Editing Character Vignettes (section)

=='''Nevermind'''==

Simon and Nick were walking home, laughing all the way.

"So, tell me one more time." Nick wiped at his eyes.

"Alright, alright." Simon tried to stop laughing to catch his breath, attempting to adopt a straight face. He kept breaking into snickering, though, and Nick got impatient.

"Come on, then. I really only got half of it the first time because you kept cracking up. I want all the details. This is something I'm going to remember forever."

"Right. I won't crack up this time. So, we're at James place. He's dipped into his dad's alcohol stash just a bit too much, and he's lying on the couch. It was me, Jack, and... Thomas, I think."

"Yeah, it was Thomas. Go on."

"Alright. So James is drunk, and Jack tries to get him worked up. He gets James talking about his old girl friends. Now, little does he know, Evie, Jack's girl, has invited Mary over. Now, Mary's new in town, so she doesn't know about James."

"But James had asked her out."

"Right, he had, and it had apparently gone fairly smooth. I have no idea how she'd got along with him for so long without hearing something about it, but there you go."

"Go on."

"So Mary comes in, and James is on the couch, saying things about what Jasmine had done to him and he had done to her and what all."

"Right, she comes in, and then she..."

"She walks right up to him and demands to know what the hell he thinks he's doing. He slurs back something about having a good time."

"And then she clocks him."

"Clean across the face. James sits up and starts blubbering while she storms out. The look on his face..." Simon lost his composure remembering. "Let me tell you, seeing that sod put in his place, that made my day..."

The conversation drifted to a stop while Simon and Nick walked a bit further.

"Hey, Simon?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I've got a shot with Mary?"

Simon looked at his friend. Nick filled the silence with his rational.

"I mean, she's obviously not with James anymore, and she's a really nice girl. I figure, why not, you know?"

Simon had been keeping quiet because he had kinda wanted to go after Mary too. She was an awfully nice girl. Personally, Simon had been rather impressed that she'd been willing to put James in his place.

"I don't know, Nick. You see..."

"Yeah?"

"You know what? Nevermind. Go for it." Simon slapped his friend on the back. "If she doesn't fall head over heels for you right away, she's probably not good enough for you, anyway."

Nick snorted. "I'll be happy enough if she talks to me."

______________

A few months later, Simon, Nick, and Mary were walking home, laughing all the way.

"I can't believe she said that." Simon wiped at his chin; he'd been laughing so hard he'd begun to drool a bit.

"I wonder if it's true." Nick threw a backward glance at the house they'd just left.

"With James, who can tell?" Mary smiled at Nick. Nick smiled back.

Simon watched as Nick and Mary naturally moved a bit closer to one another as they walked home. He'd been watching them for a long time now. First, with a bit of jealousy. Yes, jealousy. He watched Nick and Mary slowly become comfortable with one another. Then, as Nick and Mary really hit it off, as it became obvious that they were good for each other, he gradually became happy for them. And now? Now he envied them. Not their specific situation. He didn't envy Nick for having Mary. He envied Nick for having someone.
 
They came to Mary's door, and Nick held her close as they kissed goodbye. A sudden thought occurred to Simon as Nick rejoined him.

"Hey, Nick, this is like that one time..."

"What?"

"You know, that one night, the day that Mary hit James, and we were walking home..."

Simon stopped. Nick as looking at him funny.

"I don't remember that."

"You... don't?"

"Nah. I don't."

Simon was quiet for a bit. "Oh. Alright then. Nevermind."