Christmas Secrets
Summary: The blended family of Helen, Clare, Jake, and Glen spend their first Christmas together as they visit Grandma and Grandpa Martin and Grandma and Grandpa Auden. With many relatives in each house, will Clare and Jake manage to keep their relationship a secret?
A/N: Auden is the last name of Helen's parents. Cake ARE still dating in this, and their parents still don't know about it.
Twoshot
Part One
Clare Edwards sat on the edge of her bed, placing clothing into her suitcase that rested on the floor. She, her mother, stepfather, and Jake were all going to travel to her maternal grandparents' house to visit for a few days, for Christmas. Then, they were planning on travelling to Jake's paternal grandparents' house to visit with them. She was beyond nervous. Of course, she knew Jake's family well. She had spent time with his grandparents, when they would visit the cabin six years ago. She and Jake would help Jake's grandma bake cookies and cakes and she'd allow Jake and Clare to eat the leftover batter and some cookie dough, despite their parents' protests. She hadn't seen them in six years though, and this time was so much different. Their son had married her mom. Not only that, but Clare and Jake were still dating. How were they going to keep their relationship a secret from them? And don't even get her started on her own family. Her grandparents weren't bad. They were also pretty different from her parents. They weren't religous, they spoiled Clare and Darcy rotten, and Clare had even been named after her grandma. Her cousins and her aunt and uncle, however, were a whole other matter. It would be safe to say that Clare and her two older cousins, Ryan and Catherine didn't get along. They were both around Darcy's age and they were so full of themselves and had often acted as if Clare and Darcy were scum. Especially after they found out from their blabbermouth aunt-Helen's sister, that Darcy had been raped. And after Darcy had posted those pictures online. Needless to say, Clare hated Ryan and Catherine for what they'd done to Darcy. She wasn't looking forward to having to spend time with them.
"Hey." Jake said softly, walking into her room and shutting her bedroom door quietly. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing in here?" She hissed, blue eyes widening, and a startled look on her face. "If mom and Glen figure out you're in here, we are going to get in so much trouble!"
He gave her a silly grin and came over to her, bending down to press his lips to her's. He pulled away, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Dad and Helen aren't here. They went to pick up some dinner, because they don't want to have to fix anything with all the packing we have to do, for tomorrow."
Clare raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. "Well, why didn't mom come up here to tell me?"
Jake shrugged. "Dunno. So, why do you look so worried, anyway?" He inquired.
"I'm just scared about going to grandma and grandpa's. Not to mention, visiting your grandparents!" She answered with a sigh, staring up at him and pouting.
He frowned and furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why? My grandparents love you. There's nothing to worry about."
Clare's eyes widened in disbelief at her boyfriend's naivety. "Are you kidding me? What if they find out that we're dating? And I've told you about my cousins! They hate me!"
Jake sat beside of her and smiled, pulling her into him. "We've kept it a secret from our parents. I think that we can do the same, with our grandparents. And Ryan and Catherine can't be that bad!"
She glared at him. "Wait until you meet them. They're horrible." She muttered, letting her head fall to rest on his shoulder.
He laughed at her words and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "I love you, Clare." He said.
Clare looked up at him, reaching a hand up to cup his face. "I love you, too." She whispered, pressing her lips to his, sweetly. She pulled back when she heard the front door open downstairs, and her mother's voice ring out, calling them down for supper. "We should get down there, before mom comes up here and catches us." She said, standing up and throwing a look at him over her shoulder, smiling brilliantly. "Race ya, downstairs?"
0000
Clare groaned and buried her head into her pillow, tiredly. "I don't want to wake up!" She whined, taking a peek at the alarm clock, beside of the bed. It was five-thirty in the morning. She should be sleeping in! It was Christmas vacation, after all. But her mom and Glen wanted to get to her grandparent's house early.
Helen sighed and said, "You and Jake can both sleep in the car. Glen had a hard time waking him up, too, until he mention your grandmother's sausage gravy."
She poked her head up from the pillow, seeming interested. "Grandma is going to make us breakfast?" She asked.
Her mom nodded. "If we get there in time. You know how it takes about an hour and a half to get there. And you still need to take a shower and get dressed. Jake, Glen, and I are already ready and the suitcases are in the trunk of the car."
Clare hurriedly got out of the bed once her mother left the room, grabbing a soft blue sweater and some jeans from her closet.
After showering, brushing her teeth and hair, and getting dressed, Clare was in the backseat of her mom's car with Jake. He had already fell back to sleep within minutes of taking a seat, but her nerves wouldn't let her do the same. She was still worried about her grandparents or his, finding out about their relationship. And she was worried about what Ryan and Catherine would do. She couldn't just put it out of her mind like Jake could, unfortunately.
To be continued...
