A New Sky

A/N: I am so sorry to everyone who followed, for how long it's taken for me to get this up. Been very occupied with life lately, and completely forgot about this! Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter Two.

Chapter Two

Belle's mouth almost dropped open in pure shock. All of her family around her were waving to the family and saying hello, being as polite as possible, but she was just completely confused by the whole situation. She managed a weak, nervous smile and a pathetic little wave towards the family, a slow blush starting to spread across her face.

"Leonard, I had no idea you lived next door to my mother! How odd!" Ike's father, a tall gangly man with a long nose and small oval spectacles, seemed happy and cheerful enough to be invited to the Nicholson's for dinner. He looked around the room to smile at all the children. "And what sweet, well behaved little children! Aren't they just a dream, Olivia?" He looked to his wife.

"My my, yes they are! Marian dear, you run a wonderful household, we must compare notes, because whenever we have company little Quentin is just a complete nightmare." Belle's mother blushed with pride, before ushering her out into the kitchen to have mother talk. Belle gave a little smile, it was nice when mum got to socialise.

Mr McIntyre walked straight up to where the kids were sitting to introduce himself and his family. "Hello! My name is Norman, and these are our children. Penny-" He gestured to the older looking girl, who was very tall, pale and gaunt, with dyed black hair that was riddled with other colours. Belle couldn't help but stare because her hair was so pretty. "Quentin," He then pointed down to the little boy, who looked a little bit older than their Gracey, and was very squat and short with a frizzy mass of red hair. "-and Ike." He then gave his oldest son a swift punch on the arm, to which he acted very embarrassed and moaned, "Daaad!"

Everyone cheerily said their hellos and how nice it was to meet everyone, but Belle was a little quiet. Cleo turned to look at her, a devious grin on her face. She had never seen Ike before and she was rather dim but not that dim that she couldn't put two and two together. "Bells, don't be rude! Introduce yourself." At this, her father gave her a concerned but reassuring look. She took a deep breath and smiled.

"I'm Belle; it's really nice to meet you all." She gave a shy but passable smile, and Ike smiled right back. "It's nice to meet you too Belle," Replied Ike, and Belle's insides squirmed. Cleo gave her a little nudge which she couldn't have responded too without making things seem too obvious.

There were a few moments of silence after that, where they just laughed at the younger children grabbing hold of Quentin and pulling him off to their bedroom. Belle giggled – Franny and Filly could be a little bit of a handful at times, and they were extremely forward with how they did things, preferring the grab and go method. The twins definitely inherited their mother's social skills and positivity.

"Now we're all introduced, why don't you lot go and give the McIntyre's the house tour? You could play upstairs, or if you prefer, it's a lovely day so Aaron can go and show off his new football boots." Their father smirked at the oldest boy who grinned, before himself and Norman McIntyre went out into the hall, nattering away. Penny went and sat down on a chair, pulling out her phone and looking very disinterested. Dale went back to his book. The twins, Grace and Harry had all gone wondering off with Ike's little brother, and now there was only a few of them left standing in the same space. It was beginning to become a bit awkward, seeing as Cleo and Emily were shamelessly grinning away at Belle every chance they got, and Aaron was giving a confused look, probably wondering why. Ike looked a little worried – should he know what to do with such a big group of siblings? Aaron finally broke the tension after a minute.

"Hey, Ike, do you wanna see the house? It's getting weird just standing around here so we'd better start with something." Both Ike and Belle looked grateful at him suggesting something, and so the group of five left the dining room to take the 'grand tour'.

. . .

Everything seemed to be running smoothly, they were all chatting away nicely and even though the girls were being really annoying, it made her smile nonetheless. They reached the first floor landing and poked around in some of the rooms, Aaron making funny anecdotes as they went. Belle was distracted – her eyes continuing to flicker over to Ike, hoping he wouldn't see. He was so handsome, with pale green eyes and light brown hair, which was in a scruffy yet suitable style. She almost blushed if she looked at him too long.

One time, she stared at him a little too long. He caught her gaze and looked back, grinning slightly, to which she looked down at the ground quickly, running her fingers through her dark brown, slightly curly locks.

The odd group made to go up the next flight of stairs, and just as Belle was about to step up, she felt a hand grab for her wrist. It didn't feel like one of her siblings and as she turned to see who it was her heart did little somersaults over itself, seeing it was Ike. She smiled at him with a confused look, and he simply put a finger to his lips and started hurriedly walking downstairs.

"Uhm, this is my house, Ike. Where are you taking me?" She asked this with an embarrassed tone to her voice, as if she barely knew him. She was right to do so, as she really didn't know him that well at all. She had never seen him in the light before, but he was every bit as good looking if not even more so. She wondered what he thought of her when there were lights and no stars above them.

"You're right. I might not know your house, but I know somewhere very well…I'd say off by heart." They paced down the stairs, him letting go of her wrist slowly as they reached the ground floor, where their parents were. He gave her an apologetic look. "My parents would tease me for all of eternity." By now, Belle knew exactly where he was taking her. The garden!

She opened the pretty painted black gate, to let them out into the Nicholson's back garden. It was the selling point for both of their parents, as it was the biggest and most beautiful garden they'd ever seen, perfect for raising a lot of little ones, which is what they were setting out to do. The grass was lush and green, and there were sunflowers that towered well over the fences and the garden shed, as well as pretty small flowers that the children had planted with their mother in the beginning of spring, like they did every year. Every time they did it, Belle felt that little bit older.

She sat down on the garden swing, her hands locked with each other on her lap, not quite sure what to do with them. Ike sat next to her, and it was silent, apart from a few birds twittering and a little bit of noise coming from the house like it always did. It was serene, peaceful, perfect. Belle closed her eyes and leaned back.

"It's so nice when it's quiet," She said slowly and quietly, not quite sure if it was meant to be thought or said aloud. It really was gorgeous. She was a girl who was going through…well, that difficult time in a female life. She was developing all these feelings, and a house full of children was certainly not helping. No wonder Aaron had turned into such a nutcase. She smiled at the thought, her eyes still closed.

"You're so lucky to have all of those adoring family members in there." Ike admitted, thrusting his hands into his jean pockets. Belle opened her eyes suddenly and gave him a puzzled look, to which Ike let out a huge belly laugh. Her face really was a picture, brown eyes wide and shocked.

"Are you mental? Lucky is the exact opposite of what it is. You get woken up by C and Em arguing over who gets to watch their programme first, Aaron makes your life a living misery, the babies drool and spit all over you or wet themselves when they're sitting on your lap, and don't even get me started on the twins." She shook her head firmly and gave a large sigh.

"You always complain about them when we see each other…you know, in the evening. I thought if I ever met them, I would want to run away as fast as possible – but they're actually pretty cool. Aaron's someone I could certainly hang around with a lot more often. Emily is a bit of a drama queen from what I see but there has to be one, right? And Cleo just seems a little clingy. I can tell she really loves you, Bells." He put a lot of emphasis on her nickname, which he had never used before, and smirked. It made her blush all over like a fool. She had never told him about the silly little names her family give her. God, she would die if he ever found out about Smelly belly.

She shrugged. Her family did love her – but they had a funny way of showing it. Instead of congratulating her on the good things she did, they only focused on the bad and punishing it. And she wasn't even that bad! She was good compared to some children of her age. Honestly. Belle rolled her eyes thinking about it.

It was silent again. "So…" Ike started, looking her in the eyes and smiling. She couldn't look back, without her face completely erupting with scarlet colour. "So…" She replied, nodding awkwardly.

He leaned in a little bit closer to her. "About last night…"

"Bells, Ike, dinner's about to be dished up!" The both of them looked away from each other suddenly, very embarrassed. They were in a part of the garden that was concealed by shrubbery but the fact that their parents knew they were together, alone was uncomfortable in itself. Ike laughed and covered his mouth to stifle it. His laugh set Belle of giggling, and soon enough, they were both laughing uncontrollably. Even when they were both sat up at the dinner table they could barely stop.

. . .

"Hey Belle, where did you go during le Grande Tour?" Asked Aaron from the other end of the large table, grinning all over his face. "Yeah, Beeells. Where did you pop off to?" Emily interjected, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Em!" Belle hissed leaning over to give her sister a shove in the shoulder. She slumped back into her seat, her arms crossed, scowl on her face. Cleo began to tickle her under the arm, which brought the giggles back again.

Her mother brought out the final plate of food to the table, which meant the meal could begin. She gave Belle a stern look but then smiled. "I haven't seen you so smiley all week, Bells." She sat down at the table and clinked her knife and fork together. "Tuck in everybody!" To which the scraping of knives and forks on plates commenced. It was silent for a good five minutes, all but the sound of satisfied munching.

"I do say, Marian. These potatoes are absolutely exquisite! How do you make them so…crispy on the outside? We must know." He looked towards Olivia who nodded eagerly, food still in her mouth. Her mother began to ramble on about semolina and such, and so the rest of the table started to chat too. Cleo looked at Belle, then at Ike, a smirk plastered all over her face. Ike was seated, much to Belle's disappointment, up at the other end with Penny. She looked at him with a little bit of longing, of course not going unnoticed by her younger sister in the slightest, who was now making mock kissy faces and noises.

"Pack it in, Cleo! Eat your food properly." Her mother ordered, before returning to her cooking conversation. Belle stuck out her tongue like one of the younger children and giggled. Cleo rolled her eyes and returned to her dinner, head down with eyes on her plate.

Belle twiddled some string beans in her fork, looking at her food doubtfully. Mrs Nicholson's words slowed down, still talking but her eyes moving over to her eldest daughter, filled with worry and concern, but she said nothing. Belle noticed and she shoved the fork in her mouth, smiling with it full, thumbs up. "Delicioush!" She mumbled, mouth half full. Her mother shot a disapproving look and rolled her eyes, to which Belle swallowed quickly and gave a slightly miserable look.

She hated this guilt trip she was given, every evening at the dinner table. It was customary for the family that they always eat together all at the same time, as they never got the chance to be as one during the day, with the kids playing or at school and the parents busy or at work. It was one of Marian Nicholson's only rules in the household, and one of her favourite times of the day.

Belle could disagree. She didn't like dinnertime, not one little bit. It was okay today, because they had company joining them. But any other night of the week and she would be dreading it. It usually ran along the lines of her mother scolding her for not eating enough (as lovely as the lady of the house was, she could sometimes become a little tired with certain habits and a little more strict) then Belle acting droopy, then Marian becoming upset, then her father sighing, then Aaron making fun of Belle and saying she was horrible for making mum close to tears. The meal would usually end with whispers around the table as Belle picked up her half-finished plate, and got up from the table, storming out of the room indignantly.

That couldn't happen tonight. Usually she got away with the whole parade because her mother gave her the benefit of the doubt and put it down to the fact she was getting older and had a lot of stuff on her plate, life wise. But tonight, if she played up, she would surely be sent straight to her room after being hissed at by her father in the hallway for embarrassing him in front of their guests. Leonard was usually a very tolerable man, but he had his moments, and he didn't like being made to look like a fool in front of others, though he played it enough when the family were alone.

Belle sighed haughtily, forking some more string beans into her mouth and chewing uncomfortably. She continued to do this, chewing and swallowing until most of her dinner was gone apart from a few dregs of potato and a pool full of gravy. Her mum gave her an astonished look.

"Belle…you've finished your plate!" So much for her not making a fuss in front of the guests. How embarrassing, Belle thought to herself as everybody sat at the table gave her their full attention. There were plenty of awkward smiles as Belle tried to give her most convincing one. She looked at her mum, then down at her plate.

"May I leave the table now mum?" She asked politely, her hands gripping the rim of her dinner plate. She wanted to go and throw this in the sink then have a lie down. She felt so full. Her mother's smile slightly deflated, and she nodded, a slightly concerned look on her motherly features. "Thanks." Belle mumbled, picking up her plate and edging off her seat. She took a long walk down the length of the dinner table, and exited the room.

She entered the kitchen, carefully placing the plate and the cutlery in the sink, running a little bit of hot water over it so the gravy would be easier to wash off for whoever's job it was tonight. She also poured herself a glass of cold water, which she gulped down hurriedly, and made for the stairs to the room that she, Cleo and Emily shared.

. . .

As she opened the door, she heard something so fleeting that she barely recognised it. Belle was sure she was going mad, but there was a small tinkle – and then it was gone, as quick as a shot. Belle shook her head, forgetting about it. She was sure it was just one of the little one's toys going off down the landing. She walked over to one of the large, tall windows, and gazed out of it half-heartedly, before pulling the curtains shut. The room was cloaked in darkness now, apart from the slight light that was fading through the thick draped windows.

Belle slumped onto her bed, curling herself up into a foetal position. Sighing, she closed her eyes and rolled onto her back, every limb outstretched. Her head was pulsing with aches – like something was pushing up against the roof of her skull. She wanted to sleep and relax while she still could, but it was too distracting. No doubt, C would be up here any minute having wolfed down her dinner, and asking her if she would like to join the family for a quick few rounds of tag rugby in the garden, or she would be teasing her and asking her what 'happened' between her and Ike in the garden.

She didn't really want to think about it, everything with Ike. She was only fourteen, why did she feel like she had so much to prove to everybody? She liked him a lot but did she want a…boyfriend? All of her friends at school were getting boyfriends now, and giggling in lesson and passing notes around about their boyfriend's snogging abilities. Gross. She wanted to be treated like an adult but not in that way. Belle wanted everyone to understand that she was still young, and she could still make mistakes or do and say the wrong thing. Maybe that was too much to ask, but Belle would have loved it if her parents could give her a bit more responsibility without being so condescending.

Almost like clockwork, there was a sharp, swift knock on the door.

Cleo.

She sighed once more. "Come in C." She rolled over away from the door, so that her miserable face was hidden from view of Cleo when she came in, as much as she wanted her younger sister to know she wasn't in the mood. If Cleo saw her with a sad face, no doubt she would run to their parents telling them, and then she would have the hassle of them wanting to know 'what was wrong'. And they would never understand.

But it wasn't Cleo. It was Dale. Dale was the quietest, most introverted of the Nicholson bunch. He liked to read, write poetry and keep himself to himself. He didn't watch TV with the family, or play Monopoly on a Sunday evening, where everybody would be having fun and accusing the others of cheating with a grin on their face. He hated sports and didn't have any friends at school, to what they knew. Because of this their parents were especially kind to him, and didn't bother him to much about spending a lot of time on his own. Belle had always thought he was so lucky, because even though he was twelve years old, he was ten times more mature than Cleo, and Marian and Leonard could see that. They always commended him on the things he did well at school, and he didn't get any slack for not co-operating with the family on events.

Rolling over haughtily, Belle gave a small, yet concerned smile. "Hi Dale. What's up?" She asked, her voice sleepy and slightly down. Dale, a book clutched to his scrawny, pre-pubescent chest, walked slowly over to her bed, and sat down on the end of it.

"I didn't want to tell mum or dad, or Aaron. They'd think I was crazy. So I thought I'd come to you, Belle." Belle was now very confused. What did he mean? Was he going through some sort of phase? Was he being bullied at school? She dreaded to think. Dale rarely ever went to anyone to talk through problems, he always kept to himself. So this was something definitely to be worried about. "What is it, Dale?" She asked, her voice low and cautious.

"I think I saw a fairy."