#nobellweek

Did this stay Nobell? Maybe not. Does it have Nobell? Absolutely. Does it have Osby? Also yes.

Wc: 4,771 (oops)

Dancing Next to You

A football game was the last place Nova wanted to be tonight. It wasn’t even a home game. The fans here were loud, the stands were packed, and our team was full of jerks who thought it was fun to break girls hearts. Why did people care so much about football where there were good sports like MMA and rugby out there? 

Yet, here she was. At the football game. Asking herself why she had let Oscar drag her all the way out here. 

The two were sitting near the front of the middle set of bleachers which just so happened to be right in front of the cheer squad. Nova rested her elbow on her knee and put her head on her propped fist.

“Dude, lighten up! What’s your problem? We got asked here by Ruby and all you have done is mope,” Oscar said lightly hitting Nova in the leg with his cane.

“Correction, you got invited by Ruby and dragged me along too.”

“Well, sorry for trying to make you have a good time!”

“I have plenty of good times!” Nova shot back straightening back up.

At that moment the team, unbeknownst to Nova, did something good because the stands erupted with noise as everyone clammored to their feet and started cheering. Well, everyone but Nova.

She looked over at the scoreboard and saw the second quarter had just started and decided it would be as good a time as any to go grab a snack. Oscar would be getting hungry soon and she knew that he would rather be hangry than miss one second of watching Ruby, but Nova did not want to deal with a hangry Oscar tonight. 

So she stood up and tapped Oscar on the shoulder, 

“I’m going to get something to eat. How many things of Nachos do you want?”

“Three,” Oscar said ducking his head around to be sure he got a good view of Ruby.

“Right, four, got it,” Nova said on the brink of a smile.

Oscar beamed up at her, “you know me so well!”

Nova rolled her eyes and then pulled up her hood, making the trek through the crowds down to the sidewalk. A few people bumped into Nova as she tried to snake her way around loiterers close to the field, but she just ignored them and kept walking.

The less people that recognized her, the better.

After a few minutes of walking Nova made it to the snack bar. The line was short and she ended up being only the third person in line. As she walked up to the window Nova noticed a few of the workers staring at her and whispering.

She furrowed her brows and tried her best to ignore them, but she could feel her cheeks turning pink anyway.

“Can I help you?” Nova had been so focused on the two guys in the back she hadn’t even noticed the girl waiting to take her order. She tried to smile, but it looked more like a lopsided grin. The girl behind the counter did not seem impressed.

“Um, I’ll have five orders of nacos, two large cokes, a water, and a bag of skittles, actually make that three bags of skittles.”

The girl aggressively punched something into the register and looked back up, her cold brown eyes and pointed expression boring holes into Nova. Still, she couldn’t help but notice how the girls golden dreadlocks lit up her flawless dark complexion. Even in the horrible stadium lights.

“Twenty dollars is your total. Cash or card,” the cashier spat through clenched teeth.

“Oh, cash,” Nova responded flustered. Why was this girl being so rude and arrogant? Nova had never met her before ever and yet she was acting like somehow Nova had insulted her ancestors by robbing their graves or something.

Nova stepped off to the side to wait for her order and saw that now all the other girls in the booth were stealing glances in her direction and whispering and a few people in the line had started to take notice too.

Part of Nova had hoped that no one would recognize her, but she knew that wouldn’t be happening any time soon. She wiped her mouth and cheeks just to be sure they were not actually just laughing at her for having something stuck on her face and then pulled her hood down further to cover as much of her as possible while walking toward the fence by the field. Nova didn’t understand how the game worked, nor did she care, but it was the only thing to look at.

“Nova? Nova Artino is that you!”

She internally groaned a little at the thought of having to talk to a fan right now, but slowly Nova turned to the side to see a tall boy with chocolate skin and a giant grin on his face bounding toward her. To Nova’s relief she instantly recognized him as Adrian Everhart, adopted son of two of the biggest names in tech and one of Nova’s favorite people. The two had been close friends since preschool when their respective guardians had them in the same ‘robotics for tots’ program.

“Adrian!” Nova said before she paused a moment, realizing something was different, “you’re wearing a t-shirt!” Nova had always known Adrian to wear long sleeve button downs to cover his tattoos, but now he was just in a plain grey t-shirt. It looked good on him. Like really good. It took the edge off his ever intimidating look and made him look younger maybe? Nova hadn’t ever really noticed before, but he was really handsome

“Yeah I am!” he laughed, running his fingers over one of the forearm tattoos he had.

“You look great,” Nova said smiling and looking at Adrian’s smile that was just wide enough you could see his dimples, “you have no idea how good it is to see a friendly face, but, if you don’t mind my asking, why are you here?” 

He kept right on smiling, “I’m just here to help run the snack bar, otherwise I would be home. Oh! And one of my best friends from here at school got roped into being in the marching band show this year, so i’m excited to see that!” He bounced a little in excitement before stopping and lightly punching Nova in the arm, “the real question is what are you doing here? You hate crowds.”

    “Oscar dragged me against my will. That’s really cool about,” Nova was cut off by her name being shouted over the noise of the game. 

    “NOVA ARTINO! Your order is ready!”

Nova looked back over at the snack bar and saw that all of the people in the area had turned their gaze in her direction, except the one girl at the register who was still in a huff.

    “Oh yeah, I forgot you are kind of a celebrity now aren’t you?” Adrian laughed. Nova did not.

    “I don’t think that I should be,” she quietly spat over her shoulder as she gingerly walked over to grab her food and run away. Being in the spotlight always made Nova uncomfortable so she tended to deny and ignore it, but a gaggle of douches staring at her and bystanders not so secretly snapping pictures for their stories definitely made that really hard. Nova tried to not make eye contact with any of them as she slid her tray of food and drinks off the counter, but foolishly forgot they could still talk to her even if she didn’t look at them. And they did.

    “So, Nova! What are you doing here?” the girl by the drinks piped up as she was just about to slip away into the crowd back to Adrian.

    “Oh, um, watching the game,” Nova said with a quick smile and tried to turn around and run to a part of the stadium that her name had not been yelled for all to hear.

     “Wait! Here, take this too!” A boy leaned out of the window to hand Nova a hot dog.

    “Oh thanks, that’s really sweet, but I can’t, I didn’t,” but before she could even reject the offer the girl from the register stormed over pulling the boy inside. 

    “Narcissa, she has to pay for that.”

    “Well, I’ll pay for it for her.”

    “Why would you do that! She’s an arrogant jerk that hasn’t done anything for you!”

    “Have you seen her work? Just existing is doing something for me!”

The two of them kept arguing and Nova took the opportunity to slip away without causing any more of a scene. Plus the one girl was being really rude and she didn’t feel like dealing with hate comments at the moment.

Nova made her way back over to Adrian who was still waiting by the fence around the field.

    “If you got some time, you could come back to the stands with me. I need to get these nachos to Oscar and I’m not sure if I can handle any more of his pining after Ruby by myself,” Nova said as she slid into the open spot next to Adrian. 

    “Oscar really dragged you here to watch Rubt with him?” he asked slowly.

“Yeah, he’s got it really bad,” Nova responded in a nonchalant tone. 

“Well, I guess I don’t have anything else to do!” Adrian smiled as they turned and walked back towards the seats.

    They made it back to Oscar in the stands without any more incidents of recognition and settled in for the rest of the game. Apparently Adrian had worked setup and the first quarter and so he was off for the night, but wanted to stay to help clean up after anyway because that’s the kind of person he was. Oscar finally peeled his eyes off Ruby long enough to notice Nova was back with Adrian and Nachos in tow.

    “If I wasn’t so in love with someone else right now, I could kiss you,” Oscar jested as he grabbed the tray from Nova’s hands. She just rolled her eyes and settled herself between Oscar and Adrian.

After a while of munching on nachos and skittles Nova pulled out her phone to check and had about 500 new notifications. No doubt new pictures she had been tagged in and a bunch of new messages from people in the area. With a sigh Nova shoved her phone back in its pocket pocket and turned her attention back to my recently acquired snack. 

 Nova had just taken a bite of the glorious golden gooey goodness when Oscar elbowed her in the ribs,

“We would love to come, right Nova?” he said, glaring at her for not paying attention to their conversation.

“Come where?” Nova spit out through my mouthful of nachos.

“To the 5th quarter tonight at Narcissa’s house! When do we ever get to hang out, no pressure? Plus Oscar could invite Ruby too,” Adrian said staring at Nova with the biggest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen a teenage boy manage to conjure up. Oscar was staring at her with the ‘if you say no I will kill you’ look, and between the two of them it didn’t seem like going home after the game was in the cards this time.

“Yeah I guess we can go for a bit.”

Not one fiber of Nova’s being wanted to go anywhere near a party at Narcissa’s house, who she assumed was the boy who had tried to give her the hot dog earlier, but Nova was a push over. So now she was stuck.

Half-time was finally upon them and Nova was actually interested to see the marching band show. Adrian said that his friend from school was in it which meant that Nova might actually get to see something worthwhile tonight and the trip wouldn’t be a total waste after all!

The band got busy setting the pit and then scurrying to their places around the field. They were actually in a really good spot to see, which made it easy for Nova to find where the colorguard was standing and the other dancers with them. The costumes were well designed with shimmering colors to catch the eye and had great freedom of movement. Then Nova noticed who was actually in the costumes, the guy and one of the girls Nova had never met, but the third she recognized as the girl from the cash register. The girl who had stared daggers into Nova’s very soul. 

She could barely hear Oscar and Adrian chatting as she zeroed in on the girl. Noticing things that she had not earlier when all Nova could focus on was her big dark brown eyes. She had her blond dreadlocks pulled back in a bun and beautiful dark skin tone. Her curves were deep and her hips rounded perfectly.

As soon as the show started Nova couldn’t take her eyes off of the girl. The way she moved was effortless and beautiful. She had so much passion for her craft in every little moment; from jaw dropping tricks to the way she moved her hand to continue a line. It was mesmerizing. 

As the show moved forward there was a partner routine with her and the guy who was there and it almost made Nova laugh. He moved like an elephant compared to her and when he did any sort of lift or trick there was no sign of anything but exhaustion on his face. Despite how awful he was, it still made something bubble up inside Nova every time he touched the other girl. She deserved a better partner.

They moved on from that awful romance section finally and shortly the program came to a close. Once the girl had cleared the field Nova blinked a few times and looked over at Oscar and Adrian who were both staring right at her.

“Um, can I help you?” she questioned at their wide-eyed faces.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Oscar asked her point blank. He had always been rather blunt, but it was still rude.

“What do you mean? My face is fine! Unless my blue eyes magically turned brown. Which is unlikely,” Nova shot back.

“Nova, you were glued to the field that entire time with your mouth open,” Adrian clarified for me.

“Oh, I, um, well,” she really didn’t have any idea what to say, which wasn’t a new thing, but she was beyond flustered at the moment.

“Yeah, your face is bright red my dude, did you like something you saw out there?” Oscar wiggled his eyebrows at Nova and her heart dropped into her feet.t.

“Of course I did! I love watching… um, dancing.” Nova’s lie was not particularly convincing and they all knew it, but thankfully neither of them questioned her anymore. 

The next two quarters came and went and Nova could hear Adrian and Oscar chatting away beside her the entire time.

After most of the crowds left, Adrian went to help with clean-up telling us to meet him at the back gate in half an hour so we could all walk over together, Oscar went down to invite Ruby and Nova was alone. Technically she could have gone with either of them, but a little bit of quiet would be good for her. Nova had to get that girl out of her head and then move on with her life.

Her plans were far less successful than she had hoped and the more she tried to forget the girl and her perfect performance the less Nova actually forgot her. Finally Oscar came back with Ruby tagging along behind him and Nova couldn’t have been happier for the distraction.

“Hey Ruby! Great job out there tonight! Way to cheer us to victory,” Nova said, standing to give the black and white haired girl a hug.

“Thanks Nova! And thanks for coming too. I know Oscar dragged you, but it was still nice of you to show up,” Ruby replied with a smile.

“Well enough standing around here! We have a party to get to!” Oscar practically yelled at the two of them.

Nova took a moment to look down at her watch and realized it was three minutes till they were supposed to be meeting Adrian.

“Come on, we are gonna be late,” Nova grumbled as she started to walk.

They met up with Adrian soon after and all walked over to Narcissa’s house together which was a total of ten steps behind the field. There was already music blaring and the back gate was open so it was pretty hard to miss.

This was not Nova’s cup of tea. In fact she would have much rather been at home in the quiet winding down for the night with a computer on her lap and a hot cup of tea in her hands. Nothing could soothe the soul like hot tea. Unfortunately for her there was no tea and no quiet in sight.

Adrian led the way through the crowded house to the less crowded kitchen where there were drinks and snacks scattered about. Nova wasn’t hungry and she didn’t drink, but also didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb so she grabbed a cup and filled it up with water while everyone else was busy pouring their own drinks. Oscar and Ruby both went for some sort of beer Nova wasn’t familiar with and giggled together while they started their first round. Adrian went the classy route and poured some cheep wine into a red solo cup

They all bounded off into the distance to play beer pong or something of the sort and Nova stayed planted in the kitchen. People came and went, most too far gone already to recognize her thankfully. That was until Narcissa turned up. 

"Nova? Is that you?" She squeaked in unbelief. 

"In the flesh," Nova grumbled back, shoving her hands in my pockets. Narcissa’s eyes lit up like the fourth of July and she scurred closer.

"I'm your biggest fan! I can't believe you are actually here! In my house! At my party!" 

"Yep. Here I am," Nova said and smiled. Her Aunty Honey would never let her out ever again if she let down a fan and so Nova had learned to fake it rather well.

"Wow. I need a drink this can't be happening," and with that Narcissa shuffled off in a stunned stooper, filling up her cup on the way out. What an odd girl.

After she left, a very drunk Oscar and Ruby and an only slightly tipsy Adrian came stumbling back. Oscar had one arm hugging Ruby’s waist tight against his side and the other dragging his cane as if it was made of lead.

“Hey Nova, wanna come dance with us?” Adrian asked.

“Yeah, that actually sounds really nice,” Nova murmured as she pulled off her hoodie. The four of them went back towards the backyard and honestly Nova was a little excited. She loved dancing. The way the music washed over a person and you could just move with it. No steps, no errors, no rules. Just you and the music. 

They made it back outside and realized it was almost pitch black now that the floodlights on the field had been switched off. Nova could see general movement and the ground, but that was about it. Something about it made her stomach tighten with excitement, the thrill of dancing in the dark. No one was watching. No one even could watch.

As soon as a new song started so did Nova. The beat was so strong she could feel it in her chest and she lost herself to the movement. Two songs, maybe three, passed and Nova was in her own world until she bumped into someone. Little did she know then that nothing would ever be the same after this moment. Nova had no idea who it was, but right then it didn’t matter. They were dancing.

They moved in perfect harmony with body pressed to body. It felt like a lifetime flashed through Nova’s mind; nothing else mattered but the two of them. Her hands snaked under Nova’s shirt and she didn't even try to stop it. Every time she touched Nova’s skin it sent electricity up and down her entire body and drove even more passion into their shared ecstasy. Nova longed to find her lips and press them against her own, but she held herself back finding contentment in the other girls soft skin under her fingertips. The other girl did not find the same contentment. Before Nova could even tell what was happening, she felt warm lips on her own and the world felt like it stopped. Electricity passed through them as they fought for power, hungered for more, and it was driving Nova crazy.

The ability to let go of the pressure of being Nova Artino and dive into this feeling of pure freedom and raw lust was… exhilarating. She had completely forgotten about her frustration of having to come to this party in the first place when a voice called from the back door, “Hey Y’all! Time for truth or dare in the living room!” 

The trance she had been in was quickly broken as the music was suddenly turned down and the back porch light was flipped on. Nova froze as she saw for the first time her partner. It was her. Like her.

Nova’s heart skipped a beat as the girl’s hands dropped from their place on Nova’s hips. The look of pure hatred that she had given Nova earlier plastered itself back onto her face. 

“It’s you?” the girl spat, backing away from Nova.

“Yes?” Nova squeaked back, not sure what to do. 

“You… you stay away from me! Everyone else may have forgotten what your family did, but I won’t. I will never forget the destruction of innocent lives. I. Hate. You. Never touch me again.” and with that the other girl turned on her heels and marched into the house. 

Nova stood there dumbfounded. Unable to make her legs move. Did that girl really blame Nova for her uncle’s mistakes? Were there still people who were hurting over his actions? He was gone now… forever, and yet his actions still haunted Nova, trapping her in an inescapable bubble.

“Nova?” she heard Adrian’s voice call from the back door, “are you okay?” 

She looked up to see his face wrought with confusion, but all she could think to say did not answer his question at all.

“What’s that girl with the golden dreadlocks name?”

“Danna,” he said with a confused tone, “Danna Bell.”

“Oh,” Nova whispered as she sank to the ground. 

“Okay, enough of this,” Adrian declared as he walked over and sat next to her, “Seriously, what’s wrong?”

Nova couldn’t bring herself to repeat what Danna had said to her. Not yet. Not here. So instead she just slumped over onto Adrian’s chest, staring blankly into the night. Nova had thought that she was strong enough to take the hate comments by now, but for some reason they stung even more coming from Danna. Nova had felt electric when they were together. Her Aunt Honey had always told her that ‘the flame burns the one who holds onto it as it reaches the end of its life and then there is nothing left but you, alone, burnt, standing in a pile of ashes’ but Nova had never really understood what that meant until then. Her mind flashed with memories of the night that only served to deepen her wounds. So she hadn’t been in love with Danna or anything, they had not even spoken really before, but they had still shared a moment of passion and that made the words cut Nova even deeper.

Nova realized that since Adrian had sat down he hadn’t said anything else. He didn’t push her, or hurry her, or move her, Adrian just sat there with Nova in her hurt. They must have stayed there for at least an before Nova finally found the gumption to whisper the words she had been holding onto, “I danced with Danna all night, but as soon as the lights turned on she blindsided me with blame for what my uncle did and left.”

Nova felt Adrian’s steady breathing catch as she finally managed to get the words out. She knew how angry people who still looked down on Nova for her uncle’s choices made him, and yet it still lit a little spark of joy in her. He had been there for her through everything and never backed down from telling someone to shove off when they accosted her. From when the truth came out about her uncle and her world came crashing down, to when she finally rebuilt everything her father had worked so hard to create and the world looked at in her awe.

“Well then Danna is an idiot,” Adrian replied frankly before taking a deep breath and continuing, “Nova, you are the strongest, smartest, most resilient person I have ever known. Anyone who can’t see past your family’s mistakes is a fool missing out on someone who could change their life forever. I know you know how I feel about all of that, but you still deserve so much more than that. You are incredible Nova and anyone who passes up the opportunity to see that is a fool.”

At that, Nova sat up and stared at her best friend. He had never said anything like that to her before. 

“Do you mean that?” she asked quietly, thanking the stars that it was still dark enough outside to cover her blush.

“Of course I do,” Adrian said lifting a hand and brushing a stray hair from Nova’s face, “you are the most important person to me and anyone who hurts you is an enemy of mine.” Her heart started to beat faster as he moved closer. Had Adrian always been this handsome? Had his lips always looked this inviting? 

As they got close enough for their foreheads to touch Nova paused, looking into Adrians deep brown eyes for a moment before closing the gap between their lips. In that moment Nova felt like she was home. This kiss was gentle and knowing. It was a lifetime of memories tied up in a breathless moment. Adrian’s lips were soft and careful, soaking up her fears and letting her melt into the comfort of this intimate closeness. She felt his hand wrap around her waist as she draped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. She wanted more of him. Of the safety that his arms around her body gave and of the slowly rising heat between them, but to her surprise Adrian pulled back.

“Is something wrong?” Nova questioned, a little fearful of what his answer might be. 

“No, nothing’s wrong,” Adrian smiled at her, “I just don’t know if now is the right time.”

Nova rocked back onto her heels and really took in Adrian’s face. He was right. Nova was taking advantage of him to make herself feel better and they both knew it.

“Oh, yeah, maybe you’re right,” Nova said before they dropped into an awkward silence. They sat just staring at each other for an unbearably long time before Adrian broke the silence.

“I think we should probably get the other two and go. It’s late and you have had a long evening. I’ll grab our things and Oscar and Ruby and we can head out.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Nova responded as Adrian stood up and cast one more look at her before walking inside.

This is set in the Gallagher Girls Universe, which if you haven't read it it's basically just spy school. Enjoy, reblog, and lmk what you think!

Trouble

Word count: 2,042

Danna had her nose in a textbook on “The French & Arsen” when a knock came at the door. She did not even look up. It was going to be that new girl who was only here because of the family name and Danna did not care for outsiders. Not only did she not like them, she didn’t trust them and trust was the name of the game around here. She still didn’t trust the group of boys that had infiltrated their school… well most of them at least.

Narcissa put the latest disguise she had been perfecting down and looked wareily at the door, but Danna kept her book up. After a moment of awkward silence Ruby came running in from the bathroom with a towel on her head and her shirt on inside out and backwards.

“She’s Here! Guys why didn’t you get the door!” Ruby’s eyes flashed with excitement as she threw open the door.

“Hi No… oh,” Ruby’s cheeks flushed as she tossed the towel on her head off to the side, “Hi Adrian, hi Oscar,” the second ‘hi’ was barely a squeak and Danna could hear Narcissa snickering on the other side of the room.

“Hi Ruby, you look very, um, clean!” Oscar practically shouted in his haste to come up with something to say. For being in the top five percent of an elite spy school, those two were not very good at being subtle. 

Finally Danna put her book down to look at the two boys at the door. Oscar was just as red as Ruby and Adrian was flashing that signature smile of his.

“We came to invite you down for dinner with us! Anyone interested?” Adrian asked, sweeping his gaze around the room.

“I’d love to but,” Narcissa started before Danna cut her off quickly.

“Yes! Yes we would love to!”

Narcissa and Ruby both looked back at Danna with wide eyes but she silenced them both with a glare and in a matter of minutes they were out the door.

Meals at Gallagher Academy were always full of fruits, vegetables, and main courses from around the world. Plus there was a sign above the door that stated what language the table conversation was to be held in. Sundays, however, were a free for all. Language was in english, and the food generally consisted of chicken fingers pizza, and other american favorites. Just hearing Oscar whine and complain all week until sunday dinner was enough to drive any person up the wall, trained spy or not.

Just as they were about to go through the threshold of the cafeteria a loud, intimidating and beautifully feminen voice echoed in the hall around them, “I hope you are having a good time abandoning your new colleague Ms. Bell, Ms. Cronin, and Ms. Tucker.” 

Danna flinched and slowly turned around to face Headmaster Tamaya Rae. Her expression was cold as ice as she took the time to make eye contact with all five of them individually before cutting her eyes over to the girl behind her. 

“This is your new roommate Nova. I’m sure you did your research, so I will leave you to it. Please take her on a tour of the grounds before curfew,” Headmaster Rae said smoothly before turning back to Nova and whispering something inaudible to the rest of them. She nodded and watched as the headmaster walked away. Danna looker with wary eyes as the girl, Nova, finally fully turned to face them. To Danna’s surprise her first thought was not, ‘ew’ or ‘ugh I hate her’, but rather just ‘wow’. Her heart was beating faster than normal as she looked over Nova. She had tan skin and cropped black hair with bangs hanging across her forehead and these blue eyes that just sparkled in the light. She looked like she had been training in martial arts her entire life with a thin waist and toned legs. She was effortlessly beautiful and Danna was… blushing. 

Realizing that she was staring, Danna peeled her eyes away and focused them instead on the line of marble busts on the side of the hall.

Ruby was the first to break the silence running up to hug the short girl, "Nova! It's so nice to finally meet you!"

Danna could see Nova tense up when Ruby threw her arms around her and how her face almost imperceptibly flashed with killer instinct. It was like Nova had never experienced affection before. Finally Ruby peeled herself off of the poor girl and started introducing everyone else who gave a little wave in response, aside from Oscar who bowed.

"Well, I guess an introduction for me isn't really necessary at this point is it?" Nova said, giving a side grin that made Danna's heart do a flip inside her chest. The sensation, however, just made her more upset.

With a huff Danna turned and walked into the cafeteria leaving everyone else to follow. She could hear Adrian, Oscar, and Ruby asking Nova questions and making light conversation behind her and for some reason it made her blood boil. They didn't even know this outsider and all of a sudden she was the most interesting thing since Betty White?

A tap on her shoulder pulled Danna out of her anger filled trance and she whipped her head to the side finding Narcissa walking beside her.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, keeping pace with Danna's wide steps.

"I'm fine," Danna spat back through gritted teeth.

"I really don't think that you are, maybe Nova isn't all bad, you should at least give her a chance."

Danna stopped and turned to face Narcissa. Leaning down close to her ear she growled, "chances are earned, not given," before stalking off towards the salad bar.

There were so many emotions swirling around in Danna's head as she threw tomatoes and carrots onto the bed of lettuce she had hastily thrown into a bowl. How could one interaction with a person cause so much internal dissonance? The fighting emotions only served to stoke the fire in Danna as she slammed the ladle back into the Italian dressing.

She turned to find everyone else already sitting down with plates full of chicken tenders or pizza. Well, Oscar had three plates filled with literally every food in the cafeteria except salad. Begrudgingly Danna sat down directly across from Nova and stared down into her salad, glancing up from time to time to keep tabs on what was happening.

"So, do you have any specialties?" Adrian asked Nova who had just put a spoonful of mashed potatoes in her mouth. 

"Oh, sorry, bad timing," he said, blushing slightly and running his hand across the back of his head.

Nova smiled sheepishly at him and swallowed, "are we suppose to talk about that? Isn't that confidential?"

Ruby laughed, "not here! We all have to know each others strengths to work well as a team."

"And also know who to copy in class!" Oscar chimed in grinning. They all laughed, even Narcissa who had been staying generally neutral.

The light conversation with this outsider made Danna's stomach twist. She knew there was something up with Nova besides her ridiculously flawless skin. She knew it and she was going to find out what it was. 

Danna looked up to see Adrian's hand on Nova's shoulder and the two of them laughing and smiling. The sight caused something inside her to jump. It felt almost like… jealously? No. It couldn't have been. Maybe she was just mistaking her overprotectiveness of Adrian as something else. Either way it didn't matter.

Dinner came to a close and the team took Nova on a tour of the grounds as requested. Oscar and Ruby doing most of the guiding, Adrian adding cute little tidbits and finding every excuse to touch her arm or shoulder, Narcissa happily following along behind throwing out the history of different paintings they passed, and Danna shuffling along at the back scowling and rolling her eyes. Every touch, every smile, every… everything made the knot in her stomach tighten till Danna felt like she was going to explode. Plus Nova kept glance back at her with this look that sent shivers down Danna's spine.

Finally they finished the tour and the boys went off to their side of the dorm while the four girls continued to their room.

As soon as they were inside, Danna stomped off and locked herself in the bathroom. She couldn't take one more second of those piercing blue eyes cutting over to her, or that silky black hair tickling the bottom of Nova's sharp jaw, or watching Adrian place a hand on her toned arms to turn Nova's attention to something else. 

To get her mind off of it all, Danna turned the shower on to the coldest possible setting, tied up her golden deadlocked, and stepped inside. The freezing water on her bare skin made Danna gasp and instinctively wrap her arms around herself, but at least she felt something other than anger. Unfortunately the silence in her mind didn't last long.

Her thoughts were moving at a mile a minute replaying everything that had happened that night, from the moment she saw Nova to the second she had stepped into the bathroom. Danna searched for something, anything, that would give her a lead to what Nova was up to, but the girl just seemed so… average. Well as average as anyone in the Gallagher Academy was.

A sharp knock at the door cut into Danna's quickly spiraling train of thought and she yelled, "what! I'm taking a shower!"

A startlingly strong voice shot back, "I need to brush my teeth!"

"Can't you wait!?"

"No! I'm still on Italian time and I've been exhausted since I got here!"

Italian time? Danna thought and she prepared her next excuse.

"The door is locked and I'm not getting out of the shower for you!"

"The lock is not a problem, can I brush my teeth or do I have to go ask Adrian to use their sink!"

This made Danna's skin crawl. The thought of her going and batting her eyes at Adrian and slinking into their bathroom made her almost sick to her stomach. After a long pause Danna finally let out a sigh, "fine. But it better be quick."

In less that five seconds Danna heard the lock click and the door creak open. What the… that would have taken out top lock picker at least ten seconds, Danna thought as she heard the sink turn on. This was a spy school the locks were not armature. Maybe Nova wasn't just a legacy after all. The two stayed in silence until Nova turned off the water.

"I know you don't like me and I get that, but I hope that I can change your mind someday."

Without thinking, Danna stuck her head out of the curtain, catching Nova's blue eyes in the mirror. She was wearing black shorts and an oversized 'I ♥  Paris' shirt, but the way Nova was looking at her made Danna's words catch in her throat.

"I promise I'm not all bad, if you just give me a chance," Nova said softly as she turned to face Danna.

Finding her voice, Danna forced a scowl onto her face, "chances are earned."

"So, how do I earn one?" Nova asked, stepping closer.

Danna's mouth went dry as Nova advanced on her. The way that just a look from this girl melted Danna's resolve was dangerous. Still trying to find her words, Danna just stared at Nova who had taken another step closer and put her arm up on the wall next to the shower, leaning in close. 

"Well," Nova whispered leaning in closer to Danna and brushing their cheeks in the process, "if you think of anything let me know."

Danna didn't know if she wanted to slam Nova against the wall and kiss her or dislocate her shoulder, but it didn't matter because she was frozen in place. Unable to move, or think, or speak.

Finally, Nova pulled away with a smirk and sauntered out of the bathroom as Danna slammed shut the curtain and sank to the floor, cooling her face in the cold water. In a matter of hours Nova had managed to win over Ruby, Oscar, and Narcissa while also seducing both Adrian and herself.