Scrolling through my Instagram feed curiously, I went on Aubree's page and instantly dropped my phone as I brought the device closer to my face. It was picture of Xavier and I last night dancing slowly to the orchestra playing. Looking down at how many likes it got, she received more than three hundred which kind of scared me because everyone in the whole entire school followed Aubree.

I was going to kill her.

Looking up from my phone, I had now realised that people were whispering under their breaths, their eyes shooting towards me with their phones in their hands as I quickly put my head down, a curtain of my hair covering my pink cheeks. Putting my phone inside my pencil case, I decided to walk down the crowded hall blindly, not wanting to run into Lydia or anyone from her group.

"Attention," the speakers announced in the hallway, making me halt in my steps. "Aubree and Thea Pearson, please come to the principal's office."

Biting my lip, I lifted my head up to see people already forming a circle around me until someone grabbed my forearm and started pulling me through the crowd, leading me to the Principal's office. Looking up, I realised Luke was holding onto my forearm then immediately stopped in front of the door which had ' written clearly on it.

"Thanks Luke," I said with a small smile on my face but he only gave me a weak smile in return then made his way towards his first class.

Opening the door, I saw Anastasia sitting on her chair nervously with her mobile phone attached to her hand. Looking on the other side of the room was Aubree with her pink laptop on her lap, typing unbelievably fast.

"Mom?" I questioned, the word foreign on my tongue as I knew I needed to get used to calling Anastasia mom.

Anastasia looked up, her face flooding in relief as she beckoned me to come forward. "Thea, it's your dad's birthday today."

I nodded, already knowing since I had put it on my reminder on my phone. " I know."

"We're going to throw him a surprise party," Anastasia informed with a bright smile on her face as my eyes widened in excitement. "I guess you approve."

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Well, I'm calling up his side of the family," Anastasia answered then pointed to Aubree. "Aubree's calling up his FBI work mates and his friends. She's also inviting Marco and his friends, basically the only people who your dad knows."

I nodded. "So...?"

"I need you to pick your dad up from the closest station since he's working with other cops," Anastasia answered with a small smile. "And take him out to wherever you want until 7pm."

"Is the house going to be decorated?"

It was Aubree's turn to answer. "I have the DJ booked for tonight and our house maid and the Walker's house maid will be decorating the house together and so when the DJ arrives, they will let him in."

"Okay," I replied nervously.

Before I turned around to get to class, Anastasia piped up; "Have a daughter and father moment. Good luck Thea."

"Good luck to you both too," I replied with a grateful smile before exiting the room and entering the empty halls.

Guess Aubree will be excused from classes today.

Sighing, I walked down to my first class of the day which was Geography, the class Xavier and I were both in. Due to last night's memories, a blush crept onto my cheeks as I remembered his smile when I agreed to be his girlfriend. Clearing my throat, I turned the door knob and entered the class, only to earn everyone's attention, even including the teacher's.

"Miss Pearson, you're late," my teacher stated the obvious.

"My mom... the principal needed to see me," I replied as the teacher nodded then turned back to the board as I made my way to the back where Xavier was smiling widely, patting an empty table next to him.

As I walked to my table, whispers erupted as I could feel all pairs of eyes on me, making me nervous with each step and when I finally reached my table, I slumped into my seat, sighing in relief as Xavier shot everyone death stares that had them shut up and turned away from me.

"You hate attention, don't you?" Xavier asked quietly with a chuckle.

"Pretty obvious," I answered as I folded my arms on the table and looked to the side. "It's my dad's birthday today."

Xavier nodded, smiling knowingly. "My family is invited to the surprise party."

"Of course," I replied with a shake of my head. "My dad is best friends with your parents."

"So smart baby cakes," Xavier said loudly with a clap as the teacher turned around and shot daggers at him with her eyes that had me giggle.

Classes flew by pretty quickly in a blink of an eye as I started shoving my things inside my locker. When I closed my locker, I could see Xavier leaning against the locker next to mine, not giving the person who was shivering uncontrollably any access to her locker. I rolled my eyes and grabbed his wrist, pulling him outside the school.

"What are you doing now?" Xavier asked as he slung an arm around my shoulder as butterflies quickly erupted in my stomach, also earning death stares from groups of girls.

"I'm supposed to distract my dad until 7pm," I answered, taking out my phone to text Aubree I was on my way to collect dad.

"Father daughter time?" Xavier questioned, keeping his eyes focused on me as I nodded in response. "Guess I'll see you at the party baby cakes."

"Still not used to the nickname," I warned.

Xavier chuckled. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

I scoffed. "I need to go pick up my dad now."

Xavier nodded in understanding. "I'm going to help my dad with the business so I'll see you later."

I nodded in response again before our lips slammed into each other making my heart rate rise but only seconds after, he pulled away before kissing my forehead. I watched him leave as I smiled, able to still feel the touch of his lips linger on my skin before heading towards my car that was parked next to Aubree's, clearly the both of our cars were standing out.

When I parked the car earlier in the morning, a swarm of people gathered around to check it out and when I got out of the car, gasps erupted as if they were shocked to see me driving such a cool, modern car. Just as I escaped from the crowd, I felt their eyes lingering on my back.

Getting into my car, I put my key into ignition then turned on the engine, making it roar so loud that it startled some students around. I bit my lip from laughing as I turned on the radio, the song Clarity by Zedd ft Foxes was blaring through the speakers. I backed out of the parking lot and drove towards the nearest station that only consisted of ten minutes of driving. Getting out of the car, people around was swooning at the car as I shook my head with a small smile before dusting off imaginary dirt on my dark blue high waisted jeans. Once the doors to my car closed automatically, I looked at my reflection in the tinted windows and adjusted my floral top, pulling my white cardigan over my shoulders to cover the exposed skin.

The sound of my beige heels clicked against the ground as I ascended the small flight of stairs to reach the sliding doors that led inside the station. All heads turned in my direction as I could feel a shiver run around my body, avoiding any eye contact with anyone.

"Excuse me ma'am," a cop asked with concern as he touched my forearm, making me turn around to face the cop.

The cop was in his uniform, his dark black hair washed against his forehead and his hazel eyes shimmered in the sunlight. "Is there something you need to report?"

I shook my head. "I'm looking for Bryson Pearson, he's part of the FBI team."

The name seemed to click in the guy's head as he nodded, leading me to a small room where there was a whole lot of guys that were gathered around with doughnuts in hand. The cop immediately left, leaving me to stand awkwardly at the door as I looked around for a familiar face.

"Thea!" someone exclaimed as my eyes shot in the direction of the voice. It was Chris.

"Hi Chris," I said with a little wave.

"Are you here for your dad?"

I nodded.

Chris turned around in his chair and slapped my dad's forearm, making him turn around. I laughed when my dad saw me standing by the door awkwardly, his eyes widening as if he was shocked to see me even inside the station. My dad quickly placed down his coffee then approached me as he engulfed me in his arms before breaking apart after a few seconds later.

"I'm taking you out for a treat," I whispered.

"Finally!" my dad exclaimed, startling both me and his team mates. "Oh."

My dad turned around to face his team mates as he draped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closely to his side. "Guys, this is my daughter, Thea."

The guys either gave me a wave or a wide smile. "Nice to meet you all."

"Your daughter looks like you Bryson," a cop piped up, making me laugh.

"She sure gets the looks from her father," my dad replied with a wink.

"Nice to meet you Thea," another cop piped up, raising a coffee that was attached to his hands.

"Nice to meet you too sir," I replied awkwardly.

"Let us know if anyone tries to mess with you," Chris added, leaning against the table that had all the other guys nodding. "We'll lock him up in a cell."

I laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Guess I'll see you all tomorrow," my dad said with a smile before guiding me outside towards my car, without letting any of his mates reply.

"They look friendly."

"Of course but your car looks friendlier," my dad replied with a smile as his eyes scanned my new car.

I laughed. "Wanna drive?"

"Don't mind if I do."

I let out another laugh. "To the mall!"

My dad and I spent hours talking over icecream and lunch as if we were catching up. It was a long time since I got to hangout with just my dad and I enjoyed every bit of it. I decided to tell him what happened yesterday with Xavier and what I had agreed to. My dad kicked into protective mode, telling me that if anything happens, I have to make sure I go to him so he could kick ass. I laughed as he told me moments of Xavier and I had when we were younger, when my dad baby-sat us.

"You tried getting away from Xavier but he clung to you like a teddy," my dad said with a loud laugh, earning some weird stares from other people then when they realised he was a cop by his uniform, they quickly turned away.

"What can I say, everyone wants me," I replied jokingly.

He looked at the watch that sat patiently on his wrist before looking up at me. "We've been here for three hours."

I nodded, only one hour left till the party starts. My dad started looking at me nervously as if he was wanting to say something. "What's wrong?"

My dad sighed. "I just want to ask how your mom is doing."

I bit my lip, guilt forming in the pits of my stomach for not checking up on her. "I haven't been in contact with her but the last time I did, she was great."

He nodded. "That's good to hear."

I nodded, rising from my seat as my dad followed behind as we exited the icecream store. I stretched, letting out a weird noise that had my dad chuckling. As my eyes darted around, my eyes landed onto Derek who was sitting on a bench beside a girl, sucking each other's faces that had me tilt my head in confusion.

"Something the matter?" my dad asked, following the direction of my eyes.

"Nope," I answered.

"Do you need me to lock someone up?"

I laughed and shook my head. Just as I was about to turn around, Derek's eyes wandered around and when he saw me, he pushed the girl to the side gently that had confusion plastered onto her face. I shook my head as I started walking away with my dad hot on my heels.

By the time we arrived home, there were no cars parked in the driveway or on the streets. Good thinking. I drove onto the driveway, turning off the engine and pulling the key from the ignition before exiting the car.

Just as my dad and I stepped into the foyer, I turned on the lights and to only be greeted by with people bursting their heads and bodies from their hiding places and all shouted; ""

I laughed as my dad's jaw dropped, his eyes widening before a smile etched onto his face. He looked down at me and kissed my forehead before finding someone in particular. His eyes landed on a beautiful woman who was in a black dress that hugged her curves beautifully, her blonde hair curled as she opened her arms for my dad.

I looked around the house and saw familiar faces and people who I don't know. There were my dad's team mates still in their uniform with children plastering on beautiful smiles and family members just patting on my dad's back. I managed to sneak away into my room unnoticed as I decided to take a breath, Derek still on my mind.

I plopped myself onto my bed and sighed in exhaustion as I stared up at my white ceiling, forgot to turn on the lights. What I expected my left arm to do was to touch the bed but instead, it landed on a hard chest that had me squeal then fall off the bed. I sat up straight to see who the intruder was and to my surprise, it was Xavier looking down at me with his signature smirk.

"Surprise?"

I shook my head, grabbing my pillow and slammed it onto his face as he let out a laugh that had me swooning. It was rare for Xavier to laugh nowadays. I smiled as he lifted the pillow off his face and opened his arms wide for me. I sighed, slowly getting in between his arms before he wrapped them around me, inhaling my perfume as he sighed in content.

"Finally."

I laughed. "There's a party downstairs."

Before he could reply, there was a knock on my door and at the sound of that knock, I pushed Xavier off the bed accidentally and faced the door as it opened slowly. Anastasia peeked her head in and shook her head with a smile on her face. "Come downstairs and please, bring Xavier with you." Before she closed the door behind her.

"How did she-" My mouth dropped open.

After a few seconds of saying sorry to Xavier, he laughed it off then draped an arm around my shoulders as we both descended the large flight of staircase, earning some stares from people who were still hanging around inside the house. Xavier and I went our separate ways once we reached the enormous backyard where the DJ was playing his tracks. I found Aubree and Marco dancing in the middle with some little kids surrounding them.

I let out a smile.

"Thea?" a feminine voice asked with shock laced in her voice as I whipped around to see a young woman with brunette hair. Her piercing blue eyes looked so familiar. "It is you."

Realisation slammed into my head. "Aunt Karen!"

"Oh my god, my baby niece!" Karen exclaimed as she quickly engulfed me in her arms, crushing me into pieces as she was holding onto me for dear life. "It's been so long!"

I nodded, pulling away as a smile was attached to our faces. "I missed you."

Aunt Karen was my dad's youngest sister. When I was young and my dad was still around, she had taken such good care of me that she became like a second mom. When my dad left, he took his side of the family as well and that had left me empty for a short period of time, only because I was young and only had a short-term memory.

"You've grown into such a beautiful lady," Karen whispered, covering her mouth.

I blushed. "I'm just so glad to see you again."

"Theres a framed picture of you and I that we had taken when you were a baby on my nightstand," Karen chuckled. "I thought of you everyday and I still do."

I bit my lip, wanting to tell her that I have been thinking of her but I would only lie. Karen seemed to get it as she nodded her with a knowing smile. "I know what happened. I'm just so happy you're still here."

I exhaled a sigh of relief. "Anyway, I need to go see my big brother and give him lots of sisterly kisses."

I laughed, waving her off.

In a short period of time, many family from my dad's side recognised me and came up to me, some who I remember and I don't, only because I haven't seen them in forever. I've met all of my dad's younger sisters which only consisted of 3 women and my dads older brother, my uncle. I've met my cousins who were younger than me by a year or two, all boys and two oldest cousins that were girls. My two oldest cousins recognised me from when we were young and the younger cousins didn't recognise me at all until their mom, my aunts, introduced them to me.

It was nice to get to know my dad's side of the family since my mom never had siblings and her parents died just before I was born.

Anastasia had gathered most people in the kitchen since not everyone could fit. Some were standing on chairs in the living room and some were sitting on people's shoulders which had me laugh a little. I noticed a couple talking to my dad in the corner of the kitchen as I approached them, wanting to know who it was only because the male figure looked so much like Xavier.

"Hello dad," I greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Noella and Max," my dad said the two people's names. "Meet Thea, you remember her right?"

I assumed they were Xavier's parents because Xavier had the spitting image of his dad and Kiki looks like her mom. Their eyes danced around my whole body as if judging me mentally in their headsas I gave them a weak smile. Noella, Xavier's mom, broke into a smile, engulfing me into her arms as she crushed me.

"Thea, it's been so long," she whispered, her voice soft and genuine.

"It's nice to see you again," I whispered back just as we broke apart.

"I'm so glad you and Xavier are able to meet each other again," Noella said with a smile. "When we had to move, Xavier locked himself up in his room for months. It was impossible to get him out."

I laughed. "Well, at least he's out and about now."

Noella nodded, nudging her husband who was looking at me, more like studying me.

"Mr Walker," I said with a nervous smile.

"Miss Pearson," Mr Walker replied with a stern nod.

Did I do or say something wrong?

Noella and my dad must've felt tension in the air because Noella excused both her and her husband and once they were out of sight, my dad looked down at me, confused. "Did something happen between you and Mr Walker?"

"This is the first time I've seen him," I answered truthfully, still confused.

"Maybe he's got a lot on his plate right now," my dad suggested with a shrug.

I nodded.

Maybe.