chapter twelve

If you don't read chapter eleven, then this will probably be a bit confusing. I've had people say that they didn't get the update for chapter eleven, so just make sure you've read that before you read this :)

It was raining.

It was still early, but the sun wasn't visible, instead being hidden away by the clouds. The sky was a cool grey color, the puffy clouds looking dark and threatening. Rain pattered down onto the roof of his house. When Oliver blinked, he was tempted to close his eyes from the soothing sound. It was one after the other, delicate drops of water, harmless and small. He could imagine them touching his skin, leaving a soft prickle in their wake. Oliver looked out the window as the drops slid down the window slowly, almost tantalizingly.

Oliver found it depressing when it rained during the day, but somehow, he found it peaceful when it rained at night. Then again, Oliver was weird that way. The fact that it was still five o'clock soured his mood. The day shouldn't be ruined by a little rain.

The night, however, was already ruined, but this time, for a different reason. Today was the 'Friend Feast' or the "Buddy Banquet' or whatever the hell they had decided to call it.

Oliver had always dreamt of meeting Carson's parents, though certainly not like this. Not on a day that celebrated friends and nothing more than friends.

Carson said the dinner was 'casual dressy' or whatever that meant--Oliver never had to dress up to eat before, so he didn't really know what the attire was for something like this. Nonetheless, he wore khakis, paired with one of the only non-black items he owned--a light blue dress shirt--and a pair of nice dress shoes. A tie was slung around his collar, tightened to the point of suffocation. Oliver barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

He walked down the stairs when he heard a sharp laugh directed towards him.

"Where are you going with all that, a Bar Mitzvah?" his mom said.

Oliver cursed. "I need to go change," he said, making a move towards the stairs.

His mom grabbed the back of his shirt. "Nope! You can't be late, remember?" She gave Oliver a saccharine smile, a smile that showed how much she was enjoying this.

"Stop laughing at me."

"You crashed my car. I can laugh at you as much as I want." She threw Oliver his keys and a jacket, promptly shoving him out the door. "Good luck! Greet the little Jewish boy for me, will you?"

"Mom, it's raining!" Oliver protested when he was left out on the porch, ignoring her comment.

An umbrella being thrown in his direction was her only response, right before the door slammed shut.

***

The Katsaros family was not rich by any means, but very well off.

Their home was moderately sized, with pale grey walls and a dark roof. Many windows brightened up the front of the home and a balcony protruded from the side of the house. Truthfully though, no matter how impressive and modern the architecture was, Oliver couldn't bring himself to give a shit. He was sweating bullets.

Oliver tugged at the collar of his shirt. He took a deep breath, feeling his lungs expand and reach his diaphragm before breathing out, feeling all of it rush back out quickly. Before he lost his nerve and decided to run away, he forced himself to walk towards the front door.

Carson and he were friends again. He couldn't just leave.

He rapped against the door, forcing his breathing to slow down.

And it did, right before Carson opened the door.

Oliver's mouth dried at the sight of him. He was wearing jeans and a nice grey dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A strand of hair was in his face, and Carson ran a hand through it, pushing it back to its original messy--yet somehow perfect--state. Carson blinked, looking at Oliver for what seemed like the first time before grinning, dimples flashing.

"Olly--what are you wearing?" he asked.

Oliver self consciously played with the ends of his sleeves. "What's wrong with it?" he asked defensively.

"Nothing," Carson responded, "you look great, but a little like you're going to a meeting."

Oliver cursed under his breath, reaching up to the knot of his tie, about to undo it. "It's the fucking tie, isn't it? Damn it, I was runni-"

Carson touched Oliver's elbow lightly. "Calm down. My parents appreciate a guy who cleans up. Well, my mom will probably poke fun at you, but my dad-"

"Carson," Oliver hissed, "you're not helping."

"Why are you so worried?" he inquired, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "It's just a friendly dinner. They're just parents, and everyone is going to be there. You have no reason to stress."

Oliver's eyes flickered to Carson's hand, which was still on his elbow. He hastily dropped it. Oliver cleared his throat, trying to swallow down his oncoming panic. He had no idea when he had become so comfortable with Carson, but he had. It was like his body was getting used to his presence, and not causing Oliver to practically faint every time that he stood near. But there were still those times like now, when his emotions were catching up to him, causing his blood to tingle and light itself on fire.

"You're right," Oliver murmured, "friend dinner."

He flashed a weak smile, and Carson assuredly smiled back, stepping out of the way and waving an arm into the house. "Welcome, Oliver Laurent, to my humble abode."

Oliver snorted. "Nerd."

***

After Oliver had entered the house, he found everybody in the living room, except Carson's parents. He gave Carson a quizzical look.

Seeing his look, Carson explained, "They're probably somewhere upstairs making out." He scrunched his nose up in disgust. "Gross."

Just then, the door opened again, and the beautiful, familiar image of Juno Katsaros waltzed in. She looked exactly how Oliver had remembered her, just a little more tired.

"Don't tell me," she said, "they're still not here?" When Carson shook his head in affirmation, Juno rolled her eyes. Raising her voice to such an octave that the whole neighborhood could probably hear, she yelled, "Horny parents! We have guests!"

Oliver's eyebrows shot up, trying to imagine what would become of him if he ever said that to his parents. Nonetheless, a few minutes later, Carson's parents came rushing down the stairs, his mother fixing her messy hair, and his father grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Oliver snorted. Straight people.

While looking at them, Oliver noticed that Carson and Juno were like carbon copies of their parents. All with blonde hair and dark, almond-shaped eyes--tan skin and soft pink lips. It was a bit dizzying to have a family of four beautiful people all in one room.

Carson's mom grinned. Oliver could see the resemblance. "Hi! I'm Carson's mom, but you can call me Ophelia. Wow, there are some new faces!" Her voice was uplifting and peppy.

Oliver pressed his lips together in order to a contain a laugh. His mother would hate this woman. Once he regained his composure, he looked at her. "I'm Oliver Laurent," he introduced.

She put both hands on her hips. "Ah, the famous Oliver. Carson has talked so much about you."

"Mom," Carson whined, rubbing the back of his neck.

His mom ignored him, eyes landing on Celia. "And I assume that you're Celia Orlov. I have to say, you're very pretty." She clapped her hands together. "Well, this is perfect! Luke and I--oh, my bad. This is my husband, Lukas." She gestured to the man next to her.

He held out his hand for Oliver to shake. "Nice to meet you, young man."

Carson closed his eyes in embarrassment. Juno was hiding a smile. Oliver shook his hand nonetheless. "Nice to meet you too, sir."

"Nonsense, call me Lukas." He moved to greet Celia with a handshake as well.

Oliver blinked. Were people usually this friendly, or was it just the Katsaros family? His parents, at least, would never go to these lengths.

"Hey Luke," Holden called, "did you hear of my latest time? It's sick! I think I've totally gotten faster."

Lukas smiled. "Tell me all about it during dinner. I have to go help my lovely wife in the kitchen." He laughed all of a sudden, as if he'd remembered something. "Hey guys, remember when Juno once burned her pasta and almost let the whole house go up in flames?" Juno crossed her arms over her chest defensively, irritated. This had obviously been a running joke in the family that she had grown tired of.

"Of course, it was the most traumatic moment I'd experienced as a nine-year-old!" Nico laughed and Oliver blinked to make sure that it wasn't an illusion.

Oliver cocked his head to the side, puzzled. It was like Holden and Nico were apart of the family, cracking jokes and talking about the past as if they'd always been there.

Maybe they have.

"Luke!" Ophelia chastised, pouting. "Don't make fun of your daughter." Oliver held in a snort. Making fun of him was a family pastime in his household. Lukas kissed Ophelia lightly on the lips before winking at everybody else and running into the kitchen, slinging a towel over his shoulder. Ophelia sighed, but there was a hint of a smile at the edge of her lips. "What can you do?" she asked Oliver.

This time, Oliver genuinely grinned.

***

"So Oliver," Lukas asked, "what do you like to do?"

Oliver froze. He had stayed quiet all throughout dinner, preferring instead to eat, but it seemed as if nobody escaped unscathed from the table. "Uh-" he started, not knowing what to say because Oliver was not a very interesting person.

"He plays the guitar," Carson jumped in, seeing his panic, "I've heard he's pretty good too."

"Did you?" Ophelia perked up. "You know, Lukas was in a band once."

Carson and Juno groaned. Holden grinned. "Were you really, Luke?" he asked.

"You know it," Lukas grinned proudly. "My best friends and I." He paused, thinking, and then continued, "You know, actually, I think I have a guitar around here somewhere--probably in the basement. Why don't I go get it, and then you can play for us?" he suggested.

Oliver paled, and he internally thanked his skin color for making it impossible to see. "I don't think that I should-"

"Of course you should!" Celia exclaimed, "No one's heard you play except me."

Oliver glanced around, helpless, at everybody's excited faces. His eyes stopped on Carson, whose eyes had brightened up. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he murmured, "it's fine if you don't."

Oliver would've refused, really--he would've. Well, he would've if he hadn't looked at Carson right there and then and seen his eagerness. He couldn't disappoint him. He couldn't purposely do that even if he'd tried.

"Sure," he agreed, smiling tightly.

***

Twenty minutes later, Oliver was seated on the couch, his left hand on the neck and his right hand rested on the strings of the guitar. Oliver licked his lips, eyes flickering across the room nervously. His hands trembled a bit, a subtle jerk that was almost undetectable.

"Olly," Carson whispered lowly so that no one else could hear, "you can back out if you want to, it's not a big deal."

"No, I'm good. I just don't play in front of people."

That wasn't a lie. Oliver had never played in front of anyone, not even his parents. The only reason why Celia had heard was because she once burst into his room unannounced right after eavesdropping outside his door, listening for the music.

"I had to make sure you weren't doing anything I wasn't supposed to see," Celia had defended innocently back then.

The truth of the matter was that Oliver didn't think he was that good, merely an amateur, and it would be stupid to play in front of people only for it to be a letdown. Now, he cleared his throat, wracking his brain for a song. One popped into his head. It wasn't super impressive, but it was one of the first songs he had learned. Hesitantly, he started playing--the first chord. The note came out a little wobbly, but as he played the next two chords, he began to gain more confidence. Music was what made him at ease. It was relaxing, hearing the strong note ring in the air. It soothed his tense muscles, lulling his heart into security. It was like he was in his room again, four walls surrounding him, leaving him completely isolated to the outside world. He hadn't noticed that he had closed his eyes, his fingers naturally finding the positions on the frets on their own.

When he'd reached the end of the song, the clapping shook him out of his reverie. He had forgotten that there were people, and his heartbeat immediately started racing once again.

"Wow Olly," Carson said, eyebrows raised, grinning. "That was so cool! You're amazing."

Oliver pursed his lips. "I'm not a professional or anything. I'm just an amateur, it's-"

"Nonsense!" Ophelia said, "You played wonderfully. And if you enjoy it, then you should continue. You're already great, and you can only get better," she said kindly, then winked. "Chase after your dreams--work for them--and the world will be a much better place because of it. That's something my mother always said to me."

Chase after your dreams.

Did that apply to just music?

Oliver glanced at Carson through his peripheral vision. "Thanks," he repeated softly.

***

Everybody was in the living room when Oliver had excused himself, remembering that he had left his phone in the dining room. He had just made it inside when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey Oliver," Juno said.

"Oh, hey," he greeted, a bit confused. Why would Juno Katsaros follow him?

Juno glanced into the hallway before closing the door behind her, leaving both of them in the room, alone. Oliver's breathing sped up. What the fuck?

"Juno...?" he asked unsurely.

Juno crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the closed door calmly. A smirk lit up her face. "So Oliver," she said, "does my brother know you have a crush on him?"

---

A/N: Damn this was actually pretty freaking long. Tbh a major reason for that is because it's the weekend and I'm procrastinating homework, so I have loads of time :)

Anywho, what did you guys think about Carson's parents? What Juno said at the end? How do you think she knows? Did you like this chapter or was it boring? What was your favorite part? Tell me all of your thoughts, feelings, opinions...everything. I'd love to know and hear about it all!

I don't like school. I'm tired. I'm writing this author's note the day before I'm posting it, right after finishing the chapter. (Surprise! Surprise!) it's night time. I wanna sleep. Might do that.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderous day, and I hope you enjoyed this update! Hopefully, I'll be back soon with another update :)

Xoxo,

A Shadowhunter Wannabe,

herondaledevices <3