Criteria {on hold}

❥10: Adventures of a Cat-Bunny

*unedited* please kindly point out any errors if you see them!

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RECAP: Brooke and Jessie met up at the beach, where Brooke talked about her new boyfriend who passed the Criteria list with flying colors.

Enjoy the next chapter! xx
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If there were two words to perfectly explain my current state of agony, it would be these: Sun. Burn.

I guess I must've forgotten to apply sunscreen yesterday while I was at the beach with Brooke, and I had an absolutely flattering tan on my back that was oddly shaped like an 'X'.

Dumb bikini.

I applied solar healing gel to my shoulders that I had found in a storage cabinet in my bathroom. It actually smelled quite nice, which was unexpected.

My phone rang and I promptly grabbed it off of the bathroom vanity countertop, answering it.

"Hello?" I asked, holding my phone to my ear with my right shoulder and washing the solar gel stuff off of my fingers.

"Hey, Jess, what's up?" The person on the other line quipped.

"Er... Who's this?" I asked awkwardly. I'd forgotten to glance at the caller ID before picking up, I guess.

"Nick... You know, they made caller ID for a reason, kid." He said, chuckling, causing me to grunt.

"What do you want?" I asked, rolling my eyes and grinning.

"Wow, not a great time of the month, is it?" He full on laughed this time.

"Oh, shut up!" This only ensued more of Nick's laughter. I would've totally smacked him had this not been a conversation over the phone.

"Okay, okay, moving on..." He chuckled, "What are you doing tonight?" Nick asked.

"Netflix. Why, do you have a better idea?" I asked him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Actually, I do! On the topic of Will Ferrel movies, how about we watch 'Blades of Glory' at my place?" Nick asked.

"Sure, sounds good! Be there in twenty?" I questioned. I honestly couldn't believe how close we'd gotten in almost a few days. It was almost strange, really....

"Well... The girlfriend's coming around 2:00, so maybe 7:00 tonight when she'll be gone?" Nick asked. "Uh...I mean, it's not that I don't totally enjoy her presence, and um--"

"No, really it's fine," I laughed. I could practically hear that idiot blushing over the phone

"Okay, so seven then?"

"Seven." I confirmed.

Nick muttered a quick goodbye before hanging up the phone. I glanced at the time on the screen after he ended the call and noticed that it was already past 12:00 o'clock in the afternoon.

My stomach grumbled loudly and I clutched it awkwardly. Maybe I should go and get something for lunch, huh?
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After driving through Panera and eating my food while divulging in the beautiful thing that is Netflix, my shoulders began to ache again from the sunburn.

Groaning, I pushed myself up off of my couch and headed over to the bathroom to apply more solar healing gel. It hadn't really been working, even after multiple applications. It was definitely a little bit odd that the gel was blue though; you'd think that it'd be green like aloe vera, if any bright color at all.
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A few hours later, at around 6:30 PM, I headed back up to my bedroom--the newly-familiar ache in my shoulders never ceasing to end.

I reapplied more solar recovery gel. At this point, I was honestly convinced that it may be faulty. I wasn't sure if I had simply gone mad, but I felt as though my shoulders were beginning to tint blue.

I curiously scanned the label, wondering what was up with this dumb lotion. I checked the rest of the medicine cabinet in my bathroom, only to notice many bottles just like it--only in all different colors. Huh?

Like a light switch, it finally clicked--I remembered that I'd refilled all the bottles with food coloring gel a couple months back after buying it wholesale.

Well, that's just great--now I'm a freaking Smurf.

I put on a baggy maroon Stanford hoodie to cover up my alien-like shoulders, paring it with dark wash jeans and my black converse high tops. I ran a brush through my hair and braided it to the side quickly, then applied a dab of concealer over the sparse acne on my face before grabbing my car keys and dashing out the door.

It was the same as before, with the nice elderly woman at the front desk of Nick's building smiling at me as I reached the elevator. Once to Nick's apartment, I knocked on the door.

I was greeted by Nick's fluffy little cat, Ms. Corningstone, and I couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"Oh my god, Nick, is she wearing a bunny costume?" I had burst out laughing at this point, stepping inside amidst my laughter while Nick shut the door behind me.

He gave me a giddy look before replying, "It's her Halloween costume! I decided to try it out before the day came, and then you were here... And yeah!" Nick grinned widely.

"Ay, shut up already," I heard someone yell from the living area, groaning. I looked over and noticed that it was Jace, sitting on the couch while massaging his forehead, a look of pain on his face. His dark hair was messy and sticking out everywhere, in an 'I woke up like this' kind of way--but less Beyoncé glamorous. It looked good on Jace though, surprisingly. His clothes were wrinkled and he was hunched over, staring into the cup of coffee he held in his hands.

"Someone's a bit cranky and hungover, eh?" I muttered to Nick, causing him to chuckle lightly.

"I guess we'll be watching "Blades of Glory" in my bedroom, then." He laughed.

"Sounds good to me, Nicky!" I grinned.

"Oh my god, please don't call me that," he said, flinching jokingly and cheeks tinting slightly pink, "it's awful!"

"Does it bother you when I call you Nicky, Nicky?" I rose an eyebrow and grinned evilly.

"More than you'll ever know," he said, chuckling and rolling his eyes.

"Well then, Nicky it is!" I grinned triumphantly while Nicky shook his head and chuckled, leading me over to the futon in his room.
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A/N: Thanks for reading! I know that the story has been going pretty slow, but please stick with me because I promise it'll pick up soon! Feel free to vote and comment if you want. :)

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Xoxo,
Alex