************Emily POV************

Emily had a plate of food Nicolette had given her. Her brother gave Nicolette an appreciative smile when the plate was handed to his sister, the young girl’s eyes growing wide at how much she was given. Nicolette started laughing when Emily immediately picked up her fork and dug in as quickly as she could, attacking the plate so fast her brother had to tap her on the shoulder to remind her to take her time.

“Now, what happened? I haven’t seen you so ruffled up since we graduated high school and Jaeson told you about him going to the frontlines of the Fordec Escapades,” Nicolette said as she pulled a stool over to the counter where the three of them were. James watched Emily eat a few more bites before glancing back to his childhood friend.

“Nothing really important. I don’t truly feel like talking about it right this second, but for now I have to go get ready for my date with Terra,” James sighed while standing from his own stool. Hearing Terra’s name spoken made Nicolette wince, but James didn’t notice as he grabbed his sword from the counter and ruffled his sister’s hair.

“Emily, stay with Nicolette. She will watch you tonight, and you can watch tv until nine.” Emily smiled through a mouth full of food and hugged her brother with one arm before going back to the plate.

James turned to Nicolette and hugged her wholeheartedly, then pulled away and brushed a strand of hair that had drifted away from the ponytail she had hastily made when he had walked in with his sister so she could cook something up without it getting in the way. She smiled and managed to hide the blush that threatened to rise, then watched as he walked away and out the doors to get ready.

“Why don’t you tell him? I would love to have you as a sister-in-law,” Emily casually said as she used her fork to make swirls in the mashed potatoes on her plate.

Nicolette turned to face the child in shock, her face as red as tomato paste. No words could come to the surface as Emily gave her the most innocent look she could muster up before giving in and giggling at the expression on her babysitter’s face. Nicolette could only stare at the girl who had guessed what her own brother was blind to.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I would never…” she slowly became silent and stared at the floor before taking a deep breath and burying her head in her arms.

“She’s so pretty. I could never compare to someone like Terra, her intelligence and looks are just too high for me,” Nicolette whined. The clatter of Emily’s fork on her plate shocked her out of her sad state. She turned to Emily, who just so happened to have jumped up on her stool with her hands on her hips to glare at Nicolette.

“Don’t you dare doubt yourself! I know my brother, and if you simply told him your feelings that Terra wouldn’t stand a chance!” This small speech of Emily’s seemed to hype up the girl. She proceeded to jump onto the counter and threw her fist in the air, a determined look on her face.

It was enough to make Nicolette smirk. She had to admit, since she first met Emily her attitude made her feel more appreciative towards life. She seemed so happy about everything, and when she was told she would never walk again after what had happened all those years ago, she still fought to get back on her feet. Seeing her like this even now gave Nicolette hope.

“You know...maybe I will. Not today, nor tomorrow, but I will at some point,” Nicolette said with a laugh. She picked up Emily off the counter and set her down on the floor before picking up the plate and taking it to the sink where she started to clean the dishes.

Emily watched with a butter knife in her hand, twirling it in her fingers in boredom. As she watched Nicolette do the dishes, she got an idea. Smiling, she lifted her hands and concentrated on the water pressure as well as the bottle of soap. Without missing a beat, she used her magic to make the bottle explode and made the water change directions and mix with the soap in the air.

Bubbles instantly filled the air. Nicolette cried out in alarm and backed away from the dishes, then realized what Emily had just done. She spun around to see her sitting on a particularly large, magic filled bubble floating in the air. Emily was laughing at the look on her face, almost losing concentration in the process.

The bubble popped, spitting soap all over the kitchen and covering Emily. She gasped and fell into Nicolette’s arms, both of them so slippery they collapsed on the floor. Giggling, they sat up and wiped the soap off their hands and faces. Nicolette was the first to stand up and turn off the faucet.

Turning to face the soapy kitchen, she only had to glance at certain points of the walls that was dripping wet for the area to clean itself. Her magic was obviously more advanced than Emily’s, and as the kitchen became clean in a very quick, skilled fashion as the young girl watched with her eyes wide, Nicolette swore to herself that she would protect Emily with each breath she held in her body.

James stood near the doorway smiling as he heard his sister’s giggling. He knew she loved Nicolette, and little did either of the girls know that his own love for Nicolette would be the reason Emily would find the one she loved herself.

Hi guys! So I know it's abnormal for me to update so often, but I'm on vacation this week so I can write all I want since my teachers gave me no homework! OK, slightly lying, I'm supposed to be reading but I can do that during the weekend. Either way, expect some more chapters, maybe about two or three so I can try and catch it up to how many chapters I have in my other two novels, so for once I will be writing quite a bit. I hope you guys enjoy this new novel because I'm having a lot of fun writing this one!