At Ethan's house, you immediately saw a woman cooking in the kitchen, her back to you. "Hey Ethan! How was school?"

"Good, Grandma. Can I have a friend stay for dinner?" He asked, reaching over her to try to grab some food, but she slapped his hand away before turning around to greet you.

"Oh hello, dear! What's your name?"

"Y/N, its very nice to meet you, ma'am." You went to shake her hand but she pulled you in for a hug then pulled apart to look at your outfit.

"Oh! You go to Dreathford Prep! How'd Ethan snatch you?"

He groaned as you giggled at his face turning red. "When's dinner gonna be ready?"

"Oh uhm, not for another couple hours, how about you two try to get some homework done in the meantime?"

"Yes Grandma." He kissed her cheek before gesturing you up the stairs.

You followed him into a room that you figured to be Ethan's bedroom, the walls painted a similar blue to his hair, pictures of him and his friends pasted around the room. With a smile on your face, you looked at the silly pictures of them all. A boy with red hair, a boy with green hair, a girl with yellow hair, and of course Ethan's blue hair.

"Do all Howard kids have colored hair?"

"Do all Dreathford kids assume there's a stark contrast between us?" He retaliated, turning on his gaming console and TV.

"Touché."

You sat beside him on his bed and let him hand you a controller. "What game are we playing?"

"Just some classic Mario Kart."

After you had beaten Ethan for the fifth time in tournament, he turned to glare at you. "How are you so good at this game?"

"Eddie was the world champion when he was younger." You shrugged, selecting a new character.

"Eddie?"

"My parents' chauffeur."

"The former world champion of Mario Kart is now your chauffeur?" He asked, mouth agape incredulously.

"Yep, he's pretty cool. You can meet him if you wanna." You offered, revving your engine on-screen.

"Of course I want to meet him!"

Soon enough, Ethan's grandma called everyone down for dinner. Already in the kitchen were people you assumed to be more of his family as he greeted them all with hugs and kisses. "Uhm Ethan, you forgot to mention your friend." A woman younger than his grandma gestured to you.

"Oh sorry!" He gently guided you from your awkward position in the doorway well into the room. "Y/N, this is my mom, dad, and brother Andrew."

You politely shook each of their hands, quietly introducing yourself. Andrew titled his head as he looked at your outfit. "Ethan's dating a Dreathford girl?"

Immediately, all of them started clamoring over you and your high class life, how Ethan and you met, and of course just why you were dating him. Which you weren't!

"Will you all stop? We're not dating!" Ethan yelled above the noise, placing himself between you and his family. He placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, and you hadn't even realized you'd been cowering in the direct attention. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, it was just a little overwhelming." You straightened your clothes and posture, embarrassed to be seen like that. Flashing a smile at his family, you spoke. "I'm glad that misunderstanding was cleared up."

"Sorry Y/N." Mrs. Nestor apologized, offering you a motherly hug.

"We didn't mean to overwhelm you, we're just not used to Ethan bringing home girls, especially not ones from Dreathford." His dad explained, poking fun at his son.

"Dad!" He groaned, rolling his eyes, and his brother took his head to rub a noogie into his hair.

"How about we bring out the baby photos to celebrate this momentous occasion?" Andrew suggested as Ethan struggled in his grip.

"Andrew!"

You giggled as you watched the spectacle before you. So this was a normal family. "Andrew!" The grandma pinched his ear, causing him to immediately release his younger brother. "Tease the poor boy later, pasta's ready."

At the table, you politely waited for everyone else to get their food before starting. Sandwiched between Ethan and his brother, you felt everyone's eyes on you as you lifted the first bite to your mouth. Sheepishly, you moved to put your fork back down. "Sorry, did I do something wrong?"

"No sweetie, we always let the guest start eating first." The mom assured you, and you thankfully picked the fork back up. At your house, it was rare for everyone to eat together, your parents always on business trips.

"Oh thank you." You smiled, taking the food into your mouth.

Immediately, the rest of the family started eating, amiable chatter erupting all around you. Dinner passed without incident, you enjoying the feeling of a normal school night with no butlers, servants, professional chefs, or business calls interrupting conversations. Until your phone began ringing.

"I am so sorry!" You exclaimed, looking down at the caller ID. Your mom. "I really need to take this."

"Go ahead, the boys were about to start bussing the table anyway." Ethan's dad said pointedly towards his sons, and they obliged with reluctant groans.

You wandered into the room next to the dining room, assumably the living room by the couches and TV. Accepting the call with baited breath, you held your phone up to your ear. "Y/N, where on earth are you?"

You chewed on your lip, not willing to tell her your location. "Alyssa's house for dinner."

She sighed through the speaker. "Honey, you should have told Eddie, or at least your piano teacher, who has been waiting at the house for two hours."

"Sorry, Mom."

"When are you going to be home?"

"Within the next hour."

"Okay, be safe, have fun. Your dad and I will be back in two weeks from Asia, okay?"

You knew they were on another business trip, but you never really knew for how long until after they had already left the country. With a sigh, you feigned cheeriness. "Alright, bye Mom!"

"Bye hon, we'll bring you souvenirs. Love you!"

Those words still brought a small smile to your face. They were trying their best, in the only way they knew. "Love you too, tell Dad I miss him."

"I will, and you know we miss you too, right?"

"Of course. I hope everything goes well for you all in Asia."

"Thanks Y/N. Bye."

"Bye."

With a click, she hung up on you, and you stuffed your phone back into your pocket. You walked back into the dining room to see the adults each with a beer. They talked jovially, and you were unsure of what to say when Mr. Nestor spotted you. "Y/N, is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes sir. That was just my mom wondering when I'll be home."

"Andrew and Ethan can take you home when they've finished the dishes."

"Thank you very much." You nodded to him, walking into the kitchen to find the brothers.

In the kitchen, Andrew was scrubbing while Ethan dried and placed the dishes in the dishwasher. "Hey Y/N!" The blue-haired boy greeted you cheerily.

"Hey Ethan, would you mind taking me home after you're done?"

"Ah, Andrew has the car, but I'm sure he won't mind."

"A chance to see the mansion of a Dreathford Prep family? Of course I won't mind!" His brother explained excitedly from the sink.

Later, in the car, Ethan insisted on sitting beside you in the backseat as his brother navigated the streets via your directions. As you all approached the hill leading up to the gates of your house, you could hear audible gasps from your friends. Thankfully it was still open for daytime deliveries, so you three got through with no problem.

Andrew pulled all the way up your looped driveway to your front door. "Thank you for the ride, Andrew!"

"This is such a cool house!" He replied as if he didn't hear you, looking at your home with wonder.

Ethan walked you up to the front door like a proper gentleman for you to say your goodbyes. "Thank you so much for tonight. I think that's the most fun I've had in forever."

"It was only Tuesday night pasta with my family." He ran a hand through his hair, clearly embarrassed at your kind words.

"It was wonderful, Ethan. You're wonderful. I hope we can hang out again."

"Yeah, me too."

You stood on your tiptoes to gently place a kiss on his cheek. "Bye Ethan."

"Bye Y/N." He grinned down at you, blush spreading across both of your faces.