The Five Steps To Smile

Chapter Ten

Just as all three got out of the car, it wasn't moments later when they heard a rumble making its way down the road and stop just behind them. Nolan turned, only to see a dark blue windowless van parked at the end of the driveway. A shady sight especially in this type of neighborhood.
But Nolan relaxed when he caught sight of a dirty blonde head in the driver's seat. The backdoors suddenly swung open and out came a familiar unsmiling girl.
"Tell your parents I said hi!" A girl's voice carried out of the van. Adira turned to look at whoever was behind her and nodded.
"Now don't forget guys. We meet at Austin's tomorrow."
"We won't forget. And Adira?" This time, a voice spoke that was deeper.
"What?" she said, peering inside the van.
"You have company." Hearing this, she turned her head and seemed to finally notice the three newcomers. "Hey Nolan."
Nolan turned to see the boy from the cross country team leaning out the window of the drivers side, a friendly smile on his face.
"Yo. It is Nolan, right?" Nolan returned the smile and nodded.
"That would be me."
"Hey Nolan, what are you doing here?" Adira interrupted with a question. He turned his attention to her and smiled slightly.
"I'm guessing your mother invited us over for dinner." Her plain expression was as perfect as ever, but Nolan saw a dawning realization light up her eyes in the dying sunlight.
"I see," was her only words. Turning abruptly, she faced the people inside the van. "I'll see you guys later."
"Tell Nolan I said hi!" A different girl's voice spilled out the van.
"Nolan is right here. Just poke your head out and tell him." Adira took a couple step back and turned her head to give him an apologetic look. Nolan smiled at her before a brunette popped her head out and faced him. Her eyes were that if amber as she squinted at him from the van.
"Wow, he's a looker. Paris sure knows how to raise 'em right."
"Madison!" The girl, presumably Madison, suddenly disappeared back into the vehicle while Adira shook her head.
"See you guys later," she said before shutting the doors. She walked over until she was standing on her driveway, giving a wave to the other boy. "See you later, Austin."
He gave a two-fingered salute and said, "See you tomorrow, Prez. And nice to officially meet you Nolan." The two nodded to each other before Austin started the van and drove down the street, turning right and disappearing from sight.
"Adira!" She jumped slightly and everyone turned to see a carbon copy of Adira standing on the porch, except for her raven hair that rushed down around her face.
"Mom," she said guiltily. "I'm sorry. My phone died when we were coming back." The woman gave a little sigh but smiled softly at her.
"It's all right. But come in and get changed quickly. As you can see, we have guests." Adira nodded and her gaze landed behind Nolan, finally noticing his parents.
"I have to apologize for that, as well as my tardiness." Nolan's own mother smiled brightly.
          "Don't worry about that! It's nice to know that my son is getting along with others here easily." Nolan caught the sneaky look Adira gave him, amusement in her eyes before she nodded.
          "Yes, your son is quite popular in school. Now," she gestured to the house, "it's rude of me to keep all of our guests outside. Why don't you come inside and make yourself at home?" Nolan noticed his mother watch Adira what could only be described as adoration as Adira waited patiently for them to go in.
          "Thank you," Stacy practically gushed, arousing a chuckle from her husband. He watched as his parents walked up the walkway, Adira's own mother waiting in the doorway.
          Once they were too far to hear them, Nolan looked over at Adira, who was already staring at him.
          "My mom already loves you," he remarked.
          "Must be my charming personally," she said, deadpanned. Nolan laughed and gave her a dazzling smile.
          "That is undeniable," he agreed. The two walked into the house silent after that, Adira's mom raising an eyebrow at her.
          Nolan pondered for a moment if she was like her daughter, emotionless but that thought was blown out of his head when she smiled at Adira.
          "I know what you're going to say, and we already forgive you. We both know how forgetful you can get when it comes to your phone." The woman pulled her close and kissed her forehead, Adira standing just a few inches taller than her.
"I need to break that habit," Nolan heard her mutter before tilting her head towards him. "Mom, this is Nolan. Nolan, my mom."
Nolan was unprepared for the brilliant smile directed his way.
"Hello Nolan, I'm Nina and I hope Adira has been gracious to you in school." The edges of her light green eyes crinkled, and the warmth on her face was blazing.
"I can only say that her manners are impeccable." Nina laughed and Nolan held a thought if that's what Adira would sound like that. Coming from Nina, it was smooth and light, almost airy.
"I'm glad to hear that." Nolan couldn't help but catch the loving look she gave to Adira. "Now, why don't you two go on in, and Adira take a few moments to clean up and change." Adira nodded and disappeared inside, Nolan following suit. Immediately as he walked in, he couldn't help but to feel relaxed.
The atmosphere that was given was that of home. The warm tones of dark brown and light beige were earthy tones that seemed to just make the mood of the whole house welcoming. The house was similarly built like his, the living the exact same design but with different furniture. Actually, now that he thought about it, the whole house looked a lot like his but different colors.
Wonder why that is, he thought. Unlike his own living room, however, the Blackwoods opted out for a bigger couch. A chocolate brown sectional was pushed against the furthest wall, underneath the windows outlooking the front yard. Across, a forty inch flat screen TV sat atop a stand, the dark wood blending in beautifully with the decor. Nolan could see various movies tucked neatly on the shelves underneath. Overall, the whole room was decorated quite nicely with family pictures and small knick knacks that gave the house personality.
"I bet it looks similar." Nolan jumped slightly when he heard Nina speak besides him, watching as he took in his surroundings. He gave her a mystified look, wondering how she knew. Nina chuckled and cocked her head towards the kitchen, which was eerily the same like at his own house.
"You've moved into a house that was built by my father, who also built this." She gestured around us. "He was a perfectionist and demanded that every detail be the same for both. I guess that's where Adira gets it." Nina rolled her eyes good naturedly.
"That's actually pretty interesting," Nolan said, both of them starting to make their way to the kitchen. "Has he built any more?" She was shaking her head even before he finished the sentence.
"No. Said that building anymore would just be a pain in the neck." She sighed in exasperation. "I can never fully understand that man, not even to this day."
"Are you talking about your dad again, Nina?" A man said as they entered the dining room, the kitchen only separated by a bar. "If you keep going on about him, you'll run them all off," he teased her. The man - which Nolan concluded to be Adira's father - stood just a couple inches taller than his own dad. With neat sandy brown hair and kind dark blue eyes, he seemed particularly imposing.
"Who else? I'm just lucky I found a man that he actually likes." At this, the man rolled his eyes but caught my gaze with the steady one of his own, smiling widely.
          "You must be Nolan." He walked over to where he stood, reaching out his hand to shake.
          "Yes sir," was Nolan's reply. The man laughed and gripped his hand firmly.
          "You can just call me Curtis." Nolan couldn't resist a grin back to him and nodded. Parting, Stacy took this chance to gush.
          "You're house is absolutely lovely," she spoke. "It's so cozy." Nina smiled proudly and reached out to Curtis, gripping his arm and pulling him to her side.
          "It's all of this man's work. I can't decorate to save my life."  And this brought on a string full of conversations that soon led the men outside to the back porch where the steaks were grilling while the women migrated to the kitchen to finish the rest. Meanwhile, Nolan was left to his own devices and Nina took it upon herself to direct him to Adira's room.
          "But remember," she said with playful sternness, "make sure to tell my daughter to leave her door open."
          "And remember what I said, Nolan." His mother couldn't help but remind him, giving him a warning stare. He chuckled under his breath before nodding.
          "Will do." With that, he turned and made his way through the house that was so similar to his own home. He made his way up the stairs, pictures lining up the walls. He couldn't resist a peek at each one, catching a glimpse of Adira's world.
          What he found was a childhood full of sunshine and lots of imperturbable reflection. There were quite a few that must have been different family members, but most were of Nina, Curtis, and Adira. They were pictures that framed her childhood in squares, telling a story all on their own. Well, as much as they could.
          Nolan was amused when he noticed child Adira staring into the camera with a cold expression, her face smooth of any emotion. Yet, somehow, you could just tell that she was happy. Maybe it was the way she held herself in all of her pictures, or maybe it was just the way her eyes caught the light from any direction—whatever it was, it was clear that even though her face didn't tell what she was thinking, she explained herself in other ways that came across as soft.
          As he ascended each step slowly, he took care to analyze each one attentively. It was then he begun to realize that the higher he went, the newer the pictures became.
          The adolescent Adira began to lose the roundness in her face as the baby fat began to fade away, as well as her height skyrocketing. Her blond hair as a child soon became darker, but still held the natural golden highlights. He stopped at one photo that caught his eye, and it was Adira surrounded by a group of her friends. It looked as if they were at the beach, dressed in their swimsuits with the golden sand underneath their feet and the sun glaring off the endless blue behind them.
          When he looked closer, all of them looked like the younger versions of the student council members presently. In this photo, they all looked to be around the age thirteen. Nolan even recognized Khloe standing besides Adira, her hair wild and her smile broad. Nolan leaned in closer and studied the way how Adira stood in the middle of the group, her arms wrapping around Khloe and a blonde headed kid, his own grin toothy. All six were interlinked, their arms wrapped around the one besides them and even a blind man could see the deep bond between all of them.
          "That was a fun day." Nolan jumped slightly from hearing Adira's voice right next to him. Turning, he saw her standing just one step up from him, looking at the picture that he was just staring intently at a minute ago. "You should have seen Khloe. She was sun burnt for two weeks after that day because she forgot to bring sunblock." Even in the dim stairway, he could see her eyes twinkle with mirth at the memory.
          Turning back to face the picture, Nolan studied it one last time. "Are those the student council members?" He jutted his chin out towards the picture.
          "Yes. We're all childhood friends. A given since this is such a small town," she startled him by reaching up and poking his arm. Raising his head, he looked at her questioningly. She pointed past him and said, "We should probably get down there. Even if my mother said to keep the door open, I know my dad is about to have an ulcer just thinking about having a boy in my room."
"How did you know?" he asked, amused.
         "I know my mother well enough," she simply replied. Nolan let a chuckle escape from his mouth before nodding.
         Before he could say anything else, he finally realized then just what she was wearing.
          Dressed in a simple white dress with off the shoulder sleeves, the light material made her skin look even more golden. The little dress was loose and hung to mid thigh, while it cinched around the middle of her stomach and flowed down.
          Nolan couldn't resist the stutter of his heartbeat and freezing of his lungs. Seeing his reaction, or non reaction, Adira tilted her head in worry. This action only caused her still damp tendrils of hair to fall and dangle in the air.
          "Are you okay?" she asked, pushing the rogue strand back in place behind her ear. Following his gaze she looked down at herself. "Do you think this isn't good? Should I go change?"
          Nolan was honestly amazed that this girl standing before him was feeling insecure, the emotion glaringly obvious in her eyes. Meeting her stare, he shook his head slowly and swallowed. Shaking off his body's reaction to her, he smiled at her easily.
          "You look great," he answered honestly. He caught a glimpse of relief before the blankness returned. He then turned and started to make his way down the steps. "Now, I heard your dad was making steaks."