~Althia~

It was the day of my first game which meant everyone was coming over soon, I was outside with my dad helping him with the barbeque when my mom called for me

"Yes, mom?" I asked her as I came back inside

"The doorbell rang" She told me

I ran to the door and opened it to reveal Hannah, Jessica, Alex, Clay and Tony.

"Parents! Come meet my friends!" I called out for them while everyone took their shoes off

Both of my parents came into view and before I could say anything the doorbell rang again.

I opened the door and saw Zach and Jeff who I let in and waited for Montgomery and Justin to come in as well since they were just pulling up in my driveway.

Once everyone was settled inside, I smiled

"Okay so, mom and dad, this is Justin, Montgomery, Jeff, Zach, Tony, Clay, Alex, Jessica, and Hannah" I introduced all of them "Friends this is my mom, Lydia, and my dad Isaac." I added

"It's so nice to finally meet all of you" My mom smiled

We stayed in my foyer talking for a while before Jess and Han disappeared in the kitchen to help my mom and the boys started to make their way outside to help my dad.

The doorbell rang once again and I saw all of the boys give me a confused look. Jeff counted on his fingers before speaking.

"Aren't well all here?" He asked

I nodded but still went to the door to open it

A very smiley Bryce Walker and a smirky faced Scott reed walked into my house

I felt an arm wrap around my waist immediately and I knew it was Zach

Before I could tell them to leave, my mom came into view

"More friends, Althia? I thought everyone you had invited was here?" She questioned

I looked and her and then back at Scott and Bryce who both gave me a challenging look

I faked a smile

"We're all here now" I gritted through my teeth "Bryce and Scott said they wouldn't be able to make it" I looked back at them

"Yes but our plans changed and we decided to stop by" Bryce told me

"Our invitation still stands, right?" Scott asked me

Zach's grip on my waist tightened

"Mmh, you boys can go ahead and follow my dad outside" I told them, trying my best to sound cheesy

My mom smiled before heading back to the kitchen

Everyone followed my dad but Zach and Jeff who stayed behind

"What the hell?" Zach said

"Did you invite them?" Jeff asked me

"What? No! Of course not!" I answered

"Why the hell are they here?" Zach questioned

"I would like to know too" I responded

"I don't like this one bit. Can we, you know, kick them the fuck out of here" Jeff said

I groaned

"How the hell do they even know about this?" Zach said

"Montgomery" I sighed and rubbed my face in frustrating

I got out of Zach's grip and walked to my backyard while Jeff and Zach followed close behind me

"Montgomery" I faked a smile at him

He looked up at me and I waved him over to me

I walked back inside and he followed me in

"What the hell are they doing here?" I whispered yelled at him

He stayed silent

"Did you invite them to this?" I asked him

"No!" Monty responded "But I may have mentioned it to them and now they are here and I know you don't want them here" He added "I'm sorry, Althia" He gave me a weak smile

"How do they even know where I live" I questioned

"I don't know!' Monty replied

I sighed

"You need to take care of this and get them the hell out of my house before Tony does it by using his hands" I told him and pointed outside where we could see Tony pacing back and forth, his eyes locked on Bryce and Scott who were trying to make it seem like they were liked by the group.

Monty agreed and went back outside

I took a deep breath and finally went to join the girls in the kitchen

"Althia!" My mom exclaimed "Why didn't you tell me that you and Zach were a thing?" She asked

"How do you even know what a thing is" I questioned as I glanced over at the girls who made it seem like they were busy cutting vegetables

"Well, Jessica told me that she and Alex are dating and that Hannah and Clay are a thing so I asked what that was and Hannah explained it to me. Then you and Zach came up in the conversation" Mom answered

"I see" I said, still looking at the girls who gave me cheeky smiles

My mom looked at me, still waiting for an answer about Zach and I

"Zach and I have been on a few dates and I'm just seeing where it goes" I told her

Mom nodded and before she could say anything, all of the boys came into view

"So sorry Momma Althia but Scotty and I need to leave" Bryce announced

Jessica and Hannah looked at me when they saw them and I gave them a look saying that I'll explain it later

"Oh no, why's that?" Mom asked

"My mom just texted me and I completely forgot that we had to do some things for her before we went to the game" Bryce answered

Mom didn't seem to believe him but she didn't question it more

"Alright well bye" I told them

"Don't we get a goodbye hug?" Scott asked

"I'll walk you guys to the door" Zach suddenly said

Bryce and Scott stood there but slowly followed Zach to the front door

I looked at Jeff and rolled my eyes and he smiled a bit

I glanced over at Montgomery and he gave me an apologetic look and I gave him a 'it's okay' look

"Everyone can go back outside" My mom announced "I'm almost done the salads and the burgers won't take long to cook" She shooed us out of the kitchen

"What the hell were they doing here?" Hannah asked as we made our way to my backyard

"That was my fault, I'm sorry" Monty said

"Let's forget about them and enjoy this dinner before going to watch my bestfriend win her first game" Jeff announced as he came by my side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders

I smiled up at him and we were soon joining my dad back outside

We sat down and talked while my dad cooked the burgers and joined the conversation every now and then whenever sports came up. My mom stayed inside finishing the salads.

I was on one of our outside couches with my head on Jeff's lap and my feet on Zach's lap when my mom suddenly came outside

"Althia, can you come in please" She asked and went back in

I stayed where I was

"Thia go" Jeff said

"But I'm comfyyy" I whined

Everyone laughed as I slowly got up to see my mom

Mom was back in the kitchen, waiting for me with her arms crossed

"Althia! What are you doing" She scowled at me

"What did I do?" I asked her

"I thought you were with Zach?!" She exclaimed "What are you doing being all touchy and cozy with that Jeff one" She added

"I am not with Zach. He is not my boyfriend" I stated "And I'm not being all touchy and cozy with Jeff?" I looked at her, questioning

"I've been watching you through the window, Althia Dawn Knight" Mom said

I winced a little at how she used my full name

"You have been leaning your head on him, holding hands, laying on him. All while everybody is watching you. While Zach is watching" She continued

I scoffed finally understanding where she was going with this

"Mom. Jeff and I are friends. We are both affectionate people and everything I've been doing tonight is nothing but normal for the two of us" I told her, trying not to show my anger

"Friends or not, you can't be doing those things when people know that you're with someone else" Mom said

"Right" I replied "You wouldn't want the neighbours to think that your daughter is whoring around once again, right mom?" I hissed at her

She looked taken aback from my choice of words but she didn't deny them either

"I'll make sure that nobody finds out I'm showing affection to my friend when I have my other friends around because I am single and that is not okay and people will talk" I promised her as I stormed off

Once I was back outside, I saw my dad serving everyone their burgers

He handed me a plate and I thanked him

I sat down beside Zach and Jessica

"You alright?" Zach leaned forward to ask so only I could hear

"Yeah" I answered

By the look on his face, I knew he didn't believe

"Just my mom" I added and he nodded, dropping the conversation

My mom soon came outside with the salads and we all helped ourselves

The dinner ended up being fun and everyone was having a good time

I got ready while everyone else ate dessert and we all helped to clean up. A little bit before it was time to leave, we all did a facemask and all the boys enjoyed it, just like Jeff said they would.

"I'm driving with Zach and Jeff" I announced as we were getting ready to leave

My dad nodded and my mom looked at me before sighing, making me roll eyes

Everyone got in their cars and we started to drive

"Sooo are you going to rant to us or do we have to beg you to talk?" Jeff asked from the backseat

I took a deep breath and Jeff clapped his hands while Zach chuckled and grabbed my hand

"Alright so when my mom called me in she was all like...:" I started

I ranted to the boys for the whole car ride and they both listened, sometimes adding their opinions

Once we got to school, I went to the changing rooms to put on my uniform and join my team

Our coach gave us a small pep talk and before I knew it was time to run out onto the field

I quickly looked through the bleachers to find everyone and once they saw that I was looking at them, they all pulled out some signs. I smiled and made a heart with my hands at them which made them cheer me on even more

//

Our team won the game and everyone ran down to hug me

"YOU WERE AMAZING!" Both Jess and Han yelled as they hugged me

"Thank you, my dears" I hugged them back

"BESTFRIEND YOU WERE A STAR" Jeff shouted as he hugged me tightly

"Thank you, Jeffy" I laughed as I hugged him back

"You made football less boring" Clay told me which caused me to laugh

"You actually don't suck" Alex exclaimed and I thanked him

Tony, Justin and Montgomery all congratulated me and I thanked them as well

"You did an awesome job out there" Zach told me when it was finally his turn to talk to me

"While thank you, my Zachy" I smiled at him

My dad came to join us and he told me how proud he was of me and how well I did and I thanked him

He told me that he'd see me at the home and went back to my mom who was waiting at the side of the bleachers, looking at me with her arms crossed

I locked eyes with her before kissing Zach's cheek unexpectedly and jumping on Jeff's back

"Let's go boys, I'm tired" I told them and Jeff started to run to Zach's car

"How long are you going to keep doing things to piss your mom off?" Jeff asked me as we started driving to my house

"Until she realizes that I'm doing nothing wrong" I responded

Once Zach pulled up in my driveway, I thanked them both for coming and said my goodbye.

I took a quick shower and jumped into bed, ready to go to sleep when my dad knocked on my door and walked into my room

"Althia, you know you really made your mother upset tonight" He told me as he sat on the edge of my dad

"Well dad, she hurt my feelings too" I replied

Dad sighed

"Dad, you don't understand" I said "Mom is always on my back about everything I do and I try so hard to make her happy but it's never enough and then she tries to get all involved in my life but then doesn't give a shit when it comes to the important things" I added

"I know Alt, I know" He said "But that still doesn't give you the right to talk to her the way you talked to her this evening" He told me

I sighed and he didn't say anything else