#oc nicky

[tf-bloo]

somehow, its my birthday

have this sketch of a larger thing where ive managed to put my sniper in a maid uniform

[kgmarcy]

My pieces for the oohchiczine hosted by @linzobean !

[garbinge]

When Summer Ends (4)

Topper Thornton x Maybank!Sister OC Nicky Maybank From these August Prompts:  “Necessary Theft"

Summary: Nicky Maybank, JJ’s older sister, just graduated.  Her summer break was supposed to be normal. Work, party, chill. But then she somehow Topper came into the mix. Fun little summer romance fic with the twist of a pogue navigating a relationship with a kook.  

A/N: A little update for my favs.

TW: All my fics are 18+. Cursing, angsty. 

Chapter Index

Word Count: 1.6k

Taglist: @drabbles-mc​ (Let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist!)

Nicky woke up to the sound of water splashing, her eyes opened wide from the noise when she realized she was in the hammock at the chateau. Her memories of the night prior filled her head. She was out with Topper, like she had been for the past few nights. The two of them mainly spent their time more south than the cut, away from prying curious eyes of Kildare. Occupying parks, beaches, sometimes they even just stayed parked in Topper’s car and talking, laughing…making out for hours. That didn’t stop her from her usual shenanigans with the Pogues, while she was around a lot less, she tried to keep up her appearances to avoid anyone saying anything. And if they did, she’d say she worked late, was spending time with friends from her grade that even though each Pogue knew, they wouldn’t ever run into them let alone ask if it was true. 

As she came to it she saw John B on the dock tying the HMS Pogue to the boards, likely what the splashing was that woke her up. The fire pit was ashing out, just small embers pulsing as the low breeze killed any hopes of it picking back up. The empty beer bottles and silence outside of the docking boat let Nicky know she was the last one here, it wasn’t that it was unlike her to sleep at The Chateau but lately she was very aware and preservative of her time. Her hands searched for her phone in the hammock and found it. 2%. It was enough for her to check the time and her messages. 

9:54AM

Topper 7:14AM:

You still wanna go take the boat out today? 

She quickly responded back with the little battery she had. 

Nicky 9:55AM:

Yea, sorry I was asleep. Wanna go in the late afternoon? Sunset ride? 

After hitting send, she crawled out of the hammock and placed her phone in the back of her jean short pocket. John B was making his way up the dock to the yard. 

“Sorry to wake you!” He chuckled. 

Nicky stood in the yard, hand on her hip and other hand shielding her eyes from the sun. “I’m sure you owed me a wake up call!” 

John B laughed at that. “That’s true, you normally are the early bird Maybank.” 

“Speaking of Maybanks, JJ went home?” She looked around at John B approached. 

“Uh,” John B paused to think of what to say. “Yea, I think, he left here kind of early.” 

“Freaky Friday.” Nicky smiled oblivious to John B being on edge. “Alright, I’ll catch ya later.” She threw up the peace sign and turned to grab one of the many bikes JJ and John B shared between themselves.

Nicky tossed the bike against the house before dredging her way inside. Her phone pinging before she entered the porch door. 

Topper 10:09AM: 

Sounds good, pick you up normal spot at 4? 

But before she could respond, the noise of banging from inside the house alerted her and she placed her phone back in her pocket, she tried to open the porch screen quietly but it was old and creaky so it was impossible. Whoever was inside didn’t mind or hear the creaks so Nicky proceeded with caution. It could have been some of low life townies breaking in and stealing whatever was around, but more likely it could have been her father back from whatever bender. She hoped it was the shithead townies, she could scare them easily but her father, that was a whole other beast. 

The living room was quiet when she entered but immediately a figure walking by in the kitchen alerted her. Her eyes jumped to the person. JJ. Relief exhaled out of her mouth and the tension left her body immediately as she rested against the back door. 

“Jesus Christ, JJ. You scared the fuck out of me.” Another sigh left her mouth as she stepped closer to the kitchen. Her relief was short lived when she saw tons of metal pieces and parts littered on their kitchen island and counters. “JJ, what the fuck is this?” 

“It’s our rent, our bills, our past dues, and oh yea,” he lifted up a copper part and smiled at his sister, “free, fun, spending.” 

“JJ what the fuck is all of this?” Nicky wasn’t nearly as happy as her little brother was. Their entire table space was covered, as she got a closer look she realized they were boat parts, some older and rusted and some brand new. 

“Boat and drone parts from the salvage yard.” JJ was so nonchalant in how he answered. 

“JJ.” Nicky stared at everything. 

“Nicky.” JJ mocked her with a laugh. 

“Tell me you didn’t steal all of this.” Her hand raised to her forehead as she processed everything. 

“What does it matter, I can sell this shit off on the mainland and it’ll never come back to us.” JJ acted as if he had everything solved. 

“There’s fuckin trackers in the drone parts, JJ!” Nicky lifted the one part of the drone that was still on. 

JJ was quick to grab it from her and smash it on the table along with the other one he had as well. “Problem solved.” 

Nicky closed her eyes as she tried to think of what to do. “This is fucking theft, JJ.” 

“I’d like to consider it necessary theft.” He tilted his head from side to side as he leveled with his sister. 

“That’s not a real fuckin’ thing, JJ.” She kept saying his name, like that was going to ground him or something. “And even if it was, necessary theft would be stealing food or clothes, something of necessity!” Her voice raised. 

“I’m pretty sure money is a necessity, and these parts = money, Nicky.” JJ was getting aggravated. 

“And what happens if Dad comes home, huh? Sees this shit and fucks off with it? Then what? Then we’re left with the crime and nothing to show for it.” Nicky began arguing with him. 

“Dad’s not fucking coming home. You know that!” JJ met her tone. “C’mon, Nick, we need this.” 

“No, I’m taking care of us. Rent is paid through till the fall, there's food here isn’t there? Our bills are next to nothing because we’re never really here.” Nicky argued the anger boiling in her gut. She did everything to avoid this. 

“Exactly, you’re never here!” JJ yelled now, his voice being fully raised. “I had to step up!” 

“For what reason?! Everything was taken care of! You don’t realize this is just digging you into a hole you’re never going to get out of, everything I do is so you can avoid this shit but you always end up back in it, what the fuck is wrong with you, JJ?!” 

The last sentence cut. He was just trying to help. Nicky knew that, but she was frustrated. 

“I guess I’m just a chip off the ol’ Maybank block.” JJ was hurt, Nicky could hear it in his voice. He was starting to walk away when Nicky blocked him. 

“Fuck, JJ. No I’m sorry.” She grabbed his arms. He looked down at her uncomfortably. “I just, I don’t want this for you, I don’t want this for us.” She pointed at the parts. “I try so hard for us to live comfortably and legally.” She laughed hoping JJ would ease down. 

He did let out a chuckle. “I appreciate you wanting to help, I always do. But this will do more harm than good. We gotta bring it back, or dump it somewhere that it can’t be tracked back to us. It’s too risky to bring it to the mainland and sell it.” Nicky explained in a more calmer voice. 

JJ just nodded, his disheveled hair falling into his face as he did. Nicky nodded back and brought him in for a hug. “I love you, little brother.” 

“Love you too.” He mumbled as he embraced the girl back. 

“You want my help dealing with this?” She pointed to the mess on the table as they ended their hug. 

“Nah, I’ll call John B. We got it over, we can get it back.” His hand raked through his hair. 

Nicky smirked thinking back to John B coming back to the chateau this morning and feeling like an idiot for missing the obvious display of anxiety he had from hiding all of this from her. 

“I got plans in a bit but you wanna hang out tomorrow? Just me and you? I heard I’m never around anymore.” Nicky’s eyebrows raised as she stared at her brother who let his head fall down in a laugh. 

“Yea sounds good, we can catch the morning break if you’re down?” 

“Sounds like a plan, I’m gonna go shower, I smell like the bonfire from last night.” 

JJ nodded again and turned to take care of the hundreds of parts scattered everywhere while Nicky turned to lock herself in the bathroom. That was a lot to digest, there was a lot done and said. While she thought she was doing a good job at hiding things, she was MIA a lot and exhausted from hiding things. But she still felt this was better than the alternative, for now at least. She turned the shower on and as she let the water warm up she brought her phone out. 

Nicky 10:25AM

“Usual spot in an hour?” 

Topper replied within seconds. 

Topper 10:25AM

“Eager to see me? I’ll be there.” 

[mojaves]

🎮🖊️💤🐉❤️💔🍝🍸😖🤔😓 for nicky pwease uwu xoxo heart

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc's favorite hobbies?

ghost hunting. of course. well. it's both a hobby and a job. a hobby he gets paid for. it's cool. it's fun. it's fresh. he has probably almost died a few times. he doesnt care [he does]

no nicky getting high is NOT a hobby. no matter how much you insist it is. nicky. no. i. I Do Not Care That You Made Your Own Bong. Nicholas.

idk if this would count as a hobby but he loves building the worlds most intricate rollercoasters in rollercoaster tycoon. they make no sense. there is no way they would ever realistically work. and yet somehow he manages to do it anyway. is he cheating??? can you cheat in that game??? i dont know. he doesnt either

🖊️ BALLPOINT PEN — does your oc have any tattoos? do they want any (more) tattoos?

he's only 22 so he hasn't really. had the opportunity to get many tattoos yet. so far he has 3 little ones - a dinosaur on his right wrist. a little constellation on his left ankle. and a heart on his left pinkie finger [: he wants more though. So many more.

💤 SLEEPING SIGN — is your oc a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper? how are their sleeping habits?

he has a lot of trouble falling asleep - generally takes anything from 2-3 hours most nights. but once he's asleep, he is OUT. like a brick. until whenever his body decides it's time to wake up. sometimes it's 5am. sometimes it's 12pm. it's whatever to him. [he needs to start setting an alarm] [he wont]

🐉 DRAGON — what is your oc's favorite mythical creature?

mothman [its the ass]

❤️ RED HEART — what are three of your oc's positive traits?

he's Very easy going. it would take SO much to make him annoyed. or angry. or scared. he's just hangin out honestly. life is happening around him and he's like. ok cool. [carries on playing snake on his phone]

also very. idk. charismatic??? sociable??? Confident??? idk what word works here exactly but he is Very easy to talk to. very approachable. you absolutely CANNOT embarrass yourself in front of nicky he literally does not care even a little bit. he is also the kind of guy who will tell the people who made your food that you asked for No Pickles. he is tall and has an absent stare on his face 24/7 but also looks like he's moments away from dying. theyll listen to him. they have no choice.

💔 BROKEN HEART — what are three of your oc's negative traits?

his 'easy-going' personality can often be confused for him just being an emotional doormat basically - which is true to an extent. he will just let people walk all over him. and he has the means to tell people to stop. he can do that literally whenever. he just doesnt want to be an inconvenience, or make Their day worse, so he just chooses to keep it to himself. [is he a little scared of confrontation when it comes to personal relationships and setting boundaries. Perhaps!!!]

and it can also come across as carelessness and complete and utter disregard for his own wellbeing. which is also true!!!! he needs to learn to look after himself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BOY!!!!! GET OUT OF YOUR OWN HEAD!!!! YOURE ALLOWED TO HAVE BOUNDARIES!!!!

🍝 SPAGHETTI — what is/are your oc's favorite food(s)?

loaded nachos with jalapenos and bacon and. every possible thing you can think of that can be thrown on nachos and still taste good. also kfc popcorn chicken. Very Specifically from there. nowhere else. he Knows the difference dont try to lie to him.

🍸 COCKTAIL GLASS — what is your oc's favorite alcoholic drink, if they can drink?

long island iced tea. not that he has those very often he just thinks it sounds fancy. gives him an air of whimsy. he thinks he's soooooo cool for knowing what one is. always orders one as if it's from a secret menu only he and the bartender know about [it is very much on the actual menu]

😖 CONFOUNDED FACE — is your oc an introvert, an extrovert, or an ambivert? do they let people in easily, or are they more reserved?

introvert... he may be very loud at times and. 'confident'. but. he's mostly just powering through the day until he can get home and be by himself and recharge. he is VERY reserved. kind of a side effect of the whole being a doormat thing. he has let waaaay too many people in and given so much of himself and gotten so little in return that he's just. shut himself off from ever meeting new people. he'll get over it. Surely.

🤔 THINKING FACE — what are some of your oc's quirks/mannerisms?

he always has a very blank/unfocused/a little angry looking expression on his face. but thats literally. just what he looks like. he can't change that. well he Could maybe if he smiled a bit more. a lot more. he very rarely smiles if ever - at most theres a very subtle change in facial expression. so it's next to impossible to know how he's feeling. and good luck trying to get him to tell you!!!! he is mostly just relaxed and unbothered though. until he isnt. it's fine. dont even worry about it. he cracks his knuckles a lot too. and has a little vocal stim he has to do sometimes thats just Wee Woo Wee Woo. he will do that a few times when he's getting stressed and then he's fine.

😓 DOWNCAST FACE WITH SWEAT — is your oc open-minded or stubborn? are they inquisitive or do they prefer to keep to their bubble of knowledge?

he LOVES learning new things. he wouldn't be a ghost hunter if he was stubborn. he Needs to have an open mind to be able to accept the fact that ghosts are real and they Do exist and everything is just a little bit fucked up. not even just with the ghosts. everything. do you know where he lives. it's a little fucked up. you cant stay sane there if youre refusing to accept reality for what it is.

that being said he is Not!!! gullible or easily tricked into believing things. generally he needs to do a good few hours of research and get his own evidence whenever possible. THEN he will believe you. or write a wholeass essay citations included on why you are so incorrect about literally everything ever. and ends it with a (:

[sabellart]

80s vampires are kind of the best sorry i don’t make the rules

[allfortheslay25]

Smile :)

Milo and his uncle Nicky

[theflowerofthecommonwealth]

When you’re trying to be poetic AF but your strange smol ghoul son is stoned out of his mind.

[codename-adler]

Baby Pics pt. 1

excuse my going awol. y’all ain’t ready for this next step in the socmed au.

//socmed au masterlist on pinned post//

bonus: photo of Elodie that Jean thought lost and now guards preciously wherever he goes

[agender-wolfie]

Guys. Stop tagging your OC stories as X reader. It’s hard to sift through and I don’t go to the x reader tag for OC’s I don’t care about .

[nickythenrcghostieee]

the NRC staff is weird.

first of all, there's only 3 teachers. And they all lead their own.. courses? I'm gonna call it courses

-the science, potion making, potion theory, and stuff like that teacher is a diva who can't drive

-the social studies, "how to interact with magical thingies/beasts", etc teacher is a crazy cat lady

-the PE, "how to basically manhandle things", the physical side of magic/education teacher is a beefcake whose brain is literally just muscle

and non-teacher staff is not any less weird!

-the Headmage is a useless crow who pushes all of his work onto the overworked fashonista known as Crewel

-the shopkeeper is a shady man who is best friends with the diva and somehow gets past things that he definitely shouldn't.

and all the rest of the work is done by us ghosts!

but I like 'em!

[innucentz]

[d0ct3]

Faye is my hello neighbor oc please don't hate🥲

[kgmarcy]

🎂

[garbinge]

When Summer Ends (3)

Topper Thornton x Maybank!Sister OC Nicky Maybank

Summary: Nicky Maybank, JJ’s older sister, just graduated.  Her summer break was supposed to be normal. Work, party, chill. But then she somehow Topper came into the mix. Fun little summer romance fic with the twist of a pogue navigating a relationship with a kook.  

A/N: These kids <3  

TW: All my fics are 18+. Cursing.

Chapter Index

Word Count: 3.8k

Taglist: @drabbles-mc​ (Let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist!)

Nicky should have known not to get her hopes up, it had been just over a week and there was nothing from Topper. Now, before we get mad at the boy and chop it up to typical kook behavior, there were a few factors at play here. 

Topper never actually got Nicky’s number. 

They weren’t in school anymore so there wasn’t anywhere they were guaranteed to see each other

The places where they could see each other, were closed down. Why? The hurricane. 

Which leads us to the the last on the list. 

Hurricane Sandy. The two day hurricane that knocked all the power out, closed roads from floods, fallen trees, debris, you name it. It was going to take a while for the island to recover from it, especially the cut. 

So the lack of interaction between the two wasn’t really anyone's fault in particular. The Wreck had been closed to clean up from the mess Sandy had left behind, being on the dock there was some minor flooding. Nicky had gone and helped out where she could but they were on pause until the insurance company could come out and assess the damages, which meant that Nicky was down to just one job. But luckily, that job, was Heywards, which would have been booming during times like this. Everyone was looking for groceries and household necessities that they couldn’t escape off the island for. So Nicky worked day in and day out, even taking on Pope’s shifts when he wanted to hang with the crew. JJ had picked up some clean up jobs around the island as well as tagging along with Nicky on her grocery drop offs. Between the both of them they had managed to get rent settled for two months, and food for the month. It helped that Heyward was letting Nicky take food home. 

The sun was shining, it was easily 90 degrees and it was even hotter on the water. Nicky was organizing the groceries as JJ steered the boat towards Figure 8. 

“You know, every freakin’ house we’ve passed since we got to figure 8 has power. They have generators, yachts, it doesn’t even look like there was a storm” JJ yelled to Nicky. 

“It’s a kook world and we’re just livin’ in it,” Nicky said mindlessly as she counted the bags to make sure she had everything organized correctly. 

“Alright, so when we dock, you take the east side and I’ll take the north. You have 4 deliveries but they’re big orders and they’re scattered a few miles apart. I’m going to take the 20 deliveries that are all next to eachother. It’ll even itself out, probably like 2 hours for us each and we can meet back at the boat.” Nicky was sweating as she wiped her forehead with her work glove and squinted her eyes to shield them from the sun as she looked at JJ who was smirking. 

“Are you making fun of me?” Nicky took her hand and pushed JJ causing him to fall backwards with a chuckle. 

“You’re just a completely different person when you’re working.” He said taking the boat’s wheel again. “It’s weird.”

“Not weird when we’re eating under a roof.” Nicky mumbled and walked away. 

“You mad at me or what?” JJ called out before he was met with a middle finger from his older sister. “Love you too big sis!!” He laughed. 

_________

Even though the heat had gone down immensely since it was now 3:30PM, Nicky was still sweating. She had given JJ the golf cart since he had bigger orders and further distances to drive, which meant she was dragging the wagon from door to door. 

She approached her second to last delivery, and was about to ring the bell when she heard a voice. 

“Nicky Maybank?” The tone of the voice was questioning but still a little excited. Nicky turned to see Topper standing there with a girl half his size who had pigtails and braces. 

“Topper?” Nicky questioned back, suddenly extremely aware of how worn down she looked and felt. 

Topper looked at the girl, trying to figure out why she was here, his eyes fell on the cart full of groceries. He was a little disappointed, there was a little part of him that had hoped she was there to see him, but nevertheless, he was going to take advantage of the fact she was here now. 

“Uh, yea, this is uh, this is me.” He pointed to the house. “And this is my sister, Addie.” His hands went to the girl’s shoulders. 

She smiled pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose before extending her hand out to shake. “Addie Thornton.” The girl’s voice was high and eager. 

“Nicky.” She smiled at the little girl and met the extended hand with her own. 

“Nicky Maybank.” Addie said insinuating that she already knew who she was. “Are you crab girl?” She asked boldly.

“Addie!” Topper barked, clearly embarrassed. It made Nicky laugh, though. 

“I think so?” Nicky answered. “Unfortunately I only have produce and red meat for you today.” She checked her list and pointed at the wagon.

“Here, no one’s home,” Topper stepped forward to the front door and fidgeted with his keys, “or let me know we were getting a delivery.” He laughed awkwardly and left the door open wide for everyone to enter. 

Nicky stepped inside with the wagon, taking in the largeness of the house, gawking at the spiral staircase, staring at the professionally taken photographs of the family that sat on the wall, perfectly hung and seemingly dusted off weekly because there wasn’t any hint of it anywhere. 

“Our mom thinks she’s an interior decorator but she’d only ever get hired at the funeral home if you ask me.” Addie said kicking her shoes off by the door and dropping her bag. 

Nicky choked on a laugh while Topper responded with another high-pitch, “Addie!” 

The little girl rolled her eyes, “You say it too when we don’t have pretty girls over, which is never.” 

Topper blushed and went to pinch the bridge of his nose, embarrassed and getting annoyed with his little sister. 

“Addie, why don’t you go do…  homework or something.” He stuttered. 

“It’s summer, Topper.” She stood there barely 4 feet but her attitude was 6 feet tall. 

“Ad-” he began to say. 

“Addie, go anywhere but here,” she let out a large sigh as her shoulders dropped and she ran upstairs. 

“Sorry about her, she’s–” Topper started to say before Nicky cut him off. 

“Amazing.” A smile filled her face. “When she’s in high school you’ll be grateful for that attitude when you don’t have to handle bullies.” 

“That’s probably true,” Topper laughed and let an awkward silence fill the air. “So, I wanted to call you,”

“You don’t have to do that, Top.” Nicky shook her head. The use of his name from her mouth sent chills down his spine. “It’s fine, we can just go back to how things were, actually we don’t even need to, I’m sure you’re off to college soon, we probably won’t even see each other, unless I’m dropping off grocery orders, but I don’t think we’re gonna have another hurricane anytime soon, at least not until late August, which you’ll be at school, and won’t see me, if you’re going to school that is, I don’t mean to assume, I just figured–” Nicky was rambling. 

“Do you want to hang out right now?” Topper asked. 

Nicky stood stunned for a minute, “I, uh, have one more delivery to make.” She pointed back outside. 

“Let me put away our grocery bags and I’ll meet you outside.” Topper said. Nicky figured he ignored her comment but would just have to make her point known outside. 

She made her way through the extravagant doors with the wagon that had a couple bags left in it for her last delivery and just took in the scenery as she waited for Topper. Her eyes fell onto the large fountain that had a golden pineapple at the center of it. It made Nicky smile because of the comment Addie had made about her mother’s passion for interior design. It had clearly extended to landscaping design as well. 

“That’s my room.” Topper pointed to just above where Nicky was staring. She looked up to see the porch he was referring to and nodded. “You have your own balcony.” 

“My room is more secluded from the rest of the house, and comes with perks like a balcony also. My mom likes to keep us all at a distance so” Topper said with a shrug, clear that he and his mom didn’t have the best relationship. 

“I get that.” She nodded. “I mean not the east wing of a house thing but I get the parent keeping you at a distance thing.” 

“Alright, let’s go.” Topper said, grabbing the wagon, beginning to walk down the street. “Where’s your next delivery?” He looked back at her. 

She was stuck, shocked, but also confused. “Uh, it’s on Magnolia Street, near the dock.” 

Topper stopped, almost tripping on his feet when he heard where the delivery was. 

“That’s like a 40 minute walk?” He frowned. 

“It’s more like 25 but yeah.” She began walking towards him to take the wagon from him. “You don’t have to come with me, if anything it’s better, I’m doing deliveries with JJ.” 

“I can deal with JJ.” Topper placed his hand in his pocket to pull out his keys. “Come on, we’ll throw the wagon in the trunk, I’ll drive us there.” 

“What if I don’t want you to deal with JJ. What if I don’t want to deal with anyone.” Nicky’s words crashed into each other quickly. 

“I didn’t mean like deal with him deal with him.” Topper started to fumble on his words. “I just meant like I don’t mind having to interact with him.”

“Clearly. The black eyes courtesy of you and your friends made it very clear that you love interacting with him.”

Topper closed his eyes, seemingly regretting every time he put his hands on JJ, which was weird, all over a girl? Nicky Maybank? 

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Let me just take you to the house and I’ll leave before you get back to the dock. JJ won’t even see me.” His hands were up innocently. 

Nicky thought for a minute, she did want to spend time with him, even if it was a short amount of time. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Topper smiled and took the wagon back for a second time and loaded it and the groceries back in the car.  As he walked to the driver's seat of the car, he pulled a water bottle out that he had on him from when he left the house. “Here, you must be dying,” he said. 

“Are you telling me I look like shit?” Nicky tried to hold back a smile as she grabbed the ice cold water bottle from him. 

“No, n-no, I just– it’s hot out, and you’ve been walking and–”

Nicky placed her hand on his shoulder, “Topper, relax, I’m joking.” 

His head fell down with a chuckle, “Sorry, I’m just, I’m sorry I didn’t reach out.” He lifted his head up to look at her. 

“You didn’t have my number.” She leaned her head back against the jeeps’ headrest, knowing that he was going to mention that earlier. “And then the hurricane.” She pointed to the sky. 

“Yea,” he chuckled, “I was going to say that earlier.” 

“Well, here.” She opened the console and grabbed a pen and piece of paper starting to write down her number. “No more excuses.” 

“Well, we can’t control the weather,” Topper grabbed the paper with the number and slipped it in the top of his sun visor. 

“Yea, but now, you can call me when it’s raining.” Her smile was contagious which explained Topper’s matching grin. 

_________

The ride wasn’t long, it almost made Nicky wish that they had walked, even in this disgusting heat, just to get more minutes with him. Which was insane to her, that she was wishing for more time with Topper. She wasn’t sure when that realization was going to fade, that maybe an entire life of hating him was an over reaction, all surface level. She knew there was the whole years and years of battle between him and JJ but getting to know him on this deeper level made that fade to the back of her mind quicker and quicker as the minutes passed. The ride was so enjoyable, there was something about driving in the summer sun with the top down, wind blowing through your hair, mixed with belly laughs and no worries. 

It was weird, they didn’t talk about school, they didn’t talk about anything you think they’d talk about. It was all new territory, getting to know each other outside of everything they thought they knew. 

“So what were you up to before I came by?” Nicky said recovering form whatever the last thing Topper said that made her explode into laughter. 

“Oh God, you’re gonna make fun of me.” He glanced at her with one hand on the wheel while the wind forced it’s way through his frosted hair. 

Damn. He looked good.

Nicky thought for a moment and figured, she’d have nothing to lose. “Not sure I could make fun of you when you look like that.” 

Topper’s gaze went back to the street as his tongue mindlessly played with the inside of his mouth trying to hold back a smile. 

“We were looking for seashells, amongst other things,” he shrugged,  “the storm washes things up.” 

“You baffle me.” She shook her head with her mouth gaping in shock. 

Topper looked at her confusedly waiting for an explanation. 

“You go crabbing to get fresh seafood for your sister, you take her to treasure hunt on the beach, you’re driving me to one of my deliveries, it’s just–” she paused thinking of what exactly to say, “you’re not who I thought you were.” 

“And who did you think I was?” He asked, still keeping one hand on the wheel. 

“Honestly? A dick.” She snorted. Topper matched her laugh.  

The two were silent for a minute as they both fell into thought. It was a heavy statement, for both of them. Nicky’s extent of Topper was everything him and his friends had put her brother and her friends through since middle school. The teasing, the practical jokes, which eventually escalated to more mean practical jokes and teasing and then physical fights. 

For Topper, the weight of everything he had put the girl through, even if it wasn’t directly meant for her, was bothering him. But things felt ultimately different now. It was a little cliche but, they had graduated, and that changed everything. There wasn’t the pressure of societal norms, or Kildare County norms. In just a few months their entire graduating class would be going off in different directions, different schools, different states. Their futures were different, which is why he looked at this from a new angle. 

But, even despite his optimistic view, it didn’t change everything that happened before. All the things that silently sat building the tension between them every time they were together. That tension though, it was what made this fun. 

“I know it doesn’t mean much,” Topper began to offer up as he pulled up to the last delivery house, “but I’m sorry for all the stupid shit I put you through.” He paused and then stuttered, “and JJ.” 

“I appreciate that. For the record, I like this Topper better than whatever show you put on for your friends.” Nicky said as the car was put into park. 

The delivery went smoothly without issue, Topper stayed in the car per Nicky’s instructions. She didn’t want anyone to see them if they didn’t have to. Whatever this was, it wasn’t ready for unnecessary public eye. 

“You hungry?” Topper asked as Nicky jumped back into the car. 

“Starved but I really gotta get back to Heyward’s boat. JJ’s probably waiting for me.” Nicky buckled her seatbealt. 

Topper nodded, disappointment filling his face, “I’ll drop you off at the dock.” He put his jeep in drive and began the trek back to the Figure 8 docking station.  

“Tomorrow?” Nicky chimed in seeing his face and not wanting him to think she was avoiding him. “We can go wherever, I don’t know what kind of food kooks eat but I’m sure I’d love it.” A shrug fell from her shoulders as the lie slipped through your teeth. 

“Yea, yea, that sounds good. I can pick you up?” Topper was stuttering slightly as he agreed. 

“Topper?” Nicky asked, afraid to make eye contact with him. 

“What’s up?” He bent his head down to get a good look at her. 

“Can we like, just go to the pier or go off island or something?” Nicky didn’t want to have to act like a kook or go to kook places, between simply not wanting to she didn’t want the comments that would come along with being seen with him or fake this. 

“Yea, that’s no problem–we can go surfing?” He phrased it as an uneasy question, not sure if it’s something the girl would want to do with him. 

“That’s perfect.” Her face lit up and she brought her legs criss crossed on the seat as she stared out the window win a smile on her face. 

In the drivers seat, Topper looked the same, the grin he was wearing as he drove with one hand on the steering wheel with no other thought than how excited for tomorrow he was. 

As they pulled up to the dock, Nicky undid her seatbelt and turned to Topper. “I’m glad I ran into you.” 

“Me too, I’m, uh, really looking forward to tomorrow.” 

“Text me?” She grinned at him. “That way we don’t have to wait until tomorrow.” 

“Yea, I’ll text you.” He let out a chuckle and he leaned forward a little. 

Before anything could happen Nicky was ducking down on the floor of his Jeep, bending down so that she couldn’t be seen out the window. 

“Fuck! JJ!” She called out from below. 

Topper turned to look out his window to see JJ stepping onto Heywards boat with a bag. 

“He’s not looking if you wanna pop out right now.” He kept his eyes on the kid. 

Nicky listened, reaching for the handle and grateful that her door was on the other side where JJ wouldn’t be able to see. As she slipped out the door, literally, she sat down on the gravel, just to extra cautious of any prying eyes but the only ones on her were Topper’s. He must have walked around while she was finessing her way out of the car. 

“Your car is very geometric.” She said a little embarrassed as he bent down to be eye level with her. 

“You are very weird, Nicky Maybank.” He spoke those words and leaned in to kiss her. Her back was being held up by the running board but soon she was being held up by Topper’s hand behind her head as he pressed his lips against hers. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it wasn’t short either. It was the perfect first kiss length and as Topper pulled away Nicky spoke up. 

“What a compliment.” She laughed and stared up at him as he reached and grabbed a piece of stray a woodchip from her hair that likely got there from her acrobatics out of the car. 

Topper helped the girl up and after he grabbed her cart from the trunk, they moved over to the fruit stand that was set up in the lot, just enough cover for them to say their goodbyes. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” She grinned, still elated from the kiss. 

“You’ll see me tomorrow.” 

The two hugged goodbye, not taking the chance to kiss again since they were out in the open more now. Nicky had been cheesing extremely hard as she dragged the cart back over to the dock. Her phone in hand as it buzzed with a text from Topper. 

“I meant to ask if you’ll wax my board for me tomorrow lol” 

“The real reason you want to go surfing comes out” She texted him back. 

“That and I want to kiss you again.” 

His text made Nicky grin like she never had before. But that was soon interrupted by JJ. 

“What are you smiling at?” JJ’s face was twisted up as he stared at his sister. 

“A text.” Her face dropped immediately and a face of disgust filled it as she looked at her nosy brother. 

“You look like shit.” He said giving her the same look back. 

“Thanks you smell like shit and you were the one with the golf cart.” She pushed past him and secured things on the boat. 

“I got food.” JJ said as he lounged on the bench seat. 

“Thanks!” She called out from the captains quarters. 

“Hey, who were you talking to?” JJ asked, his feet kicked up. 

Nicky looked out the sliding door and frowned. “What?” Her heart was racing. 

“I don’t know when I loaded up I saw you at the stand hugging someone.” JJ wasn’t looking at Nicky as he asked, he was on his phone doing something which gave Nicky the hint that he probably didn’t know.

“Maria. The lady who works the stand, you know the one who let me bring home stuff every so often. She knows about Dad and with the hurricane she was just being friendly, gave me a hug when I told her we didn’t have power and dad’s been MIA.” Damn, was she a good liar. 

“Cool, she didn’t give you any free shit today?” JJ was standing up grabbing the takeout bag and pulling out some expensive looking chicken bowl. 

“Nah, she said her stock was low, stock couldn’t get over the bridge this morning.” Another great lie. 

“Word, well here’s an expensive ass burrito bowl that set me back like $15 easy.” He mockingly smiled at her. 

“Add it to my tab.” She rolled her eyes and grabbed it. 

“What is that?” JJ frowned and reached out to pull a woodchip from her hair. “You livin’ in the fuckin’ woods or some shit?” 

Nicky swatted his hand away. “I just walked half of figure 8, cut me a fuckin’ break and eat your expensive ass burrito bowl, loser.” 

JJ laughed and sat back down on the bench while Nicky moved back to the wheel of the boat and got everything in gear to head back home, grateful that JJ didn’t see anything and more importantly looking forward to tomorrow.

[thehypedbuddy]

Triple Time Threat!

Aiden, Nicky and junie!

[sabellart]

love when vampires are disheveled little freaks