I was lazily lounging on the couch, listening to my soothing playlist reserved only for Billie Eilish's songs. My parents were screaming orders left and right but they were all excited shouts and not the bossy ones. 

I could swear I even saw my dad hopping on both his legs like a bunny and laughing to himself. My mom's case was even worse. She wasn't even walking but was rather moving about on an electric skateboard. Yup, she wasn't even scared that she was wearing heels.

The reason why there was so much excitement would be because we were having a proper, customary party after three years. Even though we do meet our friends and family occasionally, we didn't actually gather like this for ages.

I wouldn't admit it out loud but reunions used to be my favorite thing and even today, I was secretly looking forward to it. It gave me a legitimate reason to dress myself up in some really good clothes and especially pinafores. Who doesn't love them? Because they're my favorite outfits of them all.

I was wearing a white crop top beneath a black and white checkered pinafore that reached just a few inches above my knees, donned with brown ankle length boots. My mom was kind enough to tie my red hair into a fish braid.

The doorbell rang and I saw my mom skating towards the door at a speed faster than Superman. Just an exaggeration though. 

I didn't change my position even when I heard the squeals and shouts over Billie's calming voice. A few minutes later, my peace was broken the moment Destiny entered my line of sight. Although I wasn't fazed by her but rather by Zach who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Yo, my favorite cuz!" Zach hollered while Destiny just gave him a stink eye look.

"She's my favorite cuz, Zee stupid Zachary," Destiny rolled her eyes but smiled immediately before hugging me like a koala bear.

"Nah, she prefers me over you, Des annoying Destiny," Zach retorted back as soon as I broke the hug with her.

"Yeah sure, Zach. Speak for yourself," I said, scrunching my nose because I clearly didn't forget his "remote snatching" shenanigans.

Zachary burst out into a belly clutching laughter and I scowled at him. "What do you say, wanna fight for the remote?" He asked me way too excitedly.

"Right," I drawled out the word. "No, thanks, Zach. I'm good. I don't think that I can take your bad air anymore." I shuddered in the end.

"What do you mean, Ser?" Destiny questioned me with furrowed brows. From the looks of it, she seemed horrified even.

"Urgh, never mind." I waved my hands and linked my arm with Destiny's. "The TV's all yours, Zach."

"Oh, man. This is no fun." He had the audacity to pout.

"Shut up, Zach!" Destiny and I exclaimed. It was at that exact moment, a foul stench wafted around us before we even made it out of the living room.

"You, poop bag and fart sack, urgh!" Destiny shouted over her shoulder with an annoyed glare.

"What's wrong, babe?" Ashton approached us. He must have just arrived because he was coming from the direction of the foyer.

Destiny blushed and shook her head. She walked up to him before they started kissing each other eagerly.

Grunting, I looked away in some other direction. Just then I saw someone through my peripheral vision and glanced up to see Chang standing in front of me, exuding uneasiness.

His eyes were darting everywhere like his senses were all on a high alert. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he finally looked at me.

"You okay, Chang?" I asked him as I saw Destiny and Ashton heading towards the back door of my house.

"Not really. I mean there are so many people around here. I am terrified," he said skittishly. "And well… I am not really good with people like… like you know already." He scratched the back of his head and he looked really cute with the way his cheeks were starting to redden.

I looked around as well to see that there indeed were more people at my place than usual. It included my own family, Maia and other staff members, Destiny's and Ashton's families along with Caleb. My eyes then fell on Blake, Jordan, Brandon and Derek lounging in the living room with Zach. They were all really obnoxious and I understood at once that they were most likely talking about football.

"You didn't have to come then… you know?" I told him softly. My words weren't rude or anything but were meant to console him.

He just shrugged. "Ashton insisted," was his simple reply.

I nodded my head and looked around me once again. If I were in his shoes, I would have been uncomfortable too in a new place with unfamiliar faces. "So why are you terrified of so many people? Is it the… language barrier or you just really prefer to stay to yourself?" I asked him because I wanted to talk to him more.

He shrugged again, looking at the floor. "Both, I guess but it's mostly because of the language barrier too? I mean I can speak English but when I get nervous, I end up speaking it wrong. Like all the words in my sentence go to play hide and seek suddenly except for the "I". That's the only word I can utter at that time." He laughed and it was an open, carefree laugh.

I smiled incredulously because his laugh, though short, was really beautiful. Or maybe I was losing it? I'd go with the latter option, yes.

"What? Stare stop. I-I mean, stop staring!" He exclaimed, looking away shyly. "And shut up."

"Didn't even say anything," I said, raising my arms in surrender but he just glared at me. A small feeling of satisfaction swirled in my heart that I might have made him nervous.

He was about to say something when somebody called out to him from the living room. "Hey, Chang! Man, you don't wanna miss this! Come on." It was Derek and he was waving over at Chang to join their group.

He sighed discreetly and turned to me. "I gotta go," he mumbled and scuffled towards the living room.

And just like that I was left all alone and I didn't wish to join anybody because they were all chatting away happily with their pairs of groups. I could feel my energy draining out quickly as noises and laughter could be heard from about everywhere. Maybe I'd said it too soon about liking these reunions or maybe I've just changed.

With a doleful heart, I trudged my way towards the stairs. As I had taken just one step, I heard my mom's voice. "Ser?"

Turning around, I was surprised to see that she wasn't talking to aunt Evelyn and that she'd actually noticed me leaving for my room. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" And her worrying was back. Not that I minded it but I really wanted her to loosen up and have some fun instead of fretting over me.

"I am fine, mom." I chuckled assuringly. "It's just… it's all too much. I need a breather," I answered truthfully.

"But…"

"Don't worry, mom. I am gonna be in my room and I promise that I'll be back down before dinner." It was the best bait for me to escape for a few minutes. I wasn't lying though because I intended to come back down before dinner.

Mom exhaled loudly and stared at me sternly. "You promise?"

"I promise." I laughed.

It seemed to have convinced her because she took a step back but instantly stopped short. "Oh, and wait! I just saw you talking to this guy. I'm assuming he's Chang? You blushed." She began tittering like it was the funniest thing and I looked at her with my mouth agape and eyes wide.

"Avery!" Aunt Evelyn shouted from somewhere in the kitchen.

"Coming Eve!" Mom yelled back. Giving me one last look and a wink, she scurried off to the kitchen.

I sighed in relief because it was beyond embarrassing for my mom to know about Chang for some reason. Before anybody else could spot and try to stop me, I practically ran upstairs and to my room. Once inside, I took a deep breath as silence blanketed me in its warmth.

The slightly opened balcony doors were calling out to me. Sprinting outside on the balcony, I inhaled the evening air eagerly. A sense of comfort washed over and I instantly felt better.

I don't know how long I was standing there but I was brought out of my concentration of staring into space when I heard someone coming into my room. That's when I remembered that I had forgotten to shut the door behind me when I had entered.

I knew that it couldn't be my mom because her clacking of heels was familiar to me. I felt angry for not being left alone even for a single moment. Turning around in a flash, I saw Chang looking at me with wide eyes.

With a frown, I walked back inside my room and narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you doing in here?" I didn't mean to snap but it felt weird to see him in my room.

"Um… I was feeling kinda left out since Ashton and Destiny, you know… and uh, this Zach guy seemed kinda gross to me." He blushed slightly in the end and even seemed awkward about it.

Without intending to, I started laughing at his expense and he almost frowned at me. "Oh, my gosh!" I wheezed. "Damn."

"Well… yeah. So I asked your mom about you and she gave me this really funny look. But what's weirder is that she knew my name before I could even tell her. Nonetheless, she gave me the directions to your room. Now I had every intention to knock!" He scratched his cheek. "But your door was ajar and even then I was gonna knock but I got… distracted by your kickboxing equipment. Pretty cool though," he told me.

I just nodded my head because I felt bad for leaving him alone when he hardly even knew anybody. Chang started looking around the room from my lack of response. Not knowing what else to do, I closely gauged his reaction about my room.

He squinted his dark eyes when they fell on something behind me. I followed his line of vision and saw that he was staring directly at the sheet of paper clipped above my study desk with my favorite quote sprawled on it. I had written it in bold letters and clipped it neatly to never forget those words.

"You're a weapon and weapons don't weep," Chang spoke so quickly and I had to repeat his words in my head to understand them. "How - how do you know that?" He pointed at the sheet.

I looked at him questioningly because his eyes were wide and a look of understanding crossed his features. He actually seemed… despondent for some reason? "Just… heard it from somewhere." It wasn't a lie. "Why? You know about it too?"

"It's my mom's favorite quote."

Before I could fathom what was happening, Chang rushed towards me within seconds and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

I just stood there with scrunched brows but my heart was in an overdrive while my body danced blithely because of our close proximity. "Wha-"

"I am sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking as he caressed my hair softly. "I am really sorry."

Tentatively, I placed my hands on his back and patted it softly. "Sorry for what?" But he didn't even answer me and continued hugging me. His frame was taller than mine as he had to bend a little and put his chin on my head. Even though I was confused, I smiled because Chang was actually hugging me.

~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~

Word count: 2009
Total count: 17,699