The knock on the lake house door made Nova leave the couch, hurrying over and pulling open the door. Miss Jenn stared from the other side with a smile, "I got here as soon as you called. Almost hit a deer in the process, but made it."

"Miss Jenn, thank you for coming." Nova said, letting her inside. When Nova called over the phone and said they were at a lake house, Miss Jenn thought of a shack on the water that smelt of fish and bug spray. But the Sháo lake house was huge, on a small hill and had beautiful interior, a large backyard that indeed lead right to the lake, "Sorry, it's a bit of a drive out here."

"It's beautiful." the blonde woman said back as she looked around, "Is it a family home?"

"Not really. When my parents got divorced, my dad bought it for when he was home to visit." Nova said honestly, shutting the door and facing her teacher, "I heard you called him."

"I did." Miss Jenn said with a small smile, "I was worried about you. I knew you didn't want the police involved, and you definitely didn't want to move states away. I know, calling your dad wasn't what I should have done. If I was a decent teacher I should have told the school immediately."

"You're emotionally involved." Nova confirmed as she stared at her, "Thank you, so much. Not for just protecting me but for caring enough to help me. I don't feel that often, but thank you."

Miss Jenn smiled slightly as she hugged Nova, the girl hugging her back tightly before Miss Jenn cleared her throat, "You know, you could have sang a high school musical song at the dance."

Nova laughed immediately.

"Whats going to happen with work?" Nova asked, sitting in the dinning room and eating the pasta and bread her father made, "Are they going to fire you?"

"It's just one job." Alaric said with a grin, twisting his fork into the spaghetti, "I'll just take one back here and they'll have someone else take my spot."

"But you're been planning Cuba for almost a year." Nova said back, feeling guilty as she took a sip of the sparkling water.

Alaric stared at her in disbelief, "You're my daughter, Nova. I'd pick you over any job, no matter where it is."

Nova couldn't remember a time her mother had ever said anything to her like that, she wasn't even sure if she had before. Nova smiled sadly as she put the noodles in her mouth before speaking up again, "I'm sorry, for acting like a jerk to you for the past few years."

"You don't have to apologize. The divorce was messy, and you were just a child when it happened." Alaric said back to his daughter, "I didn't want to make you choose between your mother and I. But if I'd had known what she was doing-"

"It's not your fault, or mine, or anyone's but moms." Nova stopped him quickly, seeing the guilt in his eyes, "Will I see her again?"

"If that's what you want. Because you're seventeen, you have the right to move out if you have a place to stay. Which you do, here with me. I'll be working a lot, but you'll be safe here, Nova. I promise." her father spoke. They hadn't had a heart felt conversation like this since before the divorce. He'd always disappear on business trips and when he was home, Nova hated him because he was the one to make the divorce final. Nova always picked her mother, she didn't want to accept that she was the problem in all of this.

"Can I quit volleyball and swimming?" Nova begged her father, making him laugh, "I'm still in theater, baking club, and chemistry club."

"You don't like volleyball and swimming?" He asked her, remembering a time she once loved it, or he thought. Nova shook her head quickly as he nodded, "If you don't enjoy it, you don't have to. Just keep your grades up and don't get into trouble, deal?"

Nova grinned, "Deal."

When it got later, and Alaric had gone to bed while Nova sat in one of the bedrooms, she'd texted EJ. She was surprised he'd answered her this late, and after her scene at the dance. But he did, coming through the back door and being lead up stairs. His eyes scanned the horrible plain room, just a bed and a bag of clothes, "This is your room?"

"We're getting my things from the house tomorrow." Nova said back, shutting the door quietly as she sat on the bed, "Do you wanna sit down?"

EJ sat infront of her, "So he's just home for good now?"

"It'll be later night at work but yeah, he won't need to travel as much as he use to." Nova nodded her head, crossing her legs and staring at him, "Sorry for yelling a break up song at you then asking you to come over."

EJ cracked a grin, "I liked the song."

Nova messed with her fingers, "I just didn't really know who else would already know everything thats happened."

"No one else." he nodded, kicking his shoes off and laying back. Nova followed, the pair laying side by side and staring at the lake house ceiling, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Which part?" Nova asked. She could think of a million things they needed to talk about, a million things she wanted to say but ended up running from.

"All of it." he said back. Nova leaned over and turned the lamp off, laying back down in the darkness now.

"Not yet." she said honestly, "Soon."

"Nini." Nova spoke up as she walked into rehearsal, dropping her bag. Nini looked back from where she was sitting on the piano seat, a slightly panicked look on her face, "Do you mind if we talk a second?"

Nini hesitated but nodded, standing up and walking a few feet away so they'd be out of ears link, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, actually." Nova spoke honestly with a faint smile, "I'm kinda trying to turn this new leaf over, in a way. The old me, the way i've been this whole year, well, she's so gone."

Nini laughed slightly at the pun.

"The point is, the way I've treated you recently was ridiculous and not at all who I am. The wallet thing just set me off, which it shouldn't have and I completely over reacted, but then I threw stuff about EJ in your face and that was so not cool. You didn't steal him from me and I should have never said that because I know it wasn't true. I told you before i'm not that type of girl, and I meant that." Nova explained as she stared back at Nini with a apologetic look in her eye, "You've been nothing but nice to me when you had no reason to be. I'm just really sorry for all the crazy stuff I said."

Nini gave a small, sad smile, "I don't blame you, at all really. I acted completely different after both of my break ups, they're hard and I know that. And stealing your wallet, because it's sort of how I started coping instead of say something mean, was a low blow."

"Wait, that's why you took it?" Nova asked with a embarrassed expression off her face, "I thought you just liked it."

"I do! But that's definitely not why I did it." Nini explained, seeing the look on Novas face, "Whats wrong?"

"Well, I sort of figured that if you liked it so much..." Nova trialed off, pulling a small Michael Kors bag from her backpack, "I kinda bought you one exactly like it?"

"Nova." Nini said as her mouth dropped before she began laughing, "You bought me, the thief in the first place, a purse because you thought i'd like it?"

"My love language is gifts, take it so we don't have to hug or anything." Nova urged. Nini took it but hugged Novas anyways, "We're doing it anyways. Happy early birthday."

"Nini, Nova, we're staring without Miss Jenn." Natalie announced as the pair hurried over, "Everyone, flip fo When There Was Me and You in your script."

"Are we really not waiting for her?" Ashlyn spoke up.

"Well, I don't know. Apparently nobody's in charge." Natalie said back, looking over at the redhead. Nova flipped in her script quickly, sipping at the protein shake she brought with her.

"Okay, people, lets stared a number!" Carlos annoyance as he walked into the room with a bright grin, "I'm late."

"Is Miss Jenn coming?" Nini spoke up again.

"Miss Jenn had a small personal matter to attend to and won't be here today." Carlos spoke, trying to look causal with it but it was clear there'd been something off.

"Oh god, did she fall in the lake? I kept telling my dad to put a fence up." Nova shook her head in disbelief, earning a few odd looks around the room.

"She didn't fall in... any lake? You have a lake?" Carlos went back with a odd look.

"Is everything all right?" Nini cut in again.

"Good question." Seb agreed.

"Everything's fine." Carlos said with a chuckle, throwing his hands up, "Why would you guys even ask that?"

•

kylie speaks

novas character
development has
officially begun!
i'm planning on our
lovers to break out in
a dramatic song either
next chapter or the next
so prepare yourselves!