"Dad I don't understand, why do you have to do this?" I asked crossing my arms.

I wasn't necessarily upset about it, I was just confused.

"Because I haven't talked to Max in awhile and I've never even met his father. I think it's necessary for me to have a few words with them before he takes you on a date" my dad said.

"But why can't you just called them? Why do they have to come over for dinner with the whole family?" I said, my voice tinged with a whine.

My dad had invited both Max and his dad over to have dinner, and like every other teenager, a dinner with my boyfriend and my  family wasn't exactly something I looked forward to.

"Oh please, it won't be that bad" he said, "We'll try not to embarrass you too much"

"No promises, though" Anna said, hopping down the stairs, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes, a small laugh escaping my lips, "You better promise! I wouldn't want to lose Max right after I got him!" I teased.

Anna shrugged,"Even if I did say something inappropriate, Max likes you too much to dump you" she said.

My dad patted my shoulder reassuringly, "It'll be fine. I promise everyone will behave themselves" he said smiling, "And remember when you were freaking out about Colton? It all worked out for the better, so just try to calm down and enjoy yourself tonight" he continued before leaving the room.

Anna laughed a little when he left, "My mom is super excited about this too. I wouldn't let her invite Evan over so I guess she's just excited to be involved in one of her daughter's love lives." Anna said.

'One of her daughters'

Did she really just say that? It didn't bother me as much as it would've awhile ago, but Kim and my dad weren't even married yet. We still had a couple months before I had to refer to Kim as my mom and she could refer to me as her daughter.

I had left the past behind but I still wasn't completely comfortable with having another mom.

"Anyway, besides the whole family getting together to meet Max, are you excited to see him tonight?" Anna asked, snapping me from my thoughts.

I nodded, a smile spreading across my face, "I'm so ready to see him" I said.

And I really was. Ever since New Years I couldn't think about anyone else and even though this unexpected dinner was popping up, it meant I could see him sooner.

"It seems like its been forever since I've last seen him" I said, "Texting really doesn't suffice"

Anna nodded, "Yeah, that sucks. Evan and I are really fortunate to go to the same school."

I nodded in response, letting out a small sigh.

True, it would've certainly been easier to date someone from my school. Dating Max would mean more work on both of our parts to hold the relationship together. But I was willing to put in the extra effort and I knew he was too.

"Anyway, I have a date with Evan so i'll talk to you later!" Anna said, hooking her purse on her arm, before running her fingers through her red curls, "And don't worry, I will be back in time to see Max!"

I shook my head laughing, "I have no doubt about it" I said.

Anna nodded in satisfaction before heading over to the garage where Kim should be waiting.

Maybe I could convince Evan to hold Anna until Max had gone home.

Then there'd be one less person that'd have to witness the incredibly awkward dinner.

~*~*~*~

"Finnly, what the heck are you doing?! Max will here any moment!"

I groaned softly. Anna had gotten home from her date just in time to take part in mine.

"I'm quite aware" I said in a slightly more biting tone than I had intended.

My irritation about having the dinner had worn off and in it's place was a tsunami of nerves. And Anna's constant reminders weren't helping me in any way.

I hastily brushed my hair and wiped mascara on my lashes as quickly as I could. I had also made sure to put on a modest dress, reminding myself that Max's dad was coming. I was pretty positive I had never put this much effort into my appearance before.

"He's here! Come downstairs, Finnly! What's taking you so long?!"

I clenched my fists, trying to contain my anger toward Anna at the moment.

I knew what I was doing, I didn't need her to constantly mother me. Yes, Anna was probably my best friend, and I couldn't thank her enough for standing by me during the last half year, but right now I needed her to just shut up.

"Coming!" I shouted back, keeping my voice steady and calm.

Ok. You can do this. Honestly, If you could stand up to Colton you can do this. This should be a piece of cake.

I stood up, straightened my dress, and set on down the stairs, toward the sound of voices near the front door.

"I know, I was so pleased when I heard Finnly had been asked out by such a kind young gentleman" I heard Kim say.

"Thank you, m'am"

My heart fluttered at the sound of Max's voice and a smile spread across my face as they came into view, "Good evening Mr. Leeman" I said, extending a hand to the tall man standing next to Max.

"You must be Finnly!" He said, "I've heard so much about you, it's a pleasure to finally meet the fine young lady my son can't stop talking about".

I laughedasas Max's ears turned pink with embarrassment, "Dad, really." he said.

"Kiss each other already" Anna piped in, crossing her arms in irritation, "that's how couples greet one another"

I bit my lip.

What? Had she really just said that? And in front of the adults?

Max scratched his head, looking down at the ground, and Kim coughed slightly.

"Anna, please excuse yourself for the time being" Kim said politely, almost in a soft whisper.

Anna raised an eyebrow questionably, as if she had no clue what she had done wrong.

When Kim said nothing else, Anna just shrugged and walked into other room, leaving the group much less tense.

"I'm so sorry about that, Anna doesn't seem to have a filter, she kind of just says whatever is on her mind" Kim said apologetically.

"It's no problem at all, she seems like a very nice girl" Max's dad said, offering us a kind smile.

"Well, why don't us adults go have some wine in the living room while the kids can finish preparing dinner" my dad said, clapping his hands together.

"Sounds great! I love some good vino" Max's dad chuckled.

I sighed in relief when they left the hallway and Max and I were finally left alone.

"Prepare dinner, huh?" Max said, a smile on his lips.

I shrugged, "I think we just need to make a salad" I said, "I'm sorry".

"Hey don't apologize, anything that's with you I'd love to do" he said

I mentally gushed at how sweet he was being, and a blush rose up my cheeks, "that rhymed" I said, laughing softly.

Max laughed in response, "yeah, you can call me Shakespeare" he said.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Romeo, but that works too" I said, laughing.

Max laughed and kissed me softly on the forehead, "I'll be your Romeo if you'll be my Juliet." he said, his lips hovering just above mine.

"Sounds like a fair trade to me" I said, pressing my lips softly against his.

Forget Colton, Max was the real Romeo.

"There's the kiss I was waiting for"

I jolted away from Max, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind my ear, "Hi Anna" I said dully.

Max stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Always nice to see you, Anna" he said, offering her a smile.

"Oh, I know. What would you two even do without me, anyway" she said, "If it weren't for my comment earlier I doubt the two of you would've kissed the entire night".

I was about to tell her that we didn't kiss because of her or her comment, but decided to keep my mouth shut. Just let her believe what she wants to believe; if she thinks she's the referee of this relationship, then so be it.

Max laughed softly, "We'd certainly be lost" he said, giving me a small smile when Anna wasn't looking.

I smiled back, giving him a soft shrug.

Honestly, who knew where I'd be without Anna.

~*~*~*~

The lot of us were sitting down at the dinner table an hour later, surrounded by plates of food. Apparently this was the perfect time to bring attention to my new relationship.

"Finnly really enjoys surfing too, she use to do it a lot when she lived here a couple years back" my dad said, "Maybe when the weather gets warmer you two can go to the beach together" he said to Max.

Max nodded, "Yeah, that'd be great" he said, smiling.

"And maybe you kids can go to that beach cafe!" Kim said, before shoveling a forkful of chicken into her mouth.

"Wasn't that the place you were talking about taking Finnly to this weekend?" Max's Dad piped in, taking a swig of his water.

Max let out a small sigh, "Yeah, it was suppose to be a surprise, Dad" he said.

"It's Ok, that sounds great!" I said, "I haven't been there in a long time." I continued, flashing Max a smile.

I assumed all guys got nervous taking a girl out on the first date, so I wanted to do everything possible to reassure Max. It's not like a bad date was going to make me dump him or anything...I liked him far too much to let that happen.

"That sounds like fun! Maybe we'll stop by and say 'hello' to you two on your first date!" my dad joked.

"Yeah! And Evan and I can meet up there with you guys! It can be a double first date!" Anna said giddily.

Obviously she hadn't sensed that my dad was clearly joking. The sad thing was, I knew Anna was being serious.

"You and Evan can come have dinner here on Saturday night, I'm sure Finnly and Max would like to have their first date to their selves." Kim said, giving a warning look toward Anna.

Anna just nodded, probably finally realizing her mother wasn't taking her actions lightly anymore.

Part of me felt bad for Anna. Right when things were going my way I didn't pay as much attention to her. And I knew that aside from Evan, I was her only friend. Unless you counted Mia, which wasn't likely due to their tendency to still argue every time they got close to one another.

"Maybe we can do a double date some other time" I offered.

Anna nodded, her eyes lighting up, "Yeah! And we could all go to our parent's wedding together! Wouldn't that be cute?" she said.

A pit dropped in my stomach. I had hoped the wedding wouldn't be brought up tonight, with Max's mother cheating on his father and them going through a divorce. I had figured it would be a touchy subject, and not something I wanted to be brought up in front of his dad.

"Oh yes, Max told me about the wedding! Congratulations!" Max's dad said happily.

I mentally sighed in relief, relieved we had just passed over a possibly awkward situation.

"Thank you so much!" Kim said, smiling, "We'll be sure to send you two and invitation. We would love to see you two there!" she said.

"Yeah, Max! You can come see how things work so when you and Finn get married you know how to do things!" Anna blurted out.

I froze and I mentally face palmed when the entire dinner table fell silent.

So much for awkward situations.

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I was actually going to post this yesterday but then I had my laptop taken away because I needed to work on college stuff... argh

Anyway, SFC is coming to a close :) I'd say maybe 4 more chapters? I'll also be having an epilogue and a bonus chapter !

So, what I need you guys to do it comment on either this chapter or future chapters who you would like to be the POV in the bonus chapter and when !

Any graphics you guys have are welcome too! I need some graphics for my chapters so send them in :)

update: The Paparazzi Puppet will start updates regularly starting soon!

Song of the chap: Fire by Gavin Degraw

As always...Kisses- A