Chapter Text
"Court, hurry up! We're gonna be late!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Arasha was super nervous for this trip. And it didn't help that Courtney was taking hours to load the car. Okay, it wasn't hours. But still! It was Arasha's first time visiting her best friend's family and she didn't want to make a bad impression.
"We gotta pick up Shayne and Tommy and then get food for the road. We're gonna be late if we don't start now!"
"Calm down, Rash. So what if we're late? It's pretty early, we're gonna get there before it gets dark."
"Yeah, but your parents are expecting us!"
"Don't worry, girl. My parent's won't mind. They have five children, you'd say they're probably used to it by now."
Arasha just sighed and got in the car. Court was right, she needed to calm down. Besides, the Padilla-Hecox family loved her already! At least the ones she had met when they visited Courtney a few months ago. There were still two brothers she had never talked to, but her friend had said they were really chill so she had nothing to worry about.
"They're gonna love you." Courtney smiled as she was starting the car. "I have no doubt."
Arasha smiled back at them. She trusted Court's judgement. Then the two friends fell silent.
The car ride continued like this for about fifteen minutes. But as soon as they picked up the guys, the energy was restored in the small car.
Shayne was Courtney's boyfriend of nearly four years. He had met her family countless times and had stayed with them before. Tommy had only started hanging out with them about a year ago. It was his first time spending the holidays with the Padilla-Hecox's too, but he didn't seem as nervous as Arasha.
It would take them around four hours to get to their destination so Arasha thought she should loosen up a little. Her friends didn't make it hard for her. It was always easy to be herself around them. The time passed pleasantly. They were talking for most of it, switching from one topic to another without even realising how many hours it had been.
"We're here!" Courtney sang.
The car was parked in front of a fairly big house with a small front yard. There was light and movement coming from the windows and there were a couple of other cars parked outside, indicating that everyone else was already there. Arasha's heart started beating slightly faster as she got out of the car and started to unload it. As she looked back at the house she noticed the silhouette of a short girl approach the window and then immediately run away. In a few moments, the door was opened and a 17-year-old girl ran towards them.
"Courtney!!!" she yelled and hugged her sister.
"Hey Angela." Court chuckled.
Angela went on to hug Shayne as another kid, around the same age as her, came running out.
"Chanse!" Courtney hugged her little brother.
"Guys come back inside. It's cold and you've got no jackets on!"
Arasha recognised the voice. It belonged to Mr. Hecox, one of Court's dads. Soon, the man was standing in front of them, hugging his daughter and then her boyfriend.
"Pa, you remember Arasha. And this is Tommy."
He shook both of their hands.
"Welcome to our home!" he said, leading them inside the house.
"Thank you for having us Mr. Hecox." Arasha put on her most polite expression.
"Please, call me Ian." he gave her a warm smile.
They temporarily placed their suitcases in the hallway and headed towards the living room, where the whole family was gathered.
"Your dad had to run for some errands, but he'll be back soon." Ian addressed Courtney and then turned to the rest of his kids. "Guys these are Tommy and Arasha." he pointed to them. Everyone got up and introduced themselves. Arasha already knew Angela and Chanse, but there were three faces unfamiliar to her.
"Hey, I'm Spencer." Spencer was just a year older than her. He was short, with curly black hair and glasses. She knew from her friend that he was a huge gamer.
"I'm Amanda!" She hadn't heard of the girl before. She learned from Angela, who proudly declared it, that she was her girlfriend. Amanda was just eighteen but she was very tall. She and Angela were inseparable.
The last person was standing kind of awkwardly in the corner. Arasha assumed he was Trevor, Courney's little brother. Despite her nervousness, she approached him.
"Hey." she said, trying to catch his attention.
He jumped a little. "Oh, hi." he half-smiled.
"You must be Trevor."
"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you!"
He was taller than her, though she knew from Court that they were the same age. He had long arms and messy, sandy blonde hair.
He didn't say anything more so Arasha went and sat next to her best friend on the couch. Though she couldn't help but glance at him every once in a while.