Running Wild in the Night

Nikki's POV

I tossed my foils into the cabinet that we kept them in; grandfather doing the same. Jimmy, Brian, and everyone else followed us as we walked into the kitchen. My grandmother shook her head, watching the sweat roll down our necks. "You two smell horrible," she said, bluntly, as she continued to cut the meat into pieces.

"Oh that's nice," I joked, looking at her.

My grandfather nodded as he cracked his shoulders, "C'mon Julia, we were fencing! Of course we smell."

"But you two smell extremely bad."

Grandfather looked at me then himself, sniffing his arm; a reproachful look soon adorned his face. I did the same and frowned. "Ew, I smell like shit," I yelled, walking to the stairs.

I could hear my cousin laughing as I walked up the stairs. "Shut up, Jimmy" I yelled from my room, "I was fencing!"

He just laughed even harder.

My shower was a nice; the hot water hitting my tired skin was soothing. I currently stood in front of my mirror, completely dressed, and brushing my hair. I had chosen to wear a pair of shorts and a black tank-top. Velkan walked in and jumped onto my bed, curling up in a little ball. I smiled at the fact that he was damn near full grown and was getting close to being that heavy as well. God, it was like last month when he was a little poof ball and now he looks like a rottweiller.......a big rottweiller.

As soon as I walked down stairs, the first thing that happened was Brian immediately came up behind me and hugged me. He buried his face in my hair and muttered, "I missed you."

A smile crept onto my lips, "I missed you too."

And I'm not lying. I missed Brian so fucking much so its good to finally be able to see him.

"So how have you been doing," Val asked as we sat in the family room.

"Better, I've been fencing and stuff so much better," I answered, rubbing Velkan's ears.

Brian sat behind me, his arms around my waist, and keeping me close to him. It was like he was scared to let go of me. He had me in a tight embrace but I was fine with it; its not like he's some possessive bastard.

Oh what I let him do to me.

"Fencing? Wow, Nikki, I didn't know you fenced," Matt said, trying to imagine me fencing.

I smirked as I laid my head against his chest, amused with Matt's expressions. My gaze shifted as the grandfather clock rang, echoing throughout the house, to the grand piano. I don't know why but it just was something amusing to stare at.

"You play?"

My eyes blinked, bringing me back to reality, and I looked at everyone who was staring at me. "Play what," I asked, a bit confused.

"The piano, silly," Zacky said, pointing to it.

"I did, I haven't played in so long."

"And we've been telling you that you should try," my grandfather said, walking in.

He, too, had taken a shower and changed. His gaze was on me, giving me the same look I give people. And we're not even blood-related. I looked back at him, giving him the same look. Jimmy laughed as he said, "Dude, you guys are mirroring each other."

We both turned to look at him at the same time, smirks on both our faces. I laughed as Jimmy flinched. "Dude, that was creepy," Johnny said.

Grandfather and I just shrugged. He looked at me and said, "Please? It would make your grandmother happy."

"Fine," was all that I muttered as I got up.

Brian's POV

I watched as Cody took a seat in the spare couch. Nikki pulled the bench from under the piano and placed it in a place that was comfortable for her.

She sat on it and stared at the ivory keys for a bit before she actually started playing. It was a shock to see what sort of talent she really had. I knew she was an amazing artist, hell, I've seen several of Nikki's works, but this was a shock. Nikki would just stare blankly at the keys as her fingers did all the work, amazing all of us.

A smile crept onto her perfect lips as she neared the end of the song; apparently, it was a favorite part of the song. The final cord came and Cody simply asked, "Mozart?"

Nikki turned around and sat cross-legged; a smile on her face. "Yup."

"The third movement of Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331?"

She nodded, "Yup."

Damn, that was precise

"What's it called again," Cody asked, trying to think of the answer.

"Alla Turca," Julia said, walking in with a tray of appetizers.

Nikki nodded as she took her seat next to me, stealing a snack on the way. I smiled as I took a bite, making her frown a bit. "Hey, fucktart, that was mine!"

"Too bad," I muttered, smiling.

She just shook her head, eating the rest. Julia and Cody looked at us, observing us. "I think she looks happy, Julia," Cody said.

Julia nodded, smiling, "I don't think I've seen her smile this much."

Nikki frowned as her face turned red. "Stop talking about me! I'm in the damn room!"

The McCades just laughed.