3 Arc One (2)

Dramatically flinging open the curtain he posed in the doorway of the changeroom; one hand in his pocket, the other running through his hair.

"What do you think?" He raised an eyebrow at the female lead and tried to bring a twinkle to his eyes. How did professional actors do this on a regular basis? Barely a minute into his performance and he'd already decided that acting was exhausting.

"Oh Nicky!" Louisa clapped her hands together and he would swear she bounced like a little girl. "You look gorgeous."

"I know." Drawing on the original's memories, Nicholas figured that acting a bit silly every now and then might actually be fun. "Better watch out tomorrow night or I'll outshine you at your own party."

Laughing, the pair separated while Nicholas changed back into the original's shirt. The female lead (he really needed to start referring to her as Lousia) met him at the counter and a short argument ensued about who was paying. Everything in Nicholas rejected the idea of a stranger buying such an expensive shirt for him, but the memories in his head told him that this was a frequent experience with both leads. Neither would allow him to spend his own money whenever he accompanied them, and the original had eventually decided that they both came from old money that found no need to flaunt their wealth beyond gifts for their closest friend. Besides, Nicholas reminded himself, she may be a stranger to him, but she was as close to the original as his best friend. To insist on paying for himself would seem strange. And so the argument ended before it even really started.

Arm in arm, the pair went from shop to shop and by the time they were both loaded down by a variety of bags from stores with carpeted floors (Nicholas had only ever shopped in the large stores with cheaper tiles and peeling linoleum so the boutiques Louisa frequented were a shock to his system), the stores were starting to close and Nicholas' feet hurt.

"You stay here with the bags and I'll go get the car," Louisa couldn't help taking pity on her friend when he collapsed dramatically on a bench outside the shopping centre.

Arms and feet aching, Nicholas simply waved her off with a limp hand and closed his eyes. Every time he'd thought she would slow down, a different store or a better sale caught her eye and off she would go, dragging Nicholas along behind like a faithful puppy. He couldn't say he'd hated the day though. The female lead was as witty as she was beautiful, and the pair shared an enjoyment of sci-fi stories which had kept them cracking jokes and making themed innuendos at every opportunity.

Their fooling around had even had them politely escorted out of a jewellery store, and asked not to return before apologising to the staff member they'd reduced to tears because neither of them had been able to refrain from making Buffy references. It wasn't the poor woman's fault she'd been named Darla and they'd promptly returned with a gold bracelet as a token of sincere apology. Though, they hadn't been able to resist adding a small charm in the form of a petite cross. Their friendship had been sorely tested by the Bangel vs Spuffy debate until Nicholas announced that Buffy would be better off with someone like Lousia, rather than either of the two night-lurkers. She took that as an acknowledgement of her general awesomeness, and seemed oddly pleased with the resulting ship name; Luffia.

Personally, Nicholas thought it sounded too much like loofah, but whatever floats her boat.

Lost in thought, Nicholas almost missed the screech of tires and the smell of burnt rubber, as a vaguely familiar car tore around the corner and headed towards the pedestrian crossing that the female lead had just stepped out onto. Her head was down, looking at her phone and she missed the cries from bystanders on the footpath. Heart in his throat, Nicholas leapt to his feet, leaving the bags scattered where they fell, and bolted towards the unsuspecting female lead.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Louisa looked up and her eyes widened as she stared at the car hurtling towards her.

Nicholas threw himself forwards, pushing the female lead to her knees just clear of the car's trajectory.

There was an abrupt jolt of pain as the car connected with Nicholas' knees, throwing him up into the air like a boneless cabbage patch doll.

The road raced to meet him and after a loud crack the pain disappeared.

Flung into the middle of the road, Nicholas lay with his face in a pothole, unable to feel any connection with his body. Maybe things would have been different had it not rained heavily the night before and the pot holes filled with water.

This time, thanks to a broken spine, drowning was peaceful.

<Mission: Save the Cannon Fodder Nicholas Kim status: failed.>

"Did I save her though? Louisa? Did she live?"

<Mission: Save the Cannon Fodder Nicholas Kim reinitializing>

"Wait!" Didn't he get a breather? A respite? He'd just died… again!