I've gotta say, waking up the next day, I was a little freaked out. Not even going to lie. I was on the couch, the house was a little messy, and, to top it all off, I was leaning against James. I was cuddled up into his side and his arm was around me. Not going to lie, I was extremely warm and comfortable and felt secure but...it was still a little weird. He was still asleep and I didn't want to wake him up so I slowly moved. Once I was standing up, I covered him with a blanket and smiled. He was so adorable. Yawning, I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee cup, making myself a cappuccino. It was pretty early and I honestly didn't know why I was awake. I am never up early unless I have to be but I guess I got used to the time.

Once the cappuccino was made, I waited for it to cool down a little by walking up to my room. I found Mel asleep in my bed. I smiled and shook my head. Grabbing my phone off the charger, I walked back downstairs and sat at the table, just scrolling through Twitter and looking at all the birthday wishes I had gotten. At around 9:30ish, dad walked into the kitchen. "Morning sleeping beauty." I smiled, speaking softly. He just grunted and grabbed his own coffee cup. Instead of making a cappuccino though, he was making actual coffee. I just never really liked the taste of coffee all that much.

"What are you doing up so early?" He asked. I shrugged and looked back at my phone.

"I don't know." I told him. He sat down by me while waiting for his coffee and I laid my head on his shoulder. "Thanks for last night. I had fun before I fell asleep." He chuckled lightly and nodded.

"I'm glad." He said.

"You let James stay? And you let me sleep on him?" I asked, my eyebrows raised. He looked at me and nodded.

"You seemed comfortable." He said. I smiled and nodded.

"He was pretty comfortable." Dad glared at me and I laughed. "What time did everyone leave?" Dad sighed and shrugged.

"Not sure. We were all talking for a ling while. Osric was the last to leave because he didn't want to wake you up." I smiled at that thought and shook my head.

"Osric's so sweet." Dad nodded and I yawned again.

"Seems to me like you're still tired." He smiled. I just waved my arm and shook my head.

"I'll be fine. Besides, I miss just sitting down and talking to you." I said. He smiled and nodded.

"I miss it too."

"Daddy?" I spoke softly, laying my head on his shoulder again.

"Yes?"

"What happens when I grow up? Like...how will I know what to do? How will I live on my own? It's coming soon and faster than I'd like and.....I don't want to leave you." I sighed. He was quiet for a minute so I looked at him. He was looking down as if in thought. When he looked up at me, he smiled.

"When the time comes, you'll know what to do. Besides, you don't ever have to leave home. You can stay right there in that room of yours and live here forever." I laughed and shook my head.

"What about a husband?" I questioned. "He'd move into my room with me?" Dad shook his head quickly.

"No. Of course not." I was expecting him to say something like, 'we'll make the room a bit bigger' or something along those lines but he didn't. He went for the most stereotypical fatherly thing to say. "We'll let him sleep on the couch." I wanted to give him a serious look but I smiled.

"You're crazy." I giggled. He nodded and I took a sip of my cappuccino. It was right then, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I looked to see Mel coming down, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh my goodness, you're actually awake." She smiled when seeing me. I rolled my eyes and smiled with her.

"I am."

"So," She slid smoothly into the chair in front of me. "What's it like being fourteen? Feel any older?"

"Nope. Not really." I smiled. "Still can't get on any of the big kid rides." Mel laughed and shook her head.

"I know." I rolled my eyes again and grinned.

"You can be very mean sometimes, you know that?" She nodded and I looked at my phone again. I was looking through Instagram when James walked in. Dad, who was now sitting at the bar watched him as he sat by me at the table.

"Morning." He said, a sleepy smile on his face.

"Morning." I smiled, seeing his sleepy smile. His hair was all matted but still looked smooth as ever. Gosh darn boys always had perfect bed head. It just made them cuter. I looked down at my empty cappuccino cup and sighed. I could always get more but I knew I wouldn't drink it all, so, I just rinsed it and then put it in the dishwasher. Mel, James and I were talking when J.J. walked in rubbing her eyes. She walked straight over to dad where he picked her up and she laid on his shoulder. I smiled and stood up, walking over to her. "Morning J.J." I smiled softly, grabbing her hand. She opened her eyes a little and smiled. I grinned and patted her head softly before walking into the living room.

The mess bothered me a little so I began picking up. I wouldn't consider myself a neat freak or OCD but I liked seeing a clean house. It didn't take long before I got bored and sat on the couch to watch TV. A ton of Christmas shows were on since Christmas was soon and I just sat and watch Home Alone 2, people slowly joining. After the movie, James stood up and sighed. "Well, I have to go. My mom wants me to help her a little today." He said.

"Help with what?" I asked.

"Oh, she just wants me to help her with the toy drive." He smiled.

"Toy drive?"

"Yeah, you know. Having people donate toys for kids whose parents can't afford presents for Christmas." He explained. I chuckled a little and nodded.

"I know what a toy drive is. I was just wondering why you never told me? I'd love to help. It might give me a chance to finally meet your mom." I smiled. He shrugged and looked down.

"I don't know. I guess it'd be nice to have you there." He smiled. I laughed a little and shrugged.

"Well, you go ahead home I guess and ask her. I'm a call or text away you need any help." He nodded and I walked him to the door.

"I'll definitely do that." He nodded. I sighed and leaned against the door frame.

"Thanks for yesterday. I had a lot of fun." I smiled.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you brought me." He laughed. I looked down and nodded.

"Yeah, well, of course I did." He smiled and nodded.

"I'll call you later, okay?" I nodded and watched as he walked down the road. Mel also went home soon and I just chilled in the house, being bored. At around two, James called.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sara." He said on the other end. I was laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling being bored so I was really happy he called. "What you up to?"

"Nothing really. Being bored." I answered. He chuckled lightly.

"Well, you can come to Target and hang out with me if you'd like. We're just trying to get people to donate so...I don't know. I'm bored and I feel like it'd be better with you here." I smiled and nodded.

"Well, let me ask my dad real quick." I stood up and began descending the stairs.

"Okay." I found my dad, mom and J.J. all watching TV.

"Can one of you take me to Target? James wants me to help with the toy drive."

"Sure." Dad nodding, standing up.

"My dad is bringing me." I told James into the phone.

"Cool. I'll see you in a little bit then?"

"Yeah. See you later." I nodded.

"Okay...bye."

"Bye." I hung up and ran upstairs to get dressed. Soon, we were on the road to Target.

"How long are you staying?" Dad asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I'll text you." I told him. He nodded as we pulled into the parking lot.

"Be careful okay. You know to call me before you leave with anyone other than me, your mom or Jared?"

"I know, dad. I'm not three. I'll be okay. Love you." I hugged him and kissed his cheek before exiting the car and running into the entrance. I immediately saw James standing beside a box.

"Sara!" He cheered. I waved and walked forward. I looked into the box and frowned.

"Crayons and a barbie?" I questioned. He sighed and nodded.

"Some people just don't care about anyone but themselves."

"That's awful." I said, shaking my head. People were all rushing around and some were even arguing over the last box of something. "Some parents, huh." James nodded and I looked into the box again.

"Yeah, my mom is off at the toy section trying to persuade people but no one's stopped at the box except for a sweet elderly lady." I sighed and nodded.

"This goes to a shelter?" I asked. James nodded.

"Yeah. People who are homeless or just can't afford a Christmas." He said. I nodded slowly and smiled.

"Well, we better work then. No matter what, I promise you'll have toys to give to those children." He smiled and we began trying to persuade people to get homeless children toys. One fan of Supernatural put some clothes in the box. James got someone to put in a toy. As time went on, we slowly got things in the box. At five, I texted my dad saying James' mom would drive me home whenever we left there because I didn't want to just leave him hanging. Of course he texted me back talking about how I didn't even know this lady and blah blah blah but I told him that I would be fine. I explained that he didn't know the parents of friends I'd spent the night with but he said it was different and I just shook my head. Fathers! At around nine, James and I were looking into the box, a smile on our faces.

"I don't know how you did it, but you managed to get a lot more things in the box than we have the last few weeks." James told me.

"I don't know either. I was just myself." I laughed. Now, we had multiple toys, clothes, and activities in the box. Then we heard a voice behind us.

"James, you got all of this?" A womans voice said. We turned around to see a woman smiling. She was very pretty. Had short black hair, blue eyes. She also seemed very kind.

"Yes ma'am. With Sara's help." He nodded. She looked over at me and I waved shyly.

"Hi." I said softly.

"Hi, Sara, you must be James' girlfriend. He talks about you all the time." The woman smiled.

"Mom."James groaned. I smiled and blushed.

"He talks about me?" I asked.

"All the time, everyday." She nodded. I looked at him and he was looking down.

"Well, I suppose that's nice to hear." I smiled. She chuckled and nodded.

"Thank you so much for helping us tonight." She said.

"Oh, it was no trouble. I was just laying at home and couldn't pass up the opportunity to help." I told her. She smiled and grinned.

"You must be hungry. Why don't you have dinner at our house tonight?" She asked. I looked down and smiled.

"I don't know. I'd have to call my dad and see if it's okay with him. He's a little over protective." I shrugged.

"Well, if he wants to talk to me, that's fine." She said. I nodded and took out my phone. I dialed my dads number and listened to it ring. When he finally answered, the first thing he said was 'no'.

"Dad? Really?" I asked, laughing.

"Well..." I rolled my eyes and continued.

"Today was a success. Ms. Delario invited me to have dinner at her house." I said.

"James' mom?" At first I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me.

"Yeah. She said she can talk to you if you'd like that." I said, looking at her.

"Alright, go ahead and let me talk to her." I handed her the phone and she began talking to him.I looked at James and sighed.

"My dad is worried about me." He chuckled and shook his head.

"Of course he is." He laughed. I sighed and leaned against the box a little.

"I don't blame him though. He just loves me." James nodded.

"Yeah."

"You okay?" I asked him. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, of course, why?" He smiled. I just shrugged and bit my lip.

"I don't know. Nevermind."

"Sara." I got my phone from Ms. Delario and put it to my ear.

"Hey, dad."

"Alright, Sara. I've talked to his mother. You can stay over there tonight but I want you home tomorrow, okay?" I smiled.

"Alright, dad. Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too." He said.

"Bye." I hung up and nodded at Ms. Delario. "Okay."

"Alright, lets get going then." We walked to her car and I smiled. It wasn't the newest most expensive car but it was adorable with a cover over the seats and steering wheel that had cherries on them.

"Your mom likes cherries." I nodded.

"Yeah." James chuckled nervously.

"Its cute." I assured. I got in the back and, surprisingly, James sat right by me. On the way to his house, James mom was talking about how James had described me and talking about how she was proud her son was doing what she failed to. I had to assure her that she hadn't failed at anything. James was sitting there, not saying a word, mentally freaking out over this situation. We stopped in front of an apartment building and I sighed. It was dark, I was tired, but we weren't necessarily on the good side of town. I wasn't scared or anything, no, it was just a it odd and not what I was expecting. We walked up the stairs and into a small apartment on the top floor of the rickety old building. It definitely wasn't like where I lived or the people I knew lived. It had two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living room. One bathroom was shared between the two. It was dimly lit and the carpet wasn't very....well.....clean? Despite what they had, it was a lovely apartment. It seemed the two tried their hardest to make the living area as homey as possible. That in itself made me smile.

"I know its probably not what you're used to but I hope you can make yourself at home." Ms. Delario told me. I smiled at her.

"It's okay. I think you have a lovely home. Its really cozy." I smiled sweetly. She nodded and we stood there for a minute.

"Well, you two can watch TV or something. I'll go ahead and start dinner. Do you like tuna?" She asked me.

"Oh, yeah. Tuna is okay." I nodded. She smiled and walked into the small kitchen. I say small because it really was. The table didn't fit in there. It was in the living room right off the kitchen, creating a dining room type thing. James sighed and grabbed my hand. We walked into his room and I smiled. It was a typical boys room. Clothes thrown here and there. Nothing really in the room. Really, it wasn't all that typical. The only typical thing about it was the trophies on a makeshift shelf. I looked at them and furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "You never told me you played soccer." I looked back at James who was sitting on his bed watching me look around. He shrugged and smiled.

"Now you know."

"I can see you playing soccer. I think you'd be cute. I don't really know much about it, but I've always wanted to try."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I remember when I was little, my dad would try to get me into football. Dallas Cowboys and whatnot. But, I don't know, it confused me. Well, I don't remember how. A movie maybe? I don't know. But I saw soccer and it seemed really fun and I would play by myself in my grandmas yard." James laughed and nodded.

"So, you wanted to play soccer?" He asked.

"I don't know. I at least wanted to try. You know, do something any other kid can do. I never really had that chance." I shrugged. I plopped on the bed beside him. I wasn't worried about James trying anything dumb. He was a nice guy. Plus, he left the door open. He knew how I felt. He knew how my dad felt too. "Were you a valued player?"

"Made the most goals." He nodded.

"Sweet!" I smiled. He nodded and smiled.

"Yeah. Met my best friend playing on that team." He said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He's a pretty cool guy. We hung out every chance we got."

"What's his name?"

"Ethan Sharp. We still talk but...I do miss him." He sighed.

"I'll bet. I don't know what I'd do if I had to leave Mel forever." I said, shaking my head. He nodded and I smiled. "Why don't you call him?"

"Well, its late and-"

"It's not that late there. There's a three hour difference between the East and West coast and last time I checked, South Carolina was on the East coast. If its ten here, it's only seven there." He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess but...Sara...he's a bit of a..." His voice trailed and I honestly had no idea what he was trying to say. "He's a little bit of what Amy would call a fuck boy." I smiled at his Supernatural reference to my character.

"Okay, so that's your way of saying 'don't take anything sexual he says to heart'?" I asked. He smiled and looked down.

"Yeah. I guess a little." He laughed. "It's really only because he tries to be cool and since that kind of guy is stereotypically cool...you know?" I nodded and sighed.

"I find you be more cool than those kind of guys." I said, leaning on his shoulder.

"Awe." He cooed jokingly. I laughed and shoved him a little.

"Go on and call him you goob." I laughed.

"I'll do a facetime." He said. I nodded and watched as he face timed his friend. When he answered, James smiled.

"Hello?"

"Hey man!" James said.

"Oh! Hey dude! Whats up?" Ethan spoke.

"Nothing, man. Just chilling with my girlfriend right now." James said. He sounded a little weary saying that but I just smiled reassuringly.

"Your girlfriend? That....Sara girl? She's with you right now?" He asked. James nodded. "Can I see her?" I moved closer to James to be in the frame and finally got a good look at this Ethan guy. He had blonde hair kind of like James' but a little shorter so it didn't cover his face. It was more just over his forehead. He had brown eyes and honestly had the face of those kind of boys. That weird smolder they get when looking at a girl. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and smiled.

"Hi." I spoke.

"Ethan, this is Sara. Sara, Ethan." James introduced us.

"Well, hello there Miss Sara." Ethan smiled. I waved again and said hi once more. "You're awfully pretty."

"Why thank you." I grinned.

"No, not pretty. You're beautiful. Even more than James said. What are you doing with that loser anyway?" Of course he was joking but I couldn't resist the urge any longer. I rolled my eyes but then smiled sweetly.

"What a great friend you are." I spoke.

"That I am, sweetheart. I'm also great at something else." He winked. James then rolled his own eyes.

"How's everything?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Everythings pretty cool. We got beat by Ridgeland last week."

"Awe man, that must suck." James said.

"Yeah."

"How's school?"

"Well, can't say I'm enjoying it or....passing....but the girls this year man," He began to stand up to do something but I didn't get to see because James covered my eyes. No. I'm not kidding. He literally covered my eyes! "Fucking perfect tongues." I threw up a little in my mouth.

"Thank you for covering my eyes." I spoke soft enough so only James could hear and not Ethan.

"How about your girl, man? She any good?" I was honestly offended. Like, excuse me?!

"Dude." James spoke, my eyes were still covered. "Knock it off."

"What? You mean you haven't gotten her yet?" Ethan laughed.

"You're a sick guy, you know that?" I spoke. My eyes were still closed.

"I'm even sicker in bed." Ethan said. I could only imagine the disgusting smirk on his face.