I'm updating because i CANNOT believe the immediate feedback i got for the previous chapter lmao, you guys are amazing ❤
Also, this is for Mandi AllTheUnSpokenWords because you're probably the one person I'm sure is as hopeless a romantic as Nova. <3

PRETTY BOY

    NOVA PARKED HER SEDAN IN the first empty spot she found, the wind carrying faint echoes of the music being played in the party.

    She could see that all the lights in the house were turned on and there was a moderate crowd in the front lawn; no doubt there was a bigger crowd inside.

    The gentle breeze was a caress against her bare back and it played with her hair, picking up a few tendrils and dropping them back on her shoulders. 

    "Nova!"

     She turned around at the sound of her name, her mind simultaneously registering the fact that it wasn't Graham because he didn't address her as Hart.

    She came face to face with a half drunk Ty and by the lazily smile on his face, she could tell he was a happy drunk.

    "Tyler," she greeted in reply, smiling in amusement.

    "You look so pretty," he reached out and pinched her nose.

    "Thank you, Tyler," she struggled to say through restrained laughter. "You look pretty too."

    His eyes widened and he threw a fist in the air. "I do, don't I? I'm a pretty boy! I kept telling that stupid dumbass. HEY, GRAHAM GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" He hollered, looking at a figure in the distance, conversing with a few other guys.

    The figure — who she assumed was Graham — seemed to notice both Ty and Nova and began walking towards them.

    As he approached them, the outline of his tall frame became more defined and his face clearer. Nova noticed that the same old grin was present on his face.

    "What's he saying now?" Graham nodded towards Tyler, eyes gleaming with mirth.

    "She thinks I'm pretty," Tyler slurred, pushing his chest forward in pride. "Told ya I'm pretty."

    "Okay, okay fine," Graham pretended to look defeated, even drooping his shoulders for good measure. "I was just jealous and didn't want to admit it. You're pretty, Ty. Go and make a girl feel lucky."

    Ty grinned devilishly before saluting at both Graham and Nova and taking off in a sprint.

    "He's crazy," Nova laughed, her voice oddly sounding silvery in the night.

    "The best ones always are," he replied with a lopsided smile.

    "Addy's not here with you?" He asked after a beat.

    Nova shook her head, "she's away this weekend... Grandma's sixty-fifth birthday in Texas."

    "I like that," he suddenly said, tucking his hands into his pockets and leaning his back against the white vinyl fence that wrapped around the entire front lawn.

    "Like what?" She tilted her head, confused. A sudden gust of wind threw a lock of her hair into her face and when she reached up to brush it away, her fingers came in contact with warm skin.

    She withdrew her hand, startled, and realised that Graham had already beat her to it, his fingers gently tucking the lock behind her ear. He pulled his hand away, subtly stroking the curve of her ear in the process.

    Something shifted in her gut.

    She chose to ignore it.

    "That you're here despite Addy's absence," he answered without hesitation, apparently not needing to take a few seconds to reflect on their little moment.

    Shut up Nova. There was no moment.

    "Some girls don't really feel all too comfortable going to parties unless their best-friend's accompanying them, right?" He shrugged, looking away. "But you were confident enough to come here on your own. Because you wanted to have a good time," he explained, "that's what I like. It's refreshing."

     "I see," she mumbled awkwardly, and then registered his choice of words. She smiled in pleasant surprise at the realisation. "And I like that you said some girls instead of most girls," she told him honestly. Too often boys thought complimenting Nova by saying she wasn't like 'most girls' would flatter her.

     It didn't, not really. She liked to think majority of her gender were as confident and goal-oriented.

    Graham smiled then, an honest-to-god kind of smile Nova hadn't ever seen him wear.

    All too suddenly, she realised her ears were still warm. She couldn't decide if it was because of his words or his smile.

   Or his touch earlier.

    And Nova didn't think she liked the sudden dilemma all that much.

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Soooooo... What'd ya think? ;)