Chapter 9 - Meet the McDodd Family Part Two

Sally had watched the scene before her with loving eyes. She led them out of JoJo's door while the two trailed behind her, talking as they went.

"Eating breakfast with my family," began JoJo, walking close to Bryon, "isn't exactly what some Whos would call 'normal'. And don't mind my dad," he added.

Bryon gave him a quizzative look.

"I heard him talking to your dad this morning. They were talking about where you would go. Your dad is very worried about you, Bryon."

Bryon groaned. "Not you too!" She looked uncomfortably around, thinking of anything that could change the subject. "Does your dad normally try to set you up with doctor's daughters?" She finally asked.

JoJo was momentarily distracted by her obvious change of track. He became uncomfortable as well. He thought of the previous school day and the following night. "Well….my dad's been trying to get me to hang out with other guys my age, but, as you can see," he looked at Bryon with a look that said "try me", "I'm kind of a secluded person. He must have met your dad somewhere and started to think that you were his youngest son….Bryon."

He had expected her to get angry, or show any emotion at all, but Bryon portrayed nothing.

"You don't seem angry…?" JoJo's statement ended in a question.

"And you look surprised." She smiled at him. "JoJo, with a name like 'Bryon', you get used to being mistaken for a guy. It's fine." She really did appreciate his concern, which reminded her. "I never did tell you thanks for last night."

He let out a small laugh. "You're very welcome. And, a Who as pretty as yourself shouldn't have been crying." Wow, JoJo, what was that?! You sounded so stupid!

Bryon was thinking on about the same thought pattern. That was so cute of him. Does he really think I'm pretty or was he just saying that….she wondered.

Without even thinking through her next act, Bryon leaned heavily against JoJo and hugged him without breaking stride.

JoJo, stunned by her sudden proximity, stumbled, and quickly regained his balance. She still hadn't let go.

"You do know that if I had fallen just now, you'd've gone down with me, right?" he asked.

She shrugged, her arms still wrapped around him. "Worth it." she said simply. "Haven't you ever been hugged by girls other than your sisters, JoJo?"

JoJo immediately thought of all his "fangirls" in Whoville. They attacked him every single day. Hugs, notes, stuffed animals in his locker at school…anything that would make him remember the girl who had put it there.

By then, they had reached the breakfast room. Bryon recoiled from the colors she saw.

She thought there was thousands of girls around her; some pink some blue, some orange, Oh Who! she thought.

Once they caught sight of Bryon, however, Hannah, who was on the other side of the room at the moment, screamed at the top of her lungs, "HELLO BRYON!"

Seeing their oldest sister greet their guest, the others started to mimic her, and soon, Bryon was close to covering her ears to muffle the noise, but she was laughing.

"Hello, everyone." Bryon answered quietly, her usually pale face rose red.

Mayor McDodd looked at the girl standing close to his son. Bryon? Blue and white striped fur? Whitish, blonde hair? That sounds like the Serna's son, Bryon. But….this is Bryon? His head was filled to the brim with these and similar questions. And….he continued to wonder, why does JoJo seem so….so….comfortable with her standing so close? He actually looks….amused.

The Mayor believed that he knew every Who in Whoville, and quickly wanted answers to his endless questions.

"JoJo," he called, "who is this pretty Who? Wait, don't tell me!"

Bryon and JoJo exchanged glances.

"Micheal Serna's youngest, Bryon, right?" he asked, still unsure. When he and Micheal had spoken , he was under the influence that Bryon was his fourteen year old son.

Bryon's eyes portrayed a hint of fear when the Mayor had said her father's name, but other than that, she smiled. "Yes, sir. And it seems to JoJo and I, that you believed that I was a boy?"

The Mayor blushed and looked down out of his discomfort. "I truly am sorry about that. It's just that your father never mentioned….well, he said that you were….he didn't think to say that you were his daughter. We have spoken over the phone a few times, thinking of the right time to introduce you two, so now, there isn't a need for the hookup." he finished. He watched as JoJo and Bryon blushed and looked down at their feet away from each other. The Mayor had the fatherly sense that something had already happened between the two young Whos. He looked at his watch which led him to ask the one question the two had hoped to avoid.

"How did you get here so early; it's only 9 o' clock, and your dad said you were missing….we need to call and tell him that you're here and you're safe."

As Sally headed to find a phone, Bryon cringed behind JoJo as most of the daughters blurted out answers.

"Heather told me that they were all alone in JoJo's bedroom!"

"They were only playing 'Go Fish' with Finwick, Holly!"

The answers continued lf that nature until Hannah, uncomfortable by the glare she was receiving from her brother, yelled, "ENOUGH!" The room was silent, that is until Hannah spoke up again. "I heard that Bryon was supposed to come over soon, and I thought that I could be the first to meet her. So I decided to ask her to come home with me after school, but she couldn't come over until this morning, and she got here earlier than I expected, I guess…."

The Mayor was confused. "But why did your mother find her with JoJo in his room together? Why didn't you come to breakfast with her?"

What's with all the questions, Dad?! You never usually ask these! she thought; and was thinking up an explanation when Bryon answered for her.

"I wanted to meet him….I had heard some great things about him." she trailed off, looking at JoJo, who blushed in response.

Mr. McDodd grinned and let the subject go for the current moment, watching his son's reaction.

JoJo went to sit in his normal seat, and Bryon walked closer behind him, if that was even possible, and could feel the stares of his sister's burning into her back. As the two sat down next to Hannah, Bryon could sense the hushed whispers about her. Lady Luck was on her side as she sat next to Hannah.

"Thanks so much, Hannah. That was super uper of you!" Bryon said.

JoJo snickered and held in a laughing fit. Hannah kept laughing, on the other hand, and seemed quiet compared to her other sisters as they went around the breakfast table.

"What?!" Bryon yelled. "What?!"

Hannah turned to her brother.

"Hey JoJo, that was 'super uper'!"

Bryon understood. "Oh, I see." She waited until their laughter had quieted. "Why do we keep stopping? I feel like I'm going to fall off of this chair."

"Well, Bryon, since our dad is the Mayor, we only get to spend twelve seconds with him each in the mornings." Hannah grimaced at her older brother. "But, more lately it seems, you always get to spend more time with him than the rest of us!"

JoJo shrugged while he slumped even further in his chair and turned it around. Bryon copied him.

"It's not like I want more time, Bryon, my dad is just….he doesn't get me at all." he whispered harshly.

Hannah looked over the top of her chair. "Get ready, JoJo; it's almost your turn."

Bryon turned her chair from JoJo to face Hannah, scared of the true look of nervousness in JoJo's eyes. She didn't understand and Hannah understood.

"I'll explain later, Bryon." was her only explanation.

"So JoJo, did Bryon tell you that her father is getting married soon; to a woman named Emily? She's lucky to have a Who who will take care of her and her brothers." Seeing the glare he was receiving from his wife, he quickly added. "But your mother does a wonderful job of taking care of you and your sisters." Sally smiled. "She's very pretty, son. Her father said that she was very excited to meet you; hoping that she'd meet you at school…." And Mr. McDodd couldn't see it, but underneath his black bangs, JoJo was an intense crimson color.

His father couldn't, but Hannah could. She acted like she hadn't been listening to the conversation so she draw attention to herself. By now, JoJo's turn was over, and, like usual, he hadn't said a word to his father. But he wasn't going to take any chances with Bryon; when he jumped off of his chair, JoJo grabbed Bryon's hand and made her follow him back down a hallway.

"JoJo! JoJo!!" he finally stopped at his door. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, but I really need to get out of here….and I need you with me."

Bryon didn't even hear the last part; she was too frustrated because none of her answers were getting answered. Now she considered herself to be a Who of higher awareness, years of growing up with brothers tend to do that to a Who, she thought. It was then that Bryon actually looked around the hallway they were in; pictures of people Bryon believed to be JoJo's ancestors, and she saw one thing they all had in common. She stepped closer to a set of paintings.

A crest….what does that have to do with anything? A family heirloom, perhaps? Bryon thought to herself. JoJo had been watching her, confused, and saw what her hand was fixed over in the portrait.

That crest! JoJo rolled his eyes at the sign that shows the town that his father was the Mayor and cleared his throat.

"Oh! JoJo, sorry! I was ummm….staring….what is this?" she pointed to the crest.

JoJo sighed and walked over to his friend. "This, is the mayoral crest. My dad wears it, my grandfather wore it, my great-grandmother wore it, and," he sighed again, "I'm going to wear it."

Bryon gasped, for once, inaudibly when she heard the sadness and disdain that was so heavy in JoJo's voice. She wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know what to say to him, even though she had a pretty good idea of what was happening between JoJo and his father.

Mr. McDodd walked up behind them then, scaring the two young Whos. "So, JoJo, showing Bry-Vic your ancestors?"

Bryon looked at the ground as her name was said; she didn't like people knowing her full first name, but judging from JoJo's look of question, she couldn't not tell the boy.

"My full first name is Bryon-Victoria, after my mom, JoJo." Bryon unhappily explained.

"How is Emily, Bryon? Is she getting settled in nicely with your family?" the Mayor asked.

"Yeah. Emily has really helped my family out a lot….after. She was more like my mom during the weeks before the move to Whoville. She's well, thank you, sir."

"So did JoJo or Hannah introduce you to the family?"

"Not really, no." Bryon missed JoJo slapping his forehead and sinking to the ground beside his door. He knew how long it would take for Bryon to meet his family, and he desperately wanted to leave, but she had come home with him and he had technically promised her brothers that he'd take care of her.

The Mayor led Bryon back to the kitchen where JoJo had rushed her out of.

"Bryon, meet the family." he said proudly.

"….yay…." JoJo mumbled.