It was easy staying incognito from her sisters. Tennille went on the road so she was not at the house. Kitty was busy with a baby and working on the mall opening. Krystle was traveling enjoying the fruits of her labor finally. Ashley was a big-time model now. Big Sister, well, whatever she was up to as a housewife kept her busy.

She never planned to go back to school. Her sisters were going to kill her. Victor was going to kill her first because he was paying most of her college fees that her scholarships did not cover.

What was she going to tell them? That she dropped out over a broken heart? Not that she was that heartbroken over that bum. Sure, she liked him, but she was not in love with him. And marriage was not something she was even close to thinking about. After she was well into her career, then maybe.

Then again, what career would she have as a dropout pre-med student?

She spent days holed up in the house, hiding out from her sisters who didn't bother to check in on her. They assumed she was still in St. Louis. Even Tennille thought she went back after a few days.

For once she wanted to be a bum and not do anything. Not studying, not writing papers, no listening to boring teachers that she felt smarter than. Maybe school was not for her. With her sisters all a part of Icee's company now, maybe she could work with him.

Definitely not modeling. That was not her thing. She was not a natural like Ashley or Kitty. She was nowhere near a singer like Tennille, she was the weakest link there. She had no interest in drawing, sketching, sewing clothes together or whatever Kryssy did. And she did not think buying a business was her cup of tea.

She let out a heavy sigh and threw herself on her bed. Since she did nothing all day, she was dressed in three-day-old pajamas, stained with cheese puff dust and chili sauce. Her shoulder-length hair stood all over her head in need of a wash, blow-dry, and a good flat iron. If her sisters saw her they would tell her she looked like death.

Her phone buzzed but she didn't want to answer it. Montez called and texted her daily since she stomped him out. Ignore, delete and now block. While she scrolled through her phone she noticed she had a message on Instagram with a friend request.

She sat up on the bed and smiled. It was Tone the rapper she met at the studio. She accepted his request. She barely used the app and her pictures were mostly nature and stupid memes, no selfies.

Immediately after, she got a DM from Tone.

hey wassup?

What? She nervously bit her thumbnail debating on if she should reply back. Why was he talking to her? Didn't Icee embarrass her enough in the studio? He all but forbade them from even being near her. What the hell?

Hey. Hi!

She slapped her forehead. She hit send before realizing how stupid she sounded. She was not accustomed to talking to boys.

You back at school or...in da Field?

Springfield

That's wazzup! Maybe we can hang out, meet up at the mall

Was he serious? Go hang out around town with him? What if one of her sisters saw her there? Not that they were hanging out at Springfield's Battlefield Mall when Kitty's mall would be open in a few weeks. Maybe they had spies out there. Or Victor would see her. Maybe even Icee would find out she was hanging with Tone the rapper.

She desperately wanted to see Tone again, she thought he was interesting. Since being back home, she had not spoken to anyone else other than him that day. She was lonely. If she could not talk to her sisters, she would take anybody at this point.

U there? sorry, I didn't mean to assume you want to hang with me

Damn, she left him hanging. She did not know what to say. Where could she go and still hide out from her family? A place they had not checked on in a while. Right where she was.

No, it's cool. Want to just hang out at my place?

Coo

After texting him her address she smiled. Was this like a date? She had never been on a date other than with Montez. Now she had to look cute and...she stopped herself.

She looked down at herself, rubbed her hand through her matted hair before her fingers got stuck in it.

"Oh no!"

She picked her phone back up and quickly texted Tone back.

I need 30 minutes or so. Sorry

A'ight

Then she groaned. Thirty minutes! She looked a whole mess, why did she say that? She did not want to tell the boy she needed three hours to look presentable, keeping him waiting. So now she had thirty minutes to make a miracle.

She looked around the room she shared with Tennille and grabbed one of her wigs. She never wore wigs like Tennille and Ashley so she had no clue what she was doing. She dropped that and then started a shower. The least she could do was clean herself up and smell good. While in the shower, she washed and combed through her hair and that was better.

Not having time to blow dry her hair completely dry, she shellacked hair gel in her hair and slicked it into a low bun, and then made sure her baby hair was popping. Brushed her teeth, smoothed down her eyebrows, put on a little lip gloss, and dressed in jeans and one of Tennille's skimpy shirts.

No way, she looked like she was about to go clubbing. She pulled on one of her Wash U sweatshirts and said to hell with it. No time to glam up, she had less than five minutes if he was going to be on time.

She left her room and went to see if the rest of the house was presentable. It was, but she sprayed air freshener around so that it smelled good too.

This was a date? Like Netflix and chill? That did not mean they would sit and watch a movie and do nothing. Maybe Tone expected some action. What was she getting herself into?

She was just about to text him never mind when the doorbell rang. She needed to stop being a punk and just play along.

She opened the door and there stood Tone, looking drop-dead gorgeous.

"Hey, girl."

"Come on in," she said, hoping her sisters were not happening to drive by, and see her letting a strange boy into their home.

"I didn't think Nola Kelly would invite me over to her place to hang out. I feel special."

She chuckled at him. "Can you not call me that. It's just Nola."

"But I like it. Nola Kelly, it's two first names and it's catchy."

"I'm just little old Nola." She sat on the sofa and grabbed the remote control. "Want to find something on TV?"

He sat on the couch a nice distance away from her and she felt offended he did not sit closer. Did she still smell? Did she look basic with her hair in a bun and no make-up? A far cry from her pictures on KStyle's website of her modeling dressed in nice clothes and professionally made-up. He probably looked at her now like she was a scrub.

"Naw shawty, I just want to hang, talk and get to know you."

She shrugged, fidgeted with her hands. "I'm not the interesting one."

"I think you are."

"I'm not. If you really knew my sisters you would see how amazing they are and I just wish...I wish I could be more like them." Okay, she was an idiot for sharing that with him, but that is how she always felt, all her life, growing up in the shadows of five older sisters who were great at everything they did.

It's why she wanted to be a doctor. Something that would make her the great one in the family.

"I think you're pretty amazing," Tone said, reaching out to hold her fidgeting hands. "You're the only one I want to spend time with and get to know and-"

Without warning, she threw herself on him and kissed him. He was into the kiss as well, kissing her back and it was the best feeling ever. Then he stopped and pulled her away.

"What are you doing? Why are you-"

"Isn't this what you want? You wanna have sex with me, right?" She continued to kiss him, then kissed his neck, her hand going up his shirt.

"Nooo! Wait, wait, wait!" He pulled her back from him. "I like you Nola, but I'm not trying to do all that."

"Why not? I thought you liked me?"

"I do, I just...can we get to know each other? Take things slow. You know, just chill out and hang."

Nola moved away from him embarrassed by her actions. She was so confused. She did not know what to do with a guy like Tone. He probably had plenty of girls all over him. What was she beside her sister's famous name?

"I feel stupid."

"No, don't." He moved closer and pulled her in his arms. "You're a great kisser and I like a straightforward kind of girl."

That made her smile. Maybe she needed Tone to be her sounding board, she had no one else.

"I dropped out of college and haven't told my sisters yet."

"Why? And why not?"

"Because they will force me to go back and I don't want to. I don't want to be a doctor anymore. My sisters were so excited when I told them I wanted to be a doctor and this would let them down."

"You didn't have to drop out of college," Tone stated. "Couldn't you just change your major, find something else...take a break, go back, something."

"Well...also, I caught my boyfriend having sex with my roommate...in our room." She sat back on the couch looking at him. "He was my first boyfriend. I don't have much experience dating or anything. Is that...strange?"

"No, that's pretty cool...I mean, not catching your ex," he chuckled at that. "I would love to be your man Nola. I wouldn't do you like that. You're special."

This little wanna-be rapper was kind of sensitive and she liked it.

"Because I'm a Kelly?"

"No girl, because you're fly." He kissed her. "And sexy."

"My brother-in-law will kill you if he finds out we like each other. Bad influence and all."

"Let me worry about Icee, okay. Will you be my girl?"

"Hmmm, I don't know. I tried to jump your bones and you pushed me away."

He grabbed her and tickled her sides as she laughed. This was the best she felt in a while, and it was all thanks to the lil rapper boy.

A/N: It's so hard for me to pick a favorite sister, it changes every chapter, but Nola is def top three for me. Kitty obviously first since she started it all, then Sarena. But I'm like the parent since I created them and shouldn't pick favorites!