I know everything happens for a reason, but sometimes I wish I knew what the reason was.
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Sang's POV:
We pull into the school parking lot ten minutes after dropping the kids off. I made sure that they were settled and at no point did I see the teacher who had been hitting kids.
Now I'm preparing myself to face the rest of the group. I really hope that the day goes on as normal but I know it will be filled with awkward apologizes and my stomach clenches at the thought of it. I really want everything bad to just stop happening.
I'm tense as I open the car door. I step out and am instantly met with the sight of Kota, Nathan, North, Silas, and Victor. I carefully walk to the front of the car where they are all lined up. As soon as I make it in hands-reach of Victor he is grabbing me and I am pulled close to his chest. We don't say anything but I do smile at him and let him hug me.
Soon I am pulled away and I come face to face with Kota. Concern and anxiety is written clear over his face and I can feel a frown pulling at my lips. I shouldn't have made them feel like this. "Hey sweetheart. Are we okay?" There's a hint of worry in his voice and it kills me. I didn't mean for this to happen. As if he was sensing where my thoughts were going he shakes his head. "It was our fault Sang. Get those thoughts out of your head. It is shown clear as day in those pretty green eyes." Kota says seriously but he laughs slightly when he hears North grunt. I nod and Kota steps away to reveal Nathan.
"Jeez peanut you have no clue what these two giants have been like. I think if North growls one more time he will turn into a grizzly bear!" Nathan says dramatically and Luke snorts from behind me. I giggle and North softens but he still looks annoyed at Nathan.
"I will not you asshole now move." North demands and Nathan doesn't seem hurt in the least. He follows Norths instructions and I am instantly surrounded by my two giants. North gently cups my face and his eyes scan every inch of me. Analyzing what I'm feeling. He must be satisfied because he nods his head and turns me to Silas. Silas does the exact same thing and I almost laugh at that. We did this all the time when we were little. Once Silas gives a satisfied nod, Gabe pipes in.
"Alright now that you are done looking at her all weird, shall we go?" Gabe asks and North tries to slap him on the head but I swat his hand away.
"You are kind of like a bear." I say so that everyone can hear. Everybody laughs and North stares straight at me. His lips lift and he smiles until a sliver of his teeth show. We are good.
We all begin making our way to the school and Kota guides me with an arm behind my back. All of the guys are surrounding me as we walk through the doors and I am not sure I have ever felt safer. The truth is I am slightly nervous for today. The guys all seem to be okay but I don't want to see McCoy.
I walk with Silas to our first period. He sits behind me and we listen as our teacher explains the assignment for today. All we have to do is read a few chapters of our textbook and take notes. I grab my notebook from my bag and begin writing.
After five minutes I feel Silas' feet knock against mine. I ignore it the first time and move my feet forward, but he does it once again. I playfully knock my feet against his and he mimics my action instantly. I turn around and face him only to see he has a huge smirk on his face. His eyebrows are raised playfully. I roll my eyes but smile slightly, then turn back around. Silas continues to kick my feet and eventually ours end up tangled together under my chair. I make no move to change this and neither does he. We sit and do our work in comfortable silence for the rest of class, until we absolutely have to get up and leave.
I go through the next few classes and everything with the guys seems normal. It's slightly tense but I can expect that. They are all nervous and I know sometimes soon we will have to sit down and talk all about it. Not right now though.
I meet up with all of the guys at lunch. We sit outside, the same place as the other day. I sit in between North and Silas. These two seem to be the most affected by what happened and I feel awful. My food sits in front of me but I don't touch it. "Eat babygirl." North says and even though it is quiet, everybody turns their attention towards me.
"I'm not really hungry." I shake my head. The truth is I'm not hungry, my nerves are shaken up by everything that has happened and it is starting to hit me.
"You didn't eat breakfast this morning cupcake." Luke chastises quietly, but North hears him.
North's gaze hardens on me while everybody else watches in a curious way. "Why did you not eat breakfast?" He demands, and I tense.
"I wasn't hungry North. I usually don't eat breakfast. It just isn't my thing." I say and when I look around at everyone else's faces, they are not happy with my answer.
"It is going to become and everyday thing." North decides and I have to grind my teeth to keep from letting out an annoyed remark.
"You can't demand what I do. I understand you care but I am not just going to listen to everything you say." I state confidently and I hear Luke chuckle while the others try to hide their smirks behind their hands.
Even though my last remark was clipped, North runs his eyes down my face. He seems to understand why I don't want to eat because he nods his head. Everyone else seems completely shocked but they go back to eating their lunches when North glares at them. Then he leans down and whispers so that only I can hear. "We're talking about this tonight Sang baby." I want to argue but he pins me with a stare and I know exactly what it means. Business.
North doesn't play around when it comes to eating and I don't really know why I thought that he would now. I am about to nod at his request when an announcement is played over the intercom speakers. "All students please report to the cafeteria. I repeat all students please report to the cafeteria." Even though we are sitting outside, we can all hear the announcement loud and clear.
We begin to pack our things up while all of the guys grumble. I begin walking towards the school and the boys quickly catch up. I basically get surrounded and I could be mad, but I feel safe like this. Protected.
We walk back to the cafeteria and I listen to the soothing voices of the guys. They might be grumbling and angry that we had to leave, but their voices still calm my nerves.
We all gather at the doors of the cafeteria and see that everybody else is looking towards the front where a woman is standing. "Now everybody please listen!" The cafeteria gets quiet and everybody focuses on the woman. "We have decided to have a winter dance!" There are roars from the crowd and even my guys seem excited, but I'm not. "We have new sponsors donating the the school and it is our plan to have everything ready by Friday evening." The crowd roars once again but this time it is out of anxiousness.
"That's not enough time!" One girl shouts and there are other shouts in agreement.
"I am sorry it is so late notice but there is nothing I can do about it. The dance will be Friday night from 9-12 pm. We look forward to seeing you all there!" The lady says and then walks off quickly, obviously trying to avoid more questions.
In an instant I hear girls talking about what kind of dress they are going to get. "My mom can take us! We can go this afternoon and get a dress. My mom knows people so we can get the good ones." One girl says quietly but she is right beside me so I hear it. A pain shoots through my chest but it isn't physical. I really wish my mom could take me dress shopping but I will never have that. It might make me selfish but I would trade a lot to have her be the mother I always wanted for just one day.
I listen as girls talk about dress shopping with each other and their moms and with every conversation I hear, I get lost into my head farther.
I jump when I feel a hand on my back. I look and see Kota staring at me with concern covering his features. Then I look ahead and see the guys have started making their way back to our lunch table. "Are you okay sweetie?" Kota asks and I put on the best smile I can.
"Yeah sorry. I just zoned out a little bit." I say quietly and he looks at me like he knows I'm lying, but doesn't say anything. Kota guides me the rest of the way to the lunch table and when I get there I see a group of guys and girl surrounding it. "What's happening?" I ask Kota and his eyebrows furrow.
"I don't know." He mumbles. "North!" Kota shouts and instantly the crowd parts. I see north and Silas standing in the middle and as soon as they see me, I am grabbed up and brought in the middle of them. I look around the crowd and there are at least thirty people. I look around and see all the girl are trying to talk to the guys. "Silas why don't you and I go to the dance together? I could make sure you have a good time." One of the girls purrs and there is another weird pang one my chest but it is different this time. I don't want Silas to say yes to her.
"No." Silas deadpans and the girl seems shocked. She stands there with her jaw dropped open until one of her friends pulls her away and takes her place. I look around and see the same exact thing happening to all the guys. There are so many girls asking them to the dance. The foreign feeling expands in my chest and for some reason I want to tell all of them that they won't get a chance with the guys. I know that isn't true though. The girls are all very pretty.
I stay stuck in between North and Silas as they try and get everyone to go away. Somehow though a hand lands on my shoulder and I spin around. I come face to face with a guy who has dark black hair and bright blue eyes. He has a nice smile and high cheekbones. It takes me a second but I recognize him as a player on the football team. "Hi I'm Sam. I'm sure you probably know me. We have like 3 classes together." He states confidently but I shake my head. I didn't know that. Sam's smile drops slightly but he quickly replaces it. "Well you just heard about the dance and I figured I would offer you a chance to go with me. I'm a hot guy and you're a hot girl. Why not?" He asks and I almost laugh at him. He has good features but he is nothing compared to my guys.
"Thanks but no thank you." I say politely and this time his smile drops and it doesn't come back.
"Don't be so stuck up! Im offering you a chance to go with me! I'm like the most popular guy in school and you are saying no?" Sam asks incredulously and it is then that I hear North growl. He must have noticed what was happening.
"Sang doesn't wanna go with you. Now get out of here before we force you away." North growls and if that were directed towards me, I would be running away instantly. Sam puffs up his chest but when North doesn't move, he backs down. Then he puts his hands up in the air and slowly backs away. I look around and see that somehow the guys got everybody to leave as well. I let Silas guide me back to our lunch table and Gabe is the first one to put his opinion in.
"Who do these fuckers think they are? They can't just walk up to us and demand that we go with them. I would shave my head before I went to the dance with one of those walking STD's." Gabe shivers in disgust and Victor sends him a look but doesn't say anything different.
"Did you see the guys on Sang? We're gonna have to watch her carefully." Silas says and I furrow my eyebrows.
"There was only one guy." I say and that gets all eyes on me. Luke starts shaking his head like I'm crazy and Nathan does the same. None of them answer me and I almost ask why they looked at me like that but Gabe speaks up.
"Okay trouble. We only have a few days for me to find you a dress, get your hair done, do your nails, and get you shoes. You are gonna have to bare with me through this." He says and the other guys mumble their agreements. They begin speaking and listening as Gabe orders them about which suit they are going to wear, but I cut in.
"Im not going." I say and all conversation stops. Gabe turns toward me and his mouth pops open. Everybody seems shocked but Gabe almost seems hurt.
"Trouble if you are punishing me for what I said earlier then please pick another punishment." Gabe pleads but I shake my head.
"Hang on! What did you say to her earlier?" Nathan asks and I can see everybody's mouths open like they want to ask the same thing but I stop them.
"I'm not punishing you Gabe. I just don't want to go." I say quietly and Gabe looks at me like I have shot him.
The lunch bell goes off and I standup to leave. All of the guys are still looking at me funny and it makes my cheeks heat with embarrassment. Victor must notice because he grabs my hand and leads me to Japanese class. The whole time we are walking there is people trying to ask Victor the the dance and each time my mood dwindles down a little bit.
By the time we make it to Japanese, Sean is standing outside the door and smiles at me as Victor and I walk through. I smile back at him but his smile dips slightly. I follow Victor in and sit in my regular seat then listen as Sean begins class. I zone in and out the whole time and each time I look at Sean he is looking at me with concern.
I seem to be making a lot of people feel that way today. By the time the end of class hits I am dreading having to face Mr. Blackbourne. I begin packing my things up and then I pull my backpack on my shoulder. I look up and see that Victor is waiting right beside me. "Mr.B and doc have a meeting that they have to go to. You are gonna go sit in their office and one of us are gonna stay with you. Is that okay?" He asks and my shoulders relax slightly.
"Yeah that's fine. Gives me time to read anyways." I smile and his eyes light up. We walk out of the classroom and Victor turns to me.
"Kota would love to know that you like reading. He is a total nerd when it comes to they stuff." Victor laughs and I bump against him.
"Are you calling me a nerd then?" I ask and fake offense. Victor bumps back up against me and laughs once again.
"You could never be a nerd. You are to pretty for that. Kota on the other hand..." Victor trials off as we make it to their office. I let out a laugh and watch as he opens the door. When I step in I see Gabe in the corner with his hands on his hips.
Victor sends me a look that says good luck. I sigh but still make my way in. As soon as I set the bag down and lock the door, Gabe is ponding me with questions. "Now why wouldn't you want to go to the dance?" He demands and I repeat the same thing I have already.
"I really just don't want to go Gabe. That kind of stuff isn't my thing. I don't enjoy it." I lie. The truth is I don't know why I don't want to go. I just have this feeling in my chest that is telling me I can't go.
"That isn't a good answer. We will probably all be forced to go and it would make it a million times better if you went." Gabe tries to persuade me but I shake my head.
Once again he opens his mouth to speak but I beat him to it. "If you drop it I will let you do my hair." I say and he looks like he is having an internal battle with himself but eventually sighs.
"Fine but only for now. We're talking about this again. Now get your pretty ass over here." I laugh but do as he says. After I grab the book I'm reading.
I make my way over to the couch and Gabe has somehow found a hairbrush and hair tie. I sit down and open my book. Gabe takes my hair down and begins to brush it. I get lost in the comforting feeling of his touch and my book. When I feel tapping on my shoulder I jump at least 5 feet in the air. Okay maybe that is a little dramatic.
Gabe starts dying of laughter and I swat at him playfully. "Okay trouble time to talk. I know you say you don't want to go, but let me convince you otherwise." Gabe states and hands me his phone. Then he walks to the front of the room and gives me a big smile. "Hit play!" I listen to him and when Shakira starts blasting through the phone, I almost lose it.
Ladies up in here tonight
No fighting
We got the refugees up in here (no fighting)
No fighting
Shakira, Shakira
I never really knew that she could dance like this (hey)
She make a man wants to speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body (uno, dos, tres, cuatro)
I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie (no fighting)
Gabe starts dancing around and shaking his hips and this time I do lose it. His hair is flying everywhere and I fall off the couch because of my laughing. He sees this and begins to dance even harder.
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see, baby, this is perfection?
Hey, girl, I can see your body moving
And it's driving me crazy
And I didn't have the slightest idea
Until I saw you dancing (yeah)
And when you walk up on the dance floor
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl (just move)
And everything so unexpected, the way you right and left it
So you can keep on shaking it (let's go)
I hear the door to the office being unlocked and I can feel my eyes widen. The door opens and Owen and Sean walk in. Their attention goes straight to Gabe, then to me, back to Gabe and back to me. Sean watches as Gabe shakes his hips and then he sees me laughing. The next thing I know Sean has joined Gabe and they are both dancing around the room. Gabe looks up but doesn't seem surprised. I keep laughing as Mr.Blackbourne watches them with a small smile on his face. That makes my heart do weird things and I don't get it.
I never really knew that she could dance like this
She make a man wants to speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body (no fighting)
I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie (no fighting)
Sean makes his way over to Owen, whose eyes widen. He walks away quickly but Sean follows him. Sean grabs Owen's hand and spins him, then dips him. I am frozen on the couch as Owen stands back up and begins dancing. OWEN BLACKBOURNE DANCING. It isn't meticulous and I might think he were having an seizure if the music weren't playing, but it makes the smile on my face double. When he sees my smile he adds a shake to his hips and my mouth drops open.
And I am starting to feel you, boy
Come on, let's go, real slow
Don't you see, baby, así es perfecto?
They know I am on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see, baby, this is perfection? (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, boy, I can see your body moving
Half animal, half man
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing
But you seem to have a plan
My will and self-restraint
Have come to fail now, fail now
See, I am doing what I can, but I can't so you know
That's a bit too hard to explain (uno, dos, tres, cuatro)
Baila en la calle de noche (yeah)
Baila en la calle de día (let's go)
Baila en la calle de noche
Baila en la calle de día
I never really knew that she could dance like this
She make a man wants to speak Spanish
¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (sí)
Mi casa, su casa (Shakira, Shakira)
Oh, baby, when you talk like that
You know you got me hypnotized
So be wise (sí) and keep on (sí)
Reading the signs of my body
Señorita, feel the conga
Let me see you move like you come from Colombia
Yeah (ladies sí) (yeah yeah)
(Hey, yeah)
¡Mira en Barranquilla se baila así, say it! (yeah)
En Barranquilla se baila así (yeah)
Gabe starts singing and I feel like I can't breathe. It is nice seeing Owen be a teenager. I feel like I can connect to him more now.
Hey, brra!
Yeah, she's so sexy, every man's fantasy
A refugee like me back with the Fugees from a third world country
I go back like when 'Pac carried crates for Humpty Humpty
We leave the whole club dizzy
Why the CIA wanna watch us?
Colombians and Haitians
I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction
Bo bop so bop, no more do we snatch ropes
Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats (no fighting)
I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel you, boy
Come on, let's go, real slow
Baby, like this is perfecto (no fighting)
Oh, you know I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I am starting to feel it's right
The attraction, the tension
Baby, like this is perfection
No fighting
No fighting
By the time they are done dancing I am clutching my stomach from laughing so much. "Now can I know why we were having a dance party?"Sean questions and Gabe sighs.
"Tell her she has to go to the dance!" Gabe whines and Owen looks intrigued.
"What dance?" Owen asks and Sean looks equally confused.
"Did they not tell you?" Gabe asks and both men shake their heads.
"They announced we were having a winter dance. It is happening this Friday. I swear the kids here are fucking crazy. The girls surrounded us and there were at least 10 guys trying to get to sang!" Gabe huffs and both men turn their heads toward me. They have a weird expression on their faces like jealousy?
"It was only one guy Gabe." I say and he shakes his head.
"No trouble only one guy got to you. There were so many more. We had to keep them away from you." Gabe says confidently and I shake my head.
"Why don't you want to go Sang" Owen asks and I like hearing my name come from his mouth.
"I just don't like those things." I say and he nods his head but doesn't seem satisfied.
"Trouble! You have too. We are all going to have to go and I am going to be left alone with these bozos!" Gabe yells and Sean sends him a disapproving look.
"I am not a bozo thank you very much." Sean's says while faking offense. "Now pookie why would you deny us the honor of seeing you in a gorgeous dress?" Sean asks and I can feel my face heat.
"It just isn't my thing." I say and he gets the same look Owen did earlier.
"Come on trouble we gotta go to gym and deal with these fuckers." Gabe sighs and I get up. I grab my bag and begin to leave when Sean stops me.
"By pookie! We'll talk about this later!" I sigh but nod my head and Owen tells him to leave me alone.
Gabe and I go to gym and I listen as Gabe gives me reasons to go to the dance and I mostly nod my head even though I am not convinced.
We sit through gym and by the time school is over, I am exhausted. We make it to the cars and I ride with Victor, Kota, Luke, and Nathan. We make our ways to the kids and pick them up."Sang we were going to go to Uncles restaurant and see him. Would you be okay with that? If not we can drop you off." Victor offers but Cameron doesn't have it.
"No can we go? I wanna see it?" He asks and gives me the puppy dog eyes that I can't resist.
"Of course we can go." I say and the smile on his face is completely worth it. We drive as Cameron tells me everything about his day. When we make it to the restaurant I see that all of the other guys have made it.
We make our way into the diner and I am holding Lily while Cameron is hangin off of Nathan. We walk in and I instantly take everything in. There are booths everywhere and it is absolutely beautiful. I follow absentmindedly and end up running into Luke. He turns around and looks at me. "Sorry I got distracted." I blush slightly and he grins and tucks me underneath his arm. I look around and see all the people eating and the atmosphere in here is amazing.
"Well hello! How are you?" Uncle comes bustling out and comes straight towards me. Everyone else laughs as he makes his way straight towards me.
"Hi." I say quietly and he leans down to hug me.
"Is everything okay?" He asks quietly and when he pulls back, I nod. He smiles and seems satisfied and finally addresses everyone else. "Well hello I didn't know you all would be here. Is the Toma team joining us?" Uncle asks and I look to Owen.
"I do believe they are joining us." Owen says and uncle nods. I didn't realize they were coming, but I don't have any complaints. The door jingles and sure enough, all five guys walk in. The first person to see me is Raven and he makes a beeline towards me. His rms wrap around me and he carefully lifts Lily and I against his chest.
"Hello little bird. I missed you and it was only a few hours." Raven sighs and I laugh as he sets me back down on the ground.
The next person I see is Marc. He pulls me under his arm and leans down to whisper in my ear. "I think I almost went crazy today. They are all insane." Marc whisper and when I giggle, the attention gets put on me.
"Is he telling lies on us?" Axel asks and I put on the most innocent face I can.
"Nope!" I say and his eyes narrow down on mine but a a stunning smile graces his face. Corey and Brandon both hug me and by the time I have said hello to everyone, all of the guys have combined two booths and sat down at them. I follow the twins over and when we sit down they each sit on one side of Lily and I. We settle in and I relax back against the seat as conversation breaks out around me.
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Gabe's POV:
I can't figure it out. I have done everything I can think of to convince Sang to go to the dance, but she won't even think about it. I danced to Shakira and I think I popped a hip out of place! Isn't this every girls dream? Doesn't every girl dream of getting dressed up and pampered for a dance? I would have thought that she would jump on the idea but it seemed like she hated it. I watch as she settles in between Corey and Brandon.
Sang is smiling but her eyes aren't as bright. There is something going on in her beautiful brain that I can seem to figure out and it is killing me. "Guess what guys." I announce and everybody's attention goes to me. "We are having a dance at school. It is like a winter formal." I say and all of the Toma team looks at Sang,
"When is Gabe taking you to get a dress?" Corey asks and for a second I think Sang might give in, but she doesn't take the bait.
"I don't want to go." She repeats the phrase she has told me at least five times and confusion bubbles up in me. Each time we talk about it she gets sadder but doesn't say anything. I thought maybe the Toma team could convince her but she is stuck on her decision.
All of the Toma team look at her like she is crazy but Sang simply shrugs and focuses her attention on Lily.They send me looks and mimic Sang because I don't know. I almost start to say something but I am interrupted by the tune of a piano and a guy singing.
Uncle thought it would be a good idea to have one because it adds free entertainment to the food. Our whole table watches as the guy performs. He sounds okay, but not nearly as good as Sang. When he is done singing Uncle makes his way over. "Are you going to sing Sang?" He asks and her nose crinkles in a way that only she could make it look so fucking cute.
"I don't think so." Sang says and Brandon cuts in.
"We haven't heard you sing though." He points out and Sang begins to shake her head but Uncle catches her attention.
"Please. I will get on my knees and beg you. People are too nervous to play and you could break the ice." He says and Sang's face weakens. I can see the decision changing and after Uncle pleads one more time, she agrees. Too fucking nice for her own good.
Brandon grabs Lily and Corey moves so that Sang can slide out of the booth. She hesitantly makes her way up there and I wish I could give her the confidence to walk up there like the boss that she is.
Sang sits down at the piano and the diner goes quiet once again. Everybody's attention is on Sang. She places her hands on the piano and from the very first note she plays, I am sucked into her beautiful voice.
When you think you're all alone
I'll wrap you up and I'll take you home
No matter what you're going through
I will look after you
When you get knocked down and you've had enough
Oh I'll be there to dust you off
When you don't know what you're gonna do
I will look after you
And if you ever should lose hope
Follow my light from afar
When you don't know where you're going to
I will look after you
I will look after you
Someday it will come to you
I'll need you to look after me
By the time she is done singing every single person in the room has their jaws dropped open.
Pride wells up in my chest like an overflowing bucket. That is our girl sitting up there blowing everybody's mind. Ours, nobody else's.
Cheers and applause breaks out and Sang shyly stands up. She makes her way back down to us as people compliment her and by the time she makes it back her face is a bright red but she looks happier than before. Sang takes her seat back and all of us compliment her, but it is Uncle that stands out. "Jeeez. I knew you were going to be good but Sang that was- that was amazing. Phil has to hear this." Uncle gushes and I nod my head in agreeance. People would pay hundreds of dollars to hear that sweet angelic voice.
"Thank you!" Sang squeaks and everybody laughs. The diner goes back to what they are doing but people still look at Sang with interest. Hell I don't blame them. Sang begins to tell the Toma team about her day and I slip out of the booth. Luke gives me a questioning look but I shake my head. I will talk to him later.
I find my way to Uncle's office and when I enter he is sitting at his desk doing some kind of paperwork. "I have a problem and it is about Sang." I say as I shut the door. Uncle's head shoots up and he is ready to listen. He definitely likes her more than us, but I do too.
"What is wrong?"
I sigh. "Well the thing is we are having a school dance and I would have thought that Sang would be so hyped to go but she is insisting that she isn't going and I don't get it. She always looks sad when we bring it up."
Uncle seems to think it over in his head and after a minute he finally tells me to explain exactly what happened.
"We walked into the cafeteria and the lady announced the dance. She told us when and what time it would be then walked off. Everybody went crazy and the guys started deciding when to get their suits and the girls all started making plans and calling their mothers to see when they could go shopping. We made our way back to the table and Sang insisted that she didn't want to go." I huff and he nods.
Uncle stands up and walks out of the room. When he comes back he has the lead cook with him, Mary. We have known her for years and she is part of the academy. Mary sits down in the chair beside me and Uncle takes his seat back. "Did you ever go to your high school dances?" Uncle asks Mary and she nods instantly
"What was the best part of it?" Uncle asks and Mary seems to think of it for a minute but finally nods.
"It was always shopping with my friends and our moms. It was always an all girls day and we would have fashion shows and rate the dresses each other got. It was my favorite thing to do with my mother." She smiles and Uncle nods like he has the answers to everything, but I am still so confused.
Uncle dismisses Mary and he turns back to me with a sad smile on her face. "Gabe we both know her mother isn't a good one in any way." He says and I nod. She's a fucking bitch. "It sounds like most of the girls at your school get to have that experience with their mothers, but Sang doesn't have a mother to go shopping with." Uncle says but I still don't get it.
"Im better than her mother though! Why would she want to shop with her abusive mother?" I ask and he shakes his head.
"I might be completely wrong but I don't think she wants to shop with her abusive mother. She wants to shop with a mother that cares about her and is happy to be around their child. Sang doesn't have that and she might not want to go to the dance because she doesn't get that experience. It isn't about how good you are, it is about the fact that she won't get the experience that most girls get." He says and I get it. Sang's mother will never be the type of mother that other girls have. Sang wants an experience that she knows can't happen.
I sit there for a minute and think about it and an idea comes to mind. Sang might not have her biological mother to take her dress shopping but I can find three people who are way better.
I have several phone calls to make tonight.
Uncle looks at me with a wary look when he sees my grin but I jump up before he can interrogate me. "Thank you!" I run out of the room and I feel better.
I may not be able to give Sang the experience of shopping with her specific mother but I can give her the experience of shopping with two mothers and a sister.
When I make my way back to the dining room I see everybody waiting at the door. Once I walk back over Mr.B looks at me with a curious look but I shake my head. He doesn't need to know anything about my plan.
We walk back to the cars and Sang doesn't ride with me but I am grateful for that because I can't hide the smile on my face.
Once we make it back to the house everybody starts on their homework and Sang helps Cameron with his. We all joke around as we make dinner and by the time we are all done eating and have cleaned up, it is time to go. The whole night Sang has been slightly quiet and I can't wait for tomorrow.
All of our team tells her bye and leaves except for Luke, North and I. I don't know why North is here but Luke and I are here for the Elf on the Shelf. We watch as Sang whisks the kids away and works on getting them to sleep. "Shouldn't you gentlemen be leaving?" Mr.B asks and Luke shakes his head.
"Nope. Gabe and I are helping with the Elf on the Shelf." Luke says and Mr.B shakes his head but doesn't say anything. He turns to North and raises an eyebrow.
"Im staying the night with her." He grumbles vaguely and it looks like Mr.B wants to argue but we all still haven't talked about what happened, so he lets it go. The Toma team, Sean and Owen all head to bed and that leaves us three sitting on the couch.
When Sang makes her way back out she has a smile on her face and is carrying the elf. Luke and I instantly jump up and make our way over. She grins at us and looks over my shoulder at North. "Want to join?" She asks and he snorts.
"No babygirl. I will be waiting in your room. Take your time." He says and she blushes but nods her head.
We follow her to the kitchen and she lays the elf down and turns to face us. "I always do the same thing on the first day of the elf. I always use flour and make it look like the elf arrived from the North Pole. I usually use flour." She says and Luke is instantly searching the cabinets for the flour. Once he finds it he hands it over to her and she grabs a bowl. "We just have to make finger prints leading from the window down the counter." Sang says and we set to work. We all use our fingers and make the prints then Sang sets the elf up with a sign that says he is back. It takes thirty minutes but by the time we are done it looks like the elf truly came from the North Pole.
We stand back to admire our handiwork. After we are finished Luke and I make our way to the door. "I have always wanted to do that. Thanks for giving us the chance too cupcake." He says and kisses her forehead. I do the same. We make our way out and after the front door shuts, Luke turns to me. "What happened earlier?" He asks and I grin once again.
"We have a few calls to make."
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North's POV:
The door to Sang's room opens and she walks in. Sang shuts the door and smiles when she sees me laying in her bed. "Hi." Sang whispers and I smile slightly.
"Hi. Get ready for bed.'' I say and she does so with no complaints. Sang changes into sweatpants and a t-shirt, then brushes her teeth and throws her hair up into a messy bun. I don't know how she does it but she always looks beautiful.
Sang climbs into bed and tries to lay down beside me but I lift her so that she is laying on top of me. She cuddles into my chest and lets out a sigh as she lifts her head to face me. "Are you staying the night?" Sang asks and when I nod, a smile graces her face.
"Time to talk babygirl." I say and she groans.
"Do we have too? I am sooooo tired and I didn't sleep well last night." Sang says and I know she is trying to get out of it, but I also don't want her to be tired. I start to say no but Sang reaches up and softly kisses my chin, I lose the fight.
Sang could give me a kiss on the cheek and I would let her do almost anything. "Fine but you have to give me a kiss." I say and her cheeks go a cute red color, but she reaches up and kisses my cheek. "I meant my lips." I whisper and hold my breath as her green eyes widen to double their normal size. I watch and think she won't do it but she reaches up once again and kisses me straight on my lips, and I go straight to heaven.
I have heard people say that when a special person kisses you it feels completely different, but damn I never thought it could feel this amazing.
Sang pulls back but I lace my fingers through her hair and pull her head back to me and slowly capture her lips once again. Sang moves her soft lips against mine and I can feel the strained puffs of air that she lets out. My tongue finds it's way to the seam of her lips and I once again think I took it too far, but she opens her mouth and our tongues meet. I continue kissing her and only pull back when I can feel her losing too much oxygen. When I pull back she smiles at me but it quickly turns into a frown. "What's wrong? Did I mess up?" I ask almost frantically but she shakes her head.
"No it's just I have k-kissed other people too." She says and her cheeks are so red but I can only focus on the anger that courses through me. Has she made out with other guys like we just did? She is supposed to be ours and I know it is I stupid to be upset about her kissing other guys when we weren't even around, but it doesn't make me feel good.
"Who?" I demand and her eyes widen as her breath speeds up. I curse myself for making her scared but I want to know who else she has kissed that isn't part of my group.
"Uhm well I- ugh well Silas and S-Sean." She stammers and I let out a whoosh of air.
"I mean anybody else that isn't in my group or the Toma group." I explain and her eyes widen.
"No!" Sang says but she still looks scared and I realize how much of an asshole I have been. She thought I would be mad that she kissed people in our family.
"Im not mad Sangbaby. I thought you meant other assholes that aren't part of our family.'' I explain and she lets out a nervous breath but her eyebrows are still furrowed.
"So you aren't mad?" Sang asks hesitantly and I instantly shake my head.
"No. You can kiss any of my brothers. I know they will treat you right." I explain as I bring her head back down on my chest and gently wrap my arms around her. She relaxes into me and I feel like such an asshole for scaring her.
"Sean said the same thing." Sang admits and I nod.
"I think we would all be okay with it. Just nobody outside of us. We will treat you right." I say and she nods.
"I don't get any of this." Sang sighs and I do as well.
"Eventually you will and you will get a decision on what you want. Relax and enjoy things for now. Okay?" I ask and she nods once again. "Go to sleep Sang baby. We have another long day tomorrow."
Sang relaxes into my embrace as I gently rub her arms. I listen as her breaths begin to even out and eventually she falls asleep.
When I eventually fall asleep, I do with a smile on my face. I just had the best kiss I have ever had and I plan on getting plenty more throughout my lifetime.
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Authors note: Sorry for taking so long to update but life got in the way and I wanted to wait until I had a decent sized chapter written.
I hope you enjoy and can't wait to hear you're thoughts. I tried not to jump around or rush through things too quick but I might have accidently done that.
This book has not been edited so there will definitely be mistakes. Enjoy!
This chapter was 7980 words.