Allie's P.O.V

We pulled up to Luke's house, which was a nice two-story home, but I was too busy internally freaking out to appreciate it's beauty, or lack thereof.

I was sucking air in and out of my lungs, probably looking like some diseased freak and Luke put a hand on my shoulder.

"Allie, you're going to be fine, relax," he said.

I turned to look at him like he was insane. "I'm meeting your parents."

"And they're going to love you," he pressed a kiss to my forehead. 

I sighed and got out of the car and followed Luke to the front door. When he unlocked it, he grabbed my hand and stepped into his house. 

"Mom?" he called. "Dad?"

"Luke!" A woman popped out from a doorway leading to a living room, I'm guessing. 

She came out to meet us, a man following her. She was wearing a flowered dress, making me feel like I was underdressed and the man was in jeans and a nice button-up shirt. 

"Mom, Dad, this is Allie, Allie this is my Mom and Dad," Luke introduced us.

I stepped forward with my hand outstretched. "Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Collins," I said.

Mrs. Collins shook my hand and then so did Mr. Collins. "Its so nice to meet you!" she said, her voice so shrill I had to force the smile to stay on my face. "Luke's told us all about you!"

"No I haven't," Luke said. 

I smiled at him before Mrs. Collins said, "Oh, just stand next to each other, I want to see how you look as a couple!"

I exchanged a look with Luke, but went to stand next to him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and looked at his parents expectantly.

"You're so cute!" Mrs. Collins clapped excitedly.

Just then, Finley walked in the door, Eli behind her.

Mrs. Collins looked at her and said, "Finley, what are you wearing, jeans and an old seatef? Get changed, we have a guest over for dinner!"

"Yeah, about that, this is Sli, I'm tutlrimg him for math, can he stay for dinner?" Finley asked, stepling aside to show Eli.

They blinked in response, then Mr. Collins stood taller and held out his hand. Eli shook it and tried for a smile, but he looked nervous. 

"Well," Mrs. Collins said. "Finley, go upstairs and get changed, your father and I will intertain our guests."

...

Finley was sitting across from me and Eli was across from Luke. I really wanted to switch with Finley so I could sit next to Luke and feel a little more confident, but his parents had split us up. Mrs. Collins came in, carrying a tray full of a huge chunk of pork stuffed with cheeses. To be completely honest, it smelled and looked so good I probably could have eaten the whole thing myself.

"Looks amazing, Mrs. Collins," I  said cheerfully.

"Thank you dear," shesaid, setting the pan down and sitting at the end of the table, opposite Mr. Collins.

We all helped ourselves and I started eating, trying not to inhale my food so it would last longer.

Mr. Collins asked Finley, "So Finley, is Eli a good student?"

She hastily swallowed, trying to answer his question as soon as possible. "Eli's a good student, he just struggles with math."

"What's hard about math, Eli?" Mr. Collins asked.

Eli looked up from his food. "Just.... Numbers mess with my head. I have issues remembering all the different formulas and the fact that I don't like math doesn't help," Eli chuckled a little bit at the end.

Mr. Collins nodded before looking at me. "Allie, is that short for anything?"

"Um, it's short for Alicia," I said. "But I don't like the name Alicia, so I go by Allie. A lot of my friends from America don't even know that Alicia is my real name."

"Friends from America?" Mrs. Collins frowned. "Aren't you American?"

I shook my head. "I'm actually from Australia, but I moved to California when I was eleven because my dad got transferred."

"That's nice," Mrs. Collins said, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. "Do you miss Australia?"

I smiled slightly. "I miss it being warm all the time, but I certainly don't miss everything trying to kill me every five seconds."

The joke was lost on Luke's parents, and I looked across the table at him in a panic. He smiled reassuringly at me before asking his dad, "So, Dad, what are your picks for this weekend's game?"

I was slightly confused on what they were talking about until Eli chimed in and then I understood they were talking about football. I glanced across the table to Finley, who wasn't looking at me or her food,c but Eli. She had a kind of longing expression on her face, mixed with affection. It made me feel a small ache in my chest, and made me feel some form of melancholy, like Finley couldn't even imagine making a move on Eli because she had anxiety; she wasn't good enough for Eli.

So I did what I normally do when faced with a sad situation- face it with humor.

Luke had given me Finley's number a while ago, in case I wanted to talk to her, but I hadn't used it because I thought it was a bit weird to just randomly text my new boyfriend's sister when I hadn't even met her yet. I decided to take advantage of the information I had.

Allie: thinking abt his dick?

Finley glanced down at her phone then choked on her bite of mashed potatoes as she read the text. Luke pounded on his sister's back as she coughed glancing up to meet my gaze across the table. Her eyes were watering from almost choking, but they were wide with shock. I smirked at her and she quickly lowered her eyes to her phone.

Finley: how did u get my #?

Allie: Luke. So r u?

Finley: am I what

Allie: thinking abt his dick

Finley:  ur blunt.

Allie: so I've been told. I scare people off that way

Finley: that's sad

Allie: nah, they weren't cool enough for me

Finley: lol

Allie: so r u thinking abt his dick

Finley: NO

Allie: I bet u r

Finley: no I'm not

Allie: ur looking at him like u want to pounce on him and make him work wonders with that lip ring. I know I wouldn't mind

Finley: ewww Allie think abt Luke, ur boyfriend?

Allie: oooohhhhhh yeah.... Luke.... Mmmm he's good

Finley: eww we r NOT talking abt ur sex life w/ my brother

Finley: have u, u know, done it yet

If  only she knew, I thought, but decided against telling her about mine and her brother's sexual antics.

Allie: hahahahahahahahahaahahahhaha NO! Wat kind of girl do u take me for?

Finley: sorry

Allie: it's cool , and no we have not, although, it sounds nice....

Finley: TMI Allie TMI

Allie: Just thinking out loud here.

"Finley, who are you texting?" Mrs. Collins asked, noticing that her daughter wasn't paying attention.

Finley glanced up in a panic. I was worried that she was going to freak out and tell on me, so I threw cautions to the winds, texting rapidly.

Allie: don't rat me out!!

Allie: plz!

Allie: I NEED THIS

Allie: I NEED TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION SO I CAN LOVE YOUR BROTHER!!!!!!

Allie: srsly, plz don't sell me out

Allie: I thought we were friends

Allie: friends don't sell each other out

Allie: Finley, don't say anything! They shall use it against u!

Finley: Calm down dude. I just need to think of a lie.

Allie: oh well okay get on that plz

Finley: shut up and stop txting me

Allie: rude! But ok, fine, ull miss me soon

"Finley?" Mrs. Collins asked again, looking at Finley, sounding more firm. "Who are you texting?"

"N-No one," she said quickly, a little bit too quickly, if you ask me.. "J-Just someone f-from school."

Mrs. Collins nodded suspiciously but let it go. I breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to Eli to ask him about his extra-curriculars and I decided to tease Finley one more time.

Allie: u were totally thinking abt his dick