【 REAL LIFE! 】

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The whole plane ride, Tom asked Salem why they were really going to Florida. Salem attempted to pretend Tom didn't exist. Which, of course, didn't last long. All it took was Tom grabbing his hand and smiling sweetly at him for Salem to melt right into him. It took everything in him to not tell Tom why they were heading to Florida.

          When Tom wasn't begging Salem to tell him why they were heading to Florida, the two were. taking what seemed to be a thousand selfies. After awhile, Salem ended up tossing goldfish at Gus, who had fallen asleep not too long after getting on the plane. Tom tried to take the goldfish away but it wasn't like he really had anywhere to hide the food.

          The plane ride ended with Salem telling Gus he had no clue how he got covered in goldfish—while holding the bag of goldfish in his hands. Gus sent Salem the most annoyed look he possibly could before calling Salem a bitch and heading for the planes exit. This caused Tom's eyes to widen before speed-walking after the boy, yelling about why he shouldn't be cursing. Salem followed after the boys, shaking his head.

As Salem stepped off the plane, he looked around to find Gus and Tom. It didn't take long, the two were standing near some vending machines arguing. Tom was still scolding Gus for cursing and Gus was telling Tom to "take a major chill pill, dude."

          Salem approached the boys, "Alrighty, boys. I see you guys are having loads of fun right now but we gotta get our stuff and head to the exit. Don't want our ride to ditch us at the airport, do we?" The two stopped arguing and looked at Salem.

          Tom crossed his arms over his chest, "You still haven't told me what we're really doing here, Salem."

          Salem forced a smile onto his face as he clapped his hands together, "And I'm not gonna. But you're gonna see here in a couple moments." Salem let out a small, nervous laugh before turning away from the two boys and heading towards the bag pick up. Tom placed a hand on Gus's shoulder to make sure they didn't loose him—he still had a habit of running away with no warning. They followed behind Salem and they all walked to the bag pick up in silence.

          After grabbing their bags, Salem turned to the boys again, "Everyone got everything?" Tom and Salem nodded. "Great. To the exit we go." They all made their way through the groups of people as they made their way to the exit. Silence fell upon the three as they walked. Salem was scouting the area out in order to find their ride. Tom was having an internal meltdown, again, as he tried to figure out what they were doing in Florida. Gus was looking down at his phone, texting Jimmy.

          Salem stopped abruptly and turned to Tom, "Alright. Tom, please don't hat—"

          Before Salem could finish, Gus cut him off with a loud scream, "Nanny! Gramps!" Tom turned to Gus just in time to see him run off in the direction of an older couple standing next to the airports exit. Tom, finally processing what Gus had said, looked at Salem with a shocked expression.

          "We're here to see your parents?"

          Salem held his hands out and wiggled his fingers as he forced out: "Surprise." Tom was about to speak but stopped when Salem held a finger up to Tom's mouth, "I understand that you're probably very upset with me for lying about why we were coming go Florida and just overall not telling you that you were meeting my parents but in my defense, I had a very good reason to do so!"

          "And that reason is?"

          "I, uh, well— I don't actually have a good reason. I lied. Again. I was just afraid you would say no if I just straight out asked you. I'm a coward, alright?" Salem spoke quickly and defensively as he placed his hands firmly on his hips. He began rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet, "Please, don't be mad. In all honesty, I had full intentions of never introducing you guys. Not because I'm embarrassed of you but because I'm embarrassed of my parents and all the stories they'll tell you about me."

          "What stories could they tell me about you that could actually embarrass you? Salem, you have told me some of the weirdest stories from your life. What else could there possibly be? Certainly nothing that could surprise me, I'm sure."

          "If you think the things I've told you are weird, just wait. Trust me, it gets worse."

          Tom sighed, glancing over Salem's shoulder to where Gus and Salem's parents stood, "I don't wanna be mad at you, Salem, but I really wish you had just told me. I mean, come on, I'm meeting your parents! This is a big deal. And I'm no where near emotionally prepared for this."

          "It'll be fine! I love you," Salem spoke, dragging the 'o' out as he attempted to bat his eyelashes innocently. Tom playfully rolled his eyes—trying to hide the fact that he was actually a complete mess over the fact that Salem's parents were actually standing a couple feet away from him. "Ready to meet them?"

          "No," Tom shook his head as Salem laced their fingers together. "I'm just gonna go jump on a random flight. See you, uh, soon or something," Tom attempted to turn away and leave.

          Salem pulled the boy back and placed a hand on his face, "I really should of told you. And I'm sorry I didn't. But I really love you and it's way too late to go back now. Anyways, me meeting your parents went fine. How bad can this be?"

          "You're lucky I love you," Tom mumbled as Salem pulled him over to his parents. Salem smiled at the boys statement as they stopped.

"Mother, father. Wonderful to see the two of you again," Salem let go of Tom's hand before dramatically bowing to his parents. "How have my lovely parents been? I've missed you dearly a—"

"Why the fuck are you talking like that?" His father asked, pointing a finger at the boy. He began waving his finger, "You sound dumb." The man let out a snort at the end causing Tom and Gus to let out a laugh and Salem's mother to slap the mans chest.

Salem grinned at his dad before holding a hand out towards him, "This is my dad, Carlisle." He moved his hand to his mother, "And the woman who gave birth to me, Jennifer. But she prefers to be called Jenny. Call her Jennifer and you'll be sleeping on the back porch."

Jenny scoffed and pushed Salem to the side so that she could stand next to Tom, "Ignore that asshole. I won't make you sleep on the porch if you call me Jennifer. Will I be happy about it? No. But I'll get over it, I guess. It's not that I hate Jennifer, I just prefer being called Jenny bec—"

"Momma, I love you but he didn't ask for you life story," Salem joked causing the woman to wave him off. Salem knew his mother would continue on telling Tom about every aspect of her life if he didn't do something so he stepped in, pulling Tom away. "I think it's time we head for the house, yeah?"

"If we must," Jenny shrugged. She began walking, grabbing Tom's hand and pulling him along next to her. Salem stood on the other side of Tom while Carlisle was on the other side of Jenny. Gus walked a little ways in front of the group, now on FaceTime with Jimmy. Jenny held a tight grip on Tom's arm as she spoke,"So, how much of an idiot has my boy been the past couple of years?"

Salem raised an eyebrow, watching Tom expectantly. Tom fought back a laugh as he spoke, "A pretty big one. Didn't even tell me we were coming down here to meet you guys. He told me we were going to an alien convention."

The woman gasped before leaning over Tom to smack her sons arm, "Why didn't you tell him?"

"I'm a coward, mother. I cant help it."

She waved her son off again before looking up to Tom, "So, my idiot boy is still into aliens?" This time, Tom did laugh as he nodded. "Still actually going to those conventions?" Another nod. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I know it's hard. I had to deal with it for like twelve years before he moved out. I'd say it gets easier but you've been with my son for what? Two years now? So I'm sure you know it doesn't get better."

"Trust me, I know."

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【 NOTE! 】
❨ 8.21.18 ❩
holy shit i actually updated
whats mcfucking popping?

on the real, this chapters shit
because i had no motivation to
write this which is why it took
a solid two months xx

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