A/N: If you do not like these pairings or plot then do not read.

DISCLAIMER: All is owned by P.C and Kristen Cast.

CHAPTER 3

LAUGHING, TEXTING AND SLEEP DISORDERS.

Nikkie woke up in the middle of the morning-night, which came as a shock to her, considering up until yesterday, her sleeping patterns were different and she slept during the night, not the day.

Nikkie picked up her phone and decided to call her house, to see if her Mum hadn't left work yet. Dialling the number, she got up out of bed and walked down in the common room, sitting on the couch, huddled in the corner. Andrea answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Ma?" Nikkie spoke hesitantly, hearing the choked sob on the other end of the line.

"Nikkie? Is that you, baby girl?" Andrea asked, her voice breaking in several places, bringing tears to Nikkie's eyes.

"Yeah, Mama, it's me. How are you?"

"I'm good, sweetheart, missing you terribly. Dimmy woke up this morning and went to wake you, like routine. Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." The memory brought a bright smile to her full lips.

"Anyway, how is the House of Night? Are they all treating you good there? Do I need to smash some coconuts?" Andrea asked, incredibly serious, making Nikkie burst into laughter.

"No, Mama, it's okay. Everyone is awesome. They aren't like any creepy vampire stereotypes you think of. Like Christopher Lee's portrayal. Now that was some freaky stuff."

"Yeah, it was baby. The nurse called just to tell me that you fainted. Are you okay?"Andrea's voice was full of concern for her daughter's well-being.

"Yeah, I'm fine Mum. It was just some silly thing. Nothing to get worked up over." Nikkie placated her mother expertly.

"Mummy! Are you talking to Nikkie!? Can I speak to her!?"

Dimitri's voice suddenly filled the earpiece in Nikkie's cellphone. "HEY UGLY!"

Nikkie pulled the phone away from her now ringing ear. "Owiee! Dimitri! You almost deafened me!" She complained instantly.

"Mwahaha! I'm so evil! Like Darth Vadar. I'm coming to get you Luke!" Dimitri started his rant, having watched the old Star Wars movies, he became obsessed with Darth Vadar.

"You're a little dork. And I'm not Luke. I can't be. I have to be Leia since I'm a girl."

"Nah, you're not pretty enough to be Leia."

"What was that, you little pipsqueak?"

"You heard me, ugly." Dimitri giggled, their usual teasing made Nikkie's heart warm with the familiarity. The bonds of her family still as strong as ever.

"Alright then, Dim Sim. You're in for it when you come to visit me next month. You're so in for it!"

"Nyah Nyah!" Dimitri continued to taunt her.

"Oh, and by the way, isn't your birthday on the same day when you visit me?" Nikkie asked her little brother, deploying her secret weapon.

Dimitri fell silent.

'Direct hit.' Nikkie thought smugly.

"Yep, I guess I'll just have to take your present back and cancel the order on the cake I was going to get baked for you. Now all my plans are over. I guess I'll just see you empty-handed." Nikkie opted for a resigned tone, effectively putting her point across.

"Okay! Okay! I'll be good now! I want my cake to be chocolate though!" Dimitri whined, salvaging the cake's mix.

"I'll make sure to tell Angelo, okay? I gotta go now. I'm tired and talking to you is exhausting me, kid."

"Nikkie?" Dimitri asked, suddenly gentle and soft. Nikkie knew that was only when he was serious.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"I miss you lots." Dimitri said, his voice trembling.

"Ah, Dimmy. I'm still here. I'm only a short drive away. Remember that, if you need anything, your big sister is still here. You can call me, wake me up in the middle of the night, or day? If you have to. You can even drive down with Mum and you can come see me, or just call me and I'll be there in a flash. 'Kay?"

She heard Dimitri sniffle. "'Kay. I love you."

"I love you too, kid. Bye for now."

"Bye, big sister."

The line went dead.

The tears spilled over her face and she had a hard time wiping them all away, finally pulling herself away from the couch, she grabbed a bottle of water and ran back to her dorm room, shutting the door and she jumped back in bed, sipping at the water before putting it down on her nightstand.

Then her phone vibrated.

Nikkie checked her phone to see that she got a text message.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:44 P.M

FROM: ERIK NIGHT

MESSAGE:

Hey, how are you feeling?

Erik :)

Nikkie read the message quickly before smiling and sending back.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:44 P.M

FROM: NIKKIE

MESSAGE:

I'm feeling better, thanks xD.

Can't you sleep?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 minutes later, she heard the familiar vibration and she checked her phone again.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:46 P.M

FROM: ERIK NIGHT

MESSAGE:

I'm glad :D

Yeah, sometimes I'm just not tired.
Like I wanna sleep but I can't.
Do you get that feeling?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:48 P.M

FROM: NIKKIE

MESSAGE:

Yeah, I get it all the time.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:48 P.M

FROM: ERIK NIGHT

MESSAGE:

Really? You know what it's called?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:49 P.M

FROM: NIKKIE

MESSAGE:

Yep, it's called being an energetic teenager.

:'D

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:53 P.M

FROM: ERIK NIGHT

MESSAGE:

Ha-ha, so funny, I think my sides have split.

-.- that joke was so not funny.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:56 P.M

FROM: NIKKIE

MESSAGE:

It was a little funny :P

Anyways, I'm starting to get drowsy.
I'll let you go.

Sleep well xx

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Before she could stop herself, Nikkie pressed 'send' and quickly put her phone away, blushing from her obvious flirtation. What if he didn't like her that way? She would be a total and utter moron.

A real mor-

Vvvt! Vvvt!

The moment of truth.

The leap of faith.

Nikkie hesitantly looked at the new message on her screen, reading it in fear.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENT: 3:59

FROM: ERIK NIGHT

MESSAGE:

Okay, it was a little.

Is talking to me THAT boring?
I'm kidding.

Same to you, Miss Thermopoulos

;) xox

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Holy crap.

He flirted back.

He flirted with her.

Erik didn't think she was a moron at all, he liked her in a more intimate way and he gave her a winky emoji. Nothing said 'flirty' like a winky face with 'xox' beside it.

Nothing.

Hey everyone. I know this one was more of a romantic and fluff chapter, but there will be more action and true HON moments. I just wanted the relationship between Nikkie and Erik to deepen a little more before I continued.

Now, you all know how much I love your support, so please do not hesitate to review, any review apart from extreme flames are accepted.

That sounded like a commercial ^

Anyway, follow and favourite and review!

RIKOREN xD