» II »

Suddenly, I remember something my mom had said. We're having guests over tonight. "Hey mom?" I asked, stepping out of my room. She turned around. "Who's coming over tonight?"

She grinned. "You'll see." I groaned as she shut the door and heard her laughing as she went down the stairs. How dare she do this to me, I thought with no small amount of irritation. Instead of pouting about it, though, I decided to change out of my yellow hoodie and blue jean shorts, which were sweaty and disgusting, to say the least. I smiled, heading over to my closet, because even though it may sound shallow, I had missed my clothes. I had gotten a little sick of wearing the same four things over and over, believe it or not.

I grabbed a pair of high-waisted pale blue jean shorts, a pink crop top, and an off-white cardigan. Normally I wouldn't choose to wear pink for anything, but it was such a cute top. I mean, who could resist the temptation of looking adorable and a little sexy at the same time?

"Quinn! Our guests will be here very soon!" I heard my mom yell from downstairs.

"Be down in a minute!" I hollered and made my way into my bathroom, where I pulled out my makeup bag and applied a little mascara and blush. I'm not someone who usually wears a lot of makeup, but I definitely do like to use it. I liked how I felt in it, which was more put-together and honestly, prettier.

After I'm satisfied with my appearance, I quickly head downstairs and find food already on the table. When I saw what that food was, my mouth started to water. Burritos were one my favorite meals ever, and what I saw on the table literally looked like heaven. "Well, someone looks happy," I looked up to see my mom setting plates down on the table and I nodded.

"Hell yeah. This is looks amazing, mom," I kissed her cheek and she smiled.

"I'm glad," she opened her mouth to say something else but the doorbell rang and she paused. "Wonderful! Our guests are here." She clapped excitedly. "Go get Josie and Jack, would you?"

I just nodded, still confused as to who was at the door, and ran upstairs. I knocked on Jack's door, hearing a faint 'come in' and stepping into his room. Unlike most siblings, Jack and I had a mutual respect for each other's boundaries. It was just kinda... how things were. "The people are here."

Jack nodded. "Cool." He got up from his bed and ran over to me, ruffling my hair. "Josie's in mom's room," he muttered and then quickly ran downstairs before I could say anything.

"Love you too," I grumbled, making my way down the hall. I found Jo sitting on my mom's bed with her dolls. It looked like a wedding between two of her favorite girls, both of which she had dressed in the fanciest dresses I had ever seen on a doll. Way to be ahead of the times, Jo. "Hey Jo, time to come downstairs. Food's ready!" She nodded and I left the door open as she climbed down from the bed.

I heard voices as I was coming downstairs and when I got closer, my heart skipped a beat. When I reached the living room, my eyes went straight to one of the seven figures standing there and I couldn't help the squeal that escaped my mouth as I ran into the room, and into the waiting arms of my boyfriend. "Matt!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my face into his shoulder. I couldn't believe he was actually here.

I hadn't seen my boyfriend in eight months. He had gone to Alaska on a fishing trip with his dad and got back just a few days after I'd left for New York. I'd FaceTimed him almost every night while I was away, but him actually being here was so much better. "Hey, Q," Matt murmured into my hair. I didn't know when I'd started crying, but I only noticed when Matt started to wipe the tears off of my cheeks.

"I missed you so much," my words were muffled but I think he heard me.

"I missed you too, sweet."

When I heard the nickname he'd been using for the last three years, I broke down all over again, tears flowing freely down my cheeks. But I didn't care, because Matt was here, and that was enough.

Suddenly, a blinding light flashed on my face and I looked up, squinting, to see Matt's mom taking photos of us. "Oh, you two are the sweetest things," she clicked her tongue. "Absolutely adorable."

"Oh, to hell with that! Where's the food?" Matt's grandpa scowled. His wife, Angela, smacked his arm and I laughed.

My family had been friends with the Davidsons for as long as I could remember. They were basically family, and we've been seeing them even more since Matt and I had started dating.

I felt a pat on my shoulder as everyone made their way into the kitchen and turned around to see Matt's grandma standing behind me. "You are such a beautiful girl, Quinn, you know that?"

I blushed, looking down at my feet. "Thank you, Angela."

She nodded. "You know, I had a face like that once. And I didn't use it well." Angela sighed. "I was a heartbreaker, sugar. And I don't want that for my Matthew." She peered up at me.

I just nodded. Angela had talked to me about this multiple times before, even after I'd been dating Matt for so long. It was almost refreshing, though, in a way. "I would never break Matt's heart. If I did, my heart would break too." I sighed. "I love him so much, Angela." I couldn't imagine losing him.

Angela smiled. "Well, I have some good news for you." She leaned over and whispered into my ear. "I think he might return the feeling." She gave me a quick wink before heading over to the table with everyone else and I smiled, following after her.

"What took you so long?" Matt asked, already digging into his massive burrito.

I just smiled a little, savoring the moment. Of everyone, here, just enjoying a meal together. Even Jo was laughing with Matt's grandpa. "Nothing," I smiled. "Nothing at all."

i hope you liked this chapter. thanks for reading!

~ bella