nickxnovak

[nickxnovak]

eunaxyoung·:

open

Euna had halted in front of the screen when she’d heard the news of the whole switch. She’d also completely blanked out on anything that anyone had been saying around her. So when the news piece ended and her brain finally returned to its proper location, she did a full about face and grinned at the person behind her. “Damn, well that makes this a whole lot more interesting, don’t you think?”

Nick was intrigued by the whole scenario and overall quite pleased. Raul was a friend, and whatever reason was behind this stunt, it had to be one hell of a story. “Absolutely, I love a good plot twist.” Ah. This girl again. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” They seemed drawn together to rubberneck at corpses and chaos. 

[nickxnovak]

inscnnewcrld·:

“Well then” she announces proudly, ever so slightly too loud as if she was attempting to drown out the voices in her head “I’ll have no problem getting your girlfriend off the hook!” She moves back over to her desk, shuffling through folders and papers on there until she finds what she is looking for, the one labelled COSTA, VICTORIA and scans through the crime scene notes. “Ideally I’ll need the sample in the next day or so, though if you can’t get me anything that’s fine I can still make it work.”

Girlfriend. He really hopes she has the good sense to not go around telling people that. “Thanks.” He stands for a moment, his eyes lingering on Victoria’s corpse. Nick really was grateful that Sanne was helping him here. “Let me know if you ever need a favor, I owe you one.” Meanwhile, he had a man to frame.

[nickxnovak]

tcthepcinte‌:

Ridley winces as the apple rolls away but it is quickly replaced by a lighthearted laugh and the clapping of her hands “Is there anything Mr Badboy can’t do?” Stomach suddenly filled with butterflies she steps towards Nick and just as she had done moments ago raises onto her tiptoes to press a soft kiss against his cheek, but there was something about this action that felt different. The first time had been brought on in jest, but to purposefully set out with the intimate gesture was stirring up a whole new set of emotions. Instead of stepping back and away Ridley finds herself stuck in place looking up at Nick while these new emotions toyed with her, as her gaze shifts to his lips she realises what she’s feeling is desire and it takes a hot second for her cheeks to flare up as she diverts her attention elsewhere. Taking the surviving apples from his hands she places them in the canvas tote on her shoulder then turning to continue working her way through the stalls, inspecting the offerings and adding to the collection of food in her bag. “The company in New York had a nutritionist on staff to you know, keep us healthy with all the strenuous work” and stop them falling into dangerous habits “he was the one that introduced me to farmers markets, I’ve been obsessed with them since.”

“Juggle, apparently.” He doesn’t miss her hesitation. He feels it too. As his gaze follows to her lips, Nick can feel his heartbeat elevate. He’s not sure if he’s disappointed or not when she moves away. There was no denying that he wanted to kiss her, but maybe the middle of a farmer’s market after a failed juggling attempt wasn’t the right place or time for their first kiss. “Wow, the healthiest possible obsession. Congratulations. Are you looking for anything in particular for your mystery dish?”

[nickxnovak]

inscnnewcrld·:

Sanne contemplates this for a moment, engaging her work brain to be a coroner rather than a nut-job though often these came hand in hand. “That may just work” She muses, contemplating Nick for a second after he dropped the name “the random guy I mean, the roommate would only put this Ridley under deeper suspicion too. We need to rule out anyone from within the company- will you shut up” She directs the last part at the lifeless body on the table, if she was this annoying in life she could imagine why someone had wanted her dead so badly. With a sigh she turns to Nick and adds “Victoria says go to Hell. Now, about this DNA, would you be able to get any more of it, something I could plant on the body?”

He winces at the fact that he’d said Ridley’s name, that was a silly mistake, but given the fact that Victoria was apparently talking about her he probably wouldn’t have been able to keep her identity a secret from Sanne for very long anyway. Nick considers Sanne’s question, glad he had been cautious enough to build in a possible scapegoat to this murder. It was something he did fairly frequently but had never actually come in handy before. He hadn’t gotten the man’s name, but had taken a sly photo of him as he left and Nick had found people with less before. “Yeah, I think so.”

[nickxnovak]

tcthepcinte·:

Before she throws the apples she passes some cash to the vendor not wanting to come across as complete assholes, though he was about to get a free show which she was sure would be entertaining. “If you can keep it up long enough I may just kiss your other cheek” She beams with a light laugh, already feeling much better about her current situation just by being here with him. Though if she kept on that line of thought her cheeks would light up again.

“A worthy prize.” He begins to toss the apples, quickly finding a rhythm. Maybe it was just like riding a bike and he’d- nope. As soon as he starts to get confident he drops one of the apples and it rolls into the foot of a woman who gives him a death glare. “Ta-da!” He exclaims, sticking his arms out in mock victory.

[nickxnovak]

inscnnewcrld·:

“I can’t just magic up another suspect to get your girlfriend off the hook” Sanne rubs her head as she tries to tune out the dull hum coming from the body on the table, there was a lot of conflicting information coming from her that easily confused the blonde. As soon as Nick had owned up to being Mike that had made plenty of sense, it wasn’t the first time he’d used an alias since she’d worked in the morgue but she just wished Victoria would be bloody mute.

“If you’d like suggestions, I have a couple. There was this guy I got to put his DNA all over the scene. Also, her roomie, Angelica, might have-” He pauses and considers the particulars of this scenario, “Or we could just ask Victoria if there’s anyone she’d like to see framed for her murder. Other than, you know, me or Ridley. ” Unless this is a question of won’t rather than can’t. 

[nickxnovak]

tcthepcinte·:

She plays along accepting the flower back, bringing it close to her chest in her own over-dramatic response “For me? You shouldn’t have.” Swept up in the game of the moment Ridley steps closer to him and as she raises onto her tiptoes to press a soft kiss against his cheek, lingering for a second in place before suddenly feeling shy she steps back down and tries to hide the rising blush from him. Brushing her hair behind her ear Ridley then carefully tucks the stem of the rose there, using the hair to keep it in place and protect from the thorns. Moving onto the next stall, her runaway emotions under check once more, she picks up three apples and turns towards Nick in the playful manner that she was able to default to around him “Any good at juggling?”

His cheeks turn red at the kiss. Look at the pair of them, blushing high school crushes and murder suspects, the both. He can’t help but marvel at the it’s complicated aspect of it all. He smiles slightly at the apples and at Ridley, with the flower in her hair. If only it wasn’t complicated. Nick had actually been quite good at juggling once upon a time. His cellmate in juvie had taught him to juggle with balls of socks. There were only so many ways to entertain yourself in jail. He hadn’t tried it again since, though. “Let’s find out.” He motions for her to toss him the apples.

[nickxnovak]

inscnnewcrld·:

Sanne gets close to the body on the drawer, almost uncomfortably so as if she was listening for some kind of sign from the dead woman though in reality she had always been able to hear the spirit “Who’s Mike?” The blonde responds at first, her gaze moving over to Nick in curiosity. Then she remembers that he’d said something to her and her eyebrows knit together “She doesn’t like your friend.”

Who was Mike? Oh, wait, that was the fake name he’d given Victoria. “I believe Mike would be me.” He states awkwardly. It’s not a typical scenario to be interacting-by-proxy with a person you’d just killed. “Well I’m afraid her opinion on the matter is rather moot because she’s dead.”

[nickxnovak]

tcthepcinte‌:

“You know, funny you should say that” The smile comes more naturally now, feeling more at ease in Nick’s presence, motioning to the rows of stalls behind them with her hand “I’m really spoiling you in that case.” She moves back over to the flower stall, running her fingers over the petals as she examines the various buckets, with a hidden smirk she selects out a red rose and turning to Nick holds it out for him “This is how it works right, flowers on a first date?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m not exactly up to speed on dating etiquette.” He’d had various flings, but the more he thought about it the more certain he was that the last real date he’d been on had been in high school. Nick takes the flower and looks at it for a moment, “But I think I’m supposed to be the one giving you the flowers.” He hands it back to her with an overly dramatic flourish, “I chose this one special for you.”

[nickxnovak]

tcthepcinte·:

Laughing at something the vendor says Ridley looks over at the entrance just as she spots Nick’s wave, relief instantly rushing through her at the sight of him. She returns the smile though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses, the black circles and puffiness of her eyes gave away exactly the kind of night she’d had. As he reaches her she reaches out and wraps her arms around him in a desperate hug, aching for his comfort and not delaying in order to asses this fact “I’m so glad you’re here.”

He squeezes her tightly, a second wave of guilt wracking him. As his face is hidden from her, Nick lets his smile falter and betray his hand in her distress. “Glad to be here. I’m very enthusiastic about farmer’s markets.” He jokes, hoping to take both of their minds away from the investigations. 

[nickxnovak]

inscnnewcrld·:

Sanne nods to herself as she begins noting down the information she’s gathered on the clipboard in her hand, frowning once Nick’s words register with her and she yells “The painting!” Standing back to her full height Sanne focuses on the assassin in her morgue with intensity before wordlessly walking to the cabinet at the back of the room, opening a door and pulling out the drawer with the covered body laid out on it “This one? She’s been screaming at me since you came in.”

Ah, the painting at the park. Okay, at least that makes some sense. Nick peers over at the body and nods when he recognizes his handiwork. “That would be the one. I know that this isn’t normally how this works, but a-” he pauses, uncertain of what exactly to call Ridley, “friend of mine is a suspect for her murder. I would appreciate it if evidence came to light pointing the blame at neither her nor me.”

[nickxnovak]

inscnnewcrld·:

At the sound of her name Sanne doesn’t look up from the body on the table in front of her, busy inspecting the entry wound to add the details to the clipboard in her hand.“It was supposed to be a vase of flowers” She responds instead, referring to their previous interaction in the park without any clarification for him as to the fact “though I thought it looked more like some kind of elephant.”

“What?” He asked, already confused. Great start. She was apparently in one of her less lucid moods and he wanted this conversation to go as clearly as possible. “Look, Sanne, I uh, need a favor. Did you get a body in here- Victoria Costa?” He was slightly nervous about the whole scenario. Normally if he wanted someone to do something for him, he could just threaten them into it, but he needed Sanne’s help and didn’t feel great about breaking whatever working relationship they had. Instead he was just going to have to plead the old fashioned way.

[nickxnovak]

Nick felt guilty. It was a novel emotion. He was used to looking down the scope of a gun, pulling the trigger, and sleeping like a baby that same night. But knowing that Ridley was a suspect for two murders- one of which he committed, put a sour taste in his mouth. He didn’t expect that she would actually be convicted of either crime considering they couldn’t possibly have any evidence, but he worried for her job and her general peace of mind. The least he could do was keep her company and take her mind off the damage he’d caused- though she didn’t know he was the one who had caused it. 

He made his way to the location she’d dropped, a farmers market he’d been to once while trailing a mark. Nick was about to text her that he had arrived when he spotted her by a flower shop. He took a deep breath, put on a smile, and waved to get her attention. 

Since they had found Victoria’s body during the show Ridley’s life had become exceptionally confusing, and scary. That moment that the other dancer had missed her cue and the whole show and to be stalled would be seared into Ridley’s mind forever, the confusion turning to horror as the truth was revealed. Though she and Victoria had not been the best of friends it didn’t mean she was glad the other was dead, though the police seemed to be lead to believe that that would indeed be the case. And Ridley had spent the night being very thoroughly questioned and unable to figure out why they were being so intense until they had eventually fessed up about her being a suspect for Raúl, and her involvement here only made her look more suspicious. This is when the fear set in, what if their suspicion made her lose her job? Without this or if she was unable to get another dancing job would she have to give up being a ballerina forever?

Grateful for Nick’s impending arrival Ridley sets out for the location she had asked him to meet her at, a farmers market that was just a few blocks over from her apartment building where she liked to get most of her food from. The atmosphere of being among the people there always made her day a little brighter, and boy did she need that today. She lingers nearby the entrance, so that she could spot Nick as soon as he made his way there not wanting him to get confused by the location, browsing the flower stall and chatting to the vendor while she waited.

@nickxnovak

[nickxnovak]

@inscnnewcrld

Nick really had not expected that Ridley would be a suspect for killing Victoria. She had the perfect alibi and well, she wasn’t the killer. He was. And now he felt more than a little guilty. Not for the murder- that was just business, but for getting Ridley wrapped up in it. Maybe Sanne would be able to help pin the kill on someone else. This wasn’t typically the way things worked, but he hoped she’d be willing to make an exception. “Sanne?” He called out, paying her a visit at the morgue. 

[nickxnovak]

TEXT 📲 Riddles

Ridley: Would love one actually

Ridley: With the theatre closed off i'm a little lost

Ridley: If you're free we could have that dinner? 🙏

Nick: I think I can clear some time from my busy busy schedule

[nickxnovak]

TEXT 📲 Riddles

Ridley: Someone must do bc they told the police about our "rivalry"

Ridley: Between that, the portals and my possible killing of Raul i've just been bumped up the suspect list for both 👍

Nick: You didn't kill either of them

Nick: So you'll be proved innocent soon I'm sure

Nick: Do you want a distraction?

[nickxnovak]

TEXT 📲 Riddles

Ridley: 😂😂😂

Ridley: As much as i appreciate you making me laugh i'm still worried

Ridley: what if i lose my job over this??

Nick: I'm sure they'll find the real culprit soon

Nick: There's no way anyone in the company would really think it's you