New Girl Fanfiction

A Nick and Jess AU story – one shot

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Nick and Jess and I am not making any money from this.

Set in Clydes bar, Nick and Jess have never met before.

What are you doing New Years Eve?

To the mystery girl with the beautiful blue eyes.
If you are free next New Years Eve (2013), please meet me here at Clydes Bar, ten before midnight. – Nick Miller (bartender, incase you forget!)

It was New Years Eve 2013 and Nick Miller was staring nervously at the clock on the wall. Still only 11.00pm, time really was dragging tonight even though the bar was jumping. He pulls his eyes away from the hundreds of party goers, that seemed to have descended on the bar that night.

A year ago it happened, a year ago this very night, he shakes his head at the memory permanently etched in his brain. The bar and its chaos start to blur away as Nick indulges in his favourite daydream.

(New Years Eve 2012)

It was late in the evening when SHE had come crashing into his life – literally. She had hit like a tornado, running in through the door of the bar, her beautiful dark curly hair bouncing around her shoulders, her eyes large and panicked and a flush on her cheeks.
BAM! She hadn't seen Nick standing there with a tray of empty glasses and in her haste she had run straight into him, sending the tray flying up into the air and scattering glasses and bottles everywhere, each one landing with a resounding smash. She fell forward after hitting him squarely in the chest and Nick landed flat on his back with her face down on top of him.

Nick hadn't seen her coming and it all seemed to happen in slow motion.

"What the hell?" he shouted, he found himself staring into the most amazing blue eyes he'd ever seen, inches away from his own chocolate brown ones.

The big blue eyes blinked a couple of times and Nick was vaguely aware that the girl attached to them was speaking to him, but he was temporarily hypnotized by those damn eyes.

Pain in his head brought him back to reality with a jerk and he finally heard what the girl way saying. Her voice was soft and full of concern and she apologized over and over again, asking if he was ok. She saw him wince with pain and her eyes became awash with tears, threatening to spill at any moment.

Suddenly aware that she was still lying full length upon his body (a fact that Nick wasn't altogether unhappy with) and that they had drawn quite a crowd by now, the girl pressed herself away from him, her hands pushing on his broad chest for leverage. She adjusted her position next to his prone body, one hand remaining on his chest and one hand on his arm, trying to asses the damage she'd done, concern etched on her face.

Nick accepted his assailant's assistance with slightly bad grace (well she had just pole-axed him) and pulled himself up to a seated position, his head swimming slightly. He brought his hand up to the back of his head to meet the pain.

He looked around to speak to the girl, but she seemed to have disappeared into the crowd. A little disappointed, he swung his head around to try and spot her, but it made his head spin even more and he closed his eyes to stop the room from spinning round.

A second later he was aware of a cold, wet pressure on the back of his head. His eyes opened – old blue eyes was back and this time she was holding his face with one hand and a towel full of ice to the back of his head with the other.

"I'm afraid you're gonna have a bit of a bump there, I'm really sorry." The girl spoke, her face full of concern and guilt. "I wonder if I should take you to the hospital, you might have a concussion."

Nick tried to shake his head but remembered the pain, so instead he shouted "NO" then seeing the shock on her face, he altered his tone "No thank you, no hospital. Just a couple of aspirin and I'll be fine."

Growing a bit anxious at all the attention he seemed to be attracting, he scrambled to his feet. The crowd started to disperse now that the action was over and went back to their own entertainments.

The girl was still kneeling down, so he proffered her a hand and she took it gratefully. His hand registered how small and soft her hand was in his and he couldn't help but run his thumb lightly over her knuckles.

Once standing she thanked him and asked again if he was ok, the concern still there.

"Just a couple of bruises, but I'll live." He smiled a little to try and stop her worrying.

She smiled back, and Nick was strangely stirred by her soft smile, it seemed to lighten his heart. His smile widened a bit more, but then he felt it was getting a bit creepy, so he looked for his colleague Big Bob, and found him making his way over to him with a broom and dust pan.

The girl tried to grab them and offered to clean up the mess, but he just laughed and assured her that that was what they were paid for and besides, by the end of the night he was sure they would have a lot worse to deal with.

Instead he motioned her over to the bar, he shot a look of thanks to Bob, and then asked what she would like to drink.

After a quick sweep of the optic selection, she settled herself on a barstool then chose a pink wine. Nick grinned at her selection (so her he thought to himself) and dove into the chiller under the bar for the opened chilled bottle residing there. He inspected a wine glass and poured her a large glass. He saw the girl reach for her purse, but he shook his head and told her that it was on him. She grinned at him when she held the drink up to find it decorated with a pink umbrella with a cherry on its stem.

He smiled at her amusement but his mind was screaming at him What are you doing you dumbass? You are being completely ridiculous playing up to this girl but he couldn't seem to help himself, he just wanted to keep making this girl smile at him.

Seeing a queue forming at the other end of the bar, Nick reluctantly excused himself away from her to go and help Big Bob serve. The girl smiled and raised her glass to him in salute and then as if remembering something important, started to scan the room looking for someone.

Customers dealt with, Nick returns to stand in front of the girl who by now has her eyes trained to the back of the bar. Her face seemed to have paled and a frown formed on her brow. He followed her gaze and faced the same way, and wondered whom she was staring at, as there were several possibilities. Was it the two guys in suits laughing at something on one of their phones? Or perhaps the tall arrogant looking man leaning very closely towards a tall, over-made blonde wearing a skin-tight dress and five inch heels? He seemed to be whispering something to her and making her giggle stupidly Nick observed. Maybe it was the group of youngish girls trying to take selfie pictures on their cell phones?

Nick's gaze went back to the arrogant man and saw his face move to look towards him, actually, not at Nick, but straight at the girl. Ah, so that was it.

Nick watched as the girl moved off her stool and grabbed her drink and purse and move towards the arrogant man at the back of the bar, a hurt look spoiling her face.

The over-processed blonde had moved off with a scowl, but the arrogant man just shrugged and acted as if nothing had happened.

Not wanting to spy on what was obviously going to be a difficult encounter, Nick tried to focus his mind back on his job, but part of him just wanted to look out for his blue eyed friend.

More customers were shouting for his attention and he sighed heavily as he turned his back on the impending scene. He couldn't really complain, he was getting paid good money for working the late shift on New Years Eve, and the more the customers drank, the better his tips were. Besides, what else did he have to do that evening anyway? Just drink himself into oblivion and try and forget that he was alone, again!

After making a large group of women some fancy (expensive) cocktails, and showing off his Tom Cruise routine, he returned his attention back to the far end of the bar. The girl was now in a heated conversation with the tall arrogant guy, her arms crossed and her face angry. The guy was leaning over her, trying to worm his way around her and went to stroke her hair, Nick was glad to see her swat his hand away. As their voices raised more and more he could hear snatches of their conversation. She thought he was committed to their relationship, he had thought they had a more open agreement as they hadn't had the 'boyfriend/girlfriend' talk.

What a jerk, thought Nick as he regarded the man critically. He was tall, over 6ft, with light brown styled hair. His clothes were obviously designer and it all seemed to fit his arrogant demeanour. Nick cast a look down at his own body clad in a black T-shirt that seemed to now be more grey looking, and his red flannel shirt which could do with a good clean. His jeans could too for that matter. He sighed and ran his hand over his chin, acknowledging the days growth of stubble that was there giving him (in his opinion) a rugged, manly look, whereas the mystery mans face was smooth and even shiny in comparison. Nick rolled his eyes with contempt, he was sure there were 'products' involved.

He focused his eyes back on the girl, she seemed tiny standing next to this man, her petite figure struggling to make herself appear more aggressive, but only succeeding to make her look more like an angry kitten.

There was something about her that had peeked his interest, more than any other woman in the bar. He cast his eyes over her, committing every inch of her to his memory. She was wearing a bright red dress, fitted close at the top and flared out over her thighs, in an almost 1950's style. A white cardigan wrapped around her top half, giving her a sweet and more modest look. Her hair was amazing. It was long and shiny and just tumbled over her shoulders. He closed his eyes and remembered the smell of it as she fallen on him. It smelled of flowers. He opened his eyes again, there was an air of fragility about her and that teamed with her amazing eyes and warm, open smile was a heady combination indeed.

Nick knew he shouldn't be thinking like this, having not long split up from a long-term relationship of 6 years. It was still raw for him, and he'd only just stopped subjecting his roommates to tears and rants over his lost love. He shuddered at the memory. Pulling his attention back to her again, his heart began to beat a little faster. 'Ridiculous Nick,' he admonished himself, 'it's obvious she has a boyfriend' and with another sigh he goes back to his job.

Nick was run off his feet, he and Big Bob served more and more people, it must have been getting closer to midnight. He glanced again at the clock for confirmation, 11.30pm, nearly time for the hysteria and singing, but time enough to collect some more empties.

Wanting to make sure there were no more mad women rushing in to knock him over, he looks to the door to check then with a smirk, turned and grabbed a tray and started to clear up.

After a couple of trips back to the bar to deposit the empty glasses and bottles to Big Bob, Nick makes his way to the back of the bar. The girl is now there on her own, sat in a quiet corner booth away from the rest of the party people, staring mournfully into her empty wine glass. There was no sign of arrogant man anywhere. Nick moved to the booth slowly, he didn't want to startle her.

"Hey there, how's it going?"

The girl looked up at his face, sadness etched all over her pretty face. On seeing him, she pulled the corners of her mouth into a thin smile, but then looks back at her glass.

Nick tried again, "Can I get you a refill?"

She looked up again and silently handed him her glass with a small nod of her head.

Nick takes the glass and smiles softly and slips back to the bar for the wine. He is aware that her eyes were watching him, and he tried to put it out of his mind, for some reason it was making him feel a bit nervous.

He pours another large pink wine, but decides not to be cute again with another umbrella, now wasn't the time. He holds her gaze on his way back to her, her eyes just looking, not judging. She smiled again when he put the drink on the table in front of her.

She nods her head to the space on the seat next to her, Nick hesitates for a moment before sitting down. This was getting a little bit too serious for him. Normally he liked to keep a professional detachment when it came to the customers. Always keep the 3 feet of bar separating them and don't get involved with their lives. He had too much baggage of his own to deal with, without dealing with whatever issues they wanted to drown out with alcohol.

But with this girl it was different, it might just be the bump on the head causing temporary concern for a fellow human being, but something inside him wanted to help this girl.

"Are you ok? You seem a bit down." 'Wow, way to underplay it there Miller,' he said to himself.

The girl raised her big blue eyes to meet his, "No, not really."

"Do you want to talk about it? It may help."

She sighed deeply, but seemed to come to a decision. "I've just had a row with my boyfriend, you might have seen us. I was late getting here and had to run…" she giggled slightly which startled him a little, "Well you know, that's when I crashed into you!"

Nick smiled ruefully and raised his hand to rub the back of his head, which until then he'd forgotten all about.

"Anyway, it seemed that he couldn't wait for me to arrive and I found him chatting up some blonde ho. I challenged him about it, but he said it was my fault for being late and that he was ready to party without me. She was there and that he was only a man after all."

Nick frowned deep in thought, but remained silent. 'God that guy was a real piece of work.'

The girl continued, "What the hell does that mean anyway? Just a man, like that is some kind of excuse or something. It's not the first time he's cheated either. Why though? Why do men cheat? Is it something in the DNA or is it a rule passed down from father to son? You're a man, why do you do it?"

Her liquid blue eyes sought answers from him, desperately needing to know.

"Woah there, hang on a minute, not all men cheat. Speaking as a man, I have never cheated, nor never will cheat on a woman. I was brought up better then that. I won't comment on my father, but I know what it is like to be cheated on. I had a girlfriend do it to me too. It sucks."

Nick quickly glanced over to Big Bob, worried that his chat would cost him his job, but he was holding court ok, so he had a couple more minutes.

"Look, some men are idiots, they can't help it. They don't realize or appreciate when they have something worth holding on to." He looked deep into her eyes as he said this, and it seemed to pacify her. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the appreciation in her eyes. God they were so expressive.

She nodded a little before adding " Well it seems that I just keep picking idiots then. I suppose my New Year resolution should be to pick decent guys…like you."

Nick looked at her, his face a little flushed with embarrassment, 'did she really just say like him?'

To cover his embarrassment, he asked her where her boyfriend was now and looked around just in case he was nearby and wanted to cause trouble for talking to his girl.

"Oh, he went off with the obvious blonde. I told him he had to make up his mind what he wanted whether a relationship with me, or sex with random tarts. He didn't choose me." She finished with a shrug but looked down at her untouched wine and raised the glass to her lips and took a quick sip, tears starting to slide down her face.

Nick slid a little closer to her, he gently rubbed her arm in what he hoped was a comforting way, she seemed to like it and leaned closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He moved his arm around her back and caressed her shoulder. They sat like that for a little while in comfortable silence, two strangers, there for each other.

Nick's mind was racing, he wanted to get to know this woman better, but now didn't feel right. He didn't want to take advantage of her in her vulnerable state or even be just some random one night stand, rebound guy, which is what he would be if he pursued her now. But what could he do? He couldn't just let her leave and possibly never see her again. He wracked his brain for a solution.

Suddenly it came to him…

The minutes were ticking down steadily to the end of the year, only 3 more minutes to go now. Nick had excused himself from her and ran into the office, but he had made her promise to stay in the booth until he got back.

In the office, he grabbed a pen and the only thing he could find at hand to write on, a paper napkin and scribbled something on it.

After quickly appraising his words on the napkin, he smiled to himself and dashed back to the booth.

The countdown had started in earnest now, the crowd in the bar chanting the numbers as they ticked down. 10, 9, 8…Nick sat back down in the booth and put down the two glasses of champagne he had hastily poured on the way back.

He handed the folded napkin to the girl and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. She opened the napkin…7, 6, 5, …her eyes grow wide and a blush creeps over her porcelain skin as she reads the words written on it. She smiles broadly at Nick and he in turn smiles back at her, relieved…4, 3…They look at each other and raise their champagne glasses clinking them together…2,1 They make a toast to a New Year free of idiots.

(back at New Years Eve 2013)

Nick is startled out of his daydream unceremoniously by a damp cloth hitting him in his face, he grabs it angrily and swings round to find out who threw it. He spots Big Bob at the other end of the bar laughing madly, and knows he's been caught daydreaming again. He goes to retaliate as a joke, but he see that Bob is pointing at the clock – 11. 49pm.

Nick's eyes open wide and he swallows deeply. He is suddenly very nervous and edgy and checks that his new black button down is clean and that there are no random stains on his jeans. No, everything is fine, but his mind is working against him, filling his head with negativity. 'What if she's forgotten? Or lost the napkin? Or even worst, What if she's married with kids?'

He suddenly feels sick and grabs himself a whiskey to steady his nerves. Anxiously he steps out from behind the bar and edges out slowly towards the main door.

The revelers around him seem to be oblivious to his drama, but Nick doesn't register them any more. It's just him and the door…and the clock.

11.51pm – she's late, but only by a minute, give her a chance, perhaps the traffic is bad.

At 11.57pm he decides that she isn't coming. She obviously had no intention of coming back to see him again. His disappointment is great and his heart aches terribly. A whole year Nick has waited and hoped, thinking about her beautiful face and bewitching eyes. But it was not to be; his gamble had not paid off. He thought that by giving her time to get over her arrogant boyfriend and think about things, she would be over her heartbreak and ready for a new relationship. He also hoped that the napkin was a romantic enough gesture that would inspire her and would keep her curious about him.

But it seems that he had waited too long.

Nick turns to walk back to the bar to continue the last couple of hours of his shift, once again plunged into the deep melancholy this time of year seems to bring out in him, when an almighty crash behind him captures his attention and he spins round to see what made the noise.

Standing at the door, is HER. Her blue eyes wide and wild and her hair in disarray. She has smudges of dirt on her nose and cheek and knees and she is panting heavily, obviously she'd been running.

She is here, his beautiful blue eyed friend is here. Nick's eyes, now wide with shock and relief take in the sight before him. 'God she is even beautiful when she looks like a wild thing!'

All Nick can do is just smile at her, as she runs to him, all breathless and apologetic. She is speaking so fast the words are just tumbling from her lips, those perfect sweet lips, in a jumbled mess. The only words he could actually make out were 'feral cats' and 'flat tyre.'

On reaching him, her eyes search his for forgiveness. Nick is just so struck by her that he just silences her with a kiss. His lips crush hers on impact and a small squeak escapes from her mouth into his. His movements have an urgency, but remain tender as he grabs her around her waist and twirls her up in the air, their lips never parting.

She starts to giggle and squeal in delight and she moves her head away to look at Nick. He is staring at her with such a look of love, that it almost takes her breath away. This guy had waited a whole year just for her: that had to mean something really special didn't it?

She too had been waiting with anticipation for this.

Yes, there had been other guys during the year, some even great ones but something still held her back from giving them her all. She'd kept the napkin safely in a frame and looked at it on a daily basis till the words had become etched on her heart.

She places her hands on his shoulders and moves them to the back of his head and places a loving kiss on his lips. He responds with a small groan and slowly lowers her down to ground level. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her to him closer. He doesn't want her to ever be apart from him again now that he has her. Their kiss deepens and they are totally wrapped up in each other, so much so they miss the chimes of the clock announcing the start of the New Year. Streamers and confetti fall on their heads, and champagne corks pop all around them, but they are oblivious.

The need to breathe finally forced Nick to break the divine kiss, but not the embrace. After staring at each other for a couple of seconds, they become aware of the frivolity going on around them and Big Bob patting Nick on the back wishing him a happy New Year with a rather lascivious wink.

The girl beams at Nick and says "Happy New Year" before adding, "Oh and by the way, my name is Jess."

Nick kisses the end of her nose and rests his forehead on hers, "Happy New Year Jess, pleased to meet ya. My name is Nick."

And that is all that was said as their mouths found each other's once again in a deep and passionate kiss, while the New Year celebrations continued around them regardless.

The End

Authors note: I am posting this story unread by a beta, as I wanted it to be posted on New Years day. I apologise for any bad grammar and spelling and as

You-have-me-hooked will attest, my inability to stick to the correct tense!

So this is warts and all – but I hope you like it. Please feel free to leave any comments, reviews etc or just PM me. I will always respond and I love hearing from you.

Once again inspiration and encouragement thanks go to You-have-me-hooked, Ztofan and aprms. I admire your stories so much and your comments mean a great deal. :-D

P.S. I promise that my next story will be properly edited. Happy New Year Roomfriends x