty minutes. He used every roll he could, then dropped the wrappers into neighbor’s garbage cans that were out. Perfect, they’d be picked up tomorrow.
The plastic bag he planned to put back under the sink once he was done, since it was where he got it from. He doubted Walt counted the plastic bags, but it was easier to leave as little out of place as possible.
The run back was easier since he wasn’t holding bulky things, but the adrenaline still made him nauseous. He had to get back home. He ran, almost done, forcing adrenaline to work for him, making sure he didn’t get sloppy. It wasn’t over until he was in bed asleep.
No, he corrected himself. It’s not over until my friends know what Grizzizzik did.
Right now, he was forced to do something he didn’t want to. Better him than Chaos, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. Grizzizzik would never stop until he had the sword, and Nick would never stop until his friends knew what Grizzizzik did.
The second his foot touched his front yard, he slowed to a careful crawl. He crept forward, trying to still his breathing. Entering his room, panting like he was a druid changing from a racehorse, would be a mistake. His fingers eased the window open, and he eased through it. He used the ledge to lean down and brush off any dirt or rocks that might have his footprint before he lifted the screen, doing the same with the dirt there. He then eased into the window, getting the screen back on. It snapped back into place, and he grabbed a tissue to wipe away the dust that came.
Nick threw off his clothes and stuck them in the hamper before throwing his pajamas back over himself. He then grabbed his notebooks and placed them back in his backpack, hastily zipping it back up again. His breathing had slowed enough that he grabbed the plastic bag and crept out of his room. The sky lightened in the east. He stuffed the plastic bag under the sink before grabbing a cup and filling it with water before downing it. He placed it gently in the sink before turning around and rammed into Evelyn.
Nick’s heart skyrocketed to such a fast pace that it took everything inside him not to scream. His mission was to do all this without waking up Walt, and screaming would absolutely wake him up. He gasped, though, as he stumbled back a few feet.
“Goddammit, Evelyn,” Nick hissed. “Have you been taking stealth lessons from Princess Clarissa?”
Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Funny. Are you okay?”
“Fine. Just fine. Go to bed.”
“You’re not… tunneling in on yourself again, are you?” Her voice was a whisper, but still far too loud.
“What?” He moved around her so he could head for his bedroom.
“You’ve been acting really weird lately,” Evelyn asked.
“Oh, so you’ve noticed?”
“Whatever it is, just tell me, okay?”
Nick closed his eyes, trying to keep the wave of anger toward Grizzizzik at a minimum. “I’m trying, Evelyn. You just can’t hear me.”
Nick stopped in his tracks when the door to his parent’s room opened. His skyrocketing heartbeat reached the stratosphere as Walt walked out of his room, tying a bathrobe around himself before he turned on the light. Nick blinked in the light, feeling exposed. Panic gripped his mind, and he was convinced he was still in his darker clothes.
“God, dad. Turn it off.” Evelyn raised a hand to cover her eyes. Nick was far too nervous to speak.
“What are you two doing up at this hour?” Walt asked.
“Nothing,” Evelyn said.
“Getting a drink,” Nick said at the same time.
Walt’s eyes fell on Nick, the distrust evident. The word might not even have to spread, and he was already on Walt’s suspect list.
“What kind of drink?” Walt asked.
“Water.” Nick wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Walt implied with that question.
Nick felt dried sweat on his face. He wasn’t sure what Walt saw, but he could feel every particle of dirt on himself. Every evidence that he’d been outside doing something he shouldn’t. All it took was Walt’s overly critical eye, and his dad would figure it out.
“Well, then.” Walt’s voice was low and annoyed as he stared right at Nick with narrowed eyes. “Get to bed.”
Nick didn’t dare say anything else. He barely glanced in Evelyn’s direction before he moved inside his room, closing the door softly behind him. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers over him. Nick needed to do laundry tomorrow. It needed to be cleaned and put away before Walt figured out what happened. If he started laundry now, Walt would get suspicious. Walt would always be suspicious. He needed to sleep. Exhaustion hit him as his adrenaline seeped away. He tried to will his heart stuck in the stratosphere to climb back down as he prepared for whatever would happen in the next couple of days.