A/N: ::waves meekly:: Hey, guys… So this is my first LEFT 4 DEAD 2 fiction ever. So I guess please be gentle? It's very much a Nick/Ellis fic, so if you have stumbled into this and don't like slash or this couple, please don't flame. Just don't read. Otherwise, I hope that this goes over well for all you other Nick/Ellis shippers out there!
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Valve does. I'm just playing with them and will put them away neatly when I'm done.
Nick stepped off the boat, mentally counting his earnings and smiling a bit to himself. He'd never cared for the South, but he did love the money that he could gain on the riverboat casinos. Of all the cons he had pulled in his life, the type that was most moral, in his mind, was the good old fashioned poker hustle. Even though he never felt guilty about any of the stings he'd pulled off on people, hustling took advantage of other people's avarice. He just fought greed with greed, and slept perfectly fine at night.
"Thank you Georgia rubes," he muttered, and waited until he was at his rental car before he counted all of the money he'd earned that day. Which he would soon add to the hotel safe filled with money he'd earned that week hopping from boat to boat and back alley to back alley. If he recalled correctly, he'd have nearly two thousand dollars, which was more than enough for his trip and his ultimate goal of the trip. Sure, he was nursing a few cuts and bruises from a few who hadn't reacted well to his con, but it was more than worth it. He started up his car, whistling to himself, and began the drive back to his hotel.
He figured that he would take in the sights of Savannah a couple more days before heading down to Brunswick. Try and pick up some more cash, and maybe some company too. Besides, he had to gather some courage before he went to visit Daisy, as he didn't know if she would even be happy to see him. After all, her mother certainly wouldn't be. Who knew if she would follow suit.
After gathering part of the cash from the hotel room, he walked his way down the street, lazy October breeze dancing in the air. He was sure that he had seen that jewelry store a couple of blocks away, but at the same time there was also a certain bar that he wanted to stop at. He could just pop in for one drink before the jewelry store closed…
"No, don't be a shmuck," he chided, and knew that he had to go to the jewelry store first. Something in his gut told him he needed to go get that necklace now, probably because he knew he would end up picking up a willing companion at the bar and that would be the rest of his night. Can't screw this up this time. Not on her birthday. Never on her birthday.
He walked into the jewelry store and straight up to the counter. The older man behind the counter looked Nick up and down, and once he'd decided that he was worth his time he gave him a courteous smile. "What can I do for you today, sir?" Nick pulled out the roll of cash and smacked it down on the counter, grinning wolfishly.
"I want a necklace for the prettiest 15 year old girl in the whole state of Georgia," he replied, cheerfully. The man's face instantly went stricken, and he tried to recover, but Nick was already irritated with the implication. "She's my DAUGHTER, buddy. It's her birthday on Friday."
"Oh, ah, yes, of course," he replied, and began to try to find something that would be suitable, or at least not further piss Nick off. "Well, it is October. Does she have any birth stone jewelry?"
"I don't know…. Think she'd like that?" Nick asked. He knew it sounded bad that he didn't know much about Daisy. Probably because it was bad, but he didn't need this jeweler judging him.
"I'm sure she would love it no matter what," the man said, reaching for something in one of the display cases. "Do you think she'd prefer opal or tourmaline?"
"What's the difference?"
"Well, opal is a fine gem stone made from-."
"No no no, cost wise."
"Opal is more expensive."
"We'll go with opal then." The man smirked a bit, glad that his honesty had paid off, and removed a rather plain but charming necklace from the case. "This is a blue fire opal set in a silver chain and backing. 125 carat, from Australia. Does your daughter like the color blue?"
Fuck. He didn't know that either.
"Uh, yeah, she does."
"I'm sure that it would be a real winner," the man stated, even though Nick could tell that he was really nervous about making this sale. Working on commission would do that to a man.
"How much is it?"
"It's five hundred dollars."
"Hm…" It would take a bite out of his earnings, but not too large a bite. But Nick knew that if he seemed disinterested he MIGHT be able to get something out of it. "Well, it sure is nice. And she sure does like the color blue, but I'm just not sure that I can justify paying for that price… What was the other stone? Tourmaline was it?"
"Oh, well, tourmaline IS a fine rock, but it's hardly a gemstone. And you said that it was her birthday," the cashier said, and Nick sort of shrugged, and hummed to himself a bit. It was when he broke eye contact and straightened up that he would probably get what he wanted. Make it look like he was going to leave.
"I don't know…" Eye contact: broken. Posture: straight.
"…. Here, how about you pay the full price, but then I will engrave something on the backing, free of charge?" Got 'im.
"How much does that cost usually?"
"In the fanciest script with a standard message, I usually charge one hundred dollars. I do it myself here, and-."
"Deal," Nick said. He could have pushed for more, but the bar was calling him. "I want it to say, 'To Aces, My Good Luck Charm' That's not too sappy is it?"
"No, it sounds just fine," the man affirmed, relieved to have made the sale and taking the cash. "It will be ready by Thursday."
"Just fine," Nick said, ready to get his receipt and out the door. He felt pretty good about himself, having this out of the way and off his conscience. Now it was time for that celebratory drink. This had been the best trip to Savannah he'd had in, well, ever. He wasn't sure that it could get much better than this.
The sun was just setting as he entered the The Roost bar, located a few blocks from his hotel. He had abstained from drinking while on the river boat, hoping to keep his senses sharp and his intuition in tact. Hard to read people's faces when you're a bit tipsy. Better to just drink diet soda and pretend it has a nip of rum in it.
He scooted into a seat in the bar, and nodded at the bartender. He'd been in each night, doing the same thing: having a couple of drinks, shooting the shit, and hoping to get some action. Similar routine to what he did in most cities he was visiting. It had been a pretty dry run this time around, action wise. The potential lovers weren't really biting this trip, but then maybe his heart wasn't in it. His heart hadn't been into the idea of love as of late, if ever, and it was beginning to wear on his need to satiate his own lusts and desires. The best part about The Roost was that, being a gay bar, he had a chance to pick up not only a guy, but one of their female best friends as well. Win-win.
"What'll it be tonight, Nick?" Harvey the bartender asked, and Nick shrugged as he lit a cigarette.
"Surprise me, Harve," he stated, taking a drag and blowing the smoke out. "It's been a good day, so I'm feeling adventurous." Harvey smirked, shaking his head, and mixed up a standard Whiskey Sour. Nick took it, raised his glass to no one, and grinned. "To the suckers on the boats. They've made my stay that much more high brow."
"You're gonna get yourself in trouble if you aren't careful, Nick."
"Eh, I'm used to trouble," Nick replied, taking a sip.
He had started on his second Whiskey Sour by the time things began to get interesting. Usually he didn't notice when a new patron entered the bar. He would only look up to check the person out, and then go back to his drink. Kind of slim pickings that night, but it was a Tuesday, after all. It would be better on Thursday. He just kept telling himself that, that the lack of people had nothing to do with the new, strange illness that was making it's way through the city, the country. After all, it wasn't like he'd seen anything to make him think it was any less alarmist than Swine Flu or Avian Flu. True, it sounded like East Coast cities got hit pretty bad, but Nick didn't worry too much. He'd be back in California soon enough, and then who knew where he'd be going next?
This time he was slightly intrigued by the young man who walked in, but only because he stuck out like the sorest of thumbs. He looked as if he should have been at a tractor pull rather than this scene, and Nick shook his head. It was always awkward, pathetic, and kind of funny when red blooded Americans would mistake a gay bar for just a usual watering hole. And this kid, with his baseball cap, Midnight Riders tee shirt, and ripped jeans, had to have redder blood than Ronald Reagan himself.
"Hey," the kid drawled, sitting down right next to Nick despite the fact there were plenty of empty seats. "Could I get a Miller?" Harvey nodded, not phased by the interloper, and Nick scooted away a small bit. "Oh, sorry if I'm crowdin' ya."
"You aren't," Nick replied, voice neutral, hoping to not strike up a conversation with the hick.
"Well that's good, these seats in bars are always so close together so I'm always afraid I'm crowdin'," he said as Harvey set the beer in front of him. "Thanks, 'preciated." Nick tried to ignore him as he drank his beverage, but the kid had suddenly gone off on a tangent towards Harvey, something about this one time some guy named Keith had fallen off his stool in a bar and caused a domino effect. It was insipid, and Nick's mood was dropping fast.
"Actually, that's where I was before this, I was out with Keith for his birthday," he continued on, barely stopping to take a drink of beer. "Now I know that CEDA has been telling people to not go out if you can help it, but for his twenty fourth he wanted to go to Tawny Knockers. I figure if you've seen one stripper there you've seen 'em all, amiright?"
"I wouldn't know," Harvey said, bored, and excused himself to go get a new keg from the back. Nick was pretty sure Harvey was going to take his sweet time, and he was debating forgoing the last drink and making a quick escape. But before he could, the kid had turned to him.
"So, you sound like you're from the North," he led off with, and Nick barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Whereabouts are you from?"
"….. California."
"No way! I've always wanted to go to California! Looks like I met a big movie star!" he grinned, and Nick wasn't sure that he was being incredibly naïve, or attempting to be funny. Or snarky. It was hard to tell. "What's your name?"
Fine, he'd bite. The kid was kind of cute. Could be fun to freak him out a bit. "Nick."
"Hi Nick, I'm Ellis," the kid said, extending a hand, and Nick took it and shook it. "Welcome to Savannah! You ever been here before?"
"I'm sorry to say that I have."
"Aw, it ain't all that bad down here," Ellis retorted, gulping down some beer. "Sure, it's hot, and muggy, but the people sure are nice!"
Sure, really nice, for a bunch of bible thumping bigots, Nick thought, thinking about his ex-wife's family in particular.
"You in town for long?"
"Just a couple more days," Nick replied, defeated. He was roped into conversation and this Ellis was gonna talk not matter what he did. May as well order another drink and just deal with it until he as nice and drunk and ready to stumble back to the hotel.
"I gotcha. Visitn' friends?"
"You could say that."
"They can't be TOO entertaining if you're here without them," Ellis observed, and Nick snorted.
"They live in Brunswick, I'm not going to see them until Friday." And that was all he was going to say. Ellis nodded, and continued to jabber on about Savannah, things he could fill his time with, and as the time went on it became less annoying. Once his third drink had arrived he was actually quasi listening, nodding every once in awhile. Ellis didn't notice how most all the patrons were looking at him as he talked, perplexed by this grease monkey kid in a gay bar of all places, and the Yankee he was talking to.
"Shit, I told my buddy Keith that I'd meet the rest of them at another bar at ten," Ellis said, breaking mid thought to glance at a clock. "It's fifteen 'til."
"Well, you'll have quite a story to tell him," Nick said, smirking, finishing off his third Whiskey Sour.
"Huh? How come?" Nick set down the empty glass, and turned to Ellis, ready to burst his naïve and grits fed little bubble.
"…. Kid, do you even know what kind of place you've been hanging out in for the past three hours?" Nick asked, and Ellis looked around a small bit, then back at Nick.
"… This IS a gay bar, isn't it?" he asked, and had Nick had drink in his mouth he would have spat it across the bar. Instead his eyes widened, and he scratched his head. "Wait, you thought I didn't KNOW that?"
"Well-."
"SHIT Nick, I DID grow up in Savannah you know!" Ellis exclaimed, and Nick, embarrassed, glared at the bar while the kid laughed. "Man, you must think I'm REALLY stupid."
"Well what else was I supposed to think?" Nick demanded fiercely, though if Ellis heard the tension he certainly didn't acknowledge it. "I mean, look at you! You aren't exactly giving off any clues!"
"Naw, you just thought that all us Southerners must be Bible thumping slack jawed yokels who hate gays," Ellis said, shaking his head, still pretty amused. "You should have seen the look on your face-."
"Har har. It's been nice talking, Ellis, but I think it's my cue to leave," Nick muttered, standing up before the humiliation completely overtook him, but Ellis gently took his arm.
"Aw, come on now, Nick, I'm just teasin'," he said, kindly. "It's just funny is all. I know I don't really fit the profile, but hey. Everyone's different, right?... Come on, sit back down. I thought we was havin' fun." Nick sighed, and reluctantly took his seat. At least he'd eased up pretty quickly. And it was true, he hadn't been having a rotten time.
And most importantly, Ellis was pretty cute. Pretty annoying, sure, but he did have really nice blue eyes.
Nick sort of smirked Ellis's way, and shook his head. "Jesus. This day just keeps getting better and better."
The date at the bar ended after a few more drinks, possibly some dancing to the jukebox (Nick couldn't be sure, but it MIGHT have been Lady Gaga as there was lots of fist pumping and slurred lyrics about bad romances), and lots of other things he wouldn't have done while sober. This was why he never drank heavily while gambling, as he became weak and excitable. It didn't take long to get back to his hotel, and once he had closed the door they had crashed into each other, lips meeting and arms grasping. Nick was fueled by lust for the kid, and Whiskey Sours which Harvey must have doubled without telling him. Ellis had really fooled him, because it was more than clear that he'd done this before as he bit down on Nick's neck, beginning to leave a blotchy hickey. Nick groaned, enjoying the pain and grasping Ellis's shoulders with his fingers. As they shed each other's clothes and slammed into the wall, Nick had a feeling that Ellis wouldn't be meeting his buddy Keith any time soon. At least, not until Nick kicked him out after the fact, as was his M.O. One night with the hick wouldn't hurt.
It was a whirlwind, sweaty and hard and something that Nick had really needed to top off this great day, and as they lay in the bed after the fact, he lit up another cigarette. Ellis stretched, and was hesitant to move close to the older man. Which was just fine by Nick, because if he didn't move to cuddle with him, then it would be easier to get him out the door. He always found it best to just act like nothing big had happened, and then the paramour of the evening would get the hint and leave. He wasn't sure that this strategy would work with Ellis, since he seemed to be the most oblivious person in Savannah.
After twenty minutes of silence, Ellis finally stood up and began to put his clothes back on. "Well…. I should probably go and try to find Keith. Bein' his birthday and all."
"Okay."
"….. So will you be at The Roost again?"
"Probably." Not now he wouldn't. He'd probably even change hotel rooms just to throw the kid off the scent if he came looking for him.
"'Kay…. Well….. Bye." Nick nodded, and Ellis slowly walked out of the hotel room, only looking back once. Nick pretended that he didn't notice. After all, Ellis would thank him later. It was best to not get too involved with Nick, it would only lead to trouble.
Nick took a shower, smoked another cigarette, and turned out the light around one a.m. Yep. This had been a great day. He figured that it wouldn't get much better than this, at least not until he saw Daisy on Friday. He just hoped that she'd be happy to see him. Best not to think about that at the moment, and he easily fell asleep after a tension lifting fuck he'd gotten from the kid. Nice knowing you, Ellis. Won't forget that 'til the next time.
All that? That went to hell in a matter of days.
Nick found himself falling off the high of a great day and landing in a proverbial hell. The fast spreading infection, the one that had been lurking in the news for weeks, overtook Savannah. Most of the state. Most of the COUNTRY even. So by the time Saturday rolled around, Nick was still in Savannah and no longer in that good mood. Instead, he was hitting zombie after zombie after zombie with an ax he'd found in one of the fire boxes in the hallway of his hotel.
He thought that any minute now he'd wake up from this dream, but it soon became clear that it wasn't meant to be.
He was barricaded in his room, trying the phone once again. The only phone number he had was Cherie's cell. He had managed to get through Wednesday night, though it hadn't gone well.
'Look, are you guys going to evacuate?' he'd asked, just to hear her scoff.
'In case you haven't noticed, Nick, everyone is evacuating and it's impossible to get anywhere in the cities,' she bit. 'Hank has a panic room, for when the government falls apart, we're going to stay there with a radio and wait until this all blows over.'
'Oh, real nice, a panic room,' Nick sneered. 'I had no idea that Hank was so adept at such technology. Why didn't you tell me you married Tony Stark?'
'I'm going to hang up-.'
'WAIT, just let me talk to Daisy.'
'She's helping Hank gather supplies-.'
'LET ME TALK TO MY DAUGHTER.' She'd huffed, and must have thrust the phone at their daughter because he'd heard the girl say 'Jeeze Mom, chill.'
'Daisy?'
'Hi Dad.'
'Hi Aces. Are you okay?' He'd heard her sigh a bit, and click her tongue.
'It's all pretty fucked up- I AM WATCHING MY LANGUAGE MOM, God.' He'd smiled at her sass talk, as any sass talk towards Cherie amused him. 'Hank has this pathetic little panic room and we have to stay in there. It's really stupid.'
'Listen to me, I'm in Savannah, and as SOON as I can get out of the city I am going to come and get you, okay?'
'You're in Savannah?'
'Yeah, and I'm coming to get you,' he'd said, firmly. 'So stay there. Stay there and wait for me.'
'…. Are you sure you want to do that-?'
'Of course I'm sure. I promise that I'll come and get you, okay Aces?'
'… Okay Dad.' She'd sounded a little skeptical, and worried. 'Okay. When will you get here-?'
'I have a car, I'll be there tomorrow morning if I can.'
'…. Okay…. See you then Dad… Love you.'
'Love you too, Aces.'
But of course he couldn't get out of the city, and then there was too much cellular activity the next day to get through. Now Cherie just wasn't picking up. He hoped that his ex wife was simply ignoring him, or had dropped her phone, but he was worried. He just kept telling himself that Daisy would wait in that pathetic little panic room, and he would get to her.
By the tenth try in a row he yanked the phone out of the wall and hurled it across the room. It smashed against the TV, and he leaned forward, resting his forehead in his hands.
"FUCK," he snapped, and stood up, looking out the window again. The creatures were still wandering the streets, and today there were no people left. At least that meant he didn't have to hear any more screaming from down below, or to the sides from rooms that had balconies. He was glad he hadn't sprung for that extra amenity.
He had to think. In the panic there had been riots, there had been mass looting, mass violence, mass vandalism. He could see many cars had been lit up as people who couldn't get out of Savannah made sure that others couldn't either. Real nice people my ass, Nick had thought as his rental car had burned. At first he was worried about paying the fine, but then it occurred to him that maybe that wasn't going to matter anymore. Still, without a car, it was going to be a very nasty trip to Brunswick. But he was going to try, dammit, to make sure that Daisy and Cherie, yes, even Cherie, were alright.
He straightened up, gripped the ax, and flung the door open. There weren't that many zombies in the hallway at this point, and it was frustrating having to alert all of them to his presence. But if he'd learned anything these past few days, it was how to swing an ax with the most devastation. He rushed down the hallway, hurling the ax blade into the skull of a grey skinned and bloody woman who had been a maid. Getting blood on his favorite white suit was terrible, but necessary. He spun as he swung, hitting three of them. He was stunned by his accuracy, but he'd evolved in order to survive. Once he made it to the steps, he flew down them, knocking the more languid zombies out of the way. If their heart wasn't in eating him, he wasn't going to waste energy on them.
He rushed out the front door into the sunlight, and scanned the street around him. Yes, there were lots of them, but they seemed preoccupied with snacking on the body of a rather obese man that was strewn next to a mailbox. Fine by Nick, and he began down the street, keeping a keen eye out for any of the infected. Especially those that were… different. He'd heard the groans and yells of the usual suspects as they wandered along, but there were other noises he'd heard in his hotel room too. And those noises sounded more unsettling.
There had been some news on the last few broadcasts about evacuation centers, and safe houses people had managed to set up along the way. Sure, leave it to the military to make arbitrary points of rest, but not to nip this in the bud when it was clear it wasn't just a hyperactive flu bug. If he remembered correctly, though, they had said that the evacuation center in Savannah, the Mall, of all places, had been completely overrun, and that residents should either go to Atlanta or Jacksonville, as the ECs were still in place. Of course, that was two days ago. Now there was no news whatsoever. But Nick knew where he was going: Brunswick, followed by Jacksonville with Daisy in tow.
An ax just wasn't going to cut it. Not if he was going to have to go to Brunswick by foot. He kept a sharp eye out for any other kind of weapon, preferably something that would riddle these creatures with bullets, and swiftly walked through the dead and burned out cars. He did, however, have one stop to make before he began the long walk down 95.
Looters had made it to the jewelry store before he did, so the alarm was long dead and the windows long broken. He didn't hold out much hope that the necklace would still be there, but since it was being engraved it was probably stored in the back somewhere. People were generally stupid enough to not think about things that weren't right in front of them, so it was possible.
He wished he had a flashlight, as the sun wasn't shining into the bare store, and stepped in through the broken store front, ax up and ready in case the jeweler was undead and looking for a fight. His shoes crunched glass beneath his feet, and his heart thudded. Being in a small store was begging for becoming trapped, but he needed that necklace. When he saw Daisy he wanted to give her her gift.
He heard something let out a nasty shriek, and he spun around just in time to be tackled by a hooded zombie. He fell backwards, yelling out as it tried to grab at him through his coat and the handle of the ax. He tried to shove it away, but it hissed and swiped at him pressing the ax into his chest in a fury. Nick could feel his strength faltering, and was about to just resign to his fate, when a gunshot pierced the air and the zombie flew back because of the impact. Nick sat up, wheezing a bit, and turned to see just who had saved him.
"Hooo wee! That was a close one!" the familiar voice exclaimed, and Nick's stomach knotted up. Was that even possible? A light shone on his face, and he squinted before hearing "Ho-lee SHEE-YAT! Nick?"
Yep. It was Ellis. Ellis in the same hat, Ellis who had left the blotchy hickey on his neck a few nights before the world had ended, Ellis who was now holding a hunting rifle and grinning as if he had just seen Santa Claus. Nick couldn't help but wonder if he still believed in Santa Claus as the younger man rushed over and helped him up.
"DAMN Nick!" Ellis crowed, clapping him on the back. "I can tell ya, you're a sight for sore eyes!" Nick nodded, and quickly examined himself. No cuts or gashes. He'd probably have a long bruise from where the handle had dug into his chest, but that was lucky, even if he could barely breathe at the moment. Which probably wasn't just the wind being knocked out of him. "How'd you survive, man?"
"…. Barricaded myself in my room," Nick answered. "Waited it out…. Probably not the bravest thing I could have done-."
"Naw man, can't blame ya," Ellis said. "This shit really hit the fan, I'd probably have done the same thing." Nick was about to give some feeble response, but he remembered why he was in the jewelry store in the first place, and rushed for the back room. "Hey whatcha lookin' for back there?" Nick ignored him, and kicked the door to the back room in. His eyes scanned the area, and fell on some engraving tools and a microscope like contraption. He began opening drawers around the tools, dumping them out as he looked for the necklace. When he found one that was locked he pulled the ax back and swung it, which made Ellis cry out in surprise. That seemed to do the trick, and Nick pulled the drawer out.
Lo and behold, the necklace was there. He smiled in spite of himself, and flipped it over. 'For Aces, My Good Luck Charm'. Perfect. It really didn't sound stupid. He shoved the necklace in his pocket, and turned to Ellis.
"How'd you survive?" he asked, hoping Ellis would continue his streak of not asking questions.
"Well, it wasn't easy, I can tell ya that," Ellis said, voice a little sadder now. "But the point is that I have, and I'm headed to Atlanta. There's supposed to be an EC there."
"Good, good for you," Nick said.
"… Wanna come with me?" Ellis asked.
"I can handle myself, thanks."
"Heh, you could have fooled me back there with that Hunter." Nick bit the inside of his cheek to keep his cool, and crossed his arms.
" 'Hunter'?"
"Yeah, that's what the TV was calling those guys right before they went off the air," Ellis explained, reloading his rifle with shells from his backpack. "There are Hunters, Chargers, Spitters, Boomers, Smokers…. So whadaya say? Atlanta?"
Nick shook his head, noticed a flashlight on the desk, and snatched it up. "Sorry Ellis, I'm headed towards Jacksonville instead. Gotta make a stop in Brunswick."
"Oh yeah, you got friends down there," Ellis remembered, removing his hat a moment to scratch his head. "…. Ya want some company?"
Nick really didn't want company. He had always preferred to be solitary and independent, and that wasn't necessarily going to change in the middle of the end of the world. And he especially didn't find it a good idea to go along with his one night stand. One night stands needed to stay just that: one night. Any longer and Nick would fuck it up, either intentionally or unintentionally. But at the same time, Ellis had saved his ass, though he was loathe to admit it. And Ellis would probably know the cities on the way to Brunswick a lot better than Nick would.
"…. Thought you were going to Atlanta."
"Well heck, an EC's an EC, right?" Ellis answered. Nick nodded, jadedly, and couldn't believe that he was about to do this.
"…. Sure, feel free to tag along," Nick said, turning his back so Ellis wouldn't see him make a face. He heard Ellis say 'yesss!', and they were soon walking down the street together. "Know where I can get myself a gun like that?"
"Sure do! I know the perfect place! We'll stop there and stock up, sound good?"
"What the hell." And Ellis went off again, about that one time that he and his buddy Keith were shooting soup cans for target practice and accidentally knocked down a bird house. Nick was instantly regretting his decision by the point in the story where Keith tried to super glue it but ended up with wood stuck to his hand. And yet it was still a distraction, one that he could use. His mind needn't wander into the dark places it might take him if he were on his own, his dark thoughts about how Daisy was, or what was going to happen to her, to him, to everyone.