A/N--So this is a pretty short chapter, sorry about that!  But it's really adorable, I think, so I hope you guys all like it.  Please vote/comment/fan!  And thanks to the sudden onrush of new fans, it's so crazy and it's making me so happy!

XXXXXXX 

Darla's all sprawled out on the recliner, the latest Pretty Little Liars book spread across her stomach, and looking over at the four of us like she should have a huge tub of movie theater popcorn with her. It's right after lunch the next day, and Ethan and I have finally gathered up the courage to tell my parents about our relationship.  

I wasn't nervous about it at all yesterday, so excited that he was finally going to let our relationship be known by people, but now that it's the actual time to tell my parents...I'm a bit terrified. I wouldn't be so scared had Ethan not told me about all of the rules my dad made, but now that there's a possibility of my dad kicking Ethan out, I am not quite so confident.  

But still, the truth needs to be spoken whether or not it's easy for us. I don't want to sneak around behind their backs with that possibility of getting caught. I just can't do it.  

"So what's all this about?" my dad asks, eyeing the two of us quite suspiciously. His broad arms are folded across his chest, his brown eyebrows raised in question. Never in my life have I been so intimidated by him. He has the power to kick the guy I really have a thing for out. And I don't like that responsibility in the hands of someone other than me. 

My mom, though, has this calm expression on her face, like she knows exactly what's going on but just wants to hear it from us first. I don't know what to make of that. I really don't. I cast a quick side glance at Ethan and see that while his face is calm, he keeps rubbing his palms against his jeans in nervousness.  

"Well..." I start, knowing that it might be a bit better if they hear it from me. I am their daughter after all. "Ethan and I..." 

"Nice grammar, sis," Darla teases from her spot on the recliner, like she's loving this whole awkward situation that I have to go through. Little bitch. 

I look over at her and childishly stick my tongue out at her, Ethan chuckling a bit underneath his breath. Why does just hearing his soft laughter make me feel a little bit easier? It's not like I'm no longer scared shitless, because I truly am, but still...he makes me feel a little more at ease.  

Once again I meet eyes with my parents who are sitting across from us on the leather love seat, and when I see the slight smile on my mom's pretty face, I just have this gut instinct that she knows exactly what's going on. My dad, though, still looks completely unknowing and a bit uncomfortable because of that fact.  

"Hallie and I are dating, sir," Ethan says pretty bluntly, shocking me completely to say the least. I honestly did not believe he was just going to come out and say it like that, so easy and straightforward, but I know why he did it. It's like ripping off a bandage; quick and almost painless.  

I watch my dad's handsome face as he lets this new information sink in, gauging what his reaction might be. "What?" he asks a bit tightly, leaning forward just a bit.  

I see my mom's hand sneak out and grab at his, squeezing it tightly as if to get him to calm down. I look over at her in surprise, not at all used to having her stick up for me in situations like this, and when I see her smile comfortingly at me, like she's going to take care of it, I haven't a clue of what to do. It's almost unnatural to have her help me out like this. 

Feeling the need to explain Ethan's pretty bold statement, I tell my dad, "We're seeing each other, dad. We have feelings for each other." 

Taking the one hand that's not grasped tightly with my moms, he runs his hand up his stubbly face and into his brown hair, hair that's so much like my own. I look so much like my dad, I think, looking on at his dark brown locks and his vibrant blue eyes. Sure his are much brighter than mine, but they're still the same shade. 

He asks us tersely, "And how long has this been going on?" 

I open my mouth to answer him, but Ethan speaks up instead and tells him honestly, "About a week or so, sir. We didn't want to say anything until we knew that these feelings were serious." 

Feeling my cheeks heat up because he's admitted that he feels seriously about me as well, I try and hide the giddy smile from stretching across my lips. I knew he felt for me, I just didn't know that he thought of it as serious. But to know that that is, well...it's kind of awesome.  

My dad asks disbelievingly, "And you believe that a week is enough time to develop serious feelings for my daughter?" 

"Well if I'm being honest here," Ethan says immediately, and I turn my head to face him as he speaks, just feeling a little bit more comforted by looking at him. "I've kind of had a thing for Hallie for a while, since the second week or so that I was here. It's just recently that I've realized she has the same feelings for me." 

"Really?" I blurt out, completely taken by surprise. How in the world could he have had a thing for me since the second week or so? That was the week after I'd gotten out of the hospital; the week that I'd looked so banged up and had been such an emotional wreck. How the hell could he have developed feelings for that? 

He looks over at me and gives me a soft smile, and for a second I can almost forget that my entire family is in the same room and can see us. "Yeah," he says, and I hear nothing but complete honesty in his voice. But then he ruins the romantic moment by rolling his eyes at me and saying, "Duh." 

My sister and my mom both crack up when he says this, and it's in that moment that I know my mom backs me with this. She wouldn't be laughing at our cute little moment had she hated the idea of us being together. So now the only other hurdle should be my dad, who's looking at us as if he doesn't know whether to laugh or scream.  

My dad breaks the laughter as he asks us the question that even Ethan and I are not able to answer right now. "And what happens when he goes on tour in two months?" 

I tell him, "We don't know yet. But what we do know, right now, is that we want to be together. We're just hoping that you won't kick him out because he broke one of your little 'rules'." 

My dad opens his mouth as if to say something, but my mom cuts him off by saying, "Well of course we're not going to make you move out, Ethan. We love having you here." 

"Hallie especially," Darla teases once again. 

"Would you keep quiet?" I ask her, slightly amused by all of her little sarcastic compliments, but still embarrassed by them nonetheless.  

She gives me an innocent little smile, but then says, "Yeah dad, Ethan's awesome here. He mows the lawn for you, remember?" 

"I don't want my daughter to be hurt, that's all. That's my only concern about this little thing," he clarifies, making me feel like a little girl over again. A little girl who's dad still needs to protect her. And while that may annoy some people, I like it. I like that he still cares for me like he did when I was little. It just shows me how much he loves me.  

"I completely understand you, but please know that I would never hurt Hallie," Ethan promises sincerely, and it's then that I feel his warm hand encase my own, threading our fingers together, making me feel all warm and bubbly on the inside.  

My dad runs his fingers through his hair, looking like he's struggling to grasp onto the fact that his daughter has a musician boyfriend who lives in the house, but then he gets the calmly determined look he always gets and tells us, "Fine. But I'm letting you know right here and now that there are going to be some ground rules." 

Ethan lets out a huge sigh of relief next to me, and I can't help but make this weird one-second squeal thing because they've said yes. Sure I knew neither of my parents would have the heart to kick our summer house guest, I sometimes believe they like him better than me, but there was that little inkling that they would. And that little thought scared the shit out of me.  

"Thank you sir," Ethan says happily and somewhat shocked, and I know in that second that he really was freaked that he'd have to leave. And then the thought hits me; where would Ethan go if he didn't live in the house with us? The only thing about his home life is that he's from city on the border between Louisiana and Mississippi. I don't know if he still lives there, or if he moved here to Nashville to start his music career. Does he have an apartment near here?  

But if he did...why would he be so freaked out about having to leave? 

Suddenly feeling a bit bad because I know absolutely nothing about Ethan's life, I have to try a bit harder to match Ethan's enthusiasm when I say, "Thanks dad." 

"I haven't even gotten to the rules yet," he points out, his blue eyes lingering just a second on where Ethan and I's hands are meshed together. I feel a bit self-conscious for a second and go to break the contact, but before I can my dad's eyes have moved back to us. He says, "No major PDA, alright? I can barely handle the hand-holding." 

I suppress a grin when I feel Ethan's finger squeeze my own. 

He continues, "The doors to the bedrooms will always be left wide open...no cracks. Absolutely no sleepovers. And...wait...I think that's it." He then looks over to my mom who's been nodding in agreement to all of my dad's rules. "You got anything else?" 

"Nope honey, I think you covered anything." 

Looking back at us an almost uncharacteristic serious expression, my dad asks, "That understood, you two?" 

"Yes sir," Ethan says wholeheartedly at the same time I say, "Yep." 

"Great," my dad says with a false enthusiasm, slapping one of his large hands onto the couch arm to help him get up. Once he's to his feet and towering over everyone else's seated figure, he says, "I'm going to go...do...something, away from here at least." 

And with that he leaves the room, leaving Ethan and I with my oddly smiling mother and Darla, who's finally moved her attention away from teasing me and back to reading her book. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and then turn to face Ethan, who looks like he's conquered the world with the smile that's on his face. He looks down at me and whispers, "I can stay." 

"I told you," I tease, reaching out and pushing his shoulder. "You had nothing to worry about." 

XXXXXXX 

"Ethan, what the hell? You said we were getting ice cream...not going to Wal-Mart!" The minute that he turns into the parking lot on the left side of the road, the one for Wal-Mart, instead of the one on the right which is for the local ice-cream shop, I really start to wonder what's going on in that head of his. Not once did he mention coming to this place; he just said ice-cream.  

He puts the car into park as he pulls into a parking space quite close to the doors, and then looks over at me with a smile that tells me he's definitely up to something. "What?!" I demand loudly, wanting to know exactly what he's trying to pull. He can't just say that he needs deodorant or dental floss or something? Why does he have to make this big secret about coming here? 

He asks me like he already knows the answer, "Do you trust me?" 

"Not right now," I answer teasingly, crossing my arms over my chest in a huff. Why can't he just tell me what he's doing here? I don't have a problem with it, I kind of want to hit up the candy aisle for our movie night tonight, but he's making it out to be like there's this big to-do here. I don't get it. 

He rolls his eyes, that knowing grin still on his lips, and then turns off the car. He says, "It's about ninety degrees outside, you really want to stay in the car?" 

I poke my tongue out at him, saying, "I hate you," and then I hop out of the car at the same time as him. He waits for me to meet him by the back bumper and then after he threads his hand into my own, he leads me into the always overly crowded store. 

Now not meaning to sound like a snob or anything, but I've always been more of a Target person when it comes to my shopping needs. Usually when I need to pick a few things up, I go by myself and Wal-Mart is not exactly the safest place in the world for an alone teenage girl. There's always creepy people and fat sluts and screaming children and it's just...it's somewhat terrible.  

"So what do you need to get?" I ask him, while at the same time managing to dodge a car that almost pummels right into the two of us.  

He says simply, "Your mom wanted us to get the things for dinner." 

"Oh really?" I ask him, completely confused, "That's what you couldn't tell me in the car?" 

"It's more fun to get you all riled up," he chuckles, pulling me close to his side so that he can press a sweet kiss to the top of my head, turning my entire body into warm jelly. My God this guy really is perfect sometimes.  

"Whatever," I mumble happily, not being able to believe that I'm finally the girl I've always seen and envied. I'm finally the girl being all domestic and walking around a grocery store with my hot boyfriend. I'm finally the girl that people are going to look at and be jealous of, something that's never happened to me before.  

"Now come here," he says, walking just a bit faster as we hit the inside of the store, "There's something I want to do first." 

Bewildered, I look up at him, wondering just what he's up to. But before I can even try and decipher that determined look on his face, he pulls me into the center front of the store, where everyone waiting in the checkout line for aisles seven through ten can see us.  

And then he loops his arms around my waist, gripping me tight and pulling me in so that we're against each other. Wrinkling my nose at the random PDA in the middle of a crowded Wal-Mart, I look up at him and see this sparkle in his blue eyes. He's up to something. What, I have absolutely no idea. 

"What the hell are you doing?" I ask him, feeling a bit weak and breathless at the close contact. I haven't quite gotten used to being so close to him yet. I'm under the impression that it'll take a while, but hey, practicing isn't exactly going to be a chore.  

He tells me, "You were all upset the other day because you thought I was ashamed of you, right? That I wanted to keep you a secret 'cause I was embarrassed." 

"Yeah..." I trail off, not really knowing where he's going with this. "But we're fine now. I don't really..." 

He grins a crooked grin, looking at me like I should completely understand what he's trying to pull. Does he understand that I'm not exactly the smartest girl in the world? People need to explain things to me, most of the time. I'm not a good learning-on-my-own person. He asks me, "And Wal-Mart's filled with people, right?" 

"Yeah," I say nodding, "What's that got to...ohhhh...." 

And that's when it all clicks. He's brought me here, to a guaranteed always-busy store, filled with bustling customers who can all see us...so that they can see us. He's showing me off, showing off our relationship. He's doing this so I know that he's not ashamed of me, that I was just being really silly by thinking that way. That's why he's going overboard on the affection in front of all of these people...so that they can see us. 

The sweetness of it all truly renders me breathless. Never in my life has anyone ever done something so perfectly cute for me like this. Not once. I'm not used to it and I have no idea what I ever did to deserve this, but I'm definitely not going to take it for granted. "Ethan," I say, my voice clogged with emotion because I have no idea how to show him how utterly happy I am that he's done this. 

He chuckles, but does not breathe a word as he leans in and gently presses his lips against mine. It's nothing too over-the-top, nothing like what Darla had to witness that night in the kitchen. It's just a kind, sweet kiss...one that I'm going to smile at every time I think about it.  

"Eww...get a room." 

"Mommy! What are they doing?" 

"That's so cute, like oh my God!" 

It's when we start hearing people's reactions that Ethan draws away from me, his face absolutely radiant as he drops his arms from my waist, instead switching so that he can thread one across my shoulder and draw me into his side. My cheeks are absolutely blazing with the knowledge that people have seen this, but I really can't be too bothered with it because I'm still swimming in delight that Ethan's done something so beautiful. 

Sounding absolutely content with himself, he says, "Now let's get out of here." 

"Wait," I cut in, "What about getting things for dinner?" 

He just laughs at me, leaning in and pressing another soft kiss against the crown of my head. "I was lying...I just wanted you to stop asking questions." 

"I would yell at you for lying," I say as we both step back into the hot Nashville summer sun, heading back for Ethan's truck, "But I really can't be mad at you after that." 

"Good...'twas the point," he says happily, fishing his keys out of the pocket of his torn Levis. 

I would call him out on being weird or something, like I always do when he says something like that, but I really just can't. I'm still far too swept away by what he pulled in there to say anything remotely mean to him. So instead of calling him something mean, I instead just lean my cheek against his chest as we walk, and silently thank whoever I need to thank for bringing such a guy in my life.