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Post by Ashley Bennett on May 1, 2015 23:55:51 GMT -5
They pulled into the drive at the Bennett house in Jack's car. It was nothing fancy - the car that is. American made and a few years old, but Jack kept it in good condition and it ran just fine. All in all, it served its purpose. Ashley glanced at Jack with a smile before looking back at the house. "Well, here we are." She looked out the window of the silver car, trying to determine who would be home. "From the look of things, my Dad my still not have gotten home yet, but Mom told him not to stay late at the office tonight. He should be home by dinner." They'd been planning to have Jack come over for dinner tonight for a while, and her father had promised that he would be there. After all, she and Jack had been dating... well, long enough for her parents to take an interest in things. They'd decided it was high time they at least met the boy.
Ashley unbuckled her seat belt as she went on, "So that leaves Mom... Oh, and my brother, Kyle. Which is a start." She let the seat belt retract on its own as she turned her gaze to Jack now. "You ready to go inside? Or do you need a moment?"
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Post by Jack Flynn on May 2, 2015 0:19:57 GMT -5
Jack pulled in his car into the Bennett's driveway. He had dropped her off here plenty of times, but he hadn't really been inside before. They usually either ended up at his house or somewhere else. It was still hard to believe sometimes this relationship had happened. He had thought he had no chance when he first asked Ashley out. She was after all part of the popular crowd. Jack meanwhile, didn't exactly like what came with being popular. He had to get used to that when they first started dating. Overall, Jack thought it was worth it though. Now here they were, about to meet her family for pretty much the first time. This was actually a long time over due, but something always seemed to come up.
Jack took his keys out of the ignition and undid his seat belt. Ashley mentioned it did not look like her dad was home but that he would be coming home in time for dinner. He wasn't sure if that was more nerve wracking or less. Dads could be intimidating. It was pretty much a prerequisite to being a dad. Ashley also mentioned her brother Kyle, almost as an after thought. It was weird, she didn't talk about him a whole lot. The mention was almost like an afterthought, like she had forgotten her brother existed. He was curious what he must be like for her to act that way.
Ashley then turned to him and asked him if he was ready to head in or if he needed a moment. He took a deep breath, then turned to face her. "I think I'm good," he replied. He then gave a light teasing smile. "Maybe a kiss for good luck wouldn't hurt," he teased.
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Post by Ashley Bennett on May 2, 2015 0:54:52 GMT -5
Ashley smirked a little at his teasing. It was one of the things she liked about him. He was easy-going and funny, and he wasn't full of himself like some of the guys her friends had suggested she date. She'd tried that once - dating the guys her friends suggested - and it hadn't turned out. They'd gone on one date, and she'd closely screened her friends' suggestions ever since. Though, to be entirely frank, Jack was not someone her friends had suggested. He'd asked her out, and she'd had to give it a try. True, some people might have called her out of his league, but Ashley didn't agree with that assessment. After all, Jack was one of those people that wasn't popular, and yet everyone just sort of knew who he was. He was well-liked by most, and known for being something of a rebel against the status quo. Though he wasn't so much rebelling as he just didn't give a damn about being popular and about what people thought.
"True, it couldn't hurt." She leaned in close and gave him a kiss, keeping it short. It wouldn't have made the best first impression if her mom had walked out - or her dad had come home - to find what appeared to be her and Jack making out in a car in the driveway.
Opening the car door, she stepped out. Suddenly she started feeling really nervous. Not about her parents meeting Jack - she had a feeling her parents would actually like him a lot. She was nervous about Kyle. She hardly spoke about her twin brother, and she'd nearly forgotten to mention him when she thought about who was home. She knew Jack would have caught that. What must he think about me, if I can't remember my own brother. We're not close... heck we hardly speak. And maybe therein lay the issue. She'd treated Kyle like he didn't exist when she was at school, and eventually he'd started ignoring her at home. At this point neither really acknowledged the other's existence. That was going to be hard to explain if Jack asked.
She'd worry about that if the time came, she decided, as she walked around to the driver's side - which was closer to the door anyways - and took Jack's hand.
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Post by Jack Flynn on May 2, 2015 1:22:25 GMT -5
Jack reciprocated the kiss having a hard time keeping the grin off his face. They kept it short, after all being seen kissing Ashley right on her parents' property didn't sound like the greatest first impression. After all he was supposed to get these people to like him, enough that they could get used to his presence. He was generally liked by most people, so unless he tried to screw this up he didn't see it going to badly. Hell, how he hadn't managed to screw up this relationship already was a miracle in itself. After all, he had the gall to ask someone considered out of his league. People at school pretty much knew who he was now, if they hadn't before.
Most people had told him he was crazy and he had agreed with that assessment when he had finally asked Ashley out. So far it had been a good call. Jack always felt like Ashley was different from the other so-called popular girls. They also got along a lot better than he ever dreamed, at least when together alone. He could do without her so-called friends, but Jack tried his best to play nice for now since they really seemed to matter to Ashley. Just like this dinner. He got the feeling this mattered a bit more than he first thought when it was suggested. After all they never hung out here.
Jack got out of his car and locked it up as Ashley walked around towards him, grabbing his hand when she reached him. He felt pretty okay now, but he couldn't help but noticed Ashley now seemed more nervous. Was it about this mysterious brother she never mentioned? It did strike Jack as odd that her brother was never talked about. However, he never pushed about the subject before. Hopefully, he wasn't getting more than he bargained for here. He then gave her another teasing grin, and gently squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I promise not to be too embarrassing for you," he teased. His smile then became more gentle and reassuring. "This is going to be great. I'm sure everything will turn out fine," he told her calmly. He then gave a playful wink. "Though is it a bad sign when you seem to be the more nervous one? You'd think I should be the one trying to run for the hills," he joked.
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Post by Ashley Bennett on May 3, 2015 16:43:41 GMT -5
She smiled a little when he told her it would be fine and winked at her. He even managed to get a laugh out of her as he joked that if she was nervous then perhaps he should be running for the hills. "It's just... I don't know, I was kind of afraid what you might think when you met Kyle," she said. It had never been a secret that she worried a lot about what others thought of her. "The reason I don't talk much about him is because we're not really close. Not anymore anyways. We hang out with different crowds these days." Well... it was a little more than that, but that was what felt like the best way of describing it.
As she talked they were walking to the front door. She continued, "I know you noticed that I almost forgot to mention him." Honestly that was an inexcusable goof up. It was times like these she briefly wondered what kind of person she had become and whether it was worth it. She would always shake the thought away, but it would never be gone for good. It would occasionally make a reappearance when she felt like the way she had to act to be where she wanted to be was really the right way to be acting. "He's not a bad guy, we're just not close like I said." There was still more to it than she was telling Jack, but for now she had explained all she felt she could. If more questions came up... well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.
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Post by Jack Flynn on May 3, 2015 17:02:26 GMT -5
Jack smiled as Ashley laughed at his teasing. She at least seemed to be a bit more relaxed now. Though what she said surprised him a little. She had been worried about what he would think when he met her brother. The fact that the two siblings weren't close. She made sure to state her brother wasn't a bad guy. That was a relief, he was starting to worry about if they would be getting along. Though he couldn't help but be concerned about how much value Ashley put in approval from other people. "Look it's not really any of my business," he told her. "If you aren't close, you aren't close," He gave her a reassuring smile. "What's important is what you think about that. If you're fine with the way it is, then fine. If not you should do something about it. That's all," He soon noticed they had approached the front door.
He then gave a teasing grin again. "Too late to back out now huh?" he asked teasingly. He was about to knock on the door, but then realized that Ashley was here with him, so he probably didn't need too. "Probably don't need to knock do I?" he joked. He opened the screen door and gestured for Ashley to move through. "After you milady," he teased. Hopefully everything today would go smoothly. What was the worst that could happen?
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Post by Ashley Bennett on May 24, 2015 23:20:51 GMT -5
If you're fine with the way it is, then fine. If not you should do something about it. That was easier said than done. The bridge between her and Kyle was pretty thoroughly burned by this point in time. She didn't like it, but fixing it probably wasn't possible. If it was, it wouldn't be easy. Did it mean enough to her? Was it worth the effort that it might take to fix it? Possibly, but there was still the fact of her friends. If she didn't defend Kyle against them, he wouldn't believe she was really trying to fix thing. If she did, then she'd lose everything she had. Maybe the latter of those two shouldn't have mattered as much a the first. Maybe for someone else it would be an easy choice, but for her it wasn't.
She smiled at him. "A little to late to back out now, yes. Particularly since I'm sure my mother heard you pulling into the driveway." The smile got a little bigger at the comment about not needing to knock. "Not when I'm standing out here with you." There wasn't anything wrong with the fact that knocking had been an instinct, though. Her parents hated the couple of friends she and Kyle had - not mutal ones obviously - who just let themselves in like they owned the place. Knocking could have won Jack some brownie points, but it was a little unnecessary today.
She let him hold the door open for her, stepping into the entryway and calling out, "Mom, Kyle, I'm home. Jack's with me." Nothing would have seemed odd about that to Jack, and it wasn't except for the fact that she usually left the names out. She was still feeling self-conscious about having mentioned Kyle as a footnote in the car, and that's probably why she'd made a point to try and get his attention.
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Post by Jack Flynn on May 24, 2015 23:36:40 GMT -5
Jack smiled wider as Ashely responded to his comment about knocking. "Valid point," he teased. It still felt a little odd though, to be entering without knocking. After all he hadn't really entered the house before. It felt a little weird to just walk right in. Though now that he thought about it, it was odd it had taken them this long to hang around here. They hung out at his house all the time. After all, he didn't have anything to hide. Plus, he didn't think he would have gotten away with not introducing Ashley right away. He loved his parents, but man could they be nosy. At least they knew when to leave the two of them alone.
Jack stepped in after Ashley, closing the door behind him. She had called out for her brother and mom. Hopefully, they liked him. Not that he really had anything to prove, but he still hoped they approved of their relationship. This dinner was sounding like a bit more of a bigger deal than he had thought before. He was definitely nervous, but it didn't really show on his face. He patiently waited with Ashley for her mother and brother to come down. He pushed any doubts out of his mind, this evening would be fine.
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Post by Kyle Bennett on May 25, 2015 0:02:02 GMT -5
Kyle had been in the living room playing Smash Bros when he heard Ashley's voice calling out. That wasn't entirely unusual, but what was strange is mentioning him by name. Normally they just ignored that the other even existed. If she'd been trying to get his attention, it had definitely worked, and as luck would have it he'd just finished a battle anyways. He set down the controller and made his way into the hallway, appearing through an arch to the left of where Jack & Ashley were standing. As he opened his mouth to say something, he heard their mother call out, "Ashley, could you come help me with something in the kitchen?"
Kyle's expression, which had been halfway between boredom and confidence flashed briefly to panic. If one hadn't been paying attention, they may not even have noticed. Ashley, you are not seriously going to leave me here, alone, with your boyfriend I don't know. I mean... great idea! Let's just ignore the fact that most people you like think I'm the biggest joke at the school. Of course, she could't read his thoughts. That fact was made all the more obvious when Ashley sighed and said, "Jack, this is Kyle. Kyle, this is Jack. Now that you're introduced, I guess I'll go see what Mom needs." She turned to Jack, and Kyle thought he could see her mouthing the word Sorry before she went down the hall to the kitchen.
Kyle was left standing there with Jack in an awkward silence. "Hey," he said quietly, but it was hardly an ice breaker. In fact, what broke the silence more than Kyle was the announcer on the game in the next room - Kyle only now realized he hadn't thought to turn it off - calling out, "Choose your character."
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Post by Jack Flynn on May 25, 2015 0:17:42 GMT -5
Jack and Ashley didn't have to wait too long before someone showed up. Presumably it was Ashley's brother. The first thing Jack took note of was that her brother was tall. He hadn't really expected that. If he remembered correctly, they were twins right? He had kind of been expecting someone around Ashley's height. His thoughts were soon interrupted by Ashley's mom calling out to her for help in the kitchen. Wait, this seriously wasn't about to happen was it? Ashley quickly introduced the two to each other and started to head towards the kitchen. He noticed her mouth the word "Sorry" to him as she left. This left him by himself with Kyle.
Well, this is awkward... he couldn't help but think once Ashley had left. Kyle manged to give a greeting. "Uh, hey," he replied back. Jack didn't really know much about Kyle. Ashley barely talked about him, if at all. Which made Jack unsure of how exactly to go about breaking the ice. However, he soon heard a familiar voice saying "Choose your character!" It sounded like Smash Bros. Well that was something at least. "Playing Smash Bros., huh?" he asked trying to make the silence not as awkward. "Who's your main? I end up using Link most of the time," he told Kyle. While it was still awkward, at least he could assume Kyle like video games. That was something Jack could talk about at least. If Kyle was willing to talk back at least.
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