Layla

We had just arrived at the airport, and to say I was excited to see my best friend, would be a understatement. Yes, we both suffered a loss yesterday, but we were both excited to see each other again. Alex, Lisa, Jack, and I were all walking in the airport to the area where we pick up the people we need to from the planes.

“I hate what happened yesterday, because it’s just not fair. But, I have very mixed emotions because she is my best friend and I’m like really happy to see her.” I spoke, as I watched the people walk out of the tunnel.

“That is very understandable, hun. Yes, what happened yesterday is very sad, but seeing your best friend is always nice.” Lisa spoke with a small smile. I returned her smile and then went back to looking at the tunnel.

“How much longer do we have to stand here?” Jack asked.

“We have only been standing here for less than five minutes, Jacky.” I said as I looked over to him.

“It feels like forever.” He complained.

“You are worse than a teenager, Jack.” Alex spoke with a chuckle.

“Am not!” Jack defended himself.

“Yes you are.” Lisa and I said at the same time. I looked at Lisa and we both started laughing.

“Layla! You are suppose to be on my side!” Jack whined.

“No I’m not.” I said with a smirk.

“Yep, she is our child.” Alex spoke to Lisa with a small laugh. I turned to them and gave them both a big smile. I felt arms around my waist, and then I felt myself being picked up off the ground.

“Help! Someone!” I spoke trying to get away. “A tall as hell skunk-boy has caught me!”

“A tall as hell skunk-boy. I like that.” Lisa said with a laugh. She walked over to Jack and I and started to pull on his arms to get him to let me down. “Come on boy! Let my daughter go!”

“Never!” Jack spoke.

“I’ll save you!” Alex spoke with a huge grin as he walked over to all of us. Alex started to pull on Jack’s other arm, as Lisa was pulling on his right arm. “Put my child down!”

“I saw her first!” Jack spoke.

“That’s not true! Lisa and I did!” Alex spoke. They finally broke his grip from around me and I fell on the ground, gladly I kept my legs straight and I landed on my feet. I looked over to the tunnel of people and saw a long brown-haired, brown-eyed, 5 foot 3 girl. I squealed at the top of my lungs, scaring Alex, Lisa, and Jack. I quickly stopped running to the girl. I noticed that she didn’t see me, yet.

“Kaitlin!” I shouted. I watched as her head shot my way and a huge smile appeared on her face. She started running over to me, with her backpack slung over both her shoulders. We finally met and we both brought each other in a huge bear hug. “I have missed you so much!”

“Oh my gosh! I have missed you, too!” Kaitlin spoke with such excitement in her voice. “You don’t understand how bad I missed you, more when they passed away.” I pulled away from our hug and saw she had tears trailing down her cheeks. I quickly brought my hands up to her face and wiped the tears away.

“Calm down babe, everything is going to be fine. We’re together now, don’t worry.” I spoke softly so her. I’m not just glad that she is going to be living with me, but I’m glad we can be there for each other during our time of need. She nodded her head and gave me a small, sad smile.

“Well, hello Kaitlin.” I heard a voice behind us, who I knew was the voice of Alex. I looked behind me and saw that Alex, Lisa, and Jack were all standing there with smiles on their faces. I looked back to Kaitlin and her eyes were wide.

“Just give her a minute, yes I told her everything that’s been going on here, but it’s going to take a minute to fully sink in, now that you guys are standing in front of her.” I spoke with a small laugh. They all nodded their heads in understanding. We all watched as she continued for stare with wide eyes for about two more minutes, she broke the stare and looked over to me. “You good now?”

“Yes.” She spoke said she nodded her head, her eyes going back to normal as everything finally set in.

“Are you going to do the same thing when you meet Zack and Rian later?” I asked.

“Yes.” She spoke again, with another nod of her head.

“Okay, I’ll warn them.” I said with a laugh. Kaitlin laughed along with me.

“Well, we should be going! That way we can get back to the house in time for them to get there.” Alex spoke, keeping the smile on his face.

“I promised Layla we would go out for ice cream. To make her feel better about that asshole, Zander.” Jack spoke.

“Okay, we will stop on the way back home. Come on girls.” Lisa spoke.

“Here, let me carry you bag for you.” I said as I reached for the straps on Kaitlin’s shoulders. I took them off and slung one strap over one of my shoulders. I grabbed her hand in mine and we started walking.

“Why are you two holding hands?” Jack asked confused when we reached the car outside.

“We always do. We are just that close I guess. Like, we have even kissed before.” I answered him.

“What?” He asked, still sounding confused.

“Well, you know how your and Alex’s friendship is?”

“Yes.”

“That’s how mine and Kaitlin’s is.”

“Ooh. Okay.” He spoke with a smile as he got in the front passenger seat. I sat in the middle in the backseat, in between Kaitlin and Lisa, and Alex drove.

“Jack.” I spoke, getting his attention.

“Yeah?” He asked.

“Put in a CD.” I stated. “Please?”

“Sure.” He said with a smile. It took a minute for him to pick through the CD’s, but he finally decided on one, which was Green Day’s album called, Nimrod. The first song on the album came on, Nice Guys Finish Last, and all five of us sung out to it.

“Wow, both of my kids have amazing voices!” Lisa spoke with a huge smile on her face.

“Okay, I said it once, I’ll say it again. I can’t sing.” I said with a laugh.

“Bullshit you can’t sing!” Kaitlin spoke up. “Do you really want me to bring up the little thing that happened during the middle of Biology class in tenth grade?”

“Oh gosh. Please no.” I spoke as I shook my head.

“Oh, please do.” Alex spoke as I saw him looking in the mirror, to get a look at us.

“Please tell me you don’t have the video still.” I spoke timidly as I looked back over to Kaitlin.

“You really think I would delete that video? It was the best thing ever!”

“I. Hate. You.’ I spoke to her.

“No you don’t. You love me.” She sent a wink at me.

“When we get back to the house, I so want to see that video.” Jack spoke.

“I hate you as well.” I spoke.

“Sure ya do.” Alex spoke in a sarcastic way.

“Oh come on Lay, I’m in the video singing with you, it’s not just you.” Kaitlin laughed.

“Yes, but you waited till the second half of the song to join in.” I spoke.

“I’m sorry! I was trying to finish my test! I was trying to hurry to finish it, and all I could hear was you singing! At least I got finished!” She defended herself.

“None of it shouldn’t have even happened!” I complained.

“That’s what happens when you wear headphones and listen to music! You always end up singing!”

“Is that why she was singing the first night we met?” Jack asked with a smirk.

“Okay, this conversation has come to an end. No more.” I spoke as I pulled out my phone, since I heard it go off, telling me I had a call. I looked at the name on the phone and ‘Chris’ flashed. I forgot we gave each other our numbers. I quickly answered it and put it to my ear. “Hey!”

“Hey girl! What’s up?” He asked.

“Just picked up my bestie from the airport, not we are on the way to the ice cream shop.” I answered. “How about you?”

“Jasper, Brent, and I are all at the ice cream shop right now!” I could hear the smile on his face.

“Well tell them I said hi!” I said with a laugh.

“Guys, Layla said hi.” He spoke.

“Hi Layla!” I heard both Jasper and Brent shout. I let out another laugh and spoke.

“If you guys are at the ice cream shop, we will be seeing you in a few minutes, so stay there!” I said, smiling.

“You got it! See ya soon!” Chris spoke.

“Bye Chris.”

“Bye Layla.” He spoke, and with those words we hung up.

“Who was that?” Alex asked

“My friends Chris, Jasper, and Brent.” I spoke.

“All boys?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“I don’t want you hanging out with them.” He continued.

“Alex! You can’t tell her who and who not to be friends with!” Lisa defended me.

“But she’s my daughter!” He whined.

“And now Kaitlin is as well, are you going to be doing the same thing to her?” I asked.

“She’s only 16. Therefore it will be worse for her.”

“That’s not fair!” Kaitlin spoke.

“Alex, you can be the protective father all you want, but you will not stop them from being friends with people.” Lisa spoke again, giving him a glare through the mirror.

“Fine.” He muttered in defeat.

“Yay! Thanks Lisa.” I said as I gave her a side hug, which she returned.

“No problem! Now, we are here, let’s get out and find these boys!” She spoke. Everyone opened their doors and got out, me following out of Kaitlin’s door, and shutting it behind me.

“Layla!” I heard a voice shout to me. I looked the way the voice came from and saw Chris, Jasper, and Brent all sitting at a table, waving me over. I sent them a wave and held up my finger to tell them I’ll be over in a minute. I watched as they nodded their heads telling me okay.

“Is that them?” Alex asked.

“Yep.” I said with a smile.

“Let’s get our ice cream and head over there.” Lisa spoke, matching my smile. We all five walked up to the ice cream parlor and ordered our ice cream, which we got within five minutes. I took Kaitlin’s open hand in mine and pulled her over to my friends, with Jack, Alex, and Lisa trailing behind us. We arrived at the table and I gave them a smile.

“Hey guys!” I spoke

“Hey!” Jasper, Brent, and Chris all said at the same time.

“Guys, this is my best friend from California, Kaitlin. Kaitlin, this is Brent, Jasper, and Chris.” I said as I pointed them out to her.

“Hi Kaitlin.” Chris spoke with a smile.

“Hi.” She said, putting her head down, she’s so shy.

“There is no need to be shy!” I spoke as I nudged her. She looked up at me and I made a silly face, making her laugh. “Oh, Chris, Jasper, Brent. This is Jack, Alex, and Lisa.”

“Hi boys.” Lisa said with a smile.

“Is this real life?” Brent asked with wide eyes.

“Yes Brent, it’s real life.” I said with a laugh. “Guys, just so you know, these three are huge fans of your band.” I spoke, as I turned to Alex and Jack.

“Understandable.” Alex spoke with a smile.

“What’s up guys?” Jack asked as he took a seat next to Jasper.

“Just freaking out in our minds, that’s all.” Jasper spoke for all of them. I laughed at the response and took a seat next to Jack, and Kaitlin sat next to me. Lisa and Alex were standing, talking and making googly eyes at each other.

“I love your hair.” Chris spoke to Kaitlin. I watched as she blushed and whispered a small thank you. I felt someones hand touch mine under the table, and kept playing with it, I soon realized it was Jack, telling me that he wanted to hold my hand. I opened my hand up and he slid our hands together, interlocking our fingers. I looked over at him and sent him a smile, to which he returned. I went back to talking to Brent and Jasper, as Chris and Kaitlin talked, they seem to be really hitting it off, I would make a big deal out of it, but Kaitlin is a lesbian, so she wouldn’t think of Chris in that way. We all continued to talk for about a hour till Alex spoke up.

“Okay guys, we have to get back to the house, Rian just texted me and told me that him and Zack are there already.” He said. I nodded my head to tell him okay, and I let go of Jack’s hand, so I could stand up. Kaitlin and Jack both stood up next to me as well.

“Well I’ll see you guys at school. Oh, and Chris, again, thanks for earlier when you stood up to Zander for me. It helped during the class, but he followed me after school. It was creepy” I spoke.


“Did he touch you?” Jasper asked.

“He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around to him, but as he got closer Alex and Jack stepped in.” I said.

“Well, at least they were there. That guy is a fucking asshole. There is rumors around that school that he raped the head cheerleader, Megan.” Brent spoke.

“Are you serious?” Alex asked, sounding very protective and worried.

“Dead serious. The guy is a fucking creep.” Chris spoke as he shook his head.

“Alex, I know what’s going on in your mind, and no, we will not homeschool the girls, they need to be social.” Lisa spoke. “Even if that worries me a lot as well.”

“Thanks for the heads up guys.” I spoke, sending Chris, Jasper, and Brent all a smile before turning around to Alex and Lisa. “Don’t worry guys, if anything happens, I will tell you. And I will make a promise right now, I won’t let anything happen to Kaitlin.”

“She’s telling the truth, my ex-girlfriend slapped me one time, and the moment I told Layla, she stormed out of the classroom, all the way to her room and kicked her ass. She got suspended for three weeks.” Kaitlin spoke.

“What can I say? No one lays a finger on my best friend.” I said as I sent a smile to her and took her hand. “Now come on, we don’t want to keep Zack and Rian waiting any longer!” Jack, Alex, and Lisa all nodded in agreement and we all started our walk back to the car. We got to the car a minute later, this time Lisa was driving, and Alex was sitting next to her in the front. I was still in the middle seat in the back, but this time between Jack and Layla. I didn’t mind. Jack took my hand in his once we started our drive back to the house, and I sent him a smile. To which he returned. I looked over at Kaitlin and she had a smirk on her face. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Think about what?” She asked trying to act innocent.

“Don’t act all innocent! I know what’s going on in your mind!” I spoke.

“Oh, yeah, I know you do.” She said with a giggle. “Oh, but one thing, is there any cute girls at our school? And when will I be starting?”

“You will be starting the day after tomorrow, so on Wednesday. And I don’t know if there is any cute girls! I’m not the lesbian out of us!” I said with a laugh.

“So you don’t think I’m cute?” She asked with a fake pout.

“Nope. I think you’re sexy.” I said sending her a wink. We both bursted out laughing with each other.

“Having two teenage daughters, who are best friends, is strange.” Alex spoke from the front seat.

“But they are so adorable!” Lisa said with a huge smile on her face, making Kaitlin and I both continued to laugh. We got back to the house about ten minutes later, and we all jumped out of the car. Seeing Rian’s car in the driveway, behind Jack’s.

“Race you inside.” I spoke to Kaitlin. She gave me a look, knowing how competitive we both were. We both took off up the driveway and ran to the door, I got there first, but she claims she did. “I so beat you!”

“No you didn’t! I was here first!” She spoke, as well both smiled at each other.

“No way!” I said with a laugh as I opened up the door and we walked in, Jack, Alex, and Lisa not far behind us. When we got in the house, Baz and Peyton greeted us. “Hey Baz! Hey Peyton!” I said getting on the floor and petting them. “This is Kaitlin, my best friend. Go give her some love.” Once those words left my mouth, both of them ran over to Kaitlin, and she got on the ground, petting them.

“Well, they sure do like her.” Jack spoke with a laugh as they walked into the door, and saw Baz and Peyton jumping on Kaitlin, and her laughing.

“I hear my family, but not my real family in there!” I heard the voice of Rian shout. I quickly got to my feet, pulling Kaitlin up with me.

“Come on! I want you to meet them!” I said as I pulled her in the direction the voice came, which was from the living room. “Hey Zack! Hey Rian!”

“Hey Layla.” They both said at the same time, with huge smiles on their faces. I looked over at Kaitlin and she had the same look she had on her face when she met Alex, Jack, and Lisa.

“Give her a minute, she’s just letting things sink in.” I spoke with a laugh. By the time Kaitlin came back to the real world, we were all sitting on the couches. “You better now, girly?” She nodded her head and everything was back to normal. We all sat in the living room, getting to know each other some more, for about four hours. Then Rian and Zack left. Leaving just Alex, Lisa, Jack, Kaitlin, and I in the living room.

“You girls should be getting to sleep. Layla you have to wake up early for school tomorrow. Kaitlin, are you okay with sharing a room with Layla?” Alex asked.

“Sure am sir!” Kaitlin said with a smile.

“Kaitlin, you don’t have to call me sir, just call me Alex.” He said with a chuckle.

“Yes si- Alex.” Kaitlin spoke. I stood up from the couch, which led to Jack standing up as well.

“Do you have to do everything I do?” I asked him.

“I just want a good-night hug.” He said with a smile. I laughed and gave him a hug. “Good-night Layla.” Once he pulled away from the hug he looked over to Kaitlin. “Night Kaitlin.”

“Good-night Jack.” She spoke.

“Night Jacky. Come on Kaitlin, let’s go to bed. Night Lisa, night Alex.” I spoke.

“Night girls.” Alex spoke

“Sleep well!” Lisa said as we started to walk down the hall.

“Good-night!” Kaitlin and I both said one more time, before making our way up the stairs to our room.

Notes

Sorry it's a boring chapter! Just a chapter to welcome Kaitlin fully into the story :)

Leave some comments below!

Hope you enjoyed!