The Butterfly Effect

𝖝𝖝 | 𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔲𝔢: 𝔰𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔞 𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦

"Well, usually dinner happens right after basketball practice, where my father would work me into exhaustion before we would get into a fight and both end up bleeding," He said, only to receive a frown from Madison. "Right, sorry, I'm being hostile. First, we say grace and bless the food."

"Right. If I'm not mistaken, your family is Christian?" She asked.

"Catholic," He corrected.

She pursed her lips and knit her brows. "Aren't they the same thing?"

"Okay, you are not prepared to face Riker Chandler." Kian nervously chuckled. "Jordan made the same mistake of confusing Christianity and Catholicism, and my father was not very happy about it."

"I'll stay away from religion," Madison noted. "Any more things I should look out for?"

"I should warn you that he tends to make sexist and mildly homophobic comments. I will not be opposed to you slapping him in his face," he said, "Luckily, he isn't racist, so we dodged a bullet with that one."

"I'm not slapping anyone. If I disagree with something your dad says, I'll politely voice my objections, and we can have a respectful discussion." She finished with a nod.

"Babydoll, you have so much to learn." He lowly laughed at her naivety. "You have to remember that my family is not as open-minded as yours. Debating with my dad will not simply be a discussion. The sooner you learn that, the easier."

"What about your mom? What's she like?"

"Apart from the fact that she hid my mental illness from me, she's not that bad. She's way more understanding than my father and less old-fashioned. My relationship with her is rocky, but I can see it improving. I wish they'd apologize or at least try to make things better."

Madison couldn't help but notice how Kian's eyes drooped down at the mention of his strained relationship with his mother. Madison knew Kian missed his mother deeply, despite his frustrations with her. She only hoped his mother would come to her senses and admit her wrongdoings.

"Hey," She tilted his head up when it started to lower. "You're strong for even coming back. Remember that you were the one mistreated. It's not up to you to fix it. All you can do is wait. And if they don't try to fix what they did, they don't deserve to be in your life."

"I truly hit the jackpot with you," He gently smiled. "I'm getting too soft. Maybe it's good that I came down here. I need my dad to toughen me up again." He said before laughing at the dramatic gasp from Madison.

She rolled her eyes and brought him down for an eager kiss. "So annoying,"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Ah, damn," Zaire hissed as he climbed the wooden gate. He sneaked through the sliding door before he slipped through the arched doorway. He looked around until he saw Javier with his canvas and various watercolors at his desk. Pluto Projector by Rex Orange County bounced off the walls and hit both of their eardrums. "Hey, Jay,"

Javier turned to observe the interruption and smiled at his bandmate. "Hi, Zaire,"

"How are you doing?" Zaire asked and squinted his eyes when Javier laughed. "What's funny?"

"I had my first talk with Beth, then Nathan, and now you. I'm beginning to think you guys are planning this. Who's next? Gohan?"

"Is it so unbelievable for me to check up on you?"

"Yes. You don't get emotional unless it's something serious like a death." Javier said. "You were coerced into coming here."

Zaire chortled and shook his head. "I swear I wasn't persuaded. I genuinely came here for you."