MOUSE
Mouse set Nora down about forty minutes after she'd asked to be put on the ground. He was giddy with both excitement and relief that Nora wanted to be a part of his family. And the truth? He wanted her to be.
Nora had clearly been through a lot in her life, if Mouse could tell anything by the nightmares and the story about Madison, and the way she was just slightly hesitant around everybody except for Jules. She needed a constant in her life, someone who she could rely on and wouldn't have to be afraid of. Someone who wouldn't leave her. Mouse wanted to be that person for Nora, and he knew that she was searching for it in him.
"Mouse?" Nora's soft, sweet voice pulled Mouse out of his thoughts.
Mouse glanced at her and said, "You want down?"
"As much as I love the free ride, yes, please," Nora responded politely. She was always so polite. It amazed Mouse.
He chuckled and set her on the ground, watching as she scampered over to Harrison and Maxi.
"She's settling in well," Jesse's voice sounded from behind Mouse and he jumped.
"Yeah," He agreed, turning to look at the tattooed man, "She is. I worry about her female influence, though. Jules and Talia are the only two girls even in the same country that she's been able to talk to for about three weeks."
"Well, when school starts she'll do better. There'll be girls in her class that she can talk to," Jesse replied.
Mouse nodded in agreement and watched as Harrison lighted the grill. Maxi had finished off the cheese and crackers and was rooting through the fridge for something more. That kid was an endless pit. He'd eaten Nora and Mouse through house and home in the first day and a half.
"We're eating in a half hour," Mouse called to Maxi.
The young boy looked up and said, "But I'm hungry now."
Mouse rolled his eyes and turned back to Jesse. "I'm going to go and make sure that supper is actually going to happen soon, since I'm also pretty hungry."
NORA
The morning after she'd put the star on top of the Christmas tree, Nora awoke to her door flinging open. "Nora, wake up!" A voice sounded next to her ear.
Nora groaned, rolling over and curling into a teensy ball under the middle of her sheets. Usually, she was awake at the crack of dawn, but she'd been exhausted after Harrison's and Maxi's energy the night before.
"Come on, sweetpea," Another voice sounded beside her ear, much more gentle than the first.
"Never thought I'd see the day that you went soft, Mouse!" The first voice teased.
And then the covers were ripped off of Nora's body and she squealed in alarm as the cool air hit her. "HEY!" She protested, propping herself up on her elbows.
Jesse was standing beside her bed, the sheets in his hand. Mouse was behind him, his arms crossed and his expression smug. Nora gave them both an indignant look.
"Morning to you too, sunshine," Jesse drawled, grinning cheekily at her.
Nora rolled to the edge of the bed, intending to smack his arm, but he anticipated her and jumped out of the way.
"Whatever," Nora rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed, and then said, "What's the temperature today?"
"Coldish," Mouse answered, "That storm we've been talking about is supposed to hit at about noon or earlier today."
"Okay," Nora hopped off of her bed and pranced to her closet, pulling out a sports bra, a hot pink dry-wicking tank top, and pastel green athletic shorts, "It's a good day to get back to running, then."
"You run?" Mouse asked at the same time Jesse said, "You exercise?"
Nora shot both of them a sharp, slightly mischievous look and replied, "Yes to both, if you must know. I ran and exercised every day back in Nebraska, but it's been so hot here that I was worried I might have an episode if I was doing intense physical stuff."
"An episode?"
"Mhmm. I've passed out a couple of times, and had two seizures. Most of the time when I'm going on super big runs on a really hot day. Like, I think the last seizure was a few months ago when it was ninety degrees and one hundred percent humidity, and something possessed me to do a ten mile run," Nora explained casually.
"You've passed out a couple of times and had two seizures while going on runs?" Mouse asked incredulously.
Nora turned to him, her brows furrowed in confusion, "Why do you sound so concerned?"
Mouse and Jesse stared at her, dumbfounded. Finally, Mouse said, "Uh...because I am?"
Nora giggled at his expression, hitting his arm as she walked past, "Jesse's right," She told him, "You really are going soft."
Mouse looked unamused.
Nora waltzed past him into the bathroom and changed quickly into her workout clothes. She did her morning routine, which consisted of brushing her hair and teeth, styling her hair, putting acne cream on and washing her face, and occasionally adding a little bit of makeup if she was really feeling bold. She tied her hair into a high ponytail, just tall enough that it didn't touch her back at all when it dangled down.
Mouse and Jesse had gone from Nora's room when she returned, which she was grateful for, since it was a little awkward with all three of them standing there. She grabbed her yellow Brook Launch 7's, the special edition ones with sparkly pink clouds and baby blue laces. Her running watch, a gift from her mother, was strapped onto her wrist.
Nora dug through the bottom of her suitcase, looking for one last thing. If nothing else, she would wear it to put Mouse's mind at ease.
A moment later, she found the thing she wanted and pulled it out with a little aha! sound. It was a little device that wrapped around her waist and had little probes that stuck to her chest to measure her heartbeat. It was a fancy thing-given to her by Mr. Harsche. Insurance had bought it for her after finding out about her condition. She could add numbers onto the little dashboard and they would be contacted if she lost consciousness. Her location was also shared with the numbers she entered.
Nora put Mouse's, Harrison's, Maxi's, and Jesse's numbers into the device, before walking out of her room.
"What's that?" Mouse asked her as Nora stopped next to the couch to wrap the device around her stomach. She grabbed the little measure cup things and attatched them to her chest.
"It's what I like to call the 'PassedoutOmeter'," Nora responded, "It measures my heartbeat and stuff and it can tell whether I'm conscious or not. And I entered yours, and Harrison's, Jesse's, and Maxi's numbers into it. That way you'll all get an alert for if I'm unconscious on the side of the road or something."
"Okay," Mouse glanced at his phone and then said, "Oh, I just got an alert. And I can see your location, too."
"Yep," Nora nodded. She plopped down on the floor closer to the door and began to stretch. Mouse watched her for a moment, before he went to the kitchen and grabbed a pan from the stove.
"Want food before you go?" Mouse asked her.
"No, I'll throw it up," Nora finished her stretching and popped to her feet. She grinned at Mouse and then said, "See you in an hour."
"Wait-how many kilo-er, miles are you going?"
Nora shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe like five or six, since I haven't gone on a run in a while."
"Well what do you usually go for?" Mouse asked.
"Ten, maybe more. Anyway, Imma go. Bye!"
Nora turned and trotted out the front door, closing it softly behind her. She clicked the little start button on her PassedoutOmeter, and then the start button on her free running app, and took off.
The beach was beautiful as Nora ran past it. She waved at Reidy, who appeared to be just walking into work. He waved back and then entered the tower. The crowd on the beach was insane, but Nora had learned from her hours of binge watching Bondi Rescue that Christmastime was always insane.
She passed the beach and continued down the road, admiring the small businesses and little apartment buildings that lined the street. Tourists and locals mixed together, a strange combination of cultures that made Nora want to laugh at the absurdity of some of them.
She spotted Matt Dee and Deano, whom she hadn't seen since the party, and waved at the both of them. They waved back and called to her to join them, but she declined with a polite grin and continued onward.
Twenty minutes later, her phone beeped that she'd gone three miles. Usually, Nora ran a six minute mile. On a good day, maybe even a five minute mile. But she hadn't run in a few weeks, so she would take a ten minute mile. At least for starters.
Nora turned around and started running back home, following her GPS directions. There was one point where she got a little light headed, but nothing more than that.
Three more miles and one ab workout later, she found herself stumbling inside the apartment, her legs already jelly.
"Hey," She called out a greeting, slightly raspily as she was out of breath.
"You're back," Mouse poked his head around the island counter and grinned at Nora.
"Yep," Nora flopped on the floor and laid there for a moment, "A few weeks off really made me lose my endurance," She added breathlessly.
Harrison walked in right at that moment and chuckled at the sight of Nora on the floor, "Hard run?" He asked her.
Nora nodded, "You know, I usually go about ten miles in that same amount of time," She said.
"You'll work back to it," Mouse reassured her as he turned away. Nora heard the fridge door open, and then Mouse said, "Chocolate milk?"
"Please," Nora hopped from her position, wincing as a cramp started to build in her leg. She never liked the afteraffects of running, but oh well.
Mouse passed her a glass of the stuff and Nora lifted it to her lips with shaky hands. Her adrenaline had all but left her, and her whole body was trembling ever so slightly.
"When's your birthday, Nora?" Mouse asked out of the blue as Nora downed the chocolatey goodness and then began to stretch.
She paused, glancing at him, and then said, "June 8, you?"
"August 23."
"I'm December 30, if anyone was wondering," Harrison added from where he was leaning against the wall.
"JANUARY 13!" Maxi's voice filtered from his own bedroom.
The three in the main area exchanged a look, and then burst out laughing. "Good to know, Maxi!" Mouse yelled back.
Nora giggled again as Harrison let out a smaller chuckle, but they were both cut off when her phone dinged.
She pulled the old device out of her pocket and clicked the on button a few times to get it to light up. There was a new email on there from the Australian school she was going to go to, called New South Wales High.
It said that school was starting on January 25th, which was about a month away. Classes started in the mornings at 8:45 and went until 3:00, which was a lot shorter than her public school at home. Nora wished Talia would be going to school with her, but Talia was homeschooled. Still, the two could hang out after classes and stuff. Nora was supposed to be allowed to leave school grounds during study halls, so she hoped that she would have a study hall at the end of the day, that way she could get out early.
"What are you thinking so hard about over there?" Harrison asked Nora, breaking her out of her train of thought.
Nora started slightly, and then said, "Oh, I just got an email about school. It said I'll get my classes soon, at least. I can't believe it starts in a month!"
Harrison nodded, "I'm glad I don't have to go to school anymore, and instead I just get to hang out at the beach with my friends," He said in a teasing manner.
Nora rolled her eyes playfully at him and grinned, before saying, "I'm gonna go and shower. I'll be out in a little bit."
Her phone dinged again as she walked into her room, but she didn't pay it any attention. A ten minute shower and a fresh pair of clothes were the only two things on her mind. She grabbed leggings, since it was supposed to be a chilly day, and also one of her most comfy sweatshirts that she'd brought from Nebraska. It was a Lifeguard* one that she'd used when she was working at her local pool.
And that's when she found her old, crumpled up red bikini at the bottom of her suitcase. The only swimsuit she'd originally owned, and the one she thought she'd left behind. Oh, well, she'd save it for a later occasion.
Nora left her room and went to shower.