Chapter 49: Dinner date

~Third Person POV~ Byakuya blinked in surprise. "Wait, a dinner?" he asked.

June nodded. "Yeah, Byakuya, a dinner. Again, it wasn't my idea, it was my Dad's! When I told him about us, he reacted very strongly by insisting that you come over for dinner tonight. Now, I know that it's last minute, but I really need you to do this so I can prove my dad wrong about you." she said all at once, and Byakuya frowned.

"Prove him wrong about what exactly?" he asked.

June swallowed. "Well... he kind of still thinks of you as the boy who broke my heart and his last memory of you is when our friendship ended... so he's not exactly fond of you... at all..." she mumbled.

Byakuya sighed. "Of course... Why does that not surprise me?"

"Also, Jesse isn't really in a hurry to roll out the welcome mat, either..." June added before she looked at the floor.

"Of course...," Byakuya mumbled again. "Look, it's alright; I understand."

June's eyes narrowed. "No, it's NOT alright! They're my family, and they need to except that you've changed and that you're a good guy and most importantly that I love you," she said seriously before she took Byakuya's hands in her own. "It's not fair of them to judge you immediately without even giving you a chance. And, I won't have it--I really won't."

Byakuya smiled and held on to June's hands. "June, I love how much you care about me, really I do. But, am I really worth this? Besides, your father isn't wrong; I'm the boy who singlehandedly broke your heart and left you shattered--"

June cut him off by shaking her head. "No, Byakuya Togami, don't you dare. We are past that and you know it. We both apologized, we both forgave each other, we both made up. Now, we're both happily together and we love each other. So, yes, Byakuya--you are worth this. In fact, you're worth everything." she said, and that made Byakuya smile.

"I love you so much." he whispered.

June smiled back. "I love you too."

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The door flew open seconds after June rung the doorbell, Byakuya standing beside her.

Jesse's face greeted them. "Hey, Junebug!" He smiled at June and then noticed Byakuya. His smile faltered slightly. "Hey, Byakuya."

Byakuya shuffled around awkwardly a bit. "Hello, Jesse. You look well. It's been awhile." he said politely.

Jesse gave him a nod. "Thanks. You look good too," he said before he stood to the side. "Please, come in."

June came in first and Byakuya followed before Jesse closed the door behind them.

Then, Jesse suddenly grabbed Byakuya by his shirt collar and whispered seriously, "I'm watching you."

Jesse then released Byakuya, and Byakuya slowly stepped back. "Understood..." He immediately left Jesse and went into the kitchen where June had gone.

June's father, Mr. Takahashi, was in the kitchen as well, and his eyes immediately darted to Byakuya when he entered.

He gave Byakuya a small smile. "Hello, Byakuya. It's been awhile since the last time I saw you. I'm glad you could come to dinner."

Byakuya just nodded in response. "Of course. Thank you for having me."

Mr. Takahashi just kept right on smiling. "My pleasure." he said before he led them both, along with Jesse, to the dining room table.

They all sat down and Byakuya noticed the food was already ready.

"So," Jesse spoke up. "Where's Erin?"

"On a date with Ishimaru." June answered before she took a bite of her food. Byakuya followed suit.

After Byakuya swallowed, he smiled at Mr. Takahashi. "The food's delicious." he said.

Mr. Takahashi smiled back. "Thank you. I spend my spare time cooking." he said back.

Byakuya nodded. "I can tell."

"So, with all that being said," Mr. Takahashi set down his fork and his eyes were trained on Byakuya. "let's talk."

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"... so to sum it up, Leon ended up buying up the entire school's supply of Valentines Day candy hearts, got a sugar high off them, and spilled the remaining hearts all over the floor and proceeded to practically bounce off the walls." Byakuya finished, and Mr. Takahashi, June, and Jesse all burst out into laughter.

"Seriously?" Jesse snorted. "This Leon guy..."

"I know, he's quite a unique character." June said as she giggled.

"That sounds to be about the biggest understatement of the year...!" Mr. Takahashi laughed. Then he sighed and looked at Byakuya again. "You tell the funnest stories, Byakuya. And, I have to say, before you came over here I thought you were the same guy you were all those years ago. But, I was wrong," He smiled--a real smile. "I'm glad you're dating my daughter."

Jesse smiled as well. "So am I! I also thought what Dad thought, but I was clearly wrong!" he said before he turned to June. "Also, why is it always you who gets the rich guys? What is it you're doing? Tell me your secret, and I might just be able to pick up a few hot, rich chicks. Come on, do your brother a solid."

June laughed again. "Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing."

Byakuya nudged her playfully in the shoulder. "Well, it's working." He smiled happily, and June blushed.

Suddenly, Mr. Takahashi looked up at the clock on the wall. "Wow. Is it that time already?" he said before he smiled again and shook his head. "Time sure flies, huh?"

"That it does, that it does." Byakuya agreed.

"Well, you better get going; I bet your parents are missing you." Mr. Takahashi said.

"You're probably right," Byakuya said before he stood up. "It was a pleasure dining with you all. I very much enjoyed it."

"We did too. And, feel free to come back any time." Mr. Takahashi said.

Jesse nodded. "Yeah! Especially if you're bringing your very fat wallet," When everyone looked at him, he shrugged. "What? A guy needs a loan once in awhile."

"Correction: you need a loan all the time," June said. "And, I'm not gonna let you suck the life out of my boyfriend's wallet, Jesse."

Jesse looked down and groaned. "Ugh. You guys are no help," he grumbled. "I mean, I'm a college student; I'm broke!"

Everyone laughed again before Byakuya headed for the front door.

"I'll walk you out." June said before she stood up and followed Byakuya to the door.

"Now, Byakuya, just because we like you now, doesn't mean you suddenly have free range," Mr. Takahashi said before he nodded at June. "So, keep your hands to yourself."

June blushed again, this time out of embarrassment. "God, Dad!"

Byakuya chuckled. "Of course, sir."

Mr. Takahashi smiled in amusement before he gave them both a firm nod. With that, they exited the house and closed the door.

"Thank you so much. Seriously, it meant a lot that you did this for me. And, I'm really glad they like you now." June said.

Byakuya smirked. "I knew it was only a matter of time before my irresistible charms got to them," he said before he genuinely smiled at his girlfriend. "And, you're welcome. I'm glad I did this, and I'm glad they like me too. I'm much happier and not on edge, now."

Then they just stood there for a few seconds, just staring and smiling at each other.

"Well," Byakuya said, breaking the silence. "I've got to go; it's late."

June nodded. "Yeah, you're right," Then she stepped in closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you."

Byakuya drew her in closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you too." he whispered before he planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

After that, Byakuya reluctantly slipped out of June's embrace and bounded up to his car, unlocked it, climbed in, closed the door, and drove off into the night.

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~June's POV~ After Byakuya had left (which was about an hour ago?), I sat alone in my room, smiling, in a happy mood.

My family accepted Byakuya!

Now that I have Dad and Jesse's okay, I feel a lot more secure and free being with Byakuya--now that I know nothing will ever be able to break us up.

Which means nothing is stopping me from being with him.

I sighed to myself happily as I scrolled through some pictures on my phone. Suddenly, it buzzed.

I had received a text.

I exited my pictures and scrolled through my contacts to find it was from an unknown number.

Unknown number: Something big will go down. Just be patient and trusting.

I frowned. What? What does that even mean? Who could it be from? Sayaka? Erin? Hina? Ibuki? Sonia?

This certainly doesn't SOUND like anything they'd say...

I rolled my eyes. I bet it's a prank from Leon; he's always doing stuff like this.

I exited my texts and went back into my pictures, which I began scrolling through again.

And that's basically what I did for the remainder of the night, besides smiling and thinking about Byakuya, like always.