Never Be The Same - A Charlie and Nick Story

Chapter 9 - Meeting the Parents

He goes on to talk for about 20 minutes before we get a ring on the doorbell. "That's probably Tori. I will get it. Do you want to shower in my bathroom? You can since Isaac should be getting ready soon too." He laughs and chugs his tea quickly. "I can't believe you won that challenge to get that room." He laughs again before heading towards the back bedrooms.

I walk to the front door and open it to see Tori. "Hey Tori." I say before she walks a few steps into the apartment and hugs me tightly. We stay like this for what feels like a while. She lets go of our embrace and rubs her hand on my shoulder softly. "Did you have breakfast?" She asks. "Yeah." I lie. She smiles and walks to the common room to sit on the sofa.

"Mum and Dad should be here soon. When I was walking over they said they were just a few blocks away. I nod my head and sit on the other side of the sofa. We talk for a little about forms and grades before Tori's phone goes off. She answers and with barely any answer, she hangs up. "They are here." She says as she stands up. "You ready to go?" She asks, her hand outstretched to pull me off the sofa. Again, I just nod my head. "I will see you guys later!" I shout to Tao and Isaac before we walk out of the apartment and down the staircase.

When we get downstairs, our parents are parked in a spot and standing outside the car. When they spot us, they start to head our way. We exchange small embraces before anyone speaks. "We ready for a fun day!" Our Mother asks. "Your Mum planned all these fun things for us to do on campus." Dad adds, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

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We are currently on our way to some "famous" fish and chip place a few towns over. Elle's Mum made the reservation for all of our parents. I guess Elle's Dad knows the owners so we have this whole back room to ourselves.

The day wasn't horrible. Our Mother didn't make Tori or I feel that bad. She did start a little when I brought up this elective class and traveling to Paris but Tori immediately shut her down for me. We made bowls, did the food truck festival, toured around the campus inside the lecture halls, and went to the campus store. It really wasn't too bad but I am getting a little nervous about this dinner. I do not know how she will react with all of my new friend's parents.

My Dad parks the car a few blocks from the restaurant and we make our way inside. Right when we get to the hostess, I hear my name being called.

"Elle!" I say and wave my hand. She skips up to the front and pulls me into a tight hug. "Is this your family?" She asks when we pull apart. I nod my head. "Yeah, my Mum and Dad. Then this is my sister-" She cuts me off. "Tori! You are in my Interpretive Writing Form. I should have made the connection between you and Charlie." The three of us laugh. "Come this way, Isaac, Nick, and Tara are here." She takes my arm and wraps it in her's before guiding us to the back.

We take three steps down and enter the back, circular room. There is one really long row of tables strung together and my parents make their way to Isaac and his Mum. She grabs Tori's hand and we start to walk to Nick, Isaac, and Tara. As we get closer Elle says, "I made my Mum put all the parents next to each other and the kids can be at the other end. I thought it would be a little less awkward." This makes Tori and I laugh. "Charlie is this your sister?" Tara shouts and waves at us when we reach the table. "Yeah this is Tori" I say and laugh before adding "This is Tara and Nick." I gesture. Isaac and Tara start to ask Tori questions and I look at Nick.

"You do not look very good Nick." I say, unable to hide the concern from my tone. He looks at me and smiles softly. "I just didn't sleep that well. My flatmates were being so loud when they got back from the Rugby house and I couldn't sleep after..." Instead of finishing his sentence, his voice just trails off and he looks at the ground. "I was too scared about you not answering me."