Archive of Our Own

“Dad? When I come over on Saturday can I invite my friends over for dinner?”

Bill was extremely excited to hear this over the phone. Not only was it lovely Alice was coming over more, but he was just so happy she had some friends! Of course, she had Deb, and a few nice girls she studied with during exam periods over the years, but apart from that she seemed to have trouble making the first move. So of course, Bill happily said yes, putting down his plate and leaning against the kitchen counter. “Yes! Of course honey! How many people?” He added so he could start making plans to help her with this straight away.

Alice shuffled around over the phone, no doubt happy for the ‘yes’ that she was expecting anyways. “Just Deb and two other people, not like a big party or anything.” She gave a small laugh into the receiver. Bill was ecstatic. Two other friends? Oh brilliant! He was so proud of his Alices growth recently.

~

It was Friday on Bills lunch break, and he was in the supermarket, shoving all the junk food into his shopping cart, with his phone pinned between his shoulder and ear. “What DVD’s do you want Alice? They have a section of dollar ones so if you choose some of them I can get you guys a couple!” He was speaking to Alice throughout most of the shopping trip, as she had called him from her bus over the Nantucket bridge, and they’d just kept talking. He missed having conversations like this. At least that damn apocalypse was good for something.

“Dad.” Alice started, a chiding tone in her voice that made her giggle through her sentence. “There’s a reason some of them are only like a dollar. No one uses DVD’s much anymore!”

Bill put down the copy of Shrek 2 and sighed. He probably didn’t realise Alice would have said yes to that straight away if he’d mentioned the gold he was holding, not to mention that she knew who was coming over.

“We’ll just use Deb’s Netflix account. Then you don’t have to buy anymore!” She added appeasingly. “I can already tell you’re going way too far out.” It made her stomach feel a bit... tingly, but it did make her smile.

“Yes but Alice honey Paul said there’s nothing good on Netflix anymore, ooh I just found the princess bride for a dollar!”

There were three things that made Alice smile about that sentence. One, for her dad, who didn’t even have Netflix, he was right, it sucked at the moment. Two, he had found the princess bride, and three her dads enthusiastic energy over this just made Alice happy. So she agreed, for the princess bride, with a smile and exhaling an “Okay Dad.”

~

When Alice finally got over Bill gave her his usual hug, and Alice seemed to hold on tighter, but let go quicker, apparently very excited for tonight. “Okay dad hold on! I left my bracelet here and I wanna put that on before they arrive!” She called out, already running upstairs to her room.

Bill noted, with pride for her, he didn’t hear any anxiety in her voice. Just excitement.

“Dad oh my GOSH!”

He laughed at her call from upstairs. In her room he’d gotten his table he usually used for cards and set out a nice snack spread. Lots of junk food like chips, popcorn, marshmallows, Alices favourite sweets as well as some healthier carrot and cucumber sticks, and some sodas and juice! Cranberry juice and the sort though, he didn’t want Alice to think he was babying her. He’d given her some nice cocktail glasses too, so the kids could feel all grown up! Oh he hoped it’d look well for her! He hoped it went well for her.

When the door knocked fast and repetitively Alice switched on her fairy lights before racing downstairs excitedly. She giggled that at even the knock she could tell who was there and as she ran down the stairs one of the knocks silenced unnaturally half way through, like the knocker had been pushed aside.

Bill came to the door now, standing back as Alice rushed to it but wanting to see who’d come over. He was sure he should recognise at least one of them, obviously excluding Deb, considering the island they were on.

Deb, who he had expected, was the first one through the door, hugging Alice and giving a smile towards Bill. He smiled back. Then another girl entered. He didn’t know this girl, well he’d seen her in the mall occasionally, he couldn’t remember which shop she worked in, but he hadn’t seen her around Alice before. But his daughter hugged her back, her chin resting on the others shoulder and smiling for just a second and Bill was happy. Then Ethan Green stepped inside his home.

Him, he knew.

Alice hugged Ethan just like she had done the rest, and Bill watched from the back. Ethan gave a “Hey babe” as he hugged her, Bill would have been squinting if she didn’t hum-laugh right back, he looked to Deb, and the other girl, who didn’t seem to flinch, so he supposed it was a joke because of their past, or just a platonic nickname. When Ethan pulled back, he stopped a sentence from leaving his mouth, and shone his teeth in a grin as he noticed Bill standing there. “Oh hey Mr. L! Cool to see ya again.” He finger gunned the older man, putting his other hand on the girl’s back who Bill didn’t know.

Alice closed the door and looked around at her friends. She bounced on her feet just once, before turning to her father. “Okay dad we’re gonna go upstairs now.” She told him simply, before running up the stairs, and they all followed her straight away. Deb, then Lex, then Ethan.

Bill didn’t love this young man. There were some reasons he felt bad for not liking him that he knew were out of his control. For one seeing him kiss his daughter he did not enjoy. He’d spent years not having to worry about his daughter and boys and then that happened. However. He knew that was not his fault at all. He could tell even from what little he saw of the kiss, before he had to turn away, Ethan was just as shocked as he himself was, and Alice had explained to him after how she’d initiated it from her anxiety and her and Ethan had both talked about it after. That the boy didn’t make her uncomfortable in the slightest! So that he didn’t mind and had put behind him.

What he DID mind was this boy riding his daughter round on a motorcycle, a death machine. Bill opened his curtains with just two fingers, like he was nervous to see what was out there, and looked at the motorbike on his front lawn disapprovingly. He presumed Deb walked though, because that contraption could only fit two people. - Then you add the fact that after all he’d taught Alice and that she herself didn’t like the contraptions, he still somehow convinced her to get on one of those, he didn’t like that. But apart from not approving of that little stunt, he didn’t have much against the boy. He just wasn’t used to having a something he didn’t like about someone. But he didn’t hate Ethan. He was just more... impartial towards him than he was most others Alice called a friend. Maybe the boy would grow on him like Deb did... maybe. He trusted Alice’s judgement.

But Alice didn’t know any of this, caught up in the bliss and so happy having friends over.

“So. What do you guys want to do?” Alice asked, plopping down on a fluffy cushion. Deb went and sat next to her while Lex looked up form the tortilla chip she was dipping “I don’t know, it’s your house man.” Ethan shared the same sentiment. “You’re in charge round these parts Ali, you choose.” He smiled.

“But you’re the guests!” Alice whined, definitely not wanting to choose, nor make any kind of decision, especially for the group.

Deb leaned forward from her own cushion, looking at the short stack of dvds laid underneath the table, bumping her head on it when she came out and shaking the food on there. Lex snorted while Alice quickly rubbed her head for her, asking if she was okay and apologising before Deb snatched Alices hand from her hair and held it in her own, letting Alice know she was absolutely fine. And with her other hand, she waved a case in the air. “How about the princess bride?”

Bill heard stampeding down his stairs and knew that wasn’t Alice, but he stayed in the kitchen while his coffee boiled, to stay out the way. Unfortunately, the teen wanted in on the kitchen. And Bill did nothing but exhale rather loudly as Ethan popped his head round the door conspicuously. “Oh. Hey Mr. L.” He said, walking up to the cabinet and opening them all, quickly shutting one by one, Bill watching, till he got to the glasses. Ethan picked one out and was about to jog back silently upstairs until Bill spoke up. “I had four up there.” He noted.

Ethan slowly turned around, his eyes darting from Bills with a smile, to the floor and licking his lips, his fingers tight around the glass. “Uh yeah, so, one broke. It’s my fault relaly erm, but we’re gonna clean it up now so.”

“And why didn’t Alice come to the kitchen?” Bill asked, his voice raising in pitch at the end of his question.

“Oh, she’s, uh, getting a towel to clean up the pieces with.”

“Did Alice drop it?”

He already knew the answer of course.

Ethan seemed to recover quickly, although Bill was quite shocked at how terrible a liar he was. He stuttered out a sound like it was supposed to be the start of his sentence, clearly not expecting Bill to ask that, before starting over again. “Nah just me, butterfingers.” He waggled his leather fingerless gloved hands in the air before quickly dropping them. And although Bill didn’t approve of that he could tell Alice broke it, that she’d be anxious about that, and he was happy to hear the lad say he did it even though he could get in more trouble.

Bill let him go with his glass and Ethan jogged away at the opportunity.

Bill moved to pour his coffee when he heard talking on the landing.

“Hey Ali cat!”

Alley cat?

“Found it for ya.”

“Oh Ethan thanks. I’m really sorr-“

“Hey. What did we say?”

“No!” His daughter was cut off with a squeak.

Bills heart rate started to go just a bit, then he heard her laughing. And that sound was pretty unmistakable.

Deb watched as Ethan and Alice walked back in laughing, well, Ethan holding Alice over his shoulder, her lags dangling out by his chest.

“Don’t worry we saved the day!” Ethan called out, placing the new glass on the table but not Alice down on the floor.

Deb rolled her eyes at the sight, but all four were smiling. “Why are you always picking my girlfriend up?” It was clear she was slightly joking, sticking out her middle finger and poking her tongue harshly.

“Why is your girlfriend so easy to pick up?” Ethan retorted, his middle finger and tongue doing the same. Still holding Alice up with one arm, easily.

The retort at her girlfriend is when Alice swung her leg and kicked Ethans kneecap. And he quickly dropped her, it was only a half hearted kick and he only half dropped her, kinda pained, half let her down. All this while Lex was laughing it up.

Alice smiled pleased and moved back to Deb, plopping down back next to her as Deb smirked proudly at her girlfriend.

Lex smirked, telling her boyfriend “She got ya there!” While Ethan sat next to her. He ignored that, then Lex poked his chest as she saw him still rubbing his leg with a disapproving scoff at Alice. “Baby.” She called him

Ethan grabbed her prodding hand, raising an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?” He quickly moved forward and kissed her, Lex initially scream laughing at the attack, her lips slightly muffled, then smiling into it and holding Ethans cheek so he could stay closer.

Alice called out at them “Gross, PDA!” Knowing she could joke with them. Lex smiled more but neither repsonded apart from that, too taken up, even if it wasn’t a big make out session, just kissing.

Alice looked away then, and instead looked to Deb, the only other person not kissing in this room. But to her surprise, Deb shrugged, a smile light on her lips. Almost in a ‘well, they’re not looking’ suggestive way.

Alices cheeks grew a soft pink tint, matching half her wardrobe... then it went full red as Deb leaned in. Deb was always so soft and it made Alice fall in love with her again every time they kissed. She slowly brought her hand out, blindly reaching for Debs but finding it in a heartbeat. Instead of entwining their fingers as their lips met, she instead played with Debs finger tips, stroking and tapping them as the room was filled with kissing teenagers. But they were only short kisses, otherwise it might have been a bit awkward for both parties.

Alice did pull away as soon as she felt Lex and Ethan had stopped, but not before Lex could boo them and yell “Hypocrites!” Chucking popcorn at Debs head. And then that became a game of trying to knock her beanie off, with just solid food items.

It got cut short when Deb kept catching the food in her mouth after realising her opportunity.

When dinner was ready, Bill called the kids down a minute early. They all near immediately followed the beckon of food, and waited in the kitchen. The four happily chatted while waiting that extra minute, Ethan with his arm settled around Lex’s hip and hers on the small of his back, while Alice and Deb held hands.

At least Bill had heard Ethan call the unnamed girl Lex now, so he knew that.

Bill saw from his peripheral, as he plated the food, Alice and Lex whispering something to each other, then quickly after that Ethan had his arms around their necks, whispering an “Oh yeah?” With playfully frowning eyes but a massive grin.

He saw Alice quip back, her face mocking as Lex laughed, then Ethan let Lex go to keep his arm tighter around Alice, noogie-ing her hair, as Alice attempted to break free, batting his chest away.

It was roughhousing but Alice had sassed, with only a small pause, and she laughed as they played and jostled and he didn’t think it’d be a case of her asking him when they’d all left if they seemed like they were actually mad at her. She seemed happy.

At dinner all four seemed happy. Bill ate in the lounge and let them occupy the dining room, but he’d come in for water or to just check how they were doing. He knew he wasn’t exactly bothering them as they just continued laughing boisterously over the table. Sometimes pointing at each other and accusing them of petty things, getting the others to agree, once he heard them, except Alice, making fun of that pothead ‘Danny’ and honestly Bill didn’t like that boy out of all the people on Debs school, so he didn’t mind that.

One time he came in he actually served a purpose, and they didn’t ignore him, which he much rather they had before, but now he was piling seconds onto their plates. Ones the four liked up at him and thanked him individually for. He noticed Ethan stealing some off Lex’s plate since he’d gotten to hers first, and, after making up for Lex’s lost food, gave Ethan a, not noticeable, but bigger portion.

Bill has noticed that when the three that weren’t his children stopped talking they were shovelling food into their mouths. Not rudely, but like they were stockpiling. He also noticed they were all much too skinny anyways, and he noticed that the first foods to go were the vegetables. Curious for teens. Then the months where he survived on nothing but pot noodles and take away cane to kind and he remembered how much he craved veggies back then, and intuitions started raising in his mind. Bill had decided he was gonna do the fatherly thing and keep feeding those nice kids now.

He didn’t know just how nice it was for those three to have a home cooked, healthy meal, at a table.

~

The day Alice left was always the hardest. He had slowly gotten more used to it, but that didn’t make it any harder. Especially when he knew she didn’t want to leave.

But it seemed he wasn’t the only one struggling. He was walking to his car with his shopping in his arms, when he saw Deb, kicking a small piece of concrete around on the sidewalk, or maybe it was a rock. “Deb?” He asked anyway, and her head shot up.

“Oh! Hey Bill.”

Bill had asked Deb to call him that a while ago, and he smiled the more she got used to using it. But his smile was small and kind, noticing Deb was doing the opposite of smiling. “What’re you up to?” He asked friendly.

Deb was avoiding eye contact a lot today Bill noticed. She looked to the ground more than even his legs. “Nothin’. Just walking around. ...Missing Alice.”

Bill nodded at that. Readjusting the bags in his hands, he looked to the sky himself, it’d be dark soon and Alice would be in Clivesdale by now. “Yeah, me too Deb.” Deb nodded but didn’t say much else.

Both of them were awkwardly standing and swaying there. Bill found something else to talk about “Do you have any plans today? Anything to take your mind off it?” He asked, his smile dampening when Deb shook her head, but smally, like she was tired. “Nah. Just goin’ on a walk. Getting some air.” She gave a simple response.

Concerned, Bill looked to his coat he was wearing and the buttoned up but thin shirt Deb had on... then he noticed it was one of Alices, a nice orange colour. Bill clicked his tongue, until a great idea came to his mind.

“Well why don’t you come round then?” Deb looked finally into Bills eyes then, albeit a bit taken aback.

“Our door is always open to you. Besides, I always make too much food, I’m used it Alice being here, or just in case she turns up last minute, which she never has but still.” Deb and Bill both seemed to recognise that feeling. He shook it off, no one here to parent but Deb. “You’d be more than welcome. Bring Lex and Ethan along too if you’d like!” Those two needed feeding and they were Alices friends, as well it e make Deb feel a little less awkward taking up the offer. “I promise I won’t get in your way or cramp your kids style or anything. You can just come and grab some food if you want. It’s an open invite.” Bill added that last bit, knowing the offer may seem a little jarring, but he’d feed those kids up. Or at least give them somewhere warm to spend a little time.

In any case, he knew Deb was outside not for a walk but because she did not want to be in her home, and he’d rather she be warm until she cooled down, emotionally speaking. It felt right, especially since he was doing this for Alice too.

Deb just blinked, stiff. “Uhm. I’ll think about it. Thanks, Bill.”

He smiled warmly to her, making his way to his car. “No prob Deb. You can just drop by whenever, if you‘d like.” And with that he made his way, thanking the Lord his overzealous buying of these clearance items actually would have a use.

When Deb called Alice to tell her about her dad’s offer, Alice whined a little over the phone. “Yeah he gets lonely without me sometimes I think. Well no,” she corrected herself, “I know, but he just would never like tell me that because he thinks saying that would upset me.”

Deb nodded on the other end, leaning against the 7/11 slushy counter.

“Could you maybe go for my dad?” Alice asked smoothly. Now that had been a way Deb hadn’t looked at it, but she understood Alices concerns. “For your dad or for you?“ She asked, knowing Alice might be worrying.

“Both.” She answered truthfully. “But hey! For you too! Especially since he’s your dad figure now.” Alice giggled on other end. Deb kept her headphones in with a “Yeah, Yeah.” Texting Lex and Ethan with a smile Alice had given her.

~

Ethan and Lex were skeptics, however. When they got to the house, Ethan just couldn’t help but blurt out his question at Deb on the doorstep. “Have we done something wrong?” Deb stared at him absurdly before Lex spat out the same concerns she had. “Yeah! Like, is this gonna be a ‘stay away from my daughter’ type thing??”

Before they could pussy out more, while staring straight at them, Deb knocked on the door. The couple looked like they wanted to grab onto each other, but they couldn’t run now.

“Relax, just eat.” She told them before Bill opened the door.

Ethan and Lex backed up a step, onto the ground instead of the doorstep.

Bill smiled with full teeth. “Deb! Lex, Ethan! Come on in guys, great timing! I just finished making the roast!” He opened the door wide and went off to the kitchen, still talking as the kids followed. Lex closed the door very quietly.

“I’ve just made a plate myself so you guys grab whatever you want and I’ll be in the living room.” Bill watched the kids mouths all drop open at the spread. He had bowls full of just about every vegetable he could find, a beef carving and a veggie pork alternative, multiple types of potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and much more, it was something fit for a family, just slightly portioned down. He always kept leftovers anyway so they could take as little or much as they wanted. He kept in the doorway as the kids wordlessly made their way inside the warm, homely smelling room, he didn’t know, after last week on the stairs especially, Ethan could walk so silently around a house. “Now there’s tuppaware boxes if you kids are in a hurry, but you just take what you want, alright?” He smiled, but really really hoped this was alright, before leaving them to it.

With the door closed, the teens walked towards the table salivating, literally, Lex was wiping at her mouth just to check. “Oh man it smells so fuckING GOOD!”
The girls raced towards the table ; Deb lining the bottom of hers with gravy first, Lex getting multiple tubs and starting to scoop different items into different boxes, chucking her backpack on the seat next to her instead of sitting in it.

Ethan picked up a roast potato in his hands, turning it over with a grimace on his face.

Deb saw this and laughed, looking down to carve her vegan pork as she said “What up? Playing hot potato with yourself Ethan?”

Ethan just kept poking it, looking to his friends with small eyes. “And you’re sure it’s not poisoned or anything?”

Lex continued shovelling food into her boxes, having one big one she filled with her meal, mixing the ingredients together only there. So Deb spoke up instead, smiling to herself as her fingers banged a tune on the plastic lid. “Bill’s just too good a guy.” She smiled even harder after saying it.

But the boy of their group was not convinced yet. “I mean,” he started, Lex already rolling her eyes, “remember that time I dropped Alice off after the bonfire on my bike and I told you! I said I was 90% his bedroom light was on!!”

Deb was going to point out that, even if it didn’t make a difference in Ethans mind so long as Bill could have been awake, it was the porch light reflecting on their trash cans, when Lex snorted, finally looking to her boyfriend. “ Wow, you must be a scaredy cat if you’re calling her Alice.” She bit off a chunk of particularly chewy beef.

“Ha you’re too suspicious.” Deb laughed. Ethan looked like he should give up now he was behind ganged against.

“You think Bill is gonna kill you?” Deb continued her point, looking to the still half full plates and bowls. “You’re foods gonna go cold.” She said, then nodding at his potato he was squeezing. “Making mash?”

Still eating, Lex added her two cents. “Yeah I mean!-“ she swallowed. “Maybe he’s just like overly sweet, like Alice! Like, to the point you get paranoid about shit. Like, does my body spray actually smell ‘lovely’ like coconut like she said it does? Even though you bought it because the label said coconut.”

Ethan was about to add his last argument, mostly playing devils advocate by this point, when Deb interrupted, knocking a slice of pork from Lex’s hand and scoring into her own container. “Hey leave some of the vegan stuff for me asshat!”

He sighed. Eventually, he settled on the approach Lex had taken, which was “Who cares man? Free food! Temptation doesn’t even itch at my soul any more.” With some clawing gestures at her chest.

So quickly, waiting partly on Ethan, meaning the girls tried to squish more food in as they waited, all three of the hungry teens had eaten some as they went, Deb and Ethan had their tuppaware containers and Lex had her backpack of sorted ones and one big mixed meal.

It only took them a few minutes in all, to scavenge what they needed. They were really like raccoons. Then, in much raccoon like behaviour, Lex climbed on the clean counter, opened the kitchen window, that lead to the trash cans as well as the side of the house, and started putting a leg through it.

“Erm what’re you doing?” Deb asked, chewing on her last free piece of asparagus she’d picked up and walking towards the window, Ethan wearing a similar bizarre expression at her.

Lex smirked back down at them, her eyes wide as if it was obvious. “Er, making a clean break for it. Ethan you coming?” She tucked her head through the window and now it was just one hand holding the wall and one leg inside the Lake home.

“Yeah!” Ethan obviously agreed, chucking his container to Lex, who waited outside the house to catch, and slipping through the window, much quicker, he would’ve been even if Deb had tried to stop and question him like she did Lex.

Deb ran over to the window, gripping the bottom of it and looking to her friends. Maybe she should go out that way too, cause less fuss. It was an open invite after all, if he didn’t mind her stopping by without any notice he wouldn’t mind them just leaving without any right?

But Lex jogged up to the window, both separated by a wall and counter but faces close through the open air, Ethan bouncing his leg behind her. “Hey, tell him we said thanks okay?” Lex entrusted Deb with. And Deb knew she couldn’t relaly say no. She should have in the first place anyway. With a sigh, she nodded at her friend. “Yeah okay.”

Lex gave her a thumbs up, and Deb saw behind her Ethan sporting two from his outstretched arms, before they scattered and with the open widnow, it was easy to hear the revving of Ethans engine as they sped off.

Deb sighed and held onto her still hot container, opening the kitchen door and then immediately opening the living room one, well, after a knock. Did people normally knock for living room doors?

Bill looked up from his news bloopers reel and turned his head over the back of the couch. “Oh hiya Deb! What’s up? Is everything okay? Do you need something?” He got out before Deb could say a word. With both hands, well, one containing tuppaware, Deb shook her hands out at him. “Oh no no it’s all good Bill! It’s fine!” With a look down at his plate she saw Bill hadn’t even had as much as her, and she’d taken less than both of them, definitely than Lex. Her heart sunk a little bit with guilt, but Bill was still smiling up at her and well, he kinda made it hard for her to feel bad when he did that.

“Oh? I’m glad to hear it. So what’s up then? Are Lex and Ethan good too?” He wondered if this’d be a talk about Alice. Why else would Deb be here? But Deb scratched the back of her head, suddenly very interested in the news bloopers too. “Actually, they already left.” She said guiltily, but Bill just nodded. Huh, maybe he’d expected that. Then Deb watched as Bill looked to the front door, very close to the living room, and back to Deb. When she saw his eyes she connected the dots of what he was going to say, before he said it. “Through the back door?” He asked.

Well, close enough. “Not exactly.” She said, not wanting to straight up lie to Bill, but she quickly spoke up to not get into that. “But, erm, thanks man. They said that too, from all of us.”

Bill just kept smiling at her. “Well no problem Deb.” Then Bills eyes narrowed, and he leant his arms on the back of the sofa too. “Say, you got enough drinks to take with you? I forgot to offer the others like the knucklehead I am, but Alice has her reusable Beanies cup in the drawers somewhere! I’m sure she won’t mind you using it! Why don’t you go make yourself some hot cocoa for the road?”

Deb felt flush, she was warm enough now. He just kept offering her stuff to make her wanna cry, huh?

~

The second time it happened was under slightly different circumstances. Alice had called her dad slightly upset. It worried Bill that maybe her mother had said something insensitive again, or something was going on at Alices school, but she mentioned that Deb had had another fight with her parents again. Bill dropped everything he was doing to listen to his daughter, and obviously she didn’t want to tell him any details of the fight at all, that was all private information Deb had trusted her with and she’d never. But, calming down slightly, Alice revealed to her dad that “Deb said she really just can’t go home tonight. So I said she should sneak in and sleep in my room.”

Bill nodded. He would’ve been a bit frightened at the break in, especially to his teenage daughters bedroom, so he was glad to know. “Well thank you for telling me sweetie.” He said, his calm voice soothing over Alice in waves.

A small “Mhm!” Piped up over the line, but Alice had one last thing to ask of her dad. “Dad? Can you maybe invite Deb, and the others, over to eat again?”

So Bill ended up texting Deb a half hour later. ”Hello Deb! :-)
Alice said you might be thinking about popping by later so wanted to let you know you’re more than welcome and to bring Lex and Ethan along too if you’d like. :-)
Hope you’re all good. :-D
- Bill 😄👍”

When Alice got a text back, she desperately wanted to see if Deb was ageeeing or not. Instead she got ”wow your dad still has signatures on his phone? Wholesome”

Bill had found some tuppaware chucked on his doorstep a few days after he’d had the teens round, and now as he opened the door to his home wide Deb had brought back the rest for tonight.

When Deb had texted on their group chat they had, her, Ethan, Lex and Alice as admin, she got:

“YES”

”Free food!” From Lex and

“Ok. Didn’t die so” from Ethan

Alice responded “What? Did u guys think my dads cooking would be that bad? (JK btw!!)”

And Lex butted in as Ethan was typing ”Nah! He’s a very ‘dad’ level of cooking. Which is like, so great btw”

They all knew what that meant well enough.

Then the chat evolved into Ethans paranoia and a lot of reaction images and memes.

This was the second time the three had been round to eat, or the third if you counted with Alice, and this time they got a bit distracted in the warm clean house after intially scooping some into their clean tuppaware. Lex sat down to aim her tortilla wrap and it smacked Ethan right in the face with a satisfying sound.

Lex and Deb both burst into laughter, before Ethan smacked the wrap onto the counter, looked to his girlfriend who had just assaulted him with bread, and opened his arms wide. Lex’s eyes opened just as wide. “No!” She leant forward and screamed testingly in his face, before running to the other side of the kitchen island. Deb watched chuckling, as Ethan scarpered to the other side. The couple held onto the wooden surface with a death like grip, their eyes pinned on each other like predators. Then Lex made a run for it, yelling, but Ethan quickly caught up. He grabbed Lex round her waist and hoisted her feet off the floor. “HA!” Ethan mocked her, as Lex just laughed, slapping his caged arm with the hand that wasn’t holding her fry.

Deb leaned her elbows down in the counter, finishing making her vegan fajita. “Ugh, mock me why don’t you.” Deb rolled her eyes, missing Alice.

When Ethan dropped Lex, everyone knew she was in trouble. Lex snorted at Deb, who stood straight, putting her food in her box, as Ethan cracked his knuckles. “Aw?” He whined with a tease “Feel like you’re missing out do you?” Before Deb could even raise a hand in her defence Ethan leapt on one foot for the run.

“HEY!”

Luckily Debs call was enough to make him stop there and instead boucne on the balls of his feet. Still overeager like a puppy.

“Touch me and I kick your balls or never text you about Bills cooking again.” She cocked her head testingly herself “Your choice.”

Ethan smiled at that. But he raised his hands in surrender and backed up, going back over to Lex and talking a seat next to her. She smirked over her juice. “Aw. See I knew you liked it here.” She elbowed his chest, smiling at him.

Ethan made a cooing, teasing smile back at her, “It’s an open invite! I can come and go without you losers whenever I want!” knocking her elbow away lightly, before shrugging in the ‘sue me!’ way. “I didn’t want my balls wrecked babe! What can I say?”

Deb dropped her wrap after she’d just picked it up. “Okay I know it’s kinda my fault, but I veto any more balls talk at the table.”

“I second that!” Lex raised her hand immediately. Ethan shielded his hand to his heart and gasped very obviously pretending to be offended. Lex stole a fry from him. “What can I say babe? We’re eating at a dining table now. We have to have table manners!”

Ethan had “to protect his fourth amendment” meaning freedom of speech - Deb didn’t bother refuting and Lex either did so as well or hadn’t known - refused to speak as protest against this ‘sexism’. Both girls at the same time sighed “Thank GOD.” That was a few minutes ago and now he’d been eating up the bowl of green beans all by himself, with semi-aggressive glances at both of them. Once he’d finished the bowl he looked down shocked, as his fork hit empty ceramic. Till Deb pushed over a second one, hidden by the soda bottles no one had opened yet, everyone going with some type of juice.

“Aw look!” Lex started, pointing at Ethan and him growing confused and self conscious. “Ethan Green loves his green beans!” Lex looked to Deb to watch her get it and she had to cover her mouth so she didn’t spit up anything as she laughed. She looked to Ethans eyes, shanking with laughter, and seeing the indignant look in his eyes, she broke and laughed out loud. Lex gave a wavy “Hahahahahah!” At him too, Ethan throwing his fork down. “Wow you guys just wanna bully me today huh?”

Deb shook her head. “Alright, chill out Green... bean.”

Ethan was about to protest when Lex flicked a tortilla chip she’d set up on her spoon at him, meaning she was really into it. “Yeah! Calm down beanstalk!” She snort laughed, then she gasped and turned to Deb like she’d just had the best idea. “We should start calling him these nicknames when Alice comes back and not tell her anything!”

That, Ethan got in time to protest. “No, she’ll start calling me a ‘smol bean’ or something, please.”

The two laughed because they knew it was true. And that just made them even more tempted.

Suffice to say, even if they didn’t stay for long, the second visit they sat down to eat and chat and play in the room a while, at least until they’d finished their meals. Then they were packing up the leftovers and, leaving through the front door this time. Ethan wanted to wave bye, Lex wanted to just go, but Bill saw them through the window in the living room door. He waved through it with an enthusiastic smile, and all 3 happily enough waved back through the door, with Lex even giving him a thumbs up.

~

As time went by, Bill or the kids would text each other at the very least once a week.

”Hey I’ve made too much tonight, if you kids wanna pop by and grab some
- Bill 😄👍”

”Hey Mr. L, is there any chance your door is open again tonight..? Like np if not though!!! Just wondering!”

Sometimes they’d just pop by really without any warning, not that Bill thought that as anything but a pleasant surprise and more mouths to feed, he felt like he was actually a useful father.

They’d set plates out instead of tuppaware and sit down to have a nice meal. The teens would spend hours in the kitchen, warm, safe and talking to each other, sometimes they’d even spend a half hour there before the food was even ready.

And eventually, Bill spent hours in there talking with them too. At first it was popping in and apologising for disturbing them. Then it was them asking him to come in because the oven was making a weird clicking sound, and they were happy with him staying there to fix it as they ate, if not lowering their voices a little. Then they all sat in the kitchen or dining room, including Bill in their conversation and talking to him normally like he was part of the gang. Or they were family. No one had said the ‘F’ word out loud though.

“No she didn’t!” Ethan pointed to Bill accusingly, a smile bursting from his face as he sat on the countertop with his plate in his lap.

Bill tilted his head and smiled patronisingly at him, as Lex and Deb giggled in awe. “Yes she did! Alice said you were abstaining till marriage in front of her mother and you had to agree! You HAD to!” Bill teased. The girls burst into shrieks of laughter, Lex holding her full stomach as she doubled over, Deb was struggling to breathe it hurt, nearly falling out of her chair, meanwhile Ethan was pointing accusatory fingers at both of them. “HEY don’t start! I’ve got so much tea to spill on the two of you!”

“Now that’s not kind!”

“Shut up!”

“You’d never coward!”

The three spoke over each other, all four nearly crying with laughter at the giggly mood they’d put themselves in.

“Wait what is tea?” Bill asked after gaining some brain function back.

“AHA! Bingo!” Ethan yelled, holding up his bingo card scribbled on paper. He crossed off the third box in one row. “Bill doesn’t understand a slang word! I told you all to pick that one! Easy!”

“Oh you cheat!” Lex booed, filling up her glass of water. “You said ‘tea’ just to trick him into that!”

“Is that against the rules?” Deb asked.

Ethan smirked. “Nope! I’m just cleverer than all of you!” He teased, his voice going from boasting to patronising himself as his girlfriend walked over to him sweetly, looking up at where he sat on the counter. Then she brought her glass out and pretended like she was going to throw the water in his face. Ethan leapt for her hand, holding it steady with a growl and luckily not much spilling onto the floor.

Bill sighed from his corner. “Tea? Bingo cards? I don’t get the youth these days.” A smile was still bright on his face. “Anyway you guys, I’ve gotta go take this business call in a few minutes, and it’s gonna be a bit of a long one.”

Deb groaned and whined, Ethan spoke up as Lex moved around the room. “Ah that’s no problem Mr. L! We should all get going soon anyways.” He smiled only with the corner of his lips.

Lex backed up against the counter where the window was, her eyes straight on Bills. “Yeah. We’ll see you another time Mr. Lake. Really man, thanks again.” Behind her back, her fingers unlatched the window lock, blocked by her body and her sad smiling face on Bills. Bill smiled back kindly, and Lex knew what he was thinking, he didn’t want to kick them out. He was too kind.

“Bye kids!” He called out, a chorus of byes raining from them too, and he left them be to go upstairs.

When Bill walked down about 40 minutes after finally finishing his call, he was exhausted. But he went to clean the kitchen up and as he thought, the kids had all made their way out.

What he didn’t expect to see though, made his hand literally fall to his heart in flattery. As he gazed upon the washed, dried, and stacked dishes they’d all used, even some of his dishes from yesterday he hadn’t gotten around to get. Oh those kids!

He texted a thank you to each of them.

Later that night, Bill got peckish. He tried to hold off, to just go to sleep, but it was like a nitpicking in the back of his brain and he just had to scratch the itch, and go get something from the pantry.

When he opened the kitchen door, quietly so as not to wake himself further, he ended up waking anyway with a yell, as he saw something slipping out of his window. Speechless, he flicked the light on as quick as a flash and when his eyes readjusted he saw, in dark clothing, Lex Foster, climbing out of his window, with food in her hands.

Bill let out a heavy breath, his shoulders falling. “What in the hell young lady?!”

Immediately Lex spoke out “I’m sorry!!” She was frozen, one leg out the widnow and one leg in. Her heart hurt, knowing Bill has seen her doing this.

Bills heart, was still recovering though. “You almost gave me a heart attack! Why didn’t you just ring the doorbell?!” He asked incredulous, moving into the kitchen and leaning on a dining chair.

She knew the truth, she also knew it didn’t sound believable at all. “...Well I came back for leftovers and I really didn’t wanna disturb you so I thought it’d be best if I just swept in and or ya know... It really was just for a bit more food but I’ll leave now.” Lex’s throat was tightened and watery as she made her way to pull herself fully through the window, just wanting this to be over with.

“C’mere, sit down.”

Knowing she couldn’t refuse, Lex shut her eyes tight for a second, before yanking herself fully back into Bill and Alice’s home, dropping silently off the counter and walking with her head bent to sit down in the chair she’d been offered. God, fuck, she knew she was in trouble. She definitely would not be invited back after this, but then she thought about how she could have ruined this for Ethan and Deb too. Something she hadn’t even considered till she was caught. Bill was walking around his kitchen, possibly doing something, Lex didn’t know her head was pointed directly at her lap. But then she looked up as Bill’s footsteps drew closer, begging him to look at her and believe her. “I’m sorry, I promise it was just for the food! Look I promise that’s all I took but you should have it back now.” Lex dropped the food back on the always clean table, her pockets empty and hands warming up now she was back in the nice warmth, one she’d never get to feel again she thought.

Instead, she watched Bill. Bill took her food she dropped... and started to wrap it in the tinfoil he’d just got out from his draws for her, to preserve it, his smile kind and calming as he did so.

Lex smirked back, it actually came out in a shaky breath, and then she was trying to control her breathing. She rested her elbows on the table and started rubbing her head. This could have gone worse, but it still felt bad. “I’m really sorry Mr. L I swear.”

“Lex it’s alright, I know.” Bill soothed her, promising everything was fine, as he passed her the first pice of wrapped food. “Next time just come ask me, I’m not doing nothing.” He smiled. His heart went out for this girl, and when he initially caught her, he hadn’t expected anything else once he saw the food in her hands.

Lex nodded wistfully, really listening to Bill, not that at this time there were many other sounds around. Bill finished wrapping her food in individual pieces of foil, passing them back to the teen with a soft look. “Now if you didn’t eat enough you should have just stayed till you got your appetite back.” He joked lightly, but then his smile got empathetic and his eyes more serious as he took a seat in front of her. “Or was this for someone else?”

Lex froze. Even her breath froze in her lungs on intake.

Then she stumbled over her words, like she couldn’t get them out fast enough. “Can I bring my sister?!” She started. Her speech accelerating from there. “Look I know it’s nice enough you invited me at all, and I’m like so so grateful for that, and if you don’t have enough can she just come in my place?? She’s so sweet and-“

Bill cut her off there, raising his hand slowly. “You both can come. Of course your sister can join you!”

He was too kind. Lex looked a bit emotional this time, biting her lip, her eyes watering. She looked up to Bill, her whole body shaking if you looked close enough as she opened her mouth to say “Tahnk you.” Except her stupid voice broke off before she could even get the first syllable out. Lex shook her head, convincing herself he’d just think she was mouthing it instead and her mind going back to the fact she could bring Hannah into the warmth to sit down and have a full home cooked meal multiple times of the week, and she was still reeling over that fact. Maybe Ethan accidentally kicked her glass of water into her head when they play fought earlier and this was all a dream... But soon Lex was brought out of that, and back into reality.

Bill watched her and he knew this wasn’t right. He’d suspected certain things with these kids form the start, not that he’d ever tell them that and make them feel little, or would ever pry into their personal lives, teens are private people, as he’d learnt. But he was careful, as he slowly but graciously put his hand on Lex’s shoulder, reaching over the table.

Lex didn’t look up from where she was trying to clearly keep her tears in, not that Bill would ever point such a thing out, but she didn’t move back one bit. Bill rubbed his thumb, very fatherly like. “Lex?” He asked. “Is everything okay at home?”

As he suspected, she was just as private, most likely more, as most teenagers were. She was silent as she looked up at him, into his eyes, and he got it. Her own were big, looking even bigger when watery, and she looked down, Bill patted her shoulder before removing his hand, and she sniffed in the warmth.

~

The kids were excited to have a next day meal! Unless thoroughly unplanned, they were rare, but this time Bill had invited them all! With a special guest, which he let Lex casually announce to her friends before they made their way over.

Bill didn’t know anything about Lex’s sister. He’d heard her name in passing a few times, but did not know what to expect.

When he saw a much younger child than the teens, in pigtails and closely attached to Lex’s hip as he opened the door, he smiled when he saw a baby! He thought she’d be a teen like them, maybe 16 or something of the sort, not understanding why he didn’t realise she could be quite a bit younger, an actual child. He smiled brightly and welcomed the four into his home.

He wasn’t sure whether to introduce himself or not, even though the girl was looking at him, she seemed shy and hadn’t said a word. But Lex sorted that for him. “Hannah, this is Bill, who I told you about.” She spoke brightly to her sister, who nodded at Lex, before looking back to Bill. He presumed, like any kid, she was deciding whether she liked him or not. He just prayed she chose the former!

Lex removed her arm from Hannah’s shoulder, and instead placed a hand lightly there. Bill didn’t miss her look to Ethan, who immediately called her sister over. “What’s shakin’ Banana?” Hannah walked over and Ethan took her shoulder, leading her into the kitchen. Bill noted that he seemed to be good with her, but then his attention was taken up by Lex who sidled in front of him, Deb swinging close the kitchen door.

“Hey man.” Lex started, looking to the door where her sister was and smiling, before looking up to Alice’s dad again. “Thanks again. And thanks for not being mad about the whole-“

“Lex, you don’t need to apologise again. We’ve been over this. It’s all good!” Bill patted her shoulder once more, and this time Lex did react, just smiling a little harder. Bill opened his arm and let her in the room, watching as Lex ran to Hannah and showed her where the galsses were, Ethan having already grabbed a plate for her.

Bill let them all fill their own plates, filling his too, he hoped he made something Hannah would like. He looked over to see if she was eating enough when he saw her separating different food items into different sections of her plate, making sure certain things didn’t touch.

Bill sidled up to Lex as he poured his cranberry juice, making sure to talk where the others wouldn’t hear, his eyes forward on the countertop. “Do ya want me to leave you guys be like I did the first few times while Hannah is here? Or join you at the table?”

Lex smiled, moving towards the fridge and adding her ice, the feeling was always satisfying as it hit her cup. “Nah man sit with us please? I want her to get used to you y’know?” Lex gave a smile over to Bill and he smiled dutifully back at her.

“So,” Bill started, cutting up his food. “How was school?”

As usual, Deb was the first, an usually only, one to answer about the subject. “Oh it’s okay. School’s school y’know?” She brought her fork into her mouth, her ears tininting red and not even wanting to mention her lit test scores. She swallowed. “But we won against the hockey A team 6 nill today.” She supplied instead. But Bill gasped genuinely with a smile and lightly nudged her shoulder with his hand. “That’s great Deb! Well done!” Deb flared up.

Bill turned to Hannah now, who was silently watching the conversation with interest. Bill leaned on his elbow. “Hannah? How was school today for you?” He asked, not moving his head but giving a side glance to Lex, then Ethan, after speaking, who both glanced back before bowing their heads, giving Hannah the comfort to speak without eyes on her.

Hannah nodded her head. “Good. Good day.” Bill missed Lex’s sigh with a smile at Hannah. “Good. That’s good!” He saw that she seemed to stop what she was doing to look at people when she spoke, she was trying to hard to be polite it seemed! It seemed it was natural too, what a polite little girl!

Hannah was mostly quiet as everyone ate. Conversation luckily stirred soon, as it naturally always did, and, with less shouting across the table, the older teens and Bill were all joking about as usual, with the occasional “Right Hannah?” Or soft touching of her shoulder from Lex.

Bill got up to prepare seconds, and while he didn’t take place in the conversation he still listened to it. He hoped Hannah wasn’t being left out but he quickly knew she was shy and would be more comfortable just listening. She reminded him slightly of Alice when she was young and shy. She seemed contempt anyway, just watching with a peaceful expression.

He organised the seconds onto different crockery, including a few trays, making sure nothing touched each other. The condiments were already on the table, so Bill just had to bring all the plates, bowls and trays to the centre of it. “Here guys, dig in.” He added, not noticing Lex’s jaw partly drop at seeing the display or Hannah without pause picking up a spoon and dishing out her ingredients again.

Bill handed the last bowl, directly into Hannah’s hands, who held it very carefully. It was filled with bread rolls. “I’ll let you be in charge of this.” He smiled, letting her take the first piece. Hannah looked up, and into Bill’s eyes. “Thank you.”

Lex looked to Hannah, then she looked to Ethan, who was watching Hannah in awe, then he spotted his girlfriends gaze and they had a conversation with their eyes, something Deb didn’t miss out on.

Next thing Bill knew, he heard a chair squeaking and saw Ethan round the corner to help Bill pick up bowls and bring all of them back to the table.

When they’d finished their seconds Bill brought his fruit bowl to the centre of the table, the kids huffing with fullness. “Dessert anyone? Hannah?” He, without thinking, picked a banana and offered it out to her. He didn’t really know why he did this, he should have waited to see what she’d pick. Instead Hannah, after a pause, almost confidently reached her hand out and took the banana, placing it in her lap. “My favourite.” She let Bill know, as a thank you too. Bill smiled with teeth and a quick, almost giddy, shoulder raise at her, passing the fruit bowl around, starting with Lex, who was just in shock how calm and happy Hannah had been tonight.

“Hey Mr. L?” Ethan asked, Bill looking up from his peach. “You know when Alice is next home?”

“Oh yeah man! I was gonna ask too!” Lex said, with Ethan having beaten her first. The two looked to Deb who, unfortunately, just shrugged. Then the three, and Hannah insterested, looked over to Bill.

He smiled, but down at his peach he dug the stone out from. “Not for another nine days.” He said sadly, still keeping a smile for the kids in the house though.

The three all groaned.

Bill didn’t know why, but that made his heart race just a bit. Did they all come here only to see if Alice was home? More importantly, had he upset them in some way?

“Okay,” Lex began “guess we’ll just see you this time on Thursday then!”

Deb snorted. “Or y’know, unless you decide to invite us literally every day of this week.” She noted, them having come Monday and now Tuesday, Thursday being the one they had planned every week though.

They’d all finished eating completely, Lex hoping that they’d get in some more time of chit chat and fucking about like they usually did, but it depended on how Hannah was doing. She hoped the warmth was enough to make her want to stay a bit longer. Truth be told, Lex wanted to stay, but she’d of course, follow Hannah.

She was pulled out of this thought by her sister tugging on her sleeve. She looked down with a “Yeah sweetie?” But when Hannah didn’t reply she guessed what the question was. “Hey Bill?”

He looked up from where he was helping Deb undo the hair she’d caught in Ethans cap, which she had stolen to try on herself.

“Where’s the bathroom?” Lex already knew where it was, but she knew Hannah would want to know she had permission to go. Bill, seeming to wordlessly get this too, let go of one hand on Debs hair, still making sure it didn’t tug, and pointed. “Down the hallway right in the middle.” He smiled to both the Fosters, before going back to telling Ethan playfully chiding that even if Deb stole it as a joke, it wasn’t nice to laugh at her.

Ethan sat down next to Lex five minutes later when Deb has stopped hitting him after she’d been freed by Bill. He placed his arm around the back of her chair, but when he turned to smile at her he saw the nervous look on her face. He sat up straighter “Hey babe, what’s up?” He took her hand down from her face where she was biting her knuckles, and held it instead. Now Lex’s leg bounced to make up for it. “Hannah hasn’t come back yet.” She told him, her eyes glued to the door.

Ethan watched the door too, understanding her concern but ruling it out as necessary. “What? And you think she’s hurt herself, in Bills house of horror?” He didn’t even think scissors wouldn’t have an adult lock on the drawer they were in somewhere.

But Lex stood up, better safe than sorry. “Hey Bill?” She called out as she passed him, he turned around to look at her. “Hannah hasn’t come back yet so can you like, come with me to find her?” She knew it was stupid in the safest place she knew, but she always worried for Hannah, she couldn’t help it. Of course, Bill agreed without haste.

Lex knocked on the bathroom door, it fell open, the room dark and no one inside. Ethan and Deb ran off upstairs, to check the second bathroom. “Hannah?!” Ethan called, his ears already deafening as he marched the stairs, Deb deciding to follow “I’ll check Alices room! She might have just found something she likes in there!” Deb called out to Lex, knowing there were quite a few soft and nice things in there.

Bill and Lex rushed to check the next room over, the living room. And when Lex slammed open the door, a short scream was heard. There Hannah sat, now wide eyed, curled up into the corner of the material couch she was sinking into, holding a fluffy cushion to her chest, her fingers gripping and lost in the fluff.

“Hannah!” Lex strode fowards, kneeling down and her hands stroking Hannah’s face, to make sure she was actually okay and to calm her for the scare, then falling to her wrists where she rubbed her thumbs. “What’re you doing in here?”

Hannah ran her hand up and down the soft pillow, until she calmed slightly from the sudden freak out, her eyes travelled the room, looking into every corner, the floor and the ceiling, before giving her one word answer... to Bill. “Warm.” She said, to Bills eyes, then down to her sister.

Lex held her hand, breath finally leaving her lungs. “Hannah it’s warm all over this house.” She told her, not understanding why she left the kitchen if that’s what she wanted.

Then Ethan burst in the room, the door luckily open so as to not startle anyone this time. He ran past Bill and crouched next to Lex, putting a hand on Lex’s knee. “Hey Banana.” He said almost breathlessly, clearly he’d run down here. “We thought we’d lost ya there for a sec.” He smiled playfully to her, then down to Lex, and finally Lex smiled again.

Deb walked those last few steps to stand by Bill at the back of the room, watching. Neither said anything, they just watched the family.

It was finnaly time for the kids to leave, Deb shrugged her jacket on and Ethan kicked his shoes back on. Bill had never made them take their shoes off before entering but the kids had one day just started... doing it? Maybe they liked just walking around in their socks, he didn’t know, nor mind.

Bill watched as Lex walked up to him, and he passed her some more stocked full tuppaware. Lex chuckled, putting it in her bag before looking up at Bill, he could tell this was a semi-serious conversation. And it was confirmed when she started with his name. “Hey Bill? Thanks again man, for letting me bring Hannah. Like, it means a lot to us.”

Bill didn’t think a warm place to hang and a balanced meal should mean so much but he knew she didn’t want him to bring that up, instead, he waved her off. “No problem Lex. Any time, you know that!”

Lex chuckled, rolling on the balls of her feet back and forth, before making eye contact again. “And thanks for being so good with Hannah. I know she can be a little...”

Bill furrowed his eyebrows. “A little... what?”

Lex blinked. The swaying stopped, she looked to Bill wide eyed now. “Just... some people take time to get her.”

Bill waved that off with a “Pshaw!” Smiling like what she said was just silly. “Hannah is a sweet girl, she’s a little shy but she seems like a normal sweet girl to me!”

Lex looked into his eyes, very seriously. And she realised he was speaking his truth. Bill thought she was a normal kid. Bill saw nothing wrong with Hannah at all, and Lex loved that.

Arms were thrown around Bill’s neck before Lex knew it, she jumped that space between them to hug this man tight. Then she realised exactly what she was doing and went to back off. But the millisecond after her brain clicked and before she could act on it, Bills arms wrapped around her shoulders and he laughed into the hug. Lex stopped herself from moving away. One of his hands gently went to the back of her head and cradled it, his fingers just soft in her hair. By the two seconds after he’d hugged her back when he pulled away, Lex almost didn’t want him to.

Bill patted Debs shoulder as he said bye, he did this cooler version of a handshake Ethan had taught him, and then he smiled finally down to Hannah, who had Lex’s hands on each shoulder. “Well bye Hannah! I hope you and your sister come round again soon.” He told them.

No one was expecting Hannah to leave her sisters grip and walk towards Bill. Everyone stopped to watch, whereas Bill did that but also just smiled at her.

Hannah leant her head up, and held onto the back of Bill’s much bigger hand. Bill looked down to his hand, then back at Hannah, unsure but feeling very sweetened. Hannah only held on for a few seconds, before speaking properly to Bill “You’re a kind man.”

Ethan and Deb smiled wide as Lex watched curiously, her heart pounding. Hannah took her hand away, and Bill straightened up. “Oh thank you sweetie. But I’m just doing my part.”

“Dad you’re adopting a bunch of stray kids!” Alice texted him after Bill’s talk about the meal with Hannah tonight and Alice reading between the lines of how everyone felt about this.

Bill started typing back, worried about the possible tone she was saying it in. Was she anxious, did she hate it, was she embarrassed, or even jealous?? Until Alice texted back a simple ”We love it.”

“We?” Bill asked

“Well ‘we’ as in like the royal we dad so I mean I approve, but I could be talking about all 5 of us too ☺️”

ETAtime changed the groups name to “We stan Bill”

Deb(OrAh): Masterful. Love logging into the we stan Bill groupchat rather than the ‘no balls!!!’ One, that one got tiresome to see in public p soon

Ali Cat: OMG Ethan!!?

Lex Luther: LMAO. Noice 👌

Lex Luther: Hey Ali can ya send us a pic of Bill for the profile pic ;-p

ETAtime: you know I had to do it to em

Ali Cat: you guys are obsessive you know that?

Deb(OrAh): [Sent An Image]

Deb(OrAh): here ya go folks, just bc I actually have pics of our Lord and saviour on our phone. Bc y’know im his fav

ETAtime: thank you, im just gonna take that pic and fuckin YEET

ETAtime: also p sure Alice is his fav

ETAtime: otherwise would defo be me next. He wants a boy and a girl clearly smh

Lex Luther: as if

ETAtime: also that pic damn I 😩🥵💦

Ali Cat: NO

AlibCat: DEB!?

Ali Cat: ETHAN!!?!

Ali Cat: Deb you had to choose a shirtless pic of my dad from the water park? Rly??

ETAtime: Daddy™️

Lex Luther: Gross

ETAtime: you’re just grossed out bc u wanted to be my daddy

Ali Cat: YOU’RE BOTH GROSS

ETAtime: you are my daaad, yorue my dad-

Lex Luther: WOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE

ETAtime: uh his muscular arms are cut off by you too bozos heads

Deb(OrAh): just bc u didnt get hugs off our father

ETAtime: imma have to zoom in

ETAtime changed the groups profile picture

Ali Cat: ETHAN GREEN

Ali Cat: You change that picture from my dads nipple before I never speak to you again

Ali Cat: I don’t want this to be our profile picture!!

Ali Cat: I’m going to strip everyone else’s admin rights and ban you!!!

ETAtime changed the groups profile picture

Lex Luther: 😂😂😂💀

ETAtime: oh man Ali I was kidding babe

Deb(OrAh): wig

Ali Cat: UGH

Ali Cat: it’s not kidding when I have to look at it all zoomed in and stuff!

Ali Cat: his face is much nicer I’m fine with that okay!!

ETAtime: okie dokie 👌

Lex Luther: NO! Alice yell at him some more! You get scary! I bet Ethan pissed himself!!

ETAtime: you ready to lose big babe?

Ali Cat: distracting from all that... you know it’s nice you all are friends with my dad and stuff

Ali Cat: I know it can mean a lot to you guys and I just know it means the world to my dad to be able to feel like he’s being a dad nearly every day. I know he really loves you all visiting

Ali Cat: it makes me really want to come over more

Ali Cat: I’ve even managed to get a few extra days here and there out of my mom for friends when it’s really all of us inc my dad 💕

Deb(OrAh): youre so sweet x

Lex Luther: aw Alice...

ETAtime: Alice.. you’re too cute babe

Deb(OrAh): how come you’ve never once called me babe but do them. Ruthless. That’s favouritism

Ali Cat: I can call you babe more!! I just prefer sweetie

ETAtime: 1) I’m dating Lex

ETAtime: 2) I had to fake date Alice and it’s our joke

ETAtkme: 3) both of them are ACTUALLY babes

Lex Luther: AW ALI. Petnames exposed!

Ali Cat changed Debs name to “Babe”

Babe: Thank you! I hated that nickname on here

Lex Luther: Great now @ETAtime is gonna get confused if Deb is texting him or his mom

ETAtime: You fucking little shit!

ETAtime: okay listen but last point. D) @Babe wood you actually want me to call you babe??

Babe: ...no. I wouldn’t

Babe: fuck you

Ali Cat: and we’re arguing again

ETAtime: why fuck me???!

ETAtime: pfft

ETAtime: 🖕

Babe: ❤️

Babe: that’s for Alice not you cretin

ETAtime: and here I thought you were just being pasive agresive

Ali Cat: well I have a ❤️❤️❤️ for all of you

Lex Luther: Aw thx babe (😉😂)

Babe: youre super cute babe

ETAtime: well MY heart is for BILL ❤️

ETAtime changed the groups name to “We stan Bill ❤️”