Chapter 10: Practice

Nova's POV

"NOVA!" Chic screams.

"COMING!" I scream back, already going down the stairs.

They all turn to look at me. "Honey, please put some shoes on," mom says from the living room couch with Andy.

"No way," I chuckle.

She sighs and I smile big. "Hey," I say and ruffle Em's hair, making her giggle.

"Hi," I say to Nick.

"Gosh you look beautiful," he says, making me chuckle. I cup his neck and pull his lips onto mine, standing on my toes.

"What's in the bag?" he asks as I pull away.

"Wax and stuff," I say.

"Oh crap. I forgot," he says.

I pat on my backpack and throw it on.

"Nove you know we have to go through the woods, right? We're home y'know," Chic says and points on my bare feet.

"Yep. Our boards are at the beach, right?" I ask.

"Yeah," Jordan says.

"Okay, nice," I say and grab my skateboard.

"We have company, Nova," Jordan chuckles.

I look at Nick, "You can surf, you can skateboard," I say and hand him mine.

"I can. She can't," he says and points on Emery.

"That won't be a problem," I smirk and take my longboard.

"Nova," mom says with raised eyebrows.

"What? I never fall and I've ridden with both Ari and Bella standing in the back," I say.

"Did I just hear that YOU never fall?" Nick smirks.

"Not on any kind of board you goof," I say.

"I don't care even if you fall. It seems cool," Em says. I nod with a smile and we go out of the house.

"And you skate barefoot?" Em asks me.

"I do everything barefoot," I say.

She smiles. "Okay. Stand here," I say and show her the place. She gets on and seems to trouble a little at first. I smile and get in front of her. She wraps her arms around me immediately, making me smile.

"Guys," I say and show them to go in front.

"You first," Chic says.

I start pushing and they run and jump on them as well. We ride 3 minutes to get to the woods and then there is this road where we can ride as well.

I love living in Hillwood for that matter. We basically live on the beach. 3 minutes to the woods, 2 minutes through it, and then there's the ocean.

"Wait," I tell Em and put my leg around her, onto the back, to use 'breaks'. She giggles, holding on from me.

Once we stop, I get off and hold my leg on the board so that she'd get off too.

"That was awesome," she tells me.

"Wait until you get to surf," I smile.

She smiles as well and hugs me. I'm a little surprised by that, but I hug her back.

"Come on, let's show our brothers, that girls can surf," I say.

She giggles and lets go of me. She pushes her sneakers off and we walk to the place the guys are pulling their shirts off. They leave them on the sand and wait for us until we get our clothes off as well.

I put the longboard down, pull my shirt over my head and drop it on the ground. I'm ready. Em gets ready with a few seconds as well and I look at her.

"Do you have a scrunchie or something?" I ask Em.

She chuckles and gives me one around her wrist. "Thanks," I sigh with a smile.

"You guys can go and get our boards," I tell them.

"What are you doing then?" Nick smiles as I sit on the sand and cross my legs.

"A braid," I say.

He smiles and they all go to get our boards. I start doing it.

When they come back, I'm tying in up. I smile up at them and jump on my feet.

"Wow," Nick breathes out. I giggle and kiss his lips for a second.

I open my backpack and take out the vax. "Help yourself out," I tell them, taking my surfboard from Jor. He wants to ruffle my hair, but I give him the look and he smirks, not doing it.

I put my board on the ground and kneel down beside it. I start rubbing the piece of wax on it.

"Can you show me how?" Em asks me.

I smile and give her one piece of it. She looks confused. I look at her board.

"Guys," I groan and they all look at me, "She has never surfed in her life you need to get her like a south bay board or something," I say.

They look at the board they got her and chuckle, "You're right," Chic says and keeps waxing his.

I narrow my eyes. "Come on," I say to Em and take her board. She smiles and comes with me.

"These guys are idiots," I tell her.

She chuckles. "They're cool," she says.

"For siblings they're okay," I say.

*Time pass, 1h*

"Nicky. Can you put it on my back?" I ask him awkward and hand him the sunscreen.

"Sure," he chuckles and puts some of hit on his hands. He starts rubbing it onto my back and my nape. I have goosebumps.

He chuckles, "I'm that good?" he asks.

"Shut up," I laugh.

Once he is done I turn around and wrap my arms around his neck.

"My sister likes you," he says with a smile.

I smile, "She's cute. My mom likes you. I'm surprised," I say.

He chuckles, "My dad's like in love with you," he says.

"I am pretty great," I say.

He laughs. "You're pretty too," he says, wrapping his arms around me.

I smile and he leans in. We kiss for a while and then I pull away and he kisses my nose.

"I love you," he sighs.

I smile, "I love you," I say and peck his lips once more.

We then break apart and attach he boards to ourselves. Then we pick them up and start walking towards the water.

"Wow. She's doing great," Nick says in surprise as we see Em paddling.

"Yep," I smile, "In a month or so she should be able to ride some waves," I say.

"Faster. Look," he says.

Chic and Jordan are showing her how to stand up on the board and how to sit on it.

"Wow. She's doing great," I say.

"Guess it's in our blood," he says.

I smirk, "And what about me?" I ask.

"You're born together with the ocean, no doubt in that," he says.

I smile and he kisses my temple. We put our boards on the water and get on them and start paddling.

"Are we letting them teach her, or...?" he smirks.

"Nah, we can do it, right?" I ask.

He smiles and nods, "Right."

"Do the Honey Badgers know you're a surfer?" I ask.

"Every single one of my friends will be in that competition. And by friends I also mean dad's friends, so probably you mom's friends.. So maybe, just maybe, we're able to squeeze some words in about the two of us. And maybe they'll be okay with protecting us," he says.

I smile, "I'd like that," I say.

He chuckles quietly and we reach our siblings. "You like the job?" I ask my bros.

"Yeah. Kinda s how we taught you," Chic says.

I smile, "You still do," I say.

"You know what's funny? When you are in the water, you never yell at us," Jordan says.

"That's because I was born together with the ocean," I tell them Nick's words.

They smile, "Wow," Chic says.

"So you guys good?" Nick asks.

"Yup," they say, "We teach your sister, you teach ours. For the competition, okay?" Jor asks him.

He smiles at me and nods. "Em you good with them?" Nick asks.

"Yup," she says, normally sitting on her board now.

I smile. Nick points on a place further away. I nod and we paddle there.

"Actually she should be teaching you considering you lost to her!" Chic shouts to Nick.

"Proud of it!" he yells back.

I smile big and we paddle towards the place.

"So you're telling me that all the Honey Badgers who are actually nice and cool ones, will be here during we all compete?" I ask.

He nods, "I heard your mom say that she's coming. So we'll see how the Honey Badgers react to her," he says.

I smile, "If she was their queen AND friend, they'll be happy to have her back," I say.

He smiles, "I wanna kiss you, it sucks we're attached to these boards," he says.

I laugh at him, "Muah," I say. He grins, "Muah," he says.

*4PM*

"Hey!" we all say, entering our house.

"Hey," Andy says, coming out of the kitchen.

"You guys know that you were away for 7 hours?" mom asks.

We all shrug, "It was nice," Chic says and goes into the kitchen, dripping from water.

"You dry it up!" I yell.

"Or you could do it. You know.. Like Cinderella," Chic smiles, coming back with a bottle of water and handing it to me.

I hit his ass with my leg as he starts walking away. He laughs and I smirk.

"Nova, they're gonna stay for dinner, can you give Em some of your clothes?" mom asks.

"Yeah, sure," I say and look at Nick, "You want some of your clothes?" I smirk.

He narrows his eyes, "What do you mean?" he asks.

I shrug, "I have couple of your T-shirts," I say.

"Wow. The three that I didn't find when I got home," he smirks.

"Exactly," I smile. He kisses my hair, "Sure, let's go."

The three of us start going upstairs.

"Why do you never take towels with you?" I hear my mom asking us. We all chuckle and the three of us go into my room.

"Wow, that's awesome," Em says, looking around.

I smile, "Thanks," I say, opening one of my dresser drawers.

"Yeah, Nove, you have no idea how lucky you guys are. We're living in a trailer, meaning that we share a room," Nick says.

"Wait. Seriously?" I ask.

They both nod. I sigh, "We have one free room... As weird as it would be for me and you," I look at Nick, "I'd like if you guys would move in. I mean it's better to go to school as well now that the Southside schools are shut down.. And you'd have a normal house close to the beach and-" I sigh, "Our parents would be happy," I say.

"That would be so amazing," Em says and falls on her back onto my bed.

"You're still wet," Nick says and lifts her off of the bed, making us chuckle.

"Okay, you have the shorts, right?" I ask Em. She nods. "Come here," I say.

Nick places her down and she comes to me. "Pick a shirt," I say.

She smiles and looks through the drawer. "Can I take this one?" she asks about a sleeveless top I have.

"Sure," I smile.

She smiles as well and takes it. "Okay baby, your turn," I tell Nick.

He chuckles and comes to me. I open the drawer with a fake bottom and take all his shirts out of there.

"Now that my mom knows about you, I don't have to hide them," I say.

He chuckles and I hand him one. "Shorts?" he smirks, "I came here with my swim trunks and a shirt, both wet," he says.

I sigh, "Ask my brothers," I say.

He kisses me for a second and goes out of the room, closing the door after him. I take out my underwear and jean shorts and a sleeveless top myself and my bra.

"Is it okay if I change here?" I ask Em.

She chuckles, "Your room," she says.

I smile, "I mean is-"

"Yes, totally normal," she says. I smile. She is 10 years old. Maybe I was this cool when I was 10? Probably not.

I change my clothes and then look into the mirror as Em is exploring my room and stuff. I should probably do a new hairstyle, cause this one is a mess.

I pull Em's scrunchie off and unbraid my hair. Then I brush it and take some smaller scrunchies from my bedside table. I end up making this one... Though my hair is wet.

Once I'm tying the last braid up, Em comes to stand behind me as I'm sitting in front of my mirror.

"You're good at it," she smiles sadly.

I remember about her mom. "U can do one for you, if you want?" I ask.

She smiles, "Really?"

I nod, "Sit down," I say and move a little backwards. She sits in front of me. I start brushing her hair softly. That's what I'm missing. A sister. I've always had brothers. I need a sister like her. Well, Isabella is kinda like a sister but she's getting 16 in October, so she's older and we usually just hang out.

"Nick told me about your mom," I say quietly as I'm brushing her hair.

She opens her eyes and raises her eyebrows, "Really? He never tells this stuff to anyone," she says.

"I never told anything to anyone either. He's different," I say.

She smiles and closes her eyes again, enjoying the feeling of me brushing her hair.

"How old were you when your mom went away?" I ask.

She seems to think about it, "5 or 4 I guess," she says.

I sigh, "My dad left when I was 5 too," I say.

Her eyes open, "I heard what he told you," she says. I smile sadly. "Did your brother die?" she asks.

I nod, "Right in front of me," I say.

She looks like she's about to cry. "How old was he?" she asks carefully.

"9," I say. She sighs.

"Did you remember your mom?" I ask.

She shrugs, "Kinda. I mean, I've seen her a few times after that, so I know what she looks like," she says.

I sigh, "So basically you've never had a mom," I say.

"You've never had a dad," she says.

"Yeah, but I have my brothers. They take care of me, like Nick takes care of you. So basically I have a mom and two dads who are really annoying sometimes," I say, making her chuckle.

"You know Emerald, tight?" I ask.

She nods, "She's kinda like Nick's best friend. Well, after Gage. His dad and our dad are best friends so Nick was forced to be with them every day," she smiles.

I chuckle. "Has someone ever braided your hair?" I ask.

"I don't think so. Nick can't do it. Dad can't do it," she says.

I smile, "Well this is the first time then. What am I making?" I ask.

"I don't know the names or the looks," she says.

I smile, "Do you want all your hair in a braid or some open?" I ask.

"Some open," she says.

"And how many?" I ask.

"1?" she asks. I nod with a smile.

"Okay," I say and kiss her hair.

She smiles, looking at me in the mirror, "Can you show me the back?" she asks.

"I can make a picture," I offer. She nods.

I take my phone from the bookshelf and make a picture. I give her my hand and pull her up and show her the picture.

She starts smiling big and hugs me tightly. I smile and hug her back.

"Thank you," she says, still hugging me.

I chuckle sadly, "You're welcome. Anytime you want one, come over," I say.

She smiles up at me and pulls away.

"Girls, you wanna eat?" I hear Jordan shouting.

"Hurry up or you won't get it!" Chic yells.

We laugh, "Yeah, nice dads," Em smirks.

I chuckle and we go out of my room and downstairs.

"You look pretty," Nick says and slides his hand over Em's braid.

She smiles, "Thanks," she says and sits down.

I sit down next to Nick and pull my feet on the chair and cross my legs again.

Nick chuckles, "You look pretty too," he says, knowing that I'm waiting for that.

"I better," I smile and kiss him.

"Khm khm," Jordan coughs, his head next to ours now.

I pull away. "Are you serious?" Nick chuckles at Jor.

"Physical contact is banned in this dinner table," he says.

"You sounded like that guy from the weather forecast," Chic tells Jor, making him laugh.

"Wait, physical contact is banned?" I ask sarcastically.

"Yup," Chic says.

"Totally," Jordan says.

"Oh really?" I smirk and get up. Nick chuckles and moves his chair a little out and I sit onto his lap. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheek..

"I would like to see you try and stop us," I say.

They smirk. Chic gets up and wants to lift me off of there, but Nick is not resisting or letting go of me.

"Dude," Jordan laughs.

"You can try, but I'm not letting you take her away from me," I say.

"Come on, bros before hoes," Chic smirks.

"Who are you calling a hoe, bitch?" I chuckle and push his head away from me.

"Language you two," mon says.

"You interrupted my kiss. I'm mad," Nick says.

"Yeah, real mad," I say sarcastically and kiss him again.

"Mate, what would you say if I did that with your sister?" Jordan smirks.

"That you're a pervert?" Nick says, making us laugh.

"What? How?" Chic chuckles.

"He's 17, she's 10. He'll be 18 soon and then it's illegal," I say.

"What? You're 10?" Jordan asks Em in shock. She nods.

"I swear to god you look like 13," Chic says.

"Really?" Em asks with a smile.

"No," Andy says immediately, making us laugh.

I kiss Nick's cheek and get off of his lap, "I need that food now that I saw it," I say and get some onto my plate.

Mom chuckles at me and shakes her head a little. "Nove," Jordan says, "You need to go shopping."

"What? Why?" I ask.

"You need a wetsuit for the competition," Chic says.

"Wait. Seriously? Why?" I ask.

"Rules," Nick says.

I sigh, "Fine, mom you can give me money, right?" I ask.

She nods. I sigh and take my phone out. I dial Ari.

"Hey Nova," I hear.

"Hey Ari. Remember when I told you to call you whenever I wanna go shopping?" I ask.

"You wanna go shopping?" she squeals in excitement.

"I don't, but I need a few things, so... Meet you in front of Target at 8?" I ask.

"Today?" she asks happily.

"No tomorrow morning," I say sarcastically. "Yes, today."

"Okay, do you need a ride?" she asks.

"I am not riding in a limo," I say.

"It's not a limo, it-"

"Ari, I'm not sitting in a car like that, okay?" I chuckle, "Bye," I say and end the call.

"What's wrong with limos?" Nick chuckles.

"Not my style," I say.

"So what is your style of a ride then?" he smirks at his food.

"A skateboard," I say.

"All the way to Target?" he asks.

I shrug, "It's only like 4 miles," I say.

He chuckles, "I'm giving you a ride," he says.

"With what?" I ask.

"A motorcycle," he says.

I turn to him, fully. "Are you serious?" I ask excitedly, "You have a bike?"

"Every Honey Badger over 14 does," he says.

I look at my mom and Andy, "Do the words 'Honey Badger by blood' mean that I can get a motorcycle?" I ask.

They laugh at me, "No," mom says.

I frown, "Low burn," I mumble and look back at Nick.

"Can you teach me?" I ask.

"You seem the type of girl who pulls every danger towards you, are you sure?" he asks.

"Yes," I say. He chuckles and kisses my cheek.