REAL LIFE

"i can't believe you're leaving tomorrow." matt sighed. the two teens were at the beach, sitting at a picnic table they found. josh and the rest of the triplets were out getting food. the group planned to do a night picnic.

"i wish i could stay, or at least go to mass with you. but i've got school." she huffed. matt laughed.

"i forgot you're still in high school. but hey, at least you graduate next month. and i live a day's trip away, so you can visit me on weekends if you want. or i can go up to you. or we can do what we did before we met."

"facetimes every day after school and texting 24/7?" cory smiled. matt nodded, he had a smile on his face.

"yeah! we had no problem with it before, and we're still the same people and have the same connection even when we're dating. it'll be like no difference, except now i can say i'm talking to my girlfriend instead of just a friend." matt explained. the two were planning on how to do long distance.

"you're right. and it's an 8 hour drive that's totally worth it. you need to drive up sometime, though. you have to meet lizzie. you're gonna love her."

"are you sure? she called me matthew. that's a huge red flag."

"she didn't know who you were, matt. she's the best. kinda like my sister."

"she won't have a crush on me right? because i only have enough time for one girlfriend. not that i've had more than one before." he added, quickly. cory let out a confused laugh.

"matt, she's gay. you don't have to worry about anything." she reassured. matt looked relieved. the sun was setting now and the two were staring at each other. matt was admiring cory's eyes. the way they glowed in this lighting. cory was observing matt's face. both teens had smiles on their faces.

"you look very pretty, cor." matt blurted. cory blushed.

"thanks, matt. you look pretty, too." she replied. matt smiled, and the two leaned in.

"hey guys, i found them!" a voice shouted. matt and cory instantly pulled away before they could even kiss. matt looked behind at the voice.

"nick you have the worst fucking timing, you know that?" he yelled. nick came running over.

"shit, were you guys about to kiss? we could come back." he offered, about to turn back. cory laughed.

"there's no point in leaving, chris and josh would stay and spy on us anyway." she said.

"damn right." josh said, appearing from behind nick. chris walked up a few moments later.

"kid, slow down next time. i played fucking lacrosse and couldn't catch up."

"slow ass." matt muttered. chris hits him.

"shut the fuck up."

"guys, let's not fight." josh said, stepping between them. "let's eat." he pointed to the table. the triplets and josh sat down, with matt and josh next to cory on one bench and nick and chris on the other side. nick passed everyone the food they asked for.

"i'm hungry." cory said. "josh did you get my stuff?" she asked. josh rolled his eyes, but pulled three big bags sour patch kids out of his bag.

"i got the original, the watermelons, and the mini watermelons. didn't know which one you wanted, so i got all three."

"fuck yeah!" cory cheered. she ripped open the bag of regular watermelons and put the other two in her bag. matt furrowed his eyebrows.

"cory, you're not seriously only eating sour patch watermelons for dinner, are you?" he asked, concerned. cory shrugged.

"why not? they're good!"

"cory, you need dinner. have my fries." he passed his fries to her. cory shook her head.

"matt, eat your fries. you don't have anything else." she passed them back. "i'm not even that hungry right now. i'll eat when we get home." matt looked at her for a moment.

"okay." he shrugged, taking his fries back and eating one. cory opened spotify and started playing evermore by taylor swift. the song 'willow' started playing, setting the mood for everyone as they continued eating and having conversations.

"i still can't believe you turned matt into a swiftie." nick said. matt blinked.

"no fucking way i'm gonna be called a swiftie. i'll admit, i'm a taylor fan now. but swiftie? fuck no."

"aw, swiftie mattyb." chris smiled. matt threw a fry at him, which chris surprisingly caught in his mouth. "nice throw, lover boy." he laughed after eating the fry.

"fuck off, chris." matt crossed his arms. cory smiled.

"chris, you made him mad." she laughed.

"kiss him, he'll feel better." chris joked. cory blushed. matt also turned red and he jumped out of his seat. chris immediately looked scared. "sorry." he said. matt walked towards him and chris got up and started running down the beach, matt chasing him.

"fuck, matt, i said sorry." he yelled. "ah!" he screamed. the group looked back, only to see chris on the ground and matt on top of him.

"you're the absolute fucking worst, chris." matt got off.

"damn, matt. it was a harmless joke." cory snickered. "no need to attack him like that."

"he's fucking annoying." matt grumbled, taking his seat next to cory again. they all sat in silence. 'gold rush' was playing now. josh and nick looked at each other and shrugged before continuing their meal. after everyone was done, nick stood up.

"okay, back to the car!" nick said. everyone except matt got up.

"cory, can you wait back a second?" he asked, reaching for her hand. cory nodded, still standing. she motioned josh to go ahead.

after everyone left, it was only cory and matt. matt was still sitting down, his hand with cory's.

"i'm sorry i acted out, tonight." he said. cory chuckled.

"matt, he's your brother. it's normal."

"yeah, but i should've had more control, especially in front of people." he looked up at her. cory shook her head.

"it's okay, matt. really. it shows that you're comfortable being how you are with your siblings around me. and if i'm being honest, i would've done the same thing if it was josh." she said.

"yeah." matt laughed, nervously. "i just... i didn't want you to think i was a violent person."

"i don't think you're a violent person." cory said. matt was about to respond, but a voice cut them off.

"you guys are still talking? cmon, guys. nick's about to piss himself." chris yelled. matt groaned.

"alright." he yelled back. he turns to cory. "shall we go?" he asks. cory takes his hand again.

"we shall."

maha speaks :)

i love this chapter, it's so cute

matt worrying that cory would find him violent is so