nick goode

tayana phoenix was never particularly fond of nick goode. in fact, the only phrase that perfectly described him was 'pain in the ass'. in her opinion, he was exactly like every other sunnyvaler.

he was just some snobby rich trust fund kid that had a perfect life planned for him. the future police chief, lacrosse team captain, most likely dating some really hot girl that has great boobs, he was basically the perfect guy in every chick flick. every girl wanted him and every guy wanted to be him.

but tayana didn't see him that way.

he always seemed to say just the right words to push her buttons and irritate them. he seemed to find pleasure in annoying her until her face turned red and her fists clenched. they never got along and when they did, it was very short-lived. tayana wished she could at least tolerate him a little, but every time she thinks he might be different, he just goes back to his old ways; arguing with her and teasing her.

she did have to admit, he was good-looking and great with other people, but that didn't make up for the fact that he was a dickfaced jerk off.

thankfully, the only time she really had to interact with him was at camp nightwing. just three weeks out of the entire year, she was forced to work side by side with him helping kids, cleaning the mess hall, doing whatever it was that their boss told them to do.

no matter how hard she tried to ignore him and spend the least amount of time interacting with him, they always found themselves butting heads and scowling.

but she knew every time he snapped at her and had a snarky comment to make, she always had one coming right back at him.

this summer was different for both. they didn't know what it was that was different. the breeze through the vibrant forest trees that rustled their leaves didn't shift. the cold splash of water against their sun-kissed skin from the lake didn't feel any different. the food they cooked at the weekly campfires still tasted the same.

but something was very different. they could sense it.

these three moments might be why things were so different. no matter how hard the two tried to not think about them, these moments always seemed to creep back into their minds.

moment number one.

it was a particularly chilly day at camp nightwing. it was strange for it to be so windy and cold during the summer, yet here they found themselves, shivering and trembling. tayana's wavy hair whipped around her face in the ferocious breeze. her skin was covered in goosebumps and her bare feet were on the verge of frostbite, standing on the chilled wood of the lake's dock.

it was her and nick's day to be watching the kids in the lake. they had thought that since it was no warmer than 60 degrees fahrenheit that the kids would instead be inside the mess hall bundled around the fire and blankets provided or in their cabins huddled in their sleeping bags keeping warm.

but no, cabin eight that consisted of twelve prepubescent eighth-graders, had decided that today out of all days was the perfect day to jump in the lake and play chicken fight and marco polo.

if she had it her way, she'd be inside in a blanket burrito next to the fire with a nice scorching glass of chamomile tea.

but nick shoved her bathing suit into her hands and shoved her towards the lake.

said boy was standing beside her, pulling their shared blanket closer around him. the corner wrapped around tayana's shoulder fell from around her as he stole the entire blanket.

"the fuck-?" she growled, snatching her half back around her. the two wouldn't be so cold and snippy. a bone-chilling gust of wind rams into her body. she almost yelps as she shivers.

he glares at her and snuggles closer into his half. he grumbles, "needy much."

she scoffs and narrows her eyes at him. "excuse me?"

"you heard me." he holds his head high. "I don't know why you even came in the first place."

"cause you forced me to," she states in a 'duh' tone.

nick smirks, knowing he only said that to piss her off. "if you're so cold, then leave."

"trust me," she chuckles sarcastically, "if I could, I would. but there have to be two counselors here watching the kids in the lake at all times. believe me, I would rather be anywhere else. spending time with you is not exactly a dream come true. it's more like a nightmare."

"why thank you." nick smiled cheekily, leaning down to tower over her. he was about a head taller than her, and he took pride in the fact that she looked so small compared to him. their breaths combine together in a cloud of fog in front of their faces in the cold.

rolling her eyes, tayana begins to walk in place to try to get blood flowing to her legs as they begin to fall asleep, the painful pins and needles feeling setting in fast.

"stop that." nick scowled, grabbing her arm and holding her in place.

"it's the only way to keep from getting frostbite."

"just go back inside."

"make me."

this was not the response nick expected. he thought she would finally give up and stomp back towards the cabins and mess hall. her snapping back at him was definitely the complete opposite of what he expected her to say. his eyes widened and his heart picked up his pace.

his palms got slightly sweaty when he looked down at her to see that she was staring right back up at him through her eyelashes.

he didn't realize that when he grabbed her arm, he had also pulled her towards him. their faces were mere inches away from each other. they suddenly felt very hot. even the frigid gust of wind that passed through them didn't phase them.

they stayed still for what seemed like minutes, neither daring to break eye contact. nick's face was stuck in its cold expression while he scanned tayana's frustrated expression. her eyebrows were knit together, causing her nose to scrunch. and for some forbidden reason, nick found the expression that she always sent his way . . . cute and flustering.

he quickly turned his away, being the first to break eye contact. he blankly stared at the kids fighting in the lake. the only thing on his mind was their arms touching and the warmth of her skin against his. he had no idea what was going on.

tayana stared up at him for a few moments more. she watched his face and body language tense up and keep still, like a deer caught in headlights. her frustrated expression shifted into a confused and curious expression.

odd . . .

moment number two.

"fuck."

tayana sucks in a sharp breath as she wipes away more trails of blood from her knee. there was a scrape right down the middle of her knee and no matter how many tissues she used to wipe up the blood, more blood would replace it. she had gotten the injury after falling in the forest during color war's capture the flag. she was already grumpy from being forced to play the game after too few shadysiders actually showed up to play, meaning sunnyvale had an advantage and the game wasn't fair.

she stumbled her way to the infirmary. she knew nurse lane wouldn't be in since she was at the mess hall with all the other counselors for any kids who needed her. it was too far away from where tayana was, so she decided to deal with her knee herself.

she swung the creaking door open and limped in, not caring enough to close it behind her. she found the cabinets with bandages and gauses quickly. she shuffled through the drawers until she found rubbing alcohol wipes, stitching materials, and a big wad of bandages.

she didn't notice nick walking by the window that had a clear view of her. he spotted her in the window and didn't think anything of it. he walked past the window until his brain finally processed the scene and noticed the blood. he quickly stumbled back towards the window, doing a double-take. he raised his eyebrows at the dried blood covering her leg. her knee wasn't life-threatening bleeding, but she wasn't doing anything to wipe up the blood that was trailing down her leg. she had given up trying to stop the bleeding without any bandages.

he made his way towards the entrance and walked into the infirmary. he followed the occasional drops of blood that were faintly visible in the light coming from the room tayana had stationed herself.

he spotted her sitting on one of the beds, knee propped up in front of her face as she cleaned it.

"that looks really bad," nick pointed out, announcing himself to her.

she looked up from her busted knee and rolled her eyes. "so you're following me now?"

"if the trail of blood is yours, then technically yes." nick pointed at the drops of blood. she held an unimpressed look on her face. this made him sigh and sit down beside her, "I saw you through the window and it looked like someone just threw an ax at your knee, so I thought I'd check on you."

nick watched her work. "apply pressure to the wound. it'll stop the bleeding faster."

"I don't need your help."

"well, it kinda seems like you do."

"I don't."

"do you want to bleed out and die?"

"no."

"then listen."

tayana let out a frustrated sigh, "why are you here? I can do this myself. go back to . . . jacking off in the woods or something. I don't need you here."

nick smirked at this and shrugged his shoulders. tayana's thoughts as to what nick does all day amused him. "color wars is boring as fuck and I don't feel like third-wheeling kurt and joan for another second. they have 'no strings attached' sex and suddenly, they're attached. kinda defeats the purpose."

"tell me about it," tayana raised her eyebrows in agreement. "be glad you don't have to share a cabin with one of them. two mornings ago, I got up to go to the bathroom just to find kurt butt naked on the floor. if joan lets him sleep over one more night, I swear I'm gonna strangle him."

"sounds like a dream," nick sarcastically stated.

tayana hummed, her mouth being occupied by a needle. she wiped down her wound quickly. she froze, staring at her knee trying to figure out how to stitch it back up. her knee was slowly being caked with more crimson, so she knew she had to act fast. but she had no idea what she was doing.

nick waited for her to finish her knee. he stared at her for a few moments, noticing her confused expression.

sighing, he snatched the needle from her hand. "just let me do it."

"wha-?"

"stop being stubborn."

he grabbed the back of her knee, his fingers lightly brushing against her thigh on accident. her face immediately changed a shade of beat red and she became too flustered to snap back at him and pull away. thankfully, her face was already quite red from the pain.

"I-um, I can do it myself," she stuttered out.

nick raised his eyebrows and sarcastically remarked, "yes, you were doing a great job."

tayana scrunched her nose and glared softly at him, taking short breathes each time the needle pricked her skin.

nick glanced up at her face to see her scrunched nose, the nose he'd grown to love. though the moment wasn't exactly romantic, he still smiled as she stared back at him with her knitted eyebrows, pout, scrunched nose, and soft groans of pain.

she didn't even realize she was holding onto his forearm until he finished stitching her knee and wrapped the bandage she had grabbed around her knee.

she noticed the deep crescent moons that were dug into his skin from her nails. one even drew blood, a small amount pooling.

she cringed and mumbled, "sorry."

nick didn't seem to even notice it until she pointed it out. he looked down and shrugged his shoulder, "I don't mind. kinda looks badass."

tayana let out a soft laugh before getting up. she shuffled through the draws once again before pulling out a bandaid. she made her way back to nick while opening it. he wiped away the drop of blood with his shirt sleeve before she stuck the bandaid onto his cut, pressing it onto his arm lightly.

before stopping to think, she pressed a quick kiss to the bandaid, as she did with all her friends. after she looked back up at nick, she must have remembered who it was because her eyebrows raised and she had a nervous look on her face.

nick stared at her for a moment before laughing, "thanks. no one's ever kissed any of my cuts better. this will for sure heal faster than any of my other cuts have ever healed."

tayana sighed in relief. she expected him to be grossed out. it would have been really awkward if he was.

"c'mon," he cleared his throat, standing up. "let's head to the mess hall for hot cocoa. I heard nurse lane even busted out some marshmallows for s'mores."

smiling softly up at him, tayana stood up and began to walk towards the exit. she didn't expect nick to grab her arm and wind it around his shoulders so he could help her walk, but he did. she looked up at him through her lashes before smirking.

together, they made their way to the mess hall for some midnight treats.

moment number three.

there was only about a week left of camp and color wars had finally come to a finish. it was time to crown one of the towns the champions of color wars '78. everyone was on the edge of their toes as tommy stood in front of everyone in the mess hall.

"chicks! dicks! welcome to the last night of color wars!" tommy was interrupted by a choir of cheers. "settle down, please. it's time to announce the winning town."

tayana and nick were standing side by side near the back of the hall with all the rest of the counselors. the kids were sat at their tables with their dessert that they had finished not long ago.

nick had a popsicle (emphasis on had), but tayana had managed to steal it not long ago, finishing it off before he could argue. he just rolled his eyes at her, letting her have it. it was odd. two months ago, if you asked him if he would let tayana steal his popsicle, he would say no without a second thought. now, he didn't mind it. I mean, people change. but nick never thought he'd change this much, especially when it came to tayana.

tayana was also surprised herself that nick even let her. they'd been walking all over each other for the past few weeks. they'd grown to tolerate each other during their time together and even voluntarily hung out with each other. turns out they have a lot more in common than they thought. she definitely didn't think that nick was actually a nerdy kid at school and hated sports with a passion. also, no girlfriend, which is the fact that shocked her the most.

now, tayana was restlessly shifting her weight from her heels to her toes as she waited for the answer. she did not play capture the flag against her will for nothing.

"and the winning town is . . . sunnyvale!" tommy cheered halfheartedly. him being a shadysider was definitely showing.

all hell broke loose in the hall. it seemed like a thousand kids were shouting at the same time, cheering, and hugging, and going wild. the shadysiders were all groaning, banging their heads on the tables and comforting each other. it was a chaotic sight.

for nick and tayana, they seemed to be the most pumped. tayana cheered at the top of her lungs and clung to nick's forearms while he cupped her face, letting out a loud whoop. they jumped in sync with each other as they began to chant, 'sunnyvale! sunnyvale! sunnyvale!'. tayana jumped into nick's outstretched arms. unfortunately, gary accidentally shoved by tayana, shoving her more into nick. this caused them to lose balance and topple over. nick's back landed on the floor with a soft 'thud'.

while nick groaned at the gentle ache in his back from the impact, tayana couldn't help but laugh at the situation. who would have thought that these two mortal enemies were now on the floor together hugging with smiles of pure joy on their faces?

when nick saw tayana's face, he found her smile contagious and didn't fight back his own smile.

tayana sat up and wiped away her tears from laughing so hard. she let out one last loud whoop before glancing down at nick. she noticed him staring back at her. her cheeks hurt from how wide her smile stretched. swiped her hair out of her face, pulling her tank top strap back onto her shoulder after it fell.

she then noticed his eyes trail down. she followed his eyes to see that she was straddling him.

"uh," he began, clearing his throat.

she quickly jumped up and adjusted her shorts, which were riding up. her cheeks grew a rosy pink, something that she found had been happening a lot around nick. she wasn't someone who blushed a lot. in fact, she had never blushed around anyone else. nick was the first.

she held a hand out for him to take to help him up. he leaned up and grabbed her hand. she meant to pull him to his feet, but unfortunately, she miscalculated just how much the boy in front of her weighed. she instead toppled back forward and fell onto the floor beside him.

they couldn't stop laughing hysterically. nick even had to hold his middle after it started to ache. tayana leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed, basking in the moment.

she wished camp wasn't ending so soon.

these three moments were the answer to the question, 'what happened between tayana and nick, and why are they so awkward around each other now?'

as the days passed by, the two started to think more and more about each other. it was unusual for two teens to think about each other as much as they did. they were unfamiliar to the feeling they felt. every time they made eye contact, they'd look away and blush ferociously. every time they brushed hands, they'd jerk away and stutter. every time they talked, they talked for hours and couldn't stop their smiles. it scared them and they didn't know the answer.

the thing is, they did know the answer. they were scared of the answers.

it was finally the last day of camp. well, the counselors last day. they had to stay a day longer than the campers to clean up the camp and finish packing everything up. nick and tayana weren't exactly thrilled about this, but it beat spending another day with, according to tayana, 'intolerable shits'.

they finished cleaning up the camp about an hour ago and were only waiting for their parents to come and pick them up. tayana and nick sat side by side at the 'camp nightwing' sign at the front of camp, waving goodbye to their friends as they get picked up.

they waited and waited until it was only them two, joan, cindy, and tommy.

they spotted nick's jeep drive up the long road towards them, honking her horn as she spotted her son.

"well, I better head go then," nick stated, turning to look at tayana.

she fiddled with her thumbs as she stared back. "yeah, I guess you should."

there was an awkward tension between the two as they sat in silence, trying to think of what to say, but no words came to mind. there wasn't really anything to say.

tayana sighed, standing up from her seat, "i'll see you at school."

"oh! yeah, school," nick nodded.

there was that silence again.

nick stared down at tayana while she stared back up at him. they thought back to the beginning of camp and how things changed so much. they didn't believe that they were here, standing in front of each other civilly, not wanting to slap each other's smug smirks off the others face. things were definitely different. they'd talk during school, and actually talk, not argue. they'd wave hi and tease each other playfully. they'd get along and maybe even hang out once or twice.

nick and tayana wanted that more than anything.

nick didn't know what came over him. he didn't stop to think. he didn't even know what he was doing. it's like someone or something possessed him and gave him a burst of confidence.

"oh, screw it," he mumbled before he stepped forward and crashed his lips onto tayana's.

hiya! so I decided not to write the emotional stuff after the kiss because I feel like it's always the exact same as every other imagine I write, but I hope you like it!

this is my first request, which is awesome. go request your own request if you want to!

- happy days <3