The BBQ that Chelsea and Sora talked about had to be pushed back since Sora was still kinda sick on that Saturday.
As the family drove in Vanzilla Sora was a bit nervous to say the least.
"Alright, so when we get there, y'all need to be on your best behavior. This is my girlfriend we're talking about. And I need to make a good impression. Lana, those veggies you brought better be given to mom or so help me." Sora said.
"Oh relax Sora, everything is gonna be alright." Lori said, dismissing Sora's feelings.
"Right, which is why our family is banned from all public pools in a 20 mile radius." Sora retorted. "Lisa, I don't wanna hear anything about how much urine is in the pool. Literally no one wants to hear anything like that."
"But you realize the amount of-" Lisa started before she was cut off by Sora.
"Lisa!" Sora growled
"Son I know you're nervous, but don't you think this is going a little far?" Lynn Sr asked.
Sora gave his father an "are you serious" look.
"Look, I know it's unnerving to meet your girlfriend's family. Trust me, I was a complete wreck when I introduced Rita to my family. I thought my brothers were gonna drive her off." Lynn Sr said.
Sora took a deep breath and sat back.
"I'm sorry guys. I'm just, really on edge. Back in New York I was always in competition with Eathen and Franklin. Well, it was more like those two were way out in front and I was the horse with the busted leg. Girls would hardly give me the time of day, and now, now I've got the most beautiful girl in the universe as my girlfriend." Sora said.
"You know, I know you and Chelsea are Boyfriend and Girlfriend but, have you guys like, gone on a date yet?" Leni asked.
"No, with the crap Darren pulled last week giving me detention, getting sick, and a whole bunch of other things, I haven't had the time to think of what our first date should be. Plus, I don't know what to do, we both hang out at the arcade everyday, there aren't any movies we both wanna see, and a dinner date doesn't really seem like first date material, maybe second or third, but not first." Sora said.
"Relax bro, I'm sure something will come to ya. Mine and Sam's first date was a city wide scavenger hunt so you're good." Luna reassured him.
"You know, maybe you could try a show?" Luan suggested. "I heard a local theater group is doing Shakespeare in the park. It's completely free. All you gotta do is find a place to sit."
"Maybe, I should check in with Chelsea about that. Thanks Luan, you might've helped me a lot." Sora breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he might have an idea now.
Vanzilla had pulled up to a large house in the rich part of town. The Louds got out and approached the door.
"Wow, this house is ginormous." Lola said in awe
"Wow, so this is how the rich live." Lori said in Amazement.
Lynn Sr knocked on the large french doors.
Mr Gold answered the door. "Ah Louds, glad you could all make it please please come in. Make yourselves at home." Mr Gold said.
Lynn then took out her soccer ball and was gonna start bouncing it before Sora grabbed it. And gave her a glare telling her 'Mr Gold didn't mean it literally.'
"Well it's nice that you'd have up here Mr Gold." Rita said.
"Oh please, Mr Gold is what I'm called in the office. Please Call me Mason." The older man said.
"King!" Chelsea yelled before running down the stairs, crashing into him, knocking the two lovebirds to the floor.
"Well, it looks like Sora is Falling For the First Time. Hahaha, get it?" Luan joked, causing the Louds aside from Lynn Sr to groan.
"Wait, was that a joke or a reference?" Luna asked.
"Both." Luan answered.
"Never pegged you for a BareNakedLadies fan." Luna commented.
All the while Sora was getting assaulted by Chelsea's lips.
"Alright sweetie, I think that's enough. Let the boy get up." Mason said.
"Sorry, it's just been so long since we've kissed, that was for all the time you were sick." Chelsea giggled.
"Sora?" Lana called out.
"Son?" Lynn Sr said.
"...I, have died. Don't revive me. Tell the doctor to take me off life support. I am in heaven and I never wanna leave." Sora said, with a blissful smile as his face was covered in lipstick marks.
"Oooohh looks like King is getting flustered." Chelsea teased.
"Just like your father, sweetie." Mrs Gold said, coming from behind. "Either way, it's nice to finally meet you all. Diana Gold, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you all."
Sora recovered from his lover's assault and the Louds made their way out to the backyard where Chelsea's siblings were.
"Wow, that's a big pool." Leni pointed out.
"Yup, Sasha is in love with that thing. I'm sure if we were in a warmer state she'd never get out of that thing." Chelsea said.
The families soon broke off and started doing their own thing.
Lynn Sr and Mason were around the grill working on some burgers, stake, ribs, talking about little things going on.
"So, you're planning on opening your own restaurant?" Mason asked
"Yeah, it was hard to do so, but thanks to Sora's biological grandparents I was able to take out a smaller loan so it'll be a bit less strain on the finances." Lynn Sr replied.
"Well, I certainly hope your restaurant works well for you." Mason said.
The two men clinked their beer bottles and returned to the grill.
"So Lynn, how did your family come across Sora? If you don't mind me asking." Manson pondered.
"Well, Rita and I didn't know about him till we came back from our date night back in March. Our kids were the one to find him passed out on our porch. When we got home we were shocked to say the least. And because it had been storming all day, along with it being close to our kids bedtime, we just didn't feel right sending him off. So we let him stay the night, and then he offered to watch Lily when our usual babysitter called out the next day. And well, he just sorta became part of the family." Lynn Sr explained.
"Interesting, why didn't you call the police about you finding a child in his state?" Mason inquired.
"Well, we were gonna take Sora to the police station when he got home with his siblings, Sora just laid everything out to us. And we knew if we took him to the police they would most likely bring him back to that place, and honestly. I'd rather be in jail right now knowing we saved Sora from that household." Lynn Sr said with pride.
Not too far away Rita and Diana were sitting under an umbrella covered table.
"It was honestly so heartbreaking when we heard how he'd been treated. Me and Lynn knew right then and there that Sora needed a loving family. We didn't even care about how long or how much it would take to adopt him." Rita said, as the 2 women were talking about Sora's adoption
"You know, I always heard your kids were uncontrollable. But seeing how your family is right now, I think those people just look at the bad parts of these kids. Though I have heard some rumors about you and Lynn possibly neglecting your kids. Course, Mason and I know that's just a pile of trite." Diana said
"Well if people think I'm a neglectful mother then perhaps they should come out of whatever pitch black room they're in and see the light. My kids may be rambunctious and high energy, but they're still well behaved." Rita retorted.
"Agreed, honestly I think people take this small town a bit too seriously. My kids certainly aren't little angels. I mean, the amount of time Chelsea has cut school to hang out with her friends. Sasha is very much like Lynn. Always trying to be the best at whatever she does. And don't tell Mason this, Jackson has been slacking a little bit with his studies. I think he might have a boyfriend." Diana said.
Over in the pool the kids were hanging out in groups with Chelsea's siblings. Lori, Leni, Luna, and Lola were all talking with Jackson in the shallow end of the pool.
"So, you have a boyfriend?" Lori asked as she, Leni, Luna, and Lola talked on the other side of the pool.
"Yeah, but I wanna keep it hush hush right now. My family ain't phobic or anything. My dad is just one of those 'study now, party later' types." Jackson explained.
"I totes get that. Dad's a similar way. He always says, 'if you get your homework done now you won't have to worry about it later'." Leni said, in a faux Lynn Sr voice.
"Yeah, all dads seem to be like that." Lola commented.
"Ah Pop-Star is just lookin out for us. I'm sure your dad is the same dude." Luna said.
"Yeah, I'm sure he is, but dad tells me I need to keep my grades up if I'm gonna get into my dream school." Jackson said.
"What is your dream school?" Lori asked.
"NYU, I love the idea of studying in New York." Jackson said.
On the other side of the pool Sasha is talking with Lynn, Lincoln, Luan, Lana and Lucy. While Lisa and Lily are off to the side.
"Oh wow, didn't think we'd hear that name." Lynn said, sitting on the edge of the pool with Lincoln, Lucy, and Sasha
"Yeah, honestly I think New York is tainted knowing that's where Sora is from." Lincoln commented.
"He's from New York?" Sasha asked.
"A run away from an abusive household. He ran all the way from New York to our little town." Lucy said
"Wow, well looks like he's having fun with you guys. Anyway, Lynn, wanna race?" Sasha asked, changing the subject sensing the atmosphere had gotten tense.
"Oh you're so on." Lynn said, launching herself off the edge.
"Hey, do you know where Sora is? I haven't seen him since we arrived." Lucy inquired.
"No. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him or Haze since we got here." Lincoln said.
"Oh you guys know how couples are. They're probably somewhere making out." Luan explained.
"I think I heard her say something about wanting to show Sora something in her room." Lana said.
Meanwhile, Luan was somewhat right.
"Chels, shouldn't we go out back for the party? I mean, we did come here because of a BBQ." Sora said, as he sat on Chelsea's queen sized bed.
"The party isn't going anywhere. Besides, I've been wanting to spend time with you all week. I wish I could've come over and taken care of you while you were sick. It killed me knowing you weren't feeling well." Chelsea said, inside her closet. Chelsea walked out in a red 2 piece, consisting of a bandeau bikini top and a skirted bikini bottom. "So King, what do you think? I bought this with you in mind."
Sora's face just turned red as a tomato. He just stayed silent for a solid minute. "If I wasn't in love with you before, I am now."
"Oh King. You always know the right words to say." Chelsea said, sauntering up to Sora.
She takes a seat on his lap. Causing Sora's face to turn even redder. Smiling as she put her arms around his neck. Putting her head on his shoulder as Sora wrapped his arms around her.
"Thank you King." Chelsea said.
"Thanks? For what?" Sora asked.
"Everything. Being my friend, being my boyfriend, protecting me from Darren, being a good Tekken player, everything." Chelsea said.
"Well, I should thank you too." Sora said.
"What am I being thanked for?" Chelsea asked with a small chuckle.
"Being my girlfriend, giving me a chance, accepting me for who I am. I've had too many people in my life not accept me. And have you and my family now. I just feel, I'm where I belong." Sora explained
No more words were exchanged between the two lovers. They just gazed into each other's eyes before their lips pressed against each other's.
The love birds were making out once again. This session was different. It was more, sensual, slower, more loving than any of their other sessions. The two laid back in Chelsea's bed as their session had no signs of stopping.
Just then a knock at the door stopped the two. Chelsea's mother was there.
"Sorry to interrupt sweetie. But your father asked me to come find you. He needed to ask to to run down to the store and pick up some extra soda." Diana said.
"Oh sure mom. Sorry Sora, I promise I'll be back as soon as possible." Chelsea said, before getting up and getting dressed. she walked out of the room before kissing her mom on the cheek. "I'll be back soon King."
Sora got up and started walking out, before he was stopped by Diana.
"Sora, can I talk with you privately?" Diana asked.
"Sure Mrs Gold. What up?" Sora asked.
"First, I wanted to say thank you for defending my daughter last week. Myself and Mason were proud to know Chelsea found herself someone who takes action. Secondly, I know you and Chelsea haven't had a date yet so I thought I could give you a suggestion. There's a fair coming to Royal Woods next weekend. Chelsea loves fairs and carnivals, it's been her favorite thing to do since she was little." Diana said.
"A fair? Hm, that might actually be a good idea. Thank you for the suggestion Mrs Gold." Sora said.
"No problem, now why don't you head out back. The food is almost ready." Diana said walking the opposite way.
Sora walked out into the back and joined Chelsea's father at the table by the pool.
"Good afternoon Mr Gold." Sora said.
"Afternoon Sora. So, did my daughter show you that new Bikini she bought?" Mason asked.
Sora froze up. He wasn't really sure what type of dad Mason was. For all he knew he could be the super protective, "break my daughter's heart and I'll break your face" types.
"Relax Sora, I knew about it when she got it. I mean, we were there when she picked it out." Mason chuckled.
"I'm sorry sir, I just didn't know how to respond." Sora explained.
"Well I can certainly understand. It's not something you'd hear a father say to his daughter's boyfriend. At least, not without a shotgun in his lap." Mason chuckled again.
"I think if I saw you with a shotgun in your lap I'd need to write my will." Sora said, with an exasperated laughed.
"So, how's the first date planning coming?" Mason asked.
"To be honest sir, it's not going anywhere. Every time I think of something, there's something that just talks me out of it." Sora explained.
"Well, if you're looking for an idea for a date, there's this go-kart track in Hazeltucky that has pretty good prices. Chelsea's had a fondness for go-karting since she was a kid. So, that might be your best option." Mason offered.
"Go-karts, that might be a good idea. Thanks Mr Gold. Though I have to be honest, I was expecting you to be, well, a little more of a shotgun dad." Sora said.
"Oh believe me, I would've been had this been our first meeting. But knowing you stood up for my daughter when she was assaulted, well you couldn't have made a better first impression on me if you tried." Mason admitted.
"Heh, well I certainly wasn't expecting that." Sora chuckled. "Suck on that Eathen." Sora said under his breath.
"Should I assume Eathen is the name of your biological brother?" Mason asked.
"I guess my parents already told you?" Sora asked back.
"They did, after they got their emergency adoption order to go through, I started looking into the case that was opened on your family." Mason explained.
"A case was opened on them?" Sora questioned.
"When an emergency order of adoption is put through CPS is contacted to start an investigation on the family." Mason explained.
"Huh, Franklin never told me anything about that. Maybe he doesn't know." Sora pondered.
"Well considering you're a former Belnadis, it might be safe to say they don't want things to be out in the open." Mason said.
"I guess that makes sense. Now I'm wondering what'll happen." Sora said.
"If CPS is careful, your bio parents could face child neglect and endangerment charges." Mason stated.
"I doubt they'll be able to do much. Unfortunately my bio family has status and influence in New York. So chances are my birth givers will be able to rug sweep this, like their other problems." Sora said, with a defeated sigh.
"Stranger things have happened young man. But for now, just enjoy the BBQ." Mason said, trying to bring the young man's spirits up.
"Thanks Mr Gold, I think I'm gonna jump in the pool for a bit." Sora said.
Getting up from his chair he made his way to the pool where Lola, Lori, Leni, Luna and Jackson were.
"Hey Sora." The girls said.
"Ah, so you're the Sora my sister's been fawning over." Jackson said
"Fawning may be over doing it." Sora said, his face getting a little red from embarrassment.
"Are you kidding? She's so in love with you man. I passed her room last night and I heard her moaning in her sleep. "Sora, Sora, So-" Jackson was soon shoved under the water.
Chelsea had come back, snuck her way behind her older brother and dunked him.
Jackson quickly escaped Chelsea's dunking.
"What the hell Chels?" Jackson screamed.
"That's for embarrassing my boyfriend asshat." Chelsea said.
"Oh come on, I was just hazing the guy. Besides, everyone gets hazed when they have someone they love." Jackson stated.
"I'll remember that when you get a boyfriend." Chelsea said sarcastically." Anyway, why don't you come in the pool, Sora?"
"I, um, don't really feel like swimming." Sora said hesitantly.
"Come on man, take your shirt off and hop in, the Water's great." Jackson egged on.
"Thanks, but I'm honestly not the strongest swimmer, besides I'd rather just stay on the edge." Sora said, trying to brush the egging off.
The two just decided to let it go and Swim off.
"What's wrong bro?" Luna asked, swimming up to him.
"Yeah, we thought you liked swimming?" Lori asked.
"I do. I just, want my scars to heal fully first. I don't want Chelsea to worry about me. Besides, it's not that hot outside now." Sora said
Both Luna and Lori looked at their brother with concern.
"Are you sure about that Sora? I don't think Chelsea would look at you any differently." Lori said, trying to comfort her brother.
"Yeah, I just want the scars to heal a little more." Sora said, trying to reassure his sisters.
"Alright Sora, we won't push you." Lori said.
Both girls swam off to leave Sora to his own devices. Sora laid down, looking up at the sky.
"CPS? I never knew this was gonna happen. I wonder if they know? I haven't heard anything from Franklin, and he's always the one who's really astute about stuff like that. I just hope it doesn't affect my family. I love Franklin and the others still, well, I could care less about Eathen, Jill, and my birth givers. They can all be dragged to hell right in front of me and I wouldn't help them. Grams and Gramps are still pretty old, I doubt CPS would let those 2 take them unless they fought to hell and back to get them. But then again, Misty and Mikey do love spending time in England with Uncle Jack and Aunt Suzie. And Franklin Loves that little mountain town in Colorado where Aunt Carrie, and Uncle John live. Dia would most likely stay with Franklin." Sora was lost in thought.
Unfortunately his thoughts would be interrupted by Sasha and Lynn pulling Sora into the pool.
The two girls laughed as Sora splashed around in shock. He got back up to the surface with a loud gasp.
"WHAT THE HELL LYNN!" Sora screamed as he breathed hard.
"Ah calm down Sora, it's not like we would've let you drown." Lynn said, brushing him off.
"Lynn, I didn't bring a change of clothes!" He said through gritted teeth.
"So? Just take your shirt off and let it dry in the sun, it's hot enough for that anyway." Lynn said.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you." Sora said, with a defeated sigh.
He got out of the pool and started taking his shirt off. He hated this, but he had already been sick once, he wasn't gonna get sick again. To say the Gold kids were shocked would be an understatement. Although Sora's scars weren't as bad as they were when the Louds found him 3 months ago, there were still some notable injuries on his torso. Including the nasty hits he got the night he ran away.
He laid his shirt on the ground, not looking very happy as he normally does.
"Sora? What happened? Why do you have those injuries?" Chelsea asked.
"It's, a long story Chelsea, and one story I wish I could forget." Sora said in a melancholic tone.
He knew he was gonna have to tell her one day, he just hoped it wouldn't be so soon. He took a deep breath and explained everything to Chelsea. Not even caring that her family was in ear shot, since she was going to know, they all should know the truth of his past. To say the family was disgusted would prolly be an understatement. Diana and Mason already knew more of the story thanks to Rita and Lynn Sr, but the details certainly made them angry. Jackson was in shock, Sasha looked like she was ready to bust some heads, and Chelsea, she just held Sora tightly.
"I can't believe you had to go through that King. I'm so sorry." Chelsea said, feeling horrible her boyfriend had to go through that.
"Chelsea, it's fine. Honestly I don't care about it anymore. I'm happy where I am, I have my family, our friends, and most importantly, I have you." Sora said, holding Chelsea back.
"Hey, if those jerks ever come around and try to take you back, let me know, I wanna bust that Eathen guy's head in." Sasha said.
"Hey, I'm getting first crack at that jerk, you're gonna have to get in line Sasha." Lynn said, giving Sasha a smirk.
"Well, it looks like Sora doesn't have just 1 family looking out for him." Mason chuckled.
"Alright everyone, out of the pool, food's up." Diana called out as the table was done being set.
Both groups got out and made their way to the table, everyone started filling their plates, enjoying the BBQ as the sun started setting over the Gold house.
Sorry for the major delay y'all, I had a nasty spat of writer's block. And also you'll notice this is the longest chapter to date, well I'm gonna be throwing away my word limit and just making the chapters as long or as short as I see fit. Also, I'm working on a couple holiday specials for the story, which will be released on said holidays, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's day. So I thought I'd thank you all for being patient with me. I know I'm not the quickest writer but I try to get chapters out when I can. I also thought it would be good to add a small timeline.
So, Sora left home in late February and was running through three states, which I checked. From New York to Royal Oak it would take a week and a half to 2 weeks. Going through Pennsylvania and Ohio, having Sora wind up on Royal Woods at early to mid March where he stayed with the Louds until Mid April when he was finally adopted. Sora took 2 weeks to gather everything he needed for school, which is reasonable cause what teenager isn't lazy? Meaning he would've started at RWHS in late April, to early May meaning at this moment it is mid to late May.