"You serious mom?!" I say. Mom nods.

"Very."

"I bust my ass trying to get a detention for you and I actually have to go to it?!" I say.

Mom nods.

"And I'm proud of you... In some sick way. But you missed the part where you made out with some boy from school during class time!"

I laugh.

"He's not just some boy" I say defiantly- scrunching my nose.

"To me he is"

"Alright then- why don't you meet him?" I ask, only to instantly regret it the second it escapes my mouth.

"Okay. This afternoon?" She asks. I open my mouth to beg to differ but mom interrupts straight away.

"Awesome. I'll make dinner. Chris will come over too- I'm sure he'd like to meet his nieces boyfriend"

I stop my foot, lightly grunting.

"Mom! He's not my boyfriend!!!" I throw my arms in the air, practically feeling my cheeks go red.

"Any boy you make out with in an empty classroom needs to meet me boyfriend or not. You hear me sista? And I'm sure Chris would love to meet him"

I shake my head.

"Chris has already met him" I say slowly.

Mom puts her hands on her hips.

"And how is this?"

"Remember the night we fought the berserkers? Yeah. Well they met then"

"Why was a normal freshman kid there?" She asks.

I cringe, sitting down at the table.

"About that...he's a werewolf..."

Mom doesn't say anything.

"Here's what we'll do- I'm gonna invite Chris over and you're going to invite a few friends over. Including Veronica and Liam"

"Ew why" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't I get a chance to see that you aren't associating with drug dealers?"

"No not really"

"Well you don't have a choice. Party starts at six" and with that she turns on her heels and hobbles away. I slouch down into the chair, sighing.

I pull out my phone and dial Liam.

"Hello?" He asks. His voice making me shudder.

"Hey Liam. It's Jo"

"Hey Jo, how's it going?" He asks.

I smile. "Okay so are you and Mase free tonight?" I ask.

"Yeah. He's with me now and he's nodding yes. How come?"

"Okay well hear me out, my mom is having a dinner tonight, she wants to meet my friends. Are you down?"

I hear him laugh.

"Sounds good. What time?"

"Awesome. Starts at six. I guess I'll see you there?" I smile in excitement.

"Yeah. See you there"

I take a deep breath, cringing with embarrassment.

I text Veronica, pressing my lips into a thin line.

Hey Veronica,

Jo here. Now it's my time to buy you cupcakes!

Dinner at my place tonight?

Itdoesn't take her long to reply with numerous cute smileys and exclamation marks. I kind of felt bad. I know that was weird but I did.

Mom had only insisted she come because her and Chris wanted to scope things out.

Needless to say, I trudged to my bedroom and tried to piece together a nice outfit.

Like every attempt to actually look nice, I ended up throwing myself down onto the floor and grouching about what to wear. It wasn't long before mom was leaning against the doorframe, trying to help me out.

"Well maybe you could put some jeans on underneath that dress if you think it's too high.

So I ended up vomiting in my mouth at my mothers disgusting fashion sense but allowing her to help me dress if I could help her dress.

"You must really like him if you're refraining from wearing your slut dresses"

"Mom!" I glare at her, understanding it was nothing but a joke.

"I'm kidding, I'm seriously kidding. Just wear a skirt and a cute shirt"

I shrug, pulling out a blue skater boy skirt and holding it next to a pink mid drift.

" you think this will look okay?" I ask, tilting my head sideways and taking a breath of the icy cold air.

"I think you look beautiful in anything"

I laugh, hugging mom.

"Okay. I'll wear it. Thanks mom" I grin.

By five thirty I'm dressed with my hair straightened and a slight bit of makeup. Mom wears a nice dress with small heels.

I sit down at the dining table.

"What have you got planned mom?" I ask. Setting the table cloth.

"I invited some people. I was going to bake something"

I twist my face in disgust.

" mom? You can't even bake pancakes without turning them to coal" I argue. She chuckles.

"That's why your uncle is going to help us out." She sits down beside me.

"And if you screw it up?" I ask.

"Then I'll buy you pizza? Or chicken. Whatever the damn you would fancy"

I laugh, shooting up as the doorbell rings.

I sprint to it, becoming a race against mom to reach the door. I shove mom out of the way, slowing her down so I can reach the door.

"I hate you" she calls.

"I love you" I return.

I open the door slowly, anticipating to see Mason and Liam at the door. Instead I see my uncle, holding what looks to be potato salad in a dish.

"Oh- it's you" I say, smiling playfully. Stepping aside to let him in.

"Nice to see you too" is all he says as he ventures into the kitchen.

I follow him, spotting mom in her bare feet, having given up on the heels.

"I'm going to go watch dance moms" I say, rolling my eyes and walking into the lounge room.

But as soon as I get comfortable the doorbell rings again.

This time; Liam and Mason stand with smiling faces.