her family/three, ft. a song you should listen to: west coast by ieuan
The walk from the high school to the elementary school wasn't too far.
When Michael asked, stage told him that her brother, who's name was Louie as she also told him, was in first grade and, to her, had a very likable personality.
There wasn't a single reason for Michael to be nervous to meet the little boy, and he wasn't until stage said, "Oh, and Michael, my brother is a pretty good judge of character, so if he doesn't like you, I'm afraid we can't be friends." The words came out as if they they didn't affect anyone at all.
Of course, this caused Michael to suddenly have a rush of nerves fall over him.
The school looked like any other normal, public elementary school. The school was painted cream and gold to match the school colors. But, there was an electronic sign wishing the students a good day and showing off their mascot.
There were a few kids sitting on the stairs in front of the school. Michael didn't try to pick out a kid that looked like stage, mostly because immediately when they got in sight of the kids, a young boy's voice yelled out, "Sissy!"
All three heads turned to see a boy quickly picking up his backpack, which was definitely a little too big for him, and run over. The little first grader definitely shared some similarity to Stage, like his brown hair and dark eyes. His skin, though, was not the same shade as stage's lightly suntanned skin, instead being an olive tone.
His features aren't what really caught Michael's attention though, but his attire.
The boy, with the smile that reached his eyes, running towards them was wearing a lilac dress, thick straps laying on his small shoulders. The dress was a simple, everyday dress with very little decor on it.
He didn't seem to notice Michael or Alfie when he first got to them, instead jumping up into stage's open arms. She held onto him tightly as she stood up straighter, smiling as he giggled. She ruffled his wavy hair, causing the hair that framed his face, cutting off at his jaw, to move up slightly.
Stage adjusted her grip on Louie and turned to face the two other boys. Louie let out a small 'oh' as he looked at them. He didn't think he'd be meeting a new person today, but he was very open to the option.
In silence, Louie looked Michael up and down. In the moment, he couldn't really see the boy's full height, but he ignored that. Taking in his features, the messy, slightly curly hair, hazel eyes, and slight tanned skin. Besides his features, his expression is what got the little boy. He giggled when he noticed he looked like Anna when her crush walked up to her: nervous.
He never really heard his family talk about how well he could read people and how well he could judge their character, but they spoke about it quite a lot. They all had to admit, they were quite impressed with his judgement.
Michael didn't understand why he felt like he was under a microscope while the boy studied him, but he wasn't exactly surprised at the feeling. Along with how he felt, Stage was worried her brother wouldn't like the giant, as she was starting to enjoy having him around, but she wouldn't admit that.
Michael took this as a chance, though, to look at the boy fully. He was quite an adorable little kid, pretty even. His long lashes and somewhat chubby cheeks gave part of that description. Michael even had the thought that this little boy could steal many hearts when he was older if he wanted.
Louie seemed to pause with what he was doing before he just shrugged, smiling before he stuck out his hand towards Michael, "Hi, I'm Louie!" He introduced happily.
The three teens seemed to all be relieved at his words, Michael letting out a breath and shaking the small hand, "Hey Louie, I'm Michael," he said, "And I really like your dress."
Louie just smiled before mumbling something to stage before he was put down on the ground. He flattened down his dress, making sure it looked nice and not messy. He looked up to Alfie, "Hi Alfie." He said, a little calmer since he already knew the ginger.
Alfie smiled down at the boy, "And hello to you, Lou," he paused and looked at his dress, "Is that new?" He asked.
Louie nodded quickly, "Mama bought it for me because my purple one got dirtied." At the mention of his old purple dress, he frowned slightly.
Alfie rolled his eyes, "I have a feeling Thomas did it?" He asked.
Louie nodded slowly and played with the end of his dress before he grabbed Alfie's hand and started tugging him away from the school, starting to talk about his day and his best friends, Anna and Johnny.
Michael didn't even have to ask stage who Thomas was, stage already starting to speak, "Thomas is a year older than Louie. He's this second grader bully that bullies Louie and his two best friends. He picks on Louie the most though, all because Louie likes to dress how he wants." She paused, shaking her head with a sigh, "And before you even ask, the school and teachers won't do anything. They just say the kids have to talk out the problem, which will never work and hasn't."
Michael nodded silently. Just by his one interaction with Louie, he knew this boy didn't deserve what Thomas was doing to him. With the thought, he looked in front of him where, a few feet in front of Stage and him, Alfie and Louie were talking animatedly about some topic. Stage looked to them too, the exchange causing a small smile to form on her face.
"How old is Louie?" Michael asked.
Stage glanced over to him, "He's six right now," she said, "But, he is the only kid I know who doesn't say he's six and a half or something like that. Nope, he's just six."
Michael chuckled, tugging on the straps of his bag for a second, "Do you have any other siblings?" He asked.
She nodded, "A stepbrother," Stage pushed some hair out of her face, "He should actually be home right now, so maybe you'll meet him. His name is Tony, and is pretty much your average, stressed out college student."
Michael smiled, "Oh, cool, what year is he in?"
"His fourth and last year."
Michael furrowed his brows, "So he's, like, 22?" Stage nodded before he continued, "And you're 16 and Louie is six... I hope I don't sound like an ass asking this or something, but how old are your parents?" He asked. His parents had him when they were 32, so both his parents were 48 now. If Stage's parents followed that same time as well, he was curious how old they were now, as strange as someone might find it.
She let out a short laugh, "My dad is 43 and my mom is 35."
Michael blinked and opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by the short girl, "My mom had me when she was 19 and my dad who is 43 is actually not my biological dad but my stepdad." She quickly explained.
She looked over to Michael, who was still sporting a rather confused expression. She continued, "My mom and Tony's dad got married when I was six and Tony was 12. They had Louie together six years ago. Any questions?" She asked. She couldn't help the slight annoyance that leaked through her tone. It was just kind of tiring to explain her family over and over again as much as she loved them.
Michael hesitated, catching into her tone, "Sorry for asking," he started, "The most complicated thing in my family is the divorce."
She shrugged, "I love my family but it's just a long thing to explain sometimes."
He nodded, "Very understandable."
The two fell into silence, luckily said silence not uncomfortable.
During their silence, Alfie smiled down at Louie as they came up to the familiar neighborhood.
Michael didn't have to look around too long, deciding the neighborhood was simple and could easily be described as a regular, suburban neighborhood.
Louie released Alfie's hand as he ran up to the door of his house. Much to Michael's surprise, the door was unlocked as Louie turned the knob and ran in, leaving the door open behind him.
The three teens followed in behind him. Alfie and Stage were familiar with their surroundings while Michael looked around slowly. When they had approached the house, Michael took notice that the outside of the house had been painted white with a dark roof, potted plants on the porch. The inside was mostly the same: white walls with dark accents. Pictures of the family and friends were on the walls and a few in the living room. The house wasn't too big either, having two stories but the first floor seeming to mostly be one slightly large room besides the kitchen and bathroom. The decor in the house was similar to what you mostly saw in every house, almost giving Michael a feeling of comfort in the familiarity.
Michael rather liked the homey and nicely decorated home, the house being a little more welcoming them his dad's apartment.
Michael stopped looking around and focused his attention back into his friends.
He saw Louie sitting on the couch next to a man. From the way he was dressed and a few other features, Michael assumed the man was Tony. He took a step to the side, walking forward a bit to get a better look at Tony.
He noticed that Stage was leaning against the couch, telling Tony something Michael didn't bother to pay attention to. He had already known Alfie had walked into the kitchen, in search of a water bottle.
When Michael got a good look of Tony though, his eyes widened slightly. He wondered how all three kids of this family got such good looks. He had to admit, seeing all three kids together made him wonder even more as to what their parents looked like.
Tony's skin was an olive tone a shade or two darker than Louie's, dark hair and eyes accompanying. Even though he was sitting, you could tell he was tall, maybe even an inch or two taller than Michael. He was fit, definitely, and had a nice jaw in Michael's opinion.
When Michael noticed that he was openly checking out Stage's brother, he looked away quickly. He was hot, probably way out of the 16 year old's league, but not Michael's type luckily, or else Stage might have had to keep him away from her brother.
With his thoughts, someone bumped his shoulder. He looked over, facing Alfie who was sporting a grin, "Try to remember that he's 22 and in college while you're 16, in high school, and not legal." He took a sip of his water.
Michael rolled his eyes as Stage caught their attention by saying their names. The two boys walked closer so the teens were standing around the couch while Louie was sitting next to Tony.
Tony grinned at Alfie, knowing the face. He turned to Michael, offering him a wider smile before introducing himself, "I'm Tony," he said, sticking out his hand for him to shake, "So either your Stage's friends or someone who's heart was won over by Louie." He joked.
Michael glanced down at his hand, confused by the formality for a second before shaking his hand, "I'm Michael and I'm definitely both of those options." He replied with a grin.
Tony retracted his hand and a short conversation floated between them all, slightly excluding Louie since he didn't really understand high school and college.
It didn't take to long before Louie wanted people's attention again. He jumped off the couch abruptly, grabbing Michael's hand, and telling everyone who wanted to to come play with Michael and Louie.
In the end, Stage, Alfie, Michael and Louie played pretend while Tony worked on homework. Louie made sure that each person dressed their part: Alfie as a princess, stage as a dragon— or at least a monster of some sorts with what they had to work with—, Michael as a steed, and Louie as the knight in shining armor.
Everyone seemed to be enjoy themselves for the next hour or so, but their fun was cut off when Michael's phone started to ring loudly. He made sure Louie got off his back safely before he checked the caller ID. After answering and ending the call minutes later, Michael had to head home by request of his dad. He bid them all goodbye before he left the house, figuring out his way home.
Not long after, Alfie left as well, saying he wanted to get home to help with dinner. Louie frowned at the disappearance of the two teens, smiling again when stage offered to continue playing.
But after that, in between an hour or two, Stage's family was gathered around the dinner table.
It was comforting to see all the familiar faces of her family at the table: her mom, her dad, and two brothers.
Stage's eyes skipped between her mom and dad who were both smiling at each other. She enjoyed the fact that she was able to look at her mom and almost see an older version of herself. Stage didn't share too many similarities with her dad. She had gotten her short height of 5'1" and her slim build from her mom along with many of her features. But, her mother's eyes held some green in the brown, unlike Stage's.
Her eyes skipped from her mom to her dad briefly. She felt lucky to have him as her dad, with his kind attitude and welcoming actions. Tony had mentioned before that he and his dad came to the conclusion that Tony was a nice mix of his dad and birth mom, just how Louie was with Tony and Stage's biological parent.
During dinner, the topic of college came up, causing Tony to express his happiness over graduating this year while stage knew she was going to look for colleges and consider applying to them soon.
Stage volunteered to help clean up after dinner, bringing a smile to her parent's faces.