Hi!
I just realised this got to 5000 reads overall, that makes me so happy. Thank you so much to all of you still reading <3
Hope you enjoy this week's installment. It's sorta boring but it leads up. Will Misty's family accept Ian? Find out...next Thursday ;3 Your votes mean everything to me, I'm so grateful that you guys are so supportive of this story! Have a fabulouuuuus week!
(Just to say, the GIF on the side kills me every time. Ianthonyyyyy! Feels.Feels.Feels.)
much love,
-fluffie xox
Chapter 30 ~ Misty Cooper
(No song)
Before I knew it, 2 weeks had passed and my family were due to come. In those two weeks I'd worked quite a lot, and had earnt a decent amount of money. I was still widely hated, there was now a page dedicated to 'We hate Misty Cooper,' with over 15K haters, but Kristie was truly back as a friend, and me and her hung out a lot, mainly at my house- but she'd invited me to her Mom's once it was all sorted out. Me and Ian had also spent a good amount of time together, for what we'd missed. We did typical couple-ish things, such as seeing another movie together {even though I got recognized twice, both of which backed off when they saw Ian was with me}, but we also did the unneccessary things to do together. We took Charlie to the vets for his annual checkup, we surfed online together to find Ian a costume for a Smosh video, and we even bathed Drift together.
The morning on which my parents were due to arrive, I woke Ian, for once. I'd spoken to my parents just before they'd got on the plane to finalise. Technically, the plane wasn't landing until 2pm, {it was a night flight for them, they'd set off at 1pm the previous day,} but I wanted to have some time to clear the house. It was 10:30 by the time I woke him up, and we needed to move fast.
I leapt onto Ian's bed, crouched over him and shook him with my arms. His eyes jolted open and darted up to meet mine, before slowly sinking again.
'Geddup! Today's the dreaded day,' I groaned, rubbing his shoulder.
Ian yawned loudly. 'We'll make it through alright.'
I got up off the bed and raised my eyebrows at him. 'I doubt that. They'll raise the awkward level to over 9000.'
'I'm sure they'll be nice. At least they're staying at a hotel.' I raised an eyebrow and smiled. 'C'mon, it won't be that bad!' he reassured me.
'I guess so. But should we clean the house? It's- I mean, it's not too bad it's just-' I tried to hide the fact that I was pointing out that the house wasn't in its cleanest state. Ian saw straight through it and laughed.
'Yeah, it's just that me and Anthony are men.'
'Basically.'
'Anthony won't be assed to help. We can do it together before going to pick your parents up. To be honest, I don't even know if Anthony is here. He might have stayed the night at Kalel's flat.'
We never saw Anthony, at the moment. He was literally spending every waking minute of his time with Kalel. It was sorta getting out of hand. I didn't know if it was my fault or just because his relationship was getting more serious. He was even beginning to let Smosh slip, I'd noticed. He'd more than once cancelled dates of shooting to see Kalel. Ian hadn't said anything, but I could tell he was beginning to find it frustrating.
'Maybe. Could you check? I don't to barge in on him if he's...'
'He won't be jacking off.'
'Still. Could you?'
Ian nodded, and launched himself off his bed. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just some old tracksuit bottoms. He had a really good chest...he was looking really good at the moment, in general. Today, however, he looked so hot.
'Ian...' I said slowly.
'What?'
'It's nothing apart from the fact that you look positively beautiful and hot today.'
'Why, thankyou,' Ian replied. 'And don't you look beautiful and hot too.' And with that, he sassily swished out the door and I heard him trudging down the corridor and knocking on Anthony's door. As I went to make us all breakfast, I heard mumblings, and then two pairs of legs trudging on through to the kitchen.
'Morning, dude!' I greeted them both jubilantly.
'G'morning,' Anthony responded, through a yawn. He looked absolutely knackered. He leant against the counter, and his elbows gradually slipped until his whole top half lay across it. I tapped nervously on Anthony's back.
'Ughh,' he groaned.
'I know that this week is gonna suck thanks to my parents.'
'It's not that, I'm just tiiiiiired. I got back last night at...2am?'
'How about I make pancakes?' I offered, resigning to no longer use the power of words to make the day any better for this tired twosome. The only solution here was food.
Ian's head popped out from behind the door and his eyes glinted. 'Did you just say...pancakes?'
'Yep. Now do you have any bacon?'
Anthony jolted up. 'Hold on. Are you making bacon pancakes?'
'Yeah bacon and maple syrup pan-wait. Is that...alright with both of you?'
'Is my name Anthony Padilla?' Anthony said in return. I guessed this meant yes. 'I've had enough of fruity vegan pancakes made without eggs and cow's milk.'
'And plus, it's bacon.'
'And bacon is fucking badass,' Anthony added. He gestured to his room, signalling that he was going to get dressed. I nodded and looked in the fridge, hoping to find the right ingredients.
'Ian!' I yelled. 'Do you have any-'
'Maple syrup?' someone finished, and I turned to find Ian holding up a bottle.
'I can't wait for these.'
'You guys are acting like you haven't seen a piece of bacon in decades.'
'For the first time in our grown-up lives, we're having a homemade cooked breakfast. Of course it's exciting!'
'I can't wait to see your faces when the pancakes themselves exist,' I laughed. 'If I can find the stuff I need,' I added.
'We have some eggs from last week...they should be okay, right? We threw them in a shoot. Speaking of that, I should upload our latest video.'
I overheard Ian muttering to Anthony about whether the video was fully finished as I hunted in the kitchen for pancake ingredients. In the fridge, to my delight, there were two perfectly sized eggs left in a dozen carton, plus a stick of butter that I could use. Ian and Anthony were not advanced in cooking, but they were capable of making a sandwich, and buttering toast, luckily. I found bacon, as bacon was an essential in this household, despite the fact that they only had bacon when their crew were here to do it for them. I also grabbed the milk carton from the fridge door.
I looked in the cupboards, to eventually find a long-forgotten dusty bag of flour at the very back. I got some sugar from the sugar pot and found some salt sachets from fast food restaurants.
Typical that they're from McDonald's, I thought as I got started, laying the bacon on the grill and throwing together the main ingredients to form a batter. When Ian and Anthony finished getting dressed, they shuffled back into the living room. They put on the TV, but I could feel their eyes piercing into my back, watching me, and could imagine their faces: eyes wide and mouths hanging in awe.
Soon enough, I had unearthed a frying pan and placed it on the stove, lighting up the gas and pouring an acceptable amount of batter in. I'd made my mum's old recipe, that I'd learnt over the years. We'd have pancakes for breakfast every other Saturday, and I missed them tons. My mum made the classic American pancake, even though we had no American heritage. I missed the stacks of thick, squidgy and fluffy pancakes. I missed a lot of my mum's food, but I guess it was time to take her place and cook for two men that certainly acted like children. They were my best friends though, and I wanted to give them something in return for once.
The bacon was soon ready, the pancakes crisp and chunky, but fluffy on the inside; the plates set out and the maple syrup ready to drizzle. The guys had long ago sat at the table with their tea (Ian,) and coffee (Anthony), ready for their breakfast. I couldn't help but chuckle to their eagerness as I stacked the pancakes and bacon slices alternately, bringing the maple syrup to the table to allow us to add as much or little as we liked. As soon as I shuffled over with the stacks of pancakes, 4 each for all of us, the guys' eyes lit up. I placed them in front of them, and they grinned to each other, ear to ear, quietly fought over the maple syrup jar (Anthony winning) before they promptly dug in. I patiently waited for the syrup to become available, squirted a considerable amount and dug in myself. I wasn't afraid to admit that I was pretty proud of my cooking venture. They weren't a patch on mum's, but they did the job, and the guys acted as if I was Gordon Ramsay and had just effortlessly thrown together the most impressive meal on the planet. In return, I cheekily asked them if it would be okay if they would clean up for me whilst I got dressed, and surprisingly, they agreed.
I decided to look casual, but decidedly still myself, so my parents (and Stan, and Baxter too) wouldn't think I had changed too much. It was the end of June. The sun shone brightly in California, the leaves bursting out each tree. The grass was squeaky and seemingly too green. It was miles hotter than summer in England, but I wasn't going to make a fuss. It was about time that I didn't wear tights.
It was hot that day, a day for no tights, nor jeans. I wore my leather shorts, and tucked in a 'Team Rocket' shirt that Kristie had encouraged me to buy ages ago, before Gaming Expo. It had arrived when I got back. It had a large red 'R' in the centre, the R made up of the Team Rocket motto. Me and Ian liked to recite it, him being Jessie and me being James (neither of us knew why,) and if Anthony or Kalel were around, they'd always jump in with the 'Meowth that's right!' at the end.
The rest of the morning was spent cleaning the house. Even though the family were going to stay the nights at a nearby hotel, we wanted to make a good impression. Ian dressed smarter than usual, in a casual shirt and jeans- somehow not baking to death.
'Ready to go?' Ian asked, and I nodded. Anthony peeped his head from next to the door.
'One minute! I just need to grab my phone from my charger. Let me guess, Ian's car.'
'If possible? It's a little smaller, but if you want to drive, An-'
'No,' Anthony interjected. 'It's okay, Ian can drive.' He winked at Ian.
'Fiiiiine,' Ian replied, exaggerating a sigh, but I knew he absolutely loved driving anywhere.
Today Anthony sat in the front, with me at the back in the middle, and Ian in the driver's seat. The car felt eerily empty without Kalel there poking fun at the guys with me. But I sorta liked it. It felt like when I first met Ian and Anthony, or when I first moved in and we went to get lunch together. That was a couple of months behind us now. Time had gone past fast, but so much had happened. I'd only been in the USA 3 months, since the end of March, but now it was almost July- and me and Ian had wound up dating, even though we weren't typically the most conventional couple. I'd also become an internet phenomenon. That one awful photo still plastered many news websites, with new outlooks towards the situation, and comments about my 'messy hair'.
'So Misty,' Anthony began, surprising me and making me jump. He chuckled. 'What should we expect from Mr and Mrs..uh- Cooper? And brother Cooper? And dog- Cooper?'
'They won't mind if you call them by their first names. My mum is Cecilia- Cissy, remember? And Dad is Robert, but he doesn't mind being called Rob. And Stan's my brother. Oh, and Baxter the dog.'
'Baxter's a sweet name for a dog,' Ian turned to Anthony. 'I wish we could have a dog. I miss having one around like I did when I was younger. It's just such a friggin' pain when we're out all the time.'
I raised my hand. 'I'd so look after a dog!'
Anthony smiled. 'I would love a dog, but Kalel is so obsessed with her cats.'
'So? It shouldn't mean you can't get a dog, Anthony,' Ian countered. Oooo. Ian was going for it.
Anthony just nodded. 'Uh, yeah.'
'Seriously though, don't let everything Kalel does control what you do,' Ian went on.
Too far, I thought.
'Yeah, whatever! I get the point Ian!' Anthony bellowed. Woah. A look of guilt flooded Ian's face. Red patches seeped onto his cheeks. There was a pause as Ian turned a corner and stopped at a traffic light.
'Sorry, Anthony. It's just-'
'It's okay. I...' Anthony began, and bowed his head. 'Just-'
'Don't worry,' Ian reassured Anthony. 'I was being a dick. We got bigger things to concentrate on. T?'
My eyes swam back into focus. I'd been in a daze, as I'd just experienced the first ever argument {if it counted as one,} that wasn't over food between Ian and Anthony.
'Yeah?' I murmured in response.
'Er..nothing. Just checking you were alive back there.'
There was a pause. Ian turned up the radio as a Daft Punk song came on from their new album. Ian hummed along and Anthony sat in silence, on his phone. No doubt that he was texting Kalel.
Ian looked back in my direction. I smiled, despite that I was sat staring forward, my eyes sinking into bare space. I was in deep thought now, as I was nervous. Would my parents like Anthony- and most importantly, Ian? She wouldn't force me to break up with him- would they? I didn't always see as much of my dad as I would have liked, back in England. He's a really hard worker, and as much as I knew he really cared about me and my choices, I was slightly more nervous about my mum. Me and her are so...close. Nothing has ever come between us, she's always been...there.
And Stan. Awkward Stan. He's hilarious, happy and nice, even though we argue a bit, but I hoped he'd get on well with the guys. What if they decided they strongly disliked each other?
There was so many aspects of this that could go wrong; and at least one of them was bound to happen.
And we were going to get nowhere if Ian and Anthony had this decided silence between them. I knew they were best friends, I knew they knew each other better than most people but...we were due to arrive at the airport, our destination in - what - like ten minutes? It was gonna be awkward enough doing the introducing. I couldn't stand being so selfish, but the last thing I wanted was for Ian and Anthony to be quiet, clammed up and awkward too.
'Guys,' I began.
'What?' they both answered simultaneously.
I realised that I was overreacting. Ian and Anthony were best friends, they probably have these little disagreements all the time.
'Er...' I began. 'Just to warn you, my family is weird,' I finished, and breathed out a sigh of relief.
'I'm more worried about whether they'll think I'm too weird. Or old,' Ian added.
'It's 8 years...right? My cousin got married to someone fifteen years older, and my mum accepted that.'
'Yeah, but how old was your cousin when she got married?'
'Like, 25ish I think.'
'That's the thing,' Ian sighed. 'When you get past 21 or so, age doesn't matter, but you're still young. I'm a fully-grown, mature...uh- adult.'
'Meant to be an adult,' Anthony added. 'But I can't talk, really.' He turned back to his phone, as it had just gone off with its repetitive ringtone.
Ian nodded and smirked, keeping his hands firmly on the wheel. 'You can say that again. T, am I...the sort of guy they'd like?'
'Yeah. I mean, you're similar to Stan, you're funny, and you're responsible- okay. Let's just pretend you're responsible. And you're loving, caring, kind and...hot.'
'Even if I was, I doubt it would make a huge difference,' Ian chuckled.
'Well, it's a plus for me!' I said with optimism.
'N'aww,' Ian said, scrunching up his face and shrugging his shoulders.
'Stop it with the cute gooeyness,' Anthony moaned, looking up from his phone.
Ian coughed loudly. 'Well I dealt with...' he paused to think for a micropause. '...Kalanthony gooeyness for ages.'
'Same here with...uh- Lilian?'
'No offense, but that sounds like an illness. What would ours be?' I asked.
'Mistian? Or Ianty?' Ian tested out.
'Oh God!' I spluttered. 'That sounds like a terminal disease for pirates!'
'I have a disease...a disease to looooove,' Ian grunted in a low voice, making me splutter with laughter, Anthony joining in, doing that thing where he laughed under his breath.
'Kalanthony just sounds like someone gagging,' Anthony commented. 'Mistian sounds...mysterious.'
'Yes, because we're a super shady couple,' I remarked. 'Ian goes around in a James Bond-esque suit with me in some sexy red dress as a Bond girl with my boobs hanging out of the dress, like they all do. And we're spies.'
'I like the sound of THAT dress,' Ian said, winking.
'You know I like me a suit,' I responded.
'I just think you took my mysterious thing off on a tangent,' Anthony said, and we all laughed, as we approached my family's terminal- terminal 5.
'They said that they'd stand near the trolley park... wherever that is.'
'There's a few. Should we try the one nearest the doors?'
We chugged past the one nearest the doors, the one near the bus stop, the one near the fast food, the one near customs and the one near the gas station in a constant circuit, but to no avail. It was getting frustrating, but as we trawled past the one nearest the doors for the fiftieth time, we finally saw my family. They looked utterly lost.
My mum, stood in her heeled ankle boots, and long bodycon dress, complete with her short bob- not a hair out of place, for once. My dad looking flustered, even daring to wear a shirt with his jeans. Even Stan had made an effort by making sure his shirt didn't have a stain, with his knee length Ian-like shorts and converse. Baxter, on his new, unfrayed leash, was looking tired but still cheerful. The whole family looked, well, great.
Was it that they felt the need to impress my new roommates?
My family.
It was only when I saw them that I realised how much I'd goddamn missed them.