HEY I'M BACK! DON'T ASK ME WHY I WAS GONE BECAUSE I WAS BASICALLY JUST LAZY/BUSY/SICK THE WHOLE TIME.
Andyway, who would like to read how Nina and Mick came together (I know some people are finding that kind of weird)? I'll post either a oneshot on Into the Future or make it a bonus chapter once I finish this story if you guys would like to know how they met up and started dating and stuff. :)
But enough of that-
Enjoy!
Matty tapped his chin thoughtfully with his finger, looking up at the sign. "I want…w-what are the f-flavors again, d-daddy?"
Jerome amused smirk dropped and he stared blankly at the board above the window. Mara muffled a giggle. "Kiddo, why don't you try reading them?"
His son looked back up at the flavors of ice cream and tilted his head to the side. "I want ch-chocolate."
"Alright, chocolate it is," Jerome grinned, clapping his hands together. He turned to Mara to ask what she would like and then Matty interrupted,
"Or m-maybe strawb-berry," he mumbled.
"Why don't you get chocolate and strawberry?" Jerome suggested.
"No, I d-don't want b-both."
"What about strawberry with chocolate on the top?"
"That's a g-good idea."
"Thank you," his father smirked and then he hung his head when Matty continued,
"B-but what kind of chocolate should I g-get on the top? Chocolate chips? Hot f-fudge? Sp-sprinkles? What d-do you think, M-Mara?"
Mara hummed thoughtfully. "What's your favorite?"
"Hot fudge," he grinned.
"Then why don't you get hot fudge?"
"You're r-right," he gave his father's pants leg a tug. "D-daddy, I want st-strawberry with hot f-fudge please."
"Yes, sir," Jerome mocked a salute and then arched an eyebrow at his fiancé. "What would you like, darling?"
"What are the flavors again, daddy?" she asked teasingly.
He widened his blue eyes warningly and she giggled.
Michael nearly jumped out of his skin when Emily came rushing around the bookcase. He pulled his earbuds out and arched an eyebrow at her.
"Sorry, I'm late, I know." she mumbled, pushing a stray strand of her light brown hair behind her ear.
Michael smirked. No matter how her hair was done up, there was always one strand of hair that was shorter and never fit with the rest of it.
She unzipped her jean jacket and shrugged out of it, slipping it over the back of her chair. She sat down and looked up at Michael. "What?"
He eyed her Nirvana t-shirt and then the pearls that hung around her neck. He shook his head. "Nothing. Ready to start?"
"Yeah," she nodded slowly.
"Jacob," Fiona called, waving him over to the table.
He smiled and walked up to the booth. "Hey, how's it going?"
"Good, how are you?" she asked with a bright smile.
"Pretty good," he nodded and turned when the door to the coffee shop opened. "Hey, Sarah,"
Sarah Campbell waved shyly. "Hi, Jacob,"
"This is Sarah, she lives across the street from me." he introduced.
"Oh you're Jackson's little sister, right?" Louisa realized. "I met him today. My sister's showing him around their school."
Sarah nodded silently.
"Well, here, you can sit with me. I'm Louisa, and this is Fiona, Danni and Leo."
Sarah slid into the booth beside Louisa and Jacob followed her.
"So you guys are like the gang from Friends, hanging out in a coffee shop every day?" Jacob smirked.
"Oh my, gosh, you're right." Leo said, his eyes widening. "Who's Monica?"
Louisa and Danni's eyes landed on Fiona instantly and she blushed slightly. "Shut up…."
"Who's Chandler?" Jacob asked.
"Josh," Leo replied instantly.
The group fell silent and he huffed out a breath.
"Guys, Josh is still our friend."
"He's your friend right now, Leo. We've kinda decided to shun him after what he did to Lou, you know." Danni reminded him.
"Yeah, I know. I just think it's a little mean."
"He would do it to us." Louisa pointed out.
TJ smiled slyly. "Who's got you all smiley?"
Michael jumped off the bench and spun around to glare at her. "TJ, that's not funny!"
"I'm sorry," she chuckled lightly, sitting on the bench and he warily did the same. "I just wanted to know why you were grinning at the swings like a freak."
Michael rolled his eyes and let out a slow breath through his nose. "I was not grinning at the swings."
"And you were obviously not thinking about a girl." She nodded and winked.
The blonde remained silent, staring at her blankly, and she held his gaze, one eyebrow raised challengingly. Finally, he groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Fine, I was thinking about Emily."
"Ooh, the tutor—"
"Why am I telling you this?" he laughed suddenly, cutting her off.
"Because I'm your best friend," she shrugged.
"Since when? We met two days ago."
"Since I decided that you need a real friend because I know all your friends are jerks." She stated bluntly.
"Do you get this level of bluntness from your mother or father?"
"Dad," she grinned.
"And the apologizing from your mother, I'm guessing?"
"Yeah," she mumbled and then poked his shoulder. "Why don't you ask her out?"
Michael took a second to realize who she was talking about and shook his head. "One, I've got a girlfriend already—"
"Then why aren't you thinking about her?"
"TJ, if you're going to be my best friend, you need to let me finish my sentences." He smirked and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "We wouldn't work out."
"I think you mean that you don't want to date her in fear of being shunned by the entire student body."
Michael gritted his teeth and turned to her. "Really?"
She hummed in verification. "You also fear rejection."
He swallowed. "You're good at reading people too. Are you a superhero?"
She laughed. "Close, I'm a girl."
Michael didn't want to, but he laughed. "Alright, point TJ."
TJ grinned. "Break up with your girlfriend and ask Emily out. I know she'd say yes."
"Hey, daddy," Alice smiled, walking into the kitchen with her friends in tow. "This is Jackson, and you already know Justin and Jenna."
"Man, J seems to be a popular letter…" Jerome mumbled.
"Dad," Michael laughed, rushing into the kitchen.
"Mickey, I was talking to him first." Alice stated, planting her hands on her hips.
"It'll only take a second." he sighed.
"Fine," she relented.
"Dad, I need to borrow your credit card so I can buy two tickets to Mexico."
Jerome blinked and watched TJ come up behind his son. "Oh, god, are you getting married?"
"Wha—no, dad, we pulled a prank on a certain…um, guy…and he's really mad at us. So to prevent bloodshed, we decided to go to Mexico and hide out there until the storm calms."
Jerome sighed, running a hand over his face. "No, figure it out for yourself."
"Dang it," Michael sighed as his father left the room.
"Justin, this is my brother Michael," Alice presented.
They shook hands and Jackson's blue eyes landed on TJ. "And his friend…"
"Is a lesbian." She finished for him.
His eyebrows rose in surprise and then nodded slowly. "Great…"
Michael laughed. "Your face—wait, seriously?"
TJ looked up at him and nodded.
"Nice—ow, what?"
"I'm not kissing a girl for you."
"That's not why I'm happy about it." he denied, following her out of the room.
Alice smiled at her friends, and Justin glared at Jackson when the shorter boy turned to smile at her charmingly. "Who wants a snack?"
Review?
So the next chapter is pre-written and it's pretty good if I do say so myself. It'll have some violence and a little bit of language but it's all part of the story...
"You could've had it all, rolling in the deep. You had my heart and soul in your hands, but you played it to the beat. You could've had it all, rolling in the deep. You had my heart and soul in your hands, but you played it to the beat..." -Rolling In The Deep (Adele Cover), Go Radio
-Rachel