"Hey, Mom, where do you want this?" Jude asked, motioning over to the flat, silver, metal baking ban that was sitting on the counter. Meredith had just set it down on the table after taking them out of the oven and letting the cookies cool off.
"Oh, you can just leave them there. We probably won't put them outside until later. Actually, do you think you could just take them off the pan?" Meredith asked back.
"Uh, yeah, sure, Mom," Jude said, getting a plate out from the cabinet. Jude then heard his sister and cousin talking and knew that the peace and quiet would soon end.
"Ooh, cute shoes. Yeah, everything's happening outside this year since it's not raining like the last time. Come on. Flynn's already out there," Victoria said to her cousin Haley, almost immediately after Haley arrived. She ushered her cousin outside. There was a long table set up on the patio for dinner, and the lawn was just empty area for whatever. There were a few lawn chairs out there, set up and the Dean and Sam were already at the grill, firing it up.
"Thanks," Haley replied. "Yeah, that really sucked when it rained last year when we threw the party at Molly and Ethan's." The two families switched off each year, who held the party since it was a Winchester/Walsh tradition to have a joint birthday party, usually just for family, for Jude and Renee, since their birthdays were in the same month. It was always a "last bash" kind of thing before Jude went back to Haverford. It was one of those end of summer kind of things. "So Tyler's coming? I can't believe you invited him!"
"I know! I can't either. It was like… I was thinking about it, and then the next minute, I just kind of asked him and it was already too late when my brain caught up to me saying, 'woah, did you really just do that?' I'm glad he said yes because that would be awkward," Victoria laughed. Haley laughed too.
"Yeah, well, if it counts for anything, I think he likes you," Haley pointed out.
"You do?" Victoria asked, blushing.
"He's always talking to you at lunch, and any other time the Gallaghers are with us, he's always with you," Haley answered. "Aw, you're blushing!"
"I am not!" Victoria protested, shyly. "Well… what if it's just a friend thing? I mean, he could really just want to be friends and I know I was kind of his first friend here so-."
"Uh uh. No. We are not going there. Boys do not talk to pretty girls all the time like that, if they just want to be friends. Trust me," Haley advised.
Victoria chuckled, before sighing, "I don't want to get my hopes up."
"I know so nothing's definite, but for now, there is nothing wrong with speculating," Haley shrugged.
"Hey, dude," Haley said, greeting Flynn.
"Hey. You know… this is just a birthday party. You don't have to be so fancy all the time," Flynn teased, gesturing to what Haley was wearing. Haley looked down at her white chiffon blouse and blue high waist shorts.
"I'm classy," she declared.
"Yeah, whatever," Flynn said, shaking his head with a little laugh. He drank the rest of his soda before tossing the empty can to the recycling bin that was outside.
"It's true," Victoria nodded in agreement.
"Well, I hope you brought a shirt to change in or something seeing as we're probably going to play some football," Flynn said back.
"Aw, man! I forgot about that. Can I borrow a shirt or something later?" Haley asked.
"Yeah," Victoria laughed.
"Yeah, it won't matter. I'm not the one who has someone to impress at this party," Haley teased.
"What?" Flynn asked, looking from his sister to his cousin, and then back at his sister again.
"Yeah, you haven't noticed? Victoria's hot for Tyler and Tyler's totally hot for Victoria too," Haley said simply.
"Haley!" Victoria exclaimed.
"What? Don't worry. I'm not jinxing it. It's just a theory," Haley shrugged, a smile playing across her face.
"Wait, you too?" Flynn asked. Victoria and Haley both exchanged glances before fighting a smile, and then eventually giving in, bursting into laughter. "What?" Flynn crossed his arms over his chest, looking at both of the girls and shifting uncomfortably. Haley really was like a sister to them. Sometimes, it was almost like they were triplets instead of twins and most of the time he had to remind himself that Haley was their cousin.
"What, you're hot for Tyler too?" she asked, teasingly sarcastic.
"No!" Flynn exclaimed, his eyes widening. He then lowered his voice and leaned in so he could speak quieter, "Paige."
"Ohhhhhh. No wonder you two are always together!" Victoria exclaimed.
"See? I told you. Boys don't just talk to girls all the time if they just want to be friends," Haley said, looking right at Victoria.
"They're just theories, Haley," Victoria reminded.
"I know, I know," Haley giggled, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Hey, everyone!" Molly said, coming outside. She had a bowl of fruit salad in her arms as she was followed by her two daughters, Iz and Renee. There were replies of a 'hi' back, as they all greeted each other.
"Happy birthday, Renee! Ooh, I love your shirt," Victoria said, hugging her friend, as soon as she got to her.
"Thanks. Hey, at least you have good taste in music. John's always going on about how classic rock will always be better, trashing mine," Renee chuckled.
"Oh yeah? Since when?" Victoria asked.
"Oh, we just had this thing on Friday… catching up and stuff," Renee replied, hoping to avoid the subject.
"Like a date?" Victoria asked, intrigued. Hey, maybe John was finally coming to his senses. She hoped he was. Renee was perfect for him! She was gorgeous, smart, funny… their family already liked her. It would be perfect. Then again, she knew John didn't always think with his upstairs brain. She knew she promised that she wouldn't meddle, but it was almost too tempting right now…
"No," Renee replied.
"Huh, well-," Victoria started.
"Hey, you're mom told me that the Gallaghers are coming to the party. You know, you and Tyler have been pretty close lately," Renee said, quickly changing the subject. Victoria knew just what her friend was doing but decided to give in anyways.
"Oh… yeah…" Victoria blushed.
"Well, do you like him?" Renee asked.
"Uh… yeah," Victoria answered, hesitantly.
"Well good. Tonight should be interesting then. You kinda rushed the whole 'meet the family' don't you think?" Renee teased.
"Yeah, I know. What was I thinking?" Victoria exclaimed.
"I'm kidding!" Renee chuckled, trying to comfort Victoria.
"Well, I invited him but then my parents kind of invited the whole family. They're old hunting friends but we're supposed to pretend not to know all about that. The Gallaghers didn't exactly tell their kids about hunting so… we have to keep it a secret," Victoria replied.
"I see," Renee said back. "You know, I always wonder what that's like. The whole hunting thing…"
"It's… fun, I guess," Victoria shrugged. "I haven't gone out on one yet so I wouldn't know." Just then, John and Cole came out of the house, talking about something – Victoria couldn't tell what. Jackson, Haley and Cole's younger brother followed, trying to keep up with the elder boys. John saw Renee, making eye contact with her and nodding at her. Victoria laughed.
"What?" Renee asked.
"He just gave you the nod," Victoria replied, trying to contain her amusement and also, her satisfaction that John was finally coming to his senses.
"He did not give-, what nod?" Renee asked.
"You know. The nod. My brother's totally into you," Victoria chuckled, shaking her head. There was no way she was going to stay out of this now.
"I-," Renee began.
"Hey, I'm going to see if Mom needs help. I'll see you later," Victoria said, practically bolting for the house before Renee could say anything else. Knowing her older brother, she knew he'd say something to her. That was her plan. After almost six years of being polite to each other, Victoria was more than happy to see John and Renee attached at the hip again – if it got that way.
"Hey, Mom, need any help?" Victoria asked going inside.
"Uh-," Meredith started, cut off by the sound of the doorbell. "Must be the Gallaghers."
"I'll get it!" Victoria said, almost too eagerly.
"Okay," Meredith said, chuckling to herself.
Back outside, Cole and his younger brother Jackson had gone over to Iz, Haley, and Flynn, all gathered on the lawn, just standing around and talking. At first, this joint birthday party had been an excuse to get all of the family and friends together, but it had really become something special.
"Hey," John said.
"Hey," Renee replied, her eyes lighting up as she saw him. "I made this for you." She handed him the mixed CD and John took it, looking it over once or twice.
"Wait, aren't I supposed to be giving you things seeing as it's your birthday party?" John asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
Renee shrugged, "We had a deal."
"Well, uh, if you want, I've got a little birthday favor for you… if you want to take this upstairs," John smirked, leaning in towards Renee. Renee put a hand on his chest, pushing him away from her.
"I don't think so, sweetheart," Renee said, challengingly.
"My offer stands till twelve tonight," John said back.
"Well, I won't be needing it," Renee shot back.
"You keep 'em guessing, huh?" John asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Renee replied, innocently.
"It's alright. I like the chase," John said, winking at her. Renee honestly didn't know what to say. John was hitting on her so fast, she could barely register what was going on right now. What was with him? All of a sudden, he wanted to be friends again and now this? She hadn't said whether she'd tutor him or not. She wanted to… but if he was going to pull this stuff all the time, she honestly didn't know. Then again, John was sweet, at least to her, and she liked him. She would be helping him, right? Stop thinking about yourself, Renee. It's not about you, she thought to herself.
"John! Come on! We're going to start a game!" Cole called out to his cousin.
"That's my cue," John said.
"Go ahead," Renee replied, a little smile on her face.
John jogged over to Cole, looking at the ground and smiling, his back to Renee. So many mixed signals! There was one thing he did know for sure. She made him feel pretty damn good.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Renee and Jude, happy birthday to you," everyone sang, as Meredith and Ethan brought out the cake. Jude's candles were in blue and Renee's candles were in pink. That's how they always did the whole joint birthday celebration cake anyways.
"Make a wish," Ethan said, as they set down the cake in front of the two. Jude and Renee exchanged glances, before blowing out the candles. Everyone clapped and cheered for the two and a couple of pictures were taken.
"Alright, cake time!" John announced.
Meredith and Ethan cut the cake and Dean, Sam, and Sawyer, helped distribute it to the many people at this year's birthday party. Victoria and Tyler were across from each other at the long table when they finally got cake.
"That's quite a mouthful – that song. Have you guys just gotten used to singing to both Renee and Jude? I didn't even know what to say…" Tyler asked, chuckling a little.
"Yeah, I think it's just become a habit," Victoria replied.
"Thanks for inviting us, by the way. It's uh, not so easy being the new kid. I guess we kinda lucked out with you guys as neighbors," Tyler said.
Victoria blushed, "Oh, it's no problem. We love new people. Besides, this town gets kind of boring… We've all gone to school with each other since kindergarten so I think everyone knows everyone by the time we hit high school. It's nice to have new faces."
"I don't know. With your family, I'd think you'd never get bored," Tyler pointed out.
Victoria groaned, "Sorry about that. They're crazy, I know."
"You guys are fun," Tyler shrugged.
"What? You've actually enjoyed playing football with my family all evening?" Victoria asked.
"Yeah. Besides, it's really funny. Your brothers get so… competitive," Tyler replied, with a small chuckle. Victoria laughed too, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, they are. Cole's not as bad, but my three brothers are a nightmare sometimes. It does make game night interesting. We all get so competitive that it makes it about ten times more fun than any game night really should be," Victoria chuckled.
"Game night?" Tyler asked.
"Shut up. Game night's awesome!" Victoria defended.
"So what? You guys just have a family competition playing… scrabble?" Tyler teased.
"Hey, I am the queen of scrabble, just so you know," Victoria replied, playfully cocky.
"Really?" Tyler asked, intrigued.
"Yep," Victoria answered, proudly.
"Hm… well, that's interesting seeing as I've been called 'scrabble king' several times," Tyler replied, challengingly.
"Scrabble king, huh?" Victoria asked back, a flirty smile playing her face. She could just feel the electricity between the two and it was killing her. It took her everything not to just jump his bones right there. There was so much tension… this flirty, challenging banter was enough to make her go crazy. She wondered if he was feeling it to. "Well, scrabble king, I'd enjoy kicking your ass any day."
"I'd like to see you try," he challenged, playfully. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Time and place. You name it."
Victoria smirked that Winchester smirk, "I might just take you up on that."
"Hey, anyone up for another game?" John asked, tossing the football between his hands.
"You're just mad because you lost the last game," Jude teased.
"Shut up," John said, shoving his brother playfully. Victoria and Tyler exchanged glances, before sharing a laugh.
"You up for another round?" Victoria asked.
"You're going to play this time?" Tyler asked, surprised.
Victoria chuckled, "Yeah. I was raised with three brothers. Let's just say that I don't play nice." Victoria got up, leaving Tyler speechless and trying to hide a smile. Tyler was always so used to getting the last word in but damn, this girl was good. He had definitely met his match. He watched as she stood by her brothers.
"Hey, I'm going to run upstairs and change. Do you mind if I just borrow some Nike shorts and a t-shirt?" Haley asked, going over to Victoria.
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead," Victoria replied.
"So you and Tyler have been awfully close all night. You're talking a lot," Haley started.
"Okay, I get your point," Victoria groaned, laughing a little.
"I'm just saying," Haley shrugged, innocently, before disappearing into the house and running upstairs to change into some clothes that she'd actually be able to play football in.
"Hey, why don't we all play this go round?" Meredith suggested.
"Sounds like a great idea, babe," Dean agreed, looking over at his wife.
"Cool. Mom's on my team!" John shouted. Jude glared at his younger brother. "What? Mom's really good at this game and I am not losing this round!"
"Fine, Dad, you're on my team," Jude said.
Dean chuckled, "Alright, boys."
"I'd be up for a game," Renee chimed in.
"Oh yeah? Well, you're on my team, babe," John smirked, snaking his arm around her.
"Stop it," Renee said, rolling her eyes playfully. She shrugged his arm off of her before saying, "And don't call me 'babe'."
"Kitty? Bryan? Any chance we could interest you two in a nice game of football?" Meredith asked.
"I think I'll pass for today, but thanks," Kitty said.
"Yeah, I'm going to sit this one out," Bryan agreed.
"Uh oh. Not another family game of football. We all know how well that ended up last year," Sawyer groaned, coming out of the house and glancing round.
"Oh come on. We're just having fun," Meredith begged.
"I don't know. If Sam plays, I'll play," Sawyer replied.
"Hey, babe, you gonna play a game?" Sam asked, coming over to his wife.
"I guess it's a yes," Meredith said, before going over to John. He was calling everyone over so that they could split up into teams. Molly and Ethan decided to play too. Iz didn't, afraid that she would get her vest dirty. Ethan played, but Molly sat with the Gallaghers, trying to get to know them better. Flynn looked around the craziness of this whole football thing. He couldn't find Paige anywhere as he went back into the house, escaping all of the chaos.
Once everyone was ready, they started the game. Cole started.
"Hike!" he called out, passing the football to John. John took the football eagerly, beginning to run with it. Jude almost immediately charged at his brother, trying to take the football and knock him down but John quickly threw the ball to his mom, who was right near the end zone. Meredith caught it before sprinting towards the end zone and making a touchdown.
"Yes!" Cole exclaimed.
"Nice, Mom!" John yelled out. The rest of the team celebrated while Meredith tossed the ball to Jude so that he could start the next play.
Jude looked back at his Dad before calling, "Hike" and throwing the ball to Dean. Dean started running with it, but then when he realized he was cornered, he threw it to Sam, and Sam threw it to Sawyer, who took it right the end zone.
"You sure you're going to win, little brother?" Jude asked.
"Shut up," John replied, before running to his place in the yard. Ethan took the football this time, starting the game. He threw it to Renee and then Renee threw it to Meredith, who ran towards the end zone, but out of nowhere, Dean came, sidelining her, and picking her up in his arms so that she wouldn't score a touchdown.
"No blitzing!" she yelled, through laughter as Dean put her back down on the ground. Dean just shook his head, smiling at his wife before kissing her.
"Ew. Come on, guys," John groaned.
"Stop it. Your parents are adorable," Renee said.
"No they're not! They're always making out. It's weird!" John replied.
"No, it's because they're so in love with each other. You can just see it by the way they look at each other," Renee pointed out.
John cocked his head to the side. He hadn't really given it much thought, but his parents were fifty and both were so in love with each other. Was that what he should be looking for? John shook his head. No. He was in high school. He was at the period of his life where he was just looking for fun… right? Jamie was all he needed. Fun. Or was she? Maybe he should be looking for something like what his parents had. Hell, his parents began dating in high school. John shook the thoughts from his mind.
Back in the house, Flynn had gotten a glass of water. He noticed that Paige wasn't there anymore and he wondered where she had gone. He went through the house, out the front door, and up the driveway where, no surprise, he found Paige sitting on the tree swing again in her front yard.
"Hey," Flynn said, going over to her, this time, cutting across the grass.
"Hey," Paige smiled, looking up at him.
"What're you doing out here?" Flynn asked.
"Oh, I wasn't really in the mood to play football and I didn't want you to feel like you had to stay with me," Paige replied.
"Oh, no. I wouldn't- I mean, you didn't have to-, it's not-," Flynn stammered before just stopping and laughing. Paige laughed too, looking up at him.
"I love this swing. I'm so glad your previous neighbors had this already because I know we never would've done something like this," Paige started.
"Yeah, the neighbors had toddlers. They loved this thing," Flynn said.
"Are you calling me a toddler?" Paige asked, jokingly.
"Maybe," Flynn shrugged, jokingly.
"Thanks for inviting me and my family. It was great, tonight," Paige said.
"It's no problem," Flynn replied, simply.
"Flynn?" Paige asked, turning around to look at him.
"Yeah?" Flynn asked. His eyes met Paige's and he knew what she was asking. Hell, he was too. Flynn leaned in a little, hoping that his instincts weren't wrong. They weren't. Paige leaned in farther and Flynn met her lips with his, pulling her into a sweet, short kiss. They parted for a second before leaning back in and kissing again.
"Happy birthday, birthday bud," Renee said, standing on her tiptoes, hugging Jude. Almost everyone was gone by now. Flynn and Victoria were upstairs, finishing some homework, and everyone but the Walshes had left. Iz was waiting in the car with Molly and Ethan while Renee had gone back to get the sweater she left.
"You too, birthday bud," Jude chuckled.
"You won't forget about us when you're some famous surgeon, curing cancer, right?" Renee asked.
"I highly doubt I'll be curing cancer. Besides, that would require me to be in the lab instead of the OR," Jude reminded.
"Right. Well, you could do both!" Renee suggested.
Jude chuckled, "I don't know… I think I'm more of a surgeon than one of those guys in the stuff lab coats experimenting with some kind of cell mutation. Hey, you're still looking at Haverford, right?"
"Yeah," Renee answered.
"Well, if you come visit, promise me you'll come say hi over at Drexel. Actually, you should look at Drexel too. It's a great school," Jude started.
"Maybe," Renee said.
"One day I'll convince you to look at it but I know you've had your eye on Haverford for forever," Jude chuckled.
Renee laughed, giving Jude one more hug, "Have fun at school. I'll see you around Thanksgiving."
"You too. Hey, don't forget to have fun this year, alright? You're a senior," Jude said.
"I won't," Renee replied, pulling away from the hug. Jude and Renee were actually pretty close friends too. Jude was like Rene's big brother.
"What? None for me?" John asked, approaching the two. Renee and Jude both turned to see John standing in the hallway.
"Hey, John," Renee answered weirdly.
"Okay, weird, awkward vibes. I think this is my cue to leave," Jude said, looking from John and Renee. What was up with them? What was up with them talking, especially the part where John was flirting with her… constantly. I mean, it was about time that John opened his eyes and saw how gorgeous Renee was, but still. It was really weirding Jude out. They were all so sure that John and Renee would get together, but after middle school when they stopped talking, Jude wasn't sure it would happen. He knew the kind of girls that his brother went for. He had even gone down that path around high school, early college years, but he knew Renee would actually be good for his brother. It's about damn time…
"Listen, I've got to go. My family is waiting for me in the car," Renee said.
"Oh," John replied, surprised at the disappointment that came out in his tone.
"I'll see you at school," Renee said, before turning around and beginning to leave. She wanted to trust John but at the same time, she was afraid of trusting him. There was this constant conflict. She stopped before saying, "I'll tutor you, John."
"Yeah?" John asked, hopeful.
"Yeah," Renee replied.
"Cool," he said, a smile spreading across his face.
"I should go," she said, uncomfortably.
"Oh-, yeah, right…" John stammered.
"I'll uh, see you tomorrow," Renee replied.
"You too," John said. The two of them just stood there, not exactly knowing what to do, before John initiated a really awkward hug between the two. The minute they connected though, it wasn't awkward. It just felt… good.
"Bye," Renee said, pulling away. That hadn't been a good idea. It was just getting easier to trust him and… well, what if he cut her out again the minute they started getting close?
"Bye," John replied. There were these weird feelings that he was experiencing. It was different than what he felt for the girls he had been seeing within the past 6 months. Yep… this was definitely different. This was not lust.
