I stood awkwardly on the doorstep of Ryan's house as Ryan's parents observed me critically. They looked extremely proper for people living in a neighborhood such as this. His mother was wearing a pretty yellow dress with expensive jewelry hanging from her neck and ears, and his father was wearing a three piece gray suit, hair slicked back on his head and completely in place. I almost felt it was rude to go inside wearing just my jeans and t-shirt.
I wasn't sure where Ed was, but he wasn't where I could see his encouraging smile. I felt quite nervous and suddenly wished I could go home and pretend I had forgotten Ryan's invitation altogether.
Neither of the two parents smiled as Ryan's dad asked, "Are you the Jacob that Ryan has been telling us about?"
I shrunk away a little as I replied, "Yes, sir."
The man glanced at his wife and she narrowed her eyes at me as if in deep thought. It wasn't so different from the way Ryan did when he was thinking hard about something. "Come in," she said; more like ordered.
I didn't want to. "Yes, ma'am..." I said, and I entered the house. I stood tensely by the door, politely thanking the two adults for allowing me into their home.
Ryan's parents looked me up and down and the man held out his hand to me. "I'm Ryan's father, Mr. Richards, and this is my wife, Mrs. Richards," he introduced.
"Jacob Coulson," I said quietly as I shook his hand.
"Ryan isn't home yet, so please, join us in the living room," Ryan's mom, Mrs. Richards, said, gesturing towards another room. I ducked my head as I entered and sat down on one of the couches. Ryan's parents followed and sat across from me on the other one. I tried not to stare at them too much by keeping my gaze trained at the coffee table.
"So, how long have you known our son?" Mr. Richards asked.
One glance up, smiling to the best of my ability. "Since I transferred here," I said. "I moved in with my dad recently and had to change schools."
The two parents exchanged a glance before returning their attention to me. "How did you meet?" Ms. Richards asked.
Somehow, I felt like this was more of an interrogation session than a 'get to know you' conversation. "Well, we sort of met at the park one time," I explained.
"What do you mean by 'sort of'? That's not really an answer," Ryan's mother said.
I glanced at Mrs. Richards and then at the ground, my hands wringing themselves over and over again in my lap. "What I mean...? Well-"
Suddenly, the door to the living room burst open and a breathless Ryan rushed into the room, arms loaded down with grocery bags that he quickly dumped onto the floor near the coffee table. "Mom! Dad! I told you not to perster him!" Ryan scolded, frowning at them. He hurried over to me and pulled me off the couch, tugging me towards the door as he said, "Call us when dinner is ready."
He took me away from the prying eyes of his parents as he forced me upstairs and into his room. I watched him shut the door and listen quietly for anyone following us before turning to me and sighing. "Sorry. I meant to be home before you got here so you could avoid all that, but I got caught in a long line at the store," he explained.
I glanced at the door warily. "That's okay," I said, but I wasn't sure if it was.
He gave me a sympathetic smile. "Ignore them. They're just super over protective and don't want me hanging out with a 'bad crowd' is all. They'll warm up to you," he said. I nodded slowly and he grinned, glad to have the tension gone. "So, I went and rented like, six different movies in case you wanted to stay the night, so I have plenty to choose from, and then I have tons of board games or Xbox games if we stay up late, which we probably will because it's a weekend and who doesn't stay up on the weekends, and also-" He took a deep breath so he could keep going to finish the thought. "...my parents bought snacks and stuff if we get hungry or soda for if we're thirsty."
He gave me a huge smile, very proud of his planned skills, and I couldn't help smiling back. Just the day before it had felt like we'd never have a normal day together without things getting awkward. But now, I felt like everything might just go back to normal.
There was a knock on the door and Ryan's mother's voice drifted through the wood. "Ryan, dinner is ready. Please come downstairs and bring your friend," she requested.
My smile wilted some and I glanced at Ryan as he called back, "Sure thing, ma!" before he turned to me. "So, I meant to tell you this before you met my parents, but they can kinda hostile towards my friends, and sometimes they get a little scary. Just ignore them, and if you can, avoid them." He pulled me towards the door. "But they'll leave you alone while I'm there."
We went downstairs and into the big dining room where Mr. Richards was seated and Mrs. Richards was placing a big platter of grilled chicken on the table. I felt nervous again and glanced anywhere but Ryan's parents. Ryan seemed to notice this and lead me to a seat where he'd be in front of his dad and I'd be in front of his mom. I wasn't sure which was worse, so I didn't complain. Ryan knew what he was doing more than I, so I was inclined to trust him.
For the first part of the meal, no one really talked much. Ryan's parents asked how school was going and the usual stuff parents would ask, and Ryan would answer most of them for both of us, helping me out if I was asked directly about something. I relaxed little by little as the meal progressed and Mr. and Mrs. Richards seemed to ease up as well.
"So, do you guys ever work on homework together?" Mrs. Richards asked.
"Mom," Ryan complained. "Why do you always have to ask such weird questions? What does our homework have to do with anything?"
I snickered since I was sure my dad would have asked the same thing. It was such a parent thing to ask. School, homework, and sometimes social life, were the only things parents tended to be concerned about. Ryan's parents were no exception.
Ryan huffed and took a bite of mash potatoes. "Why don't you ask something dumb like our favorite colors?" he questioned.
Mr. Richards chuckled at that, and Mrs. Richards shrugged. "I'm your mother. I care about the important stuff," she said.
"Correction," Ryan said as he held his fork in the air, a piece chicken stuck on the end that he had yet to eat. "Homework is not important stuff. I'll never be using algebra again, so it's not important, and I am pretty sure I won't need to know how to split an atom in everyday life, so that's also not important. There's really nothing of use in anything you're taught in highschool."
"Depends on what field of work you end up working in," Ryan's father interjected. "Take a business like mine. If you want to succeed in that you have to know algebra that relates to business matters."
"Well, maybe that's not what I want to succeed in," Ryan said, his prior amusement diminishing slightly.
Mr. Richards frowned, the table growing silent. "Who's going to continue with the family business?" he asked.
"I don't know. Give it to one of your precious employees. I don't want it," Ryan snorted. "It's boring."
"Not everything in life can be fun, Ryan," Mr. Richards said sincerely. "Everyone has to grow up someday, including you."
Ryan dropped his fork on his plate and crossed his arms. "Sure. In your opinion," he countered.
Mr. Richards began to look a little frustrated and I started to feel uncomfortable again. "May I be excused?" I asked hopefully. "I need to use the bathroom."
Both of the parents nodded, and Ryan told me to use the one in his room. I nodded and quickly left, hurrying upstairs and into Ryan's bathroom, shutting the door and sighing in relief. I had a feeling Ryan knew why I left and he would be soon to follow. Since I didn't really have to go to the bathroom, I just washed my hands and took my time getting rid of all the suds. I was about to leave the bathroom when I heard Ryan's door slam and footsteps walk across the room. I poked my head out of the bathroom just in time to see Ryan face-plant onto his bed and begin grumbling to himself. "They never listen..."
I bit my lip, contemplating if I should go out or not. Finally, I decided to leave the bathroom and walked over to Ryan slowly. "You okay?" I asked.
He looked up at me and I could see he his eyes were red. "Oh, yeah..." he said as if he had forgotten I was there. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."
I glanced at the ceiling, forming a proper sentence slowly. "You know, if something is upsetting you, I don't mind listening. You can always talk to me," I told him. "It's always good to talk about things."
Ryan seemed surprised to have his words used against him, and a hint of a smile formed. "Yeah, thanks. I'll keep that in mind." He paused. "It's frustrating to be around my parents, so do you want to get out of here? Let's go something fun."
I hesitated. "Will your parents be okay with that?" I asked.
"Forget about my parents." Ryan smiled. "Come on. It'll be a blast."
I couldn't help smiling too. "Alright. But I don't want to stay out too late," I said.
He nodded and grabbed my hand. "Let's go."
*******
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