Mel and Loren were now on their way to Max and Katy's home. Mel was wearing her usual bright colors, consiting of a casual floor length Yellow maxi dress and an aqua colored jean jacket with aqua colored shoes and eye shadow to match, while her hair was put up neatly into a simple bun.
Loren on the other hand was wearing a simple white high-low dress with a light brown belt around the waist and light brown sandals to match, she had on white eye shadow and her hair was down in its natural curls with moose to help keep it from frizzing and poofing up.
Mel and Loren arrived at Katy's a little early because Katy called and asked them if they would mind helping her because she is running a little behind.
They knocked on the door and it immediately swung open.
Katy: Oh my goodness Loren, Mel Im so glad you are here, Thank you so much for coming to help me!
Loren: Of course.
Mel: Yeah you got team Mello at your service
Katy:Team Mello?
Loren: Long story, lets not worry about that right now, what do you need our help with
Katy: Well we are having a few more guests than I had expected so I need help setting more places at the table and I could really use a hand with cooking the last bit of food.
Mel: Okay well I will set the table, Loren is probably the one you want to help cook, she is a way better cook than I am.
Katy: Okay that sounds great Max is out on the patio, you can ask him to get you some more chairs and then if you don't mind come to the kitchen and grab the placemats and dishes, please
Mel: Im on it
While Mel went straight to work, Loren and Katy went to the kitchen.
Katy: Okay, so do you know how to make an apple pie?
Loren: Yeah I do, but is there a recipe you would like me to follow?
Katy: Nope, I've never made an apple pie before, It's just my nephews favorite desert and he is back for a couple of weeks from the army so I was going to try to make one but I didn't have time to get a recipe off of the internet.
Loren: Okay yeah no problem I have my mom's recipe memorized
Katy: That's great all together, there should be 27 people so could you make 3 of them, each pie could be cut into 8 slices which would make 24 all together, we are gonna have other desert so I don't think everyone would want a piece, so 24 slices should be plenty... I hope!
Loren: Okay wow I better get started then, if you don't mind me asking what exactly is this dinner for
Katy: I like to have one of these dinners once or twice a year, just to get most of my family and friends together, I started doing it about nine years ago when we lived in the old neighborhood. Loren, if Im not mistaking, didn't you come to a couple with your parents.
Loren: Oh yeah I did, I knew I remembered something like this, I just wasn't quite sure what it was.
After about 45 minutes, It was about time for everyone to arrive, the pies had about 10 more minutes in the oven, and Loren had just helped Katy put the finishing touches on the food.
Instead of placing all of the food on the dining room table, they placed it on the breakfast table in the kitchen and the desert on the Island, It would be so much easier for everyone to grab their plates off of the dining room table and serve themselves than to take a giant dish of food and pass it around through 27 people.
Katy: Loren, If you don't mind could you take this list of names to the security at the gate and remind them that our guests should be arriving soon, I will take the pies out of the oven
Loren: Yeah no problem, it's beautiful outside today, I was actually looking for an excuse to go get some fresh air, this kitchen is getting kind of stuffy thanks to all of the burners and ovens.
Loren grabbed the list from katy and walked down the stone driveway to the security at the gate.
Security Guard : Miss Tate what can we do for you
Loren: Katy asked me to bring you this, it's a list of people who should be coming to dinner, and I was supposed to remind you that they should be here soon.
Just then Eddie pulled up to the gate and the other security guard let him in because he knew who it was. Loren saw Eddies car and saw that Chloe was in the passenger seat.
It really did hurt Loren to see Eddie with Chloe, but what did she expect, that Eddie would just leave Chloe for her? Yeah right, Chloe was a supermodel, any guy would be crazy to not want her. But the funny thing is, the night they kissed, she thought Eddie might not be just any guy, that he was going to swim against the current and actually choose her. She kept staring at the car until she was pulled out of her thoughts by the security gaurd.
Security gaurd : Miss Tate are you okay
Loren: Huh, oh yeah im fine.
Security guard: Okay well will that be all?
Loren: Yeah, Thank you have a good day *starting to walk back up to the drive way*
Loren decided to walk extra slow back up to the house, she could tell this was going to be a long day...having to sit at a table with Eddie and Chloe might posibly be one of the worst things that she could think of right now.
Loren stopped at the big fountain in the middle of the yard which was surrounded by a circle of pavement so cars could easily leave with out having to back out. She sat down on the edge of the fountain runing her fingertips through the water, when someone started to speak and startled her.
Melissa: Hey Lo, are you okay, I saw Eddie and Chloe, that must have been hard.
Loren: Yeah it was, after everything he has put me through, why should I care if he is with Chloe or not? Ugh and I have to work with him on this new charity competition thing, why is he always around?
Melissa: It takes time Lo, and he is always around because he is or should I say was one of your best friends, *jokingly*and you have kind of been unofficially adopted by his parents.
Loren:*smiling* ha yeah yeah that was more of a rhetorical question, it didn't really require an answer.
Mel: I know, but I made you smile!... But back to being serious, Lo, do you still want to be friends with Eddie, because if you do, no matter how bad it hurts, you need to let him be happy with Chloe if that is even possible, and you need to move on and be happy to.
Loren: I know Mel and yes I do still want to be friends with him, if we weren't friends, this whole situation could get really messy and I could yet again lose another family. And I know I need to move on, in fact I am moving on, but it was still like a slap in my face to see Eddie with the girl who pretty much hates me like a week after he kissed me.
Mel: I know but like a said, it takes time for the pain to go away...wait a minute I just now got that, what do you mean by you ARE moving on.
Loren:*smiling* I was wondering when you were gonna catch that.
Mel: Oh my gosh! There is another guy isn't there! Who is it?!
Loren: It's Tommy
Mel: What?! I knew he liked you, when did this happen and why am I just now finding out?
Loren: Relax Mel it just happened today, and we were busy getting ready, so thats why I didn't tell you!
Mel: Okay, so tell me everything from the start!
Loren: There isn't much to tell, we went to get lunch at Aroma...
Loren told Mel the whole story of what had happened and how they have a date tomorrow after their performance.
Mel: Oh my gosh! I knew you two would get together, it was just a matter of time!
Loren: Really? Ha you do know you said the same thing about me and Eddie right?
Mel: Yeah and even though Eddie is a total jackass right now, I still think you two would be perfect together... but I also think you and Tommy would be really cute together, I even told everyone that at MK the night they met Tommy.
Loren: I can't believe it took this long for him to ask me out, if he would have asked me out sooner, maybe I wouldn't be having all of these Eddie problems right now.
Mel: I don't know I honestly think everything happens for a reason Lo! Maybe it was meant to happen this way... Speaking of Eddie what does this mean for you two.
Loren: Well I don't think I can forget how much hurt me when he kissed me, said it was a mistake, and then fixed things with Chloe the next day, but I have to try and forgive him. I think it is the only way I can start to get over him. I can't just sit around and wait to see if Eddie wants to be with me when I have someone as awesome as Tommy who knows he wants something more than just a friendship.
Mel: Well I think you have made your mind, do you think you could have real feelings for Tommy while you are trying to get over your feelings for Eddie.
Loren: Actually yeah, he is great... he is really sweet and he when we kissed there were sparks Mel, Not as many as with Eddie but there were still sparks!
Mel: Well Im really happy for you Lo, I really hope things work out with you and Tommy, you deserve to be happy, well Im going to get inside before Katy thinks we ditched her, you coming...
Loren: Not yet, Ill be inside in a few
Just then they both see Eddie walking towards them.
Mel: You sure?
Loren: Ughh yeah, we are supposed to talk about that charity thing today, and if we are going to fix our friendship I am going to have to stop avoiding him.
Mel: Okay well I will see you inside.
Mel walked inside as Eddie approached Loren.
Eddie:*sitting down beside her* hey Lo, everything okay?
Loren: Umm yeah I just had to talk to security for your mom and decided to stay out here and get a little fresh air.
Eddie: Oh...So umm you and Mel are here a little early, normally I am the first one to show up.
Loren: Yeah, your mom actually called and said she was running behind and asked us if we could come help her.
Eddie: ahh I see
Loren: yeap...
Eddie laughed a little
Loren: whats so funny?
Eddie: Nothing, it's just wierd
Loren: what's wierd?
Eddie: You know. We went from being able to tell each other almost anything and now we are barely even making small talk.
Loren:*let out a small sigh* I know.
Eddie: Loren, I miss you, I miss being able to hang out and talk to you, I know you are probably tired of me apologizing but im going to keep apologizing until you forgive me.
Loren: Eddie...
Eddie: I know, I know, you are mad at me and you need time but*getting interrupted*
Loren: Eddie, would you be quiet a minute and let me talk *Eddie nodded his head* Thank you, now what I was going to say is that I am not mad at you I am just a little hurt, I can forgive you in fact I do forgive you, it just might take a while to forget.
Eddie: Really, so does this mean we can be friends again?
Loren: It means that we can try to be friends again but lets take it slow this time. We have to work on that song for the charity event, so we can see how it goes.
Eddie stood up, picking Loren up off of the side of the fountain and spun her around in a tight embrace.
Eddie: Thank you Lo, I've missed you so much, and I am going to try my very best to not hurt you again, Thank you for giving me another chance!
Loren: Eddie, you are welcome, but remember what we said about taking our friendship slow, well you should really put me down now.
Eddie was about to say something when someone else spoke up.
Person: Yeah Eddie, I think you REALLY SHOULD put her down now.
Eddie put Loren down and turned around.
Eddie: Uhh hey Chlo, I thought you were inside because you thought it was a little too windy and you didn't want to mess your hair up.
Loren tried to hold back her laugh when Eddie said that, but she couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her mouth...all she could think was really? She didn't want to mess her hair up, it is beautiful outside today and the wind is barely blowing, besides, by the looks of it, Chloe had used an entire bottle of hairspray.
Chloe*glaring at Loren*: And what exactly is so funny?
Loren*not realizing that they could hear her laugh*: Huh? Oh nothing, I just had a funny thought for a moment. Okay well I am going to go back inside and see if your mom has anything else for me to do. *walking away as fast as she could without making it look like she was trying to escape*
After a about 10 more minutes Katies guests started to arrive. Katy stood at the door and and almost all of the guests had arrived except for Max's brother and his daughter and her boyfriend. Loren and Mel went to stand with Katy and while she was waiting for the rest of her final three guests.
Just then Max's brother walked in.
Katy: Loren, Mel this is Max's brother...
Loren: Dr. Don?
Don: Loren, Mel it's good to see you two again!
Loren: Good to see you too.
Mel: Wait a minute if you are Max's brother that means Adriana is here too, and aww man she brought Phill. *Adriana and Phill walked in just as Mel was talking* Just my luck.
Katy:*confused* Umm you all know each other?
Mel: Well unfortunately, Phill here is my horrible excuse of a brother, and Adriana well...
Loren: MEL! Umm Dr. Don actually helped me get out of a bad situation with one of my foster families a few years back, and Adriana is a drama major at Luminace.
Mel:*under her breath* yeap she is definately a drama major
Katy: Oh I see, well Don, Adriana, Phil, everyone is out on the back patio for now if yall would like to go on out, we should be serving dinner in a few minutes.
As soon as the three went out to the back patio, Katy looked at Loren and Mel and started to speak.
Katy: Okay, so what was all of that about.
Loren: All of what about?
Katy: You know what I am talking about, It kind of seemed like neither of you liked Adriana very much
Mel: Ha that's the understatement of the year! She is a total bit...
Loren: Mel! She is Max's and Katy's niece, you can't say what you were about to say!
Katy: No it is okay, We have all noticed that Adriana could use a serious attitude adjustment, seriously, she is probably the only person in this room who actually likes Chloe other than Eddie, if that doesn't say something about her attitude I don't know what would. So why exactly do yall not get along.
Loren: Well, when Don helped me get out of that one foster home I was in, I actually stayed at his home for a while, and I don't know why but Adriana seemed like she always hated me, So now we go to school together and I guess she hates Mel becuase she is my bestfriend. I can't believe you didn't know any of this, after all Don is Max's brother which I would have never guessed by the way.
Katy: Max and Don are only half brothers, they have different dads. Sometimes they are really close but other times they are not always on good terms. They honestly act like 9 year olds every now and then and refuse to talk to each other, you probably came around during one of those times... I think we should probably get dinner started now, but I do want to continue this conversation another time.
~ Dinner
Everyone had gotten their food and was about to sit down and eat, but first Katy decided to stand up and talk for a moment.
Katy: Okay Guys, I know you are all ready to eat, but I wanted to thank you for coming, we really should all get together more often. I also wanted to introduce you to a couple of people, some of you already know Loren Tate... she Is Trent and Nora's daughter, she actually came to a couple of dinners when she was younger, you may remember her. This is Mel Loren's best friend. Both of these girls have became very important to quite a few of us at this table. They are now part of the family, literally they are the daughters I never had, don't get me wrong, I love my son, but it would be really wierd if I helped him pick out dresses and high heels. *Everyone laughed* Okay anyways, Ill stop rambling now, so we all can enjoy the food.
~About 45 minutes later
Everyone was now done with their food and got their desert.
Max and Katy's nephew Dallen: Aunt Katy, I can't believe you made this apple pie it's amazing.
Katy: Actually I didn't make it, It was all Loren I honestly have never made an Apple Pie in my life.
Dallen: Well Loren this is probably the best Apple Pie I have ever tasted, and trust me I eat alot of it, it is my favorite desert ever.
Loren: Thank you, and I know... that is why Katy had me make it, she said you had a couple of weeks before you have to go back to your base and wanted to make you something special.
Dallen: Yeah, Aunt Katy is the best... You know, your name sounds really familiar, what is your last name again?
Loren:* kind of confused* umm Tate
Dallen: Tate, Tate, Tate, ahh ha thats it, by any chance are you a dance student at Luminace?
Loren: Umm Yeah, how did you now that?
Dallen: A good friend of mine goes there, he talks about you alot.
Loren: Really? If you don't mind me asking, who is your friend?
Dallen: Tommy, he said he was your dance partner.
Almost everyone at the area of the dining room table that Loren was at had their eyes on her, including Eddie.
Loren: Yeah he is. He is awesome by the way.
Dallen: You know he seems to think you are pretty awesome too he said he finally got up the nerve to ask you out. He has been talking about doing that for a while now, and okay... I better shutup now, he would kill me if he found out I was telling you this.
Loren's was like a million shades of red at that moment.
Katy: Loren Tate, young lady you have some explaining to do why am I just now hearing about this?
Loren: Haha you sound like Mel, and it just happened today, so there is no need to worry*jokingly* Mom.
Katy's face lit up a little: *tearing up a little* You know without all the sarcasm in that I could really get used to you calling me mom...ahh Okay okay so... did you say yes to him?
Loren felt Eddie's eyes practically burning a hole in her face, but she was too afraid to look in his direction, so she just continued to look at Katy and spoke quieter a little quieter.
Loren*blushing*: Yes I did.
Katy: Ahhh, I knew it, you two would look adorable together, so I want details, how, when, and where did he ask you?
Loren: Umm okay not to burst your bubble or anything but his good friend is sitting directly across from me, I don't think I want to talk about it in front of him, no offense Dallen!
Not only was Loren not wanting to talk about that in front of Dallen, but she also didn't want to talk about it in front of Eddie.
Dallen: None taken but you should really go on and tell them, I have already heard all about it, Tommy couldn't stop talking about the day you two shared, and how you went all super ninja sneaking out of Aroma.
Loren's face was definately more red than it was before, this is so awkward.
Loren glanced over and saw that Eddie was still staring at her and looked extremely tense. What is his problem?
Mel also glanced over at Eddie and could immediately tell that he was jealous, and she was kind of glad, If Loren had to see Chloe and Eddie together, he should atleast have to deal with hearing about Loren and Tommy, he had really messed up choosing Chloe over Loren.
Mel *trying to rub it in Eddie's face*: Okay so Loren obviously isn't going to talk about it so I will, To put a long story short they had an awesome day being rebels and breaking rules. Mel was telling the whole cafe part of the story and then she finally got to the part that really got to Eddie... So when they finally got outside, Loren was leaning against her car when they had their steamy yet romantic make out session.
Loren: Oh my gosh Mel! SHUTUP! It wasn't a makeout session, it was a simple kiss, It only lasted like a minute.
Mel: Yeah but you know you loved it, beause if you didn't, you wouldn't have kissed him again before he left MK... Your even the one that said that you felt sparks.
Katy: Aww that is so cute! Im so happy for you Lo.
Loren: You guys do know Tommy and I havn't officially went on a date yet, and do you know how awkward this is, Dallen is Tommy's friend, and now he knows everything.
Dallen*laughing*: Relax Loren, everything Mel just described was exactly the same as the way Tommy explained it.
Eddie continued to stare at Loren, he still looked really tense and his jaw was tightened. He stayed that way until dinner was over and everyone went back outside to the patio again so they could talk some more before they said their goodbyes.
Loren and Mel stayed inside to help Katy and the housekeeper clean up the mess.
Loren was laughing with Mel and Katy, while she wiped down the dining room table when she was interrupted by someone.
Person: Umm Loren can we go outside and talk
Loren: Umm Im kind of busy right now Eddie
Eddie: Please
Loren:* let out a small sigh* Fine
Loren suddenly felt sick, this kind of started to feel like deja vu, all she could think was oh no here we go again.