~Althia~

"Babe?" Zach knocked on the bathroom door

"I'm just finishing up my makeup" I told him

Zach tried to open the door but I had locked it

"Thi" Zach spoke through the door "Let me in please" He said

I put my eyeliner down and went to the door where I opened it slowly

Once the door was fully opened, Zach looked down at me while I looked up at him and sighed

"Come here" He opened his arms

Redundantly, I went into his arms and wrapped my arms around his torso

"What's wrong?" He asked as he hugged me

"I'm just redoing my makeup so it goes with my outfit" I told him

"Thi, you've changed your outfit 5 times since we've gotten here and now you're redoing your makeup?" Zach said

"I'm changing my makeup so it goes with my outfit" I told him "I'm not going to show up at your house with a dark outfit and light makeup, can you imagine what your mom is going to think about that?" I added, mumbling against his chest

"Baby" Zach leaned back to look at me "My mom isn't going to care if you have light or dark makeup on" He told me

I looked at him and sighed again

"Okay" I finally said

Zach flashed me a smile

"Okay" He repeated "Now finish up and then we gotta go" He added

"Well actually, you're gonna hate me for this buttt..." I trailed off as he looked at me questioning "I gotta redo a couple of things" I told him

"Baby!" Zach laughed "Did you even hear what I just said?"He added

"I just need to take my eye makeup off!" I said "There's no need for me to show up with a full face, when I barely wear eye makeup so Imma keep it natural" I continued

Zach smiled at me again as I turned around to go back in front of the mirror

"Now that's my girl" He cheesed as he smacked my butt

"Zachary" I said through my gritted teeth, as I tried to act annoyed

Zach just laughed and left me in the bathroom to do what I needed to do

I took some makeup wipes and removed all of my eyeshadow before replacing it with a simple wing eyeliner and I retouched my lipstick

"Okay, let's go" I announced as I walked out of the bathroom

Zach got up from my bed and grabbed my hand before we made our way downstairs to the front door to put our coats and shoes on and then outside to his car

-

"Oh my gosh" I started laughing randomly in the car while I looked at my texts

"What is it?" Zach glanced at me and then back at the road

"Jess just texted me saying that if anything goes wrong, she'll buy me ice cream and we can trash your mom" I told him as I grabbed his hand that was already on my thigh

"Did she tell what happened with them and the brownies?" Zach asked me, laughing along with me

"Yeah" I nodded "Jeff texted me earlier too to say that I should take a shit before going over to yours for supper because I don't want to be stuck taking a shit at yours and then have your mom judge me for it" I told him

Zach burst out laughing

"I love how your friends are only making you more nervous" He said as he calmed down

"Hey, they're your friends too" I reminded him "And I'm definitely starting to become anxious again" I let out a breath

"Babe, it's okay" Zach told me "You had 3 months of stress free and tonight you're just getting it over with" He added, making me laugh a bit

"Everything will be fine" Zach reassured me, repeating himself, as he turned into a driveway

"We're here?!" I looked at him in panic "You could have at least warned me" I said

"I didn't want you to worry" He said, trying to hold back his chuckles

Zach parked his car and then looked at me

"I'm going to throw up" I blurted out "Or piss my pants, or shit myself" I added

This time Zach couldn't help but laugh

"Babe, you're gonna be fine" He told me "Plus my moms car isn't even in the driveway which means for some reason she isn't home which means you can calm down" He added

I took a deep breath and opened the passenger's door

Zach and I slowly made our way to the front door where he opened it and I followed him inside

I took my shoes off as I took another breath

"Ra!" Zach called out for his sister as he grabbed my coat

Soon Zach's sister came into view and I smiled slightly at her

"Clara, this is Althia. Althia this is my little sister, Clara" Zach introduced us

Clara gave me a small wave

"Where's mom?" Zac asked her

"Gone to the store, she realized she didn't have any wine and she said that she'll need some for tonight" Clara answered him

My heart sank and I glanced at Zach

"Makes sense, mom always likes wine with our dinner" He shrugged, trying to play it cool to keep me from freaking out

"So Clara, what grade are you in?" I asked his sister

"Eighth" She answered

Zach started to lead us towards his living room and we followed behind

"You in any sports or clubs?" I questioned, trying to make conversation

"I play soccer and I'm vice president of our school committee" Clara said as she took a seat in a chair while Zach and I sat down on the couch

"She's the best player on her team" Zach told me

"Oh please" Clara rolled her eyes "You're just saying that because you're my older brother" She shook her head

"Actually as you're older brother, I'm supposed to say that you suck so if I say you're the best then it's because it's true" Zach informed her which made her make a face

"Is there a soccer team at Liberty?" Clara asked us

"No, there's a boys team but no girls" Zach answered

"Of course" She sighed

"But there is a flag football team" I told her "It's not necessarily soccer but it's one of the few teams just for us girls and it's fun to play" I added

"You play?" Clara looked at me sounding shocked

I nodded my head

"I always thought you were a cheerleader" She said "When Zach would say that he's going to watch you play, I always thought he meant he was going to watch you cheer and then watch whatever sport it was" She continued

Zach chuckled a bit

"The cheerleading life isn't the life for me" I said

"Thank God, I can't stand cheerleaders" Clara said which made us laugh "Except Jessica, of course" She quickly added

I nodded my head, agreeing with her

"You should come watch a game sometime with Zach, see if you like the sport and if you can see yourself playing it" I told her

"Alright" She agreed

Before any of us could say anything more, we heard the front door being opened and then closed

Zach and Clara went to greet their mother while I stayed in the living room

I heard their mom say to Clara to go place the wine in the kitchen

"Zachary, how was school today?" I heard his mom ask him

"It was great, Ma" Zach answered "Thi is in the living room" He added

I stood up as the two of them walk in

"Mom, this is Althia. Althia, my mom" Zach introduced us

"Hi, Mrs Dempsey" I greeted her "It's nice to finally meet you" I smiled

"It's Mrs Shan-Yung Dempsey" She corrected me

"Oh" Was all I said "I'm sorry" I quickly added

She waved me off as I just stood there

"Come into the dining room, dinner must be ready by now" She said as she turned and looked at Zach

She made her way to the kitchen as Zach and I stayed behind

"You're ok, it's ok" Zach whispered to me as he placed his hand on the small of my back to guide me to the dining room

Zach's mom starting placing the food on the table while Clara helped her

"Do you need any help?" I asked them

"We're good" Mrs Shan-Yung Dempsey answered me

Once everything was placed, she took a seat at the head of the table while Clara took a seat at the other end, leaving Zach and I to sit across from each other

The food started to get passed around and after a moment of complete awkward silence of just us eating, Zach's mom cleared her throat

"What do your parents do for a living?" She asked me

"They're contractors and my mom is a real estate agent as well" I answered her

Zach's mom nodded

"Do you have a job?" She questioned

"No ma'am" I shook my head

"Are you thinking about getting one?" She wondered

"I'm not sure yet but Zach and I were just talking about this, saying we could try and apply at the pharmacy downtown" I said "Jessica and I were thinking about maybe applying to Monet's as well" I added

"Zachary doesn't have time for a job" Mrs Dempsey made a face "With his academics and his sports, there's no time. Plus, he knows that whatever it is he needs, I'll gladly buy it" She went on "Isn't that right, Zachary?" She looked at him

"Actually, mom" Zach started "If I were to work at the pharmacy, I would be getting the closing shifts which means that there wouldn't be that many customers and I could do my homework while working" He told her

"We'll talk about it later" She shushed him

"What's your school average?" His mom asked, looking back at me

"Oh, um" I stumbled for my words "Mid 80s to high 90s, depending on the classes" I finally answered her

Mrs Dempsey nodded and took a sip of her wine

"What classes are you getting the lower grades in?" She questioned

"Chemistry" I said "We can't all be as gifted as Zach and be able to have two hard sciences in one semester" I added, trying to lighten the mood as Zach looked at me with a weird face

"Sciences?" Mrs Dempsey repeated, glancing between us "What other science class, Zachary?" She asked, looking at me like she was waiting for an answer instead of Zach who she addressed the question to

"We have chemistry together and then Zach has bi-" I started as Zach shook his head slightly and continued to make a face "Physics" I quickly said, hoping I said the right thing

Zach let out a breath and closed his eyes slightly

"I thought you had physics next semester" Mrs Dempsey looked at her son

"No. I switched, remember?" Zach told her "I have chem and physics this semester and then I'm going to have law and accounting next semester" He added

"Ah yes, I must have forgotten" His mom nodded her head

We found ourselves in yet another uncomfortable silence until Clara decided to break it

"Ma, is it ok if I go to Althia's next football game with Zach?" She asked her mother

"We'll see" Mrs Dempsey answered "The games seem to go on pretty late and I'm not sure if I want to expose you to female high school sports just yet" She continued

"But-" Clara went to protest

"Enough" Her mom shut her down before she could even continue

"Althia, how many boys have you been with before my Zachary?" Mrs Dempsey suddenly asked me, making Zach nearly choke on his water and me look at her to see if she was serious or not

I looked at Zach who was just looking at his mom and glanced over at Clara who was playing with her food

"Don't look at them, I'm the one who asked you the question. You should be looking at me" Mrs Dempsey told me

"I've been in one relationships before Zach, and it shouldn't even count" I answered her

"Well that's surprising" She mumbled, loud enough for us all to hear clearly though

"Mom" Zach warned her

"What? I'm just saying it's surprising that the number is extremely low, she's a pretty girl from the city, what more could I expect from her, Zachary?" His mom replied making my jaw drop at her comment

I could now see why Zach doesn't like to be called Zachary, the way his mom says is starting to annoy me

"Are you and Zach sexually active? Because if you are, I want you to get tested right away" She continued

"I'm sorry Mrs Shan-Yung Dempsey but I really don't think it's your place to know those types of details about Zach and I's relationship" I responded

"Mom, stop it please" Zach spoke

"I'm only looking out for you" His mom protested "City girls are wild, you have no idea where it could have been or with whom" She added

"Alright, that is enough!" Zach exclaimed

"Pardon me?" Mrs Dempsey looked at her son

"I am not going to let Thi sit through this any longer" Zach got up "You have been unbelievably rude, you're interrogating her like she's a criminal and you're passing so many boundaries" He continued "Althia is my girlfriend and just because you're my mother it does not give you the right to treat her in such ridiculous ways. She has been nothing but polite and nice. She's answered all your ridiculous questions meanwhile you can't even treat her like a decent human being and I'm putting an end to it right now" He went on "Come on Thi, we're leaving" He announced

Without saying a word, I got up and so did Mrs Dempsey

"Zachary, you are not leaving" She told him

"Watch me" He responded as he walked around the table to grab my hand

Together we made our way to the front door where we quickly put our shoes on

"Zachary Shan-Yung Dempsey, if you leave you're going to be in so much trouble, you're going to regret everything" His mother followed us

"I do not care, goodbye mother" Zach said over his shoulder as he opened the front door for me

I followed Zach down his driveway and into his car

We both kept quiet as he backed out of his driveway before starting down his street

Once we got to a stop sign, Zach let a yell out and hit his steering wheel making me jump at the sudden movement and noise

"I'm sorry, Thi" He looked at me "I should have said something way earlier but I thought that she would stop and she didn't" He added

"Hey, don't apologize" I reached out for his arm "It's not your fault" I told him

"God, everybody was right" He sighed "I should have never brought you there" He continued

"Zachy, stop it" I said "You can't control what your mom says and does and to be honest, you didn't even need to say anything" I continued "I could have made it through the rest of the dinner, I promised you I would have supper with your mom and that's what I was prepared to do" I finished

"I wasn't going to sit there and listen to her talk to you that way, Thi" Zach told me "Nobody deserves that, you especially" He added

I leaned forward and kissed his cheek

"Can we just go to yours and chill?" Zach asked me

"Of course" I answered "My parents are away again, so it'll just be us two" I added

//