tom

I depart from the airplane, and go to claim my luggage. I was to move to L.A. soon, and I was going to stay with Jordan while we all waited on a house to live in together. Really, I was just sick of the constant high ping from living in the U.K.

I turn around, bags in hand, to see Jordan. "Tom!" he exclaims, a smile beaming on his face.

"Hey, Jordan!" I exclaim. I hadn't seen Jordan in a few months, so it was nice to see him again. "How's it goin', man?" I ask.

"Good! Tucker and Sonja should be here anytime soon. They said they had something to tell us?" he said, in a moreover questioning tone.

"Huh? That's weird..." I trail off.

After waiting about fifteen minutes, I see Tucker and Sonja walk in with a girl alongside them. Jordan and I look to each other, and raise an eyebrow.

"So," Tucker says, before we can question anything, "This is Sonja and I's daughter, Kate. We officially adopted her today."

"Uh, Tucker? Bud?" Jordan starts laughing, "She doesn't look like much of a kid--no offense to you, but you look pretty old to be getting adopted."

She laughs, "None taken. I turn eighteen in a month. I really wasn't expecting to get out of there before I turned eighteen, but here I am!"

"Ohh," Jordan starts, "So it's kind of like what Sky and his wife did, then?" he asks.

Sonja rolls her eyes, "Yeah, but this isn't for publicity. I... know what it's like to be in that broken system, and I wanted to take a child out of it."

I, for one, couldn't get over how gorgeous she was. Wait--"How old did you say you were again?" I ask.

Kate laughs, "Seventeen. Nice to meet you too, what is it, Tom?" she asks.

Oh, I thought to myself, I didn't even introduce myself, I reach for her hand, "Yeah, it's Tom. Nice to meet you, Kate."

She shakes my hand, "Nice to meet you too, Tom."

Tucker glares at me, oh fuck, I think, I feel like he can read my mind.

Jordan starts to talk in the midst of the silence. "So," he starts, then clasps his hands together, "where do you guys wanna eat?"

kate

Tom was kind of cute, not gonna lie. He's probably way older than me, though. Plus, Tucker would not want his daughter dating one of his friends. That's kind of gross.

We arrived at the restaurant, Sonja driving Tucker and I, following Jordan's car which consisted of Jordan and Tom.

We got out, and went inside, sitting at a booth together. I was small, so I was able to squeeze in on the very inside of the booth. A waiter came to us, and took our orders, and the group started to talk about their plans to move in together. I, at this point, decided to stare out the window.

"Hey," Jordan says, "Did these two get you a phone, or do I need to take you to get one?" he says, half jokingly.

Tucker laughs, "Hey man, if you're offering to buy her a phone, please do. Saves me money."

Jordan gives me a look, "I mean, it's up to her."

I nod, nervous to speak. He laughs, "Alright, let's do it then, after this."

I smile at him, then Sonja says, "You don't have to, Jordan."

He shrugs, "Consider it a welcoming gift. We want you here, y'know?"

I smile. "Thank you..." I choke out.

We get our food, and the four continue to talk about housing situations.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be staying with Jordan until we move in. I have everything I need," Tom explains.

Tucker raises an eyebrow, "What about the rest of your stuff?"

Tom laughs, "My house is for sale, I donated and sold most of my furniture. I have the rest of the stuff that I actually need."

"Hm..." Tucker says, taking a drink of his soda. "Okay," he says.

Tom rolls his eyes, "It'll all be fine, Tucker, don't worry."

"If you say so," Tucker says.

After we ate and tipped, Sonja and Tucker both look at me. "Are you going to be good with these boys, or do we need to come with you?" Sonja asks, jokingly.

I laugh, "I'll be fine, don't worry."

"Okay, make sure you text us when you get your phone activated!" Sonja exclaims.

I nod, "I will!"

"Jordan, don't be out all night, you hear me?" Tucker says.

"Don't worry about it, Tucker!" Jordan says, unlocking his car. I pile into his backseat, as Tom gets in the front.

He turns on the air conditioning, and puts the radio on a medium volume.

"So," Jordan starts, "Did you know anything about YouTube? You know, before Sonja and Tucker?" he asks.

"Yeah, actually," I say with a laugh. "I watched a lot of Team Crafted when I would go to the library. So, I kinda already knew who you were, Jordan. You too, Tom, I knew who you were because of Jordan being in Mianite."

"Wait, really? That's actually cool," Jordan says, "Did you hear about Team Crafted adopting that one girl?"

"Ughhh," I say, and then laugh, "Sadly! I shared a room with that bitch for five years!" I exclaim.

"For real?" Jordan asks, "That's crazy, no way..." he trails off.

"Yup," I say, "I cannot stand her. She is such an immature prick, I swear..." I let myself trail off. "It's cool, though."

Jordan laughs, "Hey," he starts, "At least you're not stuck with her anymore..." he trails off, then laughs, "you know who is, though?"

"Hm?"

"Team Crafted."

I bust out laughing, "Oh my god, I am so sorry Team Crafted," I say.

Jordan laughs, turning into a parking lot. "Honestly, you got the better end of the stick. I'd rather these guys over them, any day."

"Oh?" I ask, as Jordan turns his car off. He nods, unbuckling, "Yeah, those guys have massive egos."

I laugh, "Sounds about right," I say, as we leave his car.

Tom and I follow Jordan around in the mall, us not knowing where the hell we were going. We walk into a Verizon store, and Jordan starts to talk to the clerk.

At this point, I start to zone out, staring into the oblivion which was the phones on the wall. I begin thinking about how much my world has changed. I, for one, never thought in my life, that fucking CaptainSparklez would be buying me a phone, but here I am.

After a few minutes, Jordan hands me my phone. "Here," he says, "Brand new!"

I smile, "Thank you so much, Jordan... really..." I say.

"Hey, it's no problem, kiddo," he says, "and hey, if you ever need anything, just shoot me a text. I put mine and your parents' numbers in there."

Tom gives him a look, then looks to me, then down. "Tom?" I ask.

He looks back up, "Hm?"

"May I have your number?" I ask, laughing.

He laughs, grabbing my phone, and typing in his number. "Duh," he says.

"Hey, we should take her home," Jordan says, "it's getting kinda late..." he trails off.

Tom frowns, "Yeah, true," he says.

I sigh, "Fiiine."

Once I got back to our house, I don't see Tucker or Sonja in the living room, or the kitchen. I walk upstairs, then hear Sonja and Tucker talking. "Kate! Is that you?" Tucker asks.

"Yeah! I'm home!" I shout.

"Come here!" he yells.

I walk toward where I heard their voices, only to see them sitting in bed. "Hey, check this out," he says, gesturing toward his computer screen.

I look at it, to see a house listing. "We're gonna go check it out tomorrow, us and the guys. You're coming with us..." he trails off, and flips the pictures.

"It's a six bedroom house," he explains, "I think it could be nice..." he trails off once more, looking through the pictures.

"What do you think?" he asks.

"It looks nice, but it's huge..." I say.

Sonja laughs, "Well, it's gotta fit all of us, right?"

• • •

ok i end here bye have a good night :)