Bay Grove, Texas

It was kind of an awkward silence when they sat down at the table. No one was saying anything at first. Sophie had been raised to let her guests be first when they ate, but Nori had insisted that they start. And so they did. Sophie took first and her mother was impressed by Nori's manners. I guess he really does score some brownie points there... She thought to herself. When they'd lived with her father in Denmark, she could remember that he had always been very strict on manners. He was a very kind man, but wanted his child to behave and respect other people since he could already see where the youth was going, in regards to manners.

No grace was said and no words before they started to eat. The Stark family had never been very religious. Catherine quietly sipped her water and smiled at Nori when he thanked her for the food. "You're very welcome sweetie." The woman said and nodded. "You know, I was very curious to see if your manners would be better than the children in this country." Catherine shrugged. "Well.. Some of them. But you're very well behaved." And she didn't think it was just something he wanted her to believe, like some kids did these days. They acted all nice and reasonable when around adults, but as soon as they were left alone or with their friends they dropped that illusion.

A few moments passed in silence after that. Sophie had been focusing on her plate, being a little bit shy. She brushed her hair out of her face and straightened her back, chewing her food slowly. Her mother was a wonderful cook, but she didn't feel very hungry despite that. Catherine was the one to break the silence again this time. "Do you remember when your father said grace?" She asked with a smile. "Dear Lord, do you call that a steak?" The woman laughed softly at the memory and shook her head.

Sophie on the other hand merely smiled briefly and shook her head as well, brown curls flowing around her face. "Yes... I remember." She let out, though the memory brought sadness with it. It was not yet so long ago that it was easy to think about the fact that he was dead now. She always felt sad and angry, but did her best to hide it at the moment. Sophie rolled up her sleaves to her elbows, revealing the tattoo on her left arm. She had asked her mother to if she could get it at the time, to have something she could remember her father by. Aside from the dogtags around her neck. "Would you like something else than water, Nori?" Sophie quietly asked their guest, carefully looking up at him.

Nori brought himself out of his deep line of thoughts when Catherine said, "You know, I was very curious to see if your manners would be better than the children in this country... Well.. Some of them. But you're very well behaved."He smiled upon hearing what the older woman said. "My mum would love to hear that." Nori said, eyeing Catherine. "Her and my dad both hold manners very high. My dad is probably a bit worse about it, though. He's from Japan whereas my mum is from England." Realizing that perhaps Catherine didn't know why he would make a point of saying that his father was from Japan, Nori explained. "In Japan, manners are very important. So, my dad has always made sure that I knew what was expected of me." He fell silent after that, and..as surprised that no one was saying anything else. Catherine spoke up again, however, breaking the silence. This time, she was clearly speaking with Sophie who was focusing on her plate.

He said nothing when the woman had mentioned Sophie's father. If he recalled correctly, the file that he'd been given several months before his departure date from England had mentioned that her father was deceased. It hadn't said what had happened and Nori wasn't about to ask. It was none of his business. As Nori watched Sophie, her reaction did not surprise him. He reacted similarly anytime someone mentioned Hannah around him. He pulled his gaze from Sophie, focusing on his plate. He was willing to bet that it was fairly recent or..recent enough that it still bothered the young woman across the table from him. There was so many things that he could have said, but..instead he held his mouth. They didn't really know each other, after all. It would have been odd for him to say anything.

When Sophie asked him if he wanted anything else to drink, Nori looked up, meeting Sophie's eyes. He smiled at her. "No, but thank you. I actually on drink water or tea. For the most part." he said, smiling. It didn't take too long before Nori had finished eating. He remained sitting at the table, slowly drinking some of his water. He would wait until the Starks were both finished before he would stand. Sitting here now, with nothing to do other than listen to the two women, Nori realized just how tired he was. He was doing quite well not allowing those around him to see just how tired he was. The time seemed to drag on for some time but he truly didn't mind. He rather enjoyed being around both women.

She smiled and nodded, thinking that when someone praised and said something good about her own child, she would always be happy. The boy went on to explain that his parents held that very high, which she could only agree to. Catherine and her deceased husband had done their best to raise Sophie and teach her proper manners. That all explained why he was so good at English. "Well, manners you don't have to worry about. You're one of the most polite and well behaved young men I've talked to in a long time." Catherine patted him on the shoulder gently and smiled warmly. It was a good thing that he had been raised like that. Of course, she didn't know if his parents were generally strict or if they were nice people or whatever. She did agree with teaching your children to behave though. Apparently, people forgot to teach kids nowadays exactly that.

Quietly, she looked over at her daughter and noticed her running her hand over the tattoo. She snapped out of it when she felt her mother's gaze on her though, and smiled. Catherine did the same and gave Sophie a wink, as if to say that it was okay. She knew it was hard for her and having Nori there was confusing. It would all be fine at some point though, once they got to know each other properly.

"Oh... Okay." Sophie nodded and took the last bite of her food, setting her knife and fork down on her plate. She couldn't eat anymore. "Tea is good too. We might have some later, I think." At least they did from time to time. Her and her mother would sit and watch a movie or something with a cup of tea and a piece of cake, or some kind of treat. "If you want of course. I suppose you're tired after a long day?" Nori hadn't shown any sign of being tired, but Sophie couldn't imagine anything else. I would be absolutely dead if it was me...

Catherine was done eating as well and set her knife and fork down too, looking from her daughter to Nori. "Are you all settled in? Or is there anything else you'd like to know, or something we can get for you?" She offered. "I trust Sophie has shown you our house and made you feel at home?" He had already been told to let them know if there was anything at all he needed.

Nori smiled at Sophie when she spoke of having tea later..unless he was tired. He was struggling as it was. "As much as I'd love to stay up, I'm afraid that I'm already beginning to feel the differences in time zones. England is around six hours ahead of Texas. I'm not sure if I'd be much fun right now..or later." he said, smiling. When Catherine asked if he was settled in and the like, Nori turned his gaze to the woman, offering her a smile. "I am and I'm fine, but thank you." He couldn't think of anything that he really needed to know..oh wait, maybe there was one thing. "Actually, I was wondering if there was a certain time that we needed to be up?" he asked. He waited for her reply before answering Catherine's other questions. "Oh yes. She has been very kind and helpful." he was smiling again. Nori fell silent for a moment. He offered to take their plates to the sink even though he doubted that Catherine would let him. Especially after he'd admitted that he was quite tired. In the end, Nori had ended up telling the two women that he was probably going to go ahead and go to bed. He didn't think that he'd be able to stay up much longer. He bid Sophie and her mother goodnight.

He excused himself from the kitchen and slowly made his way up the stairs and to his room. He gently shut the door and change into a pair of Batman pajama pants and a black band shirt. He then took his hair down, running his fingers through the dark strands. He then proceeded to pull down the covers on his bed and sat down. He quickly sent a text to his mum and dad even though he was certain that they were both already in bed. He then plugged his phone in to charge. He reached over and turned off the light and laid down in the bed. It didn't take Nori long to fall asleep.

As he slept, Nori dreamed of Hannah and the life that they would of had, had she lived. It tore him up inside. He awoke with a start, around five in the morning. He remained laying for a moment, simply staring into the darkness. He was trying to calm himself and not succeeding. He finally gave up, moving into a sitting position. He pick up his phone, looking to see what time it was. He was actually surprised that he'd slept so long. Hopefully he'd get used to the time differences fairly quickly. Nori decided that five was too early to get up so he merely surfed the internet on his phone for an hour and a half. Deciding that it would probably be all right if he got up and got a shower, Nori stood from his bed and turned on his bedroom light. He then gather his things that he would need and quietly made his way to the bathroom. He gently knocked, making sure that there was no one in the room already before entering. He locked the door and turned the light on.

Nori sat his things out and then proceeded to remove his contacts from his eyes. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust. He quickly got in the shower and it didn't take him very long before he was finished. He quickly dried off and brushed his hair, deciding to let it air dry. He normally didn't do this seeing as how his hair liked to be slightly wavy. Nori was usually very anal about the way his hair looked. It had to be a certain way or it would bother him greatly. He put his pajamas back on and then his glasses. He quickly gathered his things and quietly left the bathroom and went back to his room. It seemed that everyone was still in bed. He entered his room and put his things back up. He picked up his laptop and made his way back to his bed and sat down. It wouldn't take his hair very long to dry. A good thing. He decided that he would remain in his room until everyone else was awake.

"Oh, alright." Sophie nodded and leaned back in her seat. She'd figured that Nori would be tired. It wouldn't be good for anyone if Nori was tired and would fall asleep in the chair, after forcing himself to stay up and watch tv and drink tea. After all, he was their guest and she wanted him to get a good first impression. She watched as he spoke to her mother, politely declining her invitation. He wasn't to blame though. Flying for a long time and then dealing with the time difference was probably hard. At least he would probably get a good nights sleep.

Catherine looked at Nori as well as he spoke, nodding. "Alright." She nodded and could understand what he might feel. His journey would probably have him exhausted by now. "Hmm? Oh, no not really." The woman said. The Starks had no schedule for the next day, so if the two of them wanted to sleep in, they could. Sophie rarely did for very long though, unless she had been out the night before. "I'll just make some breakfast for you when you get up." Catherine smiled and sipped her water. She was glad to hear that Sophie had been nice and helped him get settled in, but had expected no less either. Nori's offer to help clear the table was declined. She insisted that she did that and he should go get some sleep if he wanted that. And so Nori did. They said goodnight and began clearing the table, spending the last of the night drinking a cup of tea and watching tv, talking about how it was having Nori there now.



She faintly heard someone moving about outside her room, but Sophie was half asleep. It didn't bother her much anyway since she usually woke up around this time. Even on weekends, unless she greatly needed to sleep. When she finally couldn't sleep anymore, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a few moments. Sophie put a t-shirt on that was many sizes to big and went to the middle of her thighs. Then she quietly opened her door and headed out, contemplating going downstairs for something to eat. It was seemingly a hard decision as it took a few moments. Eventually Sophie settled on a piece of toast, but brought it upstairs again and sat down in front of the TV where they had watched Les Misérables last night. She turned it on and turned the volume down, so she didn't wake up Nori again and pulled her legs up to her chest. This was one of the reasons why she liked waking up early.

Nori suddenly realized that he'd lost track of time. He'd been in his room for at least an hour. At some point he'd even thought that he'd heard someone moving around but he could of been just hearing things. The young man gently sat his computer onto his bed. He merely sat there for a moment, trying to decide if he wanted to leave his room yet. As he sat there, debating with himself, Nori almost wished that he was back home. He'd not have to be worrying about whether or not to leave his room. Perhaps it was because this was a new place, or..perhaps it was because he was still just feeling a slight bit shy around the women. Finally deciding, Nori rose from his bed. He gently picked up his laptop and placed it back on the small desk. He then turned back to his bed and slowly made it up. Nori made sure that it was done correctly, moving an edge slightly or fluffing a pillow. When he was at last satisfied with what he'd done, Nori silently exited his room.

He could hear the soft sounds from the tv coming from the room Sophie and he had watched a movie in. He quietly made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. When he entered, he hesitated only for a moment. He made his way over to the kitchen cabinets and silently searched for something to eat. He finally found a box of cereal and then fished out the items he'd need to fix himself a bowl. He put everything up that he'd gotten out and then picked up his bowl and sat down at the table. He slowly ate, taking his time. He was surprised that he'd gone so long without eating, but..in the long run perhaps it was for the best. It would help him to get used to the new time zone. When he was finished eating, Nori cleaned up after himself and then slowly made his way back up the stairs. He decided to join whoever was watching tv. He silently entered and noted that it was Sophie. He slowly made his way to the couch. He hesitated for a moment. "Mind if I join you?" he asked softly, eyeing the young woman. He waited for her to answer and then sat down on the opposite end of the couch. He didn't want her to feel as if he was sitting too close to her or something like that. He turned his gaze to the tv, watching whatever if was that Sophie had chosen to watch. He was silent, trying not to bother the female.

As she sat and ate her cereal, Sophie switched between channels to try and find something she actually wanted to watch. At last she found a channel that was currently showing one of her favorite cartoons. Invader Zim. It wasn't very popular anymore and it was a shame that it had been discontinued. Faintly, she heard someone moving about behind her but figured that it was probably just Nori. Sophie didn't even notice that he went downstairs, but was focused on satisfying her own hunger at the moment. She laughed softly to herself as she watched the tv, having always loved that cartoon.

After a while, Nori was suddenly standing next to her. Fortunately, she had heard him come up the stairs this time. Otherwise he would have scared her quite a bit. Sophie was merely sitting in a t-shirt that was several sizes too big, but no pants. So she grabbed the edges and pulled it a little further down her thighs, just so it wouldn't be awkward. Then she looked at Nori and offered him a brief smile. "Sure, if you like Invader Zim." She said and shrugged. It was a good thing that she had ate something before Nori sat down next to her. Sophie wasn't always a nice person when she was hungry. That's putting it mildly. "So, did you sleep well?" She knew for a fact that her mother was going to ask him the same thing when she got up. I wonder if he would want to do something today, or if he just wants to sit around. Sophie thought to herself. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do herself, but sitting around all day when there weren't much time until they started school, seemed like a waste.

The Stark girl reached over and sat her bowl down on the table in front of her, careful not to let the t-shirt slip. "I remember the times I flew to Denmark." She said and shrugged. She knew that flying for so long could mess with your sleep cycle. "It can really mess you up when you fly for so many hours." Sophie wasn't sure if he had slept well or if he hadn't slept at all. Or maybe he's just an insomniac, what do I know...

A tired smile graced Nori's face. "I slept fairly well and much longer than I'd been expecting to. I'll probably end up crashing at some point." he said, softly laughing. His eyes were focused on the television. He'd of course noted what the girl near him was wearing and thought that perhaps it would be best if he kept his eyes off of her. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Sophie had been watching Invader Zim, some sort of cartoon..one that Nori couldn't recall ever having seen before. The character that stood out the most to him was the little robot that always seemed to be dressed up as a green dog. He remained silent for some time..merely watching the show. Nori wasn't sure how long had passed but it was long enough for his cell phone to start ringing. Luckily, he'd had the ringer turned down on one of the lower settings or he was sure that he would of bothered Sophie. Something that he really didn't want to do. He wanted her to like him and why..he wasn't sure. She was the first person that he'd really talked to since the accident.

Nori looked down to see who was calling him. Great..Alec. The boy's name was showing on his phone's screen, begging to be answered. Nori made no move to answer the call but eyed the name until it had stopped ringing. He just couldn't bring himself to answer the call. He had been very close to Alec once and Nori was sure that the young man was most likely mad with him. He'd made no effort to contact any of his friends since the funeral. He'd not had the heart to. He felt that perhaps it was best if he secluded himself from the world. For short moments..it did help him to feel better but in the long run, even if he'd not realized it yet, it wasn't helping him.

His phone lit up once again, showing that Alec had left a voicemail. Nori doubted that he'd listen to it. Delete it like he had all the rest. He said nothing to Sophie, unsure of what to say exactly. He wasn't sure if she'd seen who had called and if she did would she realize that he didn't want to talk to the man? He doubted that she would know why, though. Nori knew that since the accident had been so recent, it wasn't in his file. Therefor, the Starks would only know about it if Mrs. Lewis had said something to one of them. He was fairly certain that at some point one of them would ask. It was only a matter of time. Nori wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about the woman that he'd loved so deeply.

"Jetlag?" Sophie asked and turned her head to look at him. If he wasn't, she'd be surprised. Nori had been flying for many hours and was even kind enough to stay up and eat dinner with them, talking for a bit. It was understandable that he'd wanted to go to bed last night. Although she fixed her eyes on the tv again after asking him, Sophie couldn't help but glance at Nori occasionally. She did it discretely though, so he wouldn't notice. He really was well raised and didn't sneak a peek or anything. The boys around here would have looked at her, because she wasn't wearing pants. Silently giving him credit for not staring at her, Sophie tilted her head as she watched her favorite cartoon and laughed. "If you want to watch something else then that's fine." She shrugged and looked at Nori, letting her head rest again the back of the couch.

The second after she had finished her sentence though, Nori's phone rang. He didn't answer it though and didn't look like he was going to. It's not because he's afraid it'll be rude, is it? Sophie thought to herself as she fixed her eyes on the tv screen again. She didn't want to keep staring at him when his phone rang. He probably had his reason for not answering the call. It could also just be because he didn't want to talk to the person. Whatever, it's none of my business. The girl reminded herself.

Her dear mother hadn't told her anything about Nori. Mrs. Lewis had pulled Catherine aside when she was here, and informed her of what had happened to Nori. If Sophie had known that, she would be better able to understand why he was a little awkward around her. "You don't have to worry about being rude by answering that..." She told him and ran her fingers through her hair. "Boys in America are rude all the time, so we're used to it." In an attempt to lighten the mood, Sophie gave Nori a wink and a brief smile.

When Sophie spoke, telling Nori that he didn't need to worry about being rude and answering his phone, he laughed and smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." He paused for a moment, turning his eyes back to the television. "Anyway, we can be quite rude too. I try to be nice. I really don't see a point in being rude. It just brings everyone down." He fell silent for a moment. Thinking about it now, Nori couldn't remember a time when he had been rude. For as long as he could remember, he was always a laid back sort of person. He had always loved being kind to everyone around him. When he was a child, he'd found that he rather liked making people happy. He'd seen how those around him would act when someone was unkind and he'd decided that he didn't want to be the kind of person that would bring someone else down. He could recall how he'd met Hannah. It was before he'd joined the competitive choir group. He'd seen her around quite often but had never talked to her. They'd had..different groups of friends. One of the school bullies had been picking on her terribly and Nori had stepped in. Even now, he was unsure what had caused him to approach. From that moment on, they'd always been together.

Before his thoughts could go down a darker path, Nori softly spoke. "Have you decided what you're going to be majoring in?" As of late he'd been thinking about possibly changing his major. It would be quite easy to do. He just needed to make sure that it was something that he wanted to do. When Nori had enrolled in the Texan college, he'd still been grieving for Hannah. During the plane ride, he'd started entertaining the thought of majoring in something else. Something that he held more passion for. He would try to do some more research about it when he was in his room later on in the day.

Nori found that he was rather curious about Sophie. He wanted to ask her more about herself but was unsure of where to start. Instead, he decided to hold off on such questions. He was surprised to notice that he was not fidgeting as he'd been doing the day before. Could he already be becoming comfortable with Sophie? It was a strange feeling for him. He'd not been around anyone his own age since Hannah's death and now..here he was sitting with a pretty young woman. Nori was actually..happy that he was able to sit there with the young woman. He hoped that with time, they could become friends.

"Well, you've been nothing but polite since you got here." Sophie said and smirked to herself as she watcher her favorite show. There was happiness and laughter connected with it. She had watched it with her father quite a lot, so it reminded her of him, but also of the fact that he wasn't there anymore. Quickly, those thoughts were pushed away so as not to reveal to Nori what she was thinking about. If he did know anything about it anyway. Again, her hand tucked at the edge of her shirt to pull it further down over her thighs. Despite the fact that she was looking at the TV, she was still listening to him as he spoke. Sophie shrugged and thought for a moment. "I guess you're right. I usually manage to stop before I get rude or angry." She said. Make no mistake though. This girl would speak her mind if she was displeased with something. It took a lot to make Sophie truly angry, but if you did...
Her temper was something to respect. "If someone is annoying me, I usually just walk away." Sophie sighed That was true. Instead of dealing with it then and there, she'd rather just walk away and be by herself until she calms down.


A moment of silence came over them as they were probably both thinking about the same thing. What to ask the other person. Sophie would bet that Nori was, like her, thinking about a topic to chose. Something of interest to the other person. Nori beat her to it though, as he posed a question she'd recently received from her mother a lot as well. "Well... I think I'm going for Language Studies." She let out, though she wasn't totally sure. It was what she was good at though. Languages. Originally, Sophie had wanted to study music, but changed it last minute. She was okay with playing at home and teaching herself. There something about sitting in school and learning about music that felt wrong to her. She'd rather figure it out by herself, whether it be musical theory or history. "I speak two languages already, so I figured that I might as well continue."


Suddenly, the Stark girl realised that she had told Nori a bit about herself. It might have been unknowingly, but it hadn't felt wrong or strange. He now knew what she did when she was mad, and what she wanted to major in. He already knew that she spoke two languages, as he had heard it before. Danish was a strange language though and near impossible to learn. Sophie was just so lucky that she had lived there, which made it a lot more easier.

Nori listened as Sophie told him what she was thinking about majoring in. He could very well see Sophie doing Language Studies. It just seemed like something that she would be quite good at. Nori spoke softly, "That would be an interesting choice. I don't think that is something that I'd ever be good at. I'd thought about pursuing English/Writing. My parents though want me to do something that has to do with music." He paused for a moment. He could remember the last conversation that he'd had with his mother and father.

The two adults had come to arguing loudly with Nori about his recent choices. They coudln't understand why he was still mourning over Hannah..why he was still being persistent about going to the States nor why he wouldn't listen to them when it came to what he would be majoring in. By the end of that night, Nori had gone to being locked in his room, trying to get away from his parents. Why couldn't they understand that he was trying to do what he wanted to do? Nori Had tried so hard not to get angry with his parents but it had been hard. Laying on his bed, Nori had merely starred up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the voices of the older adults. It had been hard to not let their anger get to him. He had always tried to make his parents happy and yet they'd acted as if he was completely letting them down. Nori wasn't sure why they couldn't understand that the things that they wanted from him were not things that he wanted for himself.

Nori tried to push the thoughts from his mind. It would do him no good agonizing over the things that had been said between his parents and him. When he'd spoken to his mother the day before, she'd made sure to mention switching his major. He was surprised that he'd not gotten as angry with her as he probably should have. He hoped that eventually his parents would just want him to be happy.

He eyed Sophie from the corner of his eye. He was glad that they seemed to be getting along better than the day before. He even felt more comfortable around her. He was curious as to if Sophie had any friends or anyone that she preferred to spend her time with. Actually, he wanted to ask her so many things but was afraid that she would see it as him being nosy. He doubted that when school began that she'd want much to do with him. Not that she probably wanted much to do with him now. "My parents actually have been badgering me to join the choir group at the college when we start. I'm not really sure if I want to, though." he said, turning his gaze back to the television. He wasn't sure why he'd admitted it to Sophie but he had. He was surprised that he was being so open with her. She was the first person he'd opened up to since Hannah's death and honestly he was rather glad.

"I suppose we all have to do what we're good at." But that was a lie. Not all people did that. With Sophie, it had always been what she would do. It was logical for her to study something that she was good at. For her, it wasn't so hard to figure out what to major in, while some other people were still totally confused. When Nori informed her want he wanted to study, she tilted her head a little bit. "Well... What do you want to do? Which of the two do you like the best?" She could see him do both, although she didn't know much about him. Nori had told them that he could play the violin, but she had no idea if he was a good writer at all. Playing the violin wasn't exactly easy, so she guessed that he had either talent or practiced a lot.

For a while it seemed like Nori was deep in thought. He didn't say anything or do anything, but had that certain look in his eyes. Compared to the day before, it wasn't so awkward. He was more talkative and a little more open. Didn't fidget with his sleeves near as much, and even cracked a smile now and then. Added to that, Nori really looked like he wanted to ask her something. Sophie didn't mind that. If he wanted to know something, all he had to do was ask. If she didn't want to answer it, she would just tell him that and not feel offended.

The next thing Nori said was quite random and unexpected, but interesting. She hadn't heard him sing, but might get a chance to if he joined the choir group at school. What was interesting though was whether or not he wanted to join at all. "Singing is healthy!" Sophie said and shrugged, suddenly extending her hand and patted Nori on his knee. "If you feel like singing, you should join. Then maybe I'd get to hear it some day, hmm?" She offered him a smile. Whatever the reason was for him not to join, she didn't know. And maybe it wasn't any of her business, but she was still curious. Nori did seem to become a little more reserved when they talked about music.

Sitting there, near Sophie, Nori took in everything that the woman said. When Sophie suddenly touched him, Nori froze but only for a second or two. He'd not been expecting the young woman to do such an action. After all, they'd only met the day before. As she continued talking, Nori decided that perhaps he'd not really minded as much as he'd first thought. It was more of the shock that she'd done it more than anything. Actually, now thinking about it, Nori couldn't say that he minded Sophie invading his personal space but it was strange for him. For such a long time he'd refused to allow anyone save for his parents get that close to him and here he was allowing a girl that he'd just met do it. He couldn't understand it.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he realized that Sophie had said something about hearing him sing someday. For some reason, it brought a small to his face. "Well, I've been doing choir since I was.." Nori paused for a slight moment, thinking. How long had it been since he'd started singing? "At least five or six, I think. When I got into middle school I joined the competitive choir group. I did that until about eight months ago." He fell silent for a moment, allowing what he'd just told Sophie to sink in. "We won several competitions like regional and the year before we won Nationals. I think that I've still got a couple videos of some of our performances. If you ever wanted to see them. You know, in case I decide motto take choir." Nori went quiet once again, concentrating on the television again. He was quite surprised that he was being so open with Sophie. It was an odd feeling for him. He was glad for it, though. Sitting there, on the couch with Sophie and talking openly with her was making him feel..better. Since Hannah's death he'd been in a terrible funk. None of his friends had understood. They'd tried talking with him but even just seeing them had made Nori upset. It had gotten to the point that he'd stopped talking to any of his old friends. When his parents had found out they'd tried to get to the bottom of his problems. They of course knew that Hannah had died but they tried to make their son understand that he shouldn't close himself off to everyone around him. Nori understood that but saw nothing good out of staying close to those he'd once been close to.

Nori knew that he couldn't stay upset for forever. Yet, letting Hannah go was a hard thing. He'd given himself completely to her and he honestly wasn't sure if he could do that ever again. Perhaps it was better not to think about such things. At that moment, Nori decided to try and be a bit more positive. There was a reason that he had been chosen to be able to come to the States and he needed to make sure that he was having fun and doing the best that he could do. "Are you thinking about joining any clubs or anything..or whatever you call them over here?" he asked, eyeing the woman next to him. Nori was curious as to what sort of things interested Sophie. He hoped that by asking her the question he'd just asked, he'd learn a bit more about her.

The way he froze was impossible not to notice. Sophie reminded herself not to do that again. What was it with him? Did he have a problem with physical contact or something? That's not my problem, I'll just not do that again. She told herself, though it was annoying her a little. She had just tried to be friendly. Then again, when Sophie thought about it, she wouldn't want someone to do that to her when she had just met them. She just hadn't figured that Nori was like that. Sure, he was shy and all that, but who wouldn't be in his situation? The urge to apologize to him suddenly presented herself, but she resisted. Best not to mention it anyway.

As he told her about how long he had been singing for, she couldn't help but look surprised. That was a long time, so she figured that Nori was pretty good now. Sophie herself couldn't sing. "Impressive." She let out and nodded. However, Nori didn't say why he had stopped and so she thought that maybe it was something she should avoid commenting. She was just so curious. Apparently, he had won several competitions, Nationals even. Sophie always liked watching and listening to people that were good at what they did, so naturally this impressed her. "Sure, I'd like to see them some day." She said, though a part of her wondered if Nori would ever show her.
Despite the fact that he was talking to her and seemed like he was fine with it, and enjoyed it, something in the back of her head registered that some part of Nori, felt otherwise. It seemed like there was something in him that was a little reluctant, though it was masked with shyness and awkwardness. That could just be you over analyzing, you know? Sophie told herself and shrugged, glancing over at him.

A few moments went by in silence as the two of them watched the TV. Sophie was again searching for something to say, but she had never been really good at talking to people. Coming up with topics of interest was hard for her, unless they were painfully obvious. Nori's question came a bit sudden. She tilted her head and looked at him. "What sort of clubs?" She asked, just to be sure of what he meant. Sophie had once been in a reading club, though not anymore. She herself had become a bit of an introvert, though probably not as much as Nori. Recently, she had visited a gaming club as well a few times. The people there hadn't really been her cup of tea though, so she was unsure of whether she wanted to continue.

He smiled at the young woman next to him. "I think I still have the list that I printed out. Give me a second and I'll get it for you. Probably easier than me trying to remember everything. I'll be right back." he said. Nori then proceeded to get up from the couch and slowly exited the room. He made his way to his bedroom which took him no time at all. Now all that he had to do was remember where he'd packed all of his school things. He opened up the closet and began digging in one of the larger bags. As he was searching for the paper, Nori suddenly pulled out a small photo of Hannah and him. He eyed it for a second, the emotions that he'd been trying so hard to keep bottled up suddenly surfacing. He could have sworn that he'd not packed any of their old pictures. His mother must have snuck it in. He'd caught her several times trying to put things into his bags but he was surprised that she would have put the picture. It had been taken just before Hannah had died. They had been at a local restaurant with their closest friends, just eating and hanging out. It had been a really good night.

Nori placed the photo back into the bag and pulled out one of his notebooks. He was surprised that he hadn't broken down crying or anything like that when he'd seen the photo. He tried to push the thought from his mind, concentrating on what he was doing. Opening the notebook, Nori found the two sheets of paper that he'd printed out. He closed the closet and slowly made his way back to where he'd left Sophie. "Sorry," he said as he sat back down on the couch. "I had to hunt it down." Nori offered the papers to Sophie, deciding that it would be easier if she was to look at all of the different clubs and things that they could join.

On the papers, the Bay Grove Community College name was printed and underneath that was a few different lists.








Nori had already decided on which clubs he was going to be joining..all except choir. He just couldn't decide if that was what he really wanted to do. "I red that the clubs all do signups for the first week or so when classes start. The only one I haven't been able to decide on is choir..but you already knew that." He was smiling again at Sophie. He couldn't help but wonder what sort of clubs..if any she was going to want to join. Nori didn't mind being in large groups. At one time he'd even enjoyed it. He wasn't quite sure how he would react to being around so many people. He thought that perhaps if he did join more than one club that it would help him to get over all of the pain and sadness that he had been keeping bottled up.

He watched Sophie for a moment, allowing her to look over the list he'd handed over to her. Nori was silent, not wishing to bother the girl next to him. As he sat there with her, he couldn't help but wonder what had driven Sophie's mother to open up her home to a complete stranger. He couldn't see his parents ever doing something like that, but not everyone was that way. He tore his gaze from Sophie, looking down at his phone. Seemed that Alec had sent him a message, trying to get Nori to talk with him. He opened up the text messages on his phone and quickly sent a message back to the other man. He told Alec that he would talk to him when he was good and ready and that he didn't need him badgering him all of the time. Nori knew that his friend would still try calling and would most likely still try messaging him. He wanted so badly to speak with him, but Nori didn't feel like he could without breaking down.

Before she knew it, Nori had gotten up and left the room. Apparently he had a list of the clubs you could join somewhere. That wasn't such a bad idea since Sophie wasn't part of anything right now, and maybe that'd give her something to do. Perhaps Nori would even consider joining something as well. Sophie wasn't sure how outgoing he was. Would he join a club where he didn't know anybody, or would he prefer joining something where she was there as well. As something held Nori up in his room, Sophie saw her chance of going to her room and put on some pants as well. She figured that since Nori had been a little shy so far, that might help a bit. Sitting next to her while she was in a t-shirt and her underwear probably didn't make it easier for him. Though what do I know... He might like extremely tall girls with blonde hair and a lot of make-up.' The Stark girl thought to herself.

Sophie walked past his room, pulling the shirt down a little. When she reached her own room, she quickly found a pair of jeans and put them on along with a white t-shirt and red/blue plaid shirt. Her hands brushed through her hair as she returned to the room she'd come from and she sat down on the couch. Not long did she sit there alone before Nori came back and showed her the list he'd talked about.

As Nori spoke, she nodded and read the list he'd given her. "Mhmm..." She drew out and thought about what she might want to join, and if he had already decided. "I think the History one sounds good. But I'm a big history geek so maybe that's just me..." Sophie offered him a brief smile and then kept reading. "The music thing is cool too, but I can't sing or play very good." And that saddened her a little. She would love to be able to play the guitar better than she did and maybe even sing. If she learned how to sing though, Sophie wanted to sing rock and not soft pop melodies. "What about you, have you decided on any of them?"

As he listened to her, Nori noted that she'd had enough time to go and change clothes. He was glad of this. She had been making him quite nervous. He couldn't recall the last time that he'd been sitting that close with a woman who had been dressed similar to what Sophie had been wearing only a few minutes before. Suddenly, Sophie was speaking. Nori turned his attention to her, his dark eyes looking at her. It was when she mentioned that she couldn't sing or play very well that he spoke. "Nonsense. Everyone can sing. Each of us just have different abilities." He paused for a short moment before smiling at the woman next to him. "And, I bet you can play fine." When she asked if he'd decided on any of the clubs, Nori remained silent for a long moment. At last, he spoke. "I was thinking about joining the Student News. It's something I did in high school. It's actually pretty fun. It's quite a bit of work, though. I might try out for the choir. The one that I was in back home, we got to do a bit of everything. So..rock, pop, electronic, and a bunch of other genres. I think it made it more interesting. If I do try out, I'm going to have to practice since I've not been in so long. If you want, you're welcome to join me. I could help you with your singing..if you really think that you're that bad."

Nori fell silent, unsure if he should have offered to help Sophie with her singing. Would she even want his help? He turned his gaze from her and back to the television. He wondered how bad his singing had gotten over the past few months. He really shouldn't have stopped singing all together. Even if it was because of the grief that he'd been feeling with Hannah's death. On the plane flight to Texas, Nori had been so very glad to get away from his parents. He knew that they were just trying to help him, but them pushing him to do something that he wasn't ready for was not something that he really wanted to deal with. Even now that he was in Texas, his mother had been still trying to get him to join the choir. Why couldn't she understand that he would do it if he wanted to. She frustrated him. At least his father wasn't as pushy as his mother.

Did he want to sing again? There was unfortunately only one way to find out...to try. Nori already felt that being away from England was helping his mood. He was smiling much more than he had in a long time. The reason eluded him but he would not worry about it. All he could do was continue on the path that he'd chosen and try to get along with Sophie and her mother. So far, he felt like he was doing fairly well. The young woman next to him seemed to be talking a bit more than she had earlier and he was glad. It was helping him to remain calm instead of becoming a nervous wreck. He smiled at Sophie, hoping that she'd see that he would gladly help her with her singing if she wished it.

"You obviously haven't heard me sing." Sophie said and sighed, glancing over at Nori. She had heard that many times before. 'Everyone can sing.' But she had never believed it. She could sing okay, nothing fancy but not horrible. That just wasn't her opinion. She really thought that she sang horribly, despite people telling her otherwise. His comment about her playing was ignored, as she found it easier than to reply to that as well. When he paused to think about her question, she awkwardly scratched the back of her head. After a short while, Nori spoke up. Much to Sophie's relief. The thought of joining Student News was frightening to her. It was a lot of work and a lot of people as well. She figured that she had enough on her plate as it was. The choir she had expected. She knew he could sing, and so it only seemed logical that he would join the choir although he didn't seem certain. Before she knew it, he had even offered to help her with singing. In fact, she would love for him to teach her how to sing, but was too shy to say it. What, are you going to let this stranger get that close to you? Sophie thought to herself. For someone else to hear her sing was a big deal to her. "Uh... Before I try out for anything, I'm going to have to get a lot of training." She said and flashed a very brief smile in Nori's direction. "But thank you for the offer."

They fell silent again and watched the television. As they did, Sophie was thinking to herself. The offer he had made was nice, but she couldn't accept it since she was too shy and didn't know him very well. There was a lot of unfounded anger towards him being here, which frustrated her a lot. Sophie was frustrated that Nori was there, but also angry at herself for feeling that way. Now that he was her guest and would be living with them for quite some time, she had to make him feel at home. That would take a lot of hard work, she knew.

"Uh..." She started quietly and looked at the young man to her left. "Is there anything I can do for you. Like... I was thinking that you might want to go around town or see the school?" Sophie shrugged and looked at him. She'd been allowed to take the car if they wanted to go somewhere. If he didn't want to go see town or the school, they could also go get an ice cream or something. "Whatever you want. Sitting here all day won't do us any good." She shrugged and smiled briefly. Sophie knew that if they were staying home all day, they'd be tippy toeing around each other. Or at least, Sophie would with him. 'And then my mom will notice and she'll ask me to take him out somewhere anyway...' So Nori cold either accept now, or prepare to be asked again later.

When Sophie spoke up again, Nori turned his gaze to her. He smiled at her, then said, "Yea, that sounds good. If you'll give me a moment, I'll go and change. I can meet you downstairs if you want?" He got up from the couch and went back to his bedroom. He closed the door and walked over to the closet. He began searching through his clothes, trying to decide quickly what to wear for the day. In the end, Nori decided on jeans, a darkly colored t-shirt, and his white hoodie. He quickly dressed and then pulled his hoodie over his head. He made sure that his hair looked decent though he would have preferred to straighten it and pull it up. However, he didn't want to keep Sophie waiting for too long. He opted for putting his contacts in, though. When he was satisfied with his overall look, Nori grabbed his wallet and phone, putting both items in his pockets.

Nori left his bedroom, shutting the door, and then slowly made his way down the stairs. He spotted the young woman and approached her. "Sorry I took a bit." he said, smiling. It was a really good thing that Sophie had offered to take him around town. He never would have asked her to. At least this way he would get to spend some time with Sophie, hopefully they would relax a bit more around each other. It also couldn't hurt to know the small town. Nori was used to living in a large city. He imagined that being in a smaller town, it would be easier to get around. They could even probably walk everywhere and it still wouldn't take very long at all.

He followed Sophie out to the car and followed her lead. He got into the car and buckled himself in. He couldn't help but wonder what sort of things where in Bay Grove. He'd not really done much searching on such things before he'd come to the States. He had to admit that he was rather curious. As they were on the road, Nori remained silent. He was feeling a bit nervous once again. He began fidgeting with one of his sleeves though he'd not even realized that he'd started doing it. His gaze was focused on the world outside of the car. Texas truly was quite pretty, in its own way. He'd not expected it. It was quite different from England though the change was a welcome one. So far, he'd thought about Hannah but not like he had back home. Perhaps being away from his home was helping. Whatever it was, he couldn't say that he wasn't glad.

Being a woman, Sophie decided to go figure out what to wear instead of her current outfit. When she'd put it on, she hadn't thought of the idea of actually going outside today. After a few minutes, she decided on a pair of black skinny jeans, a white tank top with a picture of a vintage motorcycle on it and a plaid red and black shirt. "A comb through my hair wouldn't do any harm..." She said to herself as she looked in the mirror, but didn't feel like battling with her wild and unruly hair. Instead, she tied it up in a ponytail and made sure it looked decent. Then the Stark girl proceeded to go downstairs and wait for Nori.

When he arrived, she placed the milk carton back in the fridge and looked over her shoulder at him. She liked the outfit he'd chosen, but didn't say anything as she was too shy. Maybe it would be awkward... Sophie thought to herself and shrugged. "That's alright." She said, nodding. She was glad that he'd accepted her offer and wanted to go see the town. Sitting at home all day, watching tv or sitting in their rooms would be weird. At least for her. Sophie hated when you were at someone's house and you didn't really know them, and you just sat there and said nothing. It was the most awkward thing in the whole world. "Mom, we're stealing the car." The girl said to her mother who was in the living room with a book.

"Oh, that's alright. Try not to get caught by the police." Catherine replied and looked at the two of them as if that was the most normal thing in the world, but she did smirk and wink at them before continuing reading her book. She had of course allowed Sophie to take the car and take Nori out.

Once in the car, she put on her seatbelt, adjusted the mirrors and the seat and turned the car on. Sophie paused for a moment and tilted her head, glancing over at Nori. "Is there something in particular you want to see, or should we just drive around town?" She asked the boy, putting the car in reverse and backing out of the driveway. "It's not a big town, but there's still a few things. There's the main street, if you can call it that, with a few shops. There's a cinema." She shrugged as she thought. "Nature around here is very pretty and we have a lake in the centre of Bay Grove." The girl looked at Nori, wondering what he might like to see.

Nori thought for a few short moments about where he wanted to go. It all sounded wonderful and honestly..he couldn't make up his mind. He decided to just pick something. "How about..we go to the lake? I didn't live near one and rarely got to go to any of the ones back home." He fell silent, looking out the car window as Sophie continued driving. He honestly didn't care where they went. He was glad to do pretty much anything. It didn't seem like long before they'd arrived at the lake. After the car had stopped, Nori waited for Sophie to move before getting out of the car. He closed the car door and looked around them. The lake was quite large and almost seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. There was a walking trail that went all the way around the lake and even a small area for children to play at. Nori had never seen a place more beautiful. "This place is wicked." he said smiling.

He waited for Sophie to join him and as he stood there he looked around seeing several people nearby that looked to be about Sophie's and his age. He could quickly feel the nervousness returning. He'd known that he would eventually have to meet more people but he'd rather not have to worry about that until their classes started. He quickly fell silent, wondering if Sophie knew anyone there. Suddenly, a high pitched voice sounded. "Sophie Stark!" Nori turned his head just for his dark eyes to land on a pretty blonde girl. The thin girl hadn't seemed to notice him yet. "I can't believe it's been what? Two years since we've seen each other." The girl that was now standing near Nori and Sophie was Cassandra Harwell. She'd graduated from high school two years earlier and had been going to the local college since. Cassie had always been fairly kind to most she came across and was known for being a good singer. Suddenly, her eyes found Nori. They almost seemed to light up upon seeing him. Cassie gently took hold of Sophie's arm, tugging. "Sorry! I need to talk to Sophie for a minute."

When the girl had gotten Sophie away from the young man, she spoke. "Who is he? The cutie you're with. Is he your boyfriend? I've never seen him before..where's he from?" She was throwing questions at the girl quite quickly. Her eyes kept glancing at the young man.

As the girls where talking, Nori had been left alone. He wondered what they were talking about but quickly pushed the thought from his mind. It was none of his business. He simply chose to wait for Sophie to return to him, standing still and gazing out at the lake. He was in no hurry and the other girl had seemed to really want to talk to Sophie.

The boy next to her decided to pick the lake, and was actually quiet for most of the ride after that. Sophie didn't mind though, figuring that it most be exciting and interesting to see what Bay Grove looked like. As she drove the car through the town, she wondered how many people might be there since it was a rather well visited place in town. The lake was often visited by the youth at night, being a place romantics would go and spend an evening under the moonlight. During the day it was a place everyone visited, whether it be for a picnic, talking a walk, going there with their kids or just to enjoy the view. It didn't take long for them to arrive and when they did, Sophie got out and looked at Nori. Before she could say anything though, he did. She smiled at him and nodded, glad that he liked the place. "Yes, it is." The girl said. The way he had worded it made her smile though. 'Wicked' wasn't a word she heard very often, but she supposed that was because he was from England. Sophie did had a weakness for that British accent.

She had only just walked around the car to Nori before she heard someone calling her name. Turning around to see who it was, she quickly realized that it was Cassandra Harwell. Cassie. It had been too long since she'd seen her friend, and smiled widely when she came over. Memories flooded her brain as she looked at Cassie, remembering all the good times they'd had. She was one of the first people she'd told about what happened to her father. Oh, no. Not that look. Sophie recognized the look in the other girl's eyes all to well. "I know! It's been too long!" She replied, shrugging. And questioning will commence in 3,2,1.... And she was right. Cassie took her by the arm and dragged her along.

As soon as they stopped, she was bombarded with questions. Sophie had expected Cassie to do just that, and found it a little amusing. It took a moment before she was allowed room to talk. As she stood and listened to her friend, Sophie looked over her shoulder and back at Nori with an apologetic smile and a shrug. "What? No, no..." And again, she blushed. "He's not my boyfriend, so don't get any ideas." Sophie smiled and winked at her, though the red color hadn't left her cheeks. "He's from England, but studying here. He's living with my mom and me." She intentionally avoided commenting on whether she thought he was cute, but Cassie was more than likely not done with the questions yet. "He sings though, so maybe you two could have that to talk about." Sophie shrugged and tilted her head slightly, placing a hand on her hip.

"Seriously, I've missed you so much!" A smile appeared on her face again as she wrapped the other girl in a hug.

Cassie returned the hug that she'd received from her dear friend. "I've missed you too! Classes have been crazy and then the parents keep me pretty busy too!" Cassie continued flicking her eyes between Nori and Sophie. "He's living with you?" the girl asked, smiling. "Lucky! I think that it would be amazing to be living with a cutie like that. I mean..you two aren't related so you could totally date him. Or..do you not think he's cute?" She fell silent for a moment, allowing her friend to speak. Cassie was a real chatterbox. She loved talking and would often get out of hand. "You said he sings..is he any good? Several of our members graduated last year so we're definitely looking for more people." Cassie gazed at Nori once again. "He doesn't look like a singer.." The blonde had a serious look upon her face. "Well, regardless you should convince him to come to the tryouts!" Cassie fell silent for a moment..thinking. "You know..if you really don't have any interest in him..I may have a go at him. Anyway, I can't believe that it's been so long since we've seen each other! At least we'll be going to the same school again! We can totally hang! I guess that we should rejoin your new friend." Cassie winked at Sophie, laughing. "He's probably wondering why we've been over here for so long."

The blonde slowly led the way back over to the young man, a smile plastered to her pretty face. When she reached Nori, he seemed to be texting someone. "Soo..hello!" Cassie said coming to stand rather close to Nori. He turned his gaze up to find the girl standing and smiling at him. Nori turned his gaze to the girl, surprised at her enthusiasm. "..Hello." The blonde just kept smiling, not noticing that the young man before her wasn't sure about talking to her. "I'm Cassandra..but..I think that I'll let you call me Cassie! It's sooo nice to meet you! Sophie said that you're from England? That's so cool!" Nori was simply eyeing the..no..Cassie. It seemed to him that she and Sophie were at least friends. "Nori." he said, a small smile gracing his features. "It's..nice to meet you."

The girl was beaming and then turned to Sophie and winked. She then turned back to Nori. She'd realized that he wasn't saying much. "You musn't be used to American girls yet. I think..we'll have to remedy that." Without saying anything else, Cassie had grabbed hold of Nori's right hand and began dragging him across the clean grass towards the lakefront. Nori was unable to object to Cassie. She had left him speechless. When she'd stopped moving, Nori merely looked back for Sophie. Cassie was still rambling on about random things, from what Nori could tell. At least she had let go of him.

Standing there, looking out across the sparkling water, Nori suddenly realized that he'd perhaps made the right decision in coming to the States. He turned back towards Cassie, not wanting to come across as rude. The girl was still chatting happily but had turned her attention to Sophie once the girl had joined them. Nori remained silent but tried to keep up with the conversation. "..We'll all have to get together and do something! I think that there's going to be a few of us going out after tryouts." Cassie gave a look as if trying to tell her to make sure and talk to the young man that was standing with them about trying out as she'd mentioned earlier. "So Nori! Any girls back in England that have your heart ensnared?" The blonde had no idea why Nori was being so quiet. She was only trying to get him to talk.

Nori really didn't want to answer Cassie's question but he knew that he needed to. He wondered if Sophie had noticed that he'd hesitated with answering the question and if so what did she think? "No..I'm not..with anyone if that's what you're implying..why?" he asked eyeing the two girls. Cassie giggled, linking her arm with Sophie's. "Oh..no reason. Just curious..aren't we Sophie?" Nori was quite uncomfortable and had begun fidgeting with his sleeves once again. At one time, he would have been very talkative..perhaps even enjoying the fact that Cassie loved talking so much. He was ready to leave this girl. He didn't really care for her asking him questions as it meant that he had to keep talking. Luckily for Nori, it seemed that Cassie was more focused on Sophie. "Sophie..we're totally going to have to catch up. Think that it would be okay if I came over one day? I don't know about you but I definitely need some girl time.." Nori could only imagine what sort of things the two girls at his side would talk about during their 'girl' time. He had a feeling that much of it would be spent talking about him. As long as he didn't have to hear it..he was okay.

She had expected her friend to ask exactly that question. Sophie had honestly not thought about Nori in that way. After all, he had only just arrived here and didn't know anyone. She considered it rude to be all over him already, and it would probably make Nori very uncomfortable as well. He was her guest and she was supposed to make him feel welcome and have a nice time here. So far that had gone pretty well, as far she could see. "Oh my God, Cassie!" Sophie let out and smiled, shaking her head. "I haven't even thought about it that way! He arrived yesterday, so chill out." She said the last part in a hushed voice so only Cassandra would hear it. With that said, she was sure that her friend wouldn't leave it. She was most likely going to keep poking her and asking her what she thought about Nori, until she gave a real answer. "I haven't heard him sing at all, so I don't know. I think he's good though. And he might go to the try outs, but I don't think he's certain yet." After that there was a brief silence during which, Cassie seemed to be thinking. When she spoke up again, Sophie couldn't help but laugh slightly. 'That's Cassandra Harwell for you...' She thought to herself and smiled, following her back to Nori as she was still talking.

The young man seemed a little confused by it all. They were two very different people as far as Sophie could see. Nori seemed rather shy and a little quiet, but that was understandable since he'd just come to a new country. When Cassie turned around and winked at her, Sophie smiled and shook her head, wondering what Nori thought about her. She took some getting used to, but when you got to know her Cassie was the most wonderful person on earth. Before she knew it, her friend had taken Nori by the hand and was dragging him along as well. "Cas, wai-" She started, but it was too late.

Once they stopped, Cassandra started talking again and Sophie smiled. When her friend gave her the look she nodded and sighed, though the smile on her face remained. She would talk to him about it, but in the end it was Nori's own decision. If he liked singing, it was a perfect opportunity though. The next things he asked Nori about, she had expected as well, but wasn't sure how Nori would handle that. He did seem a little shy, and maybe a little uncomfortable as well. Sophie knew that her friend only meant well by it.

She looked at Nori as he answered the question, wondering why he was hesitating. Did he care what she thought? Or was it just because Cassie was bombarding him with questions? "You need to calm down, Cassie." Sophie said, laughing as she looked at her friend, having noticed that Nori had begun fidgeting with his sleeves again. "We're supposed to set a good example, you know? An English gentleman might consider our behavior rude." She said it with a smile and a wink, giving Cassandra a certain look that meant to say that she could ask all of those questions, when they were alone. "Yes! Some girl time sounds great! You still have my number, right? You can just text or call me and we'll settle a date." Sophie smiled and nodded. "I'm supposed to show Nori around today, so we should probably get to it. After all, Bay Grove is huge!" She said sarcastically, knowing that it wouldn't take long but figuring that Nori would like to get out of there. He seemed to be rather uncomfortable now.