⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

John Quincy Adams Middle school,
Hallway

Renee's POV

Aurora, Riley, Maya and I were in the hallway watching one of our seniors, Allison, put on makeup.

Brandon and Max had left before us for some reason.

"Look at that ninth-grade woman, she's putting on makeup!" Riley commented. "We're going to be ninth-grade women someday!"

"This thing goes to ninth-grade?" Maya asked with disbelief lacing her tone.

"Yup. It does." Aurora said as she swung her arm around my shoulders.

"Why that?" Riley asked while pointing at Allison who was putting on eyeliner.

"Brings out your eyes." I answered.

Riley's face paled, "Why would I wanna take out my eyes?" She asked us.

"She's not literally taking her eyes out, Riley." Aurora said as she rolled her eyes at my twin's idiocy.

Then Allison takes out an eyelash curler. "And I think she is." Riley said as she pointed at Allison again.

Allison, who seemed to have heard our while conversation turned to face us with an annoyed expression. She held out the eyelash curler for Riley to take, "It's an eyelash curler. It doesn't even hurt."

Riley took the curler and examined it.
"I have eyelashes."

"Watch this." Maya, Aurora and I synced as we moved closer to Allison.

Riley uses the eyelash curler on herself and starts screaming, "Ahhhhhhh!"

She stops and then clamps the curler on her eyelashes once again, "Ahhhhh!"

"Anybody else would stop." I told Allison with a sigh as we all watched my twin.

"Open it." Dad said as he was passing by and stopped infront of Riley. He was looking at her with a weirded out expression.

"Thanks Daddy." She smiles.

"Yeah, okay." Dad says before he goes to his class.

"Yeah, okay." Riley deadpanned as she handed the eyelash curler back to Allison.

"How do you and Aurora do this, Renee?" Riley asked us.

"All it takes is some practice, Riles." I told her.

Farkle walked up to us.

"Hello ladies."

"Farkle." We greeted back.

"School dance. I'm gonna put you three down for dance numbers one through all of them. We will alternate. You and me, me and you. When you are not dancing with me, you may not dance with anyone else. So you may sit and wait until I dance with you again." Farkle explained while gesturing to Riley, Maya and I.

"I'm so glad I'm not a part of this. All the best, Esme." Aurora said and laughed. I gave her a playful shove.

"By the way, none of this is happening." I declared to Farkle.

"Well, may I have one dance with each of you then?" Farkle asked.

"Sure." Riley said.

"Ha! That's all I wanted! You just got played by Farkle!" He laughed before he went away.

"Hey guys." Lucas greeted, walking up to us.

"Lucas!" Riley said as she raised her hand.

"Hand." Maya reminded her.

"Lucas!" This time Riley spoke in a higher pitch.

"Grown-up voice." Aurora reminded her.

"Lucas, hello." Riley said in a deep voice.

"Hey." Lucas greeted once again.

"Hey, yeehaw. You going to Tick-Tock Shake Your Body Time?" Maya asked, "Cause you know it's not square dance, so, not gonna be a whole lot of do-si-doing." She teased him.

"Well then I'm sure I'll have no idea what to do and you can make fun of me." Lucas shot back with a smirk.

"You're not playing this right." Maya said while pointing at Lucas.

"Oh, well, certainly not my intention," he paused as he tipped his imaginary hat, "Ma'am."

"I will break you." She threatened.

"If that's what makes you happy, then. I certainly, can't wait for it ma'am." He said, ending the banter.

"You going to the school dance Lucas?" Riley asked the blonde.

"Thought I would. You?" Lucas asked back.

Suddenly an arm hung over my shoulders as I was thrown off balance and stumbled a bit under the weight of the arm. I looked up and saw Brandon. "I almost fell." I deadpanned.

"But you didn't. Also, I'm sure Max would catch you even if you did. Right Max?" Brandon asked with a teasing smirk, making blush rush up to my cheeks at the thought of Max catching me from falling.

"Definitely." Max said looking straight at me with a smile.

I blushed and pretended to not have felt his gaze on me.

"Oh you guys are just gross and frustrating." Aurora threw her arms up in exasperation. "I feel you sister." Riley told Aurora as she placed her hand on her shoulder.

I rolled my eyes.

"You know what, I think Lucas will be the one in a cowboy hat going like this." Maya started doing a weird dance.

The bell rang as we all left Maya in the hallway doing the weird dance.

"Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?" I thought out loud as the others shrugged.

"Eh. You'll remember it later. Now, come on." Brandon instructed.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

Matthews' Apartment

Renee's POV

Riley, Brandon and I entered the apartment. We saw Mom and Auggie reading a book together on the couch.

"Mom can I ask you a question?" Riley started.

"You can ask me a question." Auggie said before Mom could say anything.

"It's a girl thing, Auggie." I tried to explain.

"You think I don't know about girls?" Auggie asked back.

"Okay, I'm at a certain age where-" Riley was cut-off, "I don't care." Auggie said and got off the couch to go back to his room but I grabbed him and sat him down on my lap while sitting on the couch myself. Brandon also settled beside me.

"You're not gonna want to miss this, Mr.Spy." Brandon informed Auggie.

"You're at a certain age?" Riley and Mom also sat on the couch.

"You had to know this was gonna happen?" Riley asked.

"I know a lot of things are going to happen. Which one is this?" Mom awaited Riley's answer.

"Makeup." Riley answered.

"Oh, good." Mom let out a sigh of relief.

"I can have some?" Riley asked.

Mom shook her head and denied Riley's request.

"But, Renee uses makeup, why not me?" She points at me and asks.

"Riley, I brought up a good argument with our lawyer of a mom. I needed makeup for my band competitions and since we bought makeup, I should be able to use it whenever and however I wanted to." I explained.

"Sweetie, makeup leads to other things, that I...." Mom was cut off as Riley spoke up,

"We have our first school dance on Friday."

"And we're there." Mom deadpanned.

"Esme." Brandon called out as I tuned out the other two, "Did Max talk to you?" I furrowed my eyebrows, "Uhm No....why, was he supposed to?" I asked back.

"Huh, he didn't talk to you, did he?" He muttered something else but I wasn't able to hear it.

"I wanna paint my face!" I laughed at Riley's statement which I overheard.

"Wait. The dance is Friday?" Mom turned to me and asked.

I nodded my head in confirmation. "Yeah, why?"

"You're doing that thing with your face." Riley pointed out.

"Honey, Friday is the last night for Coney Island Cyclone." Mom told us.

"Oh, that's what I/you was/were forgetting about." Me and Brandon said at the same time.

"But it's our first dance, and Dad takes us to ride the roller coaster a bunch of times, right?" Riley said as if it explained everything.

"Riley, Uncle Cory thinks of it as a tradition." Brandon told her.

"How bad is this?" Riley and I asked.

Suddenly Alex came inside the apartment and joined the conversation, "Oh, Dad thinks of it as the reason he wakes up in the morning."

"Maybe he won't remember it this year." Riley tried to reason.

"Riles that's highly unlikely." I told her.

"Three days till Cyclone day!" Dad yelled as soon as he came in.

"See?" I deadpanned.

"When's my birthday?" Mom asked Dad.

"148 days from Cyclone day!" Dad exclaimed. Oh, this was bad for me and Riley.

"Good luck to you." Brandon, Mom and Alex said to my twin and I.

"Daddy!" Auggie got up from my lap and ran towards Dad. "Auggie! Tell me stuff!"

"Riley wants to wear make-up."

"Hey, little spy." Riley protested.

Dad turned to face Riley, "Don't call him a spy! He's not a spy!"

"He is a spy, you made him a card." Alex revealed.

"I am a spy, you made me a card." Auggie confirmed as he took out a little handmade card.

"Alright, he's a spy and guess what? He just got promoted." Dad handed Auggie another handmade card that said, 'AUGGIE SUPER SPY.'

"Super spy!" Auggie yelled in delight while throwing his hands up.

"Dad." I started.

"Yeah?" He turned to us.

"Dad." Riley and I hugged him.

"Hey, Super Spy, tell me stuff." He turned to Auggie for answers.

"Riley and Renee want to go to the school dance on, dun, dun, dun..." Auggie paused for effect before him and Alex spoke together, "Cyclone night!"

"Oh, Wow. It's the same night? I understand. I understand completely." For a moment there was a ray of hope for Riley and I as we smiled, "I'm sorry, you'll have to miss the dance." Our faces dropped as the ray of hope was snuffed out.

"Try again." Mom instructed as she wrapped an arm over Alex's shoulders.

"I'm sorry you'll have to miss the dance." He turned to Mom, "No, same thing."

"But it's our first dance, Dad." I tried to make him understand.

Dad clutched his heart.

"Oh boy." Mom said softly.

"No, no, I'm down with this. Yeah I said that." He said as he faced Mom.

"Dad, when it comes to this stuff, I don't think, you can teach us." Man, Riley sure was rough with her words.

"Oh boy." Alex said as Dad clutched his chest with both of his arms.

"We're growing up, Dad." I said.

"Oh boy." Brandon said as Dad laid down on the couch.

"Goodbye." He said as he closed his eyes.

"You're breaking him!" Auggie yelled at Riley and I.

"You were a great father to us when we were kids. Don't take this the wrong way Dad, but there's just some things that Mom can actually teach me, like Make-up, what do you know about make-up?" Riley was definitely going to kill our father even though I agreed with her words.

"I know it's what you're gonna have to do with me." Dad says, he was upset, before he left the room.

Riley and I turned to face the other three, "Mom. Alex. Brandon." We synced.

"That went better than I thought!" They told us together.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

Next day,
John Quincy Adams Middle school,
Hallway

Renee's POV

"Friar, Farkle, Hart, Hunter, Coopers." Dad greeted them as they entered ahead of us but as soon as Riley and I entered, he pointed at us, "You! And you!"

"Dad...I-" I tried to speak but he cut me off by making a 'zip your mouth' gesture.

We both walked to our seats.

"Well guys, I've got your test results on Darwin to give back to you. And, uh, I'm pleased to see some of you have 'evolved' since the last quiz." Dad tried to joke.

"Ha!" Farkle's fake laugh was the only reaction.

"Thanks, Farkle." Dad told him.

"Well, you were drowning, Sir." He sympathised.

"Ms. Hart, Ms. Cooper, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Friar." Dad said as he handed out our tests back to us, "Nice work." He told Lucas.

"Thank you sir." Lucas replied.

"Mr. Farkle."

"A number 700! Huzzah!" Farkle cheered.

"You! Excellent work! But you!" He said to me spitefully.

"Thank you Daddy." I innocently smile, knowing it would hit a soft spot as he smiled back at me and patted my head but he realized what I was doing and immediately went back to looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"I tried." I sighed as Aurora patted my back from behind me.

"You." Dad said as he handed Riley her paper. She was having no luck with him either.

"He gave me an F." Suddenly Maya said as I turned my attention to her. She looked pretty upset as she gazed at her test paper.

"That's nuts. You're a solid D student." Riley said, shocked.

Dad was praising Lucas about something.

But I was more focused on Max. He looked a bit....down? Usually he would be jumping up and down with Aurora when they got their tests back. They both were solid A students in that sense.

"Hey Max, you all right?" He gulped before facing me.

In the background, I could hear Dad trying to talk to Maya who was upset, just like Max. But I was more focused on my bestfriend.

"I-I failed. I failed the test. I failed them. I failed them, Nessie." Max said. For some reason, I just knew that this wasn't about the test. This went deeper than that.

"Max, it was just one test. It's ok-" I tried to speak but Max cut me off, "It's not ok! You won't understand!" He shouted as I flinched. His eyes softened as he saw my reaction.

He got up, "I'm sorry Nessie, I didn't mean to yell at you." He left the class with that.

I looked at Aurora who had also witnessed Max's outburst, "I'll leave this one to you, Es." She told me. I nodded.

When I looked at my sister, I noticed that Maya was not here as well.

Riley and I raised our hands. I needed to get to Max and Riley needed to get to Maya.

"Go." Dad told us. Riley and I ran out of the class.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

John Quincy Adams Middle school

Music Room

3rd POV

Renee found Max in the music room, all alone. He just sat there and played a random tune on his acoustic guitar.

She hesitated going in, thinking that the boy probably wanted some space. But then, she remembered this one time that Max told her about how he hated being or feeling alone.

"Hey." She called out to the boy. Max looked up and said nothing as Renee sat down beside him. Their legs touching each other's as they sat on a carpeted step of the miniature stage set up in the music room.

For a moment his mind was taken off of the disappointment that he felt after seeing his test results. Being with Renee was often like this. He couldn't concentrate on anything else other than her. He couldn't get her off his mind.

"What you got there, Max?" Renee asked, referring to the tune he was playing not a minute ago. She did not want him to feel obliged to tell her what was bothering him, that's why she took a more subtle approach. She was just trying to take his mind off whatever he was conflicted with.

"Just a little something I came up with last night." Max went along with it. He wanted to tell her every secret he'd ever had. He wanted to spill his guts to her right then and there but-he was scared. Scared of the possibility that the girl he liked might judge him.

He didn't want that to happen.

"Can I hear it?" How could he say no to her when she asked with such a tender voice?

Renee listened, intently, to the story that Max was narrating without any words, with just his six string. It was a bittersweet story. He had a way with the guitar, his fingers sliding across the strings made it look like they were solely meant to play the instrument.

He was so concentrated on playing the tune that he never noticed the stare that Renee was giving him. She felt so mesmerized by the boy beside her, that she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

When he was done, the brunette turned to face the blonde, who was already looking at him.

Their shoulders were touching, their faces mere inches away from one another. Their eyes were searching each other's, as if asking the other what to do. If even one of them leaned a bit-their lips would touch.

Renee was the first one to look away as she forced herself to stay composed. "T-that was amazing, Max! We can probably try to fit in some lyrics to it!"

"Y-yeah, I guess." Max couldn't help but feel disappointed, feeling that he lost a chance. Like he ruined a moment between the two, when in reality it wasn't his fault.

Renee was flustered. She had never had a moment like this with Max. Staring at each other from across the hallway was normal, something she'd gotten used to-but almost kissing Max, whom she just recently realized she liked.

Now that was something huge.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

Next day.

Matthews' Apartment,

Renee's bedroom,

Renee's POV,

Aurora was at her house with Max while Brandon was sitting by my side, listening to me as I filled him in on about everything that happened in the music room the previous day. Except the almost kiss part.

"So....you think you both had a moment?" Brandon asked me after I was done.

"Yeah, like, I felt like we....connected, like really connected on a deeper note."

Brandon nodded, understanding what I was trying to convey.

"Okay, leaving that....did he mention anything about what's been bothering him lately?" Brandon questioned me further.

"No, not that I remember. In that moment all I really wanted was to take his mind off of his bad test results." I explained.

"Hmmm. I think this is all related to the thing that both the Cooper's are trying to hide from us. Let's see if Aurora tells us anything." Brandon suggested.

"I think we shouldn't ask Rory, of all people, anything. You know how she gets when she feels pressurized. I don't want her or Max to feel obliged to tell us. They'll tell us when they want to. And if they don't, then-honestly I don't know what to do." I persuaded Brandon. He nodded in agreement.

"Esme, I totally forgot to tell you about this but Max wanted us to go over to his place. He wanted to discuss something." Brandon suddenly informed me.

"Okay. Let's go in a few." Brandon nodded.

Just then, Riley and Maya barged into my room, Maya with her laptop in hand. "Have you people ever heard of knocking?" I exclaimed with my hands in air.

"Older twin." Riley greeted.

"Younger twin." I greeted back.

"Older twins' bestfriend." Maya greeted the blonde beside me.

"Younger twins' bestfriend." Brandon greeted back.

"Renee. Maya joined this online school-Frank Mantucci on da computer. Please tell her or in better words-threaten her to join normal school again." Riley asked me.

"You think I'm scared of her? You think I'm gonna listen to her?" Maya countered.

"Oh, you guys have no idea how scary Esme can be when she chooses to." Brandon chimed in as I pinched his side, making him flinch slightly.

"Anyways. I can't force Maya to join regular school back. However I can tell her that da online school she's attending is total shit. It's a scam, sweetie." I said, imitating the Brooklyn accent that Riley spoke in earlier.

Suddenly Mom came into my room as well as I threw my hands up again, "Seriously, you people need to learn how to knock."

I was ignored as she asked, "How's it going in here?"

"Mom. Tell Maya to come back to school. Regular school." Riley pleaded.

"Hmm....so you don't like this, huh?" Mom asked.

"Of course not! Maya always comes to school with us. She also picks me up at seven. I look forward to it." Riley explained.

"Like a tradition." I realized as I said that.

"Oh, that was creepy good." My twin and I said to our mother.

"So Maya doesn't show up like she's supposed to and how does that make you feel?" Mom questioned.

"Oh." Riley put a hand on her chest, much like dad did the other day.

"Renee, what if Aurora leaves the band? How would that make you feel?" Mom continued to make her point.

I couldn't imagine that happening. Aurora, my best friend, leaving the band? That would hurt me very much.

"Oh." Brandon and I said together. I guess he was imagining such a scenario as well in his own head.

"Renee, Riley, you have to go to your father. He feels bad." Mom explained.

"I feel bad. Will he come to me?" Maya expressed, hopefully.

"No. He's your teacher. He doesn't have to." Riley told Maya.

"But he will." I added.

"What?" Maya exclaimed in shock.

"He doesn't have to, but he will." Brandon confirms.

"Why?" Riley asked.

"Cause he's always there." Alex said as he joined us all in my room. "Always." Mom added.

Dad followed behind Alex. He took Maya by her hand and led her out of my room, with Riley and Alex following behind them. Brandon and I stayed back. I grabbed Mom's hand before she could fully get out of the door.

"What is it, sweetie?" She asked.

"Mom, Brandon and I need to go over to the Cooper's." I informed her.

"Can it wait?" Mom inquired.

"Uh....aunt Topanga, we think it might be something important since Max was really upset today." Brandon explained.

"And, we think that Max and Aurora are hiding something from us. Maybe it's something related to that?" I added.

"Ok then, if you think it's important. You both can go." Mom sighed.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

The Cooper's residence,

Renee's POV

Brandon, Aurora, Max and I were all in Max's room. I couldn't help but notice that Max kept his room super clean.

"So, Max, what did you call us here for?" I broke the silence with my question.

When Max didn't answer for a while, Aurora spoke up, "Uh...Max wanted to actually talk to just you, Esme." I looked up to Max and he was looking right back at me.

"Oh-oh it's about that, is it?" Brandon asked Aurora as she confirmed whatever he said.

I was confused. What were they talking about?

He suddenly got up.

"Hey, Aurora let's talk in private. We haven't done that in a while." He spoke quickly as he took my best friend with him. Once they both were out of the room, Max spoke up. "I-I wanted to tell you something, Nessie." He seemed a bit timid.

"What is it, Max?"

"It's about....my-no uh, the-the dance! Yeah, the dance!" The brunette had changed his sentence. He didn't say what he truly wanted to. "What about the dance?" I inquired, going with the flow. "Do you-have you-are you going with someone?" He shyly asked.

I blushed.

"N-no. Why do you ask?"

"Will you go with me to the dance, Nessie?" He suddenly took a step closer to me as he said that. I had to look up a bit to look him in the eye. I let out a breathless, 'what?'

"Will you go to the dance with me?" He asked again, confidence filling his words. I had many reasons to accept and none to decline. "Yeah, I will, Max." I smiled at him and he smiled back. His grin was as wide as mine, it made me feel warm inside. That's when Aurora and Brandon burst in the room and yelled, "Yes!!"

I just laughed at those two.

But I noticed Max struggling to say something, and thus...I took action.

I sighed, "Max, what is it? What do you want to tell us, really?"

It went silent. Aurora looked back and forth between me and her brother. Meanwhile, Brandon backed me up, "Yeah, man. We've both noticed that something's going on. We just didn't want to force you into telling us,"

Brandon looked at his best friend and continued, "But you do know that we're here for you, right?"

Max nodded silently.

It was silent for another few minutes as we waited for Max to say something. I was about to tell him that it was okay if he didn't want to tell us, when he started talking.

"The test results. I wasn't really that upset about them. It was the fact that I disappointed them. My parents."

He paused and took a deep breath as Aurora put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"They left me here with my aunt and uncle and Aurora. And they work hard for me, you know. My parents work really hard for me. I just don't know what to do now. How do I even show them these embarrassing results..."

I had no idea. Max was going through all this alone.

"Just tell them."

My voice surprised everyone.

"What?" Max asked.

"Just tell them, Max. They're your parents, and they love you a hell lot, and they won't love you less for just one bad test result. This was just one test. Just one out of many more. If you keep on moping over this, then you will miss your chance to do better in your next test." Brandon and Aurora looked at me, smiling slightly. Max was also looking at me with wide eyes.

"Yeah, and we're here to help you, bro!" Brandon said, shoving away Aurora, who yelled, "Hey!" as he put an arm around his best bud's shoulders.

"Max, I told you this a hundred times. The three of us are always gonna be there for you. No matter what." Aurora pitched in as she joined my side, still glaring at Brandon from time to time, who in return just ignored her.

"You guys....." Max was left speechless and his eyes slightly glossed over. He lifted his hand and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Awwww don't cryyy!!" We chorused as I slightly laughed and moved in to hug the boy, Aurora and Brandon following right behind. All four of us let out delightful laughs as we hugged, Brandon swaying us side by side.

We laughed at his childish behaviors.

Best group hug ever.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

Matthews' Apartment

Dinner Table

Renee's POV

"I don't wanna go to the dance. It doesn't matter to me at all. I want to go on the Cyclone with you more than anything in the world!" Were the words I first heard as soon as I entered the apartment with Brandon.

The Cooper's residence wasn't that far ways from ours so we arrived home pretty quick.

I understood that it was Riley speaking those words as I chimed in, "Me too Dad. I want to go on the Cyclone with you, even if it means missing out on the dance."

"You both are going to the dance." Dad declared.

I let out a sigh of relief, I would've had to explain everything to Max if the opposite had happened.

"I'm going to chaperone." Riley's hand immediately shot up at Dad's words.

"What's that mean?"

"Hand." I reminded her.

"What's that mean?" My twin repeated.

"Grown-up voice." Maya reminded her again.

"Lucas, hello." Wow. That was epic.

Brandon started laughing along with Alex, who for once was in the same room as Maya.

"What's that mean?" Dad asked Riley, pointing a finger at her accusingly.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

John Quincy Adams Middle school

Gymnasium

Renee's POV

We were at the school dance, the place was filled with people.

Brandon and Aurora came to the dance as friends. Meanwhile, Max looked very dashing.

This is what Max and I were wearing:

There was a slow song going on as Max extended his hand towards me, a gentle smile gracing his features.

"You wanna dance?" He asked, the smile never leaving his lips.

"Sure." My hand was already placed into his as he took it and pulled me closer. I looped my arms around his neck while his held my waist.

We both couldn't stop smiling.

It felt so right. Dancing with him like this. I don't know why I felt that, but it felt good.

"You look really good right now, you know?" His words made me blush.

"And you look handsome as well." My blush didn't stop me from complimenting the brunette back.

Max blushed as well and I chuckled at that. Cute.

"Well guys, it looks like the night is winding down. We hope you all enjoyed the dance. But before we go, I notice some fathers have arrived to pick up their daughters. I was wondering if we might have one last dance." Dad paused, "A father-Daughter dance."

I smiled at that. My dad was really innovative.

Another slow song started playing as I separated from Max who encouraged me to go to my father.

Dad approached Riley, Maya and I. Aurora was with her dad.

"May I please have this dance?" Dad asked Maya as my twin and I stepped aside.

She joined him.

After dancing and swaying for a while, they both extended an arm each towards Riley and I.

I took Dad's hand as Riley took Maya's. All of us had smiles on our faces.

"How about a new tradition, Dad? Would that be okay with you?" I suggested.

"That's okay. Traditions are supposed to evolve. Just like daughters. Sometimes daughters just need.....what was that again, Mr. Friar?" Dad asked Lucas, who was nearby.

"A guiding hand that has your best interest at heart." Lucas said before going back to whatever he was doing before.

"There's still a whole lot we need you to teach us, dad." Riley explained.

"Thank you Riley." Dad says, touched.

"There's still a whole lot I need you to teach me, too." Maya spoke up.

"Hey, he's our father." Riley and I synced.

"Whatever you say." Maya replied.

"Maya as a sister, I wouldn't mind that." I said, smirking.

"You do know that you're our father, right?" Riley voiced out.

"Yeah, I'm your father. Thank you Riley and Renee." Dad said.

"How's that for make-up?" I asked.

"Perfect, sweetie." We began dancing.

All four of us.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

Matthews' Apartment

Next morning

Dinner Table

Renee's POV

We were all sitting and eating our breakfasts.

"Renee, Riley, I never want our daddy-daughter story to end." Dad said to us.

"Neither do we, Dad." I smiled at him.

"It doesn't end. In any good book, you turn the page and there's another chapter." Mom explained with a soft smile on her face.

"Daddy, since Renee, Riley and Alex and Brandon are too big for you, maybe we could do something every year." Auggie suddenly suggested.

"Of course, Auggie. What do you have in mind?" He asked the youngest Matthews.

"You and me. And a singles cruise to Alaska." Brandon and I burst out into a fit of chuckles at my little brother's cute answer.

"Well, I guess some traditions are meant to change." Mom said.

Just after she finished saying that, Max, Aurora and Maya entered the house.

"Sup goofballs?" Maya greeted.

"Hey, Esme, Brandon, Riley, it's 7:00." Aurora called us all. We took our bags and walked over to the door.

Max was by my side, smiling at me.

I heard dad saying something as we left the house, "And some should always remain the same."

That made me smile.

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𝟏𝟒-𝟎𝟒-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥!