Who wants a romance o/o? (OPEN)

"Nothing in particular! Come on!" He grinned, shaking off his thoughts and pulling her along to the front yard.

She giggled and followed his lead. The sweet sound of the bell rang in her ear, calling an idea for a verse into her preconscious mind.

Nicky let go of her hand, racing after the truck. "Stay or follow!"

She didn't answer, just sprinted after him. A grin was spread wide on her face and her eyes were illuminated with excitement.

"Hey! Dom!" He called to the truck, and it began to slow, before pulling to a stop.

An amused looking man poked his head out, waving for them to hurry up. "Goddamn Nicky, next time be there when I'm by your house. You're lucky I like you."

"I know, I know!" Nicky waved him off, grinning. "I wanted to introduce my girlfriend to the Dom experience though."

Laura caught up after a second, still breathless from the run. "Hi," she said faintly.

Dom waved at her, studying her the way you would a stranger on the street for a second before grinning. "Little Nicky finally got a girlfriend, huh? What's your name, sugar?"

"Laura," she replied, brushing a piece of her hair that had fallen out of the ponytail behind her ear.

"Nice t' meetcha Laura, I'm Dom." He waved, before addressing both of them. "What can I getcha lovebirds?"

"Do you just have chocolate?" she asked shyly, ducking a little behind Nicky. It wasn't that the man wasn't friendly – he was. It was that her aversion of the general human population still stood.

Nicky held out his hand for her to hold, smiling brightly. "I'll take a strawberry please."

Dom nodded, ducking back into the truck. It was like a food truck, basically. He popped back with two cones, a chocolate and a strawberry, in hand, holding them out. "Here ya go!"

"Thank you," Laura replied with a shy smile.

Nicky took Laura's cone and handed it to her before realizing something. "Shit, I left my wallet inside."

"Don' worry kid, it's on me. Call it a congratulations." Dom said as he handed Nicky his cone. "You two have a nice night."

"Thank you, sir," Laura whispered politely. She absently tried to smooth her hair again. I look like a mess…

"Bye, Dom!" Nicky called as the truck drove off, before he turned to Laura. "Jeez, it's like everyone loves you. You some sort of witch or somethin'?"

She quickly blushed. "No…" Her phone buzzed again, and she tried to ignore it.

Nicky heard the buzz, and studied her for a moment. "D'you need t' answer that, or do you need a distraction?"

"I probably need to answer it." But I don't want to. She argued with herself until it buzzed again.

"Go ahead, and answer it." He said with a soft smile. "I'll be right here, 'kay?"

She tried to smile, but it wouldn't come. Slowly, she took her phone out of her pocket. The screen read: Dad. She answered it, trying to sound normal. "Hello?"
There was a noise like something falling on the other end of the line that made her jump. Her father's voice was very slurred. "Where're you you lil' slut?!"
Laura winced. "I-I went to a f-friend's house…"
"Come home now," he demanded.
She looked at Nicky, trying desperately to stop trembling. "I-I have to go," she whispered.
"Didchu here me bitch? Come home now!"

Nicky frowned, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on Laura's shoulder. He didn't say anything, just raised a questioning and concerned eyebrow.

"Yes, Dad," she replied, but he'd already hung up on her. Slowly, she lowered the phone from her ear and put it back in her pocket. She shamed herself internally – she knew that this night was too good to last. Her eyes were wide as her gaze met Nicky's. "I'm r-really sorry, but I-I have to go," she said quietly, trying her best not to stammer as much as she usually did.

Nicky nodded, and pulled her into a side hug as she led her back to his place to grab her things. "Do you need a ride?" There was another unasked question there, 'do you need someone to be there, just in case'.

"That would be nice," she replied quietly, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.

"Alright." Nicky nodded, his grip on her tightening protectively.

Laura didn't say much the rest of the walk. Ever since the phone call, she'd been acting a bit different.

They reached his house, but he stopped once they'd made their way across the lawn, in front of the door. He turned her to look at him, stooping over a bit. "Laura, sweetheart. You can talk to me. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

She blinked and looked into his eyes. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, searching her face for something.

"I-I'm fine," she whispered. "I just have to get home."