Chapter Fifty-Two

Giselle's birthday is a success.

           We have a little party for her in the lounge room on the second floor of our building, streamers and cake everywhere. Our group of close friends attend. Tanner comes late and Giselle glares at him and throws an empty cup at him. But later, I see them in the corner and Tanner pulling out a bracelet for Giselle. Something's definitely going on there...

           Jess shows up with her girlfriend, Suzy, who is a fashion major and incredibly nice. We all sit around on the couches, talking and playing charades and other hilarious games. It's a cozy night but eventually more and more people show until we end up going to seventh floor to expand our party. And it's actually fun. Can't remember a thing but I'm sure it was fun.

           "You ready to go?" Daniel says, loading the taxi with our bags on Thanksgiving Day.

              I place my phone in my coat pocket, just ending my phone call with Mom's doctors. They are to inform me if anything changes while I'm gone. I spent the whole day yesterday in her hospital room, watching comedy shows and eating the hospital's turkey dinner, pretending like she could hear me. Her increased security were right out her door.

            "Ready."

            "Great," he says, grinning. Daniel's shaved and his hair is done cleanly this morning. We're flying out to spend some days with his parents, Thanksgiving dinner included tonight. We would drive but he has no car and I have mine at the shop to get it ready for winter. Besides, flights are a little cheaper than yesterday or tomorrow since today is Thanksgiving.

               I'd be lying if I didn't say I was completely nervous about this whole thing but it's a rather better distraction than sitting alone cooped up in the dorm room, contemplating life and everything Madam Jin told me.

            The hour flight to Boston is quick and I fall asleep through all of it. Boston is a bit chillier than New York, its wind biting as it blows by. In the taxi, I watch the buildings and city life as they blur by. It's a beautiful city. It's also saddening this is the first time I've been out of New York. While Brent backpacked through South America before college and even moved to a completely different state for college, I haven't set a foot anywhere cool or exotic.

              Daniel's parents live in South Boston and you can almost see the blue line of the sea down the street. Their house is a simple fading white with dark blue shutters and roof. The lawn is small but that's the disadvantage of living in the city. Besides, it seems as if they might have a whole beach to themselves down the street.

           Joanne, Daniel's mother, is a nice brunette woman. She has teal bangles on her wrists and wears khaki capris with a flowy white shirt, blue flowers embroidered on them. Her smile is pretty and so are her welcoming eyes.

               "Welcome to our home," she says as Daniel unloads our luggage from his father's car. He picked us up from Logan. Prices for planes are no joke for Thanksgiving, so Daniel and I have established we'll take the cheaper bus or train back. I have no clue why we didn't do that in the first place. New York and Boston are only hours apart and we are two broke college kids.

            Daniel's dad, Rogerio, is more of a silent yet happy man. He played some jazz in the car and bopped his head to the beat but he never made unnecessary conversation which was relaxing in its own way. He only grunts as he carries our suitcases and silently leads them upstairs.

                I step onto their porch. There's a small swing in the corner with a floral patterned cushion on it. I imagine little Daniel swinging happily on a summer day or pre-teen Daniel listening to music or sixteen year old him having his first kiss on the swing. It's strange. I haven't known Daniel that long and yet I feel like I have been with him forever. It sounds incredibly cliche but that's just how it feels.

             "Ah, that swing needs to be fixed again," Joanne says, shaking her head as she stands next to me. She yells into the open doorway to the house, "Rogerio, que debe arreglar el swing de nuevo, querido!" She turns back to me, her short brown hair swaying. "I wouldn't recommend sitting on it. Daniel broke his arm once from it."

               A smile eclipses onto my face as I turn and see Daniel standing there, rolling his eyes and cheeks turning pink. "Oh, really?"

           Joanne laughs. "Yes, it was hilarious really."

           "Mama!" Daniel says, begging for her to hold back her "when Danny was a kid" tales.

             A quick ding comes from inside the house. Joanne raises her eyebrows and says, "Oh, that must be the turkey. You kids make yourself comfortable. Daniel can show you up to the rooms and the rest of the house. After that, a hand in the kitchen would be deeply appreciated! Be right back." She scurries away as I nod, smiling at how motherly she is. The insides of my chest burn a little. I didn't think I'd miss Mom so much but Thanksgiving and Joanne together just makes me want to cry.

           Daniel gently touches my chin and makes me face him. "Hey, you okay?"

             I breathe in and roll my head back to stop any tears. "Yeah, fine. Just a little homesick—a little mom-sick. You know...the usual."

        He purses his lips and then frowns. He isn't wearing his glasses today and contacts only since his mother loves it when he cleans up. His beautiful eyes are full of emotion. "I wish I could make it better and remove your pain."

          I place my hand over his on my face. "It's fine. I'm happy being here where you grew up. Thank you for having me."

          Daniel takes my hand in his and then kisses it. "Thank you for coming." He lets our hands down, intertwined. "Now, enough of this sadness. Would you like a grand house tour of the Daniel Rivera household?"

           Rolling my eyes, I smile. "Oh yeah, because the whole household is named after solely you. On with the tour, Mr. Rivera."

             He kisses my cheek before leading me into the house. It smells of apple and cinnamon and I can see several candles around the house as we travel by. He shows me the basic rooms downstairs—living room, kitchen, dining room. We go out to the backyard porch where he gives me a tour again of every corner of the small yard. Eventually, he leads me to his bedroom.

             It's actually not much different from his dorm room. Just a couple more band posters and the bed sheets are black and white. There are a couple books on his desk and music CDs on his shelf. It's mostly clean except for a couple random pieces of clothing on the mini couch in the corner.

            "Not bad," I comment, walking around his room after we step in.

          "Thanks." He closes the door behind him and jumps onto his bed, kicking back with his arms behind his head and his legs crossed. "God, I missed this bed."

           My eyes wander from his stupid Christmas socks—it's not even December—to his dark jeans to the nice button up shirt he's wearing today. Without his glasses or scruff, his face appears younger and brighter. His jaw is more defined and his long eyelashes are more easy to find. Let's just say everything compliments him well today.

               I turn away and look at some photos tacked onto a board as a holy-water escape before I sink into thoughts I shouldn't be having just because he is sitting on a bed and looks really nice. His parents are downstairs, gosh, Ivory, I reprimand myself.

             The photos on the board are a mix of many years of his life. Some photos have laughing or smiling Daniel with a little acne and bigger glasses. Others look recent like last summer as I see a photo with him and some friends around a bonfire. In each and every photo, he is smiling or doing something goofy with his face or body. I can just sense how much happiness he's spread over the years I never knew him. I'm glad people like him exist. People who are always happy for others even when sometimes they probably aren't. I wish I could control my emotions enough to be that for someone else.

            "Your photos are cute and nice contrary to your emo room," I say, running my hand over a baby picture of chubby Daniel.

           "Oh, don't look at that picture," Daniel says, his voice suddenly at my ear.

              I gasp and jump, turning abruptly, my back hitting the wall. He's suddenly not on the bed anymore but leaning his arm on the wall space above my head and being two inches away from my face. "Jesus, when did you get there?"

            "I have literally been lurking over your elf-sized self to see what photos you've been looking at for the past three minutes," he explains, his breath blowing pieces of my hair that string around my face. "You were just too caught up looking at the hot pictures of me. Except that ugly baby pic."

            I roll my eyes. "You look cute."

          He smirks, leaning closer. "Do I?"

             I playfully punch his chest. "Not anymore, you goof. Now you're just emo boner boy Daniel again."

            "Hey!" he says and we both laugh. But eventually that thing happens where the laughing subsides, slowly fading out. The playful fun twinkle in his eyes fades along with his laugh, his wrinkles from laughing smoothing over. The atmosphere around us changes like a bolt of lightning and suddenly my heart is in my throat, beating loud enough for the world to hear. Daniel uses his free arm to move away the pieces of hair that were beginning to tickle my cheek behind my ear.

           When he places his hand back to his side, I grab it with both hands gently, caressing it. His hands are boyish, rough and smooth at the same time. We aren't speaking but we can both feel the heat of the moment.

            Our eyes lock and my eyes can't help but slip to his lips. I can't help it—they're right there. He watches me and his eyes are questioning, looking for signs. I let go of his hand and trail one hand to his chest and the other hand behind his neck, playing with the edges of his hair. It must be sign enough...right?

            I suddenly feel like a fourteen year old girl again, having a crush on some random boy in class. It feels like the exact feeling I got when I first started liking Peter—that gentle, fragile, young feeling. The who's-gonna-make-the-move-first heart-racing moment. The stolen looks and secret smiles. Looking at someone and finding them looking at you. Knowing both of you feel the same way but having fun with the chase.

              I stay still, waiting for him to kiss me first. He does the same as if we're playing a game. A cocky smile appears on my face. I could hold out forever and win.

          Daniel smiles for two seconds before sighing out of frustration. "Damn it," he mutters before he suddenly grabs my hips and pulls me closer. The quick motion and urge would make it seem like the kiss would be hard but it's not. It's soft and long, his lips gently touching mine like two feathers falling together.

           When he pulls away, my lips follow before realizing he's pulling away. "You're o-okay with this, right?" he asks, checking verbally before anything else.

           "Yes," I say and then it's me who tugs his neck and pulls him down. It's weird kissing Daniel. He's only the second person I've truly kissed. I push away the thoughts of the first person before they even start to sprout in my head. Daniel's lips are foreign for a second more before I feel like I rule them. He makes noises as he presses me to the wall, his arms wrapping around my waist. It feels like we want to drown in each other's arms.

          A loud knock makes me nearly jump to the ceiling.

            "Daniel! Ivory! Dinner's ready!" Joanne's voice calls out from the other side of the door.

           "God," Daniel whispers disheartened, stepping away from me, his fingers playing with his now swollen lips. "All right, Ma!" he yells.

            I stay on the wall for a few moments, running my hand through my hair and re-applying my chapstick. I tug down my shirt and grin at Daniel. "Well, that was fun."

            He straightens out his shirt too, licking his bottom lip. He looks up at grins at me. "Not bad, I guess. Mediocre at best."

               I dramatically let my mouth drop open. "Mediocre?" I shove his shoulder as I walk past him, opening the door. I turn my head back before I leave. "Are you sure it was mediocre?" I scan my eyes down his body. "It looks like Boner Boy is back. I'd take care of that if I were you. Don't worry, I'll stall your parents." I wink before I close the door behind me to a stuttering Daniel, looking down and gasping.

              Downstairs, the dining table is transformed with fifteen thousand dishes. There's a large, perfectly roasted turkey in the middle. I see mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, squash, bread rolls, soup, gravy, and so much more placed over the table in cute brightly colored plates and bowls. Joanne is setting utensils.

            "Oh, I'll help!" I offer, grabbing some from the kitchen and bringing them over. I set them the opposite side of her.

              "Where's Daniel?" she asks, but her smile tells me she probably can guess what we were doing.

           "Er, uh, unpacking a little," I say, my cheeks warming up. I refuse to look up as I place the fork down next to the plates.

             Rogerio comes into the dining room and nods with a half-smile. He walks over to Joanne, kissing her forehead. "Looks great, querida."

              "Thank you, dear," she replies, shining at his compliment. He sits down at the head of the table, spreading his napkin over his lap already. "By the way, Devon should be here any second now. He's playing some soccer with some friends at the park. I told him not to go out at all—Who goes out on Thanksgiving? Everyone is with their families, I told him, but he just wouldn't listen. Stubborn as always."

           Rogerio cracks a smile and it's like watching a parallel vision of Daniel being displayed through his father. I see the resemblance in the .4 seconds he smiles.

             "Who's stubborn as always?" Daniel asks as he arrives in the kitchen, running his hand through his hair, trying to seem very nonchalant.

            "Your brother," his dad answers, waiting for everyone to sit before eating.

          "Yeah, where is he?" Daniel says, placing a hand on my hip and leading me to a seat. He pulls out a chair for me and I sit.

            "Soccer. Park with friends," I reply as he sits down next to me.

            Joanne sits down at the other head of the table. "I told him to be home by 4 to pick you up from the airport but he missed that, too. He better be home by—"

         The front door suddenly slams open, cold air rushing into the house along with an adolescent boy. "Mama! I'm home!"

          Since the dining room is right next to the front door, we see him kick off his shoes and throw his ball without looking into the living room as he unzips his jacket. It hits the television but doesn't break it. "Yikes," he mutters. "Mama?"

           "How many times did I say not to throw the ball around in the house, Devon?" she yells from her seat, her hands outstretched as if she's getting ready to get up.

            "We're right here, you dumbass!" Daniel yells as well.

              Devon turns and acknowledges all of our existences finally. "Oh, hey." He unwraps his scarf away from his neck and tosses that behind him on the floor.

            "Devon!" Joanne reprimands.

            He flinches, surprised. "What?" He looks side to side and then around to his scarf. "Oh," he says, quickly picking it up and hanging it on the coat rack. Then, he jogs over to the dining table. "Mama, this looks amazing!" He gives her a kiss on the cheek and I see the anger in Joanne fading. Devon pats his dad on the back. "Hey, pop."

             "Sit down, please, Devon," he says, rolling his eyes at his other troublesome son. "I am starving."

            Devon nods and sits down right in front of me. Once he's sat, everyone says a quick thanks before digging in. His eyes linger on the food for a long time before he looks up. "So, Daniel—wait, who are you?"

              Daniel presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose, placing his fork and knife down. "Oh my god. Do you ever read my emails or listen when I call Mama?"

           "No," he answers, stuffing a whole bread roll in his mouth and like a cartoon character that can eat food bigger than his mouth or throat, he just chews and swallows it down. Does it look pretty? No.

             "This is my girlfriend, Ivory, you idiot."

           His head turns back to me, his curly dark hair flopping around. He looks like a cute little version of Daniel but a little more absentminded. "Has she always been here? I swear she wasn't here ten seconds ago."

            Daniel sighs. "She's been here, Devon, oh my god. Introduce yourself."

           Devon looks at his hands that are covered in a little bit of gravy. He wipes them on the table before offering a hand to me. "Hi, I'm Devon. The best Rivera."

         "Gross," Daniel says, swatting his hand away (thank God).

               I smile because even though Devon is a bit of a mess, he's hilarious and reminds me of a younger version of Daniel that probably once existed too. "Nice to meet you, Devon. I'm Ivory."

            "Ivory?" he says, his voice muffled as he stuffs mashed potatoes in his mouth like he's going to run away by stashing the whole serving of mashed potatoes in his mouth. "That's a weird name."

              "Devon!" Joanne warns.

            I laugh because Devon is amusing. "No, it's fine. I get it a lot. It is a weird name."

             "Yeah, see, Mama, it's fine," Devon assures her. He turns back to me, gulping his food before talking. "But honestly why weren't you named something like Rose or Sunflower Seed or T-Rex or something? Ivory? Strange."

           The rest of the table shakes their heads or glares at Daniel while I crack up laughing. I'm the youngest in my family so it's refreshing to see another younger sibling. It makes me wonder what would happen if I had a younger sibling as well.

            "Ivory is not even a flower, stupid," Daniel says, his eyes chilling out at the back of his head by now since he's rolled them every time Devon talks. "It's material from the teeth of animals. How are you in high school?"

            Devon shrugs. "So instead she should've been named like...Toothpaste or Colgate or something then?"

             The rest of the dinner ensues in this manner and hours easily dance away. After helping Joanne with dishes and spending some time in the living room watching old family videos with them, it's time to go to bed. Rogerio and Joanne head out first and Devon was knocked out a second after he finished eating ten plates of food.

            Daniel and I are going up the stairs after shutting off the television and all the lights. "So how's your bed going to fit both of us?" I ask. "It didn't look that big earlier."

          When we reach the top of the stairs, he turns, smirking. "You think we're going to sleep together?"

            "We're not?" I suddenly feel a moment of embarrassment about to happen.

            "No...," he says, a grin breaking out. "Oh, you naughty girl, thinking you were just going to hop into bed with me tonight. That's why your bags weren't in my room earlier. They're in the guest bedroom. For guests, you know?"

            I hit his arm. "I was not thinking naughty things! You said it, not me! I just—I thought since—oh, forget it!" I storm off, going to the one room we didn't tour earlier. I shut the guest bedroom door quickly after I scurry in. My cheeks feel as warm as the sun as I breathe in and out after I am safely away from Daniel. That was so embarrassing.

            Hopefully, he forgets by tomorrow.

            I take a shower after ten minutes, making sure the hallway was clear to save myself from any more future embarrassments. After, I brush my teeth and hair before wearing my favorite and only pajamas that I brought. I shut the door and lights before jumping into bed seconds later. I feel so tired and full that I could probably start hibernation right now.

            Suddenly, the lights are turned on.

           I bring a hand to my eyes. "What the...?" I say, getting up.

          Daniel stands there in a Superman shirt and sweatpants. His hair is messy and he steps in through the tiny crack of the door. "Hi," he says sheepishly.

         A smirk spreads across my lips. "Hi," I say. "And who's hopping into whose bed right now?"

          He grins back, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. It makes him look so cute and cheeky that I almost invite him to join me in bed immediately. "I surrender," he says. "Can I sleep with you now?"

           I roll my eyes dramatically. "I mean, I guess but—" I barely finish my sentence before he closes the door, taking off his slippers as he shuts off the lights and crawling under the covers with me. "Well then," I say. Five seconds of silence later, he wraps an arm around me, his face snuggling into the crook of my neck. "I repeat...well, then."

            "I wanna cuddle," he says, hugging me closer. His feet touch mine and I yelp.

            "Your feet are cold! No, go awaaay!" I whine, pretending to push him off but I put half an effort in it. "I don't wanna be little spoon."

          We pretend to fight for a couple more seconds before I eventually give in and sleep with my back curved into his chest. When he breathes, strands of my hair rise and fall. I hope my cold hair gives him a taste of revenge.

         "Mm, you smell good," he comments instead, pressing his face closer in my hair. Dang it.

        "It's called a shower, try it sometime," I say back.

          Suddenly, I'm attacked as his fingers tickle my stomach. "You will regret saying that," he tries to say in an ominous voice but it just sounds like him as an old man. His tickling is no joke, though.

         I wiggle away, trying very hard not to scream and laugh. I capture his hand before he can continue and just wrap it around my stomach instead of trying to stab it. "Shh," I whisper, "your parents will wake up."

             "The house could burn down and they'd sleep through it," he says, shrugging. "They're old. It happens."

          "Oh my god, Boner Boy! Don't insult your parents," I say.

         "Don't mention boners right now."

           "Boner," I whisper a second later, laughing. His hands initiate Tickle War II so I quickly admit defeat. "I give up! I'm sorry! I surrender. I'll sleep now."

         "Good," he replies, pulling me closer by the waist and intertwining his left hand and my right. "Go to sleep. We have an adventure tomorrow. I'll show you around my favorite place in the world. Okay, maybe second favorite now since New York is pretty cool, too. I also met you there. But then again Boston does—"

              "Daniel, shut up, gosh. I'm trying to sleep."

           "I hate you," he mumbles. But he pulls me closer even though we're as close as possible and rests his face behind my head. I'm about to fall asleep but I feel him kiss my shoulder quickly. "Goodnight, Ivory. I really like you."

          "I really like you, too," I answer, my voice trailing off as sleep overcomes me. I squeeze his hand to let him now in case he doesn't hear. "Goodnight, Boner Boy."

          He laughs quietly in my hair before kissing my head again. Soon, we're both asleep.

            At 2:58 in the morning, I get a call from Mom's hospital.

my eyes are about to fall out of my head and the bags under my eyes look like craters from the moon! hello from my side of the world where it is 2:58am (boston) and i am finally DONE with this chapter woo! i really really wanted to upload this for you guys before you woke up for christmas because i said i would before christmas so HERE YOU GO, MERRY CHRISTMAS! ♥

today is the first (well, now second since its the 25th technically) of my break, woo! this means more writing and doing fun stuff before i cry and head back to school. i hope everyone is spending time with family or friends or yourself or who/whatever. i just want you all to be cozy and warm and enjoying the holidays! go tell someone you love them or sit by the fire and drink hot chocolate! or scream it to the world how scared or happy or excited you are! it's also crazy 2015 is ending. i say this every year but each year i'm shocked to how fast time flies. i get so emotional every time a year dies and a new one is born. expect a long update with a long author's note where i cry over getting old and life passing by!

OH I HAVE THIS COOL IDEA GUYS. so, for those of you who don't know. i have a youtube. it's called HelloVirgo now because hello, it's me, and i'm a virgo a.k.a my pseudonym. anyways, i do vlogs but now i wanna do normal videos maybe? idk what to make my first video but i decided on maybe a Q & A!!! so basically comment a bunch of questions here for this paragraph and i will make a video trying to answer all/most of them! you can ask about SWAL, my other books, my life, me, Spain, or anything else!!!!!!! get creative! i'll probably wait 1-3 days before making the video so don't worry but make sure you get your question in to see your question in my video. ;)

i can't wait to connect more with all of you. i just want to physically hug all of you who have been here since the beginning or maybe just joined last chapter. i love you all soooooooo much! if my arms could spread across the entire universe, that's how much i love you! 

thank you for reading as always. please leave comments as i do love those no matter what they're about! i hope you have a great 2015 end and if you're not having the best day/week/year, please stick through it and look up from your horrible haze because it always--ALWAYS--gets better.

i love you all! see you soon xoxo

question of the day: what're some regrets you had this year? as much as we try to minimize them, it's inevitable to have regrets. what are you going to do in 2016 to change or refrain from bad habits or regrets? what is 2016 going to be to you?  leave some comments!

make sure to leave a question for the question & answer youtube video i'm making! oh man, you all will see me and hear me this is exciting and scary please don't run away xx

here's my youtube (shameless promo): 

MERRY CHRISTMAS / HAPPY HOLIDAYS / HAPPY WINTER BREAK IF YOU DON'T CELEBRATE ANY OF THESE / CHEERS TO THE 2016 YOU THAT'S COMING !!!!!!! lots lots lots of love xoxoxox