The next few days were quite simple. They were filled with a few phone calls from Michael and multiple texts from Julia about the party that was well, tonight. She said something about getting back in town late, so she would have to meet all of us there a little late.

Right now I was sat at a circular table in the middle of an empty sub shop, Lue and Annabel on either side of me. I was lost in my thoughts about tonight, so I sat quiet, stirring my drink with my straw.

"Maddie?" Annabel snapped her fingers in my face. "You alright?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I just zoned out." I sat up straight, taking my elbows off the table and placing my hands in my lap.

"What are you wearing tonight? It's like dressy, but not too dressy." She flicked her eyes from me to Lue, looking for any idea.

Lue began rambling on about her skirt versus dress dilemma, exchanging a few ideas with Annabel. I kept my attention on the both of them and subtly pulled out my phone. I had a text from Michael asking for my address and a text from my mom saying I needed to come home. I replied instantly to my mom, feeling a bit worried because she usually lets me stay out unless it's something important.

"Hey guys?" They stopped their conversation and shifted towards me, watching me stand up. "My mom just told me to get back home, and it's worrying me a bit. So I'll see you guys tonight, alright?" They pulled me in for a group hug, followed by a few "aw"'s.

"Don't stress, it can't be something too bad." Lue said, gripping my shoulders. I smiled slightly, keeping quiet. "Call us when you find out." I nodded my head and turned back to the same doors I entered in.

-

"A whole month?!" I yelled out.

"But isn't it exciting?!" My mom called back.

I didn't quite know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting her to tell me that she's going on a business trip for a whole month. Of course I felt excited for her because she was basically getting promoted after it, but a whole month without the person who keeps me together? I just didn't know how exactly how to feel.

My mouth hung open, not knowing what to say.

"I leave tomorrow night. I know it's unexpected and quick, but my airfare is paid for and so is the hotel that they're letting my stay in, and it's a nice one at that." Her voice got quieter, and she took a deep breath. "I know it's a long time, but I think we can manage. It's a really big offer that I had to take and I know you-"

"No mom. I'm excited for you. I really am. It's just-wow. This is going to make things so good for us." I pulled her in for a hug, squeezing her tight. We stayed like this for a while, letting the comfortable silence surround us. I pulled back, my hands on her shoulders. "I'm going to go upstairs and get ready, okay?" I gave her a sincere smile.

"Right, right. Oh, and am I still meeting that Michael boy?" She calls at me as I'm going up the stairs. I stopped in my tracks, completely forgetting to tell him.

"Uh, yeah." I turned around slowly and furrowed my eyebrows even though my mother couldn't see me. "He should be here in about 2 hours." I jogged back up the steps and into my bathroom.

I picked up my phone, immediately calling Michael. I studied my reflection as the rings went on, fixing my messy hair I was about to re-curl.

"Hey." His voice was calm and deep, as if he'd just woken up.

"Hey, sorry for the short notice, but my mom says she wants to meet you tonight. So for the sake of us both, be nice okay?" I said as my words jumbled together.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He was playful, obviously in a good mood.

"It means don't be unprecedented."

"Okay, now what does that mean? Literally this time." His laugh flowed out of the speaker and I caught myself smiling.

"Just," I looked up, then back at myself in the mirror, trying to get my words together. "Be yourself and she'll love you." I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and let my arm fall to my side.

"Will do." We exchanged our goodbyes and I placed my phone on my counter, turning on some music.

I wasn't sure as to why I was nervous about Michael meeting my mom. Maybe it's because he seems to be unpredictable, or maybe it's because I was letting Michael explore more aspects of my life. The more personal aspects. But he made those aspects turn oblivion to me. He told me he could be the challenges in my life, but I don't think he's necessarily a challenge. He leans more towards the intrusion side.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a knock on the front door. I simply ignored it and continued getting ready. I released my hair from the clamped heat and let the loose curl fall on my chest. After a thin layer of hairspray and a few inhales and coughs, I backed my way into my room and turned to my closet.

I settled on a plain black wide shouldered dress that came about mid thigh. It scooped deeply in the front and back, showing off slight cleavage and my shoulder blades. My waist appeared smaller as the dress clung to all the right places and flowed out at the bottom. It was simple, but flattering. I paired it with a dark red set of heels and added gold rings to my fingers.

As I made my way back into the bathroom to do my makeup, I overheard my mom talking to someone downstairs. She was talking about her business trip so I assumed she was talking to one of her friends on the phone. I sighed at the matter, and stood back in front of my mirror.

My eyes were surrounded by a subtle black smudged slightly around the corners, giving them a smokey effect. The light pink lipstick I had just applied finished off my whole look. My eyes popped as well as my cheeks. The colors accentuated my face and matched perfectly with my outfit choice. I had never been one to dress up a lot, but when I had the chance, I basically went all out.

I picked up my phone and checked the time as I carefully made my way down the steps.

"Michael should be here in a few minutes." I called to my mom, making my way off the last step. I kept my nose in my phone, not looking up. No reply. I looked up and started crossing the kitchen to the living room. "Mom, did you-" I stopped in my tracks when I took sight of Michael sitting on the couch across from my mother, talking about who knows what.

"Hi honey." My mom chirped. My eyes switched from Michael to her.

His lips parted, eyeing me from my heels to my eyes.

"Hi mom, I see you've already met Michael." I plastered on a fake smile, wondering how long he's been here. I focused my attention back to him. He had a mischievous smirk on his face, but it was broke when he started to speak. Before he could say anything, he was cut off by my mother.

"Well I'm going to head down to the store to get a few things for my trip before it gets too late." She sighed and stood up and walked towards me. "You look wonderful, have fun tonight you two! It was extremely nice to meet you Michael."

"You too, Kim." He said as she waved us off, closing the front door.

I punched his arm, making him step back at the loss of balance. "What just happened? What did you do?"

"Hey! It's nice too see you too!" He rubbed his arm and stepped towards me. "I showed up an hour ago. Your mom is lovely." He smiled at me and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I can see that. You called her by her first name even. Way to get on her good side." My attitude towards the situation changed, and I was actually happy that him and my mom got on well.

"And I agree with your mom, you look wonderful." He said. I looked down, hiding the red on my cheeks.

"Hey, good looking people exist so when I get the chance to tell them, I'm not going to deny myself the pleasure." He put up his hands in a joking manner. I laughed at his statement, looking back up at him.

His hair was swept to the side, messy, but still well kept. That sort of tousled look. He was dressed head to toe in black. His shirt hugged his torso, but not tightly. It was paired with his signature black jeans and his simple short boots. I couldn't deny myself the pleasure either, Michael cleaned up quite well.

"You don't look so bad yourself." I replied back. His familiar grin came back. He checked his watch, noticing we were running a bit late.

He stuck out his arm with his elbow bent. "Better get going, we have a long night." I hooked my arm with his, gripping his bicep with my hand. I let out an excited squeal as we made our way out the door.

-

We pulled up to the house, it was enormous. The lights from the back yard and dock flickered behind it and the music was blaring. I texted Lue and Annabel letting them know I'm here and Julia would be around in about an hour.

I got out of the car, adjusting my hair and dress and made my way around to Michael.

"First party of the summer," I breathed out. "Let's do this."

We approached the front door where we were immediately greeted by Ashton.

"Hey man!" Ashton yelled. "Who's this?" He asks quietly, looking over towards me.

"This is Maddie." I waved my hand and let out a simple "Hi."

"Oh, so this is Maddie. I'm Ashton, party's in the back." He nodded his head towards the back of his home. Michael led us through the door way as he received a pat on the back from Ashton.

The doubled glass door was already open and the huge crowd of people were dancing and singing along to the music. There were people jumping of the dock and there was also a bonfire going.

We began making our way though the sea of people, saying hello to anyone we knew. I felt Michael's finger tips brush across my wrist. They slid down my palm, tickling my hand and interlocked his fingers with mine. He tightened his grip on my hand, signaling he wanted my attention. I looked up at him just as he was leaning down to say something.

"Bonfire?" He asked. His lips brushed my ear as he pulled back. I simply nodded my head and we led our way out of the crowd.

We talked a bit on the walk to the fire, but our conversation was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Maddie! We've been looking for you!" I released Michael's hand as Annabel ran over to me. Lue followed close behind and she pulled me in for a hug. We exchanged compliments on each other's fashion choice and overall appearance.

"So tell us, who's the guy?" Annabel whispered in my ear, eyes on Michael who was in conversation with two other boys.

"That's Michael. He's Mrs. Louise's grandson. I met him last week, he's...something." It somehow slipped out of my mind to tell them about Michael.

"I approve, he's hot." Lue and Annabel laughed together as I rolled my eyes.

"No it's not like that we're-"

"Maddie!" Michael called over. He waved me to come towards him and Lue and Annabel tagged along. He threw his arm over my shoulder and pulled me in tight.

"This is Maddie." He pointed at my with his other hand that was occupied by a red cup.

"Uh, hi." I waved at the two boys standing in front of me. They were both tall and broad shouldered. One had his blonde hair pushed up, out of his striking blue eyes. The other one was tan, with shorter dark hair and deep brown eyes.

"I'm Luke." The blonde one said. "And uh, this is Calum." My eyes fixed on Calum. And his eyes were fixed on Lue.

I turned to Michael who was staring down at me. I cleared my throat and took his arm off my shoulder, tying our hands together, but hiding it behind me.

"Annabel and Lue, Michael. Michael, Lue and Annabel." I switched my eyes between them, listening to them share hello's and ask them how they were. We all settled down around the fire, but there weren't enough seats for all of us. Calum and Luke squished in one seat, and Annabel and Lue had their own. I made my way over to Lue to share the chair with her, but I was tugged by my waist and into someone's lap.

"Comfortable?" Michael mumbled into my ear humbly. I opened my mouth to answer him but was interrupted by a loud voice. We all turned our heads to see 2 figures walking towards us.

"Drinks for everyone!" Ashton walked towards us, a bottle of vodka is his hand and a box in his other, and a case of beer was in...Julia's hand?

"Julia!" I yelled. I started to get up, but was pulled back down by Michael. I turned to him and frowned as he just kept the same smirk he's had all night.

Ashton placed the bottle on a glass table next to us and placed the box in Luke's lap, telling him to take on and pass it down. Luckily he brought another chair for him. As we rearranged the seats, it was me and Michael shoved in one chair, Lue and Calum in another, Annabel and Julia squished together, as the same for Luke and Ashton.

The box made its way to me and Michael. I opened the lid and found 2 shot glasses inside. He pulled them out, taking one for him self and handing the other to me.

Ashton grabbed the bottle, going around the circle to fill up the small cup. I looked over at Lue, who was lost in conversation with Calum, then over to Annabel and Julia, who were both on their phones. I faced Michael, who couldn't have been any closer to me.

"On the count of 3 guys." Michael piped up.

"One." He looked straight into my eyes, his warmth breath going down my neck. "Two." He flicked his eyes from mine to my lips, then back up again. He let a half smile creep up on his face. "Three." We both pulled back, drinking down the strong taste, letting it burn the back of my throat. I smiled back at Michael, letting everyone's cheers crowd around our silence.

"Cheers." I whispered, followed by a giggle. I turned back around to face the others. His arms slowly wrapped around my waist as my back pressed against his chest. I looked down as he placed his chin on my exposed shoulder. His hair tickled against my neck as he leaned in to whisper something.

"Cheers."