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The engine is cut off immediately as the blonde impatiently flicks the key out of the ignition. Her thinning patience showing in her face and the way she pulls at the door latch to step out of the car with no words uttered to the brunette.

Jade remains awkwardly seated in the car, anxious about what to do next. She is not oblivious, she knows that something is bothering Kinsey but she can't pinpoint what. She sits in the seat with her hands in her lap as if feigning innocence will help her feel less shitty right now.

Kinsey yanks open the back door on the driver's side to grab for her bags. The frustrated shuffling that goes on as she grabs at the bags stops suddenly.

"Are you just gonna sit there like a fucking statue? Get the fuck out of the car," Kinsey demands, rolling her eyes at the brunette's awkwardness before she slings her gym bag over her shoulder.

Jade only stiffens at the blonde's words, wanting to seem unaffected but in actuality, she wants to breakdown. Being yelled at in such an aggressive way has never sat well with Jade. It's always elicited a bout of anxiety that would leave her heart beating abnormally and her palms sweaty. A feeling she usually gets when she is around her mother.

"I-I'm sorry," Jade stutters as slides a strand of hair behind her ear as she pulls for the latch at the passenger side door.

She believes that she was able to fully conceal her weakness with a simple stutter, but the blonde observes much more.

She saw the way in which Jade basically flinched in reaction to her harsh words. The way in which the brunette took in a huge breath as if that was her way of stabilizing her emotions.

A flash of sympathy passes over Kinsey's face as she witnesses the vulnerabilities that Jade seems to always conceal by hiding behind dark clothing and books. Her heart aches at seeing how anxious she made the girl feel. She didn't mean to be mean and scary. That is just the way she finds it easier to express her feelings.

The brunette tensely stands by the passenger door with both backpack straps on her shoulders, waiting patiently for Kinsey to lead the way to the front door of her home.

Kinsey shuts and locks the doors with her car remote before glancing at Jade and nodding towards the front door. The brunette catches the signal and allows Kinsey to take the lead.

The silence of the fall afternoon allows for the birds to be heard chirping and the sound of the brick driveway screeching beneath the soles of the girls' shoes.

"My bad for yelling at you back there. I know I can be too much sometimes," Kinsey states offhandedly as she and Jade continue their walk toward the door.

Jade stills for a second, surprised at the apology that she would have never expected. She finds this as the perfect opportunity to maintain her dignified front after her walls came crumbling down a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, you bet? Don't let it happen again so I don't have to drag your ass across the floor," Jade replies gifting Kinsey a cold stare.

"I wish you would," Kinsey challenges, turning around to face the blonde as the two finally arrive at the front door. Her icy blue eyes bore rays into Jade's hazel ones while the two inches she has over Jade adds to the intimidation. The

Jade, once again, has no words.

"That's what I thought," Kinsey finishes off before turning back around and finding her house key to insert into the lock.

Jade's left speechless behind the blonde, deflated.

Once the door is thrust open, a flood of shrilling children- like screams fill Jade's eardrums. She no longer has time to dwell on the confrontation.

Jade's taken aback, hesitant to follow Kinsey into the house. Her human instinct refuses to allow her to walk towards what sounds like the screeching of the devil's spawn. The blonde notices, once she turns around, that the brunette is still on the other side of the door.

"Come on, they won't bite," Kinsey assures before naturally winking at Jade. Jade takes in another breath before stepping through the front entrance into the home.

Jade rolls her eyes at the cocky wink and adds, "You're not cute."

The blonde merely continues, finding it best to ignore the sly comment.

As Jade steps in, her eyes inquisitively scan around the wall on her left to see the various family pictures that cover every inch. Small, medium and large frames full of images of Kinsey's family adds an additional layer of comfort to the home that already gave off the stench of assurance when they first pulled up into the driveway.

Jade's attention diverts back to Kinsey in front of her when she hears the screams getting closer to them. Jade rubs her hands together becoming more nervous as if the screams are signaling her impending doom. Being in Kinsey's house is one thing but meeting her family is a whole different ball game. Are they nice? Or are they just like Kinsey? The questions permeate through Jade's anxious mind in a matter of seconds.

Then two smaller figures suddenly appear before the older girls. The girl and boy that magically appear are breathing hard, possibly from running around the house. But that does not stop the little girl from punching Kinsey directly in the stomach before catching her breath.

"Got you," the girl exasperates following the action, leaving Jade gasping in the background at the completely random action.

Kinsey winces at the unexpected hit for only a second, before replying.

"What was that for?" The older blonde questions in a straining voice as she tries to recover quickly.

Jade feels the immense need to laugh at the blonde's condition but her mind is too consumed by shock to express such feelings.

"I just wanted to practice my jab. Dad said I'm starting kickboxing tomorrow at the gym down by Rico's," the younger sibling justifies with a wide smile on her face. If Jade hadn't just seen her take down a teenager, she would have assumed that the little child could never hurt a fly. The little girl that looks like a miniature version of Kinsey with shoulder-length hair and bangs just right above her dark brown eyebrows, looks at the older sister in complete innocence. Jade watches the entire thing waiting for Kinsey to implode on her younger sibling.

"Make sure you use the weight in your stance to get a harder punch next time," Kinsey informs as she continues to massage her stomach with her left hand.

The little girl nods before snapping her head around Kinsey to spot the brunette unknowingly hiding behind the blonde.

"Who are you?" She questions harshly.

Jade clears her throat before she goes to speak.
"I-"

"She's a friend. Her name's Jade. Jade meet my annoying little sister Tracy and my favorite sibling, Blaze," she informs as she points to the little boy standing shyly beside Tracy. He seems to be mimicking Jade and her stance at the moment. His awkward wave and smile at Jade make her heart melt instantly. He looks so kind with the way his eyes crinkle at the sides along with his smile.

His tanned skin and dark brown curly hair distinguish him from his sisters. The tight curls sit atop the smooth taper fade haircut he has.

Jade returns the smile along with a slightly awkward wave at the two, finding Blaze more welcoming than Tracy, who is skeptically staring down the brunette with no shame.

"Okay, okay, now get out of my way. We have stuff to do," Kinsey announces as she starts moving forward.

"Nope." Tracy snaps, blocking Kinsey from walking.

Kinsey stares down at the little girl and simply yells, "Mom!" before the little girl systematically steps out of the way. She childishly sticks her tongue out at her older sister as she proceeds to run to somewhere else in the house.

"Blaze, come on!" Tracy commands.

"Blaze, don't let her bully you into anything!" Kinsey announces after Blaze obediently runs off after Tracy. Kinsey turns to Jade, rolling her eyes. Jade gives Kinsey a warm smile in return. The way Kinsey interacts with her siblings is something that tugged at Jade's heartstrings. It was genuine and patient. How could this same person be the Kinsey Scott that just snapped at her in the driveway?

Kinsey and Jade finally make it into the living room where a woman typing away on a laptop sits criss-cross on a warm light brown wool couch with a knitted blanket hung over its back. The blonde hair with streaks of brown, give away the idea that she must be Kinsey's mother. Her focus is intense with the way her shorter hair is pinned up into a messy bun.

As she notices the girls come in, she stops typing and immediately removes her gold-rimmed reading glasses to look over the couch at the teens.

"Hey, honey. Who's your new friend?" She questions with the softest smile on her face. The faint wrinkles and her more heavyset appearance are the only things that make her different from Kinsey. The two of them could get away with calling themselves each others' twins.

"She's just a friend from school. We have to work on a dumbass project together for some class so we're gonna be upstairs."

Jade cuts an odd glance at Kinsey for the way she just naturally cursed in front of her mother. She could never imagine saying such a thing in a conversation with her own mother. She turns back to the woman after her brief shock.

"Hello, Mrs..."

"Scott. You can call me Mrs. Scott, sweetheart."

"Okay, will do," Jade responds smiling jovially at the woman. She can't help but reciprocate the positive energy she expels.

"You're a very pretty girl, Jade," Mrs. Scott adds as she observes the anxious teen before her.

"Oh, um thank you," Jade chuckles nervously at the comment, leading her to look over at Kinsey. The two make brief eye contact before Kinsey skittishly looks away with a straight face.

Her mother proceeds, unaware of the tension.

"Okay hon, just let me know if you need anything. I got sugar cookies from the store hanging out on the kitchen bar if you need any," she adds with enthusiasm that Jade could never muster no matter how many cups of coffee she chugged. It is odd, but comforting to Jade how Kinsey's mother seems to care so much.

"Sounds good. Thank you for welcoming me to your home," Jade ends while Kinsey simply nods and walks towards the stairs on the left side of the living room.

Jade follows mindlessly as she tries to put together Kinsey's family dynamics. So is Blaze adopted? Does her mother work from home? And where is her dad? Does she have one? Is he in her life?

The two girls make it up the Peruvian-carpeted staircase to stop in front of a plain white door three doors down the hall.

Jade's nerves start to take hold of her once again as the two girls are technically alone again. Being around Kinsey, in general, makes Jade anxious but being alone with the straight-forward and brutally honest blonde makes her insides squirm. She steals a longing look at the blonde's profile as she opens the door, unable to control her impulsive need to observe her.

Snap out of it, Jade. Just get this over with and forget about her.

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Why did you think Kinsey was acting some type of way in the beginning of this chapter?

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Also, what did you guys think of Kinsey's family? Are you surprised?

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Did I feed y'all well? Lol I know I'm teasing y'all but don't worry it'll be worth it. 😜

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Alright, see you in the next chapter, loves! ❤️ Don't forget to show this story some love.