After having screamed her lungs out, Nicky closed her mouth shut, teeth clashing. The man in front of her looked just as terrified as she probably did.

Looking him over, because really what could you do when you were stuck in a pet door, Nicky noted the man's tall but slender build and sandy brown hair. He was wearing very fashionable clothes- a white dress shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers. Maybe not fashionable, but she was pretty sure that guy could rock a plastic bag if he wanted to. He was hot.

"….Are you Nicky?"

Her eyes grew bigger. This wasn't a normal, random burglary- he knew who she was!

She began thrashing around in the mini door, ignoring the pain on her hips and focusing on getting the hell away from the Greek God who was definitely bad news. It didn't take a whole lot of calculation to figure that out- there was a man who had broken into her house and knew her name. Was she going to get kidnapped?

"No wait, please don't freak out!" Like hell I won't! Despite the man's efforts, Nicky thrashed around even more.

"Please, rela-" A snort disrupted his sentence, which made the fifteen year old stop completely. Looking up, Nicky's eyes grew bigger when she saw Mister McHandsome clutching his stomach while shaking. She would have thought he had suddenly gotten constipated if she hadn't heard him actually laughing. Really trying to hide it, what with his one hand covering his mouth and all, but she knew a laughter when she heard one. The man was outright laughing at her. The jerk.

Finally, the man seemed to have gotten his mood swings under control and he looked at her again. Although he snorted once more, he didn't completely lose it like before. He smiled at her and any normal girl would have blushed, because a) the man's teeth were so white, it would shame any other person for simply not having teeth as white as those, and b) a beautiful face like that, plus a dazzling smile would K.O. anyone.

Who was she kidding- she was a normal girl and dammit, it was normal for her to blush.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. My name is Tyler Edwin- your mother asked me to look after you while she was gone."

Silence was her answer. She wasn't sure how much time passed as they stared at each other but she needed time to gather her thoughts after that revelation.

"…My nanny?"

He nodded.

"I'm Nicky." This was harder than one would think.

He nodded again, smiling.

"…I'm stuck."

This time he didn't try to hide his laughter. Nicky waited until he finished, blushing in her embarrassment and frustration towards the situation.

A few moments passed before Tyler finally managed to compose himself.

"I'm sorry love, I'll get out of there, okay?"

Love? Never had she ever heard anyone call her 'love'. It felt nice, though. It didn't cause butterfly fluttering in her stomach like at the beginning of a crush- the guy looked to be a few years over his twenties anyway- but more like a warmth that settled over you when a parent tucked you in and kissed you on the forehead. It felt… Nice.

Nicky watched as Tyler took out a screwdriver- and yes, apparently it was completely normal to keep a screwdriver in ones' back pocket- and walked over to her.

"If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you just go through the front door?" Tyler broke the uncomfortable silence that had settled over them while he worked on unscrewing the door.

"I'm training for the Olympics."

He chuckled which made Nicky smile. He seemed to be an alright guy.

"I was locked outside, actually."

"Ah, I see. So you decided to go through the pet door."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

He chuckled again. That's when she realized she hadn't asked the most important question.

"Wait, how did you get inside?"

"Emily- your mom, gave me a spare key. I swear, I'm still adjusting to the fact that she's actually someone's mother…"

"Why is that?" Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. Her mother was the sweetest person she knew- although a bit childish at times, stubborn and useless at doing chores, she was an awesome mom.

Tyler paused for a moment and looked at her in thought. He then put the screwdriver down, apparently having finished unscrewing the screws in the door. "Never mind, I fear what she would do to me if she knew I talked ill about her to her daughter." He winked at her good-naturedly but she could see the underlying traces of fear on his face. Just what had her mother done to the poor guy in the past?

"Anyway, I've taken the pet door off the backdoor, try moving now."

Nicky moved further inside the house and was very relieved to actually get somewhere. She stood up and looked down. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this, then?"

She was referring to the small door that was still stuck around her waist. The pet door had been removed but not from her. Looking up at Tyler, she noticed his thoughtful look. A few seconds passed before he raised his index finger, "One second, I'm going to get something."

And he bolted down the hall, seemingly to the direction of the garage. He must have taken some time to look around her house in the time she was away, because he sure seemed like he knew where he was going.

A few moments passed before Nicky could hear footsteps again and she looked up to see what Tyler had gone to get.

Her face paled as she took in the sight before her.

Tyler, her new nanny, was standing approximately a meter away from her. Holding a chainsaw.

"Hold still, alright?"

How could the man sound so calm?! He was holding a chainsaw and holy shit, he just pulled the starter handle.

Instead of thinking any longer about how the situation could change so drastically, Nicky spun around and ran away. It was harder than one would think, what with a small door stuck to your hips.

"Wait, I'm not going to hurt you!"

Says the guy chasing me with a freaking chainsaw! Nicky thought as she continued to run for her dear life. She should have known the guy was suspicious. For one, he looked like a male supermodel. He had also been inside her house when she got home, carried a screwdriver in his pocket and sounded like he knew her mother, but so did everyone else in this neighborhood!

Never again would she trust strangers who claimed to be her nanny- if she ever did get a second chance, that is. As things were going, it looked like she was about to leave this world soon.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed as they ran around the house- her being slowed down by the pet door and him by the running chainsaw- but it must have been at least ten minutes, because when Tyler- if that was even his name- finally managed to corner her, it felt like her heart would explode from all the running before the chainsaw ever got the chance to hack her to pieces. She felt nauseous from the thought.

"Okay. Just stay still, okay?"

Tyler only seemed slightly out of breath which Nicky found extremely unfair as she was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

"Wait, just wait! Please don't do this-"

She was cut off by her own screaming when Tyler brought down the chainsaw. She brought her hands up to shelter her face- a survival instinct that wasn't going to save her life.

Seconds passed and Nicky could have sworn she was still breathing heavily. Dropping her hands slightly, she hesitatingly looked at Tyler who seemed to have a somewhat satisfied look on his face.

Following his line of sight, Nicky found herself looking down at herself. There was no longer any pet door around her waist. It now lay in pieces at her feet.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Realizing this was what her nanny had been going for the whole time, relief washed over her and she slumped down on the floor; her feet finally betraying her.

She hadn't known how scared she had been until she began sniffling.

"Wha- what's wrong, honey?"

"What's wrong?! I thought you were going to murder me, that's what!" She didn't mean to yell but neither had she been planning on crying. Seemed like her emotions were determined to make a fool out of her that day.

"You thought…?" Tyler looked down at the chainsaw in his hands and then back at her, all color suddenly drained from his face

Before she knew it, her nanny had her in his arms. She was still too emotionally unstable to actually get embarrassed at the sudden intimacy.

"I am so very sorry. I didn't think how this may have looked for you."

A few seconds passed before Nicky replied; "You're an idiot," It came out like something between a giggle and a sob.

O.O.O.O

"How old are you?"

"28."

"Where do you live?"

"Here and there. I travel a lot."

"Where do you know my mom from?"

"We… Went to school together"

That was a lie.

They were currently sitting on the couch in the living room, eating ice cream for dinner. After Nicky had managed to compose herself after her earlier life threatening (or so she thought) experience, she had remembered the food that was still waiting outside in their shopping bags.

While she restocked the fridge, Tyler insisted on fixing the gaping hole in the backdoor and before either of them knew it they had started talking about everything and nothing. Tyler was very easy to talk to and seemed to be willing to answer most of her questions, although he sometimes lied.

Nicky wasn't any lie detector, but Tyler was a horrid liar, so it was easy to tell when he didn't want her to know something and she usually just dropped the subject there and continued on with the next question.

"My turn," Tyler cut her off when she was about to ask another question, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Nicky choked on the ice cream. Or her spoon, she wasn't really sure which.

"Wh- what? No, why do you ask?"

"Really? What about that Oliver guy? You seem close."

She wasn't blushing because she liked Oliver, she was blushing because the question was embarrassing and Tyler apparently had no tact. What a waste of looks; the guy was a complete idiot.

"Oliver is my best friend and I've known him since we were three years old, of course we're close."

"Ah, I see. So you don't like him?"

"No! At least not like that! And how do you even know about him?"

"Your mom told me who you hang out with the most, so I would know what to expect. That list wasn't a very long one. Are you unpopular in your school?"

Nicky put her ice cream box down on the coffee table before resettling on the couch

"Not unpopular per se, but I may not have the most friends on campus. I'm on speaking terms with my classmates and I sometimes even lend them my homework."

When she heard no answer she snuck a sideway glance at her nanny and scowled when she noticed him giving her a reprimanding look.

"What?"

"People on "speaking terms" -" He made actual quotation marks with his fingers "Can hardly be called friends."

"Yeah well, then I only have one friend. And right now that's good enough for me."

He gave her the same look as before and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He then spoke again, his tone a lot more serious than before, but still withholding that warmth in it,

"Friends are the most valuable things in this world. Also the most powerful. You should remember that."

Nicky gave him a thoughtful look "What do you mean 'powerful'? What do I need power for? I'm not a superhero." She had meant it to sound like a joke but it came out more frustrated than she had intended. Tyler simply smiled at her, almost sadly, which left her puzzled.

"Anyway, it's getting late. You should go to sleep, you have school tomorrow after all." He smiled

She nodded once and looked at him a few more seconds before rising from her position and heading upstairs, stopping at the foot of the stairs and glancing backwards at her nanny "I'll try and work harder on making friends, alright?"

She wasn't sure why she said it, but she felt like it had been important, not only to him, but to her as well. The grin she received for her words was well worth it.

"Goodnight" She told him, with a small smile of her own

"Goodnight, love. Sleep tight."

O.O.O.O

She slept tight that night, but dreamt horribly. She couldn't remember what the dream had been about, but it left a cold, heavy feeling in her stomach.

After putting on her school uniform and brushing her hair and teeth, Nicky headed downstairs to fix herself up some breakfast.

Once she got downstairs, she was greeted by a wonderful smell and tried to recall the last time she had woken up to served breakfast as she made her way to the kitchen. She wasn't sure when it had been, but it was definitely a long time ago.

As she entered the kitchen she smiled at her new nanny who stood in front of the stove, wearing an apron and making pancakes. He was quickly becoming one of her most favorite persons in the world.

"Good morning" she greeted while walking further into the kitchen and begun preparing the table.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yup." She wasn't even aware she was lying until after she had said it. It had been an automatic response, like when someone asks you how you've been and you tell them 'fine'.

"That's good. Do you like pancakes?"

"Of course!" He grinned and she smiled back.

This day was going to be awesome.

After having put everything on the table, she sat down at the table and waited for the warm goodness to be served. When Tyler turned around- a dish of pancakes in hand- and saw that she had set the table, he nodded, seeming pleased. His face then paled, "Is that mustard?"

Looking at the jar before her, Nicky nodded, "yup, it's great with pancakes! Have you never tasted it?"

"No… No, I can't say I have…"

He really didn't need to look so openly disgusted…

Soon after, they began eating and settled in a relaxed conversation. During it, Nicky discovered that Tyler was an only child, like herself, and that he was originally from Italy- which explained his good looks- and that his first crush had been a boy. The story following that revelation had been extremely funny and after it, both of them had stomach cramp from laughing too hard.

In exchange, Nicky told him that her favorite subject at school was math- and she noted the look of disgust on her nannies face after telling him that-, her favorite color was gray and that she was a complete klutz with every kind of electronic devices. She didn't know why he wanted to know these things but it seemed to amuse him so she didn't mind.

After having finished their food, both of them begun cleaning up but were interrupted by a knock on the door. Nicky looked at the clock that hung on the kitchen wall and was surprised to see how late it was.

"That must be Oliver."

It was Tyler who said it, not her, which made her give him a surprised look. He merely shrugged in response and said "Go on, get going. You should never leave a man waiting for too long."

She smiled and wiped her hands in a dishcloth before running to the door to let Oliver in.

As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by a bright smile and like always, couldn't resist smiling back "I'll be out in a minute, ok? Just need to grab my bag upstairs."

"Yeah, sure. Take your time" he replied and stepped inside when Nicky gestured for him to do so, before she jogged up the stairs.

A few moments later she was heading back down, her schoolbag in hand. She was surprised to see Tyler talking to Oliver in the hall where she'd left the latter.

Suddenly a bright blush plastered itself on her childhood friend's face and his hand began flailing around. Her mind flashed back to her conversation with Tyler yesterday, when he had asked her an embarrassing question and hoped Tyler hadn't decided to ask Oliver the same one.

Either way, her friend was obviously uncomfortable and being the good friend she was, hurried down the last of the stairs in order to save him.

Once the two of them spotted her, Oliver sighed in relief while Tyler smiled that bright, white-teethed smile of his, like he hadn't just messed up her friend's blood pressure a few seconds ago.

"Alright, I'm ready to go" She said and shooed Oliver outside the door, following quickly behind him

"Oh, Nicky wait!" her nanny called after her, making her pause and turn around, a questioning look on her face. "Yes?"

He reached out a hand and Nicky looked at it curiously.

In his palm was a silver necklace. The pendant was made of two hands holding a heart surmounted by a crown.

"It's beautiful." she said in awe.

"It's yours."

Nicky's head shot up to look at Tyler in disbelief. He simply smiled and gestured for her to turn around which, after a few seconds of simply staring at him, she did.

He secured the chain around her neck and if she didn't love the necklace before she was mesmerized by it now.

"The hands represent friendship," Tyler began his explanation, "the heart, of course, represents love, and the crown represents loyalty."

She turned around, still looking at the necklace around her neck. "You said you were going to work hard on making friends- I wanted to give you a bit of a power boost. It's a good luck charm." He grinned at her and Nicky could have cried from happiness. She wasn't sure if she had ever gotten such a beautiful present before.

Before she knew it, she had flung her arms around Tyler, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you so much. I love it and I'll take good care of it."

Tyler chuckled and patted her on the head "You're welcome, love."

A few seconds passed before Tyler chuckled again, "If you don't let me go soon, I'm afraid your boyfriend will explode from jealousy."

As if she had been burned, Nicky jerked away from her nanny, but as soon as she realized what he'd said and noticed the mischievous grin on his face, she hit him on the head.

"Idiot."

He simply laughed "Be careful on your way to school, kids!"

And before long, Nicky was at the back of Oliver's bike, waving a goodbye to Tyler who waved back enthusiastically. She couldn't wait to get back home later. Tyler was definitely an awesome guy and she was very thankful to her mother for have gotten him instead of some old hag to keep an eye on her.

"He seems… nice."

Nicky snorted at that. The way he said it had sounded so forced.

"He is. An idiot but very nice all the same." She smiled to herself.

Her smile was wiped off when suddenly the bicycle collided with something else with massive force and she flew off her seat at the impact.

After her vision stopped swimming, the fifteen year old looked up in order to see how Oliver was doing and what the hell they had crashed into.

She looked up just in time to see a brown haired kid raise his head to inspect his own surroundings. In front of him was a bike so he had probably been thrown backwards at the impact himself. Oliver was halfway stuck under his own bike, but seemed to be looking at the kid as well. He didn't seem hurt.

Looking back at the kid, Nicky suddenly noticed a brownish bruise around his left eye. Panicking, she jumped up- ignoring the dizzy spell that hit her at the sudden movement- and rushed over to the kid

"Are you okay? Does it hurt? Did you hit your head? Your eye is bruising, oh God, I'm so sorry-"

Something hit her on the head head, shutting her up. Looking behind her, she saw Oliver standing over her, "idiot, a bruise wouldn't be that quick to form. Besides, that's an old one, you should be able to see that by the color of it."

Looking back at the kid, Nicky saw that her friend was right, the bruise was an old one. "Are you okay, kiddo?" She asked. The boy still hadn't said or done anything.

But apparently his engine suddenly started running, because he bolted up and grabbed his bike "Just wait until I tell my dad about this! You'll be in so much trouble!" He yelled at them before hopping on his bike and left in a rush.

Nicky curled her hands into fists as she glared after the kid "Brat." She spit out, anger evident in her voice.

"Shit!" Nicky's head span around at Oliver's outburst "We're late!" he added.

Completely forgetting about the bratty kid, Nicky's face blanched. It was true that they were already running late when they left her house and now they had wasted even more time.

"Well, hurry up then!" She said as she went over to Oliver who was picking up his bike from the ground.

A few moments later they were speeding through the neighborhood, hoping with all their might that they would get to school before classes started.

A/N: The funniest thing I researched for this chapter was 'how to activate a chainsaw'.

The more you know!

I found this chapter to be pretty boring, but there were a few important things in it that were needed for the structure if the storyline, so please bear with me.

There are a lot of characters that I can't wait to introduce and it's driving me crazy because I can't just shove them all in there. But hopefully I'll get a small break from school work and be able to write a bunch. At least two more characters will be introduced in the next chapter, so look forward to that!

Oh, by the way, the pendant on the necklace is the claddagh symbol. In case you wanted to google it or something.

Fun fact of the day: The human brain is about 75% water.

-Rexx