Recap:
"I'll invite her." Reese said as he hopped out of his seat and ran to the front door only to see that she was walking into the house in front of his.
"No way! She lives right in front of us."
Hal gasped and looked at Lois. "We made a good impression! Ha! In your face!"
—
Chapter Two - Family Reunion (4x03)
Malcolm sighed as he looked around the lunch area, he felt like there was no one to seat with. He couldn't believe how there were so many people, yet, he still felt like he would never fit in. His eyes skimmed through the people and his eyes fell upon one person, Artemis. She was sitting alone. Although he didn't really know her, it wouldn't hurt to sit by her. He walked over towards her.
"Hey, Artemis." Malcolm said as he placed his lunch and books beside her. Artemis rolled her eyes and sighed, "Did I ask you to sit next to me?"
Malcolm's face fell. Artemis looked up at him to see his face and laughed.
"Oh, Malcolm. You're too cute."
"You think I'm cute?" Malcolm asked.
"Sure. I'd never date you, but you're cute." Artemis said before taking a bite out of her sandwich. Malcolm smiled a little and nodded. They sat there in silence for a minute but then Malcolm decided to speak.
"That was really awesome of you to write the essay by yourself. I usually have partners that can't really—"
"It was no problem at all, Malcolm. I thought you might have been busy with your mom and all." Artemis told the boy beside her.
"So, we're neighbors?"
"Yeah. You know, my mom has been warned about your family. She told me about and I thought it was hilarious how everyone hates you guys. My mom told them that she didn't even get to know you guys yet. My mom doesn't usually believe what people say about others..."
"That's the most I've heard you talk." Malcolm said with a smile. Artemis chuckled to herself and looked at him.
"You haven't got to know me yet."
"You want to go over my house after school? I mean, I know we'll have a test tomorrow...I can show you some tips on how to pass his test."
Artemis thought about it for a moment and nodded, "Sure. I'll come over. Just let me stop by my house and I'll head to your place."
"Sounds good."
~•~•~
Artemis walked inside her house with her backpack on her back.
"Mom?" Artemis called out as she walked into the living room. "Mom?"
"You're mother's not here." A deep, familiar voice in the kitchen. Artemis immediately recognized it.
"Dad!" Artemis exclaimed as she ran into the kitchen. The tall man began to chuckle as he hugged his daughter tightly.
"Artie! I've missed you so much. Look how big you've gotten." Dave said.
"You calling me fat?" Artemis said as she gave her old man a look. Dave raised an eyebrow.
"God, you sound like your mother. So, what do you have planned today? I'm about to go see your mom at her hair salon."
"Don't get her too excited, she might go in labor." Artie said with a grin on her face, her dad chuckled and nodded. "I actually have prior engagements, so I'll catch up with you and mom later." She leaned over and kissed her dad's cheek before walking out of the front door.
~••~
Malcolm grabbed the two sandwiches and placed on his desk in his room. He heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it." Reese said as he walked over to the door, he opened it to see Artemis behind it.
"Hi." She said sweetly. "Is Malcolm here?"
"Um, yeah. He's in our room. Follow me." Reese said nervously as he walked her to his room. Malcolm was already started on homework, he glanced up to see Artemis standing beside Reese.
"Hey! We can get started. I made you a sandwich!" Malcolm said before returning to his work. Artemis looked at Reese to find him already looking at her, she was surprised as to how he was looking at her.
"Thanks for showing me the room." She said. Reese nodded and said, "You're welcome." Artemis looked down shyly at the floor and back at Reese.
"I should go study with Malcolm."
Reese smirked sweetly and said, "Yeah, go ahead." Artemis walked over to the desk and started working. Malcolm looked up to see Reese still there, he put the pieces together an realized that his brother had developed a small crush on his new friend. Reese caught Malcolm's gaze and frowned, he then walked off.
~••~
It's been two weeks since school started and everyday Artemis went over Malcolm's house to study and have dinner. She didn't go over there Thursday night because her mom wanted to have a family dinner before her baby was born.
It was Saturday morning and Artemis was feeling bored, she was home alone because her parents were away this weekend to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Artemis decided to get up and put some short on that showed off her long legs, she also wore a crop top and a cardigan. She put on her converse and ran over to the Wilkerson's, only to see them packing up ready to leave.
"Wait! Where are you guys going?" Artemis called out with a hint of disappointment. Malcolm and Dewey were already in the van. Reese was helping his brother Francis with some more bags. Piama, Francis' wife, was standing near her husband. Reese glanced over to his left and noticed Artemis standing there in her outfit that complimented her tiny figure.
"Family reunion," Lois explained, bustling around behind Artemis. "For their father."
"Oh. Sounds like fun, I guess." Artemis said with false happiness.
"Oh, God!" Lois moaned and then glanced at me. "Do you want to come? I could really use the extra support with..." she trailed off.
"Really? You want me to come?"
"Yes!"
"...But I'm not a part of the family." Artemis said shyly.
"You might as well be! You're here everyday as it is." Lois said with a grin. "Run home and pack! Don't forget to mention this to your parents."
"I will." Artemis yelled out as she ran home. While she was running, Reese couldn't help but look her way.
"Dude, why don't you ask her out already?" Francis asked before getting inside the van. Reese didn't reply, he just glared at him.
~••~
Inside her home, Artemis was grabbing some clothes while trying to get her parents on the phone.
"Come on. Pick up the phone!"
"Hello?" June said from the other line.
"Mom! Hey, I'm leaving with the Wilkerson's to a family reunion."
"Instead of asking me, you're telling me." June said slightly amused.
"Sorry. Can I go?"
"Yeah, just make sure you're with them at all time! I don't want to pull an amber alert." June said. There was a small giggle on the other side on the phone. "Dave, stop it! I'm on the phone with our daughter."
"Okay. I have to go. Bye, love you both." Artemis said quickly as she hung up the phone. She looked up for a moment and thought, 'Great. Now, I'm emotionally scarred.'
~••~
The Wilkerson's left as soon as Artemis got inside the vehicle. It was a slight tight fit, but they all managed fine. Artie sat by the window beside Reese. She secretly enjoyed being close to him, she felt safe and secure. Little did she know, Reese enjoyed being beside her as well.
"So what's Grandpa like?" Dewey asked as they were riding down the road.
"He's okay," Malcolm said. "but the rest of the family treats Mom like crap. They're jerks!"
"Oh great." Artie said, sarcastically.
"But they're rich jerks," Reese added, and then looked at Dewey. "And Grandpa's the richest of them all. And he loves kids! Just say and do what I tell you, and we'll be set for life."
"Reese, you're a crook." Artemis said jokingly. Reese looked at her and smiled.
"You're nuts!" Malcolm cried.
"Look, it's too late for you and me. But Dewey's still cute and adorable! Although we do have a narrow window to work with: in a year, you're gonna look like a freak!"
"Don't worry, Dewey. You'll always be cute," I said.
"I'm sorry you're so cramped, Piama. This van really isn't designed to carry 8 people," Lois said from up front.
"Oh, I guess I was thrown off by the 8 seats and the 8 seatbelts-" Piama started, but Hal nervously cut her off.
"Hey, Francis, how's that ranch job treating you?"
"Oh, great! Never a dull moment. In fact, last week I got to castrate a bull calf," Francis said.
"What does castrate mean?" Dewey asked.
"Ask your mother," Piama replied and Artemis tried not to snicker.
"Well, I have always wanted to know how to...castratee a bull calf. Why don't you tell us about it?" Hal asked.
"It's fascinating! We use this tool called a bergeezo and a giant pair of pliers, and the cow has to be restrained, so that it doesn't kick..."
~••~
"...so once you cut off their blood supply, shrivel up and are replaced by fat tissue!" Francis finished, proudly.
"Wow, what a great story, Francis! You only made the last hour and a half fly by!" Hal said as everyone got out of the car: we were here. Hal and Lois were talking to a man and a woman while Francis and Piama, and the rest of the kids unpacked the stuff.
"Who are they talking to?" Artemis asked, nodding to the four adults.
"Oh, that's our Aunt Claire and Uncle Tom-Dad's siblings," Francis explained.
"Oh. The uncle looks gay." Artie said and then murmured to Reese, "I'm nervous. What if they don't like me?"
"You'll be fine," he reassured her. and she smiled. "I like you."
"What?" Artemis asked as if she didn't hear him correctly.
"Nothing. Let's go." Reese said nervously as he walked off, hoping she'd follow. She did.
~Artemis' P.O.V~
We followed Hal and Lois into the backyard-a huge backyard with a pool and statues and hedges and everything. It was so cool.
"Wow!" Dewey cried, and I nodded with a wide smile on my face. Wow was right.
"Hi, Dad!" Hal cried, waving, as we made our way towards the pool. An older man in a snorkel turned around and said,
"Hal! You made it! Anybody help an old man out of the pool?" Reese started forward, but Hal held him back. I raised an eyebrow at the action. I looked around to see people shaking their heads and laughing.
"I got you, Grandpa," Francis said, walking up to his grandfather in the pool and extending his hand. His grandfather hoisted him into pool, the kids moaned because their grandpa had to get out of the pool.
"Hey, hey, hey, what do you think that guy is for? His name is Francis. Be careful, you don't get another one!" Their grandfather cried and the kids tackled Francis.
"Ohhh, oh, the one and all!" their grandpa said, playing a sissy fight with Hal, and then gave Lois a kiss on the cheek. "Aah, Lois." He looked at me a grinned.
"You must be Reese's girlfriend. He sure picked a pretty one!" The older man said before I could corrected him, he moved on to Dewey. "Dewey! My goodness, you've grown! I bet you don't even remember me." Dewey glanced over at Reese, who gave him a nod, and then Dewey said,
"Yes, I do. You swang to me when I was sweepin'." I looked over and shook my head.
"You remember that? Why, that's adorable!" their grandpa cried.
"Well, it's so good to see you, Dad. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about coming back here after so much time has gone by, I expected-" Hal started.
"You expected car trouble? Cuz I think you packed a spare tire!" their grandpa cried, tickling Hal and he laughed and writhed away from his father's touch.
"Ah, Malcolm, I understand they finally figured out you're a genius," their grandpa said, moving on to Malcolm. "What's your favorite subject in school?"
"I don't know, history?" Malcolm said.
"History, is it? What do you think about the Civil War?"
"I guess it's kinda interesting."
"Ooh, have I got something to show you!" their grandpa cried, dragging Malcolm inside.
"There you are!" a woman cried, walking up to Hal and Lois with a man at her side.
"Hi, Amelia!" Lois said, happily.
"I swear, this reunion is going to be the death of me. Feeding this many people everyday, trying to keep track of all the kids. I swear, I had to run the croqasian room all by myself!" the lady ranted, sticking a name tag on Lois's shirt. "Tomorrow we've got a pancake breakfast and a family portrait at 3, dinner at 5, and gifts at 6 with no one to take charge but me! This is what General Dortschroff must've felt like during Desert Storm!" the lady turned on her heel and waltzed out of there, with the man on her heels.
"God, what a bitch!" I whispered to myself. I looked around me to see that Reese and Dewey were gone. I rolled my eyes. I wandered around the pool for a while before finding 2 girls who looked my age.
"Hi, I'm Artemis," I said, shyly and they just stared at me. One was a brunette and the other a blonde and both extremely pretty.
"I'm Elsa," the blonde said, cautiously, like if she made the wrong move I would bite her head off. "and this is my sister, Gina."
"Hi," I said.
"So...why are you here?" Gina asked, chewing her gum, loudly.
"I'm a friend of Malcolm and Reese, Lois invited me to come."
"Lois? Ha! No wonder!"
"Excuse me?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"God, what are you even doing here? You're not a part of this family! You don't belong here." Elsa cried and I froze.
I told myself earlier that I might not fit in, and apparently I don't. But I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn't let snooty heifers like that get the best of me, so instead of kicking their pretty asses. I smiled, nodded, and walked away.
~••~
By the time it was time to go to bed, I was almost in tears. After I walked away from those girls, I noticed how no one wanted to talk to me. Maybe they were right, I don't belong. But then I saw Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey all laying down to go to bed and I walked over to them, insantly feeling better.
"We did some good work today," Reese said as I laid down in between him and Dewey. "Tomorrow we'll hit Grandpa with a good Lollipop number right after breakfast."
"I wanna swim in the pool!" Dewey pouted and Reese replied,
"You can swim in the pool when we own the pool. Nice angle you're working with Grandpa, Malcolm. I have to admit, you're getting a lot of face time, but when he croaks, all he's gonna leave you is that stupid Civil War crap."
"Reese-" Malcolm started, but Reese cut him off:
"You can have it, but I want it out of the house." He started to lay down when these two younger kids came stomping up to us.
"Back off Grandpa," the older one said. "He's ours!"
"Brats." I mumbled under my breath.
"What?" Reese asked.
"We've been working this guy for 3 years! And we're not about to let you waltz in here and snake him out from under us!"
"What are you saying?" Dewey cried.
"It's a big house. Accidents happen," the younger one said and Reese and Dewey's eyes widened as I grabbed onto Reese's hand, comforting him in a way. I wasn't going to let those brats hurt either of my boys. Wait. Did I just call the Wilkerson brothers my boys?
~••~ (Third Person P.O.V)
It was the middle if the night, Artemis couldn't sleep. She decided to get up, go outside and walk around. It was colder out and she wished she would have brought her jacket on this trip but she didn't think of it. Reese felt empty as soon as Artemis got up, he didn't know why. He turned to the spot behind him to find Artemis gone. He got up, grabbed his jacket and walked outside. He spotted her walking around.
"Hey, Artie." He said as he quickly walked over to her. Artemis looked over her shoulder and saw Reese coming towards her, she smiled.
"Artie? You've never called me that before."
"Never? Oh." Reese said. Artemis looked at him and grinned.
"I like it."
"Cool." Reese said with a smile. They walked in silence for a minute or so and them Reese realized how cold she was. "You want my jacket?"
"No, that's okay."
"I don't mind. Here." Reese quickly took off his jacket and gave it to her. Artemis smiled thankfully as she put it on. More silence went by. "Listen, Artemis...I'm sorry about bumping into you on the first day of school."
"You're still on that? I've forgiven you the moment we became friends." Reese smiled as he nodded. Reese looked down to her lonely hand swinging into the wind by itself; all of the sudden he felt brave, Reese grabbed her hand in his...lacing their fingers. Artemis looked down at the gesture and said nothing, it made her feel warm inside.
It was the end of their walk and they were at the back door, before Reese could open the door, Artemis grabbed him and pressed her lips against his. Of course, without hesitation, he kissed back. The kiss was sweet and gentle and short. Artemis pulled away and quickly walked inside.
Reese smiled as he relived that moment in his head.
~••~
It was the next day, Artemis was standing beside Dewey and Reese as they signed their names on their grandfathers birthday card. And of course the we're doing a little sabotaging to their cousins signature.
"Nice touch with the backwards E! You've got a real gift for this butt-kissing stuff. We are so in!" Reese cried with excitement.
"What do you mean 'we'?" Dewey asked, and Artemis giggled as she shook her head.
"You guys are terrible."
~••~
Artemis was standing near the house while everyone gathered for the family picture, she was wearing a peach dress for the party. Reese complimented her several time. She stood there awkwardly. Hal asked the boys what she was doing. Reese walked over to her; she smiled at him.
"What are you doing?" Reese asked.
"Standing here." Artemis said matter of fact. Reese grabbed her hand and walked her over to his family. "Reese, what the hell?"
"You're family. Okay?" Reese said as he brushed a loose piece of hair out if her face. Artemis smiled and nodded.
"Okay, everybody, big smiles. Cheese on 3: 1, 2, 3-" the photographer said and the entire family yelled, "CHEEESE!". Reese placed his hands on Artemis waist as the picture was taken. "Okay, let me get one more real quick."
"CHEEESE!"
"Excellent, thank you, everybody!" the photographer said and everyone spread out.
"Hey, isn't that Lois?" Artemis asked Reese, pointing and they followed Malcolm, Dewey, Hal, Francis, and Piama as they made their way over to Lois.
"Lois, where were you?" Hal cried and she turned on her heel and walked into the house. They all mindlessly followed her until she walked straight into a closet and shut and locked the door. Everything was quiet for a moment before we heard Lois' soft sobs coming from the other side of the door. Hal stormed out, angrily and Artemis stood there frozen; she didn't know what the hell she was supposed to do.
"Hey, is Lois gonna help with the salad?" their Aunt Claire asked and they all turned around.
"God, more drama from that woman," Amelia said when they heard Lois crying and Artemis jaw dropped. Bitch! The two women left and Francis, Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey marched out of the room. Piama and Artemis looked at each other for a moment and then ran after them.
"What are you gonna do?" Piama asked.
"We don't know," Francis replied. "We never know."
Piama and Artemis stood by to watch while Francis, Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey tore across the lawn in a golf cart. The table where everyone was eating at collapsed as they ran over it with a golf cart, and people jumped out of their way, screaming. They grabbed the tablecloth, having it drag behind them as they raced across the grass.
Piama and Artemis watched, smiling in amazement and awe. They swerved, knocking over a Civil War statue and drove straight into the swimming pool.
"I love this family." Artemis said as she ran toward the boys.
Artemis was back in the car, smushed in between a soaking wet Reese and Dewey. They had to leave there pretty fast-the entire family was majorly pissed about the golf cart thing.
"I am so very disappointed...in all of you!" Lois cried. "I don't care what those people did-that was no way for you to behave! Right, Hal?"
"Yes! You boys are on notice! If you ever drive a golf cart over a catered dinner and into a swimming pool again, there will be consequences! Dire consequences!" Hal agreed.
"Guess we just kissed off our 6-figured trust fund," Reese pouted.
"I told Grandpa you tied me to the golf cart," Dewey said.
"What? He still likes you...nice! We're back in the game!"
"Yeah!" Dewey said, sarcastically and Artemis laughed.
"Oh! Piama, is that too much air on you?" Lois asked and Reese, Dewey, Malcolm, and Artemis all looked at each other in confusion.
"No!" Piama said incredulously.
"This family is so strange." Artemis whispered. "but I like it."
~••~
They got back to their town that night, considering they stopped for food and allowed the boys to get dry. Artemis thanked the Wilkerson for an awesome weekend as she walked home. Reese saw that she was walking alone.
"Hey!" Reese said as he caught up with her. Artemis turned around.
"Yeah, Reese?" Artemis asked. Reese leaned over and kissed her softly. After seconds, they pulled a part from each other.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Reese said before walking over back to his house.
"Yeah, tomorrow." Artemis whispered.
~• Life is unfair •~
— Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Let me know what you think so far. Thanks! :)