january 9th
maison's pov
ᴍʏ ʜᴀɴᴅs sʜᴏᴏᴋ with nerves. i was so, so excited to see my best friends. especially mads. i'd bonded with her so quickly and proudly called her my best friend. the slot had been empty ever since austin switched from best friend to brother. he meant way more to me than a friendship. he was family and i had a feeling mads would become the same way.
"macie!" a voice squealed.
mads popped into view and i surged forward, laughing as we crashed into one another. no one else was visible so i assume she'd left them in order to find me first.
"i missed you so much." i whisper, clinging to her neck. her arms wound around my back tightly and she buried her face in my shoulder.
"we're never gonna be apart for that long again." she decided.
"agreed." i nod my head. we pull away and just examine each other for a moment. she was practically glowing and i had a feeling it had something to do with her recent connection with chase. she'd called me last week exclaiming that they'd begun talking. i was so happy for her. mads and chase were perfect for each other.
"you're so tan how the fuck." mads says bluntly as a set of footsteps approaches us from behind. "hi mrs. cooper!" she practically shoves me out of the way. i roll my eyes but i'm smiling. it delighted me that my two families already got along so well.
"hello." mum says, bringing mads in for a hug. "call me alice or mum, okay? mrs. cooper makes me feel old. and like a trophy wife."
i scrunch my nose. "which you're not. dad would be the trophy husband."
"and that's on being a talented and beautiful woman who makes bank." a voice interrupts.
"aussy!" i exclaim. i all but throw myself at him. he catches me, thankfully, and squishes me so tightly to his chest it's difficult to breathe. i hear him sniffle as he digs his head into my neck. i'm standing on the tips of my toes in order to keep my chin over his shoulder.
"hey." mum chides, pinching my side. "let me hug my son. go back to mads." austin and i step away from one another and my best friend immediately grins as mum starts fussing over him. austin may not have been born her child, but he'll always be her son.
"no don't go back to mads!" a panicked voice objects. my hearts starts beating erratically and my stomach feels queasy. rudy. "come to me instead."
"fuck off, she's mine." mads sticks her tongue out at him and i imagine he made a very crude gesture in response judging by her suddenly gaping mouth.
arms come down around me and i relish in the woodsy scent that follows. i turn in rudy's arms, wrapping my arms around his torso, head tucked under his chin and cheek pressed to his chest. mum awes at us silently while mads whips out her phone.
"okay get off it's my turn." jonathan says as he skips up to us, drew and madison in tow. chase lingers behind them making a disgusted face at me.
i flip my middle finger towards him as jonathan yanks me into a hug. chase gasps and turns to my mum. "the absolute nerve of your daughter." he says, widening his eyes while extending his arm towards me.
"shut up asshat." austin bites back playfully. chase drags him into a headlock and they start play fighting making mum roll her eyes and leave them to introduce herself to madison.
by the time i've said hello to the last three, though chase and i pretended to hate each other before we actually hugged, mum has made her way back to rudy. my heart drops to my stomach. my mum is my biggest influence for everything. if she doesn't like rudy i'd most likely cut off the possibility of us ever being more than friends.
"hi!" mum greets. ugh she's so cute i love her. "i'm alice, macie's mum. you're only allowed to call me alice or mum." she repeats the same introduction she usually uses when meeting new friends of her children.
rudy smiles brightly, sticking his hand out. austin sucks in a breath beside me. i hadn't realized we were both watching them so intently. austin probably wants this to work out as much as i do, if not more.
"i'm rudy. macie talks about you a lot. it's nice to finally meet you." rudy chuckles. mum raises an eyebrow, impressed with his natural smooth vibe.
she swats his hand away and pulls him in for a hug, surprising him. he hugs her back gently.
"macie talks about you a lot too." she says as she pulls away.
"mum!" i groan. she laughs as rudy grins, cerulean eyes shining. my heart melts. i missed seeing his smile in person.
mum rounds everybody up, announcing we've got to split into two cars. everyone argues, wanting to go with me, aside from chase, who makes a face at me before joining my mum's side with his luggage.
"i hate you." i voice to him.
"you're the worst." he sneers back. we try to keep a straight face but both burst into chuckles. "meet you in the kitchen tonight?" he asks.
"gotta make our two am smoothies." i confirm. he grins and we fist bump right as the arguing ends.
chase, austin, and madison end up going with my mum while jonathan, drew, rudy, and mads jump happily into my car.
let the adventure begin.