The boys are beyond confused at the girls behavior. Why's she so shy with them? Despite the fact that she's stopped calling, they'd expected her to be at least a bit happy to see them, yet she's excruciatingly quiet, which isn't exactly how her mother described her over the phone.

"Babygirl, get up. Breakfasts ready." She wakes up due to Michael shaking her and is immediately grumpy, used to sleeping in later.

"Don't call me that." She grumbles as she sits up. He frowns, standing from having been squat next to her bed to wake her.

"Why not? You used to like it."

"Yeah, well that was before I realized how fucking weird it is." She says quietly as she stands and grabs clothes to change into out of her suitcase, not really wanting to be heard but still definitely loud enough to be.

"Hey, watch your mouth." Michael scolds, beyond irritated at her attitude but figuring it's not a great time to deal with her any harsher.
She rolls her eyes but he doesn't see it because she's faced away from him.

"Get changed and come eat." He orders irritably, closing her door on the way out.

She does as told- only because she's hungry- and does it slowly, brushing her teeth lazily and combing her hair, throwing it in a messy bun afterwards.

She makes her way down the steps feeling strange, suddenly this house that was her favorite place for a time is where she lives, these boys that were her only friends and favorite people that she grew to resent eventually are her... housemates? No, Guardians? Caregivers?

She sighs, rubbing her face and sitting stiffly at the table alongside the already eating men, and making herself a plate from the food placed in the middle.

It's silent until Luke speaks up. "Would you like us to help you get all your things settled in your room today?" He offers politely.

"No." She says bluntly and monotonously and rolls her eyes.

"Don't be rude, little girl, I was only trying to be nice." Luke admonishes and she scoffs.

"I don't need your kindness and don't call me that you creep! I'm nearly a legal adult!" Luke raises an eyebrow, surprised at the outburst along with the other three men.

"Delilah you can fix your attitude or you can go back to your room." Ashton warns.

"Well I'm sorry if I'm a bit snappy but I don't appreciate being talked to and treated like a fucking child." She spits.

"One." She laughs humorlessly but shuts up, only because she's hungry. She eats faster and then pushes away from the table, standing to flee back to the guest room.

"Hey, get back here. You weren't excused."

"Oh I'm terribly sorry, may I please return to my quarters, sir." She yells as she runs up the stairs, the sound of her door slamming coming seconds later.

"Brat." Calum grumbles, finishing up his food and clearing off his plate as well as the teenagers.

"Is this a teenager thing or is she seriously emotionally damaged somehow? I want it to stop." Ashton complains.

"I know, she was so sweet, what the hell happened?" Michael agrees, clearing his plate as well.

"It'll get better, we just have to be patient, but strict. But still nice." Luke sighs optimistically. "She's still the same person."

"Should we do what she wants? Quit treating her so childish?" Calum asks, not wanting to but also wanting to get their sweet girl back.

"Not if she's gonna throw strops like a toddler." Ashton remarks. "We should spank her ass like one like we would've before if she acted like that." He huffs with a frown.

"If we do that she's gonna call her mother and she's gonna have her live with her again." Luke reply's.

"Would she? She did leave her with us to make her act better, she clearly was unable to." Michael retorts and Luke shrugs.

"Well, we certainly can't just do it without talking to April first." Calum warns.

"Yeah." Luke agrees. "If you'd like to Ashton, go right on ahead, but it might make April upset."

"Maybe I will." Ashton says.

Delilah sits on her bed texting Derrick, the boy her mother has caught her with on multiple occasions. She'd never gone all the way with him, had always chickened out when she started to, but they're not unfamiliar with each other. He refuses to make them anything official, telling the naive girl putting a title on it will "ruin the unique relationship" the two teens have. Delilah doesn't suspect too strongly that that just means he's sleeping around. She wonders if maybe he'd be more willing to commit if she put out.

She hadn't told him exactly why she was moving, just that her mom was sending her to live with family because she's not around enough to parent her herself, to which he'd replied "that sucks babe, I'll miss your sexy ass." And she'd blushed and giggled.

Her texting conversation is interrupted by a phone call from her mother.

"Hey." She mumbles unenthusiastically.

"Hi honey! How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"How are you getting on with those boys."

"Fine, mum." Delilah sighs.

"Really? Only fine? You used to be so keen-"

"They're bossy." She grumbles.

"Well dear, they're in charge of you, they're meant to be bossy. You listen to them, understand me?"

Delilah rolls her eyes, hanging up. It's not like her mother can do anything about it.

She tries to reply to Derrick and get his attention back but when he doesn't message back she sighs, moving on and deciding to put her clothes and such away, and as she begins the task she almost wishes she'd accepted the help offered, its tedious and boring.

She puts on her music from her Bluetooth speaker while she works at it, humming solemnly along, until it's interrupted by her door opening and she groans, ignoring the man until he pauses her music.

Ashton hadn't had to call April, she called and informed him that she was trying to check in on Delilah when the girl had hung up on her, so she was checking with him instead to see how things were going, and he'd brought up honestly how poor her behavior has been, asking what she'd like them to do about it.

"Well, I'm not sure. I-she's never misbehaved with me in a way I couldn't talk her out of until recently. I guess whatever it takes, I hate the way she acts now." April had sighed sadly.

"When I was her age if I had acted like that my father would have tanned me." Ashton casually replied, receiving a confused repetition of his word, the woman looking for clarification.

"Spanked." Ashton chuckles, and April hums in understanding.

"Well, mine as well, but delilahs never been spanked. I probably should've, but I was so young and I didn't have the heart when she was littler and now..." April rambles.

"Well, it's not as if it's too late." Ashton said casually and April's eyebrows drew together, though Ashton couldn't see that.

"It's... not?" She asks skeptically and Ashton shrugs.

The conversation continued casually until Ashton had managed to convince April it was her own idea. "I mean, if it would work... you don't have to if it's not something your comfortable with but..." the woman had sighed guiltily.

"Well, I mean, we'll see. If we feel that such measures are necessary, I assure you well do what we think is best for her, april." Ashton assures and April thanks him.

"Again, Thankyou all. I wish I could have done better with her but with my job..."

"I understand, you're very welcome. We're happy to help." Ashton smiles.

"Tell the others i said hello and thanks and Delilah that I love and miss her please!"

Shortly after their goodbyes and Ashton informed the other three of the progress he made his way to the girls room.

"You're mom asked me to tell you she loves and misses you. Apparently you hung up on her before she got the chance to tell you yourself." He glares.

"She was annoying me." Delilah defends quietly and with no venom, feeling a bit guilty.

"She wants what's best for you." Ashton sighs. Delilah glares. "Don't look at me like that, you know I'm telling the truth. Put yourself in her shoes." He says gently. Delilah stares at her lap and thinks briefly, pretending she's ignoring him. She does understand, if she had a kid that was well behaved and suddenly started smoking weed and having sex and drinking she wouldn't be happy about it, she wouldn't know what to do. The thought makes her irritable and she glares. Ashton notices and sighs.

"You want help with your stuff?" He offers again, waiting for a snappy response but instead receives a shrug so he stands and begins grabbing things from her bags, asking where she wants him to put them as she puts her clothes away.

When they finish he smiles as she exhaustedly flops onto her bed. "Can I get a Thankyou, babygirl?" She frowns at him.

"Can you leave now?" She huffs. Ashton frowns.

"Be nice." He scolds.

"Please." She rolls her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes, little girl. They'll get stuck back there."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child! Don't call me that! Why're you guys such creeps?!" She shouts, standing from her bed. "Get out!"

"How are we creeps? What's wrong with you? We're trying to be nice to you, you used to like how we treat you?!" Ashton retorts.

"I did until i realized how freaking weird it is! Why do you treat me like a kid?!" She argues, really wanting to know.

"You acted like a kid! You liked it so why wouldn't we? We care about you, sweetheart." She sighs as she realizes he's not wrong, she did like it, but it's still strange, isn't it? Isn't it strange that she enjoyed it?

"Can you please get out." She grumbles quietly and he sighs, leaving silently.

Delilah plays her music and lays on her bed thinking until she's called for lunch.