Chapter 20: Dinner Invitation
Mr. Alva watched with interest as Hotstreak and Serena continued on thier long walk to the other side of town, with his bodyguards close behind them... The fact that they both cared so deeply for each other after such a short time, baffled him to no end... He and his own wife had taken years to actually get to where they could tolerate each other, let alone love one another... After the incident with his son, Mr. Alva had ordered her to leave the city, that she was no longer allowed anywhere near his son... Distraught and crying, Ameilia Alva threw herself at her husband, begging to be allowed to see her baby one last time... But he put on the most hateful face he could muster and told her to get away from him and that neither one of them wanted to ever see her again... It broke Alva's heart to do that to her, because he himself knew all too well the pain of not knowing weather or not he'd ever see his son again...
Tears trickled down his cheeks at the horrible memory... He'd been even more cold and hateful to everyone since that day, only Serena and her unique kindness had calmed his icy exterior enough for him to request her assistance. Even if she didn't know how to invoke her healing abilities, her presence alone was an incredible calming effect... Mr. Alva continued to watch as Hotstreak and Serena continued to talk.
" So... Dinner isn't until later, what would you like to do?" Hotstreak asked.
" I enjoy talking to you..." Serena said smiling, " Maybe we could just get to know each other better."
" Sure." Hotstreak said smiling, " What would you like to know first?"
" Whatever you want to tell me..." Serena said smiling.
" Ok... Well, uh... It embarrasses the hell out of me... But my real name is Francis..." Hotstreak said blushing, " It just sounds so girly!"
Serena giggled as Hotstreak shuddered in obvious discust.
" Aw it's not that bad." Serena said smiling, " I like it... Actually it's the name of one of the king's had in France, a name of power..."
" Woah, I never knew that, that's actually pretty cool!" Hotstreak said grinning from ear to ear.
" See, whoever gave you that name must have really loved you..." Serena said softly.
Hotstreak suddenly became closed off and very quiet, although he still walked with his arm around her waist... Fearing that she may have overstepped her boundaries on thier ever growing relationship, Serena worried her bottom lip between her teeth, her heart breaking at the sudden deafening silence... While Serena was getting more and more worried, Hotstreak was at war with the emotions he'd long buried deep inside when it came to his parents... He knew they constantly watched the news for signs of him, especially because of what he'd done the night of the big band two full years ago...
" I'm sorry Hotstreak, I didn't mean to say anything wrong..." Serena said softly.
" You didn't..." Hotstreak said softly, " It's just been a long time since I last went home..."
" How long?" Serena asked in sympathy.
" Two years..." Hotstreak said shrugging, " I'm fine..."
" What happened?" Serena asked.
" We just didn't see eye to eye... So left..." Hotstreak said shrugging, " It's as simple as that..."
Unfortunately for Hotstreak, one look in Serena's beautiful blue eyes and he felt compelled to spill the whole truth...
" Ok... Ok... You caught me!" Hotstreak said throwing his hands up in defeat, "My father was a military police officer, hardly ever home... My mother was always someone I was closer to, but my father hated when she would spend time with me, so one day, he finally told me to get out and make my own friends so I can quit being a Mama's boy... Well I met some friends alright, local gangbangers in the city..."
" Hotstreak..." Serena said sadly.
" Yeah, but they were good to me... They weren't true friends mind you, but they cared to a certain extent... They went through similar crap with thier parents ... Anyway, the night of the big bang, my parents found out from the police about my extracurricular activities and threatened to arrest me unless they put me on home confinement... My parents forbid me to see my friends and my dad tried to tie me up with his belt to keep me from meeting them, but that was my boiling point... I snapped his solid leather belt and told them I hated them both before busting the door off it's hinges and tearing the hell out of there..." Hotstreak said softly, " Haven't been back since..."
Dispite telling himself that he still hated his parents, it broke his heart to leave his mom... Serena somehow sensed his despair and wrapped her arms around him in comfort...
" You do miss them... Don't you..." Serena stated softly.
It wasn't a question...
" I'm a gangbanger..." Hotstreak said angrily, " Gangbangers don't deserve loving parents ..."
But that didn't stop him from returning her embrace...
" Do they still live here?" Serena asked ignoring his statement.
" Yeah... Ebon and Shiv, none of them know I even have parents... They live right down the street from our hangout..." Hotstreak said softly as he started rubbing her back absentmindedly.
Serena knew it was wishful thinking, but once they got to the hangout, Serena kept walking, silently hoping that he would follow... It didn't take much effort... Soon they were at a big rundown two story house, the dingy grey paint peeling off to the point that it looked half molded... Inside, she could clearly see a woman with strawberry blonde hair, serving lunch to a large man with dark blonde hair and a little girl with red hair... She was only about two months old, just barely having enough soft hair to put in little pigtails... She was absolutely adorable...
" They moved..." Hotstreak said, his voice wavering slightly.
This realization clearly upset him... But Serena was not yet convinced... She strode purposely to the door and rang the doorbell several times and then waited with baited breath... The man with dark blonde hair answered the door...
" Yes? May I help you?" He asked eyeing her carefully.
" Yes, I was wondering if this was the Stone's residence?" Serena said politely.
" Yes? I'm Mr. Frank Stone, what did you need?" Mr. Stone asked worriedly, " Are you in trouble young lady?!"
" Oh no! Not at all!" Serena said smiling, " Um, there's someone with me that wanted to see you..."
But when Serena turned around, Hotstreak was hidden in the shadows...
" Uh... Give me one second.." Serena said sweetly...
With that, she marched down the street a little ways to the alley Hotstreak had ducked into and eeped when he grabbed her from behind.
" Come on Hotstreak!" Serena whispered excitedly, " It's still your parents house!"
" We don't know that for sure!" Hotstreak said worriedly, " My mom and dad only had one child! It can't be them!"
" Frank Stone..." Serena said, her blue eyes becoming stormy with anger, "Sargent Frank Stone... Ring any bells?!"
Hotstreak opened his mouth... Closed it... And opened it again, but no sound came out... He'd never seen Serena look so fierce and determined... So Hotstreak did the only thing he could think of at the moment... He grabbed her and kissed her on the lips heatedly... Serena sighed happily, taking this as a sign that she won the argument...Serena began to shake with nervousness and longing, both fighting for dominance within her as Hotstreak's hands gently roamed her body, unaware that another bang baby was close by, watching from the shadows, his black eyes glittering with want... Finally, getting light headed from lack of air and her vicinity to Hotstreak, Serena had to push on his chest a little for him to ease his hold a bit and he reluctantly released her now swollen lips...
" It's time to forget the past..." Serena said gently placing her hand on his cheek...
Hotstreak meerly nodded and let her lead him out of the alley and back to his childhood home, where Mr. Stone was worriedly waiting. He was just about to call the police when he saw the young woman coming up the street with a large smile on her face, a very worried, very familiar looking young man walking beside her with his arm wrapped protectively around her waist... Mr. Stone could barely breathe... The young man in question had filled out quite nicely, since he'd last seen him... Every time anything about bang babies was on the news, he and his wife prayed for a glimpse of thier son, hoping that no matter what, he stayed safe... They barely saw him and when he stopped being on the news, they became distraught... They never imagined they'd ever see thier son again... Mr. Stone shook himself to calm his nerves as he waited for someone to speak...
" Uh..." Hotstreak started, " Look, I'm sorry to bother you sir... I thought my parents still lived here... We won't bother you..."
But as Hotstreak began to turn away, he felt a pair of powerful arms encircle him and hug him close...
" Thank God your finally home..." Mr. Stone choked out with emotion, " My son..."
Hotstreak began to shake, trying his best to hide the fact that he was crying, but it was a foolish attempt, because his father was crying as well...
" Dad..." Hotstreak said against his shoulder, " Am... Am I really welcome back home after everything? Your not angry?"
" No..." Mr. Stone said smiling through his tears, " We're just thankful that your safe... And your home..."
" Uh... I can't stay, my roommates will worry..." Hotstreak said awkwardly, " But we will come and visit again..."
" Your mother's going to be ecstatic when she sees you..." Mr. Stone said clearing his throat, " And you finally get to meet your new sister..."
" Sister..." Hotstreak said softly, dumbstruck.
Mr. Stone grinned as he walked in and took the baby girl in his arms after he whispered a few words to his wife. His wife quickly wiped tears from her eyes as she made her way over to Hotstreak as well... Serena waited patiently on the side as she watched the happy home coming unfold before her in a flurry of emotion. When the baby was handed over to Hotstreak, he was quite speechless and didn't know what to say or do...
" Meet your older brother Francis, Rosey..." Mr. Stone said softly.
The little girl had beautiful sea green eyes just like thier mother... Rosey looked at Hotstreak with wide eyes before giggling a little bit and laying her head lovingly on his shoulder... They stayed like that for a while until Rosey looked up and noticed Serena, then to everyone's surprise, Rosey wiggled around and began reaching her little chubby fingers out to her, wanting a very flustered Serena. Serena still had her seafoam green dress on from the night before, and it shimmered as she gently moved her arms to hold little Rosey.
" Aw!" Mrs. Stone exclaimed, " And how do you know our son?!"
" Well... Uh..." Hotstreak stuttered, a little in embarrassment, " She's my girlfriend?"
Both his parents gave him a huge grin, before his dad suddenly slapped on the back, a booming laugh escaping his mouth.
" Well, son, she certainly is beautiful!" Mr. Stone said happily, " And no worries about using protection, your mother and I aren't getting any younger!"
That comment left both of them blushing as little Rosey got comfy in Serena's arms. Serena was very quiet as they continued to visit, occasionally answering thier questions that she could.
" Well, I'm thankful Francis met a nice young lady like you dear..." Mr. Stone said grinning again, " Our son needed someone to tame his wild streak, running around with gangs and whatnot..."
" I'm still with my crew dad..." Hotstreak said in a clipped voice.
" What he means, dear, is we're happy that you aren't putting yourself in danger, if these friends of yours care about your safety, then it's fine sweetheart..." Mrs. Stone said hugging Hotstreak gently, " Your father and I just want you to stay safe..."
Hotstreak sighed softly as his arms went around his mother to hug her back, he'd never really realized how much he missed both of them until now...
" I love you mom..." Hotstreak said softly, " I love you Dad..."
Mr. Stone came back over and put his arms around his wife and son, his heart bursting with happiness at his son's return... As well as the lovely young lady that had undoubtedly captured his heart...
Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the front door, causing little Rosey to start crying, because she'd fallen asleep on Serena's shoulder and the loud noise scared her... Hotstreak was opening the door in a flash, ready to beat the hell out of whoever thought it was funny to scare the hell out of his family and his girlfriend, and it was non other than Mr. Alva's body guards...
" What the hell?! How did you find us?!" Hotstreak demanded angrily.
" We're here for Ms. Serena..." Tall dark and scary number one said in a demanding tone, " Mr. Alva wishes to meet her for dinner now..."
It was only just past five o'clock and Serena really didn't feel like leaving Hotstreak's side right away... So before Hotstreak could cuss the poor man out for mearly doing his job, Serena stepped up bravely.
" I appreciate your invitation to dinner, but I don't know everyone that Mr. Alva wishes for me to meet..." Serena said softly, " So I respectfully request that Mr. Francis Stone accompany me so I can at least know one person there..."
" Mr. Alva demanded that you come alone..." The stubborn hulk of a man said with authority, " Do you not want the job after all the money he's paid you?!"
Serena flinched visibly at his hard scathing tone, but got a deadly glint in her eyes herself and her silvery white aura flared around her with equal authority, making both huge men back off warily...
" Mr. Alva is a man I barely know, yet I agreed to help him... The least he could do is show me some common courtesy and allow my boyfriend to escort me..." Serena said calmly...
The two bodyguards nodded in agreement, seeing this brave young woman in a whole new light and treating her with a great deal more respect...
" I'm sorry we'll have to cut our visit short..." Serena said apologetically to Hotstreak's parents, " But well definitely be back to visit soon..."
Mr. And Mrs. Stone both hugged Serena and Hotstreak goodbye to thier surprise...
Shortly after, the two bodyguards quietly escorted Serena and Hotstreak to a sleak black limousine and soon they were cruising through town on thier way to Mr. Alva's mansion. It was in the more ritzy neighborhood, so first,they made a pitstop at a high end boutique. Upon getting questioning looks from both Hotstreak and Serena, the big guy in the driver's seat smiled a little.
" Boss said to take you both shopping since hothead decided to crash the party..." Dark hair said grinning.
" Why you..." Hotstreak growled as smoke began curling from his fist, raising the temperature in the backseat by about 20°...
But before he could burn anyone to a crisp, Serena gave him a sweet but quick kiss on the cheek to calm him down, blushing in the process... But it had the desired effect...