Just Like Fire ▹ Dump Truck | Liv and Maddie

12 ▹ HELLO BROTHER

Oz sat in the bay window in her house's living room, a new issue of the anti-hero Nova in her hands. She was enjoying it so far, until she was stuck with a cliffhanger by Sky Volt, who had called Nova, her enemy-turned-friend, asking for the assistance of the mercenary.

She slapped the comic book onto the coffee table in frustration, taking a pillow from beside her and screaming into it with all her might, cursing at the authors for giving her this cliffhanger. Now she'd have to wait a whole month to find out what happened with Sky Volt, who was covered in blood and bruises in the illustration.

Her head was still buried in the pillow when the front door opened, followed by a masculine voice, "Honeys, I'm home!"

Oz's eyebrows scrunched up when she heard her brother's voice. She thought of why he would be back this soon; he was supposed to come back in two weeks. Now, not only was she upset with the new issue, but her brother was here back from staying with their mother in Malibu to annoy her too.

"Hey, dad, I'm back! Where's the—" Miles' voice quieted down when he entered the living room, seeing his sister's face buried in the pillow with two suitcases in his hands that he put by the stairs, "A character died?" His voice came out casually, like it was normal for his sister to stuff her face in the pillow—which it was.

She shook her head at his question before he continued, "Someone hurt your favorite character?" His answer was another shake of the head before he snapped his fingers, as if he had finally realized what it was.

"Cliffhanger?!" Miles queried, his tone relaxed yet anticipating the answer.

Oz nodded her head, the pillow moving along with her as Miles let out a cheer for himself. She then threw the pillow away from her face and smiled at her brother, moving towards him to give him a quick hug.

"Welcome back, bro, how's mom?" Oz questioned her brother, sitting back on the bay window as he sat on the couch in front of her.

"She's doing okay, has a new boyfriend. He's actually pretty cool. He used to ride BMX bikes too, I think you'd like him." Miles told her with a smile, putting his feet up on the table.

"What'd you want dad for? He has extra work at the university." She told him, thinking of her father who was probably grading history tests in his classroom in the college.

"Oh, I wanted to know where my supplies were." He answered casually, swiping the remote and opening it to TV to Animal Planet, sitting on the couch in front of her.

"Oh, you artists and your desire for painting and art making and whatever else you artists do." Oz said with a sigh, grinning at her older brother, "They're in the shed."

"Hey, Ozzie, look, it's your kids." Miles told her, pointing to the screen where Oz saw a bunch of monkeys swinging from the trees.

"Well, at least my partner doesn't look like that." Oz responded, pointing to the screen when it flipped to a gorilla walking around.

"Well, at least I got the good name. You're the one that got the name that no one knows how to pronounce and makes you sound ancient." Miles responded with a smirk while she glared at him before he spoke again, "I don't know what mom was thinking when she named you M—"

She pushed her hand against his mouth and her glare intensified, giving him a murderous look, "If you dare say it, I will hurt you and your art supplies."