Thank you so much to:
JasonDollyLover96,
BrasonDollyMendlerFan
and the rest of you who still have faith in this story. Hopefully this will satisfy some questions. Once again, I hope I didnt go overboard with pimping PJ out here. I tend to do that.
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR TWO REFERENCES TO OTHER TV SHOWS. IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE NEW CHARACTERS... pay attention to their names, attitudes, occupations and physical descriptions! PS: OCCUPATIONS IN LAST CHAPTER The references point towards the people being two different characters each.
-=-=-=-=-=-
PREVIOUSLY...
The faces that he sees when the door finally opens surprises him. His mouth just opens and closes like a fish out of water. PJ is sure he looks like an idiot right now but the foster parents will get that soon enough. With baited breath, the couple smiles at him and open the door to let them in. What he sees is surprising to say the least. Good luck PJ! His mind fills in as he steps into the house.
The woman standing before him, known as Emma, is a gorgeous blond with beach wave hair and fit figure. Her husband, David, is equally impressive and a tad bit intimidating. He has darkly shaved head with a thinly groomed line of beard hair that probably isn't an inch wide or thick. He kind of reminds PJ of a mature Jason Derulo. Why this couple wouldn't have children, he has got to find out. They would make babies that would make Brad Pitt jealous.
Shaking that train of thought, PJ focuses on examining the house he will be living in for the next year. It has a very modern tone with bits of personality sporadically placed. They stop just short of the living room. PJ looks to his right and sees a hallway with an office to one side and two doors on the other side then stairs leading up to what looks to be a loft. His mouth drops as he spots to the left side of him, the kitchen. His seemingly day dream is interrupted by Phil coughing loudly and nudging him. PJ quickly recovers and smiles at the couple. He holds out his hand, feeling the awkwardness of a formal introduction. It is like meeting cousins of the other side of the family who you have never met but are going camping with. That awkward.
"Uh, I'm PJ." His voice barely holds steady as the man grasps his hand in a firm handshake. He equally applies pressure because he looked up on the way here that firm handshakes makes good impressions.
"David White. This is my wife, Emma." He greets in a low but not creepy voice. David cracks a smile that shows brilliantly white teeth. PJ suddenly feels very self conscious of his barely not yellow teeth. Damn that little kid in him that refused to brush. He smiles back but doesn't show any teeth. "Good handshake you got there kid." David moves on and shakes the two social workers hands. PJ nods before putting out his hand for Emma to shake. She shakes with a surprisingly equal firmness that he has.
"Nice to meet you, PJ. I am so glad that we can help you." Emma smiles at him. PJ silences a groan when he sees glistening white teeth too. The couple is too damn perfect. He really hoped that Phil and Julie did their research on them and they are not handing him over to serial killers or something. They break apart and awkwardly mill towards the kitchen. "Can I get you guys anything?" She speaks to Phil and Julie. Obviously they have met before.
"No thank you. This was just a delivery." Phil smiles at the couple. PJ is pretty sure that Phil has to smile for the couple because he doesn't seem like the person to always smile… like Teddy. PJ literally shakes his head to get that thought out of his head. Teddy is a long car ride away. It seems that David caught him and he gently reaches out and grabs PJ's shoulder. He leans over and whispers in his ear.
"I know this will be hard, but try to keep an open mind. Okay?" David smirks at him and turns his attention back to Phil who is blabbing on and on about more paper work his foster parents have to do. PJ looks towards David again. He thought he was shaking his head to Phil saying they were delivering him. He probably thinks he is some snot kid who will throw a tantrum after Phil and Julie leave. Great.
Before they leave Julie asks for PJ's phone. His pulse quickly rises at the thought of her taking away his phone. Luckily all she does is type in her phone number. She smiles and says something about texting her with any questions whenever he needs it and starts walking away. Phil walks in carrying all the luggage he brought with him and dumps it on the ground. PJ's heart begins to race as he watches the only people connected to his old life start walking out the door. He glances at the couple who follow Julie and Phil out the door. They stand waiving in the doorway as Phil and Julie leave.
PJ looks around the kitchen idly as he waits for the real awkward intense conversations to begin. He sighs loudly as he thinks about all the explaining he will have to do. Suddenly a quick bolt in the living room catches his attention. He walks out and watches for it again. It does it again except this time bolts from underneath the couch to under a chair. Taking a chance that it is not a man eating rat, PJ looks underneath the chair. To his surprise, there is an Australian Shepherd puppy with both blue and hazel eyes looking back at him. He lets out a squeal at the thought that this was a pet he could cuddle with. It may be the only happy thing happening to him all day.
"I see you found Rafa. He is a cute little guy, isn't he?" Emma says softly. Startled, PJ nearly jumps and looks up at his two foster parents looking fondly back at him. He kind of like the way Emma just waits for him to be comfortable and not dive into his past life. He also notices that she has a soft look to her that makes him want to open up to her. PJ quickly shakes off that notion and glances back at the puppy.
"Rafa?" He asks softly.
"Like Rafael Nadal; the tennis player. Emma and I are quite the pro tennis fans. We sometime go to California to watch." David adds. He squats down slowly and whistles. PJ watches as the puppy comes bolting out under the chair and races towards David. Once the puppy is in his hands, because that is how small the puppy is, David stands up and begins to pet him fondly.
"We got him for you, you know. We thought it would be nice for you to have someone who you can trust right away." Emma says quietly. PJ is surprised that the couple is being so understanding of his feelings. He feels guilty right away that he wanted to hate these people. He finally stands up after a while and sits down on the chair. He sighs deeply and rubs his forehead. He knows that this would be a good time to talk but he hates talking about serious stuff. Just yesterday he was eavesdropping on Teddy. PJ glances up at David and Emma and nods silently for them to sit.
"So what do you want to know?" PJ asks with his hand still rubbing his temples. Emma and David exchange glances.
"What do you want to know about us?" David asks. PJ can tell how people like this guy as a surgeon. He is understanding, confident and gentle at the same time. PJ does a double take when he hears David asking him that question.
"We know that when you trust us enough to let us in, you will." Emma quips in. She places a hand on her husband's knee and smile at him. PJ shifts slightly, uncomfortable with all the seemingly lovey dovey stuff happening around him. Why can't he hate the people he is staying so he won't feel so guilty for wanting to leave?
"Uh, whose cars are outside?" PJ asks a simple question to start things off. Call him a procrastinator but he really doesn't want to ask a lot of hard in depth questions now. He starts to worry when Emma and David exchange looks again before beaming at him with their perfect teeth.
"Well, the hybrid is mine and the escalade is my husbands…" Emma starts. She glances at PJ to finish the rest of the thought but he doesn't get it. Whose is the third car then? He notices that they are still looking for some sort of reaction out of him so he sighs before explaining.
"There is something right off the bat you should know. My real parents, not the smartest tools in the shed if you know what I mean and they happened to pass some of that on to me. So I wouldn't expect any thing extraordinary from me." PJ gazes down at his hands, ashamed of being so slow at figuring things out. He used to get teased from Gabe because of that.
"It is alright, honey. The charger is for you." Emma smiles when PJ's head bolts up. He ignores the whiteness of their teeth as he smiles with his barely white teeth and stands up.
"Are you serious? I have a car! Let alone an awesome 2011 white Charger!" PJ is so excited that he begins to races for the door and go to his car but he stops mid flight. "So… what are the rules?" He hesitantly turns around, afraid that they will be overly cautious people and ruin his fun.
"Well if your six months aren't up then don't break them. There is a curfew at 10 on school nights and 11:30 on weekends. You will check in with us where ever you go and when ever you go. And the house rules we can explain later." David smiles fondly at the boy jumping up and down with delight. He can tell that the kid is a fun kid to hang around. He remembers the first nice car he had…
"My six months are up in 2 weeks!" PJ jumps up and down as he opens the door and just stares at his car. It is his car! But something stops him from jumping as soon as his mind processes more information they gave him. He turns around and closes the door behind him as he walks towards his chair. Sitting with a heavy plop, PJ stares at his feet.
"When and where do I start school?"
"About 10 minutes away from here is South High. It starts at 7:30 in the morning and ends at 3. It's a Monday now but it is too late for you to go now so tomorrow you can count on going." Emma says firmly. "We already have forwarded the school all the information from your last school and enrolled you there."
"Okay." PJ gives up. He isn't about to complain about school now. Maybe he can actually enjoy school here. His ears perk up as he listens to the jingling of keys. Glancing up, he sees David holding a lanyard that is green and white with three keys on it.
"I believe these are yours." David smiles at him. PJ quickly snatches them up without being rude. "The one that is with the black case is the Charger key, the silver one with a large chip in the first latch is the house key and the copper one is the key to the backyard. We have had problems with people sneaking into our backyard so we put a lock on it."
"Thank you." PJ says. He keeps going over the keys with his finger, wondering if this is real. Out of the blue, he hears a soft yelp and sees paws on his knees. Glancing down, PJ sees Rafa trying to jump on his lap. He happily takes the puppy onto his lap and plays with him.
Soon time goes by and PJ feels a vibration in his pocket. Looking up from the puppy, he noticed that David and Emma are gone and so is his luggage. The must have taken it to his room or something. Taking his phone out of his jeans, PJ's chest tightens at the sight of the phone displaying the name Teddy. Unlocking his iphone, PJ looks at the message.
Hi.
-Teddy.
PJ laughs to himself at the thought that only Teddy could capture all the tension and put it into one simple word. Making cute noises at the puppy, PJ replies.
Hey.
-PJ.
Not nearly a minute goes by before he receives a response back.
How are you?
Of course Teddy has to spell everything out and not text the easier way.
Okay. Things seem weird here.
How is your new home?
It isn't a new home. It's a new house. Foster parents seem nice. U should see this place tho, Ted. It is amazing!
Really? What does it look like?
Bigger than yours. PJ almost doesn't send that because of the pronouns. He doesn't want to acknowledge the difference between Teddy's and his.
I bet. You don't have to share it with any siblings tho… do you?
No. Only kid here. Guess wat?
What? Not wat.
I hav a puppy and a white 2011 Charger! They got it for me.
No way! Send me a pic.
PJ smiles as he thinks about the look on Teddy's face when she will see them both. He picks up Rafa and walks outside. Sitting on the hood of his car and pulling the puppy up to his face for Rafa to lick, PJ holds up his phone and takes multiple pics. One for Teddy and a lot for facebook. Beaming at the picture he sent Teddy, he walks back inside and waits for a reply. He doesn't have to wait long.
Awww. He is cute. Wow, your car is so much better than mine.
PJ feels some anger boil up within him. He tries not to show it in his text.
Dad gave u the pickup? PJ spots his mistake and quickly deletes it to show;
Bob gave u the pickup?
Yeah. He and mom are still upset. Mom is crying in their room while dad tries to pack lunches. So who are they?
He smiles at the keen segway Teddy used to get the conversation back to his life.
David and Emma White.
What school you going to?
Idk… South high or something. Why?
No reason. Just wondering.
PJ knows that Teddy is up to something but he doesn't know what so he lets it slide. Suddenly Emma walks in and sits down on the couch silently. She gazes knowingly at PJ before he notices and looks up.
"What?" He asks. He doesn't mean to be rude, in fact he was hoping she took it as more of a comfortable banter starter. Lucky for him, she got it because she just keeps smiling.
"Who is the girl?"
If PJ had anything in his mouth, he would spit it out. Instead, he manages just to blush and shake his head profusely.
"It's not like that." He tries to explain but Emma is still smiling at him with that girl smile that says I-know-everything. He gets another message and looks down to see what it is.
You still there? Hello?
Unknowingly, PJ smiles to himself as he writes a reply. Only Teddy could be so insecure at longer than a minute gap between texts. Emma suddenly yells out.
"Aha! Caught you. Who is she?"
PJ realizes that he is smiling at the phone so he quickly tries to play it off as looking at the puppy but he knows Emma isn't buying it.
"Well… it's complicated." Is all he can say because that is all he really knows right now. He can't tell what is going to happen with his past relationships now that he isn't there anymore. He glances up at Emma just to see her winking at him.
"Trust me, if she making you smile even when she isn't here than it's not as complex as you think." With that, Emma stands up and starts walking away, leaving PJ to ponder what she meant.
What do you think of the new characters? Kudos to you if you figured out the reference to two other tv shows that I love. If you figure them out and tell me via review and you are not anon then I will PM you some spoilers to the future of this fic. BAM! INCENTIVE TO REVIEW!