Three Faced

Nick was a cruel person. That was an undeniable fact and could be confirmed by every single person around him. Snappy words, an arrogant air, and even physical violence; there was nothing that he hadn't done to others for the most minuscule of reasons or even no reason at all. Since he had no reason to raise his hands, he had absolutely none to stay them, to show kindness, patience, compassion. And if I didn't have to, he wouldn't. His father was different, he was careful, manipulative. He knew which string to pull, which words to speak, to make the odds and people work in his favor. He had an emotional hold on Nick, being the only person that he cared about impressing or disappointing. Since their conversation in the kitchen, he had taken it upon himself to bring Nick to some of his daily errands, introduce him to the players around him. Nick followed dutifully, this was what he was craving even if it wasn't what he desired. Attention from his father, importance, and respect that he only saved for his eldest son.

He wasn't an idiot; he knew that this was conditional. He knew that if he stopped bending to Michael's wishes, all of it would disappear. Michael Walters did not like to waste his time and energy, and especially not on lost causes. In his eyes, his son had begun turning into the biggest lost cause ever, Nick was certain of it and he was determined to prove him wrong. So, he smiled at his business partners, chatted with the managers, and when he felt the need to get high begin to drown his sense, left red crescent moon marks on the insides of his hands. He could get through this; he would get through this.

Once Michael was done talking to an enthusiastic architect about his plans regarding the hotel in the Bahamas, he decided to take Nick for lunch at the country club restaurant. He hesitated for a moment, the fear of running into someone he knew in an already tense state making him anxious but the assured smile on his father's face was a good motivator and he gave in. However, his fears proved to be right when he spotted the Pierces' in the same restaurant and knew that his father would want to join them.

Nick's face twisted in displeasure as the whole family turned at his father's greeting and even from that distance, he could spot Madison with a slightly shocked expression on her face. Michael walked towards their table with Nick and a waiter in tow. Once he was close enough to see their faces clearly, he forced his gaze away from the dark-haired girl with her questioning eyes. He was still reeling from their interaction in The Reef, and if he knew anything about Madison, she was probably not his biggest fan either. She loved her little sister and Nick was now the bad guy that had put her in danger. A thing like that was unforgivable in Madison's eyes.

The waiter brought over two more chairs for Nick and Michael. As he began to put his chair next to Madison's aunt, her mother, Cheryl spoke up.

"Kate, move over," She ordered, "Let Nick sit next to Madison."

Nick froze where he was standing, forcing his widened eyes on the food placed on the table to avoid looking towards anyone else in fear that they would sense his panic. He could hear Kate grumble in annoyance but she slid her chair farther to make space anyways. Nick slid into it, making himself small as to not make any physical contact with the girl seated next to him and he felt Michael's eyes on him.

He stiffly rested his hands on the table, his gaze fixated on his lap as the conversation began around him.

"Kate, it's been a long time," Michael turned to her.

Kate nodded, "Three months. I came to that opening ceremony you threw in DC."

Nick gulped, once more averting his gaze from his father. He remembered the black-tie event. It was a huge success for Michael, his first one after signing the merge with Thomas and he had been ecstatic. Nick had been warned to behave, to keep his wits together but then he had seen his father congratulate Madison on her help in the merge and her grades with a pointed look at his son. And that had been enough for him to go over the edge. He got characteristically drunk and even did a line of coke in the bathroom and had spent the remainder of the night putting on an embarrassing show for the guests. Michael hadn't talked to him for a week after that.

But Michael wasn't willing to go over the embarrassing parts of that night, "Yes, it was a very proud moment for me. Something that I'm trying to do again."

"Is this about the Nassau project?" Thomas asked and Michael nodded at him.

"In the Bahamas?" Madison asked and Nick had to take a sip from his glass of water to stifle the urge to look in her direction. It took him a second to realize what her question meant and once the realization hit him, he had to restrain his grin. Michael had told Nick but he hadn't told Madison and she hated being left out of the loop. Nick could now imagine a future where he had finally overshadowed her and had finally made her feel the way he did for all these years.

"Yeah, well," Michael smiled at her, guiltily and Nick didn't need to look at her to know that she looked disappointed, it satisfied him, "It was meant to be a surprise but don't worry, I'll tell you the details later."

He heard her sigh from beside him before she nodded.

"Which reminds me, Madison has been a complete genius in the office," Nick's stomach plummeted at his father's words, his joy short-lived, "Any problem I get, she has a solution for it. I'm starting to be worried about what I'm gonna do when she isn't there."

"A little much," Madison said, teasingly, making Michael shrug, his blue eyes light and amused.

She let out a small laugh and this time, Nick couldn't help but turn to look at her, the urge too great. All thoughts of ruining her life vanished from his mind as he finally paid attention to her for the first time since he had come to their table. His gaze lingered on the exposed skin of her shoulders due to the dress that rested on her frame. The color complimented her soft caramel limbs and brought out the brown of her hair and eyes. She was void of any makeup and he was in awe of all the parts of her face that he had failed to notice, the parts she would hide under layers. She was flawed, just like him and he could see the cracks of imperfection that were always kept secret from his eyes. Her damp hair fell around her face making his fingers itch to touch the soft tresses. From this close, she didn't seem like the untouchable, flawless, Golden Girl of Parlis Bay, she looked like his equal, the girl who was usually just hidden within and it scared him what he felt for this version of Madison that he had never seen before.

Nick's mind drifted back to his surroundings as he pulled his gaze away from her, too afraid of drowning in the sensation, "I'm an honest man. But you are amazing at dealing with the dishonest ones."

Kate smirked, "She gets her brain from me." Madison made a soft sound of protest, making everyone laugh.

Everyone except Cheryl who groaned, "Do we really need to talk about work right now? You people need to keep that to your offices, not the table." Nick had a feeling it wasn't work she didn't want to talk about but the work of a certain person. Some families are competitive, the Pierce's are envious.

But Michael hadn't picked up on that as he held his hands up in mock surrender, "Right, I'll back off."

"Sorry, hon," Thomas added.

But Kate caught on and she muttered in a low voice. Nick had to strain to hear her, "Sensitive much?"

"On to more interesting subjects than," Cheryl grinned before she turned her scheming gaze on to him, "Nick, how are you enjoying your summers?"

His eyes widened in surprise before he stammered out a response, his eyes darting between Cheryl and his father, "I'm not doing much, Mrs. Pierce. Just trying to make myself useful."

She nodded, "Do you come to the club often? I heard the pool is getting new diving boards installed."

"I like golfing, mostly," He replied, his voice tinged in fake-politeness, "Swimming isn't really my thing."

"Really? I think you'd love it. Madison could show you, she's great at it," Cheryl grinned, unaware of how Madison's back went taught at her words. Nick was in shock too. Cheryl had always been trying to ignore him as he didn't suit her ridiculously high standards and now, she wanted him to hang out with her most prized possession? Something didn't add up. But before he could respond, Madison began to stutter, awkwardly trying to speak. It was uncharacteristic of the Golden Girl.

"I- You don't…" She shared a glance with her mother before she made her expression neutral, "I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to."

"Nonsense, sweetie. I'm sure he'd love to see some of your moves," Thomas spoke this time, before looking at him, "You live on an island, Nick, better to get more acquainted with the water."

He simply gulped before nodding. One look from Michael and he knew that there was not much of a choice in the matter.

"Maddie's gotten really good," Heidi piped up, "She held her breath for nine seconds underwater today."

Kate agreed with her, "Yeah, I was there. She's great."

"That is very impressive," Michael grinned at her, making Nick nearly scowl, "Clearly your swimming time from high school paid off."

As Madison smiled back at him, he continued, removing any room for disagreement, "It would be good for Nick to try something different."

"And he could show you golfing," Cheryl added, making Nick want to slam his head against the table, "Whenever I suggest it to her, she says it looks boring."

"I didn't say boring, I said pointless" Madison corrected her, her tone was pointed and sharp.

Nick turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed, "That's a bit presumptuous, how do you know that if you've never tried it."

She didn't back away from his gaze and met it evenly, "I make my assumptions based on my observations."

This was what he was familiar with. Being at throats with this girl next to him was a comfortable ground, something he had grown used to.

"I think a demonstration would be better to show you what I mean," Nick gave her a cheeky smile, making her eyes more narrowed, "I would love to show you."

She smiled back, "I'm sure you would."

The adults didn't think much of their pointed stares and tense energy. Nick met his father's eyes and he was grinning at his son, a pride that he had seldom seen before.

"It's settled then," Cheryl said, happily, "Madison, you will show Nick all your swimming skills and he'll finally introduce you to golf."

"But- "Madison began to protest but Thomas cut her off.

"The sunlight would be good for you and the fresh air."

"Can I join?" Heidi asked and Nick could see Madison's eyes light up in hope.

But Cheryl took away that hope too, "You have nothing to contribute, Heidi."

Nick loved to upset Madison, seeing her irritated and angry was a look that he felt joy over. And even though he hadn't directly been the one to bring forth this new method of torture, he was still ecstatic as to how far he could take it. There was still conflict his mind about this new arrangement though. He didn't know if being able to upset her was worth being near her. He didn't know if his mind could tell the difference being happy about one or the other. He didn't know if he could either. But there was one thing that registered in his head once his food arrived and the conversation drifted off to other topics. Throughout this whole time as he sat next to Madison, he hadn't felt like he needed to hurt himself to stay focused. It scared him.