A/N:Hi guys! Happy belated New Year! I hope everything is going well for you guys. Sorry this took so long to get out but I really don't want to get burnt out writing it so there may be a small hiatus until I update again. Also did you guys see the sneak peak for season 4? I was SO excited and I can't wait for it to be released! Enjoy! :)
Tonight was the night Steve was finally going to meet Neil and my mom. I was nervous because I didn't want them to drive him away. Max was sitting on my bed as I was pacing, I was also nervous because I would be asking about going back home with Max and possibly Steve.
"Everything is going to be fine." Max reassured me,
"They're going to say no." I stopped pacing to look at her,
"Maybe they won't." She shrugged,
"Once they hear about Steve tagging along, they'll definitely say no." I crossed my arms.
"I have your back if they say something about it." Max fell back on my bed. I was so happy that she said yes to Steve tagging along. I mean she knew how close we were and she had mentioned that it would be good especially if I ran into any of my old bullies.
"I owe you big time." I told her,
"I have your back, no matter what." She looked up at me. I smiled as those were the same words that I had said to her multiple times.
"Tyler, can you help set the table?" I heard my mom call,
"Yeah." I called back, "You are the best sister in the world." I complimented Max before I left my room. I grabbed some plates that my mom set out for tonight. Neil was in his bedroom getting ready or whatever he was doing. When the doorbell rang, I looked over to the door before rushing over so my mom couldn't answer it.
"Hey Harrington." I smirked as I opened the door. I checked Steve out as he was wearing a maroon button down, black pants and nice shoes. "You look handsome." I complimented as he stepped inside,
"I wanted to make a good first impression." He smiled before kissing me on the cheek,
"I just hope my mom or Neil doesn't scare you away." I scratched the back of my head.
"Never Mayfield." Steve reassured me.
"Hey Steve." Max greeted as she came out of my bedroom.
"Hey Max, how've you been?" He asked before giving Max a hug
"Good." She looked up at him and then to me, "He must really want mom and Neil to like him." Max spoke as she could tell he was nervous. I bit my lip as he looked back at me,
"That's not a bad thing." He defended,
"Never said it was." Max shrugged, "They are going to like you and if they don't…" She paused, "Well I think you're good for Ty." She smiled. I smiled before bringing her in for a hug. She seriously was the best.
"Ty, is Steve here?" My mom called,
"Yes mom." I called back,
"Would you mind helping Tyler setting the table?" She asked as she appeared in the kitchen doorway.
"Of course Mrs-" Steve looked to me and then to my mom,
"Hargrove." My mom smiled at him.
"Hargrove." He repeated. I grabbed his hand and led him to the table and gave him the napkins.
During dinner, Neil and my mom (mostly my mom) were asking Steve all kinds of questions. I could tell Steve was nervous when my mom asked about college and I helped him as he was fumbling over some of his words.
"Is he the reason why you're taking the year off?" Neil asked with a hard stare
"No." I shook my head, "I told you I wanted to take a year off to be with Max and be there when she needs me." I stared at him
"So are you guys going to start looking for jobs again soon?" My mom changed the subject,
"Yeah…" I paused and looked at Max who nodded for me to continue, "So I was thinking that it would be nice to go back home with Max before she starts school. I also figured that Steve could come with to meet dad and all that." I looked to her
"Absolutely not." She shook her head,
"Mom, I want Steve to meet Dad and I think going back with Max will be good for the both of us." I looked to her, "It's not like I'm running away and getting hitched." I shrugged,
"I'm not letting you go all the way home with some boy. If it was just you and Max, I'd think about it. Did you even talk to your father about this?" She asked,
"I figured I would ask you first and then call Dad." I huffed,
"Who says that he isn't going to forget to pick you guys up when you land? How many times has he called or wrote to you since we've moved?" She questioned. I sighed and felt Steve squeeze my hand under the table,
"Mom," Max started, "If you're worried about me being left out if Steve comes, I won't be. Steve is usually the third wheel when the three of us spend time together." She looked over to me, "I think it would be really good if Steve comes, especially if Ty runs into any of her old friends. I know I can be there for her if that happens but I know Steve would make her feel better if that happened. He's like a nice reminder of what we have back home. A great friend and kind of like an older brother." She looked to my mom and Neil.
"Who's gonna pay for it?" Neil asked,
"I have some money saved up that could buy Max and I a ticket...It's either that or Steve and I drive there." I shrugged,
"What did Steve's parents say?" My mom asked,
"We haven't asked them yet." I looked over to Steve, "We were planning on asking them at dinner tomorrow night." I told her. It was silence for a few moments as my mother was thinking.
"I'll call and talk to your father after dinner and see what he says." She looked over to Neil, "I'll see if your dad will split the cost of your tickets with me so you don't have to spend your money." She sighed, my face lit up as I was so excited.
"Mom, you're the best!" I exclaimed, "May we be excused?" I asked. She nodded her head. I grabbed Steve's hand as Max followed in tow to my room.
"Keep the door open!" She called. I rolled my eyes before collapsing on my bed,
"Yeah!" I called as I sat up, "Stevie, you are going to love Cali." I smiled, "Well, hopefully if your parents say yes." I added, he sat down on the bed next to me while Max rummaged through my closet,
"What are you looking for?" I asked her,
"This." She held out my old high school yearbook., "I figured I could show Steve all of your shitty friends so he can make sure you steer clear of them...or kick their ass." She shrugged,
"I could probably take them." He flexed. I smirked,
"Stevie, you beating the shit out of that Russian was extremely hot, but you really don't need to do that." I grabbed his hand,
"She just doesn't want you to lose another fight." Max rolled her eyes, "But I think you could take this guy on." She held up the book and pointed to Nick, my asshole ex. "He honestly needs his ass kicked, he's also a wimp. All talk." Max stated
"Is he your ex?" He asked. I nodded, "He needs his ass kicked for the way he treated you." He kissed my cheek. I had told Steve some of the stories when I was with Nick and it had made him angry that I was treated so poorly.
"This was her best friend." She pointed to Isabella though my little friend group called her Bella, "This girl tormented her along with her stupid boyfriend." She pointed to Kayla, "The only thing she has going for her is her looks." She rolled her eyes.
We continued going through my yearbook and showing Steve who was who before it was time for him to leave. I had planned on sneaking out and picking Steve up so he could stay the night. I wish my mom was more like Steve's mom when it comes to sleepovers but I could live with that for now.
"I'm kinda nervous." I whispered to him as I cuddled up next to him,
"Going back home?" He asked,
"That and asking your parents tomorrow." I sighed
"I think it's going to be fine tomorrow, my parents love you." Steve reassured me.
"Do they love me enough to where they will let you come back home with me?" I looked up at him. I watched him as he was silent for a few minutes. I knew he was trying to think of something to say that would get rid of my doubts. "It's okay, Steve." I rested my head on his chest,
"We'll convince them." He ran his fingers through my hair, "I don't want you to go home and have to deal with any of those assholes." I looked back up at him, "I got your back, Mayfield." He smiled before kissing my head.
I was getting ready to go over to Steve's for dinner and Max was in my room trying to calm me down.
"How bad is his dad?" She asked,
"He's so hard on Steve." I sighed, "I really think he's gonna say no." I looked back at her.
"But he might not." Max shrugged, "Maybe you can lie about also going to look at a college or something." She suggested. I highly doubt that he would be all for Steve to come with us, his mom would hopefully be more open to letting Steve come.
"His mom really likes you, maybe you just need her to say yes." Max got up, "You spend so much time there that she probably thinks of you as a daughter." She added before leaving my room. I looked back into the mirror as she was probably right...we'll I hoped she was.
As I pulled in the driveway Steve opened the front door and came to meet me.
"You look beautiful." He complimented before kissing me.
"You look handsome." I caressed his cheek, "I didn't bring any clothes to sleep in. I figured with how tonight goes will determine if I should stay the night." I bit my lip as he draped his arm around me as we headed inside,
"I want you to stay no matter what." He looked at me,
"Hi Tyler." Steve's mom greeted, "Oh you look so beautiful." She complimented before bringing me in for a hug, "Well, you always look beautiful." She added. I smiled as I knew what she went,
"Thank you Mrs. Harrington." I thanked her,
"How many times do I have to tell you, call me Jessica." She reminded me,
"Sorry, Jessica. I apologized,
"No need to apologize, do you want to help me finish preparing dinner?" She asked,
"I'd love to." I smiled.
As I helped Steve's mom cook, Steve set the table before coming in and watching us finish making dinner. Steve and I set the food on the table while his mom went to get his dad.
"So if you're taking the year off, are you and Steve going to look for another job?" Jessica asked,
"Yeah, I was going to start looking when Max starts school." I paused, "Max and I were actually going to go back to California for a weekend." I told her as I looked over to Steve
"I wanted to ask if I could go with them." Steve looked to his mom and then his dad.
"You should be really looking for another job, if you're not going to college." His dad started, "I already told you that I wasn't going to help you anymore." He looked to Steve,
"Mr. Harrington, I just really wanted Steve to come with Max and I to meet my father. While we're there we could look at a few colleges." I looked to his dad,
"I don't think Steve will be joining you. He has to focus on some kind of career so he can provide for himself. Jessica and I aren't going to be there to hold his hand." He told me.
"Well we were planning on looking for jobs when we came back. I figured it would be hard to get a job if we planned on going away." I added
"He needs to start looking now, so the answer is no." He looked at me. As I went to open my mouth Steve squeezed my thigh to signal me to stop talking,
"I understand Mr. Harrington." I nodded.
The rest of the dinner was just small talk as it felt awkward. Once we finished I offered to help Steve with the dishes. As we were leaving, I heard Jessica tell Vince that she wanted to talk to him. It was silent before I could hear Steve's dad
"I don't care if she's good for him. It doesn't change the fact that he's going nowhere with his life. He blew it in school and has to get a job that will take him without a college education." His dad yelled. I looked down at the dishes,
"Shit...he's pissed." I heard Steve mutter. "You shouldn't have said anything Tyler." He shook his head,
"I was only trying to help, Steve." I looked at him,
"He's going to lecture me and be even harder on me." Steve looked at me, "You should have just let me handle it...maybe this was a mistake." Steve shook his head,
"Dinner or this entire relationship?" I asked him as I was a little peeved
"I didn't mean it like that." Steve looked back up at me,
"Then what did you mean by it?" I questioned him,
"The entire idea of me going with you to California. We both knew that my dad was going to say no to begin with." He told me
"Really?" I looked at him shocked, "You can still try to convince him. You've done it before." I reminded him,
"No, it's different this time." He crossed his arms, "It must be nice not having someone lecture you and remind you of everything you've done wrong." He shrugged. I stood there for a moment as I couldn't believe what he had just said
"I don't understand?" I questioned him, "You have no idea." I started, "When Neil gets in his moods, he can go off. When I told them that I was going to take the year off, it took a month of endless arguments to finally convince them that it would be good for me." I looked at him. "I really do feel for you Steve. I feel bad that he's so hard on you, when you give everything your all but to say I don't understand...especially after everything I've told you hurts." I told him as I was on the verge of tears, "You're right maybe this was a mistake." I shook my head
"Ty-"
"Don't 'Ty' me Steve." I cut him off, "I'm just gonna go." I told him before walking out. As I left I started to cry. It hurt that Steve would say that, like we understood each other so well. When I got home, I rushed into the house so I could continue to cry in my room.
"Tyler, what happened?" I heard Max asked,
"We got into a fight." I cried as I heard her walk into my room,
"You guys will make up. Harrington isn't that stupid to do something to lose you." Max stated
"He said that I shouldn't have said anything and let him handle it. He said that I didn't understand." I cried, "It's probably over." I shook my head. I heard Max sigh before she walked over to my phone
"It's Max...She's crying, I figured you would be able to cheer her up and talk some sense into her." Max sighed, "Tyler, it's Dawn." Max said as she handed me the phone
"What happened?" Dawn asked,
"Steve and I got into a fight. I think our relationship is over." I cried
"It's not over. It's your first big fight and you both are going to get through it." She reassured me,
"I don't think so. Steve said that I shouldn't have said anything and let him talk to his dad and that it was a mistake trying to ask his dad about him coming with us and that I didn't understand." I cried.
"It was probably just heat of the moment. Get into comfy pjs, relax and go to sleep." Dawn instructed, "I'll pick you and Max up in the morning to go shopping. After that I'll drop Max off and we can go back to my place and eat all kinds of junk food and smoke." Dawn told me
"Didn't you have plans with Jake tomorrow night?" I asked
"Yeah but he'll understand. You need some cheering up and girl time. Give the phone back to Max and get some rest." She spoke
"Yes mom." I rolled my eyes before handing the phone back to Max. I slowly got up from my bed to wash off my makeup and get ready to go to sleep. I just hoped that Dawn and Max were right.