Kate Hudson as Samantha Gray (Alexa's mom).
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"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" I hear a voice screaming at me. I groan as I open my eyes to the bright light shining in the room as I see Z's face. I groan as I stuff my head in the pillow. This was the first night since ages I have slept without waking up in the middle of the night with a nose bleed or sweating like hell. I hear her sigh as she pulls the covers off me. I groan again as I open my eyes and glare at her sleepily. She smiles innocently and hugs me; I sigh and hug her back.
"Good morning." I say as she pulls away.
"Good afternoon, you mean. It's already 11:45 and you still need to shower. Oh, and your mom is downstairs." She says. I spring out of bed suddenly; mom is back? I hurry up out of my bedroom and down the stairs to see my mom already sitting in the kitchen reading the newspaper; as always. I run to her with a huge grin on my face as she finally notices me and opens up her arm for a hug. I hug her back as tightly as possible as she smiles into my shoulder. I pull away and smile again.
"I missed you so much." I say as she smiles at me and ruffles my hair.
"Aw, I missed you too." She says with the smile, in a second her expression changes to anger. "But, hold up a minute, you had a fever and didn't tell me?!" she adds, putting her hands on her hips in an accusing move, I smile sheepishly and innocently; I'll kill Z.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't want you to get worried. You had to have fun there for at least 4 days except constantly worrying over me here." I say. Her expression softens as she puts her hand on my shoulder.
"Okay, I'll forgive you this time." She says as she raises her hands up in surrender. Her expression turns again but to excitement and curiosity. "So," she says, elongating the 'O' "What did you do with Noah yesterday?" she adds, wiggling he eyebrows at me.
"Well, that's something I'd like to know." Z says, coming into the kitchen. I groan knowing that Z told her I went on a date with Noah. Mom pulls me to a barstool and sits on the one in front of me next to Z. I sigh as I start telling them about the bicycles and the road in the forest, the Trampoline place and MacDonald's and that waitress and finally the waterfall. I hesitate before I say the next words knowing Z won't let me live it down.
"He, uh, he kissed me when he dropped me off." I say, biting my bottom lip and looking at my hands. Mom's eyes widen as she puts her hands over her mouth and squeals. Z stands up and does a little bit of a happy-weird dance.
"YES! NALEXA FOREVER BABE!" she says as she fist pumps the air. I laugh a bit as well as mom at her childishness.
"And he literally claimed me as his girlfriend." I say as a blush creeps to my cheeks. Mom's jaw drops as well as Zoë's. Mom squeals again as she pulls me into a hug.
"Congratulations, my baby girl." Mom coos me as she pulls away. I smile at her as Zoë grins.
"I told you my ship would sail." She says smugly. I push her playfully as she laughs.
"But, mom, you have got to know something. He doesn't know." I say as I shake my head lightly, taking in the consequences of my idiocy. Mom looks at me weirdly.
"Doesn't know what?" she says. I look at her tiredly and anxiously. Z looks at me and gulps.
"I'll go prepare your outfit, okay?" she says as she gets up. I nod at her as she mouths 'Good Luck'.
"What's going on, Alexa?" mom asks.
"Mom, I didn't tell him about the cancer." I say in one breath as I put my head down. She stares at me for a second and then sighs.
"You're just like your father." She says. My head snaps up at the mention of him. She smiles sadly and nods. "He, too, never told me about that his granddad had cancer. The gene went to him and then to-" she turns her head away.
"Me." I say. She nods and looks at me with a tearful eye. I hug her to me as she hugs me back.
"So, you're not mad at me?" I say as I bite my lip while pulling away from her. She raises her eyebrow at me.
"Baby, I'd never be mad at you. We're best friends before this whole mother-daughter relationship, okay? I'll never be mad at you. But, please, do me a favor." She says and I nod. "Don't make your father mistakes. Tell Noah. Don't make him suffer at the end." She says as she smiles at me. I sigh and nod, returning the smile. She smiles then gets up.
"Okay, go get ready for this BBQ while I go take a shower, I just came back and I stink." She says and I laugh, nodding. I hug her one last time and kiss her cheek before I look at the clock, seeing it was already 12:40 pm. I head upstairs and enter my room to see Z with an outfit lying on my bed.
"What's that?" I say as I take a good look at it. It was a till the shoulder-sleeved off-white T shirt with a 'Last name hungry, first name always' on it along with blue jean shorts and my green-black striped flannel and my black converse.
I beam at outfit as Z smiles at me. I quickly go to my bathroom with a pair of undergarments and my fluffy towel. Finishing the fastest shower I have ever had I put on my undergarments and go outside to look at the outfit. I put it on as well as my black converse as Z grabs my hair and towel dries it. After she's done, she starts to French braid it. She ties the end with a black Loom Band and hangs the tall braid on my shoulder that the lavender in it shows.
"Okay so I'm not coming but I charged your phone so you WILL text me every time something Cliché happens between you and Noah, okay?" she says. I nod and hug her, seeing that it was already 1:45. She says her farewells and takes her bag before hugging me one last time.
"Have fun, remember, don't regret it." she whispers as I nod in her shoulder before she descends downstairs. I faintly hear her 'Goodbye, Mrs. Gray.' as nervousness kick in.
I'm going to meet his family today.
Oh shit.
I'll totally mess up today.
I continue thinking for about 10 minutes before my thoughts got interrupted as I hear a knock downstairs. I take in a breath as I slide my phone into my back pocket and quickly descend downstairs. I go to the door to already my mom standing at it and opening it to Noah; I thought she was going to take a bath? I hurry up to the both of them and smile at Noah as his eyes check me out openly.
Hello? My mom is here!
His eyes stop and stare at my legs for a while before he shakes his head a bit and smiles back at me. He was wearing a simple light blue jean shorts and a black shirt that hung to his muscles well. My mom smiles at me secretly and mouths to me while he's not looking 'he's so hot!'. I roll my eyes at her as she grins at me excitedly. She turns to Noah as offers her hand for a handshake.
"Hello, I am Samantha Gray; Alexa's mom." She says and Noah mouth takes the form of an 'O', shaking her hand.
"Hello Mrs. Gray. I am Noah, Alexa's-" she cuts him off.
"Boyfriend, I know." She says as she shakes his hand firmly. She lets him go and turns to him.
"Look, I am not gonna be this protective mother who says you shouldn't see each other and all; because believe me, I was even more than that when I was your age. But please, I am in no mood to take care of a teenage girl crying over heartbreak, okay? I have T.V marathons I need to catch up to, for God's sake. But really, please, take care of her." She says and I cover my face with my hand as Noah's eyes widen. This is the most embarrassing in my life.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Gray, I'll take good care of her." He says as he winks at me. I blush as my mom giggles at us.
"You guys are so cute!" she says and I face palm again. "Okay, okay, go on, you'll be late." She shoos us out of the door. I smile and get out of the house with Noah in tow. I start looking for the car but instead I see his motorcycle.
"I am thanking God mentally you didn't wear a skirt." He says and I glare at him. He gets on the bike and I go on as well. He offers me a helmet but I shake my head.
"Darling, I don't wear helmets." I say with a smirk; quoting him from before, the day of the roller coasters. He laughs as he puts it back in the box and starts the motorcycle. Before we begin wheezing through the streets he turns to me.
"Why was your mom doing all the 'please don't split up' thing-y?" He says, furrowing my eyebrows. Knowing that mom was like this because of my disease I shake my head and shrug.
"It's nothing, don't worry." I say. He nods with a smile and starts the motorcycle, making me cling onto his waist causing him to laugh and me to squeal.
"Your mom is so cool, by the way!" he shouts over the wind.
"I know!" I shout as well, grinning as an idiot.
Soon enough, we reach his huge house; and I am saying huge because it was a 2 story white mansion with a huge driveway and front lawn that I gasped when I saw it. It had its own beautiful golden gate and there were hundreds of cars in the driveway. I get off the motorcycle after Noah pulls over and stand gaping at the place.
"You like it?" I hear Noah ask from behind me. I nod still gaping at it as he laughs.
"Are all of these your cars?" I finally ask as Noah pushes the door open and we both head inside.
"No, no, these are my family's. We're not that rich." He says with a shrug. I look at him weirdly.
"Then why don't you take the 5,000$ from your dad?" I say. "Not that I mind the bet at all, I was just wondering." I add quickly. He smiles at me sadly.
"Nobody knows I fight." He says as he shuts the door. I raise my eyebrows at this.
"What?" I say.
"Nobody knows I fight except for June, okay?" he says, clearly frustrated. I shrug.
"We all have secrets, don't we?" I say; his expression to amusement in seconds.
"What do you have to hide, Sunshine?" he says as we walk along the hallway to what I am expecting to be the backyard. I tense a bit then put on my smile again.
"Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out." I say. His expression turns to confusion as he was about to ask me something before we hear someone calling his name.
"NOAH!" a feminine voice shouts. We both turn around to the source to see a woman in her late 30's waving at us. I look around the garden and automatically smile. Young kids were running around the place happily with no care to the world while some boys- probably our age or younger- were playing football together while the adults sat around a huge table talking and laughing. It all felt so home-y. It made me feel warm. Noah takes my hand as he smiles at me.
"Come on, they're dying to meet you." he says as he pulls me to the table while I smile nervously at them. I shyly wave at all of the adults as the woman smiles warmly at me.
"Alexa, this is my mom. Mom, this is the girl I talked to you about; Alexa." He introduces us. I offered my hand shyly but she slapped it away and pulled me in a hug. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to say, we are a family of huggers." He adds, huffing slightly. I laugh a bit as we pull away from each other.
"Hello, Mrs. Black." I say but she scoffs.
"Call me Stella, dear, you're family now." She says and I blush slightly. She pats my back lovingly. She walks to a man in his early 40's who gave a huge resemblance of Noah.
"And this is George; my husband and Noah's father." She says. She looks at the man with a look of excitement. "This is Noah's girlfriend." She says and I turn into a tomato. The man looks at me warmly as he pulls me into a hug. It was such a fatherly hug I almost cried. I pull away smiling like an idiot as he pats my back.
"Welcome, dear." He says. I smile and nod as Stella takes me and starts to introduce me to all his uncles and aunts as well as his grandma. Noah was not lying when he said they were a family of huggers. Finally Stella, starts introducing me to the kids. When we reach a girl that was not that much shorter than me I immediately know her.
"June, right?" I say as I offer my hand. Again, she pushes my hand away and hugs me tightly to her. She pulls away and smiles widely as she nods. Stella smiles at both of us then leaves.
"Yeah." She says; her eyes glittering. She was truly beautiful; she had straight brown hair that went till the middle of her back and dark brown eyes. She looked truly beautiful. She looks at my hair and beams.
(Young Nina Dobrev as June Black)
"Wow, your mom let you dip dye your hair?" she says as she gently grabs the braid.
"Yeah, she did after a lot of begging." I say as I bite my lip, hoping she won't ask any further questions.
"Wow, just, wow." She says as she lets go of it. "I love it." she says. I smile warmly at her and nod.
"GUYS! FOOD IS READY!" I hear Stella shout. Noah takes my hand as we go to the table while I smile. June puts her arm on my shoulder lightly as she beams at me.
"We are gonna be best friends forever!" she says. My smile falters a bit before I quickly hide it.
"Mega best friends." I say as I nudge her a bit, she giggles then runs off to her cousins.
"Nice one you picked out, Noah." I hear a boy shout. Noah turns to him with a glare.
"Shut up, Logan." He says as that boy sticks his tongue out to him. "Yeah, real mature for a 17 year old." He adds. I laugh a bit as the boy reaches us. He looks at me and offers his hand; I shake his hand as he lifts it to his lips and kisses it. I blush with a smile as he looks away. Noah rolls his eyes and punches him playfully.
"Stay away from her." He says. Logan raises his arms in mock surrender as I pull Noah away from him because if looks could kill; Logan would have been 6 feet under now.
"Calm down, Noah." I say, he looks at me and sighs as he slowly smiles.
"I'm sorry, I just, I have never felt like this before, okay?" he says as he looks away. I smile and pat his hand a bit as we complete walking the huge garden to the table where everyone was now. Noah puts his arm around my waist as he guides me to the table and I mentally swoon.
He has his arm around my waist. Oh my God.
I snap out of it as we sit on the table with June on my left and Noah on my right. I take a look around the table and spot Zach and Aiden sitting talking to some of the relatives. Zach turns and spots me looking and grins widely.
"Hey, Lexi!" he says as I laugh. Aiden turns and waves at me enthusiastically.
"Hey Zach, Hey Garcia." I say as Aiden laughs at the nickname.
"Okay, now we pray." Stella announces, cutting us all off before anyone digs in. "Alexa, would like to do it?" she adds and my eyes widen. I look at Noah as he nods at me encouragingly. I sigh as I nod. I take both Noah and June's hands and bow my head slightly.
"God," I clear my throat and raise my voice a bit. "We hope to thank you for blessing us with all of these gifts, we also hope for your forgiveness when we pass. We hope that you'd guide us down the right way for the rest of our lives. We hope that you'd be kind to us and give us the strength to hold your faith till the very end. We hope that you'd bless us from your kindness and forgiveness and to let us be happy for the rest of our lives." I look up to see Noah smiling at me. "Amen." I finally say as they all repeat after me.
"That was beautiful." Stella says and I nod gratefully. "Noah, scoop Alexa some of my pasta, I am sure you'll love it, dear." Stella says. I nod as Noah scoops some in my plate as well in his. I take a bite and almost moan at the taste.
"This is amazing, Stella." I tell her as she smiles with pride; clearly happy I liked it.
"So, Alexa, what's your surname? I never asked you." Stella asks me.
"Um, it's Gray." I say as I take a bite from the chicken June put in my plate. George, Noah's father, turns to me.
"You don't mean Jackson Gray, right?" he says, I look at him weirdly as I nod.
"We were neighbors when we were young." He explains. "How is he these days?" he adds. Noah chokes on his drink and I turn to him to pat his back a bit. When he's breathing peacefully again I turn to Mr. Black.
"He, um, he died; 15 years ago." I say as I look at my food, my appetite disappearing in seconds. Silence covers the table as a blanket as George looks sympathetically at me while Noah glares at him.
"Oh, I am sorry." He says. I look at him with a smile.
"It's okay. Um, let's get back to eating; shall we?" I say as I look around, everybody digs in again. Noah looks at me with a sad smile and I shrug with a grin at him. June looks at e after I begin eating again; knowing Noah would kill me if I didn't. I turn to June and look at her weirdly.
"What?" I whisper at her.
"Thank you." she says. I look at her with confusion.
"For what?" I say.
"Even if you're guys in a relationship now, I know you'll give him money at the end, I know that you're completing that bet for the sake of Noah's health; I can see it in your eyes. Many days I stayed up at night hoping he won't die in a fight." She pauses and shakes her head lightly. "Whatever the reason is you're doing this, I wanna just say one thing in return; thank you for saving my brother." She turns around again and completes eating. I smile at her as she returns it secretly.
Funny someone would be saved by someone who's dying. The irony.