Feeling down? Only one thing to it....ICE CREAM!

Nikkolai glanced at the alarm clock next to his bed and nodded at the time. Dorn had left earlier and he was sure his friend would be back by now, if only for the fact that he was going to have to take his medicine. Being the responsible friend he was, Nikki decided to go check on him, but not before grabbing a container of vanilla ice cream from the freezer.

Dorn’s room wasn’t too far from his, so the walk was quick. Nikki knocked on the door, shifting the ice cream container on his arm somewhat. He hadn’t realized just how cold it was going to be until he had been holding it like so.

“Hey, Dorn, can I come in?” Nikki asked. Without waiting for a response he turned the handle and entered the room, setting the container down on the table and then turning his head to look at his friend.

Oh, yikes. He didn’t seem very happy. “You okay, man? What’s up?” It was a good thing he had brought the ice cream, he supposed. He had a feeling they were going to need it.

Nikkolai’s arms folded as he listened to Dorn speak. An unpleasant meeting…? With who? It wasn’t a secret that Nikki couldn’t hurt anyone at all, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to know. Dorn was like a brother to him – Nikki had to do something to try and make things right.

Dorn had posed his question and Nikkolai lifted his brows in astonishment. “Weird? What the hell, who said that?” he asked. He pulled at the cap of the container, able to get it off finally after a couple of tries. He reached into a nearby drawer and pulled out two spoons before joining Dorn on the bed, holding out a spoon for him and keeping the ice cream between the both of them.

“You know I don’t. What happened?” He knew not everyone was as kind and accepting as he was, but really he didn’t think anyone had the right to make fun of anyone else for doing something they enjoyed.

“Oh, and you gotta take your medicine,” he reminded.

Nikkolai, being the good listener he was, sat silently as Dorn talked and nodded and reacted at the appropriate times. He snorted at the mention of the girl’s nails – how petty was it to spend that much money on something that wouldn’t last forever? Nikkolai shook his head, completely seeing Dorn’s point on the matter.

And then when he mentioned the girl laughing at him, Nikki made a soft squeal with the spoon in his mouth, halfway through swallowing. He started coughing, almost choking, and clenched his eyes shut at the coldness that swept through his insides at the ice cream slid down his throat. “Bitch be trippin’…” he grumbled. “What the hell… did she even apologize?” Nikki’s eyes narrowed. It was rare that he called anyone a bitch, but he figured Dorn probably wanted the reinforcement, at least for the time being.

He reached out a hand and ruffled his friend’s hair, taking another spoonful of ice cream and eating it before he spoke again. “It’s all right, man. Sometimes you meet people like that, it happens.” Nikki shrugged. “The important people are the only ones who matter.”

He shook his head. “You know you can’t do that,” he said. “They may cost a lot but they’re saving your life. You can’t just throw them out because you don’t want them. I’d cry if anything happened to you.”

And he wasn’t being overdramatic, even though he sounded so in the hopes his comedic tone would lift Dorn’s spirit.

Dorn reached out and poked his nose, causing Nikki to wrinkle his upper lip and furrow his brows. “Hey now,” he said, “if you’re expecting some sort of noise or special trick it most certainly isn’t going to happen. I can’t do cartwheels, you know that.” He poked his tongue out from betwixt his lips, aware of how childish the action was but hardly caring enough to refrain from it.

Nikki’s smile became a sad, solemn one at the mention of his friend’s father. There was a part of him that felt horrible and felt the loss just as badly as his friend did – and he was sure it showed. “Well, you can only move forward,” he said awkwardly, his tone soft. What else could he say to ease the apparent grief and longing? Nikkolai wanted to say more, even if his words wound up having no merit, but the ruffle of his hair stopped him. He laughed and his smile managed to become somewhat more genuine. “Aw, rats, I have to keep you around longer? Siiighhh…” Nikkolai snapped his fingers and exhaled loudly with his final word.

He blinked and looked down at the bottle, but nodded and got up on his knees a little so he could pocket the object. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “I don’t mind. How is your dear mom? Does she miss you already, trying to convince you to come back home?” He grinned.

Nikkolai’s jaw dropped as Dorn, basically, called him a dog. “Oh that was harsh!” he said. “I think I’m gonna need some ice for that burn.” He lifted his left index finger to touch his right bicep and made a soft sizzling sound, as if he had literally been burned by Dorn’s statement.

He snorted as Dorn assumed he loved having him around. “I don’t know what would ever give you that idea,” he said with what was as close as he could get to a smirk. He felt kind of bad, joking so meanly – but it was only joking, right? It wasn’t like he meant any of it. Dorn knew he didn’t mean a word of it.

Nikki took another scoop of ice cream and chuckled, nodding his head in agreement. “Well I don’t know if we were. You know I’m not a party animal. She probably just wants us back… can’t blame her, though, not with how lovable we are.” He laughed and took another scoop, trying to preserve as much of the precious ice cream as he possibly could. There were more containers in his dorm anyway, but they couldn’t just waste an entire carton of ice cream every time one of them was upset.

…

What the hell was he thinking? Of course they could.

He wanted to say more, but Dorn grabbed him and pushed him down. Nikkolai squealed as Dorn began tickling him and writhed in his grasp, throwing his head back and laughing. “Th-that’s not fair!” he exclaimed. “Bah, Dorn, come on! EEP!” Nikki giggled, failing epically at pushing Dorn off of him. Well, that was what he got for not having any muscle or strength to him. “Cheater!”