Chapter one
AN: This is a J/OC story so J won't be dating Nicky. Enjoy!
Pippa hums to herself as she leans her bike up against the garage wall, head in the clouds as she makes her way inside, pulling her long brown hair out of the ponytail she had kept it in on the ride home.
"Hello?" She calls out, knowing the older boys were around, eager to find them and persuade them to take her to the beach.
"In here, sweetie." Smurf calls back from the kitchen, Pippa smiling as she heads in that direction.
"He- Hi." She stutters, stopping in her tracks as she finds a boy she recognised from school, stood by the island with Smurf and the boys. "Hello."
"Honey, this is J-"
"I know." Pippa states softly, dropping her backpack to the floor.
"We uh, we have maths together." J offers up in the form of an explanation, glancing between Smurf and Pippa, who had a confused frown etched on her face. "Pippa, right?" Pippa nods, seeing what she expected was the mirrored image of her face on his, the teens watching each other in confusion.
"J's going to be staying with us for a while sweetheart. He's my grandson, his mama passed away." Smurf explains, Pippa's eyebrows rising in shock.
"Oh shit. I'm so sorry." She says, inching into the room. "I thought something was up when I didn't see you in maths today. You don't seem like the type to skip-"
"Pip." Baz cuts her off, giving her a gentle look in warning. She raises her eyebrows at him, shrugging as she makes her way over to Craig, tucking herself against his body, his arm coming to wrap around her in a loose hug.
"Pippa lives with me," Smurf says, turning back to J who nods. "Her mama was a friend of mine. Got herself into some trouble. So Pippa came to stay with me for a while."
"And now we can't get rid of her." Craig jokes, giving her a squeeze.
"Shut up. You love having me around." Pippa teases in reply, patting his cheek. "You gonna take me to the beach?"
"The beach?" Craig replies, shaking his head. "Why? We've missed all the good waves for today."
"So? It's still the beach!" She protests. "We can go for a swim!"
"We have a pool, right there." He replies, hands on the tops of her arms, turning her to face the windows.
"It's not the same!" She whines playfully, pushing back against him, looking up at him, eyes wide, lips pursed in a pout. "Please, Craig!"
"Fine. Yes. Stop looking at me like that!" He jokingly scolds, pushing her away. "Go and get changed. I'll meet you out front." Pippa lets out a squeak of excitement, immediately heading towards her room.
"You coming?" She calls out to J, pausing at the edge of the counter, looking the young boy in the eye as he hesitates, glancing over at Craig before shaking his head.
"Nah. I'm pretty tired." J replies, Pippa shrugging in response, giving him a small smile.
"Ok. Next time?" She suggests, glancing over to Smurf who gives her a grateful smile.
"Sure."
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"So what do you know about this J kid?" Craig asks, dropping on to the sand beside Pippa.
"He's your nephew." She teases in response, kicking her leg out against his shin. She rolls her eyes at his pointed look, shrugging her shoulders. "I dunno. Not much. He seems like a nice enough guy." She pauses, looking over at Craig. "Why? You worried?"
"We don't know the kid." He states, Pippa meeting his eyes, reading his expression.
"He's your nephew." She repeats sternly. "He's family."
"Still. Who knows what Julia's fed him. Who he's in with." Craig protests, shaking his head, his eyes darting away from hers. "And Smurf just drops him on us-"
"Like Smurf dropped me on you?" Pippa asks, cutting Craig off, who lets out a frustrated groan.
"Pip. You know it wasn't like that."
"Do I?"
"Pippa." He snaps, turning to face her. "You know it's not. It's different."
"How is it different?" She asks, taking his chin in her hand to stop him from turning away again.
"It just is."
"No. Craig. How."
"You were a kid!" He exclaims, pushing her hand away.
"I am a kid still! J's a kid!" She responds, her tone and volume matching hers.
"A little kid I mean. You know that. Stop it Pippa." He grunts, standing up.
"Then stop being a dick. Give him a chance. Ok? Stop jumping to conclusions." She replies, rising to her feet as well. "Everything will be fine. I'm sure."
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Pippa drops a kiss to Craig's cheek as she hops of his bike, thanking him for the trip to the beach as they head back into the house.
"Did you guys have fun?" Smurf calls from the living room as Pippa grabs a drink from the fridge.
"Uh huh!" She calls back, sticking her head around the wall separating the two rooms. "I've got some homework to do." Smurf nods at the young girl, giving her a soft smile as she heads back down the hallway.
"Dinner's in the kitchen. Heat it up when you're ready." Smurf calls back, Pippa shouting out a 'thank you' as she continues through the house.
Pippa makes one last stop before making her way to her room, pausing in the doorway to J's room where he was sat working from a textbook.
"I brought you back a cookie." She calls softly, holding out a paper bag to J who looks up in surprise. "Oh God, that's really lame. Right?" J smiles up at her, reaching forward to take the bag from her.
"No, no. It's great. Thank you." Pippa gives him a small smile, shuffling backwards into the doorway again where she pauses, watching J break off a piece of the cookie, popping it into his mouth. "It's really good." He says, causing Pippa to give him another smile.
"From the best cookie place in town. Craig and I always go there after a swim at the beach. You should join us next time." Pippa lets out a small groan at J's amused smile, turning away from the door slightly. "That was really forward. I'm being weird. I'm not usually like this... Sorry-"
"No. It's fine. Honestly." J reassures her, placing the paper bag on to the bed. "I appreciate it."
"Well then, you're welcome. I just know how hard it is to-" Pippa trails off, running her hands through her hair. "Anyway. Just- if you need anything, I'm just down the hall." She points with her thumb over her shoulder, smiling at J as she walks backwards. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see you." J says, watching Pippa as she turns and disappears down the hall. Seeing her in the house had shocked him earlier (as it had her), he couldn't say he'd ever particularly noticed Pippa around school before, only in the one class they shared, she seemed like the kind of girl to keep to herself. But he could see that having her around in this big unfamiliar house would be good, especially to have someone his own age to talk to. He picks up the paper bag again, finishing off the cookie before pushing himself up from the bed, following the path Pippa had taken minutes earlier until he found himself at the open door to her room. Pippa looks up from her own homework as she senses J hovering in the doorway, raising her eyebrows at him.
"You ok?" She asks, pulling herself up from where she had been laid on her stomach, legs in the air, to sitting.
"Uh, yeah. I just wanted to say thank you. For the cookie. And for the maths homework you left on my bed earlier."
"You can sit, ya know." Pippa says, patting the end of the bed; J hesitates for a second before making his way into the room, perching on the edge of the bed. Pippa rolls her eyes, wrapping her hand around J's arm, tugging him backwards. "Jeez. I won't bite." She teases as he shuffles backwards until his back hits the wall. "So, how are you finding it here so far?"
"It's uh...it's fine. Good." He replies, nodding his head as he glances around the room. Pippa raises her eyebrows smirking over at him until he turns again, meeting her eye.
"It's good?" She repeats, letting out a laugh. "You don't have to lie to me, J. I'm not family like the boys. I've been in your shoes. I know they're crazy. It's a lot to take in, right?"
"Right." J agrees, nodding his head again. "How long have you been staying with Smurf?"
"Officially...about 7 years. But before that, whenever my mum disappeared, Smurf or one of the boys would be around to pick me up from school and bring me back here until she turned up again."
"That must have been hard." J comments, crossing one leg over the other as he gets comfortable on the bed. Pippa shrugs, reaching forward to shut her textbook and drop it back into her bag, before resting back against the pillows.
"I didn't really know any different. Smurf's always been good to me. She's more like a mum to me than my own mum is. Moving here was like a fresh start for me. It can be for you too." J hums in response, keeping his eyes on Pippa as she tugs at a loose thread on the blanket covering the bed. "So, you're here to stay?"
"Yeah. I think you. I guess so. I don't have anywhere else to go." He replies giving Pippa a small smile which she copies.
"You'll be ok here. Things will get easier." She says softly, resting her hand on his for a second before pulling away again. "And you've got me. You can always hide out in here if you want, when the boys get too wild." J smiles at her suggestion, his hand tingling from where she had rested her own just seconds before.
"Thanks. I might take you up on that."