Nikki Meets the Kendalls Part 5 by Purple Dragon Nicky's favourite place in the world was a small islet in the lake, where he could be the girl he really was without anyone around. until the Kendalls came.   As always, feedback is welcomed and encouraged.

Alice simply nodded, thinking whether Samantha's point of view would change or would still be the same if she knew that Nikki was a girl. She didn't say anything, though.
 
 
Nikki Meets the Kendalls - Part 5
 
Things had started to settle on some kind of routine again. Beth was becoming quite a close friend to Nikki's brother James, while Alice had started going out quite often with Samantha and her friends. As none of them really liked to stay confined to the island, they often went out in town. That suited Nikki perfectly, while she had started to get on famously well with Amy after the issues they have had, and both little Emily and baby Kevin were totally taken by her.

Tom didn't have a social life as intense as his two sisters Beth and Alice. He had started to hang about with some of the kids in town too, but he was also quite homely and liked to spend some of the afternoons at home, in the island. Nikki liked him, he was smart, funny and cheerful. The island wasn't really that big, but there was enough space to wander around through the trees, talking about all and nothing and watching the lake together.

He was very fond of his baby brother Kevin. He often carried him around, played with him, talked to him and even took care of him whenever he needed, which was certainly quite unusual for a teenage boy. He often excused himself by saying that the boys in the family had to stick together. He really loved taking careof his baby brother, and it showed.

The only problem was that whenever Tom stayed the afternoon in the island, Nikki knew that sooner or later her sister Sam, Alice and their friends would end up coming around too. It was quite obvious that Rose had her eyes fixed on Tom. Nikki avoided dressing girly those days, and she tried to be ready to leave whenever they were about to come. As close as she might have felt to those girls when she was younger, she didn't feel comfortable among any of them anymore.

Despite all that, Nikki was just openly happy and joyful. And it was quite obvious that she was, as she was often laughing and smiling. Despite the difference in age, she liked to spend time with little Emily and whomever of her friends might come around. Amy usually let them play, or came out with different activities and games to keep them busy and they had fun all together.

~o~

"Hey, gorgeous!", called James from the path to the quay. Nikki jumped up from where she was sit, smoothed her dressed and run to hug her big brother. James hugged her back sweetly and kissed her on the forehead.

"How is my lovely little sister doing today?"

"Great! I was teaching the girls how to make friendship bracelets using string! Aren't they lovely?", explained Nikki to her older brother while she showed him some of the results of their activities.

James laughed. "Wow! They are certainly lovely! I didn't know you knew how to make them, poppet! When did you learn?"

Nikki went back towards the younger girls, picked up a book and carried it back to where James was. Beth was looking amused from slightly behind, as well as two other friends with them, who smiled too.

James and Beth were very careful with whom they brought to the island whenever they knew that Nikki was around, and she knew it, so there had never been any issues with any of their friends.

"She doesn't even look like a teenager when she is playing with the girls, does she?", asked James to Amy. "I hope she's behaving herself and not being a pest."

"Don't worry, she's an angel. She's adorable, and she keeps the girls entertained the whole afternoon."

~o~

Nikki didn't really have much interaction with her own family, with the exception of James; and even that, only lately. her parents practically ignored her, and she couldn't care less about them. It was thus a surprise when, one afternoon after coming home, they told her that they needed to talk to her.

"Nicholas", started his father, Michael. "Do you have something to tell us, son?"

"About what?", asked Nikki back, surprised.

"Well, a couple of people have been wondering about you, you know?"

Nikki shrugged.

"There's no easy way to ask this, sport", interjected her mother, Jane. "I hope to not upset you with this question, but I really need to ask: are you gay, Nicky?"

Nikki gasped, surprised. "Sorry, what?"

"It is okay if you are, there's nothing wrong with it. We love you no matter what, you already know that, don't you, honey?", added her mother again. "You know that we will be on your side you no matter what. Just try to be careful that it doesn't show too much, we don't want everyone to know, do we?"

"Son, it is perfectly okay if you like boys, there's nothing wrong with that. If that's the case, I mean. Everyone is born just as they are, and it wouldn't be right to force anyone into someone they're not. Maybe if you just joined the boys more in sports or hanging out with them it would be less obvious and you could seem more normal."

"Mum, dad, like, what's wrong with you two? I'm not gay, okay?"

"You're not?", asked her mother again. "Oh, I thought you..."

Nikki could not longer endure the conversation, turned around and rushed towards his room. Why couldn't they leave her alone?

~o~

The next couple of Sundays Nikki started to notice some weirdness towards him from the kids around. They had been ignoring each other for ages, but suddenly she noted that some were furtively watching her, some were murmuring and there were some snickers. She was wondering whether it might be her imagination when Beth came to her, took her hand gently and led her away.

"Lets go out of here. You don't need to tolerate this, sweetie:"

"Tolerate what?", asked Nikki. "What's happening?"

"The rumors and gossips, Nikki. Come on, lets go."

After that, Nikki simply stopped going to church on Sundays. She had expected more opposition from her parents, but they simply kept silent about that. "Better for all of us", thought Nikki.

~o~

"Is it true that you fancy Tom, Nikki?", asked Emily once they were playing together with some other girls.

"Why would you ask that, poppet?", she asked back.

Emily shrugged. "Well, you're a girl, and you talk to him a lot, and you both go around walking together alone whenever he's here And he fancies you too!"

"And you're jealous when Rose talks to him", added Annelle, one of Emily's friends.

"I'm not jealous!"

"Yes you are, Nikki", confirmed Emily. "Maybe just a bit. Just a tiny bit. But you are. Don't deny it!"

Nikki looked down and nodded. "Yeah, I may be a tiny bit sometimes."

She became reflective for a brief moment. Then suddenly asked:

"Wait, Emily! ... You said that he fancies me too?"

"Uh huh. Yes he does", she nodded and then grinned mischievously. "Would you become my sister if you were his girlfriend?"

End of Part 5