All You Need to Know – Gryffin & Slander ft. Calle Lehmann

"Who's the second invitation for?" He'd asked when he realised Ashton had handed him two envelopes.

"Mum and Dad," Ashton replied. "Why not give it a shot at mending things?"

Daisy had left hours before his parents had come home. Now, he wasn't so sure he could broach the topic of Ashton and the wedding. Maybe it would've been easier if Daisy had stayed; after all, they were all about keeping face.

There was stony silence at the dinner table. His mother and father were at opposite ends of the table. Their kitchen staff had just begun setting out dinner. He placed the envelope on the table. "This is a wedding invitation," he began. "Ashton – " As soon as the name left his lips, both of his parents set their cutlery down on the table, the sound of metal against the glass tabletop echoing in the mansion.

"We've talked about this before," his dad began, this referring to anything relating to Ashton. "And a wedding? He said no to that six years ago."

"He didn't even know that girl," Parker said through gritted teeth. He was only twelve at the time, but he could remember the arguments his parents and older brother had. The girl was the heiress to a similar company.

"He made the decision to leave this family six years ago. That's on him, not us," his mum said sternly.

"You made him choose!" Parker raised his voice, and the staff seemed to momentarily stop what they were doing to stare, before continuing, lest they be let go by the family.

"And he didn't choose us," his mum finished. "Family is everything," she recited, as he'd heard about a million times in his life.

"Family!? You're telling me family means arranging a marriage for your son and then disowning him when he chooses the woman he loves instead!?" His voice was followed by silence and stunned looks from both his mother and father. He'd been the obedient child, the one who was to take up the role of the eldest son after Ashton left.

"I'll be there. If you don't come, you'll lose the only son you have left," Parker said. He stood up, pushed his chair back and left.

"Get back here!" His mum yelled.

His parents were happily married, because they were both the same kind of ambitious people. There were never cheating scandals; they would never risk anything for the success of the company. It was slightly twisted, but they really were made for each other.

It took everything in him to keep walking away. He'd started something that he might not be able to fix, but he knew this time, things would be different, because he was their last child. That company was everything to them. If they disinherited him too, who was going to look after their precious company? They couldn't bear to just let it go.

Then his phone started ringing. "See? Phone calls aren't fun," was the first thing she said.

"I happen to like phone calls," he replied.

"Are you free right now? My mum wants to meet you over dinner," she said.

"Yeah...I am actually." He called for a taxi, considering he wasn't able to drive, and he didn't want to go back to the house.

Daisy was grinning from ear to ear when she swung the door open after one knock. "A taxi?" She asked, peering out behind him to see the taxi backing out of the driveway.

"I've still got a bum wing," he replied.

"Oh okay," she replied. The smell of lasagna sent his stomach grumbling as soon as he set foot inside the house. After all, he'd left without eating anything earlier.

"You must be Parker!" Her mum exclaimed as soon as he appeared in the kitchen doorway. "I'm Francine, Daisy's mum," she introduced.

"It's nice to meet you," he replied.

"Come sit down," she said, ushering him towards the small kitchen table. "I didn't know what you'd like so I hope lasagna is okay."

"I love lasagna," he smiled.

"Do you want a knife and fork? Or a spork? Or a spoon?" She continued chattering away.

"Mum!" Daisy exclaimed. "You're freaking him out," she hissed. It made him laugh.

For once, dinner wasn't filled with just the sound of cutlery clattering against glass plates with chatter about stock price and merges dispersed in between. They talked about their upcoming exams, what they had planned for the next week, then what'd happened the day before last. He noticed Daisy had been glancing at him every now and then during dinner.

"I hear you were pretty brave," her mum said. "Thank you for being there for Daisy," she smiled.

He wasn't quite sure how to respond because it was his fault she'd ever even been dragged into his mess, so he just smiled. Daisy quickly changed the topic. "Is it okay if he comes over sometimes to study for our exams? They're coming up soon," she asked.

Her mum took a moment to think about it. "Sure you can, but bedroom door open please," she replied in a sing-song voice.

"Mum!" Daisy exclaimed, going red.

"Don't be silly. I'm your mum, what answer were you going to expect? My job is to embarrass you," she grinned, ruffling Daisy's hair as she got up to put the plates away.

"Sorry," Daisy mouthed to him. "We're going to go for a walk," she suddenly said to her mum before leading him outside.

"Why are we going for a walk?" He asked when they were outside the door.

"Because," she smiled. "The cool night air is a surprisingly good remedy when my mind is a mess." He looked at her and she looked back at him before taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I could hear it in your voice," she said softly. "Also, you would never take a taxi, bum wing or not," she grinned.

"I'm sorry," he said. She knew him, more than he'd cared to let anyone else know, and part of that terrified him.

"For what?" They'd reached the edge of a small park nearby, standing in front of the bench that looked out over the lake. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'll be here until you're okay." He took her in his arms and held her tight. He kept holding on because he was afraid that this might all be a dream. That when he woke up, he'd be back in his house. Alone.

Before he had a chance to resist, a tear left his eyes. He sniffled and cleared his throat. "It's okay Parker," she said, resting a hand against his back. "You don't have to keep everything bottled up."

They sat down on the bench. The moonlight glistened against the water, glimmering in the distance. Daisy looked up and smiled at him. She patted her legs and he laid his head down in her lap, looking up at her. She ran a hand through his hair. "Hey, I did my hair this afternoon," he said.

"Really? Couldn't tell," she smirked. "You have really soft hair," she grinned, now running her hands wildly through his hair. "I think it looks better now," she said, looking rather pleased with herself.

There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but they were stuck like a lump in his throat. He didn't know how to say it all.

"I'm tired," he finally said.

"You want to go back?" She asked innocently. He sat up again.

"No. I'm tired of being a Lennox, tired of belonging to this family." She nodded, but didn't say anything, just leaning against his shoulder instead as she held his hand. "I sound like a prick for complaining, don't I?" He groaned.

"It's okay. We all have our problems. Just because someone else thinks their problems are bigger or worse than yours doesn't mean you can't have struggles either," she replied. "I obviously haven't gone through the same things as you, but I can still be here for you." His ribs were aching slightly under the pressure of her body against his, but he didn't dare move. "Besides, I complain about way stupider things all the time," she added.

It was getting late and it was time for them to head back. He hadn't thought this plan through. All he'd gotten up to was trying to force them to be at Ashton's wedding when in reality he didn't have a single card to play, and now he couldn't just go back to the house with his tail between his legs. Surely, they would send someone to find him. They wouldn't risk something happening to him.

"Do you think I could stay at yours?" He asked suddenly.

"I would...but you heard my mum earlier. She'd kill me. And you'd never find the body!" Her reaction made him laugh out loud.

Then they both said it at the same time. "Holden."

Fifteen minutes later, Holden answered the door with a stupid grin on his face. "Defying the almighty Lennoxes!" He exclaimed. "They won't bomb my house will they?"

Parker rolled his eyes. "I don't think so, but maybe if you have a bunker?" He said playfully.

"Hi Daisy," Holden's mum said cheerfully from the living room.

"Hi Mrs Vermont," she replied sheepishly. Things were a little awkward now that she was no longer fake dating their son. Fox sprung up from his spot on the couch and clung onto Parker's left leg, sitting down. Parker attempted to lift the child as he usually would but ended up wincing in pain. Daisy put her arms out, almost instinctively, to break his fall.

"Remember how I told you Parker's injured, bud?" Holden said gently. Sulking, Fox let go.

"Maybe next time," Parker grinned.

"Okay!" Fox beamed.

"Guest room's all set up for you," Holden said. He looked at Parker and Daisy again. "You know where the spare clothes, toothbrushes and things are right?"

"Yep," Parker replied.

Holden passed by his kitchen table as he led them to the spare bedroom, picking up a familiar looking white envelope. "I'm going to hazard a guess that the reason you're here has something to do with this," he said, holding it up.

"Mmm," Parker responded.

"Hang in there, I'm sure they'll come around. I know they're pretty ruthless, but surely they wouldn't miss their own kid's wedding."

"Uh-huh. Or maybe this is the last time you ever hear the names Parker and Lennox together," Parker laughed.

"It's alright. If they disown you, there's always room for you in the Vermont household," Holden grinned broadly, swinging an arm over his friend's shoulder.

--

Senior year was almost at a close, with finals weighing over the student body of Pemberton Academy. We had our physics exam last in a couple days' time. Parker and I had been studying together and if anything, I felt worse because of it.

He was always one step ahead. He was sitting on the other side of my desk, his eyebrows furrowed as the sound of pencil scratching against paper filled the room. "I wish I could tell you physics knowledge flows into your brain the more you stare at me," he grinned, not even taking his eyes from the page.

"I was thinking about how to solve the problem," I lied.

"Sure you were," he laughed, closing his textbook.

He was still staying with the Vermonts, but I wasn't sure how long this was going to go on for because neither he nor his parents seemed like they were going to give in. My back was finally back to its prime condition and I could walk around without feeling crippled.

His phone rang and he answered. "Ashton," he said. Clearly the love for phone calls ran in the family. "Mm hmm...ok...and it's too late to change the booking? Ok. Bye. See you soon."

"What was that about?" I asked, noting the severe look he had on his face. Ashton's wedding was the weekend after our last exam. It was a wedding being held in a small beach town six hours away. Had something happened?

"So Ashton booked the rooms for all the wedding guests a while ago..." Parker began.

"Yeah?"

"It turns out he booked a room for us. Together. It's only got one king bed."

--

I must confess that I really loved writing this chapter, that is until the bump in the middle where i got stuck

I know it was a bit slower than the other chapters and not a lot happened, but I still hope that you all enjoyed it!! also i am aware that the pacing is a big M E S S but the filler bits would've been so boring - do you guys want the filler bits?

as always, let me know your

love always,

daria xoxoxo

PS. I love the song I linked at the top – I love the lyrics and I thought it was quite appropriate for the vibes of this chapter :')

PPS. not sure if anyone's noticed but i changed the summary/description thing for this story - is this new version better than the old one? any feedback or thoughts?