The sun was up, and so we're the Press family and it feels like everybody in the house was just rustling and bustling all morning.
It started when Michelle woke up at 4 in the morning.
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Michelle was in a deep sleep until the clock strikes 4 and BAM! Her eyes just opened up and she sat up abruptly, not only startling Bambi, who was sleeping at the side but herself as well. She looked at the clock and stood up, making sure not to wake Christen up.
"Fuck I forgot to buy the chicken."
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And that was the beginning of their day.
Michelle usually sets the vibe at their house, if she wakes up stressed, there is tension in the house if she wakes up happy then there would be no problem but today, this was not the case, though Christen usually tends to level her out most of the time and this was not the day.
"Isabella the chicken ran away."
Isabella whipped her head back and looked at her mother confused.
"Mom, the chicken is dead."
"Well, something fucking happened to it, help me find it."
With furrowed eyebrows, she helped her mother find the (dead) chicken around the kitchen.
//
Christen and Michelle sat on the couch for the interview.
"I grew up in a crazy rich Asian-Esque household where they would have this fancy dinner party every month where we had to dress up all fancy and shit and I was forced to perform for their business partners and family members 3 times, ballet, piano, and singing and I remember hating it."
She nodded her head and looked out the window like she was reminiscing her trauma.
"And despite this not being remotely close to the party my parents were throwing, it kind of set my expectations high ya know."
"It doesn't help that you are literally a perfectionist."
Michelle looked at Christen offended... by then nodded her head, accepting the fact that she indeed, is a perfectionist.
"As much as I would like to deny that shit, it really do be true though."
//
"I FOUND IT!"
Michelle's head snapped at Isabella who was holding a whole chicken by the leg.
"Where the fuck was it?"
"It was under the table."
Christen walked into the kitchen confused, Aquila and Diana, holding onto her pants as they walked with her.
"Why are you holding the chicken like that?"
Aquila latched off of Christen and started walking towards the chicken but Isabella lifted it up and put it in the pan before pointing at Michelle.
"You know what? I'm not even going to ask."
"You just did though."
"Michelle, I swear to god."
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While Michelle was doing her thing in the kitchen, Christen was asked by her wife to go and get some of the champagne since their wine cellar was just full of wine (as it should) and Michelle wanted more "variety" for the drink choices. Then afterward, she would go and get Ashlyn, Ali, Sue, Pinoe, Tobin, and Kling from the airport since they were flying in for the small celebration of Isabella's call up then flying to New York in a few days for more World Cup media things.
Christen went over to the side of the van and made sure that the twins were strapped in their car seats before going over to the driver's side. She looked at the controls confused since it has been a few years since she actually drove a car, let alone a van. Even when Michelle was pregnant she would still be the one who would drive them around, which is why the majority of the pregnancy was actually spent indoors where it is safe from Christen's driving.
"Okay, you start it and you.... so this."
The van jerked forward, stopping abruptly. She took a deep breath and checked if everything was in order before closing her eyes and trying to remember what she learned in driver's Ed.
"Okay make sure it's in the middle, press the clutch, and change to reverse."
She started the car again and did the same thing she did the first time and the same thing happened.
"uh-oh."
She looked back and saw Aquila covering her eyes while Diana looked around worried.
"Don't worry, Mama could do this..."
She started the car and she was startled when the car went in reverse and hit the garbage can.
"Fuck."
"...f-ffuu-fuuuuuck."
Christen's head snapped back again, wide-eyed as she looked at Diana who looked so proud that she was able to say the word.
"No Di, don't say that sweaty that's a bad word."
This time, Aquila opened her mouth.
"f-fuuuuuuuck."
Christen sighed and rested her forehead on the steering wheel.
//
Michelle looked at the footage shocked, before making eye contact with the cameraman. "I... I did not expect that..." then looked at her wife.
Christen, on the other hand, looked around, avoiding eye contact with any of the crew and the eyes of her wife.
"Yup... not my proudest moment."
//
She collected her thoughts and tried again, this time finally succeeding.
"I am so freaking dead."
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Isabella, on the other hand, was sent away by her mother to do whatever while she, Santana, Brittany, and Scarlett could go and decorate around the house. She sighed and started walking around their neighborhood on the way to the park with a soccer ball in hand.
She started thinking about life that led up to this moment.
She was officially called up. I mean, yeah she had technically been training with the team since she was 11 but being official, having her own number and just possibly being a part of the roster was just unbelievable to her. Also, the fact that she is just a senior in high school, not even have been graduated adds up. She is sixteen for crying out loud.
But it did make sense. Vlatko knows how she plays, he knows how much of a versatile player she is. She could literally play anywhere on the field and she would be good at it, yes even at goal. She knew it would come eventually but she didn't think it was this early.
Isabella stopped in her tracks when she realized that she was finally at the park. She looked at the cameraman that followed her and she grinned.
"Hey Harold, you know how to kick a ball?"
"Uh... I know a thing or two but I am not as skilled as you or your parents."
"Nonsense, come on. You could just point the camera at us and we could pass the ball around. We'll be there near the bench."
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Christen pulled up at the airport in one piece so she sighed before turning back to her daughters, who were silently playing with each other.
"Okay girls, here is the game plan. You wear your sunglasses on and tell Mama if you see anyone with bright pink hair."
Aquila tilted her head to the side and pointed at her hair. "Haiw? Auntie P?"
Christen nodded and handed them their sunglasses, with which they complied immediately. She went out of the van and unbuckled them, carrying them in both of her hands.
"How does Mama look?"
"Pwetty."
"Thanks, Di."
She looked at the vehicle before making their journey to the crowded airport.
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Michelle ran around the house, making sure everything was perfect, the food, the decoration, her appearance, her sanity (the last one was impossible but it did not hurt to try) while 3 of her best friends were there trying to calm her down.
//
Santana, Brittany, and Scarlett sat in front of the camera with a sigh.
"It was like her wedding day all over again."
"Except without all the snot and the hairspray."
"I think Mitch applied hairspray earlier today, like 6 times."
The two looked at Brittany surprised, not noticing that the soccer player did that.
"That's it. We have to hide all of the hairsprays in this household."
//
"Michelle, I need you to breath."
Santana forced Michelle to sit on the couch, Brittany, and Scarlett immediately going beside the woman who looked like she was about to pass out, putting their hands on her shoulders to try and calm her down.
"This isn't just about the party, what is going through your head."
Mitch shook her head and rested her head in between her palms, her elbows resting on her thighs.
"I don't know, it's just I have been very anxious lately..."
"You don't say."
Deciding to ignore the Latina's sassy remark, she continued, "... because for some reason all my memories in Lima just keep coming back. All of those fucking dinner parties and performing and the level of perfection my parents were able to do this in and I feel like I have to live up to the Martins name and if I fuck this up, I would be like a disgrace to the family or something, I don't know it's stupid."
The three looked at each other and sighed.
Scarlett squeezed her hand, making Michelle look at her as she gave her a small, reassuring smile. "It is not stupid, your feelings are one hundred percent valid."
"Yeah, you're my unicorn. You're magical. Don't stress yourself out."
Santana cleared her throat making them look at her.
"What's your last name?"
Michelle looked at her best friend confused. "Um... Why?"
"Just answer me."
"Press. My last name is Press."
"See? YOUR last name is PRESS, not MARTINS. Martins is your dead name. You do not represent that name anymore, and you chose not to represent that name when you decided to change it when you got married. You are not representing it, you are representing Press. And what do you think Cody would tell you once he sees you stressing over this?"
Michelle sighed and looked down and chuckled, remembering her father-in-law. "He would tell me to take a chill pill and just order take-out instead."
"See? So drop those expectations. You let go of those the moment you dropped that last name."
Mitch smiled at her friends and pulled them in a group hug.
"I love you guys so much, thank you for always being there for me."
"Of course."
//
Santana smirked at the camera and chuckled.
"This bitch thinks it's free, I'm charging her for my services, per hour."
//
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When the clock struck 6, Isabella was called back to the house for the beginning of the party. She and Harold started walking back, telling each other stories about themselves and before they knew it, they were back home and Harold was filming her. They noticed the trashcan gone and a small scratch at the back of the van that was parked out front.
"I don't understand why they still say that it's a surprise party when the surprise aspect of it is gone. I'm the one who found the chicken under the table for goodness sakes."
Harold chuckled and shrugged, before signaling the girl to open the door.
When she opened the door, there was someone who yelled something out and confetti canons went off before Sloane cried. Isabella watched in amusement as Ali scolded her wife who was panicking and trying to calm the crying baby down at the same time.
There were a few people there. Alex (with Charlie, they were in town since she was visiting her sister), Krashlyn, Tobin, Kling, Scar (with Colin and Rose), Chris Evans (probably so Colin would have someone to talk to), Florence Pugh, Rihanna, and Queen Bee with Jay Z, Blue and the twins (since they were Isabella's godparents, and they did not want to miss this),
Michelle chuckled and just went forward, pulling her daughter into a hug, in which she reciprocated.
"I am so proud of you honey."
Isabella felt herself start to tear up and hugged her mom back.
"That's all I ever wanted."
They pulled away and she took another look at all the people around her before turning back to Michelle.
"What happened to the van?"
"Ask your Mama."
She turned to Christen, who looked at them wide-eyed.
"You see... what had happened was...."
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A/N: I changed my mind on the update schedule. I'm just gonna update whenever I wanna update cause honestly it's just torture at this point, waiting for a week before I update. I honestly don't know why I insist on putting updating schedules when I know I won't follow it.
Also, wrote this while drinking soju and jamming out to Pitch Perfect. I know it's 7 am but I have lost the concept of time during this Perpendicular and I do not believe in being too early or too late to drink, I just drink. (I sound like an alcoholic but I am just finishing the soju my best friends gave me for my birthday lmao)
Anyway, still super pumped for this and ashflnidslhvbadv yeah, hope you guys enjooooy.