Friday came much quicker than expected; and Keon was nervous, but at the same time excited to bring Aria to his house. As soon as he knocked on the door of her house, she stood right in front of him and left him in awe. Her sick winged eyeliner made her eyes appear hypnotizing, and her curled hair deemed her irresistible to him. A black tank top paired with a white cardigan, blue jeans, and black flats completed her look.

"Wow. You look gorgeous... can I kiss you?"

"Of course you can. You don't have to ask, silly," Aria giggled, and then Keon placed his hands on her waist, pulling her in for a kiss.

"Come in for a second," she told him after letting go. "I want you to meet my dad."

When they entered her house, they found Aria's father sitting on the couch, reading a magazine.

"Dad, I wanna introduce you to Keon, the guy whose family I'm having brunch with. Keon, meet my father."

"Nice to meet you, Keon!" her father waved.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. West," Keon grinned.

"Hey, hey, no need to call me a mister," Aria's father chuckled. "Just call me Nick."

"Well, in that case, nice to meet you, Nick."

"Aria, I like this guy already," Nick told Aria.

"I knew you would," Aria laughed.

Right after she said that, Hunter came walking down from the stairs.

"Keon?" he widened his eyes. "What brings you here?"

"I'm picking up your sister for brunch."

"Exactly," Aria cleared her throat, looking at Hunter as if he were dumb. "Don't you remember? I literally told you about that a few days ago."

"Oh, right, my bad," he laughed out loud. "I forgot about it."

"Of course you forgot about it, Hunter. You have the mental capacity of a goldfish."

"Shut up!"

"Anyway," Aria looked at Keon. "Shall we go now?"

"We shall," Keon held her hand.

"Alright, bye Dad, bye Hunter, take care!" she waved and blew kisses.

"You too!" Hunter waved back.

"Well, Keon, you better take good care of my daughter or else I'm gonna have to kick your ass," Nick chuckled.

"Don't worry, I promise she's in good hands," Keon reassured him.

After that, they held hands and walked together towards Keon's car.

"You have a cool dad," he told her.

"Thank you," she giggled. "That's where I get my craziness from."

"Indeed," he laughed along with her.

Before long, they were already at his house. The moment they stepped inside, they saw Fatima seasoning eggs and Ray flipping pancakes.

"We're home," Keon announced.

"Finally! After what felt like forever," Fatima told him, making them giggle while she moved closer. "You must be Aria, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," Aria smiled. "And you're Mrs. Chappelle, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes," Fatima nodded. "But don't worry, you can just call me Fatima."

"And you can call me Ray," Ray chipped in.

"In that case, I'm pleased to meet you, Fatima and Ray," Aria giggled.

"The pleasure is ours, Aria. Welcome to our home."

After that, they sat on the table while Fatima and Ray served their plates of food.

"So, Aria, tell us a bit about yourself," Fatima asked enthusiastically. "Where you're from, your age, your goals... anything you want to say."

"Where do I begin?" Aria giggled nervously, playing with her hair. "I'm nineteen, and I'm from Sunny Isles. However, I spend Mondays through Thursdays in Boca Raton to attend college."

"Are you planning to stay in Florida when you graduate?" Fatima asked her.

"Maybe, maybe not," Aria replied. "Because when I get my Chemistry degree, I'm thinking of moving to California."

"California?" Ray raised his eyebrows. "Which part?"

"Probably San Diego or Los Angeles. I still don't know."

"Interesting, I used to have family members in San Diego," Ray nodded, taking a bite out of his pancakes. "But they all moved away. Speaking of family, tell me about yours."

"I have a brother named Hunter, he's twenty-one years old and he's an Engineering major."

"Wait a second, Hunter..." Fatima pondered. "Sounds familiar."

"Because he came here one time, Mom," Keon told her. "He's one of the three guys who came to pick me up the day after... you know."

"Oh, right," Fatima placed her hand on her forehead.

"Wait, he came here that day?" Aria asked.

"Yeah, he did. He came to pick me up to have a chat and take my mind off the tragedy."

"Oh, I didn't know about that," she shook her head.

"Well," he giggled. "Now you do."

During the meal, everyone's attention was turned to Aria as they listened to her talk about her college life, her childhood, and the things that were important to her. Despite this being the first time she met Keon's parents, she already felt comfortable enough to talk to them as if she had known them her whole life. Keon looked lovingly at her as he watched her mannerisms; she talked with her hands, ran her hands through her hair when she was very engaged in the discussion, and smiled with her eyes, which made her smile even more precious than it already was to him. His heart melted every time he saw her infectious smile, and he felt that he could listen to her talk for hours. That smile... lord, the things I'd do just to see that smile on your face every single day, Keon thought.

When they were done eating, Fatima left the table without saying anything. Everyone else was confused as to why she would leave so abruptly, until she returned, holding a photo album —which included pictures of Keon's childhood— in her arms.

"Please, Mom, please don't tell me you're about to–" Keon pleaded before being interrupted.

"Show Aria your worst baby pictures?" Fatima smirked, narrowing her eyes. "That's exactly what I'm about to do. If she's gonna be your future wife, then she's gotta see you at your ugliest before making that kind of commitment."

"Mom!" Keon whined. "You're gonna scare her away!"

"Don't worry about that," Aria giggled. "I wanna see those pictures."

"There you go!" Fatima laughed and gave her a high-five, leaving Keon with no other choice than to laugh along with them.

They both sat down and watched as Keon's parents skimmed through the album.

"This..." Ray chuckled, pointing at a picture of Keon holding on to a rubber chicken. "Do you remember that chicken?"

"Of course I do," Keon told him. "I remember carrying it practically all day, every day."

"Did it have a name?" Aria asked curiously.

"Yeah. I named her Becky."

"Becky!" Fatima laughed out loud. "There was absolutely nobody who could take her away from you. It was simply impossible to do such a thing."

"Why did you name it Becky?" Aria giggled.

"I dunno. I'm pretty sure it was the first name that came to my mind."

"I like it, I think it's cute."

"Thanks," Keon chuckled

Seconds later, he saw his most embarrassing picture; one in which he was crying and screaming bloody murder.

"What were you doing here, Keon?" Aria cackled.

"He was screaming because–" Ray began.

"Don't tell her, Dad!" Keon widened his eyes.

"I wanna know!" Aria perked up.

Ray flashed a mischievous smile, as if he were asking for permission to explain the reason why Keon was screaming. Keon mouthed "no!" at him, but he knew that doing this was as if he had told his father to do the opposite.

"Because he saw some guy dressed up as Pennywise," Ray wheezed.

"No way!" Aria cracked up.

"Yes way!" Ray laughed along like a madman.

"He was only five," Fatima explained. "He's been afraid of clowns ever since."

"No I haven't!" Keon told her. "Mom, I'm twenty already, I ain't afraid of tacky stuff like that anymore."

"Are you sure about that?" Aria narrowed her eyes and giggled.

"Shut up, dork," Keon hugged her from behind.

After that, Fatima kept turning the pages, showing more pictures of Keon's childhood, until she found an old picture of him with Cash from the beginning of kindergarten. Keon's heart sank as soon as he saw Cash; he was instantly reminded of the endless memories he had made with him, and about how much he missed him.

"Oh, Cash..." Keon blurted out, feeling the tears pool below his eyes.

"When was this?" Aria frowned.

"When Keon was in kindergarten," Ray explained. "These boys were inseparable; they always went to the same schools, played with the same toys, and they always came up with new ideas to kill their boredom. We used to call them the dynamic duo."

As Fatima turned the pages, Keon could see many more pictures of him and Cash, until he came across one that hit him like a train. In that picture, they were hugging each other, wearing their high school graduation gowns, and Cash had a radiant smile on his face. Seeing his pictures was still too much to bear; Keon felt that the wound that the loss of his best friend had left on him was much fresher than he thought.

"I can't do this... I gotta go," he choked up, standing up from the couch and heading to the backyard. He sat on one of the benches and began to sob, having a lot of mixed feelings. His wound was reopened right when he thought his healing process had just begun, right when he believed that he was strong enough to see his pictures with Cash.

Several minutes later, Keon felt a pair of arms wrap around him in a comforting embrace; that's when he realized it was Aria. Without saying anything, he hugged her tightly, burying his face into the crook of her neck as he wept in her arms.

"I'm fine, love," he lied. "Don't worry about me."

"Don't lie to me," she told him. "I know you're not. And I want you to know that it's normal to feel like this. It's okay not to be okay sometimes. I know how much you miss him."

"I miss him so much, Aria, you have no idea," he stifled a sob. "He was the brother I never had, he was a huge part of my life... I don't know how I'm living without him. I wish he were here."

"I know how you feel," she ran her hands through his hair. "But as long as his name is mentioned, his legacy will live on."

"Cash Hampton, Cash Hampton, Cash fucking Hampton. I'll never stop saying his name until the day I die."

"And I'll help you keep his memory alive," Aria kissed his cheek. "As long as we're living, so will Cash Hampton."

"I can't thank you enough for always being here," Keon told her, tears flowing freely from his eyes. "I'm so sorry you always have to see me at my weakest, but like I said, thank you so much for being here. You never fail to make me feel better."

"It's my pleasure, Keon," she held his hands, which made his heart beat like crazy. "All I want is for you to be happy. In fact... I'm gonna do something that will cheer you up for sure."

"Huh?" Keon sniffled. "What's that?"

"This," Aria replied, giving him quick pecks all over his face.

"That tickles," he giggled. "But I love it, please don't stop."

"Good, because I won't," she kept at it, making him feel a small tingling sensation in the back of his neck, until she stopped and looked into his eyes. As he did the same thing, he leaned in closer to kiss her softly, caressing her face. She placed her hands on his chest and kissed him back, making him feel chills all over his body. Having Aria do this made everything feel better again; it soothed Keon from his emotional pain. He placed his hands on the sides of her neck and began to stroke her with his fingers, making her shiver when he deepened the kiss.

Seeing Keon at his weakest didn't bother Aria one bit. Rather, it made her feel protective of him, as if it were her sole obligation to let him know life would get better for him, even if it didn't seem like it. It turned out that even though the kiss was intended to comfort him, it also made her feel comforted.

"Keon, are you– wait a second, am I interrupting something?" Fatima suddenly appeared in front of them, and widened her eyes when she caught them kissing.

"Umm..." Aria blurted out, blushing heavily.

"Alright," Fatima walked back awkwardly. "Sorry about that. You can keep doing your thing, I'll just... leave right now."

Keon and Aria shrugged and kept on kissing. As soon as they began kissing, they could not let go; even though they never spoke about it, they knew that they were addicted to the taste and feel of each other's lips.

After a while, they went back to talk to Keon's parents about random things. They all told stories and laughed out loud until four thirty; which was time for Aria to get back to her house.

"I've got to go home now. Thanks for having me," she grinned.

"And thank you for coming," Ray shook her hand.

"You're welcome here at any time, darling," Fatima gave her a hug. "Please, come again some other time!"

"I sure will! Thanks again," Aria smiled sweetly.

"Take care!" Fatima told them as they went inside the car.

They arrived at Aria's house again at four forty-seven. Before she went inside, Keon pulled her close and gave her a hug.

"Thank you for coming, precious. And thank you for being there for me when I was feeling down. That meant the world to me."

"You know that I'll always be here," she replied, pulling him in for a kiss. "All I want for you is love and endless happiness, Keon. I hope you never forget that."

"I want the same for you" he stroked her cheek. "Take care, darling."

"You too, handsome," she winked and went inside her house. I wish I could explain the way I feel about you, Keon thought, feeling his heart melting as he walked back to his car.

"Aria is such a sweetheart," Ray told him after he arrived back at his house. "I can tell she really does care a lot about you, I can see it in the way she treats you."

"You're right, Keon, she's gorgeous," Fatima smiled. "She looks like an angel."

"She sure acts like one," Keon gushed. "I wish she knew how much I care about her."

"Trust me, son, she knows," Ray put his hand on Keon's shoulder. "No matter what gets in between you, never let her go. Girls like her are a rare find, y'know."

"I have a feeling she will be your one and only," Fatima mentioned.

"You really think so?" Keon widened his eyes.

"Course I do," Fatima chuckled, sitting back down. "Like your father said, the way she treats you says a lot about the kind of person she is, and also about the things she probably feels for you. I hope you two end up forming a relationship."

"I hope so too, Mom," Keon admitted "I hope so too."

A/N: Thoughts?

Also, thank you guys so much for 300 reads! Forever grateful for all the love and support <3

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