Ember Eyes

It was safe to say that his father's little talk had had no effect on Nick. Michaels words had gone in one ear and out the other and Nick had found himself at one of the only bars in Parlis Bay with his friends like every other weekend that he had spent here. He was planning to drink, chat up some of the unsuspecting tourists that came to the island for the summer, and hopefully find someone to warm his lonely bed. Legally, he and his friends weren't even allowed to enter the establishment as they were all under the age of 21 — which was the legal drinking age of North Carolina but being from the wealthiest families of the island had its perks. And the people that were barely trying to stay afloat with the ridiculous expenses of Parlis Bay were more than willing to let the boys in after a bit of insistence, knowing that they would spend their time and money lavishly. But even then, they didn't turn a blind eye to any underage person trying to get in and so Nick and his friends didn't bother much about keeping up public appearances there. It was like their safe place, which they made dangerous for other people.

For that particular night, Nate had decided to bring some of his friends from college who had come to see his home town and Nick couldn't help but be resentful. They were attending the same classes that Nate was and Nick would've been if he hadn't decided to drop in the middle of the first semester. They didn't make any shady comments or do anything to irritate Nick, well aware of his bad temper, but he still got irritated by the slightest thing they did.

Two of them, Mark and Jacob, had gone over to the pool table, leaving the third, Logan, with Nick and Nate who were watching two people play darts. Nick leaned his arm on a wooden pillar, shifting his weight to one leg as he tapped his feet to the music coming from the speakers. The song was unfamiliar to him but he found the beat catchy. Logan stood next to him; his eyes focused on a group of girls sitting at one of the tables. Nick smirked at the expression that the summer tourists had left on him.

"Go talk to them."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Nick shrugged as Logan finally took his eyes off the attractive girls and turned to look at him.

"I'm just saying. It's an easy distraction—enough for the summer and then you never see them again."

The other boy furrowed his brow, "I'm not looking for anything like that."

"Don't tell me you're one of those sappy idiots waiting for 'The One'."

"It's nice to think that there's someone out there for everyone," Logan paused to look at the still laughing face of Nick, "Even you, asshole."

"Suit yourself, man," Nick shrugged as Nate finally arrived, holding a tray with their drinks.

Nick had opted for a cold bottle of beer which he quickly took a large gulp out of.

"What are you guys talking about?" Nate asked.

"I was just telling our friend here about the summer birds."

Nate laughed as Logan shook his head at Nick's words.

"Not one for sensitivity, I guess," He said, before his eyes caught on to something, "What about her? Is she a summer bird too?"

Nick turned his head in the direction Logan had nodded and his shoulders immediately grew tense. His eyes narrowed and his grip on the neck of the bottle of beer tightened. Nate and Logan were oblivious to his state and he was glad of it. He had not forgotten what had happened earlier and he was not willing to let it slide either. He had just hoped he would've gotten some time before he had to confront the very bane of his problems.

"Nah, that's Madison Pierce. We went to high school together," Nate said making Nick's jaw clench even tighter. She was sitting at one of the tables with another dark-haired woman who seem to be in her late-twenties. Madison was laughing at something the other woman said, her hands waving around wildly and Nick got even angrier that she could look this relaxed after what she had done to threaten his peace of mind.

Logan seemed to be even more interested, "Was she in your class?"

"A year below us," Nate shook his head in denial, a laugh escaping his lips before he added, "Nick hates her."

Nick glared at his friend over Logan' shoulder who turned to him, "Why?"

Rolling his eyes, "Because she's an annoying know-it-all who thinks she's better than everyone."

"And because his dad loves her," Nate added making Nick scoff. His response died in his throat as he saw Madison and her friend rise from their table, heading towards the bar. She hadn't spotted any of them yet, her head bent, engrossed in conversation with the woman.

Nick's feet itched and his body fidgeted in position. He contemplated just walking away before he had to come face to face with her. Her eyes were still cast downwards, he could leave without her knowing. Nate's voice squashed his hopes.

"Hey, Madison!" He called out to her as she got closer.

Madison's head jerked up, her big brown eyes meeting Nate's, and her brow furrowed. Nate gestured to come over and she complied, the woman following close behind. She was only a few steps away when she finally noticed Nick. He gulped at the eye contact but couldn't find the strength to look away. Madison had that tendency, there was always a fire in her gaze. Sometimes it was just smoky embers, tame and welcoming, and others it was a raging flame, one that threatened to pull him in and reduce him to nothing but ash. She was harboring the latter as she continued to stare at him, her lips pursed in displeasure. As she came to stand in front of the three boys, she broke their intense gaze, turning to look at Nate instead.

Nick let out a breath, his eyes quickly darting towards his beer that he anxiously chugged from. He cursed himself from getting so affected by her mere presence when he was supposed to be the one to have a hold over her. Feeling his friend's proud smirk in his direction, he forced his eyes back to Madison who wasn't even sparing a glance towards him anymore.

"Hi, Nate." She quipped, before nodding towards her companion, "This is my aunt, Kate, she's visiting from D.C."

Nate grinned a dazzling smile, "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

She shook his hand, "Call me Kate. I'm not old enough for that. Are you friends of Madison's?"

He nodded, "From high school," he paused before he added, "Well, me and Nick were. This is my friend from college, Logan."

Madison smiled at him, "Hi, nice to meet you. Which college, Nate?"

She still hadn't looked at Nick and he was set on not making any moves either. He couldn't have that talk with her, not now in front of her aunt. He was confused though. He couldn't imagine the goody-two-shoes Madison Pierce finding a way to come inside a bar since it was illegal at her age. She didn't seem to be drinking so at least that was somewhat in character for her.

"UC Davis, it's been pretty great. Logan has the same classes as me," Nate said, before pointing towards the pool table, "Jacob and Mark are in Logan' fraternity. I just thought I'd show them Parlis Bay in the summer."

"Yeah, it's perfect for a vacation," Madison nodded, "I'm gonna miss it when I leave, eventually."

"I heard about the gap year, it's a good idea, Madison," Nate said.

Nick met her eyes and for the first time, he noticed a flash of discomfort in the dark irises before she smiled. He wondered if he had imagined it. It was clear that Nate had called her over here to rile up Nick in some way and he was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable because Nick was determined to not do anything in front of Kate. He fidgeted with his glass of scotch as the conversation delved into an awkward silence. No one knowing what to say since Madison wasn't really a regular friend of theirs and they rarely interacted with her outside of formal gatherings that their parents had thrown.

Kate, who didn't seem to be much for awkward silences, picked up her phone, "I…really have to make an important call. Just gonna head outside for a bit."

She nodded to Madison whose eyes had widened and Nick felt a grim satisfaction at her panicked expression, taking great pleasure in any sort of discomfort of the golden girl. As Kate walked away, Nick's mouth twisted into a cruel smirk at how Madison looked after her aunt's retreating form, longingly. Getting an idea, he decided to take advantage of the current situation.

He stepped forward and Madison's head jerked towards him, her brown eyes narrowed as he looked directly at her.

"Can I get you a drink?"

Her brow furrowed, "I'm not old enough."

"Don't worry about it," he said, making his way to the bar, not bothering to see if she was following.

As he leaned over the counter, he waited until she had come up next to him. She huffed out a breath, clearly not interested in having this conversation.

"If this is you trying to make up for dumping the girls on me that night, it's not working."

Nick scoffed, "Please. As if I would ever apologize to your entitled ass. "

He could feel her eye roll without even looking at her, "I should've known."

He didn't call the bartender; he didn't even bother to ask her to sit down. Nick braced his hands on the counter, and took a deep breath, knowing what was coming. Finally turning towards her, he began talking.

"What did you say to Dad?"

"To Michael? Why?" She furrowed her brow before she grinned, "You got something to hide?"

He grit his teeth at her stubbornness, "I don't need your help. What is so confusing about that to you?"

"Can you cut it out with the cryptic nonsense? What do you want, Nick?"

"I want you to stay out of my god damn business," his tone grew bitter but he kept his volume neutral, not trying to get unwanted attention, "What I do with my time has nothing to do with you."

He could see the realization finally dawn on her face as she inched away from his heated glare but he wasn't done.

"Yeah. Dad 'talked' to me but funny thing, while he was spewing his usual speech, he sounded a lot like you."

"Impossible. He doesn't have my vocal range," she said, her voice tinged with sarcasm.

"' Show me that you care'," his tone was mocking, "Did you get that out of one of your chick flicks, Madison?"

But Madison was hell-bent on denial, "I watch horror movies. You know the ones in which body parts get blown to bits, genitals get chopped into tiny little pieces."

"Of course you'd find a way to bring my dick into this," Nick chuckled before his lips pulled into a smirk as he leaned closer towards her, "If you want it so bad, just name the time and place."

"Why wait?" She smirked right back at him, her voice in the same suggestive tone as his, "There's a lot of knives right here. I doubt I'll need a sharp...or big one," her sultry gaze lowered to his crotch at the last part, her smirk deepening at the scowl that appeared on his face from the insinuation.

"Just admit that you played your good card with my dad and talked to him about me," He managed through grit teeth, his anger barely restrained.

"Fine, you wanna go all bad cop on me?" She threw her hands up in surrender before she replaced her smirk with a glare, "Let's see how you feel about it then."

"The hell are you yapping about now?"

"Heidi had cocaine at the party and I may not go to those but even I know who's been selling those teenagers drugs," She looked at him with a pointed glare making him scoff.

"Your little sister has nothing to do with me."

"So, you're telling me there's someone else who's selling to your clientele. I'd be careful, Nick. The competition's not good for someone who's just starting with their little business. Wouldn't wanna disappoint daddy again."

"Shut the fuck up."

Madison looked into his eyes with disgust, desperation lacing her voice, "Do you even think about anything other than your own gain? Your products could ruin someone's life."

Nick's stomach dropped. He wasn't used to thinking about the consequences of his actions. If something benefited him, he wasn't bothered by what it could do to other people. He was just trying to fix up his own life, make it up to his dad. And it still didn't matter to him. Nick was a selfish man; he could admit that much to himself. But he still felt like he needed to defend himself to Madison; like he needed to make her know that he was better than what she was thinking of him.

"Those people that buy from me, they make their choices," he said, keeping his tone even.

"And so, you're free from all responsibility?" His statement seemed to make her even angrier as she looked at him incredulously, "They're kids, Nick. Heidi is sixteen!"

His gaze narrowed, "I just told you that I didn't sell to her."

Madison scoffed, "Am I supposed to take your word for it?"

"Take it or leave it," Nick shrugged, "You don't scare me, Madison. Not with your little sermons of being good when you can't even keep your nose out of someone's personal business."

"I already told you," Madison's expression steeled, as she looked into his eyes with her disgusted ones, "I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you were high again. Wouldn't be the first time."

With that last statement, she turned away from him and walked straight out of the bar, not even bothering to look towards Nate or Logan who turned to Nick with bewildered expressions at the girl's sudden departure. Nick rolled his eyes, his body still buzzing from another tense conversation with Madison. It was an unfinished one, though. He wasn't done with Madison; he could feel it.