Cade's P.O.V.
I look at the tie and leave it on the car seat before getting out of the car. Mom and dad are already forcing me to go to this stupid family dinner, I will not let them make me wear a tie too. I shut the car door behind me. I look at Vivian Harper's house. This is the fourth time I'm being dragged here.
"Cade, where is your tie?" Mom asks.
I look at her, "I lost it," I lie.
"Cade, we're here to have dinner with your father's client. We need to make a good impression, so please go and put on that tie," mom says, catching onto my lie.
I suck in my cheek. "Alright," I say, turning around back to the car. I grab the navy blue tie and quickly tie it on. I hate going to family dinners, especially when they're my dad's client. Especially when it's at Vivian's house.
Despite everyone thinking that Vivian is an angel, I can see past that façade. She's rude. She's always been rude to me, that's for sure. I don't know why she hates me so much but she just does. I barely see her since I don't even go to class much. She probably hates me because her boyfriend hates me more. I don't blame him. I always get him in trouble. But what can I do? He's an easy target.
I turn around to face mom after putting on the tie, "Happy?" I ask. We're right in front of their house and we're still out here. It's cold, I want to go inside.
"Couldn't you at least brush your hair?" she walks towards me and pats down my hair. "There," she says taking a step back, examining me.
"Am I good-looking?" I smugly smile.
She smiles, "Always," she says, pinching my cheek. She loops her arm around mine and we head to the front door. Dad gets off his phone and tucks it into his inside pocket.
"Ready?" he asks.
"Yeah," I say.
Dad pushes the doorbell. We wait for a good one minute before Mr Harper opens the door. The same small, red head man stand in front if us. "Good evening, Lance!" Mr Harper greets.
"How are you, John?" dad greets.
Even though Mr Harper is dad's client, they've been college friends. They've helped each other out for as long as I remember. Ever since Mr Harper married Vivian's mum, we've been invited to their house for dinner for a while. Usually, Mr Harper would come to our house.
"Come on in," Mr Harper says.
"John, how are you?" mum asks.
"I'm good, Tiana. How about you?" he replies. After mum goes inside, I finally get inside. "Cade, you've grown into such a handsome man," Mr Harper says.
"Hey Mr Harper," I say. "I'm more handsome than before, right?"
Mr Harper gives a hearty laugh, "Ah, always the jokester!" he pats me on the back.
"Wait, so you don't think I'm more handsome than before?" I ask.
"Cade, stop talking. Sorry John. You know Cade, always fishing for compliments," mom apologises.
Mr Harper chortle, "That's alright." He still avoids answering. Hmm.
A woman approaches us and I have never seen her before. She has dark auburn hair, green eyes with a few wrinkles. She looks like Mrs Harper's age, maybe a little bit younger.
"Hello," she greets.
"Oh, you must be Meredith's sister," mom says, reaching out to her for a hug. The lady looks a little taken back but accepts the hug. "Mary, right?" she asks.
She nods with a kind smile, "Yes. You must be Tiana, I've heard so much about you," she says. She greets dad before her attention moves on to me, "Is this your son?" she asks mom.
Mom nods, "Yes, my Cade. He goes to the same school as Vivian," mom states. I don't think she cares, mom. The lady smiles at me.
"He's very handsome," she tells mom.
"Thanks, ma'am," I say.
"Come, let's go sit in the lounge. Mer isn't ready yet. You know how she's like," Mr Harper says.
Mom and dad laugh, "Yes, we do." Mr Harper and Mary leads us to the lounge room. I hear someone stumbling in heels. I stop in my spot and look at the source of the noise. I see Mrs Harper pulling a familiar girl in the hallway next to a guy. The girl regains her posture. "Now, Kaia, when I call for you, you come in. Okay? You too Kieran," Mrs Harper says. Mom and dad are already in the other room. I look at the girl and the guy. They both have dark, brown hair, a warm light skin tone and brown eyes.
"I don't get why I have to wear heels in our own house, why can't I just be bare feet? It's more comfortable," the girl whines.
"Because, Kaia, you look like a homeless person if you don't wear shoes. Remember, you're dressed to impress," Mrs Harper smiles.
"How about flats? Flats are very impressive on how they remain stuck on your feet without slipping off," she suggests. I recognise them both immediately. They're the transfer students at the school. Mrs Harper shakes her head and leaves them two alone and she moves closer to Kieran. I notice Kaia pulls the hem of her dress down, trying to make it stretch out longer. "Kieran, help me. The dress is too short," she whispers to him with a panicked tone.
Kieran looks down at her dress. She's wearing some floral lace, off-white dress. The sleeves reach just past her elbows the dress reaches midway of her thighs. She continues to pull it down. I smirk with amusement. "Then go and wear pants," Kieran says, disinterested.
"I can't," she cries. "Aunt Meredith won't let me."
"What do you want me to do about it?" he asks, sounding annoyed.
"Ah, you can go upstairs and like, get me some tights. Yeah, do that," she suggests.
Kieran huffs and looks down at her, "Go do it yourself," he crosses his arm. That Kieran guy is probably a head taller than her. He wears a dress shirt and dress pants with a blazer. But he's not wearing a tie. Wait, why am I wearing a tie then?
"Kieran! Don't be such a Vivian," she whines. Vivian?
"Just go get it."
Kaia looks around with a pout. Her eyes brighten suddenly and she looks back at Kieran, "Hey, you know that Aunt Meredith actually wants me to date the son of the family coming tonight?" My ears perks and Kieran's body stiffens. Did she just say date? Mrs Harper wants her to date me? I immediately feel amused and smug.
"What?" he growls.
"Yeah, she hoped that by wearing this dress, my legs would seduce him into dating me," she says, in a matter-of-fact tone. Kieran looks at her again.
"Wait here, I'm getting you pants," he growls. His arms drop to his side and he walks off, out of sight. I see Kaia smiling victoriously as she continues to pulls the hem of her dress down.
"I'm such a genius," Kaia says to herself, proudly. I silently chuckle before heading into the room my parent went into earlier.
Ten minutes later, we're sitting in the dining room and only Vivian and the two new students weren't here yet. Mom, dad, Mr and Mrs Harper and Mary were all laughing to something dad said. I look at the grandfather clock, wondering how much longer I have to be here for.
"Where are your children?" mom asks.
"Oh, they should be here by now," the lady says.
"Oh, I completely forgot. Kaia, Kieran, come to the dinner table, please," Mrs Harper calls.
I hear a few grumbling and a crooked slip of heels and I knew who was coming. I felt a little excited to see her again, she doesn't cease to amuse me. Soon, Kaia and Kieran both walk in. I notice she's wearing a cream toned tights.
"Kaia," Mrs Harper yelps.
Kaia eyes widen, "It's cold," she says.
Mrs Harper sits back into her seat, "You should've said something, I could've turned on the heater for you," she says, eying her tights.
"That's okay," she says quickly. She turns her attention to my parents, "Hello," she greets with a smile. I notice some similarity between her and that lady. The lady must be her mother.
"John, Tiana, they're my twins," the lady introduces.
Twins? I observe the two of them. I can find it believable that they're twins but I wouldn't have guessed if it wasn't for the lady to point it out.
"Oh twins?" mom says. "I never met twins before."
"Kaia, Kieran, this is Lance and Tiana Pearson. This is their son, Cade," Mrs Harper says, soon gesturing to me. Kaia eyes widen slightly. I smile, knowing the very reason why she's surprised to see me. I'm the guy that Mrs Harper wants her to date.
"Please, sit," dad says. Kaia and Kieran takes a seat across from me, Kaia directly across me. I look at her and when she meets my gaze, I tilt my head to the side and smile. She immediately averts her eyes. She shifts in her seat uncomfortably. I smirk at the effect I have on her.
"Where's Vivian?" Mom asks.
"Oh, Vivian couldn't be here. She has a study session with her friends tonight. She has a history assignment that she needs to get started on," Mrs Harper explains. Kaia rolls her eyes.
"Really? Cade is in her history class," mom states. She looks at me, "Why didn't you say that you had a history assignment?" mom asks.
"'Cause I just got it yesterday," I state.
"Who's your history partner?" Mrs Harper asks as if she's interested.
I look at Kieran, "Him," I say, casually.
Kieran looks up from his food. "That's where I know you," Kaia pitches in. I look at Kaia, seeing realisation dawn on her face. She notices the attention she captured and her face burns red. I nod.
"Oh, that's fantastic. You are always welcome to come over to work on the assignment with Kieran, Cade," Mrs Harper offers.
"Thank you, Mrs Harper. That's very kind of you," I tell her.
"No, that's not really needed. Cade and I can just go to the library to work on the assignment since Kaia would be at home," Kieran pitches up. I arch an eyebrow at him. He doesn't want me around Kaia? "I mean, Kaia always like to study when it's quiet with no interruptions. Working on a group assignment, it will distract Kaia and disrupt her studies. Isn't that right, Kaia?" Kieran asks.
"What? That's not..." I hear a thud understand the table and Kaia flinch. She scowls at Kieran which he returns with a strong glare. "Ah," Kaia reads his expression. "Yeah, I prefer to study when it's peaceful and quiet. Helps me concentrate more and lets the things I'm learning sink in," she explains.
"Well, Kaia has the same assignment. I'm sure she won't be bothered as she would have to discuss her assignment with her partner too," I state, challenging Kaia with my stare.
"T-That's true," she says, extending the 'u' in true. "But, plagiarism," she suddenly says. She thinks I'd cheat? Her eyes widen after realising what she said. "I... uh... meant that, you know... what if I subconsciously overhear what Kieran and Cade are going to do for their assignment and decided to that very topic as well. Then we both end up doing the same project and we'd both fail," Kaia explains. "Ah, Mr Pearson, what do you do?" she changes the subject.
"I'm an attorney," dad says.
Her eyes brighten, "Really?" she asks.
"Oh, that's fantastic. Kaia wants to study law in University," the lady says. Dad smiles.
"Is that right?" dad asks.
Kaia nods eagerly, "Yes, I do. What field do you work in?" she asks.
"Corporate law. I'm a partner at my firm. Your uncle is actually one of my clients."
"Wow, that's amazing."
"What field do you want to be in?" and the boring talks begins now.
"I'm not entirely sure yet. I do have an idea which area I want to head towards but I thought that I'd just wait and study a lot of fields in law school and decide which one I feel most comfortable and interested in," she explains. Her persona completely changed from before. Before Kaia was fidgety and uncomfortable but now she's a completely different person.
"That's understandable. Well, if you want to gain some work experience or see what the corporate field is like, you can always ask me and I'll see if I can have you come in as an intern," dad offers.
Kaia looks almost speechless. "That's amazing, thank you so much," she says.
"Anytime," dad says. "Kieran, what do you plan to study?"
"Not sure yet, sir," Kieran responds.
"Kieran always wanted to do engineering when we were younger. He loves maths and physics, but after..." she pauses. She's immediately back to her uncomfortable position. "After a while, he changed his mind," her voice is softer now. It's as though she said something she shouldn't have said. She looks at Kieran, her eyes apologetic. I frown. What was that about?
After four hours, we finally go home. The rest of the night was dull. Kaia and Kieran barely said anything during dinner and I didn't have much to say either. I'm glad the night is over and finally going home. I walk towards the car and once I open the door I hear mom groan.
"Oh," mom groans.
"What's wrong, honey?" dad asks.
"I left my phone inside. Cade, can you go get it for me? I think I left it in the lounge room," mom asks.
"Sure, mom," I turn around and head back into the house. I knock on the door and Kieran answers.
"You're back. Why?" Kieran asks, bluntly. I smirk. He doesn't really like me.
"Yeah, I forgot to give your sister a goodbye kiss," I joke.
Kieran jaw tightens, "Go away."
I laugh, "I'm just messing you man, my mom just left her phone in your lounge. Don't worry, even if Mrs Harper pushes us to be together with all her might, it won't happen."
"You know?"
I nod, "I overhead. Don't fret, I have no interest in your sister and I'm pretty sure she has no interest in me."
"It better stay that way," Kieran warns, opening the door wider to allow me in.
I walk inside and head to the lounge room from memory. "Aunt Meredith, I met him and I have no interest in dating him." I hear Kaia speak in the other room.
"Why? He's so tall and handsome," Mrs Harper says. I smugly smile as I pick up the phone laying on the coffee table.
"What? What does that have... never mind. I just don't plan to date yet," Kaia says.
"Yet? You mean that you never dated before?" I hear Mrs Harper gasp.
Kaia sighs, "Aunt Mer, I went to an all-girls school back in Australia. Where would I even find a boyfriend?" Kaia asks.
"That's why you should date now. You should see what you are missing out on, that feeling of being loved and feeling precious and special."
"Aunt Mer, I plan on being single for the first quarter century," Kaia says.
"You plan on staying single until you're twenty-five?" Mrs Harper gasps again.
"Thirty-five," Kieran mutters behind me with annoyance. He's definitely the overprotective brother.
Kaia groans. "You said that dating helps you feel loved, precious and special. But the reason why I want to stay single is so I can learn and love myself. Feel loved, precious and special all on my own. I don't want to feel that from another man, I want to feel it on my own first."
"But what's the point doing that when you can have someone else do it for you?" Mrs Harper asks innocently. I chuckle.
"Aunt Meredith, just please stop trying to set me up on dates. I'm perfectly happy and capable being on my own."
"But that's so depressing."
I hear Kaia laugh, "Look, when I want to start dating. You will be the first person I will come to. But for now, let's just have fun as who we are. Besides, Kieran would murder me if I ever start dating."
"Fine," Mrs Harper sobs. "People are going to look at you as the poor lonely Australian girl, they are going to laugh at my poor little niece."
Kaia laugh, "Let them laugh at me. As long as I have ice cream, I feel like I can go through any humiliation."
I turn around and face Kieran, "Your sister's weird." I pat Kieran on the shoulder.
"She's not weird, you are," Kieran mutters. Nice comeback. I find my own way out. One thing for sure, Kaia has gained my attention.
[A/N: Here it is, Cade's first P.O.V.! How do you think? What do you think of being in Cade's mind? Do you like it, do you hate it? I like the changing of the P.O.V. suddenly since you can see what both are thinking and how the other looks from another perspective. Because clearly, Kaia thinks she's cool whereas Cade thinks she weird. Next chapter will be posted next week on 7 September 2016. So keep tuned for more to come!! :)]