Thanksgiving Day was missing something huge. As much as Delano loathed his father, he couldn't deny that he missed their annual Thanksgiving celebration together. Flavien wasn't exactly a man who loved traditions, but he would never miss this special day. He would have his personal cook prepare seasoned roasted turkey with white wine and rosemary gravy for their main course, sweet potato casserole with homemade marshmallow and grape salad as sides, and Delano's favourite double-crust apple-cheddar pie as dessert. This time of the year was one of the few occasions when Delano would meet his relatives who visited them from France. They would go around the table expressing what each family member is thankful for, then they would have a hearty meal, and lastly a long heart-warming cuddle around the couch for a movie night.

This year, the morning was cool and quiet at home. There were no chatting voices in the living room, no sound of pans in the kitchen, and definitely no children's laughter from any corner of the house. Delano woke up to the vibration of his phone, and found himself scrolling through pictures of his friends with their large families on Instagram. After thirty minutes of envying, he put down his phone, changed into a decent pair of running tights and an army green tank top, and walked down the stairs.

'Morning, mother, happy Thanksgiving day,' he greeted Corinne with a wide smile, attempting to see her happy face, while cheering up his lonely inner self. She returned with a silent nod and a gentle smile, and continued looking down in her laptop, fingers landing on the keyboard but froze in their places. Not a single word came out. She had been sitting in the same position, legs crossed with her back leaning against the couch, for two whole hours until her lumbar was practically screaming in ache due to all the pressure.

He brewed himself a cup of black coffee to wipe away all the bitterness, then he locked the door behind him for a nice morning run. What could be better than sweating off all your misery? Along the jogging path in the park, there were less people than usual, probably because everyone was at home reuniting with their families. Delano stopped running when he came across the small pond that lay a little to the east from the centre of the park, and grumbled when his attempt to kick a pebble into the water ended up in the grass. He sat down on the wooden bench, still a little wet from the morning dew. 

'Never thought I'd see you here, Cadieux,' someone's voice broke his thoughts.

'Austin,' Delano gulped as he looked into those eyes which were the colour of Spanish grey, rare and full of strength and leadership. Austin sat down beside him, head held high, breaking away from the gaze. 

'Let me get this straight, I'm not here to be friendly, it's not my thing,' the guy with deep brown hair said, looking at Delano with the corner of his eye, the latter raised his eyebrow asking. 

'Then what are  you doing here?' Delano let out a breath which he hadn't realized he had been holding since his surprise visit from his 'friend'. 

Austin turned around to face him, eyes piercing him right through his skull, leaving him no space to hide his thoughts. It was believed that people with grey eyes could read other people's minds, and Delano thought that Austin knew about his superiority. 

'I'm here to bring about a mini entente  with you. You stay away from my girlfriend, and I'll consider letting you join the our league.' Austin said with authority, as if he was sure Delano would be like the other guys, waiting for a single chance to be one of his minions, and would compromise anything and anyone to be at the popular table.

'I'm not interested in your league.' Delano replied suddenly, not giving Austin enough time for self-satisfaction. Or your girlfriend. He thought. 

It took Austin a few moments to realize that he had been rejected. 

'Too bad, Cadieux, you could have been a great sidekick,' Austin stood up and dusted his shirt, as if he wanted to get rid of all the signs that his peace act had been awfully declined. 

He continued. 

'Go crawl back to your father in Hollywood, you don't belong here and never will, as long as I'm around. Wait, your father doesn't even want you, that's pathetic.' 

With that, Austin walked away swiftly, and in seconds had disappeared from Delano's view. Delano stayed in his seat, hands clutched, he could feel the rage boiling and eating him up from the inside. 

No one talks to me about my father. 

***

Throughout the day, Delano spent his time at the mall, picking out some new winter outfits for the upcoming season. He had wanted a change in his wardrobe choices. He was tired of always having to wear suit and tie, dress professionally, act like he was a class above average and live up to his father's expectations. 

For once, his inner child was out, and he just wanted to be a normal teenager enjoying his last year of high school. No drama. No rich and spoiled kids. No fake friends. 

For the first time at Thanksgiving dinner, the house was eerily silent. Delano and Corinne sat at their small rectangular wooden table, exchanging a few thankful sayings for the year, and then each lost in their own thoughts. Corinne had tried her best to make crispy greens with oranges and pecans, roasted sweet potatoes and skillet apple stuffings. The food was delicious, but the dinner was missing something important. Family. And this made it the worst Thanksgiving ever. 

Delano finished his portion of the food quietly, and offered to help wash the dishes. Corinne had not known that her son had been tossing glances at her while she was busy thinking about Flavien until she dropped a whole bunch of greens onto the table, leaving an ugly green spot on the table cloth. 

'Happy Thanksgiving, Belle,' Delano said to his friend that night on their secret rooftop hideout. There, they could get away from reality, and just enjoy each other's presence, watching the stars as they twinkle, wishing that they were shooting stars so that they could make wishes every single night. 

'Happy Thanksgiving to you too,' Belle shifted to move closer to him. 

'How was your day?' He asked. 

'Pretty much as the usual, but with more delicious food of course,' she chuckled lightly. 

'Yeah, I know...' he paused. 'But it's different for me this year, my father's not here. And he'll never be here even if it's the last thing he could do.' 

'I've never really met my dad, he left my mum when she was two weeks pregnant with me, but she had shown me pictures of him,' Belle said silently, her voice soft and barely audible in the strong wind. 

Delano stared at her, she looked so vulnerable under the moonlit night. He knew that it was her sensitive topic. Her father that wasn't there for her during her childhood. 

'Let's not talk about those people who never cared,' Delano said finally, after realizing that Belle wasn't going to say anything. 

'Let's talk about those who care.'