I was skipping down a long, sandy beach. Sand was getting everywhere. Stupid sand. I didn't care. The green-eyed hottie next to me had all of my attention.

"Babe," said Harry Styles. "I'm glad we're getting married."

"Yeah, me, too. I love you, Harry Styles."

I smiled as he took his hand in mine. "But it's time to go now..." He smirked before saying in a very different voice: "Ms. Farnsworth."

I frowned. "Call me my married name, Harry. I'm Mrs. Styles now."

"Ms. Farnsworth! Ms. Farnsworth!"

"Harry, please!"

"Ms. Farnsworth!"

I jolted awake, looking up dazedly at the irritated flight attendant. "Ms. Farnsworth!" she urged me again. "We've arrived in the States." I glanced out the window, and sure enough, there lay the expansive asphalt tarmac dotted here and there with landed planes.

"I'm up, I'm up," I grumbled. I slung my carry-on off the rack above me, grabbed my purse, and attempted at adjusting my wild curls. Okay, that was a lost cause, so I walked off the plane into bustling LAX.

After hitting the baggage claim, I wandered around the front of the airport, searching for a sign that read my name.

"Ru! Ru!"

"Connor?" I called out confusedly. My head whipped around looking for him, when my eye caught his unmistakable buzzed hair and striking hazel eyes. He didn't spot me quite yet. Behind him, my mother and father stood, their eyes all searching the crowd for me and calling out my name.

I hustled over to them as well as I could with the heavy bags weighing me down. "Guys! Guys !" I screamed in happiness.

My brother looked past me, twice. Then, his face was confused. "Ruby?!" he asked incredulously.

"Nice to see you, too," I grumbled good-naturedly. "You seriously didn't recognize- oof! Hi, Mom."

My mother's tiny frame was dwarfed by most, but not mine as she hugged me. "Ruby! We missed you so much, baby."

I grinned, leaning into the hug. "I missed you guys, too."

My dad enveloped me in a giant bear-hug, my head only reaching below his pecs. "Daddy!" I squealed. I planted a huge kiss on the brown skin of his cheek. So, I was a daddy's girl. Sue me.

"Hi, Princess," he replied fondly, ruffling my curls. "Connor, get your sister's bags."

"I know I'm interrupting family bonding or whatever..." trailed off a deep voice. My eyes widened in shock as I spotted the source.

"Ashton?" This was not the nerd I'd left behind two years ago, was it?

"Ru!" he practically screamed, and I knew it was him. What other teenage boy's voice carried that much enthusiasm?

"Oh, my God, Ash! Look at you!"

"No, look at you," he countered, pulling me in for a nuggy. "Baby Ru's no baby anymore."

"Still a baby," Dad's voice interjected gruffly.

"Your baby," corrected Ashton. "To everbody else? Stunning." He smiled at me, making me blush profusely. Ashton was always good at flattering people, and somehow he got away with it even in front of my dad. He was that much a part of our family.

"Puberty hit you like a truck, Ash," I observed. I had to tilt my head up to meet his eyes, and his skin was perfectly free of the never-ending zits that had plagued him years ago. He'd fixed up his style, too, and his hair was nice. I was proud of my best friend.

Ash popped his collar dramatically. "I know, right?" he joked before lifting me in another giant hug. "Ugh, Ru, I missed you so much."

"Suffocating."

"Sorry."

My mom waved us over to the car. "Everything's in the trunk, let's go," she called. Ash and I climbed into the Escalade, scooting to sit next to Connor.

"Paris was live. I miss it already," I pouted, staring out the window.

"What, LA isn't live enough for you, little Ru?" Connor teased.

"She just didn't have a social life when she was last here. How could she know how great LA is?" Ashton joked, earning a chuckle from my twin.

"Hey!" I protested. "Not cool."

"Sorry," Connor said. "Promise we'll show you a fun time."

"Hey," Dad interupted. "Make sure you're not distracting her from school. She went to France for a reason."

"Yes, sir," Connor agreed.

"Ashton, you, too."

"Of course, sir."

I smirked at how easily my dad took control. The boys were deathly afraid of my dad, whose huge frame and resonating deep voice made him one of the most intimidating men I've ever met.

My mom, a stark contrast being so tiny, could be just as scary. "Let me find out you boys get my daughter in trouble..." she warned.

"Mom, we won't!" Connor protested, borderline whining.

"Connor, you're being a baby. Just say yes," I advised. Connor rolled his eyes at me and sunk into his seat.

Ash grinned. "So, what did you do, surrounded by all those weirdo Europeans?"

"They're no weirder than you, Ashton Halsey."

"Touche," he replied.

"How were the girls, Ru? Do they really stink? Did they eat snails? Did they, like," Connor paused, then dropped his voice to a whisper as he continued, "did they shave?"

"Oh, my God, you're annoying."

"Ru!" This was both Ash and Connor. Ew. Boys.

"Okay, well, No, yes, and really?" I narrowed my eyes at my dumb brother. "Really?"

"It's a valid question, honey ."

"Dad!" I whined, reaching up to the driver's seat to slap his shoulder. Still, my smile betrayed me. As much as I'd miss France, I knew I had missed my family much, much more, and this summer, I finally got them all back.

a.n. typical tomboy turned hot story? yup. But idk and idc. i really wanted to write this.

ukweli roach aka connor on the side

Well baiiiiii

xoxo janai