Chryss waited a little anxiously for Cedric's arrival. Her parents had smiled when she'd told them, and then uttered the worst words ever.

"Have fun with your boyfriend, Chryss. We won't disturb you," and before she could stammer a response, they had retreated to their bedroom, silently laughing to themselves.

So she was standing on the patio, face flushed from the encounter, awaiting him.

And there he was. In his torn jeans, his eyes shadowed, but he was there. She went out to meet him, concealing her excitement for good knows what reason.

"Hey," she said in a rush. "Why don't we go inside? It's cold."

And he was facing the cold in his t-shirt and jeans, while she was wearing a fluffy woolen jacket. Cedric glanced at her clothing and shrugged indifferently.

"I suppose there's no harm," he said, but he seemed slightly nervous.

Was the prospect of meeting her parents that hard? "They went to their bedroom," Chryss said after a moment. "Said they didn't want to disturb us."

She left out the embarrassing part. He did not need to know that.

She led him into the house, but not into her room. Somehow, having a boy in her room was just... Disgusting. She was only sixteen, after all, and she wasn't entirely sure what Cedric might do.

So they sat on the sofa, both feeling extremely awkward.

"So...how are things?" Chryss asked, in an attempt to break silence.

"Okay, I suppose." Then he stopped himself from lying to her. "Well, they're arguing. Divorce is on the table again. I guess I'm just wondering who I'm gonna end up with. Mom's unemployed and Dad gambles, so there isn't really a better parent."

Chryss almost offered to let him stay at her place before she realized what a girlfriend action that would be. So she just frowned sympathetically.

"I'm sure things will get better," she murmured softly, but it sounded like a lie even to her.

Cedric shrugged doubtfully. "Maybe. But I doubt it."

Chryss wasn't surprised. Cedric wasn't the optimistic type anyway.

"I'll play some music," Chryss offered. She got her phone and randomly played her Taylor Swift playlist.

Stupid Spotify. It picked Enchanted.

And she couldn't stop looking at him. Curse her eyes.

He broke away from her gaze and turned off the music. "I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift," he muttered, and she wasn't sure if that was true or not.

He probably thought she'd intentionally played Enchanted, and it made her red with embarrassment. That was... Embarrassing.

"Well... We can pick the pizza now," she said a little numbly.

"I'll probably just head back, actually," Cedric said, and her heart sank.

She'd done something wrong again, hadn't she?

"You originally came here for the pizza," she pointed out.

"Yeah but... You can't just pay for me," he mumbled.

Again, she realized offering to pay for his pizza was a girlfriend gesture. What was the line between friendly and, well, girlfriendly?

"I'm not paying. My parents are."

He looked stricken, as if that made it worse.

"Oh," Chryss muttered. "Uh, that's fine. Just... Go home, like you want. Sure."

He frowned again, started to leave, then sat back down. "Nah. Pizza's too appealing."