I decide to meet my parents at the same coffee shop a month later. I thought about inviting them over to my place but my mom would probably have a heart attack and my dad would call the police to literally drag me out of there, so my house was a no. I sit at a table near the back with a giant coffee. I tap my shoes on the floor, looking around, trying to calm myself down. Chris offered to come today, but they reacted to him terribly last time and I know I will blow up at them again if they say something rude. Then there will be no hope of moving forward.
I see them walk in, they are tense and look at everyone with judgment and disgust, well at least my dad does. They see me near the back and walk over to me. My mom's black heels click against the floor, she stands tall and proud. My father has on his usual suit with a red tie that shines in the light. I notice that his hair is starting to go gray, how old is he again? They sit down with me and my dad begins,
"Hello Samantha."
"Hey."
"You wanted to talk to us?" My mom says.
"Yes, I have talked to someone since the last time we talked and...if the offer is still on the table I would be very thankful if you paid for my college tuition.
My dad nods in approval. "Good, what college do you want to go to? Yale, Harvard, Brown?"
"I was thinking something local. I just want to be a music teacher."
They sit there quietly for a minute and then my dad blows up. "A MUSIC TEACHER?" Heads turn just at his voice. "What are you thinking? You are going to be a doctor if I have anything to do with it!"
"That's fine, I guess I'll just go to junior college like I planned." I get up and start to leave, but my mom's hand wraps around my wrist.
"Wait." She looks at my father. "A music teacher isn't that...bad."
I raise my eyebrows. Is she on crack or something? My dad must be thinking the same thing because he looks shocked. He whispers, "What are people going to think? Our only daughter is going to be a music teacher? She comes from a family of doctors and lawyers, they are going to think we couldn't control her."
I smirk, it's the truth.
"I know, but I think it's more important that we mend our relationship with our daughter than care what people think." My mom says.
He sits back, still surprised. So am I, I mean she doesn't care what people think anymore? She somehow cares about me now? I can't believe this. I sit back down slowly, staring at her the entire time. Dad and mom stare at each other, they have a sort of eye-fight, a little head movement but no talking. My dad finally sighs and nods.
"Alright, where do you want to go?"
"Columbia College, I sent in a application and they accepted me but it seems sort of late now. I don't know if I can get in anymore."
"Don't worry about that, I have my ways." My dad says.
Then we sit in silence, I figure I should say thank you. I hate to say it though, I despise these people. "Thank you, I appreciate it."
"Of course." My mom reaches over and pats my arm. "We want you to be happy."
I give her a confused look again. "Did something happen? You're being very...nice."
She smiles. "I have just realized what's important."
"Really?" I say in a monotone voice.
She nods. "I went on a trip and I learned a lot."
"You are going crazy." My dad mutters. He shakes his head and sighs. He stands up and nods to me. "Good meeting with you, I hope we can get you in, I'll...how do I contact you?"
"Use the number that I gave you last time. Someone named Jenna or Jesse will probably pick up, give them the message and they'll get it to me."
He nods. "Alright, goodbye." He walks out and my mother is getting her things together to follow him.
"Your father...he does love you." She gives me a smile and I see she wants to hug me but this is all so foreign, so she ends up just leaving.
Maybe things are going to change; with my mom at least. She seems nicer now. I stay a while longer at the Starbucks, drinking my coffee and thinking about this sudden change in events. My dad loves me? It's nice to hear, but when did he start loving me? Why is it so hard for him to show it? And what happened on that trip that my mom went on, that somehow changed her perspective on life? Dad looked bewildered too, so why did this "new" mom only show up today?
I don't realize the time until the sun starts to go down and I'm the only one left in the store. I get up and throw my coffee in the trash and then head home. The next bus is only coming in a half hour so I have more than enough time. As I'm sitting, waiting, a car pulls up to the bus stop.
"Hey, get on in." Ian says, hitting the side of the door.
I smile and head in the back. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?"
"Chris called Scott, he was worried about you. So we came to pick you up. But we aren't dropping you off just yet." Ian says.
"Oh no, what do you two have planned?" They both laugh and refuse to answer my question.
I shake my head but let them take me away without anymore complaints. "So what was going on?" Scott asks.
"My parents wanted to pay for college but I didn't want them to...long story short Chris's mom told me that I should let them help so that's what today was about."
"You met with your parents?" He asks.
"Yeah, and the weirdest thing happened. I thought they wouldn't end up paying for it if they knew I didn't want to be a doctor. Well, my dad freaked out but my mom stopped him. She stood up for me. Can you believe that?"
"This is the same mom who freaked out on Chris right?" Ian asks.
"Yep. The very one."
"Wow, that's..." Scott trails off.
"Yeah, there isn't really a word for it."
"I guess that's good. Maybe things will be different."
"Maybe...Who knows with my parents involved."
We ended up at a giant building, there were people walking and running into the building. They all had Blink 182 t-shirts on. There was massive traffic and many cars parked all around the building. Ian looked back at me and smiled.
"Welcome to a Blink 182 concert!"
"What- wait, you guys got me a ticket?"
They nodded and Scott replied, "Yeah, we knew things were tough with you right now, we wanted to give you a get-away night."
"This is awesome." We got out of the car and I tackled them in hugs. "Thank you so much."
"No problem. Come on, we should get in, It's going to start any minute now." Ian said.
We had seats at the very top, nose-bleed section, but that's ok. We listened to them play, I closed my eyes and tried to block all my worried thoughts out, all the new things that happened to me today. I felt at peace for a while. After the concert was over, we tried to get out as fast as we could. Scott didn't have that much gas money left and we wanted to beat the most traffic. On the ride home, we blasted more Blink 182 and sang along (very badly). I thanked them again once I got home and then tried to quietly go inside. It was one in the morning, I thought that Chris would be asleep by now.
But when I got in, Chris was up watching TV. He stood up, eyes wide, and pulled me into a hug. "You're ok." He whispered.
"Of course I'm ok...oh...Scott didn't tell you where we were going did he?"
"No, obviously. Where did you guys go?"
"We went to a Blink 182 concert. They bought me a ticket, isn't that sweet?"
"Wow, nice."
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I mean, why can't they tell me where they were taking you? How hard is that?"
"Well...I'm not your property they didn't have to tell you anything. I appreciate that you were concerned but you don't need to know where I am all the time."
"Well when you don't come home when you say you will I get worried."
"Yes, and I understand that, I'm glad you called Scott and Ian, but really you could have gone to bed."
"They didn't tell me that they had picked you up, I thought they had gotten into a wreck or something, and then you didn't show up and I thought maybe something had happened to you guys-"
"Ok, ok. I understand. It's fine." He nods and pulls me into a hug again.
"You wanna go to bed?" He asks quietly.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
It took me a long time to fall asleep that night, the ringing in my ears, the sudden excitement, all the nerves. I wanted to throw up. I ended up sitting in the living room watching TV and falling asleep there. In the morning I was woken up by plates hitting each other and coffee being made. I slowly open my eyes and see there is a blanket over me now.
I sit up and rub my eyes. "Chris?"
He comes around the corner. "Hey babe, are you ok?"
"Yeah...I just couldn't sleep last night there were so many things going on and I was...I feel sick Chris." I felt like crying.
He pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. "I'm making some breakfast...well pop tarts. I'm not Jesse." He says smirking. "But I'm making coffee."
I nod. "Thank you." He kisses me quickly, and then gets up to get our food.
"So what happened yesterday?"
"My parents are ok with me going to a school around here. They don't mind that I want to be a music teacher now. Well...my mom at least. It was so weird when I was arguing with my dad. He is not ok with this whole music career, but my mom stood up for me. She...patted my arm and she said she wanted me to be happy. Isn't that weird?"
He nodded. "What changed?"
I shrug. "She said it was from some vacation she took. I don't know, dad looked confused, so it must be new. Or she was too afraid to talk to him."
"Maybe this is good, maybe you can finally build a relationship with your parents. Or your mom at least."
"That would be weird...hanging out with her...talking about you...her laughing with me. It would be so weird."
"Is that what you want?"
"It used to be...all I wanted just a few years ago was to have a happy family, one that I could laugh with like I did with Alex's family. But then I met you guys and now I feel that this is my family. I don't really need them if I'm being honest."
"You don't want them in your life?"
"Not if they are the snotty rich people that I know them to be, but if they change then I'm open to the idea."
"I guess we'll see."
I sigh. "I don't know that I want to find out. I like how things are right now. I don't want to change that, you know?"
He nods. "But they're your parents. Even though they treat everyone like crap, they have taken care of you, given you everything you needed. I would have killed for that."
"I know." I whisper. "I'm bratty too aren't I? I'm complaining about my luxurious life. My only problem is that I don't like my parents. While the rest of you have crazy histories...I'm such a brat."
He laughs. "If you were a brat you wouldn't be living with me in this dump. Trust me, no one thinks of you like that. We get it, and we respect you even more for not going along with their crazy ideas."
"Come on, you had to think I was bratty at some point."
He nods. "When I first met you. I saw how you lived, the way you looked at me, I knew you didn't approve."
I smile. "Trust me, I had a crush on you. I just tried to come off as if I didn't care about you."
"Really?" He says smirking.
"Oh yeah. I saw you that first day and I couldn't stop thinking about you. Even after you kissed me, I was crazy about you."
"That's good to know." He says sitting back.
"Oh please don't act all high and mighty. You were totally checking me out."
"I was not!"
"That first day I saw you walking down the hallway, you didn't look at anyone twice except for me. And you tried to kiss me, and you were always flirting with me."
"I was successful in kissing you, don't forget."
"A part of me did hate you, you were a jerk."
"I know." He laughs. "I was trying to seem...too cool I guess."
"I wish we were back in those days."
"I like this, I don't want to go back."
"Why not? Life was so much easier."
"But I didn't have you." I start laughing. "What?" he asks innocently.
"You're so cheesy!"
"You're not much better!"
I roll my eyes. "Admit it, you are so much cheesier than I am."
"Never." He said shaking his head.
I raised my eyebrows. "Should we consult our friends?"
"Yeah, and I'll win."
"Fine, if that's how you want to play it."
"If I win..." He begins. Then he smirks. "You have to watch Star Wars with me."
"Fine. And if I win...you have to come window shopping with me."
His smirk flickers for a moment, just on the off chance he is wrong, he will have to spend an entire afternoon looking at clothes. "Fine." He says.
"We'll have everyone come over." I reply.
He nods. "Scott should be coming over soon. He can call everyone."
"Fantastic." I get off the couch.
"Where are you going?"
"To get ready. I wanna look good when I win."
He laughs. "I am going to feel so sorry for you when you lose."
~~~
Scott comes over an hour later. Chris tells him about what we want to do, so Scott calls everyone. Scott looks through our kitchen. "You guys have nothing here!"
"We only get a few things everyday." I say.
"Well this is uncalled for, I'm going out to get snacks."
"I'll come, do you want anything Sam?" Chris asks me.
"Yeah, pick up some skittles."
"Ok." He kisses me and then they leave.
It's weird being here alone, I'm not used to all the silence. I pace a little, bored, so I turn on my music, blasting it through the house and clean. The door opens and I turn around, surprised and I almost whack Chris with a broom. He jumps back bringing his hands up, so the bag in his hand ends up hitting Scott in the face.
"Whoa." Chris says.
"Dude, what was that?" Scott asks.
"Oh sorry, Sam was trying to attack me."
I roll my eyes. "Sorry, I was just shocked. I'll turn the music down."
"Good idea." Scott says rubbing his head.
Jenna and Jesse arrive soon after, Jenna isn't really showing yet, it's only been two months. But she always touches her stomach and rubs it. She's constantly looking down as if she needs to check that the baby is still there. Jesse looks at her a lot, concerned I guess. They are happier now. They have figured out a financial plan and are saving up to move to a bigger place. Now there is room for excitement.
"Hey guys!" Jesse says walking in, holding Jenna's hand. She waves at us all and they sit down on the couch. We have laid out the food and the minute Jenna sits, she is piling everything onto her plate. She looks at the food as if it will save her life.
I laugh, which makes her look at me. "What?" She asks innocently.
I shake my head. "I guess you are eating for two?"
She looks down at her plate and blushes. "Yeah, a little."
Ian comes in next, hugging us all and then sitting next to Jesse. "Ok, what is this about?"
"What? Are you in a hurry?" Chris asks.
He smirks. "In fact, I am. I'm going on a date with my girlfriend if you must know."
"When are we going to meet Alexis?" Jenna asks.
"Hopefully sometime this week, things are serious with her now so I want you guys to meet her."
"Finally! I can't wait!" I say.
"So what's she like?" Scott asks.
"You'll have to find out." He says smiling. We all groan in response. "Ok, so really, what do we have to do? I really need to get going."
"Ok, well Chris and I were talking earlier today and I said that he was the cheesier one between the two of us, but he thinks I am. He's wrong." I say, shooting him a glance.
"Oh yeah, Chris is definitely more cheesy." Jenna says.
"Yeah, sorry dude, but you have a lot of lines." Jesse says.
"So do you." Jenna says to Jesse.
"What? I do not!"
"Oh yes, when we first got together you were full of them."
He nods. "Alright, that is true."
"Yeah, Chris you are cheesy." Ian says.
"I agree with them." Scott says.
He groans and looks over at me. "I have to go shopping now don't I?"
I nod and smile. "Yes sir, you do."
He shakes his head. "Fine, a bet is a bet." He grabs a chip and sits next to Scott.
"Ok, was that it?" Ian asks.
"Yeah, that was it."
"Ok great, see you guys later!" He is out the door before we can reply.
Jesse laughs. "I remember being like that with you." He says to Jenna.
She nods. "Me too, Andrea got so angry after a while when we first started dating."
"How is she doing?" Jesse asks.
She shrugs. "I haven't talked to her in years."
"What happened?" I ask.
"Sort of like you and Alex. We had a big fight and...well I guess I was the Alex of the situation. I couldn't really forgive her."
"What did she do?" I ask.
"She tried to steal Jesse."
Scott starts laughing. "How did that work out for her?"
"You were there when it happened." Jesse says to him.
"I know, but the story is fun to hear." Scott shrugs.
Jesse shakes his head. Jenna replies, "Not so good. Jesse wasn't going for it."
"I figured." I say.
"Hey, how did it go with your parents?" Jesse asks.
So I repeat the story once more. Jenna and Jesse don't have much advice for me either, so it ends at a dead end like usual. They leave around eleven that night, Jenna taking the majority of the food with her. I flop on the couch, suddenly exhausted.
"You want to go to bed?"
I nod. "That sounds wonderful, lets go."
I take his hand and we go to the bedroom, and this time I sleep. Chris's arms curled around my body, his head on top of my own, and I fall asleep to the sounds of his heartbeat.
___
Who is cheesier? Chris or Sam? Thanks for reading! And if you don't know who Andrea is, then check out my side story about Jenna and Jesse that's called To Be Honest I Just Want You.