A/N: Here's the next chapter. I'm a little under the weather so I don't know how great it will be, but I think it's alright. Please post a review so I can see what you think! Thanks! ^_^

Chapter Three: Sitting on the Rooftop

After they had all finished their meals, Nikko and Courtney excused themselves from the table and decided to sit up on the roof and just talk. Courtney's mom didn't expect her home until 11 o'clock, so she had plenty of time to kill.

Nikko had brought an extra blanket up from the linen closet downstairs and the two of them sat side-by-side on it, looking up at the sky and just thinking.

Courtney sighed contentedly and lay herself down on her back, so that she was looking directly up at the night sky. She couldn't see all the stars due to the fact that she was in the city, but one star in particular showed right through the smog in the sky; in fact, it was if the smog couldn't even come close to blocking out the star.

"Look, Nikko! That star…it kind of reminds me of you," Courtney admitted shyly.

Nikko glanced down at her, his eyes narrowed in thought, which she found very cute about him. "Really? How so?" he asked, somewhat perplexed.

"Well, you're obsessed with standing out, and you refuse to let anything get in the way of that," Courtney explained, as if she were talking to a three-year-old; to her, it was obvious how he embodied all of the attributes of the persevering star.

"Heh, well, that's true, I guess….but the same can be said of you, too, Court. Even though nobody thought Spectacular would amount to anything, you refused to give up and kept on going and going. You never gave up, not even once," Nikko replied.

Courtney smiled up at him. "Thanks. It's nice being compared to a star…even if I had to compare you to one first!" she teased.

Nikko laughed and laid down next to her. "I'll compare you to a star any day; in fact, just say the word and I'll compose an entire song about how your light shines through any kind of darkness," Nikko stated, and he was surprised to note that he meant every single word.

"Do it, then," Courtney said light-heartedly, "But only because you want to, and not because I 'said the word.' Honestly, I would rather you do something without me having to ask for it."

"What, surprise you?" Nikko said, reminding her of their inside joke.

"Yeah. Surprise me," Courtney replied.

"That won't be a problem," he said, and before Courtney had time to think about what he'd said, he moved and was hovering above her, a hand on either side of her head.

Courtney thought he was going to kiss her, and sat up on her elbows so that she could more easily receive the kiss. She already had her eyes closed and everything, just waiting to enjoy it, but instead of kissing her, Nikko suddenly began tickling her.

She screeched in laughter, and tried to squirm away, but he kept her where she was until she accidentally kicked out and caught him just inside his leg, very close to the most painful place to be kicked for a guy. Realizing the danger, Nikko quickly retreated, both of them laughing.

After that they both settled down, and Nikko did kiss Courtney then. Just a light kiss, but it said everything that needed to be said between them. It was perfect.

"Ah," Courtney said once they parted, returning to her previous position of lying on her back. Nikko did the same and then Courtney continued, "I haven't been tickled like that in ages. Not since my dad…" she trailed off then, but Nikko's curiosity had been piqued.

"Court…what exactly happened to your dad?" he asked softly, trying not to seem like he was trying to pry, but also attempting to make his tone sincere.

"It was a little while ago," she said, and Nikko thought she was trying to dismiss the subject, but he remained silent and expectant, hoping that she would continue.

"We--that is, my mom, dad and myself--were coming back from the beach; he was driving, and mom was in the front seat. I was about thirteen years old at the time, and I was sitting in the backseat, listening to my favorite Broadway musical CD, so I never even saw it coming. Another car just plowed right into my dad's side of the car. It killed him instantly, but my mom and me got out relatively unharmed; just a few cuts and bruises, and an emotional scar bigger than the ocean. It was hard, you know? Your father is, like, a hero. Nothing can hurt him, and he'll always be there. But, right before my very eyes, he was gone. He disappeared just like that, and my mom and I were left alone and had nothing to fill this huge void in our hearts," Courtney said. Towards the end, her voice cracked and she sat up, trying to wipe away her tears. Nikko reached over and began rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"I'm sorry, Court…I can tell it was rough," Nikko said softly, his own eyes watering a little as he thought of what that would be like. What would he have done if he had had a father like Courtney's, one who actually cared about him and Stavros? And then it took him a minute to realize that Stavros was sort of like that, sort of a father figure. What would he do if something happened to Stavros? He suddenly felt really guilty about the way he had acted towards Stavros earlier that evening, and resolved to himself that he would apologize for acting so irrational. Even if he still hated the thought of their mom coming to live with them again, Stavros hadn't deserved such a violent reaction; not in the least.

"Sometimes, I feel like he's still there. Like, he's just out of eye-sight but definitely there, and when I turn around, there's nobody around and the feeling just disappears. I feel so silly…I can't believe I'm unloading all this on you." Courtney was still trying to get rid of her tears, but she tried to laugh anyways.

"I don't mind at all. I mean, I am the one who asked. The point is, Courtney, I want you to tell me things. I want you to feel like you can trust me enough to tell me about your past, about your feelings. It's perfectly understandable that you're upset…I'm just glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me this stuff," Nikko said.

Courtney sniffled and wiped her nose on her shirt sleeve, since there were no handkerchiefs or napkins or tissues or anything else with which to do so. "But what about you, Nikko? You don't have a father, either. What happened? And where's your mom?"

Nikko felt his throat close. He didn't want to remember any of that, but he did owe it to Courtney to tell her something. "My dad…he's in jail. He wasn't a very nice person," Nikko said, putting things as lightly as possible. "As for my mom…she left us. When I was little."

"Oh, Nikko, I'm so sorry!" Courtney sounded genuinely appalled and Nikko stifled a bitter laugh; if only she knew the things that made his father not such a nice person, or why their mom had left in the first place, but he couldn't tell her that. He just couldn't bear it.

"Don't be. I don't really think about them much. Or, well, I try not to. Sometimes, like today, I can't help it," Nikko admitted truthfully.

"What happened today?" Courtney asked.

"Stavros saw her today. Mom, I mean," Nikko said quietly.

"Aren't you relieved that she's okay?"

Nikko did laugh then, and Courtney shot him a questioning look. "Relieved? Quite the opposite, actually. I know it's horrible of me, but, well, she left us, Court. She abandoned my brother and me and now, all of a sudden, she's back and expecting to have a place with us again? It's not right. Not in the least." Nikko felt bitter tears try and force themselves out but he pushed them back down; he hadn't cried about his mom since he was little and he wasn't about to start now. Especially not in front of the woman he loved.

Courtney didn't know what to say. What could she say? That he was, in fact, wrong to feel that way and that he should be happy? No, she couldn't say that. And she couldn't act like she understood that kind of bitterness and felt that it was okay. She didn't know anything about this kind of stuff. "Nikko…" she began, but he held up a hand.

"Don't worry about it. I'm over it. Let's just talk about something else, okay?"

Courtney chewed her bottom lip. She didn't think he was over it at all, but she didn't want to push the envelope. She was lucky he had told her this much. Sighing, and feeling like she had been defeated, Courtney looked up at him and said, "Okay; but promise me, you won't let this eat you up, okay? If you feel like you need someone, I'm here for you and I want you to know that."

"Yeah, thanks, Court. And I do know that. I really just don't want to even think about my parents right now if I can help it," Nikko said, and then he pulled Courtney into his arms, and they just enjoyed each other's support.

Moments later, Courtney piped up with one last question. "What was her name?"

"My mom?" Nikko asked, perplexed.

"Yeah."

"Zoë. Her name was Zoë."

"Well, Zoë was crazy for leaving you; if I could, I'd never spend a minute away," Courtney replied, and Nikko was thankful to hear that, even if he didn't say so out loud.

~*****~

A/N: It's kind of a short chapter, but I DID promise one of my readers more Nikko/Courtney, and this felt like a good stopping point. Lol. Anyways, please review! I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts and the like. Thanks in advance! ^_^

PS: The title was loosely based on the Lost Prophets song, but the words aren't perfect, so, yeah…My attempt at being clever. Lol.