july 12th
rudy's pov
ɪ ᴘᴜʟʟᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ outside of the north-cooper residence and sent maison a text that i was here. she came out the front door a few seconds later, locking it behind her. she was wearing a cropped red tank top paired with denim shorts and her usual dirty white converse.
"hey!" she said cheerily as she climbed into my car.
"hey." i return, handing her the aux cord.
we'd all learned very quickly maison ruled the aux in any car at any time. she'd always play the best songs.
"thanks for doing this." maison mentions as she clicks her seatbelt in.
"you're welcome." i smile. i pull away from her house as she clicks around on her phone, probably looking for a certain song.
she props her feet against the dash and flash of worry flares in my chest. i reach over and push her knees down. "hey." she pouts adorably.
"don't do that. if we get in an accident you'll get hurt." i answer, lingering my hand on her left knee in case she ignored me.
she frowned but kept her feet on the floor. i considered taking my hand away but this may be the last time i'm able to touch her while her brothers are here. i've never met them, and i was curious but also nervous about them. maison's a very touchy person when it comes to friends and i'm not entirely sure how they'd take me touching her. well, her touching me. regardless, we'd still be touching.
austin may be loose about the subject but who knows how they'll be.
my hearts pounding as i tighten my grip on her knee but she doesn't seem to mind. in fact, she shuffles closer to me while humming whatever song was playing. i didn't recognize it but it was good.
we spend the car ride jamming to disney songs mostly and talking about the scene i'm filming later.
nick's character barry would be disguising himself as a cop (lamely) in order to steal some gold. i was kind of excited. tense scenes are exhilarating.
"are you staying in the car or coming with me?" she asks as we arrive at the airport.
"i'll stay in the car. you guys deserve some privacy to say hello." i answer, tapping my fingers on her knee to the beat of the song.
she hums in response, her foot tapping on the floor.
i manage to find a spot in the parking lot outside of the main doors. maison unbuckles her seatbelt and disconnects her phone from aux.
"i'll be back soon." she says. she leans over the console and presses a quick kiss to my cheek.
my cheeks flush darkly but she's gone before i can ask what that was about.
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maison's pov
i'm trembling with excitement as i head inside the thankfully air conditioned building. it was bloody humid today! luckily we're filming later into the day so it won't be as hot.
"macie!" my name is squealed almost as soon as i step inside.
"what the fuck?" i blurt. a pair of parents glare at me as they walk by with their young children and i grimace. "sorry."
axl practically tackles me after they pass. i push up onto my toes, winding my arms around his neck tightly. "what the hell are you doing here?" i cry, tears rolling down my sunburnt cheeks.
"charlie left earlier than planned so i decided to surprise you!" axl laughed into my hair. he was so much taller than me. i can't believe he's fourteen and 6'2.
zeppelin awes at me as i cry into my youngest brother's t-shirt. i missed him so much. i mean, i miss all my brothers, but axl was my baby. i was seven when he was born, and the only one of my siblings who thought having a baby around the house was cool, so i spent the most time with him.
"i hope you have more tears to spare 'cause lookie at who else we brought." james is grinning at me over axl's shoulder, holding something i'd recognize quicker than myself.
it only makes me cry harder. james splutters with laughter and i hide my face in axl's shoulder to avoid being caught crying on zeppelin's video. though i suppose i probably already have.
anakin meows, sounding questionable, strangely enough for a cat, and presses his face against the bars of his travel crate.
axl whines as i push him away from me. ignoring their protests, i walk over to james. well, more like the crate he's holding really.
"hi baby boy." i sniffle, pushing my fingers through the bars. anakin begins to purr as i scratch his chest.
"you're ruining my video." zeppelin states. he whacks me with his backpack.
"oi!" i yelp. he holds his arms out, bending his fingers and straightening them out again quickly, his sign of 'come here.' i fall into his embrace as axl takes his phone. james squishes us both, making it a group hug.
"aw." axl coos. "now get off and let me have her back."
"no." the twins chorus, squeezing me tighter.
"i love you both but i don't want to keep rudy waiting any longer." i comment. they both reluctantly detach from me. we gather up their bags and james hands me anakin's crate. i lead them back to the car, wiping under my eyes and hoping it doesn't appear as if i've been crying.
i don't want rudy to tease me.
"were you crying?" rudy asks, exiting the car as we approach it.
i spoke too soon.
"leave me alone." i whine, backing away from him.
"what? no mac i wasn't teasing you. that was a legitimate question. are you okay?" he ignores my brothers and surges forward to cup my face in his hands. he doesn't even acknowledge the fact that there's one more person than planned or the fact i'm carrying a cat.
i sniffle. "i'm fine i promise. happy tears." axl wiggles his eyebrows at me over rudy's shoulder. i refrain from flipping him off.
rudy raises an eyebrow but releases me after a moment's hesitation. he turns to my brothers as i open the passenger door.
"i'm gonna assume you're the reason why she was crying?" rudy questions, looking at axl.
axl smiles shyly. "yeah. i'm axl."
"rudy." the blond grins, extending his hand. i set anakin's crate down as the twins introduce themselves, petting him through the bars again. i'd take him out but i don't know if rudy would want him roaming free in the car.
rudy helps them load their luggage into the trunk and we all clamber in. i hook up my phone to the aux and resume playing lying that you love me by JC stewart. it's one of my favorites currently.
"what the fuck is that?" rudy asks as he gets back in the drivers seat. he's gesturing to anakin's crate on the floor.
"reason number two why she was crying." james snickers. he leans between the seats and ruffles my hair.
"shut up." i rebut, swatting his hands away from my head. i run a hand through my hair to pull the messy strands back into place. "remember i told you i had a cat?"
"and that you named him after anakin skywalker 'cause you're a nerd? yeah i remember." rudy grins as he exits the parking lot.
"why do i even bother?" i grumble to myself as my brothers burst into giggles. rudy is chuckling along with them.
"you can take him out if you want. he probably needs to stretch from the long flight, yeah?" his eyes are focused on the road as he talks. he takes another left turn onto the highway, using the palm of his hand. swoon.
"thank you." i say softly. he reaches over to squeeze my knee. he doesn't hold onto it like before and some part of me deflates.
the boys start conversing so i reach down to take anakin out, letting him jump up into my lap while they're distracted. he stretches his paws out and purrs as i pet him.
i missed my boy so much.
anakin meows as he faces me, sitting on my thighs. he pushes himself upwards, pressing his paws into my chest as he rubs his cute little nose against my top lip. this is his way of giving kisses.
rudy awes quietly at us. i bite back a grin but the blush isn't as easy to stop.
axl's hand comes around the side of my seat and he scratches anakin's head while i scratch both sides of his stomach. he's purring so loud i'm surprised he isn't drowning out the music.
"do you guys wanna stop for food before i drop you off at the house?" rudy questions suddenly.
"yeah!" james nods enthusiastically.
"yes please." zeppelin yawns.
axl nods, staying quiet. he's a bit shy around new people. i curl my arm around the seat and his hand slides into mine almost immediately. i squeeze it comfortingly and he squeezes back.
i'm so happy my boys are here.
well, four of them anyways.
. . .
am i the only one who gets annoyed when opening tiktok to find 30+ notifications? like i love my friends and that they wanna share stuff with me but i really can't be bothered to go through and give a response about every video