•Jenna•

I stand in front of the mirror and scowl at my reflection. I'm clad in a pair of jean shorts and an old tie-dyed shirt with a pair of dirty, white Converse. I pull out my phone and text Tyler.

Me: Are you sure you want me to wear old clothes?

Tyler: Positive.

I shrug and reply with an okay, then glance at the time. 5:30. Fifteen minutes. Nervous butterflies settle in my stomach as I do another once-over of myself. If Tyler says I look fine, then I guess there's no point in changing.
I walk into the bathroom and check my makeup for the six billionth time. Eyeliner on point, lipstick on point, eyebrows on point. I sigh. I'm just meeting his family. It can't be that hard, right? I mean, it's only like a rabbit walking into a den of foxes. Simple enough.
After checking my reflection one final time, I head downstairs and pace the foyer for about two minutes until my sister, Carrie, comes down to meet me. She watches me as I pace.
"Aren't you excited!?" she asks. "You made it to the second date!"
"I'm nervous," I mutter, my eyes studying the carpet as I pace.
She walks forward and places her hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eye. "Don't be. He seems like a great guy. His family will probably like you."
"I don't know--" My answer is cut off by the doorbell.
"That must be him!" Carrie squeals, charging toward the door.
"Carrie, no!" I yell, but she already has the door open.
"Hi, I'm Carrie, Jenna's sister!" Carrie basically yells to a startled Tyler.
"Sorry," I mouth to him as he tries to cover up a smile.
Carrie juts her hip and blocks half of the doorway. "So, what time are you bringing her back tonight?"
"Oh my gosh, Carrie, you're letting all of the cold air out." I push past her to Tyler.
"I'm just trying to be a good sister by making sure he isn't up to anythin-"
"GOODBYE CARRIE!" I yell, pulling the door shut. I turn red, causing Tyler to laugh.
"It's okay," he says when I open my mouth. "My siblings would probably do the same thing to embarrass me. In fact, they'll probably bring something up at dinner tonight." He sighs. "Oh well, I'll live. Now"-he turns to me and offers his arm-"your chariot awaits." I chuckle and study what Tyler is wearing: a green 4H t-shirt with khaki shorts. I guess my outfit is fine, then.
Tyler opens the passenger door for me like a gentleman, then shuts it and walks back over to his side after I climb in. He turns the key, and we head to his house. It just now dawns on me that I actually haven't been to his house before, despite him living this close.
"We're here," Tyler says after about three minutes, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Already!?" I exclaim.
"I told you it's a short drive," he says, smirking. I climb out of the car and observe his house. It's a modest, two-story, white home with an inviting air to it.
Tyler and I walk side-by-side up the porch steps until he stops at the door, one hand on the knob. He looks at me seriously. "Now, just to warn you, my family is crazy. Please tread with caution." He smirks at the end of the sentence, causing laughter to bubble through my rib cage. I wipe my feet on their welcome mat and step inside when Tyler finally opens the door. A rush of cool air hits me, and I observe the interior of his home. Noise emulates through the house as I study its design. We stand in the foyer that merges with the living room, the fireplace the center and an old piano perpendicular to it. Beyond that is the dining room table and around the corner is what I assume to be the kitchen, given the clanging of pots and pans coming from that general direction. A staircase is on the right with a door parallel to it.
Josh suddenly strides around the corner and beams at Tyler.
"Tyler! I got the-" He cuts himself off when Tyler makes a slashing motion across his throat in my peripheral vision. What do those two have planned? "Oh! Hey, Jenna! Glad you could-Uh-make it!" He says as if he just now saw me. Why is everyone in old clothes? Josh is wearing a tattered, gray muscle shirt with a pair of black basketball shorts.
"I was just going to give Jenna a tour of the house," Tyler says. "Care to join us?"
"Don't mind if I do," he says. Tyler hooks his right arm through my left as Josh loops his through my right. They turn and escort me up the stairs, their bodies pressing into my sides.
"So, this is Zack's room," Tyler says, nodding to the first closed door on the left. "The next one is the bathroom."
"On the right here, you can observe the Wild Maddy in her natural habitat," Josh says. I snicker. Her door is wide open, but she doesn't appear to be in there.
"Must be downstairs helping Mom," Tyler says. "Jay's room is on the left here, and my parents room is downstairs. So, this is it for upstairs." The three of us turn-still arm-in-arm-and descend the stairs.
Tyler guides us to the door parallel to the staircase, pushing it open. Another staircase appears, being swallowed by darkness at the bottom. "Stay close to me. You don't want the monsters getting you. The stupid light switch is at the bottom of the stairs." Tyler grabs my hand as we descend the stairs one at a time. All of us reach the landing, and I hear Tyler's hand sliding across the wall to find the switch.
"Boo!" I jump as hands poke my side.
"Jishwa!" Tyler scolds. "We're not supposed to scare our date!" Josh chuckles from behind me as Tyler finally finds the switch and flips it on. (I think he was stalling on purpose. He ought to know where is light switch is by now.)
My eyes adjust to a basement twice the size of my living room. We step off the landing as I look around at the ocean blue walls. Tyler's bed sits along the wall on the underside of the staircase. Parallel to us is a drum kit, keyboard, and a ukulele. A door to a bathroom and a closet is on the right, and a wooden desk sits next to Tyler's bed on the right wall.
I unhook my arms from the boys' and walk over to the keyboard. "May I?" I turn and ask Tyler.
He bows. "Be my guest."
"You play?" Josh asks.
"Yep," I say, sitting down at the keyboard.
"Awwwww, you guys are the perfect match," Josh says, getting all mushy.
"Stop it!" Tyler exclaims. "Let her play!"
I draw a blank. "I honestly don't know what to play now...sorry," I shrug.
"Eh, it's okay," Tyler says. "It's probably almost time for dinner anyway."
We head back upstairs and Tyler leads me into the kitchen where I see a blonde girl working with who I assume to be Mrs. Joseph.
The older woman turns. "Ah, you must be Jenna." She steps forward and shakes my hand. "I'm Tyler's mom."
I smile and nod, and the other girl steps forward. "I'm Tyler's sister, Maddy. It's nice to meet you." She also shakes my hand with a delicate grip.
"You too," I reply nervously. "So...what's for dinner?" That's my attempt at striking up conversation.
"Lasagna," Mrs. Joseph says. "I hope you're okay with that."
"That's perfect," I reply. Lasagna is a popular dish in my family.
Mrs. Joseph turns to her daughter. "Maddy, go and fetch the others." Maddy nods and walks out the kitchen door.
Tyler and Josh step past me to a cabinet, where they grab plates, cups, and silverware. I stand in the middle of the kitchen awkwardly.
"Do you guys...need help?" I ask.
"No, it's okay," Mrs. Joseph says. "Just have a seat."
Tyler pulls out my chair for me when I go to take a seat at the dining room table. I drum my fingers and bite my lip nervously just as Maddy and three guys stride through the back door. All three immediately notice me.
"Tyler, is this your girlfriend!?" a Tyler lookalike exclaims. Without waiting for an answer, he hurries over and wrings my hand. "I'm Zack, Tyler's little brother. Nice to meet you!"
"Um...you too," I say, offering a small smile. "I'm Jenna."
"I already know who you are," Zack says, which earns him a slug in the side from another boy that has appeared at his shoulder.
"Don't say that! She'll think you're a creep! No wonder why you're single!" the other boy exclaims. He rolls his eyes. "Ignore him. I'm Jay, Tyler's other brother." He shakes my hand, too.
"Okay, dinner is ready!" Mrs. Joseph says, bringing a dish of lasagna over with gloved hands.
Tyler takes a seat on my right side with Josh on his other side. Jay sits on my left while Zack, Maddy, Mrs. Joseph, and who I assume to be Mr. Joseph sit across from me.
We eat for few minutes in silence. Finally, Mrs. Joseph breaks it by asking where Tyler and I met.
"Umm, the woods, actually," I reply.
Mrs. Joseph's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah," Tyler says for me. "I was out back there one day and she just appeared. I had seen her at the music store before that, too."
"Oh, okay," Mrs. Joseph said. She directs her gaze back to me. "So what made you want to go out with him?" All eyes land on me, causing my skin to crawl from the attention.
"Um, well, one day, I kind of passed out and he found me and took me to the hospital. I figured I owed him a date since he didn't just leave me there."
"That was you!?" Zack interjects. I nod.
"Dude, I thought you knew everything about her, being the creep that you are!" Jay says. He winks at me.
"Tyler told me that something had happened, but I didn't know that had been you. No wonder he was gone so much." Mrs. Joseph says. I give her a small smile.
"So, I hear you moved here?" Mr. Joseph asks.
I nod. "From northern Ohio. My dad came here for work."
I see Josh glance out the dining room window from Tyler's other side. "Dude." He nudges Tyler's side. "We need to hurry up and eat before it gets dark."
"Crap. You're right," Tyler says while beginning to shovel food in his mouth.
"Tyler, slow down, honey. You'll get a stomach ache. The sun will be out long after 7:00," Mrs. Joseph says.
"Fine," Tyler says, sighing.
"Did Tyler ever tell you about his class presentation he had to do in elementary school?" Zack pipes up. I look over at Tyler to see the small boy giving his brother a look that could kill a spider. "Don't," he mouths. I shake my head.
Mr. Joseph bursts out laughing. "I remember him telling me that."
Tyler puts his head in his hands and moans. "Dad, please, noooo." I pat him on the back.
"It's a parent's job to embarrass their children."
Mrs. Joseph nods. "Be glad we're not pulling out the baby pictures." Tyler's moans increase.
"So," Mr. Joseph continues,"as an elementary student, Tyler had to do a presentation about his ethnicity and heritage." Mr. Joseph starts laughing again, so Zack takes over.
"Instead of saying he was part Lebanese, he told his whole class that he was part lesbian." Zack's hand slaps the table as everyone-including me-burst out laughing.
"Even you didn't tell me that one," Josh says in between his fits of laughter to a scarlet Tyler.
"It's okay," I murmur in his ear while patting his back. All of us finish our food within the next few minutes.
"That was a very good dish, Mrs. Joseph," I say. "Thank you."
"Oh, it's my pleasure." She smiles warmly.
Maddy clears her throat. "I think it's time to go outside."
Zack stands up so fast that his chair almost clatters to the floor. "Yes, Yes, it's time!"
Tyler grabs my hand and pulls me up. "Cmon." He leads me toward the back door with Josh, Maddy, Zack, and Jay.
"What's going on?" I ask as we head out back.
"Initiation!" Zack yells.
"Initiation?" I ask nervously. I don't like the sound of this...
"Let me demonstrate," Zack says. "Jay, stand over there." He gestures toward a trampoline standing at the edge of the yard. Jay jogs over in that direction, and Zack pelts him with something not too long after. Jay is suddenly dripping with water.
"Water balloons!?" I exclaim, turning to Tyler. "Is that why you told me to wear old clothes!?" Tyler nods.
"Okay, we will divide up into two teams!" Zack commands, taking charge. "Tyler will be captain of one, me another. Although, I already know who Tyler is going to pick."
Tyler walks over and stands across from Zack, who nods at him.
"Jenna," Tyler says. I walk toward him.
"Maddy," Zack says.
"Josh."
"Jay."
"Okay, here's how this will work." Zack claps his hands together. "Each team gets their own bucket of balloons and fifteen minutes to prepare for the battle. Trampoline is base, but only one person from each team can linger there at a time. Each team also has a fort. It's a fight to the death. Get hit three times, and you're out. Got it?" All of us nod. "Okay," Zack says. "I'm giving us a fifteen minute prep time. Go."
The teams spilt up, and the water balloon battle begins.

A/N: I didn't want to make this chapter super long, being that it's already past 2000 words, so I'm dividing it into two chapters. Enjoy! Stay alive!