"Parents Weekend?"  Victoria yelped as Enid and Gomi jumped. "Why am I always the last to find out about these things?"

Victoria had been juggling her homework from Kinbott and school, dealing with Sheriff Galpin's interrogations (more like helping them with the investigations), Enid's never ending questions about Tyler and her feelings about Lucas and Ajax, Wednesday's assignments for her since Eugene had been hospitalized, and above it all was the cherry: Gomi.

Hence why she was the last to find out that Parents Weekend existed.

"Well maybe if you caught up with my blog more," Enid said sassily. "And let's be so serious right now, your parents seem like lovely people."

"Lovely people–nosey parents," Victoria added. "The last thing I need on my plate are my parents trying to get involved with my-"

She paused.

"Your love life?" Enid wiggled her brows as Gomi seemed to laugh and pounce off the bed to walk along her opened dorm window.

"Technically, I don't have a love life," Victoria said quickly. "I was going to say my therapy appointments. I wouldn't like that happening."

"Uh huh," Enid said, unconvinced. "You and Tyler literally danced together, alone. In his room. Unsupervised. Are you sure there was no devil's tango going on?"

Victoria hit her with her pillow as Enid giggled.

"Okay, freak," Victoria rolled her eyes. "We did nothing that night but dance and sleep. And then he drove me back here around seven in the morning. He even showed up to work late for me, but that doesn't mean anything if he's already offering car rides to other people like Stanley."

Enid rolled her eyes at Victoria's strong denial. "Right and you guys don't call ever?"

"Nope."

As a matter of fact, Victoria and Tyler were beginning to speak through the phone very often at night. Though they always avoided the bigger picture about each other's feelings and where they left their conversation off at the Rave'N.

"That's a fat lie!" Enid said. "Let me see your phone history this instant-"

She tried to snatch Victoria's phone as she pulled away, bumping her forehead against the wall with a scrape as Enid tackled her. She didn't notice it as Enid laughed evilly.

"Your reaction says otherwise!" she exclaimed and then gasped. "Oh em gee, your forehead got a little cut!"

Victoria laughed until she was out of breath, making Enid confused. Until Enid began to laugh at herself as she fell back onto Victoria's bed.

"It's okay," she said through joyful watery eyes. "It's just a little cut."

- - - ᡣ𐭩 - - -

Parents Weekend had finally arrived as Victoria was quickly washing herself in the girls' shower room. She had just completed her early run and checked herself on the scale that was minus twenty-five since she began her schedule after Beauxbatons.

It'd been a month and she was making no progress since the school term. Unless you counted five pounds.

But she was still disappointed by her results as she left the girl's shower room through Ophelia Hall in her silk navy robe. Slipping down the hall, she heard Wednesday and Enid's door open.

"Ready for Parents Weekend, Enid?-" She paused when she came eye-to-eye with Xavier, who was just as surprised as she was as she rushed past him. Clearly, that was not Enid.

"What the heck is he doing in Ophelia Hall!" she mumbled under her breath as she rushed into her room with a slam on the door.

Xavier had very much been irrelevant in her life until then. He seemed to have been begrudging towards her since she chose to remain friends with Tyler after what he said about him. He even avoided her in Miss Thornhill's classes, no longer speaking to her during "spiderweb discussions."

Once she changed into her school uniform, she realized she still had to return Tyler's shirt that he lended her during the Halloween party... even though it was a couple of weeks late.

An hour or two later, she stood in the Quad with a bag in her arms, containing Tyler's shirt, her chart from Kinbott, and her phone. She had a therapy appointment later that day and her parents being in town wasn't going to stop it. She figured they'd just wait for her until she came back to the school. She even had Gomi in her arms as all the students waited for the gates to open.

Before she knew it, she saw her cheerful mother and father join her in the Quad. Her father seemed concerned that there was a black cat on fire from green flames, but realized they were harmless as his wife pulled Victoria in for a hug.

"Oh how I missed you, my flower," her mother said, still grasping onto her as Gomi attempted to leap away from their grasp. Her mother finally broke the hug and said, "I can't believe we didn't switch your schools sooner. Beauxbatons don't even care about families' relationships..."

"Since when did you have a pet cat?" her father asked as Gomi hopped into his arms playfully.

"Since Halloween," Victoria grinned, looking at Bianca, who looked exasperated by a woman Victoria assumed to be her mother.

Principal Weems came over.

"Phoebe Halliwell!" she exclaimed. "You haven't aged a day!"

"Please, Larissa, you know I only have you to thank since you recommended anti-aging cream to me," Victoria's mother laughed as they sat down at some of the tables to eat breakfast.

Weems smiled and said, "Well since you're both here, I believe you wouldn't mind joining Victoria at her appointment with Doctor Kinbott today."

Victoria froze as her dad entwined his fingers together over the table. He looked at her mother and nodded, saying, "I believe you're right. We wouldn't mind."

So after breakfast, Victoria found herself entering the hospital with her parents timidly. She didn't know what to expect, but she surely was not liking the idea of being vulnerable around them. Or anyone. It was out of her comfort zone.

She felt a familiar churn in her stomach as they were in the hallway.

"I'll be right back," Victoria said. "Doctor Kinbott's office is just down the hall."

"Where're you going?" her mother asked.

"Just using the restroom."

She brought her belongings with her to the restroom. As soon as she stepped in, she fell to her knees, a few feet above the toilet bowl once again. She'd been getting good at keeping her secret safe, but not so good at stopping her habits.

She rinsed her mouth and chewed on a piece of gum before leaving the restroom to meet her parents down the end of the hall. She checked her phone for the time. Eleven thirty. Just on time.

As soon as she entered the same hall as her parents, she heard her mother laugh lightly while she approached them. Now in sight, she saw Tyler, who was having a short conversation with her parents.

It was visible as to how surprised she was by this.

"Victoria- hey," Tyler said with a smile when he saw her. He suddenly paused and squinted his eyes momentarily. "What happened to your forehead?"

She knew he was referring to the cut on her forehead that'd been bangaged. "Just a scratch. Nothing to worry about."

Her father looked back and forth between the two. "You two know each other?"

Tyler looked at her parents then back at her before putting the puzzle together.

"Yes, small town," Tyler said with a smile. "I'm Tyler Galpin. I believe you're Victoria's parents then?"

Victoria's mother nodded and before anything further could be said or happen, she laughed louder than necessary and neared Tyler, turning so she'd be able to excuse her presence.

"I'm sure Tyler has to get to work, don't you?" Victoria asked nervously as she clued to him how awkward she was with the situation. "He's a busy man, he is. Always working-"

"Really?" her dad asked. "Where do you work?"

Tyler happily answered, "The Weathervane Cafe. It's not too far from here. Everything in Jericho is local by five or ten minutes."

"Well! I don't think that was around in my days," her mother smiled deviously and added, "Well, I expect you'll see us soon then. I was craving for some coffee anyway."

"That's great," Tyler said, sounding pleased. "You won't be disappointed. See you soon, Mr. and Mrs. Halliwell."

"Turner," Victoria's father corrected quietly as he disappeared down the hall.

All Halliwell women kept their maiden names.

Relieved that the awkward situation was over with (for now), Victoria and her parents entered Kinbott's office as she exclaimed with greeting happily, sitting them down as she sat across from them.

"How lovely to finally meet the parents of this little ball of sunshine!" Kinbott said with small eyes. She couldn't tell if she was being serious or not, but her parents laughed politely as she prepared for the worse.

"Now, before we begin, I'd like to ask Victoria if she's okay with you guys being in the room," Kinbott said. "It's a bit of a complication considering her records say she's of age and all... despite being seventeen. I'm not sure how that's possible, but seeing as you're not from around here and all-"

"I'm okay with it," Victoria said, surprising herself. She was mostly hoping to get the session over with.

Kinbott nodded as she said, "Well then, that's perfect. For starters, why don't we take a look at your chart from this week?"

Victoria revealed her chart that was not so full, but not so empty. It was mostly full from her runs and from the breakfast that Enid always surprised her with. If it was empty, there were days she vomited them out. Her salvation tactic.

"Well..." Kinbott said, unsure how to approach this. "From the chart and our meetings, Victoria's been showing signs of Orthorexia nervosa."

"What exactly is that?" her mother asked.

Kinbott cocked her head and said, "In this situation, Victoria has a case of being obsessed with healthy diets with heavy restrictive orders. It's been associated with malnourishment and can lead to eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia."

Victoria suddenly felt guilty, but didn't say anything as she wasn't willing to be categorized into either of them.

The appointment went by quicker than she thought. Luckily, Kinbott had just taken advantage of the time they had to talk about different forms of eating disorders rather than Victoria herself–as she could see the discomfort in her avoiding eyes.

"We're going to the Weathervane," her mother said as soon as they stepped out of the office. "And you're going to eat something."

"But I just ate breakfast almost two hours ago," Victoria complained. "We can just go for your coffee and then-"

"I don't want to hear it," her mother said. "We moved schools so you could grow. It seems like you've just allowed your past to haunt you. We're not going to let that happen and you know we only want the best for you so stop looking at me like that."

Victoria's face turned from sour to a begrudging relaxed expression when they entered the Weathervane. As promised, Victoria saw Tyler as she seated by herself across from her parents, facing the exit. Her mother went to order.

When her mother came back, she arrived with a pumpkin caramel-melt muffin and an unsweetened iced tea for her. Her mother had a coffee of her own.

"How'd you know I'd like this?" Victoria asked curiously.

Her mother grinned. "I didn't. Your muggle did."

Victoria's eyes flickered over to Tyler, who was watching her from afar with a smile. She felt herself blush as she turned away and conversated with her parents about her most recent days at Nevermore.

"Oh look, they have a polaroid wall!" Victoria's mother noticed, forcing her daughter to stand.

She was right, there was a tiny space on the wall, with photographs of happy customers. It was decorated with fairy lights and the polaroids were hung by wooden clothing pins.

"We've got to take one or two with you before we leave," her mother said, dragging her from the seat to another co-worker besides Tyler.

A few minutes later, Victoria and her mother were side by side, getting photographed by a stranger. Her father wanted no part of it, as he was more interested in the camera's functions. He questioned the employee, who seemed rather unsure how to answer the questions of the contraption.

"Honestly, I have no idea," the stranger said. "It's not my camera in the first place, it's Tyler's."

Victoria grinned awkwardly when her father began to ask Tyler of the camera. It took about ten minutes until they sat back down to continue eating.

Just then, a familiar face entered the cafe. Sheriff Galpin. He spotted Victoria and headed over to her slowly. Tyler's attention was immediately caught as he wanted to know what news his dad had to deliver this time.

"I've got some good news," Sheriff Galpin said, approaching her before his attention was caught by her parents. "Turns out you were right about Walker and the two other kids. They stole the truck from Bob Maraley's place and loaded it with paint. So thanks for your help, you're off the radar, kid. And sorry for detaining you, but I hope you know I was just doing my job."

In all honesty, had she not been detained, she never would have gotten that dance with Tyler. So she didn't mind, but what she did mind was that he had said it all in front of her parents because before she could say, "You're welcome," her father interrupted.

"Detained?" her father questioned with a grin. "What're you getting detained for?"

"Suspicious activity..." Victoria replied with a nervous grin as her mother looked mortified.

"You're her parents, I suppose?" Sheriff Galpin asked as he shook her father's hand.

"Yes, Cole Turner," her dad said. "And my wife, Phoebe Halliwell."

"Please don't tell me it was drugs," her mother turned to her as Sheriff Galpin laughed.

"No, nothing like that," Sheriff Galpin reassured her mother. "She's a good kid. Trouble just seems to like her, is all."

Her father nodded, seeming to be in thought. "You wouldn't happen to be Tyler Galpin's father now, would you?"

"I would happen to be," Tyler's dad said, turning over to Tyler–who looked surprised to have been pulled into the conversation by Victoria's dad. She was just as surprised as he was.

"Ah, I see," her dad said with a smuggish grin. "Best to keep an eye out for those two then."

"Trust me, it's my job," Sheriff Galpin said. "But if you're a Turner, you wouldn't happen to know any Grangers, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, my mother was a Granger," her dad said with a raised brow.

Victoria stood, awkwardly excusing herself as she made her way over to the counter to be with Tyler. Tyler's dad and her father began to speak of the small world as Victoria embarrassingly grinned.

"I didn't think you'd meet my parents so soon," Victoria said. "Or ever."

Tyler laughed, turning his attention to her, seeing her face was a pale shade of pink.

"So who's cat-sitting Gomi?" Tyler asked.

"Thing and Enid are," Victoria said, then realization hit her. "Oh shoot, it's his lunch time!"

She took out her phone to text Enid. The screen didn't flash on. An empty battery appeared on the screen as she turned to Tyler for help.

He handed her his phone and said, "I've got Enid somewhere on there. Feel free to use it."

"You'll need to unlock it for me first," she said as he handed it to her, but told her the password anyway.

As she did, she froze when she saw his wallpaper. Every bone in her felt fragile as her smile widened and she turned away from Tyler so she wouldn't have to face him. Or so that he wouldn't see her face.

On his wallpaper was the very same photo from Ajax's Halloween party. It was the photo of her kissing Tyler's ghostface mask as Gomi tried to tap the screen.

"I know, it's a good photo," Tyler said smugly, leaving a smile on her face that she wouldn't allow him to see. No one else seemed to notice what was going on.

Except for her mother, who had a hopeful smile on her face.

"So," Tyler said with a thought. "What's a muggle?"

- - - - - - -