Extras

Atypical: Introductions

//takes place after the last chapter and before the epilogue//

Olivia wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans. Again.

"You're making me nervous," James whispers in her ear.

They're sitting together in the back of a car that they brought to California all the way from Moonbreath Valley, Colorado. Michael flashes them a toothy grin from the driver's seat that Olivia decides to ignore. She turns to James and smiles a little too widely.

"What! Noooo!" Olivia tries for a reassuring laugh that comes off as very nervous. She swallows. "What's there to be nervous about?"

James traces his thumb in a reassuring circle on the back of her hand. "You tell me."

Well, Olivia thinks, there's the whole "Hey Mom and Dad, here's my boyfriend you've never met! He inspired me to drop out of school, and also, he's a werewolf and we're engaged!"

Olivia's parents are very proud of how she side-stepped the teenage rebellion phase. She had a very nice, respectful boyfriend that she was dating for three years without missing a single curfew, and she got good grades, and the one time she got drunk at a party, she felt so guilty that she told them the next day and never did it again. Lovely, logical Livia.

And now, Olivia is going to be introducing them to what they will only be able to interpret as a mid-life crisis.

James.

Olivia loves James, but, wow, all 6 feet of him really scream '7 years older than your daughter' with a side serving of 'shotgun wedding.' So, yeah, she's just a touch nervous for James to be meeting the in-laws.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Michael interjects cheerily, "what, your parents hate James and forbid you from ever seeing him again? And then you're forced to choose between your mate and your family?"

Olivia's eyes widen and her throat feels suddenly tight. Instinctively, she begins playing with the ring on her finger - the ring James had given to her when he proposed. It seems heavier than normal.

"Thank you for your input, Michael," James says, deadpan. Michael snorts.

"Oli," James continues, quiet, just for her, "I'm sure everything will be fine. I'll be on my best behavior. Besides," he  smiles, but there is a small seed of doubt in his expression that Olivia can't help but notice, "I'm sure it would never come down to that."

His hands tighten on hers. She can't bring herself to imagine the chaos that would break out if something tried to force them apart. A year ago, before all the mess with Quentin, she truly believes that James would insist that she choose her family every time. He was too convinced that he was bad for her.

But now, after everything - she shudders. She thinks of what she would do if someone told James to stay away from her - she thinks of what the desperation would drive her to do keep him in her life.

She can't begin to consider what James would be driven to.

She shakes out of her reverie as they pull into a familiar suburb.

"Two houses further," she directs Michael, and, soon enough, they're standing in front of her childhood home, a doorbell away from potential disaster.

"Olivia!" her mother cries, opening the door before the bell has finished one full ring. She throws herself on Olivia in one of the most enthusiastic embraces Olivia has ever survived.

"Hhhi Mhmmn!" Olivia greets, speaking into her mom's shoulder.

And then her mother, totally ignoring the two staggering figures behind her, pulls her into the house and begins speaking at lightning speed.