Nova was understandably nervous as she and Liam walked to his house, worried that appearing uninvited by his parents wouldn't be a welcome surprise for them. She didn't want to impose or make them feel obligated to have her visit, and the idea that she would be forcing her presence nearly made her start biting her lip raw.

Liam didn't seem to notice exactly how nervous Nova was, or maybe he did and that was why he was so lively.

"He started teaching me simple things at first, you know? Throwing a ball back and forth, shooting into the net. He meant it as a distraction, I think, he and my mom definitely weren't expecting it to become an obsession."

His hands were waving in the air as he spoke, a large grin overtaking his features as he moved around, practically hopping from the excitement.

Nova grinned at him, fiddling with a strand of hair that had fallen across her shoulder as she held her violin case up to accent her point. "I get it," she assured him. "Mom used to show me simple things when I was little, notes and proper bow movements for the violin and cello... nothing too exciting, but it meant the world to me so she gave me real little lessons. When she died, I didn't really understand it, but I knew that playing made me feel closer to her. My dad always encouraged me, but I don't think he expected me to get to this point."

Liam's eyes were wide as she spoke, a soft smile forming on his face as she glanced at him. She felt heat rush to her face as she took the expression in, blinking in surprise. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

He shook his head, his own cheeks coloring slightly. "It's just... you look at peace, even when you're excited or nervous. I've never seen someone as... serene as you? If that makes any sense... I just feel really calm when you're around."

Nova laughed, the sound bursting from her chest without her permission, really. "Serene? Liam, I can barely talk to people without wanting to hide under a rock."

"That's not it," he corrected, humming as he stopped outside an adorable two-story house. "You're just soothing I guess, you don't judge or push me. It's just easy to be around you."

Nova felt her grin widen a little, tightening her grip on her backpack. "You don't make me want to hide," she said honestly, watching as Liam's eyes widened a little. "Like, I'm not worried about what you'll think about me... it's really refreshing."

Liam's grin was even wider than hers at this point, making her shuffle on her feet in embarrassment. "Sorry," she mumbled, making him shake his head.

"Don't be!" He assured her. "I called you serene, remember?"

Nova snorted a little at the comment, not missing the way Liam seemed to brighten from it. "Yeah, I think calling you safe is a little better than that."

Liam shook his head before gesturing to the house they were in front of, already heading up the stairs. "Come on, Mom should be home, I'm not sure if Dad has a shift at the hospital though."

Nova almost hesitated but took a bracing breath before jogging after him, stumbling on the steps as the door opened before Liam could get his key out of his bag. A woman was standing in front of them with a grin as she took in the sight of Nova wobbling as she tried not to fall on her face and Liam turning to grab her, a laugh escaping him as he managed to pull her safely onto the porch.

Turning back to the woman who must have been his mother, Liam grinned. "Hey Mom, this is Nova."

Nova grinned weakly as she managed a small wave, watching as the woman's smile softened. "Hi," she practically squeaked, poking Liam in the ribs as he snorted at the pitch of her voice.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Nova," Liam's mom said as she held out a hand. "I'm Jenna, and don't you dare even try to call me Mrs. Geyer ... I wasn't expecting Liam to bring a friend over, or I would have made snacks."

Nova shook the woman's hand softly, tilting her head with a smile. "That's okay! I wasn't expecting to come over either, to be honest."

Jenna turned to her son with wide eyes. "Liam Dunbar, did you abduct this poor girl?"

Liam made a sputtering noise at the accusation, and Nova let an actual laugh spill out as she watched him wave his hands around in that nervous manner of his. "No, I did not abduct her! This is what friends do! They do homework together and hang out!"

Jenna's eyes were sparkling as she stepped aside and let the two teenagers into the house. "I didn't know you had friends aside from Mason," she teased, earning another noise from her son as he kicked off his shoes. Nova carefully toed off her flats, placing them as neatly as she could by the door.

"Sorry if I'm intruding in any way," she apologized sincerely. "Liam just wanted to help me adjust to the classes, new kid solidarity I guess."

Jenna shook her head firmly, planting her hands on her hips. "Nonsense! I'm glad Liam's making friends, and you never have to apologize for coming over. Maybe now he'll clean his room so you can use his desk better."

"Hey!" Liam complained, making Nova hang her head to hide the grin on her face.

"I doubt it can be worse than my cousin's room," she told Liam reassuringly. "I'd clean it myself if I wasn't worried about potential toxic waste under the bed."

Liam's mom laughed again, looking at Nova appraisingly. "I like you," she decided with a nod, grinning when Nova blushed. "Now, are you staying for dinner? I assume you're going to Mason's movie night, so if your parents don't have a problem with you just staying here before walking over, I can try to whip something up before heading to the college."

Nova smiled, trying to seem natural despite seeing Liam waving a hand over his neck from the corner of her eye. "I already told my aunt I might not make it home, and you don't need to worry about dinner... if you're okay with a fifteen-year-old in your kitchen."

Jenna looked at Liam before pointing at Nova. "This one. Keep this one."

Liam groaned loudly, shaking his head. "Mom, are you serious? We came to do homework."

"That doesn't mean you can't keep her!"

Glancing at Nova, Liam rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner before gesturing up the stairs. "I promise my room isn't that bad, come on."

Nova nodded and started toward the stairs before turning back to Jenna. "I mean it, if you have to get anything done before tonight, I can cook before we leave."

"You are an angel. If Liam doesn't keep you, I'll adopt you."

"Mom!"

Liam's mom laughed again and gestured for Nova to follow Liam up the stairs. She didn't argue, softly padding up until she was on the second floor. Liam hesitated before holding up a hand. "One second."

He slipped inside one of the rooms, and judging by the noises inside, Nova had to assume that he was trying to clean up. After two or three minutes, he reopened the door with a bashful smile. "Sorry, come on in!"

Nova shook off the apology, following him into his room and carefully setting her violin on the floor as she opened her backpack to grab her history book, gently slotting it between her arm and side so she could grab her pens and notebook. Liam had cleared off room on his desk so they both had room to set things down. He pulled another chair up for Nova and launched immediately into a discussion about the effects of art on Greek civilization, how it shaped the culture, and continued to do so even in the twenty-first century.

Nova stared at him in shock before she felt a small smile tugging on her mouth, starting to complete the assigned questions as she listened to everything Liam had to say, adding her opinion here and there to assure him that she was actually listening. When they were done the questions, Liam still seemed to want to talk more, so she let him as she wrote out her notes based on the hints he'd given her in class about what she should highlight in her textbooks.

She hadn't even noticed how long they'd been working until she happened to glance at the clock, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the flashing 5:30 on the screen. By that point, Liam had finished teasing her for color-coding her notes and was actually using them, copying down what she had and offering adjustments when he found something she should have included.

Touching his shoulder lightly, Nova grinned when his head snapped up. "Come on," she said with a twinge of excitement in her chest. "I promised your mom I'd make supper so she didn't need to worry about it."

"You're a guest," Liam protested. "You shouldn't feel like you need to—"

"I want to," she assured him, shaking her head. "I love cooking, and think about how Mason will react when you tell him I cooked."

Liam's eyes took on a mischievous glint as he nodded, pushing back from his desk with a determined expression. "Fine, but I'm helping," he declared. "That way it isn't as bad."

Nova pressed her lips together to avoid laughing, exiting his room before he could complain about her making fun of him. Liam followed after him, his footsteps considerably louder than her own. They alerted Jenna to their presence from where she'd been sitting at the coffee table in the living room, a pile of papers beside her as she glanced up at the two teenagers descending the staircase.

"Oh, Nova," she looked genuinely surprised. "You really don't need to—"

"Liam's going to help," Nova said quickly, feeling bad for cutting the woman off. "Think of it as a friendly bonding experience!"

"Yeah!" Liam agreed. "And me getting to rub it in Mason's face."

Nova rolled her eyes, and though Jenna looked confused, she let it go as she watched them enter the kitchen. Nova didn't really glance back at her though, too busy batting away Liam's hands as he kept threatening to poke his fingers under her ribs as he demanded to know what they were cooking, as though she even knew what they had in their cupboards.

As she glanced in the fridge, her eyes landed on the two heads of broccoli and she felt a smile appear on her face as she glanced at Liam. "You have any plans for these?"

He shrugged as she pulled one of them from the fridge. "Not really? It's just there as an easy side when we make something, I guess."

"Great," Nova informed him with a grin. "Now do you guys have any cheap steak? Or beef roasts?"

Liam was already leaning into the cube freezer and revealing two packages of fast fry steaks, excitement bleeding onto his features and Nova's eyes glinted. "I guess this is a good thing?"

"It's perfect," Nova confirmed. "Now, put those on a plate and microwave them for thirty seconds, it'll be enough for a quick thaw."

Liam hastened to follow her instructions, practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect of cooking something he didn't even have the smallest inkling of what she'd planned. When he turned back to her, he tilted his head like a curious puppy. "What now?"

"Well," Nova placed the broccoli on the counter and faced him, settling her hands on the edges of said counter with a raised eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to have a fun playlist we can cook to, would you?"

Liam was already fishing out his phone, the skin between his eyebrows creased with focus as he scrolled through his music. "Something to dance to?" he asked, looking up at her as she nodded easily. "Okay, but you can't laugh."

"Why would I laugh?" Nova asked with confusion, a moment before the beginning guitar riff of Taylor Swift's Better Than Revenge rang through the boy's phone speakers. "Oh my god," she said quietly with a grin, making Liam hang his head.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!"

But Nova wasn't listening, her fingers silently moving as she mimed the guitar chords she'd memorized years ago before she started moving her hands. "The story starts and it was hot and it was summer and, I had it all I had him right the way I wanted him!"

Liam watched her as she danced in place in excitement, her hair moving around wildly before he joined in, terribly off pitch but enthusiastic enough to be endearing. "She took him faster than you can say sabotage!"

They locked eyes, their faces split in matching grins as Liam turned back to the microwave to grab the steaks, his feet still moving in an even rhythm as he swayed his hips exaggeratedly.

Nova wasn't much better, practically jumping around as she started gathering other ingredients, the onions, soy sauce, ginger, and other assorted items she was going to need.

As she grabbed two different mixing bowls, she moved her head to the music and placed one in front of Liam. "Can you cut the beef into little strips? When you're done, I'm going to have a cornstarch and water mix you'll need to coat all the pieces in it."

Liam nodded, carefully grabbing a knife and starting the task as Mr. Saxobeat started playing. He was moving so much as he used the knife that it probably should have concerned her, but smiled instead, working on getting the mix ready for Liam as she'd promised before leaving it and starting on the more important sauce, checking in on Liam once in a while to make sure he hadn't gotten too overzealous when coating the beef.

When the sauce was done and the beef prepped, Nova brushed past Liam and grabbed a frying pan. Coating it in vegetable oil, she turned the stove on and gently took the bowl Liam was holding so she could place the beef in the pan carefully.

"Hand me a spoon, please?" Nova asked, sighing a little when she saw Liam going for the silverware drawer. "A wooden spoon," she corrected and bit down on a laugh as Liam spun on his heel to comply.

"I knew that," he mumbled, making Nova hum.

"Yeah, okay," she teased. "Grab the rice?"

This time, Liam did know what he was doing and actually had the pot prepped with the proper measurements as Nova completed as much of the beef as she could. Putting the strips onto a plate, she grabbed the broccoli she'd cut up and put it straight into the pan she'd used for the beef. Waiting until it became tender, she smiled and dropped the beef back into the pan. Liam was watching the rice pot intently, which was borderline adorable in Nova's opinion. He glanced at her with a smile as she mixed the contents of the pan together, reaching for the bowl of the sauce she'd prepared. Grinning back, Nova put the sauce into the pan carefully, stirring occasionally to make sure the broccoli and beef were thoroughly coated.

Liam was checking the rice again, lifting the pot to see if all of the water had disappeared. Nova peered over his shoulder and grinned when she realized it was, gesturing for him to take it off the still-warm element. He complied, then it was his turn to look over Nova's shoulder as she continued to stir until she'd decided that the sauce had thickened enough.

Taking initiative, Liam ran for the plates and utensils, somehow balancing everything and leaving Nova shaking her head in amusement as she looked for larger bowls to put the beef mixture and rice into. Crinkling her nose when she realized they were out of her reach, she went to call for Liam, but the boy was already by her side. He reached above her to grab the bowls, carefully bracing a hand on her side to keep both of their balance.

Nova hadn't been prepared for that, but she still accepted the bowls when he handed them to her, smiling thankfully before moving to complete the transfer of food into the bowls. Carefully carrying them into the dining room one at a time, she made sure to put a placemat under them both so they didn't mark the table. When she got back into the kitchen, Liam was already rinsing everything they'd used and she felt herself smile as he turned back to her and she noticed that their music had stopped.

"You are not doing the dishes, that's all I'm saying," he informed her firmly. "I'll do them when I get back home, okay?"

Nova chuckled a little, shaking her head. "Okay," she agreed. "I'm going to tell your mom everything's ready."

"No need," Jenna declared as she sauntered into the dining room, her eyes immediately widening at the set up on the table. "I take back everything I said about you not cooking, Nova. This looks like the best thing I've had in at least a month."

"Liam helped a lot," Nova rushed out, not wanting to claim all the credit. "It would have taken me at least twice as long to do everything without his help, really."

Jenna reached out to ruffle her son's hair. "You are going to take cooking lessons from her, okay? This way I never have to worry about you starving in college."

Liam scoffed but looked pleased. "Bold of you to assume I'm not bringing her to college with me."

Nova paused, looking at the boy as he froze. Grinning, she shrugged a little. "So long as it has a good music program and you aren't sick of me by then."

Jenna sat down and took the serving spoon for the rice, loading it onto her plate. "He'd better not," she said with a smile. "I've only known you for a few hours, and if the two of you aren't in committed relationships by the time you're twenty-five I'm arranging a wedding so I never have to go without your cooking."

Liam whined out another 'Mom!' as his cheeks went bright red, but Nova only grinned as it was her time to serve her plate.

"Gotta say," she admitted with a laugh. "As far as marriage proposals by proxy, that one isn't bad."

Jenna tilted her head back with another loud laugh in between bites of her food. "Oh, I like you."

Jenna had to leave soon after supper. According to Liam, she was a teacher at the local college and taught nights. His dad also worked nights frequently, meaning he was left home alone a lot of nights.

Nova could relate. Her dad had been a lawyer, which meant a lot of late hours and sleepless nights. She didn't mention that though, just sat at the kitchen table as Liam made himself presentable upstairs.

She wasn't too concerned about appearances, and she didn't really think Liam should be either... but considering the moony eyes he had been giving Kira, she understood his urgency.

He came back downstairs after a couple of minutes, and Nova noticed with a wry grin that he'd just brushed his hair and put on a denim jacket. She wasn't sure what had actually taken so long, but she wasn't given much of a chance to deliberate, considering the doorbell ringing a few seconds later. Nova dimly remembered getting Kira's phone number from Cadmus and texting Liam's address to her.

Liam looked nervous as he glanced at her, so Nova stood as gracefully as she could and opened the door to Kira, who was hopping from foot to foot with a little smile. She was practically exuding nervous energy but Nova didn't comment on it, giving a strained smile instead as the older girl glanced at them.

"Ready to go?"

From behind her, Liam nodded confidently. "Totally."

Chuckling nervously, Nova's grin only became more strained. "I guess so."

A/N

Here's yet another chapter of my tiny babies that is totally off the top of my head, because I am determined to show them as friends before I even dare to express little hints at crushes! Next chapter is going to be in Cadmus' point of view, so prepare yourself for hopeless not-pining and just blind sarcasm!