Fenceline |c.h. ft a.i.| (Under Construction)

XXII. surprises we'll never regret

"Dude, I'm crashing in your garage, if that's cool?" Michael asked, glancing at Calum once he climbed out his car. He nodded at the lilac colored boy and smiled.

"S'cool." Calum replied, opening the door for Nikki to step out. She kissed his cheek and he closed the door behind her.

Ashton and Mhina pulled up a bit after, parking behind Calum's car. He stepped out and opened the door for the girl.

Calum's eyes fell on Mhina for a bit before she glanced his way which caused him to look away.

"Why do the neighbors have so many cars parked out?" The brown boy asked, furrowing his brows at the many vehicles nearly parked out in the road.

Mama Joy gave her son a look then shook her head. "Since when are their business any of yours?" She raised a brow at him and he stuttered to answer her question.

"Exactly." She said toting her bags to the door. Luke and Michael chuckled at the boy and he glared at them, following the shorter woman into the house.

They all decided to get their bags the next day because they were all pretty tired. So, the plan was to crash at Mama Joy's house and get some decent sleep.

That's until...

"Surprise!" A crowd of voices sounded and nearly scared the group to death. The front door was barely parted so they had no idea who was on the other side.

Calum was first to peek inside, bumping heads with Mhina since they did it simultaneously.

"M'bad." Calum mumbled, a slight chuckle in his voice. The brown girl matched his reaction but mumbled a 'it's alright', rubbing the spot.

A sound of a throat clearing, Ashton's throat clearing to be exact, followed by the boy putting his arm around her waist.

They dropped their expressions completely and turned away from one another. Calum rolled his eyes before twisting again to look through the slit dooor.

"What the--" The brown boy paused, his brows meeting, reaching for the door and opening it all the way.

He revealed the many family members that laid behind the wooden entryway, each of them smiling brightly at the sleep deprived group.

"Surprise!" They shouted in unison again, probably hoping for a better reaction from them.

"What's this about?" Mama Joy said, walking further into the living room and smiling up at the balloons and decorations.

A girl who looked like a younger Joy broke away from the rest of the members and smiled up at the older woman.

"Mal!" Calum said loudly, causing everyone to look in his direction as he quickly approached his sister.

She opened her arms and brought him into a hug.

"Hi, Callie." She said, calling him by his nickname which caused him to scrunch his face.

"I'm a grown man. It's Calum." He corrected, deepening his voice but not convincing his sister since she started chuckling.

"It's nice to see you, big head." Mali replied, punching his arm.

The remaining group entered all the way, closing the door behind them and waving at the other family members. Most of them gave hugs since they were familiar with Calum's family, even Nikki.

Well, everyone except Mhina. It didn't feel right. She didn't feel right hugging these people, not just because she didn't know them, but the fact that she didn't really feel apart of their family.