The World Will Roll Their Eyes

[Jen]

Story Title: The World Will Roll Their Eyes

Type of story: One shot

Main Characters: Dex & Nicole

BTTB rating: T

Genre: Romance

Does story include spoilers: No (Storyline up to episode 5233)

Any warnings: None

Summary: There is one thing Dex is absolutely certain of. That you should definitely not be in love with your sister’s best friend.

A/N: So apparently in my head, when Dex isn’t crushing on boys he is a musical theatre geek who is in love with his sister’s pregnant friend. I have no excuses for this except that I watch a lot of Glee. Title taken from the song ‘I Still Think’ by Darren Criss.

the world will roll their eyes

There are very few things of which Dexter Walker is certain.

(His dad used to tell him that the only two things you could be certain of in life were death and taxes. And since Dex didn’t have a job he wasn’t paying taxes, which meant the only certainty in his young life was death, but that seems a bit morbid for Dex’s liking.)

Besides, Dex had one other thing he was absolutely certain of. That you should definitely not be in love with your sister’s best friend;

Especially when your last long term relationship was with a girl who broke up with you and then promptly left the country (which was totally not because of anything Dex did).

Especially when she is older than you (and after the Marilyn incident, Dex had sworn himself off older women).

Especially when she is currently pregnant (to a psycho who wound up dead in his hotel room, so it’s far too much like an episode of Law & Order or something).

But when Indi and Nicole return home from their long days at uni they end up sitting on the lounge talking, rather than studying (which is what Indi always tells Sid they do).

Dex goes into the kitchen under the pretence of getting a drink of water and sees Nicole, sitting on the edge of the sofa, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands, smiling as Indi’s re-telling how she got lost on her way to her lecture (again). But even in the dim lighting of the lounge room, when all the other lights in the house have been turned off, Dex can see that the smile doesn’t really reach Nicole’s eyes.

Dex is always surprised when Nicole stays late into the night. After the fall out of Marilyn and Sid backing out of the adoption of Nicole’s unborn baby Dex was certain he would never see Nicole sitting at his kitchen table, or standing in the hallway, or watching tv in his lounge room ever again. But Nicole seems to be there almost every night, and every night she looks up slightly startled when Dex waltzes into the kitchen. She has this deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression, like she’s doing something completely wrong. Indi just rolls her eyes and tells Nicole to just ignore her brother.

“Way to feel the love, Indi,” Dex replies as he reaches up and pulls a clean glass from an overhead cupboard.

One night when Dex turns back to face them, Nicole is staring at him, and without any prompting she gives him a polite, close-lipped smile. It’s not much, it’s barely anything, but Dex feels his heart clench in his chest, and he has to quickly fill his glass and scamper from the room before he drops it.

--

On Friday night Dex assumes he is home alone. The house seems quiet, and Dex knows for certain that Sid is working and Marilyn is over at Leah’s for some sort of girls’ night in. He has no idea where Indi is, but that doesn’t bother him particularly.

Walking into the kitchen Dex is totally in his own headspace. He is definitely not thinking about anything except getting to bed, so he’s tugging off his tie, shoving it in his pocket and unbuttoning the front of his white shirt. Dex is just about to shrug off the shirt when a voice comes from behind.

“You should know that I’m here.”

Dex whirls around at lightning speed and it takes Dex’s brain a full five seconds to finally process what he is actually seeing.

Nicole is sitting in the lounge room, a steaming mug resting in her hands. She’s in the dark, the only light from the moon streaming through the window, a shadow covering her face.

Dex doesn’t know what he’s doing anymore. He’s trying to button up his shirt and walk towards a light switch and not trip on the rug, and Nicole is kind of just staring at him like he has two heads.

“I didn’t, uh ... um, I was just ... where’s Indi?” Dex stammers out.

“Irene called and needed her to fill in the late shift at the Diner.” Nicole looks around the room, rolling her eyes up towards the light that is now shining down on them, illuminating the room in warm yellow light. “She’s coming back though. A couple of hours or something,” Nicole adds.

“And you were just going to sit here until then?” Dex asks. He looks down and notices that in his hastiness to cover up his naked torso he’s inadvertently mismatched his buttons. So now he not only looks like a weirdo who walks around his house stripping, but also a loser with the fine-motor skills of a four year old.

Nicole shrugs in reply. “I like sitting here. It’s quiet.” She catches Dex’s eye as he looks up from fixing his shirt. “It doesn’t freak you out, does it? Me, being here?”

“Uh, no. Of course not,” Dex replies, swallowing hard as his mouth is suddenly dry. He licks his lips and wipes his hands on the back of his pants, and is left standing awkwardly by the light switch.

He can’t just waltz over there and sit next to her. That would be weird and totally unfounded. But at the same time Dex doesn’t feel he can just turn his back and scurry back into his bedroom until Indi returns, because that would be just as bad. And because Dex has been taking so long to make up his mind, there is now this awkwardness that hangs in the room. A silence that has stretched on longer than necessary, and is now making Dex super uncomfortable.

Dex shuffles towards the kitchen again, filling up a glass with water just so he has something to do with his hands. He sees Nicole take a sip out of her mug at the same time. She looks ... content, Dex decides.

“I’m really sorry,” Dex blurts out. Nicole looks at him curiously over the rim of her mug. Her brow knitted together tightly as though she’s trying to work out a complex equation. “I’m so sorry that my family screwed you around.”

Nicole appears to understand. Her face softens slightly. “It’s not your fault, Dex.” A slight pause then, “Besides. I was the one who did the screwing around.” Dex hesitates. Nicole has a straight face, but something has changed. Dex is almost about to ask what she means when Nicole is saying, “Sorry. Bad joke. I screwed around, and that’s how I got pregnant.” Who knew Nicole could be that dry?

Dex lets out a laugh. He’s never seen Nicole really smile in front of him, let alone make a joke. And one at her own expense. It feels like some sort of achievement.

“I still feel bad about Marilyn and Dad pulling out.” Nicole shrugs. “For the record, I thought it would have been cool to have a little brother or sister. Then I would have had someone to blame stuff on, and could have finally gone through my rebellious teen phase where I spend late nights at parties with many girls and tons of alcohol because I’m feeling abandoned and am just crying out for attention.”

Dex sees the corner of Nicole’s mouth twitch upwards.

This is the first time Dex and Nicole have ever really talked. Like, had a proper conversation. Nicole must realise this too because she’s suddenly averting her eyes and the room goes quiet.

“I’m meeting with some potential adoptive parents tomorrow,” Nicole says suddenly.

Dex was in the middle of taking a drink out of his glass, and at this news begins spluttering and coughing. The result of simultaneously swallowing and inhaling. Nicole’s eyes go wide as Dex takes a few wheezing breaths and clears his throat.

It’s not that Dex is surprised that Nicole is still considering adoption. It’s just that he hadn’t really got passed the idea that this child would be part of their family. And for it to now be born, and handed over to some other family, who Dex knows nothing about, is a bit more difficult for him to get his head around.

“How does that work exactly?” Dex asks, once he’s recomposed himself. “You just pick them straight out of the Penny Saver?” Nicole quirks a questioning eyebrow in Dex’s direction. “I get all my information straight from teen movies,” Dex says by way of reply.

Nicole lets out an amused huff. “Not exactly. Morag is handling all the legal stuff. It’s apparently a lot more complicated than just finding two people you like and giving them your baby. That’s why it never would have worked with Sid and Marilyn.”

“Are you sure it’s still what you want to do?”

Nicole nods, but she looks tired all of a sudden. Her shoulders sagging, she places her mug down on the coffee table and shifts in the cushions on the lounge.

“Just be careful, okay. Try and give your baby to someone good. I know they’ll never have an older brother as awesome as me, but give it your best shot.”

Nicole smiles, and Dex beams in return.

--

It’s less strange than Dex thought it would be, finding Nicole around his house without Indi.

They don’t talk much, just a few passing words. Nicole asks about school and Dex asks about uni. Nicole smiles when she replies, always polite and civil, but Dex can see that her enthusiasm doesn’t really reach her eyes. She lists off assignments and names of fabrics and patterns and Dex nods even though he doesn’t understand.

With every passing week Dex also watches Nicole grow. She’s blossoming, her stomach becoming more prominent and obvious under her loose fitting dresses and tops. Indi makes fun of him when she catches Dex staring as the girls watch movies in the living room. Dex always laughs, saying he’s interested in the behaviours of teenage girls and why they flock together like a heard of deer. Indi rolls her eyes and tells him to grow up and Dex goes back to his room. He’ll sit on his computer looking up information on pregnancy and babies until he hears Indi close the front door behind Nicole and the house falls into quiet.

Although they talk more now, Dex never says what he’s thinking. Dex hears the girls talking during the commercials, Indi mostly, about the good-looking boys in her tutorials and the ones that she has to turn down when they ask her out for coffee after class. Nicole asks all the right questions about how tall they were and what colour was his hair, but never supplies stories of her own.

Dex wants to tell Nicole that he notices. That he sees how beautiful she looks -- the fact that she’s practically glowing.

But he never could, not when they aren’t even friends. Not really.

Not until he finds Nicole in their living room alone. He hears the soft sound of her crying first, and the turns to see Nicole’s shoulders rising and falling erratically.

Dex doesn’t say anything, doesn’t bother turning on a light. He just puts down his empty glass and walks over to the lounge and sits beside her. Stretching out a hand he rubs Nicole’s back and silently consoles her until she’s wiping away her tears with the back of her hand and apologising for her baby hormones making her an emotional wreck.

--

“Do you want to come to see RENT with me?” Dex asks.

“I’m not going on a date with you.”

“You’re not going on a date with me, or you’re not going on a date full stop? Regardless, it’s not a date. I want to see this show, and in order to try and mask how much of a loser I actually am I was hoping you would accompany me. I would ask Indi but she’s studying or making out with Romeo, or something. Dad is working, and also disinterested. Marilyn has an aversion to musicals, so really you are significantly down on my list of choices. Besides, it’s only at the Mangrove River Community Theatre. They have plastic cup holders on the end of the armrests. Ergo, not a date.”

Nicole looks up at Dex, and without nodding replies, “Fine.”

“Great.”

“But I pay for my ticket, and I’ll get Miles to drop me off.”

“Even better.” Dex is practically beaming, and has to school his features into an expression that somehow gives off the impression that he doesn’t care either way. He fails miserably.

On the night of the show Dex is standing in front of his mirror, examining his reflection. He’s left his door open, and in the mirror Dex can sees Indi walk past his room. He hears her stop, before reappearing in his doorframe over his shoulder.

“You’ve got a date?” Indi’s tone isn’t accusatory, more surprise with a hint of disbelief.

“It’s not a date,” Dex replies without turning around. He’s running his hands through his hair, trying to replicate the appearance that he’s hasn’t spent a lot of time on his appearance.

“You’re going out, though,” Indi points out. “And you’re wearing jeans without holes in them and a collared shirt, so it’s a date.”

“Not a date,” Dex insists. “Just going to a show --”

“For something that you keep insisting is not a date, it sounds awfully like one. With who?”

“Nicole,” Dex replies without batting an eyelid. His candidness clearly catches Indi off-guard. She blinks twice in rapid succession, and she’s got that weird thing going on with her mouth, where it looks like she’s struggling to form proper words.

Eventually what comes out is, “Be careful.”

Dex arrives at the Mangrove River Community Theatre first, hoping off the bus and strolling towards the brick building. The entire way Dex has to keep reminding himself that it’s not a date. He had wanted to see this show for a while, and the Sunday matinee was the only time Dex was free to come, since Sid didn’t want him coming into Mangrove River on a school night. Not with the River Boys hanging around the pub on the corner.

The afternoon sun is warm, as Dex walks past the quiet pub. He reaches the front of the community playhouse and stands underneath a sign for the show.

Dex shoves his hands in his pockets, then takes them out. He considers going inside to get a drink, but doesn’t want Nicole to think he’s stood her up. He considers trying to find somewhere to sit, there’s a bench across the road, but he doesn’t want to look like he’s been waiting forever.

Dex is scrolling through his inbox, trying to appear busy when a car eventually pulls up. Nicole climbs out of the passenger door and hoists her handbag over her shoulder. Closing the door she leans back in to the window and says something to the driver before she steps back and the car drives off.

“Hey,” Dex says when he strolls up to her.

“Hi,” Nicole replies.

She looks uncomfortable, Dex notices. She keeps straightening her dress, and fiddling with the strap of her bag, and even in this short time keeps looking over her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Dex says, “I’d be embarrassed to be seen with me too.”

Nicole smiles and lets out a sigh. “So, are we going to get tickets to this thing or not?”

When they walk out hours later the sun is beginning to set. The sky is orange, and grey clouds settle on the horizon. Amid the small crowd of people leaving the theatre Dex feels peaceful.

They had a good time. As promised, Nicole paid for her ticket and bought her own snacks for during the performance. Dex kept to his armrest the entire time, and managed to make Nicole smile twice during the show with his underhanded commentary about the fact that he was fairly certain that Roger and Mark were definitely hooking up in real life.

“Nothing beats the original Broadway cast, obviously, but the Glee cover of ‘Take Me or Leave Me’ was fairly impressive,” Dex is saying.

“I’ve never heard it,” Nicole replies, gazing back over her shoulder as they wander away from the theatre.

“Oh well, I can give you a copy if you want,” Dex says hurriedly. “Or the entire episode if you would prefer. It’s not one of my favourites, but it’s got a decent plot, which is really saying something.”

“It probably wouldn’t make sense,” Nicole shrugs. “I’ve never seen the show.”

Dex stops dead in his tracks. Nicole continues to walk before realising Dex is no longer beside her. She stops and turns back, seeing Dex stationary in the middle of the footpath.

“Never seen Glee?” Dex asks incredulously. Nicole just shrugs sheepishly in reply.

Dex opens his mouth to declare that it’s blasphemy, when he hears the roar of a loud exhaust. He spins around to face the direction of the noise and sees a beat up car roll up beside them both. With all the windows down, Dex can see the car is packed with guys. Dex immediately knows who they are. He’s seen the River Boys occasionally converge on the beach in Summer Bay when the break at Wilson’s sucks.

“Hey there sweet cheeks,” the driver croons out the window. Nicole immediately straightens up and places her hand protectively over her stomach. “Need a ride?”

“We’re right, thanks,” Dex yells back.

There is an eruption of laughter from the car.

“I didn’t think we were talking to you, maggot,” the drivers replies. His eyes flick over to Nicole, and Dex can see him eyeing her up and down. It makes Dex’s blood boil.

Contrary to popular belief, Dex is not stupid. He realises it would be futile and bad for his own safety to pick a fight with the River Boys. They are twice the size of Dex, all muscle, and pumped up on testosterone. Not mention that there are five of them against one.

“Come on, Dex. Let’s go,” Dex hears Nicole says. Her voice is low and hushed.

But Dex wants to do something. He wants to stand up for Nicole. To show that even though his family may have abandoned her, that he can protect her. So Dex does what comes naturally. He answers back.

“Five guys driving around in a car, seems like you’re trying to compensate for something!”

“You better watch yourself, dweeb. Otherwise we might have to pull over to introduce ourselves properly,” the driver replies, the malice evident in his voice, while his face is smiling.

“The Neanderthal has to exert his independence and masculinity by threats of violence. How original,” Dex says with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

“Dex, what are you doing?” Nicole hisses. She looks frantically up and down the street. It’s empty, with not another car or pedestrian in sight.

“I’m just trying to point out that according to many studies men who own large, over-powered cars generally don’t have much going on downstairs.” Dex raises his pinky finger and wiggles it for effect.

And maybe that was a mistake. The River Boy who was driving suddenly swerves and pulls over, cutting the engine. There is a slamming of doors and angry murmurs as the five boys load out of the car and Dex may have underestimated how big they actually were. It’s like one of those clown cars, how you can never quiet work out they can all fit in there. And Dex would totally be laughing at that thought if he wasn’t shaking in his sneakers and wishing he could keep his stupid mouth shut.

They don’t even bother to look for oncoming traffic (which is nonexistent anyway), and the River Boys are suddenly heading straight for them. Dex shoots a look at Nicole, who is standing beside him, quiet and unassuming and Dex can only think that he wishes he could have just shut up and not been so weird like his dad is constantly telling him, then the Boys would have got bored and driven off. But, no.

Dex isn’t religious. He hasn’t prayed since that one time when his grandmother on his mother’s side dragged him to a Sunday service and he was forced to sit on the uncomfortable wooden benches for a whole hour. And even then the only thing Dex was praying for was that it would all be over. Right now however, Dex is conjuring up images of God, and Allah, and Ganesha, and praying to them all that Nicole and he may be saved.

Dex is walking backwards along the footpath, not trusting himself to turn his back on the boys. Dex has read ’The Outsiders’, he knows that gangs jump defenceless teenagers. Nicole is taking small but fast steps, taking the lead.

They reach the corner and the distance between them and the River Boys closes. Dex can hear one of them, the one who was driving, saying, “Not so smart now, are you? You and your pregnant chick need to apologise for insulting us.”

Out of nowhere a car roars to a halt beside them, and Nicole is flinging open the passenger door, and Dex is climbing in the back, as the five River Boys make a dash for them both.

In hindsight Dex probably should have checked to see who was driving the car before he climbed in so easily. Fortunately, Miles doesn’t seem too concerned. He’s rolling his eyes as Nicole is thanking him for coming to pick her up, and explaining that the River Boys were harassing her.

“Dex was standing up for me,” Nicole says, and Dex tries not to blush.

--

Nicole looks very surprised to see Dex standing in front of her when she pulls open the front door.

Before Nicole can even vocalise her shock, Dex is holding up the DVD, saying that he’s come over to educate her.

“I realise you’ve finished with school and whatever, but this is a necessity,” Dex says as he strolls passed Nicole and heads straight to the lounge. He plops himself down in front of the television, placing the first disc into the player.

Nicole is staring at him strangely, when Dex looks over his shoulder again.

“I mean, obviously, you don’t have to like it, but I would be truly offended if you didn’t let me do this.”

“Do what, exactly?” Nicole asks suspiciously, walking slowly over to the lounge and lowering herself into the cushions. Her belly is more pronounced, Dex notices, and she absent-mindedly places her hand over her stomach as she watches Dex fiddle with the remote bringing up the menu. “Really?” she says, exasperated as the bold, white lettering of Glee pops up on the screen, but Dex just grins in reply as he hits play.

“I can’t have a seriously conversation with you about the wonders of musical theatre, if you haven’t seen at least an episode.” There is a flourish of red and white as the McKinley High Cheerios bust out their showy routine, so Dex hurriedly continues. “I know some people say that the covers never do the original justice, but really, when you’re talking Katy Perry, anything is an improvement. I mean, that acapella arrangement was incredible; it’s no surprise it went to number one. Obviously that hasn’t happened yet, because that’s in season two, and this is the pilot, so.”

Nicole is side-eyeing Dex so hard, but doesn’t stop him. Dex resists the urge to look at her. To stare into her deep blue eyes, and watch her skirt her tongue over her pink lips, but he can feel Nicole’s glare. Out of the corner of his eye Dex sees Nicole let out a reluctant breath and her eyes flick across to the tv. Dex has to bite down on his lip to stop himself from blatantly smiling.

Everything is going great as far as Dex is concerned. Nicole is sitting beside Dex on the lounge watching the New Directions bounce about the screen. Dex supplies commentary about the fact that Kurt was created specifically for Chris Colfer, and Lea and Jenna worked on Spring Awakening together on Broadway, and that personally Dex thinks he ships Puckleberry more than Finchel, but it changes episode to episode. There are moments where Nicole seems to let her guard down. Where Sue Sylvester will say something particularly offensive or Rachel will storm out and Nicole will let out a short laugh. Just a small huff, but it’s enough. And she hasn’t told Dex to turn it off, so she obviously doesn’t hate it.

Dex is so caught up in Mercedes misguidedly crushing on Kurt, and Rachel pining for Finn, and Sue’s relentless pursuits of bringing down the glee club, that he forgets what happens. He’s seen these episodes so many times that he’s lost count, so really, he should have seen this coming. But Dex is just sitting there, eyes focussed straight at the screen when the camera is centred on Quinn and she’s uttering the words Finn is dreading, “I’m pregnant.”

Instantly Dex can feel Nicole stiffen, and Dex can’t get his hands on the remote quick enough. He hits the power button and the tv goes black. He knows the DVD is still running but doesn’t care. Nicole hasn’t moved.

Dex doesn’t know how long they sit there in silence. Dex wants to say something, do anything to diffuse the tension that seems to have engulfed them both. But it’s like there is this brick wall between them and there’s a giant pink elephant sitting on top of it, and Dex can’t find a way to see over it.

Dex hasn’t been good with silence. As a child he invented many invisible friends so he would never be left alone. Even now, he has books of plays and when he’s home alone, picks pages at random and recites them at the top of his lungs so there is some kind of noise. Even now, Dex can’t stop the words before they are spilling out.

“I’m sorry -- I’m so sorry, Nicole. I should have realised, and I didn’t and I feel like a complete idiot. This is all my fault, and I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to punch me in the face right now or scream or cry or whatever, that’s totally up to you. I’m not going to tell you want to do. I don’t even know how you must be feeling, although I can guess because I’ve read that --”

“It’s fine, Dex,” Nicole says, finally putting Dex out of his misery. Her voice is low, sleepy almost. Like she’s too tired to even deal with everything right now.

Finally Dex braces himself and swivels on his cushion slightly so he’s facing her. And that is probably the worst thing Dex could have done because the only thing Dex can see is Nicole, and Nicole’s face, and just how sad she looks.

Then Nicole does something she’s never done before. She reaches out and places her hand on top of Dex’s to stop them flailing about aimlessly, as Dex attempts to show her just how sorry he is.

Dex’s mouth immediately clamps shut, and the only thing he can focus on is Nicole’s hands, pressing warmth into his own. And it’s skin on skin, and it’s simple and uncomplicated, and the closest Dex has ever felt to someone.

Dex knows that Indi and Romeo talk about sex. After all they are a couple, and they’ve been going out for a while, so it’s expected. And Nicole has obviously had sex, because she’s pregnant, so that’s a no-brainer. But what Dex doesn’t understand is why there is such an emphasis on it. Like it’s the most important thing in the world, when it’s not.

It’s making someone laugh, sticking up for your friends, and unconditionally loving someone regardless of the mistakes they make. That’s what should be important.

Dex has these feelings inside his chest, this little ache in his ribcage, that appears to have rendered him speechless. So instead of trying to make sense of them and trying to explain to Nicole everything he’s thinking, he holds on tight to Nicole’s hand and leans forward.

It’s only a soft kiss on Nicole’s cheek, but Dex means it.

Nicole stares back for a moment, and Dex can see her cheeks flush slightly with a tinge of pink.

Dex doesn’t expect anything in return.

“Thanks,” Nicole whispers, and Dex sees her allow herself to smile. It’s small and fleeting, but totally worth it, Dex decides.

Then Nicole is clearing her throat and nodding towards the tv and asking whether Rachel and Finn get together in the end, and the moment is over, but that’s okay. There are still a few more months until the baby comes, and Dex is going to treasure every one.

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