Nico must have been too focused on his phone to hear his mother come up to his room. She barged in to find him in his blank state. The sudden noise from the door managed to shake Nico back to reality.
"What time did you get back?" she asked.
Nico stared at her a bit before shrugging off her question by answering, "Pretty late."
She started complaining to him but it couldn't have fallen to more deaf ears. Nico was too busy thinking to focus on her. He only noticed when she got out of his room and closed the door. Just then he received a call from Remi. Nico answered and hoped she wasn't mad about the previous missed calls. He started with a weak hey that wouldn't strike confidence in anyone.
"Hey. What's up? Why aren't you picking up my calls?" she asked.
"Oh sorry I just overslept a bit."
"I wanted to know if you'd be free later today."
"Why?"
"I wanted to make up for standing you up last night."
"No it's fine. I get it. You had family stuff to deal with."
"Still it doesn't feel right when you went through all that to prepare a date."
"Fine. Another day though cause there's somewhere I have to be today."
"Okay."
After the call ended Nico fell back on his bed and let out a huge breath. He stared at the ceiling for a while before seating upright again. Grabbing his phone, he started texting somebody before changing his clothes. A text came in while he was shirtless and halfway through putting his pants on. He tried jumping on one leg till his bed but ended up falling face first.
He stood up quick and went to check his phone. His confirmation had just arrived. He quickly wore his clothes and started leaving.
"Should your mother wake you up at noon tomorrow?" Nico's father asked while seated on the couch and reading a newspaper.
"Don't worry I'm not staying out tonight," Nico replied while he got out the door.
He got in his car and drove off to the meeting place. It was a restaurant called LUCKY PALACE. It was pretty old though so the K had stopped glowing along time ago. That's how it came to be more commonly known as LUCY'S.
Nico parked his car and got in. Inside was Gray who was busy drinking coffee he had already ordered. He was busy scrolling his phone before noticing Nico and waving him over. Nico noticed there was coffee for him as well as he sat down.
"Soooo how was date night?" Gray asked while raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"You sent me to a fucking club!"
Gray spat out the coffee in his mouth as if he didn't expect him to say that. His shock disappeared when he burst out laughing uncontrollably while Nico just looked at him like he was both pissed off and tired with him.
"What's funny? Taking my girlfriend out to a club as a Valentines date?" Nico asked Gray while he was still laughing.
"Sorry bout that. Guess I should have noticed it was given to a single guy for a reason. Still the thought of the both of you getting there and seeing its a club is just too funny. Can't imagine how shocked you were."
"Try relieved instead. Remi was a no show after all."
"How come?"
"Said she had some family issues to take care off."
"So what did you there? You didn't just leave right?"
"I just had a few drinks and left."
Gray looked at Nico as if he suspected something but said nothing.
"So what were you up to on Valentines night after you tried ruining mine?"
"I was with my girl."
Nico looked at him head to toe before laughing it off. He told him to answer him seriously now.
"What? You the only one who can get a girl?"
Nico agreed with him but only because he had looked at his phone and realized he needed to leave. He left Gray with some money to pay for his coffee and headed out. Once he was in his car he got out his phone and went back to the morning's message.
"Welcome back to Sugarhouse, Mr.N."