Miracle- Noah Sebastian (SEQUEL TO THE GREY)

twenty four

*Nic's POV (YOU HEARD MEEEE)*

My parents engulfed me in hugs as the came out of the hotel, all of us lingering for so much longer than we normally would. It has been a full year, though. Mom took the front seat while Dad took the back seat, as he always does.

"I can see why you guys like it out here," Mom offered.

"Yeah, it's definitely a really cool area to be in. I'm finally exploring more as things are slowly opening back up here and I enjoy it," I offered.

"Richmond opened up way too fast," Mom said honestly. "So many people are being so selfish about the pandemic and it's so sad to watch."

"I'm kinda glad that we got here when we did," I said honestly. "I know the people back home would have pissed me off way too much." 

"You and Danielle both," Dad said honestly. "How is she getting used to living with the guys?"

"She's been fine. She works from home so as long as we stay in the quiet hours agreement for her work times, everything is fine," I said with a chuckle as we pulled into the driveway. I opened the door for them and luckily Danielle was walking by as I did. She dropped everything she was doing to give them hugs. I noticed Orie and Folio were whipping around like they would burst into flames if they stopped moving, which was different from when I left. Noah and the other girls were behind us and Sutton broke away from what she was doing to give everyone hugs and start going into full host mode. Bryan snuck around the group awkwardly, going to find Orie. 

I led my parents around the house, which was pristine, showing them everything that made sense. All of the girls were congregating in the kitchen, not worried about touring the house. I showed my parents stuff like the studio, my room, the living spaces. I grabbed Mom a glass of wine and Dad a bottle of beer as we got to the kitchen, picking up on the girls gushing about anything and everything. Dad, Noah, and I shared a quiet look that telepathically led us to the back deck with Bryan and Orie, who was finishing grilling different meats.

"Hey, it's good to finally meet you," Orie said to Dad as he put down his tongs for a second to shake his hand, Bryan following suit quietly. 

"You too, man. I've loved all of the music videos you've done for them," he mused kindly, making Orie beam back at him.

"Thank you, they're always great to work with," he mused, turning his attention back to the food. Danielle popped out, noticing that he was almost done and grabbing the plate that he wasn't loading food on. "Hey, I wasn't quite done with that," he said, trying to not sound annoyed.

"You weren't even putting anything on it," she snapped back, making Dad and I exchange a quick look. 

"I was literally about to put this on there," he said a bit more annoyed, emphasizing the chicken that was in his tongs.

"Whatever," she said as she stomped back inside.

We all let out a deep breath and shared confused looks. "When did you piss in her cornflakes?" Dad poked at him.

"I don't know what I've done but she keeps biting my head off today," Orie said with way more annoyance in his tone. 

"Oooo, she's got a crush on you," Dad taunted, making me choke on my beer.

"No way," I coughed out.

"Come on, think of how she has treated all her past crushes," he pointed out, and I knew he was right. 

"Why does she always do that?" I groaned out.

"Because she doesn't like to admit that she feels anything," Noah pointed out with a shrug, taking a sip of his wine. They're both right, but Orie's face was red. "What, do you like her?"