I open my eyes to the feeling of her body beneath mine and my heart warms. My head is on her stomach as she plays with my hair, breathing steadily. The sun is shining bright for an early October morning, and I swear I can hear birds chirping.

Turning my head to the other side, I tilt it back to look at her and she stops, smiling at me.

"Morning." I rasp, the grin on my face stretching wide.

"Good morning, birthday boy." she grins back at me.

I sit up, crawling up and planting a kiss on her cheek. I move to her lips but she swerves me.

"Gross! I haven't brushed my teeth." she laughs.

"I don't care." I whine, planting little kisses on her neck that make her giggle.

"What time is it?" I ask as I pull back.

"6:30." she runs her hands through her hair, letting me appreciate how good she looks in my shirt.

"My mom is gonna come in here within the hour, just a heads up." I warn.

She sits up, stretching.

"I'd better go then." her smile is cheeky, dimples and all.

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pull her back down and she laughs.

"I can't have Margot think I moved in here to hook up with her son!" she giggles, attempting to free herself.

I let go, rolling over on to my back and huffing. Elena sits up, climbing on top of me and straddling my lap. She leans down, kissing me on the cheek.

"See you at breakfast." she says before jumping down off the bed.

As soon as my bedroom door shuts I roll over, groaning at the fact that she managed to get me hard before 7am.

Fuckkk.

My shower is brief and cold, and when I leave the bathroom theres a gift on my bed. The label reads:

Dear Parky,

I love you to the moon and back. Happy birthday baby boy.

Love, Mom

I smile, tearing the wrapping of the familiar shoe shaped box, my smile widening as I open it. It's a pair of soccer boots I've been eyeing for a couple months now.

When I walk in to the kitchen everyone is already sat at the table. My mom is grinning from ear to ear, no doubt proud of her gift choice. Jacky is colouring, and Elena is sat opposite him, her hair damp as she rests her chin on her hand.

I think they're about to start singing to me, but they don't. I'm glad; my mom knows how much I hate being sang to.

"Good morning my birthday boy!" my mom smiles widely and I glance over at Elena briefly. She smiles knowingly.

"Morning Mom. Thanks for the gift." I say, leaning down and kissing her forehead before slipping in to the seat opposite my brother and El.

"Happy birthday P." Jackson says, keeping his eyes on his drawing which I assume is for me.

"Thanks little man." I smile.

"Happy birthday, Parker." Elena smiles at me as she leans forward.

My stomach gets that feeling when you go on a rollercoaster.

"Thank you gorgeous." I smile back.

My mom looks at me and I realise I forgot we aren't alone. Her lips turn up as she looks between us.

"So," Mom sighs dramatically, "Elena, I came to your room this morning to ask if you wanted to bring Parky his breakfast."

I watch as her eyes widen slightly, her neck tensing as her throat works.

"Turns out, you weren't in there, and your bed hadn't been slept in." My mom continues and I force back a groan.

Elena opens her mouth as if she's going to explain herself, before closing it again.

I can tell my mother can't hold her 'serious' face anymore, because her lips twitch upwards. Sure enough, she breaks in to a wide grin, looking between the both of us. She reaches over, covering Jackson's ears.

"Did you use protection?" she mouthes, and Elena chokes on her orange juice.

"Mom." I sigh.

"Sorry, sorry." she whispers, letting go of Jack and sitting back in her seat.

I can see the colour creeping up Elena's neck as she takes a banana from the fruit bowl.

"Okay Park, I'm gonna go get your breakfast." Mom stands up, leaving the table.

Elena peels the banana, bringing her eyes to mine as she puts it in her mouth. I hold my breath. Oh god. I want to look away but my eyes are locked on her lips as they wrap around. Fuck, I'm about to get a stiffy at the breakfast table.

I peel my eyes from her lips and up to her eyes, realising she's watching me. God she's so hot.

My view of her is blocked as my mom leans over, resting a tray in front of me full off all my favourite breakfasts, which haven't skewed much since I was 8.

"Thanks, Mom." I smile up at her as she kisses the top of my head.

***

"Bro you're moving it wrong!" Neki yells at James, moving the controller aggressively.

Mom has us playing 'Just Dance' on the PlayStation, and Neki is becoming progressively more competitive. Jack and Elena are in the lead, and I'm sitting out because of my knee.

Elena's arm brushes against mine as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and I turn my attention toward her.

"I would've totally beat you at this if I wasn't injured." I say matter-of-factly.

She looks at me, raising her brows.

"No you wouldn't. I bet you have two left feet." she scoffs.

"I play soccer. I probably have the most coordinated feet in the room." I bite back.

She narrows her eyes in a playful way, pouting to hold back her smile.

"I took ballet and contemporary dance throughout the whole of middle school. Your coordinated feet are most likely a close second."

I honest can't even argue with that, since it's more than likely true.

"Mm, that's what I thought." she mutters as she sits back.

"What was that?" I ask, turning to her again.

"Huh?" she keeps her eyes on the boys in front of us, her cheeks hollowing as she bites them.

"Ah, I must be hearing things." I nod slowly.

She smacks her lips together, making a 'pop' sound. "Yep."

Jackson appears in front of us; I didn't even realise he'd left the couch. He presents the drawing he was working on earlier, grinning brightly.

As I take it from his hands, a grin spreads on my lips almost as bright. The background is blue, green strands of grass and a shining yellow sun. In the picture, Jack is in the middle. I'm holding his hand on the right, Mom holding my other hand. And on the left, drawn with hair this time, is Elena holding Jack's other hand.

"It's our family." Jack's says, still smiling wide.

I glance at Elena who's looking at the drawing over my shoulder. Her eyes are glazed over and she looks like she's holding back tears.

"I love it little man, I'll frame it and put it down here." I lean forward, ruffling my brothers hair.

"I have something for you too," Elena reaches in to the pocket of her hoodie. "I wasn't sure what to get so it's not that special."

She pulls out a little black bag, handing it to me. As I tip the bag upside down, a medium thin black watch falls out. It closely resembles a fit bit.

Elena rolls up her sleeve, revealing an identical pink one on her wrist.

"They're connected." she explains.

She taps her finger on the face of her watch twice, and I notice mine light up pink two times. I look down at it, and then back at her.

"Go on then," she says in a duh tone.

I tap mine and she shows me her watch as it lights up pink.

I smile so hard that my eyes almost close, pulling her in to a hug.

"Thank you, I love it." I say in to her hair.

Elena brings her lips to my ear, lowering her voice just enough for me to hear. As the sentence leaves her lips, my entire body burns, heart pounding. I'd been wondering if she'd heard me last night, if it was a mistake and we were just gonna pretend I hadn't said it. I hold her tighter. I know she heard me because she whispers:

"I love you too."