[𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒]

"𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐔𝐏 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐈𝐓."

"Alright, alright."

Darion held his phone up in front of us, making sure the camera angle was good. He then snapped a picture of us.

"Let me look," I insisted.

"You look good, as always."

I smiled and looked at his phone and saw that I did look good.

"Are you posting it?" I asked. "If you do, make sure to tag me."

"I know, I know." After he did that he turned his phone off and looked at me. "So what do you want to eat?"

"We can get sushi . . ."

"Sushi? Alright."

My phone started ringing, my dad was calling me so I had no choice but to pick it up.

"Hold up." I put my index finger up to Darion and put my phone to my ear. "Father?"

"Why aren't you home?" he demanded.

"I'm with Darion."

"I told you to be home by nine-thirty, it's now nine-fifty-three."

". . . Okay?"

"Paris, come home, now." He then hung up on me.

"What was that all about?" Darion asked.

"My dad's really irking me. Can you take me home?"

"Sure."

When Darion parked in front of my house he leaned in for a hug, I tried to hug him the way he hugged me.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow," he said.

"Bye." I got out of the car and approached the front door of my house.

I unlocked it quickly and stepped in, I noticed there was a bunch of luggage by the coat closet.

"I'm home," I announced and walked to the kitchen because I heard voices in there. My mom, dad, and an unfamiliar boy were there surrounding the peninsula counter.

My dad spotted me first. "Oh, this is my oldest daughter Paris. And Paris, this is London." Dad turned to the boy. "My younger daughter Brooklyn is at boarding school in New Hampshire."

I stood, confused. And so I asked my mom a question.

"Momma, what's for dinner?" I asked quickly, ignoring my dad and the boy called London, mostly the boy.

"Salmon and yellow rice," she replied.

"Ew," I muttered. The thing was, I liked seafood, just not salmon or crawfish or clams. Plus, salmon has a lot of bones in it and I didn't feel like choking on one of them in front of the company.

I went into the pantry next to the fridge to get a pack of Oreos and food for Cosmo.

Cosmo was a black and white Havanese. Dad gave me Cosmo when I turned fifteen, I would've preferred him for a sixteenth birthday gift since Dad didn't gift me with a car then.

"Don't bother, I already fed him," Mom said in a little rude way if I was correct.

"Hm, okay," I replied.

I looked at London who was looking back at me, I expected him to look away but instead, he stared. I didn't like it, because it seemed like he wanted to intimidate me. The last thing I'd do was give him that satisfaction.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him in an angry, confused way.

"What's wrong?"

I was taken aback by his voice, well, hearing his voice.

"What's wrong with who?" I asked.

"What's wrong with you?" he clarified.

"Nothing, what's wrong with you? You gotta staring problem?" I asked rudely.

"No, do you?"

"No, but you seem to, though."

I began walking to the kitchen door.

"Oh, is that right?" He crossed his arms.

"Yeah, that is right," I retorted.

"Hm, okay, awesome," he muttered.

"Awesome," I repeated and pushed the kitchen door, walking out.

I went up to my room for a little while and went over the conversation I had with London. He seemed so arrogant and overconfident in a bad way. He was talking to me like this was his house.

When I was sure that my dad and London were gone from the kitchen, I went back downstairs to ask my mom questions. She was washing a few dishes.

"Mom, why is that boy here?" I inquired.

"Paris, I told you why already."

I remembered a conversation about her telling me that a kid my age was coming to stay with us for a year or so, but nothing else really.

"Can you just explain?" I pressed.

"His dad is one of Dad's old friends, and right now, London can't be with his parents."

"Doesn't he have another family, like cousins, aunts, uncles?"

"Paris," Mom chided.

"Well, is he going to be attending my school?"

"Yes, please show him around if you can. Introduce him to all your friends, too."

"Wait, so does that mean he has to ride to school with me and Darion?" If he was so comfortable being rude to me without knowing me, I couldn't imagine how he'd act around Darion. Darion would have to put him in his place the hard way.

My mother finally turned around. "London will drive you two in the M3."

Now that, her words had me flabbergasted.

"Hold up, hold up, hold up, pause!" I tried to find my words. "London gets to drive me to school in your car, even though he's not your son?"

"He has his license, you don't."

I turned around and rolled my eyes.

"He can cruise around in your car, I'm going to school with Darion, though," I asserted.

"No, you won't, you might have to lead the way for him. Oh, and another thing . . . Why do you always hang out with that grown man? You know your dad doesn't like it."

"Which is exactly why I hang out with the 'grown man,' and please stop saying 'grown man', it sounds weird."

"It is weird. He's eighteen."

I laughed. "You act like we have a huge age gap."

"It's weird, Paris, and I don't like it. It's not that I don't trust you, I just don't trust–"

"Men?"

"Except one." My father, of course. "Set the table please."