"There's a parking lot right there, dad." Kylie blurted, lurching herself forward in between the driver and passenger seats.
"That's one-way, Kylie." Brad spoke, aligning himself parallel to a car parked on the side of the street, "I'd rather parallel park in front of the building if I can."
Kylie sat back in her seat, crossing her arms in front of her. "Why you would intentionally parallel park when there are other options is beyond me," she mumbled.
"Backseat driver much?" Kaycee asked, unbuckling herself and stepping out onto the sidewalk.
"When you start trying to parallel park, you'll understand." Kylie retorted, following her family through the restaurant doors.
Kaycee shrugged, catching the door from Kylie's lackluster attempt at holding it. She scanned the restaurant, her eyes peeled for the Lew family. Laura spotted them first, waving the two girls and her husband along as she led the way to the back of the room.
Kaycee spotted Sean first, sitting across from Miya, at the opposite side of the table as everyone else. When he caught her eyes, he smiled, standing to greet the entire family. He approached the rest of her family first, taking his time exchanging formalities. She waited patiently, watching him with silent admiration; he made his way to her, yanking her arm abruptly to pull her into a hug. She laughed into his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso tightly, keeping him in her grasp as long as she could.
As quickly as it had begun, Sean let her go, finding his way back to his seat. Kaycee followed, sliding into the chair beside him, on the other side of Kylie.
The two families fell into easy conversation, the adults conversing about their careers, catching each other up on the happenings of the last couple of weeks. Kylie and the Lew sisters talked about college; a subject that the two younger teens had completely no knowledge on.
Seeing as they couldn't relate to either object of discussion, Kaycee turned her back to Kylie so she was facing Sean full on. He turned to return her gaze, a forkful of food halfway to his mouth.
He set his fork down onto the plate. "Can I help you?"
Kaycee shrugged, motioning to the others. "They're talking about adult stuff."
Sean's brow furrowed, "That doesn't answer my question, Kayc." He shoveled another bite into his mouth. "What duff that haff to do wiff me?"
"Don't talk with your mouth full." Kaycee scolded, her face scrunched in disgust. She nudged his shoulder, "I'm bored, talk to me."
Sean groaned, cramming another forkful into his mouth. He turned to Kaycee, making sure to finish chewing before speaking, as to not aggravate her.
"How's it going, Kaycee Rice?" He asked, putting his hands in his lap and giving her his undivided attention.
She stared at him blankly, "Don't act so excited to talk to me, Sean Lew."
"You're terrible at keeping conversations going." He laughed, shaking his head. "So I'll ask again, how's it going?"
Kaycee rolled her eyes, "It's been better, but I'm not complaining."
"That sounds like a complaint to me." He smiled at her, and she returned his gesture weakly. His smile faltered at her reaction, he elbowed her forearm. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"No-," Kaycee shook her head, pulling her lips into a bigger smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm good, see? Just figuring some things out, the usual."
Sean paused, debating if he should ask about Jack; she hadn't mentioned him since that night. He thought things had blown over, and that was why she didn't bring him up, but judging by her comment just then, he wasn't so sure.
He bit the bullet, "How's Jack?" He asked genuinely, softening his eyes on the small brunette next to him.
"Fine." She retorted. She bit down on her bottom lip, squeezing her eyes shut slowly, "Can we not talk about it, actually?"
Sean winced, but complied, turning back to his plate. He made eye contact with Serris, who gave him a curious look, raising one eyebrow. He shook his head slightly in an attempt to get her to drop it. Thankfully, she did, and she returned to her conversation with Kylie.
Kaycee broke the silence, "How was Jake's class?" She asked, stabbing her fork into her rice.
"It was great!" Sean sat up taller, his eyes glimmering, "He gave me a solo, I felt like it was the best I've danced in awhile."
Kaycee smiled back at him, her eyes mirroring his. "That's great, Sean." She paused, looking at him more closely, "I can't wait for the video to come out."
His smile grew wider, the dimples in his cheeks deepening. He took in the girl in front of him for the first time that night; her curly brown hair was straightened, a thin coat of mascara elongating her already long lashes, her hazel eyes glinting with flecks of green. She truly was adorable, Sean had known that for years. But now he saw just how beautiful she was, she wasn't just the cute, goofy girl he'd known for years, she was so much more than that.
"Take a picture, Lew. It lasts longer." Kaycee teased, her lips curled into a mischievous smirk.
Sean shook his head, "You have something on your face." He lied, turning his body away from her.
"I bet." Kaycee giggled.
The two finished their meals in comfortable silence, the rest of their families talking amongst themselves. Kaycee caught Sean glancing at her every couple of minutes out of her peripheral vision. He'd stare at her for a solid several seconds, then he'd seemingly catch himself and shoot his eyes forward again.
She couldn't help but blush, he was always stealing glances at her, but he typically tried to hide it. Today he sat beside her, looking at her with no shame, in front of both of their families.
While she took her turn to steal a glance at Sean, she heard a thud from under the table followed by a pained gasp coming from the boy beside her.
Sean snapped out of his thoughts, glaring at his sister across from him. She returned his scowl with an equal amount of ferocity. He threw his hands in the air and shrugged his shoulders in confusion.
Serris flickered her eyes in Kaycee's direction quickly, returning his bewildered stare. Sean simply shook his head defiantly. He knew he had been rather obvious, not trying to hide the fact that he was looking at Kaycee. It was bold, he knew, but part of him wanted her to know, wanted for her to understand that his feelings weren't strictly platonic anymore.
"You're being weird." Serris mouthed, her eyes still hard.
Sean dismissed her with a roll of his eyes. He was about to give her a final, warning glare, but he felt Kaycee's eyes on him. He plastered a small smile on his face and turned to her, her facial features mirroring hers.
Kaycee tilted her chin downward. "How'd that feel?" She asked smugly.
Sean humphed, "I'd take that hit any day over having your knee wail me in the mouth."
Kaycee laughed, remembering back to the World of Dance days. They had been rehearsing for the Divisional Finals, Kaycee having to throw herself over and around Sean's arm; instead, she went sideways and kneed Sean in the face. As terrifying as it was in the moment, she was thankful he wasn't hurt too badly, and especially glad they could laugh about it now.
"That was partially on you." She began, wagging her finger in Sean's face. "You didn't move your head like you usually do."
Sean smirked, "Touché. But your knees are bony, that was my point."
Kaycee rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. She turned around when she heard footsteps and singing from behind her. Their waitress set a small cake in the center of the table, with 'Happy 17th Birthday Sean' written in icing on the top. The staff finished their off-key rendition of happy birthday and departed, leaving a red-faced, smiling Sean to pretend to blow out imaginary candles.
"You gotta make a wish!" Sarah joked, pushing the cake closer to her brother.
Sean laughed, "I wish for better candles, then." He cut into his cake, stealing the first piece for himself, then passed it around so everyone had a piece.
Kaycee ate quietly and quickly while everyone else chatted aimlessly, a theme throughout the entire night. She turned to Kylie, who sat between her and her mother. After a few moments, Kylie looked back at her with a puzzled look on her face.
Kaycee merely pointed to the bag that hung over Laura's chair, where Sean's present was. Kylie's eyes widened in recognition, she turned to Laura and slid the bag open, discreetly pulling out a small rectangular object wrapped in multicolored paper and handing it to Kaycee under the table.
As silently as she could, Kaycee placed the gift in Sean's lap. Sean set his fork down on his plate and eyed the gift in his lap carefully.
"Why'd you get me something?" He whispered, not wanting to draw attention from their families.
She eyed him quizzically. "Why wouldn't I?"
"I didn't get you anything!" Sean whisper-yelled, his tone of voice panicked.
Kaycee giggled, "I didn't spend any money on it. Unless you count the money it took to get the pictures printed."
Sean furrowed his brows at the brunette, but cautiously unwrapped the gift on his lap, not knowing what to expect. When he pulled it out, he was met with a photo book, with his and Kaycee's smiling faces on the front.
He beamed, pulling the excess wrapping paper away and opening the book. The first page consisted of pictures from their first performance on World of Dance. The one in the middle was a polaroid with the date written on it, January 21, 2018; the very first time they performed on the WOD stage. His smile grew with each page he turned; Kaycee had captured the last eleven months of their life perfectly. On each page she had written small notes, some funny and some endearing.
When he reached the final page, it was nearly blank, only consisting of two photos and a few words. The first photo was a still-shot from 'Wrong Words,' the project that catalyzed their partnership. The second was from their Jordan Matter shoot, of the two in their signature poses, respectively, fist-bumping. The two were side by side, a few words in Kaycee's handwriting scrawled underneath.
I know there's so much more for us to do, the universe is a blank page when it comes to us, I just hope you're along for the ride :)
If Sean hadn't pulled a muscle smiling already, he certainly did then. He remembered reading that exact line in his notebook from Boston. As hard as it was to read back then, it was beautiful to read now.
He reached his arm out to Kaycee and pulled her into a side hug, resting his chin on top of her head. He breathed her in, blinking away the water that lined his eyes. He squeezed her shoulder and pulled away moments later, his eyes gleaming.
He sighed, "I wish you were nice enough to say these things out loud."
Kaycee gasped, pulling her hand from her lap and using it to backhand the boy next to her. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"
"I'm kidding!" Sean rubbed his arm in mock hurt. "But seriously, thank you. I can't even articulate how amazing this is."
"How amazing what is?" Serris asked, kicking Sean's shin again.
"You have to stop doing that." Sean exclaimed, reaching down to grab his shin. "And nothing, by the way, you're so nosy."
"Am not." Serris rebutted, crossing her arms over her chest.
Sean opened his mouth to respond, but Laura interrupted him. "Are we ready to go, or should we hold up this table for another two hours?"
That was enough of an invitation, as everyone stood up and grabbed their belongings. The two families exchanged goodbyes as they stepped out of the restaurant doors and into the chilly Los Angeles night.
Sarah squeezed Kaycee last, holding onto the younger girl tightly for a few moments while she whispered into her ear. "I don't know what was in that book you gave him, but thank you. We haven't seen him smile like that in awhile."
Kaycee blushed as Sarah pulled away, not realizing that she had seen her give Sean the photo book. She knew Sean wouldn't be able to hide it in the car, and Serris would start pestering him, so it wouldn't be able to be kept a secret.
She watched as the Lew's made their way toward the parking lot Kylie had tried to make her father park in earlier, and then disappear behind the concrete walls of the building.
Sean climbed into the backseat of the car, sliding his way into the middle between his two sisters. Before he could even buckle himself in, Serris ripped the book from his hands and opened it, flipping through the pages.
He successfully clipped the metal buckle in before turning to Serris and calmly took the book from her hands. "Nosy. You're nosy." He closed the book and set it down by his feet.
"Jesus Christ, will you just marry her already?" Serris cried, throwing her hands in the air.
Sean heard Sarah snort next to him, his parents not saying a word, acting as if they hadn't heard their daughter's outburst.
"I feel like I shouldn't even dignify that with a response." Sean laughed, keeping his eyes fixed forward.
"If I'm nosy, then you're infuriating." Serris spat, kneeing Sean in the thigh.
"Kick me one more time and I'll make sure to ignore all of those little signs you told me about and stop trying to figure things out with Kaycee. " Sean threatened, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Are we on the same page?"
Sean faced forward, ignoring the gaping girl next to him, who seemingly was at a loss for words. Soundlessly, he reached over and pushed Serris' chin upwards, closing her mouth.
"Close your mouth." He muttered, "You'll catch flies."
_________________________________
Author's Note:
Me after reading all of your comments saying how you hope Sean & Kaycee get together soon and then realizing that the tea hasn't even started yet:
By the way I'M SORRY. And also happy Valentine's Day my dudes <3 I literally just had an exam in biopsych and then I'm meeting with my professor, packing my bag, and driving 3 hours to see my boyfriend :)
Have a fantastic day!