I sat next to Miles as we drove to the airport to pick up his parents. I couldn't help but bob my foot up in down in the passenger seat as if that would help my nerves. All morning all, this was all I could think of. I had to impress them, and I wasn't sure if I could. All I wanted was the day to end.

Miles swore under his breath as he shook his hand.

My foot stopped as my attention turned to him. "Are you ok?"

"Just a flare-up. It'll pass," he said with a forced smile.

"You get them often, don't you?"

"When I get tired or exert myself a little too much, I notice it the most. But it's fine. I have been told that it'll get better," he said, grabbing my hand, pulling me out the front door.

"You know, I've never met anyone with MS." Since I found out he had it, I had spent time reading about the disease, but I had more questions that I was hoping he would answer.

He chuckled as he got on the freeway. "We do exist. It's not like we live at the hospital 24/7 or under a rock. We all have lives and....Oh dang, I just classified myself with them."

"You don't want to classify yourself with other people with MS?" I would think he would want to be with similar people. Dad always liked support groups. There was always support in numbers. At least, that was what my dad always told me.

"I would rather be an outsider." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes. He had questions about the disease, and I could see it terrified him, that's why he never wanted to talk about it. "Being an outsider is lonely," I said, speaking from experience.

He sighed as he chewed on his lip for a second. "Rodger wants me to keep quiet about it. It's not like I can go around to support groups. Word would get out."

If I had a penny for every time Rodger was brought up negatively... Of course, Rodger was behind this. He was always the one pulling the strings. Even if Miles wanted to participate, he couldn't. "How often do you have to get treatments?"

"For now, only twice a year," he said proudly as we parked the car in front of the airport. "Here we go."

"Here we go," I repeated as I followed his lead out of the car, trying to stand as tall as I could. I reached out to him, and he entwined my fingers with his as he stumbled into me. "Are you ok?" I asked with concern.

He nodded as he quickly regained himself. He pulled on his long sleeve polo shirt and looked at the sun as if some answer was written all over it. "It's just the flare-up. I'm fine, just overworked recently."

I wanted to ask more questions but instead I responded, "Well then, I'll be driving back."

He frowned but didn't protest.

"Maybe you should take a day or two off," I suggested.

He chuckled. "Maybe you should tell that to Rodger."

I smiled at him. "Maybe I should."

As we walked into the airport, I ran my hands through my hair to smooth it out, hoping it would calm my nerves. There was no running from this. Within minutes, his parents would know who I was, and our relationship would be shaped because of it.

Miles squeezed my hand then pulled on his sleeves, trying to cover his arms then put on his beanie. I wondered if he knew how confident he appeared as he walked into buildings. No beanie could hide his identity as flawlessly as he thought.

"Meeting my parents is not scary."

I shot him a look. Speak for himself, he didn't have to impress the parents of a pop star. "Yeah, it shouldn't be bad."

"That's them," he said as he pointed towards a middle-aged looking couple dressed in matching flowered shirts who just stepped through security. "Let's see how long they take to realize I'm here." He chuckled as they looked around the airport in awe.

I hit him lightly. "Miles, be nice." I waved to them with a smile. "We're here," I shouted out.

They stopped walking and stared at us with a confused look on their faces. They exchanged a few words to one another before walking the other way, which caused my cheeks to heat up. They weren't his parents. Miles just wanted me to wave my arms around like a dork. "Miles. Really?"

He laughed so hard that it brought tears to his eyes. "That was good though." He wiped a tear of laughter from his face.

"Miles, can you help us with our bags?" a woman's voice rang out from behind us.

Miles suddenly stopped laughing and stood up straight. Instantly, his light personality changed into something that I hadn't seen before. This wasn't the Miles I knew, nor was it Kit, it was another side of Miles that I didn't know, and it made worried if I should be different too. "And that would be my mom," Miles said as he turned to face her with a smile.

I looked at the short, round lady in front of me. She was small, standing only about five feet tall. Her loose-fitting jeans and T-shirt that said Maine were simple and gave a casual vibe.

"Jeanne, really? And you left me with all the bags," a man huffed as he walked towards us with a frown. He dropped the bags then smiled brightly at Miles. "Mk! We missed you!" He hugged Miles.

MK, that was new. I wonder if there was a story behind that.

"And this is my dad," he said as the man pulled out of the hug.

I looked at his dad, who wore a button-down and a pair of typical loose jeans that looked too worn. He loomed over Miles as he talked to him. He should have been intimidating, yet he had this smile that made me want to spill all my deepest secrets.

"You must be Isla," he said as wrapped me in his broad arms.

"Steve, we don't want to strangle her," Jeanne poked her husband.

"Oh, sorry," he said and pulled out of the hug.

"Don't worry about it." I smiled as I took a bag from his mom. "Did you have a pleasant flight?"

"It was rough, but that was Steve's fault for having leftover sushi for breakfast," Jeanne said, throwing her husband a look.

He shrugged, although he looked slightly uncomfortable that she spilled his secret. "I didn't know it would upset my stomach that much."

I chuckled at their honesty as we walked out of the airport. Their laid-back personality set me at ease, and I quickly realized there was nothing I needed to worry about.

"My car's there," Miles said as he pointed towards his orange Subaru.

"I see you got a new car," Steve said as he pushed Mile's shoulder. "Good pick."

"I choose by example," Miles said as he handed me the keys.

I got into the driver's side of the car as Miles sat in the passenger's side to talk to his parents.

By the time we made it back to his apartment, we were neck-deep in childhood stories.

"Are you guys hungry?" Miles asked, trying to break them from telling a story about his first kiss when he was four.

Jeanne shook her head as she continued to tell the story to me without missing a beat. "And Miles didn't realize the girl he kissed was his brother's piano teacher."

Miles turned bright red as couldn't hold myself from laughing with Jeanne.

Steve stood up from the couch. "Hey, MK want to go fish in your pound behind the apartment complex? We can let the girls talk?"

"I don't have a fishing pole."

"What?! And you call yourself a Maine Man. Well lucky for you, I packed a fishing pole," Steve said as he went into the spare room to get it.

"No, Dad, ugg..." Miles groaned as his dad came back with a fishing pole in hand.

"How did you pack that?" I asked, holding back a smile as I looked at the pole.

"Don't underestimate a Maine Man." he winked. "Now let's go Miles." He pulled Miles out the front door but not before Miles looked at me as if making sure I was ok.

I smiled at him as I held up my cup of tea, showing I was fine. Jeanne was the friendliest person I have met. Spending more time with her wouldn't be a hard ask.

Miles smiled, then walked out the door with his dad.

"I don't think I've ever seen my son look at a girl the way he looks at you. Miles is happy with you, and I haven't seen him happy like that in a while," Jeanne said as the door shut.

My cheeks grew warm, and my insides melted like marshmallows in a cup of hot chocolate. "Really?"

She nodded. "I know him like the back of my hand. It's clear that he has fallen head over heels for you and that's not an easy task for my son."

"To be honest, I've fallen head over heels for him too." I had only been dating him for a few weeks, but since I spent time with him, I have been the happiest in a long time.

"So Isla, tell me more about yourself. I want to know everything about you."

Her smile was pleasant and welcoming, making me want to go into detail about my life. So I did, telling her about how I met Miles, how I hated him at first. Soon the conversation changed to talking about my mother and brother and sister, diving in about my dead father and before I knew it, I had spilt all my guts to her.

She smiled as I finished my story about how I got suspended. "You will overcome this." Her words were so confident, it gave me hope.

I nodded.

There was silence for a moment until Jeanne broke it. "Can you keep an eye out for him?" Jeanne asked with a serious tone.

"Of course I could do that." Someone needed to be there for him, and I would always be there for him.

"Good, because out of everyone I have met out on this coast, you're the only one I trust. I'm not sure if you have noticed, but Miles has highs and lows and when he is at his lows, he has a habit of pushing people away. I'm saying this because I can see that he loves you and you love him. Don't let him push you away. He pushed all of us more times than we could count but we stayed. Sometimes loving Miles is work, but it is worth it. Promise me you'll stay too."

I nodded. "I promise."

Breaking us from our moment was the front door opening.

"We're eating like kings tonight!" Steve cheered as he burst through the front door.

Behind him came Miles with two fish in his hands, looking as happy as his dad. "I didn't actually think that pound had fish," Miles admitted.

"Ok, we need to gut these things," Steve said as he put the fish in the kitchen. "Isla, do you know how to gut a fish?"

I had never been fishing, so thus I didn't know how to gut one. "Can't say I know how to do that."

"Want to learn?"

Miles groaned. "I'm pretty sure Isla doesn't want to..." Miles started to say but I cut him off.

"Actually, I would love to learn." I got out of my seat and followed his father into the kitchen.

After the fish were gutted, seasoned, and in the oven, I stepped outside for some fresh air. We had spent all day with his parents and so far I have loved every minute. They were kind and welcoming. They didn't seem to care what people thought of them, they just wanted to be themselves. I liked that.

I heard the screen door open and instantly a set of arms were around me. Miles kissed my neck lightly. "It's a bit hot in there."

I nodded as I grabbed hold of his hands. "I love your parents."

"And they love you. I don't think I have seen them fall so quickly for a girl any of my siblings brought home."

I watched a star shoot across the sky. "Did you see that?" I asked as I pointed towards the sky.

"Yeah."

"Make a wish." I closed my eyes as I pulled Miles' arms around me closer.

"I already did," Miles said, spinning me around to face him, then kissed me lightly.