Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's an update!

I repeat, this is an update, this is an update!

No, you're eyes aren't deceiving you, this is indeed an update.

Has it sunk in yet? No?

UPDATE ALERT, UPDATE ALERT, UPDATE ALET.

Holy crap this is an update.

Sorry for the long wait guys. You know I love you all right?

Please vote and comment, I love to hear what you guys think of my story.

Oh and by the way 1k reads?! What the fuck is this? You've really outdone yourselves. XD

*~*~*~*~*

I stared wide eyed and open mouthed as Ryan devoured the forkful of pancake.

"But...but...that was mine!" I spluttered.

Ryan finally stopped chewing, swallowing my poor pancake. "Very true, the key word in that sentence being was."

I looked at him, mortified at how casual he was being. He just ate my food. My food. The police should have been there, arresting him for stealing. Didn't he know it's a crime to take someone's food without asking?

"You have no idea what you just got yourself into," Tara said to Ryan, glancing at me wearily.

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the food thief who was grinning his ass off. Little bastard.

"You know, I would consider myself a very kind, considerate human being. But when food comes into the equation, all that shit goes out the window. I would also like to point out that food is spelt 'F-O-O-D'. Nowhere in there are the letters 'W-E'. That's why 'f' and 's' are so far apart in the alphabet; because food and sharing hate each other." I paused for a moment, thinking about fudge sauce. The words fudge and sauce were practically made for each other so maybe I just contradicted myself.

I shook away my thought, carrying on with my rant. "What if this is the last meal I have in weeks? What if that piece of pancake you just ate would have made me last the few hours until my rescue?" I looked around at the surprised faces, internally sighing.

"Sorry, I really don't think I've evolved from my cavewoman days."

*~*~*~*

The rest of the day was spent watching movies and playing stupid games like truth or dare, which was really only truth because no one could be bothered to get up to do a dare.

Jasmine had gone home, saying that she needed to paint her nails or some shit like that. I didn't care as long as she kept quiet.

I had a lot on my mind as the six of us sat watching Jaws, sprawled across the couch and the floor. Now usually I would have been scared out of my mind, but I was thinking. I could see the pictures moving but my brain wasn't really engaging. I was thinking about my sketchbook, about Ryan, about my mom, but mostly I was thinking about Caleb. I hadn't heard from him since my mother so kindly ended the call. To say I was worried would be an understatement.

I felt a nudge on my right arm. "Hey, Sunshine?" He whispered.

"Mmm?"

"Whatcha thinking about?"

I sighed, why not tell him the truth?

"My brother. I haven't heard from him in a while and it's freaking me out."

He motioned for me to move closer and I did. He wrapped one long arm around me, pulling my head to his chest.

My heart started beating at a million miles a minute due to our close proximity.

What was this boy doing to me?

"I sure he's fine Sunshine."

"How do you know?" I asked, lifting my head from his chest slightly so I could see his face.

"I just know," he smiled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

Apparently that seemed legit to me because I put my head back on his chest and that's the last thing I remember.

*~*~*~*~*

"Oh my god! They're so adorable!"

"Someone take a picture so they can frame it."

"Ow! Was that really necessary?"

"Shut up, you sound like a chick."

"You are a chick."

"Thanks for telling me, I hadn't noticed."

Whack.

"I never knew you were so abusive."

"You bring out the worst in me. Now take the damn picture before they wake up!"

"Fine."

Click.

"That is literally the worst picture I have ever seen. You're supposed to wait until the damn thing is focused."

"You do it then."

"I will."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Click.

"See, now the picture doesn't look like it's been dropped in the toilet."

"Shut up."

"Ooh, great comeback. Your creative juices are really flowing today."

"Shut up."

There was a loud sigh. "Their kids are going to be beautiful."

My eyes almost popped open in surprise. Kids? Slow it way down there buddy.

Ryan must've also heard that comment because he groaned, rolling onto his side so that he was facing me. Our faces were so close that they were almost touching, but I couldn't scoot backwards because one of his arms was holding me in place. And let me tell you, his arms were probably close to the same size as my legs. My own uncooked spaghetti arms wouldn't stand a chance.

I was well aware that we had an audience at that point, but I knew there was no way to escape from Ryan's death grip because there was no way to wake him up, as I had recently figured out that he was one hell of a heavy sleeper.

I decided to just keep my eyes closed. I mean, come on, I was warm, comfortable and snuggling with a hot guy. Do I need any more reasons to stay fake sleeping for ten more minutes? I think not.

Slowly, the whispered conversations stopped, and several sets of footsteps retreated. I waited until I could no longer hear them before I opened my eyes.

My eyes were greeted by Ryan's mesmerising blue ones. Although up close they weren't really blue at all. Flecks of hazel and gold surrounded the pupil, while veins the colour of ice created a marbled effect, contrasting to the dark blue ring encasing the iris.

I'm pretty sure I looked like a goldfish, staring with my big Bambi eyes. I probably had my mouth open too.

Ryan smirked, snapping me out of my ogling fest. "I knew you were awake."

I frowned. "How?"

"Your breathing changed. When you were sleeping it was steady, when you woke up it was faster," he claimed.

"How did you-? Wait, so you were awake too?"

"I couldn't sleep with those idiots gossiping like middle schoolers. I would tend to agree though, we would have cute kids." He grinned at me, clearly noticing how very red my cheeks were getting.

He jumped off the couch, stretching, then making his way into the kitchen where the others were. Not before throwing me a boyish smirk over his shoulder.

I sat there dumbfounded. Guys should really learn not to joke about these things. Way to give a girl a heart attack.

I waited for a while, allowing my cheeks time to cool down before I headed to the kitchen. Everyone was already sitting around the table by the time I got there. Everyone meaning, Tara, Lee, Justin, Kyle, Ryan, Archie, and a blonde woman I'd never seen before.

"Oh hey, you've risen from the dead," Tara greeted upon seeing me.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. Typical Tara response.

A chair scraped, and soon I was face to face with the blonde woman. Well, more like face to neck, she was pretty short. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, and she looked tired, weary. But her laugh lines told a different story. She had dark blue eyes, and she wore a kind smile. I could tell just by looking at her that she was Ryan's mother. They shared the same nose and had the same teasing yet understanding look in their eyes. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"You must be Hazel, I've heard so much about you."

"You have?" I asked anxiously, looking over at Ryan. What had he told her about? The food fight with Jasmine? The late night stargazing? Breaking and entering the detention room?

She grinned. Oh god, they had the same grin. "Of course. Ryan tells his momma everything."

"Mom," he hissed, hiding his head in his hands.

That only widened her grin. "He loves me."

I chuckled. "That he does. Oh and thanks for not kicking me out when you found a random girl on your couch."

She waved a hand. "Don't mention it hun, these guys practically live here anyway." She gestured towards the other three guys. "Plus, I've discovered stranger things in my living room before," she said, sending Ryan a pointed look.

He smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Thank you," I said genuinely.

"You're very welcome. Besides, I can't just go kicking my future daughter-in- law out of the house, now can I?"

"Ma!" Ryan exclaimed.

If my cheeks weren't burning before, they sure as hell were then.

"What? I'm just reading into the future." She took her seat at the table, motioning for me to sit.

I claimed the last empty seat, between Tara and Archie. I covered my cheeks with my hands in an effort to make some of the similarities between me and a fire truck disappear. It didn't work.

"Dig in guys."

Only then did I start noticing the goods on the table. There was fruit, yogurt, cereal, toast, and waffles.

My mouth watered at the sight of those waffles, and I quickly snagged one before the boys ate them all. I poured a small amount of syrup over the waffle, not drowning it like Kyle had done with his pancakes the previous day.

I felt a tug on my sleeve and looked down to find Archie. He couldn't reach the food.

"What do you want to eat kiddo?" I asked.

He looked longingly at the waffle sitting on my plate.

I almost cried when I saw that there were no waffles remaining in the middle of the table.

I guess I had to hand the waffle over. What kind of a person would deny sharing food with the cutest little kid in the world.

I smiled, setting the plate in front of him. "Here you go bud."

He grinned in thanks.

"Holy tofu, you lost a tooth?!" I exclaimed, seeing his gummy smile.

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Nice job dude, gimme five," I said, holding out my hand, which he slammed proudly.

"Did the tooth fairy come?"

He nodded again.

"Was she generous?"

He frowned at me. "The tooth fairy is a boy."

Wha..?

"Sorry I totally forgot," I replied, smacking my own forehead for emphasis. I still had no idea what he was talking about. "Was he generous?"

That ruined my childhood. Since when was the tooth fairy a boy?

Archie nodded again, pulling a dollar bill from his pocket and waving it in front of my face.

"Woah, what are you going to buy?"

"Candy, so more of my teeth fall out and the tooth fairy will come again."

I knew there was a reason that I liked this kid. He's like me, most of what I think about involves food or eating.

"Make sure you don't rot out all your teeth, or you'll have none left. Then you won't be able to eat candy at all."

He nodded furiously, stuffing some waffle into his mouth.

I laughed, shaking my head. I poured myself a bowl of lucky charms, not nearly as good as waffles, but still, marshmallows for breakfast, don't mind if I do.

*~*~*~*~*

After thanking Mrs Martinez for her hospitality I figured that I should probably go home, considering that I hadn't been there since Friday and it was currently Sunday.

Upon walking through the door, my mom was waiting for me.

She smiled. "Hi sweetheart, how was your weekend?"

I rolled my eyes. God, she was in one of those moods. I hated it when people I was angry at tried to be nice to me.

I wasn't at the point where I could forgive her for ending my call with Caleb.

"Fine," I muttered. Actually it was more than fine, but I didn't want to make small talk with her. I didn't like her, and I didn't like small talk.

"What did you do?"

I narrowed my eyes. She was trying to pry. I did feel a little guilty though, for not texting or calling.

"I was with Tara," I said to put her mind at ease.

Her facial expression changed in the blink of an eye. "If you were with Tara how come I saw you at the neighbours house. Stop lying to me," she seethed.

"I wasn't lying. Tara was with me at the neighbours house," I said in a bored tone.

"I'll tell her mother that she was alone with a bunch of boys," she threatened.

I rolled my eyes, putting my hands on my hips. "She wasn't alone remember? I was there and so was Mrs Martinez. Plus, Tara's mom already knows because Tara called her. She's fine with it."

"Why couldn't you call me?" She demanded.

"Because I knew that you'd react like this!" I threw my hands in the air.

"I don't want you to turn out like-"

"Turn out like who mom? You? You don't have to worry about that."

"Excuse me? I didn't raise you to disrespect your own mother!"

"You didn't raise me, and I'll never forgive you for what you did," I said lowly. "Anyway, if you were actually worried you could've called me, instead of spying on me through the window like a creep."

With that I spun around, stomped up the stairs to my room, slammed the door and locked it.

~*~*~*~*~

I was hungry. My stomach was singing its heart out and it wouldn't stop.

I'd skipped dinner because I was trying to prove a point. The point being that mom couldn't just control everything in my life. She couldn't make me come out of my room because I'd locked the door. But damn I was hungry.

A tap on the door snapped me out of my daydream. I was thinking about pizza.

"What? I am not letting you in if that's-"

"I brought you some dinner."

"Come in," I said, quickly unlocking the door.

My dad walked in carrying a plate of spaghetti bolognese and a fork.

Did I ever tell you how much I loved my dad?

"Thanks dad," I said, taking the plate and shovelling forkfuls in my mouth.

He smiled, shaking his head at me. He then took a seat next to me on my bed.

"Your mom didn't want me to bring any food to you."

That didn't surprise me.

"But you came anyway?"

"Of course. You're my first daughter, I can't just let you starve now can I?"

"I guess not." I twirled a few strands of spaghetti around my fork thoughtfully.

"Why don't you get a divorce?"

He didn't seem too surprised by my extremely direct question.

He ran a hand down his face. "I would if I could. Trust me on that one kiddo."

I frowned to myself. "Why can't you?

"I couldn't live with myself if I left you and your sister with her."

"Then take us with you."

"You know she'd never let me take Jasmine, and since you and I aren't blood related she has custody. Even if I took it to court she'd win the custody battle because technically you're not my daughter."

I studied his face. "You never loved each other did you?"

He shrugged. "Maybe for a while before we were married, but no one can ever really love your mother. She's too cold, to bitter to love or be loved."

A gentle smile took over his features as I watched intently.

"I remember the first time I met you," he said, looking at me fondly. "You were this tiny little girl with crazy chocolate coloured hair and the biggest brown eyes I'd ever seen. You know you called me daddy the same day that I met you? I knew that I couldn't leave you, so I got in your moms good graces."

"You married my mom because of me?"

He nodded absent mindedly. "I loved you far before I loved your mom."

I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I wish you were my real dad."

"You and me both, kid, you and me both."

~*~*~*~*~

What about that last scene though. So touching.

Anyways, how was that chapter?

Remember to vote, follow, comment. All that good stuff.

Until next time.