Nicole

Chapter: 11

After her driving test, Christopher let Nicole drive them back home. Her hands were sweaty from how nervous she was before and her shoulders were tense, as they always were. She held the wheel at nine and three, her eyes fixed on the road. She kept the speed limit in mind as she drove.

"You don't have to be so tense," Christopher said, chuckling. "Relax, you drive fine."

Nicole pressed her lips in a thin line but eased up a bit. This isn't so bad after all...

"Nicole, I was wondering about your studies," Christopher said after a while. "I was thinking maybe you should start school again."

Nicole realized that she hadn't told her father how long she was staying. She didn't know how long she was staying. It didn't strike her until now that she had to either settle in here or go back to New York. Did she want to go back to New York after meeting this family? After finding the friends that stick with you until the end? Did she want to go back to her old ways, constantly hiding in the shadows and avoiding everybody?

"Do you want to?" Christopher asked. He probably thought that Nicole had delayed her studies because of her mother's death. Nicole bit her lip, thinking about what her mother would want.

"I guess," Nicole said, deciding between the two options that were roaming around her mind. She didn't want to go back to New York and continue school there. She wanted to stay here with her family.

"You can think about it," Christopher said. "I'll give you some time. Come find me when you're ready." Nicole smiled at him.

When they got home, Axel, Isabelle, and Nathan were in the living room, seemingly waiting for them. Isabelle rushed to Nicole as soon as she saw her. Axel's face lit up while Nathan didn't seem to notice they had arrived. His eyes were fixed on the book in his lap.

"I passed!" Nicole announced, grinning. Isabelle shrieked and threw her arms around Nicole, almost suffocating her.

"You're going to choke her," Axel said, pulling Isabelle off her. Nicole sucked in a deep breath.

"What?" They all turned toward Nathan whose eyes were wide as they darted through the words of the book. He seemed shocked and still oblivious of Nicole and his father.

"Nathan?" Axel called but Nathan didn't seem to have listened as he flipped the page of the book quickly. Nicole blinked as she realized how fast Nathan had read the book. When she met him, he was barely halfway through and now there were only a few pages left.

"You okay, bud?" Nicole asked, raising an eyebrow. He still didn't notice anyone.

"Nathan?" Isabelle said snapping a finger. Nathan flipped another page.

"Nathan!" They all said in unison. Nathan's head snapped up as he finally acknowledged all of them.

"Huh?" He said at the sudden call. Nicole chuckled while the others shook their head.

"What happened?" Nicole asked.

"Oh, let me guess!" Izzy said. "The villain turned out to be someone he least expected."

Nathan glared at her, "It was Malcolm!"

"Nailed it," she said, bringing down her fist.

Nathan's eyes widened as he looked at Nicole, "Your driving test! Did you pass?" Nicole snickered. She took out her driver's license from her pocket, holding it up for Nathan to see. He grinned.

"Now that everyone is happy, I think it's time to drop another good news," Christopher said and they all turned to him. "Your cousin Derek is visiting."

At that, everyone's smiles faded and they stared blankly at him. Nicole was confused, looking from her siblings to her father.

"And what's the good news?" Izzy asked, blinking at her father who gave her a deadpan look.

"Derek?" Nathan asked with a slightly horrified look in his eyes.

"Why is he visiting?" Axel asked. Everyone's voices were completely blank without any emotion. It was bizarre.

"Your sister came after thirteen years. Why wouldn't he visit?" Christopher asked.

Axel sighed, turning to Nicole, "Okay, you," he pointed at her. "Back to New York." He pointed at the door. She blinked at him, unable to understand their behavior.

"Who is Derek?" She asked in curiosity.

"You don't wanna know," Izzy said at her shoulder.

"He's my brother's son," Christopher answered.

"Dad, don't take this the wrong way," Axel said. "But you have an extremely annoying nephew."

Christopher shot him a look, "I would prefer if you changed your choice of words in front of him. He'll come next week, stick around for a few days and then he'll leave."

"Yay," Axel said in a bored voice.

"Okay, somebody fill me in, please," Nicole said, looking at her siblings.

Axel sighed before saying, "Derek is annoying because he's too nice."

"Nicer than him?" Nicole asked, gesturing toward Nathan who blinked at the seemingly unexpected compliment.

"Nathan's different. Derek is... nosy," Axel said. "And sticky."

At those two words, Nicole made up her mind about this guy and guessed the reason why the others didn't like him much. She tried not to dread his arrival before he came although it was a constant effort.

After that conversation, Christopher went to his room and Isabelle went into the kitchen. Nathan returned to his book eagerly while Axel slumped on the couch. Nicole walked forward, her eyes on the remote. When she reached out to grab it, Axel swiftly picked it up, smirking at Nicole. She looked at him incredulously with her eyebrows furrowed. He turned the T.V on, selecting Netflix. Then, he clicked on My Hero Academia. Nicole groaned. She could watch anything but that.

She reached out to snatch the remote from his hands, but he pulled it out of her reach. She glared at him, struggling to get the remote from his hands.

"Give it to me!" She grunted and he laughed.

"Nope," he stretched it further out of her reach and Nicole gave him a death stare.

"You seriously picked the worst thing in history," she said, still struggling to get the remote. Nathan seemed oblivious of their outbreak, his eyes fixed firmly on his book.

"And what were you gonna watch? Barbie?" She looked at him incredulously, not believing that he would even think that she was going to watch Barbie.

"I'm sixteen, not six," she told him as she finally succeeded to snatch the remote from his hands. She stuck her tongue out at him. She changed the show to Teen Wolf, settling on the second episode of the third season. Axel scowled at her.

"I hate you," he muttered.

Nicole gave him a fake smile, "That feeling is mutual." He rolled his eyes.