A/N: This one is dedicated to Rach for our brilliant dnm that legit made my day along with destroying my motivation for any work for the rest of the day. But thank you! And to the rest of you lovely people who read this, I really truly hope you like this. This should be... interesting ;)

***

I fucking hated ties. I didn't know how they worked, I didn't want to know.

I held my tie in my hand, staring at myself in the mirror. I felt hopeless. What kind of eighteen year old can't do a fucking tie?

I raked a hand through my hair and took deep breaths to calm myself. I had to keep my shit together. I was about to go to dinner with Rylie's Satan mother to support her. I really really couldn't afford to lose it.

There was a knock on the door, timid and quiet. Hazel.

"Come in," I grumbled, not directing my frustration at my little sister but more so at myself.

"Oh dear, what's wrong?"

I turned to face Hazel, standing half way in the door with a frown etched onto her face.

"I really do not like ties."

A look of relief washed over her face and she smiled. "Would you like some help?"

I nodded. I needed it.

She padded across the carpet in bare feet, standing in front of where I was sitting. She held her hand out and I put the tie in her hand.

"You seem stressed," she commented, lifting my collar and doing up the tie with ease.

"A little," I allowed. Could you blame me? How was I supposed to do this?

"You'll be fine, Max. Just follow what Rylie does and be strong for her. You'll be alright." She stepped back to look at the tie, her green eyes analysing her work. She nodded, deeming it acceptable.

"Thanks Hazel," I smiled, but was shaking on the inside. I had to be there for Rylie, I wanted to. She had chosen me to be with her through this, so I had to be the confident one.

Okay, I could do this.

I rubbed my hands on my slacks before standing up, towering over my sister. "Do I look okay?"

She took a step back, looking at my whole get-up in one go. "It'll do," she smirked. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I wished we didn't rub off on her so much.

"Have fun," she called as I walked out the front door, before correcting herself. "Well, I mean. Yeah, but that's probably not the right thing to say. Good luck, maybe?"

I nodded. "Much better."

I could do this. I had to repeat this to myself over and over as I drove to Rylie's. When I got there, there was already another car parked out the front. I assumed it wasn't her mother's because I thought we were meeting her at the restaurant. Hmm.

I took a few deep breaths before knocking on the door. Brian answered with a dim smile. "Good evening, Max."

"Brian," I nodded, trying to shake the nerves. I'd have to put up some of my mask if I was to get through tonight.

"Thanks for doing this for Rylie," he said as we walked to the kitchen. Kye was sitting there with another guy beside him, presumably for Charlie. He seemed about her age. All of us wore the same style of clothes; shirt, slacks, dress shoes. I envied Kye's lack of a tie.

"It's not a problem." I tried to sound convincing but I don't think he believed me.

There was a thud upstairs, sounding as if someone had just stomped on the ground. "Will that be Charlie and Rylie?" The new guy asked, his question directed in the general direction of Kye.

"I reckon," Kye nodded, seeming more sure of himself as footsteps were heard closer to the top of the stairs.

The guy got up to walk to the bottom of the stairs, like a true gentleman. I cursed him for thinking of doing that before me and figured if we were both standing there it would look weird. So I stayed put, earning a smirk from Kye who I felt at the time could read my mind.

I was tapping my hand against the table at an annoying speed and bouncing my leg up and down. I couldn't sit still. I was anxious to go.

There was a commotion on the stairs from what it sounded. One of the sets of footsteps sounded very loud, clunky and unstable. I would have bet my entire savings that was Rylie.

The noise stopped, followed by murmuring and then, Rylie's appearance in the kitchen doorway.

I froze.

Damn.

She wore a daringly short black dress with a pair heels that made her legs look like they went on for ever. Her hair had it's normal wave in it but pinned it half up.

I really wished we could do something more, interesting, than going out to dinner...

"You look nice," Brian commented, although I behind his eyes I could see the slight worry about his daughter in a dress like that. I can't say my reaction would have been very comforting to him.

"Thank you," she said, her lips turning up at the corners. She looked at me for the first time since she'd come downstairs, her eyes glinting with worry and something else I couldn't quite place.

We left then, saying goodbye to Brian before making our way to the cars in the darkening evening. Kye was going with Charlie and the other guy while Rylie was stuck with me.

As soon as the doors were closed and the car was on, I couldn't help myself. "You look incredible."

Even in the dark I could faintly see her blush. "Thank you."

"Nervous?" I asked, pulling out onto the road.

She nodded. "Are you?"

"I'm trying not to be. I mean, the only reason I'm here is so that I can be the strong person while you are a wreck." I couldn't resist the urge to tease her, smiling as I followed the car ahead of us containing her siblings.

I didn't catch her reaction but considering she didn't say anything, I bet she rolled her eyes. She then continued to rave about the Good Charlotte song that was playing on the radio. I couldn't help but join in on that. Good Charlotte was God.

I thought Rylie was okay until the restaurant came into view. She got really quiet, her breathing quickened and her eyes widened.

"Nope, I can't do it."

I parked, turning off the car. "You can and you will." I said, taking hold of her hand and squeezing it gently. "You'll be fine and I'm here if you need me."

She started taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. I believed in her. She was strong enough to do this.

When she was ready, we climbed out of the car and met the others in front of Benvolio's, apparently this town's finest restaurant.

"Hey," the guy said, smiling at me then turning to Rylie. "Rylie, isn't it?" He asked, holding out his hand politely, the other one twined with Charlie's.

"Yeah, and you're Adam I assume?" Rylie responded, shaking his hand. Great, now the guy had I name. Adam. I could remember that.

He nodded before leading us into the restaurant. I had a feeling he would be the one steering the evening. Charlie, Kye and Rylie all looked rattled with nerves.

"Table reserved under Jade?" Charlie asked. I kept my eyes on Rylie. She was fidgeting with her dress, eyes darting around the entrance. The whole place looked smothered in riches; chandelliers and other expensive material objects of the sort scattered around.

Rylie's nails dug into my hand and I couldn't stop from wincing.

"Sorry," she rushed, biting her lip. Her forehead creased in worry.

"It's okay," I reassured her, smiling while rubbing circles into her hand with my thumb.

We were shown to a table in the far corner of the restaurant, right beside the window. It was probably the best table in the place. Standing on the other side of the table wearing the biggest fake smile I had ever seen stood the woman who was presumably their mother. She wore a long red dress with diamonds glittering around her neck.

Red, huh. Definitely sticking with the Satan theory.

Her expression was momentarily a look of shock or concern, but almost immediately it was replaced with the fake smile.

"Hello children," she greeted, holding her arms wide as if she were expecting a hug. Yeah, that wasn't happening.

Adam and I bravely took the seats beside this woman with our girls on the other side of us and Kye in between his big sisters.

Their mother cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "I wasn't aware I invited these two boys."

Great start, really, well done. You deserve a medal.

"You didn't," Charlie said, very direct. "We did."

"Well who are they?" She asked, gesturing to me then to Adam.

"This is my boyfriend Adam. We met at Uni," Charlie introduced, before the attention turned to Rylie and I.

"Uh, this is Max," she said, squeezing my hand. I squeezed back. She could do this.

"How long have you been dating?" Her mother asked, raising her eyebrows in suspicion.

I expected Rylie to reject that out of hand, even if it was to her mother whom she despised. But of course she had to surprise me, like she always did.

"Two weeks."

Their mum almost rolled her eyes, before looking down at her daughter in the most infuriatingly condescending way. "And you think he's ready to meet your mother already?"

What a cow. She's not even their mother. Well, genetically she is but that is as far as their bonds go from the looks of this.

"Well," Rylie started, her jaw working. I knew exactly where she was headed. "We are in love. It has just been the most amazing two weeks." She sounded like the perfect fake bimbo. I would have laughed but I had to put my game face on.

"Awh babe," I drawled, pinching her nose like I always did. "I'm sure your mother doesn't need all the details."

I rejoiced when I saw their mother (her name was Jade, yes, I remember) frown as if she had tasted something bad. "No, your boyfriend is right. I don't need all the details." She winced.

"Oh my God you should hear them at night, Mum!" Charlie exclaimed, pretending to groan. "They are so loud!"

The five of us were trying not to laugh but Jade seemed too uncomfortable to notice.

"Oh please, it's not like you can talk," Kye interjected with a scoff, raising his eyebrow at his big sister.

Said big sister put on a guilty expression. "Awh sorry Kye," she said, ruffling his hair. I think that was more of a comforting gesture than part of the act.

Thankfully for Jade, the waiter decided to choose that moment to ask for our appetiser orders.

"We'll all just have the polenta squares thank you," Jade said, not giving anyone a chance to speak. I mean I didn't really care; it's not as if we would make it until they were served. I figured we would be out of there in ten minutes maximum.

"So," she asked, directing the attention promptly to Adam. "What do you do for a living?"

He smiled very casually. "I work in a tattoo parlour. I actually inked up Charlie here, that's how we met."

He wasn't a bad actor but really, he was the opposite to anyone I'd ever seen in a tattoo place. I'd gone with Dustin to get all of his and not one had looked sophisticated like Adam did. Even the one who did the tatt on my shoulder didn't; and he was the least dodgy guy out there.

"Really? That's interesting," Jade responded politely, hesitantly.

Adam started to bullshit his way through his imaginary job which is exactly what I think the Peyton kids wanted. He was scaring off their mother, who had just turned her gaze to Rylie.

"Rylie," she said, her tone nothing but reprimanding and rude. "Sit up straight. You're a lady, not someone with a spine curvature."

Woah, calm down. There was nothing wrong with the way Rylie was sitting. Jesus.

She put on a brave fake smile. "Yes Mother," she said, her tone sickly sweet. She was pissed. I squeezed her hand again but I don't think it registered.

"Now children," she started as if she hadn't been a bitch a minute ago. Before she could continue, Rylie had formed a plan in her head.

"Keey your elbows off the table," she almost growled, not even pretending to be polite. Jade was in shock, but did as she said. Yes Rylie.

After a minute Jade just shook her head, before continuing. "As I was saying, there is a reason I asked you to meet me here tonight. I was wondering what you thought about maybe," she paused, looking at all three of the Peyton's. "Coming to live with me. I just miss you all so much and my life hasn't quite been the same without you."

I'm sorry, what?

"Um," Kye was the only one who could manage even a sound. "Well," he tried again, but he struggled to find his words.

I couldn't let Jade win, so I jumped in.

"Look, Miss Peyton," I said, trying to pretend to be nice. "Charlie is already living with Adam and Rylie has been with me for the past two weeks. Kye is going off to boarding school in a few weeks so I don't see much point."

Was any of this true? Of course not. Was it worth the look of relief on their faces and the squeeze of my hand under the table? Completely.

I smiled at Rylie in return, well, tried to. The atmosphere was too tense to really smile.

"Look, Max," their mother responded in fluent condescention. "I will only take the answer from each of my three children who know and care for their mother. Not you."

You have got to be kidding me. As if she couldn't know how much her children loathed her, or that they did at all. She must have been getting some sort of negative vibe, no?

No one spoke. I wasn't sure they could. I didn't even know what to say.

Thankfully, Jade excused herself, but not without demanding an answer to her question when she returned.

It was almost as if we all held our breaths until she was out of sight, then there was a collective sigh of relief. "Holy shit, she's a piece of work," Adam said. I wouldn't be as kind as that.

"I know. What do we do?" Rylie groaned, putting her head in her hands. I instinctively moved my hand to her back, rubbing soothing circles on it.

"Okay I actually thought of an idea," Kye said, a bit unsure of himself. "Okay, so from what I can gather, she doesn't like Max more than she dislikes Adam." He waited for our confirmation on this information before he continued. "And she just went to the bathroom. To get to the bathroom you have to go through a hallway which is always empty."

I wasn't getting it. I mean, there was virtually no one in the restuarant so I could confirm the hallway would be empty. But I didn't understand what he meant.

"So my plan is for our lovely mother to see Max and Rylie hooking up - " he winced slightly at this " - in that hallway and it oculd be the last straw. We already convinced her that they have had sex - " another wince " - so it wouldn't be hard to have her believe this."

Well I wasn't about to complain about that. He was a fucking genius.

"What?" Rylie shrieked, at the same time I shrugged and said, "Yeah, alright." I wasn't about to show how much I actually wanted that to happen.

Rylie looked at me dubiously but realised she wasn't going to get out of this. I was smirking. She rolled her eyes. I swear that could be the story of our friendship; or whatever it was that we had.

She got up roughly out of her chair, grabbed my hand and pulled me to where the hallway must have been. She clearly knew where she was going. If only I didn't know better than to mistake that for eagerness.

Rylie came to a stop just past an intersection between hallways. There was a dull illumination that came from the main corridor, meaning we were visible but not obvious.

My heart was pounding, so loud I swear she could hear it. I had to keep up my mask though, otherwise this plan would fail.

"So, how do we do this?" Rylie asked in a rush, probably knowing the likelihood of her mother emerging from the bathroom shortly.

I forced my lips into a smirk. "Well, we just make out until she passes out or I am pulled off you," I suggested, taking a deceptively confident step towards her. Was I confident? Fuck no. Was I acting it? I had no other choice but to.

I had backed her up against the wall, still so much shorter than me despite the heels. I slightly bent down so that I could look into her eyes.

"It has to be more convincing than that," she said, sounding almost as if she wanted this to happen. I knew she didn't, she just wanted to piss off her mum. I shouldn't have been okay with that, but I was.

"Fine," I said, having an idea. "Put your legs around my hips when she comes around then." I tried to stay cocky but my cheeks decieved me by going slightly red. Fuck.

And of course, she had to notice. Out of all the things she could notice instead, that is the one thing she has to notice? God, she was so frustrating.

"Awh, getting a bit embarras-" she started, but I wasn't having any of that. I cut her off with my lips, shutting her up in the best way possible.

Her hands travelled up my torso and ended up behind my neck, curled around the nape of my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me involuntarily.

Fuck, she knew what she was doing.

I slid my hands down her back and to her thighs. She wrapped her legs around my hips as I had expected, so now she was higher than I was and I could kiss her so much easier. I smiled against her lips just before I heard the annoying gasp from what sounded like Rylie's mother.

Why did she have to ruin everything?

Oh wait. That was sort of the whole point of this... Damn it!

Well, I didn't make any hint that I was going to stop but after a moment Rylie pulled away, winking as I set her on her feet.

I didn't want to let her go, but I kind of had to.

I decided to keep one arm hooked around her waist. She didn't argue so I didn't move.

The look on Jade's face was priceless though. Her mouth was gaping open and she had actually dropped her purse on the floor.

"Sweetie." The word came from Rylie's mouth as she slid her hand under my shirt. My abs tensed from the cold of her hand. "It's not very attractive to leave your mouth hanging open like that."

I think she was finally about to give it to her mother.

"Excuse me?" Jade asked.

"You see, it's not very attractive to leave your mouth gaping open like that. Nor it it very 'attractive' to wear glasses or have freckles or be chubby," Rylie added, now glaring.

"I only said those things to help you!" Jade said, rather pathetically.

"No you didnt," Rylie spat, just as Kye, Charlie and Adam walked around the corner. "You said those things because you didn't give a shit."

"You didn't give a shit about us and we don't give a shit about you," Charlie said from the other side of Rylie, putting her hands on her hips.

Kye was the last to speak, his expression closed, his voice quiet but holding more emotion than his sister's. "The best day of our lives was the day you left."

Their mother was in shock, looking almost as if she was hurt by their words. Maybe she was. We didn't stay long enough to find out.