"Hey, Koleton!" I call out to him as I jog down the hallway towards the guest bedroom, where he sleeps now since he refuses to leave me here alone. "I was wondering if- why are you packing?"
"I'm leaving." He mumbles and I let out a soft laugh.
"Well when will you be back?" I shake my head, still not understanding the reason behind him packing.
"A few weeks. I have to go back home to my family. I don't know what the plan with you is, but I hope they figure something out." He sighs and my jaw slightly drops.
"Oh, uhmmm alright." I back out of his room, slamming into a body.
I turn around to see Noelle standing there, an aggravated look on her face. "Hey Noelle, I-"
Before I can even fucking begin my sentence, she pushes past me to enter the room.
"Koleton, you need to take Margo with you. Don't argue or ask questions, but Jeff said it'd be good for the media." Noelle hurriedly states as Koleton and I give each other glances of confusion.
"The media? I'm going back to Tennessee to see my family and you're worried about the media?" Koleton stares at her in disbelief as silence falls over us. "You know what, fine. Margo, go pack your bags because we're leaving tonight."
"I- okay..?" I slowly walk to my room as a million thoughts fill my head at once, a certain one distracting me from the others.
Why does he have to go to Tennessee anyways?
———
"It's cold." I frown, complaining as we leave the airport.
"Yeah, this isn't Los Angeles weather." Koleton puts our bags into the car as the paparazzi begin to surround us.
"No shit, because this isn't Los Angeles."
Jeff told us to lie and say I'm here for business. I haven't come to Tennessee for business in a few years so I doubt the media will believe it. I'm just scared of the theories that will be created surrounding the trip.
I climb into the car as Koleton follows me, not saying a single word until the car begins to drive away.
"There are a few rules that have always been set in this house hold." He turns to me and I nod, intrigued already. "I really want my family to like you so I need you to obey the rules."
"Well I don't even know them so-"
"First rule, no cursing. If my parents hear you curse, no matter how old you are, they'll automatically hate you." He begins listing off the rules and I nod.
"That's easy, media training helped me with that."
"Right, second rule; no leaving the table until everyone is done eating and do not put your elbows on the table."
"Okay now that one is just basic manners. Are there any really hard rules?" I tilt my head and he lets out a sigh.
"Everyone has to help clean, everyone has to follow the house rules, and everyone has to help on the farm." He states the last one a bit quieter than the others and my jaw drops.
"You live on a farm?! Why did you never tell me? Like, I knew you were from the south, but I didn't know you were from the south." I place my hand over my mouth and he groans. "It's not a bad thing I just didn't expect it."
"Don't make a big deal out of it, please. My family knows that I work for you, but they aren't expecting you to come home with me." He warns me and I nod.
"I'll be on my best behaviour, promise." I hold up my pinky and he interlocks his own with it.
The rest of the car ride is silent, other than me getting excited about a few animals we see on our way to his house.
The vibe of this town is nice. Its quiet and small. The type of place you would want to raise your kids.
"We're here, I'll open your door for you." Koleton mumbles as the driver drives down a dirt road, approaching a house.
I sit quietly as Koleton gets out of the car and opens my door. Quite a lot of people run out of the house and up to the car, smiles on all of their faces.
"Koleton! My oh my it's been a while since I've seen you, son." An older man smiles, wrapping Koleton in a hug before turning to me.
His accent is thicker than I would've thought, since Koleton's accent isn't that strong.
"Hey papaw, this is-"
Before he gets the chance to introduce me, a scream is let out as if someone is getting killed.
"Is that Margo Roberts?!" A girl that can't be older than sixteen stares at me in shock. "There's no way she's seeing me like this, I'll be right back!"
She runs up the stairs and back into the house as Koleton turns to me. "That's Stevie, she's a big fan."
An older woman walks up to us and wraps Koleton in a hug, mumbling a few things into his ear before pulling away.
"You didn't tell us you were bringing company, I'm Andrea. I'm Koleton's mother, but you can call me Andrea." She wraps me in a tight hug, one that I definitely needed.
"I'm Margo Roberts. I didn't expect to tag along on his trip, but it's nice to finally meet you. Koleton has told me a lot about you." I smile softly, trying my best to follow each of the rules Koleton informed me about.
"Darling, you don't have to be all formal. We're all family here." She laughs and I immediately relax my shoulders. "You definitely dressed to impress. We'll have to find you different clothes to wear while you're here so you don't mess all of these nice clothes up."
She turns to walk back into the house before speaking again. "Those will definitely be nice church clothes though."
She walks back into the house as a younger boy approaches us, slamming into Koleton and wrapping his arms around his legs.
"You didn't tell me about church." I mumble, opening the trunk of the car.
"I didn't expect us to go." He responds, keeping his voice quiet.
I pull the suitcases out of the trunk and set them on the ground as Koleton says his hellos to the rest of his family. A boy that looks to be around my age comes up to help me with the bags, since I'm clearly struggling.
"I'll grab the heavier ones, you can get the others." He offers and I nod. "Where are you from?"
"Australia." I answer him and he seems taken back by either my answer or my accent.
"Can you say mate? Or kangaroo?" He smirks, clearly amused by his own joke.
"Alright Phoenix, stop flirting and go help dad." Koleton shoves him out of the way and he rolls his eyes.
"Fine, it was nice meeting you." He flashes me a smile before jogging towards the house and I turn to Koleton.
"You have a big family." I smile at the thought that everyone seems so happy to see him.
"Yeah. We haven't seen everyone yet, but they're definitely a crowd that can turn heads." He sighs, grabbing the rest of the bags and setting them on the ground. "I'm sorry about my mom hugging you. I know you don't like-"
"No, it's okay. She gives really good hugs, there's no bad feelings here. Besides, I think it's nice how she was so welcoming." I laugh, stopping his apology. "Even if she did kind of insult my clothing choice."
"Well you are wearing designer clothes on a farm. We don't see much of that around here." He smiles and I roll my eyes.
"It's embarrassing. I didn't have any other clothes to wear." I pout and he lets out a laugh, closing the trunk of the car.
"It's okay, you can wear mom's boots." He grabs his bags as I grab mine and begins walking towards the house.
"Boots?"
———
"Margo do you have any allergies?" Andrea asks as I enter the kitchen after I finish unpacking. I changed into a more relaxed outfit consisting of black leggings and a purple sweater since the house isn't much warmer than outside.
"No ma'am, do you need help with anything? I feel bad for just dropping in on you randomly." I quickly ask and she shakes her head.
"No darling, you can go see if Stevie needs help with her homework though. Her room is the first one at the top of the stairs."
I nod quietly before spinning on my heels and making my way up the stairs.
Koleton and the other guys left an hour or so ago to go out to the store. Apparently the store is forty-five minutes away from here.
They left Andrea, Stevie, myself, meemaw and the two younger girls here. I don't mind though, it's nice to get the chance to find out more about them.
I quietly knock on the door that is cracked open and Stevie snaps her head in my direction.
"Stevie, right?" I furrow my eyebrows as she quickly closes a journal she was writing in when I entered the room and stands up.
"Yeah, I- hi, sorry I just-"
"Don't be sorry, I'm nervous too." I reassure her and she nods. "Can I sit?"
She quickly nods and motions towards the bed. I sit down and look around, examining her decor.
I notice a few One Direction and Five Seconds Of Summer posters, causing me to smile.
"You like the guys?" I gesture towards the posters and she nods quietly, looking up at them. "Who is your favourite?"
"Louis and Mikey." She answers, her voice barely audible.
"I can call them if you want me to. Only if it's okay with you of course." I offer and her eyes widen as her jaw drops. "I'll take that as a sign of approval."
I pull my phone out and click Louis' contact before pressing the FaceTime button.
After a few rings, he finally answers. "Hello?"
"Louis, I'm in Tennessee and I'm sitting beside your biggest fan." I smile and I hear him laugh.
"Yeah? What's their name?"
"Her name is Stevie. I'll give her the phone so the two of you can talk." I hand the phone off to her and she seems as if she's about to explode.
They talk for around half an hour, allowing me to learn more about her as well. As soon as they hang up, the front door slams causing me to jump.
"We're home!" A loud voice echoes through the house as Stevie and I both stand up.
I follow Stevie out of her room to see Koleton making his way up the steps.
He's wearing a beanie and his cheeks and nose are red from the cold weather.
"I see you've made a new friend." He smirks, looking between Stevie and I.
"Yeah, I might just stay here and let you go back to Los Angeles yourself." I tease as he wraps his arm around Stevie before letting her walk down the stairs.
"Replacing me already? We just became friends." He frowns and I try to suppress my smile.
"Yeah, but she's actually funny." I shrug referring to Stevie.
"Oh, really? Who do you think she gets her humour from?" He raises his eyebrows and I purse my lips, tapping my chin as if I'm thinking.
"I don't know." I shake my head, sighing after a few minutes of silence. "Meemaw seems like she was a jokester in her teenage years to me."
"I'm going to have to get used to you saying meemaw." He laughs and I scoff.
"What's so wrong with the way I saw meemaw? I think I say it just fine." I fold my arms over my chest and he shakes his head.
"Your accent sticks out like a sore thumb." He lets out a long sigh, causing me to furrow my eyebrows.
"What does that even mean?"