Lenora dropped her suitcase on the living room floor and collapsed onto the couch. She sighed out of relief, closed her eyes, and sat her feet on top of the coffee table. After getting back from visiting her father's relatives it felt nice to relax and not worry about 'going fae' on accident. Although the ongoing battle between Lenora and her cousin, Penny, took up most of her vacation. It was nice to spend time with her father, but not with his family. They looked down upon her because she's half mortal; human is the lowest of the low when it came to the Young family; just sharing the last name with a halfbreed made them feel hatred towards her.
Lenora's parents have been separated since her mother found out that her father was a faery. That big of a lie can tear two people apart for good. Lenora was three at the time and showing signs of having her father's abilities; her mother couldn't just abandon her, so her parents created a schedule. Lenora's father gets her every other summer and half of the holidays, for training purposes. Although the problem of his family never occurred to the couple when coming up with this schedule.
"You home?" The voice of Lenora's mom sounded from the hallway. Lenora groaned and sat up, kicking her shoes off as she did so. "That bad?" Her mom asked from the doorway, leaning slightly against it.
"As always." Lenora mumbled and laid back again. She felt the weight shift next to her and knew that her mother was now sitting beside her.
"Does Luke know that they treat you this way?" Luke. Lenora was angered at the thought of her mother calling him by his actual name. It wasn't as if the two hadn't been in a committed relationship or been married for five years. Lenora let the thought go and tried to cover her agitation.
"No. They cover it up too well." Bunch of inbred bastards. She let the thought pass through her mind repeatedly.
"They don't deserve to have you in their family anyway." Her mother kissed her forehead and stood, moving the dishtowel that was on the table to her shoulder. "Now get up and shower, the Russo family is coming over for dinner tonight." Lenora's eyes shot open and widened as she turned her head to her mother.
"Sheryl, I don't know if this occurred to you or not... but you can't cook!" Sheryl stood with a blank expression and nodded.
"I know I can't, but I'm going to try damn hard; and while they're here, I insist that you call me mom." Lenora's jaw went slack as she stared. Sheryl turned and walked back towards the kitchen, the sound of the fridge opening shortly after.
"You're trying to hard to be something you're not, mom." Lenora made sure to put emphasis on the last word.
"They're just going to have to believe it, daughter." With an eye roll and a sigh, Lenora was on her feet walking towards the stairs.
"Just a heads up, they'll figure out this is a charade. The Russo's are a lot like us: a unique family." Lenora shouted down the stairs before entering the bathroom.
-Dinner-
"Max-ine?" Lenora asked, staring down at the little girl in front of her. "Max is now indefinitely a little girl?"
"I know, bummer right?" Maxine said as she shrugged her shoulders. Lenora continued to stare at the little girl with wide eyes. It was awkward to hear Max's words in a high pitched voice.
"I was gone for three weeks. Three weeks! I leave and miss everything!" Lenora threw her hands up and walked over to the table, slamming herself into the seat.
"Justin also fell in love with an Angel of Darkness, became an Angel of Darkness, turned back into a wizard as his girlfriend went back to being a regular angel, and she left him." Alex explained shortly as she picked up meatballs with a fork and put them on her plate. Alex put a meatball into her mouth and started to chew. "You did miss a lot." Food flew out of her mouth and onto the plate, disgusting everyone in the room.
"I wasn't expecting you to come over Harper, but I can set another plate in a second." Sheryl smiled to the eccentric young girl and offered her a seat at the table.
"I hope I'm not intruding," Harper replied sweetly as she sat down.
"Of course not, all of you are welcome here." Lenora raised her eyebrow at her mother's actions, feeling that it was too out of place.
"What's up with you? Everything is getting weird, a little too weird." Lenora asked her mother, crossing her arms on top of the table.
"Uhm, actually. I've been meaning to speak with you about that." A knock on the door caught everyone's attention. "I'll get that." Everyone looked just as confused as Lenora did. A tall man with black hair walked into the room, making Lenora glare at her mother. This was Sheryl's boyfriend, Rick, the one with the 'brown eyes that just made her melt.' Lenora rolled her eyes at the memory of her mother saying those words. They'd been dating for five months but knew each other longer, seeing as they both worked in the same office.
"Hey Lenora," Rick smiled down at the girl as her eyes just remained narrowed in on the man.
"Hello Richard," Lenora remained in the same position, watching the man.
"Rick and I have something to tell you Lenora; it's actually why I invited the Russo's over." Sheryl started, giving her daughter a guilty look.
"Oh God... you're pregnant!" Maxine and Alex snickered at Lenora's assumption.
"No! Sweetie, that's not it." Sheryl sighed and twisted her fingers, looking up to Rick for help. "Rick asked me to marry him... and I said yes." The Russo's gave their congratulations as Lenora remained motionless. Sheryl thought that Lenora wouldn't react badly with company; that's why she invited the family over. It all clicked in Lenora's head as she thought about it. Think again, Mother. Lenora's seat screeched as she stood, her plate falling onto the floor and breaking into many pieces. Everyone went silent and watched Lenora. Her cheeks started to sparkle but no one, aside from Sheryl, noticed.
"Why?" Lenora asked, leaning over the table as she tried to remain calm.
"I deserve to be happy and Rick makes me happy, sweetheart."
"Don't sweetheart me!" Sheryl winced at the harshness of her daughter's words. "I get it, you deserve to be happy. But to me you're replacing dad!"
"Lenora, with all due respect I could never replace your father." Rick explained to the girl, hoping to give her some reassurance.
"You're damn right you can't!" Lenora spat.
"Lenora!" Sheryl glared at her daughter.
"He may just be Luke to you, but he's my father. You couldn't even talk this over with me before deciding?" Tears started to fall from Lenora's eyes and slide down her pink cheeks. Lenora shook her head and started to back away. "Dad would've talked to me before doing something like this. I don't care how horrible his family is to me, I'd rather be with them right now." Sheryl watched her with a shocked expression.
"Baby, Rick can make our family complete. Don't you get tha-"
"He can never be my father! I don't want to be a part of his family; right about now, I don't even want to be a part of your family!" Lenora took off up the stairs and slammed her door shut, breaking down into tears on her bed. Sheryl covered the hurt look on her face and attempted to smile at the Russo family.
"I-I'm sorry that you all had to see that. You can stay and eat if you'd like."
"It's okay, Sheryl. We wouldn't want to impose; this is obviously an emotional time," Theresa assured Sheryl and squeezed her shoulder. "She'll come around." Jerry pulled Alex from her seat, who had two or three meatballs shoved into her mouth, and the family left.
Upstairs, in her bedroom, Lenora laid on her back with tears spilling out of her closed eyelids. She sniffled and turned on her side, opening her eyes to see a picture of her and Max standing in the Sub shop. Max was smiling with his arm wrapped around Lenora's shoulders, as Lenora's mouth was wide open and eyes closed tightly from laughing too hard. A giggle escaped her lips as she stared at the picture. She needed Max back, and she needed him soon.
angel2u, absolutely. They'll realize it eventually ; ) If you haven't read the one-shot that I wrote before this- I'd suggest you do. It's a future look. It's called 'When a Wizard Loves a Woman.'
Writerandreader, you'll get more soon!
SilverUkami, thank you : ) That's actually why I started writing this. Too many of the few Max/OC stories are written poorly and horribly cliched. Same with Suite Life Series. It's all Twincest and pairings of characters on the show. That's why I'm tempted on writing a fanfiction for it. But it's still being considered.