Nick stepped into the crowded mess hall, spotting Coach easily at the table they'd been sitting at for the past four days. They'd finally been rescued, and surprisingly enough, it hadn't had anything to do with being lined up and shot as the conman had so darkly predicted. While it was still unknown if the survivors were carriers or not, it still came as a relief to hear that CEDA was no longer killing them, but using them to find a cure to the virus. At least if their bodies did hold traces of the illness, they'd get to live.

The gambler started over to the overweight, dark-skinned man, taking notice that Rochelle wasn't sitting with him. Instead, she was seated at another table nearby with Francis and Louis, if he remembered correctly. They'd been picked up just a few days ago, along with the Zoey girl. Regardless of how tired they'd been with the military when they met on the bridge, they were complying now.

Nick arched a brow at the sight. Louis didn't bother him much, but Francis was a whole different story, sitting across from the news producer and- what? Making her laugh? How she could bear to stick around the guy for more than five seconds was a mystery to the conman. No, he wasn't jealous. Francis was irritating, and it was sad to see such a great woman sink to his level and converse with him, never mind laugh with him. He shook his head, stopping only when Rochelle looked his way and waved at him. He waved back, giving a quick smile to the woman before dropping onto the bench across from Coach. He didn't bother to look back to see if Francis had anything to say about his presence or not.

"I see Rochelle ditched you," he observed, a smirk clear on his face. Coach looked up from his food to see Nick, chewing and swallowing before responding. The conman would have commented, but it would have been too easy.

"Yeah, for that biker guy, prob'ly. I'd think he was alright if he di'n't still think I was 'er dad."

Nick scoffed. "There's no way I could think he's alright. He made the CEDA guys let him keep his dirty vest, and he's still wearing it. What a tool."

Coach chuckled, punching Nick on the shoulder. Rather than the dirty suit he'd been rescued in, Nick now wore a plain, white button-up along with a pair of black pants. While he was used to fancier things for the most part, it would do. Coach donned jeans and a black t-shirt, something casual that the man had nothing against.

"Whateva with him, you seen Ellis anywhere?"

Nick thought for a moment, "Actually, no. He's probably kissing that Zoey girl's ass somewhere."

Coach raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I wish 'im luck."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah."

Coach proceeded to funnel the remaining mashed potatoes on his plate into his mouth, noting that the other hadn't gotten any food.

"You ain't eatin', Nicholas?"

Nick shook his head, ready to respond when Ellis arrived at their table, his eyes reddened and sniffling. He moved next to Coach, who had been moving onto his corn when the boy startled him.

"What happened to you, boy?"

"Yeah, someone steal your lunch money?"

"Nick, I gotta talk to you... no offense, Coach."

The hefty man shook his head and motioned to the two, "Go on, I'm occupied."

Nick scoffed, "Of course you are."

Coach eyed him before going back to his food. As Nick allowed Ellis to lead him out of the mess hall, he observed him. His hands were in the pockets of the jeans he'd been given and he was walking with his head lowered, mumbling. The gambler was more than confused.

"Ellis, what's this about?"

"You'll see, man, you'll s—"

Ellis grew silent as he nearly bumped into Zoey, stopping mere inches away from the girl. The two exchanged looks, and Nick swore he could have cut the tension with a wave of his hand before Zoey looked away and broke their gaze.

"Sorry, Ellis."

"It's alright."

She looked back to the Southerner before continuing down the hall, glancing at Nick as she passed him. Ellis stayed, rooted to the ground until he felt Nick's hand on his shoulder and knew he couldn't stay put in that moment forever. Once they'd reached the room they shared jointly, the conman was pretty sure he got the picture. The door closed. Nick spoke.

"So, you were rejected?"

Ellis looked up to him and nodded slowly, leaning against the door. Tears began to stream down his tanned face again.

"And you had to drag me all the way here to tell me this why?"

"C'mon, Nick, this is damn embarrassin'. I'm not gonna tell just anyone."

It hadn't occurred to Nick that he wasn't 'just anyone' to the kid, and that Coach apparently was. Hell, even Rochelle. If anything, Ellis should have grown to like the both of them more than him, the guy who put him down constantly. If he were enough of a dick, he could dismiss Ellis' situation with a scathing, "Sucks for you!" and leave the Southerner to wallow in his uncharacteristic misery. Had he ever thought of that? The consequences of telling your problems off your chest to an asshole?

Then again, Ellis was strange and backwards in so many ways. Probably because of the painful amount of times he'd been dropped as a baby, but Nick wasn't about to bring that up now.

"Well... you know, you don't need her anyway. All women are emotional wrecks that'll—"

"—end up killin' ya. I know, I know, you've said it before."

Nick found himself smiling, "And I'll say it again. It's true."

"I guess... but she seemed different. I mean, I thought she was pretty when I first saw 'er, but I actually talked to her and she's real interestin'. What're the chances of findin' another girl like her when most ev'ryone's infected? She was so great..." Ellis felt his eyes well up again and bit his lip, trying to silence his sobbing.

"...But she wasn't right for you, or else she would have said yes. Would you rather her like you out of pity?"

Ellis wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, "Of course not! That'd be even worse! But it'd be better than this..."

"What?"

"I- I don't even know what I'm sayin' right now. All I know is how much this Goddamn hurts."

Nick brought a hand to his forehead. "Jeez, you met her a week ago and talked to her for a whole of two minutes and you seriously thought she was the one?"

The mechanic sucked in a breath, letting it out as he shook his head, "How'd you feel if every single time you built the guts up to ask a girl out they said no?"

Ellis looked more hurt than ever now. Nick's expression softened as he tried to imagine life as a lonely virgin. He couldn't. The boy began to cry again, holding his head in his hands à la so many of the Witches he'd attempted to 'crown'.

Nick was so far out of his comfort zone. So. Far. But he couldn't help but feel for Ellis. Sure, he was a goofball and unappealing in so many ways he didn't blame Zoey for turning him down, but somewhere along the way he befriended with the younger man. Friends were rare for Nick. He was a drifter, never staying with the same people for too long to avoid unneeded attachments (the one time he betrayed his moral code, he ended up with a divorce lawsuit), but he was practically forced to bond with Ellis, Coach and Ro. As a result, his heart had thawed and he found himself caring for people other than himself. It was crazy, just like the way he found himself holding Ellis in an awkward embrace. Ellis didn't hesitate to hug him back, digging his face into the gambler's chest. Now his new shirt would bear the stains of a saddened hick. How sentimental.

"C'mon, you'll find a girl who'll give you yes. You're still young and... all that. I can't guarantee you a happy ending, but... she'll be worth the wait." He wasn't sure if he was helping any, but he was trying, which was something in itself considering his usual nature. The conman added a few pats on the boy's back before trying to pull away, but Ellis kept a strong grip on him. "Um, Ellis?"

"Jus' a few more minutes."

Nick let out a small sigh before falling back into the hug, "Fine."

"Thanks, Nick. Really. Thank you so, so much."

The older man blinked. Ellis wasn't nearly as indestructible as he led on, and he was the one who got to see him in his weakness. It was almost sweet. Totally gay, but almost sweet. Was this what friends did? Nick had forgotten, but he had a feeling it was. He tightened his grip on the younger man.

"You're welcome, Ellis."

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed, though I'll take any constructive criticism you have (: