A/N
I'm feeling a lot of feels for this story. Gotta keep writing… Hey, it needs to get started. A couple more chapters, and then I'll get back to my other stories.
Thanks to all who reviewed! Specifically…
-baby Cyclopes
-Guest
-Guest (Jimbob will be a name of a side character, just not one of the brothers).
-inquiete
You guys are awesome, and thanks for your help with the names! Credit will be given when the brothers/father are introduced.
Disclaimer: I do not own HON. I do not own the characters, except maybe my OCs, but they haven't even made an appearance yet. So to summarize, I don't own!
~Smiley
Chapter 2
His hour of anticipation and silent, unnoticeable anxiety attacks were up. Stevie Rae turned the car down yet another dirt road…but now he could see the lone house at the end of the long dirt stretch, which would probably make the "road" they were on a driveway. Rephaim almost wanted to run back to the tree that marked the last turn before he was dragged into the path of doom.
Well, maybe it wasn't going to be "doom"…or not. He was the boyfriend of the one and only daughter of a man with a gun and the sister of three, probably protective older brothers. The odds of her family liking him weren't exactly in his favor.
He was so lost in thought that he hardly noticed that the car had stopped moving. He stared in suppressed agony at the ranch-style house with white siding and a big front porch. It looked friendly enough. Actually, Rephaim instantly took a liking to it. It just looked so nice and homey there was no possible way someone could not like it.
It was just who was inside the house that made him nervous. Stevie Rae told him that her mother already loved him and wanted to give him "a big ol' hug," but he wasn't entirely sure that was the case. He suspected that she was just trying to make him feel better. After all, there was no way to sugar-coat the fact that her father was going to hate his guts.
"Rephaim?" Stevie Rae asked, but he didn't seem to hear her. She was a little worried about him; he had been stressing the entire ride here. He hardly spoke (not that he was much of a talker anyway) and didn't even complain a little bit when she blasted the country station. He had told her before that he didn't mind her listening to whatever music she wanted; he just had a problem when it was so loud he could feel the pounding beat in the air around him. She had cranked the radio as high as it could go, hoping to get a reaction out of him, but she got nothing. He just stared out the window into space, like some sort of zombie. Honestly, it scared the heck out of her.
Now he was staring at the house, completely frozen in what Stevie Rae could tell was some sort of fear. What was he afraid of?
"Rephaim?" Stevie Rae repeated. It was killing her to see him like this. Was he honestly that scared of meeting her family? Maybe she shouldn't have made him come. They haven't even been officially dating for a month. Was this a bad idea?
"Rephaim!" she exclaimed, needing him to do or say something.
Rephaim looked like someone had splashed cold water in his face. "What?" he asked, blinking at her.
"Are you okay?" She gently lifted a hand to his forehead. He wasn't feverish, but he was sweating a little. "What's wrong?"
"I am well, Stevie Rae," he assured her, taking her hand from his forehead and holding it in his hand instead. "Why would something be wrong?" he asked.
"Well, you've been real out of it for the entire ride here, and you're really clammy right now."
Rephaim offered her what was obviously a brave smile, but it quickly faded. He ran the hand that wasn't holding hers through his hair and down his face. He sighed.
"What's wrong, Rephaim?" Stevie Rae asked again.
"I suppose I'm just…nervous," he admitted.
"About what? Meeting my family?" she prompted.
"Yes, exactly that." He tore his eyes away from her worried gaze.
"Please talk to me, Rephaim," she begged. He remained silent for a moment.
"What if they hate me?" Rephaim asked suddenly.
"Rephaim, they aren't going to hate you," Stevie Rae said.
"Stevie Rae, you don't know that," Rephaim insisted.
"Sure I do. My brothers will like you. Willy (Name Credit: Guest. Willy is short for William) and Frank (Name Credit: baby Cyclopes) like everybody. They may try to annoy you to death, but they'll like you. And I you'll get along well with Simon (Name Credit: Guest). You two are actually a lot alike. Grandpa Joe (Name Credit: inquiete. I was going to make Joe the father, but then I realized Grandpa Joe had a certain ring to it) will like you too. Mama's already told me herself that she couldn't wait to meet you."
"I cannot help but notice you left your father out of that," Rephaim said, smiling. He hated that he had made her worried, and he was determined not to ruin her reunion with her family. He was still nervous about the whole thing, but she had made him feel a little better.
"Well…I don't think he'll hate you…"
As much as he was still sick to his stomach, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Is it true that he has a gun?"
"Where did you hear—Stark." Rephaim nodded.
"I, um, can quite honestly tell ya that he, uh, doesn't have a single gun in his possession," Stevie Rae said quickly. Rephaim raised an eyebrow and met her gaze steadily.
"He doesn't have a single gun?" Rephaim repeated her words as a question.
"Nope. Not a single gun."
"So you're telling me that he does not own a gun," Rephaim said, trying to clarify the meaning of her words.
"Not a single gun," Stevie Rae repeated.
Rephaim stared at her silently for another few moments before giving in. "Very well. I suppose we should go inside now, shouldn't we?" Rephaim said, going to open the door.
"Hang on a sec!" Stevie Rae said, grabbing his arm.
"Wha—" Rephaim's question was cut off when she pressed her lips to his. Rephaim froze in surprise for a moment before relaxing and kissing her back. His hand went from the door handle to her face, his thumb caressing her cheek as he rubbed it gently back and forth, back and forth. The kiss was gentle and sweet and filled with the purest love they shared for each other.
When they finally pulled apart, both were breathing heavily. Rephaim looked into her sparkling blue eyes, smiling back at her. Stevie Rae held his hand and intertwined their fingers together. She looked down at their joined hands for moment before returning to his beautiful brown eyes.
"Thank you, Rephaim. For coming with me. I know that you're really stressed about this, but I want you to know that I really 'ppreciate you doing this," Stevie Rae said.
Rephaim's smile turned into a full-blown grin, and he leaned over to her and gently kissed her cheek. "I'd do anything for you. You know that, right?" he whispered in her ear.
He was already very close to her, so it wasn't hard at all for her to throw her arms around him. She nodded, nudging his neck with her nose. "I'd do anything for you too, Rephaim," she said. "I love you."
Rephaim wrapped his arms around her as well. "And I you, Stevie Rae, my Red One."
Rephaim held her for a few moments more, savoring the calm before the storm that was sure to come the minute he went up to that front door. Rephaim took a deep breath, smiled to himself, and pulled away from her. "Let's go see your family, shall we?" Rephaim asked, grinning at her.
She grinned back at him, nodding, and they both got out of the car. Rephaim got the bags out of the trunk, and Stevie Rae took hers from him, holding his hand in the hand that wasn't holding her suitcase. She was beaming now, practically radiating happiness. This was why he had agreed to come. This was what made the butterflies in his stomach worth it. Stevie Rae was so happy right now, and that was what made Rephaim happy.
She started doing the skip/run/bounce thing as she dragged him to the front door. She was smiling at him as he dropped her hand to ring the doorbell. At the push of the button, the cheerful sound ran through the house and just made it to Rephaim's ears. That bell snapped him out of the happiness fog he had been experiencing as running footsteps made the whole weight of what was going to happen next crash down on him.
By all the gods, Rephaim thought to himself. What have I done?
A/N
Review pretty please! Next chapter will be up soon…and you'll finally meet Stevie Rae's family! And I have my last midterm tomorrow…wish me luck!
~Smiley
