A few days have passed since the dinner at the Afton's, and of course the family already made plans to invite the L/N's to plenty more dinners; much to Michael's dismay.
His parents haven't forced him to see her as much, which Michael thought was lucky. But every once in awhile he sees Y/N around town. She never went back to the park after that one day, but occasionally he spots her passing by it when she was on a walk.
He would be sat on top of the monkey bars with his friends, laughing about whatever was brought up in conversation. Then he would spot her, usually with earbuds in not paying attention. She never stopped by to greet him, or wave, or even acknowledge his presence as she walked by.
'What a priss, she won't even stop to look at us? Does this bitch think she's better than me? Whatever.' He would often think to himself.
Sometimes when his friends spotted her nearby they'd yell crude comments to her, Michael would never join in. He couldn't tell if Y/N could hear his friends with her earbuds in, or if she just ignored them. But their comments never phased her.
William and Vera were very adamant about
Y/N coming over more often to see Elizabeth and Evan. They never pressured her though, they understood most teenagers don't like hanging out with young children, but adored the positive influence she gave them. Y/N never turned down their offers, though. For being so against it at first, Y/N would jump at the opportunity to see the Afton children again. And getting paid for it wasn't too bad either.
On this summers day, Elizabeth and Evan would be coming over to Y/N's for a short playdate. Y/N was in the kitchen washing the dishes, her parents were at work so she decided to do them a favor, one less thing they had to do when they got home.
A short knock at the door make Y/N turn her head towards the front door, her hands were completely submerged in the soapy water. She hesitated a bit as she tried to find a towel to dry her hands, but decided to awkwardly call towards the door instead when she couldn't find one, "Come in! It's unlocked!"
To no surprise it was Vera and her children.
"Good morning, Y/N." Vera smiles as the three walk inside, her dark green eyes had an extra spark of life in them today.
"Morning Mrs. Afton," Y/N nodded her head towards her, "You seem in a good mood today."
"Oh yes I am! I'm going to a yoga class today, originally I thought I'd have to miss it. Luckily, Michael took the weight off my shoulders and offered to pick up the kids later. Isn't that sweet of him?"
Y/N gives her nod, "That's exciting, I'm glad Michael stepped up for you."
"He's a good kid," Vera looks around absently, a small bittersweet smile on her pale face, her eyes fixated themselves on the ground. "He just needs a little work..." after a moment of silence she clears her throat. "Anyways...Michael will be here around 3:30 to get the kids, thank you so much for watching them. You're an angel!"
Y/N laughs quietly, "I'm no angel, but you're welcome."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, love." She winks, and with that she walks out the door, leaving Elizabeth and Evan standing in the entryway of the kitchen. Elizabeth was the first to walk over to Y/N and stands beside her, "What are you doing?" She looks up at the teenage girl with a look of curiosity. Her eyes immediately darted to the bubbles floating around in the dish-water.
"I'm finishing up the dishes, afterwards we can play. You two can be picking out a show to watch on the TV, the remotes on the coffee table." She looks down at her and smiles. Elizabeth nodded quickly and grabs Evans hand, leading him to the living room. They hop onto the couch and find a cartoon to watch.
Y/N finishes scrubbing the last plate in the sink and sets it in the drying wrack. She retrieves a towel and dries off her hands. "Hey guys, you want any snacks?" She leans against the kitchen counter. Elizabeth turns around and looks at her over the back of the couch, "Yes please! Apple slices!"
Y/N smiles and snaps her fingers at her playfully, "You got it, boss." Elizabeth giggles and turns back around to watch the cartoon. "Evan? Are apple slices alright with you? We've got other stuff too." Y/N calls to him while she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, running it under the sink to wash it off.
"N-No, apples are alright." He mumbles, if you weren't listening close enough you wouldn't even hear him. Y/N however, was used to his quiet voice, and heard him just fine. "Alrighty then." She begins cutting the apple into slices.
She sets them on a plate and carries it the short distance to the living room, setting it on the coffee table in front of them. "Whatcha guys watching?" She sits next to the spot beside Evan and leans her elbows on her knees, slouching forward.
"SpongeBob!" Elizabeth answers, an apple slice already up to her mouth. Y/N nodded and turns her head to the show, "Ah, I remember good ol' SpongeBob." She smiles, "I watched it when I was a kid too."
"Really?" Evan turns to looks at Y/N, his head tilted slightly. Y/N chuckles at his innocent reaction and ruffles his hair gently. "Yeah back in the prehistoric days when I was a kid, everybody watched SpongeBob."
"Hey! You're not old Y/N!" Elizabeth giggles, "You're only as old as bubby!"
Y/N leans back against the couch as she laughed, "I am aren't I? Well, I guess that's true." She sighs happily.
///
It was 3:30, Y/N and the kids were still in the living room, coloring in some coloring books. She had a variety of different coloring books scattered across the floor, some were Paw Patrol, some were Disney Princesses. A knock at the door makes Y/N furrow her eyebrows, she checks the time on her phone, "Is it time for Michael to get you guys already?" She gets up from her spot on the couch and opens the door.
She was met Michael, his hands were shoved in his pockets. Y/N steps aside to allow him in. "Hey Michael, what's up?"
He looks at her blankly, "I'm not coming in, I just need to pick up the twerps."
Elizabeth whines and waddles her way over to the front door once she hears him, "Bubby, can we please stay a little longer? I'm finishing up a picture! We're coloring!" She clings to Y/N's leg in protest.
"No Elizabeth, I got plans with the guys later. Get your ass back home, you too Evan." He points to Evan, who was still sat coloring quietly.
Y/N pats Elizabeth's head, "Oh Michael, just come inside for a moment. They won't be much longer."
Michael shoots her a small glare, but steps inside reluctantly. Elizabeth cheers and runs back over to her coloring book continuing to color her picture, "Thank you, bubby!" She calls towards him.
Michael mutters something under his breath that Y/N couldn't make out, but it was something about the 'twerps' or more lovingly known as his siblings.
"Do you want anything to eat? We've got apple slices." Y/N smiles, trying to make conversation. Michael, who wasn't even looking at her, was quick with a snappy response. "What are you, some kind of homeless shelter? You think I don't got food at home?"
Y/N shakes her head, "No, not at all. I was just offering. We have plenty of apples, and I was going to cut myself an apple anyway."
Michael makes a low hum from the back of his throat that sounded like a mix of a growl and a grunt.
Y/N was already washing off another apple, and cutting it, putting her slices on a plate. She sits on the kitchen counter and kicks her feet gently. She was choosing to ignore Michaels attitude. It's what she did every time he was rude to her.
"How've you been, Michael?" She says between bites of the fruit.
"Don't talk with your mouth full that's disgusting." His accent was shining through every word he spoke.
Y/N lets out a small breath to keep herself calm, and makes sure to not have any food in her mouth. "I asked you a question, Michael. There's no need to be a jerk." She replies in a matter-of-fact tone.
He snaps his head towards her and crossed his arms, leaning on the counter across from her. He didn't expect her to talk back. "...I've been fine." He finally spat, his tone was chillingly blunt.
"That's good, how are your friends? Have you seen them recently?" She takes another bite of her fruit, seemingly gone back to normal. This confused Michael greatly.
"...They're fine. And yeah." He loosens up a bit, dropping some of his harsh tone and looking at the ground.
"Cool, tell them I said hi." She gives him a small smile, "You want an apple slice? I won't pressure you if you don't want any."
He raised an eyebrow and stammers a bit, which was unusual for Michael. He was always quick with his words, and could deliver them in a blink of an eye. For some reason, his mouth couldn't synchronize with his brain.
"Uh, I mean- sure?" He looks away and gnaws on his lip. Y/N simply hands him a slice of the apple, not thinking anything of his change in tone. "If you want anymore I'll share, I've got plenty."
He stares at the slice of fruit before cautiously putting it up to his lips, and taking a small bite. "Thanks." He murmured, his cheeks glowing red from embarrassment.
She chuckles quietly, "Wow, Michael Afton says thank you? Somebody call the press, this is big news."
Michael widens his eyes, "Hey, shut up! You complain when I'm an asshole to you, but then you make fun of me when I'm nice? Make up your mind, woman!" He crossed his arms once again.
"Calm down, I'm just joking." She smiles and hands him another apple slice, "You know, maybe if you'd just be nice to me you wouldn't have to be so defensive."
He huffs and and rolls his eyes, "Shut up." Y/N narrows her eyes slightly, her smile drops. "Alright then." Is all she replied before setting her empty plate of apples by the sink, and hopped off the counter; ending their conversation.
Y/N didn't understand why he was so defensive. He didn't need to put on a tough guy attitude around her, she's known him for approximately 2 weeks now. They have very rare moments when he drops the attitude and has a civil conversation with her, others times they end up like this. It made no sense, but when have teenagers ever made sense? She knew she had to accept his temper as a part of him, and if she wants to understand him she needs to know where this temper is coming from. Is it just the way he acts, or is there more behind it.
Y/N felt like she was obligated to find out.